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Peter Ackroyd

Just as Peter Ackroyd's bestselling London is the biography of the city, Thames: Sacred River is the biography of the river, from sea to source. Exploring its history from prehistoric times to the present day, the reader is drawn into an extraordinary world, learning about the fishes that swim in the river and the boats that ply its surface; about floods and tides; hauntings and suicides; miasmas and malaria; locks, weirs and embankments; bridges, docks and palaces. 
 
Peter Ackroyd has a genius for digging out the most surprising and entertaining details, and for writing about them in the most magisterial prose; the result is a wonderfully readable and captivating guide to this extraordinary river and the towns and villages which line it.

Thames: Sacred River

Lauren Redniss

'21st-century genius' Elle 
 
A howling wind, a thunderstorm, the beating sun – it’s with the elements that nature shows its true force and wonder. 
 
In Thunder and Lightning, Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer nominee Lauren Redniss draws a new account of the weather. She has travelled from the frozen archipelagos of the Arctic Ocean to the ‘absolute desert’ of Atacoma, Chile, to show us the elements at their most extreme. Along the way, through interviews and research, she has unearthed curious stories of exploration, savagery and coincidence – stories which show us how weather has shaped humanity, intervened in the course of history, and how mankind, in turn, has tried to bend the weather to its ends. 
 
A book of exquisite beauty, with each illustration etched and coloured by hand, Thunder and Lightning informs, charms and transports. A combination of art and cultural history, from an uncategorisable and unique creative spirit, it will leave readers looking at the wind, the sun and the rain with new eyes.

Thunder and Lightning

Weather Past, Present and Future

Peter Raby

'A fabulously rich, anecdotal and gripping account of those men and women who ventured out from Britain into the swamps and jungles of the tropics in search, knowingly or not, of the missing link. Through their stoical-sometimes crack-brained-voyages, the shape of the world, geographically and biologically, was elucidated. Never have more significant journeys been made. . . . Enthusiastic, informed and racy, this is one of the most invigorating accounts of the exploits of people from an age whose intrepidity is staggering. ' 'Peter Raby's book follows a disparate crew of botanists, scientists and collectors, who tried to order the earthly paradise which unfolded around them. Entrepreneurs they may have been - many were dependent on selling their specimens to finance their trips-but they were also scrupulous and sensitive observers. . . . Raby finds some shimmering, personalities. . . . His book is excellent. ' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Bright Paradise

Victorian Scientific Travellers

Merlin Hanbury-Tenison

SHORTLISED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2025 
 
The powerful memoir on mental health, the healing power of nature, and how we need to heal it in return – with a blueprint for restoring Britain’s rainforests, perfect for readers of The Salt Path and The Lost Rainforests of Britain. 
 
Scholarly, wise, funny, charming, terrifying and thrilling... I adored it all, every page. - JOANNA LUMLEY 
 
Both a comfort and an inspiration - CHLOE DALTON, bestselling author of Raising Hare 
 
This is a lovely book - wise, brave, thoughtful, painfully intimate - but with a remarkable spiritual and environmental vision. - RORY STEWART 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
I look up through the canopy and time freezes as the oak leaves drift gently backwards and forwards, dappling the light as it falls onto my body. 
 
I am home. 
 
Reeling from the pain of devastating miscarriages and suffering from PTSD after military adventures in Afghanistan, Merlin and his wife Lizzie decide to leave the bustle of London and return to Merlin’s childhood home, a Cornish hill farm called Cabilla in the heart of Bodmin Moor. 
 
There, they are met by unexpected challenges: a farm slipping ever further into debt, the discovery that the overgrazed and damaged woods running throughout the valley are in fact one of the UK’s last remaining fragments of Atlantic temperate rainforest, and the sudden and near catastrophic strickening by Covid of Merlin’s father, the explorer Robin. 
 
As they fall more in love with the rainforest that Merlin had adventured in as a child, so begins a fight to save not only themselves and their farm, but also one of the world’s most endangered habitats. 
 
Our Oaken Bones is an honest and intimate true story about renewal, the astonishing healing power of nature, and our duty to heal it in return. 
 
