Travel

"Generation Kill" is about the young men sent to fight their nation's first open-ended war since Vietnam. Despite the flurry of media (read more)

"Generation Kill" is about the young men sent to fight their nation's first open-ended war since Vietnam. Despite the flurry of media images to come of the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you have never really met any of these people, who serve as front-line troops. For whatever reason, the media simply doesn't get them.

As we all know, news accounts of the last two wars focused almost exclusively on battlefield imagery of high-tech weapons wreaking astounding destruction, comply with analysis from retired army grandees and other experts, punctuated by the odd heart-warming patriotic sound-bite. The troops themselves play a role in the media's presentation of recent wars rather like extras in "The Triumph of the Will". They are everywhere yet somehow invisible. (hide)

The cruise ship market is a 30 billion-dollar industry, and in 2013 it is estimated that it will carry more than 20 million passengers; (read more)

The cruise ship market is a 30 billion-dollar industry, and in 2013 it is estimated that it will carry more than 20 million passengers; nor is there any sign of a slow down in the seven percent annual growth. What keeps the passengers coming in such huge numbers isn't the food, the ports or the entertainment. They come for the magnificent floating palaces themselves, the giants of the sea.

In this new book, the author showcases the most influential cruise ships of the last three decades beginning with Royal Caribbean's ground-breaking Sovereign of the Seas. When she was launched in 1988 she was the largest passenger ship constructed since Cunard's Queen Mary entered service some 48 years earlier, and her entry into service sparked a fiercely competitive building boom that continues to this day. The reader is taken aboard thirty of the most spectacular ships to reveal how their innovative designs changed the landscape of modern cruising. (hide)

From Mark Ovenden, the author of London Underground by Design and Metro Maps of the World, comes Great Railway Maps of the World, (read more)

From Mark Ovenden, the author of London Underground by Design and Metro Maps of the World, comes Great Railway Maps of the World, a beautifully illustrated, comprehensive history of the greatest railway maps, and the story behind them. The history of the railway is the history of Britain - and France, and America, and Japan, and Russia, among many others. Featuring hundreds of images, covering two centuries of advertising, surveyors' maps, route guides, travel posters, photos, and Google Earth maps, this is a book brimming with history, data and anecdotes.

It is a must-have guide for every train fanatic, armchair or ticketed, as well as lovers of graphic design, history and the romance of railway travel. "The romance of the overground railway pours from the edges of many of the images in Great Railway Maps...Few other subjects can envelop such a heady mixture of design, history, geography and - more often than not - usefulness. It's well worth alighting on".(Will Dean, Independent). (hide)

'...there I was in the middle of Bogota, coked up to my eyeballs, in a hallway holding two machetes, while some drunk Colombians (read more)

'...there I was in the middle of Bogota, coked up to my eyeballs, in a hallway holding two machetes, while some drunk Colombians argued about whether or not to blow up a bar with a live hand grenade...' Asia has the hippie trail. South America has the gringo trail. Mark Mann and his girlfriend Melissa set off to explore the ancient monuments, mountains and rainforests of South America.

But for their friend Mark, South America meant only one thing: drugs. Sad, funny and shocking, The Gringo Trail is an On the Road for the Lonely Planet generation - a darkly comic road-trip and a revealing journey through South America's turbulent history. Drama and discovery.

Culture and cocaine. Fact is stranger than fiction. (hide)

The essential and defining new collection of the best British nature writing`Tim Dee has brought together a wonderous array of talent (read more)

The essential and defining new collection of the best British nature writing`Tim Dee has brought together a wonderous array of talent for this life-affirming, often magical anthology' ObserverWe are living in the anthropocene - an epoch where everything is being determined by the activities of just one soft-skinned, warm-blooded, short-lived, pedestrian species. How do we make our way through the ruins that we have made? (hide)

The first book by astronaut Tim Peake - a mesmerising collection of over 150 of Tim's stunning photographs that he took on board (read more)

The first book by astronaut Tim Peake - a mesmerising collection of over 150 of Tim's stunning photographs that he took on board the International Space Station, many of which have not been seen before. It includes a personal commentary from Tim. 'It's impossible to look down on Earth from space and not be mesmerised by the fragile beauty of our planet.' I may have been 400km up, but I have never felt closer to Earth than when I was on board the International Space Station.

