Category Archives: Travel Guides
The Angel`s Game
Set in the turbulent 1920s, The Angel’s Game takes us back to the gothic universe of the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books, the Sempere & Son bookshop, and the winding streets of Barcelona`s old quarter, in a masterful tale about the magic of books and the darkest corners of the human soul.In an abandoned mansion
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
WINNER 2007 BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTIONPaul Torday`s Salmon Fishing in Yemen is an extraordinarily warm-hearted tale of faith, fish and Yemen; it is a beguiling story, one with added fly-fishing, unexpected heroism, late-blooming love and of an attempt to make the impossible possible.When he is asked to become involved in a project
A History of Scotland
Scotland is one of the oldest countries in the world with a vivid and diverse past. Yet the stories and figures that dominate Scottish history – tales of failure, submission, thwarted ambition and tragedy – often badly serve this great nation, overshadowing the rich tapestry of her intricate past. Historian Neil Oliver presents a compelling
Cochineal Red – Travels Through Ancient Peru
In the fascinating ‘Cochineal Red” Hugh Thomson`s details his extensive travels through the principal sites of Ancient Peru, intelligently weaving five turbulent millennia of Peruvian history, expert archaeological knowledge and the author’s personal accounts.Peru wears its ancient cultures wrapped around in layers, like one of the mummified bodies so well preserved by the nitrates of
Twelve Days: Revolution 1956. How the Hungarians Tried to Topple Their Soviet Masters
The Hungarian Revolution in 1956 is a story of extraordinary bravery in a fight for freedom, and of ruthless cruelty in suppressing a popular dream. A small nation, its people armed with a few rifles and petrol bombs, had the will and courage to rise up against one of the world`s superpowers. The determination of
The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce
Late one summer evening, Wilberforce – rich, young, and work-obsessed – makes a detour on his way home to the vast undercroft of Caerlyon Hall, and the domain of Francis Black, a place where wine, hospitality and affection flow freely. Through Francis, Wilberforce is initiated into a life rich in the promise of friendship and
In The Name Of Rome
The Roman army was one of the most effective fighting forces in history. The legions and their commanders carved out an empire which eventually included the greater part of the known world. This was thanks largely to the generals who led the Roman army to victory after victory, and whose strategic and tactical decisions shaped
Yiddish Civilisation
In the 13th century Yiddish language and culture began to spread from the Rhineland and Bavaria slowly east into Austria, Bohemia and Moravia, then to Poland and Lithuania and finally to western Russia and the Ukraine, becoming steadily less German and more Slav in the process. In its late-medieval heyday the culturally vibrant, economically successful,
Building Jerusalem, The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City
This is a history of the ideas that shaped not only London, but Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield and other power-houses of 19th-century Britain. It charts the controversies and visions that fostered Britain`s greatest civic renaissance. Tristram Hunt explores the horrors of the Victorian city, as seen by Dickens, Engels and Carlyle; the influence
Himalaya
Michael Palin takes us on a full length journey of the Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on earth, stretching 1,800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to southwest China.Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles and deserts, Palin now tackles the world’s longest mountain range – The Himalaya’s. His journey takes him through the
London: A Short History (Roman to Present)
The structure of the book is chronological, with digressions. From Roman and then Norman London, we move on to Chaucer`s London – the city of the Peasants Revolt, Dick Whittington and the great Livery Companies. In Tudor and Stuart London many believed the city was being wrecked by over-population, over-building and the greed of speculators.
Catherine de Medici
Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at fourteen to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly humiliated by his influential mistress Diane de Poitiers. When her husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine was made queen regent
Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs
`Shakespeare and Company` in Paris is one of the world`s most famous bookshops. The original store opened in 1921 and became known as the haunt of literary greats, such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Bernard Shaw, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. Sadly the shop was forced to close in 1941, but
Pompeii: The Living City
This startling new book concentrates on the twenty years between 59 and 79AD, thus beginning with the earthquake which all but destroyed Pompeii and ending with the volcanic eruption which has become part of our collective popular imagination. Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence have synthesised the latest research into Pompeii to bring this period of
Marie Antionette
Marie Antoinette`s dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still `la reine mechante`, whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: `let them eat cake`. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a
Debs at War
Pre-war debutantes were members of the most protected, not to say isolated, stratum of 20th-century society: the young (17-20) unmarried daughters of the British upper classes. For most of them, the war changed all that for ever. It meant independence and the shock of the new, and daily exposure to customs and attitudes that must
The White Rock – An Exploration of the Inca Heartland
The White Rock describes Hugh Thomson’s quest for the lost cities of the Amazonian Inca heartland, following in the footsteps of previous explorers and making new discoveries about the ancient Inca Empire.While working in London Hugh Thomson hears an extraordinary story about an Inca ruin which had been discovered, only to be unbelievably lost again.
Victorian London: The Life of a City 1840-1870
Like her previous books, this book is the product of the author`s passionate interest in the realities of everyday life – and the conditions in which most people lived – so often left out of history books. This period of mid Victorian London covers a huge span: Victoria`s wedding and the place of the royals
Being A Man
Having learnt Aikido with the Tokyo riot police (ANGRY WHITE PYJAMAS) and hunted for the world`s longest snake in the jungles of the Far East (BIG SNAKE), Robert Twigger now turns his attention to other traditionally male pursuits and pastimes (some of which are fairly close to home, some of which are more extreme), and
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
The civil war that tore Spain apart between 1936 and 1939 and attracted liberals and socialists from across the world to support the cause against Franco was one of the most hard-fought and bitterest conflicts of the 20th century: a war of atrocities and political genocide and a military testing ground before WWII for the
