In the late summer of 2003, odd-couple adventurers Richard Meredith, a middle-aged author, and his young student companion, borrowed a small family hatchback from General Motors, the world's biggest car-makers, and drove it halfway round the globe. GM were hoping to publicise the bankrupt Daewoo car business they had bought in Korea after founder Kim Woo Choong disappeared with $2billion of company cash. But they got more than they bargained for - and so did the intrepid duo, defying sandstorms, rioters and gun-totting rebels as they meandered across Europe, battled through the ranks of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, and juddered across India into Laos and Vietnam. GM's new Daewoo regime got more publicity than they dreamed possible, and the trip - which raised $60000 for orphaned children - turned out to be one of the great epics of modern motoring history. New edition contains 16pp color pix

Which Way Next

Travel

Meredith, Richard

Travel Writing

Mercury Books

An illustrated examination of the erotic literature of the Far East and the path to unity between human and divine. "Follow your bliss. Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it." -- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth The quest for sublime bliss has been an enduring phenomenon. As the world increasingly turns to ancient wisdom in its search for peace and happiness, the recurring theme is the need to banish negativity and excesses. All spiritual texts help explore the hidden dimensions of the unity between the human and the divine and acknowledge that any path that leads to understanding and realization of bliss is acceptable, including sexuality. From the erotic works of the Bhakti movement in which extreme devotion seamlessly merges with sensuality, to Tantrics who used maithuna or intercourse as the preferred means to seek supreme consciousness, from the ascetic Shiva to Krishna, the embodiment of the sringara rasa, sex has always been mystical for in it lie the mysteries of the universe. Thus rather than denigrating sexuality, the ancients accepted it as a means to seek the divine. Call it love, worship, selfless devotion, service and compassion or Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, Kama or Tantra, all of them lead to the same divine energy. The truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names.

Erotic Literature of Ancient India

Arts & Photography

Mulchandani, Sandhya

Photography & Video

Colin Wilson tells the story of human violence from Peking Man to the Mafia - taking into account the calculated sadism of the Assyrians, the opportunism of the Greek pirates, the brutality that made Rome the ‘razor king of the Mediterranean’, the mindless destruction of the Vandals, the mass slaughter of Genghis Khan, Tamurlane, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler and more. Each age has a unique characteristic pattern of crime. In the past three centuries crime has changed and evolved until the sex killer and the mass murderer have become symbols of all that is worst about our civilization. But this is not just a study in human depravity; it is an attempt to place crime in perspective against human discovery, exploration and invention. The result is a completely new approach to the history and psychology of human violence.

A Criminal History of Mankind

Politics & Social Sciences

Wilson,Colin

Social Sciences

Ghost Stories (Bright Light)

Children's Books

Richardson, Elizabeth

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Reading bedtime stories to her young children inspired Jane Pilgrim to begin to creating her own stories inspired by the farm animals that she had known and loved as a child on Exmoor and in the Lake District. She purposely set out to tell stories which were appealing and friendly and not at all frightening. Her children loved these tales and begged her for more. Jane began writing them down and soon had a collection of warm and enchanting tales from Blackberry Farm. Jane Pilgrim’s delightful farm characters and their many adventures are vividly brought to life by the gloriously colorful illustrations of F Stocks May. The result is a volume of timeless stories which have enthralled generations of children and will continue to weave their magic for generations to come. Stories include: Postman Joe Mrs. Nibble Emily the Goat Little Martha Naughty George Henry Goes Visiting Mother Hen and Mary Ernest Owl Starts a School A Bunny in Trouble Mrs. Nibble Moves House The Adventures of Walter Walter Duck and Winifred Sports Day at Blackberry Farm Poor Mr. Nibble Lucy Mouse Keeps a Secret Sam Sparrow Saturday at Blackberry Farm Mr. Mole Takes Charge Mrs. Squirrel and Hazel Mr. Nibble Calls a Doctor Rusty the Sheepdog The Birthday Picnic Hide and Seek at Blackberry Farm Snow at Blackberry Farm Christmas at Blackberry Farm

