Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new?

From this magically right beginning came the concept of Beginner Books, exacting blends of words and pictures that encourage children to read — all by themselves. Hailed by elementary educators and remedial reading specialists, these enormously popular books are now used in schools and libraries throughout the English-speaking world.

Far in the future, the World Controllers have finally created the ideal society. In laboratories worldwide, genetic science has brought the human race to perfection. From the Alpha-Plus mandarin class to the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons, designed to perform menial tasks, man is bred and educated to be blissfully content with his pre-destined role. But, in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, Bernard Marx is unhappy. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, feeling only distaste for the endless pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress...

The third novel of the Pyat quartet finds Pyat scheming his way from New York to Hollywood, Cairo to Marrakesh, from cult success to the utter limits of sexual degradation, leaving a trail of mechanical and human wreckage as he crashes towards an appointment with the worst nightmare of the century.

«Magnificent and electrifying, this new volume in the «Vampire Chronicles» returns to the glittering story of Armand Lestat, mesmerizing leader of the vampire coven at the eighteenth-century Theater des Vampires in Paris. Snatched from the steppes of Russia as a child, and sold as a slave in Renaissance Venice, Armand's story sweeps through several hundred years, to New Orleans at the end of the twentieth century, where he lies waiting for immortality, and the legend continues to grow...»

In real life, goshawks resemble sparrow hawks the way leopards resemble housecats. Bigger, yes. But bulkier, bloodier, deadlier, scarier, and much, much harder to see. Birds of deep woodland, not gardens, they're the birdwatchers dark grail. From the age of twelve, when she first saw a trained goshawk, Helen Macdonald had determined to become a falconer. She learned the arcane terminology and read all the classic books, especially T.H. White's tortured masterpiece The Goshawk, that describes White's struggle to train a hawk as a spiritual contest. When her father dies and she is knocked sideways by grief, she turns to White's book again and becomes obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She buys Mabel for GBP800 on a Scottish quayside and takes her home to Cambridge. Then she fills the freezer with hawk food and unplugs the phone, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this widest of animals. To train a hawk you must watch it like a hawk, and so gain the ability to predict what it will do next. Eventually you don't see the hawk's body language at all. You seem to feel what it feels. The hawk's apprehension becomes your own. As the days passed and I put myself in the hawk's wild mind to tame her, my humanity was burning away.

Separated by just a few miles and known as favorites of American travelers, the Caribbean islands of St. Maarten/St Martin, St. Barthélemy (also known as St Barth’s), and Anguilla couldn't be more different. Dutch St. Maarten offers big resorts, extensive shopping, and vibrant casinos, while French St. Martin is a bit more low-key, with excellent dining options and smaller, charming hotels; both sides share excellent beaches and offer a wide range of outdoor activities. Upscale St. Barth’s is dotted with exquisite luxury boutique hotels and hundreds of private villas, bringing a taste of France’s Côte d'Azur to the Caribbean. Anguilla is known for its soft, white beaches, luxurious accommodations, excellent restaurants, and fun, low-key nightlife. The three islands are linked by frequent air and ferry service, allowing travelers to hop from one island to the other easily and quickly. Competitive Advantage: With comprehensive coverage and dozens of color photos, this guide is the only choice for those travelers who want a comprehensive overview of what these three popular destinations have to offer in a single package. Compact Format: Fodor's InFocus Guides are packed with the same coverage of a full-size guidebook in a smaller, more convenient format that is easier to carry on a trip. New Coverage: New restaurants, hotels, shops, nightlife, and sports outfitters have been added to each island in the guide. Illustrated Features: The best each island has to offer is highlighted. Great Itineraries help travelers plan the perfect day or night. Vibrant color photos capture the beauty of all three islands. Indispensable Trip Planning Tools: A planner gives useful, practical overviews of important information. A wide-ranging feature on the Top Experiences in the islands helps travelers plan the perfect vacation. Discerning Recommendations: Fodor’s InFocus St. Maarten, St. Barth and Anguilla offers savvy advice and recommendations from expert writers to help travelers make the most of their time. Fodor’s Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. “Word of Mouth” quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights.

