Sex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England.

Anita Diamant's The Red Tent is an epic celebration of womanhood, written for women everywhere, regardless of their status, creed or colour. It is the story of a woman whose life was blessed by great love and torn by tragedy, of the lessons she learned through her own experiences and those of the women, and men, whose lives she touched. Diamant has chosen as her leading lady a woman whose name alone conjures up echoes of mystery, passion and betrayal. The Red Tent is the fictional tale of Dinah, whose life, like the majority of women in the Old Testament, merits only a passing mention. It is the men in Dinah¹s life that history has remembered: her famous father Jacob, his dozen sons and especially her brother, Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat. Not religious? Don' t worry, this biblical character and the story Anita Diamant has woven from the merest hints, will appeal to all.

Strangely, even though Dinah lived her life several thousand years ago in a culture far removed from almost all of the women who will read this book, her story is as relevant and fresh as any written in recent years. This novel is as compelling for its female take on the grand themes that transcend time--birth, death, love, hate, betrayal and forgiveness­-as it is for its meticulously researched and hugely fascinating picture of everyday life as an early Jewish woman. The book's title refers to the tent where the women retired each month to pass their menstruation, and the descriptions of their time spent celebrating this fundamental rite of womanhood, and other daily customs make this a most original and inspiring book. In an age when gender and family traditions are becoming more and more diluted, The Red Tent honours women and their many and varied roles in life. Carey Green

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon but journalist/mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mount Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air , Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster. With more than 250 black-and-white photographs taken by various expedition members and an enlightening new postscript by the author, the Illustrated Edition shows readers what this tragic climb looked like and potentially provides closure for Krakauer and his detractors.

"I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in a postscript dated August 1998."What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of the guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston DeWalt, who co-authored The Climb , Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I. Krakauer further buries the ice axe by donating his share of royalties from sales of The Illustrated Edition to the Everest '96 Memorial Fund, which aids various environmental and humanitarian charities. -- Rob McDonald

Explains what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking readers, to the middle ages, and showing various things from the horrors of leprosy and war to the ridiculous excesses of roasted larks and haute couture.

The extraordinary life story of the man described as 'the world's greatest living explorer' by the Guinness Book of Records

Europe in 1945 was prostrate. Much of the continent was devastated by war, mass slaughter, bombing and chaos. Large areas of Eastern Europe were falling under Soviet control, exchanging one despotism for another. This work tells of Europe's recovery from the devastation and of the decline and fall of Soviet Communism and the rise of the EC and EU.

This GCSE Modern World History Revision Guide covers International Relations and six of the most popular Depth Study options. There are thorough, accessible study notes for each topic, revision summary questions to test understanding and plenty of useful advice for exam success.

Names have much to tell us about our past, our beliefs - even our personality traits. With 150 plus entries, this book takes a look at over 5,000 examples, ranging from the familiar to the comparatively obscure, drawn from different parts of the English-speaking world.

Provides information about the science, history and culture of food and cooking. This book is for those, who have ever wondered why fish goes off quicker than meat; how to tell stale eggs from fresh ones; why you're supposed to leave pancake batter to rest; why chopping onions makes you cry; and about the health benefits of chocolate and alcohol.

This GCSE Schools History Project Revision Guide covers The American West, Medicine Through Time and Germany 1919-1945. There are thorough, accessible study notes for each topic, revision summary questions to test understanding and plenty of useful advice for exam success.