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Book of the week

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New Arrivals

Browse all New Arrivals (100 products)

The Village News
The Truth Behind England's Rural Idyll
Tom Fort
Over the course of the last century, the English village has often been declared dead or dying. In this volume, ex-BBC journalist Tom Fort sets out to discover whether these communities really are on their last legs. Fort approaches 6,000 years of history and his own experiences of rural life with wit, humour and entertaining observations, and concludes that ‘the village as a model for communal living is simply too strong to fail’.
£14.99
now£6.99
Vienna
Art and Architecture
Ed. Rolf Toman;Photo. Achim Bednorz;Gerald Zugmann
As the former capital of a vast empire, Vienna has some of the most magnificent architecture and richly endowed galleries and museums in Europe. The essays and articles in this volume, illustrated with colour photographs on every page, offer a comprehensive view of the city’s cultural treasures, from the splendours of the Baroque to the artistic ferment of the Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte, and set them in the context of Vienna’s political and social history.
£39.95
now£14.99
Terracotta Warriors
History, Mystery and the Latest Discoveries
Edward Burman
Discovered by chance by farmers in 1974, the mausoleum of the first emperor of China contained one of the wonders of the world: the Terracotta Army. Based on unique access to leading Chinese archaeologists, this book sets the clay warriors in the context of Chinese society 2,200 years ago, describes the latest discoveries at the vast and only partly excavated site, and hints at what may still be uncovered – including the imperial tomb itself.
£14.99
now£5.99
Art and the Second World War
Monica Bohm-Duchen
Discussing art made in Spain during the Civil War, 1935–9, in the democracies of the UK, USA and the Commonwealth, in occupied France, the USSR, Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, and with chapters devoted to the art of the Holocaust and responses to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this volume presents an illustrated overview of the complex and often disturbing relationship between war and the fine arts – painting, sculpture, print-making and drawing – during the Second World War.
£45.00
now£19.99
To Catch A King
Charles II's Great Escape
Charles Spencer
In 1651, Charles II returned to England to reclaim the throne of his executed father, only to be crushed by the might of Cromwell’s armies at Worcester. Based on the account he gave of his adventures to Samuel Pepys, and the reports of others who assisted him, this history tells of his six weeks on the run, using deception and disguise, grit and good luck to evade capture.
£14.99
now£6.99
Impressionist Gardens
Marina Linares
In this richly illustrated volume, art historian Marina Linares draws on over 200 paintings to explore Impressionists’ interpretations of gardens in the city and the country, examining light, colour and technique. Incorporating early 19th-century works by Constable, which demonstrate a turn towards the depiction of nature, and subsequent pieces by artists including Sisley, Renoir, Pissarro, Cézanne and Morisot, the book culminates with a selection of Monet’s water lily paintings. Text in six languages.
now£19.99
Earth-Shattering Events
Earthquakes, Nations and Civilization
Andrew Robinson
Throughout history, humans have rebuilt settlements destroyed by earthquakes, so that today as many as 60 of the world’s largest cities lie in areas of major seismic activity. Robinson considers how we live with this risk and respond to its challenges: he identifies opportunities for post-disaster renewal and analyses the wider political and economic ramifications of earthquakes, with case studies ranging from the great uprising by ancient Sparta’s subject peoples to debates about nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima meltdown.
£18.95
now£7.99
1983
The World at the Brink
Taylor Downing
Never in the Cold War – not even during the Cuban Missile Crisis – did the world come nearer the brink than in 1983. That was the year of Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’ speech and his Star Wars programme, when the Soviets shot down the Korean flight KAL 007, and a NATO exercise spooked a nervous Andropov into believing war had started for real. Drawing on hundreds of recently discovered documents, this book reveals how close we came to nuclear catastrophe.
£20.00
now£8.99
Witchfinders
A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy
Malcolm Gaskill
By the spring of 1645, civil war had exacted a terrible toll on England. Disease, hunger, anxiety and lawlessness were rife, and belief in the supernatural was commonplace. In Essex, two gentlemen began interrogating women suspected of witchcraft. This study charts the grisly careers of ‘Witchfinder General’ Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, and reveals how religious bigotry and the superstitious fears of ordinary people unleashed the most brutal witch-hunt in English history.
£10.99
now£4.99
The Spitfire Manual
Ed. Dilip Sarkar
Before being let loose in a Supermarine Spitfire, fighter pilots would have to familiarize themselves with the 'Pilot's Notes' which comprehensively detailed the aircraft's equipment, controls and operation. These instructions are reproduced in this book together with examples of log books, combat reports and other contemporary training booklets advising on such skills as identifying enemy aircraft, estimating range and combat flying.
£9.99
now£3.99
Silent Witness
The Civil War Through Photography and Its Photographers
Ron Field
