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Book of the week

Book of the week

New Arrivals

Browse all New Arrivals (100 products)

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)

BBC Proms 2019
BBC
Published annually to accompany the world's greatest classical music festival, the Festival Guide contains illustrated articles on composers and performers and complete listings for over 150 concerts, ranging from folk music to classical symphonies, concerti and choral works. The Guide also provides booking information and broadcast programme times.
£7.00
now£2.99
The English and Their History
Robert Tombs
In this much-acclaimed work, Robert Tombs traces England’s development from ‘an idea’ to a kingdom, a country, a people and a culture, and he makes collective memory an inherent part of the story. Emphasizing the role of memory creators and carriers such as language, literature, law, religious and political institutions, and historical writing, Tombs focuses on four ‘themes’: the aftermath of the Norman Conquest; the English Civil War; empire; and the recent sense of the nation in decline. American cut pages and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge. Off-mint.
$45.00
now£4.99
The Word Detective
A Life in Words: From Serendipity to Selfie
John Simpson
The former chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, John Simpson spent almost four decades immersed in the intricacies of language. His memoir describes the career of a lexicographer who revels in the excitement of historical dictionary work. It is also a celebration of the English language, describing how words come and go; how culture shapes the language we use; and how technology has transformed not only the way we speak and write but also how words are made.
£18.99
now£3.99
Evolving English Wordbank
A Glossary of Present-Day English Dialect and Slang
Jonathan Robinson
Jonathan Robinson curates the British Museum's archive of sound recordings illustrating British accents and dialects. He has compiled this quirky yet fascinating glossary by using such audio material collected from present-day dialect speakers, as well as old dictionaries' evidence of historical usage, so that the Wordbank not only provides a snapshot of vernacular English in the early 21st century but also reveals the ancient origins of many words and phrases in use today.
£12.99
now£2.99
Our History of the 20th Century
As Told in Diaries, Journals and Letters
Ed. Travis Elborough
From Queen Victoria’s journal entry for 1 January 1900, (‘full of anxiety & fear of what may be before us!’) to MP Oona King’s lament at spending the end of the millennium in a queue, Elborough’s compilation presents personal, contemporary and candid responses to world history as it happened. The book features over 100 diarists and provides one or more writers’ reaction to every major event or trend, whether a world war, the 1975 Europe Referendum or the latest Star Wars movie.
£25.00
now£3.99
Magnificent Creatures
Animals on the Move!
Anna Wright
A special bridge on Christmas Island provides safe passage for migrating crabs. A jellyfish, when split in two, can create two new jellyfish. Facts about sea turtles, zebras, bumblebees and many other creatures sit alongside beautiful, imaginative pictures by Scottish illustrator Anna Wright, who has used scraps of fabric, feathers, watercolour washes, and pen and ink to produce this informative and inspiring book. Age 4+
£7.99
now£2.50
Last Hope Island
Lynne Olson
In this epic narrative – a former Mail on Sunday Book of the Year – the American popular historian Lynne Olson focuses on the relationships between Britain and the governments from occupied Europe that found refuge in London during the Second World War. She explores their valuable contributions to the Allied war effort, as well as Britain’s staunch resistance to Hitler, and the exploits of the fighters across Europe who were inspired by the British ‘beacon of hope’.
£10.99
now£2.99
Word Play
A Cornucopia of Puns, Anagrams and Other Curiosities of the English Language
Gyles Brandreth
Taking English speakers' most frequently used greetings as his starting point, Gyles Brandreth embarks on an entertaining journey through nonsense words, cryptic crosswords, spoonerisms, malapropisms, famous last words and candidates for the world's most powerful word – 'love', 'freedom' or 'money'? In this audio version, the book's text alternates with clips from the master raconteur's Word Power stage show, recorded live at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. Unabridged.
£14.99
now£3.99
Into the Abyss
The Story of the First World War, Volume One
GJ Meyer
Volume one of this authoritative account of the First World War covers 1914 and 1915, examining the machinations of the belligerent parties, from the Habsburgs and the Serbs to the Hohenzollerns and the Ottoman Turks, in the 34 days leading up to outbreak. Each chapter presents extensive background information on people, places and events, including the French and British military commanders, pre-war London and Paris, the war at sea, and the technology that assured both deadlock and mutual destruction.
£16.99
now£3.99
Fungi of Britain and Northern Europe
Field Naturalist's Library
Paul Sterry
Part of the Field Naturalist's Library, this practical, easy to use and fully illustrated guide describes more than 250 commonly seen species of fungi. The entry for each fungus gives its common and Latin names and a description of its characteristics, range and habitat, including information on whether the species is edible or not and a chart showing when the fruit bodies are present. The clear plastic book jacket makes the guide ideal for field use.
£5.99
now£2.50
Living on Paper
Letters from Iris Murdoch 1934–1995
Iris Murdoch
The philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) would spend up to four hours a day on her correspondence, writing to friends, lovers, students, fans and even casual acquaintances. This selection of her letters, edited and introduced by Avril Horner and Anne Rowe, gives a kaleidoscopic portrait of a life lived to capacity and marked by numerous emotional imbroglios and intense friendships with fellow philosopher Philippa Foot and novelist Brigid Brophy, alongside a long and stable marriage to John Bayley.
£25.00
now£3.99
Abbotsford to Zion
The Story of Scottish Place Names Around the World
Elspeth Wills
Despite the A–Z of the title, this book takes a thematic approach as it tells the stories behind a selection of Scottish names of far-flung places. Starting with the explorers and pioneers who opened up wilderness lands, from Sir Alexander Mackenzie in Canada to Dundee Island in Antarctica, chapters describe the Scottish traders and migrants to North America, Australia and New Zealand who named places after themselves, their heroes or their homeland.
£9.99
now£1.99
Ravilious: The Boat Race Rowers Journal
The English painter and designer Eric Ravilious (1903–42) created several series of artworks for ceramics by Wedgwood, including Boat Race Day in 1938. The covers and endpapers of this journal feature reproductions of original designs from that series, now in the Wedgwood Museum Trust Collection. The sturdy hardback has 200 pages of lined, cream paper, an expandable rear pocket for loose papers and elastic closure.
now£3.99
The Most Beautiful Universities in the World
Photo. Guillaume de Laubier;Jean Serroy
From the ancient Italian and Spanish universities of Bologna and Salamanca, to the ultramodern Rolex Learning Centre, part of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology opened in 2010, the architecture of universities has reflected a striving for cultural and intellectual excellence. In this selection of 23 universities from 15 countries, Guillaume de Laubier presents photographic studies of their facades, libraries, ceremonial halls and teaching buildings, while writer Jean Serroy outlines the history of each institution and its architecture.
£30.00
now£7.99
Albion's Glorious Ile
The Shyres of England & Wales in IV Volumes
Ed. Anne Louise Avery;Illus. William Hole
Each of these four volumes begins with verses from Poly-Olbion – a 17th-century poem by Michael Drayton – accompanied by black-and-white maps of the various regions of England, showing geographical features represented by gods, nymphs and faeries. These are colouring books, but not in the contemporary sense: the black-line images should be carefully washed over with watercolours, according to cartographic tradition. Slipcased.
£15.99
now£3.99

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