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Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds
Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds
James Fergusson
¥72.99
The remarkable and touching story of a singular friendship between the author (an affluent Western correspondent) and his Pashtun interpreter who meet in an Afghan war-zone and resume their friendship when Mir becomes an asylum seeker in London’s East End. In the spring of 1997, James Fergusson, a young freelance British correspondent, encounters a local Pashtun interpreter named Mir in rebel-controlled Afghanistan. They soon become firm friends, with Mir an invaluable guide not only to the battle zone, but to the country's complex politics, culture and traditions. Not long after James’s return home, Mir and his family are forced to flee Afghanistan, fearing for their lives. When Mir arrives in London seeking asylum, it is to James that he turns for help. Now their roles reverse: the guided becomes the guide as James introduces Mir to the bewildering customs of the infidel West. Yet in many ways it is Mir who remains the guide – this time to a side of his own homeland that James had never noticed or engaged with before. He discovers whole communities of Afghans scattered throughout London, and the shadow economy in which asylum seekers are forced to work. He accompanies Mir through the labyrinthine asylum system, with its endless round of tribunals, appeals, delays and disappointments; and introduces him to the important things in life like Tesco’s, bank holiday weekends and the seaside. James Fergusson’s moving and remarkable portrait of a singular friendship gives a human face to one of the most tangled and emotive issues of our time. Powerfully evoking the no-man's land between the Third and the First Worlds, between Islam and the West, ‘Kandahar Cockney’ also places a very contemporary story in a greater historical context, showing how surprisingly enduring the legacy of Britain’s colonial era really is.
Dartmoor (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 111)
Dartmoor (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 111)
Ian Mercer
¥385.34
New Naturalist Dartmoor explores the complex and fascinating history of one of southern England's greatest National Parks, an area of enormous interest to naturalists and tourists alike. Dartmoor is said to be the loneliest wilderness in England. This has been said more often of Dartmoor than any other part of our country. Traditionally in the world of fiction as well as that of fact, Dartmoor has been renowned as a vast and empty moorland area, the property of nature rather than of man. It has always been the public's idea of a lonely place. Not many generations ago it was regarded with a certain amount of awe and nowadays it is one of our most important centres of recreation, an island in upland England of abundant interest to the naturalist. In 1951 it became a National Park, one of the first of several places that have been so designated in Great Britain, helping to conserve and promote both its beauty and cultural heritage. Spanning miles of open moorland, whilst also hiding small secluded river valleys, rare plants and endangered birds, Dartmoor is a place of variety, and has evolved in the public's mind from a forbidding place to that of romance and mystery. In the latest addition to the long-running New Naturalist series, Ian Mercer sets out to explore every aspect of this important area of southern Devon. Focusing not only on its extensive history and physical landscape, but also its cultural place within Great Britain, this is both a comprehensive and engaging look at the wild and rugged landscape that has inspired so many poets, painters and musicians over countless centuries.
Angel
Angel
Colleen McCullough
¥45.62
The bestselling author of THE THORN BIRDS returns with a novel of laughter, passion and more than a little magic … 1960, Sydney's Kings Cross. Harriet Purcell leaves her conventional, respectable home and respectable, passionless boyfriend and moves into a rooming house owned by Mrs. Delvecchio Schwartz. There, Harriet finds a life she relishes – excitement, adventure and passion. Mrs. Delvecchio Schwartz makes a living from telling fortunes, and is mother to 4-year-old Flo. Beautiful little Flo is mute, and Harriet comes to love her as if Flo were her own – and must protect her at all costs when tragedy strikes… Angel is Colleen McCullough at her vintage best, drawing on her own experiences of living in the Cross in the 1960s and writing of a world that has long gone. Most of all, it is a tale of a woman's love for a child, and what she is prepared to endure to ensure her survival.
