Did you know that Virginia Woolf once tricked the Navy into believing she was an Abyssinian prince? Or that Shakespeare was a tax evader and Rimbaud a gun runner? Bill Peschel uncovers the seamy underside of famous writers' lives - their assorted misbehaviours, public embarrassments, awkward encounters, sexual escapades, criminal enterprises and hoaxes. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge. ...more
Churchill's Children The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain John Welshman Oxford University Press 2010 Hardback
In September 1939, as German forces moved into Poland, more than a million children were evacuated from London and other major cities to the countryside and billeted with sometimes reluctant hosts. Based on interviews with 13 former evacuees, this absorbing book captures their feelings of excitement and boredom, happiness and sadness, acceptance and rejection. It also examines the effect of the evacuation on communities and its impact on post-war attitudes to reconstruction, state intervention, poverty and social class....more
The Aerial Atlas of the Holy Land Discover the great Sites of History from the Air John Bowker; Photo. Sonia Halliday; Bryan Knox Mitchell Beazley 2008 Hardback Illustrated
Once considered the centre of the Earth, the Holy Land remains central to three great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Lavishly illustrated with breathtaking aerial photographs and full- colour maps, this magnificent volume explores the region's unparalleled heritage of castles, citadels, churches, mosques and synagogues. Inspirational and informative, it profiles 35 sites - among them, the Dome of the Rock, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Olives and Megiddo (Armageddon), explaining their history, archaeology, and their biblical and cultural significance. ...more
Charlotte Booth Amberley 2011 Paperback Illustrated
Did Cleopatra die from the bite of an asp? Were the Pyramids built by slaves? Are mummies cursed? Ancient Egypt has a well-established place in the modern popular imagination, but hundreds of films, cartoons and books have sometimes confused fact with fiction. Charlotte Booth investigates the most common myths and misconceptions, and looks at the pervasive influence of ancient Egypt in Western culture through the centuries, from Herodotus to The Simpsons. ...more
Emerging in the late 19th century from the pioneering example of William Morris and the writings of John Ruskin, the ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement quickly spread, raising awareness of the negative effects of industrialization on traditional crafts and changing the way people thought about art and design in the home. In this richly illustrated volume, Karen Livingstone explores the origins and aesthetics of this seminal movement through paintings, furniture, architecture and artefacts from Britain, America, Europe and Japan....more
90 Years of Heroes The Royal British Legion Matt Croucher Collins 2011 Hardback Illustrated
For virtually every year since 1921, when the Royal British Legion was founded, this book tells the story of one hero - a member of the armed forces decorated for bravery, or a civilian who has played some part in Britain's military history over the last nine decades. The result is a lively, inspiring and richly illustrated tribute to the dedication of the armed forces, encompassing all ranks and their roles in both peacetime and war, from the Western Front in 1914 to Afghanistan 2010. ...more
The Forbidden City The great Within May Holdsworth; Caroline Courtauld Frances Lincoln 2008 Hardback Illustrated
Planned by the emperor Yongle in 1404 and laid out in accordance with his astrologer's symbolic conception, the Forbidden City in Beijing was the seat of Chinese imperial power for 500 years, up to the revolution of 1912. With photography by Hu Chui and an introduction by Jonathan Spence, this lavishly illustrated volume chronicles the history of the Forbidden City, describes its buildings and explores the tremendous wealth of artefacts within the palace collections. ...more
Called Up, Sent Down The Bevin Boys' War Tom Hickman History Press 2010 Paperback Illustrated
At the outbreak of the Second World War thousands of miners enlisted in the armed forces; by 1943 the war effort was in danger of stalling for lack of coal. Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, sought service volunteers and compulsorily sent 20,000 eighteen-year olds down the mines with them. Hickman tells the story of the 'Bevin boys': young men who had expected to fight for their country, but instead found themselves in its hardest and most dangerous industry. ...more
Britain and Ireland have a long history of castle building, from simple earth and timber structures to complex concentric fortresses. An explanation of the different castle types, illustrated with floorplans and colour photos, is followed by an exploration of 49 selected castles, from Restormel in Cornwall to Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye and west to Ireland's Bunratty Castle. Each is set within its historical and architectural context and accompanied by details of opening times and transport links. ...more
The Nine Lives of Otto Katz The Remarkable Story of a Communist Super-Spy Jonathan Miles Bantam 2010 Hardback Illustrated
To the FBI he was an 'extremely dangerous man'; the British Secret Service wondered if he was the 'director of all Communist policy in the West'. Here, Jonathan Miles goes in search of the real Otto Katz (1895-1952), a brilliant, double-dealing and daring spy; the charming socialite in Europe and Hollywood who served a dictator - Stalin - in Moscow. Using recently released FBI, MI5 and Czech files, Miles tells the story of the life (or lives) of one of the world's most influential and intriguing spies. ...more
A Camera in the Hills The Life and Work of WA Poucher Roly Smith Frances Lincoln 2008 Hardback Illustrated
The author of The Lakeland Peaks and one of the most popular and prolific mountain photographers in the 1940s and 1950s, Walter Poucher (1891-1988) was also the chief perfumer at Yardley and an advocate - in the 1930s - of cosmetics for men. Illustrated with Poucher's own photographs, this biography describes the many- talented pharmacist, perfumer and author, walker and photographer, from his early training and service in the First World War to a very active old age - still revising guidebooks in his nineties. ...more
This easy-to-follow and richly illustrated guide to growing roses presents some 200 varieties, ranging from original wild species to recent hybrids. In Part 1, Dermot O'Neill recommends the best roses for special purposes, such as scent, hedging or cut flowers, and for particular locations and conditions. Part 2 is a directory of bush, shrub and climbing roses, arranged alphabetically within colour categories; and Part 3 offers a practical guide to rose care....more
Churchill's War Lab The Mavericks Churchill Led to Victory Taylor Downing Abacus 2011 Paperback
A cavalry officer leading charges as a young man, Churchill never lost his desire to be in the thick of battle. Unable to join his troops on the battlefields during the Second World War, he immersed himself in the work of code-breakers and scientific mavericks fighting the back-room war. Downing's book examines the origins of Churchill's enormous enthusiasm for military technology, his relationship with the scientists and generals, and the results of his 'War Lab' in areas such as radar, cracking Enigma and strategic bombing....more
How to Win at Russian Roulette And Other Fiendish Logic Problems Thomas Byrne; Tom Cassidy Oneworld 2010 Paperback
These 33 mind-boggling conundrums are combined with hilarious storylines involving such events as intergalactic Speed Croquet, escape from a Mexican raging inferno and the 'electric toilet virgin death lottery'. As well as full answers the book contains a series of four increasingly more helpful hints for each problem, to guide you gently in the right direction....more
The Outlaw Sea Chaos and Crime on the World's Oceans William Langewiesche Granta 2004 Paperback
The 43,000 ships which navigate the oceans face many perils, both natural and man-made, as they transport the raw materials and products on which our lives depend. Langewiesche explores the murky world of these floating islands which change identity and nationality while their crews live not only with the ever-present danger of shipwreck but also with the age-old problem of piracy and the new threat of terrorism....more
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