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The Long Ships: A Saga of the Viking Age | "The literary equivalent of an action- and intrigue-filled adventure movie that won't insult your intelligence...Orm is a charismatic character, and Bengtsson is an infectiously enthusiastic and surprisingly funny writer — even readers with zero interest in the Europe of a millennium ago will want to keep turning the pages. All novels should be so lucky as to age this well." --NPR "A household name in Scandinavian literature since its publication during World War II, the title "The Long Ships" is recognizable to English-speakers, if at all, from a tenuously related 1964 epic with Sidney Poitier. New York Review Books reckons to remedy that with this 500-page hunk chronicling 20 years in the life of Red Orm, a son of Skania, born during the reign of Harald Bluetooth, who first goes a-viking as a teen....And if the company of so many burly, bearded heroes can weary, Bengtsson's clear-eyed witnessing of a new world dawning does not." "—L |
Friedrich Schleiermacher: Pioneer of Modern Theology (Making of Modern Theology) | Text: English (translation)Original Language: German--This text refers to thePaperbackedition. |
Lion Triumphant | Set in Elizabethan England during the war between Spain and England, this is a tangled tale of love, revenge and pride. Marie McCarthy makes Carr's characters come alive. She switches easily from Spanish to French to British accents. M.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine--This text refers to theAudio Cassetteedition. |
Ice Station Zebra | 'A thoroughly professional cliff-hanger' Sunday Telegraph |
Breakheart Pass | 'Explodes with action' The Mirror 'Alistair MacLean is a magnificent storyteller' Sunday Mirror |
Karl Barth: Theologian of Freedom (The Making of Modern Theology) | Text: English (translation)Original Language: German--This text refers to thePaperbackedition. |
HMS "Ulysses" | 'A brilliant, overwhelming piece of descriptive writing.' Observer 'A story of exceptional courage which grips the imagination.' Daily Telegraph 'It deserves an honourable place among 20th-century war books.' Daily Mail 'HMS Ulysses is in the same class as The Cruel Sea.' Evening Standard |
Where Eagles Dare | 'A real humdinger. The best MacLean.' Daily Mirror 'There is a splendid audacity about Where Eagles Dare, in which a handful of British agents invade an "impenetrable" Gestapo command post ... MacLean offers a real dazzler of a thriller, with vivid action, fine set pieces of suspense and a virtuoso display of startling plot twists.' New York Times |
The White South | "Mr Innes tells his tale with a graphic power... An adventure story indeed, but worth ten of most modern novels" Scotsman "The White South will be hard to beat. I can still hear the roar of the ice as the great bergs close in upon those stranded men of the whaling fleet" -- Daphne du Maurier Observer "Mr. Innes was a marvellous storyteller" Observer "Mr Innes' work stands in a class by itself" Financial Times--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Air Force One is Down (Alistair MacLean's UNACO) | 'A magnificent storyteller' Sunday Mirror 'The most successful British novelist of his time' Jack Higgins 'Alistar MacLean is one of the few people writing today who has a story to tell.' Daily Express |
Warleggan: A Novel of Cornwall 1792 1793/the Fontana | Winston Graham is the author of more than forty novels, which include Cordelia, Marnie, The Walking Stick and Stephanie as well as the highly successful Poldark series. His novels have been translated into seventeen languages and six have been filmed. Six of Winston Graham's books have been filmed for the big screen, the most notable being Marnie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Two television series were made of the Poldark novels which were broadcast in twenty-two countries. Winston Graham was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 1983 was awarded the OBE. He died in July 2003--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Three Women of Liverpool | Praise for Liverpool Miss: 'Records of hardship during the Thirties or earlier are not rare; but this has features that make it stand apart' Observer 'The story of a young girl's courage and perseverance against adversity... warm-hearted and excellent' Manchester Evening News |
The General Danced at Dawn | "Written in the first person, and reading authentically, it purports to record episodes in the life of a young officer, newly commisioned into a Highland regiment after service in the ranks at the very end of the war...Twenty-five years have not dimmed Mr Fraser's recollections of those hectic days of soldiering. One takes leave of his characters with real and grateful regret." - Sir Bernard Fergusson, Sunday Times"It's a while since I enjoyed a book so much, and, indeed, once I'd finished it, I felt like starting it all over again' - Glasgow Evening Times |
The Sheikh and the Dustbin | "The third McAuslan volume should certainly be among the first books you pack this or any other holiday season" - The Times"Written with the kind of unaffected vigour which has characterised the greatest British humorists, [these stories] confirm that he can do for the Scots what Flann O'Brien did for the Irish and P.G. Wodehouse for the English" - Daily Mail |
McAuslan in the Rough | "Twenty-five years have not dimmed Mr Fraser's recollections of those hectic days of soldiering after the war. Merged with his sense of the ludicrous is a real affection for those with whom he found his lot was cast. One takes leave of his characters with real and grateful regret" - Sir Bernard Fergusson, Sunday Times |
Castle Cats | Richard has been a professional photographer for 30 years, working for leading advertising agencies & magazines. He was also a founder member and artistic director of the Ledbury Poetry Festival. He has lived in Spain for the last five years, writing and photographing articles on monastic and church architecture, in northern Spain. Richard also leads tours of European historical houses. Richard and his family divide their time between London and the Asturian mountains of northern Spain. |
Spirit of the Child | Reviews of the first edition 'This book has rapidly become a classic of children's spirituality. It provides an empirical and a conceptual basis for the idea of relational spirituality, an understanding that is not only of great practical interest to teachers, clergy and parents, but creates the groundwork for a prophetic protest against forces in the modern world that would undermine the natural spirituality of human beings. It is not only refreshingly clear in an area often somewhat confused, but offers original insights into the lives and attitudes of young children.' - John M Hull is Professor of Practical Theology in the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham and Emeritus Professor of Religious Education at the University of Birmingham, England. 'The Spirit of the Child...is currently the seminal book on children's spirituality on the international scene.' - Christian Education Journal 'Very, very impressive.' - Professor Andrew Greeley, University of Chicago [One of best known sociologists of religion in the world, with a US nationally syndicated newspaper column on religion.] 