As well as being an incredible stage performer, a brilliant writer & a talented painter, Derren Brown is also a fantastic street photographer. Here, for the first time, is a selection of his work. As he writes of his passion:` Street photography is a fitting refuge for those who look at life from a distance. It both sanctifies our remoteness (by offering the standpoint of the observer) & challenges it, insisting we approach with a spritely curiosity. It offers a safe route back into the world: the camera is an entry ticket to daunting social situations & extraordinary environments where we might otherwise feel entirely out of place. Suddenly we have a role: a reason to be present. & for those of us smitten by its appeal, it provides a means of fortifying & forgetting ourselves, while extending out into the world with a controlled compassion.` ...

When Yannick learns that he is to stay with his Aunt Mathilde in the South of France, he cannot believe his luck. If the paintings of his mother`s beloved Cezanne are to be believed, surely Provence is paradise itself. So begins an idyllic month for the young boy: roaming the gentle hills & rolling valleys of Aix-en-Provence; daydreaming about his beautiful cousin Amandine; helping in his aunt & uncle`s bustling village inn; feeling that he has come to the most wonderful place in the world. Then the idyll is spoilt when an important local comes for dinner & Yannick accidentally destroys a precious drawing the man leaves behind. Yannick is devastated by what he has done, & resolves to put things right. But in so doing he makes a surprising discovery... ...

Meeting Mr Kim begins at a peace summit in Korea, heralding a new era for a country divided for 50 years, Jennifer Barclay searched for the spirit of South Korea, discovering a land full of passion, tradition & spirituality, good humour & great food. Jen quit her high-pressure job & followed her musician boyfriend to South Korea, where his band had a contract to play funk at a luxury hotel. But life in Seoul was lonely & bewildering. Desperate to connect with Korean life & the people, she said goodbye to the capital & set off alone to explore the country. With patience & determination she found her way to ancient tombs & Buddhist temples, strangers ...

`I thoroughly endorse this book & I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did`
- From the foreword by Emerson Jackson Sr, Navajo
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” Meetings On The Edge” is a travel memoir by a once-frustrated journalist for the BBC, who took the plunge & abandoned a ten year career to follow her dream to become a mountaineer. This book explores the impact of a solitary journey as well as unexpected encounters with fascinating people along the way. The different natural environments mirror the demands of an evolving quest. The many lessons of nature`s classroom are against a background of adventure, discovery & considerable personal risk. Like all quests, the incidental insights & surprising events challenge the romantic idea of adventure. Stories from Alaska, the Pacific North West, the Himalaya & New Zealand`s Southern Alps are interwoven into the central adventure of traversing the French & Spanish Pyrenees alone. Tales to highlight include encountering a naked & all too aroused flasher far off the beaten track, a colourful relationship with Nepal`s most famous civilian, a film star, two weeks after the royal massacre, & summiting Denali, North America`s highest peak, while the expedition dwindled from 9 to just 4 due to life-threatening illness & mishap. But it was after a chance meeting with a wise Maori man & a solitary encounter with a 2000 year old Kauri tree in an ancient forest, that the author experiences an epiphany: that a restless, goal-driven life is not the most fulfilling. This book ends in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where the freedom she has experienced is in marked contrast to the security-conscious existence of those living there. The electric gates, fencing & hedgerows project a community in fear of those very open spaces which had broadened her horizons. ...

WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE & THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION` Endlessly fascinating & enjoyable` Neil Mac Gregor`A marvellous book` David Attenborough` Full of delights` Tom Stoppard An extraordinary exploration of the medieval world
- the most beguiling history book of the year This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is like meeting a very famous person. We may all pretend that a well-known celebrity is no different from anyone else, & yet there is an undeniable thrill in actually meeting & talking to a person of world stature. The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence & to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history
- & sometimes about the modern world too. Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors & the international community of manuscript scholars, showing us how he & his fellows piece together evidence to reach unexpected conclusions. He traces the elaborate journeys which these exceptionally precious artefacts have made through time & space, shows us how they have been copied, who has owned them or lusted after them (and how we can tell), how they have been embroiled in politics & scholarly disputes, how they have been regarded as objects of supreme beauty & luxury & as symbols of national identity. The book touches on religion, art, literature, music, science & the history of taste. Part travel book, part detective story, part conversation with the reader, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts conveys the fascination & excitement of encountering some of the greatest works of art in our culture which, in the originals, are to most people completely inaccessible. At the end, we have a slightly different perspective on history & how we come by knowledge. It is a most unusual book.

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This is a book about why medieval manuscripts matter. Coming face to face with an important illuminated manuscript in the original is like meeting a very famous person. We may all pretend that a well-known celebrity is no different from anyone else, & yet there is an undeniable thrill in actually meeting & talking to a person of world stature. The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts in existence & to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a thousand years of medieval history
- & sometimes about the modern world too. Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists, librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors & the international community of manuscript scholars, showing us how he & his fellows piece together evidence to reach unexpected conclusions. He traces the elaborate journeys which these exceptionally precious artefacts have made through time & space, shows us how they have been copied, who has owned them or lusted after them (and how we can tell), how they have been embroiled in politics & scholarly disputes, how they have been regarded as objects of supreme beauty & luxury & as symbols of national identity. The book touches on religion, art, literature, music, science & the history of taste. Part travel book, part detective story, part conversation with the reader, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts conveys the fascination & excitement of encountering some of the greatest works of art in our culture which, in the originals, are to most people completely inaccessible. At the end, we have a slightly different perspective on history & how we come by knowledge. It is a most unusual book.
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This is the exhilarating, life-affirming call to spiritual arms from world-renowned spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff. ` Gurdjieff`s voice is heard as a call. He calls because he suffers from the inner chaos in which we live. He calls to us to open our eyes. He asks us why we are here, what we wish for, what forces we obey. He asks us, above all, if we understand what we are...` Part adventure narrative, part travelogue, part spiritual guide, Meetings with Remarkable Men is suffused with Gurdjieff`s unique perspective on life. With vivacity & charm, he organizes his account around portraits of the remarkable men & women who accompanied him through remote parts of the Near East & Central Asia, & who aided his search for hidden knowledge. Among them are Gurdjieff`s own father (a traditional bard), a Russian prince dedicated to the search for Truth, a Christian missionary who entered a World Brotherhood deep in Asia, & a woman who escaped slavery to become a trusted member of Gurdjieff`s group of fellow seekers. Meetings with Remarkable Men conveys a haunting sense of what it means to live fully
- with conscience, with purpose & with heart.
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Meetings with Remarkable Muslims is a collection of personal reminiscences of friendships & chance encounters which have left an indelible mark on the author. Throwing a bridge across the divide, it shows how immeasurably richer our lives are for sharing & understanding different cultural traditions
- what a source of inspiration they can be. This diverse collection of writers draws together a world which stretches from Morocco in the West to India in the east. What shines through is a common humanity
- shared by both writers & subjects
- a need to earn, to love, to protect, to enjoy & to make sense of life.


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With this astonishong collection of tree portraits, Thomas Packenham has produced a new kind of tree book. The trees are grouped according to their characteristics; roughly half are ancient native trees in the UK, while the rest are exotic newcomers from Europe. ...