On, Off
On, Off
Colleen McCullough
¥57.09
The captivating new novel from the international bestselling author of The Thorn Birds. It is 1965, and in Holloman, Connecticut, someone is preying on the innocent… At a prestigious research centre for the neurosciences, fondly known by its staff as ‘the Hug’, parts of a mutilated body are discovered. Very soon Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico of the Holloman police learns that a string of horrifying disappearances, each fitting the same modus operandi as the body found at the Hug, has been occurring throughout the state. Then another body is found and the medical staff become prime suspects…. With the Hug's hierarchies of power in turmoil and every member of its staff hiding something, Delmonico delves into the lives and pasts of each and every employee. It is the case of his career, and he is determined to solve it. But how do you find a monster who leaves no clues and is always two steps ahead?
The Navigator
The Navigator
Eoin McNamee
¥44.15
Time travel adventure in which a boy joins a rebel uprising against a sinister enemy – ‘The Harsh’ – in order to repair the fabric of time. Owen's ordinary life is turned upside-down the day he gets involved with the Resisters and their centuries-long feud with an ancient, evil race. The Harsh, with their icy blasts and relentless onslaught, have a single aim – to turn back time and eliminate all life. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been… But all is not as it seems in the rebel ranks. While Owen is accepted by new friends Cati and Wesley, and the eccentric Dr Diamond, others are suspicious of his motives. Could there be a Harsh spy in their midst? Where and what is the mysterious Mortmain, vital to their cause? And what was Owen’s father’s role in all this many years before? As he journeys to the frozen North on a mission of destruction, Owen comes to understand his own history and to face his destiny.
A Country Parish (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 9)
A Country Parish (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 9)
A. W. Boyd
¥456.66
The natural history of an ordinary English country parish was one of the first subjects that suggested themselves when the New Naturalist series was planned. Collins are delighted to announce the republication in facsimile form of the first editions of the very first volumes in the New Naturalist Library. Originally planned in the darkest days of World War II and first published in 1945, this series is the longest running nature series in the world. It is a reflection of the quality of the authors and the books they wrote, that they are still sought after 73 years later. The books will be identical in every way to the original first editions, including the iconic jackets by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. The natural history of an ordinary English country parish was one of the first subjects that suggested themselves when the New Naturalist series was planned. Being chiefly farmland and therefore practically all man-made, most country parishes are extremely complex from the naturalist's point of view and also inevitably contain a vast amount of human history. Any attempt to describe their plants and animals has to be closely related with the ways of man himself, who must be regarded as the chief element in the community - a fact which has been obvious enough to naturalists ever since the days of Gilbert White. For this book we were fortunate to find an author who combined a thorough all-round knowledge of natural history with a sound insight into human customs, history, pastimes and farming methods. Arnold Boyd lived in Cheshire all his life - and in keeping with the best tradition of English amateur naturalists, he excelled as a collector of facts, as is apparent from his previous books, his writing in the Manchester Guardian and other journals, and in his assistant editorship of British Birds. By weaving together his collection of facts he presents us with a book of remarkable unity and which shows a wide grasp of every aspect of the living communities. This charming yet erudite portrait will protect his beloved parish for ever from the ravages of human forgetfulness.
Grass and Grassland (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 48)
Grass and Grassland (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 48)
Ian Moore
¥456.66
The use of natural and seeded grass pastures for the feeding of livestock and other unfamiliar uses for the ubiquitous grass family are described in this succinct and beautifully illustrated work. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com The New Naturalist series has already covered many facets of the interrelationship between man and nature, but the grass family is probably the most important man in the whole plant kingdom - just how important is shown in this book. Dr. Moore, the Principal of Seale Hayne Agricultural College in Devon, is our leading authority on grasses and their utilization. His special interest is the use of natural and seeded grass pastures for the feeding of livestock. Striking advances have been made in recent years in the improvement of such pastures and Dr. Moore deals very fully with this vital link in the feeding of the human race; but he also covers that other equally important role of the grass family in our economy, the cultivation of cereal crops for the production of grain. Grass lawns and playing fields form a centre-piece in most British gardens and public parks and there is a chapter on these, but the horticultural value of grasses as ornamental plants in herbaceous borders and woodland gardens is less well known. These and many other unfamiliar uses for the ubiquitous grass family are described in this succinct and beautifully illustrated work.
