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A History of Sweets in 50 Wrappers
A History of Sweets in 50 Wrappers
Steve Berry,Phil Norman
¥15.60
A super-sweet guide to all your favourite sweets from years gone by. A History of Sweets in 50 Wrappers is a colourful and comical history of sweets and chocolates. If you ever dreamt of being the Milkybar Kid, if you remember when Snickers were Marathons and Double Deckers had raisins in them, if you ever checked the colour of your next Fruit Pastille before offering it out, this book is for you. It will lead you down memory lane until you reach the corner shop and load up a 10p mix-up bag. Fully illustrated, with hundreds of classic wrappers and adverts, A History of Sweets in 50 Wrappers is packed full of memories, fun facts, historical research … … and lots and lots of sweets!
The Fix
The Fix
Damian Thompson
¥68.67
Addictions to iphones, painkillers, cupcakes, alcohol and sex are taking over our lives. Our most casual daily habits can quickly become obsessions that move beyond our control. Damian Thompson, who has himself struggled with a range of addictions, argues that human desire is in the process of being reshaped. Shunning the concept of addiction as disease, he shows how manufacturers are producing substances like ipads, muffins and computer games that we learn to like too much and supplement tradition addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling. He argues that addictive behaviour is becoming a substitute for family and work bonds that are being swept away by globalisation and urbanisation. This battle to control addiction will soon overshadow familiar ideological debates about how to run the economy, and as whole societies set about “fixing” themselves, the architecture of human relations will come under strain as never before. The Fix offers a truly frightening glimpse of the future and is essential reading for fans of Naomi Klein’s ‘No Logo’, Oliver James’s ‘Affluenza’ and Francis Wheen’s ‘How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World’.
Inside Nature’s Giants
Inside Nature’s Giants
David Dugan
¥147.35
With a foreword by Richard Dawkins, and based on the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 TV series, Inside Nature’s Giants gets under the skin of the largest animals on the planet. See them as you've never seen them before – from the inside out. Inside Nature’s Giants explores the anatomy of the largest animals on the planet to reveal how these amazing creatures really work. Rather than simply telling you how an animal behaves, the book features dissection, CGI and wildlife photography to show how millions of years of evolution have enabled animals to thrive across the world. This is natural history as you’ve never seen it before – from the inside out. Join the Inside Nature’s Giants team of scientists and anatomical experts, including, among others, veterinary scientist Mark Evans, enthusiastic, scalpel-wielding anatomist Joy Reidenberg, science presenter Simon Watt and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, as they unlock the secrets behind some of nature's most extraordinary beasts. Why doesn’t a giraffe keel over and faint, when its head is so far above its heart? Why are crocodiles hopeless at chewing, when they have the strongest bite of all animals, and why does a giant squid have three hearts and pass food through its brain? By rolling up their sleeves to delve into these animals the team discover the answers to these, and many other fascinating, questions, revealing how evolution by natural selection is responsible for the bizarre biology of elephants, sharks, giraffes, big cats, hippos, crocodiles, camels, whales, kangaroos, giant squids and more. Using an interactive approach, Inside Nature’s Giants offers an exciting, alternative take on natural history. By opening the single- and double-page gatefolds readers can go beneath the skins of the animals to experience for themselves how evolution has shaped the anatomy of some of nature’s most magnificent animals.
The Chronicles of Downton Abbey (Official Series 3 TV tie-in)
The Chronicles of Downton Abbey (Official Series 3 TV tie-in)
Jessica Fellowes,Matthew Sturgis
¥147.35
The official companion to all three seasons. The Great War has ended, but Downton Abbey is far from peaceful… A changing world has brought new challenges and new guests. Inside the walls of the Great House there is more intrigue, rivalry and romance than ever. The Chronicles of Downton Abbey take you deep into the lives of the Crawleys, their servants, lovers, friends and guests. So wander the crowded servants' quarters and peek into luxurious bed chambers. Go beneath the surface, and experience every aspect of their lives – from daily routines, dressing tables and treasure chests to their most secret hopes and fears. This definitive book explores the lives of every important member of the Downton estate. Focusing on each character individually, it examines their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. An evocative source of story and background, it will take you even deeper into the secret, beating heart of the house.
