Why do explorers put themselves in dangerous situations? &, once the worst possible situation occurs, how do they find the resources to survive? In answering these questions, Benedict Allen weaves a series of tales from his own experience as well as that of other explorers including Columbus, Cortez, Scott, Shackleton, Stanley, Livingstone & their modern counterparts: Joe Simpson & Ranulf Fiennes. ...

Only four men survived the plane crash: The pilot, A politician, A cop.. . And the criminal he was shackled to. On a freezing October night in 1984, a Canadian commuter plane smashed headlong into a high ridge of remote, rugged forest. Among the survivors was a small-time criminal named Paul Archimbault, now free of his handcuffs & the only one to escape the crash uninjured. The only one capable of keeping the other three survivors alive -- should he choose to... ...

Into the Abyss is a fascinating collection of diving stories. It chronicles one man's all-consuming passion & takes us on a spellbinding journey beneath the waves. Packed full of drama, danger & excitement, this book charts both the successes & the tragic failures of Rod Macdonald's astonishing diving career. Macdonald invites us to experience with him his first, panic-stricken boat dive as a newly qualified novice & later his expert use of the latest technology to venture deeper than ever before. In vivid prose, he takes us to famous shipwreck sites around the world, from the sunken Japanese fleet at the bottom of Truk Lagoon & Palau in the South Pacific, to HMS Hampshire, on which Lord Kitchener perished. He describes the ordeal of diving the third-largest whirlpool in the world, the Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the west of Scotl&, & many other terrifying incidents in which he & his colleagues have come close to death beneath the sea. To many, the appeal of diving into hostile, powerful waters in search of virgin shipwrecks
- often in pitch darkness
- is incomprehensible. Macdonald invites us to confront & overcome some of our deepest fears as he takes us down into the abyss.

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The last time John Harrison ventured into the jungle a member of his group died. This time he brought his wife. The Tumucumaque Hills on Brazil`s northern frontier are one of the few remaining unexplored regions on earth. Back in 1950, a young French explorer set off into the deepest jungle of that region & was never seen again. Inspired that explorer`s diary, John & Heather Harrison paddled their canoe into some of the remotest tributaries of the Amazon, with no TV cameras, sponsors or the slightest chance of being rescued if things went wrong. Lost, & threatened by malaria, snakes, jaguars, piranhas, aggressive wild pigs & flesh-burrowing insects, they slashed a precipitous path over the mountains. This is travel at its rawest: the incredible story of the Harrison`s struggle to keep their deteriorating sanity & relationship intact in one of the most hostile & unforgiving places in the world. ...

