When St Patrick came to Ireland in the 5th century AD he encountered the Celtic people & a flourishing spiritual tradition that had already existed for thousands of years. He also discovered that where the Christians worshipped one God the Celts had many & found divinity all around them: in the rivers hills sea & sky. The ancient Celtic reverence for the spirit in all things survives today
- a vibrant legacy of mystical wisdom that is unique in the Western world. Now in this exquisite book Irish poet & schollar John O' Donohue shares with us the secrets of this ancient world. Using authentic Irish prayers & blessings he reveals the treasures that lie hidden within your own soul & the 'secret divinity' in your relationships. As he traces the cycles of life & nature he draws from the holy waters of Ireland's spiritual heritage to lead you to a place where your heart can be healed & nourished. It is a place wher you will disocer your own anam cara your true 'soul friend'.
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Poor Anancy & rich Mr Dry-Bone both want to marry Miss Louise but she wants to marry the man who can make her laugh. She does not laugh at Mr Dry-Bones conjuring tricks & acrobatics so Anancy decides to ask the animals for help in winning her over. A delightful story based on characters from traditional Caribbean & West African folk-tales with vibrant illustrations. ...

This book is one of six Ladybird re-tellings of Favourite Tales from South East Asia". This story comes from Malaysia & has been adapted to become part of Ladybirds well-loved " Favourite Tales" series. This title was specifically produced with the export market in mind although all children will find enjoyment in this old legend." ...

Bursting with the imaginative power of Neil Gaiman this story blends fantasy with humour & drama. Fat Charlie Nancy is not actually fat. He was fat once but he is definitely not fat now. No right now Fat Charlie Nancy is angry confused & more than a little scared
- right now his life is spinning out of control & it is all his dads fault. If his rotter of an estranged father hadnt dropped dead at a karaoke night Charlie would still be blissfully unaware that his dad was Anansi the spider god. He would have no idea that he has a brother called Spider who is also a god. & there would be no chance that said brother would be trying to take over his life flat & fiancee or to make matters worse be doing a much better job of it than him. Desperate to reclaim his life Charlie enlists the help of four more-than-slightly eccentric old ladies & their unique brand of voodoo
- & between them they unleash a bitter & twisted force to get rid of Spider. But as darkness descends & badness begins is Fat Charlie Nancy going to get his life back in one piece or is he about to enter a whole netherworld of pain?

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Sent on leave after his last brutal case Max Camara returns to his home town in La Mancha famous for producing the finest saffron in the world. There the past keeps pulling at him. The town is exhuming a mass grave from the Civil War but why is his grandfather behaving so strangely? His old friend Yago is investigating a particularly nasty murder which sets off memories Max has been trying to bury for years. & then there are Yago's whisperings about a saffron mafia... Max finds himself plunged into the thick of a complex & intensely personal case that will put him in severe danger & have him questioning his past
- & his future in the police.
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When a blind retired dentist is run down by a logging truck as he crosses the road to post a letter Dr Siri Paiboun official & only coroner of Laos finds himself faced with his most explosive case yet. The dentist's mortal remains aren't nearly as intriguing as the letter in his pocket. Written in invisible ink & encrypted the letter presents Dr Siri with an irresistible challenge. Enlisting the help of his old friend Civilai now a senior member of the Laos politburo; Nurse Dtui (' Fatty'); Phosy a police officer; & Aunt Bpoo a transvestite fortune-teller Dr Siri soon finds himself on the trail of an international plot to overthrow the government of Laos. ...

In December 1976 a coach drove off down a London street. On board were the Sex Pistols The Clash The Heartbreakers & their respective management while The Damned who were also on the bill were travelling separately. The Anarchy in the UK Tour should have been just another rock n roll tour & surely would have been had it not been for the Sex Pistols anarchic antics on the Today show two days earlier. What should have been an inconsequential three-minute interview to hopefully plug the new single & the accompanying promotional tour descended into farce when the shows host Bill Grundy goaded the Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones into saying something outrageous? Author Mick O Shea has interviewed members of the bands involved managers roadies & audience members to tell the story of why this was such an important tour. Explains why many local councils banned the tour resulting in only seven out of a scheduled twenty gigs taking place. One London councilor stated: Most of these groups would be vastly enhanced by sudden death" The book is also an examination of punk rocks impact on the nation in the Seventies. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs & memorabilia." ...

