The jet was a solid eighteen-inch column a pillar of brown mud & yellow gravel & sea water that beat against the steel plates of the hull with a hollow drumming roar. In the few seconds since the explosion the cyclone was already half-filled with a slimy shifting porridge that rushed from wall to wall with the movement of the ship. It was like some monstrous jellyfish which each second gathered weight & strength. The Van Der Byl Diamond Company willed by its founder to his son Benedict his sister Tracey & their estranged foster-brother Johnny Lance turns out to be a bequest of hatred. For it is couched in such terms as to offer Benedict the instrument of destruction of his bitterest rival. Destroy Johnny is the old mans implacable message. & so consumed with envy for Johnny Benedict sets out in ruthless pursuit of this goal -- & Johnny is plunged into a maelstrom of greed vengeance & murder.. . ...

I realized I was writing about getting sober about coming alive about claiming myself & uncovering these gifts that had been obscured by both outside & internal forces about this veil of confusion & dysfunction & addiction being peeled away bit by bit. Shawn Colvin had found her voice. From age ten Shawn Colvin was determined to make a life in music-a decision that influenced every choice she would make. In 1997 two decades after she started she got her big break. Like the troubled would-be arsonist & survivor of her smash hit Sunny Came Home" Colvin knows a thing or two about heartache
- & setting fires. " Diamond in the Rough" recounts this passionate young musicians coming
- of
- age from prairie small-town South Dakota to bar sets in Austin & New York City to the world stage at the Grammys. " Diamond in the Rough" captures her years touring cross-country in vans full of boys falling in & out of love; making music of all genres with lifelong friends; meeting heroes like Joni Mitchell; becoming addicted & staying sober weathering divorce & raising a daughter-and learning to channel those experiences into song. Through its pages we witness the maturation of a woman finding her voice & learning to care for a child as well as herself. With the rich lyricism wit frankness & deep empathy that have characterized her songs & inspired audiences worldwide Colvins memoir looks back over a rich lifetime of highs & lows with stunning insight & candor."


...

Neil Diamond is one of the worlds most successful singer-songwriters & solo performers. His songs are marked out by a combination of a deep sense of isolation & a desire for commitment & love at the same time. This unique poignant mixture has propelled him to the top of the charts world-wide & kept him there for generations of fans. This book covers his early career from being an NYU student writing songs for $50.00 each his first contract with Columbia Records first success with Sunday & Me" & then " Im A Believer" & "A Little Bit me a Little Bit You" sung by the Monkees then followed his own version of " Sweet Caroline" & " Song Song Blue". He has also dueted success fully with other artist including Barbara Streisand with " You Dont Bring Me Flowers Any More" & recently toured to great critical & public acclaim. Illustrated with all manner of mementos collectibles posters memorabilia this book features reviews a full discography producers & musicians & a narrative of Diamonds life drawn from exclusive interviews conducted by the author since 1976. The result is the most complete & captivating portrait of this incomparable artist ever to emerge one that both celebrates & reveals Neil Diamond as both a private man & superstar." ...

Earth is finally part of the Galactic Milieu. But the next step is to achieve Unity with other galactic races. To attain this higher state we must gather sufficient numbers of the metapsychically talented. However a rebel group want to keep Earth forever separate. & their covert supporter is Fury an unstable metapsychic entity with its own ruthless plans for humanity. Furys greatest threat now is Jack the Bodiless whose power it craves. But Jack wont be used. So the entity turns to Dorothea Macdonald a young woman whos been hiding her great powers from the Milieus best mind-readers. Yet she cant keep them from Fury
- or Jack. She rejects their advances suspicious of megalomaniacal dreams & galactic politics. But when Jacks brother Marc puts his schemes ahead of saving millions of lives Jack needs her. Because ultimately no one
- even the Galactic Milieu
- can match the powers of the girl theyll call Diamond Mask. Rich in intrigue & vibrating with creative energy Library Journal May has largely earned her impressive following which makes this book a virtually mandatory acquisition Booklist


...

With the flair for narrative & the meticulous research that readers have come to expect Andrew Marr turns his attention to the monarch & to the monarchy chronicling the Queens pivotal role at the centre of the state which is largely hidden from the public gaze & making a strong case for the institution itself. Arranged thematically rather than chronologically Marr dissects the Queens political relationships crucially those with her Prime Ministers; he examines her role as Head of the Commonwealth & her deep commitment to that Commonwealth of nations; he looks at the drastic changes in the media since her accession in 1952 & how the monarchy & the monarch have had to change & adapt as a result. Indeed he argues that under her watchful eye the monarchy has been thoroughly modernized & made as fit for purpose in the twenty-first century as it was when she came to the throne & a new Elizabethan age was ushered in. ...

Hatton Garden is one of the most secret streets in England home for two centuries to a deeply private working community of diamond & jewellery dealers. Intimately connected to the area both personally (her family run a jewellery business there) & professionally (as an artist archivist of London's streets) Rachel Lichtenstein is uniquely placed to explore the extraordinary history of this mysterious quarter with its ancient burial sites diamond workshops underground vaults subterranean rivers monastic dynasties & forgotten palaces. Moving beyond the street itself into parts of Clerkenwell Holborn & Farringdon Rachel follows the ancient perimeter of the original Hatton Garden estate which once bordered the lost River Fleet. Guided on her walks by archaeologists sewer flushers artists goldsmiths geologists & visionaries of the city such as Iain Sinclair she crosses the same territory repeatedly gathering new layers of the story with each journey. The result is a brilliantly immersive & multi-layered portrait; both a documentary & a secret history of a vanishing world. ...

