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Tommy Goes to War
Par Malcolm Brown. 2018
The image of the innocent British soldier (or Tommy) setting off with a spring in his step in 1914 to…
fight the Great War would not last long.Indeed that initial euphoria would soon give way to a deep-seated bitterness as these young men endured the horror of the First World War.In a new edition of this extraordinary book, the uncensored letters, diaries, documents and many photographs tell the story of the British soldier (nicknamed Tommy) in their own words.While there are flashes of their wit and humour, the overwhelming feeling is that of a generation who felt let down by their superiors and left to perish.There are visceral, terrifying insights into life in the trenches and agonising descriptions of the squalor and privations of war.This haunting account also looks at the aggressive drive to recruit more soldiers through the Pals Battalion or Chums Battalion. Friends from the same town or village; professional bodies, or work colleagues among others were encouraged to enlist en masse. They would fight together alongside their friends or colleagues. Many of them would sadly die together and leave communities wild with grief for a lost generation, robbed of a future having barely had a past.With a concise analysis of the British Army in the First World War, we are reminded of the terror of war, the fury, the fear and the frustration of what has been described by some as a war typified by the devastating assessment: lions led by donkeys.Wild London: Urban Escapes in and around the City
Par Sam Hodges, Sophie Hodges. 2019
From the authors of London for Lovers, this is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to London’s wild side. From exploring…
secret gardens, parks, farmers markets and city farms, to discovering the best spots for urban bee-keeping, foraging, open-air swimming and mudlarking, Wild London is packed with ideas for how to make the most of London’s hidden natural wonder. Separated by season, and filled with stunning photographs, this is a must-have, practical and eye-opening guide to alternative London for city-dwellers and visitors alike.Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking
Par Russell Norman. 2018
A beautifully designed cookbook with easy, seasonal Italian recipes - perfect for any foodie!Russell Norman returns to Venice - the…
city that inspired POLPO - to immerse himself in the authentic flavours of the Veneto and the culinary traditions of the city. His rustic kitchen - in the residential quarter of the city where washing hangs across the narrow streets and neighbours don't bother to lock their doors - provides the perfect backdrop for this adventure, and for the 130 lip-smacking, easy Italian family recipes showcasing the simple but exquisite flavours of Venice.The book also affords us a rare and intimate glimpse into the life of the city, its hidden architectural gems, its secret places, the embedded history, the colour and vitality of daily life, and the food merchants and growers who make Venice so surprisingly vibrant.'Russell Norman is among the brightest stars of the British food scene' Esquire'Offers a rare insight into the beating heart of the city' iThe Venetian Empire: A Sea Voyage
Par Jan Morris. 1980
For six centuries the Republic of Venice was a maritime empire, its sovereign power extending throughout much of the eastern…
Mediterranean – an empire of coasts, islands and isolated fortresses by which, as Wordsworth wrote, the mercantile Venetians 'held the gorgeous east in fee'. Jan Morris reconstructs the whole of this glittering dominion in the form of a sea-voyage, travelling along the historic Venetian trade routes from Venice itself to Greece, Crete and Cyprus. It is a traveller's book, geographically arranged but wandering at will from the past to the present, evoking not only contemporary landscapes and sensations but also the characters, the emotions and the tumultuous events of the past. The first such work ever written about the Venetian ‘Stato da Mar’, it is an invaluable historical companion for visitors to Venice itself and for travellers through the lands the Doges once ruled.The War Poems Of Wilfred Owen
Par Wilfred Owen. 2018
'Orpheus, the pagan saint of poets, went through hell and came back singing. In twentieth-century mythology, the singer wears a…
steel helmet and makes his descent "down some profound dull tunnel" in the stinking mud of the Western Front. For most readers of English poetry, the face under that helmet is that of Wilfred Owen.' Professor Jon Stallworthy, from his Introduction.When Wilfred Owen was killed in the days before the Armistice in 1918, he left behind a shattering, truthful and indelible record of a soldier's experience of the First World War. His greatest war poetry has been collected, edited and introduced here by Professor Jon Stallworthy. This special edition is published to commemorate the end of the hellish war that Owen, though the hard-won truth and terrible beauty of his poetry, has taught us never to forget.A War Imagined: The First World War and English Culture
