Friedrich Engels is one of the most attractive & contradictory figures of the nineteenth century. Born to a prosperous mercantile family in west Germany, he spent his career working in the Manchester cotton industry, riding to the Cheshire hounds, & enjoying the comfortable, middle-class life of a Victorian gentleman. Yet Engels was also the co-founder of international communism
- the philosophy which in the 20th century came to control one third of the human race. He was the co-author of ” The Communist Manifesto”, a ruthless party tactician, & the man who sacrificed his best years so Karl Marx could write ” Das Kapital”. Tristram Hunt relishes the diversity & exuberance of Engels` era: how one of the great bon viveurs of Victorian Britain reconciled his raucous personal life with this uncompromising political philosophy.
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Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing & reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. When she loses her beautiful golden ball at the bottom of the fountain, the princess is very upset. Then an ugly frog offers to help
- for a kiss. Yuck! What will the princess decide?
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On 9 April 2010, Dave Crisp found 21 coins while metal detecting on farmland near Frome. Two days later, he returned to the site & discovered a huge pot filled with more coins. Archaeologists believe the hoard will rewrite the history books. One of the most important aspects of the hoard is that it contains a large group of coins of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 & who was the first Roman emperor ever to strike coins in Britain. The hoard contains more than 760 of his coins, making it the largest group ever found. Among these coins are five rare examples of his silver denarii, the only coins of their type being struck anywhere in the Roman Empire at the time. This accessible book is written by experts from the British Museum & the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Packed with photography of the coins as well as images of the hoard in situ, this book will shed new light on 3rd-century Roman Britain. ” This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius
- our lost British emperor.” (Roger Bland).
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The Northwest Passage proved so elusive for so long that many sailors & explorers believed it didn`t actually exist. A sea route connecting the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans through the Arctic archipelago, it wasn`t until Roald Amundsen`s 1903-06 voyage that the Northwest Passage`s existence was finally proved, but the transit is treacherous & entirely dependent upon the ice giving up its grip for sufficient time to allow vessels through. This is not a journey undertaken by average sailors in small boats. But David Scott Cowper, 74, is no ordinary sailor. There are seven possible routes through the Northwest Passage, & Cowper had sailed through four of them singlehanded. This is the account of the fifth & most northerly
- from ocean to ocean through the Mc Clure Strait
- & the sixth, the return voyage, both times accompanied by Jane Maufe as his crew. The account of the voyage is written by Jane & she captures Cowper`s steely determination, resourcefulness in the face of adversity & humility in the wake of great achievement. Theirs is an old-fashioned relationship, where each party expects to fulfil their stereotypical roles. But Jane is no push-over
- she can steer a watch, haul large diesel cans, & leap ashore slippery pontoons with heavy ropes like the best of them. As well as a captivating story of adventurous voyaging it provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between two serious & dedicated sailors, alone together in some of the most isolated & forbidding desolate wastes on earth. It is a relationship built on respect & high expectations, mutual ambition & also self-sacrifice; the book is a uniquely revealing & charming account.


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The Northwest Passage proved so elusive for so long that many sailors & explorers believed it didn`t actually exist. A sea route connecting the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans through the Arctic archipelago, it wasn`t until Roald Amundsen`s 1903-06 voyage that the Northwest Passage`s existence was finally proved, but the transit is treacherous & entirely dependent upon the ice giving up its grip for sufficient time to allow vessels through. This is not a journey undertaken by average sailors in small boats. But David Scott Cowper, 74, is no ordinary sailor. There are seven possible routes through the Northwest Passage, & Cowper had sailed through four of them singlehanded. This is the account of the fifth & most northerly
- from ocean to ocean through the Mc Clure Strait
- & the sixth, the return voyage, both times accompanied by Jane Maufe as his crew. The account of the voyage is written by Jane & she captures Cowper`s steely determination, resourcefulness in the face of adversity & humility in the wake of great achievement. Theirs is an old-fashioned relationship, where each party expects to fulfil their stereotypical roles. But Jane is no push-over
- she can steer a watch, haul large diesel cans, & leap ashore slippery pontoons with heavy ropes like the best of them. As well as a captivating story of adventurous voyaging it provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between two serious & dedicated sailors, alone together in some of the most isolated & forbidding desolate wastes on earth. It is a relationship built on respect & high expectations, mutual ambition & also self-sacrifice; the book is a uniquely revealing & charming account.


