This collection presents the very best of nature photography, featuring the work of ten of the world`s foremost photographers. From the evocative artistry of Jim Brandenburg & Vincent Munier to the pioneering underwater photography of David Doubilet & Paul Nicklen, these influential artists display many different ways of seeing the natural world. Marvel at Pal Hermansen`s magical use of light & dark, the groundbreaking viewpoints of Frans Lanting, Anup Shah`s intimate portraits, the powerful visual statements of Michael Nichols, Thomas D Mangelsen`s vast, wild landscapes & Christian Ziegler`s gems of wild behaviour. Each portfolio profiles the photographer
- his approach, influences & aims
- & displays ten iconic images that reflect the range of his work. The accompanying captions focus on why the images are special for the photographer as well as telling the stories behind their creation. Revealing the inspiration behind some of the world`s most important nature photographs, this beautiful book will captivate art enthusiasts, photographers & all those with a passion for nature.

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The perfect gift for all those whose lives revolve around The Beautiful Game.. . The man works all week in the factory. The dog waits at home. On the weekend, they both watch THE MATCH on television together. Results aren`t good so the dog decides to do something about it.. . With a knowing, dry humour perfect for fans of Wallace & Gromit, & a simple domestic setting, THE MATCH is the ideal gift for all football fans. Because if you aren`t watching football, then reading about it is the next best thing! ...

Nellie Dowell was a match factory girl in Victorian London who spent her early years consigned to orphanages & hospitals. Muriel Lester, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, longed to be free of the burden of money & possessions. Together, these unlikely soulmates sought to remake the world according to their own utopian vision of Christ`s teachings. The Match Girl & the Heiress paints an unforgettable portrait of their late-nineteenth-century girlhoods of wealth & want, & their daring twentieth-century experiments in ethical living in a world torn apart by war, imperialism, & industrial capitalism. In this captivating book, Seth Koven chronicles how each traveled the globe--Nellie as a spinster proletarian laborer, Muriel as a well-heeled tourist & revered Christian peacemaker, anticolonial activist, & humanitarian. Koven vividly describes how their lives crossed in the slums of East London, where they inaugurated a grassroots revolution that took the Sermon on the Mount as a guide to achieving economic & social justice for the dispossessed. Koven shows how they devoted themselves to Kingsley Hall--Gandhi`s London home in 1931 & Britain`s first ”people`s house” founded on the Christian principles of social sharing, pacifism, & reconciliation--and sheds light on the intimacies & inequalities of their loving yet complicated relationship. The Match Girl & the Heiress probes the inner lives of these two extraordinary women against the panoramic backdrop of shop-floor labor politics, global capitalism, counterculture spirituality, & pacifist feminism to expose the wounds of poverty & neglect that Christian love could never heal. ...

Nellie Dowell was a match factory girl in Victorian London who spent her early years consigned to orphanages & hospitals. Muriel Lester, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, longed to be free of the burden of money & possessions. Together, these unlikely soulmates sought to remake the world according to their own utopian vision of Christ`s teachings. The Match Girl & the Heiress paints an unforgettable portrait of their late-nineteenth-century girlhoods of wealth & want, & their daring twentieth-century experiments in ethical living in a world torn apart by war, imperialism, & industrial capitalism. In this captivating book, Seth Koven chronicles how each traveled the globe--Nellie as a spinster proletarian laborer, Muriel as a well-heeled tourist & revered Christian peacemaker, anticolonial activist, & humanitarian. Koven vividly describes how their lives crossed in the slums of East London, where they inaugurated a grassroots revolution that took the Sermon on the Mount as a guide to achieving economic & social justice for the dispossessed. Koven shows how they devoted themselves to Kingsley Hall--Gandhi`s London home in 1931 & Britain`s first ”people`s house” founded on the Christian principles of social sharing, pacifism, & reconciliation--and sheds light on the intimacies & inequalities of their loving yet complicated relationship. The Match Girl & the Heiress probes the inner lives of these two extraordinary women against the panoramic backdrop of shop-floor labor politics, global capitalism, counterculture spirituality, & pacifist feminism to expose the wounds of poverty & neglect that Christian love could never heal. ...

` Agatha Christie for kids`
- the fourth in a detective agency series brimming with mystery & magic by million-copy-selling author,
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Bird courtship & display can be one of the most captivating events in the natural world. This attractive & informative book looks at natural selection & why birds have evolved different reproduction strategies, examining territories, birdsong, displays & dealing with rivals. It also looks at different bird lifestyles, including monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, promiscuity & communal arrangements, as well as the importance of plumage, including why males are usually brighter & how special plumage features have evolved.” The Mating Lives of Birds” then focuses on some of the most spectacular bird displays, including Bittern (`booming`, territorial & mating call); superb Lyrebird (amazing tail feathers, posture display in special arena); grouse (leks, special calls, plumage features); Golden Eagle (pendulum flight with both male & female); cranes (dancing displays); Ruddy Duck (drumming noises, bubbling effects); puffins (bill colours change for breeding season); egrets (elaborate display plumes); frigatebirds (inflatable throat-pouch display), birds-of-paradise (outrageous plumage, hanging displays, vocalization); Ruff (special breeding plumage, `jousting` between males at leks) & phalaropes (role reversal, female brighter & proactive in display). This evocatively written & richly illustrated title will be an essential addition to the library of any keen birdwatcher. ...

