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万本电子书0元读

Doctrine and Practice of Yoga
Doctrine and Practice of Yoga
Swami Mukerji
¥8.09
According to Wikipedia: "Yoga is the Hindu practice of physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on the Hindu concept of divinity or Brahman. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism."
The History of the Peloponnesian War
The History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides
¥8.09
The classic history of war between Athens and Sparta. According to Wikipedia: "Thucydides (c. 460 B.C. – c. 395 B.C.) was a Greek historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientific history" due to his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis in terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods. He has also been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right. His classical text is still studied at advanced military colleges worldwide, and the Melian dialogue remains a seminal work of international relations theory. More generally, Thucydides showed an interest in developing an understanding of human nature to explain behaviour in such crises as plague and civil war."
Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain
Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain
Judith Flanders
¥80.25
A delightful and fascinating social history of Victorians at leisure, told through the letters, diaries, journals and novels of nineteenth-century men and women, from the author of the bestselling ‘The Victorian House’. Imagine a world where only one in five people owns a book, where just one in ten has a knife or a fork – a world where five people out of every six do not own a cup to hold a hot drink. That was what England was like in the early eighteenth century. Yet by the close of the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution had brought with it not just factories, railways, mines and machines but also fashion, travel, leisure and pleasure. Leisure became an industry – a cornucopia of excitement for the masses – and it was spread by newspapers, advertising, promotions and publicity – all of which were eighteenth-century creations. It was Josiah Wedgwood and his colleagues who invented money-back guarantees, free delivery and celebrity endorsements. New technology such as the railways brought audiences to ever-more-elaborate extravaganzas, whether it was theatrical spectaculars with breathtaking pyrotechnics and hundreds of extras – ‘hippodramas' recreating the battle of Waterloo – or the Great Exhibition itself, proudly displaying 'the products of all quarters of the globe' under twenty-two acres of the sparkling 'Crystal Palace'. In ‘Consuming Passions’, the bestselling author of ‘The Victorian House’ explores this dramatic revolution in science, technology and industry – and how a world of thrilling sensation, lavish spectacle and unimaginable theatricality was born.
God’s Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the
God’s Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the
Alice Hogge
¥102.51
A thrilling account of treachery, loyalty and martyrdom in Elizabethan England from an exceptional new writer. As darkness fell on the evening of Friday, 28 October 1588, just weeks after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, two young Englishmen landed in secret on a Norfolk beach. They were Jesuit priests. Their aim was to achieve by force of argument what the Armada had failed to do by force of arms: return England to the Catholic Church. Eighteen years later their mission had been shattered by the actions of a small group of terrorists, the Gunpowder Plotters; they themselves had been accused of designing ‘that most horrid and hellish conspiracy’; and the future of every Catholic they had come to save depended on the silence of an Oxford joiner, builder of priest-holes, being tortured in the Tower of London. ‘God’s Secret Agents’ tells the story of Elizabeth’s ‘other’ England, a country at war with an unseen enemy, a country peopled – according to popular pamphlets and Government proclamations – with potential traitors, fifth-columnists and assassins. And it tells this story from the perspective of that unseen ‘enemy’, England’s Catholics, a beleaguered, alienated minority, struggling to uphold its faith. Ultimately, ‘God’s Secret Agents’ is the story of men who would die for their cause undone by men who would kill for it.
