Bloomsbury Publishing
Вес 324

Описание:
There were people on the banks of the river. Among the tangled waterways and giant anacondas of the Brazilian Rio Negro, an enigmatic scientist is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever. Dr Annick Swenson's work is shrouded in mystery; she refuses to report on her progress, especially to her investors, whose patience is fast running out. Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. A curt letter reporting his untimely death is all that returns. Now Marina Singh, Anders colleague and once a student of the mighty Dr Swenson, is their last hope. Compelled by the pleas of Anders's wife, who refuses to accept that her husband is not coming home, Marina leaves the snowy plains of Minnesota and retraces her friend's steps into the heart of the South American darkness, determined to track down Dr. Swenson and uncover the secrets being jealously guarded among the remotest tribes of the rainforest. What Marina does not yet know is that, in this ancient corner of the jungle, where the muddy waters and susurrating grasses hide countless unknown perils and temptations, she will face challenges beyond her wildest imagination. Marina is no longer the student, but only time will tell if she has learnt enough.

Описание:
It is the 1970s in Northern California. A farmer and his teenage daughters, Anna and Claire, work the land with the help of Coop, the enigmatic young man who lives with them. Theirs' is a makeshift family, until they are riven by an incident of violence - of both hand and heart - that sets fire to the rest of their lives. This is a story of possession and loss, about the often discordant demands of family, love, and memory. Written in the sensuous prose for which Michael Ondaatje's fiction is celebrated, Divisadero is the work of a master story-teller.

Описание:
At the end of the nineteenth century, China is rocked by humiliating foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman: the resilient, ever-resourceful Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid. Moving from the intimacy of the concubine quarters into the spotlight of the world stage, Orchid makes a dramatic metamorphosis from a strong-willed young woman to a wise political leader, who must not only face the perilous condition of her fading empire but also a series of devastating personal losses. Yearning to step aside yet growing constantly into her role, only she can hold the nation's rival factions together. In this sequel to the bestselling novel Empress Orchid, Anchee Min brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history, a very human leader who assumes power reluctantly, and who sacrifices all she has to protect both those she loves and her doomed empire.

Описание:
Less than three decades ago, when the Chinese bought cloth or clothes, they would have had to use a government issued coupon. Today the Chinese fashion industry is one of the most dynamic in the world - it not only supplies fashions to the increasingly discerning domestic market, but also provides one third of the clothing sold in the global market. How did this phenomenal transition come about? What can the growth of the Chinese fashion industry tell us about the post-Mao China? What roles do the local and the global play in the dramatic changes? This book offers a historically informed, ethnographically grounded and interpretive analysis of contemporary Chinese fashion and the fashion industry. It examines the interplay of state politics, market forces, local social and cultural factors, and the global political economy, both in the rise of the Chinese fashion industry and in the life and work of Chinese fashion professionals. As the first ethnographic account of the Chinese fashion industry in the post-Mao era, The Chinese Fashion Industry combines first hand accounts with sophisticated cultural analysis to offer new insights, and will be of interest to students and scholars of fashion, anthropology and China.

Описание:
This is a specialized study of the organization,ideology and activities of the Japanese Special Higherpolice, the Tokko, notorious in pre-war and wartime years for its harassment of opponents of the government. Within a comparative framework, this book explains the elements of Tokko brutality and abuses of authority, analyses police traditions and looks at the Tokko's interactions with other Japanese institutions and the broader sociopolitical climate. Sources include confidential Tokko documents and interviews with former Tokko officials. First published in 1990, this title is part of the Bloomsbury Academic Collections series.

Описание:
When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family. A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man?

Описание:
An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power and limitations of family bonds. Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. His mother, Leonie, is in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is black and her children's father is white. Embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances, she wants to be a better mother, but can't put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. When the children's father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love. Rich with Ward's distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing brings the archetypal road novel into rural twenty first century America. It is a majestic new work from an extraordinary and singular author.

