4:30 in the morning, trekking in the open wilderness of the Alps, 2, 900 meters above sea level, storm clouds disappearing behind the nearest mountain, the sun rising- these are the moments when Guerel Sahin captures his best outdoor photographs. It is perhaps precisely because they are often shot in extreme situations that Sahin`s breathtaking mountain panoramas, photographs of mountain lakes, & rugged landscapes are such a social media hit. Thousands follow him on Instagram et al., while a wide audience also knows him as the face of Jack Wolfskin. Now, for the first time, he gathers his most awe-inspiring photographs in one volume, sharing insights into his life & work. Where does this longing for untouched, authentic nature come from? How does it feel to reach a mountain summit by sunrise? What if, contrary to expectations, an entire vista is obscured by clouds & photography becomes impossible? In images & words, the acclaimed star photographer shares his own emotional world in a paradigm of ” Generation Instagram.” Sahin`s book is for those whom the next mountain peak & open nature cannot be close enough- for all hikers, climbers, & outdoor junkies. ...

FROM THE WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014. In the winter of 1954, in a construction camp in the remote Tasmanian highlands, when Sonja Buloh was three years old & her father was drinking too much, her mother disappeared into a blizzard never to return. Thirty-five years later, Sonja returns to the place of her childhood to visit her drunkard father. The shadows of the past begin to intrude ever more forcefully into the present, changing forever his living death & her ordered life. ...

Ogata Shingo is growing old, & his memory is failing him. At night he hears only the sound of death in the distant rumble from the mountain. The relationships which have previously defined his life
- with his son, his wife, & his attractive daughter-in-law
- are dissolving, & Shingo is caught between love & destruction. Lyrical & precise, ” The Sound of the Mountain” explores in immaculately crafted prose the changing roles of love & the truth we face in ageing.

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No sooner does he get to know Ricardo Laverde in a seedy billiard hall in Bogota than Antonio Yammara realises that the ex-pilot has a secret. Antonio`s fascination with his new friend`s life grows until the day Ricardo receives a mysterious, unmarked cassette. Shortly afterwards, he is shot dead on a street corner. Yammara`s investigation into what happened leads back to the early 1960s, marijuana smuggling & a time before the cocaine trade trapped Colombia in a living nightmare. ...

Only once in his life had Sean met a man whose strength matched his own
- & now, again, they were pitted against each other..
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Three children are spending their summer on a wild Scottish isl&. Fraser is desperate for adventure; Hayley is fed up she`s even there; while Dunny spends his days staring out to sea. He hasn`t said a word in years. But everything changes with the discovery of two bodies on the beach: a whale & a man. Fraser & Hayley see a mystery-adventure to be solved, but Dunny is inconsolable. & in the end, it will take someone who listens to the sea to put it right. ...

In 1950, Katherine Proctor leaves Ireland & her family for Barcelona, determined to become a painter. There she meets Miguel, an anarchist veteran of the Spanish Civil War, & proceeds to build a life with him. But Katherine cannot escape her past, as Michael Graves, a fellow Irish emigre to Spain, forces her to re-examine all her relationships: to her lover, her art & the homeland she only thought she knew. ...

The South Africa Reader is an extraordinarily rich guide to the history, cultures, & politics of South Africa. With more than eighty absorbing selections, the Reader provides many perspectives on the country`s diverse peoples, its first two decades as a democracy, & the forces that have shaped its history & continue to pose challenges to its future, particularly violence, inequality, & racial discrimination. Among the selections are folk tales passed down through the centuries, statements by seventeenth-century Dutch colonists, the songs of mine workers, a widow`s testimony before the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, & a photo essay featuring the acclaimed work of Santu Mofekeng. Cartoons, songs, & fiction are juxtaposed with iconic documents, such as the ” The Freedom Charter” adopted in 1955 by the African National Congress & its allies & Nelson Mandela`s ” Statement from the Dock” in 1964. A cacophony of voices
- of slaves & indentured workers, African chiefs & kings, presidents & revolutionaries
- invite the reader into ongoing debates about South Africa`s past & present & what, exactly, it means to be South African.

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While writing a novel set in South America, John Hopkins travelled back there to ”reacquaint himself with the scene”. In 1972-3, he travelled by train, bus & boat from Mexico City to the centre of the continent, through Belize, Guatemala & Nicaragua & on to Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay & Argentina. Hopkins travelled slowly, deliberately, savouring every experience along the way. But the journey was fraught with his angst-ridden strivings to write his novel & with the troubled love he had for Madeleine, his travelling companion. In these heat-scorched, tequila-infused pages, Hopkins paints a sultry, exquisite portrait of South America & in so doing masters an art that he believed would forever elude him. ...

China`s rise has upset the global balance of power, & the first place to feel the strain is Beijing`s backyard: the South China Sea. For decades tensions have smouldered in the region, but today the threat of a direct confrontation among superpowers grows ever more likely. This important book is the first to make clear sense of the South Sea disputes. Bill Hayton, a journalist with extensive experience in the region, examines the high stakes involved for rival nations that include Vietnam, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, & China, as well as the United States, Russia & others. Hayton also lays out the daunting obstacles that stand in the way of peaceful resolution. Through lively stories of individuals who have shaped current conflicts
- businessmen, scientists, shippers, archaeologists, soldiers, diplomats
- Hayton makes understandable the complex history & contemporary reality of the South China Sea. He underscores its crucial importance as the passageway for half the world`s merchant shipping & one-third of its oil & gas. Whoever controls these waters controls the access between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, & the Pacific. The author critiques various claims & positions (that China has historic claim to the Sea, for example), overturns conventional wisdom (such as America`s overblown fears of China`s nationalism & military resurgence), & outlines what the future may hold for this clamorous region of international rivalry.

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