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The Mesopotamian riddle : an archaeologist, a soldier, a clergyman, and the race to decipher the world's oldest writing / by Hammer, Joshua,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."It was one of history's great vanishing acts. As early as 3500 BCE, scribes in the mud-walled city-state of Sumer used a reed stylus to press tiny wedge-shaped symbols into clay. For three thousand years, the script chronicled the military conquests, scientific discoveries, and epic literature of the grand kingdoms of Mesopotamia-Assyria, Babylon, the mighty Achaemenid Empire -- along with precious minutia about everyday life so long ago. But as the palaces of these once great kingdoms sank beneath the desert sands, the meaning of these characters was lost. London, 1857. Colossal sculptures of winged bulls and alabaster bas-reliefs depicting cities under siege and vassals bearing tributes to Biblical kings lined the halls of the British Museum. In the Victorian era's obsession with the triumph of human progress, the mysterious kingdoms of ancient Mesopotamia -- the very cradle of civilization -- had captured the public imagination. Yet Europe's best philologists struggled to decipher the strange characters. Cuneiform seemed to have thousands of symbols -- with some scholars claiming each could be pronounced in up to eight, nine, even ten different ways. Others insisted they'd cracked the code and deciphered inscriptions that corresponded precisely to the Old Testament -- proving the veracity of the Word of God. Was it all a hoax? A delusion? A rollicking adventure through the golden age of archaeology, The Writing on the Wall tracks the decades-long race to decipher the oldest script in the world. It's the story of a swashbuckling young archaeologist, a suave British military officer, and a curmudgeonly Irish rector, all vying for glory -- from the ruins of Persepolis to the opulence of Ottoman-era Baghdad -- in a quest to unearth the relics of lost civilizations and unlock the secrets of humanity's past"--
Subjects: Assyriology; Cuneiform inscriptions.; Cuneiform writing.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Heart of the Nile / by Thomas, Will,1958-author.;
"London, 1893 - deadly doings are afoot in the British Museum and private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn must unravel a mystery involving a mummy, a giant ruby and a murder, in Will Thomas's Heart of the Nile. Cyrus Barker, along with his former assistant and now partner Thomas Llewelyn, is the premier enquiry agent in all of 19th century London, and beyond. They've thwarted the designs of villains and crooks off all sorts, helped Scotland Yard crack their most challenging cases, and worked for the Her Majesty's Government at the very highest levels. But nothing has been quite as challenging and dangerous as the latest case that comes to find them. In 1893, a volunteer at the British Museum makes a startling discovery. When examining a mummy in the museum's collection, he discovers there is a giant ruby in the shape of a heart buried in the chest of the mummy. Even more startling, the mummy might well be Cleopatra. The following morning, the volunteer is found floating in the Thames and the ruby has gone missing. Hired by the victim's wife to learn the truth behind his death, Barker and Llewelyn find themselves in the crosshairs - now they must avoid a violent street gang, a ruthless collector, and the British Museum itself in order to find the killer and safeguard the gem"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Barker, Cyrus (Fictitious character); Llewelyn, Thomas (Fictitious character); British Museum; Murder; Precious stones; Private investigators; Private security services;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Meet me at the museum [text (large print)] / by Youngson, Anne,author.;
"In Denmark, Professor Anders Larsen has lost his wife and his hopes for the future. On an isolated English farm, Tina Hopgood is trapped in a life she doesn't remember choosing. Brought together by a shared fascination with the Tollund Man, subject of Seamus Heaney's famous poem, they begin writing letters to one another. From their vastly different worlds, they find they have more in common than they could have imagined, and an unexpected friendship blooms. When Tina's letters stop coming, Anders is thrown into despair. How far are they willing to go to write a new story for themselves?"-- Adapted from page [4] of cover.
