Category Archives: Travel Guides
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER `Witty and erudite …stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.` Nick Duerden, Independent `Particularly good …Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history` William Leith, Evening Standard The Etymologicon is an
The 50 Greatest Bike Rides of the World
Imagine freewheeling through tufted French vineyards, scaling the rocky, cloud-topped tracks in the Himalayas or rattling past whitewashed sugar-cube houses in narrow Spanish valleys. From surviving the peaks of the Yorkshire Dales to tackling truly hair-raising descents in rural Cuba, the sheer variety of routes in The 50 Greatest Bike Rides of the World will
The Other Exile: The Story of Fernao Lopes, St Helena and a Paradise Lost
The first known inhabitant of St Helena – long before Napoleon – was a 16th-century Portuguese renegade.In 1506 Fernao Lopes, a member of his country`s minor nobility, travelled to Goa in search of honour and wealth. There he converted to Islam, married a Muslim, fought his former countrymen, and was eventually captured – his nose
Rooms of One`s Own: 50 Places That Made Literary History
Writers` relationships with their surroundings are seldom straightforward. While some, like Jane Austen and Thomas Mann, wrote novels set where they were staying (Lyme Regis and Venice respectively), Victor Hugo penned Les Miserables in an attic in Guernsey and Noel Coward wrote that most English of plays, Blithe Spirit, in the Welsh holiday village of
Eureka!: The Birth of Science
Medicine, anatomy, astronomy, mathematics and cosmology, science began with the Greeks, and Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Archimedes and Hippocrates were amongst its stars. That man ever managed to develop a `scientific` attitude to the natural world at all is one of the true wonders of human thought. Eureka! shows how, free from intellectual and religious dogma,
Sex, Botany and Empire (Icon Science): The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks
When the imperial explorer James Cook returned from his first voyage to Australia, scandal writers mercilessly satirised the amorous exploits of his botanist Joseph Banks, whose trousers were reportedly stolen while he was inside the tent of Queen Oberea of Tahiti. Was the pursuit of scientific truth really what drove Enlightenment science?In Sweden and Britain,
Turing and the Universal Machine (Icon Science): The Making of the Modern Computer
The history of the computer is entwined with that of the modern world and with the life of one man, the brilliant but troubled Alan Turing.How did the computer come to structure and dominate our lives so totally? In Jon Agar`s enlightening story of the `universal machine`, we discover how Turing`s groundbreaking work not only
Moving Heaven and Earth (Icon Science): Copernicus and the Solar System
When Nicolaus Copernicus claimed that the Earth was not stationary at the centre of the universe but circled the Sun, he brought about a total revolution in the sciences and consternation in the Church.Copernicus` theory demanded a new physics to explain motion and force, a new theory of space, and a completely new conception of
30-Second Psychology: The 50 Most Thought-provoking Psychology Theories, Each Explained in Half a Minute
The key ideas in Psychology explained, with colour illustrations, in half a minute. Pavlov`s Dogs, Psychoanalysis, Milgram`s Obedience Study, and Beck`s Cognitive Therapy? Sure, you know what they all mean. That is, you`ve certainly heard of them. But do you know enough about these psychology theories to join a dinner party debate or dazzle the
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World`s Happiest Country
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn`t Disneyland, but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the
50 Most Influential Britons
Peter Pugh presents his selection of ‘“ not the best, fastest, most successful or richest ‘“ but the 50 most influential British men and women of the modern world ‘“ for good or ill. Pugh discusses and ranks the influence of scientists and inventors such as Francis Crick, John Logie Baird and Alan Turing; lawmakers
Mr Peacock`s Possessions
An intimate, intense and beautifully realised novel of possession, power and the liberating loss of innocence, this will delight fans of MISTER PIP and THE POISONWOOD BIBLE. Oceania 1879. A family of settlers from New Zealand are the sole inhabitants of a remote volcanic island.For two years they have struggled with the harsh reality of
The 50 Greatest Walks of the World
Barry Stone, author of 1001 Walks You Must Experience Before You Die, delves into some of the lesser-known aspects of the world`s most famous – and not-quite-famous-yet – trails. The perfect accompaniment to practical guidebooks, Stone relates how slings and carabiners kept him from falling headlong off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and reports on the
Corpus: A gripping spy thriller to rival Fatherland
A gripping spy thriller for fans of ROBERT HARRIS and WILLIAM BOYD from award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Rory Clements 1936. Europe is in turmoil. The Nazis have marched into the Rhineland. In Russia, Stalin has unleashed his Great Terror. Spain has erupted in civil war. In Berlin, a young Englishwoman evades the Gestapo to deliver
Good Friday: Before Prime Suspect there was Tennison – this is her story
BEFORE PRIME SUSPECT THERE WAS TENNISON.Every legend has a beginning . . . During 1974 and 1975 the IRA subjected London to a terrifying bombing campaign. In one day alone, they planted seven bombs at locations across central London. Some were defused – some were not. Jane Tennison is now a fully-fledged detective. On the
This Green and Pleasant Land
The standout new novel by acclaimed author Ayisha Malik – perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Candice Carty-Williams.In the sleepy village of Babel`s End, trouble is brewing. Bilal Hasham is having a mid-life crisis. His mother has just died, and he finds peace lying in a grave he`s dug in the garden. His elderly
Nucleus
From the award-winning Sunday Times bestselling author of CORPUS The eve of war: a secret so deadly, nothing and no one is safe June 1939. England is partying like there is no tomorrow, gas masks at the ready. In Cambridge the May Balls are played out with a frantic intensity – but the good times
The Girl With No Home: Tears, smiles and a guaranteed happy ending
A heart-warming novel from the Queen of family saga. For fans of Katie Flynn and Rosie Goodwin.CAN SHE FINALLY FIND THE PLACE SHE BELONGS?London, 1888.Abandoned by her mother at the age of seven, Jerusha Carey is no stranger to being left behind. And later when she marries Dan Applebee, an older, reliable farmer from Kent,
The Woman Who Wanted More
Two women. One unusual cookbook. And a friendship that will show them how to savour each moment…Kate Parker is about to turn forty and her world has fallen apart. Her seemingly rock-solid relationship is suddenly up in the air, and she`s been forced to move back in with her mother. In need of some distraction,
A Maiden`s Voyage: The heart-warming Sunday Times bestseller
`A vibrant page-turner with entrancing characters` Margaret Dickinson`Rosie writes such heartwarming sagas` Lyn AndrewsThursday`s child has far to go . . . 1912, London.Eighteen-year-old Flora Butler is going up in the world. She has the prized position of lady`s maid to young Constance Ogilvie, and is able to provide for her beloved parents and four
