No history of China, India, Persia or Russia can be fully understood without continual reference to central Asia. At the heart of the region lie the deserts & mountain range of Afghanistan that even today remain largely unexplored. Yet in the past Afghanistan saw the rise of great cities, empires & civilizations such as the Kushan in the first few centuries AD, the Ghaznavid in the 11th century, & the Timurid in the 15th. Despite bearing witness to ancient & more recent battles, the scarred landscape of Afghanistan is strewn with the monuments to illustrate this rich history: from the recently uncovered Ai Khanum in the north-east & the spectacular 12th century minarets at Jam in the mountains of the west, to the magnificent palatial complexes of the 11th century sultans at Lashkar Bazar in the south & what remains of the 5th & 7th century Buddhist world of Bamiyan in the Hindu Kush
- notoriously destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. This book provides a general background to the history & cultural heritage of Afghanistan. It

Includes:: broad summaries of the history, architecture & archeology, together with a gazetteer of the main monuments & archeological sites.


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The Monuments of Syria is a new & updated guide to the country’s richest historical & archaeological remains & sites, dating from the Bronze Age through biblical & Byzantine times to the early Islamic & Ottoman periods. Organized as a gazetteer of Syria’s historical locations, The Monuments of Syria is detailed with complimentary sections on historical narrative & architectural influences, as well as comprehensive chronologies & glossaries. In-depth information is given on the presentation of sites & the lay out of museums & detailed itineraries for further travel is presented alongside regional & thematic black & white overview summary maps. Place names are given in contemporary Arabic with their accepted English variants as well as their historical/period variants. A colour photograph section illustrates some of the sites covered in the guide, a thorough chronology & bibliography are provided, as is a glossary of relevant architectural terms. ...

The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame & glory, but it is cycling's one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest & dirtiest of all are the so-called ' Monuments', the five legendary races that are the sport's equivalent of golf's majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris--Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege & the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, & each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport, the cycling equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix. Time has changed them to a degree, but they remain as brutally testing as they ever have been. They provide the sport's outstanding one-day performers
- the likes of Philippe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen, Peter Sagan & Thor Hushovd
- with a chance to measure themselves against each other & their predecessors in the most challenging tests in world cycling. From the bone-shattering bowler-hat cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix to the insanely steep hellingen in the Tour of Flanders, each race is as unique as the riders who push themselves through extreme exhaustion to win them & enter their epic history. Over the course of a century, only Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx & Roger De Vlaeminck have won all five races. Yet victory in a single edition of a Monument guarantees a rider lasting fame. For some, that one victory has even more cachet than success in a grand tour. Each of the Monuments has a fascinating history, featuring tales of the finest & largest characters in the sport. In The Monuments Peter Cossins tells the tumultuous history of these extraordinary races & the riders they have immortalised.

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The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame & glory, but it is cycling`s one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest & dirtiest of all are the so-called ` Monuments`, the five legendary races that are the sport`s equivalent of golf`s majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris--Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege & the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, & each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport, the cycling equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix. Time has changed them to a degree, but they remain as brutally testing as they ever have been. They provide the sport`s outstanding one-day performers
- the likes of Philippe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen, Peter Sagan & Thor Hushovd
- with a chance to measure themselves against each other & their predecessors in the most challenging tests in world cycling. From the bone-shattering bowler-hat cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix (rumoured to be Bradley Wiggins` next challenge) to the insanely steep hellingen in the Tour of Flanders, each race is as unique as the riders who push themselves through extreme exhaustion to win them & enter their epic history. Over the course of a century, only Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx & Roger De Vlaeminck have won all five races. Yet victory in a single edition of a Monument guarantees a rider lasting fame. For some, that one victory has even more cachet than success in a grand tour. Each of the Monuments has a fascinating history, featuring tales of the finest & largest characters in the sport. In The Monuments Peter Cossins tells the tumultuous history of these extraordinary races & the riders they have immortalised.

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This stylish & unique Moomin Colouring Book features original artwork from the coveted archive of Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins; one of the most cherished children`s book series ever written. Beautifully conceived & designed, this contemporary colouring book features striking patterns & scenes as well as all your favourite Moomin characters & their most memorable"es. The perfect gift for Moomin fans of all ages. ...

A showstopping luxury gift book to cherish for years to come, The Moomins: The World of Moominvalley is the ultimate guide ...

The Moon on a large folded map from Hallwag showing both the visible & the far side at 1:5, 000, 000 with on the reverse an index of craters & other lunar formations, an explanation of the phases, notes on the Apollo space program, etc. On one side are photographs showing the visible & the far side of the moon with the diameter of 66cm at its equator. Numerous craters, seas & other lunar features are named. Each side shows the lines of latitude & longitude at 10 ...

Charles Strickl&, a conventional stockbroker, abandons his wife & children for Paris & Tahiti, to live his life as a painter. Whilst his betrayal of family, duty & honour gives him the freedom to achieve greatness, his decision leads to an obsession which carries severe implications. Inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin, ” The Moon & Sixpence” is at once a satiric caricature of Edwardian conventions & a vivid portrayal of the mentality of a genius. ...

A poignant story of love & redemption, The Moon Field explores the loss of innocence through a war that destroys everything except the bonds of human hearts. No man`s land is a place in the heart: pitted, cratered & empty as the moon... Hidden in a soldier`s tin box are a painting, a pocket watch, & a dance card
- keepsakes of three lives. It is 1914. George Farrell cycles through the tranquil Cumberland fells to deliver a letter, unaware that it will change his life. George has fallen for the rich & beautiful daughter at the Manor House, Miss violet, but when she lets slip the contents of the letter George is heartbroken to find that she is already promised to another man. George escapes his heartbreak by joining the patriotic rush to war, but his past is not so easily avoided. His rite of passage into adulthood leaves him believing that no woman will be able to love the man he has become. A poignant story of love & redemption, The Moon Field explores the loss of innocence in a war that destroys everything except the bonds of the human heart.
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The Moon Globe is recreated in masterful detail with this official 30cm (12”) NASA model; designating the first American & Russian unmanned landing sites & the first Apollo manned landing location. Detail of craters, seas, mountains & plains gives this globe a striking three-dimensional effect. Developed under the auspices of NASA, this globe also

Includes:: the ” Story of The Moon” handbook & study projects.

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