'For many people, this was a ground-breaking research study...many, perhaps most, subsequent research studies made use of their definitions of spirituality and the broad perspective of spirituality that encompasses all children everywhere.' - Professor Don Ratcliff, Toccoa Falls College 'David Hay and Rebecca Nye have done outstanding research in this difficult, yet most important area. Almost all children are born with a spiritual potential, but how are we to recognize its specificity in a given case and how to foster its development - rather than to let it wither away or even corrupt it unwittingly? Reading this volume will help all involved to understand these issues more deeply, and to contribute more to the blossoming of a child's spirituality.' - Professor K. Helmut Reich, School of Consciousness Studies and Sacred Values, Rutherford University 'It is difficult not to be beguiled by Hay's analysis. What might be called its seamless holisticity, its concern to wed the spiritual to practical and altruistic purpose, and its lack of religious dogmatism (despite Hay's professed Roman Catholic affiliation) provide a sophisticated argument for educational and social purposiveness.' - Clive Erricker, Editor, International Journal of Children's Spirituality 'I have just re-read The Spirit of the Child after seven years. It was recently used in a course I taught at General Theological Seminary in New York City. The book is still as fresh and exciting today as it was seven years ago. You cannot ask for a better team of writers to produce such a volume. I have admired David Hay's work since his days at the Alister Hardy Research Centre at Manchester College, Oxford and his wonderful book, Exploring Inner Space. Dr. Hay is a biologist and experienced researcher in this field as well as an insightful commentator who sets the stage for the research described in The Spirit of the Child. He also contributes to the research, and then follows up with some practices that might be used to help children develop spiritually. Dr. Nye, a child psychologist attached to The Divinity School at Cambridge University, is a gifted and insightful researcher with an informed ability and deep intuition for knowing and being with children. As with Piaget, Winnicott and a handful of others the children knew they could talk to Dr. Nye and that they would be understood a --John M Hull is Professor of Practical Theology in the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham'Today I find references to The Spirit of the Child in many different fields, including education theory, human development, psychology and sociology. It is the classic text for exploring spirituality in children, and an enduring resource for present need and future research.' 'The Spirit of the Child...is currently the seminal book on children's spirituality on the international scene.' --Professor David Tacey, La Trobe University, Australia; author of The Spirituality Revolution--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? | This book by the author of Why Am I Afraid to Love? contains insights on self-awareness, personal growth and communication with others. Why do people continually hide their real selves from the people around them? Why are so many so insecure and afraid to open up? The answer, explains John Powell, is that maturity is reached by communicating and interacting with others. This book considers the consequences our real self faces if no one else ever finds out what we are like. In this enduring classic, the companion to Why Am I Afraid to Love?, John Powell explains how to be more emotionally open, and shows how people adopt roles and play psychological games to protect their inner selves. The courage to be our real selves can be developed, and then we can begin to grow. Now newly designed for a fresh audience, Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? is as relevant as it has been for twenty years. With a proven track record, it continues to speak to the needs and aspirations of people today. It is best included in self help sections of general bookshops, but also has a religious appeal. |
Being in Love: The Practice of Christian Prayer | 'It is a remarkably open, broad look at prayer... Readers serious about prayer will find a wise guide.' The Tablet 'He is one of the most imaginative and creative writers in the field of spirituality, weaving the insights of the great world religions into a spirituality which is in bracing harmony with the Christian tradition.' Theological Book Review |
Awareness | De Mello's spiritual classic remains at the top of the Fount bestsellers more than five years after its original publication. One of the most gifted spiritual guides of the 20th century, de Mello uses humour, compassion and insight to help his readers into a real understanding of the importance of "awareness" in understanding ourselves and the world around us. Awareness is a comprehensive spiritual guide filled with wisdom as it tackles life's big questions--love, anger and fear, change, suffering, happiness and loss. |
The Golden Rendezvous | 'Alistair MacLeans's best...pure entertainment, wonderfully fast' Daily Telegraph 'MacLean is a master of this kind of action novel. Evening Standard 'In my opinion, his best ever. The pace is dazzling, the sea atmosphere superb' Sunday Express 'Grippingly suspenseful... ends with a supra-titanic bang' Time 'Mr MacLean's grip on his story and characters is superb... His climax is murderous on the nerves' Sunday Telegraph |
Beasts in My Belfry | "'A hilarious record that no Durrell fan will want to miss' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'A loving chronicle... Highly entertaining and informative' THE TIMES"--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Lime Street at Two | 'Remarkable that from so bleak and unloving a background came a writer of such affectionate understanding and unsettling honesty' Sunday Telegraph 'What makes this writer's self-told tale so memorable?... An absolute recall, a genius for the unforgettable detail, the rare chance of subject' The Good Book Guide |
Reaching Out | The Church Times said of Reaching Out '!wide maturity, full of insight.' The Tablet said that Nouwen was 'particularly good on the whole business of knowing ourselves.' The Church of England Newspaper said that is 'explores areas of spirituality rarely touched on in our evangelical tradition.'--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
By the Waters of Liverpool | 'A fascinating autobiography which has also gained a new topicality! highly gripping and entertaining' Birmingham Post '!should be long and widely read as an extraordinary human story and social document' Observer |
Fern-Seed and Elephants and Other Essays on Christianity | 'The magic of his writings shows no abatement... an admirable collection.' Church Times--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Rare Air: Michael on Michael | This slight volume contains little to justify its addition to the already overburdened shelf of books about the basketball legend. Editor Vancil, a sports journalist, uses Jordan's own words to present His Airness as a human superstar who feels pain and pressure like the rest of us. We see images of Jordan on the court, at press conferences, and with fans and team members. With the exception of a few shots of his wife and family, the photos are undistinguished. The text lacks insight and is often pedantic: "Marriage has given me a whole new perspective on life, particularly life after basketball." After reading this trivia, we don't know much more about Jordan than when we started. Not recommended.- Ron Chepesiuk, Winthrop Univ. Lib., Rock Hill, S.C.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Catch the Fire: The Toronto Blessing an Experience of Renewal and Revival | The remarkable story of "The Toronto Blessing" and the religious revival that has sparked worldwide curiosity and enthusiasm. |
An Autobiography | 'Wonderfully easy to read and engrossing.' The Times 'The best thing she has ever written.' Woman's Own 'Agatha Christie's most absorbing mystery - the story of her own unusual life. She has put it all on record: her early romances; a broken (and a happy) marriage; strange events on the path to roaring success.' Daily Mail 'A wonderful book - written with a delight in the gradual unfolding of 75 years through the eyes of an exceptional old lady and writer.' Financial Times |
Wanting Everything | Dorothy Rowe was born in Australia in 1930, and worked as a teacher and child psychologist before coming to England, where she obtained her PhD at Sheffield University. From 1972 until 1986 she was head of Clinical Psychology. She is now engaged in writing, lecturing and research, and is world-renowned for her work on how we communicate and why we suffer. Her books include "Wanting Everything', "Beyond Fear' and "Time On Our Side'. |
The Successful Self | Dorothy Rowe was born in Australia in 1930, and worked as a teacher and child psychologist before coming to England, where she obtained her PhD at Sheffield University. From 1972 until 1986 she was head of Clinical Psychology. She is now engaged in writing, lecturing and research, and is world-renowned for her work on how we communicate and why we suffer. Her books include "Wanting Everything', "Beyond Fear' and "Time On Our Side'. |
Dorothy Rowe's Guide to Life | Dorothy Rowe was born in Australia in 1930, and worked as a teacher and child psychologist before coming to England, where she obtained her PhD at Sheffield University. From 1972 until 1986 she was head of Clinical Psychology. She is now engaged in writing, lecturing and research, and is world-renowned for her work on how we communicate and why we suffer. Her books include "Wanting Everything', "Beyond Fear' and "Time On Our Side'. |
