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Portuguese
￥98.00
Portugal is an established member of the European Union, one of the founders of the euro currency and a founder member of NATO. Yet it is an inconspicuous and largely overlooked country on the continent's south-west rim.In the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Age of Discovery the Portuguese led Europe out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic and they brought Asia and Europe together. Evidence of their one-time four-continent empire can still be felt, not least in the Portuguese language which is spoken by more than 220 million people from Brazil, across parts of Africa to Asia.Analyzing present-day society and culture, The Portuguese also considers the nation's often tumultuous past. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was one of Europe's greatest natural disasters, strongly influencing continental thought and heralding Portugal's extended decline. The Portuguese also weathered Europe's longest dictatorship under twentieth-century ruler Antonio Salazar. A 1974 military coup, called the Carnation Revolution, placed the Portuguese at the centre of Cold War attentions. Portugal's quirky relationship with Spain, and with its oldest ally England, is also scrutinized.Portugal, which claims Europe's oldest fixed borders, measures just 561 by 218 kilometres . Within that space, however, it offers a patchwork of widely differing and beautiful landscapes. With an easygoing and seductive lifestyle expressed most fully in their love of food, the Portuguese also have an anarchical streak evident in many facets of contemporary life. A veteran journalist and commentator on Portugal, the author paints an intimate portrait of a fascinating and at times contradictory country and its people.
Lagos
￥88.19
Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, expected in some projections to have a population of 25 million by 2025. This will make it the biggest metropolis in sub-Saharan Africa and possibly the world's third largest city. This phenomenal and continuing growth gives it a heady turbulence, especially as it only took on the form of a coherent urban entity in the eighteenth century. After Nigeria's independence Lagos remained both trading hub and, for thirty years, a federal capital and political vortex. Now its driving sense of 'can-do', its outreach and vitality, make it a fulcrum and a channel for commercial and cultural talent. Kaye Whiteman explores a city that has constantly re-invented itself, from the first settlement on an uninhabited island to the creation of the port in the early years of the twentieth century. Lagos is still defined by its curious network of islands and lagoons, where erosion and reclamation lead to a permanently shifting topography, but history has thrust it into the role of a burgeoning mega-city, overcoming all nature's obstacles. The city's melting-pot has fertilised a unique literary and artistic flowering that is only now beginning to be appreciated by a world that has only seen slums and chaos. COLONIAL CITY: Portuguese influences; the 1861 Treaty of Cession and the British colonialists; architectural traces: schools and government buildings; the move towards independence. CITY OF ENTREPRENEURS: trading through the centuries: Sierra Leoneans and Brazilians; traditional markets and modern malls; the Central Business District. THE CITY OF WORDS AND MUSIC: a counterpoint to the alleged philistinism of its businessmen; the views of writers Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe; artist and sculptor Ben Enwonwu; the musical genius Fela Kuti.
Questions of Taste
￥73.48
Interest in and consumption of wine have grown exponentially in recent years and there has been a corresponding increase in consumers' knowledge of wine, which in turn has generated discussions about the meaning and value of wine in our lives and how renowned wine critics influence our subjective assessment of quality and shape public tastes.Wine first played a part in Western philosophy at the symposium of the early Greek philosophers where it enlivened and encouraged discussion. During the Enlightenment David Hume recommended drinking wine with friends as a cure for philosophical melancholy, while Immanuel Kant thought wine softened the harsher sides of men's characters and made their company more convivial.In Questions of Taste, the first book in any language on the subject, philosophers such as Roger Scruton and wine professionals like Andrew Jefford, author of the award-winning book The New France, turn their attention to wine as an object of perception, assessment and appreciation. They and their fellow contributors examine the relationship between a wine's qualities and our knowledge of them; the links between the scientifically describable properties of wine and the conscious experience of the wine taster; what we base our judgements of quality on and whether they are subjective or objective; the distinction between the cognitive and sensory aspects of taste; whether wine appreciation is an aesthetic experience; the role language plays in describing and evaluating wines; the significance of their intoxicating effect on us; the meaning and value of drinking wine with others; whether disagreement leads to relativism about judgements of taste; and whether we can really share the pleasures of drinking.Questions of Taste will be of interest to all those fascinated by the production and consumption of wine and how it affects our minds in ways we might not hitherto have suspected.
