Travel writing Books

Book SynopsisLONGLISTED IN THE ADVENTURE TRAVEL CATEGORY OF THE 2017 BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK AWARDS SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERBY THE AUTHOR OF WALKING THE HIMALAYAS, WINNER OF THE 2016 EDWARD STANFORD ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD''Levison Wood has breathed new life into adventure travel.'' Michael PalinWalking the Americas chronicles Levison Wood''s 1,800 mile trek along the spine of the Americas, through eight countries, from Mexico to Colombia, experiencing some of the world''s most diverse, beautiful and unpredictable places.His journey took him from violent and dangerous cities to ancient Mayan ruins lying still unexplored in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala. He encountered members of indigenous tribes, migrants heading towards the US border and proud Nicaraguan revolutionaries on his travels, where at the end of it all, he attempted to cross one of the most impenetrablTrade ReviewLevison Wood is a great adventurer and a wonderful storyteller. - Sir Ranulph FiennesBritain's best-loved adventurer... he looks like a man who will stare danger in the face and soak up a lot of pain without complaint. - The TimesLevison Wood has breathed new life into adventure travel. - Michael Palin

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Book Synopsis''Home seems impossibly far away as we step out onto a rough base of ice and snow. The temperature is -25C. This is considered warm . . .''Michael Palin''s journey from North to South Pole sees him tackling Arctic ice floes, scaling Sudanese sand dunes and white-water rafting on the Zambezi. Pole to Pole chronicles this awe-inspiring overland adventure by train, truck, bike and Ski-Doo as Michael races against time to finally stand in Scott''s shoes in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

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Book SynopsisWe cherish things, Japan has always known, precisely because they cannot last; it's their frailty that adds sweetness to their beauty. Returning to his home in Japan after his father-in-law's sudden death, Pico Iyer soon picks up the steadying patterns of his everyday rites: going to the post office in the day and engaging in spirited games of ping-pong in the evenings. But in a country whose calendar is marked with occasions honouring the dead, he soon finds himself grappling with the question we all have to live with: how to hold on to the things we love even though we know that they – and we – are dying. As the maple leaves begin to turn and the heat starts to soften, Iyer shows us a Japan we have seldom seen before through the season that reminds us to take nothing for granted.Trade ReviewWhat holds everything together, besides Iyer’s elegantly smooth prose style and gift for detailed observation, is a circling around the theme of autumn in Japan and this autumnal period in his life ... There's much wisdom in what he says * New York Times Book Review *A tender meditation on both Japanese culture and the impermanence of life * National Geographic Traveller *A memoir about transience, decline and Iyer's simple life among ping-pong playing pensioners * Financial Times, Books of the Year *Exquisite ... [Iyer] is a consummate tour guide * New Yorker *[An] exquisite personal blend of philosophy and engagement, inner quiet and worldly life ... A vivid meditation ... It’s Iyer’s keen ear for detail and human nature that helps him populate his trademark cantabile prose ... [A] genuine and loving tale * Los Angeles Times *Luminous ... An engrossing narrative, a moving meditation on loss and an evocative, lyrical portrait of Japanese society * Publishers Weekly *As a guide to far-flung places, Pico Iyer can hardly be surpassed -- praise for 'Sun After Dark' * New Yorker *Humbling and moving ... One of a handful of magical books that I have read straight through -- praise for 'The Man Within My Head' * Daily Telegraph *In his guise of travel writer, Iyer has really been our most elegant poet of dislocation -- praise for 'The Man Within My Head' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA pilot's love letter to the world's greatest cities from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Skyfaring'A journey around both the author's mind and the planet's great cities that leaves us energised, open to new experiences and ready to return more hopefully to our lives' ALAIN DE BOTTONGrowing up in his small hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spun the illuminated globe in his bedroom and dreamt of elsewhere - of distant, real cities, and a perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination.Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent more than two decades crossing the skies of our planet and touching down in the cities he'd always longed to see. Imagine a City celebrates the metropolises he has come to know and love through the lens of the hometown his heart has never left. From the sweeping roads of Los Angeles and the old gates of Jeddah to the intricate, dream-inspired plan of Brasília, he shows us with warmth and fresh eyes the extraordinary places that billions of us call home.'Vanhoenacker... has a near-bottomless appetite for fresh sights and guidebook curiosities... Intimate and thoughtful' PICO IYER, AIR MAIL'A love letter to the cities he's returned to again and again... Vanhoenacker captivates when describing the silent beauty of a world glimpsed from above' Washington Post'Eloquent... A love song to cities the world over' Wall Street JournalTrade ReviewImagine a City... will enchant and even move anyone who feared in recent years for the future of both travel and urbanism -- Janan Ganesh * Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2022* *Vanhoenacker is exceptionally well travelled, and an exceptionally curious and widely read observer... He doesn't waste an hour, and with every return his engagement with each city deepens... Superb -- Jonathan Buckley * Times Literary Supplement *Dreamy and erudite... [Vanhoenacker is] a most likeable, warm-hearted narrator with an original world view -- Melanie Reid * The Times *Imagine a City is really about home... a variation on the Great Expectations narrative, with our young hero feeling uncomfortable where he grows up, flying the nest for a series of transformative experiences but discovering he can never quite leave home nor fully return * Spectator *What makes Mark Vanhoenacker's Imagine a City such a joy, is that this is a travel book entirely rooted in modernity and globalization... but which nonetheless retains the wide-eyed wonder, not so much of a 19th-century explorer as of a medieval pilgrim -- Tim Hannigan * Asian Review of Books *In this new work, Vanhoenacker... plunges deeper into his own past growing up in Pittsfield as a gay man... His autobiographical vignettes are searching and touching, delivered with an affectionate lyricism -- Pico Iyer * Air Mail *More personal [than Skyfaring], but with the same reassuringly precise and perceptive voice -- Tom Robbins * Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2022* *Mark Vanhoenacker is a beautiful, lyrical writer who uses his experience as a pilot to bring us constantly in touch with the transcendent and the other-worldly -- Alain de BottonA enriching memoir of how a sensitive, introverted boy's yearning for escape and acceptance found its fulfilment in the life of an airline pilot... A touching survey of human dreams and endeavours and a hymn to the quiet pleasures of returning, in the flesh or in memory, to the intimate geography of one's hometown -- Patrick GaleRefreshingly personal and moving... This absorbing modern twist on the age-old story of flying the nest, yet yearning for home, will transport you around the globe and back again without leaving your seat -- Mark Ovenden, author of AIRLINE MAPS and LONDON UNDERGROUND BY DESIGNI absolutely love the way Mark Vanhoenacker writes about the world; he gives you a whole new way of seeing -- Jenny Colgan, author of SUNRISE BY THE SEAAn utterly remarkable and original travel book. Like Jan Morris and Pico Iyer, Vanhoenacker weaves memoir and travelogue, using his unusual perch as a pilot to take us on an incredible journey to dozens of cities around the world. Like Italo Calvino, he somehow weaves it all into one, a painfully beautiful cubist city of memory and dreams that rises out of his warm and lyrical prose -- Andrew Blum, author of TUBES and THE WEATHER MACHINEA tour de force of descriptive power and honesty; I can think of no other book like this one -- Tom Zoellner, winner of the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionQuietly thoughtful without being either self-conscious or -indulgent. Vanhoenacker retains a refreshing sense of good fortune and even amazement that one can step into a cylindrical metal tube and emerge hours later into different air, different sunlight and a different world picture -- Peter Neville-Hadley * South China Morning Post *Mark Vanhoenacker...weaves an account of this hugely gifted writer's small-town gay boyhood through evocations of the cities around the world he has come to love as an airline pilot * Daily Mail, *Books of the Year* *Beautiful, meditative and insightful * Shafik Meghji, author of Crossed off the Map: Travels in Bolivia *Few books nowadays truly break new ground but Mark Vanhoenacker succeeds in doing so with Imagine a City. Sensitive, smart and utterly fascinating, I have recommended it to almost everyone I know * Caroline Eden, journalist and author of Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes Through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland *Mark Vanhoenacker is more than a British Airways pilot with the soul of a poet - he is without doubt the greatest travel writer since Bruce Chatwin * Tony Parsons, award-winning journalist and bestselling author of Your Neighbour’s Wife *You couldn't ask for a more literary pilot to have up at the sharp end of your next flight than Mark Vanhoenacker...[but] flying isn't so front and centre of his book Imagine a City, this time it's about where his flying takes him. * Tony Wheeler, author and co-founder of Lonely Planet *

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Book SynopsisBefore Joy Adamson went to Africa, before Margaret Mead sailed to Samoa, a Kansas teenager named Osa Leighty married pioneering photographer Martin Johnson. Together the Johnsons flew and sailed to Borneo, Kenya, and the Congo, filming Simba and other popular nature movies with Martin behind the camera and Osa holding her rifle at the ready in case the big game star should turn hostile. Illustrated with scores of the dramatic photos that made the Johnsons famous, this bestselling memoir retraces their careers in rich detail, with precisely observed descriptions and heart-stopping anecdotes.Trade Review"books of adventure are so numerous….[But] this one is unique. It has the human quality of a novel and the permanence of social history." —Katherine Woods, The New York Times"Tells the whole story unaffectedly and with a simple charm that is highly engaging. It belongs on any list of Americana, for the Johnsons were as American as Davy Crockett." —Joseph Wood Krutch, The Nation"A pleasant, forthright…exciting book." —Clifton Fadiman, The New Yorker"It makes good reading…at this dark hour, as good an ‘escape story’ as you are apt to run into for some time." —Atlantic Monthly"I MARRIED ADVENTURE is a fine book on many counts…A good travel book, a good adventure book, a good book about animals, a good book on photography, and , best of all…a good human story about two extremely likable people, told by one of them with simplicity, humor, [and] warmth." —Rose Feld, Books"It isn’t just the animal-lover who will cherish this story. Anyone who likes a thrilling tale (a true one, too) with a plucky, nervy, cheerful, and charming hero and heroine is all set. I MARRIED ADVENTURE is as rare and real as the people who made it possible."—Olga Owens, Boston Transcript"The reader is impressed with the tremendous industriousness of these two people, their physical endurance, their patience, their understanding of animals and natives, and their love for each other….[The] old and young will enjoy this book. It is splendidly illustrated." —M.N. Baker, Library Journal"Every page of her book is readable and exciting: the photographs are plentiful and have all the dramatic quality that we are used to in the camera work of the author and her husband." —Manchester Guardian

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Book SynopsisA narrative history of the craft cocktail renaissance, written by a New York Times cocktail writer and one of the foremost experts on the subject.A Proper Drink is the first-ever book to tell the full, unflinching story of the contemporary craft cocktail revival. Award-winning writer Robert Simonson interviewed more than 200 key players from around the world, and the result is a rollicking (if slightly tipsy) story of the characters—bars, bartenders, patrons, and visionaries—who in the last 25 years have changed the course of modern drink-making. The book also features a curated list of about 40 cocktails—25 modern classics, plus an additional 15 to 20 rediscovered classics and classic contenders—to emerge from the movement.

