'I loved this book. What a joy to read a craftsman so clearly in love with his craft' SIMON JENKINS**'A wonderful read' DOUGALD O'REILLY'Literary prize juries need look no further for a worthy winner' MAX HASTINGS'In a world of AI, steel and concrete, books like this have never felt more important' DAILY MAILDiscover ancient stone wonders and architectural preservation secrets in th...

'I loved this book. What a joy to read a craftsman so clearly in love with his craft' SIMON JENKINS**'A wonderful read' DOUGALD O'REILLY'Literary prize juries need look no further for a worthy winner' MAX HASTINGS'In a world of AI, steel and concrete, books like this have never felt more important' DAILY MAILDiscover ancient stone wonders and architectural preservation secrets in th...

'Pure pleasure'Independent'A rich read'Evening Standard'A delight'Sunday TelegraphTHE REMARKABLE STORY OF VICTORIA FINLAY'S QUEST TO UNCOVER THE MANY SECRETS HIDDEN INSIDE THE PAINTBOX.On her travels she visited remote Central American villages where women still wear skirts dyed with the purple tears of sea snails; learned how George Washington...

The morning of August 24, AD 79, seemed like any other in the Roman city of Pompeii. So no one was prepared when the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, spouting ash that buried the city and its inhabitants. The disaster left thousands dead, and Pompeii was no more than a memory for almost 1,700 years. In 1748, explorers rediscovered the port city with intact buildings and beautiful mosaics. This easy-to-read account is gripping and includes photos of the ruins.

In the bestselling Olive series by writer and actress Carol Drinkwater, author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER'She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside' BELLA'Her writing captures the true spirit of the people and places she visits' THE TIMES'A thrilling tale tracing the journey of olive cultivation' THE LADYTHE OLIVE TREE charts Carol Drinkwater's colourful and often dangerous journey in se...

**A crash course in designing and constructing buildingsToo often, textbooks turn the noteworthy details of architecture into tedious discourse that would put even Frank Gehry to sleep.** Architecture 101 cuts out the boring explanations, and instead provides a hands-on lesson that keeps you engaged as you explore the world's greatest structures.Featuring only the most important facts, building styles, and architects, you'll enjoy uncovering the remarkable world of...

Chapter from Blue Guide Greece the Aegean Islands: what to see, where to stay and eat, history, archaeology, art, culture, leisure. With superb, award-winning maps.Written and edited by a team of three experts: historian, art historian and archaeologist, two of whom lead cultural tours in Greece."Blue Guides still hold the cultural high ground" Sunday Times.

A captivating journey along the iconic River Po and through Italian history, society and culture.'Delightful... A wonderful cornucopia of history' TLS'Uncovers the Po's fascinating history' GuardianThe Po is the longest river in Italy, travelling for 652 kilometres from one end of the country to the other. It rises by the French border in the Alps and meanders the width of the entire peninsula to the Adriatic Sea i...

Featuring over 200 photographs, this stunning book by renowned television historian Dan Cruickshank tells the history of architecture through the stories of 100 iconic buildingsJourneying through time and place, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, renowned architectural historian Dan Cruickshank explores the most impressive and characterful creations in world architecture.His selection includes many of the world’s best-known buildings...

A reference guide to those must-see places all over the globe. The book covers 501 must-visit destinations, ranging from remote hideaways and tropical islands to bustling cities, breathtaking monuments and stunning landscapes across the world. Stunning photography sits alongside informative text and a summary of don't-miss features of each site.

**The remarkable story of the cartographic masterpiece—the Venetian mappa mundi—that revolutionized how we see the world.In 1459 a Venetian monk named Fra Mauro completed an astonishing map of the world. Seven feet in diameter, Fra Mauro’s mappamundi is the oldest and most complete Medieval map to survive into modernity. And in its time, this groundbreaking mappamundi provided the most detailed description of the known world, incorporating accura...

It was a blustery April morning on the Thames Embankment in London when Anne Mustoe set out on a phenomenal lone cycle ride - to the original site of Cleopatra's Needle at Heliopolis in Egypt.Leaving behind home comforts, she set herself the challenge of travelling close to water wherever possible - via the Seine and the Rhone, then alongside the Burgundy canal, the Po and the Venetian Lagoon. Before she would reach her final waterway - the evocative Nile - Ms Mustoe would encounte...