The first comprehensive history of the Sami people of the Nordic countries & northwestern Russia. There is no single volume which encompasses an integrated social & cultural history of the Sami people from the Nordic countries & northwestern Russia. Neil Kent`s book fills this lacuna. In the first instance, he considers how the Sami homeland is defined: its geography, climate, & early contact with other peoples. He then moves on to its early chronicles & the onset of colonisation, which changed Sami life profoundly over the last millennium. Thereafter, the nature of Sami ethnicity is examined, in the context of the peoples among whom the Sami increasingly lived, as well as the growing intrusions of the states who claimed sovereignty over them. The Soviet gulag, the Lapland War & increasing urbanisation all impacted upon Sami life. Religion, too, played an important role from pre-historic times, with their pantheon of gods & sacred sites, to their Christianisation. In the late twentieth century there has been an increasing symbiosis of ancient Sami spiritual practice with Christianity. Recently the intrusions of the logging & nuclear industries, as well as tourism have come to redefine Sami society & culture. Even the meaning of who exactly a Sami is is scrutinised, at a time when some intermarry & yet return to Sapmi, where their children maintain their Sami identity. ...

In 1613 the missionary Father Pedro Velasco`s dream comes true. For the first time, the Japanese are going to cross the Pacific Ocean. & he is going with them. As he sets sail with a group of Samurai, for Mexico, then Spain & finally Rome, his zealous hope is that, by opening up relations with the western world, Japan will become ripe for conversion to Christianity
- with him as Bishop. But fate has other plans for Father Velasco. A gripping portrayal of an extraordinary historical voyage, filled with danger & hardship, The Samurai is a haunting novel of endurance, faith & hubris. ` Endo to my mind is one of the finest living novelists` Graham Greene ` Powerful, beautifully written` New Statesman
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The No 1 Swedish thriller by the author of The Hypnotist & The Fire Witness He`s Sweden`s most prolific serial killer. Jurek Walter is serving a life sentence. Kept in solitary confinement, he is still considered extremely dangerous by psychiatric staff. He`ll lull you into a sense of calm. Mikael knows him as ”the sandman”. Seven years ago, he was taken from his bed along with his sister. They are both presumed dead. He has one target left. When Mikael is discovered on a railway line, close to death, the hunt begins for his sister. To get to the truth, Detective Inspector Joona Linna will need to get closer than ever to the man who stripped him of a family; the man who wants Linna dead. ...

A beautifully illustrated edition of this classic tale by ” War Horse” author Michael Morpurgo. Michael loves his grandfather`s stories about the Sandman & the turtles, but he doesn`t believe that they are real. But that`s about to change, because the Sandman is very real indeed.. .and Michael & his cousins Barry & Polly are going to need his help. This charming tale for younger readers by master storyteller Michael Morpurgo is fully illustrated in colour by Horrid Henry illustrator Tony Ross. ...

Join Ben & Fee Mac Tavish & their friends as they set off for the Caribbean. Their routine of seamanship & snorkelling, kitesurfing & diving is soon interrupted when Captain Macbeth comes into possession of an old nautical chart. When the map is stolen & a new Tobermory recruit jumps ship, Ben, Fee & their friends decide to investigate. But danger lies all around as they follow their quarry to the mysterious Shark Island.. . ...

Publication of early development at Huntsham Crag & Near Hearkening Rock in the 1999 Symonds Yat guide led promptly to an explosion of exploration of the numerous sandstone outcrops & boulders throughout the northern sector of the Forest of Dean. This new 2006 guide describes the many hundreds of short climbs & bouldering routes of between 5 & 12 metres on natural sandstone that in places attains top gritstone quality. The guide is the first to appear in the Climbers` Club`s new design & is printed in full colour throughout. ...

Aunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered
- by a guest dressed as Santa Klaus
- with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond`s death, but Santa Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the shot, has no apparent motive. Various members of the family have their private suspicions about the identity of the murderer, & the Chief Constable of Haulmshire, who begins his investigations by saying that he knows the family too well & that is his difficulty, wishes before long that he understood them better. In the midst of mistrust, suspicion & hatred, it emerges that there was not one Santa Klaus, but two. The Santa Klaus Murder is a classic country-house mystery that is now being made available to readers for the first time since its original publication in 1936.

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From the earliest solstice festivals to the jolly fellow's film career, The Santa Map: A Cultural Geography of the World's Most Beloved Man surveys the abiding magic of the eternal winter visitor. So follow the bootprints of a Christmas legend with this delightful panoramic map unravelling the mystery
- & the history
- of jolly old St Nick. Designed for both children & adults, this double-sided map tracks the Santa Claus myth from its beginnings to today; speculates on the itinerary followed on Christmas Eve; & highlights places around the world where Santa's figure & personality are linked to particular local traditions. Also included is a dissection of a Christmas stocking with an explanation of the meaning of every object it carries! You & your family will love tracing Santa's travels across time & continents with this giant fold-out map. Designed to warm hearts & open minds...

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” Whenever I was asked: ` Why did you go to Santiago?`, I had a hard time answering. How could I explain to those who had not done it that the way has the effect
- if not the virtue
- to make you forget all reasons that led you to become involved in it in the first place.” Each year, tens of thousands of backpackers (Christian pilgrims & many others) set out from either their front doorstep or from popular starting points across Europe, to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, others ride a bicycle, & a few of them travel as did some of their medieval counterparts, on horseback or with a donkey. In addition to those who undertake a religious pilgrimage, the majority are hikers who walk the way for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of spending weeks walking in a foreign l&. Also, many consider the experience as a spiritual adventure, with a view to removing themselves from the bustle of modern life. Jean-Christophe Rufin followed this ” Northern Way” to Santiago de Compostela by foot, on over eight hundred kilometers. Much less crowded than the usual pilgrimage route, this one runs along the Basque & Cantabrian coasts in Spain & through the wild mountains of Asturias & Galicia.

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