A Haunting Place explores both mysterious & ghostly encounters in locations around the world. Glen Williams talks to the people who swear they have been visited by the dead; he visits the places of these confrontations with the supernatural to uncover the story of the `ghosts` & the people & places they haunt. He interviews teams of ghost busters using technology to solve the mystery of ghosts & talks to film makers who can`t leave the theme of hauntings alone. The author visits houses, hotels, schools, castles, hospitals, cellars, sheds, stables & all manner of buildings
- ghostly apparitions run rampant in the seemingly normal everyday. Eerie locations such as old mills, windswept quarantine stations, run-down & abandoned mental hospitals, derelict pubs, lonely roads & empty houses reveal their terrifying secrets. Why is it that people are so fascinated with the unknown? The mysterious? The supernatural? Our captivation With the paranormal & the unexplained is never ending. The thought of ghosts floating about within our existence arouses fear, a sense of wonder & the longing for logical explanations that never quite make sense.A 2005 Gallup survey revealed three out of four Americans profess at least one paranormal belief. The most popular belief is extrasensory perception (ESP) mentioned by 41%, followed closely by belief in haunted houses (37%) & that ghosts/spirits of dead people can come back in certain places/ situations (32%). Supernatural ideology exists in many different cultures & a belief in ghosts is one of the most common; this, in part, relates to a belief, or hope in the afterlife, a tenet of most major religions.
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”A Heart so White” is the breathtaking international bestseller & IMPAC Award-winning masterpiece by Javier Marias, whose highly-anticipated new novel ” The Infatuations” is published in 2013. This Penguin Modern Classics edition features a new Introduction by Jonathan Coe. ”A Heart so White” begins as, In the middle of a family lunch Teresa, just married, goes to the bathroom, unbuttons her blouse & shoots herself in the heart. What made her kill herself immediately after her honeymoon? Years later, this mystery fascinates the young newlywed Juan, whose father was married to Teresa before he married Juan`s mother. As Juan edges closer to the truth, he begins to question his own relationships, & whether he really wants to know what happened. Haunting & unsettling, ”A Heart So White” is a breathtaking portrayal of two generations, two marriages, the relentless power of the past & the terrible price of knowledge. ...

What happens when you reach the threshold of life & death
- & come back? As long as humans have lived on the planet, there have
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Jay Mc Inerney, internationally celebrated author of Bright Lights, Big City, turns his hand here to his lifelong love affair with wine. Peals of wisdom are offered on the subjects of the best wine for romantics, the parallels between Californian wines & floundering Hollywood stars, the choice of wine for the author`s own debauched forty-eighth birthday party, the `high-testosterone grape` that is Colin Farrell, absinthe, `the wild green fairy`, & what wine is best drunk with chocolate. At the same time Mc Inerney is a genuine connoisseur, taking the reader on a tour through the wine regions of the world & imparting tried & tested advice on grapes & vintages, bouquets, noses & finishes. ...

Istanbul, once Constantinople, is the only city in the world to span two continents. A vibrant melting pot of olde-worlde European charm & Asian mystique, it truly is a city where anything is possible. From its progressive, modern economy & ultra-hip design scene to the beauty & tradition of its architecture, culture & people, Istanbul is a city that is moving fast
- not for nothing that it has been elected European City of Culture for 2010. Hg 2 Istanbul delves deeper than the rest to discover that there's a whole lot more to the capital of Asia Minor than belly dancing & hammams.
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Marrakech has been one of the most talked-about cities of recent years & continues to grace the style pages of magazines & newspapers across the world
- it has become a haven for those interested in design, shopping & the naturally exotic. The centrepiece in what is widely regarded as North Africa's adventure playground, it has brought international sophistication to this dusty, dry corner of the world. The riads are among the most elegant hotels in the world, the cuisine is out of this world & the architecture striking. Hg 2 will show you the very best this desert oasis has to offer.
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Miami is America's party capital, from spring break to celebs trying to unwind, everything is geared towards style, glamour & excess. From the Euro-influenced (relative) calm of Coral Gables to the non-stop partying of Miami Beach, Hg 2 Miami takes a peek behind the famed pastel Art Deco facades to give you the real scoop on this city that intriguingly blends European & Latin imported scenes into its own inimitable mix. Party til you drop? Here's one town where the cliche will come good. ...

From the banks of the Seine to the streets of Montmartre, the City of Lights is imbued with a unique atmosphere & history. Hg 2 Paris unravels the, at times confusing, worlds of haute-cuisine, haute-couture & haute culture. For gourmands, a comprehensive take on the restaurant scene from world-famous temples of gastronomy to smoky bistros with sublime steak tartare, for shop-a-holics, the ultimate guide to style & fashion. Potter from the elegant shops of the Rue Faubourg St Honore to the eclectic Marais & art galleries on the Left Bank, taking in the superlative cultural highlights on the way. Finally get in step with the glamour & elegance of Paris's nightlife, with its influences drawn from North & sub-Saharan Africa & Asia. ...

Between the splendours of the modern & ancient worlds that make up The Eternal City there lie the small backstreets & wide piazzas humming with the hustle & bustle of everyday Roman life. Small, local trattorias sit beside the chicest & smartest of international restaurants. From the majesty of the Colosseum to the magical frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, Rome oozes history, style & sophistication. Hg 2 Rome delves into the Rome of the Romans, covering the thriving bar & club scene alongside the best of the best restaurants, intimate cafes & world-class shopping. ...

Deep in a wood in the Marches of Wales, in an ancient school bus there lives an old man called Bob Rowberry. A Hero for High Times is the story of how he ended up in this broken-down bus. It`s also the story of his times, & the ideas that shaped him. It`s a story of why you know your birth sign, why you have friends called Willow, why sex & drugs & rock`n`roll once mattered more than money, why dance music stopped the New-Age Travellers from travelling, & why you need to think twice before taking the brown acid. It`s the story of the hippies for those who weren`t there
- for Younger Readers who`ve never heard of the Aldermaston marches, Oz, the Angry Brigade, the Divine Light Mission, Sniffin` Glue, Operation Julie, John Seymour, John Michell, Greenham Common, the Battle of the Beanfield, but who want to understand their grandparents` stories of turning on, tuning in & not quite dropping out before they are gone for ever. It`s for Younger Readers who want to know how to build a bender, make poppy tea, & throw the I-Ching. And it`s a story of friendship between two men, one who did things, & one who thought about things, between theory & practice, between a hippie & a punk, between two gentlemen, no longer in the first flush of youth, who still believe in love.
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