Child of the Phoenix | 'Her forte is mood, atmosphere and the toe-curling frisson.' Sunday Times 'Readers of Barbara Erskine are held in thrall' Woman's Realm 'Stephen King meeting Ruth Rendell' Frank Delaney 'Barbara Erskine's storytelling talent is undeniable' The Times--This text refers to thePaperbackedition. |
Encounters | 'A marvellous mixture of emotional tales with the emphasis on love.' - Woman's World'Short stories with the "unputdownable" quality of a good novel...convincing...an easy, compelling read.' - Eastern Daily Press |
Flux | 'Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein succeeded in doing it, but very few others. Now Stephen Baxter joins their exclusive ranks -- writing science fiction in which the science is right, the author knowledgeable, and the extrapolations a sheer pleasure to read, admire, enjoy. The reaction is that which C.S. Lewis referred to when he described science fiction as the only genuine consciousness-expanding drug. Flux is a highly imaginative and moving novel .. It is a rare thing to find such a good read. Wonderful stuff!' Harry Harrison, New Scientist 'Flux puts Stephen Baxter in the front line of world-spinners.' The Times |
The Real Story (The Gap Series) | The Real Storyis a short but intense tale set in a future in which humans travel between the stars using "gap drives," controllable brain implants are punishable by death, and a private company called the United Mining Company runs law enforcement for all of known space. Ensign Morn Hyland lives aboard a police ship with most of her family, chasing down pirates and other illegals who prey on the weak or smuggle goods into forbidden space.Through a strange turn of events, one particularly nasty perpetrator ends up with Morn as his companion--or at least that's the way it appears to the folks at the space station's bar. Why would a young, strong, beautiful police officer associate with a crusty, murdering pirate? People watch with interest as Morn appears to fall in lust with another racy illegal, Captain Nick Succorso. Morn and Nick must have plotted together to frame Angus and escape together, right? But therealstory was quite different.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Freedom at Midnight | 'Magnificently enlightening and exciting.' --National Observer, Washington'The song of India...illuminated like scenes in a pageant.' --Time Magazine, New York'Thrilling...staggers the imagination.' --Daily Mail--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
If Tomorrow Comes | 'A master storyteller at the top of his game.' USA Today 'Compulsively readable.' New York Times Book Review 'Sidney Sheldon is a master of giving the public what it wants' Los Angeles Times |
Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives | Yvonne Kason, M.D., was a family physician, a transpersonal psychotherapist and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She was the founder of the Spiritual Emergency Research and Referral Clinic and a founder and board member of the Kundalini Research Network. Dr. Kason has been a guest on numerous television and radio shows across Canada and the U.S. Her near-death experience has been a re-enacted on "Sighting," as well as in two television documentaries. A recognized international expert on near-death, kundalini and mystical experiences, she is in demand as a lecturer and media resource.--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
A Good Clean Fight | A Good Clean Fightfocuses on the British campaign against Rommel in 1942, in particular on one light-armored company's deep reconnaissance of and raids on isolated German airfields--led by the rather daft Jack Lampard--and on Major Paul Schramm, a German intelligence officer, who cleverly tracks the company. We are also introduced to some air squadrons from both sides and their marvelous dogfights. In one tactile scene, a pilot rolls his craft and banks sharply to avoid flak; he "browns out" and then finds himself far over the desert, momentarily quite lost. Nonetheless, Schramm and Lampard steal the show, chasing each other, cracking jokes--they are really quite alike, and, seen through their eyes, war is a grim but also a joyous affair. Even the plague of flies that follows these sweating men every step of the way can seem amusing: "If they followed Lampard rather more faithfully it was not because he was the officer but because he was six foot two and there was more of him to overheat." Robinson is extremely funny, actually, and subtle, which lifts his writing out of the genre; even so, he's not much interested in causes or in the meaninglessness of war. Of course it's meaningless, he might say. He wants to focus on young men in a great adventure, risking their lives and loving it, playing deadly games with complicated, deadly machinery. "Men are always killing themselves to prove their manhood," says a woman at Paul Schramm's funeral. Precisely.John Mort--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
The Rampart Worlds: Orion Arm Bk. 2 | 'You have to admire the scope of her work' SFX 'A certain crowd pleaser' Kirkus Reviews 'Julian May has irrevocably placed herself among the greats' Asimov's SF Magazine 'A writer of exceptional perception and power' Jean Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear |
Slow Lightning | 'The heir to Asimov' MICHAEL SWANWICK |
A Piece of Cake | 'An outstanding novelist's brilliantly researched portrait of the war in the air and the men who fought it' Max Hastings. 'The dialogue is convincing, the story is emotionally moving and it contains some of the best descriptions of battle I've read' Time Out. 'Robinson is probably the best novelist ever to write about fighter combat: surprising, hyper-realistic and very, very dark' Spectator.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Violent Ward | Deighton's latest, an enjoyable departure from his tales of British espionage ( City of Gold , etc.), introduces a protagonist with definite series potential. Harried L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy is plagued by a slew of eccentrics who fully bear out the book's epigraph: "If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the Violent Ward." Among them are an ex-wife who tries to get more alimony by perching on the ledge outside his office, a slightly over-the-hill actor in search of a handgun, a Robert Maxwell clone called Sir Jeremy Westbridge and a Trump-like entrepreneur named Zach Petrovich, who owns Murphy's law firm and is married to his high school sweetheart. Their maneuverings spark a complicated plot whose many ramifications include a charitable organization that doubles as a clearinghouse for those seeking to fake their own deaths and the set-up of a tax-free Peruvian corporation through the use of bearer shares, but Murphy keeps all the craziness in perspective with a first-person narration that unfolds as a series of quiet, subtle surprises. Told in perfect Dashiell Hammett style, with the clues all noted but never underlined, this novel respects the reader's intelligence and almost begs for a rereading just to savor how skillfully Deighton has woven everything together. Author tour.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
A Storm of Swords: Part 1 Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3) | ‘Nobody does fantasy quite like George R.R. Martin’Sunday Times‘Colossal, staggering… all the intoxicating complexity of the Wars of the Roses or Imperial Rome’SFX‘The sheer mind-boggling scope of this epic has sent other fantasy writers away shaking their heads… Its ambition: to construct the Twelve Caesars of fantasy fiction, with characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias’Guardian |
To Play the King (House of Cards Trilogy) | 'With a friend like Michael Dobbs, who on earth needs enemies? His timing is again impeccable. A good romp, and gloriously cheeky. Dobbs' books grab because of their authenticity - the man knows his stuff.' The Times 'This thriller will delight anybody who relishes political intrigue... a model of its kind and impeccably timed.' Daily Mail |