Par Samuel Hynes. 1990
Between the opulent Edwardian years and the 1920s the First World War opens like a gap in time. England after…
the war was a different place; the arts were different; history was different; sex, society, class were all different.Samuel Hynes examines the process of that transformation. He explores a vast cultural mosaic comprising novels and poetry, music and theatre, journalism, paintings, films, parliamentary debates, public monuments, sartorial fashions, personal diaries and letters.Told in rich detail, this penetrating account shatters much of the received wisdom about the First World War. It shows how English culture adapted itself to the needs of killing, how our stereotypes of the war gradually took shape and how the nations thought and imagination were profoundly and irretrievably changed.Walking the Bones of Britain: A 3 Billion Year Journey from the Outer Hebrides to the Thames Estuary
Par Christopher Somerville. 1952
'[Somerville's] infectious enthusiasm and wry humour infuse his journey from the Isle of Lewis to southern England, revealing our rich…
geological history with vibrant local and natural history.' Observer'An illuminating take on the British landscape ... a remarkable achievement. ' - Tom Chesshyre'A meticulous exploration of the ground beneath our feet. Glorious.' Katherine Norbury'Somerville is a walker's writer.' Nicholas Crane'His writing is utterly enticing.' Country Walking''The physical book is sumptuous, with helpful supplementary materials including colour photographs, a timeline, maps and walking route resources.' Times Literary Supplement...........................................................................................................................................................................................................Travelling a thousand miles and across three billion years, Christopher Somerville (walking correspondent of The Times and author of Coast, The January Man and Ships of Heaven) sets out to interrogate the land beneath our feet, and how it has affected every aspect of human history from farming to house construction, the Industrial Revolution to the current climate crisis.In his thousand-mile journey, Somerville follows the story of Britain's unique geology, travelling from the three billion year old rocks of the Isle of Lewis, formed when the world was still molten, down the map south eastwards across bogs, over peaks and past quarry pits to the furthest corner of Essex where new land is being formed by nature and man.Demystifying the sometimes daunting technicalities of geology with humour and a characteristic lightness of touch, Somerville's book tells a story of humanity's reckless exploitation and a lemming-like surge towards self-annihilation but also shows seeds of hope as we learn how we might work with geology to avert a climate catastrophe.It cannot fail to change the way you see the world beyond your door.Walking in Ireland
Par Christopher Somerville. 2010
Walking has never been a more popular pastime and nowhere is more beautiful for walkers to explore than Ireland. In…
this beautifully written and superbly researched guide, Christopher Somerville draws on his very popular column for the Irish Independent, to present 50 of the very best walks in Ireland - from the Nephin Beg Mountains in Mayo to Dingle Way in Kerry. Practical instructions for the walks are married with evocative and informative passages on the history, flora and fauna, culture and topography of the land. Whether it's exploring the Burren in its floral glory or seeing the Walls of Derry, or even sitting at home in your armchair planning your next walk, this book will prove popular with ramblers, holiday makers and anyone who loves the Irish landscape.Walk Through History: Discover Victorian London
Par Christopher Winn. 2018
'What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.' - W.H. DaviesWalking around…
London is one of life's great pleasures. There is a huge amount that you can only see on foot – but sometimes it is hard to know where to look. Luckily, Christopher Winn, bestselling author of I Never Knew That About London, knows where all the hidden treasures are. This book takes the reader on a series of stimulating original walks through different areas of central London, focusing on one particular period of history, the Victorian, so ubiquitous that we take it for granted, and yet so astonishing and so far reaching in its variety, imagination, ambition and detail.Discover.....the remarkable 300-foot bell tower at the Houses of Parliament you never knew was there.... ..the extraordinary fairytale house in Kensington where the Mikado was inspired.....the best Victorian loos in the world near Old Street... ..a hidden chapel in Bloomsbury described by Oscar Wilde as 'the most delightful private chapel in London'... ..London's best preserved high class Victorian shop near Tottenham Court Road… ...an almost complete Victorian townscape boasting the world's oldest surviving mansion block... Walk through history and discover the hidden gems of Victorian London!A Walk from the Wild Edge: ‘This Book Has Changed Lives’ Chris Evans
