Polly Pullar tells the fascinating tale of one of the Hebrides, unique thriving small communities through the colourful anecdotes of Lawrence Mac Ewen, whose family have owned the island since 1896. A wonderfully benevolent, & eccentric character, his passion & love for the island & its continuing success, has always been of the utmost importance. He has kept diaries all his life & delves deep into them, unveiling a uniquely human story, punctuated with liberal amounts of humour, as well as heart-rending tragedy, always dominated by the vagaries of the sea. Filled with fascinating & extraordinary tales & priceless observations, this is not only a highly entertaining read but is also an important part of Scottish social history. The story begins with the amusing debut of Lawrence as a new baby when his mother returned from the hospital on the mainl&, & carries on through his colourful island childhood & up to present day. Here are tales of coal puffers & livestock transportation on steamers & small boats, extraordinary chance meetings & adventures that eventually led him to finding his wife, Jenny, on the island of Soay. It`s a book about the small hard-grafting community of 30 souls on this fertile island of just 1500 acres. Residents work closely with the Mac Ewen family in business interests: the thriving farm, market garden, a modern school, a busy tearoom, craft shop, & a winter shoot. A new village hall was opened in 2012, & a guesthouse in May 2013. Until March 2013, Muck depended on an unreliable generator for electricity that only came on twice daily, but now has finally been electrified with solar panels & wind turbines. It was one of the last places in the UK to receive 24-hour power. ...

Andre Brink’s “ Dry White Season” was first published in 1979, & follows in the tradition of Alan Paton & Nadine Gordimer as it takes a critical look at apartheid South Africa from within at a time when the end of apartheid was nearly fifteen years away. It centers on Ben du Toit- an ordinary, decent, harmless man, unremarkable in every way, until his sense of justice is outraged by the death of a man he has known. His friend died at the hands of the police & in the beginning it appears a straightforward matter, an unfortunate error that can be explained & put right. But as Ben investigates further he finds that his curiosity becomes labelled rebellion
- & for a rebel there is no way back. One of the key figures in the Afrikaans literary movement, it’s easy to tell from this book why Brink is still around writing today: his work is relevant, insightful, & painfully true.
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` Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now.` Patrick Ness A Face Like Glass is an astonishing & imaginative novel from the Costa Award winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge. In the underground city of Caverna the world`s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare
- wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate & perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, & only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear
- at a price. Into this dark & distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past & a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell`s emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. & that makes her very dangerous indeed.. .

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When Australian Jane Paech moves to Paris, her visions of afternoons in bijou bistros & bookshops on the Left Bank are kept in check by the needs of a young family & a long to-do list that

Includes:: apartment-hunting, school selection, & multiple trips to IKEA. Through a collection of sharp observations, insightful travel articles & laugh-out-loud anecdotes, A Family in Paris conveys the joys & difficulties of living in this most famous of cities. It introduces us to the Parisians & their eccentricities, explores the intricate rituals of daily life, & takes us beyond the well-trodden tourist sites to the best eating spots, boutiques, museums & markets that only a local could know about. Frank, intimate & beautifully photographed, A Family in Paris is about making a home in a strange l&, finding a community, & discovering the joy of renewal.

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Following the same format & style as ”A Football Fan`s Guide to Europe”, ”A Fan`s Guide to World Cricket” is New Holland`s guide to the world`s top cricket teams & their homes. The book covers all Test teams as well as places where fans are most likely to go. Each team is covered in detail, including history, their test & ODI records, championships won, key players & the grounds. The book also contains information about the cities & countries of each team, including local culture, the best attractions & great places to eat & drink.A Fan`s Guide to World Cricket is written from the fans` point of view in expert & irreverent prose that taps into the cricketing culture across Europe. ...

In 1918 Ernest Hemingway went to war. He volunteered for ambulance service in Italy, was wounded & twice decorated. Out of his experience came A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway`s description of war is unforgettable. He recreates the fear, the comradeship, the courage of his young American volunteer, & the men & women he meets in Italy, with total conviction. But A Farewell to Arms is not only a novel of war. In it Hemingway has also created a love story of immense drama & uncompromising passion. ...

Written when Ernest Hemingway was thirty years old & lauded as the best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front & his passion for a beautiful English nurse. Set against the looming horrors of the battlefield
- weary, demoralised men marching in the rain during the German attack on Caporetto; the profound struggle between loyalty & desertion
- this gripping, semi-autobiographical work captures the harsh realities of war & the pain of lovers caught in its inexorable sweep. Ernest Hemingway famously said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times to get the words right. This edition collects all of the alternative endings together for the first time, along with early drafts of other essential passages, offering new insight into Hemingway`s craft & creative process & the evolution of one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Featuring the Nobel Prize winner`s own 1948 introduction to an illustrated reissue of the novel, a personal foreword by the author`s son Patrick Hemingway, & a new introduction by the author`s grandson Sean Hemingway, this edition of A Farewell to Arms is truly a celebration.

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Most of the scientific establishment predict that the North Pole will be free of ice around the middle of this century. As Peter Wadhams, the world`s leading expert on sea ice, demonstrates in this book, even this bleak assessment of the future is grossly optimistic. Wadhams has visited the Polar Regions more often than any other living scientist
- 50 times since he was on the first ship to circumnavigate the Americas in 1970
- & has a uniquely authoritative perspective on the changes they have undergone & where those changes will lead. From his observations & the latest scientific research, he describes how dramatically sea ice has diminished over the past three decades, to the point at which, by the time this book is published, the Arctic may be free of ice for the first time in 10, 000 years. Wadhams shows how sea ice is the `canary in the mine` of planetary climate change. He describes how it forms & the vital role it plays in reflecting solar heat back into space & providing an `air conditioning` system for the planet. He shows how a series of rapid feedbacks in the Arctic region are accelerating change there more rapidly than almost all scientists
- & political authorities
- have previously realised, & the dangers of further acceleration are very real. A Farewell to Ice is a report from the frontline of planetary change in the Arctic & Antarctic by a leading authority, presenting incontrovertible scientific data, but always in clear language which the layman can easily underst&. It is one of the most important books published in recent years about the existential challenge which human civilization now faces.



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Ice is beautiful & complex. It regulates our planet`s temperature. & it is vanishing
- fast. Peter Wadhams, the world`s leading
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‘ For me, the bond I have with Peg, my border collie sheepdog is priceless. I know how very lucky I, & thousands of other shepherds & farmers, are to have these extraordinarily bright, enthusiastic dogs at our side. But we, who work the land & our flocks, are not the only beneficiaries of the extraordinary relationship between man & dog …’ In A Farmer & His Dog, Adam Henson explores the unique relationship between a farmer & his most loyal friend. Sheepdogs come in a variety of shapes & sizes from border collies to Australian kelpies (rumoured to be a distant relative of the dingo). Not only are they essential to the running of a farm, but they are also fiercely intelligent & exceptionally devoted companions, having evolved over millennia to make the make the work of a shepherd possible. But it is not just the farmer working the land who benefits from the extraordinary relationship between man & dog. Beginning by introducing us to the dogs who have been faithful companions to the Henson family over the years, Adam goes on to explore the impact made by the UK’s hardest working breeds. From traditional herding dogs & gundogs – such as the Labrador’s he grew up with & the Hungarian wire-haired Vizslas like Boo & Olive who live with him now – to the assistance dogs, sniffer dogs & even search & rescue dogs, whose stories have reinforced Adam’s belief that we humans owe an enormous debt to our wet-nosed, four-legged friends. ...