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Book SynopsisA city of tropical heat, ramshackle beauty, and its very own cadence--a city that always surprises--Havana is brought to pulsing life by New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky.Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over more than thirty years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes, historic engravings, photographs, and Kurlansky's own pen-and-ink drawings throughout, Havana celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball, and food; its five centuries of outstanding, neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.Like all great cities, Havana has a rich history that informs the vibrant place it is today--from the native Taino to Columbus's landing, from Cuba's status as a U.S. protectorate to Batista's dictatorship and Castro's revolution, from Soviet presence to the welcoming of capitalist tourism. Havana is a place of extremes: a beautifully restored colonial city whose cobblestone streets pass through areas that have not been painted or repaired since long before the revolution.Kurlansky shows Havana through the eyes of Cuban writers, such as Alejo Carpentier and José Martí, and foreigners, including Graham Greene and Hemingway. He introduces us to Cuban baseball and its highly opinionated fans; the city's music scene, alive with the rhythm of son; its culinary legacy. Through Mark Kurlansky's multilayered and electrifying portrait, the long-elusive city of Havana comes stirringly to life.

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Book SynopsisThe Traces is a ranging inquiry into the seductions of memory and travel, the fragile paradox of desire, and the art of making meaning from a life. The Traces is a work of memoir and criticism that explores the nature of happiness in art, literature, and philosophy, structured around a season spent in Italy and a reading of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. Poised between plummeting depressions, the author considers the intellectual merits of joy and the redeeming promise offered by the beauty, both natural and manmade, that surrounds her. Traveling from Florence to Rome to Venice, drawing on the fields of physics, history, architecture, and cartography, and spurred by thinkers from Aristotle and Montaigne to Cesare Pavese and Anne Carson,The Traces is an ecstatic, insightful, and original debut. Trade Review“A stunning exploration of happiness and memory. These brilliant, beautiful essays challenged and delighted me. A transcendent debut.” —Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half “Lyric and enigmatic, The Traces hints at every turn some imminent parting of the veils. Mairead Small Staid wraps her personal narrative in rich speculative cloth. Italy crowds the senses. Reading, I remembered my delight as a child watching iron filings moving slowly into design as the magnet approached the sheet of paper from below.” —Sven Birkerts, author of Changing the Subject: Art and Attention in the Internet Age “Mairead Small Staid is an exceptionally delightful critic, with a lavish, forceful intellect and a style marked by cross-disciplinary ignition and pointillistic grace. In The Traces, which is the kind of book that'll be passed around like a good secret, she pursues happiness as a magic aberration, a subject as fraught and consequential as its well-trod opposite. Immortalizing one golden season in Florence, she captures the flux of her own personhood and potential—and ours, too—under the influence of time, art, weather, love, and chance.” —Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Scottish Nature Photography Book Awards Washed by the surging waves of the Atlantic Ocean, the island chain of Scotland's Outer Hebrides lies at the very edge of Europe. From white shell sands, peaty moors and gnarly mountains to heather hills, sea-green lochs and mysterious ancient monuments, these are places of unrivalled beauty. This book is a fabulous invitation to discover the unique magic of Lewis and Harris, Berneray, North Uist, Grimsay, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay, Bara and Vatersay, as well as the vibrant Gaelic culture of the islanders. Packed with fascinating insights, hidden gems and helpful information, it offers the uplifting opportunity for meaningful travels and life-affirming experiences in these extraordinary islands. Trade Review'uncovers the secret treasures of the Outer Hebrides' -- Maggie Ritchie * The Herald *'Every so often a book comes along that is so good that it has to be considered essential reading for anyone interested in its subject. "Hebridean Journey: The Magic of Scotland’s Outer Isles" by Brigid Benson is just such a book' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *'A must have for travellers to the Outer Hebrides!' * Visit Outer Hebrides *'Do not be fooled into thinking that this is merely a travel guide to this stunning place; rather, Benson has shone a spotlight on each island to show their distinct characteristics' -- Megan Amato * Scottish Field *

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Book SynopsisMairi Hedderwick embarks on a six-month-long journey to 40 islands from Arran to Lewis, recounting her pilgrimage around the archipelago of the Western Isles with which she has had a lifelong love affair.Filled with wit and wisdom that is matched by her spell-binding illustrations, Mairi Hedderwick portrays the islands in all their diversity, with swift and perceptive cameos of everyday life drawn with humour and affection alongside gorgeous landscapes which capture the truly magical beauty of the Hebrides.

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Book SynopsisCarla Grissman spent the better part of a year in the '60s living in a farming hamlet in remote Anatolia, some 250 km east of Ankara. The hospitality, the friendship and the way in which the inhabitants of Uzak Koy accepted her into their community left a deep impression, and were remembered and treasured in a private memoir. Not for some forty years was it published, and yet it is one of the most honest, clear-sighted and affectionate portraits of rural Turkey, testimony to Proverbs 15:17, 'Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than feasting on a fattened ox where hatred also dwells'.

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Book SynopsisA short, hilarious primer to modern France. Dental hygienists are illegal, yet the French exchange a staggering 184 billion kisses every year and many more crazy little French quirks.

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Book SynopsisAn enchanting visual glossary of the British landscape: photographs and stories which take the reader from the waterlogged fens to the white sands of the Western Isles.'Out . . . over the hill and then down the dip and through some lumpy bits.' This was how Dominick Tyler used to describe the places he roamed during his childhood in rural Cornwall. Vague generalities were good enough then, but later he felt a more precise, more detailed language must exist, precisely because he needed it to do what people must have needed it to do for millennia: give directions, tell a story or find a place.And so he began collecting words for landscape features, words like jackstraw, zawn, clitter and cowbelly, shivver and swag, tolmen and tor. Words that are as varied, rich and poetic as the landscapes they describe. Many of these words for our landscape are falling into obscurity, some endure only by haunting place-names and old maps. Here Dominick Tyler gathers them into an enchanting visual glossary of the British landscape.On facing pages are photographs and stories touching on geology, literature, topography, folklore and a time when our ancestors read the lines on the land as fluently as text. Taking us from the waterlogged fens to the whitesands of the Western Isles, this full-colour book is a rare delight.

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Book SynopsisThe hidden histories and present-day pathways of walking and motherhood and freedom.

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Book SynopsisBlack Sea is a homage to an ocean and its shores, from the earliest times to the present. It explores the culture, history and politics of the volatile region which surrounds the Black Sea. Ascherson recalls the world of Herodotus and Aeschylus; Ovid's place of exile on what is now the coast of Romania; the decline and fall of Byzantium; the mysterious Christian Goths; the Tatar Khanates; the growth of Russian power across the grasslands, and the centuries of war between Ottoman and Russian Empires around the Black Sea. He examines the terrors of Stalinism and its fascist enemy, both striving for mastery of these endlessly colourful and complex shores, and investigates the turbulent history of modern Ukraine.WITH A FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR 'A brilliant biography of place' Guardian'Every page is freighted with rich and fascinating detail' IndependentTrade ReviewA brilliant biography of place. The complex social, ethnic and extraordinary ecological histories of this region - combined with vivid anecdotes and encounters - provide the background for stimulating reflections * Guardian *Must certainly be among the year's most memorable non-fiction books * Financial Times *A scholarly desktop travel through lost worlds * The Times *A genuinely compelling book: erudite, original, beautifully written * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisWINNER - TRAVEL NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 (British Guild of Travel Writers) My Family and Other Enemies is part travelogue, part memoir that dives into the hinterland of Croatia. Mary Novakovich explores her ongoing relationship with the region of Lika in central Croatia, where her parents were born.. 'Lika is little known to most travellers - apart from Plitvice Lakes National Park and the birthplace of Nikola Tesla,' she says. 'It's a region of wild beauty that has been battered by centuries of conflict. Used as a buffer zone between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires for hundreds of years, Lika became a land of war and warriors. And when Yugoslavia started to disintegrate in 1991, it was here where some of the first shots were fired.' Shipped off to Lika as a child during the supposedly golden years of Tito to stay with relatives she barely knew, Novakovich has been revisiting Croatia ever since, researching the story of her family's often harrowing life: in 1941 her aunt was the only survivor of Serbs massacred by Croatian fascists; and her mother saved her grandmother from being buried alive when she was thought to be dead from typhus. Amidst adversity there is resilience and laughter, too, with plenty of light to balance the shade. Eccentric and entertaining characters abound, showing typically sardonic Balkan humour. And, this being the Balkans, much of daily life revolves around food, which features prominently. Throughout, aspects of Croatian history that relate to Lika are woven into the narrative to give the story some much-needed context. And in recounting her own family's tumultuous history, Novakovich opens up a world that is little known outside the Balkans, telling the stories of people whose experiences weren't widely reported at the time, when the devastation in Croatia was superseded by the Bosnian conflict and media attention moved elsewhere.Trade Review'Tender, moving and beautifully written. Mary Novakovich makes the recent history of a turbulent region come alive in a book that is a joy to read. Highly recommended.' Peter Frankopan, author of The New Silk Roads 'Vivid, charming and bursting with life, My Family and Other Enemies is a tender and affectionate portrait of an area unknown to most of us, an area I'm now desperate to explore. I loved it.' Christina Patterson, author of Outside the Sky Is Blue 'A moving, bittersweet memoir of loss and belonging - and of one woman's search for identity.' Marcus Tanner, editor of Balkan Insight and author of Croatia: A Nation Forged in War 'Mary Novakovich's exploration of her family's experiences in a Serbian enclave within Croatia inevitably confronts some of the darkest chapters of recent European history, yet it brims with an infectious love of the landscape, the people, their culture and cuisine - and of life itself.' CJ Schüler, author of Along the Amber Route: St Petersburg to Venice 'When I walked through the Lika region of Croatia, following the Bora wind, I met a shepherd who boasted of the strength of Lika people (and Lika dogs). Reading Novakovich's enjoyable book, I now understand what he meant. My Family and Other Enemies is a fascinating exploration of a region that proudly sets itself apart, a journey through culture, history, landscape - and of course through family.' Nick Hunt, author of Outlandish: Walking Europe's Unlikely Landscapes 'Mary Novakovich leads us through the past - from an 11-year-old city kid thrown into primitive village life on a first trip to Croatia, though the years of trauma as Yugoslavia disintegrated - to a more hopeful future for a corner of Europe so blessed with beauty and humanity.' Simon Calder, The IndependentTable of ContentsPrologue Part 1 Summer 1976 Part 2 May 2004 Part 3 June 2009 Part 4 September 2011 Part 5 July 2015 Part 6 June 2019 Epilogue Acknowledgements

