Sometimes the hardest journey is the road home. Na Ga was always in search of a better life. But now she sits, alone, in a hotel room in Wanting, a godforsaken town on the Chinese-Burmese border. Plucked from her wild life as a rural eel-catcher, Na Ga is then abandoned by her would-be rescuers in Rangoon. Later, as a teenager, she finds herself chasing the dream of a new life in Thailand
- where further betrayals & violations await. Yet it seems that her fighting spirit will not be broken. But for how long can Na Ga belong nowhere & with no one? In the dingy hotel in Wanting she is forced to confront her compulsion to keep running, & to ask herself why, until now, she`s resisted the journey home. Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011.
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A searing account of George Orwell`s observations of working-class life in the bleak industrial heartlands of Yorkshire & Lancashire in the 1930s, ” The Road to Wigan Pier” is a brilliant & bitter polemic that has lost none of its political impact over time. His graphically unforgettable descriptions of social injustice, cramped slum housing, dangerous mining conditions, squalor, hunger & growing unemployment are written with unblinking honesty, fury & great humanity. It crystallized the ideas that would be found in Orwell`s later works & novels, & remains a powerful portrait of poverty, injustice & class divisions in Britain. ...

The Roads to Santiago beautifully presents the history of the Way of St. James, medieval Europe’s most famous pilgrims’ route through France & northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, splendidly illustrated by photos from Derry Brabbs, regarded as one of England’s finest photographers of heritage sites & landscape, with over 25 books to his credit. Covering the four main starting points in France: Le Puy, Vézeley, Chartres & Orléans, & Arles, the route leads us through the beautiful landscapes, cathedrals & small Romanesque churches to the Pyrenees & on to the magnificent religious architecture of the Camino Francés across northern Spain including Burgos, León & Santiago itself. The pilgrimage route to the shrine of St James has now become one of the most popular long-distance trails for hikers & cyclists & the book is an essential companion for those who have already made or intend to make this inspirational journey, not to mention those who prefer to participate in spirit from the comfort of their car seats or just armchairs. ...

Running through the heart of Colombia is a river emblematic of the fascination & tragedy of South America, the Magdalena. Considered by some to be the most dangerous place in the world, travellers along the river
- for centuries the only route into the vast South American interior
- were at the mercy of tropical disease, dangerous animals & precarious barges. A third of the victims of `la violencia`, Colombia`s period of civil conflict which began in the 1950s, ended up in its waters. Townships alongside it have experienced some of the worst massacres in South American history. In 2011, Michael Jacobs travelled its whole length to the river`s source high up in Andean moorlands controlled by guerrillas. In spellbinding prose, he charts the dangers he negotiated
- including a terrifying three day encounter with the FARC
- while uncovering the river`s history of pioneering explorations, environmental decline & political violence. As Jacobs delves into the history of destruction & decay along the river, he also makes a deeply personal exploration into memory & its loss: not far from the river`s banks lies a group of townships with the highest incidence of early onset Alzheimer`s in the world. Jacobs reflects on the lives of his father, & his mother
- sufferers respectively from Alzheimer`s & dementia
- as he travels upstream towards what comes to seem like a heartland of mystery, magic & darkness.





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No other bird is quite so ever-present & familiar, so embedded in our culture, as the robin. With more than six million breeding pairs, the robin is second only to the wren as Britain’s most common bird. It seems to live its life alongside us, in every month & season of the year. But how much do we really know about this bird? In The Robin Stephen Moss records a year of observing the robin both close to home & in the field to shed light on the hidden life of this apparently familiar bird. We follow its lifecycle from the time it enters the world as an egg, through its time as a nestling & juvenile, to the adult bird; via courtship, song, breeding, feeding, migration – & ultimately, death. At the same time we trace the robin`s relationship with us: how did this particular bird – one of more than 300 species in its huge & diverse family – find its way so deeply & permanently into our nation’s heart & its social & cultural history? It’s a story that tells us as much about ourselves as it does about the robin itself. ...

The only conditioning book a rock climber needs! Rock climbing is one of the most physically challenging sports, testing strength, endurance, flexibility, & stamina. Good climbers have to build & maintain each of these assets. This revised & updated edition of the classic book, Conditioning for Climbers, provides climbers of all ages & experience with the knowledge & tools to design & follow a comprehensive, personalized exercise program. ...

An exploration of myth, passion & loyalty from the Lebanon`s troubled past, The Rock of Tanios is another superbly rich & rewarding novel from the author of Samarkand & Leo the African. Expertly controlling his multi-faceted narrative with prose of great beauty & power, Maalouf delves into the history of an extraordinary life: that of Tanois, child of the mountains. ...

Solid geology map of Wales at 1:250, 000 from the British Geological Survey. This is a 2005 reprint of the 1st edition of this map originally published by BGS in 1994. The map is designed to show principal chronostratigraphical divisions (age) down to ‘ Series’ level by colour, &, where possible, gross lithology by ornamented overprint. The underlying base map shows important towns & cities, main roads, major rivers & significant topographical features. Map legend & the accompanying text are in English & Welsh. ...

The Magic of a Name tells the story of the first 40 years of Britain`s most prestigious manufacturer
- Rolls-Royce. Beginning with
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Travel the Roman empire & discover the great diversity of its peoples & cultures. This book shows the importance of the Roman army in conquering & controlling the empire, & how the empire was held together by the Emperor & by his officials & laws. The economic power of Rome depended on raw materials from all over the empire: metals, stone & food. Rome`s success lay in its inclusiveness, with many distinct cultures flourishing within its boundaries. People practised many different religions & spoke many different languages, but they were unified by Roman civilization. Sam Moorhead shows how the most successful empire in human history was organised, & why understanding the Roman empire helps us to understand better our world today. ...