In this bold & groundbreaking book renowned neuroscientist Sebastian Seung reveals the secrets of the human brain. Sebastian Seung is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience. He believes that our identity lies not in our genes but in the connections between our brain cells
- our own particular wiring or connectomes. Connectome" tells the incredible story of how Seung & a dedicated group of researchers are mapping these connections neuron by neuron synapse by synapse. They hope to uncover the basis of personality identity intelligence & memory & explain mental disorders such as autism depression & schizophrenia. Seung also reveals how this new map of a human connectome might even enable us to upload our brains into a computer making us effectively immortal. " Connectome" is a mind-bending adventure story told with great passion & authority. It presents a daring scientific & technological vision for at last understanding what makes us who we are both as individuals & as a species."
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Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom" is the triumphant conclusion to Tim Robinson's extraordinary " Connemara" trilogy which Robert Macfarlane has called 'one of the most remarkable non-fiction projects undertaken in English'. Robinson writes about the people places & history of south Connemara
- one of Ireland's last Gaelic-speaking enclaves
- with the encyclopaedic knowledge of a cartographer & the grace of a born writer. From the man who has been praised in the highest terms by Joseph O' Connor (' One of contemporary Ireland's finest literary stylists') John Burnside ('one of the finest of contemporary prose stylists') Fintan O' Toole (' Simply one of the best non-fiction prose writers currently at work') & Giles Foden ('an indubitable classic') among many others this is one of the publishing events of 2011 & the conclusion of one of the great literary projects of our time. " He is that rarest of phenomena a scientist & an artist & his method is to combine scientific rigour with artistic reverie in a seamless blend that both informs & delights." (John Banville " Guardian"). "A masterpiece of travel & topographical writing & an incomparable & enthralling meditation on times past... This perfectly pitched work opens readers up to the world around them". (" Sunday Times")."

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The second volume in Tim Robinson's phenomenal Connemara" Trilogy. The first volume of Tim Robinson's " Connemara" trilogy " Listening to the Wind" covered Robinson's home territory of Roundstone & environs. " The Last Pool of Darkness" moves into wilder territory: the fjords cliffs hills & islands of north-west Connemara a place that Wittgenstein who lived on his own in a cottage there for a time called 'the last pool of darkness in Europe'. Again combining his polymathic knowledge of Connemara's natural history human history folklore & topography with his own unsurpassable artistry as a writer Tim Robinson has produced another classic. A native of Yorkshire Tim Robinson moved to the Aran Islands in 1972. His books include the celebrated two-volume " Stones of Aran". Since 1984 he has lived in Roundstone Connemara. " One of the most remarkable non-fiction projects undertaken in English". (Robert Macfarlane " Observer"). "A masterpiece of travel & topographical writing & a miraculous vivid & engrossing meditation on landscape & history & the sacred mood of places". (Colm Toibin " Irish Times")." ...

The first volume in Tim Robinson's phenomenal Connemara" Trilogy. In its landscape history & folklore Connemara is a singular region: ill-defined geographically & yet unmistakably a place apart from the rest of Irel&. Tim Robinson who established himself as Ireland's most brilliant living non-fiction writer with the two-volume " Stones of Aran" moved from Aran to Connemara nearly twenty years ago. This book is the result of his extraordinary engagement with the mountains bogs & shorelines of the region & with its folklore & its often terrible history: a work as beautiful & surprising as the place it attempts to describe. Chosen as a book of the year by Iain Sinclair Robert Macfarlane & Colm Toibin. A native of Yorkshire Tim Robinson moved to the Aran Islands in 1972. His books include the celebrated two-volume " Stones of Aran". Since 1984 he has lived in Roundstone Connemara. " Dazzling...an indubitable classic". (Giles Foden " Conde Nast Traveller"). " One of contemporary Ireland's finest literary stylists". (Joseph O' Connor " Guardian")." ...

This is an account of a journey through western Ireland made in 1984 fulfilling a childhood dream of a long-distance ride. The story centres on the growing bond between the author & her Connemara pony Mollie & the many challenges that they face before the tragic conclusion in the mountains of Kerry. It is also a portrait of rural Ireland before the Celtic Tiger" era built up from conversations with the local people. The journey takes them through Counties Galway Mayo Clare & Kerry the obstacles to their progress ranging from bogs stone walls & the River Shannon. " Ive never tried hitchhiking with a horse before" comments the author. " Its not easy". She travelled with no set route extending her backpacking knowledge acquired in the Andes to horse packing "seeing the obvious advantage of climbing mountains on someone elses legs & using anothers back for the packing"." ...

No.1 bestselling author Conn Iggulden takes on the story of the mighty Kublai Khan. An epic tale of a great & heroic mind; his action-packed rule; & how in conquering one-fifth of the worlds inhabited land he changed the course of history forever. A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar. A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength & wisdom. A man who betrayed a brother to protect a nation. From a young scholar to one of historys most powerful warriors Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan -- an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar Alexander the Great & Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known. It should have been a golden age with an empire to dwarf the lands won by the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all! Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nations warriors to the ends of the known world. & when he is weary when he is wounded he must face his own brothers in bloody civil war. ...

William the Bastard base-born son of the Duke of Normandy must fight the King of France to regain his Duchy. Spurned in love by the lovely Princess Matilda the fighting Duke dares to take a whip to her in her own father's palace before making her his bride. Thwarted by the Saxon Earl Harold of a promise of the throne of England William the Conqueror sails to Hastings to claim the King's crown & sceptre for his own. ...

It's 1066
- Senlac Ridge Engl&. William the Bastard Duke of Normandy defeats Harold Godwinson King Harold II of England in what
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Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar removed the spectre of invasion & England is now free to seek conquests & colonies in the furthest reaches of the world. Captain Kydd joins an expedition to take Dutch-held Cape Town a strategic imperative to secure the rich trade-route to India. But even if the British can defeat the enemy & take possession of the capital there is still more fighting to be done. Kydd & his men must defend the fragile colony from attacks by the enemy from all sides while braving the wild beasts & hostile environment of Africa's vast & savage hinterl&. ...

The history of the world has been the history of peoples on the move as they occupy new lands & establish their claims over them. Almost invariably this has meant the violent dispossession of the previous inhabitants. Whether it is the Normans in England the Chinese in Tibet the Germans in Poland the Indonesians in West Papua or the British & Americans in North America the claiming of other people's lands & the supplanting of one people by another has shaped the history of societies from the ancient past to the present day. David Day tells the story of how this happened
- the ways in which invaders have triumphed & justified conquest which as he shows is a bloody & often prolonged process that can last centuries. & while each individual conquest is ultimately unique nevertheless they often share a number of qualities from the re-naming of the conquered land & the invention of myth to justify what has taken place to the exploitation of the conquered resources & people & even to the outright slaughter of the original inhabitants. Above all as Day shows in this hugely bold & ambitious book conquest can have deep & long-lasting consequences
- for the conquered the conquerors & for the wider course of world history.

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