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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A unique history of sporting literature; the first & only one ever to embark on a comprehensive survey of the gameshooting scene both as it was & as it stands today. In this new & revised edition the fascinating story is brought right up to date. Many of the shoots chosen are owned by the rich & famous Brian Martin provides a rare insight into their social lives; providing fascinating comment on their own estates & on shooting generally. Before detailing the history & present sport of each estate region by region the author sets the scene by outlining the history of gameshooting in Britain: the changing attitude of society; how economics have played an increasingly important part; how the popular press has perpetuated an often inaccurate image; how technical developments have shaped both gunmaking & game rearing; & much more. The inter-relationship between shooting & conservation & the important contribution ot the general welfare of our flora & fauna by the overwelming majority of shoot proprieters are given special attention. This superb volume has become the established celebration of the gameshooting world today. ...

In the autumn of 1644 was fought one of the most sustained & desperate sieges of the First Civil War when Scottish Covenanter forces under the Earl of Leven finally stormed Newcastle-upon-Tyne the King's greatest bastion in the north-east & the key to his power there. The city had been resolutely defended throughout the year by the Marquis of Newcastle who had defied both the Covenanters & northern Parliamentarians. Newcastle had held sway in the north-east since the outbreak of the war in 1642. He had defeated the Fairfaxes at Adwalton Moor & secured the City of Newcastle as the major coal exporter & port of entry for vital Royalist munitions & supply. Without this the north was lost. If anything Newcastle was more important in strategic terms than York & it was the city's fall in October which marked the final demise of Royalist domination of the north. The book tells the story of the people who fought there what motivated them & who led them there. It is also an account of what happened on the day a minute-by-minute chronicle of Newcastle's bloodiest battle. The account draws heavily on contemporary source material some of which has not received a full airing until now. ...

On a hill bumpy-steepy theres a house scary-creepy & its said that a Snortle lives there Now nobodys been so nobodys seen But Mouse whispers Come if you dare!" Have you seen a Snortle? Would you want to? If youre brave enough join Mouse & his friends as they go on a night-time Snortle hunt. Aaaaaagh! Whats that? A read-along rhyming text that will capture childrens imaginations." ...

Amassing over 52 000 miles from Kent to Cornwall here is Keith Widdowsons journey as he raced against time to chronicle the steam locomotives on the Southern Railway before its ultimate transferral to diesels 45 years ago. From sleep deprivation to gung ho drivers this is no ordinary trainspotters diary but a nostalgic & evocative look back to how things really were in those steam days. A must have read for enthusiasts & locals to the closed railways alike this is one mans journey with 130 contemporary images to capture the Railway as it was then fully aware that things were about to change for good (but not necessarily for better). This is the perfect accompaniment to the ever-growing interest in how the railways used to be. It is a personal & informed account that all people with any interest in the Southern Railway or steam in general will no doubt relate to. ...

In the sweltering summer of 1858 the stink of sewage from the polluted Thames was so offensive that it drove Members of Parliament from the chamber of the House of Commons. Sewage generated by a population of over two million Londoners was pouring into the river & was being carried to & fro by the tides. The Times" called the crisis ' The Great Stink'. Parliament had to act
- drastic measures were required to clean the Thames & to improve London's primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted by Parliament with this enormous task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette & this book is a fascinating account of his life & work. Bazalgette's response to the challenge was to conceive & build the system of intercepting sewers pumping stations & treatment works that serves London to this day. In the process he cleansed the River Thames of the capital's sewage & helped to banish cholera which in the mid-nineteenth century carried off over 40 000 Londoners. But this successful scheme was only one element in Bazalgette's wider contribution to the development of the Victorian capital. He also reclaimed land from the Thames to construct the Victoria Albert & Chelsea Embankments built bridges across the Thames at Putney Battersea & Hammersmith & created many notable new thoroughfares including Charing Cross Road Northumberland Avenue & Shaftesbury Avenue. Stephen Halliday's enthralling social & personal history gives a vivid insight into Bazalgette's achievements & the era in which he worked & lived. The author traces the origins of Bazalgette's family in revolutionary France the confusing sanitation system that he inherited from medieval & Tudor times & his heroic battle with politicians bureaucrats & huge engineering problems to transform the face & health of the world's largest city."
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In the early hours of 16th October 1987 the Great Storm raged relentlessly across south-east Engl&. In Canterbury the author awoke amidst sounds & scenes of chaos & immediately set out to record on film the resultant devastation as the storm gradually died down. Now 25 years on many of these photographs are appearing here in colour for the first time. Accompanied by informative captions & including never before seen views of fallen trees blocked roads damaged buildings & flooding this book reveals the devastation caused in Canterbury by Mother Nature on one destructive night. ...