Danube-Auen NP
- Lobau
- Hainburg
- Marchegg
- Gänserdorf
- Bruck a.d. Leitha area extending eastwards from Vienna




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For centuries much of Europe was in the hands of the very peculiar Habsburg family. An unstable mixture of wizards, obsessives, melancholics, bores, musicians & warriors, they saw off -- through luck, guile & sheer mulishness -- any number of rivals, until finally packing up in 1918. From their principal lairs along the Danube they ruled most of Central Europe & Germany & interfered everywhere -- indeed the history of Europe hardly makes sense without them. Simon Winder's extremely funny new book plunges the reader into a maelstrom of alchemy, skeletons, jewels, bear-moats, unfortunate marriages & a guinea-pig village. Danubia is full of music, piracy, religion & fighting. It is the history of a dynasty, but it is at least as much about the people they ruled, who spoke many different languages, lived in a vast range of landscapes, believed in many rival gods & often showed a marked ingratitude towards their oddball ruler in Vienna. Readers who discovered Simon Winder's genius for telling wonderful stories of middle Europe with Germania will be delighted by the eccentric & fascinating stories of the Habsburgs & their world. ...

For centuries much of Europe was in the hands of the very peculiar Habsburg family. An unstable mixture of wizards, obsessives, melancholics, bores, musicians & warriors, they saw off
- through luck, guile & sheer mulishness
- any number of rivals, until finally packing up in 1918. From their principal lairs along the Danube they ruled most of Central Europe & Germany & interfered everywhere
- indeed the history of Europe hardly makes sense without them. Simon Winder`s extremely funny new book plunges the reader into a maelstrom of alchemy, skeletons, jewels, bear-moats, unfortunate marriages & a guinea-pig village. Danubia is full of music, piracy, religion & fighting. It is the history of a dynasty, but it is at least as much about the people they ruled, who spoke many different languages, lived in a vast range of landscapes, believed in many rival gods & often showed a marked ingratitude towards their oddball ruler in Vienna. Readers who discovered Simon Winder`s genius for telling wonderful stories of middle Europe with Germania will be delighted by the eccentric & fascinating stories of the Habsburgs & their world. Danubia was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2013.


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Nick Danziger began his journey in June 1994, as newspapers & magazines throughout the land commemorated the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings & recalled the Allies` war aims (to ”afford assurance that all men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear & want”). For the best part of a year, he lived among the homeless & unemployed in many of the ruined manufacturing & so-called ”no-go” areas of Engl&, Scotl&, Wales & Northern Irel&. With courage & sensitivity, he won the trust of the street children & shared the lives & heard the stories of hundreds of society`s outsiders. A powerful & disturbing documentary (with 48 pages of his own photographs) of life in Britain for a forgotten section of society in the mid-1990s, & a tribute to the resilience of individuals faced with overwhelming odds. ...

After walking & hitch-hiking through southern Turkey & the ayatollah`s Iran, Danziger entered Afghanistan illegally in the wake of a convoy of Chinese weapons & spent two months dodging Russian helicopter gunships with rebel guerillas. He was the first foreigner to cross from Pakistan into the closed western province of China since the revolution of 1949. Living & travelling with local people & pitting his wits against officialdom, Danziger broke barriers & crossed boundaries of all kinds. Written with engaging humour & zest for life, & illustrated with the authors own photographs & drawings. ...

`I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, & I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.` Long Walk to Freedom In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa. Five years later, he stood down. In that time, he & his government wrought the most extraordinary transformation, turning a nation riven by centuries of colonialism & apartheid into a fully functioning democracy in which all South Africa`s citizens, black & white, were equal before the law. Dare Not Linger is the story of Mandela`s presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to finish his term of office, but was unable to finish. Now, the acclaimed South African writer, Mandla Langa, has completed the task using Mandela`s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding & a wealth of previously unseen archival material. With a prologue by Mandela`s widow, Graca Machel, the result is a vivid & inspirational account of Mandela`s presidency, a country in flux & the creation of a new democracy. It tells the extraordinary story of the transition from decades of apartheid rule & the challenges Mandela overcome to make a reality of his cherished vision for a liberated South Africa. ...

