Author: Sadie Jones
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062897047
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 439
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Book Description
“The Snakes is many things—a parable and an ancient drama where a father’s greed devours his children, a police procedural, an avid take on tabloid venality, and a bitter comedy, superbly observed, where behind a woman’s eyes she is ‘all movement inside herself, like a wasp in a glass.’ I admit that I’m still shaken by parts of this novel. Sadie Jones writes with pitiless aplomb and corrosive intelligence.”—Louise Erdrich A chilling page-turner and impossible to put down, THE SNAKES is Sadie Jones at her best: breathtakingly powerful, brilliantly incisive, and utterly devastating. The new novel by Sadie Jones tells the tense and violent story of the Adamsons, a dysfunctional English family, with exceptional wealth, whose darkest secrets come back to bite them. Set mostly in rural France during contemporary times, THE SNAKES is an all-consuming read and a devastating portrait of how money corrupts, and how chance can deal a deadly hand. THE SNAKES exposes the damage wreaked by parents on children as observed by a new member of the family, Dan, a mixed-race man from Peckham who marries Bea, the daughter who refuses to take any of her father’s filthy money. But when Bea’s brother Alex (who runs a shabby hotel in Paligny, France) dies suddenly in unexplained circumstances, the confusion and suspicion which arise bring other dark family secrets—and violence—to the surface. And none of the family, even the good members, go untouched.
Author: Mark O'Shea
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022645939X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 657
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Book Description
For millennia, humans have regarded snakes with an exceptional combination of fascination and revulsion. Some people recoil in fear at the very suggestion of these creatures, while others happily keep them as pets. Snakes can convey both beauty and menace in a single tongue flick and so these creatures have held a special place in our cultures. Yet, for as many meanings that we attribute to snakes—from fertility and birth to sin and death—the real-life species represent an even wider array of wonders. The Book of Snakes presents 600 species of snakes from around the world, covering nearly one in six of all snake species. It will bring greater understanding of a group of reptiles that have existed for more than 160 million years, and that now inhabit every continent except Antarctica, as well as two of the great oceans. This volume pairs spectacular photos with easy-to-digest text. It is the first book on these creatures that combines a broad, worldwide sample with full-color, life-size accounts. Entries include close-ups of the snake’s head and a section of the snake at actual size. The detailed images allow readers to examine the intricate scale patterns and rainbow of colors as well as special features like a cobra’s hood or a rattlesnake’s rattle. The text is written for laypeople and includes a glossary of frequently used terms. Herpetologists and herpetoculturists alike will delight in this collection, and even those with a more cautious stance on snakes will find themselves drawn in by the wild diversity of the suborder Serpentes.
Author: David Kilcullen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190265701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337
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Book Description
Just a few years ago, people spoke of the US as a hyperpower-a titan stalking the world stage with more relative power than any empire in history. Yet as early as 1993, newly-appointed CIA director James Woolsey pointed out that although Western powers had "slain a large dragon" by defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, they now faced a "bewildering variety of poisonous snakes." In The Dragons and the Snakes, the eminent soldier-scholar David Kilcullen asks how, and what, opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict. Applying a combination of evolutionary theory and detailed field observation, he explains what happened to the "snakes"-non-state threats including terrorists and guerrillas-and the "dragons"-state-based competitors such as Russia and China. He explores how enemies learn under conditions of conflict, and examines how Western dominance over a very particular, narrowly-defined form of warfare since the Cold War has created a fitness landscape that forces adversaries to adapt in ways that present serious new challenges to America and its allies. Within the world's contemporary conflict zones, Kilcullen argues, state and non-state threats have increasingly come to resemble each other, with states adopting non-state techniques and non-state actors now able to access levels of precision and lethal weapon systems once only available to governments. A counterintuitive look at this new, vastly more complex environment, The Dragons and the Snakes will not only reshape our understanding of the West's enemies' capabilities, but will also show how we can respond given the increasing limits on US power.
Author: David A. Steen
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623497973
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 186
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Book Description
Winner, 2020 National Outdoor Book Award, Nature and the Environment Snakes inspire extreme reactions. Love or hate these limbless reptiles, almost everyone is fascinated by them. Although snakes are widespread and frequently encountered, they may be more misunderstood than any other group of animals. From giant rattlesnakes to mating dances, there are dozens of myths and misconceptions about snakes. In Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths, wildlife biologist David Steen tackles the most frequently asked questions and clears up prevailing myths. In a conversational style with a bit of humor, Steen presents the relevant biology and natural history of snakes, making the latest scientific research accessible to a general audience. When addressing myths about snakes, he explains how researchers use the scientific method to explain which parts of the myth are biologically plausible and which are not. Steen also takes a close look at conventional wisdom and common advice about snakes. For example, people are told they can distinguish coralsnakes from non-venomous mimics by remembering the rhyme, “red on black, friend of Jack, red on yellow, kill a fellow,” but this tip is only relevant to coralsnakes and two mimics living in the southeastern United States, and it does not always work with other species or in other countries. Enhanced by more than 100 stunning color photographs and three original drawings, Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths encourages readers to learn about the snakes around them and introduces them to how scientists use the scientific method and critical thinking to learn about the natural world. Number Sixty-one: W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series
Author: Rachel Pastan
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0151013691
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
Jane Levitsky is a bright light in the field of 19th-century Russian literature. Seizing her ticket to academic superstardom, she sets in motion a chain of events that will come perilously close to unraveling both her marriage and her career.
Author: Andrew T. Holycross
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781938850608
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Author: Sadie Jones
Publisher: Vintage Books
ISBN: 9781784708825
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
READ THE TENSE TWIST-FILLED RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE OUTCAST. Family secrets can be deadly... Newly-weds Dan and Bea decide to escape London. Driving through France in their beaten-up car they anticipate a long lazy summer, worlds away from their ordinary lives. But their idyll cannot last. Stopping off to see Bea's brother at his crumbling hotel, the trio are joined unexpectedly by Bea's ultra-wealthy parents. Dan has never understood Bea's deep discomfort around them but living together in such close proximity he begins to sense something is very wrong. Just as tensions reach breaking point, brutal tragedy strikes, exposing decades of secrets and silence that threaten to destroy them all. 'A suspenseful, beautifully written thriller about the corruption of money and abuse within a dysfunctional family' Guardian
Author: Barbara Taylor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781844774463
Category : Reptiles
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
Discover the amazing world of snakes, crocodiles, lizards, and turtles, with over 700 photographs and illustrations.
Author: G.A Boulenger
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3752396393
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Book Description
Reproduction of the original: The Snakes of Europe by G.A Boulenger
Author: Kelly Tills
Publisher: FDI Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781736700495
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 28
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Book Description
Can a snake wear shoes? No! But they sure can win a race. Snuggle up with your tiny human as they learn how snakes can slither up trees, on land and even in the water. See all the fun shapes a snake can make with its body and giggle as the legged animals try to do the same. Enjoy hearing your child shout out the answers to silly questions like "Can a snake wear gloves?" This call and response format is a time-tested method for keeping kids engaged and interacting, instead of just chewing on the pages. For the most curious toddlers, there's a bonus page of a few more fun facts about snakes. Part of the Different Bodies series These sweet books us vibrant illustrations, and fun facts about animals to introduce kids to body diversity. Revel in giggles with your tiny human as they absorb the value of being different. Geared for the attention span of the youngest readers, each book focuses on one interesting fact about one animal at a time.