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Book Synopsis'Neither a travel book, nor a vast prose poem, nor a history, nor philosophy, nor voyage of discovery, but often all at once' Independent on SundayWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RICHARD FLANAGAN In this fascinating journey Claudio Magris, whose knowledge is encyclopaedic and whose curiosity limitless, guides his reader from the source of the Danube in the Bavarian hills through Austro-Hungary and the Balkans to the Black Sea. Along the way he raises the ghosts that inhabit the houses and monuments - from Ovid to Kafka and Canetti - and in so doing sets his finger on the pulse of Central Europe, the vital crucible of a culture that draws on influences of East and West, of Christendom and Islam.Trade ReviewImpeccable... Magris, a guide of enormous modesty, has not only read everything: he has been everywhere, met everybody -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Arts and Books Review *There is so much to praise about this extraordinary book... Irresistably enjoyable -- Mark Thompson * Literary Review *Not simply a masterpiece of travel; it is an odyssey... A splendid book, beautifully translated * Independent *A uniquely stimulating and individual portrait of the heart of Europe -- Colin Thubron * Sunday Telegraph *This book is full of wonder and delights...Magris writes beautifully; he seems to have read everything. His reading has not made just clever but wise. On almost every page there are passages that make the heart life... Danube is a masterpiece -- John Banville

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Book Synopsis'A gripping read for anyone who cares about what we're doing to the planet and how we can change it' DAVID SHUKMAN, FORMER BBC NEWS SCIENCE EDITOR'Searing observations focused on our need to protect biodiversity - A tour de force' SIR TIM SMIT OBE, CO-FOUNDER OF THE EDEN PROJECT'An informative, uplifting and truly important book' JONATHON PORRITT, AUTHOR AND CAMPAIGNEROne woman's journey through South America - and the devastating story of our planet's disappearing biodiversityPedalling hard for thirteen months, eco adventurer Kate Rawles cycled the length of the Andes on an eccentric bicycle she built herself. The Life Cycle charts her mission to find out why biodiversity is so important, what's happening to it, and what can be done to protect it.From the Pacific Ocean to rainforests and salt flats, Kate learns that armadillos can cross rivers by holding their breath, that Colombia has more species of birds than North America and Europe combined, and that in threatening species and ecosystems, we're tearing down our own life support system. En route, she witnesses the devastation of goldmining and oil drilling but finds hope in the incredible people working to regenerate habitats and communities. As she reaches the 'end of the world', she realises that to tackle biodiversity loss we all have a role to play.Trade ReviewThe best travelling companion you could dream up. [Rawles'] conversational style, ear for an anecdote and searing observations focused on our need to protect biodiversity are a tour de force ... Her language is easy and her sense of humour rarely more than a heartbeat away ... I finished the book with a sense of regret that the adventure was over, inspired by the awesome and deeply melancholy at the hells she visited along the way. Welcome to the complexity of the real world -- Tim Smit OBE, co-founder of the Eden ProjectThe Life Cycle's pace is brisk, the vistas magnificent, the many characters encountered along the way compellingly and entertainingly brought to life. Even the all-important diversions ... leave one feeling stronger, more resolute than ever to support the causes and organisations she champions. This is such an informative, uplifting and truly important book, making all the right connections across many different areas of concern -- Jonathon Porritt, author and campaignerProfound and funny, philosophical and gritty, this book shares both the pain of an incredibly brave woman traveller and the enchantment as she meets the pioneers of lifestyles that seek to restore biodiversity rather than exploit it. A gripping read for anyone who cares about what we're doing to the planet and how we can change it -- David Shukman, former BBC News science editor and visiting professor in practice at the LSE’s Grantham Research InstituteThe Life Cycle will change your life. Or it should. Here is one of those rare flowers of a story whose message is as powerful, and urgent, as the beautiful writing used to tell it. It will move you, as it did me. Open it, but don't just read it. Savour it -- Carlos Zorrilla, environmental activist, writer and photographerRawles built a bamboo bike for one, but with this book she takes each reader on her heart-wrenching and heart-warming ride through South America and into the pounding soul of the vibrant biodiversity we have ignored for way too long -- Christiana Figueres, co-host of the Outrage and Optimism podcast and former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeA call to arms to protect what's left of our precious natural world. Kate's explorations open up new perspectives, helping us understand how our daily choices impact on people and species that may be far away, but with whom we are intimately linked and co-dependent -- Helen Browning OBE, organic farmer, author and CEO of the Soil AssociationKate's epic 8,000-mile journey on a bamboo bicycle was a fabulous adventure, but she also harnesses the power of adventure to inspire environmental action by bringing to life the tragedy of biodiversity loss that requires profound systemic change to tackle -- Alastair Humphreys, author, adventurer and host of the Living Adventurously podcastA beautifully written story of eco-adventure and eco-pilgrimage. Every page of this book is a testament to courage and commitment. It is as much an inspiring travelogue as it is a plea to care for the diversity of life on our precious planet. Crossing the continent of South America on a self-built bamboo bike and encountering radical eco-activists along the way is an enchanting narrative told passionately by Kate Rawles, herself an eco-warrior. Reading this book is an immensely engaging and entertaining as well as heart-breaking experience. Read this book, you might become an eco-activist! -- Satish Kumar, editor emeritus Resurgence and Ecologist and founder of Schumacher CollegeKate Rawles is an extraordinary woman - keen adventuress, intrepid cyclist, curious thinker, passionate environmentalist and a fabulous storyteller. Riding with her along high Andean roads but also through terrifying traffic, we get fascinating insights into people, environmental projects and the threat to biodiversity and our beautiful planet. I loved this book -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of NatureIn this remarkable journey from one end of South America to another on a self-made bamboo bicycle, Kate Rawles brings the biodiversity crisis to vivid life. And she does it in a way that is at once thrillingly gripping, intimately heart-breaking, touchingly funny and full of fierce hope ... Few books have illuminated so clearly and honestly what is at stake. A magnificent, inspiring and unforgettable ride. -- Julian Hoffman, author of IrreplaceableThis fabulous book will make you want to live more fully, buy less junk and appreciate our world more. It will also make you want to rewire the whole economy and scream about the mess we are making. And it will make you want to jump on your bike -- Mike Berners-Lee, author of There is No Planet BI was captivated by Kate's unique ability to take such complex and paramount matters and craft them into a thrilling, meaningful and accessible story. Her joyful and inquisitive personality shines through as she brings the reader along for the ride, while she and Woody pedal on down to the end of the world. The Life Cycle will be taking pride of place on my bookshelf -- Jenny Graham, world record-breaking endurance cyclist, presenter and author'An epic tale, passionately and powerfully told, which is less a simple travelogue and more a call to arms for urgent action to save our planet's precious biodiversity. Travelling with her self-built bamboo bike Woody (the UK's first 'home-grown' bicycle), Rawles is an authentic, compelling narrator who acts as a living epitome of the eco-values she espouses. Fascinating - and often frightening - facts and figures leap from every page as she works her way down the length of South America, meeting a vast array of inspiring experts, activists and eco-warriors along the way. A deeply thought-provoking and essential read' -- Rebecca Lowe, author of The Slow Road to TehranRiveting, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. From the "heart of the world" in Colombia to the devastating lead mines in Peru and from the coloured lakes of Bolivia to the final breathless dash for Ushuaia, The Life Cycle is un-put-downable. Its imagery will stay with you long after the last page is turned. From her own extraordinary endurance - and the stories of those she met along the way - Rawles has conjured up a kaleidoscopic "cosmovision" for our times: a passionate call to fight for the soul of the natural world - and, in doing so, to rescue our own. -- Tim Jackson, author of Post Growth: Life After CapitalismRawles clearly and succinctly explains a range of contemporary environmental issues ... Told with high-quality, well-organised writing, it's a coherent message that integrates perfectly with [her] own uncompromising determination to complete this inspiring journey in her own way. -- Chris Fitch * Geographical *[The Life Cycle] is about encountering nature up close, about biodiversity and habitat loss, and the destruction of ecosystems. The writer's observations - of people, places, wildlife - are endlessly diverting, her prose engaging and unpretentious as she takes us along for the ride -- Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine *First-hand experiences are interwoven with copious facts and figures ... an environmentalist's call to arms. -- Anna Temkin, Times Literary SupplementBritish writer and cyclist Kate Rawles has a penchant for raising awareness about environmental challenges through her own adventures - and inspiring action in the process * Smithsonian Magazine *

