Peter Hopkirk`s ” The Great Game” tells the history of the decades-long struggle for Central Asia in the 1800’s. For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth
- Victorian Britain & Tsarist Russia
- fought a secret war in the lonely passes & deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it ” The Great Game”, a phrase immortalized in Kipling’s ” Kim”. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2, 000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India. This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British & Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence & sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today. Peter Hopkirk is a veteran journalist & is widely recognized as an authority on the complex history of Central Asia. This is one of his six books on the region. The book was first published in 1990. The foreword was added by the author in 1997 as the fall of the Soviet Union inaugurated a New Great Game, & has since been briefly updated in 2005 to take account of the post 9/11 action against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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The Lizardine Empire is under threat. When Mycroft Holmes is murdered in London, it is up to retired shadow executive Smith to track down his killer
- & stumble on the greatest conspiracy of his life. Mycroft's protege, returns from Abyssinia with an ancient device that summons deadly, giant tripods. Across the ocean, a young Harry Houdini faces death...and the return of an enemy once thought vanquished. File Under: Steampunk [ Alternate History! Victorians Bite End Of Days Oooo-Laaaaah ] The juicy backstory is unfolded by Tidhar, making it a key part of what makes the narrative so compelling...skilful, clever & hugely enjoyable. 4
- SFX Magazine

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The gardens of Italy rank amongst the great treasures of the world. They have influenced & inspired almost every landscape designer & architect since the Renaissance yet they are not isolated historical artifacts. A garden is always a living, evolving entity that tells a thousand stories about the people that made it as well as the plants that occupy it. Above all, great gardens become a celebration of man`s creative need to work with nature. This book is a personal exploration of Italy`s legendary gardens. Over thirty are featured, including some that are very well known as well as others that might not be on many people`s obvious list. Few people have travelled more widely & have a more passionately practical engagement with gardening than Monty Don. Through captivating text & outstanding photography, Monty & Derry invite the reader to accompany them on their tour around Italy. Their underlying message is that to appreciate a garden fully you must also know something of the food grown & eaten in the area, of the politics, religion & weather of the region, & of the dreams for the garden`s future as well as the glories of its past. Each garden is placed in the context of its surrounding landscape & the lives of those who made it & who tend it today. Far more than an inventory of interesting plants or classical designs, this book leads the reader through a truly stunning odyssey of the breadth & magnificence of Italian gardens, always engaging, occasionally provocative & utterly mesmerising. ...

In 1922, F Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write ”something new- something extraordinary & beautiful & simple, intricately patterned”. That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned &, above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald`s finest work & one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century, let alone the twenties.A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence & excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author`s generation & earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald`s- & his country`s- most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed & the promise of new beginnings. ” Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that`s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... & one fine morning- ” Gatsby`s rise to glory & eventual fall from grace be comes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream. ...

Now the subject of a major new film from director Baz Luhrmann (” Romeo+ Juliet”, ” Moulin Rouge!”), starring Leonardo Di Caprio & Carey Mulligan, ” The Great Gatsby” is F. Scott Fitzgerald`s brilliant fable of the hedonistic excess & tragic reality of 1920s America. This ” Penguin Classics” edition is edited with an introduction & notes by Tony Tanner. Young, handsome & fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby is the bright star of the Jazz Age, but as writer Nick Carraway is drawn into the decadent orbit of his Long Island mansion, where the party never seems to end, he finds himself faced by the mystery of Gatsby`s origins & desires. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life, Gatsby is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. & soon, this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel. In ” The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald brilliantly captures both the disillusionment of post-war America & the moral failure of a society obsessed with wealth & status. But he does more than render the essence of a particular time & place, for
- in chronicling Gatsby`s tragic pursuit of his dream
- Fitzgerald re-creates the universal conflict between illusion & reality. Like Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) has acquired a mythical status in American literary history, & his masterwork. ” The Great Gatsby” is considered by many to be the `great American novel`. In 1920 he married Zelda Sayre, dubbed `the first American Flapper`, & their traumatic marriage & Zelda`s gradual descent into insanity became the leading influence on his writing. As well as many short stories, Fitzgerald wrote five novels ” This Side of Paradise”, ” The Great Gatsby”, ” The Beautiful & the Damned”, ” Tender is the Night” &, incomplete at the time of his death, ” The Last Tycoon”. After his death ” The New York Times” said of him that `in fact & in the literary sense he created a ”generation”`. ”A classic, perhaps the supreme American novel”. (John Carey, ” Sunday Times” Books of the Century).