Along Came a Spider | This second big winter thriller by a writer named Patterson (see Fiction Forecasts, Oct. 19) features a villain (a multiple-personality serial killer/kidnapper) whom the publisher hopes will remind readers of Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter, and a hero who is compared to those of Jonathan Kellerman. Unfortunately, the novel has few merits of its own to set against those authors' works. Hero Alex Cross is in fact a black senior detective in Washington, D.C., who is also a psychiatrist and has a facile but not entirely convincing line of sentimental-cynical patter. The villain is Gary Soneji/Murphy (read Hyde/Jekyll), who kills for recognition, and finally kidnaps the kids of prominent parents. Alex is soon on the case, more enraged by Gary's killing of poor ghetto blacks than by the Lindbergh-inspired kidnapping, and becomes involved with a gorgeous, motorcycle-riding Secret Service supervisor who is not what she seems. Soneji/Murphy is eventually captured--but can the bad part of him be proven guilty? There is even a hint at the end that he may survive for a sequel, though the reader has virtually forgotten him by then. Spider reads fluently enough, but its action and characters seem to have come out of some movie-inspired never-never land. If a contemporary would-be nail-biter is to thrill as it should, it urgently needs stronger connections to reality than this book has. Come back, Thomas Harris! 150,000 first printing; Literary Guild main selection.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition. |
The Ghosts of Sleath | Veteran horror writer James Herbert brings back the protagonist ofHauntedto investigate psychic disturbances in a picturesque village in the Lake District of England. It's an interesting mishmash of a novel--not entirely successful, but enjoyable all the same. Herbert's penchant for gorgeously visceral carnage unfortunately clashes with his equally skilled ability to create a subtle mood of supernatural terror. And he throws way too many ingredients into the stew: family secrets, rape, infanticide, necrophilia, the "Black Arts," a moldering mansion, a sinister yellow fog, drowning children, poltergeist pranks, a haunted painting, a tormented vicar, a neglectful doctor, even an evil knight. Yet, asNecrofile: The Review of Horror Fictionreports, "None of these flaws are fatal. These days, making a classic ghost story work at all--let alone on the scale ofThe Ghosts of Sleath--requires a daunting level of craft, control, and consistency.... Many of the novel's supernatural elements ... evoke the requisite chills."--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
The Complete Stories: v. 2 | Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, the world's most prolific author of fiction and non-fiction. The Good Doctor's fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century. |
Perfectly Correct | 'Philippa Gregory reigns supreme' Today |
The Final Cut (House of Cards Trilogy) | 'A triumphant return... The best book of the three. The action is unflagging, the characterization razor-sharp, the satirical barbs at politics and politicians unfailingly accurate. Urquhart's last days in Downing Street are as compelling as Mrs Thatcher's. What a brilliant creation F.U. is.' Sunday Telegraph 'Razor-sharp and merciless... One thing is certain: F.U. will be remembered for much longer than the name of many a real Prime Minister.' Daily Mail 'Magnificent... this book has it all.' Sunday Express |
Lady of Hay | Erskine's first novel gets off to a fine start. As a participant in a college research project on hypnotic regression, Jo Clifford is almost too good a subject. Under hypnosis, she relives the final, tortured moments in the life of Matilda, a 12th century Welshwoman. In the process, Jo herself comes close to death. The story then jumps 15 years. Jo, now a journalist researching regression, is again hypnotized and again regresses to Matilda's excitement-packed life. Unfortunately, the pace of the early pages is not maintained. The problem is not with Jo/Matilda, who are both well-drawn, or even with the whopping coincidences Jo encounters. What slows the narrative is the bevy of minor characters, Jo's acquaintances. They talk to her and about her, they try to help her and they conspire against her, all at the expense of the central plotline. This is still a good read, but it could have been better. Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild alternate.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Glamorous Powers | Jon Darrow, an Anglican priest and abbot with psychic abilities, has a vision that he interprets as God's instruction to leave his religious order. "In this witty, wise novel, the question 'Does God exist?' is always understood and, true to life, ambiguously answered," wrote PW.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Ten Lords A-Leaping | The sixth Robert Amiss mystery is a wonderful romp set largely among the Lords of Parliament?either in their chambers or on their estates. The redoubtable Ida "Jack" Troutbeck, Mistress of St. Mary's College, Cambridge (seen in Matricide at St. Martha's), about to be elevated to the House of Lords, imperiously enlists the bookish Amiss to assist her in her latest campaign, namely to defend the ancient British tradition of fox-hunting from an all-out assault by various animal-rights activists. Amiss doesn't quite approve of hunting, but that doesn't deter Troutbeck: "Bugger your moral susceptibilities," she orders, and he does. While the opposition counts among its supporters the likes of Brother Francis (Lord Purseglove), whose vapid nature poetry would embarrass a bunny rabbit, Troutbeck's allies include a couple of boorish lords who must be controlled, while the Rights of Animals League proves a formidable foe. Troutbeck is great fun?a woman of large and lusty appetites who demolishes arguments or a glass of whisky with equal gusto. Amiss is swept along in her wake as the war of words and wits turns to a murderous assault in the House of Lords that leaves several members dead and others shaken. Edwards ably skewers fox-hunters and anti-fox hunters alike, as well as a slew of other targets in this farcical and appealing mystery.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Unfinished Portrait | 'A study of a shy, emotional nature, verging on the pathological... worth reading.' New York Times |
Blue Genes | After The Mermaids Singing (see Forecasts, Oct. 28), her harrowing Gold Dagger winner, McDermid returns to her Manchester PI Kate Brannigan (last seen in Clean Break) for a fast-paced joyride that swoops and curves past (or right over) villains with barely a pause. Still mourning the death of her lover, Richard, Kate is hired by two "barely comprehensible Glaswegian musicians" to find out who is trashing their band's reputation by sending goons to break up their shows. She hasn't time to troll Manchester's music scene before friends complicate things by dropping bombshells. First, her business partner announces he's selling his share of the shop and moving to Australia; unfortunately, Kate lacks the funds to buy him out. Then her best friend, Alexis, says that she and her pregnant lover, Christine, need help. The gynecologist who, as Alexis puts it, "worked with us" on the pregnancy has been murdered, and Alexis believes that if Kate doesn't steal the relevant medical files they'll lose the baby. And that's if Kate can figure out who the doctor is: Alexis knows her as Helen Maitland, but the newspapers call her Sarah Blackstone. By the time Kate figures out who stabbed the mysterious doctor, she has forgotten why she's looking. But as Kate cruises along, whether setting up a trap with her chum DCI Della Prentice or cutting a deal with the "Godfather of Manchester" (who has a fake Italian accent), readers will happily keep up, even if it leaves them a little breathless. (Feb.) FYI: McDermid's Gold Dagger Award- winning mystery, The Mermaids Singing, is being published in the U.S. in December by HarperCollins.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Red Gold | 'Just when it looked as if Robert Harris had cornered the market in historical thrillers, along comes Alan Furst with a book that Harris could not better if he lived to be 100. Wartime Paris is beautifully evoked.' Sunday Telegraph 'Alan Furst's sequence of spy novels deserves to be as feted as Patrick O'Brian's sea stories! gloriously cinematic.' Evening Standard 'Cracking entertainment! all the cinematic flair of Casablanca.' The Times 'Brings an era to life with a feeling of authenticity that can only be described as breathtaking and wholly addictive.' The Times 'Nobody does it better. Gripping stuff related with a delicacy and economy that could trace a pattern on porcelain. Quite masterly.' Literary Review 'I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good spy thriller.' Mail on Sunday |
