Koontz D The Crooked Staircase

Isaiah Berlin was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century - an activist of the intellect who marshalled vast erudition and eloquence in defence of the endangered values of individual liberty and moral and political plurality. In The Crooked Timber of Humanity he exposes the links between the ideas of the past and the social and political cataclysms of our own time: between the Platonic belief in absolute truth and the lure of authoritarianism; between the eighteenth-century reactionary ideologue Joseph de Maistre and twentieth-century Fascism; between the romanticism of Schiller and Byron and the militant - and sometimes genocidal - nationalism that convulses the modern world • This new edition features a revised text, a new foreword in which award-winning novelist John Banville discusses Berlin's life and ideas, particularly his defence of pluralism, and a substantial new appendix that provides rich context, including letters and previously uncollected writings by Berlin, notably his virtuoso review of Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy

After the birth of her daughter Emma, the usually resilient Majella finds herself feeling isolated and exhausted. Then, at her childhood home, Majella discovers the diary of her maternal ancestor Ginny, and is shocked to read a story of murder in her family history • With the famine upon her, Ginny Doyle fled from Ireland to America, but not all of her family made it. What happened during those harrowing years, and why does Ginny call herself a killer? Is Majella genetically fated to be a bad mother, despite the fierce tenderness she feels for her baby? • Determined to uncover the truth of her heritage and her own identity, Majella sets out to explore Ginny's past - and discovers surprising truths about her family and ultimately, herself

Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems • Dive head first into the world of Lundinor in this magical adventure story for anyone with a Hogwarts-shaped hole in their life • When their grandmother Sylvie is rushed to hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what adventure lies in store. Returning to Sylvie’s house, they find it has been ransacked by unknown intruders – before a mysterious feather scratches an ominous message onto the kitchen wall. A very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush. Ivy and Seb make their escape – only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, where ordinary objects have amazing powers. The forces of evil are closing in fast, and Ivy and Seb must get to the bottom of a family secret

The thrilling, long-awaited return of the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Revenant • In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier – a clash of cultures between a young, ambitious nation and the Native tribes who have lived on the land for centuries. Colonel Henry Carrington arrives in Wyoming’s Powder River Valley to lead the US Army in defending the opening of a new road for gold miners and settlers. Carrington intends to build a fort in the middle of critical hunting grounds, the home of the Lakota. Red Cloud, one of the Lakota’s most respected chiefs, and Crazy Horse, a young but visionary warrior, understand full well the implications of this invasion. For the Lakota, the stakes are their home, their culture, their lives

The completely updated edition of J. M. Roberts and Odd Arne Westad's widely acclaimed, landmark bestseller The Penguin History of the World • For generations of readers The Penguin History of the World has been one of the great cultural experiences - the entire story of human endeavour laid out in all its grandeur and folly, drama and pain in a single authoritative book. Now, for the first time, it has been completely overhauled for its 6th edition - not just bringing it up to date, but revising it throughout in the light of new research and discoveries, such as the revolution in our understanding of many civilizations in the Ancient World. The closing sections of the book reflect what now seems to be the inexorable rise of Asia and the increasingly troubled situation in the West

The fox family are back to explore the Museum of Slimy Things! • Following a successful adventure through the Museum of Dead Things, the foxes have returned to explore the world of slime. Curated by the slipperiest experts, this special museum introduces slime found all over the natural world, from the creatures in the depths of the ocean to the slime hiding inside the human body • Learn about the science of slime, meet the gelatinous hagfish and romp through the museum's swamp in this fully illustrated, non-fiction adventure

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS is THE definitive guide to IELTS. It contains all you need to succeed in the exam. Skill-building exercises cover all of the question types in the exam for both the General Training and Academic Modules. Our research into real IELTS candidates' exam answers - and the mistakes they make, helps you avoid the same ones! Eight official practice tests and a focus on test-taking strategy help you maximise your score. Videos of the Speaking test, and all the listening material, including the tests, can be found on the DVD-ROM or downloaded via an accompanying App from iTunes or Google Play. IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment

The Rough Guide to the Cotswolds is your definitive handbook to one of the most beautiful and diverse holiday destinations in the UK. From stately homes and wildlife parks to modern art galleries, country walks and adventure sports, the full-colour section introduces all of the regions' highlights. For every town and village, there are comprehensive and opinionated reviews of all the best places to eat, drink and stay to suit every budget. It brings the Cotswolds bang up-to-date; out go musty tearooms and chintzy B&Bs and in come the best of the area?s new contemporary restaurants, boutique-styled hotels and top-rated country pubs. There?s plenty of practical advice and a special focus on the region?s gastronomy with features on specialist farmers? markets, local farm shops, gastro-pubs and country restaurants

'The Boy-scouts mistook my signal, and have killed the postman. I've had very little practice in this sort of thing, you see' • The British short story tradition is probably the richest, most varied and historically extensive in the world. This new anthology celebrates the full diversity and energy of its writers, subjects and tones, from the story's origins with Defoe, Swift and Fielding, to the 'golden age' of the fin de siecle and Edwardian period, ending with the First World War. Including the most famous authors as well as some magnificent, little-known stories never republished since their first appearance in magazines and periodicals, these stories are by turns topical and playful, ghostly and theatrical, rumbustious and sublime • Edited with an introduction by Philip Hensher

The remarkable true story of ‘Big Red,’ one of America’s finest racehorses • When her beloved Meadow Stables is faced with closure following her father’s illness, housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over. Despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge she calls in assistance from trainer Lucien Laurin and a host of successful jockeys • Pitted against the Phipps’ racing dynasty, Penny takes the decision to breed her mare Somethingroyal to the Phipps’ Bold Ruler, the nation’s favourite stallion. With the toss of a coin it is agreed that one family will take Somethingroyal’s first foal with the losing stable taking the colt out of Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal’s second foal. Penny loses the toss, but the wait for the unborn foal proves fortuitous when a bright red chestnut colt is born, Secretariat

The author of this book is the well-known Soviet poet and prose writer, Kayum Tangrykuliev. If you and I were to decide to pay him a visit, we would first have to climb aboard a train, or better still, an airplane, and fly far to the south of the Soviet Union, to sunny, hot Turkmenia • This is a fascinating land. Alongside the bright-colored cars and trucks on the city streets you can see the proud camel plodding along, or the donkey with its large sad eyes. Growing in the fields you will find cotton, from which lovely materials are woven which are then used to make clothing for young and old. And the orchards are filled with every kind of luscious fruit imaginable: bright red apples, brown pears, pomegranates packed full of ripe seeds, vines laden with juicy grapes, apricots, and even almonds

"The Ladybird Book of London" is a gem from the Ladybird vintage archive. First published in 1961, this is a classic Ladybird hardback book, packed with information about Britain's capital. This new edition is exactly the same as the original, with a dust jacket and beautifully reproduced images. The story of London, her sights and history, is illustrated with twenty-four beautiful full-page pictures. Starting from Trafalgar Square this book takes you through famous streets to see historic buildings, to learn something of the story of Britain's famous capital. Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower, Guildhall and the City, Hampton Court and Kew Gardens, the Zoo and Madame Tussaud's - they are all here