Secretariat
Secretariat
William Nack
¥45.62
The remarkable true story of ‘Big Red,’ one of America’s finest racehorses. When her beloved Meadow Stables is faced with closure following her father’s illness, housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over. Despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge she calls in assistance from trainer Lucien Laurin and a host of successful jockeys. Pitted against the Phipps’ racing dynasty, Penny takes the decision to breed her mare Somethingroyal to the Phipps’ Bold Ruler, the nation’s favourite stallion. With the toss of a coin it is agreed that one family will take Somethingroyal’s first foal with the losing stable taking the colt out of Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal’s second foal. Penny loses the toss, but the wait for the unborn foal proves fortuitous when a bright red chestnut colt is born, Secretariat. Nicknamed “Big Red,” with Laurin’s guidance, Penny manages to navigate the male-dominated business of horse racing, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time. Now, more than 30 years after its initial publication, the story of "Big Red" continues to be a classic. Secretariat is the tale of a great racehorse but also a testimony to the dedication of Penny Chenery. Following her triumph with Secretariat she was elected as the first female member of The Jockey Club, changing the face of American horse racing forever.
Homecoming
Homecoming
Cathy Kelly
¥65.16
The Sunday Times No. 1 paperback bestseller. …because it’s where the heart is. Four women. Four lives. One place they call home. Eleanor Levine left Ireland years ago with just a suitcase and her mother’s recipe book. And now, a lifetime later, she returns from New York for Dublin’s beautiful Golden Square full of hard-won wisdom. As she watches life unfold from her window, she is drawn into the lives of the women who live in the square… Beautiful actress Megan Bouchier had fame and success in her grasp – then she made the wrong kind of headlines. Now she needs a place to hide. Big-hearted teacher Connie O’Callaghan is approaching forty and has given up on love. Why does no man match the heroes in her romantic novels? Rae is a loyal friend and wife, dispensing tea and sympathy from Titania’s Tea Room – until a secret threatens everything she holds dear… Rae is a loyal friend and wife, dispensing tea and sympathy from Titania’s Tea Room – until a secret threatens everything she holds dear…
Interview (Collins Business Secrets)
Interview (Collins Business Secrets)
Heather Salter
¥51.50
The interview secrets that experts and top professionals use. Get results fast with this quick, easy guide to the fundamentals of Interviews. Includes how to: ? Research the needs of the employer ? Focus the interview on your strengths ? Use body language to impress ? Deal with difficult questions ? Negotiate the perfect package
The Little Prisoner: How a childhood was stolen and a trust betrayed
The Little Prisoner: How a childhood was stolen and a trust betrayed
Jane Elliott
¥45.62
An inspirational true story of a 4 year old girl who fell into the power of a man whose evil knew no bounds. She encountered terrifying mental and physical torture from her psychopathic stepfather for a period of 17 years until she managed to break free, her spirit still unbroken Jane Elliott fell into the hands of her sadistic and brutal stepfather when she was 4 years old. Her story is both inspiring and horrifying. Kept a virtual prisoner in a fortress-like house and treated to daily and ritual abuse, Jane nonetheless managed to lose herself in a fantasy world which would keep her spirit alive. Equally as horrifying as the physical abuse Jane suffered, were the mental games her tormentor played – getting his kicks from seeing Jane humiliated, confused, crushed and defeated at every turn. Her family and neighbourhood were all terrified of Jane’s stepfather so no-one held out a rescuing hand. So Jane had to help herself. When she was 21 she ran away with her baby daughter and boyfriend to start a new life in hiding. Several years on she found the courage to go to the police. A court case followed where Jane bravely stood up against the unrepentant aggressor she so feared. He was jailed for 17 years. Jane’s family took his side.
