An Appetite for Lombardy is a series of portraits of the most interesting characters behind some of the best food & wine in Lombardy. This book explores not only their cooking but also their stories & views, which are thought –provoking & inspiring. ...

An Appetite for Umbria by Christine Smallwood is both a beautifully illustrated recipe book & a series of portraits that highlight the best restaurants in Umbria. But ‘best’ certainly doesn’t mean ‘similar’. In the book you will find up-market restaurants next to informal wine bars & casual eating places, establishments that have been run by the same families for many decades next to newcomers, & the modern & stylish next to the more traditional. An Appetite for Umbria gives a snapshot of the heroes of Italian food in this region, some of international renown, others unsung, accompanied by samples of the type of food you can expect to find at their restaurants, trattorie, osterie & enoteche. This book explores not only their cooking but also their history, stories & views, which are though-provoking, entertaining & inspiring. Many of the featured establishments are small, & their owners have every intention of keeping them that way, preferring 25 customers to feel delighted about the food & service they have received, rather than 50 merely think the experience was good. In none of them is there a frenzied race for culinary decorations, nor are quality or innovation sacrificed for easy returns: many of these chefs & proprietors are supporters of small, local food suppliers & producers rather than supermarket chains, & all believe that offering good food
- & wine
- is a duty as much as a delight. Each restaurant in the book is listed according to its location, & information is provided on the restaurants address, contact details, opening hours & number of covers. Sections at the back of the book provide an overview of the regions specialties, & comprehensive directions & maps are included for each of the restaurants listed in the text.

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Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, & linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes. But what were the influences that shaped his life? & who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist & public thinker now famous (and infamous to some) around the world? In An Appetite for Wonder we join him on a personal journey from an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa, through the eccentricities of boarding school in Engl&, to his studies at the University of Oxford`s dynamic Zoology Department, which sparked his radical new vision of Darwinism, The Selfish Gene. Through Dawkins` honest self-reflection, touching reminiscences & witty anecdotes, we are finally able to understand the private influences that shaped the public man who, more than anyone else in his generation, explained our own origins. ...

Does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Can beggars be choosers? Is it always better late than never? Proverbs are short, well-known, pithy sayings that offer advice or words of encouragement & are used in everyday English without much thought ever being given to their meanings, or indeed, usefulness. In An Apple A Day Caroline Taggart explores the truth behind our favourite proverbs, their history & whether they offer any genuine help to the recipient. Did you know that The Old Testament has an entire book devoted to proverbs? Or that `a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush` is a proverb from falconry that dates back to the Middle Ages? Many proverbs are still in use today, including the very famous `slow & steady wins the race`, which derives from one of the many fables of Aesop. Lighthearted but authoritative, An Apple A Day proves that proverbs are as useful today as they ever were. ...

A luminous & challenging work of autobiographical travel writing. In An Area of Darkness, V.S. Naipaul describes his encounter with a force in his life which shocked him into awareness of a need for self-examination & self-explanation. It is perhaps natural that his year-long sojourn in India should have provided such a shock. The experience was not a pleasant one, but the pain the author suffered was creative rather than numbing, & engendered a masterful work of literature that is by turns tender, lyrical, explosive & cruel. With spectacular narrative skill, Naipaul provides a revelation both of India & of himself: a displaced person who paradoxically possesses a stronger sense of place than almost anyone. He spins his web not so much to entrap his readers as to make them think for themselves.V.S. Naipaul won the 2001 Nobel Prize for Literature. ...

Apulia – An Armchair Traveller’s History by Desmond Seward & Susan Mountgarret is a compelling reading that links the landscape of this region to its history & early travellers. As the writers explore Apulia area by area they unravel the local history presenting comments & observations from early travellers such as Abate Giovanni Battista Pacichelli, an extensive traveller & member of the Royal Society at London from the 17th century, Henry Swinburne, Englishman from the 18th century & author of Travels in the Two Sicilies, Charles Macfarlane a Scottish writer from the 19th century & Norman Douglas writer of South Wind & Old Calabria, just to name a few. Learn about the landscape that makes up the heel of Italy, from the mountainous north of the Gargano to the flat Tavoliere. Marvel at the fascinating history its monuments & ruins tell & unveil the legacy of repeated invasions, from the arrival of the Greeks in 800 BC, the Goths in the 5th century to the Bourbons & the French in the 19th century, & many others in between. Discover the resourcefulness for survival shown by its people, creating cave-cities to escape the Goths & Saracens, or generating wealth exporting oil & wine while under Norman’s harsh rules or building Lecce in a Baroque style despite plague & Spanish taxation. This book, wonderfully written, tells a riveting story that will fascinate anyone interested in the past & the impressions of early travellers who visited this little known part of Italy. ...

As China s global influence continues to rise, its capital, Beijing, has become increasingly important & a popular tourist destination, greeting close to five million international visitors each year. ” An Armchair Traveller s History of Beijing” presents the capital from its earliest beginnings as a prehistoric campsite for Peking Man through its fluctuating fortunes under a dozen dynasties. Home tocapitals ofseveral states over time, the site of modern Beijing has been ruled by Mongolian chiefs & the glorious Ming emperors, whose tombs can still be found on its outskirts. Through Beijing, we can experience Chinese history itself, including its more famous residents including Khubilai Khan, Mulan, & Marco Polo. Special emphasis is placed on Beijing s precarious heritage in the twenty-first century, as modern construction wipes out much of the old city to make way for homes for twenty million people. This book also offers detailed information on sites of tourist interest, including the pros & cons of different sections of the Great Wall & the best ways to see the Forbidden City & the fast-disappearing relics of the city s Manchu & Maoist eras.A chapter on food & drink examines not only local delicacies, but the many other Chinese dishes that form part of Beijing s rich dining traditions. With its blend of rich history & expert tips, ” An Armchair Traveller s History of Beijing ”is an essential introduction to one of the world s most remarkable cities. ” ...

In the American mind, Finland is often swept up in the general group of Nordic countries, little known & seldom gaining prominence on its own. But as Jonathan Clements shows in ” An Armchair Traveller`s History of Finl&, ” it has a long & fascinating history, one that offers oddities & excitements galore: from prehistoric herders to medieval lords, Christian martyrs & Viking kings, & the war heroes who held off the Soviet Union against long odds. Clements travels the length of the country as he tells these stories, along the way offering accounts of Finland`s public artworks, literary giants, legends & folktales, & famous figures. The result is the perfect introduction to Finland for armchair & actual travelers alike. ...

The Silk Road is not a place, but a journey
- a route from the edges of the Mediterranean to the central plains of China, through
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Few writers had to confront so many of the last century`s mass tragedies as Vasily Grossman. He is likely to be remembered, above all, for the terrifying clarity with which he writes about the Shoah, the Battle of Stalingrad & the Terror Famine in the Ukraine. An Armenian Sketchbook, however, shows us a very different Grossman; it is notable for its warmth, its sense of fun & for the benign humility that is always to be found in his writing. After the `arrest`
- as Grossman always put it
- of Life & Fate, Grossman took on the task of editing a literal Russian translation of a lengthy Armenian novel. The novel was of little interest to him, but he was glad of an excuse to travel to Armenia. This is his account of the two months he spent there. It is by far the most personal & intimate of Grossman`s works, with an air of absolute spontaneity, as though Grossman is simply chatting to the reader about his impressions of Armenia
- its mountains, its ancient churches & its people.


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