‘I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, & I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.’ Long Walk to Freedom In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa. Five years later, he stood down. In that time, he & his government wrought the most extraordinary transformation, turning a nation riven by centuries of colonialism & apartheid into a fully functioning democracy in which all South Africa’s citizens, black & white, were equal before the law. Dare Not Linger is the story of Mandela’s presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to finish his term of office, but was unable to finish. Now, the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task using Mandela’s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding & a wealth of previously unseen archival material. With a prologue by Mandela`s widow, Graça Machel, the result is a vivid & inspirational account of Mandela’s presidency, a country in flux & the creation of a new democracy. It tells the extraordinary story of the transition from decades of apartheid rule & the challenges Mandela overcame to make a reality of his cherished vision for a liberated South Africa. ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAROn 1st April 2011, rower & adventurer Sarah Outen set off in her kayak from Tower Bridge for France. Her aim was simple: to circle the globe entirely under her own steam
- cycling, kayaking & rowing across Europe, Asia, the Pacific, North America, the Atlantic & eventually home. A year later, Sarah was plucked from the Pacific ocean amid tropical storm Mawar, her boat broken, her spirit even more so. But that wasn`t the end. Despite ill health & depression, giving up was not an option. So Sarah set off once more to finish what she had started, becoming the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska, as well as the first woman to row the mid-Pacific from West to East. She kayaked the treacherous Aleutian chain & cycled North America, before setting out on the Atlantic, despite the risk of another row-ending storm... Dare to Do is more than an adventure story. It is a story of the kindness of strangers & the spirit of travel; a story of the raw power of nature, of finding love in unexpected places, & of discovering your inner strength. It is about trying & failing, & trying again, & about how, even when all seems lost, you can find yourself.
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Shortlisted for a 2016 Edward Standford Travel Writing Award. On 1 April 2011, rower & adventurer Sarah Outen set off in her kayak from Tower Bridge for France. Her aim was simple: to circle the globe entirely under her own steam
- cycling, kayaking & rowing across Europe, Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, the Atlantic & eventually home. A year later, Sarah was plucked from the Pacific ocean amid tropical storm Mawar, her boat broken, her spirit even more so. But that wasn`t the end. Despite ill health & depression, giving up was not an option. So Sarah set off once more to finish what she had started, becoming the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska, as well as the first woman to row the Pacific from West to East. She kayaked the treacherous Aleutian chain & cycled the Americas, before setting sail on the Atlantic, despite the risk of another row-ending storm. Dare to Do is more than an adventure story. It is a story of the kindness of strangers & the spirit of travel; a story of the raw power of nature, of finding love in unexpected places, & of discovering your inner strength. It is about trying & failing, & trying again, & about how, even when all seems lost, you can find yourself.
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Dare to Tri is the amazing story of TV presenter Louise Minchin`s journey from the BBC Breakfast sofa to representing Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championships. This is a warmly written & wonderfully honest adventure-through-sport that will both entertain & inspire.`I didn`t even know what a triathlon was before 2012... When I took up the sport three years ago I didn`t imagine for a second then, that, one day, I would be able to represent my country internationally.` Louise Minchin What started out as a fun television cycling stunt culminated in BBC Breakfast`s Louise Minchin wearing the colours of Great Britain at the World Triathlon Championships in her age group. This is the story of how a newly discoveredsport became a passion
- & then an obsession. Dare to Tri is Louise`s candid memoir of her incredible journey, recounting her rediscovery of competitive sport after nearly 30 years & her first tentative steps as a triathlete. In a story encompassing equal measures of determination & self-doubt, Louise has to overcome personal nerves, a brutal training regime, the odd bike crash & the occasional drama. Her adventure as she strives to represent Great Britain in triathlon is an inspiration for sporting late-starters everywhere.
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