Par Jake Tyler. 2021
The remarkable true story of one man's inspiring journey through his 3,000 mile walk across the country'A great and inspirational…
read' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive'Inspiring' INDEPENDENT'An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion' RAYNOR WINN, bestselling author of The Salt PathAS SEEN ON BBC BREAKFAST______Jake Tyler had forgotten how to feel alive.With only a pair of boots and a backpack, he set off on a 3000-mile walk around Britain - along coastal paths, over mountains, through every national park.His journey became his road to recovery. On it he rediscovered the British landscape, the extraordinary kindness of strangers and most importantly, his place in the world.This is his inspiring story, away from the wild edge.______'Jake you have changed people's lives . . . we are all fans!' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio'An incredible journey, an inspirational memoir . . . beautiful' Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2'Inspiring . . . It's something that will help many through these dark times' Bryony Gordon'This book is a tonic. Until we can all get out and explore Britain's beauty for ourselves again, this is the ideal substitute' Mirror'So compelling in his honesty . . . very poignant' Express'A tale told with courageous honesty. There's much to learn here about how reconnecting with nature and trusting others can rekindle the joy of being alive' BBC Countryfile 'A testament to the power of human connection, this is a physical and mental journey to inspire hope even in the darkest of times' National GeographicA Volunteer Nurse on the Western Front: Memoirs from a WWI camp hospital
Par Olive Dent. 2014
Starring Oona Chaplin as a V.A.D. (Voluntary Aid Detachment), and Suranne Jones and Hermione Norris as trained nurses, The Crimson…
Field is a gripping drama set in a tented hospital on the coast of France, where plucky real-life V.A.D. Olive Dent served two years of the Great War, and kept this extraordinarily vivid diary of day-to-day life – ever cheerful through the bitter cold, the chilblains, hunger and exhaustion. Resilient, courageous and resourceful, nurses, doctors and patients alike do their best to support each other. A Christmas fancy-dress ball, a concert performed by a stoic orchestra covered in bandages, church services held in a marquee and letters from Blighty all keep spirits up in camp, as wounded soldiers suffer terribly with quiet dignity on the makeshift wards, and nurses rush round tirelessly to make them as comfortable as possible.With original illustrations throughout by fellow V.A.D.s, Olive’s memoir is a fascinating period piece, a rare first-hand account of this little-known story, which will resonate very strongly with viewers of The Crimson Field.Uneasy Rider: Travels Through a Mid-Life Crisis
Par Mike Carter. 2008
A broken heart and a moment of drunken bravado inspires middle-aged, and typically rather cautious, journalist Mike Carter to take…
off on a life-changing six month motorcycle trip around Europe. Never mind that he hadn't been on two wheels since an inglorious three-month teenage chapter involving a Lambretta, four crashes and an 18-month ban for drink-driving, a plan had begun to loosely form...And so, having completed a six day residential motorcycle course and hastily re-mortgaged his flat, Mike sets off alone, resolving to go wherever the road takes him and enjoy the adventure of heading off into the unknown. He ends up travelling almost 20,000 miles and reaching the four extremes of Europe: the Arctic Circle in the north, the Mediterranean coast in the south, the Portuguese Atlantic to the west and the Iraqi border of Turkey in the east.But really it's a journey inwards, as, on the way, Mike finds his post-divorce scars starting to heal and attempts to discover what he, as a man in his forties who hasn't quite found his place in the world, should be doing. Self-deprecating, poetic and utterly engaging, his is a heroic journey taken for the rest of us too scared to leave our 9 to 5 office-bound existence.The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club
Par Marlena De Blasi. 2015
'If you loved Under the Tuscan Sun, you’ll love this' Red Magazine Every week on a Thursday evening, a group…