The entrepreneurial spirit has often thrived during times of war, and the makeshift photography studios that sprung up in attic rooms, chemists’ shops, cabins and tents in the military encampments of 1861 America did a roaring trade. The result was an unparalleled photographic record of the American Civil War, capturing not only portraits of loved ones, politicians and generals, but battlefields, ordnance and the devastation of conflict, pictured here in this erudite illustrated study of Civil War photography. Slightly off-mint.
£30.00
now£12.99
Chiparus
Master of Art Deco
Alberto Shayo
Born in Romania, Demetre Chiparus studied in Paris and stayed on to experience the cultural explosion of the inter-war years. He became an iconic Art Deco sculptor, his delicate figurines – which depict elaborately dressed dancers, children and animals – enjoying great popularity. Charting his life and influences, and the materials and foundries he used, this updated volume, originally published in 1993, includes colour plates of his work, recently discovered pieces and updated information, alongside a selection of his paintings.
£65.00
now£30.00
Molecules
The Elements and the Architecture of Everything
Theodore Gray;Photo. Nick Mann
This offbeat look at the innumerable chemical compounds constituting our world shuns the textbook format for a visual exploration of molecules and the array of materials they form, including sugars and soaps; oil and water; food additives and drugs; and perfumes and plastics. Photographs of everyday objects contrast with images of chemical powders and crystals to inspire, along with their explanatory captions, a real sense of chemistry in action.
£25.00
now£9.99
Light
The Visible Spectrum and Beyond
Kimberly Arcand;Megan Watzke
The light penetrating our eyes, an incoming call on a mobile phone, or an X-ray at the dentist: all are different kinds of light, or electromagnetic radiation. This illustrated guide to the electromagnetic spectrum explores the nature of light wavelength by wavelength – radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma-rays – revealing the properties, characteristics and practical applications of each type of radiation with incisive explanations, diagrams and hundreds of full-colour photographs.
£20.00
now£9.99
Britain's Railways in Wartime
The Nation's Lifeline
Anthony Lambert
Victory in the two world wars would have been impossible without the railways: ‘everything that was grown, made or mined, had to be carried, and soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians also had to be carried.’ The scale of the task and dangers faced by the women and men of the railways were enormous, and this book, with its wealth of statistics and archival photography, pays tribute to the resourcefulness of railway staff, from cleaners and clerks to drivers and porters.
£25.00
now£12.99
199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die
Loren Rhoads
Why visit a graveyard if you have no one to mourn? For Lorna Rhoads cemeteries can be repositories of stories, outdoor sculpture parks, habitats for birds and wildlife, gardens and oases of tranquillity. Her worldwide, illustrated directory includes burial grounds of all faiths, famous graveyards such Père Lachaise, Boothill and the Taj Mahal, war graves and memorial parks, catacombs, dolmens and even an underwater cemetery – the Neptune Memorial Reef for those lost at sea.
£14.99
now£5.99
Madness in Civilization
A Cultural History of Insanity from the Bible to Freud, from the Madhouse to Modern Medicine
Andrew Scull
The many different manifestations of mental illness are the subject of this panoramic work of social history. Its eminent author provocatively argues that we remain far from understanding the roots of madness and that modern psychiatry has much to learn from the responses of past societies. Scull explains how madness has been understood, through the lenses of medicine, pharmacology, religion and psychology, as a frightening challenge to the social fabric, and as a profound influence on the arts.
£28.00
now£9.99
Treasured Island
Frank Barrett
In this book lover’s tour of Britain, the Mail on Sunday’s travel editor embarks on a series of literary rambles through the towns and countryside immortalized by great writers. Here is Jane Austen’s Bath, Hardy’s Wessex, Wordsworth’s Lake District, Bram Stoker’s Whitby and Robert Burns’s birthplace in Alloway. Frank Barrett’s adventures, recounted with self-deprecating humour, include satnav errors, truculent tour guides and, of course, the British weather.
£9.99
now£3.99
Commandant Of Auschwitz
The Autobiography of Rudolf Hoess
Rudolf Hoess;Trans. Constantine FitzGibbon
Rudolf Hoess was Commandant of Auschwitz from its construction in 1940 until late 1943, and supervised the murder of over three million Jews as part of the Nazis’ ‘final solution’. He was an expert in the administration of concentration camps and mass exterminations. Hoess wrote this autobiography in 1947 while in prison in Poland. He was tried, sentenced and hanged later that year. The autobiography and other documents are translated here by Constantine Fitzgibbon, with an introduction by Primo Levi.
£9.99
now£4.99
The Seafront
Allan Brodie
Illustrated with photographs drawn from the Archive of Historic England, as well as newly commissioned aerial images, this volume charts the development of the British seafront over the past 300 years. Historian Allan Brodie blends a chronological, geographic and architectural account with a photographic record of seaside experiences, from ice creams and donkey rides to deckchairs and Punch-and-Judy shows, and chronicles how, with the growth of tourism, the natural coastline has evolved into a man-made world of piers, promenades and fun palaces.
£50.00
now£25.00