The Cracking Code Book
The Cracking Code Book
Simon Singh
¥53.56
How to make it, break it, hack it, crack it. The secret history of codes and code breaking. Simon Singh’s best-selling title The Code Book now re-issued for the young-adult market. The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography. Simon Singh brings life to an amazing story of puzzles, codes, languages and riddles – revealing the continual pursuit to disguise and uncover, and to work out the secret languages of others. Codes have influenced events throughout history, both in the stories of those who make them and those who break them. The betrayal of Mary Queen of Scots and the cracking of the enigma code that helped the Allies in World War II are major episodes in a continuing history of cryptography. In addition to stories of intrigue and warfare, Simon Singh also investigates other codes, the unravelling of genes and the rediscovery of ancient languages and most tantalisingly, the Beale ciphers, an unbroken code that could hold the key to a $20 million treasure.
World War One:History in an Hour
World War One:History in an Hour
Rupert Colley
¥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. The ‘Great War’, from July 1914 to November 1918, was without parallel. It brought to an end four dynasties, ignited revolution, and forged new nations. It introduced killing on an unprecedented scale, costing an estimated nine million lives. It was the war that destroyed any notion of romance or chivalry in battle; it pulled in combatants from nations across the globe and shattered them, body and mind. The War involved all of the world’s great powers – the Central Powers, dominated by Germany and Austria-Hungary; the Triple Entente, lead by Britain, France and Russia; and America. World War One: History in an Hour explains the unprecedented battles on land, sea and in the air and describes the Home Front, espionage, and the politics behind them. This, for the first time in history, was ‘total war’. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
The Siege of Leningrad:History in an Hour
The Siege of Leningrad:History in an Hour
Rupert Colley
¥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. The Siege of Leningrad was one of the longest sieges in history and it inflicted some of the worst civilian casualties of World War Two. When Hitler declared his intention to obliterate the key city of Leningrad on 22 September 1941, he could not have foreseen the grim determination of its citizens. Over the course of 900 days, the city resisted the Germans pounding at its gates. Its survival contributed to the defeat of Nazism. But the price was heavy – over 1 million died in Leningrad from German bombs and artillery, or from disease, the cold or starvation. In its suffering Leningrad became a source of symbolic national pride, of good conquering evil. The story of the siege is one of heroic resistance and stoical survival but it also one of unimaginable suffering and extreme deprivation. THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD: HISTORY IN AN HOUR is essential reading for all history lovers. Know your stuff: read about the Siege of Leningrad in just one hour.
The Sugar Girls - Joan’s Story
The Sugar Girls - Joan’s Story
Duncan Barrett,Nuala Calvi
¥18.74
This is Joan’s story, one of four stories from The Sugar Girls.During the Blitz and the years of rationing, the Sugar Girls kept Britain sweet. The work was back-breakingly hard, but the Tate & Lyle factory was more than just a workplace - it was a community, a calling, a place of love and support and an uproarious, tribal part of East London. ‘Joan had joined Tate & Lyle expressly for the social life, and she was determined to make the most of it. She could see that her old friend Peggy already had an established group of her own among the sugar girls, so she set about building a new set of friends. It wasn’t difficult for Joan, whose cheerful self-confidence, natural chattiness and naughty sense of humour acted as a magnet to those around her.’ In the years leading up to and after the Second World War thousands of women left school at fourteen to work in the bustling factories of London’s East End. Despite long hours, hard and often hazardous work, factory life afforded exciting opportunities for independence, friendship and romance. Of all the factories that lined the docks, it was at Tate & Lyle’s where you could earn the most generous wages and enjoy the best social life, and it was here where The Sugar Girls worked This is an evocative, moving story of hunger, hardship and happiness, providing a moving insight into a lost way of life, as well as a timeless testament to the experience of being young and female. Includes Joan’s own personal photographs of life as a sugar girl.