I'm delighted to share with you this collection of photographs with some of my thoughts from my mission. Although I briefly left the santuary of our planet, I rediscovered the wonder of the place we call home. Hello, is this planet Earth? takes readers on a mesmerizing tour of Tim's historic and inspirational six-month Principia mission.

Based on over 150 of Tim's stunning photographs that he took on board the international space station, many of which have not been seen before, this lavish collection showcases the beauty of earth from above, and is the perfect visual time capsule of Tim's remarkable trip, which captured the imaginations of millions of children and adults across the world. The book can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, and comes with a personal commentary from Tim, full of his characteristic warmth and charm. The book includes breath-taking aerial photos of cities illuminated at night, the northern lights and unforgettable vistas of oceans, mountains and deserts.
(hide)

Stocked 11 June - 'A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical (read more)

Stocked 11 June - 'A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive.' Hobson-Jobson is a unique work of maverick scholarship. Compiled in 1886 by two India enthusiasts, it documents the words and phrases that entered English from Arabic, Persian, Indian, and Chinese sources - and vice versa. Described by Salman Rushdie as 'the legendary dictionary of British India' it shows how words of Indian origin were absorbed into the English language and records not only the vocabulary but the culture of the Raj.

Illustrative quotations from a wide range of travel texts, histories, memoirs, and novels create a canon of English writing about India. The definitions frequently slip into anecdote, reminiscence, and digression, and they offer intriguing insights into Victorian attitudes to India and its people and customs. With its delight in language, etymology, and puns, Hobson-Jobson has fascinated generations of writers from Rudyard Kipling to Tom Stoppard and Amitav Ghosh. (hide)

In the nineteenth century, the phenomenon of 'going abroad' was born. Beautiful Mediterranean towns, the luxurious spas of Mittel-Europe (read more)

In the nineteenth century, the phenomenon of 'going abroad' was born. Beautiful Mediterranean towns, the luxurious spas of Mittel-Europe and the golf courses of France became the playground of the idle wealthy. Until foreign travel became more accessible, the picturesque towns and smart hotels catered only to an elite mix of royalty, celebrities and high society.
(hide)

With Lonely Planet's stylishly illustrated How to Pack for Any Trip, learn to up your packing game. Take the pain out of packing (read more)

With Lonely Planet's stylishly illustrated How to Pack for Any Trip, learn to up your packing game. Take the pain out of packing by using our cut-out-and-keep lists. Teach the kids to pack and learn how to edit your own capsule wardrobe.

Make your tech work harder by choosing apps that will pack for you. Find luggage that's a true soulmate for your travel style that will be in it for the long haul. Even take comfort and inspiration in stories of packing mishaps and luggage pioneers from days gone by.

Are you a stylish city weekender wanting to look your best while on the go, a streamlined business traveller looking for even more efficient carry-on packing techniques, a tipping-the-scales travelling family preparing for any kind of meltdown or an adventuring adrenaline junkie needing necessary kit supplies? Headed for a beach break, a jungle trek, a 48-hour jaunt or a six-month expedition? Preparing for sweltering heat or subzero conditions? No matter what type of traveller you are or what kind of trip you're planning, the various tailored packing lists, tips, techniques and advice in this book will help you unleash the packing pro within and keep your luggage light and organised. (hide)

An original and comprehensive look at what it is we seek when we set off on an adventure abroad - and at how we can travel better, (read more)

An original and comprehensive look at what it is we seek when we set off on an adventure abroad - and at how we can travel better, so that our experiences overseas become truly transformative and memorable. Going travelling is one of the few things we undertake in a direct attempt to make ourselves happy - and frequently, in fascinating ways, we fail. We get bored, cross, anxious or lonely.

It isn't surprising: our societies act as if going travelling were simple, just a case of handing over the right sum of money. But a satisfying journey isn't something we can simply buy: it's the result of an art that has to be learnt. This is the guide: not to any one destination but to travel in general. (hide)