The Arabic alphabet has a rich history, one that is closely linked with the development of culture and society in the Middle East. In this comprehensive introduction the authors trace the origins of the Arabic alphabet back to Aramaic, which also gave rise to the Hebrew and Greek alphabets. Using detailed illustrations the authors investigate early Arabic papyri and early Islamic inscriptions as well as classical Arabic scripts. John F. Healey and G. Rex Smith bring the story up to the pre...

From 17 April, 1900, to 6 June of that year, Pierre Loti travelled in a private capacity from Bushire on the Persian Gulf, northwards through Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan and Tehran, before returning via the Caspian Sea to Europe. This is the personal day-by-day account of his journey, the hardships of the mountainous terrain and the empty desert. Loti excels in his descriptions of the world around him: the sky, the mountains, the fertile plains, the deserted desert. His descriptions of the...

Biography of the Bulls: An Anthology of Spanish Bullfighting By Rex Smith Step into the roaring arena where sunlight cuts across packed sand, where the crowd holds its breath as one, and where the line between triumph and tragedy is drawn in a single breathless moment. Rex Smith's Biography of the Bulls is an extraordinary collection that plunges readers headfirst into the heart of Spanish bullfighting, one of history's most controversial, celebrated, and deeply human spectacles. This is n...

The last significant clash of arms in the American Indian Wars took place on December 29, 1890, on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. Of the 350 Teton Sioux Indians there, two-thirds were women and children. When the smoke cleared, 84 men and 62 women and children lay dead, their bodies scattered along a stretch of more than a mile where they had been trying to flee. Of some 500 soldiers and scouts, about 30 were dead—some, probably, from their own crossfire. Wounded Knee has...

Marcel arrives in London, from New Zealand, ready to start a new job and a new life away from the painful losses that he has experienced. The first day of work, he meets his bosss wife, Kate, who becomes an important friend to him. When one of his friends, Paul, is injured in a freak accident, Marcel must weigh the meaning of his life.Along the way we also meet Kristi, with whom Marcel had a failed relationship and who has now reentered his life, this time as a friend. Or is she? A...

Gideon Shaw was too old to chase glory and too seasoned to fear trouble.After years of wearing a badge, he had learned one hard truth: a town only stays peaceful when good men are willing to stand against bad ones. When outlaws ride into town with guns drawn and greed in their hearts, the citizens look to Marshal Shaw for protection.But this time, the danger is bigger than one robbery and meaner than one gang.With the bank threatened, innocent people hiding behind l...

Loki, the god of mischief, is Thor’s troublesome adopted brother. Odin, their father (and ruler of the Viking gods), orders the quarrelsome siblings to tame the violent Giants once and for all—together. But what Loki and Thor find in their series of adventures puts them in conflict with each other as well as with the giants. And in the land of Utgard, a mysterious place made from magic and illusion, Thor must trust his magic-wielding and misbehaving brother in order to get out alive. Likew...

Gods and thunder. Brothers and betrayal. Death and rebirth. Original Viking tales of Asgard, Thor, Loki, Odin, and Baldur come to life in a full-color, action-packed graphic novel format that's perfect for young readers who crave adventure. Prepare yourself for sibling rivalry, ancient prophecies, and epic battles—and enter the weird, wild world of Norse mythology like you’ve never seen it before.

WINNER: Independent Press Awards 2023 - Category: TechnologyAI presents a new paradigm in software development, representing the biggest change to how we think about quality and testing in decades. Many of the well known issues around AI, such as bias, manifest themselves as quality management problems. This book, aimed at testing and quality management practitioners who want to understand more, covers trustworthiness of AI and the complexities of testing ...

A selection of contemporary dramas from leading Black playwright Rex Obano - plus bonus programmeRex Obano has written for the stage, television, radio and film. His plays have twice been shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award and he received the Roland Rees Bursary in 2018. He is part of the writing team for the BBC Radio series Faith, Hope and Glory and his TV credits include Shakespeare & Hathaway. Included here are five of his acclaimed dramas...

In 1933 Robert Byron began a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Teheran to Oxiana--the country of the Oxus, the ancient name for the river Amu Darya which forms part of the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. The Road to Oxiana offers not only a wonderful record of his adventures, but also a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener, whose novels hurtle from the far reaches of history to the dark corners of the world, paints an intoxicating portrait of a land whose past and present are as turbulent, fascinating, and colorful as any other on Earth. When an American journalist travels to report on the upcoming duel between two great matadors, he is ultimately swept up in the dramatic story of his own Mexican ancestry—from the brilliance and brutality of the ancients, to th...