Travel

This guide covers all the main towns and regions of the island of Cuba, helping travelers negotiate one of the Caribbean's best-kept (read more)

This guide covers all the main towns and regions of the island of Cuba, helping travelers negotiate one of the Caribbean's best-kept secrets up to now. Travel information and tips for Havana, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguin are all updated in this latest edition. The book also includes detailed colonial city walks and regional drives, complete with maps and booking information, as well as interesting features on topography, Che Guevara, reefs, Cuban baseball, rum, and cigar making. (hide)

For the first time, Kenneth Bae tells the full story surrounding his arrest and imprisonment in North Korea. Not Forgotten is a modern (read more)

For the first time, Kenneth Bae tells the full story surrounding his arrest and imprisonment in North Korea. Not Forgotten is a modern story of intrigue, suspense, and heart. Driven by his passion to help the people of North Korea, Bae moves to neighboring China to lead guided tours into the secretive nation.

Six years later, after eighteen successful excursions in and out of the country, Ken is suddenly stopped at the border: he inadvertently brought his hard drive, that reveals the true nature of his visits, to customs. He is arrested, brought to Pyongyang for further questioning, and sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor. His crime? Attempting to overthrow the North Korean government.
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'A fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book' Daily Telegraph 'Mesmerising' Geographical Magazine 'A fascinating delve into uncharted, (read more)

'A fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book' Daily Telegraph 'Mesmerising' Geographical Magazine 'A fascinating delve into uncharted, forgotten lost places. But it's not just a trivia-tastic anthology of remote destinations but a nifty piece of psycho-geography, explaining our human need for these cartographical conundrums.' Wanderlust In a world of Google Earth, in which it is easy to believe that every discovery has been made and every adventure already had, Off the Map is a stunning testament to how mysterious our planet still is. From forgotten enclaves to floating islands, from hidden villages to New York gutter spaces, Off the Map charts the hidden corners of our planet.

And while these are not necessarily places you would choose to visit on holiday - Hobyo, the pirate capital of Somalia, or Zheleznogorsk, a secret military town in Russia - they each carry a story about the strangeness of place and our need for a geography that understands our hunger for the fantastic and the unexpected. But it also shows us that topophilia, the love of place, is a fundamental part of what it is to be human. Whether you are an urban explorer or an armchair traveller, Off the Map will inspire and enchant.

You'll never look at a map in quite the same way again. (hide)

Japan has often been thought of as a closed country, but before the country was closed in 1635 many travellers from the West were (read more)

Japan has often been thought of as a closed country, but before the country was closed in 1635 many travellers from the West were able to experience its unique traditions and culture. Their accounts speak of legends of powerful dragons and devils, tales of the revered emperor and the protocol surrounding him, following complex etiquette in everything from tea ceremonies to footwear, and bloodthirsty warlords who exacted cruel and unusual punishments for the smallest of crimes. In Old Japan Antony Cummins uses these captivating eyewitness accounts to reveal fascinating facts and myths from the mysterious Land of the Rising Sun.

Published:20 Aug 2018 (hide)

What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedalling? Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following (read more)

What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedalling? Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following the Thames to the sea he embarked on an epic 5,000 mile ride around the entire British coastline - the equivalent of London to Calcutta. He encountered drunken priests, drag queens and gnome sanctuaries.

He met fellow travellers and people building for a different type of future. He also found a spirit of unbelievable kindness and generosity that convinced him that Britain is anything but broken. This is the inspiring and very funny tale of the five months Mike spent cycling the byways of the nation. (hide)

Gary and Joanie McGuffin's Paddle Your Own Canoe set a new standard for paddling instruction books. In this companion title, they (read more)

Gary and Joanie McGuffin's Paddle Your Own Canoe set a new standard for paddling instruction books. In this companion title, they use the same model for the art of kayaking. They offer expert, step-bystep instructions on all of the sport's essential techniques.

