Filter to

When the flamboyant treasure-hunter Moses Wilhelm Shapira arrived in London in 1883, he claimed to have discovered the world’s most ancient copy of Deuteronomy – and was quickly denounced as a fraudster. Over 70 years later the emergence of the eerily similar Dead Sea Scrolls prompted reassessment of Shapira’s claims, but by then his scrolls had vanished. Tigay describes his own worldwide quest to locate these mysterious documents and establish whether they truly were a forgery. Felt-tip mark on lower edge.

London has more parks and green spaces than any other capital of a comparable size, so a climbable tree is never far away. Extolling the virtues of lifting oneself out of the city bustle and finding new perspectives on the urban scene, this book records the exploits of a committed tree climber seeking out interesting specimens and unusual vantage points, from a tall sweetgum alongside the walls of St Paul's Cathedral to a scruffy willow on the Swiss Cottage roundabout.