Philosopher astronomer & mathematician Khayyam as a poet possesses a singular originality. His poetry is richly charged with evocative power & offers a view of life characteristic of his stormy times with striking relevance to the present day. This translation by Peter Avery & John Heath-Stubbs is beautifully & lavishly illustrated in colour with numerous examples of Persian miniature painting. It also contains a valuable introduction & several appendices including an essay on Persian painting. ...

With the twist of a rubber band tomorrows aircraft engineers can learn the art & science of aviation. Loaded with everything needed to build three amazing rubber-b&-powered contraptions including a high-performance plane a high-flying helicopter & the fantastic flap-a-copter (also known as a ornithopter) this title comes with easy-to-follow instructions a troubleshooting section & tips on how to improve your planes performance & make it circle oar & loop-the-loop. ...

This could be the most astonishing whodunnit you are ever likely to read Red Magazine. Obvious echoes of Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.. .and with more twists & coils than a hangmans noose Sunday Express. The dead cant speak to us Professor Madoc had said. That was a lie. Because the body Patrick Fort is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things. Life is already strange enough for the obsessive Patrick without having to solve a possible murder. Especially when no one believes a crime has even taken place. Now he must stay out of danger long enough to unravel the mystery
- while he dissects his own evidence. But as Patrick learns one truth from a dead man he discovers there have been many other lies rather closer to home...
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This is a story of murder & duplicity during the Roman civil war featuring Gordianus the Finder. Caesar & his troops have crossed the Rubicon & are marching on Rome. Pompey his rival is preparing to flee south with his loyal troops leaving the city unguarded & ungoverned. Before Pompey leaves Rome however his cousin & protege is found dead garotted in Gordianus garden. Enraged Pompey demands that Gordianus discover & name the killer. With one son a trusted aide of Caesar & his son-in-law held as hostage by Pompey Gordianus faces a personal crisis: he must learn the secrets of the dead man & reveal a murderer to protect his own family from being crushed by the opposing forces that will forever change the Roman world. ...

The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes & hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness
- the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama. This was the century of Julius Caesar the gambler whose addiction to glory led him to the banks of the Rubicon & beyond; of Cicero whose defence of freedom would make him a byword for eloquence; of Spartacus the slave who dared to challenge a superpower; of Cleopatra the queen who did the same. Tom Holland brings to life this strange & unsettling civilization with its extremes of ambition & self-sacrifice bloodshed & desire. Yet alien as it was the Republic still holds up a mirror to us. Its citizens were obsessed by celebrity chefs all-night dancing & exotic pets; they fought elections in law courts & were addicted to spin; they toppled foreign tyrants in the name of self-defence. Two thousand years may have passed but we remain the Romans heirs.
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As a former evacuee feisty Ruby is forced to fend for herself when she returns to her family in London. Set in the aftermath of WW2 this gripping saga is richly evocative of the period & shows the true grit of our heroine Ruby. Home is where the heart is... After having lived peacefully in Cambridgeshire as an evacuee 15-year-old Ruby Blakeley is bought back to reality when her bully of a brother Ray comes to take her home to East London. Far from being welcomed back with open arms Ruby finds herself being treated as a skivvy by her widowed mother & subject to a tirade of taunts from her two brothers. Things get worse when she becomes pregnant. Unable to tackle her family Ruby runs away & makes a new start for herself in Southend. But she soon finds she can't escape her past. A hard-hitting gritty drama that will appeal to fans of Katie Flynn & Dilly Court. ...

The Mac Lean family has more than their fair share of secrets. They live in a close-knit community on Glasgows High Street & the men work on the railways. Theyre hard-working ordinary respectable people but behind the facade they are a family in crisis. Ruby Mac Lean has to face a personal crisis just as the Second World War is about to start. Shes seventeen pregnant & forced to marry Gerry Reilly a railway worker whose main aim in life is drinking heavily whenever he can. As their daughter is born Gerry joins up & heads off to war leaving Ruby to cope alone with a new baby & a family falling apart at the seams. & when her mother dies & the family secrets start to unravel Ruby has to find the strength to build a new life for herself & her daughter. Many years later retired & living quietly by the sea Ruby discovers there were more secrets in her family than she could ever have imagined. As she discovers the final pieces in her family jigsaw & uncovers a tale of secrets & lies that the could never have suspected shes left reeling from shock. ...

Brand new picture book from much-loved author/illustrator Jane Hissey. Ruby Blue & Blanket are playing dressing up but Ruby doesn't know what to be; a cowboy a witch or a ghost in a sheet? 'I just can't decide!' she cries. Luckily Blanket's idea makes everyone happy but who will win the glittering prize? ...

To help you to be a smart buyer this book discusses in detail how colour shape cut clarity transparency treatments & geographic origin affect the value of rubies sapphires & emeralds. The guide also explains how to distinguish imitation & synthetic stones from those that are real & natural. Each concept is illustrated with either photographs or line drawings. Many tips are given on buying selecting documenting & caring for these rubies sapphires & emeralds. ...

Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea she receives an anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet. Determined to discover the truth about her father's death Sally is plunged into a terrifying mystery in the dark heart of Victorian London at the centre of which lies a deadly blood-soaked jewel. Philip Pullman's ever-popular action-packed Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles Dickens in 2012. ...