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The story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from the lakes of New England
- valued for its incredible purity
- revolutionised

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Looking beyond the familiar fruits Adam Gollner enters the underworld of inaccessible, obscure, even forbidden fruits. In this Willy Wonka-like world of mangos that taste like pina colados, ice cream beans, peanut butter fruits & the miracle fruit that makes sour taste sweet we meet a cast of bizarre characters
- fruitarians who believe that a fruit diet is instrumental in achieving enlightenment, fruit smugglers, obsessed horticulturalists & the fanatical fruit detective who has turned himself orange because he has eaten so many apricots. Revealing the extraordinary universe of fruit
- from the jungles of Borneo to the forests of Bali & vast fruit warehouses in New York
- Gollner explains the scientific, economic & aesthetic reasons why we eat particular fruits. Fruit has held as powerful a sway over man as gold or myrrh. Fruit has led nations into war, inspired religious worship & fuelled dictatorships. It has been the motive behind exploration. Although nature contains hundreds of thousands of varieties of exotic fruits, only a few dozen varieties are available in supermarkets. Gollner describes the political & economic interests behind the mass-produced fruits we all eat. Discover that there is more to the world of fruit than the bland shelves of a supermarket, travel the world with Adam Gollner in search of fruits few have ever heard of (and even fewer have actually tasted).


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Looking beyond the familiar fruits Adam Gollner enters the underworld of inaccessible, obscure, even forbidden fruits. In this Willy Wonka-like world of mangos that taste like pina colados, ice cream beans, peanut butter fruits & the miracle fruit that makes sour taste sweet we meet a cast of bizarre characters
- fruitarians who believe that a fruit diet is instrumental in achieving enlightenment, fruit smugglers, obsessed horticulturalists & the fanatical fruit detective who has turned himself orange because he has eaten so many apricots. Revealing the extraordinary universe of fruit
- from the jungles of Borneo to the forests of Bali & vast fruit warehouses in New York
- Gollner explains the scientific, economic & aesthetic reasons why we eat particular fruits. Fruit has held as powerful a sway over man as gold or myrrh. Fruit has led nations into war, inspired religious worship & fuelled dictatorships. It has been the motive behind exploration. Although nature contains hundreds of thousands of varieties of exotic fruits, only a few dozen varieties are available in supermarkets. Gollner describes the political & economic interests behind the mass-produced fruits we all eat. Discover that there is more to the world of fruit than the bland shelves of a supermarket, travel the world with Adam Gollner in search of fruits few have ever heard of (and even fewer have actually tasted).


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Commuting is hell -- this is your survival guide Delays, price rises, leaves on the line, rail replacement bus services, snowflakes, sunshine, rain, the list of excuses is endless. Forget enjoyment, commuting is about survival. This is your guide to getting to work & back again with your sanity intact. Packed with quizzes (what kind of commuter are you?), trivia (the dirtiest seats on the Underground), tips & techniques (seat etiquette, armpit dodging), a commuter`s lexicon (Comfort paradox, Seat remorse), complaint letter templates & more, this is everything you need to channel your fury & make the best of the journey to work. This book is a call to arms & a sign of solidarity amongst commuters. Whenever you see a fellow traveller with a copy, give them the secret sign of the commuter: ignore them completely. But inside you both will know that you are part of a silent army. We are commuters. We are coming. But we will probably be at least half an hour late. ...

In a remote corner of a Latin American rainforest, Father Thomas, a Catholic priest, comes across a badly wounded soldier & takes him to his church in an Indian village. The Indians, whose traditional way of life is under threat from outsiders, are wary of this latest new arrival. Venustiano, the proud young head of the village, is determined to protect his people, but feels powerless against the forces around him
- & can trust nobody, not even Father Thomas. But his immediate problem is the bloodthirsty jaguar prowling around the village: for Venustiano is the only Indian with a gun, & he means to use it.
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