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Number Nineteen
Ben the tramp’s uncanny knack of running into trouble is unsurpassed in the final crime thriller written for him by J. Jefferson Farjeon. On a grey afternoon he was destined never to forget, Ben sat down on a park seat and proceeded to think, not of cabbages and kings, but of numbers, lucky and unlucky. But it wasn’t Ben’s lucky day, or that of the nondescript-looking stranger sitting at the other end of the bench – murdered before his very eyes! That was the prelude to the most uncomfortable and eventful twenty-four hours Ben had ever spent in an uncomfortable and eventful life. J. Jefferson Farjeon’s famous Cockney character Ben, who first appeared in No.17 and six other novels, was never so richly humorous or so absurdly heroic as in this, his last hair-raising adventure taking place at No.19, Billiter Road.
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Ben On The Job
Ben the tramp, with his usual genius for trouble, runs into danger when he finds a dead body and decides to help out. Ben knew that whenever his thumbs were itching, something ‘orrible’ was about to happen. Sure enough, on one foggy afternoon of itchy thumbs, the hapless Ben is implicated in criminal activity by the police – the kind of mistake it isn’t easy to explain. Doing a runner, Ben hides in the basement of a deserted house, where he discovers the body of a well-dressed man, shot through the head . . . and much more trouble than he bargained for. The subsequent hair-raising events are charged with all the mounting excitement that made J. Jefferson Farjeon a peerless storyteller and Ben one of the most popular but unorthodox amateur detectives of his day.
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Little God Ben
Ben the tramp, self-confessed coward and ex-sailor, is back in the Merchant Service and shipwrecked in the Pacific. Ben the tramp, self-confessed coward and ex-sailor, is back in the Merchant Service and shipwrecked in the Pacific. Tired of being homeless and down on his luck, the incorrigible Ben has taken a job as a stoker on a cruise ship. But his luck doesn’t last long when they are all shipwrecked in the Pacific. Seen through Ben’s eyes, the uncharted island is a hive of cannibals, mumbo-jumbo, and gals who are more nearly naked than any he has ever seen. And every time he tries to bluff his way out of a situation, he just bluffs himself further in, somehow convincing the natives that he has God-like powers . . . Brought back by popular demand after a gap of three years, Ben the tramp’s reappearance in Little God Ben transported his humour, charm and rare philosophy to a startlingly new setting in this quintessentially 1930s comedy thriller.
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Detective Ben
Ben the tramp, the awkward Cockney with no home and no surname, turns detective again – and runs straight into trouble. Ben encounters a dead man on a London bridge and is promptly rescued from the same fate by a posh lady in a limousine. But like most posh ladies of Ben’s acquaintance, this one isn’t what she seems. Seeking escape from a gang of international conspirators, Ben is whisked off to the mountains of Scotland to thwart the schemes of a poisonous organisation and finds himself in very unfamiliar territory. With its startling prelude, Detective Ben is a glorious adventure, told with the unsurpassed mixture of humour and creepy thrills that made J. Jefferson Farjeon famous and Ben the tramp one of the best-loved characters of the Golden Age.
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Ben Sees It Through
With his usual knack of getting into trouble, Ben the tramp finds himself hunted by the law and the lawless.in this breathless adventure. Returning home to his Cockney roots after a trip to Spain, Ben meets a mysterious stranger on a cross-Channel steamer and is promised a job. On arrival at Southampton they take a taxi. Ben gets out to post a letter, but on returning to the cab finds the stranger has been murdered! Pursued by a mysterious foreigner, Ben escapes his clutches, only to find the police are now after him and the whole political establishment is in danger.
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The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad
A gangly young girl transforms her village with a revolutionary idea. Sixty-eight-year-old Noni Appa finds herself drawn to a married man – ‘Why do people have to define relationships, underline each word till the paper gives way beneath,’ she wonders. Bablu Kewat becomes obsessed with sanitary napkins much to his family’s horror, and a young woman keeps checking the weather forecast as she meticulously plans each of her five weddings. Funny, observant and wise, this is storytelling at its most irresistible.
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The Kaunteyas
‘Death is important to a man, but survival is more important to a woman.’ With a split destiny ruling her life, Kunti, given away at birth, leads a hard but uneventful existence in her foster-father’s home. At fourteen she is pressed into the service of the temperamental sage Durvasa who grants her a boon. Its first use, however, only brings her adversity and a shameful secret. With marriage to Pandu, Kunti dreams of a better future, but a curse makes him leave the throne of Hastinapur to his sibling, the blind Dhritarashtra, and retreat to the forest. The births of the five Pandavas rekindle Kunti’s hopes of returning to Hastinapur, but these are destroyed once again when Pandu dies suddenly. Kunti journeys to the kingdom, no longer its queen but a widow, a dependant as are her sons. She must now take up the task of guiding them through the long struggle to get their inheritance, a struggle made harder by the discovery that the illegitimate child she had abandoned long ago is alive and a sworn enemy of the Pandavas. Recasting the Mahabharata from the viewpoint of Kunti, The Kaunteyas replaces the idealized mother figure with a fully three-dimensional woman, providing new insights into the epic.
