Hyper Arid is the first comprehensive photographic book on all of the world`s extreme deserts (defined for the purposes of this book as those that receive no ore than 4 inches of precipitation per year), the most remote & inhospitable places on earth. It is also a visual adventure story by one of the world`s top expedition photographers who has spent the last 15 years on this epic body of work. The stunning & surreally beautiful photographs are enriched with stories from his adventures in the world`s most difficult places: smuggling his aircraft into Libya, getting arrested fro spying in Iran, crashing into a tree in Western China, & into the ocean off the coast of Mexico. The book is a comprehensive exploration of virtually every dune field & patch of barren ground that add up to the last great class of wilderness left on our planet. To visualize these remote places in a unique way, Steinmetz learned how to fly the world`s lightest & slowest aircraft, a motorized paraglider. This experimental foot launched aircraft consists of a backpack motor & a parachute style wing that lets him fly low & slow, to take pictures of places that have never been seen before. Together, these extraordinary places are like a disparate family of co evolved landscapes each similar but uniquely beautiful. ...

Fashion model, UN ambassador & courageous spirit, Waris Dirie is a remarkable woman, born into a traditional family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia. She told her story
- enduring, at five years old, the ancient & savage custom of female circumcision; running away at twelve on foot through the desert in order to escape an arranged marriage; being discovered by Terence Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London; & becoming a top fashion model
- in her book, the worldwide bestseller, Desert Flower. Although Waris Dirie fled her homel&, she never forgot the country & culture that moulded her. The very world that nearly destroyed her also gave her the tools to survive. She traces the roots of her courage, resilience & humour back to her motherl&, & most particularly to her mother. Desert Dawn is the story of that return. Desert Dawn is about coming home.

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Officially about the hold the Sahara has over the western psyche, Sven Lindqvist’s short book continually evokes the starkness, harshness & loneliness experienced there. He also intertwines a memoir of his childhood & youth, remembered while he’s out in the sun-drenched wastel&, as well as examining the tragicomic aspects of colonialism. Lindqvist, who also wrote Exterminate All The Brutes, has lovingly written an impression of life in the Algerian & Moroccan s&-dunes, happily drawing on its consistent contradictions
- where there’s trading in both date fruits & oil, & where you’ll meet ancient, traditional Bedouins & hi-tech falconers. The desert divers of the title are the people that used to clean the deep wells, & he uses them in a fantastic metaphor for his efforts to bring to the surface the stories of colonial slaughter & exploitation that came before him
- & as a metaphor for his own examination of his childhood memories. superb.

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Waris Dirie (the name means desert flower) lives a double life
- by day she is a famous model & UN spokeswoman on women`s rights
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Ex-slave. Philosopher. Chosen one. Taita has risen from nothing to become the most trusted man at the Pharaoh`s side. Only he can plot a mission that will return Egypt to its former glory. Only he can muster the force that can break the back of Egypt`s greatest enemy. On the banks of the Nile, a hero will rise. Across the lush plains of Egypt, Taita, a freed eunuch slave, wears his authority lightly. Not only is he the close advisor to the Pharaoh, but he is guardian to Pharaoh Tamose`s two teenage sisters, the young beauties Tehuti & Bekatha. But the kingdom is not at peace. They have been fighting Southern Egypt`s constant & historic enemy, the Hyksos people in the north, since time began. To finally crush them, Pharaoh must turn to his most trusted friend. Taita, philosopher, poet & expert strategist, has a plan that will see Egypt destroy the Hyksos army & form a coveted alliance with Crete in one move. This plan will take him, his expedition commander Zaras, & their mighty warriors on a perilous journey up the Nile, through Arabia to the magical city of Babylon, then across the open seas to Crete. The many dangers will cost lives & time, & they will meet battle & betrayal head on. But Taita must not forget his two charges, the spirited young princesses, whose attraction to the very warriors who lead the fight threatens Taita`s meticulous plan & the future of Egypt itself. ...

The Vintage World Map Glasses Hard Case with lined interior & cleaning cloth to protect your glasses, featuring an extract of a political map of the world design, with countries in different colours, parallels & meridians, tropics & equator lines. This is a practical & wonderful accessory for anyone passionate about maps & travel. ...

The Vintage World Map Tea Towel, depicting an up-to-date colourful political map of the world. Each country is shown in vivid colours, meridians are shown at 40 degrees intervals, the Tropics & Equator are highlighted, & time zone & other geographical data are shown. This is a 100% cotton towel, 30° washable, screen printed & with a handy hanging loop. This bright tea towel comes in a tidy presentation box making an ideal gift item. ...

Turning away from privileged Victorian Britain, Gertrude Bell explored, mapped & excavated the world of the Arabs, winning the trust of Arab sheiks & chieftains along the way. When the First World War erupted & the British needed the loyalty of Arab leaders, Gertrude Bell provided the intelligence for T.E. Lawrence`s military activities. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East, & was generally considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. In this major reassessment of Bell`s life, Janet Wallach reveals a woman whose achievements & independent spirit were especially remarkable for her times, & who brought the same passion & intensity to her explorations as she did to her rich & romantic life. ...

Intricately crafted with timeless tradition, this carefully dyed sisal fiber & sweet grass wall disc is a stunning statement ...

` My favourite book about the wilderness` Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild In this shimmering masterpiece of American nature writing, Edward Abbey ventures alone into the canyonlands of Moab, Utah, to work as a seasonal ranger for the United States National Park Service. Living out of a trailer, Abbey captures in rapt, poetic prose the landscape of the desert; a world of terracotta earth, empty skies, arching rock formations, cliffrose, juniper, pinyon pine & sand sage. His summers become spirit quests, taking him in search of wild horses & Ancient Puebloan petroglyphs, up mountains & across tribal lands, & down the Glen Canyon by river. He experiences both sides of his new home; its incredible beauty & its promise of liberation, but also its isolating, cruel side, at one point discovering a dead tourist at an isolated area of the Grand Canyon. In his own irascible style, Abbey uses his time in the desert to meditate on the tension between nature & civilisation, & outlines a personal philosophy that would come to heavily influence the environmentalist movement. Now published in a special edition to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, this classic seems remarkably prescient, & has lost none of its power. ...