The safety bicycle, with front-wheel steering & pedal-driven rear wheel, has existed in some form since the experiments of Kirkpatrick Macmillan in 1839, but his ideas were almost forgotten when the front-wheel driven boneshakers & penny farthings reigned supreme. Then, in the 1870s, experimental safeties appeared, culminating in Henry Lawson`s Bicyclette of 1879. Within ten years the modern bicycle had developed, to remain basically unchanged for over seventy years. Many specialist & experimental designs have appeared since the late nineteenth century most of which, if they passed the prototype stage, failed to attract the public & now languish in museums. ...

A brief meeting with a Buddhist nun in India made a deep impression on Christine Toomey. It sent her on a two year, 60, 000-mile odyssey to learn more about the contemporary women choosing in their thousands to become part of a long tradition of female spirituality that stretches back through the centuries & now embraces the radical possibility that the next Dalai Lama could be female. In The Saffron Road, Toomey follows in the footsteps of earlier generations of Buddhist nuns to trace the routes by which the philosophy has spread, from a solitary order in a remote area of India in the 5th century BC, via 1950s San Francisco where Zen was popularised by the Beat generation, to the globally-renowned practitioners of mindfulness of today. Beginning her journey in the Himalayas, close to the birthplace of the Buddha, Toomey travels from Nepal, to India, through Burma, Japan & on to North America & Europe, along the way visiting contemporary nunneries to meet the women who practise there. Amongst those she talks to are a group of ”kung fu” nuns, an acclaimed novelist, a princess, a concert violinist, a former BBC journalist, & a one-time Washington political aide. Through these conversations, the daily reality of the Buddhist existence is gradually revealed, together with the diverse spiritual paths leading these women towards nirvana. Combining travelogue, history, interviews & personal reflection, The Saffron Road opens the door to a rarely glimpsed world of ritual, discipline & enlightenment. ...

Shortlisted for a 2016 Edward Standford Travel Writing Award.` Barberries, fresh herbs, date molasses, dried limes, saffron; Yasmin`s Persian pantry staples are a roll call of my favourite ingredients. Her recipes are a mouthwatering showcase of a beautiful country` Yotam Ottolenghi ` Not just a great cookbook but a book full of stories
- a love letter to Iran & its people` Diana Henry Armed with little more than a notebook & a bottle of pomegranate molasses, British-Iranian cook Yasmin Khan traversed Iran in search of the country`s most delicious recipes. Her quest took her from the snowy mountains of Tabriz & the paddyfields of Gilan to the cosmopolitan cafes of Tehran & the pomegranate orchards of Isfahan, where she was welcomed into the homes of artists, farmers, electricians & teachers. Through her travels, she gained a unique insight into the culinary secrets of the Persian kitchen & the lives of ordinary Iranians today. In The Saffron Tales, Yasmin weaves together a tapestry of stories from Iranian home kitchens with exclusive photography & fragrant, modern recipes that are rooted in the rich tradition of Persian cooking. All fully accessible for the home cook, Yasmin`s recipes range from the inimitable fesenjoon (chicken with walnuts & pomegranates) to kofte berenji (lamb meatballs stuffed with prunes & barberries) & ghalyieh maygoo (prawn, coriander & tamarind stew). She also offers a wealth of vegetarian dishes, including tahcheen (baked saffron & aubergine rice) & domaj (mixed herb, flatbread & feta salad), as well as sumptuous desserts such as rose & almond cake, & sour cherry & dark chocolate cookies. With stunning photography from all corners of Iran & gorgeous recipe images, this lavish cookbook rejoices in the l&, life, flavours & food of an enigmatic & beautiful country.
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Once, there was a girl who loved saffron. She loved its secrets, its mystery, & best of all, she loved its hint of magic. After the death of her beloved mother, Nell travels from rural Cornwall to the colour & chaos of Marrakech. Her marriage may be on the rocks, but exploring the heady delights of Moroccan cuisine could help her fulfil her dream of opening her own restaurant. It`s there she meets Amy
- a young photographer trying to unravel the story behind her family`s involvement in the Vietnam War. The two women develop a close friendship & discover a surprising connection between their own pasts. This connection will take Nell & Amy on a journey to find their own `saffron trail`
- from the labyrinthine medina & bustle of Moroccan bazaars all the way back home to Cornwall & to the heart of their families` origins.

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One hundred years ago, Selma Lagerlof became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She assured her place in Swedish letters with this sweeping historical epic, her first & best-loved novel, & the basis for the 1924 silent film of the same name that launched Greta Garbo to stardom. Set in 1820s Sweden, it tells the story of a defrocked minister named Gosta Berling. After his appetite for alcohol & previous indiscretions end his career, Berling finds a home at Ekeby, an ironworks estate owned by Margareta Celsing, the ` Majoress`, that also houses & assortment of eccentric veterans of the Napoleanic Wars. Berling`s defiant & poetic spirit proves magnetic to a string of women, who fall under his spell against the backdrop of political intrigue at Margareta`s estate & the magnificent wintry beauty of rural Sweden. ...