No other mountain in the world is as fascinating as the Matterhorn. Since the dramatic first ascent in 1865, the drama & the myths have created a unique interest in this mountain, which has probably caused the deaths of more mountaineers than any other. Each year, thousands of climbers attempt to reach the summit, but only one in five succeeds. & every season, the mountain claims the lives of ten to twenty climbers. Steffen Kjaer describes his & his climbing partner Brian Jorgensen`s attempt to make it to the summit of the Matterhorn. After careful preparation & perfect acclimatisation, they take off to face the challenge of their lives. On the descent, however, something goes wrong. All of a sudden, they find themselves caught in one of Matterhorn`s countless & lethal rockslides... Besides following the author`s struggles on the Matterhorn, this book also

Includes:: a range of short articles: it offers an account of the mountain`s history, including the legendary first ascent in 1865, as well as a factual description of the symptoms & mechanisms of altitude sickness. Moreover, it contains portraits of local mountain guides & an eyewitness account by the former American President, Theodore Roosevelt
- twenty years prior to his inauguration, he travelled to the Alps & climbed the Matterhorn. As a further bonus, the stories of the book are illustrated by spectacular photos taken by the author.


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In the spring of 1901 a teenager stood on top of a hill, gazed out in wonderment at the Australian landscape & decided he wanted to be a mountaineer. Two decades later, the same man stood in a blizzard beneath the summit of Mount Everest, within sight of his goal to be the first to stand on the roof of the world. George Finch was at the highest point ever reached by a human being & only his decision to save the life of his stricken companion stopped him from reaching the summit. George Finch was a rebel of the first order, a man who dared to challenge the British establishment who disliked his independence, background, long hair & lack of an Oxbridge education. Despite this, he not only became one of the world`s greatest alpinists, earning the grudging respect of his rival George Mallory, but pioneered the use of the artificial oxygen that enabled Everest to finally be conquered thirty years after his own attempt. A renowned scientist, a World War I hero & a Fellow of the Royal Society, involved in the development of some of the twentieth century`s most important inventions, his skills helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz. Finch`s public accomplishments, however, were shadowed by his complicated private life & his fraught relationship with his son, the actor Peter Finch. Acclaimed biographer Robert Wainwright restores George Finch to his rightful place in history with this remarkable tribute to one of the twentieth century`s most eccentric anti-heroes. ` One of the two best Alpinists of his time
- Mallory was the other.` The Times
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” In the spring of 1901 a teenager stood on top of a hill, gazed out in wonderment at the Australian landscape & decided he wanted to be a mountaineer. Two decades later, the same man stood in a blizzard beneath the summit of Mount Everest, within sight of his goal to be the first to stand on the roof of the world. George Finch, a boy from the bush, was at the highest point ever reached by a human being & only his decision to save the life of his stricken companion stopped him from reaching the summit. George Finch was a rebel of the first order, a man who dared to challenge the British establishment who disliked his independence, background, long hair & lack of an Oxbridge education. Despite this, he not only became one of the world`s greatest alpinists, earning the grudging respect of his rival George Mallory, but pioneered the use of the artificial oxygen that enabled Everest to finally be conquered thirty years after his own attempt. A renowned scientist, a World War I hero & a Fellow of the Royal Society, involved in the development of some of the twentieth century`s most important inventions, his skills helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz. Finch`s public accomplishments, however, were shadowed by his complicated private life & his fraught relationship with his son, the actor Peter Finch. Acclaimed biographer Robert Wainwright restores George Finch to his rightful place in history with this remarkable tribute to one of the twentieth century`s most eccentric anti-heroes.` One of the two best Alpinists of his time
- Mallory was the other.` The Times”
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Coe & Houston update this classic account of the New Worlds greatest ancient civilization, incorporating the most recent research in a fast-changing field. New discoveries of spectacular stucco sculptures at El Zotz & Holmul reveal surprising aspects of Maya royalty; the Classic Maya themselves can be understood as occupants of royal courts, full of Machiavellian intrigue yet operating in close communion with gods & cosmos. Just-discovered texts at Xultun show a strong concern with astronomy & numerology, as well as evidence of lost books. Other finds include the discovery in an underwater cavern of the earliest known occupant of the region, the Hoyo Negro girl, & new evidence for the first architecture at Ceibal. The Maya highlights the vitality of current scholarship into this brilliant civilization. ...