In 1911 Hiram Bingham a pre-historian with a love of exotic destinations set out to Peru in search of the legendary city of Vilcabamba capital city of the last Inca ruler Manco Inca. With a combination of doggedness & good fortune he stumbled on the perfectly preserved ruins of Machu Picchu perched on a cloud-capped ledge 2000 feet above the torrent of the Urubamba River. The buildings were of white granite exquisitely carved blocks each higher than a man. Bingham had not as it turned out found Vilcabamba but he had nevertheless made an astonishing & memorable discovery which he describes in his bestselling book LOST CITY OF THE INCAS. ...

Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett the inspiration behind Conan Doyles novel The Lost World was among the last of a legendary breed of British explorers. For years he explored the Amazon & came to believe that its jungle concealed a large complex civilization like El Dorado. Obsessed with its discovery he christened it the City of Z. In 1925 Fawcett headed into the wilderness with his son Jack vowing to make history. They vanished without a trace. For the next eighty years hordes of explorers plunged into the jungle trying to find evidence of Fawcetts party or Z. Some died from disease & starvation; others simply disappeared. In this spellbinding true tale of lethal obsession David Grann retraces the footsteps of Fawcett & his followers as he unravels one of the greatest mysteries of exploration. ...

The Norfolk coast is beautiful & unique treasure in our sceptred isle. However over the centuries several of its towns villages & hamlets have been lost beneath the waves or have had to migrate inland as the acres of ground once before them were gradually eaten away by the indefatigable lap & crash of the waves. This book does not just retell the story of lost settlements but

Includes:: those that remain & have been changed irrevocably by the silting up of sea channels or have developed upon the sandbars created by longshore drift. The coast is not only sculpted by natural forces it is defined by its inhabitants who have sought to embank dredge & live from sea trade & fishing on it for centuries. Over the last 200 years resorts for health & holidays have developed. The coming of the railways & the improvement of the roads changed the Norfolk coast beyond the comprehension of our forebears in a matter of a few generations. In this latest volume by Neil R. Storey we encounter some of the personalities folklore events disasters heroes & villains that have become interwoven into the rich tapestry of Norfolks coastal past. This nostalgic & thought-provoking book explores places ways of life trades local identity & communities that have been lost or are becoming increasingly endangered: a timely reminder of how much is still at risk of becoming part of the lost coast of Norfolk.

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I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to'. & as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him but it did lure him back. After ten years in England he returned to the land of his youth & drove almost 14 000 miles in search of a mythical small town called Amalgam the kind of trim & sunny place where the films of his youth were set. Instead his search led him to Anywhere USA; a lookalike strip of gas stations motels & hamburger outlets populated by lookalike people with a penchant for synthetic fibres. Travelling around thirty-eight of the lower states
- united only in their mind-numbingly dreary uniformity
- he discovered a continent that was doubly lost; lost to itself because blighted by greed pollution mobile homes & television; lost to him because he had become a stranger in his own l&. The Lost Continent is a classic of travel literature
- hilariously stomach-achingly funny yet tinged with heartache
- & the book that first staked Bill Bryson's claim as the most beloved writer of his generation.



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In THE LOST CONTINENT BBC Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt tells the story of a flawed dream a noble vision that turned dangerous & which led Europe into its gravest crisis since World War Two
- a crisis for which it was totally unprepared. A pillar of the post-war European dream was a shared currency & with it came easy money seducing some countries into a wild spending binge. After the financial crash in the United States Europe caught the cold & was left with a debt crisis that came to threaten the entire European project. THE LOST CONTINENT is rich in anecdote weaving together the stories of ordinary people with the high politics & drama of Europe in crisis to give an unparalleled & vivid portrait of a massive shift in modern history. It

Includes:: interviews with top officials & insiders & dramatic accounts of key meetings. Gavin Hewitt's THE LOST CONTINENT is a clear-eyed book by a distinguished & well-connected journalist which tells the astonishing story of how we got here & where we might be headed.


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This volume contains humorous accounts of two journeys one taken across America the other a trek across Europe. The Lost Continent" is an account of one man's rediscovery of America & his search for the perfect small town. Instead he finds a continent that is doubly lost: lost to itself because it is blighted by greed pollution mobile homes & television; & lost to him because he has become a foreigner in his own country. In " Neither Here Nor There" the author journeys from Hammerfest the northernmost town on the European continent to Istanbul. In doing so he retraces his steps as a student 20 years before visiting countries including Norway France & Italy." ...

Her past. Pallioti tapped the files. This he said is how youll find her. In Florence a young American student goes missing. At first neither Alessandro Pallioti one of the citys most senior policemen nor Enzo Saenz his deputy are too concerned. But soon the men are horrified to discover that the older man Kristen has been spending time with is Antonio Tomaselli a member of the notorious Red Brigades. Then before the police can get a handle on the case Kristens step-mother Anna also vanishes. Before long Enzo finds himself enmeshed in a web of false identities betrayed loyalties & revenge. At its centre is Anna a woman he is increasingly drawn to but knows he should not trust; & at stake is the life of an eighteen year old girl. With the horrors of the past rising behind him & the womens futures hanging in the balance Enzo Saenz is on unfamiliar ground & playing the most deadly game of his life.. . Grindle is a craftswoman of delicate evocative psychological thrillers Daily Telegraph ...

Nell Whitaker is fifteen when war breaks out & despite her protests her mother sends her to live with her Auntie Kath on a remote farm in Anglesey. Life on the farm is hard & Nell is lonely after living in the busy heart of Liverpool all her life. Only her friendship with young farm hand Bryn makes life bearable. But when he leaves to join the merchant navy Nell is alone again with only the promise of his return to keep her spirits up. But Bryns ship is sunk & Bryn is reported drowned leaving Nell heartbroken. Determined to bury her grief in hard work Nell finds herself growing closer to Auntie Kath whose harsh attitude hides a kind heart. Despite their new closeness however she dare not question her aunt about the mysterious photograph of a young soldier she discovers in the attic. As time passes the women learn to help each other through the rigours of war. & when Nell meets Bryns friend Hywel she begins to believe that she too may find love... ...

The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole 1999-2001" is the seventh book in Sue Townsend's brilliantly funny " Adrian Mole" series. Monday January 3 2000. So how do I greet the New Millennium? In despair. I'm a single parent I live with my mother...I have a bald spot the size of a jaffa cake on the back of my head...I can't go on like this drifting into early middle-age. I need a Life Plan... The 'same age as Jesus when he died' Adrian Mole has become a martyr: a single-father bringing up two young boys in an uncaring world. With the ever-unattainable Pandora pursuing her ambition to become Labour's first female PM; his over-achieving half-brother Brett sponging off him; & literary success ever-elusive Adrian tries to make ends meet & find a purpose. But little does he realise that his own modest life is about to come to the attention of those charged with policing The War Against Terror... Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain's favourite comic writer for over three decades. " An achingly funny anti-hero". (" Daily Mail"). " One of the great comic creations of our time. Almost every page of his diaries bring a smile to the face". (" Scotsman"). Sue Townsend is Britain's favourite comic author. Her hugely successful novels include eight " Adrian Mole" books " The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55)" " Number Ten" " Ghost Children" " The Queen & I" " Queen Camilla" & " The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year" all of which are highly acclaimed bestsellers. She has also written numerous well-received plays. She lives in Leicester where she was born & grew up." ...

Long out of print Jeff Lemires Xeric-Award-winning Lost Dogs" now returns in a newly remastered edition soaked with blood & ink. This 104-page mythic yarn follows a family man whos larger than life.. .but even he may not be powerful enough to prevent the loss of everything hes ever known. Bold brutal & emotionally raw " Lost Dogs" represents an acclaimed storytellers first professional work
- an early exhibition of the gifts that have made Lemires " Essex County" & " Sweet Tooth" so phenomenally popular."
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