Category Archives: Travel Guides
The Terror: Civil War in the French Revolution
The French Revolution marks the foundation of the modern political world. It was in the crucible of the Revolution that the political forces of conservatism, liberalism and socialism began to find their modern form, and it was the Revolution that first asserted the claims of universal individual rights, on which our current understandings of citizenship
Attention all Shipping
In Attention All Shipping, Charlie Connelly looks at the Shipping Forecast, which, regularly broadcast on BBC radio, is for many a familiar and reassuring element of the British cultural landscape. Its content could spell the difference between life and death for seafarers, but arguably less so for audiences in the garden shed or suburban living
The Fall
Rob and Jamie are great friends from childhood. They have grown up together and become top climbers, but have since become estranged. Rob is nevertheless amazed and grief-stricken when he hears of Jamie`s death after a fall on a relatively easy Welsh rockface. The past, though, hides the secret clues behind the tragedy. Layer by
Tears of the Giraffe
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith sees the return of the charmingly entertaining adventures of Botswana’s premier female detective, it’s going to take all Precious Ramotswe’s intuition and eminent sensibility to crack her toughest case yet: the decade-old disappearance of an American on the edge of the Kalahari. What’s more, she must attend
The No.1 Ladies` Detective Agency
The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith features wayward daughters, missing husbands, philandering partners and curious conmen. If you`ve got an apparently insoluble problem, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s finest – and only – female private detective. Her methods may be unconventional but she`s got warmth, wit and canny intuition
Indian Summer
While attempting to teach at an inner London comprehensive Will Randall is taken up by an elderly German woman who asks him to accompany her to India. Nothing ventured, he agrees and so begins a wonderful life-changing adventure. Set down in Puna (3 hours from Bombay) he begins work teaching English at a slum school.
Ireland In A Glass of Its Own
Peter Biddlecombe has dragged his beleaguered expense account around no fewer than 170 countries of variable merit, which puts him literally miles ahead of every other travel writer. Wittily and informatively he brings a unique businessman`s perspective to his destinations – Biddlecombe has to land running in order to survive. IRELAND: IN A GLASS OF
Morality for Beautiful Girls
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith sees the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in financial difficulty and Mma Ramotswe forced to make the tricky decision to share offices with her fiancรฉ, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni. Although Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors could do with a little help, it is Mr Matekoni himself who really
Kalahari Typing School for Men, The
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith places a new and unwelcome challenge in Mme Ramotswe’s – competition. ‘ Ex-CID. Ex-New York. Ex-cellent’ reads the sign outside the Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency. Cephas Buthelezi certainly talks the talk, Mma Ramotswe discovers, but would he have the wherewithal to deal with her current
Full Cupboard of Life, The
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith follows Precious Ramotswe, whose engagement to Mr J. L. B. Matekoni is of some long standing, but still remains open ended. However her fiancรฉ has things on his mind other than setting a wedding date, notably a frightening demand from Mma Potokwani, pushy matron of the
Rubicon – The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness – the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall.
Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to DNA
From ancient times to the present day, the story of England has been laced with drama, intrigue, courage and passion – a rich and vibrant narrative of heroes and villains, kings and rebels, artists and highwaymen, bishops and scientists. Now, in Great Tales of English History, Robert Lacey captures one hundred of the most pivotal
In The Footsteps of Adam
Thor Heyerdahl is one of the greatest explorers of our day. At the age of 84 he has chosen to take a journey through his memories. This is not a chronological autobiography but rather an epic exploration of the world and the amazing events that Heyerdahl has pioneered, participated in and observed. IN THE FOOTSTEPS
Life Among the Pirates
What were pirates really like? How much, if any, of the piratical stereotype – of a dashingly handsome man with an eye-patch, peg-leg and a parrot on his shoulder – is based on the documented fact. In this revealing and highly original study David Cordingly sets out to discover the truth behind the piracy myth,
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Anyone that has read NAKED and BARREL FEVER, or heard David Sedaris speaking live or on the radio will tell you that a new collection from him is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris from New York inspired these hilarious new pieces, including `Me Talk Pretty One Day`, about his attempts to learn
Scott and Amundsen – The Last Place on Earth
Scott and Amundsen – The Last Place on Earth is Roland Huntford’s dual biography of the two men who raced to the South Pole during what has come to be known as the golden age of polar exploration. Not without its critics for its controversial stance on some topics, not least its purported character defamation
Continental Drifter
Financed by a bet with a Yeovil linen draper, court jester Thomas Coryate`s 1608 journey to Venice and back was an unlikely template for the Grand Tour.Almost four hundred years later, Tim Moore put on a ridiculous velvet suit and set off in Coryate`s tracks at the wheel of a senile Rolls-Royce.Treading on frugality and
Travels in the White Man`s Grave
Donald Macintosh spent thirty years as a tree prospector and surveyor in the rainforests of Liberia, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon. During his time there he came in contact with many different tribes and encountered all kinds of wildlife. His account is veiled with nostalgia for a place that has changed forever.
Facing The Congo
At thirty-three one`s direction in life should be clear, and mine was not.` In search of some direction, or at least a new challenge, Jeffrey Tayler gave up his day job of opening rejection letters from publishers and went exploring. Having always been fascinated by Africa and the great age of Victorian exploration he went
Eight Men and A Duck
Nick Thorpe was innocently travelling around South America with his wife, Ali, when he came across an American adventurer planning to sail from Chile to Easter Island on a Bolivian boat made of reeds. Inspired by the great Thor Heyerdahl, Phil Buck had recruited seven men to join him on this experiment to discover whether