A Book of Voyages
A Book of Voyages
Patrick O’Brian
¥69.26
Never previously published in this country, A Book of Voyages presents writings by various travelers, annotated and introduced by Patrick O Brian. Most are taken from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; O Brian felt that, unlike Elizabethan or Victorian accounts, these writings were relatively unknown in our time. On her journey through the Crimea, Lady Craven witnesses barbaric entertainments in the court of the Tartar Khan. John Bell tells us of his day s hunting with the Manchu emperor in 1721 outside Peking. An English woman in Madras gives us a detailed de*ion of the extraordinary costume and body decoration of a high-born Indian woman, wife of a nabob. These and other selections are glimpses of a world, now gone forever, that few readers would ever see for themselves. They are also quite possibly the inspiration for the travels and adventures of O Brian s own fictional heroes Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin."
Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed
Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed
David Crane
¥73.58
‘Of all the books marking the bicentenary Waterloo, this has to be the best’ Spectator ‘A book to die for’ Evening Standard From Samuel Johnson Prize shortlisted author David Crane, this is a breathtaking portrait of the Britain that fought the battle of Waterloo. As Wellington’s rain-sodden army retreated towards an obscure valley called Waterloo, the men and women of Britain were still going to the theatre and science lectures, working in the fields and the factories, reading and writing books and sermons, painting their pictures and sitting in front of Lord Elgin’s marbles. David Crane’s stunning freeze-frame of Britain on this day of momentous change shifts hour by hour between Britain and Belgium. The Britain that fought Waterloo – its radicals and patriots, artisans and aristocrats, prisoners and poets – appears through the smoke of battle and the mythology of Waterloo in this magnificent and original tracing of the endless, overlapping connections between people’s lives.
Birds Britannia
Birds Britannia
Stephen Moss
¥132.53
Birds and bird lore provide a fascinating window onto our social and cultural history, and can tell us much about our changing relationship with the British landscape, our people and society. We Brits love our birds. They hold a special place in our hearts – whether it's the sound of birdsong on a spring morning, the sight of a Barn Owl hunting on a summer's evening, or a Robin perched on our garden spade. In this book, Stephen Moss focusses on some of our most beloved and charismatic birds. He explores their fascinating biology, and their place in the evolving culture and history of the British people. The author delves into the worlds of Sea Birds (Puffin, Sea Eagle and Gannet), Water Birds (Kingfisher, Swan and Avocet), Countryside Birds (Red Grouse, Nightingale and Skylark ) and Town & Garden Birds (Robin, House Sparrow and Magpie), weaving their stories together to tell four very different stories about the changing face of Britain.
A Death in Belmont
A Death in Belmont
Sebastian Junger
¥73.58
A compelling portrait of 1960s America that takes as its starting point the brutal events of 11 March 1963, the day on which the lives of three complete strangers – a black handyman, an Italian-American carpenter and a second-generation Jewish housewife – collided in the leafy Boston suburb of Belmont. These three people did not know one another, but, by the end of the day, the housewife had been raped and strangled, the handyman had been arrested on suspicion of being the notorious Boston Strangler, and the real Boston Strangler – carpenter Al DeSalvo – had returned home to his wife and children. It was not until two years later that DeSalvo admitted to the gruesomely violent murders of thirteen women. Also unwittingly drawn into the drama were one-year-old Sebastian Junger's own family, who posed for a photograph with DeSalvo the day after the Belmont strangling, at the completion of his work on their studio. Taking the chilling family snap as his inspiration, Junger explores the worlds of the three protagonists and, in so doing, creates a portrait of America in the 1960s that touches on the historic themes of the era: the assassination of JFK, the rise of the immigrants and the troubling race relations that prefigured the death of Martin Luther King. This new work by Sebastian Junger, the acclaimed author of ‘Perfect Storm’ and ‘Fire’, is as enlightening as it is haunting. Taking as its foundation the events that shocked a quiet community in 1963, ‘A Death in Belmont’ expands to encompass an entire nation at a time of extraordinary social turmoil.
Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum (Text Only)
Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum (Text Only)
Richard Fortey
¥80.25
This edition does not include illustrations. ‘Dry Store Room No. 1’ is an intimate biography of the Natural History Museum, celebrating the eccentric personalities who have peopled it and capturing the wonders of scientific endeavour, academic rigour and imagination. Behind the public fa?ade of any great museum there lies a secret domain: one of unseen galleries, locked doors, priceless specimens and hidden lives.Through the stories of the numerous eccentric individuals whose long careers have left their mark on the study of evolutionary science, Richard Fortey, former senior paleaontologist at London's Natural History Museum, celebrates the pioneering work of the Museum from its inception to the present day. He delves into the feuds, affairs, scandals and skulduggery that have punctuated its long history, and formed a backdrop to extraordinary scientific endeavour from Darwin to the present day. He explores the staying power and adaptability of the Museum as it responds to changes wrought by advances in technology and molecular biology – 'spare' bones from an extinct giant bird suddenly become cutting-edge science with the new knowledge that DNA can be extracted from them, and ancient fish are tested with the latest equipment that is able to measure rises in pollution. 'Dry Store Room No.1’ is a fascinating and affectionate account of a hidden world of untold treasures, where every fragment tells a story about time past, by a scientist who combines rigorous professional learning with a gift for prose that sparkles with wit and literary sensibility. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
The Natural History of Orkney (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 70)
The Natural History of Orkney (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 70)
R. J. Berry
¥456.66
This is the first survey of the islands' natural history, complete in one volume. Because Orkney is exceptional, it is vital reading for the serious naturalist, as well as for being a comprehensive and absorbing guide for every visitor. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com Orkney is a very special place for naturalists. Closer to Oslo than to London, its geography and climate create quite distinct environmental conditions - even though it is only six miles from the Scottish mainland. On these islands of fierce gales, long summer days and long winter nights, the wildlife has adapted in intriguing ways… Starlings adapt to ground-nesting…local sheep eat seaweed…and there are voles exclusive to Orkney. Here is one of the very few areas where the rare and delicate Scottish Primrose thrives…where you find the British stronghold of the Hen Harrier, and vast colonies of seabirds and seals. This is the first - and long-needed - survey of the islands' natural history, complete in one volume. Because Orkney is exceptional, it is vital reading for the serious naturalist, as well as for being a comprehensive and absorbing guide for every visitor. In his tracing of the island's evolution from its geological creation to the effects of oil technology; in the detailed, yet fascinating exploration of the plants and animals (and where best to see them), Professor Berry's expertise and enthusiasm is backed by that of local specialists, and Orkney's long tradition of natural history study. Appendices include definitive lists of all the species of flora and fauna on record, and an extensive bibliography.
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket
Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket
Richard Holmes
¥80.25
Redcoat is the brilliant story of the common British soldier from 1700 to 1900, based on the letters and diaries of the men who served and the women who followed them. Delving into the history of the period – charting events including Wolfe's victory and death at Quebec, Wellington's Peninsular War, Waterloo, the retreat from Kabul and the Sikh wars – celebrated military historian Richard Holmes provides a comprehensive portrait of a fallible but extraordinarily successful fighting force.
