The first English-language book to document the men who emerged from the gulags to become Russia`s much-feared crime class: the vory v zakone Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments & police around the world. Now, Western readers can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a group that has survived & thrived amid the changes brought on by Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, & the end of the Soviet experiment. The vory-as the Russian mafia is also known-was born early in the twentieth century, largely in the Gulags & criminal camps, where they developed their unique culture. Identified by their signature tattoos, members abided by the thieves` code, a strict system that forbade all paid employment & cooperation with law enforcement & the state. Based on two decades of on-the-ground research, Galeotti`s captivating study details the vory`s journey to power from their early days to their adaptation to modern-day Russia`s free-wheeling oligarchy & global opportunities beyond. ...

Frank Delage, a middle-aged Australian, arrives in Vienna with the most daring of propositions. He has invented a revolutionary piano & means to market it to the grand old world of classical music. A chance meeting with one Amalia von Schalla brings new possibilities
- a soiree, an introduction to her daughter Elisabeth, dinner with an avant-garde composer. But when the sheer audacity of his campaign dawns on him, he takes a slow boat home to the southern hemisphere. As it meanders through the Mediterranean & the Suez Canal, he is afforded ample time to reflect on tensions between the old world & the new. &, for all his travails, he is not going home empty-handed...
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The Voyage of the Beagle by James Taylor brings together, for the first time in a single volume, the circumstances that set the Beagle voyage in motion & the characters who circumnavigated the world together. Chapters include the career history of the Beagle, including cabin layouts & plans, biographies on Darwin & Captain Robert Fitzroy, & the work of the crewmembers & artists who accompanied the survey voyage. Beautifully illustrated with artworks, sketches & charts that were produced during & after the voyage by those onboard, & enriched with first-hand accounts from personal diaries & letters, James Taylor has woven together all the various strands of the Beagle story to produce a thoroughly engaging & highly informative read, which will appeal to scientists, art lovers, maritime historians, & anyone with a sense of adventure. ...

The Beagle has become synonymous with Charles Darwin & his groundbreaking title On the Origin of Species. But how did Darwin come to be on board? Now reissued in paperback, in a single volume all the various strands of the Beagle story have been woven together to reveal the circumstances that set the expedition in motion & the characters who circumnavigated the world together. Enriched with first-hand commentary from personal letters & diaries, & the official narrative of the voyage, as well as artworks, sketches & charts produced by the shipboard artists & surveyors, James Taylor has produced a thoroughly engaging & informative account that will appeal to historians, scientists, art lovers, & anyone with a sense of adventure. ...

` Gentlemen-` Fitzmaurice`s eyes gleamed & he revealed many teeth `-- lace up your stoutest boots & pack your warmest underwear -- we`re all off to the bloody Arctic!` It is Dublin in the spring of 1916: while war rages across Europe & rebellion threatens the Irish capital, three young College friends embark on a foolhardy seafaring mission to find the lost skeleton of an Irish giant. With mishaps, mischief, & a little romance, their voyage is a hilarious odyssey round the edges of history & into a curious, wonderful adventure that will change their lives forever. Ernest Shackleton meets P.G. Wodehouse in this heart-warming tale of three men in a ship (to say nothing of the dog, a foul-mouthed Scotsman & an iguana...) By the author of Jammy Dodger, nominated for the 2013 Desmond Elliott Prize for new fiction ...

Captain James Cook is probably the most famous explorer of all time, & not without good reason. The three Pacific voyages of discovery he made between 1768 & 1779 set new standards in navigation, surveying & shipboard health; & he discovered & charted numerous lands, resulting in lasting trade & the development of British interests abroad. The interest & influence of the Royal Society in the expeditions meant that a group of scientists & artists accompanied Cook & his crew to record the people & places that they encountered. In turn, the samples they collected & catalogued, & the paintings & drawings they made not only advanced the botanical & natural sciences, but left us with a vivid visual reminder of those voyages. Many books have been written on the subject of Cook`s voyages & his maritime career, but this is the first to approach them from the point of view of the reader with a healthy curiosity rather than a scholarly interest. Similarly, for someone who has been been inspired & intrigued by a visit to the Endeavour replica, or to one of the many museums devoted to Captain Cook, this is a concise & readable guide that pulls out the key questions & provides clear, engaging answers, detailing essential information on the many aspects of Cook`s voyages. The 101 Questions & Answers structure is an ideal format for dealing with such diverse yet frequently-asked questions as: How many ships took part in the voyages? What were their names? What is a collier? What were Cook`s secret instructions? Did Cook discover Antarctica? Who said ” Ne plus ultra”? Where did Cook learn his surveying techniques? What was the transit of Venus? How did they measure longitude? Which voyage did the artist William Hodges accompany Captain Cook on? What is breadfruit? All these questions & many more are answered simply & accurately, employing contemporary paintings, charts & other images to illustrate each point where necessary. ...

