Category Archives: Non-Fiction & Reference
Oxford City Walks
Are you visiting Oxford for the first time? Or are you an avid walker interested in taking a stroll around Oxford`s scenic and famous sites? Whether you visit Oxford regularly or are a first-time visitor, City Walks Oxford provides a new look at this charming city with unique insights and imaginative tours. Take any route
The Sea
`A masterly study of grief, memory and love recollected` Professor John Sutherland, Chair of Judges, Man Booker Prize 2005 When art historian Max Morden returns to the seaside village where he once spent a childhood holiday, he is both escaping from a recent loss and confronting a distant trauma. The Grace family had appeared that
Hood Rat
BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2012 SHORTLISTED FOR THE CRIME WRITERS ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION DAGGER AWARD `THE MOST IMPORTANT CRIME STORY OF THE DECADE` Scottish Mail Manchester. London. Glasgow. In the summer of 2011 violence erupted in our inner cities and many blamed gang culture. But is the truth
History of The Arabs
This authoritative study of the Arabians and the Arabic-speaking peoples is a hugely valuable source of information on Arab history. Suitable for both scholars and the general reader, it unrolls one of the richest and most instructive panoramas in history, telling with insight the story of the rise of Islam in the Middle Ages, its
A History of Russia
Russia is the largest country on the planet, a multi-ethnic empire, a great power of global significance. For much of its history it has been a `peasant state`, in which peasant society and values interacted critically with those of the ruling elites. In modern times its society has produced artists, writers, musicians, scientists and cosmonauts
On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Road Trip
WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO TRAVEL WRITING 2020 The master of contemporary travel writing, Paul Theroux, immerses himself in the beautiful and troubled heart of modern MexicoNogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A forty-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the
Hamas – Politics, Charity and Terrorism
How does a group that operates terror cells and espouses violence become a ruling political party? Can a single organization be committed to political activism and charitable good works while simultaneously dispatching suicide bombers to attack civilian targets? How is the world to understand and respond to Hamas, the militant Islamist organization that Palestinian voters
Corsican Fragments
The island of Corsica has long been a popular destination for travelers in search of the European exotic, but it has also been a focus of French concerns about national unity and identity. Today, Corsica is part of a vibrant Franco-Mediterranean social universe. In this ethnographic study of a Corsican village, Matei Candea explores nationalism,
Kiev Jewish Metropolis
Populated by urbane Jewish merchants and professionals as well as new arrivals from the shtetl, Imperial Kiev was acclaimed for its opportunities for education, culture, employment, and entrepreneurship but cursed for the often pitiless persecution of its Jews. Kiev, Jewish Metropolis limns the history of Kiev Jewry from the official readmission of Jews to the
Tasting the Good Life
Five million visitors a year travel to California`s Napa Valley to experience the good life: to taste fine wines, eat fine food, and immerse themselves in other sophisticated pleasures while surrounded by bucolic beauty. Tourism is the world`s largest employer, and tourists today want to experience the world through all five senses. Tasting the Good
Immortal River: The Upper Mississippi in Ancient and Modern Times
Writing in non-technical language for recreationalists, technicians, planners, and beginning river scientists, Fremling (emeritus biology, Winona State U.) documents the history of human interactions with the Mississippi River starting as far back as scientific speculation allows. The most dramatic changes have occurred since European settlement, a
Art & Architecture of Islam
The Alhambra, the Taj Mahal and the Tahmasp “Shahnama, ” these masterpieces of Islamic art were produced during the period from the Mongol conquest in the early thirteenth century and the advent of European colonial rule in the nineteenth. This book surveys the arts and architecture of the traditional Islamic lands during this era.
Greek Architecture
Discussing the development of Greek architecture in the Aegean and other Greek lands from its earliest beginnings around 3000 BC to the first century BC. The temples of the Hellenic age are discussed, as are domestic Greek architecture, town planning, theatres and fortifications.
The Ship
One vital convoy can break Mussolini`s stranglehold on Malta – but it is intercepted in the Mediterranean by enemy warships . . . Five light British cruisers are left to beat back the armed might of the Italian battle fleet and C.S. Forester – creator of Horatio Hornblower – takes us aboard HMS Artemis as
Manufactured Landscapes
Over a period of 25 years, the internationally renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has been an explorer of unfamiliar places where human activity has reshaped the surface of the land. His astonishing large-scale colour photographs of the landscapes of mining, quarrying, railcutting, recycling, oil refining and shipbreaking uncover a stark, almost sublime beauty in the
The Encyclopedia of New England
Often defined by the familiar images of taciturn Yankees, town meetings, maple syrup and rocky seacoasts, New England is both a distinctively American place and a distinctive place within America. Yet these images present only one aspect of the richly varied region that is New England in the twenty-first century. Today traditional scenes of white-clapboard
Print The Legend
This prize-winning book tells the intertwined stories of photography and the American West-a new medium and a new place that came of age together in the nineteenth century. “Excellent …rewarding …a provocative look at the limits of photography as recorder of history-and its role in perpetuating myth.”-Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News “A sophisticated and engaging
Touring Gotham`s Archaeolgical Past
This pocket-sized guidebook takes the reader on eight walking tours to archaeological sites throughout the boroughs of New York City and presents a new way of exploring the city through the rich history that lies buried beneath it. Generously illustrated and replete with maps, the tours are designed to explore both ancient times and modern
London – A Musical Gazetteer
This compact and convenient guide to music in London features the sites where music flourishes and where leading musicians have lived or performed in the city – from Handel`s house to Berlioz`s rooms, from concert halls and recording studios to cathedrals and churches. It provides historical information on opera houses and theatres, recital rooms, conservatories,
The Architecture of British Transport in the 20th Century
Transport buildings – railway stations, airport terminals, bus and coach stations, motorway service areas, filling stations, and garages – are such a part of everyday scenery they are easily overlooked. This book is the first to take a close look at the architecture of British transport buildings of the twentieth century, a period during which
