Category Archives: Travel Guides
Cruising Along: Around the World in Eighty Years
Having an insatiable spirit of adventure and also a highly inquisitive mind most of Christian Lambs`s cruises were for a distinct purpose rather than just lying hedonistically on a deckchair in the sun. Sometimes she followed the routes of old seafaring explorers, other times visited sites of botanical interest (being a distinguished plantswoman), and on
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Ibn Battutah – ethnographer, biographer, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist – was just twenty-one when he set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He did not return to Morocco for another twenty-nine years, travelling instead through more than forty countries on the modern map, covering seventy-five thousand miles and
Running the Smoke: 26 First-Hand Accounts of Tackling the London Marathon
It is the world`s most iconic road race. It is twenty-six-point-two miles of iconic landmarks, cheers, tears, sweat, pain, courage, determination and inspiration. It is triumph over adversity on a colossal scale. It is the London Marathon – and it`s an event unlike any other. Running The Smoke tells the story of what it`s like
Three Weeks, Eight Seconds: The Epic Tour de France of 1989
The 1989 Tour de France is arguably the greatest ever. It saw American rider Greg LeMond overturn a 50-second deficit to France`s Laurent Fignon on the final stage on the Champs Elysees to snatch the title by a mere eight seconds. After three weeks and more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, these few seconds
Adventures of Alice Laselles by Alexandrina Victoria Aged 103/4: A Children`s Story Written and Illustrated by Queen Victoria
This charming story about the adventures of Alice Laselles at Miss Duncombe`s school for girls was written over 150 years ago. A delightful and unique children`s story, which will still enchant and captivate every little princess today.
Butterfly Fish
With wry humour and a deft touch, Butterfly Fish, the outstanding first novel by a stunning new writer, is a work of elegant and captivating storytelling. A dual narrative set in contemporary London and 18th century Benin in Africa, the book traverses the realms of magic realism with luminous style and graceful, effortless prose.
No More Heroes
7 July 2005. Simon Weekes is travelling on the London underground. Shortly into the journey, his carriage is wrecked by a bomb. Virtually everyone is killed and almost all the survivors are injured. Simon is among the few to have escaped relatively unharmed. He quickly organises the band of survivors into a rescue team and
My Family and Other Animals
My Family and Other Animals is Gerald Durrell`s hilarious account of five years in his childhood spent living with his family on the island of Corfu. With snakes, scorpions, toads, owls and geckos competing for space with one bookworm brother and another who`s gun-mad, as well as an obsessive sister, young Gerald has an awful
Triangulum
`Triangulum` is an ambitious, often philosophical and genre-bending novel that covers a period of over 40 years in South Africa`s recent past and near future starting from the collapse of the apartheid homeland system in the early 1990s, to the economic corrosion of the 2010s, and on to the looming, large-scale ecological disasters of the
Unlost: A Journey of Self-Discovery and the Healing Power of the Wild Outdoors
Gail Muller was told she`d be in a wheelchair by the age of forty. At forty-one she set out to hike one of the world`s toughest treks, The Appalachian Trail – a 2,200-mile journey that would help her reclaim her life and heal her mind and body. An inspiring, moving and uplifting memoir for fans
A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of the Australian High Country
The Australian High Country is located in the south-east of the continent, and extends from the Wollemi National Park and the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney, through the Kosciuszko and Alpine National Parks and south-west into Victoria, almost to the edge of Melbourne. It includes Canberra and the ACT.This book is a fully
The London Bird Atlas
The London area has a fantastic range of bird species, from the rare Black Redstart to the humble Feral Pigeon and the exotic Ring-necked Parakeet. Published jointly with The London Natural History Society, this atlas contains records of 200 species that were observed in the region, covering an area within 20 miles (or approximately 32km)
A Naturalist`s Guide to the Birds of China: Southeast China, Including Shanghai
A Naturalist`s Guide to the Birds of China: Southeast China, Including Shanghai will help you identify the 280 bird species most commonly seen in the area.With high quality photographs from the region`s top nature photographers and is accompanied by detailed species descriptions which include nomenclature, size, distribution, habits and habitat. The introduction covers geography and
A Naturalist`s Guide to the Garden Birds of Britain and Northern Europe
A Naturalist`s Guide to the Garden Birds of Britain and Northern Europe will help you identify the 90 bird species most commonly seen in or over the gardens of the area. Every species illustrated in colour with authoritative text describing key identification features. Includes an overview of classifications, how to make gardens attractive for birds
Spirit Worlds: Cambodia, the Buddha & the Naga
An absorbing study of Cambodian religion and beliefs covering everything from the role of monks in everyday life to beliefs in ghosts, gods and shamans. Belief in the supernatural covers every aspect of a Cambodian`s birth, life and death; life is a process of merit-making in order to maximize the conditions of their rebirth. Philip
Afoot in England
Afoot in England looks at the life of Argentinean born William Henry Hudson following his settlement in England in 1869. Hudson began a new life as a wanderer and field naturalist and his country rambles were an escape from a life that then held few other pleasures, not least many years living in poverty in
An Inland Voyage
Robert Louis Stevenson was not only a gifted writer; he was also an indefatigable traveller. His thirst for adventure was formed by his boyhood visits to remote Scottish lighthouses, and he spent much of his life fleeing the rigours of cold climes and social orthodoxy. Along the way he travelled through the Cevennes with a
Camping and Tramping in Malaya
Ambrose Rathborne was an Australian mining engineer who moved first to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) as a coffee planter, and then in the 1880s to the Malay States, where he worked as a planter and entrepreneur. Camping and Tramping in Malaya: Fifteen Years in the Native States of the Malay Peninsula was first published in
Italian Hours
Henry James was a renowned observer of European culture, both in his fiction and in his life. In particular, he loved Italy, visiting it 14 times and setting several of his novels in the country. Between 1873 and 1909 he also wrote numerous essays and travelogues that were ultimately collected into one volume and published
