The first volume in Tim Robinson's phenomenal Connemara" Trilogy. In its landscape history & folklore Connemara is a singular region: ill-defined geographically & yet unmistakably a place apart from the rest of Irel&. Tim Robinson who established himself as Ireland's most brilliant living non-fiction writer with the two-volume " Stones of Aran" moved from Aran to Connemara nearly twenty years ago. This book is the result of his extraordinary engagement with the mountains bogs & shorelines of the region & with its folklore & its often terrible history: a work as beautiful & surprising as the place it attempts to describe. Chosen as a book of the year by Iain Sinclair Robert Macfarlane & Colm Toibin. A native of Yorkshire Tim Robinson moved to the Aran Islands in 1972. His books include the celebrated two-volume " Stones of Aran". Since 1984 he has lived in Roundstone Connemara. " Dazzling...an indubitable classic". (Giles Foden " Conde Nast Traveller"). " One of contemporary Ireland's finest literary stylists". (Joseph O' Connor " Guardian")." ...

This is an account of a journey through western Ireland made in 1984 fulfilling a childhood dream of a long-distance ride. The story centres on the growing bond between the author & her Connemara pony Mollie & the many challenges that they face before the tragic conclusion in the mountains of Kerry. It is also a portrait of rural Ireland before the Celtic Tiger" era built up from conversations with the local people. The journey takes them through Counties Galway Mayo Clare & Kerry the obstacles to their progress ranging from bogs stone walls & the River Shannon. " Ive never tried hitchhiking with a horse before" comments the author. " Its not easy". She travelled with no set route extending her backpacking knowledge acquired in the Andes to horse packing "seeing the obvious advantage of climbing mountains on someone elses legs & using anothers back for the packing"." ...

Number one bestselling author Conn Iggulden takes on the story of the mighty Kublai Khan. An epic tale of a great & heroic mind; his action-packed rule; & how in conquering one-fifth of the world's inhabited land he changed the course of history forever. A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar. A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength & wisdom. A man who betrayed a brother to protect a nation. From a young scholar to one of history's most powerful warriors Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan
- an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar Alexander the Great & Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known. Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nation's warriors to the ends of the known world. & when he is weary when he is wounded he must face his own brothers in a bloody civil war.
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No.1 bestselling author Conn Iggulden takes on the story of the mighty Kublai Khan. An epic tale of a great & heroic mind; his action-packed rule; & how in conquering one-fifth of the worlds inhabited land he changed the course of history forever. A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar. A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength & wisdom. A man who betrayed a brother to protect a nation. From a young scholar to one of historys most powerful warriors Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan -- an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar Alexander the Great & Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known. It should have been a golden age with an empire to dwarf the lands won by the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all! Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nations warriors to the ends of the known world. & when he is weary when he is wounded he must face his own brothers in bloody civil war. ...

William the Bastard base-born son of the Duke of Normandy must fight the King of France to regain his Duchy. Spurned in love by the lovely Princess Matilda the fighting Duke dares to take a whip to her in her own father's palace before making her his bride. Thwarted by the Saxon Earl Harold of a promise of the throne of England William the Conqueror sails to Hastings to claim the King's crown & sceptre for his own. ...

Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar removed the spectre of invasion & England is now free to seek conquests & colonies in the furthest reaches of the world. Captain Kydd joins an expedition to take Dutch-held Cape Town a strategic imperative to secure the rich trade-route to India. But even if the British can defeat the enemy & take possession of the capital there is still more fighting to be done. Kydd & his men must defend the fragile colony from attacks by the enemy from all sides while braving the wild beasts & hostile environment of Africa's vast & savage hinterl&. ...

The history of the world has been the history of peoples on the move as they occupy new lands & establish their claims over them. Almost invariably this has meant the violent dispossession of the previous inhabitants. Whether it is the Normans in England the Chinese in Tibet the Germans in Poland the Indonesians in West Papua or the British & Americans in North America the claiming of other people's lands & the supplanting of one people by another has shaped the history of societies from the ancient past to the present day. David Day tells the story of how this happened
- the ways in which invaders have triumphed & justified conquest which as he shows is a bloody & often prolonged process that can last centuries. & while each individual conquest is ultimately unique nevertheless they often share a number of qualities from the re-naming of the conquered land & the invention of myth to justify what has taken place to the exploitation of the conquered resources & people & even to the outright slaughter of the original inhabitants. Above all as Day shows in this hugely bold & ambitious book conquest can have deep & long-lasting consequences
- for the conquered the conquerors & for the wider course of world history.

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Author of the best-selling AGINCOURT Juliet Barker now tells the equally remarkable but largely forgotten story of the dramatic years when England ruled France at the point of a sword. Henry Vs second invasion of France in 1417 launched a campaign that would put the crown of France on an English head. Only the miraculous appearance of a visionary peasant girl
- Joan of Arc
- would halt the English advance. Yet despite her victories her influence was short-lived: Henry VI had his coronation in Paris six months after her death & his kingdom endured for another twenty years. When he came of age he was not the leader his father had been. It was the dauphin whom Joan had crowned Charles VII who would finally drive the English out of France. Supremely evocative & brilliantly told this is narrative history at its most colourful & compelling
- the true story of those who fought for an English kingdom of France.


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This book is an exploration of the process & consequences of the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon (who reigned from 336 to 323 BC) focusing on the effect of his monarchy upon the world of his day. A detailed running narrative of the actual campaigns from the Danube to the Indus is complemented & enlarged upon by thematic studies on the reaction in Greece to Macedonian suzerainty the administration of the empire the evolution of the Macedonian army & its role as the instrument of conquest & on the origins of the ruler cult. ...

29 May 2013 is the sixtieth anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest. The allure of Everest remains undimmed & the publication of this unique book celebrates this most majestic of mountains with exclusive access to the photographic imagery & private archives of celebrated climber & photographer George Lowe the last surviving member of that triumphant expedition. Not only the anniversary of the first ascent 2013 sees other significant Everest anniversaries: 50 years since the first American ascent; 35 years since the first ascent without supplementary oxygen; & 25 years since the first ascent by a route up the South Buttress on the eastern Kangshung Face. An outstanding team of mountaineers & distinguished contributors associated with Everest provide their reflections & tributes helping to create a remarkable visual & personal testimony to this historic event & to a mountain like no other. ...