of four rural Italian women gather in an old stone house in the hills above Italy’s Orvieto. There – along with their friend, Marlena – they cook together, sit down to a beautiful supper, drink their beloved local wines, and talk. Surrounded by candle light, good food and friendship, the four women tell Marlena their evocative life stories, and of cherished ingredients and recipes whose secrets have been passed down through generations.Trans-Europe Express: Tours of a Lost Continent
Par Owen Hatherley. 2018
'A scathing, lively and timely look at the "European city", from one of our most provocative voices on culture and…
architecture today' Owen JonesA searching, timely account of the condition of contemporary Europe, told through the landscapes of its citiesOver the past twenty years European cities have become the envy of the world: a Kraftwerk Utopia of historic centres, supermodernist concert halls, imaginative public spaces and futuristic egalitarian housing estates which, interconnected by high-speed trains traversing open borders, have a combination of order and pleasure which is exceptionally unusual elsewhere.In Trans-Europe Express, Owen Hatherley sets out to explore the European city across the entire continent, to see what exactly makes it so different to the Anglo-Saxon norm - the unplanned, car-centred, developer-oriented spaces common to the US, Ireland, UK and Australia. Attempting to define the European city, Hatherley finds a continent divided both within the EU and outside it. 'The latest heir to Ruskin.' - Boyd Tonkin, Independent 'Hatherley is the most informed, opinionated and acerbic guide you could wish for.' - Hugh Pearman, Sunday Times 'Can one talk yet of vintage Hatherley? Yes, one can. Here are all the properties that have made him one of the most distinctive writers in England - not just 'architectural writers', but writers full stop: acuity, contrariness, observational rigour, frankness and beautifully wrought prose.' - Jonathan MeadesA Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain
Par Daniel Defoe. 1971
Britain in the early eighteenth century: an introduction that is both informative and imaginative, reliable and entertaining. To the tradition…
of travel writing Daniel Defoe brings a lifetime's experience as a businessman, soldier, economic journalist and spy, and his Tour (1724-6) is an invaluable source of social and economic history. But this book is far more than a beautifully written guide to Britain just before the industrial revolution, for Defoe possessed a wild, inventive streak that endows his work with astonishing energy and tension, and the Tour is his deeply imaginative response to a brave new economic world. By employing his skills as a chronicler, a polemicist and a creative writer keenly sensitive to the depredations of time, Defoe more than achieves his aim of rendering 'the present state' of Britain.Ancient Greeks and Athens (Time Travel Guides #5)
Par Sarah Ridley. 2024
Step back in time to discover life in the ancient Greek city-state of Athens with this handy time travel guidebookTravel…
back in time to the ancient Greek city-state of Athens and find out all about ancient Greek life and culture. Get ready to visit the temples at the Acropolis, socialise at a symposium, see democracy in action, get fit at a local gymnasium and watch a brand new play at an outdoor theatre. Like modern travel guides, the books in this series highlight must-see features and explain local culture. Each highlighted destination contains an explanation of what took part in these areas, as well as a look at important artefacts found there providing a bigger picture of life in the past. Typical travel guide notes include, 'best time to visit', 'what to eat' and 'where to stay'. Perfect for the KS2 history curriculum, and for readers aged 7 and up.Titles in the series:The Ancient Egyptians and ThebesThe Ancient Greeks and AthensThe Maya and Chichén ItzáRoman Britain and LondiniumThe Shang Dynasty and YinxuThe Stone Age and Skara BraeThe Victorians and LondonViking Britain and Jorvik"A windswept, wave-tossed, altogether irresistible novel of literary suspense - I truly didn't want it to end" A. J. FINN"In…
