It's only after Quack's red boots go missing that he realizes how special they are.

Many know of Shambhala, the Tibetan Buddhist legendary land of spiritual bliss popularized by the film, Shangri-La. But few may know of the role Shambhala played in Russian geopolitics in the early twentieth century. Perhaps the only one on the subject, Andrei Znamenski’s book presents a wholly different glimpse of early Soviet history both erudite and fascinating. Using archival sources and memoirs, he explores how spiritual adventurers, revolutionaries, and nationalists West and East exploited Shambhala to promote their fanatical schemes, focusing on the Bolshevik attempt to use Mongol-Tibetan prophecies to railroad Communism into inner Asia. We meet such characters as Gleb Bokii, the Bolshevik secret police commissar who tried to use Buddhist techniques to conjure the ideal human; and Nicholas Roerich, the Russian painter who, driven by his otherworldly Master and blackmailed by the Bolshevik secret police, posed as a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama to unleash religious war in Tibet. We also learn of clandestine activities of the Bolsheviks from the Mongol-Tibetan Section of the Communist International who took over Mongolia and then, dressed as lama pilgrims, tried to set Tibet ablaze; and of their opponent, Ja-Lama, an “avenging lama” fond of spilling blood during his tantra rituals.

When Afghan entrepreneur Abdul Wade first brought his camel trains to the outback, he was hailed as a hero. Horses couldn't access many remote settlements, especially those stricken by flood or drought, and camel trains rode to the rescue time and time again. But with success came fierce opposition fuelled by prejudice. The camel was not even classed as an animal under Australian law, and, in a climate of colonial misinformation, hyperbole and fear, camel drivers like Wade were shown almost as little respect. Yet all the while, for those in need, the ships of the desert continued to appear on the outback horizon. After his interest was piqued by a nineteenth-century photo of a camel train in a country town, Ryan Butta found himself on the trail of Australia's earliest Afghan camel drivers. Separating the bulldust from the bush poetry, he reveals the breadth and depth of white Australian protectionism and prejudice. Told with flair and authority, this gritty alternative history defies the standard horse-powered folklore to reveal the untold debt this country owes to the humble dromedary, its drivers and those who brought them here.

In the morning, dragons wake up, tumble out of bed, and get ready to fly into the sky.

In the shadowed swamps far from Prince Phaedran's fabulous city of Quamarr, a sorcerer tests the fabric of the universe. At his command something stirs in the emptiness beyond the stars. It is incalculably evil, immeasurably old. It is summoned by the promise of fresh human souls... Meanwhile in a 20th Century film studio, Red Cordell takes another cheap part in another cheap swords and sorcery movie. A beautiful neglected sword he finds in Props is his only satisfaction. But in Quamarr, the enchantress Aurilia is in mortal danger. When she calls on the sword of Corodel, Red finds himself at her side, fighting for her life in a land of waking dreams...

Judy Freeman, author of the Books Kids Will Sit Still For series, gives practical how-to tips on how to tell a story, and write and stage a Reader's Theater script that gets children involved with creative drama. Reader's theater teaches children how to become better listeners, enriches their thinking skills, and encourages their response to literature. Included are ideas on using folk and fairy tales, songs, chants and nonsense rhymes, and a reader's theater script. Also included in this handbook are 400 plus annotated children's books every storyteller should know, 100 great titles for creative drama and reader's theatre and professional books and Web sites for storytelling, creative drama and reader's theater. Grades PreK-6. Judy Freeman, author of the Books Kids Will Sit Still For series, gives personal and practical how-to tips on how to learn and tell a story, how to act out a story using creative drama, and how to write and stage a Reader's Theater script. All are guaranteed to get your children listening, thinking, reading, loving, and living stories with comprehension, fluency, expression, and joy. Once Upon a Time pulls together a wealth of ideas, activities, and strategies for using folk and fairy tales, songs, chants, and nonsense rhymes. Also included in this handbook are the texts of 10 of Judy's favorite stories you can read today and tell tomorrow; a songbook of songs, chants, and nonsense rhymes; and a Reader's Theater script. You'll also find annotated bibliographies: 400+ children's books every storyteller should know; 100+ great children's books to use for creative drama and Reader's Theater; professional books and Web sites for storytelling, creative drama, and Reader's Theater; and a title and author index. Chapters include: ; Getting Started with Storytelling ; Judy Freeman's Songbook: Including Songs, Chants, Riddles, and Plenty of Nonsense ; Judy Freeman's Storybook: Tales You can Hear Today and Tell Tomorrow ; 400+ Children's Books Every Storyteller Should Know ; Getting Started with Creative Drama and Reader's Theater ; 100+ Children's Books Just Right for Creative Drama and/or Reader's Theater

How is The Colour Code different to other books on colour? Well, the short answer is that it is a whole lot more fun - not least because it is extensively illustrated. We don't just get a story about Mummy Brown (the pigment made from Egyptian mummies), we see a painting created with pigments from the remains of French kings. We are reminded of the blue/gold dress that swept Twitter, view paintings by Mondrian (red ones sell for higher prices) and Van Eyck (he invented an enduring green), and inspect the red soles of Louboutin shoes. We see what lumps of Indian yellow look like, while reading what they are made of (strained cow's urine). We get to see the latest most vibrant pigment - YinMn Blue - and have a real estate agent's tour of Frank Sinatra's ranch (he was obsessed by orange). We see William Morris's arsenic-inflected wallpapers and hear about whether wallpaper killed Napoleon. We encounter the pink pussy hats worn on the Women's March and Elvis's pink jackets from Lansky's in Memphis, take in a history of the black dress from Audrey Hepburn to Princess Diana and a rare black chicken (even its eggs are black) from Indonesia. Featuring a cast of actors, artists, chemists, composers, dentists, dictators, fashion designers, film-makers, gods, musicians, mystics, physicists, poets, quacks, tigers and tycoons, The Colour Code will change the way we all perceive the spectrum - and see the world.