Описание:
The great Norse myths, which have inspired so much of modern fiction, are dazzlingly retold by Neil Gaiman. Tales of dwarfs and frost giants, of treasure and magic, and of Asgard, home to the gods: Odin the all-father, highest and oldest of the Aesir; his mighty son Thor, whose hammer Mjollnir makes the mountain giants tremble; Loki, wily and handsome, reliably unreliable in his lusts; and Freya, more beautiful than the sun or the moon, who spurns those who seek to control her. From the dawn of the world to the twilight of the gods, this is a thrilling, vivid retelling of the Norse mythology from the award-winning, bestselling Neil Gaiman. Bringing to life the epic myths that have inspired Gaiman's own writing, this glorious special edition for Christmas features a vibrant new red cover.

Описание:
Being inspired can be a magnificent, invigorating feeling. But it's also one that we know surprisingly little about. Does it happen by chance? Are all forms of inspiration the same? Can we influence how and when we feel inspired? These are searching questions, particularly for people who take on the responsibilities and challenges of leadership. Given the tumultuous state of the world today, effective leadership throughout our organizations and communities has never been more important. Equally though, there has also never been greater pressure on leaders to perform and to provide inspirational leadership for their people and teams. If individuals are to step up and succeed in inspiring others, their first priority must be to discover the inspiration they need for themselves. The Inspired Leader helps them do just that. The book is based on extensive new research, conducted in association with Henley Business School, into the real life experiences of leaders from many different walks of life. Drawing on the latest behavioural science, Andy Bird explains how inspiration is actually experienced by people in positions of leadership. He also examines how they maintain it over time despite the many obstacles and challenges they face. The result is a compelling collection of stories, insights and ideas which are accompanied by a thought-provoking set of personal development tools and reflective exercises. In combination, The Inspired Leader provides unrivalled support for anyone seeking their own path to a more inspired life as a leader.

Описание:
Never Have I Ever... done something I shouldn't. 'Wonderful - suspense and surprises, real characters and a scary, ominous backbeat' LEE CHILD 'I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' CLARE MACKINTOSH It starts as a game at a book group one night. Never Have I Ever... done something I shouldn't. But Amy Whey has done something she shouldn't. And Roux, the glamorous newcomer to Amy's suburban neighbourhood, knows exactly what that is. Roux promises she will go away - if Amy plays by her rules. But Amy isn't prepared to lose everything. She's going to fight back, and in this escalating game of cat and mouse, there can be only one winner.

Описание:
When Peter's parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw. Then German soldiers take him away to be measured and assessed. They decide that Peter is racially valuable. He is Volksdeutscher: of German blood. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and acceptably proportioned head, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler-Jugend poster. Someone important will want to adopt Peter. They do. Professor Kaltenbach is very pleased to welcome such a fine Aryan specimen to his household. People will be envious. But Peter is not quite the specimen they think. He is forming his own ideas about what he is seeing, what he is told. Peter doesn't want to be a Nazi, and so he is going to take a very dangerous risk. The most dangerous risk he could possibly choose to take in Berlin in 1942.

Описание:
Susan Strange was one of the most influential international relations scholars of the latter half of the twentieth century. She is regarded by many as the creator of the discipline of international political economy (IPE) and leaves behind an impressive body of work. "States and Markets" is one of Strange's seminal texts. Strange Introduces the reader to a unique critical model for understanding the relationship between politics and economics centred on her four-faceted model of power consisting of: security, production, finance and knowledge. Using these terms Strange provides a rigorous analysis of the effects of political authority, including states, on markets and conversely of market forces on states. The Revelations edition includes a new foreword by Ronen Palan.

