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Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Often amusing, sometimes romantic or fraught with danger, these 30 short stories are about local people, spectacular places and the special wildlife the author sets out to find. The stories include seeking out Arabian Oryx on the searing plains of the Saudi desert; eiderdown collecting in Iceland, crouching in swirling clouds and darkness on a knife-edge ridge in the rugged Madeiran mountains and swimming with Grey Seals off the Pembroke coast. The author describes incredible encounters with spectacular animals from lumbering manatees and dangerous rhinos to unforgettable experiences such as being led by a honeyguide with a Kenyan Dorobo tribesman to the nest of wild bees and watching cranes tip-toeing their courtship dances. He also attended a Parsi funeral where the corpses are no longer consumed by vultures; experienced a close encounter with armed Omani police, bluffed his way on to the largest refuse tip in southern Asia and canoed along Mali's Niger River watching black and yellow 'bishops' displaying along its banks.These are just a few of the remarkable experiences recounted by Malcolm in a lifetime searching out some of the most interesting, and some of the rarest, animals on earth. These hugely entertaining tales visit places as diverse as the Florida Everglades, England's New Forest, Iceland's offshore islands, the Empty Quarter of the Saudi Desert, the tiny remnants of the Jordan's Azraq wetland and the impressive oak dehesas of Extremadura. Sit back and visit the world! The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condizione: New. This is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. It is the legend-story of the mysterious Wanderer, who comes from the North to Striveling (Stirling) and its great Castle Rock, and the tales he tells to the five men and a woman who befriend him there. Who is this Wanderer, who seems ageless, who has profound affinities with animals and birds, who can take on the shape of swans and what is his mission to the South? Who are these friends, whose friendship becomes more, as they begin to realize that they are part of the strange, timeless and mythic destiny of a country older than civilization? What is the meaning of the unearthly love of the Wanderer and the mysterious Bella?

Paperback. Condizione: New. This is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. It is the legend-story of the mysterious Wanderer, who comes from the North to Striveling (Stirling) and its great Castle Rock, and the tales he tells to the five men and a woman who befriend him there. Who is this Wanderer, who seems ageless, who has profound affinities with animals and birds, who can take on the shape of swans and what is his mission to the South? Who are these friends, whose friendship becomes more, as they begin to realize that they are part of the strange, timeless and mythic destiny of a country older than civilization? What is the meaning of the unearthly love of the Wanderer and the mysterious Bella?

Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Set in the Outer Hebrides in the year 1900, Some Strange Scent of Death is based on a true story - the mysterious disappearance of the St. Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers. One hundred years later the mystery of the dramatic disappearance endures. What exactly did happen to the keepers? Locals believed they had been spirited away by the phantom of the isles; others thought that an enemy vessel had taken the men, or that a monster from the deep had lifted them bodily from the island. There was even talk of black-cowled ghosts. Although the truth is that they were probably swept away and drowned, rumours have played a big part in making this a mystery of Marie Celeste proportions which people still remember today. This is a story which resonates in the human unconscious. At the heart of the story are two men - one comes close to madness and the other drives himself along the path to doom through his obsession with his 'quarry'. This gripping, well-researched story interweaves fact and fiction, including quotes from the original reports and documentation which bring a truly authentic feel to the story. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condizione: New. New edition. A novel set in a Highland shooting lodge, where the focus is a hunt in a remote deer forest; but this is no ordinary thriller. A shooting lodge party of wealthy English people, a team of Highland stalkers, a legendary stag to be hunted and a background of glen and corrie, shrouded from time to time by impenetrable mist. A marvellous blend of ever-changing landscape - be it light and shadow, swift transitiions from light to half light, mist, rain, tones and flowing lines - contribute to the dramatic essence of the novel. Culture and personality clashes and mystery, which portent much deeper clashes between spiritual and material values, provide a vastly enjoyable read.