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Book SynopsisA New Statesman Book of the Year London. A city apart. Inimitable. Or so it once seemed. Spiralling from the outer limits of the Overground to the pinnacle of the Shard, Iain Sinclair encounters a metropolis stretched beyond recognition. The vestiges of secret tunnels, the ghosts of saints and lost poets lie buried by developments, the cycling revolution and Brexit. An electrifying final odyssey, The Last London is an unforgettable vision of the Big Smoke before it disappears into the air of memory.Trade Review'Where JG Ballard lauds the sexual aesthetics of the M25, Sinclair gives voice to those living and working beneath it, creating fresh narratives to replace those that the developers steal from us.’ * New Statesman, Books of the Year *‘A coming together of everything that has made this great chronicler of the English capital such a compelling and perceptive guide… When late 20th- and early 21st-century London pass into distant history, it is Sinclair who will make sense of a time when “everything is pop-up, nothing is true”.’ * Observer *‘Very few authors have fashioned a London more real than the one we see… Here in this brilliant, crackling series of final walks through the London landscape, he finds the dissolving identity of the city increasingly disconcerting.’ * Spectator *‘One can only marvel at Sinclair’s eye for telling detail and his sense of the subtle ironies of modern London life…With its elegantly civilised melancholy for what is lost, neglected or hidden, Sinclair’s position is highly seductive.’ * Daily Telegraph *‘The Last London is an elegy for a London that is now over. The artists, the homeless, the eccentrics – the people Sinclair has always been on the side of – are moving out, or being moved out. The city seems to want him out too. He receives cards from estate agents urging him to “sell up, cash in, get out”… He writes a kind of Imagist prose, in which what Ezra Pound called the “luminous details” of poetic observation are compressed and transmuted into something altogether fresh… Like all true styles it’s infectious stuff. Read a bit of him and you start to think like him. Read too much and you might try to write like him… Sinclair has always been a collaborator, standing against the co-option of space and narrative by capital and grand political visionaries. Underpinning all his work is a vision of the commons, describing both the places we inhabit and the stories we are allowed to tell, which are out there in the world, waiting to be shared. It’s sad to think that London will, of course, go on without him.’ * Guardian *'If this really is the last of Sinclair's London, he'll leave you wanting more.' * Prospect *‘London needs Sinclair. Without him, posterity would not believe us. And no one writes like [him]. He started out a poet, and paragraphs burst with brilliance.’ * Literary Review *‘Without [Sinclair] there to bear witness to 21st century London, many of the city’s historic delights, surreal ironies and brutal hypocrisies would pass by unnamed.’ * Financial Times *‘Sinclair’s language is special and specialized, muscular, unsentimental, immodest in its ornateness, “inimitable” in the sense (true of so many great stylists) that it’s quite easy to imitate badly, but impossibly hard to imitate well.’ * Los Angeles Review of Books *‘You don’t read Iain Sinclair just because he’s an expert on London’s multilayered urban life; what matters, as with Joyce, is his prose, page after page of verbal riffs and astonishments… His books, then, are hybrids, like so much of Joyce – and Kafka, WG Sebald, Robert Walser and Georges Perec… This isn’t a book you can race through. Instead you’ll want to take your time, look around and occasionally listen in on conversations, as you saunter along with Sinclair on these rambles into a strange and vanishing London.’ * Michael Dirda, Washington Post *‘A wonderful observer, a spot-on imagist of the urban scene…Sinclair has many attractions as a writer: a powerful gift for imagery and phrase-making; a keen curiosity; sympathy; anger at the destruction of the past and the public realm; vituperation; humour.’ * New York Review of Books *‘In this majestic culmination, Britain’s finest writer wraps up what turns out to have been one enormous opus, puts a truly lustrous finish on our finish, and, as gently as is possible, tells us where we and everything we knew have gone. In a career of masterpieces, this is Sinclair’s masterpiece.’ -- Alan Moore‘It takes a poet to write prose as good as this. There is no doubt that future historians will have to look to Sinclair for an insight into the London of our era.’ -- Barry Miles‘Iain Sinclair’s Last London is an angry, poignant and frequently hilarious elegy to a London that has lost its soul. He chronicles “twilight days of tramping in search of mislaid selves, stories uncompleted and forgotten friends”. The post-Brexit gloom never quite overwhelms Sinclair’s phantasmagorical city. The infernal Olympicopolis may inspire dread pelotons of self-righteous cyclists, joggers and Mamils into a war on Sinclair’s trails. But the return of Andrew Kötting and other renegade nonconformists familiar from earlier odysseys suggest that Sinclair is weaving a new myth for a wiser London.’ -- Toby Jones‘This is vintage Sinclair: mature, acerbic, sharply observant and original, as always. I have admired him since I read his first novel, White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings, a vivid investigation of the Ripper myth. His Lights Out for the Territory remains one of the greatest pieces of non-fiction published in English since the War. In The Last London his imagination is at full force. He has never been better, never been funnier. This is the finest contemporary writing we have. I relished every page.’ -- Michael Moorcock

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Book SynopsisThe Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, and reportage from around the world. Its aim, to break down barriers and introduce the essence of the place. Packed with essays and investigative journalism; original photography and illustrations; charts, and unusual facts and observations, each volume offers a unique insight into a different culture, and how history has shaped the place into what it is today. Brimming with intricate research and enduring wonder, The Passenger is a love-letter to global travel. IN THIS VOLUME, Jon Lee Anderson, Alberto Riva, and Eliane Brum among other Brazilian writers explore a multi-faceted country the world wouldn’t really associate with ‘order and progress.’ In the second half of the 20th century Brazil made extraordinary contributions to music, sport, architecture. From “bossa nova,” to acrobatic soccer, to the daring architecture of Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, the country seemed to embody a new, original vision of modernity, at once “fluid, agile, and complex.” Seen from abroad, the victory of the far right in the 2018 elections was a rude awakening that suddenly turned the Brazilian dream into a nightmare. For locals, however, illusions had started fading long ago, amid paralyzing corruption, environmental degradation, racial discrimination, and escalating violence. Luckily, Brazilians are still willing to fight to build a better future. Today the challenge of telling the story of this extraordinary country consists in finding its enduring vitality amid the apparent melancholy.Trade Review“These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home.” * The TLS *“Few travel guides are confident enough to tell the stories of a destination’s complex realities as well as those of their beauty. [The Passenger] has a strong focus on storytelling, with pages given over to a mix of essays, playlists and sideways glances at subcultures and thorny urban issues.” * The Stack *“Half-magazine, half-book . . . think of [The Passenger] as an erudite and literary travel equivalent to National Geographic, with stunning photography and illustration and fascinating writing about place.” * Independent.ie (Best series of the year – 2021) *“The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation--the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19.” * Publisher's Weekly *“Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [...] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment.” * Australian Financial Review (Best Books of the Year) *“Tremendously eclectic and classily produced . . . each volume gets under the skin of a country or a city in a multifaceted way that feels essential in these times of narrowing national horizons.” * The Bookseller *

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Non-Fiction Award 2020 'Chappell is a gifted storyteller' - Observer In 2015 Emily Chappell embarked on a formidable new bike race: The Transcontinental. 4,000km across Europe, unassisted, in the shortest time possible. On her first attempt she made it only halfway, waking up suddenly on her back in a field, floored by the physical and mental exertion. A year later she entered the race again - and won. Where There's a Will takes us into Emily Chappell's race, grinding up mountain passes and charging down the other side; snatching twenty minutes' sleep on the outskirts of a village before jumping back on the bike to surge ahead for another day; feeding in bursts and navigating on the go. We experience the crippling self-doubt of the ultra distance racer, the confusing intensity of winning and the desperation of losing a dear friend who understood all of this.Trade ReviewEmily Chappell is one of the most inspiring athletes on the planet. Humble, tender and alive with unimaginable grit, this book makes us see just how much is possible. -- Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand and Everyone Brave is ForgivenHer descriptions of what goes on in a rider's head in the middle of a race are on a par with Tim Krabbé. Lyrical writing and compelling reading - a real treat. -- Isabel Best, author of Queens of PainA first class cyclist and an even better writer -- Robert Penn, author of It's All About the BikeFor What Goes Around: Chappell is a marvellous writer, and the book reads rather like a bike ride with its succession of turns and unexpected discoveries ... The joy of cycling is at its heart, however; if any book could make you consider chucking in your desk job and throwing on some Lycra, this could be it. * DIVA *Fascinating * New Statesman *This memoir of a cycle courier and her love affair with the capital delivers the goods in style...Chappell is a gifted storyteller. She deftly weaves in a plotted history of couriering, from the explosion of the industry in the late 1980s...through to its gentle decline at the hand of email attachments, file sharing and electronic signatures...In and out of all this, fine words flow on the simple but profound pleasure of floating through the city on a bicycle - of the "strange sense of stillness", and "the energy of sheer motion itself. * Observer *Emily Chappell is one of the most inspiring athletes on the planet. Humble, tender and alive with unimaginable grit, this book makes us see just how much is possible. -- Chris Cleave

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Book Synopsis'Original and illuminating ... what a good book this is' Jonathan Dimbleby 'A love letter to the people of the Old City' Jerusalem Post In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn't reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods. Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city's depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller's highly original 'biography' features the Old City's Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem's holiness and the ideas - often startlingly secular - that have shaped lives within its walls. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.Trade ReviewHighly perceptive and readable ... combines millennia of Jerusalem's history with insightful interviews with its residents, weaponising that unusual approach to present a subtle portrait of the current reality at the heart of the world's most intractable and divisive conflict ... fascinating -- Ian Black * Observer *Vivid ... as much about the present as the past -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *Engaging ... Teller is an informed, enthusiastic guide to one of the most contested sites in the world * FT *[Nine Quarters of Jerusalem] is an effective mixture of history and travel literature, the bright and breezy tone of which belies Teller's seriousness. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem offers the best sort of genre-bending writing * Literary Review *As labyrinthine as the city it describes ... a curious, offbeat biography that comes alive through the many gathered voices * The Critic *Acute social analysis ... an engrossing travelogue ... vibrant * Catholic Herald *Illuminating and deeply researched ... there is a wealth of stories here * Geographical Magazine *A love letter to the people of the Old City * The Jerusalem Post *Original and engaging * Tel Aviv Review of Books *A delight ... one cannot help but be impressed by the interviewees' energy, resourcefulness, originality, persistence, and accomplishments against the odds, as well as by the author's depth of historical knowledge, his mastery of linguistics and choice of subjects. * Jordan Times *A highly original exploration of Jerusalem's cultural diversity * Traveller *Stand out * Asian Review of Books *Teller aims to break down the boundaries and reveal the human complexity that has been ignored ... Nine Quarters serves as a riposte to the denial of Palestinian history ... Teller's stories are informed by dogged detective work ... This telling of history spotlights the characters, communities, and institutions that have given the Old City a heartbeat underneath all the grandeur and mythology * Middle East Eye *Teller writes with affection and compassion for Jerusalem's wide variety of peoples but a sharp-eyed lack of deference for a city whose past and present he explores with insight, sensitivity and wry humour -- Jonathan Dimbleby, author and documentary makerThe Old City of Jerusalem has found an inspired, imaginative, and iconoclastic biographer. Teller set himself the modest task of telling stories. The end result, however, is a highly readable book, a vivid portrait, and a fresh perspective on this infinitely complex city -- Avi Shlaim, emeritus professor at the University of Oxford and author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab WorldThis book peels away the layers of deception to debunk the myth that the Old City is composed of four distinct quarters - a notion that continues to plague the city and underpins the assumption that present-day conflict comes down to age-old hatred between religions ... Teller takes the reader on a trip that reveals the Old City of Jerusalem better than any other book written about the city -- Raja Shehadeh, author of Palestinian WalksA lyrical and electric book, rich and intensely evocative (with a twist of cumin), as the author shares his life-long obsession for one of the most over-documented and misunderstood cities on earth. This is not another biography but an altogether more important book, about the human tapestries that could, possibly, weave together a new Jerusalem -- Louisa Waugh, author and humanitarian activistCaptivating. Teller's language flows lightly but his feelings run deep and it is difficult to pull away from his descriptions of the Old City. -- Noga Tarnopolsky, Jerusalem reporter * LA Times *A marvel. Teller deftly braids the historical, the political and the experiential. His book is at once universal in scope and intimate -- Massoud Hayoun, author of When We Were Arabs: A Jewish Family’s Forgotten HistoryThere has been no book like this written in the last twenty years ... Matthew Teller has resurrected this city -- George Hintlian, author of History of the Armenians in the Holy LandFor any other city, a book that tells the stories of its residents might be unremarkable - but for Jerusalem, so often weighed down by ancient history and the politics of occupation, Teller has produced a book that is borderline radical in its focus on the people who live there -- Zora O’Neill, author of All Strangers Are KinExploding the myths about age-old hatreds between religions, this must-read book lays bare the role of arrogant British colonialists and missionaries in shaping Jerusalem's Old City according to their vision. It challenges the misleading maps that serve the Israeli narrative and encourages visitors to see beyond the facade. A must-read exposé -- Diana Darke, author of Stealing from the Saracens