Описание:
I'm sure wherever the real Jane is, she's just as eager to get back to her own life as I am to mine. So why not just relax in the meantime, experience the sensation of living in another body and another time, Jane Austen's time, no less, and have faith that real life will return soon enough. At least in this world someone else does the shopping and cleaning up. Sassy, smart and suddenly single Courtney Stone is a typical, modern LA girl. That is, until she wakes up one morning in Regency England in the body of Jane Mansfield. At first she thinks she must be dreaming - maybe she's read all of Jane Austen's books a few too many times - but as time goes on she finds there is a lot she needs to get to grips with: a new accent, a new body, a wicked new "mother", and most excitingly, a new man in her life: the dashing, dishy Charles Edgeworth. But is he a Darcy, a Wickham, or merely a confusing distraction? As Courtney trips through the social minefield of life in Jane Austen's England she wonders: Will she ever get her twenty first century, west-coast life back and does she even want to?

Описание:
Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter in 1813 England, has long wished to escape a life in which career choices are limited to wife or maiden aunt. But awakening one morning in twenty first century Los Angeles - in the body of someone called Courtney Stone - is not exactly what she had in mind. Jane must quickly get to grips with a world in which everyone thinks she is Courtney Stone: a dizzying world of horseless metal carriages, unrestricted clothing, tiny apartments, all manner of flirting, and unheard of liberties for womankind. The only thing Jane appears to have in common with Courtney is a love for the novels of Jane Austen. But are the wise words of her favourite novelist enough to guide her through this bewildering new world? And what is she to make of Courtney's attentive friend Wes, who is as attractive and confusing as the man who broke her heart back home? As Courtney's romantic entanglements become her own, Jane wonders: Would she actually be better off back in Regency England and will she ever be able to return?

Описание:
Cities are a big deal. More people now live in them than don't, and with a growing world population, the urban jungle is only going to get busier in the coming decades. But how often do we stop to think about what makes our cities work? Cities are built using some of the most creative and revolutionary science and engineering ideas - from steel structures that scrape the sky to glass cables that help us communicate at the speed of light - but most of us are too busy to notice. Science and the City is your guidebook to that hidden world, helping you to uncover some of the remarkable technologies that keep the world's great metropolises moving. Laurie Winkless takes us around cities in six continents to find out how they're dealing with the challenges of feeding, housing, powering and connecting more people than ever before. In this book, you'll meet urban pioneers from history, along with today's experts in everything from roads to time, and you will uncover the vital role science has played in shaping the city around you. But more than that, by exploring cutting-edge research from labs across the world, you'll build your own vision of the megacity of tomorrow, based on science fact rather than science fiction. "Science and the City" is the perfect read for anyone curious about the world they live in.

Описание:
Creating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a needle in a haystack, hoping the bullet and needle somehow fuse together, then catching it in less than a thousandth of a second - after which it's gone forever. Welcome to the world of the superheavy elements: a realm where scientists use giant machines and spend years trying to make a single atom of mysterious artefacts that have never existed on Earth. From the first elements past uranium and their role in the atomic bomb to the latest discoveries stretching our chemical world, Superheavy will reveal the hidden stories lurking at the edges of the periodic table. Why did the US Air Force fly planes into mushroom clouds? Who won the transfermium wars? How did an earthquake help give Japan its first element? And what happened when Superman almost spilled nuclear secrets? In a globe-trotting adventure that stretches from the United States to Russia, Sweden to Australia, "Superheavy" is your guide to the amazing science filling in the missing pieces of the periodic table. By the end you'll not only marvel at how nuclear science has changed our lives - you'll wonder where it's going to take us in the future.

Описание:
Dear Catherine, he began. Here I sit, making a meal out of asking you to dinner. I don't really know how to do it. To have cultural integrity, I would have to send my aunt to speak, discreetly, to your aunt, who would then speak to your mother, who would speak to my mother, who would speak to my father, who would speak to me and then approach your mother, who would then approach you. Demoralised by small persecutions and the squalor and poverty of his life, Daud takes refuge in his imagination. He composes wry, sardonic letters hectoring friends and enemies, and invents a lurid colonial past for every old man he encounters. His greatest solace is cricket and the symbolic defeat of the empire at the hands of the mighty West Indies. Although subject to attacks of bitterness and remorse, his captivating sense of humour never deserts him as he struggles to come to terms with the horror of his past and the meaning of his pilgrimage to England.