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Thank You For Being Late
We all sense it - something big is going on. You feel it in your workplace. You feel it when you talk to your children. You can't miss it when you read the newspapers or watch the news. Our lives are speeding up - and it is dizzying. In Thank You for Being Late, a work unlike any he has attempted before, Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them. Friedman's thesis is that to understand the twenty-first century, you need to understand that the planet's three largest forces - Moore's law (technology), the market (globalization) and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss) - are all accelerating at once, transforming the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics and community. An extraordinary release of energy is reshaping everything from how we hail a taxi to the fate of nations to our most intimate relationships. It is creating vast new opportunities for individuals and small groups to save the world - or perhaps to destroy it. Thank You for Being Late is a work of contemporary history that serves as a field manual for how to think about this era of accelerations. It's also an argument for 'being late' - for pausing to appreciate this amazing historical epoch we're passing through and reflecting on its possibilities and dangers. He shows us how we can anchor ourselves as individuals in the eye of this storm, and how communities can create a 'topsoil of trust' to do the same for their increasingly diverse and digital populations. Written with his trademark vitality, wit, and optimism, and with unequalled access to many of those at the forefront of the changes he is describing all over the world, Thank You for Being Late is Friedman's most ambitious book - and an essential guide to the present and the future.
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CHANAKYA IN DAILY LIFE
Life is unpredictable and full of challenges. One wrong step and everything can come crashing down. In such a scenario, one often wishes for a roadmap of life, but how is that possible? Bestselling author Radhakrishnan Pillai's much-anticipated book, Chanakya in Daily Life, will help you navigate the rough seas of life and stay on course. Covering all aspects of life from the personal to the professional, it will tell you everything from how to begin your day to how to end it, how to choose the right job, stay financially secure, have a happy married life, raise your children the right way, achieve the perfect work-life balance and much more. Like always, Pillai decodes and simplifies the visionary king-maker Chanakya’s teachings from the Arthashastra and Chanakya Niti to provide solutions for any problem that might crop up in any aspect of your life. Thus, Chanakya in Daily Life is the perfect guru who expects only one thing from the shishya—a willingness to learn.
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No Man's Land
The fourth title in the John Puller series to follow Zero Day, The Forgotten and The Escape. No Man's Land by David Baldacci is an exciting thriller featuring special investigator John Puller, who is pursuing a case that will send him deep into his own troubled past. John Puller's mother disappeared nearly thirty years ago. Despite an intensive search and investigation, she was never seen again. But new allegations have come to light suggesting that Puller's father - now suffering from dementia and living in a VA hospital - may have murdered his wife. Puller is officially barred from working on the case - and faces a potential court martial if he disobeys orders - but he knows he can't sit this investigation out. When intelligence operative Veronica Knox turns up, Puller realizes that there is far more to this case than he had originally thought. He will stop at nothing to discover the truth about what happened to his mother. even if it means proving that his father is a killer.
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Deedara aka Dara Singh
This is the remarkable story of Rustam-e-Hind Dara Singh, a man who epitomized unbridled masculinity, super human strength and incredible grit. He was the first Indian wrestler to fight the toughest in the world — King Kong, Ray Golden, Lou Thesz and Ray Apollon — and emerge as the invincible world champion. But this is also the story about a young Sikh boy called Deedara, who was pulled out of school to work in his father’s farm; who was coerced into a teenage marriage; who did petty jobs in Singapore; and finally strode like a lion into wrestling arenas across the world. As one of the first stars of Hindi stunt films, Dara Singh mesmerized his audiences with his rugged looks. And in 1986, while essaying the role of Hanuman in the iconic TV series Ramayan, he was deified by the entire nation. Deedara aka Dara Singh! is a fascinating account of an extraordinary man, who started his life in the most ordinary way, but became an icon for an entire generation.
