A collection of writing from Britain`s best-loved travel writer, `A Merry Dance around the World` is the culmination of a lifetime of adventure. Covering everything from the birth of Eric Newby in 1919 at the `ghastly hour` of 3.45am, to Herculean cycling escapades in his seventies through the wiles of the Irish winter, this is an astonishing catalogue of disasters & misunderstandings. Newby`s compassionate grace & sharp wit ensure that every adventure is as charming, hilarious & wild as his last. Including extracts from his masterpiece of love & courage in wartime, ` Love & War in the Apennines`, travelling epiphanies against the breathtaking backdrop of `A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush` & the memorable excursions of the long-suffering & truly heroic Wanda Newby on bikes, in boats & planning daring prison escapes. A brilliant introduction for any Newby newcomer, or handy collection for the intrepid Newby veteran traveller, `A Merry Dance around the World` is a whirlwind tour around the globe, guided by the forefather of the modern comic travel book. ...

September 1st, 2014 marked the centenary of one of the best-documented extinctions in history
- the demise of the Passenger Pigeon.
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There`s no telling who might write back.. . It`s been a year since Tom Pellow`s dad was lost at sea. He was a sailor & Tom also finds himself drawn to the vast ocean; it holds so many possibilities, dangers & secrets. After hearing a song on the radio, Tom decides to write a message in a bottle, & throw it out into the sea. To `cast his bread upon the waters`. He doesn`t really expect to hear back, but Tom keeps writing anyway, sending messages out on the tide & searching the waves for a reply. One day he finds one. It`s a letter that seems to be from a ghost, deep down in Davy Jones`s Locker
- & the writer has a shocking answer to Tom`s question. But if Tom`s dad didn`t perish at sea, where is he? A charming & beautifully written story about grief, hope & miracles.
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Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment
- & passion. In the Great Food series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, & opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen.
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Let acclaimed Tolkien artist John Howe take you on an unforgettable journey across Middle-earth, from Bag End to Mordor, in this richly illustrated sketchbook fully of previously unseen artwork, anecdotes & meditations on Middle-earth. Middle-earth has been mapped, Bilbo`s & Frodo`s journeys plotted & measured, but it remains a wilderland for all that. The roads as yet untravelled far outnumber those down which J.R.R. Tolkien led us in his writings. A Middle-earth Traveller presents a walking tour of Tolkien`s Middle-earth, visiting not only places central to his stories, but also those just over the hill or beyond the horizon. Events from Tolkien`s books are explored
- battles of the different ages that are almost legend by the time of The Lord of the Rings; lost kingdoms & ancient myths, as well as those places only hinted at: kingdoms of the far North & lands beyond the seas. Sketches that have an `on-the-spot` feel to them are interwoven with the artist`s observations gleaned from Tolkien`s books as he paints pictures with his words as well as his pencil. He also recollects his time spent working alongside Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings & Hobbit film trilogies. Combining concept work produced for films, existing Middle-earth art & dozens of new paintings & sketches exclusive to this book, A Middle-earth Traveller will take the reader on a unique & unforgettable journey across Tolkien`s magical landscape.
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In this inspirational memoir, internationally bestselling author David Vann tells the true story of building his own sailing ship & of the disastrous voyage that ensues. As a thirty-year-old tourist in Turkey, David Vann stumbles across the steel frame of a ninety-foot sailboat & decides to fulfill a long-buried dream: he will rebuild the boat. From friends, family, & credit cards, he borrows $150, 000 to construct the ship & achieve his ambition. However, when the Turkish builders take shameless advantage of him, eventually charging him over $500, 000, Vann finds himself on the edge of financial ruin & decides to start a chartering business. Battling with construction nightmares, spiraling debts & freak storms, Vann begins to wonder if he is merely repeating his father`s failures at sea, & a career that led to tragedy. At once a page-turning memoir of adventure on the open ocean & a tale of one man`s attempt to overcome fate & realise his dream, A Mile Down is an unforgettable story of struggle & redemption by a writer of rare power. ...

In this inspirational memoir, internationally bestselling author David Vann tells the true story of building his own sailing ship & of the disastrous voyage that ensues. As a thirty-year-old tourist in Turkey, David Vann stumbles across the steel frame of a ninety-foot sailboat & decides to fulfill a long-buried dream: he will rebuild the boat. From friends, family, & credit cards, he borrows $150, 000 to construct the ship & achieve his ambition. However, when the Turkish builders take shameless advantage of him, eventually charging him over $500, 000, Vann finds himself on the edge of financial ruin & decides to start a chartering business. Battling with construction nightmares, spiraling debts & freak storms, Vann begins to wonder if he is merely repeating his father`s failures at sea, & a career that led to tragedy. At once a page-turning memoir of adventure on the open ocean & a tale of one man`s attempt to overcome fate & realise his dream, A Mile Down is an unforgettable story of struggle & redemption by a writer of rare power. ...

This is a unique study of the conflict of 1914-18 on l&, sea & in the air, through maps, diagrams & illustrations. Within the scope of some 250 maps, Arthur Banks has presented both broad general surveys of political & military strategy, & the most closely researched details of major individual campaigns & engagements. These are supplemented by comprehensive analysis of military strengths & command structures & illustrations. ...

A Millimetre of Dust is the story of a journey from Cape Town to the Northern Cape & back to visit some world-class Stone Age archaeological sites. In the tradition of writers such as Barry Lopez, W.G. Sebald, Gary Snyder & Bruce Chatwin, this travel memoir combines extensive research with personal narrative to explore how a particular woman s experience raises questions that are political, ecological, & philosophical. The sense of deep time which places such as Wonderwerk Cave or Kathu Townlands evoke is presented amid contemporary concerns from the domestic immediacies of small children on a long trip to intense disquiet about the local impact of global climate change. As in many travellers tales, the protagonist leaves home, discovers unfamiliar territory, & returns with an altered view of her place in the world. At Wonderwerk Cave the duration of a human life measures just one millimetre of dust in the deep, long accumulation of sediment, yet each breath we take is a link to those who came before us, & to all beings. ...

In April 2006 a small British peace-keeping force was sent to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Within weeks they were cut off & besieged by some of the world`s toughest fighters: the infamous Taliban, who were determined to send the foreigners home again. Defence Secretary John Reid had hoped that Operation Herrick 4 could be accomplished without a shot being fired; instead, the Army was drawn into the fiercest fighting it had seen for fifty years. Millions of bullets & thousands of lives have been expended since then in an under-publicized but bitter conflict whose end is still not in sight. Some people consider it the fourth Anglo-Afghan War since Victorian times. How on earth did this happen? & what is it like for the troops on the front line of the ` War on Terror`? James Fergusson takes us to the dark heart of the battle zone. Here, in their own words & for the first time, are the young veterans of Herrick 4. Here, unmasked, are the civilian & military officials responsible for planning & executing the operation. Here, too, are the Taliban themselves, to whom Fergusson gained unique & extraordinary access. Controversial, fascinating & occasionally downright terrifying, ”A Million Bullets” analyses the sorry slide into war in Helmand & asks this most troubling question: could Britain perhaps have avoided the violence altogether? ...