its scale, scope and ambition, The Sea Cemetery is truly epic" COLIN WALSH"This saga will delight fans of 'Succession'" Elle"The strength of its storytelling and its romantic energy make it a perfect example of an authentic page turner" Livres HebdoThere is no love lost between the Oslo and Bergen branches of the powerful Falck family. So when its steely matriarch dies with no will to be found, the seeds of an inheritance dispute are sown.Yet her legacy could be more damaging still. A manuscript confiscated by the secret police in the seventies holds devastating secrets about the Falcks' activities during the war. Her granddaughter Sasha is set on uncovering the truth, whatever the cost, bringing her into conflict with her father, whose family loyalty is matched only by his patriotic fervour. And in the wings waits Hans Falck, war doctor and philanderer, head of the impoverished Bergen branch, who has a few secrets of his own.It all leads back to the sinking of the SS Prinsesse Ragnhild, lost to a British mine in 1940. But can the official verdict be trusted? The shocking truth lies 300 metres under the sea.Part literary thriller, part sweeping family saga, The Sea Cemetery is a dark and dramatic tale of secrets, betrayals and doomed love, drawing on the true story of one of Norway's most devastating maritime disasters.Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah DawkinToo Important for the Generals: Losing and Winning the First World War
Par Allan Mallinson. 2016
‘War is too important to be left to the generals’ snapped future French prime minister Georges Clemenceau on learning of…
yet another bloody and futile offensive on the Western Front. One of the great questions in the ongoing discussions and debate about the First World War is why did winning take so long and exact so appalling a human cost? After all this was a fight that, we were told, would be over by Christmas. Now, in his major new history, Allan Mallinson, former professional soldier and author of the acclaimed 1914: Fight the Good Fight, provides answers that are disturbing as well as controversial, and have a contemporary resonance. He disputes the growing consensus among historians that British generals were not to blame for the losses and setbacks in the ‘war to end all wars’ – that, given the magnitude of their task, they did as well anyone could have. He takes issue with the popular view that the ‘amateur’ opinions on strategy of politicians such as Lloyd George and, especially, Winston Churchill, prolonged the war and increased the death toll. On the contrary, he argues, even before the war began Churchill had a far more realistic, intelligent and humane grasp of strategy than any of the admirals or generals, while very few senior officers – including Sir Douglas Haig – were up to the intellectual challenge of waging war on this scale. And he repudiates the received notion that Churchill’s stature as a wartime prime minister after 1940 owes much to the lessons he learned from his First World War ‘mistakes’ – notably the Dardanelles campaign – maintaining that in fact Churchill’s achievement in the Second World War owes much to the thwarting of his better strategic judgement by the ‘professionals’ in the First – and his determination that this would not be repeated.Mallinson argues that from day one of the war Britain was wrong-footed by absurdly faulty French military doctrine and paid, as a result, an unnecessarily high price in casualties. He shows that Lloyd George understood only too well the catastrophically dysfunctional condition of military policy-making and struggled against the weight of military opposition to fix it. And he asserts that both the British and the French failed to appreciate what the Americans’ contribution to victory could be – and, after the war, to acknowledge fully what it had actually been.To the Baltic with Bob: An Epic Misadventure
Par Griff Rhys Jones. 2003
In the summer of 2002, two profoundly amateur sailors, Griff and Bob, set off in an elderly yacht for Russia,…
because, on the map, it looked easier than sailing to Cornwall. They took Baines with them, as he knew how to mend the engine. And this is their story.Over four long months of applied bickering in a vessel no bigger than a London taxi, they visited most of the geographically interesting restaurants on the Baltic seaboard. They sailed, over, and, even at one point, onto the mysterious heart of the Nordic world. They pushed themselves to the very limits of human endurance, before finally agreeing to wash their sleeping bags on a cool cycle at number six.To the Baltic with Bob is the full account of their stirring journey through the longest heat wave the frozen north has ever suffered; of three men in search of the answer to a troubling question: can you really outmanoeuvre a mid-life crisis by running away to sea?These Silent Mansions: A life in graveyards
Par Jean Sprackland. 2020
'A refreshingly original meditation... I wish I had written it myself' Literary ReviewGraveyards are oases: places of escape, peace and…
reflection. Liminal sites of commemoration, where the past is close enough to touch. Yet they also reflect their living community - how in our restless, accelerated modern world, we are losing our sense of connection to the dead.Jean Sprackland - the prize-winning poet and author of Strands - travels back through her life, revisiting her once local graveyards. In seeking out the stories of those who lived and died there, remembered and forgotten, she unearths what has been lost.