This is one of the key books on modern India, acclaimed as the definitive account, & now republished with a new introduction. ” The Idea of India” was originally published to mark the 50th anniversary of India`s independence & has since established itself as a uniquely valuable & authoritative book on a key subject. At the heart of India`s self-image since independence has been `the idea of India`
- modern, technocratic, egalitarian, secular
- but the tensions between the idea & the reality have become almost intolerable. This book shows how. Reviews: ”A splendid
- & timely
- book... Spirited, combative & insight-filled... Khilnani has woven a rich analysis of contemporary India & its evolution since indepence. I am inclined to agree with [him] on the robustness & staying power of the secular idea of India”. (Amartya Sen, ” Times Literary Supplement”). ”A masterful rebuttal to all cultural romantics & religious chauvinists...[A] splendid book about definitions of the Indian nation”. (Ian Buruma, ” New York Review of Books”). ” Especially brilliant is Khilnani`s attempt to understand the changing nature of India by studying its urban constructs”. (Chitra Divakaruni, ” Los Angeles Times”).



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As with the compass needle, so people have always been most powerfully attracted northwards; everyone carries within them their own concept of north. The Idea of North is a study, ranging widely in time & place, of some of the ways in which these ideas have found expression. Peter Davidson explores the topography of north as represented in images & literature, taking in Netherlandic winter paintings of the Renaissance, German Romantic landscapes, Scandinavian Biedermeyer & twentieth-century topographical painting & printmaking. He examines a bewildering diversity of mythologies & imaginings of north, including The Snow Queen; Scandinavian Sagas; ghost-stories; Moomintrolls, Arctic exploration; the fictitious snowy kingdoms of Zembla & Naboland; Nabokov's nostalgias; Baltic midsummer; rooms in winter light; compasses & star-stones; hoar-frost; &, ice & glass. The book also traces a northward journey, describing northern rural Engl&, industrial sites, & the long emptiness of the borders, Scotland & the Highlands. He looks at the region far north of Scotl&, then moves to the Northern Netherlands & Scandinavia to explore their identifiable northernness. The last visited place is Icel&, identified by W.H. Auden & Louis Mc Neice in 1936 as furthest, most remote, most distant, most northerly'. An engaging meditation on solitude, absence & stillness, The Idea of North shows north to be a goal rather than a destination, a place of revelation that is always somewhere ultimate & austere. ...

As with the compass needle, so people have always been most powerfully attracted northwards; everyone carries within them their own concept of north. ” The Idea of North” is a study, ranging widely in time & place, of some of the ways in which these ideas have found expression. Peter Davidson explores the topography of north as represented in images & literature, taking in Netherlandic winter paintings of the Renaissance, German Romantic landscapes, Scandinavian Biedermeyer & twentieth-century topographical painting & printmaking. He examines a bewildering diversity of mythologies & imaginings of north, including The Snow Queen; Scandinavian Sagas; ghost-stories; Moomintrolls, Arctic exploration; the fictitious snowy kingdoms of Zembla & Naboland; Nabokov`s nostalgias; Baltic midsummer; rooms in winter light; compasses & star-stones; hoar-frost; &, ice & glass. The book also traces a northward journey, describing northern rural Engl&, industrial sites, & the long emptiness of the borders, Scotland & the Highlands. He looks at the region far north of Scotl&, then moves to the Northern Netherlands & Scandinavia to explore their identifiable northernness. The last visited place is Icel&, identified by W.H. Auden & Louis Mc Neice in 1936 as furthest, most remote, most distant, most northerly`. An engaging meditation on solitude, absence & stillness, ” The Idea of North” shows north to be a goal rather than a destination, a place of revelation that is always somewhere ultimate & austere. ...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky`s The Idiot is an immaculate portrait of innocence tainted by the brutal reality of human greed. This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Russian by David Mc Duff, with an introduction by William Mills Todd III. Returning to St Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium, the gentle & naive epileptic Prince Myshkin
- the titular `idiot`
- pays a visit to his distant relative General Yepanchin & proceeds to charm the General, his wife, & his three daughters. But his life is thrown into turmoil when he chances on a photograph of the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna. Utterly infatuated with her, he soon finds himself caught up in a love triangle & drawn into a web of blackmail, betrayal, & finally, murder. Inspired by an image of Christ`s suffering Dostoyevsky sought to portray in Prince Myshkin the purity of a `truly beautiful soul` & explore the perils that innocence & goodness face in a corrupt world. David Mc Duff`s new translation brilliantly captures the novel`s idiosyncratic & dream-like language & the nervous, elliptic flow of the narrative. This edition also contains a new introduction by William Mills Todd III, which is a fascinating examination of the pressures on Dostoyevsky as he wrote the story of his Christ-like hero. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was born in Moscow. From 1849-54 he lived in a convict prison, & in later years his passion for gambling led him deeply into debt. His other works available in Penguin Classics include Crime & Punishment, The Idiot & Demons. If you enjoyed The Idiot, you might like Anton Chekhov`s Ward No. 6 & Other Stories, also available in Penguin Classics.` Mc Duff`s language is rich & alive` The New York Times Book Review`[ The Idiot`s].. . narrative is so compelling` Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