Legacy
￥39.14
Lucy Masters has just completed her PhD and is heading out to the Himalayas to climb some of the world's most challenging mountains. An assassin stalks a man whose company has developed a revolutionary new social media application. Harry Parker, an ex-Gurkha Army officer, is on leave between development contracts in Nepal. One of the City's most successful hedge fund managers is about to make his biggest ever fortune.Though they don't know it yet, the lives of these very different people come together in the most unexpected way. Add in a young and very beautiful emerging artist, a sociopath ex-special forces 'fixer' and an ambitious Police Commissioner and the stage is set for a dramatic adventure. From the mountains of Nepal and the Tors of Dartmoor to the streets of London and Edinburgh, the story that unfolds will grip you from the first page.
Fortune Hunter
￥112.72
The two decades after Waterloo marked the great age of foreign fortune hunters in England. Each year brought a new influx of impecunious Continental noblemen to the world's richest country, and the more brides they carried off, the more alarmed society became.The most colourful of these men was Prince Hermann von Pueckler-Muskau (1785-1871), remembered today as Germany's finest landscape gardener. In the mid-1820s, however, his efforts to turn his estate into a magnificent park came close to bankrupting him. To save his legacy his wife Lucie devised an unusual plan: they would divorce so that Pueckler could marry an heiress who would finance further landscaping and, after a decent interval, be cajoled into accepting Lucie's continued residence. In September 1826, his marriage dissolved, Pueckler set off for London.Pueckler is the most intelligent of the overseas visitors who noted their impressions of Regency England. His matrimonial quest brings him into contact with such luminaries as Walter Scott, George Canning, Princess Lieven, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Beau Brummell and John Nash. The object of many rumours and caricatures, the prince sticks doggedly to his task for nearly two years. And just when it seems that he has failed, England fills his coffers in the most unexpected way, and in doing so launches him on a new career.In telling the story of Pueckler's adventures in the context of the trend for Anglo-European marriages based on the exchange of a title for money, The Fortune Hunter writes a new chapter in the history of England's relationship with its Continental neighbours.
Northern Conquest
￥98.00
Most historical accounts examine the Viking Age in one part rather than the whole region of the British Isles and Ireland. Very few pay attention to the continued contact between England and Scandinavia in the post-Norman Conquest period. This book aims to offer an alternative approach by presenting a history of the Viking Age which considers the whole area up to and beyond the Norman Conquest of 1066.The Vikings have been traditionally portrayed as brutal barbarians who sailed to Britain and Ireland to loot, rape and pillage. The evidence presented here suggests a considerably less dramatic but no less fascinating picture which reveals the Vikings' remarkable achievements and their influence in shaping the political history of these islands. Katherine Holman discusses their skills as farmers, their linguistic and artistic contribution, their rituals and customs and the conflict between paganism and Christianity, showing that the Viking cultural impact was complex and often rich.Based on extensive and original research, The Northern Conquest presents the available evidence and guides the reader through the process of interpreting it. This is not restricted to historical documents alone, but also includes archaeology, runes, inscriptions, artefacts and linguistic evidence to provide different and complementary types of information. In addition, the book considers the contemporary question of the Vikings' genetic legacy.Interest in the Viking Age is thriving and expanding, both in Britain and in North America. Highly readable and casting new light on the period, this book will appeal to a wide audience.
Siberia
￥88.19
Before Russians crossed the Urals Mountains in the sixteenth century to settle their 'colony' in North Asia, they heard rumours about bountiful fur, of bizarre people without eyes who ate by shrugging their shoulders and of a land where trees exploded from cold. This region of frozen tundra, endless forest and humming steppe between the Urals and the Pacific Ocean was a vast, strange and frightening paradise. It was Siberia.Siberia is a cradle of civilizations, the birthplace of ancient Turkic empires and home to the cultures of indigenes, including peoples whose ancestors migrated to the Americas. It was a promised land to which bonded peasants could flee their cruel masters, yet also a 'white hell' across which exiles shuffled in felt shoes and chains. If in Stalin's era Siberia became synonymous with the gulag, today it is a vast region of bustling metropolises and magnificent landscapes, a place where the humdrum, the beautiful and the bizarre ignite the imagination. Tracing the historical contours of Siberia, A. J. Haywood offers a detailed account of the architectural and cultural landmarks of cities such as Irkutsk, Tobolsk, Barnaul and Novosibirsk.