Bestsellers

Browse all Bestsellers (100 products)

Slap and Tickle
The Unusual History of Sex and the People Who Have It
Tom Cutler
This irreverent guide takes a peek at a perennially fascinating subject. A romp through the biological mechanics and history of human intercourse is spiced up with intimate true stories, public scandals, censorship, sex toys, fetishes, and a concise glossary of filthy language. Eclectic, entertaining and original, it reveals everything you always wanted to know about sex – and quite a few things you probably didn’t. Sexually explicit.
£12.99
now£4.99
The Spitfire Manual
Ed. Dilip Sarkar
Before being let loose in a Supermarine Spitfire, fighter pilots would have to familiarize themselves with the 'Pilot's Notes' which comprehensively detailed the aircraft's equipment, controls and operation. These instructions are reproduced in this book together with examples of log books, combat reports and other contemporary training booklets advising on such skills as identifying enemy aircraft, estimating range and combat flying.
£9.99
now£3.99
No Milk Today
Andrew Ward
From doorstep delivery and money collection to amorous liaisons and dog attacks, this nostalgic social history takes an affectionate look at a great British institution, examines the changes that have taken place over the years, and laments the demise of the industry. Rich with stories and reminiscences, the book documents and celebrates the figure who not only delivered milk but also acted as community worker, handyman and family friend.
£8.99
now£3.99
Britain's Railways in Wartime
The Nation's Lifeline
Anthony Lambert
Victory in the two world wars would have been impossible without the railways: ‘everything that was grown, made or mined, had to be carried, and soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians also had to be carried.’ The scale of the task and dangers faced by the women and men of the railways were enormous, and this book, with its wealth of statistics and archival photography, pays tribute to the resourcefulness of railway staff, from cleaners and clerks to drivers and porters.
£25.00
now£12.99
And Now the Shipping Forecast
A Tide of History Around Our Shores
Peter Jefferson
Never mind that few people could point to Viking on a map or make much sense of ‘Fitzroy: north east five or six', the nightly Shipping Forecast has ‘permeated the British psyche in a most extraordinary way’. Peter Jefferson, who read the Forecast on BBC Radio for over 40 years, enlightens us on all aspects of its genesis and how it gets broadcast, plus related maritime matters including shipping areas past and present, meteorological terms, lighthouses and sailors’ lore.
£10.99
now£4.99
Leonardo da Vinci Drawings
Masterpieces of Art
Susan Grange
A painter, inventor, architect, military engineer and musician, Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was also a prolific draughtsman and, as Susan Grange argues, ‘it is through his drawings that we can find the most direct access to his genius’. Her illustrated essay introducing the scope and depth of Leonardo’s drawings accompanies 85 full-page reproductions of his studies for paintings, inventions, maps, anatomical drawings and observations of the natural world. From the Masterpieces of Art series.
£12.99
now£6.99
A Celebration of Beatrix Potter
Art and Letters by More Than 30 of Today's Favorite Children's Book Illustrators
Ed. Giuseppe Castellano
Compiled for Frederick Warne & Co, Beatrix Potter’s original publishers, to celebrate her 150th anniversary, this book brings together contributions from 32 of today’s favourite children’s author-illustrators and excerpts from nine of Potter’s best-loved tales. Along with their new illustrations inspired by the stories of characters such as Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher and Squirrel Nutkin, the current generation of children’s writers share their thoughts on Beatrix Potter’s art and her influence on their work.
£14.99
now£9.99
Crime's Strangest Cases
Extraordinary but True Stories from Over Five Centuries of Legal History
Peter Seddon
