Category Archives: Travel Guides
I Can`t Believe You Just Said That: The truth about why people are SO rude
You`re not imagining it. People are getting ruder. And this is a serious problem.The book that inspired the iTunes Top Ten podcast Did you know that even one rude comment in a life and death situation can decrease a surgeon`s performance by as much as 50%? That we say we don`t want rude politicians, but
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
All I knew about Moldova were the names of eleven men printed on the inside back pages of my newspaper. None of them sounded to me like they were any good at tennis …An eccentric wager finds Tony Hawks, a man who loves an unusual challenge, bound for the little-known Eastern European state of Moldova.
Uneasy Rider
A broken heart and a moment of drunken bravado inspires middle-aged, and typically rather cautious, journalist Mike Carter to take off on a life-changing six month motorcycle trip around Europe. Never mind that he hadn`t been on two wheels since an inglorious three-month teenage chapter involving a Lambretta, four crashes and an 18-month ban for
A Dog Abroad
In this, their second adventure together, Bruce Fogle and his faithful dog, Macy, (with a compact motorhome), journey into the little known heart of Europe. Travelling through the Netherlands, northern Germany, Scandinavia, and the Baltics, then down the eastern rim of Poland to Slovakia and Slovenia, Fogle uncovers revelations about his ancestry as well as
The last Wrestlers
Marcus Trower hated WWF. He hated Hulk Hogan, Big Daddy and all the other spandex-clad musclemen who over the years had made a mockery of his beloved sport. For him, wrestling – real wrestling – was a means of expression, both physical and mental. It was also, in Britain at least, a dying art. Then
Yoga School Dropout
A sharply funny travelogue from a fantastic travel writer. Lucy Edge tells the story of her personal quest for serenity and yogic flexibility through the ashrams and gurus of India.After over a decade spent working and drinking too much in the world of advertising, Lucy decided she had to leave town for an altogether more
Private Battles: Our Intimate Diaries – How the War Almost Defeated Us
In “Private Battles”, award-winning writer Simon Garfield has skilfully interwoven the diaries of four ordinary people as they struggle to cope with the day-to-day reality of life during the Second World War. Their voices combine to create one of the most compelling and refreshing takes on the period ever published. Meet Maggie Joy Blunt, a
America Unchained
The plan was simple. Go to America. Buy a second-hand car. Drive coast-to-coast without giving any money to The Man`. What could possibly go wrong? Dismayed by the relentless onslaught of faceless American chains muscling in where local businesses had once thrived, Dave Gorman set off on the ultimate American road trip – in search
Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons
At the age of twenty-six Matthew Fort first visited the Italian island of Sicily. He and his brother arrived in 1973 expecting sun, sea and good food, but they were totally unprepared for the lifelong effect of this most extraordinary of Mediterranean islands. Thirty years later, older and a bit wiser – but no less
Journey To The Sea
Whether it is memories of childhood holidays or exotic fantasies of faraway places, a sea and its coast forms the most evocative of landscapes. Combining elements of romance, danger and mystery, it provides the perfect inspiration for this unique collection. The finest writers from our water-bound nation, including Alexander McCall Smith, Ruth Rendell, Joanne Harris,
The Forager Handbook
At any time, in any place, food is there for the taking – if only we knew how and where to look. Miles Irving makes his living out of foraging – in this unique, authentic guide, he reveals the how, why, what and where of this lost art, a way of life that is becoming
I Never Knew That About England
This is the ultimate journey around England. Christopher Winn takes us to each county, to see where history happened, where people and ideas were born, where dreams took flight and where men and women now rest from their labours. To tread in their footsteps, to touch and experience some of what inspired and moved them
A Piano in the Pyrenees
Inspired by breathtaking views and romantic dreams of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys a house in the French Pyrenees. Here, he plans to finally fulfill his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, untroubled by the problems of the world. In reality, the chaotic story of Tony`s hopelessly ill-conceived house purchase reads
The Year of Eating Dangerously
Tired of the bland, processed pap served up in supermarkets and identikit restaurants across the UK, food writer Tom Parker Bowles embarks on a picaresque global odyssey in search of culinary extremes. The first to admit he has a timid tummy, Tom eschews the Michelin-starred restaurants he`s grown accustomed to and seeks out the most
Forza Italia
When journalist Paddy Agnew and his girlfriend Dympna touched down in Rome in 1985 in search of adventure, sunshine and the soul of Italian football (well, Paddy was looking for that), they were travelling into the uncharted terrain of a country they did not know and a language they did not speak. It soon became
The Hike
Freddy, Phil, and Don are three grumpy old men, travelling at various speeds in the slow lane of retirement, at a loss to understand the mad modern world around them. Their chosen method of escape from all this is a shared weekly hike in the Peak District, come gale, hail, snow or torrential rain. They
Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures)
It`s the early 1990s and three young people, working for the UN and Red Cross in Cambodia, become friends in the heady atmosphere of the country`s first democratic elections. All of them have been attracted to peacekeeping, in countries both dangerous and alluring, for different reasons. Heidi Postlewait is a social worker in need of
Climbing the Mango Trees
`I was born in a sprawling house by the Yamuna River in Delhi. When I was a few minutes old, Grandmother welcomed me into the world by writing “Om”, which means “I am” in Sanskrit, on my tongue with a little finger dipped in honey. When the family priest arrived to draw up my horoscope,
As Used on the famous Nelson Mandela
Mark Thomas is one of the UK`s most effective and best-known political activists, as well as being a highly successful stand-up comedian. His show, “The Mark Thomas Product”, ran for six highly acclaimed series on Channel Four. Amazingly, this is his first book. “As Used On the Famous Nelson Mandela” is a deeply funny, deeply
The Ritz London Book Of Afternoon Tea: The Art and Pleasures of Taking Tea
Taking tea is one of the quintessentially English occasions, and who is a greater authority on the subject than the sumptuous Ritz London Hotel? This charming Edwardian-style book captures the essence of this traditional British pastime, and provides us with all the expertise on the ceremony as well as the recipes. Stories about the legendary