Enduring Freedom
￥98.00
This brand new anthology has been compiled to commemorate 10 years in Afghanistan. Announced in November 2010, contributions for a book of war poems were sought, and aided by appeals in the media, including BFBS Radio, the Army Families Federation and the charity Combat Stress, to name but a few; poems came from serving personnel of all ranks, veterans, families and friends. These poems all have one thing in common: they speak from and with the very soul of our Armed Forces of which we are so proud. With an introduction by Sir Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate 1999-2009 and foreword by the former Head of the TA (Territorial Army), His Grace, The Duke of Westminster, this high-profile anthology is sure to stimulate poetry enthusiasts and those with an interest in supporting HM Forces personnel. The book contains a large proportion of new poetry inspired by events and operations relating to Afghanistan, written by both previously unpublished, and established poets who have found this book a suitable and timely vehicle for their powerful prose and poetry. One of the most powerful entries is from a schoolgirl, whose Wootton Bassett inspired poem is sure to stir the emotions. AGBP2 from each book supports Combat Stress.
Military Rule
￥58.76
A writer uses his imagination to create intriguing characters and a gripping storyline, and author Mark had achieved this in creating his debut novel, Military Rule. But the boundary between imagination and reality is challenged beyond all belief when a character supposedly killed off in his book rises like a phoenix from the ashes: General Mandeville - no longer Mark's creation but now completely beyond his control and his own, even more dangerous being, determined to be the Lord's Second Coming and establish military rule on Earth under his command.Mandeville has become the voice of Seeker One - formerly part of a covert long-term US military operation for gathering intelligence via infiltration of worldwide computer networks - two years ahead of Mark's time, his aim to control Mark's here and now and determine the future by revisiting the past and installing virtual beings on Earth - multiple selves of their human counterparts hooked up to terminals on Seeker One - to create confusion and influence humans' thoughts and beliefs in his favour. Suddenly author/character roles appear to have become reversed and Mark finds himself caught between two factions - the white-eyed of Mandeville's Network and the red-eyed splinter group - representing the Lord and Allah respectively, each trying to influence Mark's imagination of the truth and represent their own version of the book of revelations to humankind. Mark's choices are no longer those of the author of a work of fiction: the path he takes now will literally determine the future of the world.
Military Rule
￥39.14
America has secured its place as the world's superpower, with total control of the Middle East and its oilfields. Absolute world domination is in its grasp. But the outgoing President seems to be losing his grip and some believe he is selling out.The military, headed by a power-crazed general, have other ideas about the fate of the nation and are prepared to seize control at any cost and establish a dictatorship. Their answer: military rule for America and subsequently the rest of the world.In a tangled web of deceit and conspiracy, personal and selfish ambitions come to the fore. The line between friend and enemy becomes blurred in the battle for power. Who can be trusted, and will a David arise to slay the dangerous Goliath that has emerged before it is too late?
Official Carry On Quiz Book
￥58.76
Who can forget the cheeky humour, outrageous characters and slapstick comedy that have characterised the 'Carry On' films over the last fifty years? Well, don't lose your head if you discover that the 1,000 questions in this quiz book highlight a few holes in your memory and you end up in hospital screaming for the saucy nurse and ending up with the grumpy old matron! Covering every aspect of the 'Carry On' genre - the movies, release dates, characters, the stars and their lives, debuts, and much more - this book will propel you on a whirlwind journey from the Wild West to the Khyber Pass and every conceivable location in between, hotfooting through a range of historical eras, and jumping between black-and-white and Technicolor worlds. Even if you find you're cruising on rough waters, carry on regardless, make the most of the entertainment facilities, delve into the treasure trove of facts and figures, and allow your fond recollections to turn your frowns into the smiles and giggles that encapsulate the 'Carry On' ethos.
Cricket Quiz Book
￥68.57
Did you know that cricket is the second most popular sport in the world and has been an established team sport for centuries, with more than 100 cricket-playing nations now recognised by the International Cricket Council? No doubt those questions haven't left cricket aficionados remotely stumped, but be prepared to be caught out by the 1,000 leg-breaking quiz questions in this book. Your innings will require you to recall facts and figures relating to every possible aspect of the game of cricket from players to umpires and national to international matches, together with all kinds of trivia, so you could very easily find yourself in a real spin and may need to enlist the help of friends to bail you out before a sneaky Chinaman bowls you over, slips you up or reduces you to a pile of ashes. Whether you find yourself top of the batting order or limping with a square leg, this book, with a fitting foreword by Dickie Bird, contains a wealth of knowledge about the sport that is guaranteed to enthral all cricket fans, and questions that will stimulate fond memories and friendly debates for many an entertaining hour.