 
 
Praise for Our Oaken Bones 
 
An enormously moving and inspiring story about war, trauma, nature and rebirth, written with infectious passion and unsparing honesty. I loved it. - DOMINIC SANDBROOK 
 
An extraordinarily courageous, urgent and powerful book. - ISABELLA TREE 
 
Deeply compelling... emotional, informative, pleasurable. I believe that this is an important work with planet-sized dreams and ambitions. Perhaps the greatest philosophy or teachable lesson that came to me off the page is that dominion comes with responsibility. - RUSSELL CROWE 
 
I love this book. - RICK STEIN 
 
Powerfully enchanting, written with verve and imbued with hope. - GUY SHRUBSOLE

Our Oaken Bones

Reviving a Family, a Farm and Britain’s Ancient Rainforests

Peter Wadhams

'Astonishing ... beautiful, compelling and terrifying' Observer 
 
'Wadhams' writing sparkles ... a lyrical sense of wonder at the natural world ... essential reading ... may be the best reader-friendly account of the greenhouse effect available to date' John Burnside, New Statesman 
 
Ice is beautiful and complex. It regulates our planet's temperature. And it is vanishing - fast. Peter Wadhams, the world's leading expert on sea ice, draws on his lifetime's research in the Arctic region to illuminate what is happening, what it means for the future, and what can be done. 
 
'This most experienced and rational scientist states what so many other researchers privately fear but cannot publicly say' John Vidal, Guardian 
 
'Wadhams brings huge expertise to his subject - and he is an excellent writer' Martin Rees 
 
'Utterly extraordinary' Jonathon Porritt

A Farewell to Ice

A Report from the Arctic

Peter Moore

The Sunday Times bestseller. An astonishing account of the sailors, scientists and inventors who sought to understand the weather. 
 
**Book of the Week on Radio 4** 
 
'Gripping' The Times 
 
'Exhilarating' Sunday Times 
 
In an age when a storm was evidence of God’s wrath, pioneering meteorologists had to fight against convention and religious dogma to realise their ambitions. But buoyed by the achievements of the Enlightenment, a generation of mavericks set out to unlock the secrets of the atmosphere. 
 
Meet Luke Howard, the first to classify the clouds, Francis Beaufort, quantifier of the winds, James Glaisher, explorer of the upper atmosphere by way of a hot air balloon, Samuel Morse, whose electric telegraph gave scientists the means by which to transmit weather warnings, and at the centre of it all Admiral Robert FitzRoy: master sailor, scientific pioneer and founder of the Met Office. 
 
Peter Moore’s exhilarating account navigates treacherous seas, rough winds and uncovers the obsession that drove these men to great invention and greater understanding.

The Weather Experiment

The Pioneers who Sought to see the Future

Colin MacFarlane

Colin MacFarlane was born in the Gorbals in the 1950s, 20 years after the publication of No Mean City, the classic novel about pre-war life in what was once Glasgow's most deprived district. He lived in the same street as its fictional 'razor king', Johnnie Stark, and subsequently realised that a lot of the old characters represented in the book were still around as late as the 1960s. Men still wore bunnets and played pitch and toss; women still wore headscarves and treated the steamie as their social club. The razor gangs were running amok once again, human waste ran down the tenement stairs, and filth, violence, crime, rats, poverty and drunkenness abounded, just like they did in No Mean City. 
 
 MacFarlane witnessed the last days of the old Gorbals as a major regeneration programme, begun in 1961, was implemented, and, as a street boy, he had a unique insight into a once great community in rapid decline. He witnessed drunken fights, gang battles, police corruption and even the occasional stabbing, slashing and murder. But the Gorbals had another side: one where ordinary hard-working people were trying to survive in what was arguably once the most notorious area in the world. 
 
 In this engrossing new book, MacFarlane reveals what it was really like to live in the old Gorbals.

The Real Gorbals Story

True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets

Peter Wohlleben

Can you tell which plants are safe to eat? 
 
Which trees are best to shelter under a storm? 
 
How do you tell a deciduous and coniferous tree apart? 
 
In his charming new book, bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben takes you on a journey of discovery. From learning what creatures lurk beneath tree roots to finding your way around the woods without a compass, this is a captivating guide to navigating the wonders of the wild.

Walks in the Wild

A guide through the forest with Peter Wohlleben

Cédric Sapin-Defour

Having a dog as company makes nothing feel excessive – not time or space. It's not even about passing time, but being of it. 
 
A tiny ad in a local newspaper catches Cédric Sapin-Defour’s eye: a litter of Bernese Mountain Dog puppies need homes. A lonely, single, sports teacher and mountain climber in the French Alps, Cédric visits the dogs and immediately falls for the puppy with a blue collar. 
 