John Gray has become a publishing phenomenon. His first book, MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS is still a No 1 New York Times bestseller after 3 years, and is in the UK Top 100 too. He is renowned as THE international relationships guru. John Gray has brought a powerful message to millions of people across the world. He explains how better communication and the recognition of men and women's different emotional needs leads to greater intimacy. In MARS AND VENUS IN LOVE, all those who embraced his ideas will see them in action in first-person stories told by people who, using his advice and counsel, have created fulfilling, healthy and loving relationships. After the incredible response to his work, Dr Gray thought the success of some couples might inspire others like them. Readers will find hope, encouragement and humour in this collection of experiences, which everyone who has ever had difficulty communicating with the opposite sex will find something to identify with.

Presents Sir Terry Pratchett's final Discworld novel, which features the witch Tiffany Aching. A Shivering Of Worlds. Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. The owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength. This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad. As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land. There will be a reckoning...The Final DiscWorld Novel.

«'What is remarkable about Alan Ayckbourn's comedy is that it contrives to be simultaneously hilarious and harrowing. Literally, it is agonisingly funny' — «Daily Telegraph». In «Three Plays» Ayckbourn's perfectly pitched dialogue slices into the soul of suburbia. The settings are simple — a kitchen, a bedroom, a party — but the relationships between the husbands and wives are more complicated. Fraught relationships are exposed with humour, bathos and a sharp understanding of human nature.»

«IDEO, the widely admired, award-winning design and development firm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera, the Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous innovation. There isn't a business in America that doesn't want to be more creative in its thinking, products, and processes. At many companies, being first with a concept and first to market are critical just to survive. In The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley, general manager of the Silicon Valley based design firm IDEO, takes readers behind the scenes of this wildly imaginative and energized company to reveal the strategies and secrets it uses to turn out hit after hit. IDEO doesn't buy into the myth of the lone genius working away in isolation, waiting for great ideas to strike. Kelley believes everyone can be creative, and the goal at his firm is to tap into that wellspring of creativity in order to make innovation a way of life. How does it do that? IDEO fosters an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas, breaking the rules, and freeing people to design their own work environments. IDEO's focus on teamwork generates countless breakthroughs, fueled by the constant give-and-take among people ready to share ideas and reap the benefits of the group process. IDEO has created an intense, quick-turnaround, brainstorm-and-build process dubbed «the Deep Dive.» In entertaining anecdotes, Kelley illustrates some of his firm's own successes (and joyful failures), as well as pioneering efforts at other leading companies. The book reveals how teams research and immerse themselves in every possible aspect of a new product or service, examining it from the perspective of clients, consumers, and other critical audiences.»

More than 100 million copies sold world wide. When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly, she tries to put him out of her mind — until he turns up at the store where she works part-time, and invites her out. Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her distance, it only makes her want him more. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Christian keeps hidden away from public view ...

«When sheltered American good girl Allyson «LuLu» Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.»

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the offence, her world begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, their worlds collide. A brave and unflinching novel from the bestselling author of Before I Die, about first love, loyalty, betrayal and truth.

At the top of his class at Harvard Law, he had his choice of the best in America. He made a deadly mistake. When Mitch McDeere signed on with Bendini, Lambert & Locke of Memphis, he thought he and his beautiful wife, Abby, were on their way. The firm leased him a BMW, paid off his school loans, arranged a mortgage and hired him a decorator. Mitch McDeere should have remembered what his brother Ray -- doing fifteen years in a Tennessee jail -- already knew. You never get nothing for nothing. Now the FBI has the lowdown on Mitch's firm and needs his help. Mitch is caught between a rock and a hard place, with no choice -- if he wants to live.

Becky Brandon ne Bloomwood is on a major rescue mission Hollywood was full of surprises and now shes on a road trip to Las Vegas to help her friends and family Shes determined to get to the bottom of why her dad has mysteriously disappeared help her best friend Suze and even bond with longtime enemy Alicia Bitch Longlegs maybe As Becky discovers just how much her friends and family need help she comes up with her biggest boldest most brilliant plan yet So can she save the day just when they need her most.