Books published by publisher Orion Pub Co

1 of the 1st 4 titles of a new series, provocative, controversial long essays by today's leading Darwinian thinkers. The Darwin seminars at the LSE have beome a crucial intellectual forum in recent years, attended by leading scientists, social scinetists, journalists, film makers, TV producers and writers as diverse as A.S.Byatt and Douglas Adams. Tapping into the most exciting intellectual revolution of our times, they have presented cutting edge Darwinian ideas from a series of eminent speakers , including the famous, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, to less well known researchers at the cutting edge of today's debates. The series, Darwinism today, consists of a seres of short books, each drawing on the content of 1 of the seminars abd written by many of the leading figures in the Darwinian revolution, writing both on evolutionary ideas and on the applications of these ideas to a wide range of human behaviour. Neanderthals, Bandits and farmers argues against the traditional view that agriculture began in the Middle East around 10,000 years ago. Colin Tudge goes back even further to a race of proto-farmers who may have ousted the hunter gathering Neanderthals. The traditional view is that hunter gathering is hard and that farming made life easier. Colin Tudge turns this notion on it's head.Farming is at least as hard, if not harder. In Genesis it is regarded as a necessary evil. So why did our ancestors make the change?

Wealth ... or death. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Humans had discovered this artificial spaceport, full of working interstellar ships left behind by the mysterious, vanished Heechee. Their destinations are preprogrammed. They are easy to operate, but impossible to control. Some came back with discoveries which made their intrepid pilots rich; others returned with their remains barely identifiable. It was the ultimate game of Russian roulette, but in this resource-starved future there was no shortage of desperate volunteers.

Fully revised and expanded edition of this comprehensive and light-hearted A-Z of Enid Blyton characters, to be published on Enid Blyton's birthday. Written with the full endorsement of The Enid Blyton Estate, the book will be beautifully presented with original illustrations and designed in a second colour. Noddy, Amelia Jane, Darrell Rivers, Moon Face...all the old favourites are here along with plenty of facts, details and insights into over a thousand of Blyton's most memorable and enduring characters. In this expanded edition, even more of Blyton's best-loved books are covered, including her Farm Stories and the Barney Stories. A fascinating and, at times, humorous look into the imagination of Britain's most well-loved storyteller.

It is 1202, and thousands of knights and footsoldiers are mustering in Venice for the Fourth Crusade. Among them is young Arthur de Caldicot, squire to Lord Stephen. It is thrilling to be part of this huge gathering; but as Christian falls upon Christian and Saracens draw their scimitars, Arthur's eyes are opened to the realities of war. Looking into his seeing stone for guidance, he realises that the exploits of King Arthur and his knights, like those of the crusaders, are as grim as they are glorious. Meanwhile Arthur has his own concerns: Gatty, his betrothal, his dream of finding his mother, his relationship with his violent father and his churlish foster-brother. When he finally returns to England, all he has lost and all he has won come together. War, romance, murder, family quarrels, power politics, the conflict between Christianity and Islam: all these are elements in a story packed with drama and colour. Its vivid picture of daily life in medieval times is shot through with earthy comedy and the magic of the Arthurian legends. Darker and deeper than the first two books, this is a marvellous ending to a trilogy that has utterly captivated its readers.

When Robicheaux discovers that his mother Mae was a hooker and ended her life drowned in a mud puddle by two cops working for the Mob he begins a painful journey; a journey which began when Mae boarded the Sunset Limited train to Hollywood and ended tragically one stormy night on the edge of the bayou on Purple Cane Road. Along the way Robicheaux hooks up with state governor Belmont Pugh, a preacher who has made it all the way from door to door salesman to the world of state politics; Johnny Remeta, a psychotic hit-man with an IQ of 160 and an unnerving ability to walk through doors; and Jim Gable whose mansion is at Purple Cane Road and whose intimate knowledge of Dave's wife’s past is yet another cross Robicheaux must bear as, slowly and inexorably, he tracks down his mother's killers and brings them to justice.

'You can learn more about human nature from this brief account of the survival of one man throughout the war years in the devastated city of Warsaw than from several volumes of the average encyclopaedia' Independent on Sunday 'We are drawn in to share his surprise and then disbelief at the horrifying progress of events, all conveyed with an understated intimacy and dailiness that render them painfully close riveting' Observer 'The images drawn are unusually sharp and clear but its moral tone is even more striking: Szpilman refuses to make a hero or a demon out of anyone' Literary Review