They discuss the kayak's Inuit history, types of kayaking, recommended kayak sizes and shapes, and proper gear and clothing. Illustrated with more than 600 colour photographs and illustrations, Paddle Your Own Kayak is designed for both seasoned and novice kayakers, offering guidance on: Balancing the body; Strokes and maneuvers; Paddling fundamentals; Recoveries and rescues; Carrying and launching; Weather and water conditions techniques; Staying centred; Navigation methods. A special section on kayak camping provides good advice on what to look for in a destination, how to select a site, packing your kayak, setting up tents and shelters, meal preparation, water filtration, first aid and much more.^^^Stocked 30 April 2012^^^ (hide)

As seen on the highly acclaimed BBC2 series Monty Don's Paradise Gardens, a full colour exploration of the astonishing beauty of (read more)

As seen on the highly acclaimed BBC2 series Monty Don's Paradise Gardens, a full colour exploration of the astonishing beauty of twenty-nine Islamic paradise gardens from Iran, Turkey, India, England, Spain and Morocco. In the Islamic tradition, a garden with its central elements of water, the scent of fruit trees, and places for rest and reflection, celebrate heaven on earth. Paradise gardens play a central role in everyday life in the Islamic world, yet little is known about them.

Monty Don and acclaimed photographer, Derry Moore, set off on a journey to find out more about the principles and immersive delights of paradise gardens and how a very different culture and climate has influenced garden design round the world. Their journey covers twenty-nine gardens from the Real Alcazar and the Alhambra in Spain, and Le Jardin Majorelle in Morocco, to Highgrove and a Mughal garden in Bradford in England. There are some spectacular and rarely seen examples such as Pasargadae and the Maidan in Isfahan, Iran, the birthplace of paradise gardens, as well as the more renowned examples such as Turkey's Topkapi Palace and the Amber Palace and Taj Mahal in India. (hide)

Paris--City of Love, City of Light, City of Flowers. From elegant floral boutiques to lively flower markets to glorious blooming (read more)

Paris--City of Love, City of Light, City of Flowers. From elegant floral boutiques to lively flower markets to glorious blooming trees and expansive public gardens, flowers are the essential ingredient to the lush sensory bouquet that is Parisian life. With beautiful photography, Paris in Bloom transports and guides readers on a stunning floral tour of the city, and provides a simple guide to the best flower markets and seasonal walking tours.

Timeless in content, Paris in Bloom is a book for Paris lovers to savour again and again, one to keep on the nightstand to conjure fond memories of their first visit and inspire dreams of the next. (hide)

PHILIP'S - THE FASTEST GROWING BRAND OF UK ROAD ATLASES No. 1 in the UK for clear maps 'Good balance between detail and clarity with (read more)

PHILIP'S - THE FASTEST GROWING BRAND OF UK ROAD ATLASES No. 1 in the UK for clear maps 'Good balance between detail and clarity with excellent town maps' What Car? Mapping at a scale of 3 miles to 1 inch = 1:200,000. Perfect as a gift - the Philip's deluxe hardback atlas Philip's: Britain's clearest maps for motorists Completely updated and revised for 2019 - Special feature: The perils of Britain's country roads - or why I use a dash cam - 160 pages of fully updated super-clear road maps - 10 pages of detailed route-planning maps - plan your route in advance - 88 indexed town-centre maps - 14 pages of city approach maps with named arterial roads - 2 page road map of Ireland The luxury leather-look hardback binding of Philip's 2019 Complete Road Atlas of Britain and Ireland makes it the perfect gift for every special occasion. The maps are super-clear. (hide)

A man, a piano, a Syrian street under siege . . One morning on the outskirts of war-torn Damascus, a starving man stumbles through (read more)

A man, a piano, a Syrian street under siege . .

One morning on the outskirts of war-torn Damascus, a starving man stumbles through a once familiar street - now just piles of rubble. Everything he once knew has been destroyed by famine and war.

In despair he turns to his only comfort and joy, music, and pushes his piano into the street and begins to play. He plays of love and hope, he plays for his family and for his fellow Syrians. He plays even though he knows he could be killed for doing so. (hide)