The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)
The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)
Gavin Weightman
¥72.99
The story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from the lakes of New England – valued for its incredible purity – revolutionised domestic life around the world. In the days before artificial refrigeration, it was thought impossible to transport ice for long distances. But one man, Frederic Tudor, was convinced it could be done. This is the story of how, almost single-handedly, and in the face of near-universal mockery, he established a vast industry that would introduce the benefits of fresh ice to large parts of the globe. Thanks to Tudor, the American fashion for drinks ‘on the rocks’ spread to tropical areas such as the West Indies and British India. By the 1830s fleets of schooners carried the frozen cargo, packed with sawdust and tarpaulins for insulation, to all corners of the world. The harvesting of the ice from New England’s lakes employed thousands of men. The frozen water trade had a profound influence on the tastes of a large part of the world, but with the development of artificial cooling systems in the first quarter of the 20th century, the huge industry established by Frederic Tudor vanished as if it had never been. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of En
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of En
James Gaines
¥81.32
In one corner, a godless young warrior, Voltaire's heralded 'philosopher-king', the It Boy of the Enlightenment. In the other, a devout if bad-tempered old composer of 'outdated' music, a scorned genius in his last years. The sparks from their brief conflict illuminate a turbulent age. Behind the pomp and flash, Prussia's Frederick the Great was a tormented man, son of an abusive king who forced him to watch as his best friend (probably his lover) was beheaded. In what may have been one of history's crueler practical jokes, Frederick challenged 'old Bach' to a musical duel, asking him to improvise a six-part fugue based on an impossibly intricate theme (possibly devised for him by Bach's own son). Bach left the court fuming, but in a fever of composition, he used the coded, alchemical language of counterpoint to write 'A Musical Offering' in response. A stirring declaration of faith, it represented 'as stark a rebuke of his beliefs and world view as an absolute monarch has ever received,' Gaines writes. It is also one of the great works of art in the history of music. Set at the tipping point between the ancient and the modern world, the triumphant story of Bach's victory expands to take in the tumult of the eighteenth century: the legacy of the Reformation, wars and conquest, the birth of the Enlightenment. Brimming with originality and wit, 'Evening in the Palace of Reason' is history of the best kind - intimate in scale and broad in its vision.
Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 113)
Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 113)
Ian Newton
¥206.30
The phenomenon of bird migration has fascinated people from time immemorial. The arrivals and departures of different species marked the seasons, heralding spring and autumn, and providing a reliable calendar long before anything better became available. Migration is shown by many kinds of animals, including butterflies and other insects, mammals, marine turtles and fish, but in none is it as extensively developed as in birds. The collective travel routes of birds span almost the entire globe, with some extreme return journeys covering more than 30,000 km. As a result of migration, bird distributions are continually changing – in regular seasonal patterns, and on local, regional or global scales. Migration has repeatedly prompted familiar questions, such as where birds go or come from, why do they do it, how do they know when and where to travel, and how do they find their way? In this book, Ian Newton sets out to answer these – and other – questions. The book is divided into four main sections: the first is introductory, describing the different types of bird movements, methods of study, and the main migration patterns seen around the British Isles; the second part is concerned mainly with the process of migration – with timing, energy needs, weather effects and navigation; the third with evolution and change in migratory behaviour; and the fourth with the geographical and ecological aspects of bird movements.
The Bacon Book: Irresistible, mouthwatering recipes!
The Bacon Book: Irresistible, mouthwatering recipes!
Christopher Sjuve
¥95.75
Christopher Sjuve is a chef and food editor. Based in Norway, his motto is your can never have too much bacon!
Scotland: The Story of a Nation
Scotland: The Story of a Nation
Magnus Magnusson
¥85.65
Magnus Magnusson KBE is an Icelandic national who has spent most of his life in Scotland. After studying English at Oxford, he joined the Scottish Daily Express in 1953, and the Scotsman in 1961 as Assistant Editor. Since 1967 he has been a freelance writer and broadcaster, specialising in history, archaeology and environmental affairs. He has presented many programmes on BBC TV, including Chronicle (1967–80), Mastermind (1972–97), and a twelve-part series on Vikings! (1980). He has published more than twenty books. In 1989 he was awarded an honorary knighthood for his services to the heritage of Scotland. He was chairman of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland (1981–89) and of Scottish Natural Heritage (1992–99).
An Agenda for Britain
An Agenda for Britain
Frank Field
¥44.24
In The Importance of Being Earnest what Lady Bracknell said of Ernest’s loss of both his parents could also be said about the losing of elections. If the loss of one election is unfortunate, and two careless, then three is reckless, four criminal, and to lose five in succession might well prove fatal. This chapter looks at the reasons for Labour’s losing streak. It considers whether the Party is now so enfeebled that it will be unable to win again, unless it offers an electoral reform which will ensure that it is unlikely ever to form a one-party government again. The promise of electoral reform must be accompanied by the most fundamental changes in the Party’s constitution if Labour is to continue to be a serious political force.