H.E. Bates is a revered writer on the countryside; author of a wealth of books reflecting English life including, The Darling Buds of May. Beautifully illustrated with wood engravings by the renowned wildlife artist C.F. Tunnicliffe. The genius of H.E. Bates & C.F. Tunnicliffe was inspired by the beauty of the English countryside. This book is their tribute to its many faces: the magnificence of winter blizzards; the sudden sweet arrival of spring blossom; the heavy scent of an August garden; or the bronze glow of autumn light. Its pages are full of sharp observations which reveal the loveliness of everyday sights & fleeting moments, from the charm of butterflies & their names, to the behavior of animals & birds; the joys of gardening, the character of the people & their ever-changing landscape. ...

Nathaniel Philbrick tells the story of the sinking of the whale ship Essex by an enraged sperm whale & also describes in detail what happened to the twenty crew members who survived. Having escaped the whale attack they spent three months drifting in small boats before being rescued. Philbrick speculates about the tensions that must have existed between these men, especially when desperation forced them to eat each other in order to survive. This book is driven by the story of these men but also

Includes:: a fascinating history of the nineteenth century whaling industry & looks at the impact of this disaster on the people involved in it. This chilling history should appeal to fans of Dava Sobel's best selling Longitude as it's in a similar style.

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The epic true-life story of one of the most notorious maritime disasters of the nineteenth century
- & inspiration for ` Moby Dick`
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This is a 50th anniversary edition of the classic crime novel that inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Sidney Poitier. ` They call me Mr Tibbs!` A small southern town in the 1960s. A musician found dead on the highway. It`s no surprise when white detectives arrest a black man for the murder. What is a surprise is that the black man
- Virgil Tibbs
- is himself a skilled homicide detective from California, whom inexperienced Chief Gillespie reluctantly recruits to help with the case. Faced with mounting local hostility & a police force that seems determined to see him fail, it isn`t long before Tibbs
- trained in karate & aikido
- will have to fight not just for justice, but also for his own safety. The inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Sidney Poitier, this iconic crime novel is a psychologically astute examination of racial prejudice, an atmospheric depiction of the American South in the sixties, & a brilliant, suspense-filled read set in the sultry heat of the night.



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During the early fifties, Kenya was a country in turmoil. While Ngugi enjoys scouting trips, chess tournaments & reading about Biggles at the prestigious Alliance School near Nairobi, things are changing at home. He arrives back for his first visit since starting school to find his house razed to the ground & the entire village moved up the road closer to a guard checkpoint. Later, his brother, Good Wallace, who fights for the rebels, is captured by the British & taken to a concentration camp. Finally, Ngugi himself comes into conflict with the forces of colonialism when he is victimised by a police officer on a bus journey & thrown in prison for six days. This fascinating memoir charts the development of a significant voice in international literature, as well as standing as a record of the struggles of a nation to free itself. ...

The age of exploration was drawing to a close, yet the mystery of the North Pole remained. Contemporaries described the pole as the `unattainable object of our dreams`, & the urge to fill in this last great blank space on the map grew irresistible. In 1879 the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds & amid a frenzy of publicity. The ship & its crew, captained by the heroic George De Long, were destined for the uncharted waters of the Arctic. But it wasn`t long before the Jeannette was trapped in crushing pack ice. Amid the rush of water & the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies, facing a seemingly impossible trek across endless ice. Battling everything from snow blindness & polar bears to ferocious storms & frosty labyrinths, the expedition fought madness & starvation as they desperately strove for survival. ...

The five centuries between the end of Roman Britain (410) & the death of Alfred the Great (899) have left few voices save a handful of chroniclers, but Britain`s ` Dark Ages` can still be explored through their material remnants: buildings, books, metalwork, &, above all, landscapes. Max Adams explores Britain`s lost early medieval past by walking its paths & exploring its lasting imprint on valley, hill & field. From York to Whitby, from London to Sutton Hoo, from Edinburgh to Anglesey & from Hadrian`s Wall to Loch Tay, each of his ten walk narratives form both free-standing chapters & parts of a wider portrait of a Britain of fort & fyrd, crypt & crannog, church & causeway, holy well & memorial stone. Part travelogue, part expert reconstruction, IN THE LAND OF GIANTS offers a beautifully written insight into the lives of peasants, drengs, ceorls, thanes, monks & kings during an enigmatic but richly exciting period of our island`s history. ...

The five centuries between the end of Roman Britain (410) & the death of Alfred the Great (899) have left few voices save a handful of chroniclers, but Britain`s ` Dark Ages` can still be explored through their material remnants: buildings, books, metalwork, &, above all, landscapes. Max Adams explores Britain`s lost early medieval past by walking its paths & exploring its lasting imprint on valley, hill & field. From York to Whitby, from London to Sutton Hoo, from Edinburgh to Anglesey & from Hadrian`s Wall to Loch Tay, each of his ten walk narratives form both free-standing chapters & parts of a wider portrait of a Britain of fort & fyrd, crypt & crannog, church & causeway, holy well & memorial stone. Part travelogue, part expert reconstruction, IN THE LAND OF GIANTS offers a beautifully written insight into the lives of peasants, drengs, ceorls, thanes, monks & kings during an enigmatic but richly exciting period of our island`s history. ...

` The imagination has its sanctuaries, too.` High up in the Hindu Kush, between the ancient pagan Kalash people & the new medievalists of the Taliban, a charismatic young Spaniard, Jordi Magraner, made his home, mastering the local languages & customs before meeting his death in the most mysterious way. In this magisterial book, Gabi Martinez sets off in Jordi`s footsteps to the land of the giants in order to try to solve the riddle of this murder & of Jordi`s life. Jordi Magraner was a brilliant student of the natural world, whose lab was the ravine & the scarp & the tent. His observational investigations led him to places where the legendary barmanu had been sighted, & he began to develop a thesis about the life of the wild man. His passion for pursuit & discovery took him onto ever more perilous terrain in the Pakistani-Afghan borderlands. &, one by one, Jordi turned his back on the Europeans who sought to assist him, preferring instead to entrust his safety to an Afghan youth fleeing the Taliban, & to a wondrous working dog called Fjord. Jordi sought other rewards, & followed a winding, rocky path, down which Gabi Martinez resourcefully tracks him on this enthralling journey of detection & adventure in the Himalayas
- where the truth is never as clear & pristine as the majestic mountains & the fast-flowing streams.
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On what he calls `the adventure of his life`, Howard Jacobson travels around Australia, never entirely sure where he is heading next or whether he has the courage to tackle the wild life of the bush, the wild men of the outback, or the even wilder women of the seaboard cities. In pursuit of the best of Australian good times, he joins revelers at Uluru, argues with racists in the Kimberleys, parties with wine-growers in the Barossa & falls for ballet dancers in Perth. & even as vexed questions of national identity & Aboriginal land rights present themselves, his love for Australia & Australians never falters. ...