Travel

A fresh, concise, and accessible history of one of the medieval world's greatest empires For more than a millennium, the Byzantine (read more)

A fresh, concise, and accessible history of one of the medieval world's greatest empires For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the classical to the modern world. Jonathan Harris, a leading scholar of Byzantium, eschews the usual run-through of emperors and battles and instead recounts the empire's extraordinary history by focusing each chronological chapter on an archetypal figure, family, place, or event. Harris's action-packed introduction presents a civilization rich in contrasts, combining orthodox Christianity with paganism, and classical Greek learning with Roman power.

Frequently assailed by numerous armies-including those of Islam-Byzantium nonetheless survived and even flourished by dint of its somewhat unorthodox foreign policy and its sumptuous art and architecture, which helped to embed a deep sense of Byzantine identity in its people. Enormously engaging and utilizing a wealth of sources to cover all major aspects of the empire's social, political, military, religious, cultural, and artistic history, Harris's study illuminates the very heart of Byzantine civilization and explores its remarkable and lasting influence on its neighbors and on the modern world.

Pub Date:06/09/2016 (hide)

A light-hearted look at life in a sleepy Italian village which slowly awakes to the twenty-first century. In 1977, Valerie Barona (read more)

A light-hearted look at life in a sleepy Italian village which slowly awakes to the twenty-first century. In 1977, Valerie Barona made the decision to join her husband in Piussogno, a small mountain village in northern Italy. An English teacher born and raised in Dorset, she told of her early years in Piussogno in That's Amore!, (Matador, 2013) and now revisits her life as a mother and housewife in the 1980s, trying to give her two children an English upbringing thousands of miles from home.

Both children, Alex and Elisa, were bilingual by the age of two and enjoyed annual wet summers in Poole while their friends visited the Adriatic coast. Valerie herself took an active part in village life, singing in the church choir and giving English lessons, not to mention shooing the occasional stray cow from the garden. She takes a light-hearted look at her attempts to recreate English cooking and her gradual adjustment to a rural way of life which no longer exists in Italy. (hide)

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. (read more)

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. Map: Exploring the World brings together more than 300 fascinating maps from the birth of cartography to cutting-edge digital maps of the twenty-fist century. The book's unique arrangement, with the maps organized in complimentary or contrasting pairs, reveals how the history of our attempts to make flat representations of the world has been full of beauty, ingenuity and innovation.

Selected by an international panel of curators, academics and collectors, the maps reflect the many reasons people make maps, such as to find their way, to assert ownership, to record human activity, to establish control, to encourage settlement, to plan military campaigns or to show political power. The selection includes the greatest names in cartography, such as James Cook, Gerard Mercator, Matthew Fontaine Maury and Phyllis Pearsall, as well as maps from indigenous cultures around the world, rarely seen maps from lesser'known cartographers, and maps of outstanding beauty and surprising individuality from the current generation of map makers. (hide)

A map is a snapshot of a place, a city, a nation or even the world at a given point in time - fascinating for what they tell us about (read more)

A map is a snapshot of a place, a city, a nation or even the world at a given point in time - fascinating for what they tell us about the way our ancestors saw themselves, their neighbours and their place in the world. This magnificent collection, drawn from seven centuries of maps held in the National Archives at Kew, looks at a variety of maps, from those found in 14th Century manuscripts, through early estate maps, to sea charts, maps used in military campaigns, and maps from treaties. The text explores who the mapmakers were, the purposes for which the maps were made, and what it tells us about the politics of the time.

Great images are accompanied by compelling stories. Featured is a woodcut map of 16th Century London, a map of where the bombs fell during the Second World War, and a map the first American settlers' drew when they were attempting to establish a new empire on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. Richly illustrated with large scale reproductions of the maps, the book also includes some of the more amusing or esoteric maps from the National Archives, such as the map of the Great Exhibition in 1851 that was presented on a lady's glove, a London Underground map in the form of a cucumber, and a Treasure Island map used to advertise National Savings.

This is a fascinating and unusual journey through the world of maps and mapmakers. (hide)

Marine Life of the Maldives is an identification guide for divers, snorkellers and beachcombers in the Maldives and wider Indian (read more)

Marine Life of the Maldives is an identification guide for divers, snorkellers and beachcombers in the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean region. It includes all the main marine invertebrates, marine plants, mammals, reptiles and birds. The update of this popular book has been carried out by the associate authors after the death of author Neville Coleman in 2012.

