When the Romans conquered Egypt, it was really Egypt that conquered the Romans. Cleopatra captivated both Caesar and Marc Antony and soon Roman ladies were worshipping Isis and wearing vials of Nile water around their necks. What is it about ancient Egypt that breeds such obsession and imitation? Egyptomania explores the burning fascination with all things Egyptian and the events that fanned the flames--from ancient times, to Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, to the Discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb by Howard Carter in the 1920s. For forty years, Bob Brier, one of the world’s foremost Egyptologists, has been amassing one of the largest collections of Egyptian memorabilia and seeking to understand the pull of Ancient Egypt on our world today. In this original and groundbreaking book, with twenty-four pages of color photos from the author's collection, he explores our three-thousand-year-old fixation with recovering Egyptian culture and its meaning. He traces our enthrallment with the mummies that seem to have cheated death and the pyramids that as if they will last forever. Drawing on his personal collection--from Napoleon's twenty volume Egypt encyclopedia to Howard Carter’s letters to an actual mummy--this is an inventive and mesmerizing tour of how an ancient civilization endures in ours today.

    You will learn exactly what you need to build this home-away-from-home, and it will take you two days or less… and, it’s easily reversed when this mini-RV needs to convert back into your daily driver. Filled with photos and tips on how to thrive on the road on a budget, this book illustrates in a no-nonsense, logical manner how to inexpensively get your vehicle outfitted to serve as a home right away.

    

    And that forms the crux of Aham, where the lives of a demon princess, Vaanee and a Rekhyt warrior, Rwiju are set to collide with each other. But does one being right mean that the other is wrong? It is an answer that they must find within themselves, before the three worlds collide in a war that will change the fates of all.

    Forced to abandon her identity, she has no choice but to become someone else, somewhere else, and face high school for the first time. A brand new scene of cliques, competitive cheerleading, and teenage drama would shake anyone, but that isn't the worst of Lauren's problems. The secret she’s hiding could get her killed.

    Born in Virginia in 1826, Nelson ran away from home as a young teenager to escape a domineering father and to seek adventure in the west. He took odd jobs along with way working on farms, serving as a cabin boy on a Mississippi steamer, and becoming an apprentice with a group of traders traveling west from Missouri. After meeting a band of Sioux, he decided that the nomadic life of an Indian was the adventure he was looking for and got himself adopted into the tribe. Here he learned how to live off the land and acquired the skills of a Sioux warrior. His adopted father was the Chief Spotted Tail and his brother-in-law was Red Cloud—Chief of the Sioux Nation. As a young Sioux brave, Nelson participated in Indian raids and skirmishes. Later, he guided Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, worked as a military scout with William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), fought in the Indian Wars, and served as a lawman in North Dakota. In his many escapades he often narrowly escaped death from bullets, arrows, and knives. Nelson’s story is a fascinating view of the early American west in all its glory. This pre-1923 publication has been converted from its original format for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the conversion.

    

    It exposes the reality of the dark, claustrophobic world of the Provisionals: the iron grip they hold over their communities; their ruthless and cynical disregard for human life; the single-minded professionalism of some IRA volunteers — and the rank incompetence of others. Raymond Gilmour learned the brutal facts of life in Northern Ireland at an early age. Beatings, murders and knee-cappings were common currency on the dead-end Derry estate where he grew up, and despite the omnipresence of British. soldiers no one was in any doubt about who really held the balance of power. Many young Catholics, with few options and fewer jobs open to them, joined the terrorists as volunteers. So, at the age of sixteen, did Ray Gilmour — but his recruitment had a vital and deadly difference: his brief to infiltrate the IRA, sabotage their activities, and report back to his Special Branch contact. So began nearly a decade of life in no-man's-land, an impossibly dangerous double life where every day brought with it a new and potentially terminal threat. Gilmour relates in gripping style the hazards of playing along with the shootings and bombings while secretly trying to subvert them; the constant fear of exposure, torture and execution by his IRA `comrades' — and the tension of wondering when he might out-live his usefulness and be sacrificed by the shadowy men from MI5. Incredibly, Gilmour not only avoided exposure and sacrifice, he also became one of the RUC's most valued agents, foiling countless terrorist attacks and helping the police seize huge quantities of arms and explosives. As one RUC source admitted: 'He kept Derry clean for us.' Gilmour's career as an agent came to an abrupt and spectacular end when he uncovered one of the IRAs most prized arms caches, forcing him and his family — who until then had known nothing of his double life. — to go on the run before the IRA's notorious Internal Affairs men caught up with them. But even escape has its penalties: Gilmour has not seen his wife and children for over twelve years, and he now lives in permanent exile, flitting from safe house to safe house under a sentence of death unrevoked by peace-tAs amnesties. Dead Ground is Gilmour's story: a narrative of heart-stopping tension and unrelenting human drama which makes a mockery of fictionalised accounts of terrorism in Northern Ireland.