Winston's War | 'Michael Dobbs' latest novel is a vividly realised record of the events surrounding the great Briton's remarkable rise. An intriguing tale of espionage and treason ! a work to enthral. This novel never ceases to be compelling.' Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail 'Churchill is a brooding presence ! as riveting as Francis Urquhart. Dobbs' novel is astonishingly historically accurate. He certainly knows where all the skeletons are hidden and where every body is buried. He manages to give a vivid impression of the seamier side of politics in the year that immediately preceded the outbreak of war ! compelling.' Anthony Howard, The Times 'Dobbs has done a brilliant job in evoking the drama and despair of Britain hovering on the edge of the abyss.' Sunday Express 'Michael Dobbs weaves a fascinating tale of conspiracy, blackmail and treachery ! This page-turning, meaty, densely textured wartime thriller unblinkingly dissects the wealthy oligarchy that nearly ruined Britain and throws a very new light on Burgess and his place in history.' Myles McWeeney, Irish Independent |
Turbulent Priests | Divorcing Jack: 'A joy from start to finish... Witty, fast-paced and throbbing with menace, Divorcing Jack reads like The Thirty-Nine Steps rewritten for the '90s by Roddy Doyle' Time Out Cycle of Violence: 'Bateman's is the ultimate word on the insanity of the Troubles: no one has done it better' Scotland on Sunday Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men: 'Fast, furious, riotously funny and at the end, never a dry eye in the house' Mail on Sunday Empire State: 'A hugely enjoyable novel... blessed with a beautiful sense of irony... It's like Carl Hiaasen, Tom Wolfe, and Roddy Doyle at their best' The Herald |
The Burden | 'Very much the art of story-telling that would be at home in the woman's magazine.' Times Literary Supplement |
Fell of Dark | 'One of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists' The Times 'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction' Observer 'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph 'Hill's wit is the constant, ironic foil to his vision' Mail On Sunday |
Ultimate Prizes | Neville Aysgarth, an ambitious archdeacon who appeared as a relatively minor character in Glamorous Powers , takes center stage here to narrate the story of his lifetime quest for the "ultimate prizes." WW II has started, and Neville's marriage to Grace, the perfect wife and mother, is cracking under the pressure of being worthy of her perfection. After Grace dies, Neville marries socialite Dido Tallent, but when their first child dies at birth, his faith in both God and his own motives is rocked. In crisis, Neville asks his colleague Jon Darrow (narrator of Glamorous Powers ) for spiritual first aid and, guided by a wise abbot friend of Jon's, is forced to an honest appraisal of himself and his ambition--which has its roots in his early life. He struggles back to spiritual health and eventually emerges a wiser man, more honest and loving toward his family and his flock. This is the third in Howatch's incomparable series about the Church of England in the 20th century; it's a measure of her achievement that, besides telling a fascinating story boldly and well, she illuminates often quite abstruse religious and ecclesiastical questions. Here, Neville's ministry to captured Germans in a local prisoner-of-war camp leads to the discussion of Christian--ethical, moral--behavior during war, a topic that can never be out of date. Readers will await impatiently Scandalous Risks . 40,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition. |
The Rhythm Section | After the death of her parents and brother in a plane crash over the Atlantic, Stephanie Patrick descends into a life of prostitution and dissolution. She begins to pull herself together when a journalist tells her that the crash was no accident, that it was a terrorist bombing covered up by the world's intelligence agencies. Then the journalist is murdered, and Stephanie is recruited into a shadowy law enforcement agency to become a killer. If the plot of this first novel sounds a little like the movie and TV seriesLa Femme Nikita, that's understandable. But Burnell manages to inject some new life into the tired premise. Stephanie is a tough, resilient heroine, seriously challenged by the multiple personalities she's forced to don, while focused laserlike on avenging her family's death. Even the terrorists emerge as more than cardboard cutouts, especially in the climactic scene in which Stephanie confronts her antagonist. What begins as a B-movie knockoff ends as an entertaining meditation on the futility of terrorist brinkmanship.George Needham--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Death on the Air: And Other Stories | 'Ngaio Marsh worked largely within the conventions of the golden age detective story but transcended the genre by the power of her writing, the excellent use she makes of her own experience and interests, and the rich variety of characters who people her novels. The best of her books will endure.' P.D.James 'An elegant, disciplined writer, Marsh deserves to be read and re-read not just for her plots but for her characterisation, for her painter's eye view and for her outsider's insights into the heart of a vanished social world.' Susan Howatch 'I rate Ngaio Marsh among the best in this genre, having read and re-read them many times over the years.' Joan Hickson |
Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories | 'Little masterpieces of detection. Poirot and Agatha Christie at their inimitable best.' Sunday Express |
Whispers in the Sand | Recently divorced Anna Coburn cheers herself up by retracing a journey her great-mother Louise made in the nineteenth century, a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. She takes with her two mementoes of Louise, an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and her diary which has lain unread for 100 years in which she discovers a wonderful Victorian love story - and a chilling, more distant secret of the scent bottle as she finds herself pursued by the same terrifying spectres as her great grandmother.An eerie tale of romantic suspense by the author of the blockbusters Lady of Hay, Encounters, Distant Voices, On the Edge of Darkness et al. |
Alice Hartley's Happiness | Praise for Philippa Gregory: 'Philippa Gregory... is a mesmerizing storyteller.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Fascinating... engrossing... mesmerising... riveting... compelling... a pacey narrative that is just begging to be read in one sitting.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'A rich brew of passion and intrigue.' DAILY MAIL |
Miss Garnet's Angel | Guardian angels have attained such trendy status in American popular fiction that it's refreshing to read Vickers, a writer from across the Atlantic, whose subtle depiction of a life touched by a heavenly spirit carries not a hint of clich‚. Her debut novel is an unpretentious gem of a book that charts the late coming-of-age of Miss Julia Garnet, a retired English schoolteacher who spends six months in Venice after her lifelong companion, Harriet, dies. Venice has a magical effect on reserved Julia: a dyed-in-the-wool Communist, she relaxes in her antipathy toward religion, and even begins to visit the local church. There, she becomes enamored of a series of paintings that tell the story of the Apocryphal book of Tobit, a tale that mixes elements of Judaism with the religion of Zoroaster. In the story, young Tobias travels to Medea, part of the Persian Empire, to collect a debt for his father, blind Tobit. He is accompanied on his journey by a hired guide who turns out to be the Angel Raphael. As Julia learns more about Tobias's trek, she embarks upon a soul-altering journey of her own. She falls in love with an art dealer, Carlo, and befriends Sarah and Toby, twins working on the restoration of a Venetian chapel. When Toby disappears suddenly, after discovering a priceless Renaissance painting, Julia finds out that neither Carlo nor the twins are exactly what they seem--but that the Angel Raphael's watchful spirit will help good prevail. (Feb.)Forecast: This touching novel, a sleeper hit in Britain, should win American fans eager for a treatment of religious themes without the gooey sentiment that often accompanies the topic of angels.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Tied Up in Tinsel | 'So entertaining that I recommend it unreservedly.' Daily Telegraph 'Agreeably effortless telling.' Guardian 'One of her best and most baffling mysteries' Daily Express |
