A miscellany of fascinating animal facts & figures: the weird the wonderful & the downright unbelievable. Since time immemorial people have been fascinated by what animals do & how they relate to us & these enigmatic beasts have never failed to surprise us. Did you know that songbirds can be scared to death literally? That parrots can talk because they use their tongues in the same way as humans & that humpback whales catch fish in nets made by blowing bubbles? This delightful book is full of entertaining surprises revelations & unusual information. Nowadays we study them (and eat them & pollute them into oblivion) but whatever we do to them somehow most of these amazing creatures keep bouncing back. This miscellany of animal facts & figures offers some reasons why. ...

Marrying deft social commentary to a rich earthy comedy the three comedies collected in Aristophanes' The Frogs & Other Plays" offers a unique insight into one of the most turbulent periods in Ancient Greek history. This " Penguin Classics" edition is translated by David Barrett with revisions an introduction & notes by Shomit Dutta. The master of ancient Greek comic drama Aristophanes combined slapstick humour & cheerful vulgarity with acute political observations. In " The Frogs" written during the Peloponnesian War Dionysus descends to the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour & stages a great debate to help him decide between the traditional wisdom of Aeschylus & the brilliant modernity of Euripides. The clash of generations & values is also the object of Aristophanes' satire in Wasps in which an old-fashioned father & his loose-living son come to blows & end up in court. & in " Women at the Thesmophoria" the famous Greek tragedian Euripides accused of misogyny persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to find out whether revenge is being plotted against him. Shomit Dutta's introduction discusses Aristophanes' life the cultural context of his work & conventions of Greek comedy. This updated version of David Barrett's translation also

Includes:: extensive notes & a preface for each play. Aristophanes (c.445-386 BC) was probably born in Athens. Little is known about his life but there is a portrait of him in " Plato's Symposium". He was twice threatened with prosecution for his outspoken attacks on the prominent politician Cleon but in 405 he was publicly honoured & crowned for promoting Athenian civic unity in " The Frogs". Aristophanes had his first comedy produced when he was about twenty-one & wrote forty plays in all. The eleven surviving plays of Aristophanes are published in the " Penguin Classics" series as " The Birds & Other Plays" " Lysistrata & Other Plays" " The Wasps & Other Plays" & " The Frogs & Other Plays". If you enjoyed " The Frogs & Other Plays" you might like Aristophanes' " Lysistrata & Other Plays" also available in " Penguin Classics"."

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Come close children & see the living crocodile. A vintage 54 Buick Roadmaster. At least thats what it looks like.. . There is a secret hidden in Shed B in the state police barracks in Statler Pennsylvania. A secret that has drawn troopers for twenty years
- terrified yet irresistibly tempted to look at its chrome fenders silver grille & exotic exhaust system. Young Ned Wilcox has started coming by the barracks: mowing the lawn washing the windows shovelling snow; its a boys way of holding on to his father
- recently killed in a strange road accident by another Buick. And one day Ned peers through the windows of Shed B & discovers the family secret. Like his father Ned wants answers. He deserves answers. & the secret begins to stir.. .

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On the August bank holiday weekend in 1979 14-year-old Timothy Knatchbull went out on a boat trip off the shore of Mullaghmore in County Sligo Irel&. It was a trip that would cost four lives
- & change his own for ever. The IRA bomb that exploded in their boat killed Knatchbull's grandfather Lord Mountbatten his grandmother Lady Brabourne his twin brother Nicholas & local teenager Paul Maxwell. In telling this story for the first time Knatchbull is not only revisiting the terrible events he & his family lived through but also writing an intensely personal account of human triumph over tragedy. For thirty years Knatchbull has lived with the echoes of that day: the death of the twin from whom he had been inseparable; the loss of his adored grandparents whose funerals along with his twin's he & his parents were too injured to attend; the recovery from physical wounds; & the emotional legacy that proved harder to endure. In From A Clear Blue Sky" Timothy Knatchbull delves into his past present & future & reveals a story of courage & fortitude as he his family & their English & Irish friends dealt with the shocking assassinations & their aftermath. Taking place in Ireland at the height of the Troubles it gives a compelling insight into that period of Irish history. But more importantly it brings home that although tragedy can strike at any moment the human spirit is able to recover & evolve over time. This book about truth & reconciliation unflinching in its detail asks searching questions about why human beings inflict misery on others & holds lessons about how we can learn to forgive to heal & to move on. It will resonate with readers the world over."
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Drawn to the exoticism & mystery of names on a map of Iran
- Isfahan Shiraz Meshed Kerman Khorassan
- Michael Carroll embarked

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Thinking of starting a business? Chances are you will be excited by your ideas but daunted by what might lie ahead. Most start-up guides make that feeling worse by overloading you with complex yet missing out the essentials that you really need to focus on to succeed. From Acorns is a different kind of book. Free from jargon & full of practical tips from countless entrepreneurs its the only guide that tells you exactly what you need to know no frills no complications. In its second edition this bestselling book now

Includes:: information not only for small start-ups but for those with ambitious growth plans who need to plan big financial pitches initiate & nurture large scale expansions & eventually sell & move on to the next venture. From Acorns is the no nonsense guide to starting a business whether your plans or modest or on a grand scale this book helps you get it right first time around.

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This book looks at visual images as an alternative & undervalued source of evidence for ideas about the Scottish Gaidhealtachd in the period 1700
- 1880. Illustrated with 100 plates it brings together many little known & previously unrelated images. Addressing the textual bias inherent in Scottish historical studies the book examines a broad range of maps plans paintings drawings sketches & printed images arguing that the concept of antiquity was the single most powerful influence driving the visual representation of the Highlands & Islands from 1700 to 1880 & indeed beyond. Successive chapters look at archaeological ethnological & geological motives for visualising the Highlands & at the bias in favour of antiquity which resulted from the spread of these intellectual influences into the fine arts. The book concludes that the shadow of time which hallmarked visual representations of the region resulted in a preservationist mentality which has had powerful repercussions for approaches to Highland issues down to the present day. The book will appeal to historians art historians cultural geographers & the general reader interested in Highland history & culture.
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Inspired by the revelation that the Sphinx had been weathered by water & not by wind-blown sand & was therefore thousands of years older than the oldest civilisation known to man Colin Wilson sets out to explore the remote depths of history. The compelling argument of this bestselling book is that thousands of years before Ancient Egypt & Greece held sway there was a great civilisation whose ships travelled the world & who possessed some knowledge system that offered a unified view of the universe alien to modern man. In this fascinating exploration of the world at a time when according to Plato the lost civilisation of Atlantis was destroyed the author makes a ground-breaking attempt to understand how these long-forgotten peoples thought felt & communicated on a universal plane. ...

Ensure your students have access to the authoritative & in-depth content of this popular & trusted A Level History series. For over twenty years Access to History has been providing students with reliable engaging & accessible content on a wide range of topics. Each title in the series provides comprehensive coverage of different history topics on current AS & A2 level history specifications alongside exam-style practice questions & tips to help students achieve their best. The series:
- Ensures students gain a good understanding of the AS & A2 level history topics through an engaging in-depth & up-to-date narrative presented in an accessible way.
- Aids revision of the key A level history topics & themes through frequent summary diagrams
- Gives support with assessment both through the books providing exam-style questions & tips for AQA Edexcel & OCR A level history specifications & through FREE model answers with supporting commentary at Access to History online (www.accesstohistory.co.uk) From Autocracy to Communism: Russia 1894-1941 This title draws on content from the bestselling titles ' Reaction & Revolution: Russia 1894-1924' & ' Bolshevik & Stalinist Russia 1918-56'. It focuses on the period from 1894-1941. It begins with the situation in Russia under Tsar Nicholas II & then goes on to examine the causes & effects of the 1905 & 1917 revolutions the Bolshevik struggle to gain power & the eventual rise of Stalin. The political economic & social developments through this period & the effects of these are explored & analysed throughout.


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A collection of short stories & activities that show students how authors: create powerful openings & endings; build up suspense & manipulate readers expectations; & introduce & develop character. These stories & activities should help students organize their own writing. ...