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This book was shortlisted for the Goodreads Best Science & Technology Book Award. Motion sickness. Nightmares. Forgetting people`s names. Why did I walk into this room? For something supposedly so brilliant & evolutionarily advanced, the human brain is pretty messy, fallible & disorganised. In The Idiot Brain neuroscientist Dean Burnett celebrates the imperfections of the human brain in all their glory, & the impact of these quirks on our daily lives. Expertly researched & entertainingly written, this book is for anyone who has wondered why their brain seems to be sabotaging their life, & what on earth it is really up to. ...

As we jet off on holiday, passing from airport lounge to hotel in our desperation to escape our everyday lives & find some better weather, we'd do well to ask ourselves what on earth we're doing. Do we really travel any more, or do we just arrive? The Idle Traveller calls on us all to re-assess why we travel & what travel has become. Besides extolling the virtues of staycation holidaying, Dan Kieran argues we need to bin the brochure, glide rather than fly, embrace disaster, be epic in our travel pursuits & immerse ourselves in the life-changing experience of true journeying. The Idle Traveller is an inspiration to travel more meaningfully & enjoy the journey. Isn't it about time you allowed your travel plans to slow down? ...

A new psychological thriller in the Javier Falcon quartet, that

Includes:: THE HIDDEN ASSASSINS & The Blind

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The Ijssel is the first of a series two recreational maps for the Flevoland region. These maps were created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the province of Flevol&. They are double-sided indexed maps at 1:50, 000 scale, featuring a detailed topography with prominent highlighting of the cycle routes & packed with practical tourist information. They also include a calendar of annual events & feature all the local hiking trails. Falk maps give cycling distances between the junctions & indicate which roads, both within the numbered network & outside it, have separate cycling paths. Routes which are part of the LF network of long-distance cycle routes are clearly marked. A wide range of symbols shows various accommodation options, bars & restaurants, & various places of interest. Landscape information is provided by colouring for woodlands, dunes, etc. Map legend

Includes:: English. To see the list of other titles in this series please click on the series link.

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One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer`s ” Iliad” tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, & his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles` close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge
- although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb & flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy`s besieged city of Ilium, & of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.
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Neil Packer`s glorious illustrations & Gillian Cross`s brilliant retelling bring to life Homer`s Iliad, the greatest war story ever told. The team that produced the Odyssey in 2012 now tell the story of the ten year war that preceded Odysseus`s long journey home to Ithaca. This faithful retelling begins with Prince Paris`s abduction of Helen of Sparta, & goes on to the quarrel between Agamemnon & Achilles, & the great battles under the walls of Troy towards the end of the siege that result in the deaths of Patroclus, the Trojan hero Hector, & finally Achilles himself. Neil Packer`s pictures capture the beauty & remoteness of the setting, & bring a profound humanity to what has been called the finest literary achievement of Greek civilisation. ...