Black Swan Houses of Power. The Places that Shaped the Tudor World Thurley Simon

A fascinating insight into the untold story of how British-French rivalry drew the battle-lines of the modern Middle East • In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, two men secretly agreed to divide the Middle East between them. Sir Mark Sykes was a visionary politician; Francois Georges-Picot a diplomat with a grudge. They drew a line in the sand from the Mediterranean to the Persian frontier, and together remade the map of the Middle East, with Britain’s 'mandates' of Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq, and France's in Lebanon and Syria • Over the next thirty years a sordid tale of violence and clandestine political manoeuvring unfolded, told here through a stellar cast of politicians, diplomats, spies and soldiers, including T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle

В последние дни апреля 1945 года на Берлин обрушилась страшная буря. Охваченный неудержимой силой Востока и Запада, разрывные снаряды били по зданиям, а жители некогда славного города укрывались в темных подвалах - как и их фюрер в своем бункере. Битва за Берлин стала ключевым моментом в истории: ознаменовав конец смертоносного режима, поверженный город был разорван на две части соперничающими сверхдержавами холодной войны • В книге Berlin. Life and Loss in the City That Shaped the Century историк Синклер Маккей, ставший бестселлером, опираясь на никогда ранее не публиковавшиеся свидетельства первых лиц, рисует картину города, опустошенного идеологией, войной и горем. Однако, чтобы полностью понять падение Берлина, необходимо подробно изучить предшествующие годы и проследить, как город отстраивался заново, как два города, в последующий период

This is the definitive story of the science behind the cars of our dreams, featuring inside information from the major players of the supercar world - including design legend Adrian Newey, McLaren F1 creator Gordon Murray, supercar mavericks Horacio Pagani and Christian von Koenigsegg, as well as contributions from manufacturers such as Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti and McLaren. What powers the greatest cars in the world? How did we get from the crude mechanics of yesteryear to the high-tech, computer aided designs we see today? Which cars broke the mould? Featuring bespoke technical drawings from F1 championship-winning engineer Neil Waterman, The Science of Supercars traces the evolution of the supercar through the technology that drives it

На протяжении всего двадцатого века Берлин находился в центре судорожно меняющегося мира. Эту историю часто рассматривают как отдельные акты: страдания Первой мировой войны, космополитический город науки, культуры и сексуальной свободы, которым стал Берлин, резкое падение экономики, приход нацистов, разрушения Второй мировой войны, психоз геноцида и город, расколотый надвое конкурирующими идеологиями. Но люди не проживают свою жизнь в фиксированных эпохах. Эпоха заканчивается, а люди продолжают жить - или пытаются жить - так же, как и раньше. Берлин рассказывает историю города глазами не правителей, а тех, кто ходил по его улицам • В этой магической биографии города и его жителей историк-бестселлер Синклер Маккей проливает новый свет на известных персонажей - от ученого-идеалиста Альберта Эйнштейна до нацистского архитектора Альберта Шпеера - и опирается на никогда ранее не встречавшиеся рассказы от первого лица, чтобы познакомить нас с людьми из всех слоев берлинской жизни

The average adult spends about a third of his or her waking time alone • Yet research suggests we aren't very good at using, never mind enjoying, alone time • Rising to the challenge, travel writer Stephanie Rosenbloom explores the joys and benefits of being alone in four mouth-watering journeys to the cities of Paris, Istanbul, Florence and New York, in four seasons • This is a book about the pleasures and benefits of savouring the moment, examining things closely, using all your senses to take in your surroundings, whether travelling to faraway places or walking the streets of your own city. Through on-the-ground observations and anecdotes, and drawing on the thinking of artists, writers and innovators who have cherished solitude, Alone Time illuminates the psychological arguments for alone time and lays bare the magic of going solo

Veronica McCreedy can't resist the promise of adventure • Nine-year-old Daisy and nearly ninety-year-old Veronica make an unlikely pair of friends • Fiercely independent and impeccably dressed, Veronica has lived an incredible 87 years. Most of them alone, in her huge house by the sea. But with the arrival of brave and resilient Daisy into her life, Veronica finds she has a renewed thirst for adventure - and that they both share a passion for penguins! • So when Veronica and Daisy are invited to travel to the other side of the world together and visit the penguins of the southern hemisphere, they both jump at the chance • Veronica had thought her days of new friendships, family and love were over, but perhaps it's never too late for one more adventure?

Juan Diego’s little sister is a mind reader. As a teenager, he struggles to keep anything secret – Lupe knows all the worst things that go through his mind. And sometimes she knows more. What a terrible burden it is to know – or to think you know – your future, or worse, the future of someone you love. What might a young girl be driven to do if she thought she had the power to change what lies ahead? • Later in life, Juan Diego embarks on a journey to fulfil a promise he made in his youth. It is a long story and it has long awaited an ending, but Juan Diego is unable to write the final chapters • This is the story of what happens when the future collides with the past

A beautiful, magical novel • It is, perhaps, the fifteenth century and the ordered tranquillity of a Mediterranean island is about to be shattered by the appearance of two outsiders: one, a castaway, plucked from the sea by fishermen, whose beliefs represent a challenge to the established order; the other, a child abandoned by her mother and suckled by wolves, who knows nothing of the precarious relationship between Church and State but whose innocence will become the subject of a dangerous experiment • But the arrival of the Inquisition on the island creates a darker, more threatening force which will transform what has been a philosophical game of chess into a matter of life and death

A family in crisis. A catalyst that threatens to change everything • The land running down to the River Dean has been farmed by the Meredith family for generations. Robin Meredith bought the farm from his father, just before he married his wife Caro and now he and his brother Joe work on the land. But now Caro has died, as much as a mystery to the family as she was when she arrived twenty years ago, and the whole family feels her loss acutely, none more so than her adopted daughter Judy • Into this unhappy family comes Zoe, Judy's London friend, an outsider with an independent spirit and a disturbing directness. Everyone underestimates Zoe's power as a catalyst for change as the realities behind the seeming idyll of a rural community become ever clearer

Edward Stourton muses on the meaning of life and all things canine as he walks his dog Kudu • 'If you are accompanied by a dog you can talk to anyone, and anyone can talk to you - about anything .' And they do. Edward Stourton's walks with, Kudu, his dog, become an opportunity for wonderfully unlikely encounters, and reflecting on the world from the dog-walker's perspective proves remarkably illuminating. Ed and Kudu's small trips to the park offer up big insights into romantic attachment, honour and heroism, guilt and depression, our sense of duty, beauty and the hard facts of life's pecking order. Diary of a Dog-Walker is witty, wise and will be utterly irresistible to any man or woman with a dog

1936: Лондон гудит от сплетен о романе между Эдуардом VIII и миссис Симпсон. Но король - не единственный представитель аристократии, которому предстоит принять трудное решение. Оуэн Монтиньяк, красивый и харизматичный потомок богатой семьи землевладельцев, с нетерпением ожидает оглашения завещания своего покойного дяди. Потому что у Оуэна были огромные долги по азартным играм, и босс казино Николас Делфи поставил его перед выбором: найти 50 000 фунтов стерлингов к Рождеству - или оказаться на глубине шести футов • Поэтому, когда Оуэн обнаруживает, что его вычеркнули из завещания в пользу его прекрасной кузины Стеллы, пришло время доказать, каким хитрым он может быть... А Оуэн просто великолепен, если не сказать изобретателен - даже королевский кризис может обеспечить средства для получения прибыли