Peter Mattiessen has long been known for his travels to some of the remotest lands on earth, most notably recorded in The Snow Leopard. The Cloud Forest brings to vivid life a South American journey that took him from the Sargasso Sea to the jungles of Amazonia, from the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes to the bleak rocks of Tierra del Fuego & the winds & vast skies of Patagonia. The result is an incisive & marvellously well-observed journal by a born writer & naturalist, a voyage of exploration among the people, places & fading wildlife of this most exotic & mysterious of continents. ...

Hunting the skies is not for the faint-hearted. In a world where water is scarce & deadly jellyfish swim through the sky, mollycoddled teenager Christien dreams of excitement & danger. When he meets the exotic & alluring Jenine & her family of Cloud Hunters, he becomes determined to fulfil that dream... In a richly imaginative tale, perfect for both boys & girls as they launch themselves into the world of fiction as independent readers, Alex Shearer creates a Dahl-esque fantasy that roams through realms of magic, wonder & adventure. ...

A fortress in the sky... Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since his return from exile. But just as Yanagisawa`s true motives begin to emerge, Sano`s estranged uncle comes to him for help: his daughter has disappeared, & he begs Sano & his wife
- who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son
- to find her before it is too late.

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In these evocative & elegiac writings L.T.C. Rolt meditates on landscape, history, poetry, steam railways, vintage cars & the endless summer days of his childhood. He also recalls his many happy boating voyages on Britain's canals: the peace & tranquility, the wildlife & people, the changing scenery as he travelled from county to county, & the role he played in preserving the waterways for future generations. Generations of inhabitants have helped shape the English countryside
- but it has profoundly shaped us too. It has provoked a huge variety of responses from artists, writers, musicians & people who live & work on the land
- as well as those who are travelling through it. English Journeys celebrates this long tradition with a series of twenty books on all aspects of the countryside, from stargazey pie & country churches, to man's relationship with nature & songs celebrating the patterns of the countryside (as well as ghosts & love-struck soldiers).

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This amusing book from the chairman & founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society does exactly what it says on the cover
- it’s a
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A fascinating & funny guide to animals & their poo, & all the other tracks & traces they leave behind. You will be amazed (and perhaps a little revolted!) by the things that can be learned about wildlife from their deposits. Become a detective, find clues & learn all about animals from what they leave behind. From faeces to footprints, skins to shells & eggs, discover all there is to know about wild animals
- even those that are particularly dangerous to track like tigers & wolves! Whether you`re an armchair enthusiast or a forest forager, one thing`s for sure: this fully illustrated compendium of poops, pellets & prints is not to be sniffed at!
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In the middle of the 1800s, Mrs Favell Lee Mortimer set out to write an ambitious guide to all the nations on Earth. There were just three problems: She had never set foot outside Shropshire; she was horribly misinformed about virtually every topic she turned her attention to; & she was prejudiced against foreigners. The result was an unintentionally hilarious masterpiece: ` The French like being smart but are not very clean.` ` The Japanese are very polite people
- much politer than the Chinese
- but very proud.` ` The Scotch will not take much trouble to please strangers.` In ” The Clumsiest People in Europe”, Todd Pruzan has gathered together a selection of Mrs Mortimer`s finest moments, celebrating the woman who turned ignorance into an art form.

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From source to sea, the River Clyde passes through some of southern Scotland`s finest scenery. Rising in the shadow of the Lowther Hills, the country`s third longest river winds through rolling Lanarkshire farmland & past historic market towns on its way to the fertile Clyde Valley & the former industrial heartlands of Scotland before it reaches the city of Glasgow & the Firth of Clyde. There is no better way to discover the wildlife, architecture & history of this area of Scotland than to walk. Whatever your ability
- walking at high or low level, following tough terrain or level paths
- the 25 routes in this guide offer something for everyone.

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The Clyde is arguably the most evocative of Scottish rivers. Its mention conjures up a variety of images of power, productivity & pleasure from its `bonnie banks` through the orchards of south Lanarkshire to its association with shipbuilding & trade & the holiday memories of thousands who fondly remember going `doon the watter`. Its story reflects much of the history of the lands it flows through & the people who live on its banks. This book looks at the maps which display the river itself from its source to the wide estuary which is as much a part of the whole image. It discusses how the river was mapped from its earliest depictions &

Includes:: such topics as navigation, river crossings, war & defence, tourism, sport & recreation, industry & power & urban development.

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They`ve stopped holding late-night sessions in Parliament. Or have they? Imagine a House of Commons with the cameras switched off, the press & public excluded, but with the bar still open. What sort of vile abuse might hon. Members hurl at each other if they were pissed & off the record? In these unofficial transcripts of Parliamentary Proceedings, Ian Martin [” The Thick Of It”] documents the sweary debates of the Coalition Government`s first year in power. It contains very strong language
- & very weak personalities
- desperate to make their mark in British politics by saying anything, however horrible.

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