Tales of the forty-eight classical constellations have captured the human imagination from ancient times to the present. Compiled from literature spanning from Homer to Claudius Ptolemy, with illustrations & star charts reconstructed from ancient sources, Ancient Skies immerses the reader in the world of ancient cosmology & constellation mapping. ...

Dedicated to the art & culture of Thail&, this volume explores the ancient & various origins of this modern country's identity. The Thai identity is the result of an extraordinary process of integration, clash & selection of different cultural traditions, the expression of the various civilisations which inhabited the same area over time. From the XIII century the Thai civilisation became the great protagonist of the political scene & the author of the country's unification, but it was also the heir of a several-thous&-year-old tradition. It would thereby be misleading to identify the culture of the modern country with the single Thai culture, thus ignoring the importance of the origins & the transformation & synthesis operated by the Thai people in producing the original mixture at the heart of their own culture. From the contacts with the Indian world to the beginning of the first Buddhist Dvaravati civilisation, to the provincial features of the Khmer civilisation & the flourishing of the first reign, the book looks over the fascinating route to modern Thail&, through the most up-to-date historical studies & the reconstruction based on archaeological & artistic testimonies. ...

`I felt the powerful strength of my family overrunning me like a heavy rush of water`. For Andre, a young man growing up on a farm in Brazil, life consists of `the earth, the wheat, the bread, our table & our family`. He loves the l&, fears his austere, pious father who preaches from the head of the table as if it is a pulpit, & loathes himself, as he starts to harbour shameful feelings for his sister Ana. Lyrical & sensual, told with biblical intensity, this classic Brazilian coming-of-age novel follows Andre`s psychological & sexual awakening, as he must choose between body & soul, duty & freedom. ...

Many of Britain's finest walks are along tracks that have been in use for thousands of years. From the tip of Cornwall to the Highlands of Scotl&, the island is criss-crossed by ancient paths. The 17 routes selected by Dee Hannigan include prehistoric ridgeways, Roman roads such as Ackling Dyke in Dorset, & routes with religious origins such as the Saint's Way across Cornwall & the Monk's Trod across the North York Moors. In each case the book describes how the route came into being, who used it & why, the glory of the lanscape it traverses, & the historical relics that can still be seen. It supplies detailed instructions for following the routes on Ordnance Survey maps, & shorter, circular walks that can be accomplished in a day or half-day's walking. ...

Many of Britain's finest walks are along tracks that have been in use for thousands of years. From the tip of Cornwall to the Highlands of Scotl&, the island is criss-crossed by ancient paths. The 18 routes selected by Dee Hannigan include prehistoric ridgeways, Roman roads such as Ackling Dyke in Dorset, & routes with religious origins such as the Saint's Way across Cornwall & the Monk's Trod across the North York Moors. In each case the book describes how the route came into being, who used it & why, the glory of the lanscape it traverses, & the historical relics that can still be seen. It supplies detailed instructions for following the routes on Ordnance Survey maps, & shorter, circular walks that can be accomplished in a day or half-day's walking. ...

` Among all the varied productions with which Nature has adorned the surfaces of the earth, none awakens our sympathies, or interests our imagination so powerfully as those venerable trees, which seem to have stood the lapse of ages...` John Muir, 1868 A fascinating celebration of the some of the oldest living organisms on the planet, from the grand Oaks of Europe & mighty Redwoods of California to Africa`s `upside-down` Baobab tree, & from the Ginkgos of China & Korea to the Olive tree, the worldwide symbol of peace. Ancient Trees covers those species of tree that have lived for more than a thousand years: the Redwood, Bristlecone pine, Montezuma Cypress, the Monkey Puzzle, Amazonian Ancients, Yew, Oak, Sweet Chestnut, Lime, Olive, Welwitschia, the Baobab, Kauri, Totara, Antarctic Beech, the Fig, Cedar, & Ginkgo. Anna Lewington, the well-known writer on all things botanical, & leading wildlife photographer Edward Parker provide an illuminating & visually striking history of each tree species, including where the long-living species can still be found, the tree`s botanical details, & its mythical associations. ...

The history of Vietnam is one of spectacular confrontations, both cultural & ideological between the world of the Chinese
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Ever wondered what the first weapons were made from, or how the ancient Mongol warriors defeated the great armies of China? Famous battles, brave generals, & ingenious weapons all come alive in this exciting illustrated book. Tracing the history of warriors from the Stone Age all the way up to the Crusades, fascinating facts & insights from the battlefield are revealed alongside illustrations by Joe Lillington. ...

This title deals with ancient Asian practices of cooking with healing herbs & other therapeutic foods to Western palates & kitchens. ” Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen” reveals how easy it is to tap into the 3, 000-year-old secrets of East Asian healing arts. This entertaining & easy-to-use book provides scores of delicious recipes, anecdotes about various herbs & foods, & all you need to know about acquiring ingredients-even if you don`t know the difference between a lotus seed & the lotus position. The recipes are simple, easy-to-prepare, & healthy East Asian dishes-still largely unknown in the West, but begging to cross the cultural divide-as well as recipes that might seem familiar, but with an unexpected twist, such as oatmeal with walnuts & goji berries or chicken soup with ginseng. Drawing on family recipes, years of study of traditional Chinese medicine at institutions in China & in the United States, & experience treating patients in the traditional Chinese medical clinic, Wang, Sheir, & Ono put healthy recipes using Chinese herbs at your fingertips to enhance your life, promote a sense of wellbeing, & increase your longevity. ...

` Intensely alive to the landscape; its pasts, people & creatures` Robert Macfarlane Take a journey into our ancient past. Explore a long-lost landscape & gradually discover the minds, beliefs & cultural practices of those souls who lived on these lands thousands of years before you. Travelling the length & breadth of Britain, James Canton pursues his obsession with the physical traces of the ancient world: stone circles, flint arrowheads, sacred stones, gold, & a lost Roman road. He ponders the features of the natural world that occupied ancient minds: the night sky, shooting stars, the rising & setting sun. Wandering to the furthest reaches of the islands, he finds an undeciphered standing stone north of Aberdeen & follows the first footsteps on the edge of a long-lost Ice Age land in the North Sea. As Canton walks the modern terrain, slowly understanding the ancient signs that lie within & beneath it, he weaves a gentle tale of discovery, showing how, beyond the superficial differences of life-style & culture, the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles were much closer to the present-day one than we might imagine. ...