Search results for ""Author Nicholas Crane""

Told for the very first time, this is the true story of the adventure that shaped the world . . .'A thrilling story of courage, survival and science. It's an extraordinary, visceral and vivid read' Geographical Magazine________Three hundred years ago no one knew the true shape of the world.It wasn't a sphere - but did it bulge at the equator or was it pointed at the poles? Until we found out no map could ever be truly accurate. So a team of scientists was sent to South America - to measure one full degree of latitude.But South America was a land of erupting volcanoes, sodden rainforests, earthquakes, deadly diseases, tropical storms and violent unrest. And the misfit scientists had an unfortunate tendency to squander funds, fight duels, stumble into mutinies or die horribly.The tale of their ten-year odyssey of exploration, discovery, flirtations with failure and ultimate triumph becomes in Nicholas Crane's hands the greatest scientific adventure story ever told.________'Pace, rigour and attention to enticing detail . . . Crane has a rare knack for showing people things without them having to get out of their chair' Joe Smith, director of The Royal Geographic society

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How much do we really know about the place we call 'home'? In this sweeping, timely book, Nicholas Crane tells the story of Britain.Over the course of 12,000 years of continuous human occupation, the British landscape has been transformed form a European peninsula of glacier and tundra to an island of glittering cities and exquisite countryside.In this geographical journey through time, we discover the ancient relationship between people and place and the deep-rooted tensions between town and countryside. From tsunamis to Roman debacles, from henge to high-rise and hamlet to metropolis, this is a book about change and adaptation. As Britain lurches towards a more sustainable future, it is the story of our age.

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Intrepid presenter Nicholas Crane investigates eight epic journeys, following in the footsteps of our greatest indigenous explorers.Nick presents eight of the most interesting traveller-chroniclers to have explored and reported on the state of the nation. From Gerald of Wales who embarked on a seven week journey around the wild perimeter of Wales in March 1188, to HV Morton, the journalist and travel writer who crossed the length and breadth of England by car in the 1920s. Others include Celia Fiennes who started her many journeys around Britain on horseback in the late 1600s at the age of 20, Tudor antiquarian John Leland, Daniel Defoe, William Cobbett, Thomas Pennant, and William Gilpin, who travelled through the north of England by boat in 1770.

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In Alaskan Lonely Hearts Club one of the UK's best-known travel writers shares his life on the road in 26 A-Z stories recording his very particular engagement with some highly eccentric characters. An eclectic range of destinations sees Paul Gogarty skiing in Algeria, deep sea fishing in Kenya and attending a George Formby ukulele convention in Blackpool. Often hilarious, these tales range from an end-of-the-line bachelor auction in Alaska to attending the Henley-on-Todd Regatta in the parched dustbowl of Alice Springs. A passion for music is a thread running through several of the stories. In 'Caister Soul Weekender' Gogarty checks into an East Anglian static caravan site for three days of dance, Red Bull and camaraderie. After hanging out with country wannabes in Nashville and attending the Delta Blues Festival in Greenville his car breaks down at the very crossroads where bluesman Robert Johnson reputedly sold his soul to the devil in return for guitar mastery. Nor is Gogarty afraid to sign up for the bizarre, whether visiting a homemade Stonehenge, taking an Arctic plunge protected only by swimming trunks, or learning the arcane art of healing and dowsing for hereditary diseases in Basingstoke. This collection showcases the diversity and possibilities of travel writing. More than anything else these tales underline a fascination with people and an openness to experience the world in all its diversity.

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