Visit palaces closed to the public, admire exceptional works of art away from the tourist circuit, listen to a concert in a magnificent hidden oratory, have your dog or car blessed, puzzle over a rare catoptric meridian or a wonderful anamorphic fresco, discover the remarkable motorized Rubens, enter into the secrets of the Vatican, rediscover a lost Bernini masterpiece, say a prayer before an image of the Holy Face of Jesus like that deposited on the moon in 1968, organize a dinner for two in a private palace, protect your throat from the rigors of winter.. . Far from the crowds & the usual cliches, Rome is still a reserve of well-concealed treasures only revealed to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Rome well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city. ...

A br&-new book from the UK & Ireland`s best-loved comedian, Dara O Briain! So you think everyday life is boring?! WHAT?! Hoo-ee, are you wrong! No, seriously. There`s so much EXTRAORDINARY science going on right from the minute you wake up to when you go to sleep. Actually, while you`re asleep, too. Science is a non-stop EVERYWHERE, everything adventure with some incredibly cool stuff going on, too. You`ve got your incredible brain, which has worked out how to read these words & make playing a video game feel as EXCITING as real life; you`ve got aeroplanes that can somehow get from the ground into the sky with all those people & their luggage on board; you`ve got electricity & artificial intelligence & GPS & buses coming in threes (that`s science too) & LOADS more. In Secret Science, Dara O Briain takes you on a journey from the comfort of your favourite chair to the incredible science behind your everyday life & on into the future! ...

The sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller Bletchley Park Brainteasers & perfect for fans of The GCHQ Puzzle Book. Whether you have linguistic flair, an instinct for technology or good old common sense, pit your wits against some of the greatest minds of our time with ingenious brainteasers including secret languages, sabotage themed brain bogglers, deadly countdowns & hidden codes. Weaving astonishing stories of the men & women who operate from the shadows, the secret heroes & heroines of MI5 & MI6 who have faced extraordinary & terrifying challenges & a wide range of mind twisting puzzles, Secret Service Brainteasers will test your mental agility to discover: Do YOU have what it takes to be a spy? ...

A startlingly original picture book about a little girl who creates a garden on a disused car park rooftop Funni loves the old, disused car park, & spends a lot of time there flying her kite & playing her recorder. But something is missing. Definitely. So Funni decides to create a garden in the neglected space & after weeks of careful nurture, her garden in the sky takes shape. One day, a little boy, Zoo, spots the square of colour amongst the grey from an incoming flight, & decides to try to find it. & slowly, not only do Funni`s flowers bloom, but a very special friendship blossoms too. Beautifully illustrated in line & watercolour by up-&-coming talent, Fiona Lumbers, this is a poignant & memorable story from award-winning author, Linda Sarah. ...

Casablanca’s stinking alleys are the only home that nineteen-year-old Youssef El-Mekki has ever known. Raised by his mother in a one-room home, the film stars flickering on the local cinema’s screen offer the only glimmer of hope to his frustrated dreams of escape. Until, that is, the father he thought dead turns out to be very much alive.A high profile businessman with wealth to burn, Nabil is disenchanted with his daughter & eager to take in the boy he never knew. Soon Youssef is installed in his penthouse & sampling the gold-plated luxuries enjoyed by Casablanca’s elite. But as he leaves the slums of his childhood behind him, he comes up against a starkly un-glittering reality… ...

A building that acts as a giant firewall, a secret city center canyon, a statue that cures warts, ultra-modern designer toilets, an extraordinary tree that helps you quit smoking, an electronic sunflower, a spectacular modern temple hidden in the heart of Shinjuku, a street that gives Tokyo taxi drivers nightmares, a massive building that looks like a warship, forgotten rivers... Far from the crowds & the usual cliches, Tokyo swings between modernity & tradition, preservation of its heritage, sophisticated aestheticism & eccentricity, offering countless off-beat experiences. The Japanese capital is home to any number of well-hidden treasures that are revealed only to residents & travellers who find their way off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Tokyo well or would like to discover the other face of the city.” ...

Coinciding with the hotly anticipated British Museum exhibition Sunken Cities: Egypt`s Lost Worlds in May 2016, this is the sensational story of two magnificent ancient aquatic cities which once stood at the mouth of the river Nile. Gateways to the land of the pharaohs, Thonis-Heracleion & Canopus were thriving, busy ports
- until a catastrophe caused them to sink beneath the water. Now the ruins, & the objects & artefacts found among them, reveal how their inhabitants lived, worshipped & interacted with their foreign visitors.
...

The oak tree where Pinocchio hanged himself, a fifteenth-century stained glass window with an image of Mussolini, a forgotten statue by Leonardo da Vinci, a luxury hotel that is now a public lavatory, a 17th-century milk distributor, a wine-drinking frog, a unique astronomical phenomenon, a staircase in Siena bearing St. Catherine s teeth marks, a whale in Lucca, an authentic phial of Christ s blood, a faith that moves rocks, diamonds within marble, the location of the amphora from the Marriage Feast of Cana, an extraordinary anatomical theatre in Pistoia, Fata Morgana s spring of eternal youth, an unusual stroll along a marble quarry monorail Far from the crowds & the usual cliches, Tuscany still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track. This is a guide that is indispensable for those who think they know Tuscany or those who want to discover another side to the region.” ...

Secret Venice in the Jonglez series of guides; profiling a range of European cities as well as thematic titles & designed to explore the undiscovered & hidden attractions usually hidden from tourists. The ‘ Secret’ titles present a range of sites
- including gardens, museums, squares, churches, parks & distinctive architecture
- that are often not covered by other guides. Double page spreads have a description of the site & a glossy full length photograph opposite. Addresses, opening times, contact details & relevant transport information is also provided. Jonglez also publish a range of “ Unusual…” titles, with an emphasis on thematic experiences, including hotels & shopping, to a range of destinations. Each guide has a similar format to the ‘ Secret’ series, with individual recommendations & suggestions accompanied by colour photographs throughout the text.

...

Far from the crowds & the usual cliches, Vienna offers countless off-beat experiences & is home to any number of well-hidden treasures that are revealed only to residents & travellers who find their way off the beaten track. Secret Vienna is an indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Vienna well, or would like to discover the other face of the city. ...