` That`s brutal violence on a defenceless person, & quite unnecessary, declares Sophie, & she pulls with an audible tearing sound at the hair of the man lying in an untidy heap on the ground. What`s unnecessary is best of all, says Rainer, who wants to go on fighting. We agreed on that.` It is the late 1950s. A man is out walking in a park in Vienna. He will be beaten up by four teenagers, not for his money, he has an average amount, nor for anything he might have done to them, but because the youths are arrogant & very pleased with themselves. Their arrogance is their way of reacting to the maggot-ridden corpse that is Austria where everyone has a closet to hide their Nazi histories, their sexual perversions & their hatred of the foreigner. Elfriede Jelinek, who writes like an angel of all that is tawdry, shows in ” Wonderful, Wonderful Times” how actions of the present are determined by thoughts of the past. ...

Gill (British, 1884–1947), younger brother of sculptor Eric Gill, was a skilled & versatile architect, artist, designer, & illustrator. His poster is in the collection of London Transport Museum, which houses one of the world’s finest poster archives. Thoughtfully conceived & engagingly intricate, our 1, 000-piece jigsaw puzzles combine superb color reproduction, stunning & unusual images, & sturdy construction to delight generations of novice & veteran puzzleworkers. ...

` Vibrant, fascinating, poetic
- a year in living things: all the things we love, all the things we wish we could, all the
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` The book is a house of wonders` The New York Times ` Steven Johnson is the Darwin of technology` Walter Issacson, author of Steve Jobs What connects Paleolithic bone flutes to the invention of computer software? Or the Murex sea snail to the death of the great American city? How does the bag of crisps you hold in your hand help tell the story of humanity itself? In his brilliant new work on the history of innovation, international bestseller Steven Johnson argues that the pursuit of novelty & wonder has always been a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. He finds that that throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves & others amused. Johnson`s storytelling is just as delightful as the inventions he describes, full of surprising stops along the journey from simple concepts to complex modern systems. He introduces us to the colourful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, & artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, & magic shows. Johnson compellingly argues that observers of technological & social trends should be looking for clues in novel amusements. You`ll find the future wherever people are having the most fun. ...

The true American identity is hard to define, as the nation has so many faces & moods. ” America” is many places, & no one book of photographs can capture all its beauty & diversity. But the photos in this volume provide keen insight into the true character of the USA, as seen in its cities & towns, on its beaches & deserts, & in its forests & rivers. In these pages, we discover the America that has inspired centuries of human exploration & development, that has brought waves of immigrants to its shores in search of better lives, that has spawned passionate environmental movements, & that has forever held a place of fascination with people around the world. ...

What is Life? Where did it come from? Why does it end? In this beautiful & definitive new book, Professor Brian Cox takes us on an incredible journey to discover how a few fundamental laws gave birth to the most complex, diverse & unique force in the Universe
- life itself. There are thought to be as many as 100 million different species on Earth
- each & every one governed by the same laws. Everything in the Universe, from the smallest microbe to the largest cluster of galaxies, is constructed from the same fundamental building blocks & is subject to the same laws of nature. What is true for a bacterium is true for a blue whale. This is the story of the amazing diversity & adaptability of life told through the fundamental laws that govern it. Through his voyage of discovery, Brian will explain how the astonishing inventiveness of nature came about & uncover the milestones in the epic journey from the origin of life to our own lives. From the vast networks of subterranean freshwater caverns of the Yucatan peninsula to the unique & precious island of Madagascar, Brian will seek out the places where the biggest questions about life may be answered: what is life? Why do we need water & why does life end? Using the latest advances in science as well as the cutting-edge graphics used in The Sunday Times bestsellers Wonders of the Solar System & Wonders of the Universe, Brian will uncover the secrets of life in the most unexpected locations & in the most stunning detail.

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For years, Portofino has been synonymous with la Dolce Vita, & in this addition to White Star's acclaimed list of travel photography books, readers are given a spectacular guided tour through this glorious region. Taken by two of Italy's foremost travel photographers, the images in this handsome volume present Liguria's diverse landscapes & architecture, revealing off-the-beaten track facets of this popular tourist destination as well as the instantly recognizable emblems of the region. Photographs showcase the historical buildings of the via Garibaldi
- houses of noble families dating back to the 1500s
- & the architecture of the medieval centre, the beauty & variety of the five medieval villages perched above the sea that, combined, make up Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, & Riomaggiore, & the fashionable resorts, marinas, & pastel-coloured houses of elegant Portofino. Supplementing the splendid photographs, an engaging text takes readers on a memorable journey through the region's most noteworthy sites, highlighting the significance of the varied architecture & monuments.A concise history of the area is provided, as is a well-rounded view of Liguria today.

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Wonders of the Ancient World describes the most extraordinary feats of human engineering & design from across the globe, created between the dawn of human civilization & the onset of the Dark Ages. Author Justin Pollard looks at the problems that the ancients solved to build each wonder & introduces us to the travellers, both ancient & modern, who saw & rediscovered each site. Newgrange; Stonehenge; The Great Pyramid of Khufu & the Sphinx; Mohenjo Daro; The Great Ziggurat at Ur; The Temple of Solomon; The Palace of Ashurnasirpal II; La Venta; The Hanging Gardens of Babylon; The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; Persepolis; The Grand Canal; The Parthenon; The Statue of Zeus at Olympia; The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; Delphi; The Colossus of Rhodes; The Pharos of Alexandria; The Library at Alexandria; The First Great Wall of China; The Tomb of the First Emperor; Petra; The Tower of the Winds; The Rice Terraces of Banaue; The Great Serpent Mound; The Pont du Gard; Nero's Golden House; Masada; The Colosseum; The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan; The Forum of Trajan; The Pantheon; The Baths of Diocletian; The City of Tikal; The Buddhas of Bamyan; The Hagia Sofia; The Basilica Cistern at Constantinople; Horyu-Gakumonji; Borobudur; Ellora. ...

This book`s hero is Darius Antonopoulos, an artist & apprentice printer who left London in 1605 to visit his ancestral home in Greece. What he found there was to send him on an incredible journey
- a quest to discover the Seven Wonders of the World.
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A colour guide to the underwater life of the world's four great coral seabeds, where the warm limpid water is home to an extraordinary range of highly-coloured species of all shapes & sizes. Photographs, identification artwork & biological tables illustrate the easily understood but scientifically accurate text to offer a complete guide to the flora & fauna of the loveliest seas on the planet. ...