In the Florida Everglades gator-park Swamplandia! is in trouble. Its star performer the great beauty & champion alligator-wrestler Hilola Bigtree has succumbed to cancer & Ava her resourceful but terrified 13-year-old daughter is left in charge with her two siblings. But Avas sister has embarked on a romantic relationship with a ghost her brother has defected to a rival theme park & her father is AWOL. & then a mysterious figure called Bird Man guides Ava into a perilous part of the swamp called the Underworld promsing he can save both her sister & the park... Swamplandia! was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize & shortlisted for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. ...

Of more than 8 000 bird species the swan is surely one of the most easily recognised. Airborne the swan is a majestic sight: with its long slender neck outstretched it glides gracefully with slow strong wing-beats. Its large webbed feet & short legs which make it awkward on land propel it serenely & effortlessly through water. Swan" is a comprehensive natural & cultural history of this most dignified of birds. Peter Young relates the natural history of the swan: its elegant exterior concealing a lightweight frame; details of extinct species & the differences between the 8 surviving species; its power & endurance; its formation flying which conserves energy & allows long-haul flights to be made at speed; its habitat & feeding habits. He also explores the extensive cultural history of the swan from its frequent portrayal in painting sculpture porcelain & furniture; to its use in heraldry; the Greek myth of Leda & the Swan; & Hans Christian Andersen's " The Ugly Duckling" & " Swan Lake". The book goes on to examine the uses & abuses of swans; questions of conservation; of the swan as food; & its widespread use in logos & br&-names. Informed yet accessible wide-ranging yet detailed " Swan" will appeal to the wide audience interested in this graceful & beautiful bird." ...

Romance & adventure combine in a breathtaking reworking of a classic fairy tale. Darkness has fallen across a kingdom far far away. The queen is dead
- killed in the forest by a terrifying beast
- & her daughter Alexandra suspects that the new woman in her fathers life is more than she seems. Exiled & betrayed Alexandra must face magic murder & the loss of all she holds dear in a desperate struggle against evil. This is a reissue of an enchanting adventure with a bewitchingly brave clever heroine making for strong girl appeal; & global sales of over 20 000 copies of first edition. It is supported by a major marketing & press campaign including author events & dedicated online activity. It is inspired by the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Wild Swans". It was longlisted for the Branford Boase Award & chosen as a USBBY Outstanding International Book."

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After the devastating events recounted in THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN Dave Robicheaux & his ex-partner in Homicide Clete Purcel head for the mountains & trout streams of Montana for some much-needed healing. However while Montana might seem an unspoilt paradise peopled by men & women from an earlier more innocent time in American history Dave & Clete soon find that there are plenty of serpents in the garden too. The deaths of a couple of hikers suggest a perverted serial killer may be at work while an escaped jailbird & his former tormentor are locked in a savage dance of revenge that is ultimately connected to the fortunes of a wealthy oil family hiding a terrible secret.. . ...

When an opera company gathers in Oxford for the first post-war production of Wagners Die Meistersinger its happiness is soon soured by the discovery that the unpleasant Edwin Shorthouse will be singing a leading role. Nearly everyone involved has reason to loathe Shorthouse but who amongst them has the fiendish ingenuity to kill him in his own locked dressing room? In the course of this entertaining adventure eccentric Oxford don Gervase Fen has to unravel two murders cope with the unpredictability of the artistic temperament & attempt to encourage the course of true love. ...

OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities like walking horse riding & off-road cycling. Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels pubs & visitor information as well as rights of way permissive paths & bridleways. ...

Perfect for day trips & short breaks the OS Landranger Map series covers Great Britain with 204 detailed maps. Each map provides all the information you need to get to know your local area &

Includes:: places of interest tourist information picnic areas & camp sites plus Rights of Way information for England & Wales.

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In February 2013 Swansea City Wales's first Premier League soccer club reached its first major cup final at Wembley playing Bradford City of League Two. This was widely considered to be the most important game in the club's turbulent history. To many fans it seemed nothing short of a miracle after the dark days of financial crises & potential relegation from the Football League itself. Their eventual arrival in the Premiership would have been rewarding enough for most Swans followers but now the team was only one game away from silverware & qualification for European football. Pinching themselves 36 000 Swansea Jacks prepared for the trip of a lifetime
- a visit to Wembley. Among them was Huw Bowen a lifelong Swans supporter who got landed with the job of organising tickets & transport for a motley crew of his fellow Jacks from Swansea University. His diary of this nightmarish logistical operation appeared in the Western Mail in the week leading up to the final. Here those entries are brought together for the first time along with other Swans-related writings. The book contains photographs of the big day supplied by fans as well as the photographers of the Western Mail.
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Swansea has a rich absorbing past which is uniquely reflected in this delightful full-colour compilation. Contrasting a selection of forty-five archive images alongside modern photographs taken from the same location this new book reveals the changing faces buildings & streets of Swansea during the last century. Beneath the sad anonymity of a post-war city devastated by the Blitz during the Second World War the vestiges of something more distinguished still remain. Look closely & you can see the echoes of a past that has been taken away. Swansea Then & Now will provide visitors with a glimpse of how the city used to be in addition to awakening nostalgic memories for those who live or work there. ...

Theres an atmosphere in the air in Triassic dino world as Jamie Tom & Wanna set out to explore. Suddenly with a crash of thunder & a flash of lightning the friends find themselves in the middle of a violent prehistoric storm. As they scramble to get to higher ground they find a hidden cave
- at last some relief from the torrential rain! As they look around they realize theyre sharing their shelter with hundreds of sharp-fanged pterosaurs. If they keep still & quiet they should be safe
- but when Wanna makes a sudden noise the pterosaurs begin to swarm.. .

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