Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, where: a long-distance relay race is the country`s biggest annual sporting event; companies sponsor their own running teams, paying the athletes like employees; & marathon monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment. Adharanand Finn
- award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans
- moved to Japan to discover more about this unique running culture & what it might teach us about the sport & about Japan. As an amateur runner about to turn forty, he also hoped find out whether the Japanese approach to training might help him keep improving. What he learned
- about competition, about team work, about beating your personal bests, about form & about himself
- will fascinate anyone who is keen to explore why we run, & how we might do it better.



...

` Gripping.. . revelatory.. . unrivalled` Tom Holl&, New Statesman` From Mosul to Melbourne, from Cairo to Tokyo, from London to Oslo, from Connecticut to California: Graeme Wood`s quest to understand the Islamic State is a round-the-world journey to the end of the night` Niall Ferguson `A hugely important book.. . Indispensable` David Aaronovitch, The Times A radical rethinking of what ISIS is & what it really wants From Graeme Wood, author of the explosive Atlantic cover story ” What ISIS Really Wants, ” comes the definitive book on the history, psychology, character, & aims of the Islamic State. Based on Wood`s unprecedented access to supporters, recruiters, & high-ranking members of the most infamous jihadist group in the world, The Way of the Strangers is a riveting, fast-paced deep dive into the apocalyptic dogma that informs the group`s worldview, from the ideas that motivate it, to the ”fatwa factory” that produces its laws, to its very specific plans for the future. By accepting that ISIS truly believes the end is nigh, we can understand its strategy-and predict what it will do next. ...

` It tells of terrible journeys, of men masked against the sun (riding through ethereal regions with their feet frozen), of welcoming fog-girt monasteries lit by butter lamps at the journey`s end`
- ” New Statesman”. ” The Way of the White Clouds” is the remarkable narrative of a pilgrimage which could not be made today. Lama Anagarika Govinda was among the last to journey through Tibet before its invasion by the Chinese. His unique account is not only a spectacular & gloriously poetic story of exploration & discovery; it is also invaluable for its sensitive & clearly presented interpretation of the Tibetan tradition. ` Why is it that the fate of Tibet has found such a deep echo in the world? There can only be one answer: Tibet has become the symbol of all that present-day humanity is longing for`
- Lama Anagarika Govinda.

...

Part candid description of a road journey, part a meditation on travel, this is the tale of a life-enhancing journey taken in the 1950s from Geneva to the Khyber Pass on very little money. When Nicolas Bouvier & the artist Thierry Vernet set out, they had money enough for four months of travel & a Fiat Topolino. When their money ran out, they would stop & teach or sell paintings & articles
- this happened in Istanbul, Tabriz & Quetta. Then they would base themselves in & around the poorer parts of towns to spend raucous nights listening to gypsy musicians, swapping poetry with Iranian tramps & entertaining other drinkers with songs & a trusty accordion. For a long time The Way of the World has stood as a cult book in France & Switzerl&, being called, ‘nothing short of a masterpiece’ by Patrick Leigh Fermor, & this is a re-issue of the translation first published in 1992.
...

An in-depth, personal journey around Japan`s whisky distilleries. Award-winning author & Japanese whisky expert, Dave Broom, tells their story & unveils the philosophy that lies behind this fascinating whisky culture, & how it relates to many Japanese concepts. Dave looks at the history & output of each distillery, considering the elements that make that particular whisky what it is, & including tasting notes. Features on aspects of Japanese life & culture that are crucial to a wider understanding, from the importance of the seasons to the role of craftsmanship, add to the picture. & interwoven throughout the book is the fascinating narrative of the journey across Japan which Dave made with photographer Kohei Take, offering further insight into the country which creates this wonderful drink & making this a must-have edition for any whisky lover, whisky drinker, whisky collector or Japanophile. ...

Being told where to get off can sometimes be a pain, but not with the Way Out Tube Map. Its clever, easy to use system shows you which carriage to board to arrive right opposite the platform exit at your destination. This ingenious Way Out map will put you a lot more than one step ahead. ...

From the bestselling author of THE GIRL OF INK & STARS comes a gorgeous wintry folk tale for young & old alike
- perfect for fans
...

Hillwalking is Ireland`s most widely practised leisure activity today. Rock climbing has developed to a level of technical excellence with crags in almost every county & numerous indoor climbing walls. Irish mountaineers have completed a winter ascent of the Eiger`s North Face, scaled the highest Himalayan peaks & other previously unclimbed giants, & explored hitherto unknown valleys. Paddy O` Leary recounts the history of hillwalking & mountaineering in Irel&, & shows that the early climbing scene was a reflection of, & not escape from, wider social issues: from the early activists
- some were involved in gun running, others died at Gallipoli
- to the turn of the millennium, when mountaineering in Ireland was no longer the preserve of the middle class. This history recounts the adventures, dangers, successes & failures which make this multifaceted activity such a fascinating one, & mirrors the spirit of all who love these places.

...

From the acclaimed author of FALL ON YOUR KNEES
- an international bestseller
- comes a mesmerizing new novel ” The sun came

...

When Skanda`s father Toby dies, estranged from Skanda`s mother & from the India he once loved, it falls to Skanda to return his body to his birthplace. This is a journey that takes him halfway around the world & deep within three generations of his family, whose fractures, frailties & toxic legacies he has always sought to elude. Both an intimate portrait of a marriage & its aftershocks, & a panoramic vision of India`s half-century
- in which a rapacious new energy supplants an ineffectual elite
- The Way Things Were is an epic novel about the pressures of history upon the present moment. It is also a meditation on the stories we tell & the stories we forget; their tenderness & violence in forging bonds & in breaking them apart. Set in modern Delhi & at flashpoints from the past four decades, fusing private & political, classical & contemporary to thrilling effect, this book confirms Aatish Taseer as one of the most arresting voices of his generation.

...