` One of the very few necessary & inevitable utterances of the century.` William Morris, in the Preface. ` The Nature of Gothic` started life as a chapter in Ruskin`s masterwork, ` The Stones of Venice`. Ruskin came to lament the ` Frankenstein monsters` of Victorian buildings with added Gothic which ` The Stones` inspired; but despite his misgivings the original moral purpose of his writing had not fallen on stony ground. ` The Nature of Gothic`, the last chapter of the second volume, had marked his progression from art critic to social critic; in it he found the true seam of his thought, & it was quickly recognised for the revolutionary writing it was. As Morris himself put it, ` The Nature of Gothic` `pointed out a new road on which the world should travel`; & in its indictment of meaningless modern labour & its celebration of medieval architecture it could be called the foundation stone of Morris`s aesthetic & purpose in life. Forty years after he first read it, Morris chose Ruskin`s text for one of the first books to be published at his Kelmscott Press, using his own Golden type. It is one of the summits of his career, & one of the most beautiful books ever published. Few book can so completely sum up an era. The Kelmscott Nature of Gothic encapsulates the meeting of two remarkable minds & embodies their influence in word, image & design. But more than that, Ruskin`s words are increasingly relevant for our times. In this facsimile edition, the first ever made from this rare book, the reader can fully appreciate their importance & their legacy, as understood by one of the most potent visual imaginations to have worked in Britain. In this enlarged edition, essays by leading scholars, Robert Hewison (who was one of Ruskin`s successors as Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University), Tony Pinkney (Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University) & Robert Brownell (lecturer, stained glass maker & author of ` Marriage of Inconvenience`) explain the importance of this book for Ruskin, for Morris & for us today. ...

From the highly-acclaimed author of The Great Stink comes The Nature of Monsters, a gloriously-written tale of consuming passions & obsessions. It is 1718 &, in a small parish near Newcastle, Eliza Tally, a headstrong girl of 15, embarks on a reckless love affair that will prove her undoing. When her lover casts her off, denying their union, she is forced to travel to London, a city that attracts & alarms her in equal measure. There she takes up a position in the house of an apothecary, Grayson Black, whom she trusts to salvage what remains of her reputation. Set against the clamour & roar of eighteenth-century London, The Nature of Monsters brings vividly to life a world where the line separating science & madness is dangerously blurred, & where a single life counts for little in the relentless pursuit of progress. ...

During winter, dark days of wild storms can give way to the perfect, glistening stillness of frost-encrusted winter landscapes
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EXPLORE LIFE ON EARTH with the most visually stunning timeline of evolution ever created, stretching back 4 billion years ...

Cartographers have known for decades that maps are far from objective representations of the world; rather, every map reflects the agendas & intentions of its creators. Yet that understanding has had almost no effect on the way maps are viewed & used by the general public. In ” The Natures of Maps”, cartographers Denis Wood & John Fels present a compelling exploration of a wide range of maps to answer the question of, as they put it, why maps have ”gotten away with it.” To answer that question, the authors turn to a category of maps with a particularly strong reputation for objectivity: maps of nature. From depictions of species habitats & bird migrations to portrayals of the wilds of the Grand Canyon & the reaches of the Milky Way, such maps are usually presumed
- even by users who should know better
- to be strictly scientific. Yet by drawing our attention to every aspect of these maps` self-presentation, from place names to titles & legends, the authors reveal the way that each piece of information collaborates in a disguised effort to mount an argument about reality. Without our realizing it, those arguments can then come to define our very relationship to the natural world
- determining whether we see ourselves as humble hikers or rampaging despoilers, participants or observers, consumers or stewards. Richly illustrated, & crafted in vivid & witty prose, ” The Natures of Maps” will enlighten & entertain map aficionados, scholars, & armchair navigators alike. You`ll never be able to look at Google Maps quite the same way again.


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Traditional maritime skills like sailmaking & canvas work have been handed down for generations but seldom recorded. There are few authoritative sources of information on this subject but the Royal Navy has maintained this knowledgein this classic handbook. The diagrams & illustrations are particularly fine while the text is the distilled expertise of countless sailmakers. This book will interest naval historians & anybody who wishes to practise the skill of sewing & canvas work. ...

Fire at sea is one of the most dangerous hazards. This handbook complements training given to naval firefighters, covering safety, correct principles & use of equipment, types of fire & emergency response. The last chapter, contributed by The Nautical Institute & written by FGM Evans FNI GIFire E, examines the hazards on commercial vessels, particularly cargo fires. The handbook provides a refresher for drills & exercises & is a valuable guide for training. ...

Abandoning ship is a team effort & this classic handbook is designed to complement the training given to naval personnel for the 25-person liferaft. It covers evacuation, inflation, equipment, communications, search & rescue, survival techniques, what to do when landing in remote areas, how to collect water & avoid heat stroke or hypothermia. This book is issued to all Royal Navy seagoing personnel & has been made available to The Nautical Institute sothat all can benefit from the naval experience. ...

Gothic masterpiece from the author of MOONFLEET. A young architect is sent to the remote town of Cullerne to supervise the restoration work on its Minster. He`s soon caught up in local life & the rumours that surround the claim to the title of Lord Blandamer, whose coat of arms is the nebuly coat of the title. ...

Max Jackson, a New Zealander living & lecturing in Paris, has a complicated arrangement with his estranged French wife, Louise. In love with his younger Sorbonne colleague Sylvie, he finds himself entangled with Helen, a troubled young English student. When a Cezanne painting goes missing from Louise`s apartment, the boundaries he has struggled to maintain threaten to collapse. Infused with literary musings & the spirit of Paris, The Necessary Angel is as much an ode to the power of literature as a nuanced exploration of love, fidelity & the balance of power within relationships. ...