Convinced that God would save him, John Lee was calm in the face of the executioner at Exeter Prison in 1885. His confidence proved well founded when three times the hangman's trapdoor failed to open, resulting in his reprieve. This collection of crime and punishment oddities ranges from a 13th-century ‘trial by battle’ to a phantom villain at Derby Magistrates Court in 2001.
£9.99
now£3.99
Bandaging the Blitz
1938–42
Phyll Macdonald-Ross;ID Roberts
Phyll Macdonald-Ross was a trainee nurse at Hackney Hospital in London’s East End when war was declared in September 1939. Her memoir recalls the rigid discipline and hard work of nursing, and the harrowing experience of tending the injured and dying during the Blitz in London, but also friendship and mischief, and the beginning of a lifelong love affair. The story was presented in 2015, Phyll’s 95th year, by her grandson ID Roberts.
£7.99
now£3.99
Kate Remembered
Katharine Hepburn: A Personal Biography
A Scott Berg
A Scott Berg knew Katharine Hepburn for 20 years, during which time they shared many hours of private conversation – material, it was agreed, for a book to be published after the actress’s death. Covering details of her privileged background, her 50 years of stardom, her relationship with Spencer Tracy and her thoughts about other actors, interwoven with fascinating anecdotes, this is Hepburn’s life as she wanted it to be presented.
£12.99
now£4.99
Maths in Bite-sized Chunks
Chris Waring
Chris Waring’s accessible guide is designed for anyone who is keen to overcome a fear of mathematics. Employing numerous examples, common-sense explanations, fascinating asides and clear diagrams, this volume breaks down seemingly inscrutable mathematical concepts into easy-to-follow steps, explaining simple arithmetic and number, ratio and proportion, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability. Reassuringly, Waring emphasises real-world applications of mathematical principles, championing the great mathematicians of history in the process.
£9.99
now£4.99
Treasured Island
Frank Barrett
In this book lover’s tour of Britain, the Mail on Sunday’s travel editor embarks on a series of literary rambles through the towns and countryside immortalized by great writers. Here is Jane Austen’s Bath, Hardy’s Wessex, Wordsworth’s Lake District, Bram Stoker’s Whitby and Robert Burns’s birthplace in Alloway. Frank Barrett’s adventures, recounted with self-deprecating humour, include satnav errors, truculent tour guides and, of course, the British weather.
£9.99
now£3.99
Commandant Of Auschwitz
The Autobiography of Rudolf Hoess
Rudolf Hoess;Trans. Constantine FitzGibbon
Rudolf Hoess was Commandant of Auschwitz from its construction in 1940 until late 1943, and supervised the murder of over three million Jews as part of the Nazis’ ‘final solution’. He was an expert in the administration of concentration camps and mass exterminations. Hoess wrote this autobiography in 1947 while in prison in Poland. He was tried, sentenced and hanged later that year. The autobiography and other documents are translated here by Constantine Fitzgibbon, with an introduction by Primo Levi.
£9.99
now£4.99
Dr James Barry
A Woman Ahead of Her Time
Michael du Preez;Jeremy Dronfield
Dr James Barry was, among other things, Inspector of General Hospitals, an army surgeon, and the first British Empire doctor to successfully perform a caesarean. Only at the end of his colourful life, in 1865, was the truth revealed: Dr Barry was in fact a woman – the UK’s first female doctor. Following ten years of detailed research, the authors have produced a fascinating biography – incorporating colour portraits – that dispels some of the myths surrounding this mysterious individual.
£16.99
now£6.99
Dorset from the Sea
The Jurassic Coast from Lyme Regis to Old Harry Rocks Photographed from its Best Viewpoint
Steve Belasco
From Lyme Regis to Old Harry Rocks, the photographer Steve Belasco has cruised the Dorset coastline in small boats in all seasons and all weathers. His offshore photographs afford the best view of the natural Jurassic Coast with its spectacular rock formations and sandstone cliffs such as East Cliff (of Broadchurch fame), rocky bays such as Warbarrow and Brandy Bay; the seafronts of towns such as Weymouth and Swanage; and Chesil Beach. Foreword by Ellen MacArthur.
£24.99
now£6.99

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