Michael Palin's epic voyages have seen him circumnavigate the globe, travel from the North to the South Pole & circle the countries of the Pacific Ocean, but perhaps the greatest challenge facing an intrepid explorer is crossing the vast & merciless Sahara desert. There is no easy way to do it, & Palin's experiences are like nothing he has encountered before. As the journey unfolds, the Sahara reveals not the emptiness of endless sand dunes, but a huge & diverse range of cultures & landscapes & a long history of civilisation, trade, commerce & conquest stretching from the ancient Egyptians to the oil-rich Islamic republics of today. ...

Published for the first time in one volume, Sven Lindqvist`s uncategorizable, beautiful & angry books about the African continent & the legacy of colonialism. Exterminate All the Brutes takes us on an intellectual trip to `the heart of the darkness` of the European mind & its attitude towards Africa, tracing the legacy of European explorers, missionaries, politicians & historians in Africa from the late eighteenth century onwards. Its sequel, Desert Divers, describes Lindqvist`s journey through Algeria & Morocco, & explores the way European writers of the early twentieth century plunged into the stony, baking expanse of the Sahara, drawn by their own strange dreams. ...

In 1984 Sebastiao Salgado began what would be a fifteen-month project of photographing the drought-stricken Sahel region of Africa in the countries of Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, & Sudan, where Approx. one million people died from extreme malnutrition & related causes. Working with the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, Salgado documented the enormous suffering & the great dignity of the refugees. This early work became a template for his future photographic projects about other afflicted people around the world. Since then, Salgado has again & again sought to give visual voice to those millions of human beings who, because of military conflict, poverty, famine, overpopulation, pestilence, environmental degradation, & other forms of catastrophe, teeter on the edge of survival. Beautifully produced, with thoughtful supporting narratives by Orville Schell, Fred Ritchin, & Eduardo Galeano, this first U.S. edition brings some of Salgado`s earliest & most important work to an American audience for the first time. Twenty years after the photographs were taken, ” Sahel: The End of the Road” is still painfully relevant. Born in Brazil in 1944, Sebastiao Salgado studied economics in Sao Paulo & Paris & worked in Brazil & Engl&. While traveling as an economist to Africa, he began photographing the people he encountered. Working entirely in a black-&-white format, Salgado highlights the larger meaning of what is happening to his subjects with an imagery that testifies to the fundamental dignity of all humanity while simultaneously protesting its violation by war, poverty, & other injustices. ` The planet remains divided, ` Salgado explains. ` The first world in a crisis of excess, the third world in a crisis of need.` This disparity between the haves & the have-nots is the subtext of almost all of Salgado`s work. ...

The Sahel, where the southern edge of the Sahara meets the land in between it & the savannah, is alternatively ignored & misunderstood. In the 1970s it was synonymous with drought & famine, yet crops & herds flourish along its riverbanks & fears of `desertification` have been debunked. After a century of colonialism & military rule the Sahelian nations of Mali & Niger built democracies fortified by long political traditions & Islam, though challenged by recurring violence, especially in Niger, which also witnessed a return of famine. Yet it was Mali that nearly collapsed, in 2012, & there was talk of it becoming an Al Qaeda safe haven, which precipitated French military intervention. Once again the Sahel is a political & environmental faultline, invoked as an `arc of instability`, yet while the portents seem gloomy, Niger has uranium, Mali is Africa`s third largest gold producer & new partners, like China, are rushing in. In his entwined history of Mali & Niger, Thomas Miles contends that today`s crises are neither inevitable nor permanent. The Sahel has long exchanged goods & ideas with the wider world & the presence there of French soldiers & American drones is only one moment in a long & distinguished trajectory. ...