` Tim & I both understood we had done something really stupid. We had underestimated the danger involved in going out to sea. We had no radio, compass, life raft or flares. In other words, we were a couple of idiots.` This is the story of Shane & Timothy Spall & their Dutch barge The Princess Matilda. After a summer on the Thames they head out to sea with only a road atlas & a vast amount of ignorance
- & it is absolutely terrifying! On their travels, memories are triggered of childhood trips to the seaside, but also of more recent times. A decade before, Tim had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia & was given only days to live. Shocked at how life can pass you by they decided that when, & if, Tim got better, they would buy a boat. As Tim & Shane explore the coast from the Medway to Cornwall, eventually they start to wonder, could they make it out of England altogether? Could Matilda make it to... Wales? Taking over five years, ” The Voyages of The Princess Matilda” is a minor epic, charting a very personal, moving & uplifting story of an everyday couple`s adventure around their much loved homel&. It is a winner of the British Travel Press` Narrative Travel Book of the Year Award.
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On January 7, 1980, in the run-up to the publication of Thy Neighbor`s Wife, Gay Talese received an anonymous letter from a man in Colorado. ` Since learning of your long awaited study of coast-to-coast sex in America, ` the letter began, `I feel I have important information that I could contribute to its contents or to contents of a future book.` The man went on to tell Talese a remarkable, shocking secret, so compelling that Talese travelled to Colorado to verify it in person. But because the letter-writer insisted on remaining anonymous, Talese filed his reporting away, certain the story would remain untold. Over the next thirty-five years, the man occasionally reached out to Talese to fill him in on the latest developments in his life, but he continued to insist on anonymity. Finally, after thirty-five years, he`s ready to go public. In the tradition of Thy Neighbor`s Wife, Talese`s landmark, best-selling exploration of the sexual revolution in America, this will be a provocative, eye-opening & much-talked-about book. ...

True to the `positive eating, positive living` ethos of Wagamama`s idiosyncratic chain of noodle restaurants, this official collection of recipes shares the secret of the hallmark culinary minimalism that has won it instant cult status worldwide. The distinctive Wagamama flavour originates from the traditional 200-year-old ramen (noodle) shops of Japan which guarantee nourishment with ingredients that cleanse & nurture the mind & body. Suitable for meat-eaters, seafood lovers & vegetarians alike, the 120 recipes have been specially created by the people behind Wagamama`s unique house style & concentrate on cooking fresh, quality ingredients in a way that retains maximum flavour & nutrition. With mouth-watering recipes for appetisers & side dishes, hearty soups & stir-fries, & exotic sweet-rice desserts & juices, plus hints & tips on ingredients, equipment, cooking techniques & structuring a meal, this unique collection means that the stylish Wagamama experience is now yours to take home. Whether you want to impress the health-conscious dinner guest or simply feed family & friends good, wholesome meals, this book means that you can recreate the best of Japanese cooking with a selection of absolutely simply delicious, low-fat, one-pot meals which are easy on your time & budget as well as your waistline. ...

The Wainwright Companion is a fully illustrated collection of fascinating facts, statistics, trivia & opinion based on A Wainwright`s legendary guidebooks to the English Lake District. Which fell has most waterfalls? The longest ridges? The roughest ascent? The best views? The wettest path? The only ascent description that starts with a descent? & what did AW ever do for the Romans? All these questions & hundreds more are answered in this `book about the books`
- the seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells & their companion, The Outlying Fells of Lakel&.
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