Beautifully elegiac...a memento mori of British civic pride lost to the shopping centres & ring roads of the 1960s... This masterful book should be placed in every council planning committee in the country Tristram Hunt BBC History Magazine The destruction of Britains city centres by the combined efforts of the Luftwaffe & postwar planners is legendary. Mediaeval churches Tudor alleyways Georgian terraces & Victorian theatres vanished for ever to be replaced by concrete office-blocks & characterless shopping malls. Now for the first time Gavin Stamp shows us exactly what we have lost. Reproduced in this haunting volume are hundreds of finest top quality photographs of cities from Plymouth to Dundee all of streets & buildings that are gone for ever. In the accompanying text Stamp traces their creation & destruction remembering the massive campaign to save the Euston Arch wantonly demolished in 1962 & mourning the loss of lovely mediaeval Coventry which was already doomed by the city planners even before German air-raids intervened. Alternately fascinating enraging & heartbreaking this is an extraordinary evocation of Britains architectural past & a much-needed reminder of the importance of preserving our heritage. One of Britains best-known architectural historians Gavin Stamp is author of numerous books including Lutyens Houses. He is an energetic campaigner against demolition of important buildings & writes for numerous publications including Country Life Apollo & Private Eye. ...

Featuring 60 superb color plates this is an easy-to-use photographic identification guide to the 51 orchid species native to ...

The story of Britains prime ministers is also the story of Britains key moments in history. From the first PM Sir Robert Walpole to William Pitt the Younger the charismatic Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington to the reforming Victorians Sir Robert Peel Disraeli Gladstone & in the twentieth century Lloyd George Baldwin the gret Sir Winston Churchill through to Markaret Thatcher Tony Blair & to the present day this illustrated guide is an insightful look at the development of Britain & parliament. ...

British post-imperial decline has been much examined. In these memoirs David Hannay one of Britains leading behind-the-scenes players in this process provides fascinating frontline information & insights into Britains complex relations with Washington & Europe. From his early career in the Middle East to his role as a top diplomat Hannay presents a detailed & authoritative narrative of British foreign policy in the second half of the 20th Century. A key player in European policy-making he was directly involved in bringing about the UKs entry into the European Community as well as being closely involved in the Annan plan while he was the UKs Special Representative in Cyprus. Hannay illuminates vital themes in the early relationship between Britain & the EU that are increasingly relevant today: British membership EU enlargement & Britains contribution to the European budget. From the complex relations between Margaret Thatcher & her diplomatic establishment to Britains decisions leading up to the 1970s oil supply crisis Hannay analyses the causes & consequences of major British foreign policy decisions over the past 50 years. An informed & balanced ringside view of diplomatic history over 50 years this book will fascinate general readers & prove essential reading for specialists. ...

This detailed guide to the reptiles & amphibians of Britain Ireland & the Channel Islands has been produced with the collaboration of the Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust with the aim of inspiring an increased level of interest in these exciting & fascinating animals. It is designed to help anyone who finds a lizard snake turtle tortoise terrapin frog toad or newt to identify it with complete confidence. It features stunning photography; an easy-to-use approach to identification; superbly illustrated introductory sections on the biology & conservation taxonomy lifecycle & behavior of each species group; profiles of the 16 native reptiles & amphibians that breed in Britain Ireland & the Channel Islands & the 5 marine turtles that visit Britains seas; profiles of 7 established nonnative species & a summary of 8 more with a history of release/escape; & distribution maps based on the latest available information Hints & tips on where when & how to watch reptiles & amphibians. ...

Murder is rare. Rarer still are those killers who get away with it
- but they are out there walking our streets. Included in this
...

This title was selected for Guardian" books of the year. The familiar image of the British in the Second World War is that of the plucky underdog taking on German might. David Edgertons bold compelling new history shows the conflict in a new light with Britain as a very wealthy country formidable in arms ruthless in pursuit of its interests & sitting at the heart of a global production system. The British indeed Churchillian vision of war & modernity was challenged by repeated defeat by less well equipped enemies. Yet the end result was a vindication of this vision. Like the United States a powerful Britain won a cheap victory while others paid a great price. " Britains War Machine" by putting resources machines & experts at the heart of a global rather than merely imperial story demolishes some of the most cherished myths about wartime Britain & gives us a very different & often unsettling picture of a great power in action." ...

The coastline of Victorian & Edwardian Britain provided beauty entertainment & the venue for most peoples holidays. But it was also a thriving centre of industry
- shipbuilding & fishing plus the numerous trades associated with dockyards coastal transport & the leisure industry. This book travels around Britains coast
- clockwise from London
- looking at the industries that could be found at many of the cities & towns en route. Illustrated with an amazing collection of coloured postcards & other early photographs the working coast of Britain is brought to life in all its bustling detail.


...

Full-colour guide to over 260 pubs throughout the UK which have interiors of real historic significance
- some of them stretching
...

This is a comprehensive photographic field guide to the butterflies of Britain & Irel&. This completely revised second edition covers in detail the identification of all 59 butterfly species that currently breed as well as the 4 former breeders 9 rare migrants & 1 species with unknown status. The innovative easy-to-use format aims to help the butterfly-watcher
- beginner or expert
- to identify any species they encounter. It offers: stunning color plates showing typical views of each butterfly with similar-looking species grouped together; photographs of egg caterpillar & chrysalis for all breeding species; detailed species profiles covering: adult identification; behavior; habitat requirements; population & conservation; egg caterpillar & chrysalis; distribution with up-to-date maps; & sections on biology habitats how & where to watch butterflies & other useful information.

...