West Country
￥88.19
The English West Country is a land of exceptional landscapes: many miles of wild, unspoilt coastline and vast expanses of wild moorland; great cities such as Exeter, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol; and market towns, villages and hamlets. Farming, mining, quarrying, fishing and trade are the traditional industries of the counties of Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.On one level, the West Country is the most English of all English regions, home of clotted cream, thatch, church spires, folksong, hobby horses and Cecil Sharp. Yet the area was trading with Mediterranean Europe before the Romans. For many years Bristol was the centre of the slave trade, and many of its great mansions were built on the proceeds of slavery. Great swathes of land in Dorset, Wiltshire and Devon are still used by the military and are off-bounds to visitors. And within the West Country is the special case of Celtic Cornwall, and the even more remote Isles of Scilly. People lived in the West Country long before Britain, or England, were invented. From the great stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire to the menhirs of Cornwall, and the wealth of prehistoric remains on the Isles of Scilly, this has always been an inhabited landscape, crafted by men and women working closely with nature and natural forces. John Payne explores this culturally rich and varied region, revealing many facets of its distinctive and much-loved identity.
Hoops Quiz Book
￥73.48
Are all you ardent Celtic fans up to this challenge? Pit your wits against 1,500 wide-ranging questions about your beloved team, and get ready to step up a gear as you progress to the last section, designed to test even the most knowledgeable expert among you. You may know your Henrik Larsson from your Liam Brady, but do you know your Yogi from your Shuggie, or your Jambos from your Jags? Covering the history of the team, players and managers, championships, squad numbers, former clubs, opponents, specific seasons, transfers, trophies, opponents, league positions, nationalities, nicknames, leading goal scorers and award winners, there's something to baffle even die-hard aficionados. Containing a wealth of information, it is as much an excellent reference book of facts and figures as it is a quiz book, and it is guaranteed both to entertain and to stir up memories of unforgettable moments in Celtic's history, as well as the personalities that have made the Club what it is today.
Ibrox Bears Quiz Book
￥73.48
Will you prove to be an intrepid Ranger as you track down the answers to the 1,500 challenging questions in this book, or will you end up like a Bear with a sore head? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure, your knowledge of the club will be tested to the limit on every subject imaginable, from the club's early beginnings right through to the present day. With a fitting foreword by the legendary Terry Butcher, who led Rangers to many a footballing triumph, not only will fans enjoy the challenge posed by the questions, they will also glean an incredible amount of information about the club and its long history, remember fondly the superb players that have been and gone, and relive the exciting events that have helped to shape the club's success. And even if you fail to recall all the facts and impress your friends, you can console yourself that your purchase of this book has succeeded in making someone else's life that little bit better, as AGBP1 from every sale will go to Terry Butcher's nominated charity, 'The Motor Neurone Disease Association'.
Out of Essex
￥98.00
Beyond the brash modern stereotypes of Essex there exists a landscape that has inspired some of England's finest writing. This book tracks the paths of those literary figures who have ventured into the wilder parts of Essex. Some are illustrious names: Shakespeare, Defoe, John Clare, Joseph Conrad, H. G. Wells, Arthur Ransome. Others may be lesser known but here are well remembered: Samuel Purchas, Sabine Baring-Gould, Margery Allingham, J. A. Baker. In ten chapters James Canton crosses five centuries into the furthest reaches of the county in search of writers and what can be seen of their work today. J. A. Baker follows the peregrines along the Chelmer valley to the Blackwater estuary at Maldon. John Clare wanders the hidden pathways of Epping Forest scribbling poetry while Arthur Ransome sails around the islands of the Hamford Waters. William Shakespeare appears in the woody glades beside Castle Hedingham, Joseph Conrad stares across the Essex marshes at Tilbury to the Thames, while Sabine Baring-Gould's Gothic heroine Mehalah lives upon a lone muddy stretch beside Mersea Island, where Margery Allingham sets her first tale of smuggling and murder; Daniel Defoe recounts the horror of the ague on the Dengie Peninsula; H. G. Wells writes a tale of the First World War from his home at Little Easton. Samuel Purchas tells such seafaring tales from his Southend vicarage as to inspire Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write Kubla Khan. Combining detailed literary detective work with personal responses to landscapes and their meanings, James Canton offers a fresh vision of Essex, its cultural history and its living legacy of wilderness and imagination.