Venona: The Greatest Secret of the Cold War | The astonishing story of VENONA remains one of the last untold chapters in the history of the Cold War. Based on the only complete set of decrypts held in Britain outside Whitehall, and supplemented by interviews with most of the key players in the drama,VENONAreveals how the U.S. National Security Agency and its British counterpart, GCHQ, spent 37 years analyzing cipher traffic to and from Moscow. VENONA provided the FBI and CIA with compelling evidence against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Alger Hiss, and many others, but ‹to protect the source ‹VENONA could never be mentioned in any trial. Nigel West identifies, for the first time, the real names of several important Soviet British spies, disclosing that there are nearly 300 as yet unidentified agents in America and Britain. Once again, West proves himself a masterly guide to the intricate world of espionage and a supremely well-informed authority on the spies themselves. |
Cartooning with "The Simpsons" | 'The wittiest and most literate show on television', Brenda Maddox, The Times |
The Only Game | 'Reginald Hill writes brilliantly throughout, creating memorable characters with chiselled skill' Sunday Times 'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction' Observer |
The Other Boleyn Girl | Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Anne, her sister Mary and their brother George are all brought to the king's court at a young age, as players in their uncle's plans to advance the family's fortunes. Mary, the sweet, blond sister, wins King Henry VIII's favor when she is barely 14 and already married to one of his courtiers. Their affair lasts several years, and she gives Henry a daughter and a son. But her dark, clever, scheming sister, Anne, insinuates herself into Henry's graces, styling herself as his adviser and confidant. Soon she displaces Mary as his lover and begins her machinations to rid him of his wife, Katherine of Aragon. This is only the beginning of the intrigue that Gregory so handily chronicles, capturing beautifully the mingled hate and nearly incestuous love Anne, Mary and George ("kin and enemies all at once") feel for each other and the toll their family's ambition takes on them. Mary, the story's narrator, is the most sympathetic of the siblings, but even she is twisted by the demands of power and status; charming George, an able plotter, finally brings disaster on his own head by falling in love with a male courtier. Anne, most tormented of all, is ruthless in her drive to become queen, and then to give Henry a male heir. Rather than settling for a picturesque rendering of court life, Gregory conveys its claustrophobic, all-consuming nature with consummate skill. In the end, Anne's famous, tragic end is offset by Mary's happier fate, but the self-defeating folly of the quest for power lingers longest in the reader's mind.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
The Wise Woman | The author of the Wideacre trilogy offers another intense, absorbing tale, a grisly drama of passion and witchcraft in 16th-century England. Growing up as an ill-used apprentice to Morach, the much-feared wise woman of the moors, Alys finds respite by joining an order of Catholic nuns. When young Lord Hugo and his men burn the abbey to the ground during a drunken rampage, Alys is the only one to escape; she flees back to Morach, consumed with guilt at having abandoned her dying sisters. Summoned to minister to Lord Hugh, Hugo's father, Alys soon finds herself deeply involved in the treachery and intrigue surrounding the old man's attempts to have his son's marriage to the barren Lady Catherine annulled. Attracted to Hugo despite his murderous past, Alys begins to practice witchcraft in earnest to rid him of Catherine and become his wife. Her spells work all too well: Catherine's long-awaited pregnancy ends disastrously, and Hugo comes to love Alys, but in a sickly haze of lust that provides no basis for marriage. Alys soon finds herself so sunk in evil, so removed from God's love, that only a truly shocking gesture can bring about her salvation. Gregory adeptly manipulates hair-raising horror and mounting suspense, brilliantly evoking the period's turbulent atmosphere. Dou ble day Book Club alternate.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Zelda's Cut | Masquerading as a trashy novelist may solve English writer Isobel Latimer's financial problems, but it also plunges her into a full-fledged identity crisis in Gregory's flighty, overplotted novel. Isobel needs money to support her ailing husband, Philip, and his newfound interest in pool building, so when her agent, Troy Cartwright, informs her that her literary novels are earning less and less, she tells him, "If they won't pay me to write good books, then I'll just have to write bad." She and Troy invent the persona of Zelda Vere, a heavily made-up, well-dressed blonde bombshell, the opposite of 52-year-old country matron Isobel. Zelda's "survivor fiction," The Devil's Disciple, is a major hit that earns Isobel all the money she could ever need, but she finds herself increasingly caught between superego and id, between an unfulfilling loyal marriage and sexual experimentation with Troy. When Isobel sets off on her book tour with Troy, Gregory's plot takes an exotic and erotic turn, depicting a world of cross-dressing, cocaine and champagne. Returning to her home in Kent, Isobel finds Philip miraculously recovered and expending all his energy on the construction of an expensive new pool. Philip has also decided to invest (with Isobel's money) in the handsome pool man's business. Backstabbers reveal themselves, to no one's surprise, and Isobel's deliberationsAshould she stay or should she go?Aare prolonged until an abrupt, bewildering denouement puts a stop to the runaway narrative. Gregory, a popular writer of historical fiction (Earthly Joys, etc.), knows whereof she speaks when she describes television interviews and book deals, though the over-the-top fantasy she spins from the details may test readers' patience. (Jan. 16)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Growing Up with Dick and Jane: Learning and Living the American Dream | Growing up with Dick and Janeis a simply presented but often amusing analysis of American popular culture and educational theories through the looking glass of the Dick and Jane readers. The book is a visual treat, with a layout that looks likeWiredmagazine for preschoolers. However, the real reward comes at the end: packaged into a pocket on the inside back cover is a small volume reprinting five classic Dick and Jane tales, includingLook,See It Go,andSomething Blue for Puff. |
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket | 'I have never met Richard Holmes, but I am deeply jealous of him for Redcoat opens with the re-enactment of a Napoleonic battle that I wish I had written myself... The redcoat and his family were never appreciated, but Richard Holmes has written them a marvellous memorial. Redcoat is a wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it, anyone who likes history will want to own it and anyone who cherishes good writing will read it with pleasure.' BERNARD CORNWELL, Daily Mail |
Shikasta: Re: Colonised Planet 5: Personal, Psychological, Historical Documents Relating to Visit by Johor (George Sherban) Emissary (Grade 9) 87th of the Last Period of the Last Days | 'Magnificent ... an astouding book that sets out to chronicle the whole world of humanity, spirit, earth, stars, soul, virtue, evil, pre-Eden forever' Myrna Blumberg, The Times 'Profound, relevant and daring' Rachel Billington, Financial Times 'Shikasta is a piercing diagnosis of the unease spreading through our civilization. A powerful fable.' W.L. Webb, Guardian 'Shikasta is at once a brief history of the world, a tract against human destructiveness, an ode to the natural beauties of this earth and a hymn to the music of the spheres.' Time |
