For five millennia, the peoples & cultures of East & West have met & mingled in Central Asia. For explorers & travellers it is a promised l&, a region of white spaces on the map, forgotten cities & archaeological treasures. Christoph Baumer has spent a lifetime travelling through the countries of Central Asia, making extraordinary discoveries along the way. ” Traces in the Desert” follows in his intrepid footsteps as he finds evidence of Indo-Europeans in the steppes of Western Mongolia, discovers lost oasis cities in the Taklamakan & unearths art treasures in Tibet. He embarks on a quest to find Genghis Khan`s long-lost tomb & has numerous, occasionally hair-raising, encounters with shamans, Iranian politicians & armed Tibetan bandits. Enlightening & full of adventure, ” Traces in the Desert” uniquely illuminates the hidden parts of Central Asia that have not just disappeared beneath the shifting sands, but also from the horizon of our memory. ...

London is a key site for family historians. Many researchers, seeking to trace their ancestry back through the generations, will find their trail leads to London or through it. Yet, despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy & the importance of London in so many life stories, few previous books have explored the city`s history or provided guidance on the research resources family historians can use to discover the life of a London ancestor. This is the purpose of Jonathan Oates`s invaluable handbook. In a series of short, information-packed chapters he describes the principal record offices, archives, libraries & other sources researchers can go to, & shows how Londoners can be tracked through censuses, registers & directories over the last 500 years. Then he explores key aspects of London`s history from a family historian`s point of view. Crime, religion & education
- & the body of evidence associated with them
- are covered, as is the historical trail left by taxation, health, welfare, work & business. He looks also at the military & wartime records available in the city, & at the records of immigrant communities who have had such a notable impact on the development of the capital. Each section introduces the reader to the relevant sources, indicates where they can be found, & offers essential advice on how this information can be used to piece together the lives of distant & not-so-distant relatives.

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The Trackatlas of Mainland Britain from Trackmaps provides a remarkably comprehensive picture of the entire rail network with numerous detailed enlargements for the more complex junctions or urban areas. Based on industry sources, the atlas shows passenger & freight routes with their track formations including connections, crossovers & primary sidings. All stations appear with most signal boxes, junctions & tunnels including their names & railway mileages; most level crossings are included together with information describing their type. Throughout the atlas more complex parts of the network, including mainline stations in London, are shown enlarged to provide much greater detail. The atlas is indexed & contains an introductory section on the history & significance of railway mileages, plus a conversion chart from chains to yards & kilometres. ...

The Trackatlas of Mainland Britain from Platform 5 Publishing provides a remarkably comprehensive picture of the entire rail network with numerous detailed enlargements for the more complex junctions or urban areas. Based on industry sources, the atlas shows passenger & freight routes with their track formations including connections, crossovers & primary sidings. All stations appear with most signal boxes, junctions & tunnels including their names & railway mileages; most level crossings are included together with information describing their type. Throughout the atlas more complex parts of the network, including mainline stations in London, are shown enlarged to provide much greater detail. The atlas is indexed & contains an introductory section on the history & significance of railway mileages, plus a conversion chart from chains to yards & kilometres. This revised second edition of the atlas published in 2012

Includes:: for the first time 44 heritage lines & among them several narrow gauge tracks.

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In the tradition of Douglas Chadwick`s best-selling adventure memoir, The Wolverine Way, Tracking Gobi Grizzlies creates a portrait of these rarest of bears` fight for survival in one of the toughest, most remote settings on Earth. He demonstrates why saving this endangered animal supports an entire ecosystem made up of hundreds of interconnected plants & animals, from desert roses to Asiatic lynx & wild double-humped camels, all adapting as best they can to the effects of climate change. A parable of environmental stewardship in a legendary realm. ...

A revised, reissued fortieth anniversary edition of this prize-winning, bestselling account of one woman`s solo journey across 1, 700 miles of Australian Outback`I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult & there`s no going back.` So begins Robyn Davidson`s perilous journey across 1, 700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels & a dog for company. Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes & lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish & nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageous heroine driven by a love of Australia`s landscape, an empathy for its indigenous people, & a willingness to cast away the trappings of her former identity. Tracks is the compelling, candid story of her odyssey of discovery & transformation.WITH A NEW POSTSCRIPT BY THE AUTHOR & A stunning COLOUR PICTURE SECTION ...

In 1840, Matthew Fontaine Maury became the first superintendent of the US Naval Observatory, where he began his life's work mapping the great ocean routes & providing sailing directions for navigators the world over. This book uses his career as a window on 19th-century maritime history: the ascendancy of the US as a maritime power; the brief, but glorious, clipper-ship era of the 1850s; the rise of steam & steel; & the Civil War & the destruction of the US merchant fleet. ...

Everything the wildlife enthusiast needs to spot the presence of a mammal. Each species has a distribution map showing where one is likely to see it. Other clues are also covered, e.g. droppings, tracks, marks left on the vegetation, etc. Bone structures of the major species are also covered. So whatever clue the beastie leaves, working out what left it is 'elementary my dear Watson'! ...

In over 140 superbly reproduced artworks, the distinguished artist Philip Hughes records eleven iconic walks across the length & breadth of Britain, from Allt Coire Pheiginn in Scotland to Zennor Head in Cornwall. Inspired & informed by maps, aerial photographs & the latest electronic survey techniques, Hughess clean, spacious artworks, with their arresting blocks of colour, make contemporary some of the most ancient & formidable landmarks of the British Isles. This is a beautiful, reflective book that will resonate with artists, walkers & anyone who shares a deep love of art & landscape. Eleven sections, organized geographically by location, come complete with short introductions by the artist, noting key routes & impressions, & illustrated by Ordnance Survey map openers. Each section features important local heritage sites, whether Neolithic settlements such as Maes Howe in Orkney, standing stones such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire, mountains of special geological interest such as the Three Peaks in Yorkshire, or locations of particular mystery & beauty such as Silbury Hill, the oldest & tallest artificial mound in Europe. Written notes, archaeological scans & contour maps are often incorporated into Hughess aquacryl, acrylic, gouache & tempera artworks; notebook spreads, containing exquisite drawings & paintings made on the spot, are also on display here. Pull"es throughout consist of evocative extracts from the artists diaries & notes, shedding light on the mood & atmosphere of the awe-inspiring landscapes in view. ...

Traction Man & Scrubbing Brush are at the beach! Traction Man even has his special Squid-Proof Scuba Suit, perfect for exploring the secret crevices of the Rockpool. But there are adventures in store for our intrepid hero as he faces the thrills of Operation Picnic, the tribulation of being buried in sand &
- worst of all
- being washed away by a giant wave... Join the daring duo as they meet new challenges.. .and new friends.

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