` Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!` This declamation by president Ronald Reagan when visiting Berlin in 1987 is widely cited as the clarion call that brought the Cold War to an end. The West had won, so this version of events goes, because the West had stood firm. American & Western European resoluteness had brought an evil empire to its knees. Michael Meyer, in this extraordinarily compelling account of the revolutions that roiled Eastern Europe in 1989, begs to differ. Drawing together breathtakingly vivid, on-the-ground accounts of the rise of Solidarity in Pol&, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, & the collapse of the infamous wall in Berlin, Meyer shows that western intransigence was only one of the many factors that provoked such world-shaking change. More important, Meyer contends, were the stands taken by individuals in the thick of the struggle, leaders such as poet & playwright Vaclav Havel in Prague; Lech Walesa; the quiet & determined reform prime minister in Budapest, Miklos Nemeth; & the man who realized his empire was already lost & decided, with courage & intelligence, to let it go in peace, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Michael Meyer captures these heady days in all their rich drama & unpredictability, providing a thrilling chronicle of perhaps the most important year of the 20th century. ...

A hauntingly beautiful travel guide to the world`s most visited cemeteries, told through spectacular photography & their unique histories & residents. More than 3.5 million tourists flock to Paris`s Pere Lachaise cemetery each year. They are lured there, & to many cemeteries around the world, by a combination of natural beauty, ornate tombstones & crypts, notable residents, vivid history, & even wildlife. Many also visit Mount Koya cemetery in Japan, where 10, 000 lanterns illuminate the forest setting, or graveside in Oaxaca, Mexico to witness Day of the Dead fiestas. Savannah`s Bonaventure Cemetery has gorgeous night tours of the Southern Gothic tombstones under moss-covered trees that is one of the most popular draws of the city.199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die features these unforgettable cemeteries, along with 196 more, seen in more than 300 photographs. In this bucket list of travel musts, author Loren Rhoads, who hosts the popular Cemetery Travel blog, details the history & features that make each destination unique. Throughout will be profiles of famous people buried there, striking memorials by noted artists, & unusual elements, such as the hand carved wood grave markers in the Merry Cemetery in Romania. ...

This easy-to-use guide contains images of the national flags of every country in the world, from Andorra to Azerbaijan. Organised by continent, children will be fascinated by the colours & symbols used on different flags & become familiar with the names of all the countries in the world. ...

This picture reference book contains exactly 199 images of amazing things found in nature from familiar garden butterflies & bugs to elusive jungle animals & extraordinary undersea creatures. Categories include: ` Ice & snow`, ` By the coast`, ` Plants & flowers` & ` Rocks & gems`. ...

This gorgeously illustrated picture word book contains exactly 199 things found in a garden or park. Children will love recognizing familiar flowers, trees & birds, as well as being introduced to more unusual things to spot such as pond creatures, log pile creepy-crawlies & amazing nocturnal animals. ...

Although 1989 & 1991 witnessed more spectacular events, 1990 was a year of embryonic change in Russia: Article 6 of the constitution was abolished, & with it the Party`s monopoly on political power. This fascinating collection of documentary evidence crystalises the aspirations of the Russian people in the days before Communism finally fell. It charts
- among many other social developments
- the appearance of new political parties & independent trade unions, the rapid evolution of mass media, the emergence of a new class of entrepreneurs, a new openness about sex & pornography & a sudden craze for hot-air ballooning, banned under the Communist regime. 1990 is a reminder of the confusion & aspirations of the year before Communism finally collapsed in Russia, & a tantalising glimpse of the paths that may have been taken if Yeltsin`s coup had not forced the issue in 1991.

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Geri Halliwell in a Union Jack, Blair posing with Noel Gallagher at No. 10, & a nation united in mourning for Diana. These are the images that have come to define Britain in 1997. From Britpop to the Young British Artists, that year is now remembered by many as a time of lost optimism & vibrancy. A time when it seemed like Britain was becoming a more tolerant, cosmopolitan, freer & fairer society. This book provides an evocative portrait of that era. Cutting through the nostalgia which has come to cloud our memories of the 1990s, Sayeed shows that many of the crises afflicting Britain today had their roots in that crucial year. The rise of New Labour masked the steady creep of British politics towards the right, while the Stephen Lawrence inquest exposed the tenacity of racism in both British society & the state, foreshadowing the widespread hate crime of today. Far from being the crowning height of ` Cool Britannia`, Sayeed instead sees 1997 as a missed opportunity, a turning point when there was a chance to genuinely transform British culture & society, but which instead set us on the path to our current malaise. ...

Book Two of 1Q84 ends with Aomame standing on the Metropolitan Expressway with a gun between her lips. She has come tantalisingly close to meeting her beloved Tengo only to have him slip away at the last minute. The followers of the cult leader she assassinated are determined to track her down & she has been living in hiding, completely isolated from the world. However, Tengo has also resolved to find Aomame. As the two of them uncover more & more about the strange world of 1Q84, & the mysterious Little People, their longing for one another grows. Can they find each other before they themselves are found? ...

Haruki Murakami is an international phenomenon. When Books One & Two of his latest masterpiece, 1Q84, were published in Japan, a million copies were sold in one month, & the critical acclaim that ensued was reported all over the globe. Readers were transfixed by the mesmerising story of Aomame & Tengo & the strange parallel universe they inhabit. Then, one year later, to the surprise & delight of his readers, Murakami published an unexpected Book Three, bringing the story to a close. In order to reflect the experience of 1Q84's first readers, Harvill Secker is publishing Books One & Two in one beautifully designed volume & Book Three in a separate edition. A long-awaited treat for his fans, 1Q84 is also a thrilling introduction to the unique world of Murakami's imagination. This hypnotically addictive novel is a work of startling originality &, as the title suggests, a mind-bending ode to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. (The number 9 in Japanese is pronounced like the letter 'Q'). The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo. Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment &, with the traffic at a st&-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, & her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult. Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences & moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true? Both Aomame & Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident & at times intentionally, the two come closer & closer to intertwining. ...

When Books One & Two of Haruki Murakami's latest masterpiece, 1Q84, were published in Japan, a million Copies were sold in one month, & the critical acclaim that ensued was reported all over the globe. Readers were transfixed by the mesmerising story of Aomame & Tengo & the strange parallel universe they inhabit. Then, one year later, to the surprise & delight of his readers, Murakami published an unexpected Book Three, bringing the story to a close. This volume brings together all three volumes in a single paperback which will delight & amaze both longstanding & new fans of this master of the novel form. The events of 1Q84 take place in Tokyo during a fictionalized 1984, with the first volume set between April & June, the second between July & September, & the third between October & December. The book opens with the character of Aomame catching a taxi in Tokyo on her way to a work assignment & noticing Jan ...