The Conquest of Everest, by the late George Lowe, photographer, mountaineer & teacher & Huw Lewis-Jones historian of exploration, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first ascent to Mount Everest in 1953. Revealing the team which helped Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay to reach the summit, the book features exclusive photographs from the private archives of George Lowe & reflections from renowned climbers, experts & writers, & a foreword by Sir Edmund Hillary. The illustrations reveal George Lowe’s perspective on the expedition as he distilled ‘moments’ of the daily actions of his fellow climbers against the amazing backdrop revealing the personalities who made history. The inspiring photographs are accompanied by compelling experiences on Mount Everest recounted by climbers, experts & writers including Peter Hilary, Reinhold Messner, Jan Morris, Norbu Tenzing Norgay, Doug Scott & Stephen Venables & many more. The book is a collection of moving photographs & tales inspired by the greatest mountain on Earth exuding friendship, heroism, drama & achievements that will transport you back in time, amongst these men & on top of the world. George Lowe founded & supported the Himalayan Trust in Britain & the Lowe Scholarships which raise money to improve the future of the Sherpa of Nepal & fund education for bright students from Solu Khumbu. ...

Vivid, powerful & absorbing, this is a first-person account of one of the most startling military episodes in history: the overthrow of Montezuma`s doomed Aztec Empire by the ruthless Hernan Cortes & his band of adventurers. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, himself a soldier under Cortes, presents a fascinatingly detailed description of the Spanish landing in Mexico in 1520 & their amazement at the city, the exploitation of the natives for gold & other treasures, the expulsion & flight of the Spaniards, their regrouping & eventual capture of the Aztec capital. ...

Historian John Hemming brings a fresh & exciting perspective to one of the most intriguing aspects of early modern history; the subjugation of the ancient Latin American peoples by Spanish explorers, & the birth of Latin America as we now know it. A narrative history told with a sharpness & clarity that makes it accessible & readable without compromising its academic & expert merits. On 25 September 1513, a force of weary Spanish explorers cut through the forests of Panama & was confronted with an ocean: the Mar del Sur, or the Pacific Ocean. Six years later the Spaniards had established the town of Panama as a base from which to explore & exploit this unknown sea. It was the threshold of a vast expansion. From the first small band of Spanish adventurers to enter the mighty Inca empire, to the execution of the last Inca forty years later, The Conquest of the Incas is a story of bloodshed, infamy, rebellion & extermination, told as convincingly as if it happened yesterday. ...

This is a captivating read spanning 5, 000 years of the oceans history. Conquest of the Ocean tells the 5, 000 year history of the remarkable individuals who sailed seas, for trade, to conquer new lands, to explore the unknown. From the early Polynesians to the first circumnavigations by the Portuguese & the British, these are awe-inspiring tales of epic sea voyages involving great feats of seamanship, navigation, endurance, & ingenuity. You can explore the lives & maritime adventures, many with first person narratives, of land seekers & globe charters such as Christopher Columbus, Captain James Cook & Vitus Bering. Brian Lavery is a well-known British naval historian, whose prestigious credits include historical consultant on the blockbuster, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. This narrative history is filled with paintings, logbooks, maps, sketches & diagrams that bring these events & locations to life. Conquest of the Ocean beautifully intertwines informative images with fascinating stories of expedition & exploration in a way that has never been done before. Brian Lavery will have you engrossed in this extraordinary historic naval read. ...

With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs & Incas, & initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world`s resources & balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest scholarship to shatter & replace the traditional narrative. Chapters explore New World civilizations prior to the invasions, the genesis of conquistador culture on both sides of the Atlantic, the roles black Africans & Native Americans played & the consequences of the invasions. The book reveals who the conquistadors were & what made their adventures possible. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable. ...

Kenji Tanabe finds maps easier to read than people. At the elite Tokyo gallery where he works, he sells antique maps by selling the stories that he sees within their traces: their contribution to progress, their dramatic illustrations, their exquisite compasses. But no compass or cartography can guide him through the events that will follow the sudden & unexpected offer of a job in America. There, Theodora Appel runs a company that is more like a family. Brilliantly successful, beguilingly secretive, she gradually initiates Kenji into her rarefied world. Only someone like him
- quiet, intensely committed & discreet
- could be allowed to see beneath the surface to what his employer is hiding. Theodora has never recovered from the death of her lover, & her obsession to reclaim the past threatens them all. Moving across countries & cultures, The Consolation of Maps charts an attempt to understand the tide of history, the geography of people & the boundless territory of loss.

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How did we get here? Why are things as they are? Where are we going? What does it all mean? Is there an ultimate purpose to our existence, or is what we can see around us just the result of a horrible accident, or a sublime one? The Consolations of Physics is an eloquent manifesto for physics. In an age where uncertainty & division is rife, Tim Radford, science editor of the Guardian for twenty-five years, turns to the wonders of the universe for consolation. From the launch of the Voyager spacecraft & how it furthered our understanding of planets, stars & galaxies to the planet composed entirely of diamond & graphite & the sound of a blacksmith`s anvil; from the hole NASA drilled in the heavens to the discovery of the Higgs Boson & the endeavours to prove the Big Bang, The Consolations of Physics will guide you from a tiny particle to the marvels of outer space. ...

Frightening, heartbreaking & exquisitely calibrated, The Constant Gardener is a profoundly moving story of a man ennobled by his wife`s tragic murder, & a magnificent exploration of the dark side of unbridled capitalism. Le Carre`s record-breaking 500, 000 copy international bestseller now comes to the big screen. Directed by critically acclaimed Fernando Meirelles (” City of God”), with an all-star cast featuring Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Pete Postlethwaite & Bill Nighy, & shot on location in Berlin, Kenya & the UK, ” The Constant Gardener” will be the film tie-in of the year. ...

Avant-garde composer Albert Sanger lives in a ramshackle chalet in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by his ` Circus` of assorted children, admirers & a slatternly mistress. The family & their home life may be chaotic, but visitors fall into an enchantment, & the claims of respectable life or upbringing fall away. When Sanger dies, his Circus must break up & each find a more conventional way of life. But fourteen-year-old Teresa is already deeply in love: for her, the outside world holds nothing but tragedy. ...

Enshrining the fundamental rights & freedoms of its citizens in law, & curbing the power of those who rule them, the US constitution is one of the most significant documents in the history of democracy. New to Penguin`s Little Black Classics series. ...