It’s easy to get complacent about maps. In our everyday lives, they are the things that get us from place to place: from the office to a meeting; from our hotel to a recommended restaurant; from the train station to some summer wedding venue in the back of beyond… We forget they’re not simply a guide to navigating the world; to some degree they define it. This isn’t just an airy philosophical point
- it’s a harsh & complex political reality. Luckily, Tim Marshall’s latest book
- Prisoners of Geography
- is here to explain how politics is nothing without geography, in his usually crisp & compelling style. Each of the book’s ten chapters opens with a map that Marshall then uses as a jumping off point to explore political, economic & cultural issues from the past & present. What he really excels at is capturing the psychology of nations
- not just their leaders
- & giving maps, which we often see as passive participants in our lives, a vigour which politicians have to strive to tame. So, put down your newspaper! Turn off the TV! Fling your phone from the highest hill! Until you understand geopolitics, they’re no use to you. & until you’ve read Prisoners of Geography… Well, you get the idea.




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All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas & concrete. Yes, to understand world events you need to understand people, ideas & movements... but if you don`t know geography, you`ll never have the full picture. To understand Putin`s actions, for example, it is essential to consider that, to be a world power, Russia must have a navy. & if its ports freeze for six months each year then it must have access to a warm water port
- hence, the annexation of Crimea was the only option for Putin. To understand the Middle East, it is crucial to know that geography is the reason why countries have logically been shaped as they are
- & this is why invented countries (e.g. Syria, Iraq, Libya) will not survive as nation states.; Spread over ten chapters (covering Russia; China; the USA; Latin America; the Middle East; Africa; India & Pakistan; Europe; Japan & Korea; & Greenland & the Arctic), using maps, essays & occasionally the personal experiences of the widely travelled author, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present & future to offer an essential guide to one of the major determining factors in world history.

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Professor Calculus has been kidnapped! Together, Tintin & a desperate Captain Haddock set off to Peru on a rescue mission, braving runaway train carriages, yellow fever & terrible avalanches. But most daunting of all is the inscrutable Inca tribe & their ancient, mystifying beliefs... ...

Topographic survey of France at 1:25, 000 in IGN`s excellent TOP25 / Série Bleue series. All the maps are GPS compatible, with a 1km UTM grid plus latitude & longitude lines at 5’ intervals. Contours are at 5m intervals except for mountainous areas where the maps have contours at 10m intervals, vividly enhanced by hill shading & graphics for rocky terrain. Colouring with graphics indicates different types of vegetation or land use (deciduous or coniferous forests, moors, orchards, vineyards, etc). PLEASE NOTE: coverage of France at this scale is currently being revised – the format & the presentation of each title are indicated by the letters at the end of its Sheet Reference number (e.g. 0416ET, 3531ETR, 1923SB, etc.)MAPS WITH FULL TOURIST OVERPRINT & AN ENGLISH MAP LEGEND: all TOP25 maps & the SB editions of Série Bleue have an overprint highlighting waymarked walking trails including long-distance GR routes &, where appropriate, ski routes. Symbols indicate campsites, gîtes d’etape, refuges, equestrian centres & other recreational facilities or sites, tourist information centres, cultural heritage, etc. Towns & locations of particular interest are highlighted.- ET or OT = single-sided TOP25 map covering approx. 29x 21 km / 18x 13 miles.- ETR or OTR = waterproof & tear resistant TOP25 map covering the same area as the corresponding ET or OT number, but double-sided, printed on a smaller size sheet with a good overlap between the sides.- SB = Série Bleue map with full tourist overprint; these maps, first introduced in summer 2014, each cover approx. 29x 24km / 18x 15 miles.SÉRIE BLEUE maps with numbers ending in E (Est) or O (Ouest): most editions now indicate the GR routes, but do not show any other tourist information. Map legend is in French only. Each map covers approx. 14x 20km / 9x 12 miles. ...

In ” Private Battles”, award-winning writer Simon Garfield has skilfully interwoven the diaries of four ordinary people as they struggle to cope with the day-to-day reality of life during the Second World War. Their voices combine to create one of the most compelling & refreshing takes on the period ever published. Meet Maggie Joy Blunt, a perceptive but frustrated young writer living alone near Slough. Pam Ashford, a shipping clerk in Glasgow who writes of office life as if it were an episode of The Archers. Edward Stebbing, a 20-year-old discharged soldier living with a stern landlady in Essex. & Ernest Van Someren, a research chemist in Hertfordshire, father of two children & proposer of several unique scientific ways to beat the Nazis. Perhaps here, for the first time, is the true story of how the ordinary people of Britain won the Second World War. & of how we almost didn`t. ...

The 2014 Private Eye Annual presents the year`s best cartoons, jokes & spoofs from the UK`s most successful satirical magazine. Illustrated in colour throughout with cartoons, sketches & photo-bubbles. Now in its 18th year the Private Eye Annual has become both a collector`s item & a perennial Christmas bestseller with sales in excess of 60, 000 copies. ...

The Private Eye Annual 2017 present`s the year`s best cartoons, jokes & spoofs from the UK`s best selling satirical magazine. Illustrated in colour throughout with cartoons, sketches & photo-bubbles. Now in its 21st year the Private Eye Annual has become both a collector`s item & a perennial Christmas bestseller
- the perfect secret Santa gift at under a tenner!
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The Private Eye Annual 2018 present`s the year`s best cartoons, jokes & spoofs from the UK`s best selling satirical magazine. Illustrated in colour throughout with cartoons, sketches & photo-bubbles. The Private Eye Annual remains both a collector`s item & a perennial Christmas bestseller
- the perfect secret Santa gift, still under a tenner!
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Lying behind the urban facades of Paris is a hidden landscape. Whether grandiose or miniscule, highly manicured or exuberantly untended, these fifty secret gardens are rarely seen by casual passersby. Traditional French-style gardens, such as those of Hubert de Givenchy, Kenzo, or Pierre Berge, are attached to private town houses, & their designs mirror the elegance & restraint of the classic dwellings. The late Yves Saint Laurent`s romantic, picturesque kitchen garden reflects his taste for outdoor living. Exotic hideaways include giant tropical ferns & rare flowers, greenery surrounding a Russian datcha, & a Japanese zen garden, demonstrating an eclectic range of urban gardens & providing inspiration to the expert gardener & armchair enthusiast. ...

A dozen aristocratic French families invite readers to experience their elegant lifestyle, from the royal stag hunting tradition of Louis XI & Louis XIII at the Chateau de Champchevrier to Hubert de Givenchys elegant Parisian townhouse imbued with grandeur & comfort in the style of Napolean III. The featured houses, illustrated with specially commissioned photography, represent key periods of French decoration. The exquisite Renaissance architecture of Chateau d Anet & its sumptuous interiors with great fireplaces, silk upholstered sofas, & soft lighting exude the notorious ardor between Henri II & Diane de Poitiers. The hidden sanctuary of a Parisian manor reveals a dignified library & a harmonious blend of antique & contemporary fabrics & sculptures. A grand salon with Versailles parquet is illuminated by a Louis XVI crystal & amethyst chandelier. Meticulously planned gardens beckon contemplation & dining tables replete with crystal & silver are a visual feast. From the architecture, garden designs, furniture, textiles, & art collections, these exclusive private homes are a rich source of interior design inspiration. ...