The Men Who Mapped the World by Beau Riffenburgh, historian & author of many books particularly on Polar explorations, tells the story of philosophers, travellers, artists & scientists who brought together their skills & knowledge to produce some of the most interesting or intriguing examples of cartography. The book’s five chapters, each with several sections, deal with mapping in the ancient & medieval world, cartography in the age of discovery, filling in the missing gaps as the knowledge of the world expanded, maps in the age of empires & nationalism, & mapping the modern world. Lavishly illustrated throughout by maps & map extracts, the book also

Includes:: an imaginative innovation: five envelopes with 15 reproductions of maps from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society. The selected examples beautifully illustrate the development of cartographic styles from early pictorial mapping to modern aerial photography.

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From bestselling author Simon Winchester, the extraordinary story of how America was united into a single nation. For more than two centuries, E pluribus unum
- out of many, one
- has been featured on America`s official government seals & stamped on its currency. But how did America become `one nation, indivisible`? In this monumental history, Simon Winchester addresses this question, introducing the fearless trailblazers whose achievements forged & unified America. Winchester follows in the footsteps of America`s most essential explorers, thinkers, & innovators. He treks vast swaths of territory, introducing these fascinating pioneers
- some, such as Washington & Jefferson, Lewis & Clark being familiar, some forgotten, some hardly known
- who played a pivotal role in creating today`s United States. Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, & to what degree. ` The Men Who United the States` is a fresh, lively, & erudite look at the way in which the most powerful nation on earth came together, from one of our most entertaining, probing, & insightful observers.



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The Mendips in 1897 in a series of reproductions of Ordnance Survey’s famous ” Inch to the Mile” maps published in the Alan Godfrey Editions to provide a historical record of England & Wales in the second half of 19th & early 20th century. The map covers the area from Wells & Shepton Mallet northward to Chew Stoke & westward to Axbridge & Wavering Down. Other locations include Ashwick, Badgworth, Banwell, Biddisham, Binegar, Blagdon, Burrington, Butcombe, Cameley, Chapel Allerton, Charterhouse on Mendip, Cheddar, Chelwood, Chewton Mendip, Chilcompton, Christon, Clutton, Compton Bishop, Compton Martin, Croscombe, Dinder, Doulting, East Harptre, Emborrow, Farrington Gurney, Hih Littleton, Hinton Blewett, Litton, Loxton, Mark, Nempnett Thrubwell, North Widcombe, Nyland cum Batcombe, Paulton, Priddy, Rodney Stoke, Rowberrow, Shipham, Stowey, Ubley, Wedmore, West Harptree, Westbury, Winscombe & Wookey. On the reverse is a more detailed map of Chilcompton. About the Alan Godfrey Editions of the OS Inch to the Mile Maps: the maps provide an invaluable overview of a wider area, typically 18 x 12 miles (29 x 19 kms approx.), & offer historical mapping for small towns & villages not covered by the more detailed series for which the Godfrey Editions are better known. On the reverse all the maps have historical notes & most titles also include a more detailed, large scale map of a small town or a village in the area. To see other titles in this series please click on the series link. ...

For as long as civilizations have known how to ascribe numerical values to quantities, there have been number puzzles; ancient Egyptian scrolls have been found with difficult problems for the reader to solve. Now Mensa, the leading high IQ society, have created a book which will challenge even the most adept puzzle-solver. A wide variety of puzzle types have been included from societies around the world in The Mensa Number Puzzle Book. Many include a historical introduction & advice on how to solve them from Mensa`s top puzzle-setters. ...

This extraordinary re-creation of the life of a medieval Italian merchant, Francesco di Marco Datini, is one of the greatest historical portraits written in the twentieth century. Drawing on an astonishing cache of letters unearthed centuries after Datini`s death, it reveals to us a shrewd, enterprising, anxious man, as he makes deals, furnishes his sumptuous house, buys silks for his outspoken young wife & broods on his legacy. It is an unequalled source of knowledge about the texture of daily life in the small, earthy, violent, striving world of fourteenth-century Tuscany. ` Datini has now probably become most intimately accessible figure of the later Middle Ages.. .brilliant & intricate` The Times ` As a picture of Tuscany before the dawn of the Renaissance it is a complement to The Decameron` Sunday Times ...

In the late 16th century the greatest philosophers, alchemists, astronomers, painters, & mathematicians of the day flocked to Prague to work under the patronage of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, an emperor more interested in the great minds of his times than in the exercise of his immense power. Rarely leaving Prague Castle, he gathered around him a galaxy of famous figures: among them the painter Arcimboldo, the astronomer Tycho Brahe, the mathematician Johannes Kepler, the philosopher Giordano Bruno & the magus John Dee. Fascinated by the new Renaissance learning, Rudolf found it nearly impossible to make decisions of state. Like Faust, he was prepared to risk all in the pursuit of magical knowledge & the Philosopher`s Stone which would turn base metals into gold & prolong life indefinitely. But he also faced threats: religious discord, the Ottoman Empire, his own deepening melancholy & an ambitious younger brother. As a result he lost his empire & nearly his sanity. But he enabled Prague to enjoy a golden age of peace & creativity before Europe was engulfed in the Thirty Years` War. Filled with angels & devils, high art & low cunning, talismans & stars, The Mercurial Emperor offers a captivating perspective on a pivotal moment in the history of Western civilisation. ...

Englishman Paul West is living the Parisian dream, & doing his best not to annoy the French. But recently things have been going tres wrong: He`s stuck in an apartment so small that he has to cut his baguettes in two to fit them in the kitchen. His research into authentic French cuisine is about to cause a national strike
- & it could be all his fault. His Parisian business partner is determined to close their tea-room. & thinks that sexually harrassing his female employees is a basic human right. & Paul`s gorgeous ex-girlfriend seems to be stalking him. Threatened with eviction, unemployment & bankrupcy, Paul realises that his personal merde factor is about to hit the fan...
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Englishman Paul West is living the Parisian dream, & doing his best not to annoy the French. But recently things have been going tres wrong: His apartment is so small that he has to cut his baguettes in two to fit them in the kitchen. His research into authentic French cuisine is about to cause a national strike. His Parisian business partner is determined to close their tea-room. & thinks that sexually harrassing his female employees is a basic human right. & Paul's gorgeous ex-girlfriend seems to be stalking him. Threatened with eviction, unemployment & bankrupcy, Paul realises that his personal merde factor is about to hit the fan... ...

This voyage is special. It will change everything… One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid. As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours & brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence & through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… & a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost. Where will their ambitions lead? & will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess? In this spell-binding story of curiosity & obsession, Imogen Hermes Gowar has created an unforgettable jewel of a novel, filled to the brim with intelligence, heart & wit. ...

Somebody in Laos is wooing & wedding country girls
- & then killing them on honeymoon & binding their bodies to trees. The horror
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