Генри, О Дары волхвов и другие рассказы [=The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories]

For centuries, scientists had only one way to study the brain: wait for misfortune to strike - strokes, seizures, infections, lobotomies, horrendous accidents, phantom limbs, Siamese twins - and see how the victims changed afterwards. In many cases their survival was miraculous, and observers marvelled at the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed. Parents suddenly couldn't recognise their children. Pillars of the community became pathological liars and paedophiles. Some people couldn't speak but could still sing. Others couldn't read but could write • The stories of these people laid the foundations of modern neuroscience and, century by century, key cases taught scientists what every last region of the brain did

В этом сборнике представлены некоторые из самых глубоких и трогательных аллегорических рассказов Джека Лондона • "Белый Клык" и "Зов предков" - пожалуй, наиболее известные повести Джека Лондона о волках, собаках и людях. Истории Белого Клыка, полупса-полуволка, и Бэка во многом схожи. Оба проходят суровую школу жизни, "выживают там, где может выжить только сильный" и оказываются перед выбором, каким законам следовать: дикой природы или человека. Выразительно, образно и метко писатель рассказывает о любви и преданности, хитрости и жестокости - людей и тех, кто называется их меньшими братьями • В этот том также входит "Батар", в котором обиженная собака мстит своему хозяину; и "Любовь к жизни", в которой раненый старатель, брошенный своим напарником, вынужден в одиночку пробираться домой через дикую местность, где за ним охотится волк-одиночка

The second volume of Steven Runciman's classic, hugely influential trilogy on the history of the Crusades • 'There was magic about. Saladin himself was troubled by terrible dreams...' • Steven Runciman's unrivalled history of the Crusades is a classic of learning and vivid, compelling storytelling, which brilliantly brings to life the personalities, battles, massacres, triumphs and follies of these epochal events. In this second volume of his trilogy Runciman tells the story of the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the disastrous, bloody Second Crusade and the inexorable rise of the crusaders' nemesis, Saladin

The writings of one of the great woman adventurers of the twentieth century - the 'female Lawrence of Arabia' - and the subject of a new film starring Nicole Kidman • In the last century, few people lived more astounding - or influential - lives than Gertrude Bell. During World War I, she worked her way up from spy to army major to become one of the most powerful woman in the British Empire. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, she was instrumental in drawing the borders that define the region today, including creating an independent Iraq. This is the epic story of Bell's life, told through her letters, military dispatches, diary entries, and other writings. It offers a unique and intimate look behind the public mask of a woman who shaped nations

The third volume of Steven Runciman's classic, hugely influential trilogy on the history of the Crusades • 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and disillusion' • Steven Runciman's triumphant three-volume A History of the Crusades remains an unsurpassed account of the events that changed the world and continue to resonate today. This final volume of the trilogy begins with the glamorous Third Crusade and ends with the ruinous collapse of the crusader states and the degeneration of their ideals, which reached its nadir in the tragic destruction of Byzantium

The action of the saga takes place at the end of the tenth century, at about the time Scandinavia was converting from worship of Norse gods to Christianity. A masterpiece of medieval literature, the story focuses on two families — that of Hoskuld, a prominent farmer with several sons, and that of Gudrun, the most beautiful woman ever born in Iceland

In The Marquise of O-, a virtuous widow finds herself unaccountably pregnant. And although the baffled Marquise has no idea when this happened, she must prove her innocence to her doubting family and discover whether the perpetrator is an assailant or lover. Michael Kohlhaas depicts an honourable man who feels compelled to violate the law in his search for justice, while other tales explore the singular realm of the uncanny, such as The Beggarwoman of Locarno, in which an old woman's ghost drives a heartless nobleman to madness, and St Cecilia, which portrays four brothers possessed by an uncontrollable religious mania. The stories collected in this volume reflect the preoccupations of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) with the deceptiveness of human nature and the unpredictability of the physical world

Gilbert's libretti of the comic operas composed by Arthur Sullivan are hugely well known, and lines such as "let the punishment fit the crime" have entered the English lexicon - but his short stories also deserve to be rediscovered by the modern reader. This collection, carefully curated by the secretary of the W.S. Gilbert Society, brings together the best of these sharp, clever, comical tales - many of which are published here for the first time since their first appearance in ephemeral magazines - enriched with the author's own illustrations • The stories feature many of the powerful motifs so associated with his work - fairies, elixirs, magic - and a wide variety of characters - from burglars to barristers and shopkeepers to gentlemen. This volume is shot through with the observational wit which drove Gilbert and Sullivan's works to fame, and constitutes a hugely enjoyable companion for fans of the pair's theatrical oeuvre

As usual with the Sherlock Holmes stories it is very hard to say which are the best - but there are many stories here which would get the vote - ranging from The Boscombe Valley Mystery to the wonderful Adventure of Silver Blaze, from the Adventure of the Norwood Builder to A Case of Identity, but above to the uniquely strange and macabre Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

Voices from the Back of the Bus provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at international rugby at the height of a golden period. Recounted with genuine warmth and much humour, over a hundred players recall the scrapes, the games, the laughs, the glory and the gritty reality of the pre-professional game • Packed with true rugby tales from the days when men played purely for the love of the game and of their nation, and multimillion-pound contracts and sponsorship deals were unheard of, this refreshing, revealing and often hilarious collection will inspire sports fans of all generations

The scent of almonds • A snowstorm traps a family in a hotel on a tiny island off Fjallbacka - and then a body is discovered in the library • An elegant death • Two sisters witness a murder in a fashion boutique • Dreaming of Elisabeth • Malin is trapped on a boat with a man she is beginning to fear… • The widows' cafe • Marianne is serving up a dangerous concoction at the Widows' Cafe • Showcasing Camilla's acclaimed talent for combining heart-stopping plots with heart-warming characters, this collection of tales will thrill and delight in equal measure

This collection of Pushkin’s stories begins with ‘The Queen of Spades’, perhaps the most celebrated short story in Russian literature. The young Hermann, while watching some friends gambling, hears a rumour of how an officer’s grandmother is always able to predict the three winning cards in a game. He becomes obsessed with the woman and her seemingly mystical powers, and seeks to extract the secret from her at any cost. This volume, part of a new series of the complete works of Pushkin in English, also includes ‘Dubrovsky’, the story of a man’s desire to avenge himself after his land is unjustly taken from him by an aristocrat; ‘The Negro of Peter the Great’, a tale inspired by Pushkin’s maternal grandfather; and the unfinished story ‘Egyptian Nights’, a meditation on poetry and the poet