An idiosyncratic, richly illustrated guide to Britain`s rivers, seas & shores, for everyone who loves the water & the natural world
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Why are trees so important? How many types are there? How do they benefit the environment & wildlife? This book, by the award-winning author Piotr Socha, answers these questions & more, tracking the history of trees from the time of the dinosaurs to the current day. ...

The Book of Vermouth is a celebration of the greatest cocktail staple
- a mixer that is riding a growing wave of popularity around
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Two tales of a city: The historical race to reach one of the world`s most mythologized places, & the story of how a contemporary band of archivists & librarians, fighting to save its ancient manuscripts from destruction at the hands of al Qaeda, added another layer to the legend. To Westerners, the name ” Timbuktu” long conjured a tantalising paradise, an African El Dorado where even the slaves wore gold. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, a series of explorers gripped by the fever for ”discovery” tried repeatedly to reach the fabled city. But one expedition after another went disastrously awry, succumbing to attack, the climate, & disease. Timbuktu was rich in another way too. A medieval centre of learning, it was home to tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts, on subjects ranging from religion to poetry, law to history, pharmacology, & astronomy. When al-Qaeda-linked jihadists surged across Mali in 2012, threatening the existence of these precious documents, a remarkable thing happened: a team of librarians & archivists joined forces to spirit the manuscripts into hiding. Relying on extensive research & firsthand reporting, Charlie English expertly twines these two suspenseful strands into a fascinating account of one of the planet`s extraordinary places, & the myths from which it has become inseparable. ...

` An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history & travel` Observer, Book of the Year `A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication & ingenuity... [written with] exceptional delicacy & restraint` TLS The fabled city of Timbuktu has captured the Western imagination for centuries. The search for this ` African El Dorado` cost the lives of many explorers but Timbuktu is rich beyond its legends. Home to many thousands of ancient manuscripts on poetry, history, religion, law, pharmacology & astronomy, the city has been a centre of learning since medieval times. When jihadists invaded Mali in 2012 threatening destruction to Timbuktu`s libraries, a remarkable thing happened. A team of librarians & archivists joined forces to spirit the precious manuscripts into hiding. Based on new research & first-hand reporting, Charlie English expertly tells this story set in one of the world`s most fascinating places, & the myths from which it has become inseparable. ...

You might think a book with no pictures seems boring & serious. Except.. .here`s how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say.. .BLORK. Or BLUURF. & even if the words include things like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY & MY HEAD IS made from BLUEBERRY PIZZA! That`s the rule. That`s the deal. Brilliantly irreverent & very, very silly, The Book With No Pictures will delight kids & have them begging for more. From award-winning US comic writer & actor, B. J. Novak. ...

Fans of Wimpy Kid & Tom Gates will love the hilarious fifth instalment from Timmy Failure, aka the world`s greatest detective. The only thing you need to know about Timmy`s latest memoir is that it was never meant for publication. Timmy`s detective log was stolen, & if this book gets out, Timmy will be grounded for life. Or maybe even longer. Because while Timmy was meant to be focusing on schoolwork, he was continuing his detective work in a garden shed. You don`t need the details. Just know this: there`s a Merry, a Larry, a missing tooth & a disappearing friend. But don`t tell Timmy`s mother! ...

In The Book, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue & board from which a book is made tell as rich a story as the words on its pages-of civilisations, empires, human ingenuity & madness. In an invitingly tactile history of this 2, 000 year-old medium, Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations, & binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets & papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers & paperbacks of today. Sure to delight book lovers of all stripes with its lush, full-colour illustrations, The Book gives us the momentous & surprising history behind humanity`s most important-and universal-information technology. Praise for Shady Characters: ” Punctuation is not a mere ornament or a curiosity-it is essential, & we need to know about it. Keith Houston`s history is entertaining & readable.”-The Guardian ” Engaging typographical journeys... Houston brings to life a history of ingenuity & imagination.”-The Times ”[S]cholarly, highly readable &, on some deeper level, slightly deranged.”-The Spectator ” Refreshing...the stories he uncovers along the way are fascinating.”-The Telegraph ” Shady Characters might make you look at books...in an entirely new way.”-Nature ...

For more than twenty years, Sultan Khan defied the authorities to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was then arrested, interrogated & improsooned, & watched illiterate soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Award-winning Norwegian journalist Asne Seierstad spent four months living with him & his family in 2002. This is their story, the most intimate look yet at ordinary life for those who have weathered Afghanistan`s extraordinary upheavals. One husb&, two wives, five children, & many other relatives sharing four small rooms opened up their lives, unforgettably. Through this close-knit household, we gain an intimate view
- as few outsiders have seen it
- of life in an Islamic country just beginning to find its way between the forces of modernity & tradition.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM PRODUCED BY JULIA ROBERTSNothing is as permanent as it appears... Denver, 1962 Kitty Miller has come to terms with her unconventional single life. She loves the bookshop she runs with her best friend, Frieda, & enjoys complete control over her day-to-day existence. Then the dreams begin. Denver, 1963 Katharyn Andersson is married to Lars, the love of her life. They have beautiful children, an elegant home, & good friends. It`s everything Kitty Miller once believed she wanted
- but it only exists when she sleeps. Convinced that these dreams are simply due to her overactive imagination, Kitty enjoys her nighttime forays into this alternate world. But with each visit, the more irresistibly real Katharyn`s life becomes. Can she choose which life she wants? If so, what is the cost of staying Kitty, or becoming Katharyn?A hauntingly powerful novel that freshly considers the timeless question
- ` What if?`

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