Sublime & maddening, fascinating yet baffling, Italy is a country of endless paradox & seemingly unanswerable riddles. John Hooper`s marvellously entertaining & perceptive book is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy & the unique character of the Italians. Looking at the facts that lie behind
- & often belie
- the stereotypes, his revealing book sheds new light on many aspects of Italian life: football & Freemasonry, sex, symbolism & the reason why Italian has twelve words for a coat hanger, yet none for a hangover.

...

Xenophobe’s Guide to the Italians is a pocket-size guide that takes a frank & funny look at what makes the Italians Italian.“ Punctuality is only relatively important in Italy & the time is often treated as an approximate.” Xenophobe’s guides attempt to forewarn readers of the main stereotypes & foibles that are associated with individual nationalities. Each guide explores the characteristics of a country’s people in a series of dedicated sections, encompassing nationalism & identity, behaviour, manners, character, obsessions, beliefs & values, leisure & pleasure, culture, custom & tradition, business, systems, health & hygiene, crime & punishment, government & bureaucracy, conversation & gestures & language. ...

This is the only English-language guidebook to focus solely on Ivory Coast, a country of crimson savannahs, sublime mountains & cream-hued beaches that is becoming popular for ecotourism & wildlife, surfing & off-the-beaten track travel. Having only recently re-opened for tourism, Ivory Coast is West Africa`s hidden treasure. In-depth & comprehensive coverage of everything from chimp-watching & hiking to food & the Ivorian music & dance scene is featured (including how Twerking originated from the Ivorian mapouka, which was deemed so raunchy in the 1970s that the government temporarily banned it from television.) Packed with vivid descriptions, detailed maps & essential practical advice, this book is invaluable to any visitor, whatever your purpose. The guide organises the country into ten regions &

Includes:: western Dix-Huit Montagnes & northern Savanes & Deguel, previously omitted from other, wider-ranging guides. It also

Includes:: meticulous maps & suggested itineraries for different timescales. Wide-ranging information on food & accommodation is given for each region. Ivory Coast`s nature is as alluring as its culture, whether you want to surf off beaches of Assinie, trek through the savannahs of the north or scale Mount Tonkoui for panoramic views of Liberia & Guinea. In the Comoe, Tai & Marahoue national parks, it`s possible to glimpse leopards, lions, chimpanzees, aardvarks, antelopes & 500 bird species. The guide

Includes:: sections offering advice on hiking & trekking the northern alpine regions & on birdwatching & wildlife-spotting in the various national parks. There is a section devoted to Ivory Coast`s artistic & cultural assets which

Includes:: accurate prices for tribal arts & crafts. Distributed throughout the book are fact boxes containing anecdotes about notable Ivorians (such as the dramatic rags-to-riches-back-to-rags story of the singer Francois Lougah) as well as vox pops of average citizens (taxi drivers, shopkeepers, bar staff) expressing their thoughts about Ivorian life, society & culture.







...

The Ivy is the quintessential London restaurant, where people go to see & be seen, encapsulating everything that`s glamorous & romantic about dining in the capital. The original Ivy was established in 1917 on the very site where it still stands, in the heart of London`s Theatrel&. The epitome of glamour, there can be few film stars, musicians, royals, writers, artists & raconteurs who have not passed through its hallowed front doors. There are now also five Ivy brasseries in London (Covent Garden, Chelsea, Marylebone, Kensington & Wimbledon) & more opening nationwide. In 2017 this iconic landmark celebrates its centenary &, twenty years from the publication of the original Ivy cookbook, it`s time for a new peek behind those famous stained-glass windows. The Ivy Now contains all the dishes, secrets & stories behind the restaurant`s success. Charismatic Director & former maitre d` Fernando Peire tells the story
- the history, the theatre, the celebrities & the scandal
- & with classic recipes from Executive Chef Gary Lee, including the Ivy`s signature shepherd`s pie, Asian-inspired salads, desserts & cocktails, this is the must-have book for a new generation of Ivy fans.

...

Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien`s life & works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, & a Tolkien gazetteer, who`s who & chronology. The three volumes contained in this slipcase, written by two of the foremost experts on J.R.R. Tolkien, comprise the definitive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. Tolkien`s progress is traced from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France & the lecture-halls of Leeds & Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. His many academic & literary achievements, his public reception, & his enduring fame are examined in detail. The first volume in this set is a Chronology of Tolkien`s life & works, the most extensive biographical resource about him ever published. Thousands of details have been drawn from letters, contemporary documents in libraries & archives, & a wide variety of other published & unpublished sources. Assembled together, they form a portrait of Tolkien in all his aspects: the distinguished scholar of Old & Middle English, the capable teacher & administrator, the devoted husband & father, the brilliant creator of Middle-earth. The second & third volumes, the Reader`s Guide, is an indispensable introduction to Tolkien`s life, writings, & art. It

Includes:: histories & discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast ` Silmarillion` mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien`s interests & attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, & invented languages; & checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, & translations of his writing.

...

How amazing would it be to have a dad who`s an astronaut? Rocket launches, zero gravity, & flying through space like a superhero! Jamie Drake`s dad is orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station & Jamie ought to think it`s cool but he just really misses him... Hanging out at his local observatory, Jamie picks up a strange signal on his phone. It looks like alien life is getting closer to home. But space is a dangerous place & when his dad`s mission goes wrong, can Jamie prove that he`s a hero too?A cosmic adventure for anyone who`s ever looked at the stars, from the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright. Cover illustration by Matt Saunders. ...

A concubine is strangled in the Sultan`s palace harem, & a young cadet is found butchered in the streets of Istanbul. Delving deep into the city`s crooked alleyways, & deeper still into its tumultuous past, the eunuch Yashim discovers that some people will go to any lengths to preserve the traditions of the Ottoman Empire. Brilliantly evoking Istanbul in the 1830s, The Janissary Tree is a bloody, witty & fast-paced literary thriller with a spectacular cast. ...

This exquisitely written account of the British countryside not only inspires us to don our boots & explore the 140, 000 miles of footpaths across the British Isles, but also illustrates how, on long-distance walks, we can come to an understanding of ourselves & our fellow walkers. Over the hills & along the byways, Christopher Somerville examines what moulded the men of his father’s generation – so reticent about their wartime experiences, so self-effacing, upright & dutiful – as he searches for ‘the man inside the man’ that his own father really was. ...

The January Man is the story of a year of walks that was inspired by a song, Dave Goulder’s ‘ The January Man’. Month by month, season by season & region by region, Christopher Somerville walks the British Isles, following routes that continually bring his father to mind. As he travels the country – from the winter floodlands of the River Severn to the lambing pastures of Nidderdale, the towering seabird cliffs on the Shetland Isle of Foula in June & the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest in autumn – he describes the history, wildlife, landscapes & people he encounters, down back lanes & old paths, in rain & fair weather. This exquisitely written account of the British countryside not only inspires us to don our boots & explore the 140, 000 miles of footpaths across the British Isles, but also illustrates how, on long-distance walks, we can come to an understanding of ourselves & our fellow walkers. Over the hills & along the byways, Christopher Somerville examines what moulded the men of his father’s generation – so reticent about their wartime experiences, so self-effacing, upright & dutiful – as he searches for ‘the man inside the man’ that his own father really was. ...

Xenophobe’s Guide to the Japanese is a pocket-size guide that takes a frank & funny look at what makes the Japanese Japanese.“ Whatever sport you play, you must look the part. If you go cycling, you must have the full kit, as worn by the winner of the Tour de France.” Xenophobe’s guides attempt to forewarn readers of the main stereotypes & foibles that are associated with individual nationalities. Each guide explores the characteristics of a country’s people in a series of dedicated sections, encompassing nationalism & identity, behaviour, manners, character, obsessions, beliefs & values, leisure & pleasure, culture, custom & tradition, business, systems, health & hygiene, crime & punishment, government & bureaucracy, conversation & gestures & language. ...