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. ...

When she meets the shop`s owner, a rebellious young painter, the veneer of the Communist world she once believed in begins to crack. Just as Leila begins to fall in love, she`s discovered by her comrades & forced to make an impossible choice. Set at the crossroads of Turkish, Persian & Russian cultures as the red banner of Communism bared down & the West beckoned, The Orphan Sky lyrically reveals one woman`s struggle to find her place in the world. ...

George Orwell was an inveterate keeper of diaries. The Orwell Diaries presents eleven of them, covering the period 1931-1949, & follows Orwell from his early years as a writer to his last literary notebook. An entry from 1931 tells of a communal shave in the Trafalgar Square fountains, while notes from his travels through industrial England show the development of the impassioned social commentator. This same acute power of observation is evident in his diaries from Morocco, as well as at home, where his domestic diaries chart the progress of his garden & animals with a keen eye; the wartime diaries, from descriptions of events overseas to the daily violence closer to home, describe astutely his perspective on the politics of both, & provide a new & entirely refreshing insight into Orwell`s character & his great works. ...

Seattle, 1972: Neil Countryman & John William Barry, two teenage boys from very different backgrounds, are at the start of an 800m race. Their lives collide for the first time, & so begins an extraordinary friendship. As they grow older Neil follows the conventional route of the American dream, but the eccentric, fiercely intelligent John William makes radically different choices, dropping out of college & moving deep into the woods. Convinced it is the only way to live without hypocrisy, John William enlists Neil to help him disappear completely, drawing his oldest friend into a web of secrets & agonising responsibility, deceit & tragedy
- one that will finally break open with an unexpected, life-altering revelation.
...

Ryszard Kapuscinski witnessed & reported on major wars, coups & revolutions as they happened throughout the developing world & global South. In this distillation of his reflections on a lifetime of travel, he takes a fresh look at the Western idea of the Other: the non-European or non-American. Looking at this concept through the lens of his own encounters in Africa, Asia & Latin America, & considering its formative significance for his own work, Kapuciski traces how the West has understood the Other from classical times to colonialism, from the age of enlightenment to the postmodern global village. He observes how today we continue to treat the non-European as an alien & a threat, an object of study that has not yet become a partner in sharing responsibility for the fate of the world. In our globalized but increasingly polarized post-9/11 age, Kapuscinski shows how the Other remains one of the most compelling ideas of our times. ...

What happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories.. . Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, &
- most of all
- stories. Especially because he`s grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer. When Alice goes missing & a talking cat turns up in her bedroom, Midge searches Alice`s stories for a clue. Soon he discovers that her secret book, The Museum of Unfinished Stories, is much more than just a story. In fact, he finds two of its characters wandering around town. But every tale has its villains
- & with them leaping off the page, Midge, Gypsy & Piper must use all their wits & cunning to work out how the story ends & find Alice. If they fail, a more sinister finale threatens them all.. .A rich & twisting tale of magic, riddles & the power of imagination, from a classic author.


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The first known inhabitant of St Helena
- long before Napoleon
- was a 16th-century Portuguese renegade. In 1506 Fernao Lopes,

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