Map No. 1104, Saignelégier, in the topographic survey of Switzerland at 1:25, 000 from Bundesamt für Landestopographie (swisstopo), covering the whole country on 247 small format sheets, with special larger maps published for popular regions including some titles now available in hiking versions. Highly regarded for their superb use of graphic relief & hill shading, the maps give an almost 3-D picture of Switzerland`s mountainous terrain. Contours are at 10 m intervals, with 20m intervals in the mountainous areas. All the maps have a 1-km grid for Swiss national coordinates (datum CH 1903). * Small format sheets (Nos. 1011
- 1374)* Map legend in the language of the area covered by the map. Additional margin ticks show latitude & longitude in steps of 2`. The area covered by each map is 17 x 12 km (11 x 7 miles approx). * Special larger sheets (Nos. from 2501 onwards) – STANDARD editions:* No map legend is included but a separate leaflet can be provided instead. The area covered by each map is 25 x 17 km (15 x 11 miles approx).* Special larger sheets (Nos. from 2501 onwards) – HIKING editions:* An overprint highlights hiking, mountain & alpine paths, including regional & national long-distance trails. The maps also show bus routes with bus stops, plus inns in remote locations. The area covered by each map is 25 x 17 km (15 x 11 miles approx).
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The 1:50, 000 topographic map gives a more general picture of the ground features than a basic map. It shows settlements, houses, roads, cultivated areas, waterways, cutting areas, mires, rock exposures, & relief. One map sheet covers an area of 30 x 40 km & one centimetre corresponds to 500 metres on the ground. The 1:50, 000 topographic map is also an ideal complement to nautical charts as it provides useful information about the land areas adjacent to waterways. For example, all Finnish sea areas are covered by 1:50, 000 topographic map sheets. ...

Fantastic computer graphics systematically explain how to tune-your-yacht, keelboat or dinghy. This beautifully illustrated & well-organised book shows the reader step by step, how to trim their sails & rig for maximum performance. Ivar Dedekam`s revolutionary approach to sail & rig tuning tackles the practical & realistic elements of tuning your boat as well as the theory of sail aerodynamics. The book covers the many variations in boat, sail & rig design. ...

The complete guide on how to trim sails & tune rigging for all conditions to make the boat sail faster & safer. A well-trimmed sailing boat is not only faster – it heels less, balances better & is more comfortable. Wear & load is reduced & expensive gear lasts longer. The risk of damage or rig failure is significantly lower when you know how to take care of your rig & sails. This book provides a clear understanding of the dynamics of rig & sail & how to get them working together in harmony with the elements. With hundreds of colour photographs & illustrations throughout, the text is concise & precise, divided into sections to make it easy to find exactly what you need. Research was carried out with professional riggers, sailmakers & international elite sailors as consultants resulting in a book that should be part of every sailor’s basic kit. This book appeals to every level of sailor – those with limited experience will find much to learn & the experienced sailor can develop competence & knowledge as the different aspects of trim are treated in depth. ...

How to make your dream of giving up the 9-to-5 routine & setting sail come true. Author Nicola Rodriguez dared to dream the impossible seeing the world with her family of four. With careful planning (and the gift of yachting equipment), her dream came true, allowing her to travel by yacht for four years while raising her family. In Sail Away, she offers practical guidance for the would-be adventurer including choosing a boat, planning a round-the-world route, as well as a realistic look at the pros & cons of living on a boat. With information on safety, communications, children, insurance, & budgeting, this helpful guide will show anyone how to start their once in a lifetime journey. With careful guidance on each step of the preparation process, the book also

Includes:: extensive information on routes & destinations around Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific, & beyond.
Includes: only tried-&-tested advice-based on the author`s own experience as well as many others she met in her travels Offers advice on coping with life ashore at the end of your adventure The author is a respected yachting journalist, who contributes to Yachting Monthly, Yachting World, & Sail magazines Illustrated with beautiful photographs taken by Nicola`s husb&. Whether you are opting to cash in your savings, making use of your pension, or taking a sabbatical from your daily routine, this inspirational, practical guide shows you how to take the plunge & Sail Away.


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Strange, wonderful sights await Girl & Dragon as the inseparable friends journey far across the sea in this warm-hearted & beautifully illustrated tale. Randy Cecil`s dreamy artwork & Barbara Joosse`s poetic words cast a comforting spell over imaginative explorers in the third instalment in the Girl & Dragon series, which began with Lovabye Dragon & followed with Evermore Dragon. Dragon & Girl share the very same dream: to sail to the furthest far-away. So they set out to sea, Girl sailing on Dragon`s back. For a year & a day the two friends search up, down & around for the faraway place, meeting creatures along the way: dolphins, whales, & even some sword-wielding pirates. & when Girl & Dragon finally reach the furthest far-away, they still share a heart & the very same dream... ...