Diamond Street is Rachel Lichtenstein's fascinating account of London's Hatton Garden. Enter Hatton Garden one of London's most mysterious streets. Home to ancient burial sites diamond workshops underground vaults monastic dynasties subterranean rivers & forgotten palaces. Here you'll meet sewer flushers artists goldsmiths geologists & visionaries as Rachel Lichtenstein uncovers the history secrets & stories that bring this vibrant Clerkenwell street & its environs to life. Praise for Diamond Street: Diamond Street is a brilliant & moving book intricate in its form & fabulous in its curiosity. It is poised somewhere between deep history archaeological dig archive-quest & contemporary documentary & it is suffused throughout with Rachel Lichtenstein's fascination with people & place
- a fascination which approaches a moral quality really in its tenderness diligence & cultural openness". (Robert Macfarlane author of The Old Ways). " Fascinating. The great joy of Lichtenstein's books is that she encourages us to look again at the places we take for granted". (Daily Telegraph). " Vivid & amusing containing so many sparkling things elegantly organized. Lichtenstein consulted a whole gang of glorious characters collecting tales history & lore on her way. An overwhelming trove of stories with a multiplicity of facets to intrigue". (Observer). " Engrossing a superb oral historian. Lichtenstein proves to be an indefatigable explorer". (Sunday Times). " Lichtenstein is an artist writer local historian & archivist & her multi-faceted approach makes fascinating reading. She makes us look with a fresh eye at familiar urban spaces". (Independent on Sunday). " Lichtenstein has brought alive something of London.. .how one street can be a kind of Tardis a portal to another world of parallel commerce codes rituals history. A heartfelt book full of curiosity & love". (The Times). "A lively & rewarding addition to the capital's rich history". (Independent). Rachel Lichtenstein is an artist & writer. She is the co-author with Iain Sinclair of Rodinsky's Room & the author most recently of On Brick Lane."
...

New cover reissue of Book One of the classic ELENIUM series introducing the Pandion Knight Sparhawk & his horse Faron a sleeping queen & a jewel that can save her! After a long spell of exile Sparhawk Pandion Knight & the Queens champion returns to his native land to find it overrun with evil & intrigue -- & his young Queen grievously ill. Indeed Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year. But as Sparhawk & his allies -- who include Sephrenia the ageless sorceress & Flute the strange & powerful girl-child -- seek to save Ehlana & the land they discover that the evil is even greater & more pervasive than they feared! Truly a gem of epic fantasy from the modern master of the genre THE DIAMOND THRONE is a must for Eddings fans -- & an excellent introduction for those who have yet to discover the delights of his work. ...

From the New York Times" bestselling author of the critically acclaimed " Admiral Morgan" series comes a topical provocative military thriller which marks the start of a brand new series starring Navy SEAL Mack Bedford. When Navy SEAL Mack Bedfords fellow officers are brutally killed by Iraqi insurgents using a cruel new anti-tank Diamondhead missile Mack avenges their murders by gunning down the then-unarmed attackers ultimately getting himself court-martialed & kicked out of the Navy in the process. To make matters worse Mack then learns that the Diamondhead missiles were sold illegally by French industrialist & infamous politician Henri Foche. Mack suspects that Foche will succeed in his campaign to become the next French president & fears that his election will promote the spread of international terrorism. In addition Mack has a gravely ill son whose life can only be saved with an experimental & unaffordable foreign medical procedure. So when Mack is asked to help assassinate Henri Foche he finds himself agreeing. His reward: a chance at survival for both his son & the country. But before Mack can reach Foche a jilted mercenary group warns the Frenchman of the threat greatly increasing the difficulty of Macks solo assassination attempt. Can Mack track down & murder the French tyrant as he has been commissioned to do? Does he have the power to restore his reputation as a Navy SEAL? & will he be able to save his waning son before its too late?" ...

Diamonds is the leading guide of its kind to learning about these precious gems & understanding the main factors that determine their value & quality. Whether coming to diamonds for the first time or already knowledgeable in the field every reader will find something of interest & value in its pages. A unique feature of the book is the chapter dedicated to natural colour diamonds with descriptions & illustrations of every colour group. While colour diamonds are an increasingly important part of the diamond trade there is little information about them in the popular literature & their full treatment here has received much praise from readers. The story of diamonds is told from their humble origins in the form of carbon the most basic element of life through their many transformations by the forces of nature & the human hand on their way to becoming beautiful gems. The book is equally informative about the recent history of diamonds & the forces re-shaping the industry today including the global shifts in centres of production & distribution the implementing of international ethical standards within the trade & the emerging roles of China India & Russia as major players in the diamond market. In expanding the books international reach through its translation into six languages the author aims to promote the highest standards of good practice in the diamond industry to a wider audience. Diamonds is designed with equal attention to the text written in clear & jargon-free language & the images which show diamonds in their full range of cuts shapes & colours along with some of the worlds most stunning contemporary & historic diamonds. ...