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. This is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. It is the legend-story of the mysterious Wanderer, who comes from the North to Striveling (Stirling) and its great Castle Rock, and the tales he tells to the five men and a woman who befriend him there. Who is this Wanderer, who seems ageless, who has profound affinities with animals and birds, who can take on the shape of swans and what is his mission to the South? Who are these friends, whose friendship becomes more, as they begin to realize that they are part of the strange, timeless and mythic destiny of a country older than civilization? What is the meaning of the unearthly love of the Wanderer and the mysterious Bella? This volume is a mixture of folk-tale, magic, myth, love story and hymn of praise to the natural world of Scotland's high and low lands, their landscapes and creatures, and the poet-guardians who timelessly maintain their care for them. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: New. Neil M Gunn, one of Scotland's most distinguished 20th century authors, wrote over a period of 30 years, starting in 1926 and ending in 1956 with his so-called spiritual autobiography The Atom of Delight. Two years before this he wrote his last novel, The Other Landscape, the setting being the east coast of Scotland's most northerly mainland county. This provides the perfect backdrop - a fishing hotel and its English residents, the local ghillies who served them, and a solitary white house near the cliffs in which the occupant, a man from the South, lives alone.Add to this the Major, a retired military officer-cum-diplomat, who quickly shows himself to be an insensitive and overbearing man, disdainful of his fellows and aggressive towards those who challenge his views or show any form of disrespect towards him. His paternalistic behaviour towards the local community masks a contempt for it. Life in the hotel is lightened on a more mundane level by two incidents, both directly relating to the Major - a false alarm over a drowning incident and a fire in his bedroom, both of which end happily, but with a damaging loss of face for the Major and much amusement for the guests and staff at the hotel.Juxtaposed with the sporting life at the hotel, and in a subtle way connected to it, is the fate of the solitary and bereaved occupant of the white house. The shadow of death, both present and past, hangs over the house and blends with the palette of second sight and the strong phenomenon of 'recurrence', when patterns of events inexplicably repeat themselves. The reader is thus invited to consider the realities of life and death and the inherent tragedies that are contained within them, but in the end is presented with a glimpse of hope and renewal.

Paperback. Condizione: New. Unlike most of Gunn's novels, The Lost Chart is set in a city - the city of Glasgow and its sea approaches. The untypical choice of background for the story is not the only departure from Gunn's usual approach to his novels. The book is also a thriller. The story unfolds in a social ambience of fear and speculation within which certain sinister political forces are at work. Nuclear war is a possibility, if not a certainty. Shipping executive Dermot Cameron gets involved in a street brawl, loses the chart of the approaches to a remote Hebridean island and finds himself in a tussle between the British Secret Service and a locally-based communist fifth-column. The plot turns almost exclusively on the date of a looming crisis, and the imminence of that date pervades the thoughts and feelings of those in conflict with a locally-based sinister and elusive enemy.This timeless work, from one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, has a remarkable relevance to the events of today. When it was written in 1949 there was an uneasiness in the West regarding changes to the 'old order' of society and the decline in certain moral standards and spiritual beliefs. Today the problems facing humanity have not changed. The threatening political situations in the Far East, Middle East and Eastern Europe and the concomitant danger of nuclear warfare are all too evident. Against such a background, the way of life on the remote Hebridean island depicted by the author has an almost irresistible appeal.

Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. Scotland's Global Empire is one journalist's tribute to some of the lesser-known great Scots and their contribution to the world. Jock Gallagher was encouraged in his epic enterprise by a quote from Voltaire: We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation. 'Voltaire may have over-egged the pudding but in many areas, I believe, our small nation has punched well above its weight and has earned this generous compliment,' says Gallagher. Is that a fine conceit, an extravagant claim or perhaps a journalist talking in headlines? You will have to read the book to find out! Written over five years, this engrossing and enlightening book stretches to over a quarter of a million words and is a fast, pacy read as it races through the exploits and achievements of an astonishing gallery of the Scots who make up his Scottish Empire. Gallagher is quick to disassociate himself from other empire models. 'It's not an empire of colonisation that diminishes or enslaves those whom it embraces. It involves neither the greed nor ruthlessness so often inherent in empire-building. It's an empire that breaks down barriers rather than creates ownership and, it can be claimed, enhances civilisation.' Although household names such as Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell, John Logie Baird and Charles Rennie Mackintosh are mentioned to underpin the strength and breadth of the Empire, only abbreviated reminders of their well-known achievements are shown. It's not a recital of the adventures of conquering heroes, although some are included. It's more an outreach of ideas, the story of human endeavour in its many forms - pushing at the boundaries of the imagination and stretching the accepted order. It encompasses everything from the spirit of pioneering to the mystical qualities of leadership. 'It's luckily not dependent on a seat of power and nor is it affected by the bruising arguments about Scotland's place within the UK or as an independent state.' Gallagher brings together an astonishing array of characters who may not have made headlines but are essential elements in his illusory empire with a heady mix of extraordinary vision, creativity, energy, leadership, diplomacy, skill, artistry, sometimes pure genius and, more often, downright doggedness. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condizione: New. Neil M Gunn, one of Scotland's most distinguished 20th century authors, wrote over a period of 30 years, starting in 1926 and ending in 1956 with his so-called spiritual autobiography The Atom of Delight. Two years before this he wrote his last novel, The Other Landscape, the setting being the east coast of Scotland's most northerly mainland county. This provides the perfect backdrop - a fishing hotel and its English residents, the local ghillies who served them, and a solitary white house near the cliffs in which the occupant, a man from the South, lives alone.Add to this the Major, a retired military officer-cum-diplomat, who quickly shows himself to be an insensitive and overbearing man, disdainful of his fellows and aggressive towards those who challenge his views or show any form of disrespect towards him. His paternalistic behaviour towards the local community masks a contempt for it. Life in the hotel is lightened on a more mundane level by two incidents, both directly relating to the Major - a false alarm over a drowning incident and a fire in his bedroom, both of which end happily, but with a damaging loss of face for the Major and much amusement for the guests and staff at the hotel.Juxtaposed with the sporting life at the hotel, and in a subtle way connected to it, is the fate of the solitary and bereaved occupant of the white house. The shadow of death, both present and past, hangs over the house and blends with the palette of second sight and the strong phenomenon of 'recurrence', when patterns of events inexplicably repeat themselves. The reader is thus invited to consider the realities of life and death and the inherent tragedies that are contained within them, but in the end is presented with a glimpse of hope and renewal.

Paperback. Condizione: New. In clear and utterly compelling English, this moving memoir tells the story of the agony, and the ecstasy, of one refugee - and of every refugee.  A must read for anyone interested in the triumph of Afghanistan's spirit over its seemingly endless suffering.  Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2007-2010 Flight From Afghanistan is a harrowing account of what drives a man to flee his home country in fear of his life, the trauma of refugee camps and the dangers he faces even when he reaches the sanctuary of the West. Afghans are the second largest refugee group in the world.When confronted by certain death at the point of a gun, Tella Omeri, an uneducated boy from a peasant family knew he had no alternative but to put his life in the hands of ruthless human traffickers, living on his wits and instincts. His 11-year flight, which began as a six-year- old child, is a story combining brutality with courage, hopelessness with resilience. The author asks for no pity, but in his short story he seeks to explain the motivation behind his decisions and paints a radically different picture of life in a troubled region, challenging world leaders and domestic warring factions to find a solution to the endless conflict.While thousands of refugees flee conflict and danger every day, Flight from Afghanistan shines a powerful light on what it actually means to undertake such a journey, and gives a voice to the often forgotten silent victims of the long running wars in the author's home country. Afghan refugees represent one of the world's largest protracted refugee populations. Over the past four decades, many have been forced from their homes to never see them again. Some were able to return, for a while, but had their lives upended by a fresh eruption of conflict and violence - either to be displaced elsewhere in the country, or to become refugees yet again.  Amnesty InternationalAfghanistan is the world's least peaceful country. Institute for Peace and Economics, June 2019Tella Omeri now lives in the UK as a British Citizen with his wife and children.

