Journeying through England on horseback, the intrepid seventeenth-century traveller Celia Fiennes recorded every sight & experience of her adventure in her journal, from her delight at countryside cakes & the beauty of remote landscapes, to the challenges of disagreeable landladies, choppy sea crossings & a troublesome horse. Describing potteries in Staffordshire, cheesemaking in Cheshire, dyers in Exeter & tin miners in Cornwall, her writings give an unrivalled glimpse into an England of bustling industry & rich variety. Generations of inhabitants have helped shape the English countryside
- but it has profoundly shaped us too. It has provoked a huge variety of responses from artists, writers, musicians & people who live & work on the land
- as well as those who are travelling through it. English Journeys celebrates this long tradition with a series of twenty books on all aspects of the countryside, from stargazey pie & country churches, to man's relationship with nature & songs celebrating the patterns of the countryside (as well as ghosts & love-struck soldiers).

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New Zealand schoolteacher Les Horn had a brainstorm: why not navigate Europe's inland waterways, from England to Greece, in a small sailboat? Much to his surprise, he managed to sell his wife, Despina, & preteen children, Victoria & Charles, on the idea, & the following summer, installed in their 24-foot fixer-upper, Alea Jacta Est (the die is cast), the Horns set sail on the wry family odyssey chronicled in this delightful tale of misadventure. The Horns' ambitious plan was to pilot their balky boat down the Thames River to the English Channel & then on to Despina's native Greece via the Seine, Rhine, Danube, Black Sea, & Aegean. Along the way, the Horns would be treated to transforming glimpses of the real Europe; by plying the meandering waterways that nourish the continent like a gigantic circulatory system, they would discover all the hidden splendors not covered in any tour book & out of reach to all but the most intrepid wayfarers. Needless to say, things didn't turn out quite as expected. Plagued by accidents, breakdowns & delays, forced to forage for provisions, stymied at every turn by petty officials & cantankerous natives, the Horns, propelled more by pluck than by their cranky outboard motor, eventually made it to the Aegean, but not without their share of uproarious adventures in France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, & Turkey. In Through Europe at Four Knots, Les Horn combines an appreciation of the absurd with a journalist's eye for detail to weave a shrewdly funny account of a family voyage through Europe's variegated landscapes. Especially memorable are the family's surreal experiences of the epochal upheaval that swept Eastern Europe in the early 1990s. Through Europe at Four Knots is a rousing good read for fellow expatriates, sailors, travelers, & adventurers
- both actual & armchair. 'A riotous cruising adventure, liberally sprinkled with nuggets of comedy & history, which builds in tension as the Horn family crosses the European continental divide & is swept by the inexorable current of the Danube River deeper & deeper into Eastern bloc trouble. A great read that holds you to the end. Highly recommended'
- Nigel Calder, boating author.

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Through Siberia by Accident is Dervla Murphy’s book about a journey that didn’t happen
- & what happened instead. Suffering from
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The letters of Peter Le Mesurier (1789-1813) cover his service in the 9th Foot, from leaving for Portugal as an ensign in 1808 at the very start of the Peninsular War, up until Le Mesurier`s death at the Battle of the Nive in December 1813. The ` Fighting Ninth` saw more action than any other regiment, & this correspondence covers most of the key events of the Peninsular War; finally, grimly, `book-ended` by the young lieutenant`s death, just as Wellington invades France. He fought through Spain & Portugal: Salamanca, Corunna, San Sebastian, Vitoria these battles are spectacularly bloody & of great interest to the Napoleonic Wars reading public. The letters bring fresh insights & a wealth of telling detail. Le Mesurier had a fine eye: ` The Portuguese of our Division behaved uncommonly well when the cannon shots were thinning their ranks; not a man stirred.` The letters show the transformation of the boy into the man. He falls in love, suffers retreats & celebrates victories, witnesses sieges, rape & plunder, always spicing his letters with fascinating asides, wry humour, rich period detail, some very human fears & admissions, & the casual understatement of the British officer. Any unpublished letters from the conflict are scarce, but such an extensive unpublished collection is rare indeed. With background information & commentary provided by expert Adrian Greenwood, meticulously footnoted, this is a worthy addition to the literature of the Napoleonic Wars. ...