In Xanadu | 'Brilliant' Spectator 'Glorious' Patrick Leigh Fermor 'Dalrymple is probably the best travel writer of his generation' Daily Mail 'The future of travel writing lies in the hands of gifted authors like Dalrymple' Sara Wheeler, Independent |
Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic | Kosko , an engineering professor at the University of Southern California, makes a provocative new scientific paradigm intelligible to the general reader. Fuzzy logic posits a world in which absolutes, such as those implied in the words "true" and "false , " are less important and interesting than the matters of degree between them. "Fuzziness is grayness," and "the truth lies in the middle," according to Kosko, one of the pioneers of fuzzy logic theory, which he persuasively presents as a world view rooted more in Buddhist and Taoist assumptions than in the dichotomous Aristotelian tradition. He proposes FATs (Fuzzy Approximation Theorems) for the existence (and non-existence, as fuzziness demands) of God and as models of the abortion debate. In consumer terms, fuzzy logic is behind such "smart" machines as air conditioners and microwave ovens that gauge their operation to the conditions and demands of a given moment's task. Writing with style and risk, Kosko challenges assumptions, not about the existence of scientific authority, but about its nature.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 | Doris Lessing is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007. Her first novel, 'The Grass is Singing', was published in 1950. Among her other celebrated novels are 'The Golden Notebook', 'The Fifth Child' and 'Memoirs of a Survivor'. She has also published two volumes of her autobiography, 'Under my Skin' and 'Walking in the Shade'. Her most recent novel is 'Alfred and Emily'. |
Dangerous Pleasures: A Decade of Stories | 'Nattily subversive, sexually ambiguous, intelligent and disturbing. The prose sizzles with acidic observation.' Sunday Times 'Not one of these eleven stories is a dud. All of them are concerned with the fallout that occurs when soft-focussing fantasy collides with hard-nosed reality. The lingering after-effects "lie on the sweeter side of bleak". Witty, moving and very much alive.' Time Out 'Gale has long been a master of short fiction. So it comes as no surprise to find that his first collection of stories shows him to be an adept of the art ... the form utilises all his strengths of acute observation, gentle wit and humane acceptance of human diversity ... Wit and wisdom, metaphor and moment constantly combine to delight.' The Times 'Patrick Gale revels in absurd risks. It's the promise of an unexpected, and potentially implausible outcome that entices you into his stories. The prose sizzles with acidic observations.' Independent on Sunday 'Gale is a master of character, and he slips under the skins of his women protagonists with such wit that it's often hard to believe he's a man. From the misplaced passions of a jilted writer these fresh, clear-headed stories are reminiscent of Gale's back catalogue of acclaimed novels.' Elle 'Gale pins down the pain of love and leaving and the no-man's-land between the apparently real and the illusory. He writes of uncertain memories and threatened loyalties and, in Dressing Up In Voices, of a couple whose passionate, inevitable break-up is traced with unrelenting accuracy.' Scotland on Sunday |
Jumping to Conclusions | Christina Jones, brought up in a circus family, wrote short stories for some time before being encouraged to write her first novel, Going the Distance, which became a highly successful WHS Fresh Talent entry. She is married and lives outside Oxford. This is her fourth novel. |
The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas | Text: English, Norwegian (translation)--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
The Flashman: from the Flashman Papers, 1839-42 | 'The Flashman Papers do what all great sagas do - winning new admirers along the way but never, ever betraying old ones. It is an immense achievement.' Sunday Telegraph 'Not so much a march as a full-blooded charge, fortified by the usual lashings of salty sex, meticulously choreographed battle scenes and hilariously spineless acts of self preservation by Flashman.' Sunday Times 'Not only are the Flashman books extremely funny, but they give meticulous care to authenticity. You can, between the guffaws, learn from them.' Washington Post 'A first-rate historical novelist' Kingsley Amis |
The Long Kill | Eminent British author Reginald Hill, writing as Patrick Ruell, tells a feverishly suspenseful story here. A political assassin identified only by the terse surname Jaysmith, is sent to England's Lake District, where he misses his target, Steven Bryant. Since his forte, "the long kill" with the aid of a telescopic lens, is becoming impossible due to his failing eyesight, he phones in his resignation to the man he knows as Jacob in London. Later, the ex-gunman buys a cottage and meets a young widow, Anya Wilson, her small son and her father, whom Jaysmith recognizes as Bryant. The future seems bright for Jaysmith as he and Anya plan marriage, but Jacob suddenly materializes with armed hirelings to dispose of Steven and Anya. Alerted to a conspiracy, Jaysmith braves overwhelming odds in the shoot-out that caps the novel's shocking disclosure. This taut thriller is a tour de force enhanced by the author's evocations of the English countryside's natural splendor.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Among the Mountains: Travels Through Asia | Thesiger has been called the last of the great British "gentlemen explorers." Born in 1910 and educated at Eton and Oxford, he has been praised for his books on the Arab world (Arabian Sands, The Marsh Arabs) and on East and North Africa. This account presents edited portions of journal entries written during trips to remote mountain areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kurdistan between 1952 and 1965, as well as numerous black-and-white photographs that he took at the time. Some of these areas are more developed today than they were half a century ago, while others are even more inaccessible owing to political upheavals. Thesiger's writing is sparse, as would be expected from diary entries, and consequently may disappoint those looking for more detail or seeking current travel information. Those wanting to know more about Thesiger's remarkable life should read his autobiography, The Life of My Choice (LJ 3/15/98), which ought to be an essential purchase even for small public libraries. This account is a rather mechanical afterthought to the autobiography and may be purchased by large public libraries.DHarold M. Otness, formerly with Southern Oregon Univ. Lib., AshlandCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. |
From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium | 'Compulsively readable.' John Julius Norwich, Observer 'Everything a really good travel book should be: witty, learned and also very funny.' Eric Newby 'Any travel writer who is so good at his job as to be brilliant, applauded, loved and needed has to have an unusual list of qualities, and William Dalrymple has them all in aces. Dalrymple's ear for conversation is as good as Alan Bennett's. The best and most unexpected book I have read since I forget when.' Peter Levi 'A rich stew of history and travel narrative spiced with anecdote, opinion and bon mots...The future of travel literature lies in the hands of gifted authors like Dalrymple who shine their torches into the shadowy hinterland of the human story - the most foreign territory of all.' Independent 'Dalrymple stands out as one of our most talented travel writers. Energetic, thoughtful, curious and courageous.' Sunday Times 'William Dalrymple has effortlessly assumed the mantle of Robert Byron and Patrick Leigh Fermor.' Guardian 'A splendid, effective and impressive book.' Financial Times |