With a preface by Lord Richard Attenborough, a collection of accounts from some of the 10, 000 children rescued from the Nazi Regime & brought to the UK by the Kinderstransport scheme In November 1938, international public opinion was shocked by the news of Kristallnacht
- the anti-Jewish pogrom that led to the burning of synagogues & the first mass arrests of Jewish men. Twelve days later, the British government implemented the Kindertransport plan, which allowed many children to leave the horrors of the Nazi regime & find temporary refuge within British families & hostels. By the time war was declared in September 1939, this brave undertaking had saved 10, 000 lives. This book, based on the Academy Award-winning feature documentary of the same name, reveals what it was like to grow up in the shadow of the Nazi threat, to escape danger & fear, but also to leave family & friends, perhaps for ever. It is poignantly told in the words of those directly involved. It is both an astonishing insight into a remarkable moment of history & a timely reminder of how welcoming our country has been in the past to those who need welcome, shelter & hope.
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On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight. NASA`s Space Shuttle Columbia was the most advanced flying machine ever built
- the high watermark of post-war aviation development. A direct descendant of the record-breaking X-planes the likes of which Chuck Yeager had tested in the skies over the Mojave Desert, Columbia was a winged rocket plane, the size of an airliner, capable of flying to space & back before being made ready to fly again. She was the world`s first real spaceship. On board were men with the Right Stuff. The Shuttle`s Commander, moonwalker John Young, was already a veteran of five spaceflights. Alongside him, Pilot Bob Crippen was making his first, but Crip, taken in by the space agency after the cancellation of a top secret military space station programme in 1969, had worked on the Shuttle`s development for a decade. Never before had a crew been so well prepared for their mission. Yet less than an hour after Young & Crippen`s spectacular departure from the Cape it was clear that all was not well. Tiles designed to protect Columbia from the blowtorch burn of re-entry were missing from the heatshield. If the damage to their ship was too great the astronauts would be unable to return safely to earth. But neither they nor mission control possessed any way of knowing. Instead, NASA turned to the National Reconnaissance Office, a spy agency hidden deep inside the Pentagon whose very existence was classified. To help, the NRO would attempt something that had never been done before. Success would require skill, pinpoint timing & luck.. . Drawing on brand new interviews with astronauts & engineers, archive material & newly declassified documents, Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607, has pieced together the dramatic untold story of the mission for the first time. Into the Black is a thrilling race against time; a gripping high stakes cold-war story, & a celebration of a beyond the state-of-the-art machine that, hailed as one of the seven new wonders of the world, rekindled our passion for spaceflight. With a foreword by Astronaut Richard Truly.
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This is the story of Benedict Allen`s extraordinary quest to immerse himself in the heart of New Guinea, & learn the secrets of the people`s harmonious communion with the forest. Living among missionaries in West Papua, he heard talk of the mysterious Obini, & set out on an arduous journey to meet them
- only to find himself fleeing for his life in the jungle. Undeterred, he sought out members of a tribal crocodile cult who would permit him to take part in their traditional initiation rites into manhood, & finally became the first white man to be honoured with this privilege. But this was the beginning of a punishing ordeal, as Allen joined his fellow initiates in seclusion for weeks, enduring crocodile markings being carved into their skins, until finally, pushed to the limits of endurance, they came to embody the ”crocodile spirit”.
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What is it really like to be a firefighter? How does it feel to respond to an emergency call, to know that someone`s life hangs in the balance & every second is critical? What is it like to fight a fire, to battle through the heat & the smoke, to put your own life in danger to save others? How does it feel to rescue survivors, & what is it like to recover the bodies of those who you didn`t reach in time? & what is it like at the end of the day when you are alone with your thoughts, & your thoughts turn to those who you couldn`t save? How do you cope with the trauma of a life spent facing death? INTO THE FIRE offers an unforgettable insight into the highs & lows of the fire service. Edric Kennedy-Macfoy has spent over a decade serving in the London Fire Brigade, attending many of the capital`s biggest incidents, from the blaze at Grenfell Tower to the Croydon tram derailment. This is his remarkable story. ...

Take a step into the forest & join a young squirrel as she looks for her family in this sumptuous ”touch & feel” layered board book. The perfect introduction for preschool children to animals & their habitats, this simple, charming story unfolds across a series of layered pages that increase in size, & shows different animal families as they go about their daily lives. With gently rhyming text & beautiful illustrations, the book encourages children to interact with the book & turn each page, delighting in the increasingly expansive forest spreads. ...

Join Rebecca & her friends at Trebizon Boarding School, perfect for fans of Enid Blyton`s Malory Towers & St Clare`s. Rebecca can`t wait to start in the Fourth Year at Trebizon, with new rooms & a chance to play in an exciting hockey tournament. But with the arrival of Swedish exchange student Ingrid everyone starts falling out, Rebecca & Robbie included. Can Court House recover from Ingrid`s icy influence? The eighth exciting book in the classic Trebizon series. Praise for the Trebizon series: ” As warm & comforting as a cup of cocoa, the Trebizon books are a real treat.” (Katherine Woodfine, author of The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow). ” An absolute hug of a book, this is school storytelling at its warm, delightful, comforting best.” (Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike). Follow Rebecca & her friends through all the ups & downs of boarding school in: First Term at Trebizon; Second Term at Trebizon; Summer Term at Trebizon; Boy Trouble at Trebizon; More Trouble at Trebizon; Tennis Term at Trebizon; Summer Camp at Trebizon; Into the Fourth at Trebizon; Hockey Term at Trebizon; &, Fourth Year Triumphs at Trebizon. Anne Digby is the author of Trebizon, several titles in Enid Blyton`s Naughtiest Girl series & the Me, Jill Robinson series. She lives in East Sussex. ...