Subjects: Large type books.; Epistolary fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Widowers; Letters; Self-actualization (Psychology); Friendship; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Did ye hear mammy died? : a memoir / by O'Reilly, Séamus,author.;
"After the untimely death of his mother, five-year old Seamas and his ten (TEN!) siblings were left to the care of their loving but understandably beleaguered father. In this thoroughly delightful memoir, we follow Seamas and the rest of his rowdy clan as they learn to cook, clean, do the laundry, and struggle (often hilariously) to keep the household running smoothly and turn into adults in the absence of the woman who had held them together. Along the way, we see Seamas through various adventures: There's the time the family's windows were blown out by an IRA bomb; the time a priest blessed their thirteen-seater caravan before they took off for a holiday on which they narrowly escaped death; the time Seamas worked as a guide in a leprechaun museum during the recession; and of course, the time he inadvertently found himself on ketamine while serving drinks to the President of Ireland"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; O'Reilly, Séamus; Families; Journalists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Languages of truth : essays 2003-2020 / by Rushdie, Salman,author.;
"Salman Rushdie is celebrated as a storyteller of the highest order, illuminating deep truths about our society and culture through his gorgeous, often searing, prose. Now, in his latest collection of nonfiction, he brings together insightful and inspiring essays, criticism, and speeches that focus on his relationship with the written word, and solidify his place as one of the most original thinkers of our time. Gathering pieces written between 2003 and 2019, Languages of Truth chronicles Rushdie's own intellectual engagement with a period of momentous cultural shifts. Immersing the reader in a wide variety of subjects, he delves into the nature of storytelling as a deeply human need, and what emerges is, in myriad ways, a love letter to literature itself. Rushdie explores what the work of authors from Shakespeare and Cervantes to Samuel Beckett, Eudora Welty, and Toni Morrison mean to him, often by telling vivid, sometimes humorous stories of his own personal encounters with them, whether on the page or in person. He delves deeper than ever before into the nature of "truth," revels in the vibrant malleability of language, and the creative lines that can join art and life, and he looks anew at migration, multiculturalism and censorship. The ideas, true stories and arguments presented here are at once revelatory, funny and eye-opening, enlivened on every page by Rushdie's signature wit and dazzling voice, making this volume a genuine pleasure to read"--
Subjects: Essays.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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They shall not grow old [videorecording] / by Jackson, Peter,1961-film director,film producer.; Olssen, Clare,film producer.; Olssen, Jabez,editor of moving image work.; 14-18 NOW (Programme),production company.; Imperial War Museum (Great Britain),production company.; Plan 9 (Musical group : N.Z.),composer (expression); Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- ),production company.; Warner Home Video (Firm),film distributor.; WingNut Films (Firm),production company.;
Music, David Donaldson, Janet Roodick & Steve Roche ; editor, Jabez Olssen.Peter Jackson produces and directs this homage to the British troops of the First World War with never-before-seen-footage of soldiers as they faced the fear and uncertainty of frontline battle in Belgium. Digitally remastered and now in color, the footage has been studied by lip reading experts, transcripts were recorded and used as audio for the film.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.MPAA rating: R; for disturbing war images.DVD; Widescreen (1.85:1) presentation; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 DVS.
Subjects: Documentary films.; War films.; Feature films.; Historical films.; Nonfiction films.; Video recordings for people with visual disabilities.; Soldiers; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918.;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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They shall not grow old [videorecording] / by Jackson, Peter,1961-film director,film producer.; Olssen, Clare,film producer.; Olssen, Jabez,editor of moving image work.; 14-18 NOW (Programme),production company.; Imperial War Museum (Great Britain),production company.; Plan 9 (Musical group : N.Z.),composer (expression); Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- ),production company.; Warner Home Video (Firm),film distributor.; WingNut Films (Firm),production company.;
Music, David Donaldson, Janet Roodick & Steve Roche ; editor, Jabez Olssen.Peter Jackson produces and directs this homage to the British troops of the First World War with never-before-seen-footage of soldiers as they faced the fear and uncertainty of frontline battle in Belgium. Digitally remastered and now in color, the footage has been studied by lip reading experts, transcripts were recorded and used as audio for the film.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.MPAA rating: R; for disturbing war images.Blu-ray disc (requires Blu-ray player for playback) ; anamorphic widescreen format (1.85:1 aspect ratio) ; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 DVS.
Subjects: Documentary films.; War films.; Feature films.; Historical films.; Nonfiction films.; Video recordings for people with visual disabilities.; Soldiers; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918.;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Nothing ventured / by Archer, Jeffrey,1940-author.;
"Nothing Ventured heralds the start of a brand new series in the style of Jeffrey Archer's #1 New York Times bestselling Clifton Chronicles: introducing Detective William Warwick. But this is not a detective story, this is a story about the making of a detective . . . William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father's dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London's Metropolitan Police Force. After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard's arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she's terrified will come to light. While William follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, he comes up against suave art collector Miles Faulkner and his brilliant lawyer, Booth Watson QC, who are willing to bend the law to breaking point to stay one step ahead of William. Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner's wife, Christina, befriends William, but whose side is she really on? This new series introduces William Warwick, a family man and a detective who will battle throughout his career against a powerful criminal nemesis. Through twists, triumph and tragedy, this series will show that William Warwick is destined to become one of Jeffrey Archer's most enduring legacies"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Detectives; Art thefts; Art;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Nothing ventured [sound recording] / by Archer, Jeffrey,1940-author.; Blagden, George,1989-narrator.; Macmillan Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by George Blagden."Nothing Ventured heralds the start of a brand new series in the style of Jeffrey Archer's #1 New York Times bestselling Clifton Chronicles: introducing Detective William Warwick. But this is not a detective story, this is a story about the making of a detective . . . William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father's dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London's Metropolitan Police Force. After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard's arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she's terrified will come to light. While William follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, he comes up against suave art collector Miles Faulkner and his brilliant lawyer, Booth Watson QC, who are willing to bend the law to breaking point to stay one step ahead of William. Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner's wife, Christina, befriends William, but whose side is she really on? This new series introduces William Warwick, a family man and a detective who will battle throughout his career against a powerful criminal nemesis. Through twists, triumph and tragedy, this series will show that William Warwick is destined to become one of Jeffrey Archer's most enduring legacies"--
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Detectives; Art thefts; Art;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The lost ticket / by Sampson, Freya,author.; Sampson, Freya.Girl on the 88 bus.;
"Strangers on a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the acclaimed author of The Last Chance Library. When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus, with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he's ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck. Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank's dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl from the 88 bus is slipping away. More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness--before it's too late--in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways"--
Subjects: Novels.; Buses; Dementia; Friendship; Life change events; Lost articles; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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