An utterly mad, entirely heart-warming Highland adventure from the Man Booker-longlisted author of & the Land lay Still Douglas is fifty years old
- he`s just lost his job, been kicked out by his girlfriend & moved back into his dad`s house. Just when things are starting to look hopeless, he makes a very unexpected new friend: a talking toad. Mungo is a wise-cracking, straight-talking, no-nonsense kind of toad
- & he is determined to get Douglas`s life back on track. Together, man & beast undertake a madcap quest to the distant Highlands, hot on the trail of a hundred-year-old granny, a beautiful Greek nymph, a split-personality alcoholic/teetotaller, a reluctant whisky-smuggler, & the elusive glimmer of redemption.. .

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The Compact Guide series from Insight is an accessible & handy reference guide, describing main sites & cultural highlights. Each illustrated guide

Includes:: an introductory chapter with a selection of the top ten things to do & gives visitors an insight into history, culture & geography. An extensive ‘places to visit’ section details the main attractions, with individual sites grouped by local region & accompanied by detailed commentary. Star attractions & fact profiles are also given on each page. A cultural chapter provides information on holidays, festivals, architecture & local customs. Further practical guidance on getting around, food & drink, nightlife & accommodation is also prominent. Each guide has a large selection of colour photographs & a number of overview maps showing the local area.

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Guided by its various twists & turns, To Catch a King tells the story the manhunt for Charles II, following the rebellion that spurred his father`s beheading in 1649. This unputdownable sequel to Killers of the King tells an old story with new eyes, challenging our polarised notions of royalism, nationalism & loyalty. In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded in London outside his palace of Whitehall & Britain became a republic. When his eldest son, Charles, returned in 1651 to fight for his throne, he was crushed by the might of Cromwell`s armies at the battle of Worcester. With 3, 000 of his supporters lying dead & 10, 000 taken prisoner, it seemed as if his dreams of power had been dashed. Surely it was a foregone conclusion that he would now be caught & follow his father to the block? At six foot two inches tall, the prince towered over his contemporaries & with dark skin inherited from his French-Italian mother, he stood out in a crowd. How would he fare on the run with Cromwell`s soldiers on his tail & a vast price on his head? The next six weeks would form the most memorable & dramatic of Charles` life. Pursued relentlessly, Charles ran using disguise, deception & relying on grit, fortitude & good luck. He suffered grievously through weeks when his cause seemed hopeless. He hid in an oak tree
- an event so fabled that over 400 English pubs are named Royal Oak in commemoration. Less well-known events include his witnessing a village in wild celebrations at the erroneous news of his killing; the ordeal of a medical student wrongly imprisoned because of his similarity in looks; Charles disguising himself as a servant & as one half of an eloping couple to escape capture. Charles never forgot those who helped him &, when restored to the throne as Charles II, told the tale of his adventures to Samuel Pepys who transcribed it all. In this gripping, action-packed, true adventure story, based on extensive archive material, Charles Spencer, bestselling author of Killers of the King, uses Pepys` account & many others to retell this epic story. With bloodied feet & facing certain death if caught, Charles relied upon a patchwork of hiding places that had evolved to hide Catholics from lethal persecution. Now, in the 1650s, they saved the life of a king.
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How did the most wanted man in the country outwit the greatest manhunt in British history? In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded in London outside his palace of Whitehall & Britain became a republic. When his eldest son, Charles, returned in 1651 to fight for his throne, he was crushed by the might of Cromwell`s armies at the battle of Worcester. With 3, 000 of his supporters lying dead & 10, 000 taken prisoner, it seemed as if his dreams of power had been dashed. Surely it was a foregone conclusion that he would now be caught & follow his father to the block? At six foot two inches tall, the prince towered over his contemporaries & with dark skin inherited from his French-Italian mother, he stood out in a crowd. How would he fare on the run with Cromwell`s soldiers on his tail & a vast price on his head? The next six weeks would form the most memorable & dramatic of Charles` life. Pursued relentlessly, Charles ran using disguise, deception & relying on grit, fortitude & good luck. He suffered grievously through weeks when his cause seemed hopeless. He hid in an oak tree
- an event so fabled that over 400 English pubs are named Royal Oak in commemoration. Less well-known events include his witnessing a village in wild celebrations at the erroneous news of his killing; the ordeal of a medical student wrongly imprisoned because of his similarity in looks; he disguised himself as a servant & as one half of an eloping couple. Once restored to the throne as Charles II, he told the tale of his escapades to Samuel Pepys, who transcribed it all. In this gripping, action-packed, true adventure story, based on extensive archive material, Charles Spencer, bestselling author of Killers of the King, uses Pepys`s account & many others to retell this epic adventure.
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The Paris-Dakar Rally is without doubt the most arduous & notorious off-road motorsport event on the planet. Considered one of the world`s top five adventures, the human drama that unfolds each January is unparalleled. Tales of danger, blinding sandstorms, endless vistas of towering dunes, incredible hardships, tragedy & triumph have greatly contributed to the aura & mystique of the rally. In To Dakar & Back, Hacking, with De Clercq recount the three weeks of blood, sweat & tears that took him from the glitz of Paris to the hinterland of North Africa. ...

Harry Morgan was hard
- the classic Hemingway hero
- rum-running, gun-running & man-running from Cuba to the Florida Keys in

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Harry Morgan is a tough guy making his living during the Depression from his motor boat in Key West, Florida. Although he normally takes out fishing parties, sometimes his boat can be put to other uses. If the money offered is worth his while, Harry will run guns, rum & men to & from Cuba. But he is playing a dicey game. Hemingway`s hardest hero risks not just his living, but his life. ...

In the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent`s politics & beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse
- a war in which the killing of civilians was central & which culminated in the Holocaust. To Hell & Back tells this story with humanity, flair & originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise
- with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated & lived through such fearful times
- & what this means for us.


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” Paris-Roubaix is the best race in the world & knocks spots off the Tour de France.” (Sir Bradley Wiggins). Paris-Roubaix. The Hell of the North. The ultimate monument in cycling`s Classics. More than 150 miles across dusty or muddy roads, much of it puncture-inducing & bone-breaking cobblestones. Even professional riders blanche at the very mention of it. Tour de France winners (with the notable exception of Wiggins in 2014) make their excuses from it. So why on earth would an amateur even dare to attempt it? In To Hell on a Bike, Iain Mac Gregor does just that & as he prepares for the ride of his life, he explores the history & culture of this extraordinary race. With insights from legends of the sport, trainers, mechanics & fellow writers, as well as those who have maintained the traditions of Paris-Roubaix since its inception over a century ago, it is the ultimate story of the ultimate cycling challenge. ...

To Hull & Back sees Tom Chesshyre undertake a series of mad adventures on holiday in unsung Britain – from Hull to Hell (which he found to be a rather nice place on the Isles of Scilly), via Wit’s End (a quirky guesthouse in Slough) to watching the Canaries play in Norwich with Delia Smith. After visiting over 80 countries on assignment as a travel writer, Tom wondered how much he really knew about what was on his doorstep. After embracing the less fashionable bits of his own country, he finds that there is plenty to write home about. ...