Travel

Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across (read more)

Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in the fascinating book that orginally accompanied his journey for the BBC1 series. 'Stephen Fry is a treasure of the British Empire.' - The Guardian Stephen Fry has always loved America, in fact he came very close to being born there.

Here, his fascination for the country and its people sees him embarking on an epic journey across America, visiting each of its 50 states to discover how such a huge diversity of people, cultures, languages, beliefs and landscapes combine to create such a remarkable nation. Starting on the eastern seaboard, Stephen zig-zags across the country in his London taxicab, talking to its hospitable citizens, listening to its music, visiting its landmarks, viewing small-town life and America's breath-taking landscapes - following wherever his curiosity leads him. Stephen meets a collection of remarkable individuals - American icons and unsung local heroes alike.
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This guide presents Switzerland's Jura Crest Trail. Also known as the Jura High Route (Swiss national route 5), this 310km long-distance (read more)

This guide presents Switzerland's Jura Crest Trail. Also known as the Jura High Route (Swiss national route 5), this 310km long-distance route traverses the sub-alpine mountains of the Swiss Jura from Dielsdorf near Zurich to Nyon on the shores of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), running roughly parallel to the Swiss-French border. With over 13,500m of ascent, the trail demands a moderate level of fitness and can be comfortably completed in around a fortnight.

The Jura Crest Trail is easily accessed from Zurich and Geneva. The region boasts excellent walking infrastructure and facilities, and although the trail crosses the mountains, you are seldom too far from civilisation. The guide contains all the information you need to plan and walk the route.
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For 60 years the Eurovision Song Contest has existed in a parallel universe where a song about the construction of a hydro-electric (read more)

For 60 years the Eurovision Song Contest has existed in a parallel universe where a song about the construction of a hydro-electric power station is considered cutting-edge pop, where half a dozen warbling Russian grandmothers are considered Saturday night entertainment, where a tune repeating the word 'la' 138 times is considered a winner, and where Australia is considered part of Europe During those sixty years we have witnessed scandals: in 1957, Denmark's Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler enjoyed an outrageously long 13-second kiss because the stage manager forgot to say 'cut' during the live broadcast. We have witnessed national outrage: the 1976 Greek entry was a savage indictment of Turkish foreign policy in Cyprus. But most have all we have witnessed silly costumes, terrible lyrics and performers as diverse as Celine Dion and Dustin the Turkey.

This book chronicles the 100 craziest moments in the history of Eurovision - the drag acts, the bad acts, the nul points heroes and the night in Luxembourg when the floor manager warned the audience not to stand up while they applauded because they might be shot by security forces. It captures some of the magic from this yearly event that continues to beguile and bemuse in equal measure. (hide)

In our globalised but increasingly polarised age, Kapuscinski shows how the Other remains one of the most compelling ideas of our (read more)

In our globalised but increasingly polarised age, Kapuscinski shows how the Other remains one of the most compelling ideas of our times. In this reflection on a lifetime of travel, the renown travel writer takes a fresh look at the Western idea of the Other: the non-European or non-American. Looking at this concept through the lens of his own encounters in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Kapuscinski traces how the West has understood the Other from classical times to colonialism, from the Age of Enlightenment to the postmodern global village.

Published:24 Jul 2018 (hide)

Rory Stewart's moving account of his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002 was immediately hailed as a classic. Caught between (read more)

Rory Stewart's moving account of his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002 was immediately hailed as a classic. Caught between hostile nations, warring factions and competing ideologies, at the time Afghanistan was in turmoil following the US invasion. Travelling entirely on foot and following the inaccessible mountainous route once taken by the Mogul Emperor, Babur the Great, Stewart was nearly defeated by the extreme, hostile conditions.

Only with the help of an unexpected companion and the generosity of the people he met on the way did he survive to report back with unique insight on a region closed to the world by twenty-four years of war. Winner of the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Award and the Spirit of Scotland Award and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize and the Scottish Book of the Year Prize. (hide)

The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase is a hilarious new collection of diplomatic tales by Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson Heard the (read more)

The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase is a hilarious new collection of diplomatic tales by Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson Heard the one about the Spanish Ambassador who arrived in the scorching Saharan desert fully suited and with a mysteriously enormous suitcase? Or the horse they gave Prime Minister John Major in Turkmenistan - which hapless embassy officials had to rescue from the clutches of the Moscow railway? These and other 'funnies', as they are known in Whitehall, are included in Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson's glorious new volume of not so diplomatic writing, which accompanies a new BBC Radio 4 series is a follow up to their acclaimed collection of ambassadors' final despatches, Parting Shots. Drawn from Freedom of Information requests and previously overlooked Valedictories these startling despatches throw a revealing light on how the British have viewed the world - and, unwittingly perhaps, on how the world has viewed the British. (hide)

The world's most authoritative atlas, beautifully re-designed and fully updated in a new 15th edition. A unique and timeless gift (read more)

The world's most authoritative atlas, beautifully re-designed and fully updated in a new 15th edition. A unique and timeless gift for all occasions. Our world as it is today in one beautiful volume.

Fully updated mapping with over 200,000 place names. New world topics include migration, health and resources. The 15th edition of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World has been beautifully redesigned. (hide)

Erin is 19. She's never really left England, but she has watched Bear Grylls and wonders why it's always men who get to go on all (read more)

Erin is 19. She's never really left England, but she has watched Bear Grylls and wonders why it's always men who get to go on all the cool wilderness adventures. So Erin sets off on a voyage into the Alaskan wilderness, a one-woman challenge to the archetype of the rugged male explorer.

As Erin's journey takes her through the Arctic Circle, across the entire breadth of the American continent and finally to a lonely cabin in the wilds of Denali, she explores subjects as diverse as the moon landings, the Gaia hypothesis, loneliness, nuclear war, shamanism and the pill. Filled with a sense of wonder for the natural world and a fierce love for preserving it, The Word for Woman is Wilderness is a funny, frank and tender account of a young woman in uncharted territory.
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The reconstructed longship Sea Stallion from Glendalough sailed from Roskilde to Dublin and back in the summers of 2007 and 2008, (read more)

The reconstructed longship Sea Stallion from Glendalough sailed from Roskilde to Dublin and back in the summers of 2007 and 2008, with an international volunteer crew of 60 men and women. The first results of this extraordinary voyage on the track of the Vikings are now available. This volume gives an account of the methodological considerations behind a trial voyage as experimental archaeology.

Published: 28 May 2019 (hide)

Tides: A Primer for Deck Officers and Officer of the Watch Exams prepares the reader for the Officer of the Watch and Master/Mate (read more)

Tides: A Primer for Deck Officers and Officer of the Watch Exams prepares the reader for the Officer of the Watch and Master/Mate certificates required by all officers on commercial seagoing vessels. From the formation of tides and and tidal stream data, right through to practice questions with answers, and even mock exam papers, this book will provide you with all the reference material you need in order to pass your exams.

Published:7 Jan 2019 (hide)