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. ...

This book

Includes:: more than 50 full-colour Bird's Eye maps, covering all of New Zealand's best scenic driving

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Polly Pullar tells the fascinating tale of one of the Hebrides, unique thriving small communities through the colourful anecdotes of Lawrence Mac Ewen, whose family have owned the island since 1896. A wonderfully benevolent, & eccentric character, his passion & love for the island & its continuing success, has always been of the utmost importance. He has kept diaries all his life & delves deep into them, unveiling a uniquely human story, punctuated with liberal amounts of humour, as well as heart-rending tragedy, always dominated by the vagaries of the sea. Filled with fascinating & extraordinary tales & priceless observations, this is not only a highly entertaining read but is also an important part of Scottish social history. The story begins with the amusing debut of Lawrence as a new baby when his mother returned from the hospital on the mainl&, & carries on through his colourful island childhood & up to present day. Here are tales of coal puffers & livestock transportation on steamers & small boats, extraordinary chance meetings & adventures that eventually led him to finding his wife, Jenny, on the island of Soay. It`s a book about the small hard-grafting community of 30 souls on this fertile island of just 1500 acres. Residents work closely with the Mac Ewen family in business interests: the thriving farm, market garden, a modern school, a busy tearoom, craft shop, & a winter shoot. A new village hall was opened in 2012, & a guesthouse in May 2013. Until March 2013, Muck depended on an unreliable generator for electricity that only came on twice daily, but now has finally been electrified with solar panels & wind turbines. It was one of the last places in the UK to receive 24-hour power. ...

Andre Brink’s “ Dry White Season” was first published in 1979, & follows in the tradition of Alan Paton & Nadine Gordimer as it takes a critical look at apartheid South Africa from within at a time when the end of apartheid was nearly fifteen years away. It centers on Ben du Toit- an ordinary, decent, harmless man, unremarkable in every way, until his sense of justice is outraged by the death of a man he has known. His friend died at the hands of the police & in the beginning it appears a straightforward matter, an unfortunate error that can be explained & put right. But as Ben investigates further he finds that his curiosity becomes labelled rebellion
- & for a rebel there is no way back. One of the key figures in the Afrikaans literary movement, it’s easy to tell from this book why Brink is still around writing today: his work is relevant, insightful, & painfully true.
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` Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now.` Patrick Ness A Face Like Glass is an astonishing & imaginative novel from the Costa Award winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge. In the underground city of Caverna the world`s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare
- wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate & perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, & only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear
- at a price. Into this dark & distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past & a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell`s emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. & that makes her very dangerous indeed.. .

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When Australian Jane Paech moves to Paris, her visions of afternoons in bijou bistros & bookshops on the Left Bank are kept in check by the needs of a young family & a long to-do list that

Includes:: apartment-hunting, school selection, & multiple trips to IKEA. Through a collection of sharp observations, insightful travel articles & laugh-out-loud anecdotes, A Family in Paris conveys the joys & difficulties of living in this most famous of cities. It introduces us to the Parisians & their eccentricities, explores the intricate rituals of daily life, & takes us beyond the well-trodden tourist sites to the best eating spots, boutiques, museums & markets that only a local could know about. Frank, intimate & beautifully photographed, A Family in Paris is about making a home in a strange l&, finding a community, & discovering the joy of renewal.

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