    The settings span from Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to the desert of Rajasthan. These are the kind of stories that everyone can easily relate to--childhood memories, ghost stories, close encounters with a man-eater, and emotion-filled accounts of friendships.

    Three kids. One trip of a lifetime. Meet Jo Teague, a woman fighting against the odds. See You in September is a hilarious and uplifting true life adventure across Europe. With visions of a second honeymoon snatched away by circumstance, the Teague family find themselves faced by riots and strikes, robbers on the beach, tantrums and taxi drivers, snakes and spiders, and other strange happenings. This book will resonate with every parent who’s ever travelled on holiday with their kids. Unlike most family trips this one is tinged with sadness. Just a few months before setting off Jo was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos – a rare and still incurable, life-threatening condition. The fun and adventure was tinged with a sense of fragility of happiness and, indeed of life itself. A great holiday read and a fantastic travel book full of the ups and downs of parenthood. Will appeal to fans of Karen Wheeler, Bill Bryson and Alec le Sueur. Now with an updated epilogue.

    Like in every culture, Chinese folktales too have been instrumental in passing on Chinese tradition, beliefs, customs and values from one generation to the next.Chinese folklore consists of fables, legends, mythology tales and historical accounts. Magical creatures, demons, mythical animals, malicious step-mothers and witty and valiant protagonists take you through the common themes of the triumph of cleverness and wisdom.This collection of Chinese folktales includes the well-known tale of the 'Valiant Shu Lang', the woman who dressed herself as a man to join the military, 'The Laughing Monks' who taught the path to a contentted life throguh the only language they knew - laughter, and 'The Great Discovery', the tale of how a phenix led a young couple to a treasure they later discover to be salt.

    These innovatively designed, affordably priced, compact paperbacks bring ideas to life and amplify our understanding of civilization in a new way.

      Since the Victorian period, it has been understood that the story of Noah, iconic in the Book of Genesis, and a central motif in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, derives from a much older story that existed centuries before in ancient Babylon. But the relationship between the Babylonian and biblical traditions was shrouded in mystery. Then, in 2009, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum and a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, found himself playing detective when a member of the public arrived at the museum with an intriguing cuneiform tablet from a family collection. Not only did the tablet reveal a new version of the Babylonian Flood Story; the ancient poet described the size and completely unexpected shape of the ark, and gave detailed boat building specifications. Decoding this ancient message wedge by cuneiform wedge, Dr. Finkel discovered where the Babylonians believed the ark came to rest and developed a new explanation of how the old story ultimately found its way into the Bible. In The Ark Before Noah, Dr. Finkel takes us on an adventurous voyage of discovery, opening the door to an enthralling world of ancient voices and new meanings.

    It tells the story of a great cattle-raid, the invasion of Ulster by the armies of Medb and Ailill, queen and king of Connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great Brown Bull of Cúailnge. The hero of the tale is Cúchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who resists the invaders single-handed, while Ulster's warriors lie sick.Thomas Kinsella's presents a complete and living version of the story. His translation is based on the partial texts in two medieval manuscripts, with elements from other version, and adds a group of related stories which prepare for the action of the Táin. Illustrated with brush drawings by Louis le Brocquy, this edition provides a combination of medieval epic and modern art.

    Peck recounts his 21-day excursion through Britain--a journey to the country's mysterious stone monoliths that prompted him to explore the spiritual, psychological, and philosophical truths that have shaped his life. Illustrated with exquisite b&w line art by the author's son. "...an engrossing mixture of travelogue and sermon."--Susan Cheever, New York Times.