Hay-on-Wye is world famous as the Town of Books. But when travel writer Oliver Balch moved there, it was not just the books he was keen to read, but the people too. After living in London & Buenos Aires, what will he make of this tiny, quirky town on the Welsh-English border? To help guide him, he turns to Francis Kilvert, a Victorian diarist who captured the bucolic rural life of his day. Does anything of Kilvert`s world still exists? & could a newcomer ever feel they truly belong? With empathy & humour, Balch joins in the daily routines & lives of his fellow residents. What emerges is a captivating, personal picture of country life in the 21st century. Some things haven`t altered for centuries, while others are changing at an alarming pace. Written with his trademark vivid, reportage style, Balch`s journey sees him meet with a king & his courtiers, publicans, hippies, mayors, old widows & young farmers. In an increasingly mobile, urban world, Under the Tump is a timely, honest account of Balch`s attempt to put down roots in a community not yet his own. ...

In Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances May opens the door on a wondrous new world when she buys & restores an abandoned villa in the Tuscan countryside. Beneath whitewashed walls she finds faded frescoes, beneath overgrown brambles she finds a forgotten vineyard, & she even finds a scorpion beneath her pillow. From her traditional kitchen & simple garden, gourmet cook & travel writer Frances Mayes creates seasonal recipes which are included in Under the Tuscan Sun, & whilst roaming the surrounding hills & markets she explores the nuances of the Italian landscape, history & cuisine. Each adventure brings something to the senses, be it the perfect panettone, an unforgettable wine, or painted Etruscan tombs. ...

Twenty years ago, Frances Mayes
- widely published poet, gourmet cook & travel writer
- introduced readers to a wondrous new

...

One day in 1968, at the height of the Biafran civil war, Ijeoma`s father is killed & her world is transformed forever. Separated from her grief-stricken mother, she meets another young lost girl, Amina, & the two become inseparable. Theirs is a relationship that will shake the foundations of Ijeoma`s faith, test her resolve & flood her heart. In this masterful novel of faith, love & redemption, Okparanta takes us from Ijeoma`s childhood in war-torn Biafra, through the perils & pleasures of her blossoming sexuality, her wrong turns, & into the everyday sorrows & joys of marriage & motherhood. As we journey with Ijeoma we are drawn to the question: what is the value of love & what is the cost? ...

It is the Day of the Dead. The fiesta in full swing. In the shadow of Popocatepeti ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made from chocolate...and the ugly pariah dogs roam the streets. Geoffrey Firmin, HM ex-consul, is drowning himself in liquor & Mescal, while his ex-wife & half brother look on powerless to help him. As the day wears on, it becomes apparent that Geoffrey must die. It is his only escape from a world he cannot underst&. ” Under The Volcano” is one of the century`s great undisputed masterpieces. ...

NOW A MAJOR FEATURE DOCUMENTARYDetermined to cover the Syrian regime`s brutal crackdown on dissent & the devastating impact of the war on Syria`s civilians, veteran photographer Paul Conroy & Marie Colvin, one of the foremost war correspondents of her generation, decided to smuggle themselves across enemy lines & into the blood & terror of Homs. But tragedy struck before the pair could finish documenting the slaughter. A rocket killed Colvin & ripped a hole in Conroy`s leg. As Syrian ground forces closed in on his position, Conroy was forced to make a terrifying last-ditch attempt to escape from a regime that appeared determined to murder him. Under the Wire is the epic, untold account of Conroy & Colvin`s last, tragic assignment together. A rare & touching portrait of an extraordinary woman driven by an unquenchable desire to `bear witness`, it is as much a tale of courage & survival as it is the poignant account of a friendship forged amid the carnage of war. ...

Determined to cover the Syrian regime`s brutal crackdown on dissent & the devastating impact of the war on Syria`s civilians, veteran photographer Paul Conroy & Marie Colvin, one of the foremost war correspondents of her generation, decided to smuggle themselves across enemy lines & into the blood & terror of Homs. But tragedy struck before the pair could finish documenting the slaughter. A rocket killed Colvin & ripped a hole in Conroy`s leg. As Syrian ground forces closed in on his position, Conroy was forced to make a terrifying last-ditch attempt to escape from a regime that appeared determined to murder him. Under the Wire is the epic, untold account of Conroy & Colvin`s last, tragic assignment together. A rare & touching portrait of an extraordinary woman driven by an unquenchable desire to `bear witness`, it is as much a tale of courage & survival as it is the poignant account of a friendship forged amid the carnage of war. ...

Following on from Mizielinski`s Under Earth Under Water comes this beautiful book packed with fascinating facts & activities ranging from mazes to complete the scene & colouring in. Will keep children entertained for hours. stunning artwork drawing on animals & objects found beneath the surface. ...

This is the beautifully told tale of Norton`s growing love of the sea, from family holidays in Whitley Bay as a boy, to his first over zealous attempts at diving. All that we know & love of the British seaside weaves throughout this funny, nostalgic & richly told memoir. Fortune telling gypsies found on crumbling promenades, lighthouses standing to attention, fishing villages giving way to arcades & brass bands & s&-playing in the bracing chill of a British summer. Throughout, Norton introduces us to a eclectic mix of sea-loving characters all of whom have helped to inform & shape his own journey to becoming a marine biologist. Like the early guides to the seashore by the Naturalist Philip Henry Gosse as much a part of the myth & history of the British coastline as fishermen`s tales of mermaids & eerie monsters beneath the waves. This is both a history & a memoir of an enduring, if at times perplexing, love of the sea that won`t fail to resonate with all who have felt the pull of the shores. ...

” It was I who removed de P- this morning.” With these chilling words Victor Haldin shatters the solitary, industrious existence of Razumov, his fellow student at St Petersburg University. Razumov aims to overcome the denial of his noble birth by a brilliant career in the tsarist bureaucracy created by Peter the Great. But in pre-revolutionary Russia Peter`s legacy is autocracy tempered by assassination; & Razumov is soon caught in a tragic web with Haldin`s trustful sister Natalia in spy-haunted Geneva. Their fateful story is told by an elderly Englishman who loves Natalia but plays his part of a `dense Westerner` to the end. ...