Cities are among the most enduring & remarkable of human artefacts. This study explains how & why cities took the shape they did. Professor Kostof focuses on a number of themes
- organic patterns, the grid, the city as diagram, the grand manner & the skyline
- & interprets the hidden order of urban patterns. Photographs, historical views & specially commissioned drawings depict a global mosaic of citybuilding: the shaping of medieval Siena; the creation of New Delhi as the crown of the Raj; the remodelling of Moscow as the self-styled capital of world socialism & the transformation of the skyline as religious & civic symbols yield to the towers of corporate business.

...

The City, as London`s financial centre is known, is the world`s biggest international banking & foreign exchange market, shaping the development of global capital. It is also, as this groundbreaking book reveals, a crucial part of the mechanism of power in the world economy. Based on the author`s twenty years` experience of City dealing rooms, The City is an in-depth look at world markets & revenues that exposes how this mechanism works. All big international companies-not just the banks-utilise this system, & The City shows how the operations of the City of London are critical both for British capitalism & for world finance. Tony Norfield details, with shocking & insightful research, the role of the US dollar in global trading, the network of Britishlinked tax havens, the flows of finance around the world & the system of power built upon financial securities. Why do just fifty companies now have control of a large share of world economic production? The Cityexplains how this situation came about, examining the history of the world economy from the postwar period to the present day. If you imagine you don`t like ”finance” but have no problem with the capitalist market system, think again: it turns out the two cannot be separated. ...

One late summer`s day in 1642 two rival armies faced each other across the rolling Warwickshire countryside at Edgehill. There, Royalists faithful to King Charles I engaged in a battle with the supporters of the Parliament. Ahead lay even more desperate battles like Marston Moor & Naseby. The fighting was also to rage through Scotland & Irel&, notably at the siege of Drogheda & the decisive battle of Dunbar. Few periods in English history are more significant than that to which acclaimed author Trevor Royle turns his attention in CIVIL WAR. From his shrewd analyses of the characters who played their parts in the wars to his brilliantly concise descriptions of battles, Trevor Royle has produced a vivid & dramatic narrative of those turbulent years. His book also reveals how the new ideas & dispensations that followed from the wars
- Cromwell`s Protectorate, the Restoration of Charles II & the ` Glorious Revolution` of 1689
- made it possible for Engl&, Ireland & Scotland to progress towards their own more distant future as democratic societies.

...

In the late sixteenth century a mythical encounter was reported on an elephant hunt in the dense jungle north of the Tonle Sap, or Great Lake, of central Cambodia. King Satha of Cambodia & his retainers were beating a path through the undergrowth when they were halted by stone giants, & then a massive wall. The King, the fable reported, ordered 6, 000 men to bring down the wall, thereby exposing the city of Angkor
- `lost` for over a century. Subsequent reports from Portuguese missionaries described its four gateways, with bridges flanked by stone figures leading across a moat. There were idols covered in gold, inscriptions, fountains, canals, & `a temple with five towers, called Angor [sic]`. For four centuries, this huge complex has inspired awe amongst visitors from all over the world, but only now are its origins & history becoming clear. This book begins with the progress of the prehistoric communities of the area & draws on the author`s recent excavations to portray the rich & expansive chiefdoms that existed at the dawn of civilization. It covers the origins of early states, up to the establishment, zenith & decline of this extraordinary civilization, whose most impressive achievement was the construction of the gilded temple mausoleum of Angkor Wat, in the twelfth century, allegedly by 70, 000 people.
...

With this small & discriminating book as their guide, visitors find themselves strolling down cobblestone back streets that only native Romans know well. Nine walks direct shoppers to unique stores?jewelers, stationers, clothiers, grocers?that uphold the Italian standards of quality, craftsmanship, & creativity. The nine walks purport to be neither comprehensive nor direct. Rather, they afford an opportunity for the curious & confident shopper to stroll quiet & picturesque streets, sometimes in out-of-the-way areas. Cafes & restaurants dot each walk. Practical information, including size conversion charts & how to file for a tax refund, is also included. ...

Paddington Bear has been delighting adults & children alike with his earnest good intentions & humorous misadventures for over fifty years. To celebrate his enduring popularity, eleven classic novels (complete & unabridged) are brought together in one lavish slipcased volume, truly to be treasured. Paddington Bear had travelled all the way from Darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same...for things just seem to happen to Paddington. Wherever there is excitement to be found, a flooded bathroom, menacing dumplings, or a bear overboard, Paddington is never far from the scene... This very special treasury brings together eleven of the original Paddington stories delicately illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, making an exquisite keepsake gift. ...

Folding paper--what a fascinating art! But forget about clunky origami books with complicated instructions. This little kit is packed full of travel-size origami basics, including fourteen colorful sheets of paper & simple instructions on how to create five beautiful origami designs--the Japanese helmet, swan, penguin, sailboat, & the classic crane. From kids who are fans of folding paper airplanes to adults who wish they can turn their piles of paperwork into entertainment, The Classic Art of Origami Kit awaits! ...

” With this book you will not only be able to cook authentic Italian food, you will also be able to go on an exciting journey ...

In The Classical Country House architectural historian David Watkin takes a fresh & innovative look at the traditional British country house & shows how Classicism has been a seminal influence on British architecture since the seventeenth century. He demonstrates how the antecedents of the British Classical house, which lie in both Greek & Roman antiquity, were vigorously revived in the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, & enjoyed new life when transplanted to Britain by Inigo Jones, after his Grand Tour of the Continent in 1613-14. The book consists of five parts. The first looks at the birth of English Classicism in the seventeenth century, when houses such as Wilton House in Wiltshire (where Jones & John Webb designed the celebrated Double Cube Room) & Coleshill in Berkshire, reflect a rejection of contemporary styles in favour of a Renaissance-influenced design. The second part shows how the flowering of Classic design in the eighteenth century led to the creation of some of the most celebrated houses of the period: Chiswick House, Holkham Hall, Sir John Soane's Pitzhanger Manor, & the Grecian templar house, Grange Park. The third part recounts how the austerity of many buildings designed in the 18th century gave way to the richer styles of the Italian Renaissance Revival in the 19th century
- seen, for example, in Kingston Lacy, Dorset & Brodsworth Hall, Yorkshire. The final two chapters, on the twentieth century & beyond, reveal how even as individual an architect as Sir Edwin Lutyens immersed himself in a Classical language of design, in houses as diverse as Nashdom, Gledstone & the British Embassy in Washington D.C; & how, as the influence of Modernist design has waned, Classical styles have been revived
- most notably in the houses of Raymond Erith after the Second World War, & more recently by architects such as Quinlan Terry. David Watkin has selected over 150 of the finest images from the Country Life archive to illustrate an incisive study of 26 major houses & their architects. This highly informative & enlightening survey of Classicism through the centuries is a major addition to architectural history.

...

Why is Chelsea so important to the Mozart story? Who really headlined at the first ever Glastonbury Festival? Which small Welsh village do Faure, Stravinsky & Prokofiev have in common? ` The Classical Music Map of Britain` is a charming & fascinating journey around the UK from a classical music perspective. Extensively researched & beautifully written, each entry explains why a particular site in Britain was so special to the composer in question, which pieces were composed there, & whether it is currently open to the public. Including h&-illustrated maps depicting key areas of interest, ` The Classical Music Map of Britain` is an enchanting adventure around some of our lesser-known landmarks
- perfect for any lover of history or classical music, or those keen to discover a bit more about how music has shaped our country.
...