The Queen's Conjuror: The Life and Magic of Dr. Dee | 'Fresh and original...Woolley thinks and writes beautifully. This is a distinguished and rather brilliant book - it's also a rattling good story.' Lisa Jardine 'A fascinating, brilliant account of the Renaissance world picture...' Kathryn Hughes, New Statesman 'Woolley handsomely captures a society torn between rationality and romance, cynicism and hero worship.' New Scientist 'An informative and enlightening book. It offers concise and lucid explanations of Dee's more abstruse and arcane theories. And it is immensely enjoyable, its narrative exciting and inexorable. I have not read as stimulating a study of the Elizabethan period since Charles Nicholl's book on Marlowe, "The Reckoning".' Thomas Wright, Daily Telegraph Praise for 'The Herbalist': 'The research is superb - rich, detailed, and original - and the lives Benjamin Woolley describes are as passionate as the great events of the English Civil War around which they orbit.' Adam Nicolson |
I am Mary Dunne | 'An extraordinary piece of feminine characterisation.' Sunday Times 'I can think of no other living male novelist who writes about women with such sympathy and understanding.' Times Literary Supplement 'As complex and satisfying as anything Moore has yet done.' Observer 'One of the truest and most awesome books I have ever read.' Scotsman--This text refers to thePrint on Demand (Paperback)edition. |
Walking on Air | Christina Jones, brought up in a circus family, wrote short stories for some time before being encouraged to write her first novel, Going the Distance, which became a highly successful WHS Fresh Talent entry. She is married and lives outside Oxford. This is her fifth novel. |
Coleridge: Darker Reflections v.2 (Vol 2) | 'One of the greatest biographies of the century. Pure joy to read, it is a shimmering portrait of the mature artist veering between brilliance and despair.' Financial Times 'This -- and I can't remember ever thinking this before so strongly -- is a biography to grow old with.' Independent |
Mog and Bunny | Any child who drags around a scruffy toy or blanket will identify with Mog, the Thomas family's cat, and his stuffed toy, Bunny. At night, Mog sleeps with Bunny. During the day, "you never knew where Bunny would go next"in Mr. Thomas's slippers, or in Mog's water dish, or on a chair at suppertime. Kerr's text and pictures keep the action building as Bunny annoyingly turns up in the oddest places; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas finally threaten to throw Bunny in the trash. When a family picnic ends in a thunderstorm, Mog remains outside. At bedtime, the childrenNicky and Debbietry to coax Mog inside, and discover the reason he has endured the dark and the rain: Bunny is trapped under a barbecue fork and Mog can't carry it away. Nicky and Debbie rescue their cat and his toy, and even Mrs. Thomas agrees that Mog would be "too sad" if they ever threw Bunny away. All told, this story offers an inventive plot, sweet and funny art and a tactful point about treasures. Ages 3-6.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition. |
The Namesake | Any talk ofThe Namesake--Jhumpa Lahiri's follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning debut,Interpreter of Maladies--must begin with a name: Gogol Ganguli. Born to an Indian academic and his wife, Gogol is afflicted from birth with a name that is neither Indian nor American nor even really a first name at all. He is given the name by his father who, before he came to America to study at MIT, was almost killed in a train wreck in India. Rescuers caught sight of the volume of Nikolai Gogol's short stories that he held, and hauled him from the train. Ashoke gives his American-born son the name as a kind of placeholder, and the awkward thing sticks.Awkwardness is Gogol's birthright. He grows up a bright American boy, goes to Yale, has pretty girlfriends, becomes a successful architect, but like many second-generation immigrants, he can never quite find his place in the world. There's a lovely section where he dates a wealthy, cultured young Manhattan woman who lives with her charming parents. They fold Gogol into their easy, elegant life, but even here he can find no peace and he breaks off the relationship. His mother finally sets him up on a blind date with the daughter of a Bengali friend, and Gogol thinks he has found his match. Moushumi, like Gogol, is at odds with the Indian-American world she inhabits. She has found, however, a circuitous escape: "At Brown, her rebellion had been academic ... she'd pursued a double major in French. Immersing herself in a third language, a third culture, had been her refuge--she approached French, unlike things American or Indian, without guilt, or misgiving, or expectation of any kind." Lahiri documents these quiet rebellions and random longings with great sensitivity. There's no cleverness or showing-off inThe Namesake, just beautifully confident storytelling. Gogol's story is neither comedy nor tragedy; it's simply that ordinary, hard-to-get-down-on-paper commodity: real life.--Claire Dederer--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
The Indian Trilogy: The Indian in the Cupboard / Return of the Indian / The Secret of the Indian | Praise for The Indian in the Cupboard "An assured piece of story-telling, well able to stand comparison with older classics." Times Educational Supplement "Enthralling and hair-raising reading." TLS Praise for The Secret of the Indian "There have been many famous stories in which children's toys come alive: this book is in the same great tradition." School Library Association Praise for The Key to the Indian "...a swiftly-moving, tightly-plotted, exciting, funny tale, which will keep the reader firmly hooked and frantically turning the pages." Carousel |
The Tao of Physics (Flamingo) | "A brilliant best seller. . . . Lucidly analyzes the tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism to show their striking parallels with the latest discovery in cyclotrons."--"New York" magazine "A pioneering book of real value and wide appeal."--"Washington Post""I have been reading the book with amazement and the greatest interest, recommending it to everyone I meet and, as often as possible, in my lectures. I think you have done a magnificent and extremely important job."--"Joseph Campbell" |
Ballet Shoes for Anna (Collins Modern Classics) | "This book is a perfect, inspiring pick-me-up, especially to anyone with a dream. It is written with conviction and that classic old-time feel to take you to places you might never have known." - Sunday Express Praise for Noel Streatfeild: "Noel Streatfeild's position in the children's book world is unique. She is endlessly inventive, full of verve and real understanding of the surfaces of childhood. Her stories are rich in documentary interest and entertainment, escapism of a most satisfying sort." TLS "Noel Streatfeild is an author who is a true master of her craft." Illustrated London News "Noel Streatfeild has that happy, skilful knack of turning her characters into real people - something which only really good novelists can do." BBC Children's Hour--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Chronicles of Prydain | "An exciting, highly imaginative, and sometimes profound fantasy of humor and heroism."--The New York TimesonThe Castle of Llyr "Once-in-a-lifetime reading that will assure Prydain a permanent place in geographies of fictional territories."--Kirkus Reviews(Starred Review) onThe Black Cauldron "A very funny adventure tale ... The writing is sophisticated."--Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksonThe Book of Three "The author ... leavens with high good humor the high fantasy."--Kirkus Reviews(Starred Review) onThe Book of Three "A wise and wondrous tale."--BooklistonThe Black Cauldron "Character and dialogue is handled humorously and dextrously, which sets this classic-in-the-making apart from other folklore-based fantasies."--Kirkus Reviews(Starred Review) onThe Castle of Llyr "All of the color and adventure one expects in the land of fantasy."--Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksonTaran Wanderer "The book has the philosophical depth and overtones of great fantasy." --The Horn BookonThe High King--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition. |
Paddington at the Zoo | Praise for the Paddington series: 'I've always had great respect for Paddington...He is a British institution.' Stephen Fry 'Paddington has joined Pooh as one of the great bears of English children's literature.' The Teacher 'Michael Bond's accident-prone bear...has become one of the most enduring of children's characters.' The Bookseller--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
Foucault (Modern Masters) | By J. G. Merquior--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
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