Former Olympic champion, Tour de France record holder, successful bike designer, & leader of the British Olympic Cycling Team`s ` Secret Squirrels`, Chris Boardman, looks at the development of the modern bike from the first experiments with gearing, through to the superbikes of today. Co-written with cycling expert Chris Sidwells, with features on components, manufacturers, designers & iconic designs, The Biography of the Modern Bike is a fascinating study of cycle design through the decades. Fully illustrated throughout, & with lively & informative text
- this will make a great addition to any bike lover`s bookshelves.
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Chris Bonington Mountaineer is a photographic autobiography, documenting over sixty years of climbing the world`s most beautiful & challenging mountains. Few climbers can match Bonington`s climbing achievements. He is one of the most accomplished & respected climbers in the world. In this 2016 revised edition, which features over 500 photographs, we are given a frank perspective into the surreal, majestic & occasionally tragic corners of his incredible mountaineering career. Whether in the Arctic, the jungle or on an 8, 000-metre peak, Bonington`s stunning photography & engaging conversational prose take us through the detail of daily life on expedition, the action of the climbing & the grandeur of the mountains. From his foundations
- climbing in Snowdonia, the English Lake District, & the Highlands of Scotland
- Bonington takes us to the Alps & on his expedition apprenticeship in 1960s Nepal. This quickly leads to trips to Patagonia, the Karakoram, the Amazon, Baffin Island & the River Nile, before the meat of his career on the big walls & 8, 000-metre peaks of the Himalaya
- with his leadership of the expeditions that made the first ascents of the south face of Annapurna in 1970 & the south-west face of Everest in 1975, & culminating in his own ascent of Everest in 1985. The greatest challenge & survival story of all is his first ascent & epic descent of The Ogre in Pakistan with Doug Scott. Bonington`s undying hunger for adventure leads to later exploratory trips to Greenl&, India & Morocco, & a return to the scene of one of his defining first ascents, the Old Man of Hoy, with world-class adventure climber Leo Houlding. The result is a penetrating insight into the motivations & fears of a driven climber who set out year after year from a life of comfort & success to test himself amongst the world`s most savage mountains. Chris Bonington Mountaineer is a must for anyone with a passion for exploration, mountains or climbing.


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The Autobiography of Sir Chris Hoy, Britain’s most successful ever Olympian, updated in this 2012 edition to include the Olympic Games in London & the moment which capped the cyclist’s extraordinary career – two more gold medals to bring his total to six. Chris Hoy relives his journey to these achievements & the challenges he overcame on the way in a candid account of his pursuit of sporting achievements despite injuries, setbacks & disappointments & provides inspiration for anyone prepared to endure the hours of training & other rigors of competitive sport at its highest levels. ...

Wildlife television presenter & award-winning photographer Chris Packham has travelled the world in his quest for the ultimate image. From the dirt tracks outside Mexico City, to the white light of Antarctica via the dead-ends of Wyoming in the heartland of the United States, Packham has documented all four corners of the world through photography, & has chosen 100 iconic images that he has taken during 25 years of travelling. Making great pictures is about more than just timing & technological know-how; it is about engaging that part of the brain which feels for the picture, that learns how to see it coming & then, in that critical instant, makes all the decision from the heart. Chris Packham demonstrates both the rewards & frustrations of travel photography
- that perfection is almost impossible, but the prospect of capturing the perfect image is an artistic virtue & a life-affirming way of observing the world around you.
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Many of Britain's plants & animals have come to rely upon gardens as an essential lifeline as their natural habitats come under increasing pressure from human activity & global warming. This comprehensive revised guide explains the best ways to attract wildlife to gardens & encourage it to stay there. Written in a light-hearted yet passionate & authoritative style, the guide challenges popular notions of 'weeds' & 'pests' & invites gardeners to think again about the choices they make. The informative & lively text is complemented by attractive photographs & illustrations & will encourage an interest in the natural world on the doorstep, whether your 'garden' is a rural idyll or urban window box. Chris Packham argues that we have become so spellbound by nature's celebrities
- tigers, pandas & their ilk
- that we are in danger of overlooking the most exciting species of all: those that we can touch, smell, observe in our own backyard. It is suitable for gardeners & families with an interest in wildlife & conservation, & for viewers of Springwatch & Autumnwatch & other fans of Chris Packham.

