The bestselling & controversial new history of the British Isles including Ireland from the author of Europe: A History. Emphasizing our long-standing European connections & positing a possible break-up of the United Kingdom this is agenda-setting work is destined to become a classic. If ever a history book were a tract for the times it is The Isles: A History.. .a masterwork. Roy Porter The Times Davies is among the few living professional historians who write English with vitality sparkle economy & humour. The pages fly by not only because the pace is well judged but also because the surprises keep coming. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto Sunday Times A book which really will change the way we think about our past. marvellously rich & stimulating Noel Malcolm Evening Standard A historiographical milestone. Niall Ferguson Sunday Times The full shocking force of this book can only be appreciated by reading it. Andrew Marr Observer It is too soon to tell if [ Norman Davies] will become the Macaulay or Trevelyan of our day: that depends on the reading public. He has certainly made a good try. This is narrative history on the grand scale
- compulsively readable intellectually challenging & emotionally exhilirating. David Marquand Literary Review
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Off the western seaboard of Scotland are hundreds of islands. Beginning on Arran Jonny Muir sets out to explore these places with a single ambition: to reach the St Kilda archipelago the islands at the edge of the world. On the way he attempts to finds his inner peace on Holy Island takes part in a punishing foot race across the mountains of Jura confronts the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Skye & walks the white-sand beach on Berneray. He encounters sharks & whales discovers gory histories & follows in the footsteps of Boswell & Johnson but island life is not without its challenges. Man-eating midges live up to their reputation on Rum. An Atlantic storm threatens to rip his tent to shreds on Barra. Wicked weather lashes the Outer Hebrides leaving his prospects of reaching St Kilda balanced on a knife-edge. An intensely personal account of a journey through some of Britains most extraordinary landscapes. Complete with twenty five beautiful color plates. ...

OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities like walking horse riding & off-road cycling. Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels pubs & visitor information as well as rights of way permissive paths & bridleways. ...

In the summer of 2002 Mitchell set sail aboard the 30-foot yacht Foggy Dew on a voyage that took him from his home through the Western Isles to Orkney & Shetland & on to the west coast of Norway. Against the backdrop of one of the worlds most spectacular coastlines he sailed up the Nordfjord down to Bergen then out to Utsira & back home via Inverness. The object of his journey was more than just to enjoy a few contemplative drams during a summer at sea. In this sequel to his much acclaimed Isles of the West (1999) Mitchell continues his investigation into official Britains failure to administer rural Scotland for the mutual benefit of people & nature. Ian Mitchells narrative combines authoritative background information & personal interviews with local people many enlivened by the measured dispensation of Scotlands most famous aid to creative thought. He shows how Norway a country outside the EU & therefore in control of its own resources has been able to give a wide measure of freedom to the sort of communities which in Scotland are subject to debilitating control by Edinburgh London & Brussels. He points to many lessons which centralised bureaucratic Britain could learn from its more democratic neighbour across the North Sea. ...

Isles of the West describes a three-month voyage made in the summer of 1996 around the Hebrides. The author explores the major issues peculiar to these fascinating islands. Interwoven with the beauty of the islands & the seductive feeling of freedom which comes from long voyages in small boats is the nagging worry of alien forces. Both Scottish & European sentimental & mercenary are distorting small indigenous societies by imposing outside ideas on communities whose value correlates with the freedom from external pressures. Who are these bodies both public & private that want to save the islands from the islanders? Ian Mitchells controversial book examines these conflicts & describes how pleasant it can be to worry about the future while lolling on the sun-drenched deck of a gently moving sailing boat. ...

Procrastination is a frustrating habit but it can also disrupt our health & happiness. Isnt it about time? explores & explains why we put things off. The book is full of useful ways to overcome procrastination & to create a more satisfying exciting & productive life. Andrea Perry is an experienced psychotherapist who recognises that if people could just do it with or without fear they would. She describes how we need to develop trust in our abilities to follow our own logic into satisfying action & how procrastination is a strategy to compensate for significant gaps in this process. She shows how to identify how you block your natural tendency to be effective & creative & how to build on your strengths & give your tendency to procrastinate something better to do. Accessible & practical illustrated with humorous & pertinent cartoons Isnt it about time? provides a rich variety of ideas which help you overcome delay & accomplsih what you need & want to do
- today not tomorrow.
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A Book if you dont mind! & him with a degree & a job & all. Everyone should have an Irish Mammy. Shes never short of advice a kind word & a cup of tea (making sure to scald the teapot first of course). Bring the coat anyway. If its too hot you can take it off. Comedian Colm ORegan explores the phenomenon of the Irish Mammy & what she might say about everything from the new mass to the cardinal sin of not owning a cough bottle & the importance of airing clothes properly. The global influence of the Irish Mammy through history science politics & literature is undeniable. Did you know for instance that Hamlet had an Irish Mammy? So if youre an Irish Mammy have one know one or suspect you might be turning into one this book will act as your guide. But be aware that though this book might think it knows it all it doesnt only Mammy knows it all. ...

Quality management is essential to small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to increase bottom-line results save money & manage risks. Ray Tricker has already guided hundreds of businesses through the challenge & this new book updated for the 2008 standard provides: Relevant examples that put the concepts & requirements into a real-life context Down to earth explanations to help you determine what you need to change to achieve certification Free customisable quality management system files available from www.routledge.com/books/details/9781856178617 to give you a starting point from which to develop your own documentation This established book now in its fourth edition provides step-by-step prescriptive guidance tailored to the non-quality specialist on how to approach quality management & certification to ISO 9001 in a cost & time effective way. It enables small businesses to reap the benefits of ISO 9001 certification with minimum effort & paperwork & without the need for expensive consultancy or training that takes employees out of the office. ...

Israel is a small & relatively young country but its turbulent history has placed it squarely at the centre of the world stage for most of this century. For two millennia the Jews dispersed all over the world prayed for a return to Zion. Until the nineteenth century that dream seemed a fantasy but then a secular Zionist movement was born & soon the initial trickle of Jewish immigrants to Palestine turned into a flood as Jews fled persecution in Europe. From these beginnings Martin Gilbert traces the events & personalities that would lead to the sudden dramatic declaration of Statehood in May 1948. From that point on Israels history has been dominated by conflict: Suez the Six Day War the Yom Kippur War the Lebanon & the Intifada. Using contemporary documents & eyewitness accounts drawing on his own intimate knowledge of the country & its people Martin Gilbert weaves together a seamless page-turning history of a powerful & proud nation with a new chapter to cover the last ten years bringing the story right up to date: the continuing conflicts & the ever-present avenues of hope. ...

The highly successful Globetrotter Travel Series" which

Includes:: " Travel Guides" " Travel Maps" " Road Atlases"

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