In 2005, aerial photographer & author Robert Haas introduced his first National Geographic title, ” Through the Eyes of the Gods: An Aerial Vision of Africa”. Two years later came the popular ” Through the Eyes of the Condor: An Aerial Vision of Latin America”. When Haas undertook his third high-flying project, he set out to conduct extensive aerial photography in the lands of the Vikings
- concentrating on regions that transect the Arctic Circle, specifically Alaska, northern Canada, Greenl&, Icel&, Norway, Sweden, & Finl&. While photographing these lands over a three-year period, Haas endeavoured to capture imagery reflecting three key visual elements of the region: landscapes, wildlife, & human footprint. As the resulting body of work makes abundantly clear, the shots that Haas brought back reveal a much deeper & more complex picture than anyone expected. In portraying the far north, ” Through the Eyes of the Vikings: An Aerial Vision of Arctic Lands” goes far beyond simply attractive pictures. Rather, this unusual book tells a combined visual & textual story about an endangered region whose unexpected beauty is worth preserving for its own sake
- & whose precarious fate will impact the entire globe. Several narrative features add context to the visuals. Haas contributes a thoughtful introduction, & essays in each chapter"e from the works of noted Arctic authors & explorers, both historical & contemporary. These messages span 100 years of human interaction with the northlands & reflect on topics that range from the risks inherent in Arctic exploration to the appealing simplicity of native life to the current challenges posed by climate change. To help readers navigate the lands of the Vikings, National Geographic`s hallmark maps appear in full colour & detail. In addition to a large two-page map of the Arctic at the front of the book, the back matter features several pages of country maps, complete with notes on history, culture, topography, & environment, as well as facts on population, area, industries, & more.” Through the Eyes of the Vikings” reveals, in an unforgettable way, the visual magnificence & unique characteristics of each Arctic region
- & it delivers a potent message of environmental urgency that cannot be ignored.


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Through the French Canals by David Jefferson, now in its twelfth edition from Adlard Coles Nautical, is a comprehensive guide to the inland waterways of France, combining essential general information with practical instructions for over fifty routes. The opening 64 pages provide essential information on choosing the right boat & equipments, the rules & regulations of waterway traffic including navigational signs & vocabulary, technical tips for operation of locks, etc. Also provided are recommendations on how best to take advantage of the extensive network of France ...

Through the French Canals has probably tempted more people to explore the beautiful waterways of France than any other book. A bestseller for many years & now in its 13th edition, it is the essential planning guide for anyone wanting to cruise through the stunning scenery of the French waterways, or take their boat from the English Channel down to the Mediterranean via the inland route.
- Over 50 routes described & illustrated, with positions of locks, towns & villages
- Through routes from the English Channel & Atlantic to the Mediterranean, plus distances
- Suitable boats for the canals, &

Dimensions of locks & operating times
- Bridge heights, canal depths, fuelling points, waterway signals
- Cost of living, shopping & stores
- Weather information, haltes & portes de plaisance
- Port plans for Paris, Dunkerque & Strasbourg Packed with appealing photographs & updated information on local facilities, distances, bridge heights & depths, tunnel lengths, costs of cruising & shopping, it also discusses the local wines of the region.








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Through the Italian Alps is experienced walker Gillian Price’s Cicerone guide to the Grande Traversata delle Alpi in the western Italian Alps. The guide covers the entire spectacular 46-day Alpine route, starting on the shores of the Mediterranean & curving its way high over the Piedmont plain traversing the Ligurian, Maritime, Cottian, Graian & Pennine Alps, heading northwards to its conclusion at the slopes of Monte Rosa. The books is one of the first English language guides available for this particular route. The guide is organised into 4 main parts- The Ligurian & Maritime Alps, the Cottian Alps, the Graian Alps & the Pennine Alps
- & describes the route in maneageable daily stages. Each section begins by providing information on time, total distance, ascent & descent, difficulty grading & the relevant map. A detailed introduction gives practical guidance on walking the GTA, getting there, local transport, Waymarking & maps, what to take, accommodation & food & drink. There is also a general summary of Italy’s Western Alps & the vegetation & wildlife of the Dolomites. Detailed route descriptions are accompanied by colour sketch diagrams mapping the route in addition to colour photographs illustrating some of the highlights of the region.
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This is a smaller, gift version of National Geographic`s landmark publication, ” Through the Lens”. ” Through the Lens” is a cornucopia of National Geographic`s best photographs created since 1890 when the Society first started commissioning photographers to go out into the world & bring images back to its readership. Many of the 250 photographs have been previously published in the magazine but a great number of them are images that did not make the final edit but have great merit on their own. Readers can take a virtual tour around the world to see rice sellers in the Mekong Delta, teenagers in Brazil, duck hunters in Nebraska, & stingrays in the Cayman Islands, to name a few examples. You also move seamlessly back & forth in time, from the days when travellers climbed mountain trails by mule to color-filled lofty airplane rides above the Galapagos Islands with a greater appreciation for technological advancements & the chance to suspend time either way. ...

Alice`s second adventure takes her through the looking-glass to a place even curiouser than Wonderl&. She finds herself caught up in the great looking-glass chess game & sets off to become a queen. It isn`t as easy as she expects: at every step she is hindered by nonsense characters who crop up & insist on reciting poems. Some of these poems, such as ` The Walrus & The Carpenter` & ` Jabberwocky`, are as famous as the Alice stories themselves. Macmillan was the original publisher of Alice in 1865 & is proud to remain true to the vision of its creators. Every bit as iconic are Sir John Tenniel`s remarkable illustrations, perfectly capturing the combination of the ordinary & the extraordinary at the heart of Wonderl&. ...