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Book SynopsisThe essential history of an iconic European city, by Cambridge academic Elizabeth Drayson. 'An admirable achievement... [Drayson has] expertise as a scholar and command as a storyteller' BBC History Magazine 'A glittering homage to one of the world's most beautiful and storied cities' Dan Jones 'Beauty built on blood and brutality... A fascinating new tome' Daily Mail From the early Middle Ages to the present, foreign travellers have been bewitched by Granada's peerless beauty. The Andalusian city is also the stuff of story and legend, with an unforgettable history to match. Romans, then Visigoths, settled here, as did a community of Jews; in the eleventh century a Berber chief made Granada his capital, and from 1230 until 1492 the Nasrids – Spain's last Islamic dynasty – ruled the emirate of Granada from their fortress-palace of the Alhambra. After capturing the city to complete the Christian Reconquista, the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella made the Alhambra the site of their royal court. In Lost Paradise, Elizabeth Drayson takes the reader on a voyage of discovery that uncovers the many-layered past of Spain's most complex and fascinating city, celebrating and exploring its evolving identity. Her account brings to the fore the image of Granada as a lost paradise, revealing it as a place of perpetual contradiction and linking it to the great dilemma over Spain's true identity as a nation. This is the story of a vanished Eden, of a place that questions and probes Spain's deep obsession with forgetting, and with erasing historical and cultural memory.Trade ReviewAn admirable achievement... With her expertise as a scholar and her command as a storyteller, Drayson delivers a fascinating study that is part love letter to a city, part commentary on how memory is a force that impacts each successive age' * BBC History Magazine *Beauty built on blood and brutality! Elizabeth Drayson delves into the history of Granada in a fascinating new tome * Daily Mail *A glittering homage to one of the world's most beautiful and storied cities... Brilliantly and compellingly places Granada at the heart of more than two millennia of Mediterranean history' -- Dan JonesDrayson's book is a labour of love and it tells: there is a passion in her writing, in every detail that she has to offer about the history of the region... A gloriously illustrated book as compelling to look at as it is to read * International Times *For those who have visited Granada and the Alhambra, Drayson's writing will certainly revive pleasant memories, while those who have not yet made the journey will surely be inspired to do so by this evocative, richly illustrated and beautifully produced book * TLS *

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Book Synopsis"When one is tired of London, one is tired of life." - Samuel Johnson London has long been a centre of the literary world. From Shakespeare to Amis, Byron to Blake, Plath, Thomas, Christie and Rowling; many of the greatest names in literature have made this metropolis their home. Writers' London guides the reader through homes, bookshops, pubs and cemeteries, in search of where literary greats loved and lost, drank and died. Discover the Islington building where Joe Orton was murdered by his lover, the Soho pub where Dylan Thomas left his manuscript, the Chelsea hotel where Oscar Wilde was arrested, and the Bank of England where Kenneth Graham was shot at (and missed) three times. Gathering hundreds of famous and less-well-known anecdotes, this meticulously researched volume will entertain any lover of literature. Also in the series: Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156 Rock 'n' Roll London ISBN 9781788840163 Art London ISBN 9781788840385 London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182Trade Review’Carrie Kania..and Alan Oliver… bring all the flaneurs, the pensive, the curmudgeons, the lovers and the fighters together within the pages of their new book, Writer’s London, through a list of pubs, bookstores and other iconic places from Mayfair to Bloomsbury.’--Kuheli Biswas, Cent magazine“Similar to the other titles in the series, it is the depth and range of the research and information which is the greatest strength of ‘Writers’ London’.” – Yeah Lifestyle

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Book Synopsis'Highly entertaining' - The Times'A hymn book to the London street' - TLSFrom the Roman marching along the ancient Old Kent Road to the rattling newspaper presses of Fleet Street, from Dickensian iron and fog to the neon lights of the twenty-first century, the game of Monopoly has painted London's story across cheerful coloured tiles. But those Monopoly streets live and breathe - they open up whole new ways of thinking about our history. The mobs have taken to our streets. The overlords have taken them back. Wars have spilled out into them. Lovers have snuck around them, and fires have raged through them. In a city of rags and riches, where folk hero Dick Whittington believed the streets were paved with gold, anything could happen - and everything has. You may think you know the history of London. You don't. Or at least, not entirely. This is the story of the capital as you've never, quite, heard it before.

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Book SynopsisThe Great North Road is Britain’s Route 66 – we’ve just forgotten how to sing its praises In 1921, Britain’s most illustrious highway, the Great North Road, ceased to exist – on paper at least. Stretching from London to Edinburgh, the old road was largely replaced by the A1 as the era of the motor car took hold. A hundred years later, journalist and cyclist Steve Silk embraces the anniversary as the perfect excuse to set off on an adventure across 11 days and 400 miles. Travelling by bike at a stately 14 miles per hour, he heads north, searching out milestones and memories, coaching inns and coffee shops. Seen from a saddle rather than a car seat, the towns and the countryside of England and Scotland reveal traces of Britain’s remarkable past and glimpses of its future. Instead of the familiar service stations and tourist hotspots, Steve tracks down the forgotten treasures of this ancient highway between the two capitals. The Great North Road is a journey as satisfying for the armchair traveller as the long-distance cyclist. Enriched with history, humour and insight, it’s a tribute to Britain and the endless appeal of the open road.Trade ReviewAn enjoyable ode to a road that cyclists planning a trip will love, with entertaining nuggets of trivia and history for anyone who has ever hit the A1 for a long drive. Silk is a man on a mission, snaking alongside the main carriages on his winding passage by bike north via many a cafe and old coaching inn (many of which Charles Dickens visited, apparently). This journey may just give the lockdown Lycra brigade ideas. * Tom Chesshyre *I love this book. I love the idea of considering something as mundane and utilitarian as the A1(M) in a fascinating, historical context. Who knew that behind this seemingly endless snake of concrete and tarmac lies the makings of a fabulous journey of pilgrimage? It is a joy to learn about the background to Steve's journey and to follow him as he makes his way along his very own Great North Road. * Rachel Ann Cullen *I was going to ride the Great North Road and write about it... but in the light of this annoyingly good book, I won't. * Tim Moore *Weaving the history of the old road with the colour and the characters of today, Steve proves that any journey is an adventure if you know where to look. * Alastair Humphreys *

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Book SynopsisPart guidebook, part travelogue but definitely all adventure, join author Richard Williams and photographer Manish Maharja as they cross the Nepalese Himalayas on a mountain bike.

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Book SynopsisFor 15 years, award-winning travel writer Stephen McClarence and his BBC Radio journalist wife Clare Jenkins made a series of journeys through India to learn about one of its most eccentric and fast-dwindling communities: the Anglo-Indians. Mainly descendants of British men and Indian women, their combined heritage stretches back 350 years through the times of the East India Company and the British Raj. In Jhansi - a railway hub in the state of Uttar Pradesh and inspiration for John Masters''s 1950s book Bhowani Junction - the Anglo-Indian community is reduced to around 30 families. Teatime at Peggy''s shares their stories.Inspired by Jenkins'' own Anglo-Indian family connections, the couple immersed themselves in the customs of this little-known dimension to India, soon developing a profound affection for their new friends, particularly for two of the area''s most memorable figureheads: the title character ''Aunty Peggy'', daughter and widow of railwaymen, overseer of the European cem

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Book SynopsisAn exciting collection of Robert Elland's shorter form writing, including travel writing, magazine articles and short stories.

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Book SynopsisA veteran nature writer walks the length of Britain in pursuit of spring, and of hopeFed up with bleak headlines of biodiversity loss, acclaimed nature writer Roger Morgan-Grenville sets out on a 1,000-mile walk through a British spring to see whether there are reasons to be hopeful about the natural world. His aim is to match the pace at which the oak leaves emerge, roughly 20 miles north each day. Fighting illness, blizzards and his own ageing body, he visits every main habitat between Lymington and Cape Wrath in an epic eight-week adventure, encountering, over and over again, the kindness of strangers and the inspiring efforts of those fighting heroically for nature. With surprising conclusions throughout, what unfolds is both life-affirming and life-changing.