Edge of Empire: Conquest and Collecting in the East 1750–1850
Edge of Empire: Conquest and Collecting in the East 1750–1850
Maya Jasanoff
¥78.38
Talented historian Maya Jasonoff offers an alternative history of the British Empire. It is not about conquest – but rather a collection of startling and fascinating personal accounts of cross-cultural exchange from those who found themselves on the edges of Empire. A Palladian mansion filled with Western art in the centre of old Calcutta, the Mughal Emperor’s letters in an archive in the French Alps, the names of Italian adventurers scratched into the walls of Egyptian temples: in this imaginative book, Maya Jasanoff delves into the stories behind artefacts like these to uncover the lives of collectors in India and Egypt who lived on the frontiers of European empire. ‘Edge of Empire’ traces their exploits to tell an intimate history of imperialism. Written and researched on four continents, ‘Edge of Empire’ tells a story about the making of European empires, ones that break away from the grand narratives of power, exploitation, and resistance, to delve into the personal dimensions of imperialism. She asks what people brought to imperial frontiers and what they took away, and what motives drove them, whether ambition, opportunism, curiosity or greed. This rich and compelling book enters a world where people lived, loved and died, and identified with each other across cultures much more than our prejudices about ‘Empire’ might suggest.
Liberty’s Exiles: The Loss of America and the Remaking of the British Empire.
Liberty’s Exiles: The Loss of America and the Remaking of the British Empire.
Maya Jasanoff
¥90.84
From the author of ‘Edge of Empire’ comes a fascinating, thought-provoking and alternative history of the American Revolution – that of those Americans who remained loyal to the British Empire. George Washington's triumphant entrance into New York City in 1783 marked the end of the American Revolution; the British were gone, the patriots were back and a key moment inscribed itself in the annals of the emerging United States. Territorial independence had effectively begun. Although widely perceived as a struggle between nations, the reality of the American Revolution is a strikingly different one. This was a war in which Britons fought Britons and Americans fought Americans. It was also one in which hundreds of thousands of American Loyalists, from Georgia to Maine, took Britain's side. And, when George Washington arrived in New York on that November day, they were forced to face up to a very tough situation; would they be free? Would they be safe? Would they retain their property and their jobs? Would they have to leave? As many as 200,000 American Loyalists left the United States. They lost their homes and their possessions and had little choice but to build new lives elsewhere in the British Empire. In ‘The Imperial Exile’, Maya Jasanoff examines the story of the Loyalist refugees, focusing on the life of one woman - Elizabeth Johnston - and her family, who reconstructed their lives in four different imperial settings: St Augustine, Edinburgh, Jamaica and Nova Scotia. Their movements speak eloquently of a larger history of exile, mobility and the shaping of the British Empire in the wake of the American War. A rich, compelling and untold history.
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The tragedy of Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Gre
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The tragedy of Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Gre
Leanda de Lisle
¥81.03
The dramatic untold story of the three tragic Grey sisters, all heirs to the Tudor throne, all victims to their royal blood. Lady Jane Grey is an icon of innocence abused. Remembered as the ‘Nine Days Queen’, she has been mythologized as a child-woman sacrificed to political expedience. But behind the legend lay a rebellious adolescent who became a leader, and no mere victim. Growing up in her shadow, Jane’s sisters Katherine and Mary would have to tread carefully to survive. The dramatic lives of the younger Grey sisters remain little known, but both women became heirs and rivals to the Tudor monarchs, Mary and Elizabeth I. To gain Queen Mary’s trust, teenaged Katherine ignored Jane’s final request not to change her religion, only to risk her life with a marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth’s throne. While Katherine’s friends fought to save her, the youngest Grey sister, Mary, stayed at court. Though too poor and plain to be significant, she looked set to escape the burden of her royal blood. But then she too fell in love and incurred the Queen’s fury. Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane’s life, and casting fresh light onto Elizabeth’s reign, acclaimed historian Leanda de Lisle brings the Grey sisters’ tumultuous world to life: at a time when a royal marriage could gain you a kingdom, or cost you everything.
