Weaving together natural history & investigative reporting with mythological & cultural material On Rare Birds tells the compelling stories of ten rare or extinct bird species
- from the tragic demise of the once-abundant Passenger Pigeon to the shooting death of the last Carolina Parakeet in the wild & from the startling natural defences of the wilful Nightjar A to the diverse cultural significance of the Kingfisher. Some stories bear sad witness to precious species we have lost but they are all fascinating & often heartwarming or humorous depictions of the unique lives & loves of birds. On Rare Birds is a visually stunning volume illustrated by author Anita Albuss own superb artwork & by images ranging over five centuries. It will delight anyone who loves birds laments the depletion of their populations by human hands & cares about the survival of those species that still stand a chance. With knowledge devotion & a true artists eye Albus explains in graceful precise prose why the decline of these bird species is a great loss both to the natural world & unavoidably to culture. With each species lost a world is lost to human understanding-to our arts our mythology & our environment."
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A masterpiece
- Sunday Times" Terrific
- " Guardian" Sparkling
- " Telegraph" Beautiful
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On the Banks of Plum Creek" is the third book in the classic " Little House" series telling the story of the Ingalls familys extraordinary life. Laura & her family have finally found a place to settle & their new home on the banks of Plum Creek is full of excitement. Laura loves playing in the water hole picking plums & milking the cows but when shes told she has to go to school life is all of a sudden a lot less carefree..." ...

After the war is over a radioactive cloud begins to sweep southwards on the winds gradually poisoning everything in its path. An American submarine captain is among the survivors left sheltering in Australia preparing with the locals for the inevitable. Despite his memories of his wife he becomes close to a young woman struggling to accept the harsh realities of their situation. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up transmitting from the United States & the submarine must set sail through the bleak ocean to search for signs of life. On the Beach" is Nevil Shute's most powerful novel. Both gripping & intensely moving its impact is unforgettable." ...

Everyone is familiar with the gypsy race but few outside their close-knit & ancient comunnity know what being a gypsy is about
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G.A. Cohen was one of the most gifted influential & progressive voices in contemporary political philosophy. At the time of his death in 2009 he had plans to bring together a number of his most significant papers. This is the first of three volumes to realize those plans. Drawing on three decades of work it contains previously uncollected articles that have shaped many of the central debates in political philosophy as well as papers published here for the first time. In these pieces Cohen asks what egalitarians have most reason to equalize he considers the relationship between freedom & property & he reflects upon ideal theory & political practice. Included here are classic essays such as Equality of What?" & " Capitalism Freedom & the Proletariat" along with more recent contributions such as " Fairness & Legitimacy in Justice" " Freedom & Money" & the previously unpublished " How to Do Political Philosophy". On ample display throughout are the clarity rigor conviction & wit for which Cohen was renowned. Together these essays demonstrate how his work provides a powerful account of liberty & equality to the left of Ronald Dworkin John Rawls Amartya Sen & Isaiah Berlin." ...

This picture book expresses all the hopes dreams & wishes that a grown-up feels for a newborn child. It is written as speaking to the child when they are a little older & can be given as a constant reminder to the child that from the very beginning they have been loved & cherished. ...

From time to time a remarkable man comes along with a rare power & strength of mind. Balanced yet predictable he commands the respect of smart & dangerous men. Stellakis Stylianou known to his friends
- & his enemies
- as Stilks is one such man. From a background of poverty & hardship he grew up as one of societys outcasts learning to fend for himself in a world of violence & villains where your word is your bond & your fists do the talking. Then using his muscle & unstoppable force he did what he knew best & enforced law & order on the streets in a way that no uniformed copper could ever do... It is Stilks who saved Sid Vicious from murder. It is Stilks who has faced guns & crossbows & never backed down. & it is Stilks who has risen to become the most infamous club doorman in the country. Woe betide anyone who mistakes his firm politeness for weakness...

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Stunning repackage of the story of a woman trapped in the wrong time. Abandoned by her twentieth century lover she plots a terrible revenge on him & his family. Adam Craig is fourteen when near an isolated Celtic stone in the wild Scottish Highlands he meets Brid whose exotic gypsy-like dress & strange attitudes fascinate him. They become friends then in time passionate lovers. Brid leads him unsuspecting into the sixth century where training as a Druid priestess she has mastered their ancient mysteries & powerful magic. In her obsession with Adam she is seen as a traitor by her people & only escapes death by following Adam through time to Edinburgh where he goes to study medicine. As the years pass he makes new friends & finds new love causing Brid to be consumed by a violent rage that knows no bounds. For fifty years from Scotland to England to Wales Brid will haunt Adam like an evil shadow. It is finally Adams granddaughter Beth who helps discover the secret that will free them from the terror of Brids curse. ...

This is a major new history examining the realities of Jewish life across Europe up to the very eve of World War Two. This is the portrait of a world on the eve of its destruction. Bernard Wasserstein presents a disturbing interpretation of the collapse of European Jewish civilization even before the Nazi onslaught. Wasserstein shows how the harsh realities of the age devastated the lives of communities & individuals. By 1939 the Jews faced an existential crisis that was as much the result of internal decay as of external attack. Ranging from Vilna (Jerusalem of Lithuania) to Salonica with its Judeo-Espanol-speaking stevedores & singers & beyond the books focus is squarely on the Jews themselves rather than their persecutors. Wassersteins aim is to breathe life into dry bones. Based on vast research written with compassion & empathy & enlivened by dry wit On the Eve" paints a vivid & shocking picture of the European Jews in their final hour." ...