One day he came upon a hidden treasure from a long-dead king. With it was a letter addressed to him. How had the letter come to be there? And what did it mean? To solve the mystery, Dabschelim summoned the wisest man in his kingdom, Dr Bidpai, to his side. And so began the tales of Kalila and Dimna... In all the storytelling collections from India, it is the secular animal fables found in the The Pancatantra and its Buddhist inspiration, The Jataka Tales, that have travelled the furthest and influenced world literature the most. These stories spawned equally famous classics in both Arabic and Persian - indeed the oldest surviving manuscript of The Pancatantra stories is Kalila and Dimna, an Arabic derivative of the lost Sanskrit original. From the Persian and Arab world, these fables migrated to Europe and by the 16th century existed in Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, French and English versions. Even Aesop includes a few in his famous collection. Ramsay Wood’s delightful retelling of The Pancatantra not only modernises the ancient fables but uses all the main versions from the Sanskrit to the Persian and Arabic and even the early English. Written with great colour, style and panache, and beautifully illustrated, it makes the perfect introduction to a global Indian classic.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge.

    Written with an infectious passion, this is an extraordinarily original and genre-defining piece of travel writing by one of our most highly respected travel correspondents.

    So begins The Dying Place, David Maurer’s unflinching look at MACV-SOG, Vietnam, and a young man’s entry into war. Fresh from the folds of the Catholic Church, Sgt. Sam Walden is quickly embraced by another religion, jungle warfare. After four years there may be no resolution between the two; God knows Sam has tried. But how many Hail Mary’s will absolve him of what he has done in Laos? Walden is a war-weary Green Beret, regularly tested beyond normal limits by the ever-changing priorities of the puzzle palace in Saigon. And yet he overcomes, staying alive to go on mission after mission with his one-one and his little people. To them he is everything – strength, compassion, courage. He will not let them down. David Maurer’s own experiences at MACV-SOG’s Command and Control North come to life in this tense action-packed story. The U.S. was not supposed to be in Laos during the Vietnam War and by all accounts, we weren’t. Some know better, and fortunately, Maurer is one of those. With a fine ear for dialogue Maurer takes you back and sets you down squarely on the LZ, where inner turmoil is quelled and external conflict takes over, if only for awhile. If you’re lucky, you just might make it out alive.

    They built it outside the Suffolk town so it would not infect the healthy with its horrors. But the town itself is long gone, washed away by the North Sea. Only the Leper House remains, a shelter for the unwanted. A bereaved man strays there on a stormy night when the bell tolls once again beneath the waves. In a nearby house, a woman waits for history to repeat itself. When time isn’t what it seems, nor is love and nor are ghosts. And nor are we. The Leper House is a 19,000-word novella, written for Kindle Singles and available here for the first time. Andrew Taylor is a British crime and historical novelist whose books include the international bestseller, The American Boy (a Richard-and-Judy selection), and the Roth Trilogy (filmed for TV as Fallen Angel). Among his many awards are the Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Excellence in crime writing. His latest novel is The Scent of Death, winner of the 2013 Historical Dagger.

     Katie, Elizabeth and Hannah Schwartz are three sisters that love their Amish lives, but one by one they are tempted by the outside world and love. When their mother died Katie, the eldest, took it upon herself to take care of her sisters and her father. At the age of twenty-six Katie yearns to love and to have a family of her own but she isn’t sure her sisters will manage without her. In a twist of events, Elizabeth and Hannah plan a trick to prove to Katie that they can. Will Katie find love this Christmas after all? Elizabeth had always enjoyed the company of her bible but when the Bishop’s wife is in a brutal buggy accident, she offers to find their son. Jacob and Elizabeth had been friends before he left the ordnung, when Elizabeth finds him and takes him to see his mother, she can’t help but wonder if they will ever be friends again. Will the bishop’s wife recover, will Jacob revisit his decision to leave the ordnung? Hannah had always been the curious one, younger than Katie by almost ten years, she is excited to go on rumspringa. When Hannah disappears without a word, Elizabeth and Katie are grief-stricken. But what they don’t realize is that Hannah had returned and was hiding out in their barn with the help of their farmhand Paul. What happened to make Hannah hide from her family? Can Hannah reunite with her family in time to enjoy an Amish Christmas?

    A simple touch sending currents of electricity flowing through a body. The feeling of coming home. Friends become lovers. Strangers become soulmates. The chemistry ignited when two people are falling in love is undeniable. Over the course of five short stories, follow these couples on journeys of passion and discover what happens when they decide to let sparks fly…

    But he discovers that there is more than a ghost causing mayhem. The Mansion is a fast-paced supernatural story about 10,000 words long.

    Gods disguised as beggars and beasts, animals enacting Machiavellian intrigues, sagacious jesters and magical storytellers, wise counselors and foolish kings--all inhabit a fabular world, yet one that is also firmly grounded in everyday life. Here is an indispensable guide to India's ageless folklore tradition.With black-and-white illustrations throughoutPart of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

    She prays fervently that he will accept the truth and not reject her, but her prayers aren't answered. Once Levi learns the real facts about Tessa's baby, he disappears. Struggling to live without his presence in her life, Tessa does her best to make a good life for her daughter. She is completely blindsided when her past walks through her shop door. What can Tom Miller possibly want? Why would her baby's father show up at this late date? What he proposes sends her reeling. Now, she is trapped. All chances for true love appear lost. Levi is gone; Tom has resurfaced. Tessa is caught in a no-win situation. "In the tradition of the works of Beverly Lewis, Cindy Woodsmall, and Wanda Brunstetter, Brenda Maxfield continues to bring you gripping Amish tales of love, struggle, and restoration." Enjoy this inspirational Christian romance today!

    10 Stories of Love, Faith, and Family "Like Amish soup for the soul."From the author of the bestselling Amish romance series Forbidden Amish Love comes Amish Neighbors, a short story romance collection from the heart.Ten stories under one cover.

    As the story unfolds, the history and culture of their homeland takes on a life of its own.

    A comprehensive collection of creation stories ranging across widely varying times and cultures, including Ancient Egyptian, African, and Native American.

    Azad is born into a vibrant village culture that hopes for a free Kurdish future. He loves his mother's orchard, his cousin's stunt pigeons, his father's old Czech rifle, his brother who is fighting in the mountains. But before he is even of school age, Azad has seen friends and neighbors assassinated, and his own family driven to starvation.After being forced into a refugee camp in Iran for years, his family realizes, on their return, that the Baathist regime is destroying the autonomy it had promised their people. My Father's Rifle ends with Azad's heartbreaking departure from his parents and flight across the Syrian border to freedom.Stunning in its unadorned intensity, My Father's Rifle is a moving portrait of a boy who embraces the land and culture he loves, even as he leaves them.

    His neighbors have been a great help with his daughter Charlotte, but he can’t work and take care of her properly.The town matchmaker Emma Hilton has the perfect woman to help Bradley with his baby girl.Nanny Shannon Howell loves taking care of children, but she’d also like to find a husband. She’s eager to travel west in hopes of finding a family to call her own. Shannon is happy to help Bradley with baby Charlotte. Unfortunately, Shannon’s former employer is having problems letting her go.Will the man that traveled across the country drag her back to the east?Has Shannon found the place where she can be her true self with Bradley and Charlotte in Lubbock, Texas?Find out in the first book in a brand new series from Bestselling Mail Order Bride Authors Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer