The beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. But when medical examiner Maura Isles looks down at the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens its eyes. Now very much alive, the woman is rushed to the hospital, where she murders a security guard & seizes hostages, one of whom is the heavily pregnant homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. But who is this woman, & what does she want? Only Jane can solve the mystery
- if she survives the night.
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From Norman Davies, the acclaimed author of ” Europe: A History”, comes the magical history of Europe`s lost realms, selected as a Book of the Year by the ” Sunday Times”, ” Daily Telegraph”, ” New Statesman”, ” Independent”, ” Guardian” & ” Financial Times”. Europe`s history is littered with kingdoms, duchies, empires & republics which have now disappeared but which were once fixtures on the map of their age. What happened to the once-great Mediterranean ` Empire of Aragon`? Where did the half-forgotten kingdoms of Burgundy go? Which current nations will one day become a distant memory too? This original & enthralling book peers through the cracks of history to discover the stories of lost realms across the centuries. ” Dazzling, provocative & brilliant”. (Dominic Sandbrook, ” Sunday Times”, Books of the Year). ”A luminous account.. .there are few better ways of understanding the multilayered splendours & horrors of Europe`s past than through the pages of this wise, humane & unfailingly engaging book”. (John Adamson, ” Sunday Telegraph”). ”” Vanished Kingdoms” is great history & also great art. It is written with verve, passion & profound empathy”. (David Marqu&, ” New Statesman”, Books of the Year). ”A magnificent achievement. Brocaded with scholarship, the book is unlikely ever to be equalled”. (Ian Thomson, ” Independent”). ...

In this new book he turns to one of nature's most fundamental survival techniques: the vanishing act. He shows animals & insects relying on deception, disguises, lures & decoys to disappear into their surroundings, confusing the eye of the predator. Nothing is as it appears to be, a lion blends into the tall grass; a harp seal disappears against his snowy backdrop. Pastel orchids suddenly morph into praying mantises; lizard heads become tails. What at first looks to be a torn & rotting leaf in a Peruvian forest floor suddenly sprouts legs & starts walking: it is a leaf-mimic katydid. Spotting each cryptic animal amid Wolfe's clever compositions is both a fun & informative challenge. As many species are performing permanent vanishing acts due to habitat loss & human encroachment, this book showcases the beauty & evolutionary brilliance of animal behavior & artfully illustrates the tenacious will to stay alive in an eat-or-be-eaten world. ...

This book represents months of work of planning & in the field, but above all it is a tribute to the eternal beauty of Africa; the photographs & text 'steal' from the peoples of the Omo a fragment of their mystery & truth. But with delicacy & respect. By examining a small region in the heart of the continent, the books attempts to trace the roots of remotest Africa; the cradle of man, where ancestral bonds with nature still exist. It is a place where the link with the dark side of existence is not hidden, as happens in the West, but exhibited. By means of his camera & his pen, in this book the author has encapsulated long years of study of the most interesting peoples & ethnic groups in Africa. Centered around a series of extraordinary photographs, the book is a sort of reportage from the edge of the world, in search of vanishing Africa. ...

A mixture of travelogue & personal narrative, James Conaway`s smart, informative essays offer an insightful depiction of his journeys between Washington, D.C., & Big Sur, California, as he tries to understand what has become of the places, people, & traditions that were once so precious but have now been irreparably changed. Incorporating the voices of cowboys, real estate agents, activists, & many others, he raises vital questions about the merits of sprawling development & the ever-increasing use of resources in the name of ”progress.” He urges us to consider the value of preservation in our growth-driven culture, as well as the ramifications of prosperity on the places important to our national identity. ...

Vanishing Ireland is a unique collection of portrait interviews looking at the dying ways & traditions of Irish life & taking us back to an Ireland virtually unrecognisable to today`s post-boom generation. Illustrated with over a hundred evocative & stunning photographs, we meet the people & customs that shaped the cultural identity of the Irish nation. Through their own words & memories, sixty-four men & women transport us back to a time when people lived off the land & the sea, when music & storytelling were essential parts of life, when a person was defined by their trade. Divided into five parts
- Children of the Field, Children of the Music, Children of the Horse, Children of the Trade & Children of the Water
- Vanishing Ireland brings together the stories of those who lived through Ireland`s formative years. We hear of children harassed by the Black & Tans, of ceilis in kitchens, & the rigours of working in the fields, of the wonder of electricity & the devastation of emigration. From coalminers to saddlers, farmers to fishermen, along with horse dealers, publicans, housemaids & musicians
- these remarkably poignant interviews & photographs, in their simplicity & honesty, will make you laugh & cry but, above all, will provide a valuable chronicle that connects twenty-first century Ireland to a rapidly disappearing world.


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The ancient Namib is the only desert on Earth where a small population of desert-adapted lions occurs. Remarkably, these unique lions continued to survived along Namibia`s Skeleton Coast, but until 20 years ago were merely phantoms
- elusive & seldom seen
- & then believed to have become extinct. In 1997 scientist Dr. Philip Stander discovered a small pride of survivors in the heart of the desert & began to study the lions: work that has become a lifelong commitment. He has been able to unfold the secrets of these highly adaptive big cats, who seemed to thrive in this harsh environment.

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` Agatha Christie for kids`
- the third in a detective agency series brimming with mystery & magic by million-copy-selling author,
...

With its untamed landscapes & unsurpassed bounty of wildlife, Africa has long fascinated us. Stanley & Livingstone tackled its manifold challenges, Karen Blixen made it her home & wrote about it in Out of Africa, & Ernest Hemingway's African adventures inspired much of his writing. At a time when our earth's fragile balance is in jeopardy, Africa is a more precious natural commodity than ever before. This stunning volume introduces readers to the rich & varied ecosystems of Africa through specially commissioned photographs that depict its diverse wildlife refuges & nature sanctuaries. Spectacular, large-scale colour photographs bring to life the pink flamingos of Nakuru Lake, the hippopotami of the Niger River, & the last remaining virgin forest, in Odzala in Congo, demonstrating the awe-inspiring beauty & inestimable significance of eco-regions across Africa. ...

If we consider Europe & Asia as two distinct continents, then there are seven continents in all, scattered across Earth. In fifth place, in size order, is Antarctica. For centuries it went unnoticed; humankind took little note of its existence until the beginning of the 19th century. It had long been Terra Incognita Australis: The Great Unknown Southern L&, situated somewhere in the Western Ocean. It was uninhabited by any native populations; it was visited by very few mariners or explorers. It remind, for the most part, a virgin continent, not corrupted. The Antarctic environment is of extraordinary beauty & biological differentiation: flora & fauna have developed interesting strategies to counteract harsh conditions. It`s a world of extremes, cruel pitiless, where many species have to fight hard to survive. In this volume of heroic reportage, Colin Monteath, a renowned writer, photographer & specialist on Antarctica presents the mysteries of the Forgotten Continent. In an outstanding achievement, Monteath took magnificent photographs in temperatures of -40C, in winds that reached 95 mph (150km/h). ...