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Doodle every day with Chris Riddell! There`s a doodle to be done every day of the year in this brilliant book from Children`s Laureate Chris Riddell
- packed full of inspiration for everyone from colouring-mad kids to paint-curious parents. Chris Riddell`s Doodle-A-Day features 366 illustration prompts, tips & artwork from award-winning illustrator Riddell, which will have you doodling every day for a year. There are patterns to finish, seasons to celebrate, room to draw your lunch, mood, pets, family & friends, big drawings & tiny pictures & invitations to draw what you are listening to & that is only a suggestion of the delights that await in this fabulous book. What are you waiting for? Pick up a pencil & get started with a doodle a day!
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Australian-born chef Chris Honor has been hailed by Giles Coren of The Times as `a nailed-on culinary genius`, running `the most rewarding small local restaurant I have encountered in years`. His recipes for great salads, sweet & savoury bakes, soups & wonderful sharing plates are highly original, but really simple to create at home, & with American food writer Laura Washburn Hutton he shares 100 of his most memorable recipes. Chris writes: ` What this book will offer the reader is an education in balancing taste & texture, with plenty of visual inspiration. It is as much guidebook as cookery book because I don`t necessarily think in terms of recipes, I think in terms of combinations. Mix up the flavours & textures &, at the same time, make it appeal to the eye. Be generous, make it unpredictable; this is what I do. My book will teach the reader to do this too.` ...

Exiled to a remote & barren corner of Italy for his opposition to Mussolini, in Christ Stopped at Eboli, Carlo Levi entered a world cut off from history & the state, hedged in by custom & sorrow, without comfort or solace, where, eternally patient, the peasants lived in an age-old stillness & in the presence of death. Part documentary novel, part travelogue, Levi’s exile was influenced by his anti-fascist beliefs, & he paints an enduring & captivating image of an Italy unknown to many outsiders & even Italians themselves. ...

Indexed street plan of Christchurch at 1:25, 000 covering Airport, North New Brighton, Sumner, Lyttelton, Prebbleton & all areas in between, as well a an enlargement of Christchurch City Centre (1:12, 500). The reverse of the map shows street plans of Kirwee, Oxford, Woodend, Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Darfield, Rolleston, Lincoln & Akaroa at 1:25, 000. All maps show the road network including traffic lights, some building numbers (as points of navigational reference) & one way streets; railway lines & stations are clearly marked. Places of interest are shown, such as Botanical Gardens, vast amounts of parks & nature reserves, Hagley Park, Wigram Aerodrome, malls/plazas, walking & cycling tracks. All maps are all fully-indexed. ...

Christchurch in 1896 in a fascinating series of reproductions of old Ordnance Survey plans in the Alan Godfrey Editions, ideal for anyone interested in the history of their neighbourhood or family. The map covers the centre of Christchurch & the area to the south & east. Within the town the High Street, Castle Street, Bridge Street & the magnificent church are covered but not the station. The map extends east to Purwell Cross, & across Stanpit Marsh to Stanpit & Blackberry Point. Although the sheetlines are not very kind, the many inlets, including Mother Siller`s Channel, make this an attractive map & remind us that Christchurch first became important as a port. On the reverse is a directory of the town in 1895. About the Alan Godfrey Editions of the 25” OS Series Selected towns in Great Britain & Ireland are covered by maps showing the extent of urban development in the last decades of the 19th & early 20th century. The plans have been taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). On the reverse most maps have historical notes & many also include extracts from contemporary directories. Most maps cover about one mile (1.6kms) north/south, one & a half miles (2.4kms) across; adjoining sheets can be combined to provide wider coverage.FOR MORE INFORMATION & A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL AVAILABLE TITLES PLEASE CLICK ON THE SERIES LINK. ...