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Book SynopsisMark Agnew was part of the first team ever to kayak the northwest passage - spending 103 days in the Arctic.The infamous route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans had defeated countless explorers for centuries, and Mark himself had failed on two previous expeditions where he attempted to row across the Atlantic. Pushed to the brink, on the verge of turning his back on the adventures that had made him feel alive, he experienced a mental health crisis and almost abandoned the water forever.Charting an inspirational journey from failure to world record breaker, in There Will Be Headwinds Mark reflects on his struggles and reveals the lessons from sports psychology that allowed him to conquer his demons and achieve something truly remarkable. As well as exploring Mark rebuilding himself following his lowest ebb, this is also an astonishing story of ice, suffering and camaraderie. It''s a testament to the power of teamwork, determination and ambition - and a celebration of the human spirit of adventure.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING AND THE BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATUREIn Time on Rock Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing, and the new developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her. Through the story of her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber, she shows us how placing hand and foot on rock becomes a profound new way into the landscape.Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Cuillin, the slate of North Wales and the high plateau of the Cairngorms. Each landscape, and each type of rock, brings its own challenges and unique pleasures. She also shows us how climbing invites us into the history of a place: geologically, of course, but also culturally. This book is Anna's journey of self-discovery, but it is also a guide to losing oneself in the greater majesty of the natural world. With great lyricism she explores how it feels to climb as a woman, the pleasures of the physical demands of climbing, fear and challenge, but more than anything, it is about a joyful connection to the mountains.Trade ReviewRefreshing . . . she writes beautifully about landscape, and her passion for these ancient formations is physical and poetic * * Observer * *Fleming has written a wonderfully intimate account of climbing, filled with the rough texture of rocks and the hard-won elation of reaching for the skies * * Guardian * *Beautifully written. I loved it -- AMY LIPTROTEchoing and honouring some of the classics of climbing literature, the book is a fine introduction to the genre * * Economist * *[Anna Fleming]'s fascination with language infuses her descriptions of the textures of various stones and the mountains they form. In this regard, Time on Rock can take its place next to Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain . . . Fleming's book is full of awe and wonder . . . Vital * * Spectator * *Engaging . . . Refreshing . . . Anna Fleming immerses herself in the mountains rather than conquering them. Like a climber scanning the crags for the next line, I'm left wanting to read more of her work * * Times Literary Supplement * *Climbing writing is a crowded field, but thanks to its carefully chiselled prose and bright, flinty intelligence, this absolute gem of a book . . . can hold its own against the most famous names in the pantheon * * Scotsman * *A climber's joy of insight and adventure -- ALASTAIR McINTOSHIt reminds me of Nan Shepherd, only the kind of Nan Shepherd I could go for a pint with -- HELEN MORT * * author of Black Car Burning * *Much more than a climbing memoir, Anna Fleming's book is also a fascinating exploration of humanity's timeless relationship with rock . . . both fascinating and beautifully expressed, in a series of glinting, lyrical epiphanies * * Scotsman * *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL NON-FICTION BOOK AWARD 2023Today, there are more borders in the world than ever before in human history. In this book James Crawford argues that our enduring obsession with borders has brought us to a crisis point: that we are entering the endgame of a process that began thousands of years ago, when we first started dividing up the earth.Beginning with the earliest known marker which denoted the end of one land and the beginning of the next, Crawford follows the story of borders into our fragile and uncertain future - towards the virtual frontiers of the internet, and the shifting geography of a world beset by climate change. In the process, he travels to many borders old and new: from a melting border high in the glacial landscapes of the Austrian-Italian Alps to the only place on land where Europe and Africa meet; from the artist Banksy's 'Walled Off Hotel' in the conflict-torn West Bank to the Sonoran Desert and the fault lines of the US/Mexico border.Combining history, travel and reportage, The Edge of the Plain explores how borders have grown and evolved to take control of our landscapes, our memories, our identities and our destinies. As nationalism, climate change, globalisation, technology and mass migration all collide with ever-hardening borders, something has to give. And Crawford asks, is it time to let go of the lines that divide us?Trade ReviewA richly essayistic account of how borders make and break our world, from Hadrian's Wall to China's Great Firewall * * Guardian * *The borders that mark our world are either ineffective, inhumane, or both. The Edge of the Plain asks us to envision alternatives * * New York Times * *Erudite and engaging . . . [A] fine book * * The Irish Times * *Why do lines on a map hold such power over humanity? Will we ever do away with them? These are some of the questions pondered - and answered - by James Crawford. Fascinating * * CNN * *Fascinating -- NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE * * BBC R5 * *[A] lyrical tour of borders in the past and the present . . . Crawford is at his best when surrendering to his propensity for reverie, an irrepressible, almost romantic sense of wonder that drives the reader from chapter to chapter * * Washington Post * *Crawford travels widely to make his points in a text reminiscent of those of Barry Lopez or Robert Macfarlane . . . A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many * * Kirkus Reviews * *Confidently splices historical overview, travel writing and interviews. The book's alchemical ingredients are Crawford's sparkling prose and his photographer's eye for detail * * Business Post * *Crawford's essays, through vivid accounts of historical episodes and contemporary problems, illuminate how the world acquired its current shape . . . Eye-opening * * Literary Review * *[A] wide-reaching examination of the walls, barriers and "landscape interventions" that promote both freedom and independence, and enforce exile and humiliation . . . Borders are indeed a dirty affair, but as Crawford's excellent book demonstrates, they are also fascinating * * Geographical * *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL NON-FICTION BOOK AWARD 2023No matter where you turn, it seems that the taut lines of borders are vibrating to - or even calling - the tune of global eventsToday, there are more borders in the world than ever before in human history. Beginning with the earliest known example, Crawford travels to many borders old and new: from a melting glacial landscape to the conflict-torn West Bank and the fault-lines of the US/Mexico border. He follows the story of borders into our fragile and uncertain future - towards the virtual frontiers of the internet and the shifting geography of a world beset by climate change.As nationalism, climate change, globalisation, technology and mass migration all collide with ever-hardening borders, something has to give. And Crawford asks, is it time to let go of the lines that divide us?Trade ReviewA richly essayistic account of how borders make and break our world, from Hadrian's Wall to China's Great Firewall * * Guardian * *The borders that mark our world are either ineffective, inhumane, or both. The Edge of the Plain asks us to envision alternatives * * New York Times * *Erudite and engaging . . . [A] fine book * * The Irish Times * *Why do lines on a map hold such power over humanity? Will we ever do away with them? These are some of the questions pondered - and answered - by James Crawford. Fascinating * * CNN * *Fascinating -- NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE * * BBC R5 * *[A] lyrical tour of borders in the past and the present . . . Crawford is at his best when surrendering to his propensity for reverie, an irrepressible, almost romantic sense of wonder that drives the reader from chapter to chapter * * Washington Post * *Crawford travels widely to make his points in a text reminiscent of those of Barry Lopez or Robert Macfarlane . . . A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many * * Kirkus Reviews * *Confidently splices historical overview, travel writing and interviews. The book's alchemical ingredients are Crawford's sparkling prose and his photographer's eye for detail * * Business Post * *Crawford's essays, through vivid accounts of historical episodes and contemporary problems, illuminate how the world acquired its current shape . . . Eye-opening * * Literary Review * *[A] wide-reaching examination of the walls, barriers and "landscape interventions" that promote both freedom and independence, and enforce exile and humiliation . . . Borders are indeed a dirty affair, but as Crawford's excellent book demonstrates, they are also fascinating * * Geographical * *

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Book SynopsisThe border between Scotland and England is rich in history. It has been the site of battles, treaties, castles and crossroads. It is also a place where both countries display their nationalism: Saltires flying in the north, the Cross of St George to the south. But it can also be a lens through which to look at the changing history and identities of these two countries.Alistair Moffat is a life-long borderer and the ideal guide on this one-hundred-mile journey. We begin just north of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Already the battlelines have been drawn - the town having been grabbed by the English from Berwickshire in 1482 and never given back. From here we will head west as our tour travels backwards and forwards through history. In all, we will walk through eight centuries before we reach our journey's end at the mouth of the River Sark.Between Britain is a history book, a travelogue, a personal reminiscence and a gently prodding examination of national identity. But above all it is a celebration of a place and the people who live there.Trade ReviewA study in nationalism . . . A journey of 100 miles but one that time travel[s] through 800 years of complex history * * Sunday Post * *Praise for Alistair Moffat: [To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape . . . compelling and revealing * * The Times * *Extraordinary . . . There is a powerful, natural beauty in Moffat's writing * * Herald * *[Moffat] is a great teacher . . . Alert though he is to change and to the world we have lived into, he is forever in search of time that is lost and can be recovered. Enthralling . . . * * Scotsman * *Joyous . . . [The Secret History of Here] is a delightful meditation on a place, and on the role that humans played in its evolution * * Foreword * *Absorbing and thought-provoking * * Countryfile * *Truly fascinating * * Sunday Mail * *

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Book SynopsisOn the first morning of Rome's Covid-19 lockdown Matthew Kneale felt an urge to connect with friends and acquaintances and began writing an email, describing where he was, what was happening and what it felt like, and sent it to everyone he could think of. He was soon composing daily reports as he tried to comprehend a period of time, when everyone's lives suddenly changed and Italy struggled against an epidemic, that was so strange, so troubling and so fascinating that he found it impossible to think about anything else. Having lived in Rome for eighteen years, Matthew has grown to know the capital and its citizens well and this collection of brilliant diary pieces connects what he has learned about the city with this extraordinary, anxious moment, revealing the Romans through the intense prism of the coronavirus crisis.Trade ReviewThe novelist Matthew Kneale has lived in Rome for 18 years and his response to the news of Italy's first Covid lockdown was to unburden himself by writing a long email to family, friends and even people he'd lost touch with years ago... Collected here, his wry and questioning meanderings lace an ordeal with charm. * New Statesman *Fascinating... It's a book to delight anyone with an interest in European culture. * NB Magazine *Joie de vivre radiates from every page. * Strong Words Magazine *An unflinching look at the Italian capital during its shutdown last year. * Monocle *

