Secrets Of The Sands

In a part of Egypt so parched that decades might pass between rainstorms, amid a sea of sand, is a green island—Dakhleh, the “everlasting oasis”—that may contain the whole of human history. In this extraordinary book, an acclaimed science writer and journalist follows an international team of archaeologists as they unlock the secrets of nearly half a million years. Using high-tech methods, these scientists have made stunning finds, including indications that Dakhleh may have been the cradle of the Nile civilization that gave rise to the pharaohs and the pyramids. They have unearthed a perfect Old Kingdom town, with palaces and temples from the Golden Age, huge caches of mummies and papyri, and the world's two oldest books, and have located an entire Roman city—a Pompeii in the middle of the desert. Blending elements of adventure narrative, travelogue, and scientific mystery, Secrets of the Sands also traces on a grand historical scale the story of how humans have interacted with the changing environment, laying bare a parable with relevance to us all about the fragile balance between humankind and our world.

This is a mystery novel that tells the story of the Amory family; Sir Horace Amory, his daughter Vera, his son Dick, and the wife of his late uncle, Maria. Horace had inherited the title and property "Oversand" from his deceased uncle. Maria comes to stay at Oversand hiding a secret she kept rigidly to herself. When she wanders away from the house, she is found sitting, staring intently into those boiling, shifting grey sands, from which nothing ever emerged alive that had been engulfed in their lethal coils. What is the mystery story about the shifting grey sand? Will Lady Maria Amory finally disclose the secret?

A surprising adventure exploring the mysterious origins of Ancient Egypt and its enigmatic monuments, uncovering long-buried truths and a powerful secret that is as dangerous as it is awe-inspiring...

She was a slave. He was her master. Both of them long to be free...

A thief chooses the wrong victim. A desert lord abandons his lands. A young woman accepts a stewardship. They all find their destiny on the sands. Idisio cut the wrong purse and found himself bound to serve a desert lord who just gave up his wealth, his lands, and his name to wander. His new master is the lone survivor of a massacred family and might be insane, but serving him is better than life on the streets. Lady Alyea accepts the king's mission to assume stewardship of the desert lord's abandoned fortress in the hope of gaining power. But the southern desert is a harsh world of violence, suspicion, and politically tangled family clans who worship the old gods. By the time she realizes she's in over her head, it's far too late to back out. Out on the sands, the harsh glare of the sun reveals more about the world--and themselves--than they ever wanted to know.

The story of a young girl's love for her horses and the race she has across the desert to rid them of a terrible sickness. A sickness placed upon all horses by a curse, one that the Horse Angel needs help in removing.

`About this coast... In the event of war it seems to me that every inch of it would be important, sand and all.' Executed in 1922 for his involvement in Irish republicanism, Childers in remembered most vividly for his ground-breaking spy novel, The Riddle of the Sands (1903). In spite of good prospects in the Foreign Office, the sardonic civil servant Carruthers is finding it hard to endure the emptiness and boredom of his life in London. He reluctantly accepts an invitation from a college friend, Davies, the shyly intrepid yachtsman, and joins him on a sailing holiday in the Baltic. The regeneration of Carruthers begins as he is initiated into the mysteries of seamanship, but the story builds in excitement as Carruthers and Davies discover a German plot to invade England. Like much contemporary British spy fiction, The Riddle of the Sands reflects the long suspicious years leading up to the First World War and the intricacy of its conception and its lucid detail make it a classic of its genre. This edition is complemented by a fine introduction which examines the novel in its political and historical context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.