In 1550 Rochester was the only Medway town. It dominated the river estuary & an agricultural hinterland in which Strood, Chatham & Gillingham were nearby villages, reliant on fishing & farming for their livelihood. By the beginning of the twentieth century these four towns had become an urban conurbation. The key factor in this dramatic change was the growth of the Royal Naval Dockyards at CA--A--hatham, home to the English fleet from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century & subsequently the foremost shipbuilding & repair docks in Engl&. The yards at Chatham soon became the largest industrial complex in the south of Engl&. Over the course of the next 350 years, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham & Strood grew. They merged physically but developed distinct characteristics. Chatham became the dockyard town whilst Rochester retained a more genteel air. Gillingham gained a military presence & covered agricultural land with terraced housing. Strood, on the opposite bank of the river, abandoned fishing & farming for brick & cement manufacture & engineering. This book explores the impact of these changes on the people who lived & worked in the Medway Towns, the transformation of the political & economic scene & of the built environment. ...

When Euan & Ruth set off with their young daughter to live in Bahrain, it is meant to be an experience & adventure they will cherish. But on the night they arrive, Ruth discovers the truth behind the missionary work Euan has planned & feels her world start to crumble. Far from home, & with events spiralling towards war in nearby Iraq, she starts to question her faith
- in Euan, in their marriage & in all she has held dear. With Euan so often away, she is confined to their guarded compound with her neighbours &, in particular, Noor, a troubled teenager recently returned to Bahrain to live with her father. Confronted by temptations & doubt, each must make choices that could change all of their lives for ever. Compelling, passionate & deeply resonant, The Meeting Point is a novel about idealism & innocence, about the unexpected turns life can take & the dangers & chances that await us.
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From Stonehenge to Newgrange, the richest array of megalithic monuments in Europe is found in Great Britain & Irel&. The number & sheer diversity of these structures is astonishing, including massive stone rows & circles, as well as barrows, chambered tombs & earthwork enclosures. In this concise but authoritative overview, Chris Scarre guides us around these monuments. This invaluable, authoritative overview of some of our greatest & most-visited monuments is ideal for traveller, tourist & student alike. ...

The Mekong River from Source to Sea map from Odyssey Books presenting the river accompanied by extensive descriptions of various aspects of it landscape, flora & fauna, ethnic minorities along its shores, etc, with on the reverse a wider region of South-East Asia. On one side the river is presented with its more immediate surroundings, from its source in Tibet across southern China, along the borders of Burma, Laos & Thailand to Cambodia & its Delta in Vietnam. The map shows the dense network of Mekong’s tributaries, towns & main villages, & the topography of the surrounding countryside. The accompanying notes, illustrated with numerous colour photos, provide interesting information about Expeditions & Explorers, Ethnic Minorities, Mysteries of the Mekong, Trees, Plants & Herbal Medicines, etc. The whole of the reverse side it taken by a map of South-East Asia at 1:3, 150, 000, extending from the source of the Mekong in the Tibetan Plateau to the southern border of Thail&. Numerous other rivers are also marked, including the Irrawaddy in Burma. Topography is indicated by altitude colouring. The map presents the region’s network of main roads, indicating border crossings, as well as railway connections plus international & domestic airports. Symbols highlight locations of UNESCO’s cultural & natural World Heritage sites, national parks & wildlife reserves, & other places of interest. Also marked are dams on the Mekong: existing, under constructions & planned. Latitude & longitude lines are drawn at 5° intervals. ...

Twenty-three illustrated gothic tales from the dark corridors of the imagination of Tim Burton. Burton
- the creative genius behind
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When Mr Mellops discovers a family treasure map he takes his sons on a maritime adventure. Before they know it, the Mellops are dodging a giant octopus, exploring an undersea wreck & digging for treasure. But will the Mellops find treasure of another kind? Reissued in English to inspire & delight a new generation of children. ...

While on a family picnic Mr Mellops notices the mountain water has an `awful taste, like oil`. Soon, the intrepid Mellops embark on a quest that takes them to the library, the museum & eventually an oil field! Reissued in English to inspire & delight a new generation of children. ...

With delicacy of perception & memory, humour & pathos, Carson Mc Cullers spreads before us the three phases of a weekend crisis in the life of a motherless twelve-year-old girl. Within the span of a few hours, the irresistible, hoydenish Frankie passionately plays out her fantasies at her elder brother`s wedding. Through a perilous skylight we look into the mind of a child torn between her yearning to belong & the urge to run away. ...

Special collectors` hardback editions lovingly restored to original designs`I love these editions
- so beautifully produced, so
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Edwin Lutyens` Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in Northern France, visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists, is arguably the finest structure erected by any British architect in the twentieth century. It is the principal, tangible expression of the defining event in Britain`s experience & memory of the Great War, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, & it bears the names of 73, 000 soldiers whose bodies were never found at the end of that bloody & futile campaign. This brilliant study by an acclaimed architectural historian tells the origin of the memorial in the context of commemorating the war dead; it considers the giant classical brick arch in architectural terms, & also explores its wider historical significance & its resonances today. So much of the meaning of the twentieth century is concentrated here; the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing casts a shadow into the future, a shadow which extends beyond the dead of the Holocaust, to the Gulag, to the `disappeared` of South America & of Tianenmen. Reissued in a beautiful & striking new edition for the centenary of the Somme. ...