The Solovetski Islands are a remote, lonely archipelago in the south of Russia`s White Sea. Isolated & unknown, they represent Russia in miniature. The Polish journalist Mariusz Wilk, whose surname translates as ` Wolf`, retreated to these glaciated wastelands for several years to observe Russia & contemplate its nature, history, people & events in an attempt to touch the essence of the country. What resulted are a sequence of strong, haunting vignettes that explore the quintessence of soulful, village-orientated Russia, which exists outside of historical events & chronology. Once a craddle of the Orthodox faith & home to a fifteenth century monastry, the islands became a dumping ground for political prisoners, an experimental Gulag & a military test site. Much of the landscape is desolate & the islands languish in a state of decay & delapidation. Many of the 1000 or so inhabitants are unemployed, undernourished & alcoholic, trapped here by circumstances & poverty. However, Wilk discovers a bleak type of beauty on the islands & his descriptions of the smells, tastes & colours present throughout the landscape enrich the text. This unusual book opens up a very diferent Russia. Infused with empathy for the place & its people, this is an emotionally powerful account of life in an area that has largely dropped off most Western observers mental maps of the world. Stanfords Book of the Month September 2003 ...

Cook led three famous expeditions to the Pacific Ocean between 1768 & 1779. In voyages that ranged from the Antarctic circle to the Arctic Sea, Cook charted Australia & the whole coast of New Zeal&, & brought back detailed descriptions of the natural history of the Pacific. Accounts based on Cook`s journals were issued at the time, but it was not until this century that the original journals were published in Beaglehole`s definitive edition. ” The Journals” tells the story of these voyages as Cook wanted it to be told, radiating the ambition, courage & skill which enabled him to carry out an unrivalled series of expeditions in dangerous waters. ...

The 34cm (14) Journey globe offers nearly 5, 000 place names, featuring the National Geographic dual map
- political cartography
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What is it like to leave everything behind & travel many miles to somewhere unfamiliar & strange? A mother & her two children set out on such a journey; one filled with fear of the unknown, but also great hope. Based on her own interactions with people forced to seek a new home, & told from the perspective of a young child, Francesca Sanna has created a beautiful & sensitive book that is full of significance for our time. ...

“ If the world were a village & a hundred people live in the village...” Written by David J Smith & illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong, If the World Were a Village tells us in simple words & vibrant, beautiful illustrations about the world & its population; about who we are, where we live, what languages we speak, what religions we practice & much more. Instead of unimaginable billions, it presents the whole world as a village of just 100 people. We soon find out that 22 speak a Chinese dialect & that 17 cannot read or write. We also discover the people`s religions, their education, their standard of living, & much much more. In a simple & fascinating way, this book provokes thoughts & inspires curiosity towards geography, people & different customs & cultures. An original idea that will entertain & stimulate both children & adults! ...

Inspired by Dan Eldon`s wildly creative journals, this notebook allows anyone to create their own artist`s journal. Appealing for artists of all ages, the notebook features Dan Eldon`s artwork & h&-lettered"es from his journals as well as room to draw, collage, dream & write. ...

The extraordinary life of photojournalist, artist & avid adventurer Dan Eldon inspired a bestselling book, a foundation to support creative activism, & now a major feature film. Gathering together over 200 pages from Eldon`s journals, this revised edition of the critically acclaimed book features a new foreword by Kweku Mandela, a new afterword by Alicia Dougherty & Approx. 20 new pieces of art. It is the legacy of a young artist killed by an angry mob in Somalia just as his creative powers were beginning to be recognized by himself & others. Through these elaborately collaged & colorful pages, Eldon`s journey will continue to inspire many future generations to come. ...

`I have spent too long on plants & animals. Now it is time for human beings.` This haunting novel is based on the life of Anders Sparrman, the Swedish naturalist, who in the second half of the eighteenth century, became the last & youngest disciple of the scientist Carl Linnaeus. In his quest for new animal & plant specimens, Sparrman sailed to China at seventeen, joined Captain Cook on his second voyage to Antarctica & Tahiti, & made a pioneering journey on foot into the South African interior. In South Africa Sparrman witnessed the terrible cruelties of slavery, which made him a staunch abolitionist for the rest of his life. Wastberg uses his own extensive knowledge of South Africa & Sweden to create a strange, almost mystical narrative, that weaves passages from Sparrman`s letters & journals into his own spare prose. As he follows Sparrman from innocent student to sceptical adventurer to dedicated botanist to militant abolitionist, he evokes the beauty of the Swedish countryside, the squalid conditions on board ship, the dangers & geographical wonders of Africa &, finally, the late flowering passion that overtakes Sparrman`s life. In this magical, poetic novel, set between the end of the Enlightenment & the dawn of Romanticism, Wastberg`s narrative combines intellectual precision with emotional power. ...

`I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, & very frankly give them fruit for their songs.` Joseph ...

This pocket-sized miscellany, packed with tips on equipment, food, surviving bad weather & finding the right campsite, & with facts & stories from the world of camping, is perfect for anyone who knows the incomparable joy & adventure of pitching their tent under an open sky. ...