India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. There were vast riches to be exploited & vast numbers of people to be subjugated. How better to achieve these aims than by building a rail network that facilitated the export of raw material & made it easier for troops to travel around the country to tackle uprisings? India joined the railway age late: the first line was not completed until 1853 but, by 1929, 41, 000 miles of track served the country. However, the creation of this vast network was not intended to modernize India for the sake of its people but rather was a means for the colonial power to govern the huge country under its control, serving its British economic & military interests. By building India`s railways, Britain radically changed the nation but also unwittingly created the preconditions of independence. While the railways benefitted India & were its first modern development, their construction ultimately contributed to a stirring of nationalist opinion, as resentment grew among the Indian population over the conditions they endured when travelling by train & the barring of Indians from the better paid railway jobs. Despite the dubious intentions behind the construction of the network, the Indian people quickly took to the railways, as the trains allowed them to travel easily for the first time. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story of India`s railways, from its very beginnings to the present day, & examines the chequered role they have played in Indian history & the creation of today`s modern state. ...

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, an Empire that needed a rail network to facilitate its exploitation & reflect its ambition. But, by building India`s railways, Britain radically changed the nation & unwittingly planted the seed of independence. As Indians were made to travel in poor conditions & were barred from the better paid railway jobs a stirring of resentment & nationalist sentiment grew. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story, from the railway`s beginnings to the present day, & examines the chequered role this institution has played in Indian history & the creation of today`s modern state. ...

A thin pair of steel ribbons across town & countryside, along sea walls, over remote & lonely Highland moors, through tunnels, & carried on magnificent viaducts
- the special association between railway & landscape is explored in this photo essay by two of the UK`s best-known railway photographers, one of whom was named the Sunday Times ` Take A View` Young Landscape Photographer of the Year. Through a breath-taking selection of photographs, this is a book of stunning views, capturing the romance, nostalgia, drama & excitement of past railway journeys, while celebrating the ordinary & everyday scenes of the modern railway & showcasing railway journeys as an intrinsic part of the British landscape.
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Railways precipitated the Great War: they were the means by which war was waged, they defined how war was fought on the ground, they changed the character of warfare, they determined the length of the war &, ultimately, they bore witness to its end. To coincide with the BBC`s World War One centenary schedule, BBC Two will be airing a major new five-part series that will use the railways as a new lens through which to view the social & human consequences of this profound historical event. Part of the esteemed Great British Railway Journeys br&, the programme will tell the story of the world`s first war on the rails. This illustrated companion to the series will explore the numerous ways in which our tracks helped to shape the course of the conflict. From being used to mobilise the British Expeditionary Force at the start of the war, to transporting grieving relatives to the battlefields on which their loved ones had fought, their importance in our country`s military history should not be underestimated. ...

The 2010 edition of Railways Restored continues the winning formula of providing a wealth of detail in an easily accessible format, which is a perfect guide for all who wish to visit Britain's heritage railways, railway museums & preservation centres. The new edition has been completely updated to reflect all the many changes that have occurred throughout the year, including new schemes which have opened & services which are no longer running or open to the public. The information is sensibly organized &

Includes:: within the heading to each entry a block giving details of what each site offers in the way of passenger service to visitors as follows: Timetable Service
- railways providing a passenger service between two or more stations with public access; eg., Mid-Hants Railway. Steam Centre
- a railway or heritage site offering a passenger service on a short length of line, on a regular basis, with public access at only one point; eg., Lavender Line. Museum
- a museum or site that does not offer a passenger service on a regular basis, if at all, eg., Science Museum, London. Some sites may, however, offer rides on miniature railways. Railway Centre
- a catch-all for those centres which do not fall clearly into any of the other brackets. Generally, those offering rides over short distances using non-steam motive power. As usual, the book

Includes:: some great colour photographs from the world of heritage railways, & also

Includes:: the 2010 Heritage Railways National Timetable of Scheduled Services as an added source of information.









