The Orient Express is a name synonymous with luxury train travel in Europe. In 1883, the first train with its gleaming livery ...

Central Asia is a vibrant mixture of civilizations & tongues; united by Islam, diversified by differing histories, cultures & languages. Iran, Turkey & Afghanistan & their neighbours are famed for their literature & their multi-hued arts & crafts, but few realize how alive, how close to the surface, are their powerful & enduring traditions. The Orient in a Mirror counterpoints the colour photographs of Roland & Sabrina Michaud with reproductions of 14th- to 19th-century central Asian miniatures. The two art forms enhance one another, providing a multifaceted insight into the glories of the region
- from glimpses of students & solemn mullahs to Afghan horsemen, in a plethora of exotic beauty & colour. This book was acclaimed on first publication in 1980 but was long out of print. It is now republished in a revised & expanded form, with twice as many images.
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The Orientalist unravels the mysterious life of a man born on the border between West & East, a Jewish man with a passion for the Arab world. Tom Reiss first came across the man who called himself ` Kurban Said` when he went to the ex-USSR to research the oil business on the Caspian Sea, & discovered a novel instead. Written on the eve of the Second World War, Ali & Nino is a captivating love story set in the glamorous city of Baku, Azerbaijan`s capital. The novel`s depiction of a lost cosmopolitan society is enthralling, but equally intriguing is the identity of the man who wrote it. Who was its supposed author? & why was he so forgotten that no one could agree on the simplest facts about him? For five years, Reiss tracked Lev Nussimbaum, alias Kurban Said, from a wealthy Jewish childhood in Baku, to a romantic adolescence in Persia on the run from the Bolsheviks, & an exile in Berlin as bestselling author & self-proclaimed Muslim prince. The result is a thoroughly unexpected picture of the twentieth-century
- of the origins of our ideas about race & religious self-definition, & of the roots of modern fanaticism.
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The rapid expansion of ISIS & its swathe of territorial gains across the Middle East have been headline news since 2013. Yet much media attention & analysis has been focussed upon the military exploits, brutal tactics & radicalisation methods employed by the group. While ISIS remains a relatively new phenomenon, it is important to consider the historical & local dynamics that have shaped the emergence of the group in the past decade. In this book Simon Mabon & Stephen Royle provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the roots, tactics & ideology of the group, exploring the interactions of the various participants involved in the formative stages of ISIS. Based on original scholarly sources & first-hand research in the region, this book provides an authoritative & closely-analysed look at the emergence of one of the defining forces of the early twenty-first century. ...

A grain in the balance will determine which individual shall live & which shall die...`. Darwin`s theory of natural selection issued a profound challenge to orthodox thought & belief: no being or species has been specifically created; all are locked into a pitiless struggle for existence, with extinction looming for those not fitted for the task. Yet The Origin of Species (1859) is also a humane & inspirational vision of ecological interrelatedness, revealing the complex mutual interdependencies between animal & plant life, climate & physical environment, &
- by implication
- within the human world. Written for the general reader, in a style which combines the rigour of science with the subtlety of literature, The Origin of Species remains one of the founding documents of the modern age.

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Why was Cinderella bad at soccer? She always ran away from the ball. Two snowmen were standing in a field. One said to the other, Do you smell carrots? Da-dum! The Original 365 Jokes, Puns & Even a Few Riddles delivers a year of guffaws, groans, & belly laughs for the whole family. Here are golf jokes, blonde jokes, lawyer jokes, a guy walks into a bar jokes, knock-knocks, & more. ...

Written as an engrossing detective story by the leading authority, this is the first major account in nearly eighty years to deal with the core issues & multiple influences in the creation of the Irish people. Essential reading, with over 120 informative line drawings & maps, for anyone interested in Ireland & the Irish, this book brings together the evidence of archaeology, culture, tradition, genetics & linguistics to shed welcome new light on the age-old riddle of Irish origins. ...

About eighty million people today can trace their descent back to the occupants of Irel&. But where did the occupants of the island themselves come from & what do we even mean by ” Irish” in the first place? This is the first major attempt to deal with the core issues of how the Irish came into being. J.P. Mallory emphasizes that the Irish did not have a single origin, but are a product of multiple influences that can only be tracked by employing the disciplines of archaeology, genetics, geology, linguistics, & mythology. Beginning with the collision that fused the two halves of Ireland together, the book traces Ireland`s long journey through space & time to become an isl&. The origins of its first farmers & their monumental impact on the island is followed by an exploration of how metallurgists in copper, bronze, & iron brought Ireland into increasingly wider orbits of European culture. Assessments of traditional explanations of Irish origins are combined with the very latest genetic research into the biological origins of the Irish. ...

The Orkney Isles in the Landmark Visitor Guides series, exploring a range of places in Britain, Europe & the Caribbean, with a particular expertise in UK destinations. Each guide presents the reader with detailed, wide-ranging & accessible overview of the region or area, with a particular focus on history & culture, notable local attractions, the landscape, local events & family activities. A series of recommended walks & guided car tours exploring the region are also included in each title. The guides are arranged geographically by region & are ideal both for short & longer breaks, with practical guidance on recommended routes & tourist attractions, in addition to insightful inset boxes into local history, culture & traditions. Information on accommodation, restaurants & day-to-day information are more limited, though a compact Directory at the end of each guide provides basic listings of recommended accommodation & restaurants, as well as tourist information contacts & regional event calendars. International destinations also carry climate & country facts, basic phrases & other general travel practical guidance for travelling to the region. The British titles in the Landmark Visitor Guides series are highly recommended, covering titles that are rarely available from other publishers. ...

A rich & thriving culture where literature, science & religious tolerance flourished for 700 years is the subject of this enthralling history of medieval Spain. Living side by side in the Andalusian kingdoms, the `peoples of the book` produced statesmen, poets & philosophers who influenced the rest of Europe in dramatic ways, giving it the first translations of Plato & Aristotle, love songs & secular poetry plus remarkable feats of architecture & technology. This evocative account explores the lost history whose legacy & lessons have a powerful resonance in today`s world. ...