Return to the world of the Farseers... Robin Hobb's best loved characters Fitz The Fool & Nighteyes the wolf face new adventures & trials in the first book of The Tawny Man trilogy. When Assassin's Quest closed Fitz was living in self-imposed exile. Wracked with pain he had chosen to discard the magical gifts that had seen him survive the wonders & torments of navigating the legendary city of the Elderlings & of raising a dragon. Now in this the first of a new trilogy we are returned to the world of the Six Duchies & the lives of those who managed to survive the events of the first Assassin trilogy. Fifteen years have passed & events are about to sweep Fitz out of his quiet backwater life & into the main political current again. Persecution of the Witted has become rampant throughout the Six Duchies despite Queen Kettricken's effort to damp it. The Witted themselves have begun to strike back. So when 15 year old Prince Dutiful disappears is it only because he is nervous about his betrothal ceremony to an Outislander princess or has he been taken hostage by the Witted? Worse is he perhaps another ' Piebald Prince' a Farseer tainted by Wit magic? As the desperate situation worsens Kettricken has no choice but to summon Fitz to Buckkeep for who better to track the young prince down than another gifted with the Wit together with his bonded companion the wolf Nighteyes? ...

The triumphant conclusion to our three thrilling fantasy series from the author of the bestselling Farseer & Liveship traders trilogies. The moving end to the tale of the Farseers in which kingdoms must stand or fall on the beat of a dragon's wings or a Fool's heart. A small & sadly untried coterie -- the old assassin Chade the serving-boy Thick Prince Dutiful & his reluctant Skillmaster Fitz -- sail towards the distant island of Aslevjal. There they must fulfil the Narcheska's challenge to her betrothed: to lay the head of the dragon Icefyre whom legends tell is buried there deep beneath the ice upon her hearth. Only with the completion of this quest can the marriage proceed & the resulting alliance signal an end to war between the two kingdoms. It is not a happy ship: tensions between the folk of the Six Duchies & their traditional enemies the Outislanders lie just beneath the surface. Thick is constantly ill & his random but powerful Skilling has taken on a dark & menacing tone while Chade's fascination with the Skill is growing to the point of obsession. Having ensured that his beloved friend the Fool is safely left behind in Buckkeep Fitz is guilt-stricken; but he is determined to keep his fate at bay since prophecy foretells the Fool's death if he ever sets foot on the isle of the black dragon. But as their ship draws in towards Aslevjal a lone figure awaits them! ...

In the mid 1990s at a vast hotel complex on a private Florida beach dozens of bankers from JP Morgan gathered for what was to become a legendary off-site meeting. It was a wild weekend. But among the drinking nightclubbing & fist-fights lay a more serious purpose
- to assess the possibility of building a business around the new-fangled concepts of credit derivatives. The group at the heart of this revolution was an intense team made up of individuals with a supreme sense of loyalty to each other & to the bank
- for years nothing could break them apart. But when finally the team dispersed the innovations spread far beyond their original intentions producing perversions in the mortgage market that ultimately culminated in disaster. Part real-life thriller part investigation & expose this searing narrative takes us deep inside the shadowy world of complex finance
- a perfect storm for the credit crunch


...

From the author of international bestseller The Black Swan" Nassim Nicholas Taleb's " Fooled by Randomness" is the bestselling account of the hidden role of chance in life & the markets. Everyone wants to succeed in life. But what causes some of us to be more successful than others? Is it really down to skill & strategy
- or something altogether more unpredictable? This book is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business & the world. It is all about luck: more precisely how we perceive luck in our personal & professional experiences. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the markets
- we hear an entrepreneur has 'vision' or a trader is 'talented' but all too often their performance is down to chance rather than skill. It is only because we fail to understand probability that we continue to believe events are non-random finding reasons where none exist. A " Financial Times" book of the year this irreverent bestseller has shattered the illusions of people around the world by teaching them how to recognize randomness. Now it can do the same for you. " One of the smartest books of all time". (" Fortune"). " An iconoclastic tour de force.. .nothing escapes his Exocets". (" Evening Standard"). " Brilliant". (John Kay). " Excellent & thought-provoking.. .an entertaining book". (" Financial Times"). " Wall Street's principal dissident". (Malcolm Gladwell). Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b.1960) has devoted his life to immersing himself in probelmce s of luck uncertainty probability & knowledge. His books " The Black Swan" & " Fooled by Randomness" have been published in thirty-one languages & " Fooled by Randomness" was selected by " Fortune" magazine as one of ' The Smartest Books of All Time'."