I Didn’t Do It For You: How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation (Te
I Didn’t Do It For You: How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation (Te
Michela Wrong
¥81.03
One small East African country embodies the battered history of the continent: patronised by colonialists, riven by civil war, confused by Cold War manoeuvring, proud, colorful, with Africa's best espresso and worst rail service. Michela Wrong brilliantly reveals the contradictions and comedy, past and present, of Eritrea. Just as the beat of a butterfly’s wings is said to cause hurricanes on the other side of the world, so the affairs of tiny Eritrea reverberate onto the agenda of superpower strategists. This new book on Africa is from the author of the critically acclaimed In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz. Eritrea is a little-known country scarred by decades of conflict and occupation. It has weathered the world's longest-running guerrilla war, and the dogged determination that secured victory against Ethiopia, its giant neighbour, is woven into the national psyche. Fascist Italy wanted Eritrea as the springboard for a new, racially-pure Roman empire, Britain sold off its industry for scrap, the US needed headquarters for its state-of-the-art spy station and the Soviet Union used it as a pawn in a proxy war. Michela Wrong reveals the breathtaking abuses this tiny nation has suffered and, with the sharp eye for detail that was the hallmark of her account of Mobutu's Congo, she tells the story of colonialism itself. Along the way, we meet a formidable Emperor, a guerrilla fighter who taught himself French cuisine in the bush, and a chemist who arranged the heist of his own laboratory. An arresting blend of travelogue and history, ‘I Didn't Do It For You’ pierces the dark heart of our colonial history.
The Big House: The Story of a Country House and its Family
The Big House: The Story of a Country House and its Family
Christopher Simon Sykes
¥81.03
Please note that some images were unavailable for the electronic edition. The highly praised biography of an archetypal great house and the family who lived there for over 250 years. ‘The Big House’ is the biography of a great country house and the lives of the Sykes family who lived there, with varying fates, for the next two hundred and fifty years. It is a fascinating social history set against the backdrop of a changing England, with a highly individual, pugnacious and self-determining cast, including: ‘Old Tat’ Sykes, said to be one of the great sights of Yorkshire (the author’s great-great-great-grandfather), who wore 18th-century dress to the day of his death at ninety-one in 1861. His son was similarly eccentric, wearing eight coats that he discarded gradually throughout the day in order to keep his body temperature at a constant. He was forced to marry, aged forty-eight, eighteen-year-old Jessica Cavendish-Bentick – a lively and highly intelligent woman who relieved the boredom of her marriage by acquiring a string of lovers, writing novels and throwing extravagant parties (her nickname became ‘Lady Satin Tights’), all the while accumulating debts that ended in a scandalous court case. Their son, Mark, died suddenly whilst brokering the peace settlement at the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I; Sledmere was destroyed by fire shortly afterwards. But the rebuilt Sledmere rose from the flames to resound again with colourful, brilliant characters in the 1920s and 1930s including the author’s grandmother, Lily, who had been a celebrated bohemian in Paris. ‘The Big House’ is vividly written and meticulously researched using the Sykes’ own family’s papers and photographs. In this splendid biography of place and time, Christopher Simon Sykes has resuscitated the lives of his ancestors and their glorious home from the 18th- through to the 20th-century.
Dragonflies (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 106)
Dragonflies (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 106)
Philip Corbet,Stephen Brooks
¥192.67
Dragonflies are among the most ancient of living creatures – few insect groups fascinate as much or are more immediately recognisable. In this seminal new work, Philip Corbet and Stephen Brooks examine the behaviour, ecology and distribution of dragonflies in Britain and Ireland, placing emphasis on the insects' habitats and also on measures needed to conserve them. Published in 1960 – with Philip Corbet as contributing author – volume 41 of the New Naturalist series provided the first in-depth study of the biology of British dragonflies, helping to inspire many people to take an interest in these intriguing insects. In this new volume, Corbet has teamed up with Stephen Brooks, offering a fascinating new outlook on the natural history of dragonflies. The authors have combined their knowledge and experience to help illuminate the relevance of British dragonfly species, placing them in the overall context of natural history from a broader, worldwide perspective. Illustrated with beautiful photography throughout, New Naturalist Dragonflies explores all aspects of the biological significance of dragonfly behaviour, thus revealing the beauty and hidden complexity of these powerful, agile, flying predators.