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** The twentieth-century masterpiece, the authoritative new edition** ` There was music from my neighbour`s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men & girls came & went like moths among the whisperings & the champagne & the stars.` Enigmatic, intriguing & fabulously wealthy, Jay Gatsby throws lavish parties at his West Egg mansion to impress Daisy Buchanan, the object of his obsession, now married to bullish Tom Buchanan. Over a Long Island summer, his neighbour Nick Carraway, a writer & a cousin to Daisy, looks on as Gatsby & Daisy`s affair deepens. Tragedy looms in F. Scott Fitzgerald`s masterpiece third novel, frequently named among the best novels of the twentieth century. Praise for The Great Gatsby: `A classic, perhaps the supreme American novel` Sunday Times ` More than an American classic; it`s become a defining document of the national psyche, a creation myth, the Rosetta Stone of the American dream` Guardian `F. Scott Fitzgerald was better than he knew, for in fact & in the literary sense he invented a generation` New York Times ` An unquiet masterpiece whose mystery never fails to exert its power` Robert Mc Crum, Observer, ` The 100 Best Novels in English` ...

When it came to loving… he knew which Daisy to pick! wild parties, exquisite cocktails, fabulous wealth, raging jealousy & spectacular deaths... Sorry old sport, but Gatsby has a bigger house than you, prettier friends than you & a Rolls Royce to cart them all round in. To a backdrop of popping champagne corks & orchestral jazz, our hero bids to buyout his old adversary, perennial jock, Tom Buchanan & reclaim Daisy, his favourite bit of High Society totty. ...

The Great Gatsby lives in a luxurious Long Island mansion, playing lavish host to hundreds of people, & yet no-one seems ...

Spineless Publishing offers you the unique display for The Great Gatsby on one sheet to hang on the wall. This American classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the darker side of the roaring twenties. It follows the journey of New York arrival Nick as he finds himself drawn into the high-living world of his mysterious neighbour Gatsby, for whom money & friends come as easily as the girls. But all is not as glamorous as it seems & before long things start to come unravelled with tragic consequences. The Great Gatsby is shown here with his beloved Rolls Royce
- at one the great symbol of his good living & the instrument of his downfall. The font, although inevitably small, up close, is perfectly legible. All Spineless Classics are printed on heavyweight paper in sharp, lightfast ink which will not fade. Frame you favourite classic & transform it into a beautiful work of art. Please note the frame is not included.
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The essential guidebook to walking the Great Glen Way, a 79-mile National Trail that runs along the Great Glen between Fort William & Inverness. The Great Glen is one of the most remarkable features in the Scottish landscape
- a ruler-straight valley along an ancient fault line through the Highlands. Ideal as an introduction to long-distance walking, the Great Glen Way can easily be walked within a week, & most walkers will aim to complete the route in five or six days. The guidebook provides the walker with practical information, maps & clear route descriptions for every stage of the trek & lists the facilities found along the way. A separate OS map booklet shows the trail, which can be walked in either direction. The Great Glen Way stretches alongside the scenic Caledonian Canal, which links Loch Lochy & Loch Oich with the famous Loch Ness. The route uses undulating forest tracks, lakeside paths, old drove roads & military roads, as well as contrasting stretches over heather moorlands or through city suburbs. Walkers can enjoy the scenery & wildlife, delve into the history of the Highland clans, visit crumbling castles, or keep an eye open to spot the elusive Loch Ness Monster!
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