Sacrament
Sacrament
Clive Barker
¥68.67
A famous photographer lying in a coma holds the key to the salvation of the world. But first he must travel back into the traumatic events of his childhood. Will Rabjohns has everything. He’s handsome, he’s rich, and he’s revered as the world’s greatest wildlife photographer. He’s also a haunted man, driven to risk his life for his art – to capture the raw tragedy of the wild, the beauty of nature’s violence. After a near fatal encounter with a polar bear, he lies in a coma. There he must relive a central childhood memory: a meeting with ancient and terrible forces which revealed to him the mystery at the heart of nature. And he realizes that if he awakes, he must confront the darkness of his past and wage a war, not only for his own soul, but for the soul of the planet and every animal that breathes upon it.
The Family
The Family
Kay Brellend
¥34.14
The follow-up novel to the hugely successful debut THE STREET In this dank corner of town, you have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer – even if those enemies are your family. Jimmy Wild saunters around the streets of Campbell Road, and among the people he used to terrorise. Even though the years have passed, he’s still a tyrant. The sight of his lanky frame is enough to terrify the inhabitants of this close-knit community, who reside in this villainous corner of London. Jimmy’s beautiful step-daughter Faye and his downtrodden wife Edie eek out a meagre existence for their family, having left behind their lives in Kent. What devastating act was so bad that it drove them away from the place they called home to this hovel of a house in Campbell Road? Robert and Steven Wild thought they’d moved on. It was hard enough coming to terms with the death of their mother – and now their abusive father, presumed dead, has returned. One thing you can bet on, Jimmy Wild’s not returned to start playing happy families… How can young Faye make a life for herself and carve a future for young siblings? Who is this aged woman that Jimmy Wild has come back to see? And can a romance between Faye and Rob blossom amidst a family at War?
Time Management (Collins Business Secrets)
Time Management (Collins Business Secrets)
Martin Manser
¥18.74
The time management secrets that experts and top professionals use. Get results fast with this quick, easy guide to the fundamentals of Time Management. Includes how to: ? Identify your biggest priorities and find time to achieve them ? Deal with the biggest hidden time-wasters ? Communicate effectively with colleagues and clients ? Cope with information overload ? Take control of your inbox and voicemail
Presenting (Collins Business Secrets)
Presenting (Collins Business Secrets)
Martin Manser
¥44.24
The presenting secrets that experts and top professionals use. Get results fast with this quick, easy guide to the fundamentals of Presenting. Includes how to: ? Enjoy presenting and approach it with confidence ? Assess your audience and their reactions ? Prepare presentations for maximum impact ? Use your voice and body to make your point ? Use visual aids and handle questions
Leadership (Collins Business Secrets)
Leadership (Collins Business Secrets)
Michael Heath
¥51.50
The leadership secrets that experts and top professionals use. Get results fast with this quick, easy guide to the fundamentals of Leadership. Includes how to: ? Understand and develop your leadership style ? Identify strategic goals for your department ? Motivate and manage teams of all sizes ? Build a culture of results and responsibility ? Lead the way out of a crisis
Little Bird of Heaven
Little Bird of Heaven
Joyce Carol Oates
¥57.09
‘A writer of extraordinary strengths’ Guardian Set in the mythical small city of Sparta, New York, this searing, vividly rendered exploration of the mysterious conjunction of erotic romance and tragic violence in late 20th-century America. When a young wife and mother named Zoe Kruller is found brutally murdered, the Sparta police target two primary suspects: her estranged husband Delray and her longtime lover Eddy Diehl. In turn, the Krullers's son Aaron and Eddy's daughter Krista become obsessed with one another, each believing the other's father is guilty. Told in halves in the very different voices of Krista and Aaron, Little Bird of Heaven is classic Joyce Carol Oates, in which the lyricism of intense sexual love is intertwined with the anguish of loss, and tenderness is barely distinguishable from cruelty. By the novel's end, the fated lovers, meeting again as adults, are at last ready to exorcise the ghosts of the past and come to terms with their legacy of guilt, misplaced love and redemptive yearning. With Little Bird of Heaven, Joyce Carol Oates once again confirms her place as one of the most outstanding writers at work today.
Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed
Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed
David Crane
¥73.58
‘Of all the books marking the bicentenary Waterloo, this has to be the best’ Spectator ‘A book to die for’ Evening Standard From Samuel Johnson Prize shortlisted author David Crane, this is a breathtaking portrait of the Britain that fought the battle of Waterloo. As Wellington’s rain-sodden army retreated towards an obscure valley called Waterloo, the men and women of Britain were still going to the theatre and science lectures, working in the fields and the factories, reading and writing books and sermons, painting their pictures and sitting in front of Lord Elgin’s marbles. David Crane’s stunning freeze-frame of Britain on this day of momentous change shifts hour by hour between Britain and Belgium. The Britain that fought Waterloo – its radicals and patriots, artisans and aristocrats, prisoners and poets – appears through the smoke of battle and the mythology of Waterloo in this magnificent and original tracing of the endless, overlapping connections between people’s lives.
The Lesson of the Master
The Lesson of the Master
Norman Thomas di Giovanni
¥34.14
A collection of essays on Jorge Luis Borges by his long-time friend and collaborator. Jorge Luis Borges - Argentine poet, essayist, and short-story writer - is widely considered one of the giants of 20th-century world literature. Norman Thomas di Giovanni worked alongside Borges for a number of years creating English translations of his work, the only translations personally overseen by Borges himself. In The Lesson of the Master, a memoir and essays, he writes about his time with Borges but also offers us a unique insight on the man and his work. It is an indispensable volume for Borges readers and his growing legion of students and scholars.
Corrag
Corrag
Susan Fletcher
¥73.58
A novel from Susan Fletcher, author of the bestselling Eve Green and Oystercatchers. The Massacre of Glencoe happened at 5am on 13th February 1692 when thirty-eight members of the Macdonald clan were killed by soldiers who had enjoyed the clan's hospitality for the previous ten days. Many more died from exposure in the mountains. Fifty miles to the south Corrag is condemned for her involvement in the Massacre. She is imprisoned, accused of witchcraft and murder, and awaits her death. The era of witch-hunts is coming to an end - but Charles Leslie, an Irish propagandist and Jacobite, hears of the Massacre and, keen to publicise it, comes to the tollbooth to question her on the events of that night, and the weeks preceding it. Leslie seeks any information that will condemn the Protestant King William, rumoured to be involved in the massacre, and reinstate the Catholic James. Corrag agrees to talk to him so that the truth may be known about her involvement, and so that she may be less alone, in her final days. As she tells her story, Leslie questions his own beliefs and purpose - and a friendship develops between them that alters both their lives. In Corrag, Susan Fletcher tells us the story of an epic historic event, of the difference a single heart can make - and how deep and lasting relationships that can come from the most unlikely places.
Sorcerer’s Moon: Part Three of the Boreal Moon Tale
Sorcerer’s Moon: Part Three of the Boreal Moon Tale
Julian May
¥47.77
The stunning conclusion to a powerful epic fantasy from the worldwide bestselling author of the Saga of the Pliocene Exile. For sixteen years King Conrig Ironcrown has ruled High Blenholme, battling both to preserve the Sovereignty he ruthlessly established over the four provinces of the island kingdom and to repel the invading Salka monsters that threaten them all. His hope for the future is his heir, Prince Orrion, whose betrothal to a princess of the province of Didion should assure the future peace of High Blenholme. But Orrion has no interest in the girl, and is determined to marry instead his childhood sweetheart, Lady Nyla. Orrion's madcap twin, Corodon, dreams up a scheme to keep Orry and Nyla together by asking the supernatural Beaconfolk, who appear as lights in the sky, for a magical intercession. The twins are unaware that the Beaconfolk are fighting their own battle with others of their kind; to them all humans, even princes, are but pawns to be used in their own conflict. Their granting of Orrion's wish comes in a manner the twins far from expected, and precipitates chaotic infighting amongst the folk of High Blenholme. As battles rage both on the ground and in the sky, the only hopes for peace can be found deep in King Conrig’s murky past. His former spy, Deveron Austrey, has secret magical powers and no love for the Beaconfolk. And while many of his subjects no longer remember the King's first wife, Maudrayne, she has never forgotten that her son is the true heir to the throne of High Blenholme.