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The Very Special Thing is a brilliantly funny tale about what can happen when we forget to think of others and get carried away with our hobbies ... Squirrel loves to collect things around the forest. She really has the eye for it! But when she starts to take the other animals possessions, the mood turns sour and the others aren't very happy. As Squirrel's collection grows and grows, her very favourite thing, her special acorn, is in danger of getting lost in all the mess. Will the other animals be able to help?

Rich with wisdom and gentle irony, Goldsmith's only novel tells of an unworldly and generous vicar who lives contentedly with his large family until disaster strikes. But bankruptcy, his daughter's abduction, and the vicar's imprisonment fail to dampen his spirit. Considered the author's finest work, this book is a delightful lampoon of 18th-century literary conventions.

From the philosophy of Aristotle and Confucius, to Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, to the paintings of Raphael, Botticelli and many more, fascination with the virtues has endured and evolved to fit a wide range of cultural, religious, and philosophical contexts through the centuries. This Very Short Introduction introduces readers to the various virtues: the moral virtues, the intellectual virtues, and the theological virtues, as well as the capital vices. It explores the role of the virtues in moral life, their cultivation, and how they offer ways of thinking and acting that are alternatives to mere rule-following.

It also considers the relationship of the virtues to our own emotions, desires, and rational capacities. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly.

Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

"The period from 1933 to 1943 was one of the darkest and most chaotic in human history, as the Second World War unfolded with unthinkable cruelty. It was also a crucial decade in the dramatic, intersecting lives of some of history's greatest philosophers. In particular, four women whose parallel ideas would come to dominate the twentieth century--at once in necessary dialogue and striking contrast with one another. Simone de Beauvoir ... was laying the foundations for nothing less than the future of feminism. Born Alissa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg before emigrating to the US in 1926, Ayn Rand was honing one of the most politically influential voices of the 20th century. ... Hannah Arendt was developing some of today's most important leftwing ideas, culminating with the publication of The Origins of Totalitarianism and her arrival as a peerless intellectual celebrity. Perhaps the greatest thinker of all was a classmate of de Beauvoir: Simone Weil, who turned away from fame to devote herself entirely to refugee aid and the resistance movement during the war"--

With an Introduction by David Amigoni. Charles Darwin's travels around the world as an independent naturalist on HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836 impressed upon him a sense of the natural world's beauty and sublimity which language could barely capture. Words, he said, were inadequate to convey to those who have not visited the inter-tropical regions, the sensation of delight which the mind experiences'. Yet in a travel journal which takes the reader from the coasts and interiors of South America to South Sea Islands, Darwin's descriptive powers are constantly challenged, but never once overcome. In addition, The Voyage of the Beagle displays Darwin's powerful, speculative mind at work, posing searching questions about the complex relation between the Earth's structure, animal forms, anthropology and the origins of life itself.

A beautiful paperback edition of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, book five in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. This edition is complete with cover and interior art by the original illustrator of Narnia, Pauline Baynes. A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail farther and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world's end is only the beginning. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth book in C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, which has been drawing readers of all ages into a magical land with unforgettable characters for over sixty years. This is a novel that stands on its own, but if you would like to continue to the journey, read The Silver Chair, the sixth book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Inspired by Hugh Lofting's classic tales of Doctor Dolittle, his son Christopher Lofting has updated his father's story for today's readers- still with all the charm of the original. Nine-and-a-half year old Tommy Stubbins is about to go on an adventure of a lifetime!Being assistant to the genius (and eccentric) Doctor Dolittle means no day is quite the same, especially when they set sail on the high seas. After a hair-raising shipwreck lands them on the floating Spidermonkey Island, they meet the mysterious Great Glass Sea Snail who could change their lives forever... The new movie Dolittle is coming February 2020, starring Robert Downey Jr.

'A sharp-eyed and tender novel about human connection in a time of crisis' (PAULA HAWKINS) from the bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend 'Once you discover Sigrid Nunez, you don't look back' ANNE ENRIGHT 'Beautiful and profound' MEG MASON 'Full of alive, curious poetry on the chaotic times we live in' SHEENA PATEL, author of I'm a Fan 'I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez's novels. They are short, wise, provocative, funny' NEW YORK TIMES Three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka. As the world outside descends into turmoil, the three of them must learn how to live with and care for one another. The Vulnerables reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another's distress.

A signal achievement . . . Remarkable.' Guardian'A 1984 for our times.' Daily ExpressKavanagh begins his time patrolling the Wall. If he's lucky, if nothing goes wrong, he only has to do two years of this. 729 more nights. The best thing that can happen is that he survives and gets off the Wall and will never have to spend another day of his life anywhere near it. But what if something did happen - if the Others came, if he had to fight for his life? Thrilling and heartbreaking, The Wall is about a troubled world you will recognise as your own - and about what might be found when all is lost. The Wall was longlisted for the Booker Prize in July 2019.

The second book in The Dandelion Dynasty, the epic fantasy trilogy by Ken Liu. Dara is united under the Emperor Ragin, once known as Kuni Garu, the bandit king. There has been peace for six years, but the Dandelion Throne rests on bloody foundations - Kuni's betrayal of his friend, Mata Zyndu, the Hegemon. The Hegemon's rule was brutal and unbending - but he died well, creating a legend that haunts the new emperor, no matter what good he strives to do. Where war once forged unbreakable bonds between Kuni's inner circle, peace now gnaws at their loyalties. Where ancient wisdoms once held sway, a brilliant scholar promises a philosophical revolution. And from the far north, over the horizon, comes a terrible new threat... The scent of blood is in the water.