Named Ubac, French for the north side of the mountain – the rainy, cloudy slope – the puppy quickly upends Cédric’s life. They go on hikes together, taking to the hills and exploring, forging a bond that brings joy and a sense of fulfillment and adventure. They brave the world together, hate to be apart, crave the mountains and the natural world; they protect each other. 
 
Over the course of thirteen years, their pack expands to include Mathilde, Cédric’s wife, and more dogs. Ubac and Me is an intimate meditation on a joyous life lived too fast, the aching pain of separation, and the transformative effect of unconditional love. A dog named for the rainy side of the mountain is an inspiring lesson in how walking the rocky, cloudy hills together can bring the greatest light, the sunniest joys, even if the shared journey is unbearably short. 
 
 
‘Not just a tribute to the love humans feel for their pets but also a means of voicing the deep grief that can be felt after a dog’s death, when all that is left is a collar and hairs, and the house seems too big without them.’ Guardian 
 
Ubac and Me has been a surprise bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation in France, championed by indie booksellers, selling 400,000 copies. 
 
Translated by Adriana Hunter.

Ubac and Me

A Life of Love and Adventure With a French Mountain Dog

Roger Osborne

The Floating Egg begins with the search for an alchemist's secret, and ends with the re-imagination of a past world. Each chapter is connected to a particular corner of north-east England, and each explores the uncertain line where myth is dissolved into science, and belief gives way to knowledge. 
 
Different episodes show how the fall of Constantinople converted the common rock of the Yorkshire cliffs into a source of extraordinary wealth and power, and how this in turn uncovered the inhabitants of a succession of past worlds; how a stone falling from the sky near this same coast changed the minds of all the natural philosophers of Europe; and how a new science was born on the top of the tower of York Minster. We learn about the cloak-and-dagger world of fossil trading in the town of Whitby; and we see the entire life-work of a forgotten scientific genius who died from consumption at the age of twenty-five, having revolutionised his science. 
 
The stories move from documentary accounts to fictional recreations of historic events, from contemporary writing and illustrations to present-day reflection. By using different ways of describing the world of scientific endeavour, the author has produced a fascinating visually beautiful and highly entertaining book which allows us to witness the birth of a new science - the science of geology.

The Floating Egg

Episodes in the Making of Geology

Michael Taylor

Impossible Monsters is the captivating story of the discovery of the dinosaurs and how it upended our understanding of the origins of the world. 
 
‘An astonishing book about an extraordinary subject' PETER FRANKOPAN 
'As thrilling as it is sweeping' TOM HOLLAND 
'This book dazzles in its originality . . . a triumph’ SATHNAM SANGHERA 
 
In 1811, a twelve-year-old girl uncovered some strange-looking bones in Britain’s southern shoreline - and so sparked a crisis that would engulf science and religion for the next six decades. By its end, the literal reading of the Bible had been overturned, science had been liberated from religion and the secular age had begun. Impossible Monsters takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women whose discovery of the dinosaurs revolutionised our understanding of the world, as well as those who resisted them and those, like Charles Darwin, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth’s and mankind’s origins. It is the riveting story of a group of people who dared to think impossible things and then showed them to be true. 
 
‘Truly marvellous ... an intellectual thriller’ RICHARD HOLMES 
‘A stunning work ... of surprises and revelations’ STEVE BRUSATTE

Impossible Monsters

How the Discovery of Dinosaurs Changed the World

Johanna Basford

From the international bestselling illustrator and Queen of Colouring Johanna Basford comes a beautiful new colouring book that takes you on a wondrous expedition through the jungle. Also features a large double-sided pull-out poster to colour and keep 
 
'The colourists have a queen, and her name is Johanna Basford' -- New York Magazine 
'Consider trading in your yoga mat for a set of markers and peruse the gorgeous gardens of Basford's imagination' -- The Huffington Post 
 
************************************************************************************************ 
Follow ink evangelist Johanna Basford down an inky trail through Magical Jungle and discover a forgotten world of flora and fauna just waiting to be coloured in. 
 