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The Sleeping Beauty Killer
The third thrilling installment in the bestselling Under Suspicion series from #1 New York Times bestselling author and “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke—television producer Laurie Moran puts everything on the line to help a woman she thinks was wrongfully convicted of murder. Casey Carter was convicted of murdering her fiancé—famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III—fifteen years ago. And Casey claims—has always claimed—she’s innocent. Although she was charged and served out her sentence in prison, she is still living “under suspicion.” She hears whispers at the grocery store. She can’t get a job. Even her own mother treats her like she’s guilty. Her story attracts the attention of Laurie Moran and the Under Suspicion news team—it’s Casey’s last chance to finally clear her name, and Laurie pledges to exonerate her. With Alex Buckley taking a break from the show—cooling his potential romance with Laurie—Under Suspicion introduces a new on-air host named Ryan Nichols, a young legal whiz with a Harvard Law degree, Supreme Court clerkship, experience as a federal prosecutor, and regular stints on the cable news circuit. He’s got a big reputation and the attitude to match it. Ryan has no problems with steering—and stealing—the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty. An egomaniacal new co-host, a relentless gossip columnist who seems to have all the dirt (and a surprising informant), and Casey’s longstanding bad reputation: Laurie must face this and more to do what she believes is right, to once and for all prove Casey’s innocence—that is, if she’s innocent… The Sleeping Beauty Killer will keep you guessing until the very end.
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Invincible Arjuna
Tell me what you can see, Arjuna,’ repeated Drona ‘Do you see the tree?’ ‘No,’ said Arjuna. ‘Do you then see the bird?’ There was a sense of rising excitement in Drona’s voice. ‘No! I can simply see the eye of the bird, nothing else,’ responded Arjuna without taking his eyes off the target. ‘Now, shoot!’ Drona commanded in a shrill voice. Everyone who stood there saw Arjuna’s arrow whizz past and heard a sharp click. The arrow was stuck in the middle of the bird’s eye. That day, a legend was born. Arjuna was declared a shreshtha, a supreme human talent. Arjuna’s most powerful weapon was not his Gandiva. His power came from ekagrata—his one-pointed concentration. Arjuna re-defined the limits of human achievement. He conquered his enemies with the sword of clarity and the shield of discrimination. In this creative re-imagining of the story of Arjuna, Debashis Chatterjee mines the Mahabharata and discovers nine precious lessons that will enable any one of us to become heroes in our own lives. Whether it is gaining mastery over life, harnessing our will power, or prioritising action choices—these life-lessons from that most charismatic of Pandavas can truly put each one of us on the hero-path. A magical blend of mythology and management, this book is worth reading, and re-reading, many times over.
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The Chemist
In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. When her former handler offers her a way out, she realises it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialised skill set. And she shows once again why she's one of the world's bestselling authors.
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Night School
In the morning, they gave Reacher a medal. And in the afternoon, they sent him back to school. Night School takes Reacher back to his army days, but this time he’s not in uniform. With trusted sergeant Frances Neagley at his side, he must carry the fate of the world on his shoulders, in a wired, fiendishly clever new adventure that will make the cold sweat trickle down your spine.
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Property of a Noblewoman
In Danielle Steel’s thrilling novel, a woman’s legacy―shaped by tragedy, fortitude, and undying devotion―transforms lives and hearts long after she is gone, and fulfills at last her most precious bequest. Faded photographs of a glamorous couple in postwar Europe. Old letters hinting of tragic loss. And a breathtaking array of magnificent jewelry, spectacular stones in exquisite settings. These are the contents of a safe-deposit box long abandoned in a New York City bank. If no heir can be identified, the jewelry will be auctioned. But who was the woman who left such a fortune and no will? Two people, drawn together by chance, begin to unravel the mystery. Jane Willoughby is a law clerk at the surrogate’s court and Phillip Lawton a fine arts expert for Christie’s auction house. They are simply doing their jobs when they come to the bank to inspect the contents of the box. But for both Jane and Phillip the search turns personal―and their efforts to reconstruct an enigmatic life will lead from New York to London and Paris, to Rome and Naples, and a series of stunning revelations. Eighteen-year-old Marguerite Pearson left America with a broken heart in the shadow of World War II. She found a new life in Europe but forever mourned what she left behind. As the truth about Marguerite’s extraordinary history―her forbidden love affair and her family’s treachery―is slowly revealed, more people are drawn into the puzzle that Jane and Phillip have pieced together, and one among them will inherit the most unexpected gift of all.
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The Spy
When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city. As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences, as a courtesan, she bewitched the era�s richest and most powerful men. But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari�s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917, she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs - �lys�es and accused of espionage. Told in Mata Hari�s voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to defy convention and paid the ultimate price. About the Author : One of the most influential writers of our time, Paulo Coelho is the author of many international best sellers, including Adultery, The Alchemist, Aleph, Eleven Minutes and Manuscript Found in Accra. Translated into eighty languages, his books have sold more than 195 million copies in more than 170 countries. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and has received the Chevalier de l�Ordre National de la L�gion d�Honneur. In 2007, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
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Savage Blue
From the author of the award - winning graphic novel Simian, comes an electrifying new fantasy adventure. Akila Raina, the principal's precocious daughter, was only ten when she disappeared. Shyam, who was with her that fateful night, is daily haunted by a dream of it a dream more grisly than reality could possibly be. Until Akila mysteriously reappears twenty years later, grown - up and gorgeous. She tells him of surreal worlds, her travels between them, her encounters with strange creatures, their own connection across the realms and the malevolent power that lies at the heart of it all. and then she shows him. Bold and passionate, Savage Blue is an unnerving ride into unknown worlds.
