We`re Mennonites. As far as I know, we are the most embarrassing sub-sect of people to belong to if you`re a teenager. Sixteen-year-old Nomi Nickel longs to hang out with Lou Reed & Marianne Faithfull in New York City`s East Village. Instead she`s trapped in East Village, Manitoba: a town with no train station, no bar, & where job prospects consist of slaughtering chickens at the Happy Family Farms abattoir. Since her mother & sister have left home, Nomi lives with her father, Ray, a sweet yet hapless schoolteacher. Fighting against the restraints of the town, Nomi`s longing for a future of opportunity & hope sets her on course towards a climax at once startling & inevitable. ...

Twenty-three-year-old Zhuang (or Z as she calls herself) arrives in London to spend a year learning English. Struggling to find her way in the city, & through the puzzles of tense, verb & adverb; she falls for an older Englishman & begins to realise that the landscape of love is an even trickier terrain. ...

This compact guide to Britain`s churches brings out the richness & diversity of over 1500 years of Christian heritage; it also places the parish church at the core of our social & cultural history. The author explains the importance of place in the siting of a church, the various architectural styles, the layout of the interior in relation to religious practice, the purpose & meaning of stained glass & wall paintings, & much else. In short, the perfect companion for the church visitor. ...

This is the most up-to-date & comprehensive study of French history available ranging from the early middle ages to the present. Amongst its central themes are the relationships between state & society, the impact of war, competition for power, & the ways in which power has been used. Whilst taking full account of major figures such as Philip Augustus, Henri IV, Louis XIV, Napoleon & de Gaulle, it sets their activities within the broader context of changing economic & social structures & beliefs, & offers rich insights into the lives of ordinary men & women. This third edition has been substantially revised &

Includes:: a new chapter on contemporary France
- a society & political system in crisis as a result of globalisation, rising unemployment, a failing educational system, growing social & racial tensions, corruption, the rise of the extreme right, & a widespread loss of confidence in political leaders.


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Spanning a period of 2000 years from the Roman conquest of Dacia to the present day, A Concise History of Romania traces the development of a unique nation situated on the border between East & West. In this illuminating new history, Keith Hitchins explores Romania`s struggle to find its place amidst two diverse societies: one governed by Eastern orthodox tradition, spirituality & agriculture & the other by Western rationalism, experimentation & capitalism. The book charts Romania`s advancement through five significant phases of its history: medieval, early modern, modern & finally the nation`s `return to Europe`; evaluating all the while Romania`s part in European politics, economic & social change, intellectual & cultural renewals & international entanglements. This is a fascinating history of an East European nation; one which sheds new light on the complex evolution of the Romanians & the identity they have successfully crafted from a unique synthesis of traditions. ...

The key to understanding the Arab world today
- & in the future
- is unlocking its past. John Mc Hugo takes the reader on

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The key to understanding the Arab world today
- & in the future
- is unlocking its past. In this sweeping & fluent account,

...

Featuring a stunning gallery of portraits by the world`s finest poets, essayists, & fiction writers -- including Walt Whitman, ...

John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces is a bittersweet classic- although bitingly funny, it is bittersweet as it’s one of those novels that has always been in danger of being overshadowed by the events surrounding it’s publication, rather than the masterful text itself being celebrated first & foremost. Although believing his manuscript to be a masterpiece, the novel was never published & Toole sank into depression, eventually committing suicide in 1969. The work was published posthumously in 1980, after Toole’s mother found the manuscript. The text itself is truly wonderful, full of slapstick, satire & an unmistakable wit. The story centres on Ignatius J. Reilly: flatulent eloquent & pretty much unemployable… the ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city’s fleshspots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity & ignorance. But ‘his momma’ has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission
- & now he has a pirate costume & a hot-dog cart to do it with. Largely biographical & painfully funny, A Confederacy of Dunces is a book that will stay with you forever.
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` This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists, anti-Christs, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, & lesbians.. .don`t make the mistake of bothering me`. Ignatius J. Reilly: fat, flatulent, eloquent & almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much unhinged, too. But is he bothered by this? No. For this misanthropic crusader against an America fallen into vice & ignorance has a mission: to rescue a naked female philosopher in distress. & he has a pirate costume & hot-dog cart to do it with... ...