Grenville makes awkward atmospheres & fumbling encounters wonderfully vivid. Read it & cringe The Times The Idea of Perfection is a funny & touching romance between two people whove given up on love. Set in the eccentric little backwater of Karakarook New South Wales pop. 1374 it tells the story of Douglas Cheeseman a gawky engineer with jug-handle ears & Harley Savage a woman altogether too big & too abrupt for comfort. Harley is in Karakarook to foster Heritage & Douglas is there to pull down the quaint old Bent Bridge. From day one theyre on a collison course. But out of this unpromising conjunction of opposites something unexpected happens: sometimes even better than perfection. From these two reticent characters besieged by two lifetimes of regret doubt & dismay Grenville manufactures an extraordinary comedy of manners made all more powerful by her own reticence as a writer Guardian Outrageously entertaining Daily Mail Mined throughout with little pockets of danger & depth Guardian A truly amazing writer Rosie Boycott chair of the Orange Prize jury ...

Since the English translation first appeared in 1923 Rudolf Otto's volume has established itself as a classic in the field of religious philosophy. It offers an in-depth inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine & its relation to the rational. ...

Michael Anstruther-Wetherby is a rising member of Parliament
- a man destined for power. & with his connections to the wealthy
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Wildes subtle satire of the British hypocrisy of the late 1800s toys with the vulnerability of public figures & the powerful playing card of dirty secrets. An Ideal Husband" portrays the delicate balance between righteousness love & betrayal & serves it up with a generous smattering of wit & elegance. Recently filmed with Rupert Everett Cate Blanchett & Julianne Moore." ...

TO MARRY A RAKE When heiress Sophie Ravel finds herself in a compromising situation notorious Richard Crawford Viscount Bingfield swoops in & saves her reputation! She might have escaped the attentions of one undesirable but will Richard's protection expose her to even more scandal? Richard curses his impetuousnessï ½at offering a betrothal in the heat of the moment! He gladly accepts Sophie's terms that their engagement remains a pretence until quite by chance he unlocks his shy fiancee's passionate nature. Now nothing will steer him from wedding
- then bedding
- his blushing bride...

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This book is about how minor life events & the choices we make as well as those made by our ancestors fuse with our inherited genes to mould us into individuals. What makes you so different to your siblings? Why do you vote a certain way remain faithful for twenty years believe in God love salads be heterosexual get cancer or depression dislike sport or never put on weight? Using fascinating case studies of identical twins Tim Spector draws gems from his exhaustive research project that has spanned twenty years to show how even real-life clones with the same upbringing turn out in reality to be very different. Based on cutting-edge discoveries that are pushing the frontiers of our knowledge of genetics he show us that
- contrary to recent scientific teaching
- nothing is completely hard-wired or pre-ordained. Challenging enlightening & entertaining Tim Spector explains theories such as why the Dutch have become the tallest nation in the world why autism is more heritable than breast cancer & what could cause a fit & healthy man to have a heart attack within weeks of his overweight heavy drinking heavy smoking identical twin. Conceptually he argues we are not just skin & bones controlled by our genes but minds & bodies made from plastic. This plastic is dynamic
- slowly changing shape & evolving driven by many processes we still cannot comprehend. Many of the subtle differences between us appear now to be due to chance or fate but as science rapidly evolves & explains current mysteries we will be able to become more active participants in this human moulding process. Then we can really begin to understand why we are who we are & what makes each of us so unique & quintessentially human.


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Profound & humane Amartya Sens Identity & Violence: The Illusion of Destiny" examines some of the most explosive problems of our time & shows how we can move towards peace as firmly as we have spiralled towards war. In this penetrating book Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen argues that we are becoming increasingly divided along lines of religion & culture ignoring the many other ways in which people see themselves from class & profession to morals & politics. When we are put into narrow categories the importance of human life becomes lost. Through his lucid exploration of such subjects as multiculturalism fundamentalism terrorism & globalization he brings out the need for a clear-headed understanding of human freedom & a constructive public voice in Global civil society. The hope of harmony in todays world lies in a clearer understanding of our sheer diversity. "" Identity & Violence" is a moving powerful essay about the mischief of bad ideas". (" The Economist"). " Impassioned eloquent & often moving " Identity & Violence" is a sustained attack on the "solitarist" theory which says that human identities are formed by membership of a single social group". (John Gray " Guardian"). " Rich in ideas...I would love to send it to Osama bin Laden & have his reply". (" Spectator"). " Sens moving & most personal book yet". (" The Times Literary Supplement"). " Stimulating.. .simple & persuasive". (" Financial Times"). " An accessible & exceptional humanitarian". (Jon Snow " New Statesman" " Heroes of Our Time"). Amartya Sen is Lamont University Professor at Harvard. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998. His other books published by Penguin include " The Argumentative Indian" & " The Idea of Justice"." ...

Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of a famous investigating family. In defiance of tradition she lives alone on the colourful Aventine Hill & battles out a solo career in a male-dominated world. As a woman & an outsider Albia has special insight into the best & worst of life in ancient Rome. A female client dies in mysterious circumstances. Albia investigates & discovers there have been many other strange deaths all over the city yet she is warned off by the authorities. The vigils are incompetent. The local magistrate is otherwise engaged organising the Games of Ceres notorious for its ancient fox-burning ritual. Even Albia herself is preoccupied with a new love affair: Andronicus an attractive archivist offers all that a love-starved young widow can want even though she knows better than to take him home to meet the parents... As the festival progresses her neighbourhood descends into mayhem & becomes the heartless killers territory. While Albia & her allies search for him he stalks them through familiar byways & brings murder ever closer to home. The Ides of April is vintage Lindsey Davis offering wit intrigue action & a brilliant new heroine who promises to be as celebrated as Marcus Didius Falco & Helena Justina her fictional predecessors. ...

Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of a famous investigating family. In defiance of tradition she lives alone on the colourful Aventine Hill & battles out a solo career in a male-dominated world. As a woman & an outsider Albia has special insight into the best & worst of life in ancient Rome. A female client dies in mysterious circumstances. Albia investigates & discovers there have been many other strange deaths all over the city yet she is warned off by the authorities. The vigils are incompetent. The local magistrate is otherwise engaged organising the Games of Ceres notorious for its ancient fox-burning ritual. Even Albia herself is preoccupied with a new love affair: Andronicus an attractive archivist offers all that a love-starved young widow can want even though she knows better than to take him home to meet the parents... As the festival progresses her neighbourhood descends into mayhem & becomes the heartless killers territory. While Albia & her allies search for him he stalks them through familiar byways & brings murder ever closer to home. The Ides of April is vintage Lindsey Davis offering wit intrigue action & a brilliant new heroine who promises to be as celebrated as Marcus Didius Falco & Helena Justina her fictional predecessors. ...

March 44 BC. Rome in all her glory has expanded her territories beyond the wildest dreams of her citizens led by Caius Julius Caesar -- Pontifex Maximus dictator perpetuo invincible military leader & only fifty-six years old. He is a man in command of his destiny who wields enormous power throughout the vast empire. However his god-given mission -- to end the blood-splattered fratricidal wars reconcile implacably hostile factions & preserve Roman civilization & world order -- is teetering dangerously close to collapse... His power is draining away. None of his supporters can stop the inexorably evolving plot against him & prophecy will explode into truth on the Ides of March & the world will change forever. This is political thriller laced through with all the intrigue & action surrounding one of the most crucial turning points in the history of western civilization. ...