Category Archives: Travel Guides
Born in the GDR: Living in the Shadow of the Wall
The changes that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 were particularly dramatic for East Germans. With the German Democratic Republic effectively taken over by West Germany in the reunification process, nothing in their lives was immune from change and upheaval: from the way they voted, the newspapers they read, to the
Shakespeare`s Comedies: A Very Short Introduction
From The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the early 1590s to The Two Noble Kinsmen at the end of his career around 1614, Shakespeare wrote at least eighteen plays that can be called `comedies`: a far higher number than that for any other genre in which he wrote. In this Very Short Introduction, Bart Van
Modern Italy: A Very Short Introduction
The history of modern Italy is characterized by recurrent cultural and political projects of modernity, rejuvenation, and regeneration; projects which often had their roots in a widespread dissatisfaction with social and political reality, and perceived moral corruption. The Risorgimento, the movement leading to Italian Unification in 1861, explicitly linked the quest for national unity to
Waverley
`the most romantic parts of this narrative are precisely those which have a foundation in fact` Edward Waverley, a young English soldier in the Hanoverian army, is sent to Scotland where he finds himself caught up in events that quickly transform from the stuff of romance into nightmare. His character is fashioned through his experience
Greek Oxford Learner`s Pocket Dictionary
An invaluable pocket dictionary for Greek-speaking learners of English.
Paris Street Tales
Paris Street Tales is the third volume of a trilogy of translated stories set in Paris. The previous two are Paris Tales, in which each story is associated with one of the twenty arrondissements, and Paris Metro Tales, in which the twenty-two stories are related to a trip round the Paris Metro. This new volume
Red Arctic
A work of refreshing originality and vivid appeal, Red Arctic tells the story of Stalinist Russia`s massive campaign to explore and develop its Northern territories during the 1930s. Author John McCannon recounts the dramatic stories of the polar expeditions-conducted by foot, ship, and plane-that were the pride of Stalinist Russia, in order to expose the
Environment of the British Isles Atlas
In this atlas the authors have brought together, in accessible form, a set of maps which portray a vivid picture of the physical environment of the British Isles. Each set of maps is accompanied by text that explains the nature and causes of the patterns that can be observed. The contents are broadly based, covering
Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil
Oxford University Press’ ‘A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil” is, at time of publication, the first comprehensive field guide to the birds of BrazilThe carefully vetted text and images are the first to cover the full range of bird life in this vast and varied country. The more than 1800 up-to-date accounts treat
The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire
The First World War threw the imperial order into crisis. New states emerged from the great European land empires, while Germany`s African and Pacific colonies, and the Ottoman provinces in the Middle East fell into allied hands. Britain, France, Belgium, Japan, and the British dominions wanted to keep the new states, but Woodrow Wilson and
Defiance
The prevailing image of European Jews during the Holocaust is one of helpless victims, but in fact many Jews struggled against the terrors of the Third Reich. In Defiance, Nechama Tec offers a riveting history of one such group, a forest community in western Belorussia that would number more than 1,200 Jews by 1944-the largest
The Oxford Companion to Italian Food
The popularity of Italian food all over the world is ever increasing. Unhampered by any sense of superiority, and unburdened by the weight of a great classical tradition, Italians cook and eat in the ways they have known and trusted for generations, absorbing new influences while cultivating and maintaining a distinct and esteemed gastronomic tradition.
Fossils
Fossils have been vital to our understanding of the formation of the earth and the origins of all life on it. However, their impact has not been limited to debates about geology and evolution: attempts to explain their existence has shaken religion at its very roots, and they have remained a subject of ceaseless fascination
The Last Great Quest
Scott`s last Antarctic expedition is one of the great adventure stories of the twentieth century. On 1 November 1911, a British team set out on the gruelling 800-mile journey across the coldest and highest continent on Earth to travel to the South Pole. Five men battled through unimaginably harsh conditions only to find the Norwegian
Paris Tales
Paris Tales is a highly evocative collection of stories by well known French and Francophone writers, translated by Helen Constantine. The twenty-two stories provide a captivating glimpse into Parisian life from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day – evolving through the eyes of Maupassant, Nerval, Balzac and Zola, to the new generation of authors
Stones of Empire
No empire in history built so variously as the British empire in India: the buildings there attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted – from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj – some three hundred years. The attitude of the British to India was compounded partly of arrogance,
The Islandman
Tomas O`Crohan was born on the Great Blasket Island in 1865 and died there in 1937, a great master of his native Irish. He shared to the full the perilous life of a primitive community, yet possessed a shrewd and humorous detachment that enabled him to observe and describe the world. His book is a
An Old Woman`s Reflections – the Life of A Blasket Island Storyteller
Storytelling kept alive the myths, legends and history of the Blasket Islands. In her old age, Peig Sayers, recounted her life to her son who recorded the tale in this book. She recalls the events of her life and her simple philosophy in a moving poetic style. Such everyday tasks as collecting turf for roots,
Twenty Years A-Growing.
Maurice O`Sullivan was born on the Great Blasket in 1904, and `Twenty Years A-Growing` tells the story of his youth and of a way of life which belonged to the Middle Ages. He wrote for his own pleasure and for the entertainment of his friends, without any thought of a wider public; his style is
Island Cross-Talk – Pages From A Blasket Island Diary
Written between 1919 and 1925, `Island Cross-Talk` was the first book to come out of the Blasket Islands – that tiny, remote community off the west coast of Kerry. Springing from a powerful oral tradition, it captured the moment of transition from speech to writing, and sowed the seeds of a rich and extraordinary flowering
