There`s something going bump on the Metropolitan line & Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly who to call. It`s PC Peter Grant`s speciality... Only it`s more than going `bump`. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter
- making the follow up interviews rather difficult. So with a little help from Abigail & Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter & Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition. Because finding the ghost & deciphering their urgent message might just be a matter of life & death.
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There`s something going bump on the Metropolitan line & Sergeant Jaget Kumar knows exactly who to call. It`s PC Peter Grant`s speciality... Only it`s more than going `bump`. Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter
- making the follow up interviews rather difficult. So with a little help from Abigail & Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter & Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition. Because finding the ghost & deciphering their urgent message might just be a matter of life & death.
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In The Future is History Masha Gessen follows the lives of four Russians, born as the Soviet Union crumbled, at what promised to be the dawn of democracy. Each came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children or grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own
- as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers & writers, sexual & social beings. Gessen charts their paths not only against the machinations of the regime that would seek to crush them all (censorship, intimidation, violence) but also against the war it waged on understanding itself, ensuring the unobstructed emergence of the old Soviet order in the form of today`s terrifying & seemingly unstoppable mafia state. The Future is History is a powerful & urgent cautionary tale by contemporary Russia`s most fearless inquisitor.
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In The Future is History Masha Gessen follows the lives of four Russians, born as the Soviet Union crumbled, at what promised to be the dawn of democracy. Each came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children or grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own
- as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers & writers, sexual & social beings. Gessen charts their paths not only against the machinations of the regime that would seek to crush them all (censorship, intimidation, violence) but also against the war it waged on understanding itself, ensuring the unobstructed emergence of the old Soviet order in the form of today`s terrifying & seemingly unstoppable mafia state. The Future is History is a powerful & urgent cautionary tale by contemporary Russia`s most fearless inquisitor.
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The 1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind brings us a stunning new vision of our future in space Human civilization ...

A new approach to ideas about war, from one of the UK`s leading strategic thinkers In 1912 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story about a war fought from underwater submersibles that included the sinking of passenger ships. It was dismissed by the British admirals of the day, not on the basis of technical feasibility, but because sinking civilian ships was not something that any civilised nation would do. The reality of war often contradicts expectations, less because of some fantastic technical or engineering dimension, but more because of some human, political, or moral threshold that we had never imagined would be crossed. As Lawrence Freedman shows, ideas about the causes of war & strategies for its conduct have rich & varied histories which shape predictions about the future. Freedman shows how looking at how the future of war was conceived about in the past (and why this was more often than not wrong) can put into perspective current thinking about future conflicts. The Future of War
- which takes us from preparations for the world wars, through the nuclear age & the civil wars which became the focus for debate after the end of the Cold War, to present preoccupations with hybrid & cyber warfare
- is filled with fascinating insights from one of the most brilliant military & strategic historians of his generation.

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Narrating the twisted tale of a backstage double murder, Gypsy Rose Lee, the queen of the striptease, provides a tantalising glimpse into the underworld of burlesque theatre in 1940s America. When one performer is found strangled with a G-string, no one is above suspicion. A host of clueless coppers face off against the theatre`s tough-talking guys & dolls, & when a second murder occurs, it`s clear that Gypsy & her cohorts will have to crack the case themselves. A dazzling & wisecracking murder mystery noir that was the basis of the 1943 film Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck. ...

Formed of dramatic volcanic scenery & home to marvellous beasts, it is little wonder that the first name for the Galapagos archipelago was Las Encantadas: the enchanted islands. In this captivating natural history, Henry Nicholls builds up the ecology of these famous islands, from their explosive origins to the arrival of the archipelago`s celebrated reptiles & ultimately humans. It`s a story of change, as the islands are transformed from lava-strewn wilderness into a vital scientific resource & a sought-after destination for eco-enthusiasts. Charles Darwin`s five-week visit to the Galapagos in 1835 played a pivotal role in this transformation. At the time, he was more interested in rocks than finches, took the opportunity to ride on the backs of tortoises & fling iguanas into the sea. Yet the Galapagos experience can be an inspiration & it certainly was for Darwin, pointing him towards one of the most important & influential ideas in the history of humankind: evolution by natural selection. & with the Darwin connection, the Galapagos found itself propelled onto a global stage. But worldwide fame has brought with it nearly 200, 000 tourists a year & a human population now estimated at around 30, 000. If Darwin learned from the Galapagos, so we must too. For what happens here in years to come foreshadows the fate of threatened ecosystems everywhere on earth. ...

Over half-a-century ago fanciful & exotic stories began to appear in the world`s press about settlers on the remote Galapagos island of Floreana. The tales were of nudism, free love communes, stainless steel dentures
- a latter-day Garden of Eden. But the truth was even stranger. Friedrich Ritter, an eccentric German intellectual, & his long-suffering companion Dora Strauch, were the first arrivals. Once established, they were soon joined by others. Most bizarre & dangerous was the self-styled Baroness Wagner-Bosquet. She ruled her three young male lovers with a riding crop, a pearl-handled revolver & insatiable sexual demands
- terrorising other settlers. Her mysterious disappearance & the discovery of unidentified bodies on a nearby island perplexed the world. Now The Galapagos Affair unravels the whole incredible story.

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Meet Charlie. People think he's crazy. But he's not. People think he's stupid. But he's not. People think he's innocent... He's the Gamal. Charlie has a story to tell, about his best friends Sinead & James & the bad things that happened. But he can't tell it yet, at least not till he's worked out where the beginning is. Because is the beginning long ago when Sinead first spoke up for him after Charlie got in trouble at school for the millionth time? Or was it later, when Sinead & James followed the music & found each other? Or was it later still on that terrible night when something unspeakable happened after closing time & someone chose to turn a blind eye? Charlie has promised Dr Quinn he'll write 1, 000 words a day, but it's hard to know which words to write. & which secrets to tell... This is the story of the dark heart of an Irish village, of how daring to be different can be dangerous & how there is nothing a person will not do for love. Exhilarating, bitingly funny & unforgettably poignant, this is a story like no other. This is the story of the Gamal. ...