Mythical creatures drawn largely from medieval travellers' tales, but encompassing civilisations from the Sumerians to the Wild West. A dictionary? No, this is really an astonishing ark filled with beasts from a fabulous zoo far more varied and entertaining than anything from ordinary natural history. From Abaia and Abath to Ziz and Zu, from the microscopic Gigelorum that nests in a mite's ear to the giant serpent Jormungandor who encircles the whole globe, there are beasts from every corner of man's imagination: the light-hearted Fearsome Critters of lumberjack tales find a place alongside the Sirrush of Babylon and the Winged Bulls of Assyria. Some of the fabulous beasts turn out to be real creatures in disguise - a Cameleopard is a kind of glamourised giraffe -while others are almost, but not quite, human. Among the six hundred entries are some which are full-scale essays in their own right, as on Phoenix or Giants; and just in case it seems as though the authors dreamt up the entire book, there is a detailed list of books for the would-be hunter in this mythical jungle.

Ayrshire and Arran is an area of striking contrasts. Its landscape ranges from dune-backed sands to rolling pastures to moors. The local architecture is similarly diverse, marrying natural beauty with industry and modernity. It is the county of Robert Burns, commemorated by an exuberant monument at his birthplace in Alloway. Other highlights include the monument at the Skelmorlie Aisle in Largs; the stones of Machrie Moor; medieval castles and planned towns; early churches and abbeys; and some of the best-known country houses, Culzean Castle and Dumfries House. From railway bridges to farmsteads, town halls to Edwardian villas, this new Pevsner guide presents a comprehensive look at life in the county through its buildings.

Glasgow has a wide array of architectural treasures: the greatest medieval cathedral in Scotland; fragments of a seventeenth- and eighteenth-century 'merchant city'; the well-preserved heart of a planned new town, Blythswood; a city centre dense with Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings; stately nineteenth-century terraces lining the Great Western Road and picturesquely crowning Woodlands Hill; opulent villas in suburbs like Pollokshields and Kelvinside; and streets of tenements from the workaday to the grand. The twentieth century has encircled the city with a broad belt of public housing, and this too has a fascinating history that encompasses garden suburbs, early experiments in high-rise, comprehensive redevelopments and new interpretations of the tenement tradition. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander 'Greek' Thomson are, of course, internationally known, but the exceptional talents of Glasgow's many other architects, such as Charles Wilson, James Salmon Jr. and Jack Coia, have helped to shape the city's distinctive character.

"Okay God," Treasure hunter John Victor asks . "What am I supposed to learn from this one?" John is no stranger to dangerous situations, but he's never been in one as terrifying as this: buried alive beneath desert dust, digitally connected to a daily radio broadcast. In "Buried Alive" John and his teammate, pop star Briebee Queen, are kidnapped right in the middle of the Gem Express Treasure Hunt. Now he's buried somewhere in the Sonora Desert. Morning talk show host Todd Rascall hears John when, suddenly alert, he calls out for Briebee. Todd wants this nut-case off his frequency right away--until he realizes it's the famous treasure hunter. Hoping for national attention, Todd invites profilers, detectives, and other professionals to his radio show. Perhaps they'll pull elusive clues from John's memory that will help them find where he's been buried alive During this quest, Todd is touched by John's Christian faith. And helping to find John? Well, there's Gawky Glenna who becomes Glamorous Glen when she discovers a renewed faith in herself. And Professor Farraday, who finds inner peace when he returns to his own core beliefs. Buried Alive is John Victor's second adventure. Will it be his last?

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