...

A Ph D candidate in physics at Columbia University Alex Stone is also part of the underground magic circuit an exclusive community whose members convene regularly in pizza parlours & coffee shops to swap tips & develop new illusions. Determined to take his lifelong hobby to the professional level Stone embarks on a personal quest to reach the pinnacle of this bizarre world & become a master magician. But he has some learning to do. In Fooling Houdini" we journey through a strange & colourful subculture of obsessive brilliant & dysfunctional geniuses
- blind card sharps street-hustlers & Las Vegas showmen
- learning the principles & history of some of the greatest tricks ever performed. Seeking answers to broader questions about decision making the limits of perception & the nature of deception Stone helps us understand what happens as we attempt to distinguish reality from illusion & discovers the link between magic & psychology physics & even crime. From back-street scams to laboratories to the Magic Olympics " Fooling Houdini" reveals the mysterious world of magic as never before."

...

This title comes from the international bestseller of The Godfather". A story of big-time gamblers in a feverish world where law & organised crime are one & the same... From New York to Las Vegas Merlyn & his brother Artie obey their own code of honour in the ferment of contemporary America
- a world of greed lust violence & betrayal where the power of corruption & the corruption of power are nowhere better explored."
...

Wet foot. Dry foot. Low foot. High foot. Early readers will enjoy marching in time to the beat of many many feet with Dr. Seuss' fun exploration of opposites. With his unique combination of hilarious stories zany pictures & riotous rhymes Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children & helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat & ranking among the UK's top ten favourite children's authors Seuss is firmly established as a global best-seller with nearly half a million books sold worldwide. This delightful book forms part of the third stage in Harper Collins' major Dr. Seuss rebrand programme. With the relaunch of six more titles in January 2004 such all-time favourites as The Lorax The Foot Book & Yertle the Turtle now boast bright new covers that incorporate much needed guidance on reading levels: Blue Back Books are for parents to share with young children Green Back Books are for budding readers to tackle on their own & Yellow Back Books are for older more fluent readers to enjoy. The Foot Book belongs to the Blue Back Book range. ...

This book offers simple ways to revive soothe pamper & feel fabulous all over: amazing reflexology techniques to recharge your body & improve your health with 300 photographs. This title covers everything you need to know about massage reflexology & aromatherapy to keep your feet & body feeling wonderful. Clear text & 300 beautiful pictures cover every aspect of foot therapy including pre-treatment warm-ups & all the basic techniques as well as simple foot care remedies lotions & scrubs that are easy to make at home. It offers treatments for all occasions from a luxurious foot-pamper session to a complete reflexology routine. It has quick fixes for everything from headaches & insomnia to anxiety back-ache & indigestion. Easy step-by-step self-treatments are included as well as routines to enjoy with a friend or partner. If youve ever uttered the words my feet are killing me you need this book. This informative guide will teach you how to pamper your feet & enjoy the total body benefits of good foot health
- even when youre always on the go. With its easy-to-follow advice & in-depth information on reflexology & massage this book shows you how to soothe aching feet to reduce stress promote relaxation & restore energy. You can discover how to use the ancient art of reflexology to diagnose & treat problems all over your body. Advice on using aromatherapy oils is also provided in this title from one of the worlds leading practitioners.
...

Football coaches & players at all levels are increasingly having to look elsewhere for that psychological edge
- the mental discipline
...

This is a mini version of the fascinating 100 Years of Football" with photographs h&-picked from the Press Association's archives. It is an essential & compelling addition to the bookshelves of fans of the sport. It is also a unique insight into our recent history; the crowds & backgrounds tell a story of their own. H&-picked by PA Photos' own archivists most of these images have lain unseen since they were used as news pictures when they were first taken. Each image has been scanned especially for these books many from glass plates ensuring the best possible quality of reproduction. Fans of football will find these books an essential & compelling addition to their shelves; a chance to see the people & witness the great moments of the last hundred years of the sport in Britain. The general reader will be equally fascinated by the unique insight into our recent history that these pictures provide: to modern eyes the crowds & backgrounds are as interesting as the subjects themselves." ...