Through intricate pen and ink illustrations, colour-inners are invited to explore an exotic rainforest teeming with creatures large and small. Encounter speckled tree frogs and dainty hummingbirds, prowling tigers and playful monkeys. Let your imagination run wild in the leafy treetop canopy or find yourself drawn to the delicate world of sensational blossoms and tropical plants below. There are ancient relics to be found along the way, each one leading toward the mystical treasure hidden at the heart of the magical jungle. Only the bravest, most inquisitive colourers will discover what lies hidden at the end of this inky quest. 
 
For Magical Jungle Johanna has picked a crisp ivory paper that accentuates and compliments your chosen colour palette. The smooth, untextured pages allows for beautiful blending or gradient techniques with coloured pencils, or are perfect for pens, allowing the nib to glide evenly over the surface without feathering. 
 
Suitable for children.

Magical Jungle

An Inky Expedition & Colouring Book

Ed Conway

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER and RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 
*An Economist, Financial Times, Times and New Statesman Book of the Year* 
Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of the Year Award and the British Academy Book Prize, Longlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Writing Prize 
 
'Compelling' TIM MARSHALL 
'Lively, rich and exciting' PETER FRANKOPAN 
'Vitally important' TIM HARFORD 
 
_____________ 
 
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future. 
 
They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They power our computers and phones, build our homes and offices, and create life-saving medicines. But most of us take these six crucial materials completely for granted. 
 
In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe to uncover a secret world we rarely see. As we wrestle with climate change, energy crises and the threat of new global conflict, Conway shows why these substances matter more than ever before, and how the hidden battle to control them will shape our geopolitical future.

Material World

A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future

Evan S Connell

Never has master storyteller Evan Connell been more enthralling than in these incandescent pages - tales of real-life adventure ranging from the archaeology of Olduvai gorge to the exploration of the Antarctic; from Viking voyages to an Ice Age xylophone. Never has reality so far surpassed mere fiction or fantasy than in this magnificent volume.

The White Lantern And Other Pursuits

Tim Coulson

How did everything start? 
 
And how did we come to exist? 
 
In one book Oxford Professor Tim Coulson seeks to simply explain what science tells us about the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the existence of humanity, and whether our existence was always inevitable or if we are just incredibly lucky. 
 
Coulson's engaging and accessible storytelling will enthral even the most reluctant of readers with its exploration of what thousands of years of study has told us about who we are, where we came from and what happens next.

A Little History of Everything

From the Big Bang to You

Kapka Kassabova

‘A classic for our times’ MONIQUE ROFFEY 
 
‘Haunting, beautiful… Anima will live with me for a long time’ CAL FLYN 
 
'A book that mesmerises with its sense of adventure and epic sweep, this is creative non-fiction at its best' GUARDIAN 
 
Over the course of one summer, Kapka Kassabova lives with perhaps the last true pastoralists in Europe. 
 
She joins the epic seasonal movement of vast herds of sheep, along with shepherds and dogs, to find pasture in the mountains. As she becomes attuned to the sacrifices inherent in this isolated existence, Kassabova finds herself drawn deeper into the tangled relationships at the heart of this small community. 
 
Anima is a spellbinding portrayal of the human–animal interdependence in pastoral life, and a plea for a different way of living – one where we might all begin to heal our broken relationship with the natural world. 
 
‘An extraordinary work of exploration, both inner and outer. It should be required reading for everyone thinking about our human environment: which is to say, all of us’ THE TABLET

Anima

A Wild Pastoral

Helen Czerski

WINNER OF THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION 
 
FINANCIAL TIMES 2023 HIGHLIGHT 
 
'Helen Czerski weaves together physics and biology, history and science, in a beautifully poetic way.' 
Professor Alice Roberts 
 
'In Helen Czerski's hands, the mechanical becomes magical. An instant classic.' 
Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read Water 
 
'Blue Machine is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read.' 
Dr George McGavin, zoologist, entomologist and broadcaster 
 
'A fascinating dive into the essential engine that drives our world. Czerski brings the oceans alive with compelling stories that masterfully navigate this most complex system.' 
Gaia Vince, science journalist, broadcaster and author of Nomad Century 
 
 
All of the Earth's ocean, from the equator to the poles, is a single engine powered by sunlight - a blue machine. 
 
Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told - that of our ocean. Not the fish or the dolphins, but the massive ocean engine itself: what it does, why it works, and the many ways it has influenced animals, weather and human history & culture. 
 
