The Junior Officers’ Reading Club is the story of how modern soldiers are made, from the testosterone-heavy breeding ground of Sandhurst to the twin nightmares of Iraq & Afghanistan. Drawing on soldier-writer Patrick Hennessey’s experiences as an officer in the Grenadier Guards while on active service in the Middle East, the author shows the realities of war in all of its terror, boredom & exhilaration. ...

Bento fever is sweeping the world fuelled by its promise of superb food that is economical & healthy in these tough economic ...

` This, O my Best Beloved, is a story...` How did the Leopard get his spots? Or the Rhinoceros his skin? How was the Alphabet made? & why does the Cat walk by himself? Rudyard Kipling`s magical, witty Just So Stories is guaranteed to delight, whether you are familiar with the tales or discovering them for the first time. ” Just So Stories was the first book I ever truly loved.” (Michael Morpurgo Egmont Classics are books to treasure). ...

In a little beauty school in the war zone of Kabul, a community of women comes together, all with stories to tell. DEBBIE, the American hairdresser who co-founds the training salon. As the burqas are removed in class, curls are coiffed & make-up is applied, Debbie`s students share with her their stories
- & their hearts. MINA, forcibly married to a man in repayment of a family debt & threatened with having her child taken away. ROSHANNA, a tearful young bride terrified her in-laws will discover she`s not a virgin. & NAHIDA, the prize pupil who bears the scars of her Taliban husband`s approval. In the Kabul Beauty School, these women & many others find a safe haven & the seeds of their future independence. From the bestselling author of THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL, this is an eye-opening, inspiring & enthralling story.
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Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women, all of whom have stories to tell, who come together & learn the arts of perms, friendship, & freedom. Arriving in Afghanistan in 2002 with nothing more than a beauty degree & a desire to help, Deborah Rodriguez set out on a course of action that would change her life & those of many Afghan women. The once proud tradition of beauty schools had been all but destroyed & with it Afghani womens ability to support themselves. As one of the founders of the Kabul Beauty School she set about training women & helping them rebuild their lives. ...

On 12 May 1883, the German flag was raised on the coast of South-West Africa, modern Namibia
- the beginnings of Germany`s African
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The Kalevala is the great Finnish epic, which like the Iliad & the Odyssey, grew out of a rich oral tradition with prehistoric roots. During the first millenium of our era, speakers of Uralic languages (those outside the Indo-European group) who had settled in the Baltic region of Karelia, that straddles the border of eastern Finland & north-west Russia, developed an oral poetry that was to last into the nineteenth century. This poetry provided the basis of the Kalevala. It was assembled in the 1840s by the Finnish scholar Elias Lonnrot, who took `dictation` from the performance of a folk singer, in much the same way as our great collections from the past, from Homeric poems to medieval songs & epics, have probably been set down. Published in 1849, it played a central role in the march towards Finnish independence & inspired some of Sibelius`s greatest works. This new & exciting translation by poet Keith Bosley, prize-winning translator of the anthology Finnish Folk Poetry: Epic, is the first truly to combine liveliness with accuracy in a way which reflects the richness of the original.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World`s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford`s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, & much more. ...

” The Kane Chronicles: The Serpent`s Shadow” is the final thrilling instalment in award-winning author & Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan`s ” Kane Chronicles” trilogy. Is their inherited magic enough to battle against the most powerful mythical forces that Egypt`s gods have to throw at them? Carter & Sadie Kane, descendants of the magical House of Life, are in pretty big trouble. Despite their bravest efforts, Apophis, the giant snake of Chaos, is still threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Now the Kanes must do something no magician has ever managed
- defeat Apophis himself. No pressure there then. Battling against the forces of Chaos, their only hope is an ancient spell
- but the magic has been lost for a millennia. Will they find the serpent`s shadow, or will they be led to their deaths in the depths of the Underworld? Praise for ” The Kane Chronicles: The Serpent`s Shadow”: ” Storytelling that will get readers hooked”. (Philip Ardagh, ” The Guardian”). ” Witty & inspired. Gripping, touching & deliciously satirical”. (” Times”). Rick Riordan is the award-winning writer of the Percy Jackson series, ” The Kane Chronicles” & the ” Heroes of Olympus” series. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife & two sons. Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief was the overall winner of the Red House Children`s Book Award in 2006, & made into a blockbuster film starring Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan & Uma Thurman in 2010. The series has gone on to become a chart-topping success.

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The Throne of Fire: the second book in Rick Riordan`s The Kane Chronicles. Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed on the modern world, Carter Kane & his sister, Sadie, have been in big trouble. As descendants of the magical House of Life, they command certain powers. But now a terrifying enemy
- Apophis, the giant snake of chaos
- is rising. If Carter & Sadie don`t destroy him, the world will end in five days` time. & in order to battle the forces of chaos, they must revive the sun god Ra
- a feat no magician has ever achieved. Because first they must search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells... Can the Kanes destroy Apophis before he swallows the sun & plunges the earth into darkness.. .forever? Praise for the Percy Jackson series: ” Witty & inspired. Gripping, touching & deliciously satirical... This is most likely to succeed Rowling. Puffin is on to a winner”. (Amanda Craig, The Times). ” Puns, jokes & subtle wit, alongside a gripping storyline”. (Telegraph). ” Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats”. (New York Times). Rick Riordan is an award-winning mystery writer. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife & two sons. Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief was the overall winner of the Red House Children`s Book Award in 2006. The Percy Jackson series: The Lightning Thief; The Sea of Monsters; The Battle of the Labyrinth; The Titan`s Curse; The Last Olympian Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero; The Son of Neptune; The Mark of Athena The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid; The Throne of Fire; &, The Serpent`s Shadow.


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