In this, their second adventure together, Bruce Fogle & his faithful dog, Macy, (with a compact motorhome), journey into the little known heart of Europe. Travelling through the Netherlands, northern Germany, Scandinavia, & the Baltics, then down the eastern rim of Poland to Slovakia & Slovenia, Fogle uncovers revelations about his ancestry as well as discovering the real central Europe. With Macy stoically at his side, Bruce Fogle can savour the landscape in a way he couldn`t alone. Macy introduces him to an eclectic mix of rural folk & local animals as well as other travellers. Together Macy & Bruce walk for miles through peaceful woods & empty shores, taking time off from the frenetic bustle of urban life to appreciate the unspoilt beauty of landscapes still frozen in the aspic of time. The perfect travelling companion, ”A Dog Abroad” is an enchanting read. ...

Welcome to a day in the life of a friendly terrier. He just wants to go to the park with his friends to play ball, but his owner has other ideas... Complemented by stylish pen & ink drawings, this charming debut from up-&-coming illustrator Emily Rand is a warm & witty take on the toddler`s experience of having to wait for grownups when they`d rather be having fun. ...

”A Dog in a Hat” is the remarkable story of Joe Parkin. In 1987, Parkin left the comforts of home to become a bike racer in Belgium, the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call “a dog with a hat on” — something familiar, yet decidedly out of place. Parkin`s memoir reads like a novel. In plainspoken & fast-paced prose, Parkin describes the true life of the professional bike racer, putting the reader into the whirlwind of this hardest of athletic educations. ”A Dog in a Hat” begins with Parkin`s terrifying first visit to his team doctor, where he is strapped to a table & monitored by humming electrodes as men in white lab coats coldly divine his future as a pro. Parkin`s story is honest. ”A Dog in a Hat” celebrates the glory of bike racing, but Parkin thrillingly tells the hard reality of the life—the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts & money, the endless promises that keep you going, & the rider`s sheer physical agony of racing day after day. Despite the pain, despite the suffering, ”A Dog in a Hat” is a beautiful book. It is one American’s story of his love affair with professional cycling, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. It is a story untold until now, & one that Parkin’s readers will never forget. ...

Inspired by Maryanne Grant Traylen`s daily walks with her dog, & by the moments of beauty afforded by living between sea & Down, A Dog on the Downs evokes the North Kent countryside in its different moods, seasons & weathers, combined with a narrative that invokes a sense of the geology & history that has shaped the landscape. Black dog is not only Maryanne`s walking companion but her visual constant, looking elegant, even Gormley-like, against the green of hill or blue of sea. Concentrating on Kent`s North Downs framed at the east, west, north & south by Kingsdown Beach, New Barn, Denton & the sea respectively, the book will enchant readers with the lyrical quality of Maryanne`s writing & photographs as together Maryanne & her dog explore the landscapes right on their doorstep. Vividly bringing this stretch of Downs to life, join Maryanne & her dog as they discover the cliffs at Kingsdown, St. Margaret`s, Dover & Folkestone, as they take a dip into the sea & swing inland to the Downs & cut across the escarpments of Arpinge & Etchinghill towards Wye, losing themselves in glorious valleys & villages ...

To the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious & unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One's Stargazing Live & the resident astronomer on ITV's The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy & unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years. Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for & how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up & wishes they knew more about the final frontier... ...

To the beginner, the star-filled night sky can seem mysterious & unfathomable. But with this book as a guide the awesome nature of the Cosmos is brought down to Earth. Over the course of twelve chapters Mark Thompson, one of the presenters on BBC One`s Stargazing Live & the resident astronomer on ITV`s The Alan Titchmarsh Show, will take you on a journey through space, tackling the key concepts of astronomy & unlocking the secrets of the sky. From the origins of our Universe to the ever evolving techniques used to explore deep space, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos traces the journey of galactic discovery that has obsessed mankind for thousands of years. Accompanying the narrative, a series of monthly sky guides focus on the astronomical highlights visible at each given time of year, with handy charts to show you exactly what to look for & how to navigate around the sky at night. As fascinating as it is accessible, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos is a must for anyone who gazes up & wishes they knew more about the final frontier... ...

Travelling through Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia in the twilight of the French colonial regime, Norman Lewis witnesses these ancient civilisations as they were before the terrible devastation of the Vietnam War. He creates a portrait of traditional societies struggling to retain their integrity in the embrace of the West. Lewis meets emperors & slaves, brutal plantation owners & sympathetic French officers trapped by the economic imperatives of the colonial experiment. From tribal animists to Viet-Minh guerillas, he witnesses this heart-breaking struggle over & over, leaving a vital portrait of a society on the brink of catastrophic change. ...

When ice traps John Mac Lennan`s ship in the Bering Strait in 1910, the youthful sailor, trying to widen a small fissure with dynamite, blows up his hands. He is taken by dogsled to a doctor, his captain vowing that they will wait for his safe return. But gangrene sets in, & John`s hands have to be amputated. Then strong winds break the ice shelf & his ship sails off without him.. . John gradually adapts to his new way of life, adopting Chukchi ways & finding friendship, & love, among his hosts. Even his role in the tragic, accidental death of his best friend, Toko, pulls him deeper into the community`s folds. This is a remarkable tale of resilience & reconciliation, set in one of the most majestic & inhospitable environments on earth. ...

Ed Drummond`s climbing essays initially gained prominence in the prestigious American Journal Ascent. First published in a book in 1987 they formed a loose autobiography covering an eventful private life from school & college days in the sixties, a long sojourn in the United States & a return to Europe in the mid-eighties. Yet it is principally a climbing book so the main chapters concern big climbs: first ascents on St. John`s Head & the Troll wall, a solo ascent of El Capitan`s Nose & an audacious solo attempt on the North America Wall on which the author nearly froze to death. Political & social concerns also figure prominently as Drummond has used his climbing skills to draw attention to a variety of causes
- an anti-apartheid protest on Trafalgar Column & building climbs in the US in support of civil-rights activists. More recently he organised the ` Climb for the World` extravaganza. This attention-gaining Ed Drummond roadshow is tempered by a more private, darker side of his character. Adolescent sexual pre-occupations curdled into a sequence of failed marriages & relationships, bringing him to the edge of despair. This too is reflected in his writing, as is his tenacious struggle away from the brink, & his scorn for attempts to romanticise such pressures which emerges in one particularly trenchant essay. Indeed, this collection, though rooted in climbing, uses danger, elation, toil & intense relationships to allow a thorough literary examination of the psyche that leaves the reader both enlightened & exhausted in its wake.
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50 cocktails each inspired by famous women writers from around the world, from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, France, Germany & others. With cocktail recipes & literary profiles of the writers that inspired them, discover the delights of the Sylvia Plath, the Virginia Woolf, the Simone de Beauvoir, the Zelda Fitzgerald, the Angela Carter, the Margaret Attwood, the Jane Austen, the Margeurite Duras & the Elfriede Jelinek. This is a beautifully conceived & presented gift book celebrating the very best in women`s writing, with beautiful illustrations of each writers & photography of many of the cocktails. ...