Woodlands (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 100)
Woodlands (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 100)
Oliver Rackham
¥95.75
The 100th volume of the prestigious New Naturalist series, written by one of Britain's best-known naturalists, explores the significance and history of woodlands on the British landscape ‘Trees are wildlife just as deer or primroses are wildlife. Each species has its own agenda and its own interactions with human activities…’ This 100th volume of the New Naturalist series presents a landmark in natural history publishing. Looking at such diverse evidence as the woods used in buildings and ships, and how woodland has been portrayed in pictures and photographs, Rackham reconstructs British woodland through the ages. Aimed at the non-specialist, ‘New Naturalist Woodlands’ investigates what woods are and how they function. In lively style, Rackham takes us through: ? How woods evolved and how they are managed, ? The basic botany (understanding roots, partnerships, longevity, tree-rings), ? Outline of woodland history, ? Pollen analysis and wildwood, ? Archives of woodland and how to study them, ? Different types of woodland, ? The rise and fall of modern forestry. Illustrated with beautiful colour photographs throughout, this New Naturalist is set to be a classic for collectors and general readers alike.
British Game (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 2)
British Game (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 2)
Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald
¥456.66
British Game ranges beyond the strict legal interpretation of game and is full of interesting details about the birds and beasts that should interest sportsmen. Collins are delighted to announce the republication in facsimile form of the first editions of the very first volumes in the New Naturalist Library. Originally planned in the darkest days of World War II and first published in 1945, this series is the longest running nature series in the world. It is a reflection of the quality of the authors and the books they wrote, that they are still sought after 73 years later. The books will be identical in every way to the original first editions, including the iconic jackets by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis.
Natural History in the Highlands and Islands (Collins New Naturalist Library, Bo
Natural History in the Highlands and Islands (Collins New Naturalist Library, Bo
F. Fraser Darling
¥456.66
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are rugged moorland, alpine mountains and jagged coast with remarkable natural history. Collins are delighted to announce the republication in facsimile form of the first editions of the very first volumes in the New Naturalist Library. Originally planned in the darkest days of World War II and first published in 1945, this series is the longest running nature series in the world. It is a reflection of the quality of the authors and the books they wrote, that they are still sought after 73 years later. The books will be identical in every way to the original first editions, including the iconic jackets by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are rugged moorland, alpine mountains and jagged coast with remarkable natural history, including relict and specialised animals and plants. Here are animals in really large numbers: St. Kilda with its sea-birds, North Rona its seals, Islay its wintering geese, rivers and lochs with their spawning salmon and trout, the ubiquitous midges! This is big country with red deer, wildcat, pine marten, badger, otter, fox, ermine, golden eagle, osprey, raven, peregrine, grey lag, divers, phalaropes, capercaillie and ptarmigan. Off-shore are killer whales and basking sharks. Here too in large scale interaction is forestry, sheep farming, sport, tourism and wild life conservation.
Flowers of the Coast (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 24)
Flowers of the Coast (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 24)
Ian Hepburn
¥456.66
Few parts of our British islands can compare with our sea coasts as plant hunting ground. Flowers of the Coast takes us on a search across sand dune, cliff, shingle and rock. This edition is produced from an original copy by William Collins.
