It was a public transport revolution. London had led the world in the development of a subterranean railway system. The first sub-surface lines, constructed by the cut-&-cover method, were operated with steam locomotives. In theory the tunnels & stations were ventilated into the outside air, but in practice they became dingy, miserable, smoke-filled spaces. As one early traveller recorded in his journal, `I had my first taste of Hades today.. .the atmosphere was a mixture of sulphur, coal dust & foul fumes`. The railway companies desperately needed to clean up their act. It was only with the arrival of exhaust-free electric traction
- combined with improvements to the tunnelling shield, pioneered by Sir Marc Brunel
- that the engineers were able to tunnel far deeper to create London`s ` Tube` system. Graeme Gleaves traces the development of the Underground from the early years & through the introduction & development of the electrified system

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All the words
- in 2 languages. Type in your word in one language & find out the equivalent word in the other. Many words also
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All the words
- in 2 languages. Type in your word in one language & find out the equivalent word in the other. Many words also
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The international bestseller about friendship, second chances, & a tiny glow-in-the-dark pink elephant ` The most enjoyable novel I`ve read all year` Elizabeth Mc Kenzie, author of The Portable Veblen `I loved Elefant! It was a complete tonic` Seni Glaister, author of The Museum of Things Left Behind ` It`s easy to fall in love with this novel because it`s easy to fall in love with its main character, a tiny, glowing, pink elephant.` Homer Hickam, author of Carry Albert Home What would you do if you woke up to see a living, breathing, tiny, glowing, pink elephant? If you`re anything like Schoch, who lives on the streets of Zurich & is decidedly down on his luck, you might well think it`s time to put away the bottle before your hallucinations get any stranger, & go back to sleep. But what if the tiny pink elephant is still there when you wake up? & clearly needs someone to take care of it? & what if you discover that it`s been created through genetic engineering, by a group of scientists who just want to use it to get rich & don`t care about the elephant`s welfare? & that they`re in cahoots with a circus & will stop at nothing to get it back? What if this little elephant is about to change your life? ...

On 1 July 1916, after a five-day bombardment, 11 British & 5 French divisions launched their long-awaited ` Big Push` on German positions on high ground above the Rivers Ancre & Somme on the Western Front. Some ground was gained, but at a terrible cost. In killing-grounds whose names are indelibly imprinted on 20th-century memory, German machine-guns
- manned by troops who had sat out the storm of shellfire in deep dugouts
- inflicted terrible losses on the British infantry. The British Fourth Army lost 57, 470 casualties, the French Sixth Army suffered 1, 590 casualties & the German 2nd Army 10, 000. & this was but the prelude to 141 days of slaughter that would witness the deaths of between 750, 000 & 1 million troops. Andrew Roberts evokes the pity & the horror of the blackest day in the history of the British army
- a summer`s day-turned-hell-on-earth by modern military technology
- in the words of casualties, survivors, & the bereaved.



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Did you know that without the `lead` in your pencil, there would be no life on Earth? Just about everything in the universe is made from only 92 elements
- & from aluminium to zinc, many of them are hiding in your very own home! This funny & fascinating guide is bursting with brilliant facts about the atomic ingredients that make up everything around us. Join scientific sleuth Sherlock Ohms as he investigates the elements, & help his enquiries with explosive experiments.
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This is the original edition of the classic book on yacht design & one of the most famous books on yacht design ever written. This book is a practical & concise presentation of some of the operations involved in designing yachts of all types. At last this book will be available for boatbuilders, aspiring naval architects & sailors who need it for frequent reference. The index has been completely revised & expanded. ...

The Elements 2013 Wall Calendar by Colin Prior offers 12 magnificent colour photographs of natural compositions found in the Scottish wilderness, from Snowdrops to Torridonian Sandstone. Here, Colin Prior, acclaimed photographer, distils beauty in a showcase of pictures as inspiring as paintings. The calendar displays the names of days & months below the pictures. At the back you will find details for each image, type of camera, lens & film used. This is a real treat for anyone interested in the outdoors & photography. ...

A son`s quest to avenge his mother`s murder. In 1948, in a Greek mountain village, Eleni Gatzoyiannis was arrested, tortured & shot. She was one of the 158, 000 victims of the Greek Civil War. Her crime had been to help her children escape from the Communist guerrillas who occupied their village. Her son, Nicholas Gage, was then eight years old. Eleni is the story of his obsessive & harrowing reconstruction of his mother`s life & death & his pursuit of his mother`s killer. ...

Top-selling South African-born photographer Steve Bloom has compiled twelve years of work into this celebration of the elephant, the largest land mammal on earth. That work saw Bloom travel from the wilds of Botswana to the crowded cities of India. Aerial shots of herds in motion, dramatic interactions of aggressive males, tender times between mothers & calves, portraits of the rich decorations of Indian elephants & extraordinary underwater images form an intimate study of these creatures that are so different to us, yet share so many similar characteristics. With similar family structures, displays of loyalty & allegiance to those close to them, as well as grieving & expressing joy, this collection clearly shows their individual characters. These great animals were once found in nearly fifty countries, yet now they are on the endangered species list. Bloom, however, calls them the “true kings of the jungle” & this is the ultimate photographic journey into their world. ...