The Sahara: a dream-like, far away landscape of Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, The English Patient and Star Wars, and home to nomadic communities whose ways of life stretch back millennia.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAROn 1 April 2011, rower and adventurer Sarah Outen set off in her kayak from Tower Bridge for France.
Boom town, modern marvel, commercial hub, where middle-east meets wealthy west, playground for tourists, crawling with ex-pats, built by Indians, owned by Arabs, Dubai has risen from next to nothing to an awful lot in little more than thirty years.
Jane Shaw was working as a volunteer in Chelsea's famous Physic Garden when she earned a placement to work for a year on a very special organic garden in Greece.
Shortlised for the Saltire Society Non Fiction Book of the Year Award Almost every adult and child is familiar with his Treasure Island, but few know that Robert Louis Stevenson lived out his last years on an equally remote island, which was squabbled over by colonial powers much as Captain Flint's treasure was contested by the mongrel crew of the Hispaniola.
From the French Abbey of St Wandrille to the abandoned and awesome Rock Monasteries of Cappadocia in Turkey, the celebrated travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor studies the rigorous contemplative lives of the monks and the timeless beauty of their monastic surroundings.
Arguably the most fascinating but least known country in the Arab world, Yemen has a way of attracting comment that ranges from the superficial to the wildly fictitious.
After one too many late night discussions, football journalist Paul Watson and his mate Matthew Conrad decide to find the world's worst national team, become naturalised citizens of that country and play for them - achieving their joint boyhood dream of playing international football and winning a 'cap'.
'Whether or not the artistic quality of the bullfight outweighs the moral question of the animals' suffering is something that each person must decide for themselves - as they must decide whether the taste of a steak justifies the death of a cow.
'Every year, hundreds of books on the city are published, but none resembles this one' - Independent'This gem of a book offers practical advice but in a distinctly lyrical tone.
A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY THROUGH JAPAN'S MULTI-FACETED CUSTOMS AND CULTURE'An excellent book for anyone with an interest in Japanese culture' Sunday Telegraph'Takes in everything from the mythical roots of sumo to the ubiquity of Shinto shrines' The TimesAlan Macfarlane first encountered Japan full of certainty, confidence and unexamined assumptions.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PUSHKIN HOUSE BOOK PRIZE 2018From a renowned graphic artist and activist, an incredible portrait of life in Russia todayWhat does it mean to live in Russia today?
Londoners share their favourite aspects of the capital - featuring Sir Paul Smith, Dame Zaha Hadid, Stephen Fry, Martine Wright, Dom Joly, Don Letts, Henry Holland and many moreLondon is an epic story, with glorious locations that make your heart race and your head think.
* Winner of the 2024 National Outdoor Book Award in Outdoor Literature * Winner of the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Air Mail, Smithsonian Magazine, and Financial Times ';A triumph.
