Category Archives: Travel Guides
Goldilocks and the Water Bears: The Search for Life in the Universe
`Highly recommended` Financial Times Today we know of only a single planet that hosts life: the Earth. But across a Universe of at least 100 billion possibly habitable worlds, surely our planet isn`t the only one that, like the porridge Goldilocks sought, is just right for life?Astrobiologists search the galaxy for conditions that are suitable
On a Wing and a Prayer: One Woman`s Adventure into the Heart of the Rainforest
When writer and intrepid traveller Sarah Woods set about discovering the jungles of Central and South America, her quest – to catch sight of one of the few last breeding pairs of Harpy Eagles – took her into some of the most remote tangles of vine-knotted jungles on the planet. In Panama`s rain-soaked Chiriqui highlands,
Few and Far Between: On the Trail of Britain`s Rarest Animals
Seeking the beautiful, the breathtaking and the bizarre, Charlie Elder goes in search of Britain`s rarest and most endangered animals. Travelling the length and breadth of the UK, and meeting up with experts along the way, he tracks down secretive and scarce mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects living on the brink, ranging from
Herring Tales: How the Silver Darlings Shaped Human Taste and History
Scots like to smoke or salt them. The Dutch love them raw. Swedes look on with relish as they open bulging, foul-smelling cans to find them curdling within. Jamaicans prefer them with a dash of chilli pepper. Germans and the English enjoy their taste best when accompanied by pickle`s bite and brine. Throughout the long
The Yacht Owner`s Manual: Everything You Need to Know to Get the Most Out of Your Yacht
Drawn from over 35 years of the author`s own experiences, this book is packed with expert wisdom and hand-holding guidance on every aspect of owning, equipping, maintaining, sailing, and of course, enjoying your first boat. Topics covered include: choice of boat, insurance, assessing (and costing) moorings and berths, navigation and safety equipment, domestic equipment (galley,
Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction
If you could bring back just one animal from the past, what would you choose? It can be anyone or anything from history, from the King of the Dinosaurs, T. rex, to the King of Rock `n` Roll, Elvis Presley, and beyond. De-extinction – the ability to bring extinct species back to life – is
Addicted to Adventure: Between Rocks and Cold Places
Bob Shepton is an ordained minister in the Church of England in his late 70s, but spends most of his time sailing into the Arctic and making first ascents of inaccessible mountains. No tea parties for this vicar. Opening with the disastrous fire that destroyed his yacht whilst he was ice-bound in Greenland, the book
This Island Race
British cycling is riding high in 2014. It`s a golden year for the sport in England with both the Tour de France and the Giro D`Italia starting on there this year – a true testament of the popularity of road cycling in the UK. But it`s not all about the Grand Tours. There`s a rich
Casting off: How a City Girl Found Happiness on the High Seas
As a journalist for the Independent, Emma Bamford is swept along with the London rat race, lost amongst the egos of Fleet Street. Surrounded by budget cuts and bullies, the thrill of a breaking news story is no longer enough. And at 31, still struggling to get to a fourth date and surrounded by friends
Australian Bird Guide
The Australian Bird Guide is the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever published. Almost 250 stunning plates are complemented by detailed maps and a rigorous and accurate text, covering identification, distribution and status, with a greater coverage of subspecific and plumage variation than any other guide. This book sets a new standard for
Holocaust Landscapes
The theme of Tim Cole`s Holocaust Landscapes concerns the geography of the Holocaust; the Holocaust as a place-making event for both perpetrators and victims. Through concepts such as distance and proximity, Professor Cole tells the story of the Holocaust through a number of landscapes where genocide was implemented, experienced and evaded and which have subsequently
The Boat Data Book: 7th edition
The Boat Data Book is a treasure trove of invaluable information for boatowners, designers, builders, surveyors, chandlers and anyone maintaining their own boat.This seventh edition has been updated throughout and is now in colour for the first time. It contains more tables of lengths, widths, weights and strengths as well as new data on a
Salty Dog Talk: The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions
Most of us never realise how many words and expressions used in everyday English have a fascinating nautical origin. This charming pocketbook explains the practical ship-board beginnings of over 200 such phrases – colourful, bizarre and surprising – and how they came ashore.
Handbook of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
This outstanding new handbook to whales, dolphins and porpoises is the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date guide to these popular mammals. With nearly 1,000 accurate illustrations – complete with detailed annotations pointing out the most significant field marks – this new handbook covers all 90 species and every subspecies in the world.Many of the world`s
Half-Time: The Glorious Summer of 1934
Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport. Within just a few days of each other, Hedley Verity, Henry Cotton and Fred Perry all triumphed in their field. To a sporting audience still groaning through the quagmire left by the Great Depression, greedy for inspiring distractions, these heroic
The North American Bird Guide
When the Sibley Guide to Birds was published in 2000, it was an overnight sensation, selling 500,000 copies in its first nine months (more than 1.5million copies have now been sold). It established David Sibley as the author and illustrator of the nations supreme and most comprehensive guide to birds. Used by millions of birders
Canvas Flying, Seagulls Crying: From Scottish Lochs to Celtic Shores
After Justin and Linda Tyers lost everything in a devastating house fire, they rebuilt their lives by building a classic wooden yacht from scratch – starting by felling the trees. This story was told in their first book, Phoenix from the Ashes. This sequel follows their voyage from the Scottish Islands across to Ireland, down
A Clean Break: My Story
Christophe Bassons is a former professional cyclist. His career was a successful one albeit never in the full glare of the media. That all changed when, in 1998, the Festina doping scandal broke and Bassons shot to fame as one of the handful of clean riders in the peloton – and as the only professional
Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA
NASA`s history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America`s space agency wasn`t created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer. In the 1930s, rockets were
A IS for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Her choice of deadly substances was far from random – the characteristics of each often provide vital
