It is 1906 & Will Prior is in self-imposed exile on a remote South Pacific isl&, working a small, & failing, plantation. He should never have told anyone about his previous existence as a military foot policeman in the Boer War, but a man needs friends, even if they are as stuffy &, well, German, as Hauptmann Kessler, the local government representative. So it is that Kessler approaches Will one hot afternoon, with a request for his help with a problem on a neighbouring isl&, inhabited by a reclusive, cultish group of European `cocovores`, who believe that sun worship & eating only coconuts will bring them eternal life. Unfortunately, one of their number has died in suspicious circumstances, & Kessler has been tasked with uncovering the real reason for his demise. So along with a `lady traveller`, Bessie Pullen-Burry, who is foisted on them by the archipelago`s eccentric owner, they travel to the island of Kabakon, to find out what is really going on. ...

` Who can I trust in this nest of vipers?`1661 is a year of destiny for France & its young king, Louis XIV. Cardinal Mazarin, the Chief Minister who has governed throughout the King`s early years, lies dying. As a fierce power struggle develops to succeed him, a religious brotherhood, guardian of a centuries-old secret, also sees its chance to influence events. Gabriel de Pontbri&, an aspiring actor employed as secretary to Moliere, becomes unwittingly involved when documents stolen from Mazarin`s palace fall into his hands. The coded papers will alter Gabriel`s life for ever, & their explosive contents have the power to change the course of history for France & the rising Sun King himself. ...

1661 is a year of destiny for France & its young King, Louis XIV. Cardinal Mazarin, the prime minister who has reigned throughout the king`s early years, lies dying. As a fierce power struggle develops to succeed him, a religious brotherhood, guardian of a centuries old secret, also sees its chance to influence events. Gabriel de Pontbri&, a young actor, becomes unwittingly involved when documents stolen from Mazarin`s palace fall into his hands. The coded papers will alter Gabriel`s life for ever, & their explosive contents have the power to change the course of history for France & Louis XIV. Fact & fiction combine in a fast-moving story of intrigue, conspiracy & love set in seventeenth century France. ...

When Londoner JP Floru tags along with three friends running the marathon in Pyongyang, little could have prepared him for what he witnessed. Shown by two minders what the regime wants them to see during their nine-day trip, the group is astounded when witnessing people bowing to their leaders` statues; being told not to take photos of the leaders` feet; & hearing the hushed reverence with which people recite the history invented by the regime to keep itself in power. Often, the group did not understand what they were seeing: from the empty five-lane motorway to the missing fifth floor of their Yanggakdo Hotel on an island in the Pudong River; many answers only came through extensive research of the few sources that exist about this hermit country. Shocking & scary, The Sun Tyrant uncovers the oddities & tragedies at the heart of the world`s most secretive regime, & shows what happens when a population is reduced to near-slavery in the twenty-first century. ...

Reviewing previous theories about the site of Plato's city of Atlantis
- some fantastic, some rational
- this work offers a

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` Lyrical as a poem, psychologically rich as a thriller, funny, dark, warm, & as knowing of place as any travel book or memoir, The Sunlit Night marks the appearance of a brave talent` Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated Frances had read of a man who painted with only the colour yellow. He lived in the north of Norway. In the beautiful, barren landscape of the Far North, under the ever-present midnight sun, Frances & Yasha are surprised to find refuge in each other. Their lives have been upended
- Frances has fled heartbreak & claustrophobic Manhattan for an isolated artist colony; Yasha, a Russian immigrant raised in a bakery in Brighton Beach, arrives from Brooklyn to fulfill his beloved father`s last wish: to be buried `at the top of the world`. They have come to learn how to be alone. But in Lofoten, an archipelago of six tiny islands in the Norwegian Sea, ninety-five miles north of the Arctic Circle, they form a bond that fortifies them against the turmoil of their distant homes, offering solace amidst great uncertainty. With nimble & sure-footed prose enriched with humour & warmth, Rebecca Dinerstein`s enchanting debut reminds us that no matter how far we travel to claim our own territory, it is love that gives us our place in the world.
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William Hutchison Murray (1913
- 1996) was one of Scotland`s most distinguished climbers in the years before & after the Second
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William Hutchison Murray (1913
- 1996) was one of Scotland`s most distinguished climbers in the years before & after the Second
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In the summer of 1972, Famagusta in Cyprus is the most desirable resort in the Mediterranean, a city bathed in the glow of good fortune. An ambitious couple are about to open the island`s most spectacular hotel, where Greek & Turkish Cypriots work in harmony. Two neighbouring families, the Georgious & the Ozkans, are among many who moved to Famagusta to escape the years of unrest & ethnic violence elsewhere on the isl&. But beneath the city`s facade of glamour & success, tension is building. When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, & Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions & flee from the advancing soldiers. In the deserted city, just two families remain. This is their story. ...

In the summer of 1972, Famagusta in Cyprus is the most desirable resort in the Mediterranean, a city bathed in the glow of good fortune. An ambitious couple open the island`s most spectacular hotel, where Greek & Turkish Cypriots work in harmony. Two neighbouring families, the Georgious & the Ozkans, are among many who moved to Famagusta to escape the years of unrest & ethnic violence elsewhere on the isl&. But beneath the city`s facade of glamour & success, tension is building. When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, & Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions & flee from the advancing soldiers. In the deserted city, just two families remain. This is their story. ...