In The Sleepwalkers" acclaimed historian & author of " Iron Kingdom" Christopher Clark examines the causes of the First World War. The moments that it took Gavrilo Princip to step forward to the stalled car & shoot dead Franz Ferdinand & his wife were perhaps the most fateful of the modern era. An act of terrorism of staggering efficiency it fulfilled its every aim: it would liberate Bosnia from Habsburg rule & it created a powerful new Serbia but it also brought down four great empires killed millions of men & destroyed a civilization. What made a seemingly prosperous & complacent Europe so vulnerable to the impact of this assassination? In " The Sleepwalkers" Christopher Clark retells the story of the outbreak of the First World War & its causes. Drawing on many fresh new sources this account reveals a Europe very different from the familiar picture putting Serbia & the Balkans at the centre of the story. Starting with the brutal assassination of Alexander I of Serbia in 1903 Clark shows how far from being the place of enviable stability it appears to us Europe was racked by chronic problems: a multipolar fractured multicultural world of clashing ideals terrorism militancy & instability which was fatefully saddled with a conspicuously ineffectual set of political leaders. He shows how the rulers of Europe who prided themselves on their modernity & rationalism behaved like sleepwalkers stumbling through crisis after crisis & finally convincing themselves that war was the only answer. Reviews: " Formidable.. .one of the most impressive & stimulating studies of the period ever published". (Max Hastings " Sunday Times"). " The arguments [ Clark] sets out in this quite superb account of the causes of the First World War are so compelling that they effectively consign the old historical consensus to the bin.. .a masterpiece. Its not often that one has the privilege of reading a book that reforges our understanding of one of the seminal events of world history". (" Mail Online"). "A brilliant contribution". (" Times Higher Education"). " Clark is fully alive to the challenges of the subject. Planting himself at the contingent end of the spectrum he prefers to establish how the war happened rather than to explain why by means of hindsight... It is a refreshing approach. He provides vivid portraits of leading figures...[ He] also gives a rich sense of what contemporaries believed was at stake in the crises leading up to the war". (" Irish Times"). About the author: Christopher Clark is Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge & a Fellow of St Catharines College. He is the author of " The Politics of Conversion" " Kaiser Wilhelm II" & " Iron Kingdom". Widely praised around the world " Iron Kingdom" became a major bestseller. He has been awarded the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany." ...

If it weren't for the nightmares Ben would say he had a good life. He's happy with his steady job; he loves his wife & kids. But it's hard to ignore the dark violent images that are so vivid that he often worries that the dreams are real. Toby also suffers from nightmares. & the scars on his fifteen-year-old body are a ghostly reminder of actions he doesn't remember or underst&. Two people two separate unremarkable lives. But when their dreams & doubts collide & become too powerful to ignore one fact will become clearer than any other
- that the truth they are running towards is the very thing from which they should be fleeing.
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The pacy sensitive & formidably argued history of the causes of the First World War from acclaimed historian & author Christopher Clark. Sunday Times & Independent Books Of The Year 2012. The moments that it took Gavrilo Princip to step forward to the stalled car & shoot dead Franz Ferdinand & his wife were perhaps the most fateful of the modern era. An act of terrorism of staggering efficiency it fulfilled its every aim: it would liberate Bosnia from Habsburg rule & it created a powerful new Serbia but it also brought down four great empires killed millions of men & destroyed a civilization. What made a seemingly prosperous & complacent Europe so vulnerable to the impact of this assassination? In The Sleepwalkers Christopher Clark retells the story of the outbreak of the First World War & its causes. Above all it shows how the failure to understand the seriousness of the chaotic near genocidal fighting in the Balkans would drag Europe into catastrophe. Reviews: Formidable.. .one of the most impressive & stimulating studies of the period ever published". (Max Hastings Sunday Times). " Easily the best book ever written on the subject...A work of rare beauty that combines meticulous research with sensitive analysis & elegant prose. The enormous weight of its quality inspires amazement & awe... Academics should take note: Good history can still be a good story". (Washington Post). "A lovingly researched work of the highest scholarship. It is hard to believe we will ever see a better narrative of what was perhaps the biggest collective blunder in the history of international relations". (Niall Ferguson). "[ Reading The Sleepwalkers] it is as if a light had been turned on a half-darkened stage of shadowy characters cursing among themselves without reason...[ Clark] demolishes the standard view... The brilliance of Clark's far-reaching history is that we are able to discern how the past was genuinely prologue... In conception steely scholarship & piercing insights his book is a masterpiece". (Harold Evans New York Times Book Review). " Impeccably researched provocatively argued & elegantly written.. .a model of scholarship". (Sunday Times Books of the Year). " Superb.. .effectively consigns the old historical consensus to the bin... It's not often that one has the privilege of reading a book that reforges our understanding of one of the seminal events of world history". (Mail Online). "A monumental new volume... Revelatory even revolutionary... Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable". (Boston Globe). "superb... One of the great mysteries of history is how Europe's great powers could have stumbled into World War I... This is the single best book I have read on this important topic". (Fareed Zakaria). "A meticulously researched superbly organized & handsomely written account Military History Clark is a masterly historian... His account vividly reconstructs key decision points while deftly sketching the context driving them...A magisterial work". (Wall Street Journal). " This compelling examination of the causes of World War I deserves to become the new standard one-volume account of that contentious subject". (Foreign Affairs). "A brilliant contribution". (Times Higher Education). " Clark is fully alive to the challenges of the subject... He provides vivid portraits of leading figures...[ He] also gives a rich sense of what contemporaries believed was at stake in the crises leading up to the war". (Irish Times). " In recent decades many analysts had tended to put most blame for the disaster [of the First World War] on Germany. Clark strongly renews an older interpretation which sees the statesmen of many countries as blundering blindly together into war". (Stephen Howe Independent Books of the Year). About the author: Christopher Clark is Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge & a Fellow of St Catharine's College. He is the author of The Politics of Conversion " ...

