The fourteenth century was a time of fabled crusades & chivalry, glittering cathedrals & grand castles. It was also a time of ferocity & spiritual agony, a world of chaos & the plague. Here, Barbara Tuchman masterfully reveals the two contradictory images of the age, examining the great rhythms of history & the grain & texture of domestic life as it was lived: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes & war dominated the lives of serf, noble & clergy alike. Granting her subjects their loyalties, treacheries & guilty passions, Tuchman recreates the lives of proud cardinals, university scholars, grocers & clerks, saints & mystics, lawyers & mercenaries, &, above all, knights. The result is an astonishing reflection of medieval Europe, a historical tour de force. ...

A Sunday Times top ten bestseller, perfect for fans of THE NIGHT MANAGER, from the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year & `the master of the modern spy thriller` (Mail on Sunday). A NEW COLD WAR IS LOOMING Former MI6 officer Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. Until the Russian agent he blames for the death of his girlfriend is spotted at a Red Sea resort
- in dangerous company. ONE SPY WANTS REVENGE Taking the law into his own hands, Kell embarks on a mission to recruit his rival. Only to find himself in a high-stakes game of cat & mouse in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is playing whom. THIS TIME IT`S PERSONAL As the mission reaches boiling point, rumours of a terrorist attack suggest a massacre on Britain soil is imminent. Kell is faced with an impossible choice. Loyalty to MI6
- or to his own conscience?

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In this, their second adventure together, Bruce Fogle & his faithful dog, Macy, (with a compact motorhome), journey into the little known heart of Europe. Travelling through the Netherlands, northern Germany, Scandinavia, & the Baltics, then down the eastern rim of Poland to Slovakia & Slovenia, Fogle uncovers revelations about his ancestry as well as discovering the real central Europe. With Macy stoically at his side, Bruce Fogle can savour the landscape in a way he couldn`t alone. Macy introduces him to an eclectic mix of rural folk & local animals as well as other travellers. Together Macy & Bruce walk for miles through peaceful woods & empty shores, taking time off from the frenetic bustle of urban life to appreciate the unspoilt beauty of landscapes still frozen in the aspic of time. The perfect travelling companion, ”A Dog Abroad” is an enchanting read. ...

Welcome to a day in the life of a friendly terrier. He just wants to go to the park with his friends to play ball, but his owner has other ideas... Complemented by stylish pen & ink drawings, this charming debut from up-&-coming illustrator Emily Rand is a warm & witty take on the toddler`s experience of having to wait for grownups when they`d rather be having fun. ...

”A Dog in a Hat” is the remarkable story of Joe Parkin. In 1987, Parkin left the comforts of home to become a bike racer in Belgium, the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call “a dog with a hat on” — something familiar, yet decidedly out of place. Parkin`s memoir reads like a novel. In plainspoken & fast-paced prose, Parkin describes the true life of the professional bike racer, putting the reader into the whirlwind of this hardest of athletic educations. ”A Dog in a Hat” begins with Parkin`s terrifying first visit to his team doctor, where he is strapped to a table & monitored by humming electrodes as men in white lab coats coldly divine his future as a pro. Parkin`s story is honest. ”A Dog in a Hat” celebrates the glory of bike racing, but Parkin thrillingly tells the hard reality of the life—the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts & money, the endless promises that keep you going, & the rider`s sheer physical agony of racing day after day. Despite the pain, despite the suffering, ”A Dog in a Hat” is a beautiful book. It is one American’s story of his love affair with professional cycling, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. It is a story untold until now, & one that Parkin’s readers will never forget. ...

To the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious & unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One's Stargazing Live & the resident astronomer on ITV's The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy & unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years. Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for & how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up & wishes they knew more about the final frontier... ...

To the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious & unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One`s Stargazing Live & the resident astronomer on ITV`s The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy & unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years. Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for & how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up & wishes they knew more about the final frontier... ...

To the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious & unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One`s Stargazing Live & the resident astronomer on ITV`s The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy & unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years. Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for & how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up & wishes they knew more about the final frontier... ...

Travelling through Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia in the twilight of the French colonial regime, Norman Lewis witnesses these ancient civilisations as they were before the terrible devastation of the Vietnam War. He creates a portrait of traditional societies struggling to retain their integrity in the embrace of the West. Lewis meets emperors & slaves, brutal plantation owners & sympathetic French officers trapped by the economic imperatives of the colonial experiment. From tribal animists to Viet-Minh guerillas, he witnesses this heart-breaking struggle over & over, leaving a vital portrait of a society on the brink of catastrophic change. ...

When ice traps John Mac Lennan`s ship in the Bering Strait in 1910, the youthful sailor, trying to widen a small fissure with dynamite, blows up his hands. He is taken by dogsled to a doctor, his captain vowing that they will wait for his safe return. But gangrene sets in, & John`s hands have to be amputated. Then strong winds break the ice shelf & his ship sails off without him.. . John gradually adapts to his new way of life, adopting Chukchi ways & finding friendship, & love, among his hosts. Even his role in the tragic, accidental death of his best friend, Toko, pulls him deeper into the community`s folds. This is a remarkable tale of resilience & reconciliation, set in one of the most majestic & inhospitable environments on earth. ...