The Natural History of Wales (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 66)
The Natural History of Wales (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 66)
William. M. Condry
¥456.66
This book is an attempt to survey the natural history of the whole of Wales. It therefore covers such areas as Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons as well as the spectacularly beautiful Pembrokeshire coast and the less well-known but no less interesting areas of mid-Wales. Wales is a country of great geographical and biological diversity, a largely mountainous land whose eastern scarps overlook the richer plains of Mercia. William Condry is an acute observer of the potentialities of terrain, and particularly in respect of wildlife habitats. The author of the distinguished volume on Snowdonia in the New Naturalist series, he is the ideal person to write about one of the best-known and best-loved parts of Great Britain. This book is an attempt to survey the natural history of the whole of Wales. It therefore covers such areas as Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons as well as the spectacularly beautiful Pembrokeshire coast and the less well-known but no less interesting areas of mid-Wales. Describing each kind of terrain in turn, William Condry has explored and surveyed the face of this unique land as few others have done. Beginning with corries, crags and summits, he goes on to consider moorlands, mires and conifers. There then follow rivers, lakes and marshes; the native woodlands; limestone flora; farmlands, villages and estates; the industrial scene; and finally perhaps the most striking terrain of all, the coast. This encompasses polders, peatlands, beaches, dunes and estuaries as well as cliffs, headlands and island. Within each of these areas William Condry brings a wealth of experience to bear on the more obvious aspects of wildlife - flowering plants and ferns, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Important rarities such as the Snowdon lily or the red kite are, of course, included, but always with the intention of establishing a proper respect for their conservation. Affectionate and thoroughly informative, full of insights into local history and always a delight to read, this is a magnificent introduction to Wales and its countryside.
Ferns (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 74)
Ferns (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 74)
Christopher N. Page
¥456.66
Ferns gives the reader an introduction to the reasons for the variety of ferns in the British Isles, as well as the history of their development within this landscape and their use by man. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com Ferns, horsetails and clubmosses, or to use their technical term the Pteridophyta, are a fascinating area of the British flora that ranged from the prehistoric-looking horsetails to the delicate beauty of the Aspleniaceae family (otherwise known as the spleenworts and familiar inhabitants of many a conservatory). Ferns are ubiquitous on this damp island, but often overlooked, overshadowed by the interest in the technicolour of our flowering plants. This book gives the reader an introduction to the reasons for the variety of ferns in the British Isles, as well as the history of their development within this landscape and their use by man. Taking each major habitat, Dr Page details which species of ferns are most likely to be encountered and why. Using numerous examples, he also shows how some species have become highly adapted to their environment using a whole range of strategies varying from the ordinary to the bizarre. Ferns follows in the distinguished New Naturalist series tradition of investigative natural history, drawing from the latest field studies and research, and is the most authoritative, up-to-date and in-depth survey of this part of the British flora available.
British Freshwater Fish (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 75)
British Freshwater Fish (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 75)
P. S. Maitland,R. N. Campbell
¥456.66
An in-depth look at the fish that inhabit the fresh waters of Britain and Ireland. These include famous members of the salmon family, such as the Atlantic Salmon and the Brown Trout, and the obscure whitefish, species of which are confined to just a few lakes. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com Fish have been a highly sought after part of the British fauna since Dame Juliana Berners wrote the first fishing book in 1486, but have long been overlooked by naturalists as a part of the British countryside. In this new volume in the New Naturalist series, Dr Peter Maitland and Niall Campbell, who have both spent a lifetime studying and catching fish, take an in-depth look at the fish that inhabit the fresh waters of Britain and Ireland. These include famous members of the salmon family, such as the Atlantic Salmon and the Brown Trout, and the obscure whitefish, species of which are confined to just a few lakes. The information that the authors uncover gives a comprehensive overview of the life cycle of fish, whether mundane spawning or the complex migrations of the Eel and Sea Trout, as well as details on diet, behaviour and ecology. The book also contains the most up to date identification key to both the families and individual species of fish, allowing every species of freshwater fish to be conclusively identified. As well as detailed de*ions of each family, there are also seven chapters on more general subject. These include chapters on fish conservation and the future of the fish fauna in our country: a sign of the change in status of fish from the pursued to the studied.
