Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian and NPR “A writer who is gifted not just with extraordinary talent but also with a subtle, original, and probing mind.” —Amitav Ghosh In one of the singularly imaginative stories from Kanishk Tharoor’s Swimmer Among the Stars, despondent diplomats entertain themselves by playing table tennis in zero gravity—for after rising seas destroy Manhattan, the United Nations moves to an orbiting space hotel. In other tales, a team of anthropologists treks to a remote village to record a language’s last surviving speaker intoning her native tongue; an elephant and his driver cross the ocean to meet the whims of a Moroccan princess; and Genghis Khan’s marauding army steadily approaches an unnamed city’s walls. With exuberant originality and startling vision, Tharoor cuts against the grain of literary convention, drawing equally from ancient history and current events. His world-spanning stories speak to contemporary challenges of environmental collapse and cultural appropriation, but also to the workings of legend and their timeless human truths. Whether refashioning the romances of Alexander the Great or confronting the plight of today’s refugees, Tharoor writes with distinctive insight and remarkable assurance. Swimmer Among the Stars announces the arrival of a vital, enchanting talent.

How and why did elephants learn to swim? Could it be that they were once marine creatures? This genuinely unique and fascinating book uses both print and full colour illustration to trace the evolution of the elephant from its prehistoric marine beginnings to the water-loving-land animal we know today. The story line is simple but poetic while the illustrations are scientifically informative yet highly imaginative. A beautiful book to read aloud to children or explore visually.

In-depth documentation of the diving, foraging, and migratory behavior of a superlative marine mammal, based on 50 years of study.

Describes the physical characteristics, habitat, and behavior of this huge marine mammal.

Shagun knows he will never be the kind of son his father demands. After the agonizing deaths of his beloved twin sisters, he flees his own guilt, his mother's grief, and his father's violent disapproval by enrolling at an allboys boarding school. He forms tumultuous and eyeopening relationships there, but doesn't find true belonging till he encounters a traveling theater troupe performing the myths of his childhood. Welcomed by other storytellers, Shagun thriveseasily embodying mortals and gods, men and womenand embraces a life on the move, far from his father's clutches. When Shagun meets Marc, a charming photographer, he seems to have found the love he always longed for. But not even Marc can save him from his lingering shame, nor his father's everpresent threat to send him to a conversion center. As Shagun's past begins to engulf him once again, he must decide if he is strong enough to face what he fears most, and to boldly claim his own happiness. Set in 1990s India, The Sea Elephants is an utterly immersive and spellbinding novel, both dark and beautiful, harrowing and triumphant. An ode to the redemptive joys of storytelling, Shastri Akella's soulful debut is a celebration of hardwon loveof others and for ourselves.

An introduction to elephants, majestic, intelligent residents of Africa and Asia.