Ionian Islands and Epirus
￥88.19
Scattered off the west coast of mainland Greece are the seven Ionian Islands, celebrated for their spectacular landscapes, olive groves and classical associations. Together with the mountainous mainland region of Epirus, the combined populations of Corfu, Paxos, Lefkas, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Kythira constitute less than a twentieth of the population of Greece, yet they have made a huge contribution to the culture of the country, before and since becoming part of the Greek state. The unsurpassed beauty of the islands and of the Pindus Mountains has stimulated the imagination of countless writers and artists from Homer to Byron, Edward Lear and the Durrells, Louis de Bernieres and Nicholas Gage, as well as scores of nineteenth-century travellers.Drawing a mosaic portrait of the Ionian Islands and special places of interest in Epirus, Corfu resident Jim Potts focuses on the landscapes, legends, traditions and historical events that have appealed most strongly to the imaginations of writers, residents and travellers.
Rugby Quiz Book
￥73.48
All you have ever wanted to know about Rugby League and Rugby Union but have never dared to ask until now (as the answers are in the back of the book!) Will you get stung by a Wasp or charge through the 1,200 questions and mow down the opposition like a Rhino? You will have to cast your minds back over the last two centuries to recall facts about the game's origins, great players, cup competitions, clubs, stadiums, kit colours, nicknames, nationalities, field positions and much more if you want to be promoted to the Super League rather than face relegation. This is as much a treasure trove of rugby facts and figures as it is a quiz book and is guaranteed to get aficionados and families alike in a competitive scrum.
Unofficial Chelsea Quiz Book
￥58.76
If all you Chelsea aficionados think you know everything about the club, then the 1,000 challenging questions in this quiz book are almost certainly set to prove you wrong, trip you up and send your crumpled brains screaming for first aid and a stretcher. To succeed in your quest you will need to be able to cast your mind back one hundred years and recall diverse facts and figures, covering topics such as Cup competitions, players, managers, past masters, opponents, transfer deals, trophies, records, national and international fixtures, and much more. Each section will rekindle fond memories of the nail-biting matches and unforgettable legends that have peppered the club's history, guaranteeing both an educational experience and hours of fun for young and old alike.
Athens
￥73.48
Athens is an historical anomaly. Excavations date its first settlement to over seven thousand years ago, yet it only became the capital of Greece in 1834. During the intervening centuries it was occupied by almost every mobile culture in Europe: from its earliest likely settlers, tribes from what is now Albania, to Nazi forces during the second World War, and in between by successive waves of Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Slavs, Goths, Venetians, French, Catalans, Turks, Italians, Bulgarians and the clans of various kings and tyrants of the region's early city-states.There has been a structure on its 'high city', the acropolis, since at least the bronze age, although it was subsequently altered by successive occupiers, becoming a fort, castle, temple, mosque, church and even a harem. its 'Golden age' peaked in the fifth century BCE, with the great building projects of Pericles and Themistocles, and its later history is one of a city already nostalgic for its past, although at a time when other European cities had yet to begin constructing a past. Its standing as the birthplace of democracy and western civilisation, while based in fact, is largely a romantic fantasy dreamt up by nineteenth-century north European artists and intellectuals: democracy has a checkered history in Athens, and 'western civilisation' was an amalgam of many cultures. The city now is a jigsaw of pieces from its past, where you can still walk along streets laid by Romans and Ottoman Turks, and where the city's population is almost constantly refreshed by newer waves of arrivals.John Gill's cultural guide explores the origins, development and contemporary face of Athens, offering an accessible analysis of its social history, architecture and representation in painting, literature and film. Looking at the role of religion, migration and popular culture, its in-depth coverage of the city, past and present, goes beyond conventional guidebooks to provide a fresh insight into its living identity.
Rhythm and Blues Quiz Book
￥24.43
Are you a fan of rhythm and blues? Can you name the great R&B artists from yesteryear and the songs that made them famous? Do you consider yourself to be an expert on R&B music? If so, why not put your knowledge to the test with The Rhythm and Blues Quiz Book? Which Fats Domino single stayed at number 1 in the R&B charts for 11 weeks in 1956? What was the name of Belinda Rio's debut single released in 2006? Who were sisters Toni, Tamar, Towanda, Traci and Trina better known as? The answers can all be found in this quick quiz book along with many more fascinating facts. With 100 questions about the groups and individual artists that have contributed to the rhythm and blues sound through the years, including many personal details, you are sure to find out something new. This book is a must-have for everyone who enjoys R&B as well as all those who are interested in finding out more about the history of this popular genre of music.
