LONGLISTED FOR THE 2005 SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONDelving into Brazil’s baroque past, Peter Robb’s “A Death in Brazil” looks at its history of slavery & the richly multicultural but disturbed society that was left in its wake when the practice was abolished in the late nineteenth century. Even today, Brazil is a nation of almost unimaginable distance between its wealthy & its poor, a place of extraordinary levels of crime & violence. It is also one of the most beautiful & seductive places on earth. Using the art, food & the books of its great nineteenth-century writer, Machado de Assis, Robb takes us on a journey into a world like Conrad’s “ Nostromo”. A world so absurdly dramatic, like the current president Lula’s fight for power, that it could have come from one of the country’s immensely popular TV soap operas, a world where resolution is often only provided by death. Like all the best travel writing, “A Death in Brazil” immerses you deep into the heart of a fascinating country. ...

` There`s no easy way to say this, Kubu. Your father`s dead. I`m afraid he`s been murdered.` Faced with the violent death of his own father, even Assistant Superintendent David ` Kubu` Bengu, Botswana CID`s keenest mind, is baffled. Who would kill such a frail old man? The picture becomes even murkier with the apparent suicide of a government official. Are Chinese mine-owners involved? & what role does the US Embassy have to play? Set amidst the dark beauty of modern Botswana, A Death in the Family is a thrilling insight into a world of riots, corruption & greed, as a complex series of murders present the opera-loving, wine connoisseur detective with his most challenging case yet. When grief-stricken Kubu defies orders & sets out on the killers` trail, startling & chilling links emerge, spanning the globe & setting a sequence of shocking events in motion. Will Kubu catch the killers in time.. .and find justice for his father? ...

Detective Max Camara is under pressure. A renowned paella chef has been found dead; the town hall are set on demolishing El Cabanyal, the colourful fisherman`s quarter on Valencia`s sea-front; an abortionist has been kidnapped & with the Pope due to visit the city, the police are summoned to offer protection from crowds of the faithful & the danger of anti-religionists alike. When one of Camara`s long term adversaries is put in charge of the missing abortionist case, tensions are quickly running high, & with ominous cracks spreading across the walls of his flat, Camara soon has nowhere to turn. ...

Max Camara is feeling low. Ominous cracks have appeared in the walls of his flat; the body of a well-known paella chef has been washed up on the beach; there are rows & threats about abortion clinics; the town hall are set on demolishing El Cabanyal, the colourful fisherman's quarter on Valencia's sea-front. As Camara untangles these threads, he stumbles into a web of corruption & violence, uncovering deep animosities & hidden secrets, & forcing him to question his own doubts & desires. Starring the determined Camara, with his love of flamenco & brandy, & occasional doped-out high, A Death in Valencia delves into issues that rouse unruly passions & divide the Spanish people today. ...

John le Carre's A Delicate Truth is a furiously paced story of moral dilemma, bold action & unexpected love. Gibraltar, 2008. A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony. Its purpose: to capture & abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, & a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's private secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it. Cornwall, UK, 2011. A disgraced Special Forces soldier delivers a message from the dead. Was Operation Wildlife the success it was cracked up to be
- or a human tragedy that was ruthlessly covered up? Summoned by Sir Christopher Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, & closely observed by Probyn's beautiful daughter, Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience & duty to his Service. If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent? When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carre.. .they were a journey into the wider world... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind. (Aung San Suu Kyi). One of those writers who will be read a century from now. (Robert Harris). If you want to know about the state of Britain today, forget the Booker shortlist. Just read John le Carre's latest thriller. (Evening Standard). John le Carre was born in 1931. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy & Smiley's People. His recent novels include The Constant Gardener, A Most Wanted Man & Our Kind of Traitor.
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One of the greatest travellers in Scotl&, Martin Martin was also a native Gaelic speaker. This text offers his narrative of his journey around the Western Isles, & a mine of information on custom, tradition & life. Martin Martin`s wrote before the Jacobite rebellions changed the way of life of the Highlander irrevocably. The volume

Includes:: the earliest account of St Kilda, first published in 1697 & Sir Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles, account written in 1549 which presents a record of a pastoral visit to islands still coping with the aftermath of the fall of the Lords of the Isles.

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One of the greatest travellers in Scotl&, Martin Martin was also a native Gaelic speaker. This text offers his narrative of his journey around the Western Isles, & a mine of information on custom, tradition & life. Martin Martin`s wrote before the Jacobite rebellions changed the way of life of the Highlander irrevocably. The volume

Includes:: the earliest account of St Kilda, first published in 1697 & Sir Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles, account written in 1549 which presents a record of a pastoral visit to islands still coping with the aftermath of the fall of the Lords of the Isles.

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First published in 1824, this comprehensive study charts the history of the steam engine, from its roots in Ancient Greece, to the sophistication it had by the time it reached nineteenth century Engl&. Written during the height of the Industrial Revolution, when the use of steam power was dramatically transforming the nature of industry, this book attempted the first comprehensive study of the inventors responsible for this innovation. Beginning with the first recorded use of steam power by Greek mechanic Hero, the author uses clear diagrams to explain the practical workings of the steam engines that were created, covering inventions by Savery, Papin, & Newcomen, up to the `grand improvements` made by James Watt during the eighteenth century, by which point the engines were powering all manner of factory machinery. This is a fascinating account underpinned with the sound engineering knowledge of the author, as well as the wonder that went h&-in-hand with living at a time when such inventions were revealing the true potential of science & technology. ...

In the quiet of the desert, a little fennec fox prowls the dunes in search of a friend... But can he find anyone who wants to play? With rhyming text & eye-catching animal pop-ups on each page, Essi Kimpimaki`s illustrations make this an exciting visual adventure for all ages. ...

From the Booker Prize shortlisted author of Knowledge of Angels.
It is 1945. A group of refugees, from various backgrounds,
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