In a book that will recalibrate our view of this defining feature of our planet, physicist Helen Czerski dives deep to illuminate the murky depths of the ocean engine, examining the messengers, passengers and voyagers that live in it, travel over it, and survive because of it. From the ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves to permanent residents of the deep such as the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years, she explains the vast currents, invisible ocean walls and underwater waterfalls that all have their place in the ocean's complex, interlinked system. 
 
Timely, elegant and passionately argued, Blue Machine presents a fresh perspective on what it means to be a citizen of an ocean planet. The understanding it offers is crucial to our future. Drawing on years of experience at the forefront of marine science, Helen Czerski captures the magnitude and subtlety of Earth's defining feature, showing us the thrilling extent to which we are at the mercy of this great engine.

Blue Machine

How the Ocean Shapes Our World

Bruce Chatwin

'The book that redefined travel writing' Guardian 
 
 Bruce Chatwin sets off on a journey through South America in this wistful classic travel book 
 
With its unique, roving structure and beautiful descriptions, In Patagonia offers an original take on the age-old adventure tale. Bruce Chatwin’s journey to a remote country in search of a strange beast brings along with it a cast of fascinating characters. Their stories delay him on the road, but will have you tearing through to the book’s end. 
 
 ‘It is hard to pin down what makes In Patagonia so unique, but, in the end, it is Chatwin’s brilliant personality that makes it what it is… His form of travel was not about getting from A to B. It was about internal landscapes’ Sunday Times

In Patagonia

Ben Saunders

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Shackleton is a clear, simple and enlightening introduction to perhaps the most extraordinary survival stories of all time. 
 
Polar explorer Ben Saunders draws on his own experience of the Antarctic to bring to life the history, dangers and challenges of Shackleton's Endurance expedition. 
 
Inside, you'll discover how Shackleton, by successfully bringing all his men home in the face of near insurmountable odds, earned his reputation as one of the greatest leaders in history. 
 
Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. 
 
Other books currently available in the Ladybird Expert series include: 
· Climate Change 
· Quantum Mechanics 
· Evolution 
· Battle of Britain 
 
For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

Shackleton (A Ladybird Expert Book)

Caroline Eden

Winner of the Art of Eating Prize 2020 Winner of the Guild of Food Writers&#39; Best Food Book Award 2019 Winner of the Edward Stanford Travel Food and Drink Book Award 2019 Winner of the John Avery Award at the Andr&eacute; Simon Food and Drink Book Awards for 2018 Shortlisted for the James Beard International Cookbook Award &lsquo;The next best thing to actually travelling with Caroline Eden &ndash; a warm, erudite and greedy guide &ndash; is to read her. This is my kind of book.&rsquo; &ndash; Diana Henry &lsquo;Eden&rsquo;s blazing talent and unabashedly greedy curiosity will have you strapped in beside her&rsquo; - Christine Muhlke, The New York Times &#39;The food in Black Sea is wonderful, but it&rsquo;s Eden&rsquo;s prose that really elevates this book to the extraordinary... I can&rsquo;t remember any cookbook that&rsquo;s drawn me in quite like this.&rsquo; &ndash; Helen Rosner, Art of Eating judge This is the tale of a journey between three great cities &ndash; Odesa, Ukraine&rsquo;s celebrated port city, through Istanbul, the fulcrum balancing Europe and Asia and on to tough, stoic, lyrical Trabzon. With a nose for a good recipe and an ear for an extraordinary story, Caroline Eden travels from Odesa to Bessarabia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey&rsquo;s Black Sea region, exploring interconnecting culinary cultures. From the Jewish table of Odesa, to meeting the last fisherwoman of Bulgaria and charting the legacies of the White Russian &eacute;migr&eacute;s in Istanbul, Caroline gives readers a unique insight into a part of the world that is both shaded by darkness and illuminated by light. In this updated edition of the book, Caroline reflects on the events of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent impact of the war on the people of the wider region. How Odesa, defiant against shelling and blackouts, has gained UNESCO protection while in Istanbul, over lunch with a Bosphorus ship-spotter, she finds out about the role of the Black Sea in the war and how Russians are smuggling stolen grain from Ukraine. Meticulously researched and documenting unprecedented meetings with remarkable individuals, Black Sea is like no other piece of travel writing. Packed with rich photography and sumptuous food, this biography of a region, its people and its recipes truly breaks new ground.

