Restless, gripped by an overwhelming wish to make a name for himself in a world ever more hemmed in by progress and 'civilization', Thesiger (1910-2003) embarked on his amazing journeys across Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter to test himself and to show what could still be done. The result was a monument both to his resilience and to the Bedu who guided him and who emerge as the book's real heroes. Great Journeys allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries - but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things- Great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

What if the right man for the job is actually a girl? Meet MI6's new recruit. Stuck aboard a cruise ship filled with problem rich kids, Darcie Lock is about to embark on her next exciting adventure. But it could turn out to be a bumpy ride because the US President's daughter has a reputation for being out-of-control. In a boot camp for the elite, Darcie must keep her wits about her as things are about to get interesting. Finding herself embroiled in a kidnapping plot that will take her from Naples, via Cyprus, to Egypt and on a terrifying journey through the desert Empty Quarter, Britain's youngest intelligence officer has a lot resting on her slim shoulders.

This collection of short fiction has been written over a period of two decades. The stories do not belong to any particular genre . They could vary from addressing issues of national import to dealing with the trivia of everyday life. As with much of short fiction each story is a snapshot. Yet the attempt is to make each as complete as possible. In a sense the stories are a commentary on the India of today - it's strengths, it's weaknesses, it's frailties, it's eccentricities, it's idiosyncrasies.

Every member of the Special Ops US Air Force pararescue jumpers, the PJs, swears by the motto "That Others May Live." A top-secret mission to save a kidnapped Saudi princess will put that oath to the ultimate test. With a force of armed men, a former mujahideen chases across the desert of Yemen to recover his Saudi wife, kidnapped by her powerful father, a prince of the Kingdom. The kidnapping turns violent, she is badly wounded, and the PJs are dropped into the vast sere badlands to rescue the princess and a young American diplomat swept up in the plot. The mission becomes a minute-by-minute race between the pursuing husband's band of tribal allies and the PJs rushing to the rescue, as the princess's life seeps away. The Empty Quarter is a pulse-quickening tour de force featuring the tactics and men of modern combat search-and-rescue and the complex politics of today's Arabian peninsula. It's a moving tale of desperate love and sacrifice set in the wastes of the Rub' al Khali, the world's largest and harshest sand desert.

"Dark Horse originals"--P. [4] of cover.

Boone is investigating a murder mystery in another dimension. The Blaze was a great hero of the Ether, sworn protector of the weak. Her murder was an attack on the Ether itself. As Boone hunts for clues to solve the crime, he makes powerful enemies and unexpected allies.

At fifteen, Iris is a hobo of sorts—no home, no family, no plan. Her mother died when she was six, and her selfish father hires her out as a companion to a country doctor’s elderly mother. Iris, stuck in the middle of 1920s rural Missouri, discovers that "hobo" is short for "homeward bound," and cultivates an eccentric cast of folks into family, creating the home she never had. But when she learns that a neighboring tenant farmer may have had more than his hands on his pregnant daughter, Iris must intervene to save the girl and her unborn baby. The many facets of what makes a family are illuminated with warmth and charm in this beautifully crafted tale.