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Book Synopsis'An enlightening, enjoyable and frequently very funny journey into what makes Yorkshire stand out from the crowd ... a fascinating insight into our wonderful region and the people that make it what it is.' The Yorkshire PostWritten from the perspective of an exiled Yorkshireman this bestselling, award-winning author returns to his native county to discover and reveal its soul.We all know the tropes - Geoffrey Boycott incarnate, ferret-leggers and folk singers gambolling about Ilkley Moor without appropriate headgear - but why is Yorkshire God's Own County? Exiled Yorkshireman Rick Broadbent sets out to find out whether Yorkshireness is something that can be summed up and whether it even matters in a shrinking world. Along the way he meets rock stars, ramblers and rhubarb growers as he searches for answers and a decent cup of tea. Now Then is a biographical mosaic of a place that has been victimised and stereotyped since the days of William the Conqueror. Incorporating social history, memoir and author interviews, Now Then is not a hagiography. Broadbent visits the scenes of industrial neglect and forgotten tragedy, as well as examining the truth about well-known Yorkshire figures and institutions. Featuring Kes, the Sheffield Outrages and the most controversial poem ever written, as well as a heroic dog, a lost albatross and a stuffed crocodile, Now Then is an affectionate but unsparing look at a county, its inhabitants and their flinty vowels. This is a funny, wise and searching account of a place that claims to have given the world its first football club and England its last witch-burning. It does include cobbles, trumpets and stiff-necked, wilful obstinacy, but it is also about ordinary Yorkshire and its extraordinary lives.Trade ReviewFrom Yorkshire? Who do you think you are? Cut through the cliches and seek the truth with Now Then. Not from Yorkshire? Commiserations, but you can still enjoy some vicarious greatness by reading Rick's book. -- Tom Palmer, author of AFTER THE WAR and winner of the Ruth Rendell AwardA humorously honest, unsparing, celebratory biographical mosaic, not a hagiography. [...] Social history, memoir and reportage, high hills and flat vowels are woven into the mosaic of Yorkshire now and Yorkshire then, ordinary Yorkshire and its extraordinary lives. * The Press *If you wish to know what social, cultural and historical erosions shaped the land we live on - a behind-the-scenes view of 'God's Own Country' - then look no further than Now Then. * Dalesman *Quite unputdownable. In Now Then, Rick Broadbent has encapsulated the spirit of the folk and the mood of the places so perfectly. I was hooked from page one. Prodigiously researched with wit woven into the narrative, it recreates the raw atmosphere of the place that made me. Anyone born in the county should read it. It will help them understand just what they were born into. -- Alan TitchmarshAs a Lancastrian, I should try and tell you that this is a terrible book. But it is not. A passionate but clear-eyed evocation of the 'Texas' of England that avoids 'God's Own Country' blather but is broad and rich enough to include Ted Hughes and Jarvis Cocker as well as Orgreave and Hillsborough. Excellent. -- Stuart MaconieAn enlightening, enjoyable and frequently very funny journey into what makes Yorkshire stand out from the crowd ... a fascinating insight into our wonderful region and the people that make it what it is. * Yorkshire Post *Table of ContentsI: Prologue: Digging Up the Past 1: Outsiders 2: Workers 3: Writers 4: Miners 5: Minstrels 6: Artists 7: Yorkists 8: Stereotykes 9: Champions 10: Ramblers 11: Chefs 12: Pioneers 13: Legends 14: Seasiders 15: Now 16: Then Ii: Bibliography Iii: Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThe Journey Continues ... Traversing Canada, rounding Cape Horn, riding the Patagonian Pampas and Mongolian wilds. From Greek Islands to North Cape, through Thailand or along the Silk Road, Letson’s journeys reflect her curiosity and adventurous spirit. Readers meet characters imagined and real: ancestral ghosts, the author’s intrepid parents, lighthouse keepers, an Auschwitz survivor, gauchos, Roma and nomads. Set within historic and literary contexts, Soul of a Nomad shares sixty-five years of journeys and revelations. Evocative descriptions nestle amongst hair-raising anecdotes, every page encouraging the reader to explore further. The English word nomad derives from the ancient Greek νομαδ, referring to those who roam or wander in search of pasture for their livestock. Modern-day nomad, Kim Letson also searches - always seeking new vistas and fresh perspectives - on a lifelong journey that never fails to delight the reader. James Deutsch, George Washington University lecturer, folklorist, author. All lives are special, but some are more special than others. This delightful autobiography encompasses a life, a career and best of all, an exciting guide to those who are more interested in “otherness” than in exporting and expecting Canadian values when abroad. With boisterous good spirits and self-depreciating humour, Letson brings us with her to many of the world’s “roads less travelled” and describes for us the good, the bad and the ugly. Rick Steeves, watch out! Chris Harker, safari guide, fellow adventurer, author. Soul of a Nomad takes us from the Yangykala Canyon of Turkmenistan to the Alaskan Coast and from Florence in Tuscany to Ushuaia in Patagonia. At every juncture, Letson reflects on the significance of place, time and those she encounters. She describes her diverse travels through the eyes of a child, a young soldier on a peace keeping mission and an intrepid retiree. Ever the cautious interloper as she considers her role as “Other” and “outsider,” Letson is a keen observer of new ways, and new cultures. A highly recommended read for all observers of humanity and those with an interest in travel. Christine Dickinson, historian, author. Soul of a Nomad recounts a lifetime of exploration in remote corners of the world. Rich with sensory memories of the author’s childhood in snowy Ontario and family sojourns in England, as well as glimpses of her close bond with her parents, this is the story of how one person grows into the habit and practice of adventure. Going out to meet the world requires courage, flexibility, and humility. Every encounter described by Letson reveals the dual nature of her learning: while other cultures always have much to teach her, the journey is also a mirror of her own self-discovery. This memoir is an interesting blend of many different genres, as Letson also weaves history into her accounts of different countries and regions. For the reader, the pleasure of following the author on her adventures is akin to watching a child grow up to be fearless and confident, full of delight in the mystery and varied beauty of the world. Margo McLoughlin, storyteller, teacher, author.

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Book SynopsisIn August 1939 the Irish travel writer Richard Hayward set out on a road trip to explore the Shannon region just two weeks before the Second World War broke out. His evocative account of that trip, Where the River Shannon Flows, became a bestseller. The book, still sought after by lovers of the river, captures an Ireland of small shops and barefoot street urchins that has long since disappeared. Eighty years on, inspired by his work, Paul Clements retraces Hayward's journey along the river, following - if not strictly in his footsteps - then within the spirit of his trip. From the Shannon Pot in Cavan, 344 kilometres south to the Shannon estuary, his meandering odyssey takes him by car, on foot, and by bike and boat, discovering how the riverscape has changed but is still powerful in symbolism. While he recreates Hayward's trip, Clements also paints a compelling portrait of twenty-first century Ireland, mingling travel and anecdote with an eye for the natural world. He sails to remote islands, spends times in rural backwaters and secluded riverside villages where the pub is the hub, and attempts a quest for the Shannon connection behind the title of Flann O'Brien's novel At Swim-Two-Birds. The book gives a voice to stories from water gypsies, anglers, sailors, lock keepers, bog artists, 'insta' pilgrims and a water diviner celebrating wisdom through her river songs and illuminates cultural history and identity. It focuses on the hardship faced by farmers and householders caused by the flooding of the river, which in recent winters left fields and towns under siege by water. Wildlife, nature, and the built heritage, including historic bridges, all play a part. The Shannon Callows, which used to be 'corncrake central', is explored for birdlife, along with the wildflower secrets of roadside hedges and riverbanks. On a quixotic journey by foot, boat, bike and car, Paul Clements produces an intimate portrait of the hidden countryside, its people, topography and wildlife, creating a collective memory map, looking at what has been lost and what has changed. Through intermittent roaming, he maps the geography of the river in stories, testimonies and recollections, intercutting the past and the present in an eternal rhythm. Beyond the motorways and cities, you can still catch the pulse of an older, quieter Ireland of hay meadows and bogs, uninhabited islands and remote towpaths. This is the country of the River Shannon that runs through literature, art, cultural history and mythology with a riptide pull on our imagination. This is a tribute to Ireland's longest river reflecting the deep vein flowing through the culture of the countryTrade ReviewTravel writer Paul Clements retraces the River Shannon journey of fellow traveller Richard Hayward in this new work, which is in part a snapshot of where we are are now in terms of heritage, as well as being an astute account of the self-same heritage. -- Paddy Kehoe * RTE *Paul Clements ‘Shannon Country’ will be a guaranteed treat to those who read it and will possibly inspire us all to take a holiday on the Shannon so that we too can observe all those wonderful sites. -- Jonathan Smyth * The Anglo-Celt *Full of colourful characters and full of the breadth and majesty of the Shannon, this is a book written in the tradition of the great travel writers like Colin Thubron and Bruce Chatwin, possibly all the more alluring because it’s set right here, on the oul’ sod. -- Anne Cunningham * Anne Cunningham Blog *Paul Clements new book 'Shannon Country' takes a fresh look at the majestic river, he follows the footsteps that author Richard Hayward first took in 1939 and writes about the impact of the Shannon honestly and evocatively. -- Fiona Heavey * Leitrim Observer *

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Book SynopsisAfter one too many late night discussions, football journalist Paul Watson and his mate Matthew Conrad decide to find the world's worst national team, become naturalised citizens of that country and play for them - achieving their joint boyhood dream of playing international football and winning a 'cap'. They are thrilled when Wikipedia leads them to Pohnpei, a tiny, remote island in the Pacific whose long-defunct football team is described as 'the weakest in the world'. They contact Pohnpei's Football Association and discover what it needs most urgently is leadership. So Paul and Matt travel thousands of miles, leaving behind jobs, families and girlfriends to train a rag-tag bunch of novice footballers who barely understand the rules of the game. Up Pohnpei tells the story of their quest to coach the team and eventually, organise an international fixture - Pohnpei's first since a 16-1 defeat many years ago. With no funding, a population whose obesity rate is 90 percent and toad-infested facilities in one of the world's wettest climates, their journey is beset by obstacles from the outset. Part travelogue, part quest, Up Pohnpei shows how the passion and determination of two young men can change the face of football - and the lives of total strangers - on the other side of the world.Trade ReviewThis book is brilliant. It embodies the true spirit of football: to bring people together -- James CordenFull of charm and pathos ... funny without being condescending or smug, it's a refreshing counterpoint to the commercial excesses of the English Premiership. * The Big Issue *In a market saturated with in-depth analyses of how money rules the game, sitting alongside prematurely-released autobiographies from prima donnas, Up Pohnpei stands out as a shining beacon of football literature. Up Pohnpei is the must-read football book of 2012. * ESPN Soccernet *Filled with passion and warmth * FourFourTwo *Light, funny, enjoyably punchy * Sport Magazine *A fascinating story told well. It offers in its joviality an antidote to the cynical corporate interests that have overtaken the game at the highest level. For those who enjoy football books that charm and enliven, Up Pohnpei is a must-read * When Saturday Comes *Charm by the bucketload * Leicester Mercury *