Black Sea

Dispatches and Recipes – Through Darkness and Light

Stuart Maconie

'He is as funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' Observer 
 
It was the spirit of our finest hour, the backbone of our post-war greatness, and it promoted some of the boldest and most brilliant schemes this isle has ever produced: it was the Welfare State, and it made you and I. But now it's under threat, and we need to save it. 
 
In this timely and provocative book, Stuart Maconie tells Britain’s Welfare State story through his own history of growing up as a northern working class boy. What was so bad about properly funded hospitals, decent working conditions and affordable houses? And what was so wrong about student grants, free eye tests and council houses? And where did it all go so wrong? Stuart looks toward Britain’s future, making an emotional case for believing in more than profit and loss; and championing a just, fairer society.

The Nanny State Made Me

A Story of Britain and How to Save it

Sabrina Imbler

Join science journalist Sabrina Imbler on an astonishing journey which will completely redefine the way you think about nature and the ocean 
 
'An astonishing debut' GUARDIAN 
'Reveals just as much about our fascinating, mysterious world as it does about our fascinating, mysterious selves' NEW YORK TIMES 
 
In My Life in Sea Creatures we encounter: the mother octopus, starving herself while watching over her eggs; the yeti crab, thriving in crushing pressure and oppressive darkness; the cuttlefish, able to change its appearance in a fraction of a second; and many other creatures lurking in the depths of the ocean. 
 
Imbler's work weaves the wonders of marine biology with their own identity as a queer, non-binary mixed-race writer. They implicitly connect endangered sea life to marginalised human communities and shatter our preconceptions about the sea and what it means to survive. 
 
'A miraculous, transcendental book' ED YONG 
'Profound, surprising and thrillingly strange. I love it' SY MONTGOMERY 
'Astounding' PHILIP HOARE 
'A revelation' ISABELLA TREE 
 
***LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER***

My Life in Sea Creatures

A young queer science writer’s reflections on identity and the ocean

Ed Glinert

In the same format as the successful London Compendium, the Manchester Compendium relates the remarkable and diverse history of England's second city. Manchester's town hall and its Royal Exchange epitomise the city's architectural grandeur and its industrial heritage., Peterloo and Engel's treatise on the conditions of the working classes its political history and the Manchester Guardian and Factory Records its cultural and social history. From Thomas de Quincey to Alan Touring, Neville Cardus to Morrissey - all are part of the city's rich and fascinating past. Covering every area of human activity and incorporating all the great events and key moments in the city's history this will be a fresh and unique perspective on a great city.

The Manchester Compendium

A Street-by-Street History of England's Greatest Industrial City

Neil Oliver

For longer than recorded history there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold. 
 
Bestselling historian Neil Oliver travels the British Isles on a deliciously spine-chilling tour that spans several centuries and explores more than 20 sites - castles, vicarages and towers, lonely shorelines and forgotten battlefields - to unpick their stories.. 
 
Oliver invokes his family's history alongside that of kings and queens past as he probes why our emotions and senses are heightened in certain locations where the separation between dimensions seems gossamer thin. Our landscape is riven with these places, creaking from the weight of the secrets they hold, the echoes of tragedy and dark deeds . From Inverness to Devon, Co Dublin to Norfolk, Hauntings casts an enjoyably eerie glow with stories that, told generation after generation, are inextricable from place - and considers why they matter.

Hauntings

A Book of Ghosts and Where to Find Them Across 25 Eerie British Locations

Paul Rosolie

Madre de Dios – ‘Mother of God’ – is a place where the Andean Cloud Forest intermingles with the steaming tropical jungle at the head of the Amazon river. Here can be found the greatest proliferation of living species that has ever existed on Earth, ever. And it is a place which is now under grave threat. 
 
Paul Rosolie has travelled to the very heart of this wilderness in search of rare flora and fauna. His adventures – with giant anacondas, huge cayman, the mighty jaguar and one very small anteater – are by turn thrilling, terrifying and revelatory. Paul crosses some of the world’s harshest terrain and encounters some of its most extreme weather conditions. He battles with life-threatening tropical diseases and the extreme mental challenges presented by being alone in the heart of the jungle. 
 
Mother of God is an astonishing tale of adventure and survival, set in one of the world’s few remaining truly wild places. It’s a story of nature, red in tooth and claw, and how we must both respect its awesome power and protect its extraordinary glory.

Mother of God

One man’s journey to the uncharted depths of the Amazon rainforest

Tim Moore

Tim Moore - indefatigable travelling everyman – switches two wheels for four as he journeys across Trumpland in an original Model T Ford. 
 