Lichens (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 86)
Lichens (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 86)
Oliver Gilbert
¥447.14
Lichens are fascinating and beautiful organisms able to colonise a vast range of habitats, including seemingly impossible places such as bare icy mountain tops and sun-scorched coastal rocks. This book discusses all aspects of British lichens, revealing the secrets of their success. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com Lichens are fascinating and beautiful organisms able to colonise a vast range of habitats, including seemingly impossible places such as bare icy mountain tops and sun-scorched coastal rocks. This book discusses all aspects of British lichens, revealing the secrets of their success. The book begins by looking at how lichens have been used throughout history in medicines, dyes, food and perfumes. It then goes on to describe what lichens are, and how they grow and reproduce. A detailed survey is given of the range of habitats in which lichens can be found: on trees, rocks, heaths and moors, chalk and limestone, mountains, rivers, lakes, the coast, walls and buildings, most famously on churches and in churchyards. Gilbert also discusses the susceptibility of lichens to air pollution, and how they can be used to detect environmental pollution. The comprehensive, reader-friendly text, over 150 illustrations and 16 pages of colour, combine to make Lichens the definitive work on this subject of great natural history interest.
A History of Food in 100 Recipes
A History of Food in 100 Recipes
William Sitwell
¥114.48
The ingredients, cooks, techniques and tools that have shaped our love of food. We all love to eat and most of us have a favourite ingredient or dish. In today's world we can get the food we want, when we want it, but how many of us really know where our much-loved recipes come from, who invented them and how they were originally cooked? In this book William Sitwell, culinary expert on BBC2's 'A Question of Taste' and editor of Waitrose Kitchen magazine, takes us on a colourful, whirlwind journey as he explores the fascinating history of cuisine. This book is a celebration of the great dishes, techniques and above all brilliant cooks who have, over the centuries, created the culinary landscape we now enjoy. Any lover of fine food who has ever wondered about the origins of the methods and recipes we now take for granted will find A History of Food in 100 Recipes required reading. As well as shining a light on food's glorious past, there are contributions from a glittering array of stars of British cuisine, including Marco Pierre White, Delia Smith, Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. In an incisive and humorous narrative, Sitwell enters an Egyptian tomb to reveal the earliest recipe for bread and discovers the greatest party planner of the Middle Ages. He uncovers the extraordinary and poetic roots of the roast dinner and tells the heart-rending story of the forgotten genius who invented the pressure cooker. And much, much more.
David Attenborough’s First Life: A Journey Back in Time with Matt Kaplan
David Attenborough’s First Life: A Journey Back in Time with Matt Kaplan
Sir David Attenborough,Matt Kaplan
¥184.23
The epic story of the beginning of life on Earth from the much loved and respected naturalist, writer and broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough. Spanning billions of years, Attenborough's time-travelling narrative brings the reader face to face with the first animals that ever existed. By using the latest technology, we are finally able to see for ourselves how these early animals would have looked like and how they would have lived. Attenborough also shows us how some of the evolutionary features of these most primitive creatures are alive today in modern animals, including us humans. Attenborough shows us how the evolution of the first eyes, the first solid body parts and the first feet and backbones came to be. Looking at global ice ages and volcanic eruptions he also shows how evolution is heavily connected with the history of the planet. In this groundbreaking investigation, Attenborough travels the world, from Canada to Australia and Morocco to unearth the secrets hidden in prehistoric fossils, providing a deeper understanding of the first living creatures and the origins of our evolutionary traits.
Wildlife of Southern Africa (Traveller’s Guide)
Wildlife of Southern Africa (Traveller’s Guide)
David Hosking,Martin Withers
¥91.43
The perfect companion for the safari enthusiast, this complete traveller’s guide to the wildlife of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Malawi is a must-have for all those considering a trip to the game reserves of this highly popular region. Written and illustrated by wildlife experts who have been leading safaris in the region for over 20 years, and featuring over 400 species of bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian and insect, this informative guide makes the perfect companion for all those considering a trip to the game reserves of southern Africa. Each species is illustrated with a full-colour photograph and features a full species de*ion. Key information on wildlife photography is also included, such as the best type of camera, film and lenses to use, along with information on techniques and codes of conduct.