The Complete Tales of Blackberry Farm

Pilgrim, Jane

Animals

Trafalgar, the most famous and most strategically significant victory in the age of sail, was not an isolated event. Rather it was the culmination of a campaign that began as soon as war was resumed in May 1803 and aimed ultimately at the invasion of Great Britain. To thisend Napoleon attempted by ruse and elaborately disguised manoeuvres to bring his scattered and blockaded squadrons together for long enough to give him command of the Channel, which he fondly believed was all that was necessary to ensure a successful landing.Therefore, this period becomes a perfect demonstration of the workings of seapower and reveals that, however great a strategic genius on land, Napoleon never really grasped the principles ofBritish maritime defense, gleaned as it was from over two hundred years’ experience. This isnot to say that the invasion threat was treated lightly, although some of the rumored devicesbelong to the world of science fiction’ on the other hand the anti-invasion operations includedthe first use of such futuristic weapons as torpedoes and rockets. Little of the naval warfare of this period is not in some way connected with the main campaign, and this volume is devoted to the great wars of 1793-1815, charts all the major naval events of 1803 to 1805, includingAmerica’s first full-bloodied naval war, with the Barbary States.

The Campaign of Trafalgar, 1803-1805

History

Robert Gardiner

Europe

By the end of the sailing era the 50-gun ship had come to be regarded as a hybrid--too small to stand in the line of battle, but lacking the speed and handiness of the frigate--so was often dismissed as a naval architectural dinosaur left over from an earlier age. This prejudiced view has gone unchallenged in modern naval history, but this new book reveals the crucial role of the 50-gun ship in the development of both the battleship and the frigate, and explains the enduring role which ensured the survival of the type into the nineteenth century. True to the intentions of the ‘ShipShape’ series, it is the first extended study of a type which is both technically interesting and historically undervalued.

The 50-Gun Ship: A Complete History (Shipshape)

Rif Winfield

Military

The Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) of the 1890s--the first destroyers--were among the most glamorous naval vessels ever built. With their remarkable speed, their connotations of David and Gliath, and their initial deployment against the Royal Navy’s traditional enemy, the French, they caught the public imagination, while the command of one was coveted by all young naval officers. Drawing on Admiralty documents and plans, the author has compiled a brilliant collection of data on the early development of these vessels up to the River class of 1900. He also looks at the German response and the development in the US, particularly the Bainbridge class with its distinct raised forecastle. With its superb plans and drawings and entirely original research, this book is an essential reference for all naval historians, enthusiast and modelmakers with an interest in the development of one of the twentieth century’s most exciting warships.

The First Destroyers

Lyon, David

Forgetting the set backs of the American Revolutionary War, in 1793 the Royal Navy embarked on an almost unprecedented era of victories at sea, producing a considerable appetite for pictures of every incident, great or small. A thriving trade in prints and engravings grew up, supplemented by watercolors and oils by celebrated artists. Besidesthese ‘public’ works, many officers--and indeed members of the lower deck--kept personal journals and sketchbooks, illustrated with surprisingly accomplished drawings and watercolors, often depicting the everyday aspects of wartime life at sea that were ignored inthe more celebratory artistic media. These sources form a rich vein that have been barely touched in previous publications, but which this book uses to full effect.Despite numerous defeats, the French navy continued to dispute command of the sea in the period 1793-1797, and the early years of the war abound with fleet engagements, including dramatic victories against the Spanish at St. Vincent and the Dutch at Camperdown, betweenwhich the navy endured the shocking events of the Great Mutiny, potentially the most dangerous moment of the whole war.

Fleet Battle And Blockade: The French Revolutionary War 1793-1797

Although Nelson’s stunning victory at Trafalgar did not immediately win the war, it gave the Royal Navy the freedom to exploit the unprecedented seapower it had achieved. The threat from the French battlefleet was never entirely eliminated, but the rigorous policy of blockading the main bases meant that Napoleon’s navy was never able to mount a significant challenge to British supremacy. Thereafter British policy was to employ its seapower, first to defend the ever-increasing trade that paid for the war-effort, and second to strike back at the dominant military power of France and its satellite states whenever the opportunity arose. Often the two strategies were closely linked, as in the gradual takeover of the French Caribbean colonies and the elimination of Dutch power in the East Indies. The Navy also fought all around the periphery of Europe, and although not every amphibious operation was as successful as the 1807 assault on Copenhagen, the naval aspect was usually executed with skill and aplomb. Even Wellington admitted that the Navy’s support won him the Peninsular War. The period 1806-1814 witnessed continual naval warfare--against the Danes, the Russians, the Turks, and ultimately the Americans, as well as the French and their Dutch and Italian allies--and the ultimate defeat of Napoleon; this volume describes the naval aspect of that defeat in vivid detail.

The Victory of Seapower: Winning the Napoleonic War 1806-1814

WOODMAN, RICHARD

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