Paperback. Condizione: New. Unlike most of Gunn's novels, The Lost Chart is set in a city - the city of Glasgow and its sea approaches. The untypical choice of background for the story is not the only departure from Gunn's usual approach to his novels. The book is also a thriller. The story unfolds in a social ambience of fear and speculation within which certain sinister political forces are at work. Nuclear war is a possibility, if not a certainty. Shipping executive Dermot Cameron gets involved in a street brawl, loses the chart of the approaches to a remote Hebridean island and finds himself in a tussle between the British Secret Service and a locally-based communist fifth-column. The plot turns almost exclusively on the date of a looming crisis, and the imminence of that date pervades the thoughts and feelings of those in conflict with a locally-based sinister and elusive enemy.This timeless work, from one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, has a remarkable relevance to the events of today. When it was written in 1949 there was an uneasiness in the West regarding changes to the 'old order' of society and the decline in certain moral standards and spiritual beliefs. Today the problems facing humanity have not changed. The threatening political situations in the Far East, Middle East and Eastern Europe and the concomitant danger of nuclear warfare are all too evident. Against such a background, the way of life on the remote Hebridean island depicted by the author has an almost irresistible appeal.

PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Condizione: New. At the heart of The Silver Bough is a cairn on a knoll surrounded by standing stones. This is of professional interest to an archaeologist, around whom the story revolves. The life-enhancing qualities of the crofting family with whom he lodges and the quiet tenor of Highland life bear a curious similarity to his speculations on how 'the cairn people' lived in the distant past. His ideas spread outwards like ripples in a loch, fascinating his colleagues and giving some meaning to the life of a neighbouring landowner, who is mentally scarred from his experiences in the War. The plot of the book is imaginative and intricate, and includes the mystery of skeletons found in a cist in the cairn. As the dig proceeds, gold is discovered and then disappears. Has it been taken by the lad the archaeologist has been employing and, if so, where is it? The search is on and the standing stone claims its sacrificial victim.

Paperback. Condizione: New. 4th Revised edition. "The Lost Glen" vividly portrays a clash of cultures and personalities against a background of a landscape in visible decay. The cultural collision and its effects are explored through Ewan, a young local man recently returned from university in disgrace, and a retired English colonel staying at the village hotel. Both men in a sense are alienated from the community, the younger because of a haunting sense of failure, and the older through an unwillingness to understand the local culture. They have a mutual antipathy. The Colonel's self-imposed cultural isolation leads to aggressive bullying and an openly lascivious attitude towards local young women. His unworthiness as a representative of Anglo-Saxon culture is largely compensated for by his young niece, who behaves with sensitivity and integrity. She is clearly attracted to Ewan whose sense of failure is complex and does not only concern his enforced withdrawal from university and his involvement in an incident at sea that cost his father his life; it concerns the feeling he has of himself as a spiritual exile - a man who had intended to emigrate but who had remained as an outsider in the land that meant so much to him.He is fascinated by the experience of a local piper, whose finding of a lost glen that had a strange beauty and primordial freshness had been translated into a pibroch. The haunting tune acts as a stimulant to Ewan's Hamlet-like musings on the possibility of a rejuvenation of the landscape or a final disappearance of its life and meaning. The antipathy between the two main protagonists leads to a physical struggle between them that brings to an end a novel, layered with meanings, that is more a symbolic drama than a novel of realism. One of the earliest novels to appear in the Scottish Literary Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, "The Lost Glen" turns its back on the form of writing that had depicted Scotland as a rural paradise in favour of describing Highland life as it really was at that time.