Find out what makes baby snooze & slumber in this gorgeous new title from Usborne's popular & expanding touchy-feely series for babies & toddlers. Catherine Mac Kinnon's delightful pastel illustrations combine with appealing text & the softest of touchy-feely textures on every spread to make this book a delight that's sure to be enjoyed again & again. The tactile touch-feely textures familiar nursery characters & simple words ensure that this book will appeal to every baby toddler & parent. ...

Three little kittens arent sleepy at all! One wants to jump another wants to play & the last wants a bite to eat. But after Mama Cat brushes their fur gives them some milk & sings them a lullaby one two three little kittens drift off to sleep. With gentle rhythmic verse little ones will love to snuggle up with these soft cozy kitties at bedtime. The book Sleepy Kittens is read aloud in a pivotal emotional scene of the animated movie Despicable Me. Our board book will include adorable fuzzy kitten finger puppets! ...

Its rare for a young woman to die from a stroke & when three such deaths occur in short order it starts to look like an epidemic. Then a sharp pathologist notices traces of benzodiazepine in one of the victims blood samples & just traceable damage to the ligaments in her neck & their cause of death is changed from natural to murder. The police arent making much progress in their hunt for the killer until he appears to make a mistake: Alison Willetts is found alive & D.I. Tom Thorne believes the murderer has made a mistake which ought to allow them to get on his tracks. But it was the others who were his mistakes: he doesnt want to take life he just wants to put people into a state where they cannot move cannot talk cannot do anything but think. When Thorne helped by the neurologist looking after Alison starts to realise what he is up against he knows the case is not going to be solved by normal methods
- before he can find out who did it he has to understand why hes doing it.
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A WOMAN UNLUCKY TO BE ALIVE Alison Willetts has survived a stroke deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head & neck. She can see hear & feel but she is completely unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison Willetts alive the police believe the killer's made his first mistake. A KILLER UNLIKE ANY OTHER Then DI Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth: it isn't Alison who is the mistake it's the three women already dead. A COP'S WORST NIGHTMARE Thorne must find a killer whose agenda is disturbingly unique & Alison the one person who holds the key to the killer's identity is unable to say anything.. . ...

What can magic tell us about ourselves & our daily lives? If you subtly change the subject during an uncomfortable conversation did you know youre using attentional misdirection a core technique of magic? & if youve ever bought an expensive item youd sworn never to buy you were probably unaware that the salesperson was like an accomplished magician a master at creating the illusion of choice. Leading neuroscientists Stephen Macknik & Susana Martinez-Conde meet with magicians from all over the world to explain how the magicians art sheds light on consciousness memory attention & belief. As the founders of the new discipline of Neuro Magic they combine cutting-edge scientific research with startling insights into the tricks of the magic trade. By understanding how magic manipulates the processes in our brains we can better understand how we work
- in fields from law & education to marketing health & psychology
- for good & for ill.

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This book offers a new look at maths without the Boring Bits.. . How many trillions are there in a googol? Which fractions are vulgar? What famous mathematician refused to eat beans? & which one never travelled without his pet spider in an ivory box? Mathematical theorems & equations are inextricably entangled with the great & often eccentric thinkers who made breakthrough discoveries. Teacher & numbers expert Liz Strachan takes readers beyond the classroom combining anecdotes proofs & party tricks to reveal the foundations of algebra geometry & trigonometry in a clear & entertaining style. From the Difference Engine to magic squares & from the Fibonacci rabbits to Fermats Last Theorem this fascinating tour of the weird world of numbers imaginary real or infinite will appeal to anyone with an enquiring mind. ...

Nevil Shute was a power & a pioneer in the world of flying long before he began to write the stories that made him a bestselling novelist. This autobiography charts Shute's path from childhood to his career as a gifted aeronautical engineer working at the forefront of the technological experimentation of the 1920s & 30s. The inspiration for many of the themes & concerns of Shute's novels can be identified in this enjoyable & enlightening memoir. ...