It includes a full revision of scientific and common names as well as a revision of the Phylum Cnidaria (Stingers), which includes the Stony corals. A comprehensive introduction outlines the main changes to the marine environment since the book was first published in 2000. Although this book is based on scientific classification, its primary function is to encourage greater awareness among divers on a level that everyone can understand.
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THE POST-BREXIT EDITION - brand new chapters with extra EU chaos for Englishman Paul West. An Englishman, Paul West, goes to Brussels (read more)

THE POST-BREXIT EDITION - brand new chapters with extra EU chaos for Englishman Paul West. An Englishman, Paul West, goes to Brussels to work for a French MEP. There he gets an insider's view of what really goes on in the massive madhouse that is the EU Parliament.

With the referendum on the horizon, things are even more hysterical than usual. When the Brexit result comes in, Paul has to make a decision. If he wants to work in Europe, should he apply for a French passport? But can an Englishman really become French? Can he sing the bloodthirsty "Marseillaise"? Can he even pronounce the word "Marseillaise"? And as Paul contemplates his own personal Brexit, the whole of Brussels seems to be going into meltdown...

Pub Date:23/03/2017 (hide)

While much of the Middle East is now engulfed in conflict and repression, Morocco remains a curious anomaly: peaceful and open to (read more)

While much of the Middle East is now engulfed in conflict and repression, Morocco remains a curious anomaly: peaceful and open to the West, it has provided refuge for artists and writers for generations, and it remains an exotic destination for many curious travelers. The country has been influenced by an incredible variety of peoples Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Berbers, Muslims, Jews, and most of Europe s colonizers have played a role and modern Moroccan society is no less rich and varied. In "Morocco," Walter M.

Weiss brings extensive knowledge of the region to bear as he travels the breadth and depth of the country s social and geographical contrasts. Berber villagers of the mountains are for the most part still illiterate and consider their king to be divinely chosen, while businessmen in Casablanca s towering offices dream of closer ties to the European Union. Weiss visits the settings of modern legends, such as Tangier, as well as the two medieval "centres Fes" and "Meknes," and sees earthen "kasbahs" and Marrakech s bazaar.On the way, he meets acrobats, Sufi musicians, pilgrims, craftsmen, beatniks, rabbis, and Berber farmers a kaleidoscope of variety and cultural influence. (hide)

***Stocked 11 July***At 10.41am on a Tuesday morning in September, Mark Mason boards the number 1A bus at Land's End in Cornwall. (read more)

***Stocked 11 July***At 10.41am on a Tuesday morning in September, Mark Mason boards the number 1A bus at Land's End in Cornwall. Forty-six buses and eleven days later he disembarks at John O'Groats in Scotland. Move Along Please is his account of that gruelling 1100-mile odyssey; a paint-by-bus-numbers portrait of Britain. (hide)

There are numerous luxury hotels to choose from when planning a romantic getaway, but finding a unique and unforgettable experience (read more)

There are numerous luxury hotels to choose from when planning a romantic getaway, but finding a unique and unforgettable experience in a stunning location is a greater challenge. Mr & Mrs Smith was founded in 2003 by James and Tamara Lohan to discover the world's finest hotels and travel experiences. Now, with a million members and counting, their global presence has made them leading experts on hotels and destinations, crafting bespoke experiences for their clients.

This selection of thirty-five of the sexiest hotel rooms features bedrooms in a wide variety of stunning locations all over the world. From a rustic safari lodge to a luxurious Venetian pallazzo, this essential overview tells the story behind the design and decor of each unique room, the history of the hotel and the essentials for where to go when you visit. Written by Sarah Jappy, and with reviews by trusted tastemakers, such as Lauren Laverne, Raymond Blanc and Stella McCartney, all of the featured rooms are presented alongside tips from those who have visited, with their recommendations for the unique features and experiences on offer for each hotel and within its surrounding area. (hide)

Following on from the bestselling Nairn's Towns - a celebration of the city of Paris by cult figure Ian Nairn. Illustrated with original (read more)

Following on from the bestselling Nairn's Towns - a celebration of the city of Paris by cult figure Ian Nairn. Illustrated with original black and white images taken by Nairn himself. More than a guide book - this is a journey of discovery.

Out of print since 1968, this is a unique guide book from the late, great architectural writer, Ian Nairn. Illustrated with the author's snaps of the city, Nairn gives his readers an idiosyncratic and unpretentious portrait of the 'collective masterpiece' that is Paris. 'Once you discover [Nairn]...you want to read everything he's written.' - Daily Telegraph

Published:19 Apr 2017
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