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. "The Lost Glen" vividly portrays a clash of cultures and personalities against a background of a landscape in visible decay. The cultural collision and its effects are explored through Ewan, a young local man recently returned from university in disgrace, and a retired English colonel staying at the village hotel. Both men in a sense are alienated from the community, the younger because of a haunting sense of failure, and the older through an unwillingness to understand the local culture. They have a mutual antipathy. The Colonel's self-imposed cultural isolation leads to aggressive bullying and an openly lascivious attitude towards local young women. His unworthiness as a representative of Anglo-Saxon culture is largely compensated for by his young niece, who behaves with sensitivity and integrity. She is clearly attracted to Ewan whose sense of failure is complex and does not only concern his enforced withdrawal from university and his involvement in an incident at sea that cost his father his life; it concerns the feeling he has of himself as a spiritual exile - a man who had intended to emigrate but who had remained as an outsider in the land that meant so much to him.He is fascinated by the experience of a local piper, whose finding of a lost glen that had a strange beauty and primordial freshness had been translated into a pibroch. The haunting tune acts as a stimulant to Ewan's Hamlet-like musings on the possibility of a rejuvenation of the landscape or a final disappearance of its life and meaning. The antipathy between the two main protagonists leads to a physical struggle between them that brings to an end a novel, layered with meanings, that is more a symbolic drama than a novel of realism. One of the earliest novels to appear in the Scottish Literary Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, "The Lost Glen" turns its back on the form of writing that had depicted Scotland as a rural paradise in favour of describing Highland life as it really was at that time. Portrays a clash of cultures and personalities against a background of a landscape in visible decay. This work explores the cultural collision and its effects, through Ewan, a young local man returned from university in disgrace, and a retired English colonel staying at the village hotel. Both men, in a sense, are alienated from the community. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: New. This is the story of a WW2 airfield that wasn't there.RAF Wick was a decoy airfield near Sarclet, by Thrumster in Caithness. For a brief period it was busy, active and vital, full of people and buildings with three broad and very obvious tracks with lights and noise. It was very much on the map, specifically designed to draw attention to itself. But it was an illusion dreamed up by military strategists and cinema-set designers.Air Ministry cartographers transposed the design of a real aerodrome onto a blank area on the map. Planners added standard building designs in the right places. Construction workers created runways that a plane could not land on. Artists and craftsmen made planes that couldn't fly. Men and women from all over the country came to work at a place that was not a working airfield, although their very presence was an essential part of the deception.This book tells the story of how RAF Wick became a part of the lives of the people who built it, worked there or lived nearby.

Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. The barn owl is a 'flagship' species, at the top of the food chain, and its presence or absence is a good indicator of the health of the countryside. This is the enjoyable and informative story of the author's success in restoring this beautiful bird to areas of the country where its numbers had catastrophically declined. From an upbringing in the Lake District, the author developed a deep interest in natural history which became an all-consuming passion. As a 'licensed rehabilitation keeper', he cared for a wide range of injured and orphaned wildlife, giving individuals a second chance by returning them to the wild. He reveals how and why he later graduated to barn owl conservation. The author describes his many encounters with barn owls, from the acquisition of his first breeding pair; 'Barney', a completely humanised owl; to stories of the fascinating array of people involved in releasing, studying, and simply marvelling at this beautiful bird. Although there is a funny side to most situations, there are also the inevitable disasters and disappointments of conservation work, such as the accidental or deliberate sabotaging of releases or the killing of released birds. The reader shares in the author's disappointment and frustration at the sheer cost in time and money and his frequent self-doubt about the success of the whole exercise. However, there are descriptions of more enjoyable activities such as bird ringing, watching home-grown birds metamorphose from ugly pink scraps into creatures of ethereal beauty, and the seemingly limitless energy and enthusiasm of countless landowners and volunteers who are totally committed to the reintroduction of the barn owl. After almost 20 years, there is now evidence of a marked increase in barn owl numbers in areas where the author has worked. During this period, he bred and released around 250 birds, put up nest boxes and advised on barn owl-friendly approaches to land management. These activities helped to reverse the decline in population as areas were repopulated and also created reservoirs of wild breeding barn owls, whose offspring colonised other under-populated parts of the country. The return of the barn owl not only heralds a brighter future for the British countryside, but also shows, at a time of great public concern about the state of planet Earth, that the negative effects of human activity on the environment can be reversed with effort, goodwill and determination. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. A novel set in a Highland shooting lodge, where the focus is a hunt in a remote deer forest; but this is no ordinary thriller. A shooting lodge party of wealthy English people, a team of Highland stalkers, a legendary stag to be hunted and a background of glen and corrie, shrouded from time to time by impenetrable mist. A marvellous blend of ever-changing landscape - be it light and shadow, swift transitiions from light to half light, mist, rain, tones and flowing lines - contribute to the dramatic essence of the novel. Culture and personality clashes and mystery, which portent much deeper clashes between spiritual and material values, provide a vastly enjoyable read. Set in a Highland shooting lodge, this thriller features a shooting-lodge party of wealthy English people, a team of Highland stalkers, a legendary stag to be hunted and a background of glen and corrie, shrouded from time to time by impenetrable mist. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. Neil M Gunn, one of Scotlands most distinguished 20th century authors, wrote over a period of 30 years, starting in 1926 and ending in 1956 with his so-called spiritual autobiography The Atom of Delight. Two years before this he wrote his last novel, The Other Landscape, the setting being the east coast of Scotlands most northerly mainland county. This provides the perfect backdrop a fishing hotel and its English residents, the local ghillies who served them, and a solitary white house near the cliffs in which the occupant, a man from the South, lives alone.Add to this the Major, a retired military officer-cum-diplomat, who quickly shows himself to be an insensitive and overbearing man, disdainful of his fellows and aggressive towards those who challenge his views or show any form of disrespect towards him. His paternalistic behaviour towards the local community masks a contempt for it. Life in the hotel is lightened on a more mundane level by two incidents, both directly relating to the Major a false alarm over a drowning incident and a fire in his bedroom, both of which end happily, but with a damaging loss of face for the Major and much amusement for the guests and staff at the hotel.Juxtaposed with the sporting life at the hotel, and in a subtle way connected to it, is the fate of the solitary and bereaved occupant of the white house. The shadow of death, both present and past, hangs over the house and blends with the palette of second sight and the strong phenomenon of recurrence, when patterns of events inexplicably repeat themselves. The reader is thus invited to consider the realities of life and death and the inherent tragedies that are contained within them, but in the end is presented with a glimpse of hope and renewal. Neil M Gunn, one of Scotlands most distinguished 20th century authors, wrote over a period of 30 years, starting in 1926 and ending in 1956. This is his final novel. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. At the heart of The Silver Bough is a cairn on a knoll surrounded by standing stones. This is of professional interest to an archaeologist, around whom the story revolves. The life-enhancing qualities of the crofting family with whom he lodges and the quiet tenor of Highland life bear a curious similarity to his speculations on how 'the cairn people' lived in the distant past. His ideas spread outwards like ripples in a loch, fascinating his colleagues and giving some meaning to the life of a neighbouring landowner, who is mentally scarred from his experiences in the War. The plot of the book is imaginative and intricate, and includes the mystery of skeletons found in a cist in the cairn. As the dig proceeds, gold is discovered and then disappears. Has it been taken by the lad the archaeologist has been employing and, if so, where is it? The search is on and the standing stone claims its sacrificial victim. A cairn on a knoll surrounded by standing stones becomes intriguing to the archaeologist around whom this story revolves. Skeletons are found in a cist in the cairn, and then gold is discovered and later disappears. The search is on and the standing stone claims its sacrificial victim. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: New. In clear and utterly compelling English, this moving memoir tells the story of the agony, and the ecstasy, of one refugee - and of every refugee.  A must read for anyone interested in the triumph of Afghanistan's spirit over its seemingly endless suffering.  Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2007-2010 Flight From Afghanistan is a harrowing account of what drives a man to flee his home country in fear of his life, the trauma of refugee camps and the dangers he faces even when he reaches the sanctuary of the West. Afghans are the second largest refugee group in the world.When confronted by certain death at the point of a gun, Tella Omeri, an uneducated boy from a peasant family knew he had no alternative but to put his life in the hands of ruthless human traffickers, living on his wits and instincts. His 11-year flight, which began as a six-year- old child, is a story combining brutality with courage, hopelessness with resilience. The author asks for no pity, but in his short story he seeks to explain the motivation behind his decisions and paints a radically different picture of life in a troubled region, challenging world leaders and domestic warring factions to find a solution to the endless conflict.While thousands of refugees flee conflict and danger every day, Flight from Afghanistan shines a powerful light on what it actually means to undertake such a journey, and gives a voice to the often forgotten silent victims of the long running wars in the author's home country. Afghan refugees represent one of the world's largest protracted refugee populations. Over the past four decades, many have been forced from their homes to never see them again. Some were able to return, for a while, but had their lives upended by a fresh eruption of conflict and violence - either to be displaced elsewhere in the country, or to become refugees yet again.  Amnesty InternationalAfghanistan is the world's least peaceful country. Institute for Peace and Economics, June 2019Tella Omeri now lives in the UK as a British Citizen with his wife and children.

Paperback. Condizione: New. This is the story of a WW2 airfield that wasn't there.RAF Wick was a decoy airfield near Sarclet, by Thrumster in Caithness. For a brief period it was busy, active and vital, full of people and buildings with three broad and very obvious tracks with lights and noise. It was very much on the map, specifically designed to draw attention to itself. But it was an illusion dreamed up by military strategists and cinema-set designers.Air Ministry cartographers transposed the design of a real aerodrome onto a blank area on the map. Planners added standard building designs in the right places. Construction workers created runways that a plane could not land on. Artists and craftsmen made planes that couldn't fly. Men and women from all over the country came to work at a place that was not a working airfield, although their very presence was an essential part of the deception.This book tells the story of how RAF Wick became a part of the lives of the people who built it, worked there or lived nearby.

PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. Unlike most of Gunns novels, The Lost Chart is set in a city the city of Glasgow and its sea approaches. The untypical choice of background for the story is not the only departure from Gunns usual approach to his novels. The book is also a thriller. The story unfolds in a social ambience of fear and speculation within which certain sinister political forces are at work. Nuclear war is a possibility, if not a certainty. Shipping executive Dermot Cameron gets involved in a street brawl, loses the chart of the approaches to a remote Hebridean island and finds himself in a tussle between the British Secret Service and a locally-based communist fifth-column. The plot turns almost exclusively on the date of a looming crisis, and the imminence of that date pervades the thoughts and feelings of those in conflict with a locally-based sinister and elusive enemy.This timeless work, from one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, has a remarkable relevance to the events of today. When it was written in 1949 there was an uneasiness in the West regarding changes to the old order of society and the decline in certain moral standards and spiritual beliefs. Today the problems facing humanity have not changed. The threatening political situations in the Far East, Middle East and Eastern Europe and the concomitant danger of nuclear warfare are all too evident. Against such a background, the way of life on the remote Hebridean island depicted by the author has an almost irresistible appeal. This timeless work, from one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, has a remarkable relevance to the events of today. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Condizione: New. The West Highland Way is Scotland's first official Long Distance Route and runs near 100 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. It was nicknamed the 'Way Way' by a trio from Fife who set off to walk it in the year of the Millennium. This is not a guidebook but an account of their experiences, the highs and lows which any challenge presents of their marvellous, surprising, amusing and weird memories. They met many hundreds of people along the way but, naturally, those they recall were the more eccentric. Although the trio never managed another bigger trip together they realize how lucky, and wise, they had been to grab the chance when it came. There is remarkably pleasant rural walking at the start to reach the Highlands at Loch Lomond, fine woodland on its banks and later, the contrast of lonely, empty miles across Rannoch Moor, the Devil's Staircase and the great pass of the Lairig Mor to finish. Encounters with other people are an important part of Long Distance Routes. Anyone who has walked the Way Way (or is planning to do so) will enjoy this story, bringing back plenty of similar memories of people and places, adventures and misadventures.The illustrations too give a wonderful idea of the rich variety of country traversed and well capture the atmosphere of this walk through Scotland's fine landscapes.

