The definitive one-volume history of Israel by its most distinguished historian From its Zionist beginnings at the end of the nineteenth century through the past sixty, tumultuous years, the state of Israel has been, as van Creveld argues, "the greatest success story in the entire twentieth century." In this crisp volume, he skillfully relates the improbable story of a nationless people who, given a hot and arid patch of land and coping with every imaginable obstacle, founded a country that is now the envy of surrounding states. While most studies on Israel focus on the political, this encompassing history weaves together the nation's economic, social, cultural and religious narratives while also offering diplomatic solutions to help Israel achieve peace. Without question, this is the best one-volume history of Israel and its people.

Kosovo: the name conjures up blood: ethnic cleansing and war. This book reveals another side to the newest country in the world a land of generous families, strong tastes and lush landscapes: a land of honey. Elizabeth Gowing is rushed to Kosovo, on a blind date with the place, when her partner is suddenly offered the position of adviser to Prime Minister Agim ?eku. Knowing nothing of the language or politics, she is thrown into a world of unpronounceable nouns, unfamiliar foods and bewilderingly hospitable people. On her first birthday in Kosovo she is given a beehive as a gift, and starts on a beekeeping apprenticeship with an unknown family; through their friendship and history she begins to understand her new home. Her apprenticeship leads her to other beekeepers too: retired guerrilla fighters, victims of human trafficking, political activists, a women's beekeeping group who teach her how to dance, and the Prime Minister himself. She dons a beekeeper's veil, sees the bees safely through winter, manages to use a smoker, learns about wicker skeps, gets stung, harvests her honey and drizzles it over everything. In between, she starts working at Pristina s forgotten Ethnological Museum, runs a project in a restored stone house below the Accursed Mountains and falls in love with a country she had known only as a war.

Zľie Adebola remembers when the soil of Ors̐ha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zľie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

'I thought if I was going to die I should write some things down' Kirsty Everett was going to be an Olympic gymnast. But as she made plans to win gold, life, as it does, laughed at the goal she'd set. Aged nine, she was diagnosed with leukaemia and spent the next two and a half years in treatment and attending the funerals of children she met in the cancer ward. At the age of sixteen, Kirsty's cancer returned. Faced with a devastating prognosis, she threw herself into as much as she could - friends, school, drama, sport, even a life-writing course with Patti Miller. As she said, 'I thought if I was going to die I should write some things down.' Against the odds, Kirsty survived. She never achieved gold at the Olympics, but she learned a lot about people, attitudes and resilience. This is a book about growing up different when you want to be the same; sparking hostility where there should be support; and how love can be tested to its utmost. It's wise and unflinching and hopeful, and you won't feel the same after reading it. PRAISE 'Told by a writer who's a real natural' Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald '[An] incredible book ... I haven't been able to stop thinking about Kirsty's journey' Chyka Keebaugh 'Everett is a born writer, her compelling story shot through with the extraordinary sensitivities of childhood' - B+P magazine 'Honey Blood is one of the most exuberant, life-affirming memoirs I have ever read. The fact that it is about the uncompromising reality of childhood cancer, makes it all the more extraordinary. Read it and be utterly bowled over Kirsty Everett's astonishing courage, honesty and cheeky humour' - Patti Miller, author 'If the Olympic Games are designed around people achieving their personal best, commitment, courage, determination and reaching their goals, Kirsty has been to the equivalent of two Olympics' - Wayne Staunton, managing director, Sold Out events management 'Do not be afraid of this book. The big C in it is not cancer, it's Courage. The courage to deal with pain, loss, fear and the shattering of a young girl's big dreams. 'Instead of tiptoeing around the tough stuff, and leaving the most difficult bits out, Kirsty Everett dives right in, taking the reader into her world, bravely, honestly, with raw humour and grit. We get up close to her tight-knit family, boisterous friends, tender first loves, doctors both brusque and kind, and rude strangers. Death hovers on every page, but life's vitality and Kirsty's defiant spirit shove it aside. 'This refreshingly straight-talking account of adolescent leukaemia goes beyond pain to a fuller, wiser, deeper understanding of what really matters when everything you hope for hangs by a thread. It offers the best medicine for anyone who has ever faced relentless physical and mental odds and obstacles that create seemingly insurmountable roadblocks as tests of character. It may not be a cure, but it is one mighty transfusion of the powerful drugs that make us human and help us survive: hope, compassion, and love' - Caroline Baum, author 'This is a coming of age story that will shock and inspire you. Told with searing honesty Honey Blood tells the close-up story of growing up while everything is falling down. In her compassionate, funny and warm way Kirsty Everett tells her story that will inspire others to tell and live through their stories. A wonderful and truthful insight into how to survive and thrive against the odds' - Michael Anderson, Professor of Creativity and Arts Education, University of Sydney

A TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time A Time Magazine Best Fantasy Book of 2018 L. Penelope's Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers. The kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar have been separated for centuries by the Mantle, a magical veil that has enforced a tremulous peace between the two lands. But now, the Mantle is cracking and the True Father, ruler of Lagrimar and the most powerful Earthsinger in the world, finally sees a way into Elsira to seize power. All Jasminda ever wanted was to live quietly on her farm, away from the prying eyes of those in the nearby town. Branded an outcast by the color of her skin and her gift of Earthsong, she’s been shunned all her life and has learned to steer clear from the townsfolk...until a group of Lagrimari soldiers wander into her valley with an Elsiran spy, believing they are still in Lagrimar. Through Jack, the spy, Jasminda learns that the Mantle is weakening, allowing people to slip through without notice. And even more troubling: Lagrimar is mobilizing, and if no one finds a way to restore the Mantle, it might be too late for Elsira. Their only hope lies in uncovering the secrets of the Queen Who Sleeps and Jasminda’s Earthsong is the key to unravel them. Thrust into a hostile society and a world she doesn’t know, Jasminda and Jack race to unveil an ancient mystery that might offer salvation.

The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.