Jan Saudek


Jan Saudek - 1998
    Internationally famous Czech photographer Jan Saudek is no exception, and equally as uncompromising in pursuit of his own unique vision. For over four decades Saudek has created a parallel photographic universe, a two-dimensional home full of longing, peopled with the most extraordinary characters and colored by desire. The timeless strength of his hand-tinted photographs lies in their poetic compositions and their forceful?at times ribald?pictorial language, with its overtones of medieval genre pictures and Baroque mythology. Rejecting the traditional beauty in his famous nude photographs, Saudek shows the distinctively different: old women, fat women, children; real people in tableaux vivants that remind us of everything from surreal early movies to fin-de-siecle carnival nights. They exist outside time, a uniquely colored and almost mythical theater of dreams. Covering his debut in the 1950s through his lesser-known work to recent images, this dazzling collection offers us the true "velvet revolution," fertile and unsettling images from the dreams we might still have. The author: Daniela Mr?zkov?, critic and editor of the Czech magazines Revue fotografie and Fotografie-Magaz?n, is the author of sixteen books on photography published in the Czech Republic and abroad, and the curator of around fifty photography exhibitions. She has been a member of international juries, and has authored film and television documentaries on photography and photographers. She hasfollowed Jan Saudek's work since his early years and is the author of Saudek's first Czech monograph, The Theatre of Life.

Embrace the Dawn


Kathleen Morgan - 2002
    Now his faith and honor are about to be put to the test.After escaping a violent marriage, Killian Campbell swears no man will hurt or control her again. As she fights for her own life and her sons, Killian is forced to seek safety in the arms of the one man who could destroy her future.Only as Ruarc and Killian join together can they each make peace with the past . . . and with the feuding clansman who threaten to divide them forever.

Adventures of a Waterboy


Mike Scott - 2012
    Serious, funny, profound, whimsical and enigmatic, it contains descriptions of his days in teenage garage bands, the rise of The Waterboys, his exploits with Steve Wickham and the rest of the gang in the west of Ireland, and much, much more.

William Wallace: Brave Heart


James A. MacKay - 1995
    Even the date and place of his birth have been mis-stated - until now. James Mackay uses all his skills as a historical detective to produce this definitive biography, telling the incredible story of a man who, without wealth or noble birth, rose to become Guardian of Scotland. William Wallace, with superb generalship and tactical genius, led a country with no previous warlike tradition to triumph gloriously over the much larger, better-armed and better-trained English forces. Seven hundred years later, the heroism and betrayal, the valiant deeds and the dark atrocities, and the struggle of a small nation against a brutal and powerful empire, still create a compelling tale.

The Pict


Jack Dixon - 2007
    His anger was surfacing, and he felt suddenly seized by the demons he had been struggling to contain. Sioltach stared at Calach in admiration as he quickly translated his words." ""Why have you lost one legion, soon to be followed by another? Look, and see! Your soldiers are wide-eyed Roman lads, fighting beside non-Romans who were your enemies longer than they have been your slaves. They are bewildered by a strange and frightening land. They are bound to you not by loyalty, but by fear, and when their fear ends, only hatred will remain."""For all of your pomp, you have none of what inspires men to victory. Your soldiers fight for nothing but the glory of an empire that has crushed their own nations and tribes. They have no wives to inspire them, and no parents to mock them should they shrink from battle. They have no country, or if they do it is not Rome, and it is in ruins."""Agricola began to grow pale. He was certain that he would die at the hands of this man whose spirit he could not comprehend.

Secrets of a Family Album


Isla Dewar - 2005
    Sitting in Rita's living room, leafing through a book of photographs from the early seventies, Lily comes across a picture of an incandescently sexy young woman sitting in the back of a limousine swigging Jack Daniels. It is her mother, Mattie.Lily isn't shocked. She's envious. She wants to be like that--beautiful, exuberant. Mattie, though, is no longer the meltingly gorgeous creature she was. She and her husband scrape by and bicker. Upstairs in their neglected house, Grandpa flirts on the Internet. Marie, Lily's sister, is facing a custody suit. Rory, the brother, hates coming home--those endless catch-up conversations. Usually it is Lily, the dutiful daughter, who sorts out the family. She knows she's flawed, but boringly so. Now she wants to be flawed in an interesting way, to be a woman of wicked mystery and intrigue. Like the one in the photograph. SECRETS OF A FAMILY ALBUM is a beautifully written novel that explores the struggles and triumphs of one extraordinary family.

Bruce Chatwin


Nicholas Shakespeare - 1993
    Chatwin' s first book, In Patagonia, became an international bestseller, revived the art of travel writing, and inspired a generation to set out in search of adventure. Chatwin became a celebrity, while remaining a conundrum. With little formal education, he had become a director of Sotheby' s. An avid collector, he eschewed material things and revered the nomadic life. Married for twenty-three years, he had male lovers throughout the world. And only at his death did his personal myth fail him. Nicholas Shakespeare, who was given unrestricted access to his papers, spent eight years retracing Chatwin' s steps and interviewing the people who knew him. The result is a biography that is at once sympathetic and revelatory.