‘Alarmingly full of incident, very funny – even mildly transformative’ Daily Mail 
 
Lacking even the most basic mechanical knowhow, Tim Moore sets out to cross Trumpland USA in an original Model T Ford. Armed only with a fan belt made of cotton, wooden wheels and a trunkload of ‘wise-ass Limey liberal gumption’, his route takes him exclusively through Donald-voting counties, meeting the everyday folks who voted red along the way. 
 
He meets a people defined by extraordinary generosity, willing to shift heaven and earth to keep him on the road. And yet, this is clearly a nation in conflict with itself: citizens ‘tooling up’ in reaction to ever-increasing security fears; a healthcare system creaking to support sugar-loaded soda lovers; a disintegrating rust belt all but forgotten by the warring media and political classes. 
 
With his trademark blend of slapstick humour, affable insight and butt-clenching peril, Tim Moore invites us on an unforgettable road trip through America. Buckle up!

Another Fine Mess

Rick Stanton

Thailand, July 2018. Twelve boys and their football coach vanish into Tham Luang caves. 
 
 Rick Stanton, a retired Midlands firefighter, races to save them. The boys have been missing for days. Each hour, their chance of escape shrinks. Rick must swim, crawl and squeeze through treacherously tight submerged tunnels hunting for them. 
 
 But that is not the impossible part. Because if by some miracle they're alive then somehow Rick must bring the boys back out again . . . 
 
 He doesn't know it yet but all his life he's been training for this very moment . . .

Aquanaut

A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue

Ed Douglas

Empires, explorers and sacred summits - an epic story of the roof of the world. 
 
In Himalaya, award-winning writer and climber Ed Douglas traces the intertwined histories of the mountains and their people. From Buddhist pilgrims and imperial explorers to mountaineers and freedom fighters, he reveals how these peaks have shaped spirituality, science and geopolitics for millennia. 
 
Drawing on years of travel and meticulous research, Douglas combines geography, biography and adventure into a sweeping narrative of conflict, resilience and wonder across the most dramatic landscape on Earth. 
 
 
‘Magnificent… unlikely to be surpassed’ Telegraph 
‘A magisterial account of the complex human history of the Himalaya’ The Times

Himalaya

A Human History

Jamling Tenzing Norgay

Broughton Coburn

'A story of passion, hardship and endurance' - Reinhold Messner 
 
'There is much to marvel at in these pages. It taught me a great deal... Enthralling' - Jon Krakauer, bestselling author of Into Thin Air 
 
In this gripping and inspirational book, Jamling Norgay interweaves the story of his Everest summit during the infamously deadly 1996 season with the first real account of his father Tenzing Norgay's historic first ascent with Edmund Hillary in 1953. For Jamling, the climb was a journey of danger and of discovery. Discovery of the spiritual heritage of the Sherpa tradition, of his father's past and of the obsession that makes men and women risk their lives to summit the tallest peak on earth. 
 
A classic of mountaineering literature re-issued for the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest, this is a compelling and emotional account of two unbelievable ascents, and of the unique relationship between a father and son.

Touching My Father's Soul

Climbing Everest in the Footsteps of Tenzing Norgay

A Sherpa's Sacred Jouney to the Top of Everest

Max Leonard

Why do road cyclists go to the mountains? Many books tell you where the mountains are, or how long and how high. None of them ask ‘Why?’ 
 
After all, cycling up a mountain is hard – so hard that, to many non-cyclists, it can seem absurd. But, for some, climbing a mountain gracefully (and beating your competitors up the slope) represents the pinnacle of cycling achievement. The mountains are where legends are forged and cycling’s greats make their names. 
 
Why are Europe’s mountain ranges professional cycling’s Wembley Stadium or its Colosseum? Why do amateurs also make a pilgrimage to these high, remote roads and what do we see and feel when we do? 
Why are the roads there in the first place? 
 
Higher Calling explores the central place of mountains in the folklore of road cycling. Blending adventure and travel writing with the rich narrative of pro racing, Max Leonard takes the reader from the battles that created the Alpine roads to the shepherds tending their flocks on the peaks, and to a Grand Tour climax on the ‘highest road in Europe’. And he tells stories of courage and sacrifice, war and love, obsession and elephants along the way.

Higher Calling

Road Cycling’s Obsession with the Mountains

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