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Only Daughter
In this chilling psychological thriller, one woman's dark past becomes another's deadly future. In 2003, sixteen - year - old Rebecca Winter disappeared. She'd been enjoying her teenage summer break - Working at a fast food restaurant, crushing on an older boy and shoplifting with her best friend. Mysteriously ominous things began to happen blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come. Eleven years later she is replaced. A young woman, desperate after being arrested, claims to be the decade - missing Bec. Soon the imposter is living Bec's life. Sleeping in her bed. Hugging her mother and father. Learning her best friends' names. Playing with her twin brothers. But Bec's welcoming family and enthusiastic friends are not quite as they seem. As the imposter dodges the detective investigating her case, she begins to delve into the life of the real Bec Winter - and soon realizes that whoever took Bec is still at large and that she is in imminent danger.
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The Story of a Brief Marriage
Two and a half decades into a devastating civil war, Sri Lanka�s Tamil minority is pushed inexorably towards the coast by the advancing army. Amongst the evacuees is Dinesh, whose world has contracted to a makeshift camp where time is measured by the shells that fall around him like clockwork. Alienated from family, home, language and body, he exists in a state of mute acceptance, numb to the violence around him, till he is approached one morning by an old man who makes an unexpected proposal - That Dinesh marry his daughter, Ganga. Marriage, in this world, is an attempt at safety, like the beached fishing boat under which Dinesh huddles during the bombings. As a couple, they would be less likely to be conscripted to fight for the rebels and less likely to be abused in the case of an army victory. Thrust into this situation of strange intimacy and dependence, Dinesh and Ganga try to come to terms with everything that has happened, hesitantly attempting to awaken to themselves and to one another before the war closes over them once more. About the Author - Anuk Arudpragasam is from Colombo, Sri Lanka and for the time being lives between Colombo and New York, where he is completing a dissertation in philosophy at Columbia University. The Story of a Brief Marriage is his first novel and it will be translated into French, German, Dutch and Italian. He writes in English and Tamil.
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The New Arthashastra
For a country that has fought five wars and is hemmed in by nuclear - armed states, India surprisingly does not have a formally declared national security strategy. All the major powers of the world publish documents that spell out their national interests, identify their threats-political, economic, diplomatic or with regard to security-and draw up policies to deal with them. The absence of a similar doctrine makes India�s defence policy look ad hoc and creates the impression that the country is unprepared to realize its global ambitions. The New Arthashastra is a path - breaking attempt to recommend a national security strategy for India. It does the difficult groundwork for India�s political leaders and policymakers by bringing the best names-from within the community as well as from the armed forces and academia-to the ideating table. This collection of twenty essays covers a wide range of topics - Nuclear deterrence, defence spending, the domestic production of weapons and bracing for the wars of the future that will be fought in space and cyberspace. Most important, it presents a roadmap to address India�s chief concerns - Chinese assertiveness and Pakistan�s unrelenting proxy war. Informed by the expertise of analysts with inside-out knowledge of their domains, The New Arthashastra offers enduring and practical insights to strategists and lay readers alike. About the Author : Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi and Adjunct Fellow, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Wadhwani Chair, Washington, DC. He was Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi (January 2008�March 2012), the Indian Army�s think tank. He has co-founded two Delhi - based think tanks - Forum for Strategic Initiatives (FSI) and the South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs (SAISA). Brigadier Kanwal commanded an infantry brigade in the high - altitude Gurez Sector on the LoC with Pakistan (Operation Parakram, 2001�03) in northern Kashmir and an artillery regiment in counter - insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley (Operation Rakshak, 1993 - 94). He has served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organization and Training) at HQ IDS, New Delhi, Director MO - 5 in the Directorate General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters (dealing with threat, strategy and force structure), United Nations Military Observer in UNTAG, Namibia, Brigade Major of an infantry brigade and Instructor-in-Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Devlali. He opted for voluntary retirement in 2003 and joined the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, as Director, Security Studies and Senior Fellow. He has also served as Senior Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi and Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. He has been a Visiting Research Scholar at the Cooperative Monitoring Centre (CMC), Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, United States and in other think tanks in London and Singapore. Brigadier Kanwal has authored several books - Nuclear Defence - Shaping the Arsenal, Indian Army - Vision 2020, Pakistan�s Proxy War, Heroes of Kargil, Kargil �99 - Blood, Guts and Firepower and Artillery - Honour and Glory. He has edited and co - edited many books on defence. He has contributed extensively to various journals and leading newspapers, including a column in the Statesman for over two years. He is a regular speaker at well - known international think tanks and military institutions.