This is the latest magnificent creation from the award-winning author of Cryptonomicon & the Baroque Cycle" trilogy. Erasmas ' Raz' is a young avout living in the Concent a sanctuary for mathematicians scientists & philosophers. Three times during history's darkest epochs violence has invaded & devastated the cloistered community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe. But they now prepare to open the Concent's gates to the outside world in celebration of a once-a-decade rite. Suddenly Erasmas finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world
- as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous inhospitable corners of the planet...and beyond."
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Anatomies by Hugh Aldersey-Williams author of Sunday Times bestseller Periodic Tales is a splendidly entertaining journey through the art science literature & history of the human body. Magnificent inspired. He writes like a latter-day Montaigne. Stimulating scientific hypotheses bold philosophic theories illuminating"ations & curious facts. I recommend it to all". (Telegraph). " Splendid highly entertaining chock-full of insights.. . It inserts fascinating scientific snippets & anecdotes about our organs into the wider history of our changing understanding of our bodies". (Sunday Times). "A relentlessly entertaining cultural history of the human body.. .brims with fascinating details infectious enthusiasm.. .the terrain he covers is so richly brought to life". (Guardian). " Elegant & informative... For Aldersey-Williams [the body] is a thing of wonder & a repository of fascinating facts". (Mail on Sunday). It is the most fraught & fascinating talked-about & taboo unique yet universal aspect of our lives. It is the inspiration for art the subject of science & the source of some of the greatest stories ever told. It is our most intimate ally against the world provider of all pleasurable sensations the repository of all we feel & know. & yet what a source of puzzlement & worry the body is: a home we never chose a facade that we continually disguise a protector that we know will fail us in the end. Until we fall ill most of us take this extraordinarily complicated collection of flesh bones & fluids entirely for granted. But from ancient body art to plastic surgery from early anatomists to conceptual artists grave-robbers to bionic athletes our changing attitudes to the human body
- how it works what it should look like how to live with it what it means
- tell us more about ourselves than almost any other subject in human history. Blending history science art literature & the everyday one of our finest science writers investigates this most marvellous & mysterious of creations. The result is a treasure trove of surprising facts remarkable stories & startling information that encompasses everything from the first finger-printing to the physiology of angels from synaesthesia to the clown-egg register from the death-mask of Isaac Newton to the afterlife of Einstein's brain. Praise for Periodic Tales: " Science writing at its best.. .fascinating & beautiful.. .if only chemistry had been like this at school.. .to meander through the periodic table with him.. .is like going round a zoo with Gerald Durrell.. .a rich compilation of delicious tales but it offers greater rewards too". (Matt Ridley). " Immensely engaging & continually makes one sit up in -surprise". (Sunday Times). " Splendid.. .enjoyable & polished". (Observer). " Full of good stories & he knows how to tell them well.. .an agreeable jumble of anecdote reflection & information". (Sunday Telegraph). " Great fun to read & an endless fund of unlikely & improbable anecdotes.. .sharp & often witty". (Financial Times). Hugh Aldersey-Williams studied natural sciences at Cambridge. He is the author of several books exploring science design & architecture & has curated exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum & the Wellcome Collection. His previous book Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements was a Sunday Times bestseller & has been published in many languages around the world. He lives in Norfolk with his wife & son."

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Strongly recommended The Dancing Times Injury in dance is often not an accident but a fault in technique that has not been identified at an early stage or a variation in physique where the implications have not yet been understood. Appropriate treatment is vital & not always easy to find. Now in its 4th edition this is an essential guide to dance techniques injury prevention & treatment focusing on the five main areas: anatomy & physiology general injuries specific injuries; their cause & treatment; strengthening exercises; technical faults & anatomical variations. This latest edition is completely redesigned & contains colour photographs throughout. There is also a new section covering the latest physiotherapy treatment. ...