In the 18th & 19th centuries, architects & decorative artists were constantly seeking new sources of inspiration to satisfy the demands of their rich patrons. While some revisited the canons of the classical world, others began to turn their eyes towards the East, & the ` Oriental` became a byword for spectacle & sensuality. The result was a wave of creative expression that encompassed everything from the smallest objects dart to entire buildings. This sumptuously produced book explores the enduring allure of Orientalist decor & introduces the princes & aristocrats, artists & poets who commissioned these opulent interiors. Packed with images of beautiful decorative objects, extravagant interiors, sumptuous fabrics & ornate furniture, this book will transport the reader to another time & place. ...

If you`re an adventurer with an appetite, then this cookbook is for you! This lovely cookbook is a collection of globetrotting gastronomy to help you recreate your travels at home. The recipes in this book are from all over the world, from Vietnamese Pho & Indian Mango Lassi, to traditional African flatbreads, Middle Eastern Lamb Tagine, & Spanish Paella. With these recipes you`ll have the whole world at your fingertips! ...

A Taste of France takes the reader on a gastronomic tour of regional France, introducing the classic recipes from each region. Compiled by Gabriel Gate, this book is a must-have for lovers of French cuisine. This beautiful cookbook is illustrated by Antonia Pesanti, who has spent much time travelling around France. Antonia interprets French life through her drawings, from the pretty patisserie windows to the charcuteries & street markets. ...

It is amazing that in these times of passion for the food from every corner of the globe, the cooking of Portugal remains unexplored by so many, especially given its vibrant flavours & simple domestic style. In this authoritative & fascinating book Edite Vieira traces the rich legacy of her country`s culinary excellence from medieval through to modern times lacing it with history & anecdote & a collection of authentically delicious recipes. From simple & wholesome peasant fare to elaborate celebratory meals, ingredients include salt cod (bacalhau) in all its myriad variations, cumin & oranges are both remnants of the voyaging past, green coriander is the main flavouring herb; essentially the food is the food of a country which grows grapes, peppers, melons, quinces & apples, & few other countries have such a repertoire of pork dishes. Fresh pork is much in evidence as well as ham (presunto), pork & red pepper sausages (chouricos) & black pudding (morcela), all foods very much in present vogue. ...

Legendary cook & writer Elizabeth David changed the way Britain ate, introducing a postwar nation to the sun-drenched delights of the Mediterranean, & bringing new flavours & aromas such as garlic, wine & olive oil into its kitchens. This mouthwatering selection of her writings & recipes embraces the richness of French & Italian cuisine, from earthy cassoulets to the simplest spaghetti, as well as evoking the smell of buttered toast, the colours of foreign markets & the pleasures of picnics. Rich with anecdote, David`s writing is defined by a passion for good, authentic, well-balanced food that still inspires chefs today. ...

In 1631, the heartbroken Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, ordered the construction of a monument of unsurpassed splendor & majesty in memory of his beloved wife. Theirs was an extraordinary story of passionate love: although almost constantly pregnant
- she bore him fourteen children
- Mumtaz Mahal followed her husband on every military campaign. But then Mumtaz died in childbirth. Blinded by grief, Shah Jahan created an exquisite & extravagant memorial for her on the banks of the river Jumna. The Taj Mahal took twenty years to build & depleted the Moghul treasuries. But Shah Jahan was to pay a greater price for his obsession. He ended his days imprisoned by his own son in Agra Fort, gazing across the river at the monument to his love. The building of the Taj Mahal had set brother against brother & son against father in a savage conflict that pushed the seventeenth century's most powerful empire into irreversible decline.

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In the summer of 2008, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother, a woman who survived the dark days of communism & witnessed Russia`s violent capitalist transformation, during which she lost her beloved dacha. She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can`t always remember who he is. Andrei learns to navigate Putin`s Moscow, still the city of his birth, but with more expensive coffee. He looks after his elderly
- but surprisingly sharp!
- grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails, & eventually some friends, including a beautiful young activist named Yulia. Capturing with a miniaturist`s brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, & desire, A TERRIBLE COUNTRY is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, & the difficulty
- or impossibility
- of actually changing one`s life.



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Gustas is nearly killed in the hurricane, trying to save his banana tree; Nenna & her brother Man-Man patrol the cocnut plantation in the dead of night, ready to catch interlopers; Becky longs for a bicycle & Fanso longs to find his father who walked out thirteen years ago. This is a wonderfully atmospheric collection of contemporary short stories that bring James Berry`s Caribbean childhood vividly to life. ...

How the global tea industry influenced the international economy & the rise of mass consumerism Tea has been one of the most popular commodities in the world. Over centuries, profits from its growth & sales funded wars & fueled colonization, & its cultivation brought about massive changes--in land use, labor systems, market practices, & social hierarchies--the effects of which are with us even today. A Thirst for Empire takes a vast & in-depth historical look at how men & women--through the tea industry in Europe, Asia, North America, & Africa--transformed global tastes & habits & in the process created our modern consumer society. As Erika Rappaport shows, between the seventeenth & twentieth centuries the boundaries of the tea industry & the British Empire overlapped but were never identical, & she highlights the economic, political, & cultural forces that enabled the British Empire to dominate--but never entirely control--the worldwide production, trade, & consumption of tea. Rappaport delves into how Europeans adopted, appropriated, & altered Chinese tea culture to build a widespread demand for tea in Britain & other global markets & a plantation-based economy in South Asia & Africa. Tea was among the earliest colonial industries in which merchants, planters, promoters, & retailers used imperial resources to pay for global advertising & political lobbying. The commercial model that tea inspired still exists & is vital for understanding how politics & publicity influence the international economy. An expansive & original global history of imperial tea, A Thirst for Empire demonstrates the ways that this fluid & powerful enterprise helped shape the contemporary world. ...

A Thousand days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi is the story of Marlena & her Venetian husb&, Fernando, as they make a life for themselves on a forgotten patch of Earth where Tuscany, Umbria & Lazio collide. Amongst the many people they befriend is Barluzzo, an old sage who takes the couple under his wing & initiates them in the age-old traditions of Tuscan life: since their house lacks electricity, he helps them build a traditional brick oven in the garden; in autumn he wakes them at dawn to gather chestnuts & porcini mushrooms, & at the onset of winter he takes them to pull grapes from the vines & beat olives from the trees. Beautifully written & richly seasoned with mouth-watering recipes of the region, this book is filled with the carpe diem attitude that so captivated readers of A Thousand Days in Venice. ...