For over forty years, John Julius Norwich has been sending out his Christmas Crackers
- a personal collection of quirky"es
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An artfully playful collection of unexpected & remarkable facts about animals, illustrated by Swedish artist Maja Safstrom. Did you know that an octopus has three hearts? Or that ostriches can`t walk backward? Or that a group of owls is called a parliament, or that they have three eyelidssea otters hold hands in their sleep, bees never sleep, & penguins laugh when they`re tickled! This charming compendium contains over 100 pages of fascinating facts about the animal kingdom illustrated with whimsical detail.A New York Times bestseller. ...

With just a little land & available water, you can raise a variety of domestic fowl, from friendly ducks & characterful geese to guineafowl, dainty quail, placid turkeys or even peafowl. Illustrated with the author's charming watercolour paintings, this book is packed with practical tips on keeping domestic fowl & selecting the right breed for your circumstances. Covering 65 domestic breeds of ducks, geese, guineafowl, quail, turkeys & peafowl, the book gives an insight into the individual personalities & attributes of each kind of bird. The breed profiles are written in engaging text & include the history & place of origin, colour combinations, differences between male & female birds, the appearance of hatchlings & the numbers of eggs to expect. As well as selecting an appropriate breed, you need to consider your neighbours, the kinds of bird you can & should keep, whether you want them for eggs or as pets, & whether you want to breed them. The book offers helpful advice on all these issues & also on housing, the provision of water, feeding & the noise & impact your birds will have, as well as preventing & treating common ailments. Whether you are starting out as a smallholder, are interested in raising a few ducks or geese in a suburban or rural setting, or are simply a devotee of domestic fowl there is plenty to captivate you in this book. ...

I am the luckiest man alive, because I get to live & work in the most beautiful place on earth: Matterdale in the English Lake District. When I was a child we didn`t really go anywhere, except a week in the Isle of Man when I was about ten years old, & I never left Britain until I was twenty. Even now, years later, the best bit of any travelling is coming home. Bringing us into the world of shepherd`s baking competitions, sheep shows & moments out on the fell watching the sheep run away home, James Rebanks interweaves thoughts & reflections on the art of shepherding with his photographs of the valley, people & animals that make up the daily life of the fells. A life lived by the three hundred surviving fell farming families, this is a book of photos & words filled with reverence & love. ...

First published in 1987, The Illustrated History of Canada was the first comprehensive, authoritative one-volume history of the country. It featured chapters by seven of Canada`s leading historians & hundreds of engravings, lithographs, cartoons, maps, posters, & photographs. Together, these elements created a sweeping chronicle of Canada from its earliest times to yesterday`s news. Now The Illustrated History of Canada has been fully updated to bring readers into the twenty-first century, with new material on such topics as the rise of small government, the recognition of Native land claims, Canada`s role in the post-Cold War ”peace, ” & the 2011 federal election. More than ever, The Illustrated History of Canada is a must-have reference guide for all Canadians interested in the history
- & the future
- of our country. Contributors include Ramsay Cook (emeritus, York University), Christopher Moore (Toronto writer), Desmond Morton (Mc Gill University), Arthur Ray (emeritus, University of British Columbia), Peter Waite (emeritus, Dalhousie University), & Graeme Wynn (University of British Columbia).

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More than two centuries have passed since Gilbert While was laid to rest in his unassuming grave in Selborne churchyard but White`s accurate study of the flora & fauna of his native parish, first published in 1789, still makes delightful reading today. His regular correspondence, beginning in 1767, with two distinguished naturalists, Thomas Pennant & the Honourable Daines Barrington, forms the basis of ” The Natural History of Selborne”. The fascination of the book lies in the magic of its prose & the vividness of its description, which have earned it the distinction of being the only work on natural history to have received equal acclaim as a masterpiece of English literature. ...

Cats! Some are sane, & some are mad. Some are good, & some are bad... The original Old Possum`s illustrations have been lovingly restored & are showcased in this beautiful new hardback edition, perfect for children & Eliot aficionados alike. These lovable cat poems were written by T. S. Eliot for his godchildren & continue to delight children & grown-ups. The collection inspired the musical Cats!, & features Macavity, Mr Mistofelees & Growltiger! ...

In ' The Image of Nature', wildlife photographer Wouter Pattyn takes the reader on a voyage of discovery through nature at its most beautiful. Packed full of anecdotes & fascinating facts to touch the souls of nature lovers & stimulate wildlife photographers, this book will enchant you with its peerless images. ...

` What kind of world would you like to inhabit?` Here, Keri Smith begins with a list. Writing down everything the reader is drawn to, from things they love or collect to things that fascinate & excite, including objects, colours, sounds, textures, memories, places & people, the list serves as the building block for the creation of a new world. This world is based entirely on who the reader is as an individual, & as such is completely unique. Prompted to think about landscape, place names, maps, currency & more Keri Smith encourages everyone to push their imaginations to the limit. ...

For all the desert`s dreamlike beauty, to travel here was not just to pitch yourself into oblivion: it was to grind away at yourself until nothing was left. It was to aspire to the condition of s&. One third of the earth`s land surface is desert, much of it desolate & inhospitable. What is it about this harsh environment that has captivated humankind throughout history? From the prophets of the Bible to Marco Polo, Lawrence of Arabia to Gertrude Bell, travellers have often seen deserts as cursed places to be avoided, or crossed as quickly as possible. But for those whose call deserts home, the `hideous blanks` described by explorers are rich in resources & significance. Travelling to five continents over three years, visiting deserts both iconic & little-known, William Atkins discovers a realm that is as much internal as physical. His journey takes him to the Arabian Peninsula`s Empty Quarter & Australia`s nuclear-test grounds; the dry Aral Sea of Kazakhstan & `sand seas` of China`s volatile north-west; the contested borderlands of Arizona & the riotous Burning Man festival in Nevada`s Black Rock Desert; & the ancient monasteries of Egypt`s Eastern Desert. Along the way, Atkins illuminates the people, history, topography, & symbolism of these remarkable but often troubled places. Reviving the illustrious British tradition of travel writing, The Immeasurable World is destined to become a classic of desert literature. ...