The Geographic South Pole is a place of paradox. It is a point around which the Earth, quite literally, pivots; yet it has a habit of falling off the edge of our maps. An invisible spot on a high, featureless ice plateau, the Pole has no obvious material value, but is nonetheless a much sought-after location. The endpoint of exploration`s most famous `race` between teams led by Robert F. Scott & Roald Amundsen, the Pole has more recently become a favoured destination of `extreme` tourists. Like the whole of Antarctica, `90 South` does not belong to any nation, but six national claims meet there, & for nearly sixty years the US has occupied the site with a series of scientific stations. The Pole is a deeply political place. In South Pole Elizabeth Leane explores the important challenges that this strange place poses to humanity. What is its lure? How & why should people live there? How can creative artists respond to its apparent blankness? What can it teach us about our planet & ourselves? Along the way, she considers the absurdities & banalities of human engagement with the Pole. Ranging from the ancient Greeks to the present, & featuring spectacular images of the South Pole, this book offers a fascinating history of the symbolic `heart` of the Antarctic. ...

Double-sided map from the British Antarctic Survey: on one side is a bathymetry & geological setting map of the South Sandwich Islands Volcanic Arc at 1:750, 000; on the reverse individual islands are shown on separate panels at 1:50, 000 or 1:25, 000. Both sides include explanatory notes & addition information panels. Full BAS ref. number: BAS GEOMAO 2 Series, sheet 6, edition 1, 2014.PLEASE NOTE: to see the list of other detailed topographic & specialist maps from BAS please click on the series link. BAS maps of wider general interest are listed on our website in a separate series. ...

With nineteenth century origins as a coastguard patrol route to restrict smuggling, the modern day South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked footpath. This challenging National Trail hugs the coast from Minehead in Somerset, all the way around the South West peninsula of Cornwall before ending at Studland in Dorset. The full path is not for the fainthearted; it runs for 630 miles up & down endless cliffs which, when added together give a height gain of almost four times the height of Mount Everest. But the path is not solely the domain of the endurance walker. Its various segments are enjoyed by many millions of visitors throughout the year, who come to marvel at the natural scenery on offer. This is the true wonder of the South West Coast Path; this single trail connects visitors with some of the finest coastal scenery to be found anywhere in the world. ...

Running from Nelson Lakes in the north to the ranges of Fiordland in the south, New Zealand's Southern Alps are the chain of mountains that form the spine of the South Isl&, & provide the backdrop to so much of its remarkable scenery. The Southern Alps is a tribute to these mountains from Craig Potton, New Zealand's pre-eminent landscape photographer. Collected over many years, these aerial photographs capture the magnificence of the tangle of rock, ice, snow & forested valleys that define the character of these mountains. The book

Includes:: images of all the major peaks, ranging from Mt Tutoko in Fiordland's Darran Mountains, Mt Earnslaw, Mt Aspiring, the high peaks of Aoraki/ Mt Cook, north through to Mt Whitcombe & Mt Evans in the Central Alps, & on to Nelson Lakes. In addition to the plates, Craig Potton has contributed a thoughtful essay on how we look at mountains, & there are detailed captions about every photo & an essay outlining the natural history of this mountain chain. This is the ultimate book for mountain lovers. Beautifully produced in an oversized format, it presents the finest portrait of New Zealand's Southern Alps ever published.

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Edged by the fearsome Empty Quarter to the North, the Arabian Sea to the South & resting on layers of history that stretch back to the dawn of human civilisation, the Hadhramaut
- heart of ` Arabia Felix`, in what is now Yemen
- is one of the wildest & most remote parts of Arabia, little-changed from when Freya Stark travelled there over 70 years ago. Tracing the ancient incense route, Stark set out to be the first westerner to discover the fabled lost city of Shabwa, which had captivated explorers & travellers for centuries. Though she journeyed through the canyons & mountains of the Hadhramaut extensively & by any means possible, Stark`s goal was never reached, but the ending to her story was nevertheless
- & in characteristic fashion
- dramatic. Having caught measles whilst staying in a sultan`s harem & with the region overrun by warring religious factions & bandits, she had to be evacuated by the Royal Air Force. Though Shabwa remained elusive, Freya Stark`s remarkable journey ensured that her name would forever be associated with Arabia & her travels hailed as intrepid & adventurous as any undertaken by other great explorers of Arabia such as T.E. Lawrence, Richard Burton & Charles Doughty.



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It`s New Year`s Eve, & Beth plans to spend a whole year alone, in her snug, safe house. But she has reckoned without floppy-eared, tail-wagging Mouse, who comes nosing to her window. Followed shortly by his owner, Alice. As Beth`s year of solitude rolls out, Alice gently steals her way first into Beth`s house & later into her heart. & by the time New Year`s Eve comes round again
- who knows?A tender & delicate love story in verse, The Space Between is a tale of how warmth, support & friendship can overcome mental anguish.
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In The Space Tourists Handbook, Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson gives would-be space tourists the exact same training program that he gives to his billionaire customers. Here are step-by-step instructions for liftoff, sleeping in weightless environments, using the ...

Jakob has found the long-lost SPACE TRAIN! But it`s old, battered & broken. With the help of Granny & Derek the robot chicken, can Jakob fix the train?A stunning intergalactic adventure, packed with fun flaps & out-of-this world illustrations from the talented Karl James Mountford (The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth, Last Stop on the Reindeer Express)! ...

The Spanish, in the Xenophobe guide series; consisting of a range of pocket-sized guides which take a humorous & irreverent approach to a wide range of world cultures. Each guide explores the characteristics of a country’s people in a series of dedicated sections, encompassing nationalism & identity, behaviour, manners, character, obsessions, beliefs & values, leisure & pleasure, culture, custom & tradition, business, systems, health & hygiene, crime & punishment, government & bureaucracy, conversation & gestures & language. Written in a wholly irreverent style, Xenophobes guides attempt to forewarn readers of the main stereotypes & foibles that are associated with individual nationalities. ...

The Spanish Ambassador`s Suitcase is a hilarious new collection of diplomatic tales by Matthew Parris & Andrew Bryson Heard the one about the Spanish Ambassador who arrived in the scorching Saharan desert fully suited & with a mysteriously enormous suitcase? Or the horse they gave Prime Minister John Major in Turkmenistan
- which hapless embassy officials had to rescue from the clutches of the Moscow railway? These & other `funnies`, as they are known in Whitehall, are included in Matthew Parris & Andrew Bryson`s glorious new volume of not so diplomatic writing, which accompanies a new BBC Radio 4 series is a follow up to their acclaimed collection of ambassadors` final despatches, Parting Shots. Drawn from Freedom of Information requests & previously overlooked Valedictories these startling despatches throw a revealing light on how the British have viewed the world
- &, unwittingly perhaps, on how the world has viewed the British. Praise for Parting Shots: ” Parting Shots is unbuttoned, indiscreet & very funny”. (Yorkshire Post). ” Fascinating, if sometimes uncomfortable, reading”. (Financial Times). ” Very funny”. (Guardian). After working in the Foreign Office then serving as a Conservative MP, Matthew Parris joined The Times in 1988. He writes two weekly columns for The Times & one for the Spectator, & in 2011 won the Best Columnist Award at the British Press awards. His acclaimed autobiography Chance Witness was published by Penguin in 2003. He is a frequent broadcaster. Andrew Bryson is a radio journalist working in the BBC`s Business & Economic Unit. He frequently works as a producer on Radio 4`s Today programme & on Radio 5 Live.

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