Paperback. Condizione: New. During the long winter nights and before the advent of television, people in Caithness used to hold informal gatherings in each other's houses, and spend the night in general conversation around the firesides. These gatherings were known as ceilidhs. The news of the day was always discussed along with other topics of interest. The conversation very often turned to events of long ago and it was then that the storytellers came into their own.With his customary enthusiasm, Robert Gunn has selected a number of these tales and historical events with links to or origins in Caithness, to provide a fascinating read and a few surprises! The author recalls that in the Dunbeath district there were several storytellers who held their audiences spellbound with their tales of long ago. One such story was The Prisoner's Leap - this raised considerable debate as to whether it was possible to jump the gorge at Crageneath although the conversation often ended with people agreeing that the distance between the two rocks at the gorge was much less than it was currently!Most people believed that an Earl of Orkney was killed at the battle of Leodibest and that one of the stones near the road marked his grave. Alexander Gunn's recollections of his schooldays at Badbea will be an eye-opener for many when they read of the terrible hardships that the children who lived there had to endure. Swein Asleifson - a northern pirateThe son of a Norse governor, Swein followed a life of raiding and looting which encompassed Northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. He travelled as far south as Wales and the Scilly Isles and became one of the most powerful men of his time, commanding fear from the people, respect from Earls and admiration from Kings. This book brings together all the action, double-dealing and bloodthirsty adventures surrounding Swein and his people.

Paperback. Condizione: Good. Written by Tom 'Jack' Sullivan Green, AB of Bristol in the 1920s, "Escape to the Sea" is an inspiring, first-hand account of survival against the odds of an orphan boy in early Victorian England. Recounted in a fluent style and peppered with dialogue, this gripping tale of a seaman's life chronicles both tragedy and comedy amongst the everyday lot of a working world unimaginable in the modern era. Tom traces his early life when cholera claimed his Irish immigrant parents in the London slums of 1848; being apprenticed to a tailor before running away to sea to escape a 'miserable life'. His new life as an Ordinary Seaman began at Rochester on a West Hartlepool-based ship, but when a new and tyrannical skipper made terrifying death threats he was again forced to run away.Walking from London to Liverpool in 1866 to try his hand on trans-Atlantic passages, he gives a chilling account of the last public hanging at Stafford of a murderer, William Collier. Later in the same year, Tom's travels take him to Georgia, USA where he gives an eye-witness account of the tragic plight of slaves who were freed after the American Civil War. Homeless and weakened by starvation and disease, they came to the river bank to collect driftwood only to be grabbed by alligators. This description and other harrowing sights he saw ashore leave a searing impression of the aftermath of a devastating conflict. Following various brushes with authority, Tom changes his name to Jack Green and lies low taking shore jobs near Cardiff where he turns down working digging the Severn Tunnel due to claustrophobia. Eventually settling and marrying near Bristol, he experienced more exotic times as a mariner before he 'swallowed the anchor'.These included plying the former slave routes to West Africa; accompanying the third mate of his ship with some locally-recruited native sailors to collect the future bride of a chieftain which incurred a series of adventures, some at gunpoint. "Escape to the Sea" is complemented with documents such as the author's discharge certificates, illustrations of vessels and harbours visited, maps and photographs including his handwritten will, which required that 'when the breath is out of my body' it should be buried 'with no ceremony whatsoever'. A modest end for a colourful character whose wish was that his experiences should be made available to a wider audience than his immediate family. This action-packed maritime autobiography will be of especial interest to anyone with an interest in maritime history, ships and shipping and anyone looking for a good read. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine.