Big King was at the shaft station when they heard the water coming. It sounded like an express train in a tunnel a dull bellow of irresistible power. The water was pushing the air from the drive ahead of it so that a hurricane of wind came roaring from the mouth of the drive blowing out a cloud of dust & loose rubbish. Rod Ironsides ambitious & hard-living mining expert knows that the general managership of the Sonder Ditch gold mine is the chance of a lifetime. But the price of unquestioning obedience to the coldly obsessive genius of Dr Manfred Steyner proves impossible to pay. Both men are but unwitting tools of powerful people -- for whom the control of a gold mine is only part of the realization of dreams & ambitions which include the destruction of the very mine itself.. . ...

High Performance Anthropologist Rasmus Ankersen brings his first-hand study of success to a mass audience for the first time. We all want to discover our unique talents & make an impact with them. But how? Rasmus Ankersen a 26 year old ex-professional footballer & performance specialist quit his job spent his last pennies booking flight tickets & for six intense months travelled the world & literally trained & lived with the worlds best athletes & their coaches in an attempt to answer this very question. Why have the worlds best middle distance runners grown up in the same Ethiopian village? Why are 137 of the worlds 500 best female golfers from South Korea? How did one athletic club in Kingston Jamaica succeed to produce most of the worlds best sprinters? What is the secret behind Brazils mass production of soccer super stars? In The Gold Mine Effect Ankersen presents his surprising conclusions in seven lessons on how anyone
- or any business organisation or team
- can defy the many misconceptions of high performance & learn to build their own gold mine of real talent.

...

Elite athletes arent born. Theyre made. Michael Johnson From a living icon of the Olympic Games -- as both an athlete & now as a BBC broadcaster -- Gold Rush is a compelling analysis of the fascinating combination of psychological & personal qualities as well as internal & external factors that go to create an Olympic champion. This exciting new book is based on Michael Johnsons own experiences as an iconic four-time Olympic champion & on the knowledge he has gleaned as a top-class coach & motivational speaker. It also features uniquely more than a dozen exclusive & insightful interviews with Olympic legends from across several different sports who between them have claimed more than 50 gold medals over the past 30 years. In essence Johnson has assembled his very own Olympic Hall of Fame in assessing the DNA of true champions. Gold Rush is themed around chapters in which Johnson will discuss each of the key qualities/factors. He expertly feeds in fascinating first-person testimonies from the Olympic legends. In the process he builds up a definitive knowledge bank of expertise & experience from athletes who have been on this fascinating journey encountered the highs & the lows but ultimately reached the summit
- an Olympic gold medal. Johnsons interviewees include: Usain Bolt Carl Lewis Sally Gunnell Seb Coe Daley Thompson Cathy Freeman Ian Thorpe Michael Phelps Rebecca Adlington Chris Hoy Steve Redgrave Matthew Pinsent Lennox Lewis & Michael Jordan.
...

Elite athletes arent born. Theyre made. Michael Johnson From a living icon of the Olympic Games
- as both an athlete & now as a
...

In 1945 US Intelligence officers in Manila discovered that the Japanese had hidden large quantities of gold bullion & other looted treasure in the Philippines. President Truman decided to recover the gold but to keep its riches secret. These would be combined with treasure recovered inside Japan during the US occupation & with Nazi loot recovered in Europe to create a worldwide American political action fund to fight communism. Overseen by General Mac Arthur President Truman & John Foster Dulles this Black Gold" gave Washington virtually limitless unaccountable funds providing an asset base to reinforce the treasuries of America's allies to bribe political & military leaders & to manipulate elections in foreign countries for more than fifty years. Drawing on a vast range of original documents & thousands of hours of interviews Gold Warriors exposes one of the great state secrets of the twentieth century." ...

Moving between Spanish conquest abroad & the court of the astute Charles V Hugh Thomas The Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V" is the second volume in a planned trilogy on the Spanish Empire. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America in the sixteenth century they swept across the continent in a blaze of imperial expansion & brutal savagery. Beginning with the return of the remnants of Magellans circumnavigation in 1522 & ending with Charles death in 1558 Hugh Thomas masterful work brilliantly brings to life one of the most extraordinary periods of the Renaissance revealing how the Spaniards were able to conquer Guatemala Yucatan Columbia Venezuela Peru & Chile; how the audacious conquistador Francisco de Orellana sailed down the Amazon why Cabeza de Vaca walked from Florida to Mexico & what drove Hernando de Soto to pursue worldly riches in Florida Mississippi & Georgia. While adventurers & explorers like Cortes & Pizarro build entire cities & amassed vast wealth from the treasures of the land they also killed thousands & left the indelible mark of Spains language & religion for centuries to come. " Thomas tells the story of missionary zeal & military plunder with a zest worthy of a swashbuckling historical novelist". (" The Times"). "A riveting story of adventure & cruelty.. .a considerable scholarly accomplishment". (Ben Wilson " Daily Telegraph"). " This monumental history is an extraordinary achievement...A beguilingly-written account of a fascinating subject". (Alexander Samson " The Times Higher Education"). Supplement Hugh Thomas is the author of among other books " The Spanish Civil War" (1962) which won the Somerset Maugham Award " Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom" (1971) " An Unfinished History of the World" (1979) & the first volume of his " Spanish Empire trilogy Rivers of Gold" (2003)." ...

From some of the earliest attempts at art to the plant hunters of the nineteenth & twentieth centuries the images produced in the study of plants have held a fascination for all those who love nature. The Golden Age of Botanical Art" brings together the stories of the intrepid explorers (some of whom became botanical artists by default) & the many professional artists who recorded the flora that they discovered on their travels & expeditions. Truly global in its scope this beautifully illustrated book moves across centuries & continents looking at the artistry of China & India delving into the sketchbooks of explorers in the Himalayas & following the voyages of those who discovered new worlds & new species as far apart as Russian & South America. Alongside special features on key figures in the botanical art world the book highlights the work of some of the great names of botanical art including Ehret & Bauer. " The Golden Age of Botanical Art"

Includes:: a host of rarely or previously unpublished images & shows how what might have been a pastime for some also made a significant contribution to our understanding of the world & the glories of nature."

...

This lavish book focuses on Parisian & British couture between 1947 & 1957 a decade that Christian Dior described as fashions golden age. Diors New Look collection of 1947 shocked & delighted the fashion world creating a style that symbolised a new femininity. The full skirts & hour glass silhouettes were considered highly decadent synonymous with luxury & extravagance in marked contrast to the austerity of the war years. Nevertheless the New Look caught the public imagination & ushered in a period of remarkable creativity. The Golden Age of Couture" features stunning gowns & exquisite tailoring from designers such as Balenciaga Balmain Givenchy & Dior as well as evocative photographs by the likes of Richard Avedon & Cecil Beaton." ...

In June of 1938 Action Comics debuted with a new kind of comic book character on its cover: A costumed man with two identities who possessed extraordinary strength & powers a man able to protect the public when ordinary measures would not do. He was not the first super hero but the Man of Steel would become the prototype for all super heroes thereafter. Superman's story & those of Batman Wonder Woman & hundreds of other DC Comics characters are all told in The Golden Age of DC Comics". The single most comprehensive book on the subject this volume traces the company's first decades from its pulp origins up to the comic book burnings of the Mc Carthy '50s in over 400 pages bursting with comics art comics photographs & more comics. Plus an exclusive interview with legendary Sgt. Rock/ Hawkman artist Joe Kubert! TASCHEN's series on "DC Comics" explores the origins of comics' most enduring legends & the behind-the-scenes stories of the men who created them era by era. Expanded from the Eisner Award
- winning XL book "75 Years of DC Comics" this new series hits the shelf at a reader friendly size with essays updated by author Paul Levitz & over 500 new images across five volumes. Thousands of covers & interiors original illustrations photographs film stills & collectibles have been reproduced using the latest technology to bring the story lines the characters & their creators to vibrant life making this an invaluable reference for comics fans."
...

The post-war era was British speedways golden age. Ten million spectators passed through the turnstiles of a record number of tracks at the sports peak. With league gates as high as 80 000 speedway offered a colourful means of escape from the grim austerity of the times. A determinedly clean image with no betting & rival fans mingling on the terraces made speedway the family night out of choice. The sport thrived despite punitive taxation & Government threats to close down the speedways as a threat to industrial productivity. A three-division National League stretched from Exeter to Edinburgh & the World Championship Final attracted a capacity audience to Wembley. Test matches against Australia provided yet another international dimension. Even at the height of its popularity speedway was a sporting edifice built on unstable foundations which crumbled alarmingly as the 1950s dawned & Britains economic & social recovery brought competing attractions like television. ...