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A fascinating collection of entertaining stories from as far afield as Europe, Indian & America revealing unusual railway journeys across the centuries, including ghost trains, vanishing passengers & trains fitted with homing pigeons instead of a communication cord! From eccentric lords, who transferred their carriages complete with horses & footmen onto the train, to drivers who stole garden fencing to keep up a good head of steam. ` Railways Strangest Journeys` takes you from the dawn of railway travel when speeds of 15 mph were considered blasphemous & damaging to one”s internal organs through the Victorian heyday of Royal Trains & seaside specials, right up to the present day. ...

A study of rain in Britain. The British are getting used to a new kind of rain. There is more of it
- the year 2000 was the wettest
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Barney Campbell`s Rain is a searing debut that reads like a British Matterhorn. ”A wonderfully achieved, enthralling & moving novel of war. Its authenticity is as telling as it is terrifying.” (William Boyd). ” No better on-the-ground description of Britain`s war will ever be written. Rain is what Chickenhawk or, more recently, Matterhorn was to Vietnam. It`s unputdownable, except for when the reader needs to draw breath or battle a lump in the throat.” (Evening Standard). Corporal Thomas (my acting sergeant since Adams died) & I have to go down the line of the boys as they`re checking their kit before we go out. Some of them are crying, not bawling just weeping gently but still steadfast; others are just pumped to the max, bouncing their heads up & down like they`re listening to trance music, just amped about getting the rounds down. Those are the ones I`m most worried about; how they`re going to cope with being back home is beyond me. Tom Chamberlain was destined to be a soldier from the moment he discovered a faded picture of his father patrolling the streets of Belfast. With the war in Afghanistan at its savage peak, Tom is dispatched from home in the dead of an anonymous September night, a blood tribute leaving without fanfare. Full of eagerness, but wracked by self-doubt, he must discover who he is & what he is capable of. But as the bonds with his comrades grow, home
- & the loved ones left behind
- seem ever more remote from the surreal violence & exhilaration of war. Drawing on the author`s own experience, Rain is the most powerful, vivid & affecting portrait of the Afghan frontline to have yet emerged
- a novel of war that will take its place among the classics from previous generations. ” Rain is not merely good, it`s remarkable. Powerful, at times unbearably harrowing, it captures both the fear & exhilaration of men pushed to breaking point.” (Jeremy Paxman). ” Gripping...the ending is genuinely shocking.” (Daily Mail). ”A powerful & moving story of war with all the authenticity of a memoir.” (Charles Cumming). ” One of the most powerful & emotional works ever written about British soldiers in battle. Troubling, funny, upsetting, exhilarating & deeply moving. You will never forget it.” (Colonel Richard Kemp).” Thrilling, gut-wrenching & profoundly moving, this book, like all the very best novels of war, has the utterly compelling grip of authenticity.” (James Holland). ” An extraordinary book: authentic, beautifully written & very moving.” (Saul David). ” Simply superb. It could become the defining account of the British in Afghanistan.” (Tom Petch, writer & directer of ` The Patrol`). ” One of the best novels about the Afghanistan war. Brutally honest, it could have been a memoir.” (David Axe). ”A must-read debut.” (Tom Newton-Dunn).


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Sam wants to go out but it`s pouring with rain, so he & Grandpa decide to stay inside until the rain stops. Sam drinks hot chocolate & reads his books & dreams of adventures while Grandpa gets on with his important paperwork. Grandpa seems to have a VERY important letter to write. Then that very important letter has to be posted, despite the rain & floods. As they finally go outside, Sam & Grandpa have a magical adventure. Rain is the follow-up to the acclaimed Snow; & is the second title in a four-book series based on the weather. ...

When rain comes to the parched African savannah, the animals use all their senses to track the storm. The porcupine smells rain in the air. The zebra sees lightning. The baboons hear thunder. The rhino feels the first drops. & the lion tastes the cool water. For a time, the grasslands abound with new green leaves, juicy fruits & fresh pools of water. But soon the hot sun dries out the l&, & the animals must again wait for the next big rain. Manya Stojic`s picture book debut is as satisfying & refreshing as the rain she describes. With paintings that are exuberant & saturated with colour & simple text that rolls off the tongue with pleasure & ease, here is a book parents & teachers will enjoy sharing again & again. ...