During the 1530s, rumours of a potentially revolutionary theory of how the heavens worked emanating from a small city in Poland began to spread throughout Europe. The architect of this theory was a Polish cleric named Nicolaus Copernicus. In around 1514 Copernicus had written & h&-copied an initial outline of his heliocentric theory, in which he placed the Sun, not the Earth, at the centre of our universe, with the planets, including the Earth, revolving about it. Titled his Commentariolus, it circulated among a very few astronomers. Over the next two decades Copernicus expanded his theory through hundreds of sightings, leading to a secretive manuscript whose existence tantalised mathematicians & scientists all over the world. In 1539 a young German mathematician, Georg Joachim Rheticus, travelled to Frombork to meet Copernicus; months later he departed with the manuscript for the book that would change the way we understand our place in the universe. Rheticus arranged for the publication of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)
- legend has it Copernicus received a copy on his deathbed. This book would forever change the way we thought about our place in the universe. In her compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles the history of the Copernican Revolution, relating the story of astronomy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages. & as she achieved with her international bestsellers Longitude & Galileo's Daughter, in A More Perfect Heaven, Sobel expands the bounds of popular science writing, giving us an unforgettable portrait of a major step forward in the human knowledge of our universe.
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In the 1520s a Polish cleric named Nicolaus Copernicus developed a revolutionary theory which placed the Sun, not the Earth, at the centre of our universe. The secret existence of this manuscript tantalised scientists everywhere in Europe. Then in 1539 a young German mathematician, Rheticus, travelled to meet Copernicus in the hope of setting eyes on it. Dava Sobel tells the story of a new concept of the heavens, & how Rheticus persuaded the cautious Copernicus to allow him to take the precious but dangerous manuscript out into a world that it would change for ever. In her compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles the history of the Copernican Revolution, relating the story of astronomy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages. & as she achieved with her international bestsellers Longitude & Galileo`s Daughter, in A More Perfect Heaven, Sobel expands the bounds of popular science writing, giving us an unforgettable portrait of a major step forward in the human knowledge of our universe. ...

` That London could have had electric buses a hundred years ago is extraordinary enough, but as Mick Hamer recounts with great panache, the reason it didn`t is even more extraordinary. This is a great tale, expertly told`
- Michael Palin On a warm April morning in 1906 a crowd of expectant correspondents from London`s leading newspapers gathered at the Hotel Cecil in the Strand to view the new wonder of the age
- the electrobus. This clean, green machine was gearing up to take on the noisy, polluting petrol vehicle, which was just starting to replace the horse-drawn omnibus & surely had the potential to be a game changer in terms of what it would mean to Londoners & other city-dwellers who were already choking on petrol fumes. Disastrously though, the London Electrobus Company was in the grip of a gang of greedy & fraudulent financiers, who systematically conned shareholders, looted the company`s coffers & drove the promise of the electrobus into the ground. Rammed with fascinating characters & vividly capturing the Edwardian era, A Most Deliberate Swindle uncovers one of the biggest frauds in history & reveals why a century later this historic scam has left us all gasping for breath.

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Big History, the field that studies the entire known past of our universe to give context to human existence, has so far been the domain of historians. In A Most Improbable Journey, Walter Alvarez-best known for his ” Impact Theory” explaining dinosaur extinction-makes a compelling case for a new, science-first approach to Big History. He brings a scientist`s view to the human story, from the creation of our universe & our planet, the rise of life, the movement of our continents & its effect on human migration, to humanity`s ascendance. Alvarez`s observations & stories will give readers a new appreciation of the events that have led to the human situation. Through entertaining, bite-sized chapters, A Most Improbable Journey will send readers out in a thousand directions to learn more. ...

A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client's survival becomes more important to her than her own career. In pursuit of Issa's mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Freres, a failing British bank based in Hamburg. A triangle of impossible loves is born. Meanwhile, scenting a sure kill in the so-called War on Terror, the spies of three nations converge upon the innocents. Poignant, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, A Most Wanted Man is alive with humour, yet prickles with tension until the last heart-stopping page. It is also a work of deep humanity, & uncommon relevance to our times. ...

A Motor-Car Trip through Ukraine is a unique, comprehensive touring guide to the country. Arranged into twenty-eight regions, the guide offers seventy car-touring itinerates accompanied by a series of illustrated maps that clearly mark routes referred to in the text. Each itinerary consists of clear route directions & thorough route descriptions that highlight the attractions to be seen along the way
- such as cities/towns, churches, museums, parks & castles. Historical/background information is provided for regions, sites & attractions, & practical information such as address details, contact numbers & opening hours are given when necessary. Information boxes also highlight accommodation, restaurants, public transport & top-attractions for each itinerary. The breadth & depth of coverage in this guide is truly impressive, boasting 24 plans of regional centers, 43 map-schemes of highways based on two to three day touring itineraries, 70 illustrated route maps through cities & regions, as well as an incredible 1000 full-colour photographs. Listed attractions include over 1000 architectural treasures, 78 castles & forts, 52 palaces, over 400 churches & museums, 300 hotels & 355 places to eat & drink.
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A classic piece of travel writing, “ In Morocco” is Edith Wharton’s remarkable account of her journey to the country during World War One & was subsequently published in 1921. With a characteristic sense of adventure, Wharton set out to explore Morocco & its people, recording her impressions & encounters. She travelled
- by military jeep
- to Rabat, Moulay Idriss, Fez & Marrakech, from the Atlantic coast to the High Atlas. Along the way she witnessed religious ceremonies & ritual dances, visited the opulent palaces of the Sultan & was admitted to the mysterious world of his harem. Her narrative is as rich as the souks through which she wandered, peopled with story-tellers & warriors, slaves & silk-spinners: an evocative & intimate portrait of this extraordinary country.

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Throughout the East there runs a legend of a great mountain at the centre of the world, where four rivers have their source. Charles Allen traces this legend to Western Tibet where there stands Kailas, worshipped by Hindus & Buddhists alike as the home of their gods & the navel of the world. Close by are the sources of four mighty rivers: the sacred Ganges, the Indus, the Sutlej & Tsangpo-Brahmaputra. For centuries Kailas remained an enigma to the outside world. Then a succession of remarkable men took up the challenge of penetrating the hostile, frozen wastelands beyond the Western Himalayas, culminating in the great age of discovery, the final years of the Victorian era. A Mountain in Tibet is an extraordinary story of exploration & high adventure, full of the excitement & colour expected from the author of Plain Tales from the Raj. ...

”A Mountain of Crumbs” is the moving story of a young Soviet girl`s discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood & her country`s profound political deception. Elena, born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, finds her passion in the complexity of the English language
- but in the Soviet Union of the 1960s, such a passion verges on the subversive. Elena`s home is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the tsars. Instead, it is a nation humiliated by its first faltering steps after World War II, putting up appearances for the sake of its regime & fighting to retain its pride. In this deeply affecting memoir, Elena re-creates the world that both oppressed & inspired her. She recounts stories passed down to her about the horrors of the Bolshevik Revolution & probes the daily deprivations & small joys of her family`s bunkerlike existence. Through Elena`s captivating voice, we learn not only the personal story of Russia in the second half of the twentieth century, but also the story of one rebellious citizen whose love of a foreign language finally transports her to a new world. ` This moving memoir made me cry`
- ” The New York Times.”

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Hemingway`s memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate & full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, but also at the other writers who shared Paris with him
- James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald
- he recalls the time when, poor, happy & writing in cafes, he discovered his vocation. Written during the last years of Hemingway`s life, his memoir is a lively & powerful reflection of his genius that scintillates with the romance of the city.

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