The Heart Beats in Secret


Katie Munnik - 2020
    With her husband away at war, there is no one to protect her from small town suspicions and she must learn to keep her secrets to herself.Three decades later her daughter Felicity leaves their life behind for Montreal, glad to flee the unknowns that have plagued her so far. But her personal battles are nothing compared to the unrest here, where a commune in rural Quebec and a child of her own might be her saviours.The child grows up to be Pidge, a woman surprised to find that she will inherit her grandmother's Scottish house, yet curious about the ingredients that make up a family's history. Amidst the flying feathers of the wild goose that stalks the kitchen, Pidge will find unexpected answers to the questions that have beset these women through the years.The Heart Beats in Secret is a powerful story of three women and the secrets and bonds that have defined them. It explores the wilderness of the heart, the secrets concealed with every beat and the many ways it is possible to be a mother.

I, Maybot: The Rise and Fall


John Crace - 2017
    Stumble for short.' 'Kim Jong-May awkward and incredulous as journalist asks question.' 'Supreme leader produces pure TV Valium on The One Show.' Throughout 2017 John Crace, the Guardian's parliamentary sketch writer, has watched Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to remain strong and stable - and, indeed, Prime Minister. He coined the term 'Maybot' for her malfunctioning public appearances. And now, in this edited collection of his unremittingly witty sketches, he tells the full story of Theresa May's turbulent first year in Westminster. As waspishly hilarious as Craig Brown's diaries in Private Eye, I, Maybot is essential and hysterically funny reading for anyone trying to make sense of our crazy political year.

Tales of Spiral Castle: Stories of the Keltiad


Patricia Kennealy-Morrison - 2014
     Tales of Spiral Castle brings back beloved characters from Kennealy-Morrison's books of The Keltiad (The Copper Crown, The Throne of Scone, Blackmantle) in four stirring short stories that remind the reader of the original stories. The Last Voyage takes place long ago, in a time of great religious struggle on Earth, and is a hitherto untold part of Keltic history and Earth history alike, incidentally detailing how the great Clann Douglas, as well as the fabled Knights Templar, arrived in Keltia. Touchstone tells the story of Aeron Aoibhell, a young princess, who is set to a test that will determine not only her future as queen to follow in her ancestor’s footsteps but the fate of worlds and empires beside… Alembic brings tales of Gwydion as a youth from fourteen to eighteen as he learns his pathway to his destiny. Crucible tells us the story of the Terran lieutenant Sarah O’Reilly, just after her arrival in Keltia with Captain Haruko and the rest of the crew of the Sword. Return to the world and time of the Kelts, the beautifully crafted world of Patricia Kennealy-Morrison as she rediscovers the future worlds you've loved and waited to return. Patricia Kennealy-Morrison is also author of The Rennie Stride Murder Series, Rock Chick, Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison, and the forthcoming Viking novel, Son of the Northern Star.

The Scottish Clans - Over 300 Clans Featured


Donald Cuthill - 2011
    Discover the events that have shaped your Clan and hear about the people who form part of your Scottish ancestry.

The Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook: Recipes and Lore from Celtic Kitchens


Kay Shaw Nelson - 1999
    In addition to the recipes, each chapter begins with entertaining stories, legends and lore about Celtic peoples, their traditions and customs, and the history of their foods. Chapters include: Starters; Soups; Egg and Cheese Dishes; Barley, Oats and Cornmeal; Seafood; Poultry and Game; Meats; Vegetables and Salads; Breads; Cookies and Cakes; Desserts; and Drinks. All of these easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes are adapted for the North American kitchen.

Midwinter


John Buchan - 1923
    Alastair Maclean, one of the Prince's most loyal supporters, is sent ahead to carry out a secret mission. He is befriended by two extraordinary men-Dr. Samuel Johnson, an aspiring man of letters, and the shadowy figure known only as "Midwinter."

Hester on the Run


Linda Byler - 2015
    There, a young Amish couple, Hans and Kate Zug, are in their ninth year of marriage, still waiting to have a child. Then, one April morning, Kate finds a Native infant, wrapped in deerskin and placed next to the spring where she went to fill her water bucket.Kate and Hans cherish Hester, despite the pointed question of Hans’s mother—“What makes you think you can raise her Amish, with her Indian blood?”Struck by his daughter’s unusual beauty, Hans insists on choosing the fabric for her handmade dresses. And when his and Kate’s first son is born a year later, Hans despairs of his homely face and nearly bald head. In fact, Hans continues to give his fullest attention and affection to Hester, even as eight more children are born to him and Kate.Hester glows as she grows, an unmistakable beauty both inside and out, and charms her adopted Amish community. But then, an elderly Lenape woman hands Hester a package of medicinal herbs to rout an infection that is threatening Kate’s life. A trust passes between the wizened and the youthful Native women. In that moment, Hester recognizes that she belongs to two worlds, both intent on possessing her. When Amish Indian Hester realizes that she must leave her tension-filled home for her sake and her father’s, she takes only two possessions: the leather-bound book of remedies left for her by the old Lenape woman and her memories of the Amish ways.

The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain


Ronald Hutton - 1996
    His comprehensive study covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day.