Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This entertaining guide to some of the best short novels of all time, from a bestselling historian, is the "perfect gift for busy bibliophiles" (BookPage). Experience the joys of literature with this this "exciting guide to all that the world of fiction has to offer" (The New York Times Book Review): a compulsively readable, deeply engaging discussion of great short novels. A journey into fiction designed with our contemporary attention spans in mind, Great Short Books suggests fifty-eight excellent short novels, all under 200 pages--easily readable in a week or less--a fresh approach to a fun, fascinating year of reading. From hard-boiled fiction to magical realism, the 18th century to the present day, Great Short Books spans genres, cultures, countries, and time to present an enchanting and diverse selection of acclaimed and canonical novels. From works in translation like Yu Miri's Tokyo Ueno Station and Marguerite Duras's The Lover to popular, acclaimed authors like Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, this compilation is a celebration of classics from the historic to contemporary--plus a few bestsellers, including Stephen King and Colson Whitehead. Each entry includes the novel's opening lines, a spoiler-free plot summary, a "why you should read it" section, and suggestions for what to read next. "An entertaining journey with a fun, knowledgeable guide" (Booklist), this eclectic collection is a fun and practical book for any passionate reader hoping to broaden their literary IQ--or anyone who wants to find an effortless reentry into reading.

Why did Abraham Lincoln sneak into Washington for his inauguration? was the Gettysburg Address written on the back of an envelope? Where did the Underground Railroad run? Did General Sherman really say, "War is Hell"?

If you can't answer these questions, you're not alone. Millions of Americans, bored by dull textbooks, are in the dark about the most significant event in our history. Now New York Times bestselling author Kenneth C. Davis comes to the rescue, deftly sorting out the players, the politics, and the key events - Emancipation and Reconstruction, Shiloh and Gettysburg, Generals Grant and Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and much more. Drawing on moving eyewitness accounts, Davis includes a wealth of "hidden history" about the roles played by women and African Americans before and during the war, along with lesser-known facts that will enthrall even learned Civil War buffs. Vivid, informative, and hugely entertaining, Don't Know Much About the Civil War is the only book you'll ever need on "the war that never ended."

The treatment of cancer in young women and men is increasingly turning from focusing purely on survival to a recognition of the long-term effects of treatment on subsequent quality of life. In this regard, fertility is a very high priority for patients. This is the first book to explain the latest techniques in fertility preservation. Chapters cover fertility preservation in both women and men, management of cancer in pregnancy, egg donation and surrogacy, hormone replacement options, counselling and ethical issues. A multidisciplinary team of over 60 specialists were involved in this work, with contributions from leading obstetricians, medical oncologists, gynaecological oncologists, urologists and fertility specialists. The book is formally supported by the Association of Cancer Physicians (ACP). This highly patient-centred, readable text will be of value to a wide range of clinicians and physicians, and doctors in training, in their daily work.

"Holy War and Human Bondage: Tales of Christian-Muslim Slavery in the Early-Modern Mediterranean" tells a story unfamiliar to most modern readers--how this pervasive servitude involved, connected, and divided those on both sides of the Mediterranean. The work explores how men and women, Christians and Muslims, Jews and sub-Saharan Africans experienced their capture and bondage, while comparing what they went through with what black Africans endured in the Americas.

Drawing heavily on archival sources not previously available in English, "Holy War and Human Bondage" teems with personal and highly felt stories of Muslims and Christians who personally fell into captivity and slavery, or who struggled to free relatives and co-religionists in bondage.

In these pages, readers will discover how much race slavery and faith slavery once resembled one other and how much they overlapped in the Early-Modern mind. Each produced its share of personal suffering and social devastation--yet the whims of history have made the one virtually synonymous with human bondage while confining the other to almost complete oblivion.

This volume represents a comprehensive examination of the newly recognized callimico/marmoset clade, which includes the smallest anthropoid primates on earth. It will explore these diminutive primates in their entirety, with sections on phylogeny, taxonomy and functional anatomy, behavioral ecology, reproductive physiology, as well as address critical conservation issues and the need for conservation action. The topics specifically selected for this volume are pivotal for understanding the evolutionary adaptations and divergence of any primate group, and especially one as diverse and curious as this. The discoveries of new taxa over the last fifteen years along with new genetic data have transformed this group from three genera (one with only a distant relationship to the others) and five recognized species, to five closely related genera, comprising at least 22 species. This volume will be the first to synthesize data on these newly recognized taxa.

This volume is an international endeavor, bringing together primary callimico and marmoset researchers from around the globe, including Brazil and the United States as well as Greece, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. One of the merits of this volume is that it will serve as a readily accessible work that includes the major findings of several key international researchers whose work has not been easily available to English-speaking scholars. In addition, it draws together lab and field researchers, geneticists, anatomists, and behaviorists in an integrated volume that will provide the most detailed and thorough work on either callimicos or marmosets to date. This volume will also provide a timely forum for identifying future avenues of action necessary for more fully understanding and protecting this intriguing primate radiation.

This volume presents new research and critical debates in African book history, and brings together a range of disciplinary perspectives by leading scholars in the subject. It includes case studies from across Africa, ranging from third-century manuscript traditions to twenty-first century internet communications.

European and American drug regulators govern a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry selling its products on the world's two largest medicines markets. This is the first book to investigate how effectively American and supranational EU governments have regulated innovative pharmaceuticals regarding public health during the neo-liberal era of the last 30 years. Drawing on years of fieldwork, the authors demonstrate that pharmaceutical regulation and innovation have been misdirected by commercial interests and misconceived ideologies, which induced a deregulatory political culture contrary to health interests. They dismantle the myth that pharmaceutical innovations necessarily equate with therapeutic advances and explain how it has been perpetuated in the interests of industry by corporate bias within the regulatory state, unwarranted expectations of promissory science, and the emergent patient-industry complex. Endemic across both continents, the misadventures of pharmaceutical deregulation are shown to span many therapeutic areas, including cancer, diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome. The authors propose political changes needed to redirect pharmaceutical regulation in the interests of health.

Colonization and exploration on a distant planet, Lumpo, has yielded a valuable new metal, Liptrite. Lightweight, shiny, and extremely strong, this new metal has brought both foundry mechanization and danger to the colony, as well as prosperity to the home world of Poppo. Death stalks the colony in the night. Nothing living outside in the dark hours can survive. Googles are everywhere. But where did they come from? What do they look like? No living being has encountered a Google and survived. They even eat each other when no prey can be found. Not even the native Gotoomps can recall the exact date that Googles were first reported. However, the arrival of the colonists seemed to predate the arrival of the uninvited killers. A young boy, Jo Hunnimuff, his family, and a friendly native Gotoomp uncover a secret that might pull the entire colony apart. Something has been buried in a remote area of the planet called the Nume Nock Area. It is policy in the colony to log any object that has been buried for tracing and protective purposes. However, no record exists for anything in the Nume Nocks. It is a remote and highly dangerous environment plagued with crystals and sharp sand spikes. Together, Jo and his Gotoomp friend Carddgo dig up the mysterious object. On the edge of the colony lies a swamp region with a mysterious stalk tower growing from its center. Swamp Grells and other creatures protect this area. Within the tower, live a young woman, Creeta, and a mysterious shrouded figure. These two practice the art of horticulture and have established a trade with the colony. No one has ever entered or been invited into the swamp tower. It is accepted by all as an off limits area. All except for one aggressive individual, Slernet Burtlebunker, who is adamant that she will build a tract of new colony homes in the swamp area while displacing Creeta. A fatal accident has occurred in Mine Number 3 while extracting the precious Liptrite ore