There are certain things that Yuri Zipit knows: that being official food-taster for the leader of the Soviet Union requires him to drink too much vodka for a 12-year-old. That you do not have to be an Elephantologist to see that the great leader is dying. That Marshal Bruhah has been known to eat his own children, while Comrade Krushka is only fit to run a slaughterhouse, & that one of them has Yuri`s father somewhere here in the Dacha. That it`s a crime to love your family more than you love Socialism, the Party or the Motherl&. That, because of his damaged mind, everyone thinks Yuri is a fool. But Yuri isn`t. He sits quietly through another excessive state dinner & witnesses it all
- betrayals, body doubles, buffoonery. He`s starting to get the hang of this politics thing, but there`s so much to learn. Who knew that a man could be in five places at once? That someone could break your nose as a sign of friendship? That people could be disinvented? The Zoo is a cutting satire, told through the refreshing voice of one gutsy boy who will not give up on hope.
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There are certain things that Yuri Zipit knows: That being official food-taster for the leader of the Soviet Union requires him to drink too much vodka for a 12-year-old. That you do not have to be an Elephantologist to see that the great leader is dying. That Marshal Bruhah has been known to eat his own children, while Comrade Krushka is only fit to run a slaughterhouse, & that one of them has Yuri`s father somewhere here in the Dacha. That it`s a crime to love your family more than you love Socialism, the Party or the Motherl&. That, because of his damaged mind, everyone thinks Yuri is a fool. But Yuri isn`t. He sits quietly through another excessive state dinner & witnesses it all
- betrayals, body doubles, buffoonery. He`s starting to get the hang of this politics thing, but there`s so much to learn. Who knew that a man could be in five places at once? That someone could break your nose as a sign of friendship? That people could be disinvented? The Zoo is a cutting satire, told through the refreshing voice of one gutsy boy who will not give up on hope.
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London’s Zoo & its area in 1870 in a series of exceptionally detailed reproductions of old Ordnance Survey street plans for areas of larger cities which have undergone substantial redevelopment in the late 19th or the early 20th century, published in the Alan Godfrey Editions. The plans, printed in back & white, have been taken from the original Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:1, 056 & reproduced at 1:1, 760 – the equivalent of 36 inches (or one yard) to a mile. The maps provide an unrivalled, house-by-house picture of streets & individual buildings with inner courtyards, outbuildings, pavements, covered passages, etc. Many important institutions are named; within the National Galley on Trafalgar Square even the individual rooms (the map is from 1871, so no French Impressionists as yet!). On the reverse are historical notes about the area covered by the map, plus extracts from contemporary street directories. These maps provide a fascinating addition to Alan Godfrey’s huge series of some 2, 000 titles presenting reproductions of street plans at taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:2, 500 (25” to 1 mile) & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). ...

The creation of a zoo in Dickensian London
- when only one other existed across the world
- is a story of jaw-dropping audacity.

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Now a major motion picture, starring Jessica Chastain & Daniel Bruhl, based on a remarkable true story of bravery & sanctuary during World War II
- out in Spring 2017. When Germany invades Pol&, Luftwaffe bombers devastate Warsaw & the city`s zoo along with it. With most of their animals killed, or stolen away to Berlin, zookeepers Jan & Antonina Zabinski begin smuggling Jews into the empty cages. As the war escalates Jan becomes increasingly involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Ammunition is buried in the elephant enclosure & explosives stored in the animal hospital. Plans are prepared for what will become the Warsaw uprising. Through the ever-present fear of discovery, Antonina must keep her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human & animal inhabitants
- otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes
- as Europe crumbles around them. Written with the narrative drive & emotional punch of a novel, The Zookeeper`s Wife is a remarkable true story. It shows us the human & personal impact of war
- of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, of fighting in the anti-Nazi resistance. But more than anything it is a story of decency & sacrifice triumphing over terror & oppression. Jan & Antonina saved over 300 people from the death camps of the Holocaust. It has already been acclaimed by Jonathan Safran Foer: `I can`t imagine a better story or storyteller. The Zookeeper`s Wife will touch every nerve you have.`



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Theatre of Fish documents John Gimlette’s travels along the coast of Newfoundland & Labrador, in a journey that broadly mirrors that of his great-grandfather, Dr Eliot Curwen, who spent a summer there as a doctor in 1893. Gimlette’s ancestor was witness to both some of the most beautiful landscapes & some of the cruellest poverty in the British Empire. Using Curwen’s frank journal, Gimlette revisits the places it describes & explores his own links with the brutal icy l&. ...

` Visually stunning...it`s gone straight to the top of my Christmas present list.` The Bookseller`I remember how well I liked ...

At the beginning of the Second World War the Ministry of Information, through the advice of Kenneth Clark, commissioned Cecil Beaton to photograph the Home Front. Beaton set to work recording the destruction of the Wren churches in the City & the heroism of Londoners under attack. He conducted a survey of Bomber & Fighter Commands for the RAF, which was published with Beaton`s own astute commentary. Beaton was an effective propagandist, but his voice, like his photographs, was touchingly elegant. Whatever his subject, Beaton was always a stylist. Beaton`s wartime work for the Ministry amounted to seven thousand photographs, which are now housed with their negatives at the Imperial War Museums. They form a great document both of the landscape of war & of the passing of the Empire. He travelled through the Western Desert & on to Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan & Syria. In 1943 he left for India where he photographed the final days of the Raj in New Delhi & Calcutta before joining the Burma campaign. He ended the war deep in Chinese territory where he witnessed the Nationalist resistance to the Japanese. Beaton`s inherent sense of theatre extended from palatial drawing rooms to the jungle & the desert. Whatever the circumstances he never departed from his radical aesthetic. ” Theatre of War” is published in conjunction with the Imperial War Museums on the occasion of a major exhibition. ...

Paul Ibell`s ” Theatreland” combines historical narrative with a unique exploration of how London`s theatre works today. Covering the five centuries from Shakespeare`s Bankside playhouses to today`s West End, Paul Ibell`s ” Theatreland” explores the history & current state of the London stage, taking the reader through the streets, squares & alleyways of the theatre capital of the world. London`s theatre district is quite literally built on the past, & although the book celebrates this, & the artistic achievements that still resonate today, it also emphasises that theatre is an art form that can only survive & flourish through fresh talent, new work & constant reinterpretation of old classics. Through a series of entertaining & engaging chapters on themes, personalities & trends, ” Theatreland” reflects the effortless co-existence between past & present that is such a feature of London`s theatre world, & shows how actors & producers, playwrights & publicists, theatre historians & modern architects, choreographers, critics & customers all play their part in ensuring that London remains the theatre capital of the world.” Theatreland” brings back to life the generations of actors, impresarios, princes & playwrights, restaurateurs & hoteliers who created & shaped this cityscape, & describes how the 21st century theatre industry continues to develop & change. ...

The author takes us from the Globe of Shakespeare to the modern Globe on the South Bank. He describes the bad times during the Commonwealth when the theatres were closed & public entertainment banned, & explores the conditions that gave rise to the theatre-building spree of the 19th century, the formation of the National Theatre & the abolition of the Lord Chancellor's power of censorship in 1968. This well-illustrated book

Includes:: a survey of the actors, directors, entrepreneurs, playwrights & architects over the centuries, who made London an international centre of theatre.

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