Part of a new series Legends from the Ancient North, The Saga of the Volsungs is one of the classic books that influenced JRR Tolkien`s The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings. ” They summoned their friends, readied their horses, & prepared their helmets, shields, swords, coats of mail”. (J.R.R). Tolkien spent much of his life studying, translating & teaching the great epic stories of northern Europe, filled with heroes, dragons, trolls, dwarves & magic. He was hugely influential for his advocacy of Beowulf as a great work of literature &, even if he had never written The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, would be recognised today as a significant figure in the rediscovery of these extraordinary tales. Legends from the Ancient North brings together from Penguin Classics five of the key works behind Tolkien`s fiction. They are startling, brutal, strange pieces of writing, with an elemental power brilliantly preserved in these translations. They plunge the reader into a world of treachery, quests, chivalry, trials of strength. They are the most ancient narratives that exist from northern Europe & bring us as near as we will ever get to the origins of the magical landscape of Middle-earth (Midgard) which Tolkien remade in the 20th century. ...

Based on Viking Age poems, ” The Saga of the Volsungs” combines mythology, legend & sheer human drama. At its heart are the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer who acquires magical knowledge from one of Odin`s Valkyries. Yet it is also set in a very human world, incorporating strands from the oral narratives of the fourth & fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun & other warriors fought on the northern frontiers of the Roman Empire. One of the great books of world literature, the saga is an unforgettable tale of princely jealousy, unrequited love, greed & vengeance. With its cursed treasure of the Rhine, sword reforged & magic ring of power, it was a major influence for writers including William Morris & J. R. R. Tolkein & for Wagner`s Ring cycle. ...

In Icel&, the age of the Vikings is also known as the Saga Age. A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world`s great literary treasures
- as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives & deeds of the Norse men & women who first settled in Iceland & of their descendants, who ventured farther west to Greenland &, ultimately, North America. Sailing as far from the archetypal heroic adventure as the long ships did from home, the Sagas are written with psychological intensity, peopled by characters with depth, & explore perennial human issues like love, hate, fate & freedom.
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A definitive & illuminating biography of one of the most famous
- & most famously unfinished
- buildings in the world, the

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The Sahara is the quintessence of isolation, epitomizing both remoteness & severity of environment unlike any other place on the face of the earth. Replete with myths & fictions, it is a wild l&, dotted with oases & camel trains trudging through sand dunes that roll like the waves on a sea, as far as the distant horizon. But this is just part of the picture. The largest desert in the world, the Sahara ranges from the river Nile running through Egypt & Sudan in the east, to the Atlantic coast from Morocco to Mauritania in the west; stretching from the Atlas Mountains & the shores of the Mediterranean in the north, to the fluid Sahelian fringe that delineates the desert in the south. Invaders & traders have come & gone for millennia, but the Sahara is also the place that some people call home. While larger than the continental United States, this vast area contains only three million people: Africans & Arabs, Berber & Bedu, Tuareg & Tebu. Eamonn Gearon explores the history, culture, & terrain of a place whose name is familiar to all, but known to few. Conquered & Cursed from the 50, 000-strong army of Cambyses, swallowed in a sandstorm in the sixth century BC, to the us marines first foreign engagement, in 1805; Hannibal & his elephants, Caesar against Anthony & Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, the armies of Islam, Napoleon, & Rommel versus Monty. Myths & Mysteries: from whales in the White desert to the arrival of camels in the Great Sand Sea; chariots of the gods & colonialists` motor-cars; from the Land of the dead to Timbuktu; salt & gold mines, fields of oil & gas & a man-made river. Artists, Writers & Filmmakers: from the ancient rock art of the Tassili frescoes to the modernism of Matisse & Klee; from Ibn Battuta to Paul Bowles; from Beau Geste`s French Foreign Legion to Star Wars. CONQUERED & CURSED: From the 50, 000-strong army of Cambyses, swallowed in a sandstorm in the Sixth century BC, to the US Marines first foreign engagement, in 1805, countless invaders have fought & died from the heart of the desert ”to the shores of Tripoli.” The legion of names

Includes:: Hannibal & his elephants, Caesar against Anthony & Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, the Armies of Islam, Napoleon, & Rommel versus Monty. MYTHS & MYSTERIES, from ANCIENT EMPIRES to MODERN NATIONS: From whales in the White Desert to the arrival of camels in the Great Sand Sea; from chariots of the gods to motor-cars of the colonialists; from the Land of the Dead to Timbuktu; mines of salt & gold, fields of oil & gas, & a Man-Made River. ARTISTS, WRITERS, & FILMMAKERS: From the ancient rock art of the Tassili frescoes to the modernist canvases of Matisse & Klee; From Ibn Battuta to Paul Bowles, via St. Augustine & Saint-Exupery; From Beau Geste`s French Foreign Legion to the inter-stellar Star Wars, via Ice Cold in Alex & The English Patient. The Sahara inspired them all.

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