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Book SynopsisMaps fascinate us. They chart our understanding of the world and they log our progress, but above all they tell our stories. From the early sketches of philosophers and explorers through to Google Maps and beyond, Simon Garfield examines how maps both relate and realign our history. With a historical sweep ranging from Ptolemy to Twitter, Garfield explores the legendary, impassable (and non-existent) mountains of Kong, the role of cartography in combatting cholera, the 17th-century Dutch craze for Atlases, the Norse discovery of America, how a Venetian monk mapped the world from his cell and the Muppets' knack of instant map-travel. Along the way are pocket maps of dragons, Mars, murders and more, with plenty of illustrations and prints to signpost the route. From the bestselling and widely-adored author of Just My Type, On The Map is a witty and irrepressible examination of where we've been, how we got there and where we're going.Trade ReviewGarfield has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight. * The Times *A rollicking sweep through map history, packed with curiosities and written with verve * Independent on Sunday *Garfield allows his varied, expertly researched stories to speak for themselves, and in so doing helps us see that there are fewer things in life more useful, rewarding and beautiful than a map * Daily Telegraph *Garfield's genial prose twinkles with the delight of discovery -- Tom Hawker * Wanderlust *There couldn't be anyone better to write about our love of maps than Simon Garfield, who is a master at unearthing strange facts and mixing them with a lively personal narrative . . . fascinating -- Giles Foden * Condé Nast Traveller *A stunning celebration of the cartographic. As one of the UK's leading contemporary polymaths, Garfield's always a joy to read for his gossamer-light show of rigorous learning, his shed-dweller precision in research and his infectious glee in passing on the golden nugget of fact. -- Robert Bound * Monocle *He takes us on a fascinating voyage . . . and is a lively companion for the journey. -- Douglas Osler * Scotsman *He hops around the world, ancient and modern, with glee, dispensing information, both learned and chatty. On the Map is informative and entertaining, and good fun . . . fascinating. -- John S Doyle * Irish Times *Beguiling ... Garfield is like the schoolteacher who made the time fly, a one-man Blue Peter team for intelligent adults, a great British explainer. -- Andrew Martin * Observer *Utterly charming and engrossing ... A thoroughly enjoyable guide to guides -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *Simon Garfield has a gift for really making us think about things ... Wonderful -- William Leith * Evening Standard *Panoramic, erudite and enjoyable * Independent *

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Book SynopsisIn the critically acclaimed Desert Divers and Exterminate All the Brutes, Sven Lindqvist travelled through Africa's deserts and unearthed the cruelty of colonialism. Now he has done the same for Australia. Lindqvist travels through the south of the country, lyrically describing its landscape, flora and fauna and geology, while also telling the history of the country and revealing the shocking treatment of its Aboriginal peoples. He catalogues some truly shocking abuses, such as the rounding up of Aborigine women for transportation to the chillingly named 'Isle of the Dead' for inappropriate and often fatal syphilis treatment, and the extensive forced separation of 'half-blood' children from their families to squalid prison-like camps. Stretching from the formation of the Australian continent 600 million years ago to the 2002 hunger strikes in the Woomera detention camp, Terra Nullius leaves us with a strong sense of Australia as a piece of earth, steeped in geological and tragic human history.Trade ReviewTerra Nullius is the latest instalment in Sven Lindqvist's confrontation with the genocidal consequences of Western advancement ... Lindqvist's strength is the sheer heat of his passions and the boldness with which he attacks complacency ... The landscape, and his journeying, are brilliantly rendered by a master of worldly insight and stylistic precision ... a work of urgent necessity and a heart-warming marvel * Independent *Readers of his earlier masterpieces, A History of Bombing and Exterminate all the Brutes will know that Sven Lindqvist is a brilliant and original writer as well as a fierce polemicist. With Terra Nullius he has undertaken another devastating journey of historical exploration. -- Geoff DyerFascinating * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWelcome to the spirit, moods and amazing views of the wonderful world of West Cork, truly a place apart. A world of stunning landscapes, craggy cliffs, colourful villages, wild bogland, glorious harbours, fabulous beaches, rocky mountains, West Cork stands apart as one of the most desirable places to live, work, visit. The famous spots are all here: Mizen and Beara, with their extraordinary seascapes; Baltimore and Schull, beloved of sailors from all over the world; Gougane Barra, with its timeless peace - and many, many more. There are secret places too, off the beaten track, and the book takes the reader down many side-paths and byways to hidden corners and unexpected treasures, sharing on the way some of the legends and traditions of this region - and always the most wonderful and heartstopping scenery. From a writer and photographer team who lovingly share their responses to the region they are lucky enough to call home: Jo Kerrigan, historian and journalist with national and international publications, and Richard Mills, multiple award-winning press and wildlife photographer.Trade Reviewstunning … deeply entertaining ... way above the ordinary * Evening Echo *wonderful … truly a gem of a book -- The Bandon Opinionbeautifully produced … an ode to West Cork … an insider’s guide … written and captured with love and passion -- Connacht Tribunea love story by a gifted writer and a talented photographer about their beloved home of West Cork. They know and savor every nook and cranny of this part of the world, the flora and the fauna and the fables. It's not just a picture book, it's a book with pictures, and what photos they are. Jo Kerrigan is a born storyteller and Richard Mills has a wonderful eye for the landscapes and inhabitants of this little corner of the Emerald Isle, where life seems to proceed at a slower pace and the old spirits still abide. If Brigadoon exists, it is here. -- Amazon.com'inviting lyrical text and beautiful atmospheric photographs ... a fascinating read' -- Evening Echo'a travel guide, nature reference and photography book all rolled into one' -- Evening Echo'a book which captures the charm and beauty of the county' -- Evening Echo'do yourself a favour, pick up a copy of this wonderful book ... you won’t be disappointed' -- Evening Echo'a thoughtful, deeply felt invitation to sample the splendours of West Cork for local and visitor alike' -- Ireland of the Welcomeshighlights not only its coastline, but its inland beauty as well ... stunning photographs ... Richard’s many photographs - over 100 - present a visual story throughout the book, complimenting the text wonderfully ... The book is a real treat -- Sherkin Comment

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Book Synopsis'What we build always reveals things that are deeply and innately human. Because all buildings are stories, one way or another.' Kathleen Jamie, Alexander McCall Smith, Alistair Moffat, James Robertson and James Crawford travel across the country to tell the story of the nation, from abandoned islands and lonely glens to the heart of our modern cities. Whether visiting Shetland’s Mousa Broch at midsummer, following in the footsteps of pilgrims to Iona Abbey, joining the tourist bustle at Edinburgh Castle, scaling the Forth Bridge or staying in an off-the-grid eco-bothy, the authors unravel the stories of the places, people and passions that have had an enduring impact on the landscape and character of Scotland.Trade Review'The 25 essays are all admirable appreciations of buildings – or of landscapes and places from which buildings have long disappeared. They are written with knowledge and enthusiasm and the photographs are gorgeous . . . [Who Built Scotland] is very enjoyable and rich in information. You would have to be quite exceptionally knowledgeable not to learn much from it, and it certainly paints a fine picture of our strange and varied country and its history' -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *'The quality of the writing is uniformly high . . . This is a very good book; edifying and, at times, revelatory' * The Herald *'A fascinating alternative take on the country's social, political and cultural histories . . . While the buildings are the focus of this book, the stories of the people who built them and use them are what really stay in the mind. It's easy to think of buildings as inanimate but this book demonstrates the life behind them.' - 5 star review. * Scottish Field *'the history is skilfully woven throughout the course of the book in a way that is intriguing and easy to follow . . . It really reads as an epic love story to Scotland' * The Courier *''The result is a book that is by turns inspiring and fascinating; a book that gives perspective to Scotland's many and varied architectural traditions; and a book that gives context to the Scotland we see around us today . . . There's one sense in which the title of the book is misleading in that you find rather more than 25 buildings between its covers. Some contributions cover themes or groups of buildings rather than individual structures. The effect is to broaden further the scope of the book and adds to its already considerable lasting value.' * Undiscovered Scotland *

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Book SynopsisI heard the rustle again, too close and too real to ignore. I clutched the flashlight, stuck my head out of the mosquito net… and found myself face-to-face with a jaguar. Four travelers meet in Bolivia and set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest to find a hidden tribe and explore places tourists only dream of seeing. But what begins as the adventure of a lifetime quickly deteriorates into a dangerous nightmare. After weeks of wandering in the dense undergrowth the group splits up after disagreements, and Yossi and his friend try to find their own way back without a guide. When a terrible rafting accident separates him from his partner, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the wildest backdrops on the planet. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage for wild fruit to survive. As his feet begin to rot during raging storms, as he loses all sense of direction, and as he begins to lose all hope, he wonders whether he will make it out of the jungle alive. The basis of an upcoming motion picture starring Daniel Radcliffe, "Jungle" is the incredible story of friendship and the teachings of nature, survival and human fortitude and a terrifying true account that you won’t be able to put down.Trade Review‘Simply breathtaking. Yossi’s story of survival haunted me for weeks’ -- Bryce Courtenay, author of The Power of One‘A thrilling book… One man’s amazing adventure’ * The Washington Post *‘One of those amazing survival stories that almost brings you [to] a cold sweat just from reading it. Once you start you won’t put it down’ * The Mercury *‘A true life adventure book of survival in the Amazonian jungle.’ * Publishing News *‘To this day, the story is just as thrilling and still has an important lesson about inner strength… Motivating and inspirational – it is hard to put down!’ * Bucks Herald Magazine *‘an unnerving memoir of an adventure in Bolivia that quickly turned into a tragic struggle for survival’ * ABTA Magazine *‘the story is frightening, tense and breathtakingly exciting.’ * The BH Magazine *‘... so captivating... As Ghinsberg introduces us to the colourful life of mochileros (backpackers) in South America, the journal-style writing captures a raw perspective of this ever-popular continent Better still,... * Real Travel magazine: My Favourite Book column *'A classic real-life adventure story' * The Good Book Guide *'Nail-biting stuff, ideal for fans of The Beach' * The Bookseller *

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Book SynopsisThe critical and biographical introduction tells of Lady Wortley Montagu's travels through Europe to Turkey in 1716, where her husband had been appointed Ambassador. Her lively letters offer insights into the paradoxical freedoms conferred on Muslim women by the veil, the value of experimental work by Turkish doctors on inoculation, and the beauty of Arab poetry and culture. The ability to study another culture according to its own values and to see herself through the eyes of others makes Lady Mary one of the most fascinating of early travel writers and commentatorsTrade ReviewHer letters have an immediacy and vivacity that remains as fresh as the mosaics on the ancient monuments she saw and the eastern gardens that gave her such delight -- Anita DesaiOne of the best narrative travel books ever written by an Englishwoman -- Dervla MurphyA timely and compelling reminder of the reasons why we should pay attention to the writing of this remarkable woman. They have produced what will no doubt be the definitive teaching edition for years to come -- Suvir Paul, University of PennsylvaniaWhat a treat to see this indispensable and versatile text again available . . . Her idiosyncratic, open-minded, proto-feminist responses to Islamic civilisation are more fascinating today than ever, and the context that the editors supply for them is simply the best yet -- Isobel Grundy, University of AlbertaHer letters have an immediacy and vivacity that remains as fresh as the mosiacs on the ancient monuments she saw and the eastern gardens that gave her such delight. * Anita Desai *

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