And theyre off! Race along with Rat Monkey Dragon & their companions as they join in the Emperors race. Who will win the ultimate honour of having the first year of the new Chinese Zodiac calendar named after them? This book provides an easy-to-read retelling of the story of the Chinese Zodiac with accessible endnotes on Chinese astrology & festivals. It contains illustrations that incorporate numbers in Chinese script
- ideal for classroom & library use. It also encourages reader interaction as children discover the animal sign of their birth year.
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The Great Railway Bazaar" is Paul Theroux's account of his epic journey by rail through Asia. Filled with evocative names of legendary train routes
- the Direct-Orient Express the Khyber Pass Local the Delhi Mail from Jaipur the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur the Hikari Super Express to Kyoto & the Trans-Siberian Express
- it describes the many places cultures sights & sounds he experienced & the fascinating people he met. Here he overhears snippets of chat & occasional monologues & is drawn into conversation with fellow passengers from Molesworth a British theatrical agent & Sadik a shabby Turkish tycoon while avoiding the forceful approaches of pimps & drug dealers. This wonderfully entertaining travelogue pays loving tribute to the romantic joys of railways & train travel."

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This title offers an unique beautifully illustrated & comprehensive history of the world's greatest railway maps & the railways behind them. The irresistible follow-up to the cult favorite Metro Maps of the World" Mark Ovenden's new book is an extraordinary compendium of historical & contemporary railway maps & posters from every corner of the world. The history of the railway is the history of Britain
- & France & America & Japan & Russia among many others. Featuring hundreds of images covering two centuries of advertising surveyors' maps route guides travel posters photos & Google Earth maps this is a book brimming with history anecdotes facts & data. It is a must-have guide for every train fanatic armchair or ticketed as well as lovers of graphic design history & the romance of train travel."
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In the 1830s The United States underwent a second revolution. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line the first American railroad set in motion a process which by the end of the century would enmesh the vast country in a latticework of railroad lines small-town stations & magisterial termini built & controlled the biggest corporations in America. By the middle of the twentieth century however as the automobile & the aeroplane came to dominate American journey-making the historic importance of the railroads began to be erased from Americas hearts & minds. In The Great Railway Revolution Christian Wolmar tells us the extraordinary one-hundred-&-eighty-year story of the rise fall & ultimate shattering of the greatest of all American endeavours of technological triumph & human tragedy of visionary pioneers & venal & rapacious railway barons. He also argues that while America has largely disowned this heritage now is the time to celebrate reclaim & reinstate it. The growth of the US railroads was much more than just a revolution in mode speed & convenience. They united the far-flung components of a vast & disparate country & supercharged the economic development that fuelled its rise to world-power status. America was created by its railroads & the massive expansion of trade industry & freedom of communication that they engendered came to be an integral part of the American dream itself. ...

Benjamin Disraeli & William Ewart Gladstone are without doubt the two most iconic figures of Victorian politics. Their distinctly different personalities & policies led to 28 years of bitter political rivalry. For the first time this book provides the full story of their rivalry & its origins comparing the upbringing education & personalities of the two leaders as well as their political careers. Dick Leonard considers the impact of religion on the two men their contrasting oratorical skills their attitudes to political & social reform foreign affairs & imperialism as well as their relations with Queen Victoria. In their private lives he sheds new light on Gladstone's guilt-ridden obsession with 'reforming' prostitutes & Disraeli's almost completely successful efforts to conceal the existence of two illegitimate children. Providing important new perspectives on the two towering political characters of the Victorian Age this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in nineteenth century British history & politics. ...

Scot Symon is the almost forgotten manager of Rangers & in recent years his contribution to the club has been woefully neglected. Now in Great Scot" David Leggat examines his role in the history of Rangers FC & reveals not only a key figure in the development of the club but also a true giant of Scottish football. Statistics don't lie & in the 13 years he was manager at Ibrox from 1954 onwards Rangers won a remarkable 15 trophies & became the first British club to appear in a European Final. In fact Symon took Rangers to two European finals & had he won one his place in history would have been assured. Instead he became Ibrox's forgotten man. His remarkable years as Rangers manager followed a successful playing career for the club under Bill Struth & an early management career that started with a bang when he led East Fife to two League Cup triumphs before taking Preston North End to the FA Cup Final. He later managed Partick Thistle first as manager & then general manager training more than half of the young Thistle team which beat Celtic 4-1 to win the League Cup in 1971. But it is his time in charge of Rangers which saw him sign such artists as Ian Mc Millan & Jim Baxter & led to a glorious era for the club that defined him. & among the great & the good who have offered their tributes to James Scotland Symon in this book is the last signing he made for Rangers
- the now Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. With such support " Great Scot" sets out to show that it's now time to reevaluate James Scotland Symon's achievements & give him his rightful place in football history."
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This title is Sunday Times" History Book of the Year. For over three thousand years the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of world civilisation. From the time of historical Troy until the middle of the nineteenth century human activity here decisively shaped much of the course of world history. David Abulafias " The Great Sea" is the first complete history of the Mediterranean from the erection of the mysterious temples on Malta around 3500 BC to the recent reinvention of the Mediterraneans shores as a tourist destination. Part of the argument of Abulafias book is that the great port cities
- Alexandria Trieste & Salonika & many others
- prospered in part because of their ability to allow many different people religions & identities to co-exist within sometimes very confined spaces. He also brilliantly populates his history with identifiable individuals whose lives illustrate with great immediacy the wider developments he is describing. " The Great Sea" ranges stupendously across time & the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa Venice to Alexandria. Rather than imposing a false unity on the sea & the teeming human activity it has sustained the book emphasises diversity
- ethnic linguistic religious & political. Anyone who reads it will leave it with their understanding of those societies & their histories enormously enriched."


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For over three thousand years the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of world civilisation. From the time of historical Troy until the middle of the nineteenth century human activity here decisively shaped much of the course of world history. David Abulafia's The Great Sea" is the first complete history of the Mediterranean from the erection of the mysterious temples on Malta around 3500 BC to the recent reinvention of the Mediterranean's shores as a tourist destination. " The Great Sea" ranges stupendously across time & the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa Venice to Alexandria. Rather than imposing a false unity on the sea & the teeming human activity it has sustained the book emphasizes diversity
- ethnic linguistic religious & political. Anyone who reads it will leave it with their understanding of those societies & their histories enormously enriched."
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Well.. .yes & here we go again Dr Hunter S. Thompson Indeed we do. Here in one chunky volume is the best of gonzo. From Private Thompson in trouble with the air force to the devastating portrait of the ageing Muhammad Ali. Taking in the Kentucky Derby Freak Power in the Rockies Nixon in 68 Mc Govern in 72 Fear & Loathing at the Watergate Jimmy Carter & the Great Leap of Faith -- & much more. An indispensable compendium of decadence depravity & horse-sense. Hunter Thompson elicits the same kind of admiration one would feel for a streaker at Queen Victorias funeral William F. Buckley No other reporter reveals how much we have to fear & loathe yet does it so hilariously. Now that the dust of the sixties has settled his hallucinated vision strikes one as having been the sanest Nelson Algren ...

A lamb for my supper will taste mighty fine!" Thought a wily old wolf by the name of Lou Pine. As he sneakily slyly snuck up on the flock
- But it wasnt the sheep that were in for a shock... With a stunningly cunning plan Lou Pine finds a disguise that is sure to deliver a lamb stew or two. But this flock of sheep arent quite the dumb mutton they seem..."
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