Further Reading
Here Be Dragons
To do an injustice to Tennyson, it’s usually at this time that my fancy turns to getting out a new travel catalogue. Looking at this year’s purchases, the balance of...
Here Be Dragons
To do an injustice to Tennyson, it’s usually at this time that my fancy turns to getting out a new travel catalogue. Looking at this year’s purchases, the balance of...
Mountaineering Pioneers
This week, we explore some less well-known adventurers who also achieved mountaineering milestones in their own way not necessarily by successful ascents but by becoming pioneers in their field.
Mountaineering Pioneers
This week, we explore some less well-known adventurers who also achieved mountaineering milestones in their own way not necessarily by successful ascents but by becoming pioneers in their field.
Time Travel
Long before mobile travel apps there were Baedeker Guides, indispensable for helping thousands of tourists navigate their way round unfamiliar places. Designed to be carried around in a pocket and available...
Time Travel
Long before mobile travel apps there were Baedeker Guides, indispensable for helping thousands of tourists navigate their way round unfamiliar places. Designed to be carried around in a pocket and available...
Making Connections
What makes a book desirable apart from the important fact that you like it? Rarity plays a big part; will you get another chance to buy a copy? Provenance too...
Making Connections
What makes a book desirable apart from the important fact that you like it? Rarity plays a big part; will you get another chance to buy a copy? Provenance too...
Strangers in a Strange Land: Europeans in Tibet
Last week I was fortunate to buy a small quantity of the original 1977 edition of Julie Marshall’s superb book, Britain and Tibet 1765-1947.
Strangers in a Strange Land: Europeans in Tibet
Last week I was fortunate to buy a small quantity of the original 1977 edition of Julie Marshall’s superb book, Britain and Tibet 1765-1947.
High Times: Trekking in Himalayas
I suppose that whenever people think of the Himalayas, they think of Everest. And why not? The highest peak on Earth, the scene of so many displays of courage, the...
High Times: Trekking in Himalayas
I suppose that whenever people think of the Himalayas, they think of Everest. And why not? The highest peak on Earth, the scene of so many displays of courage, the...
Türkiye, A New Name For An Ancient World
Following on from President Erdogan’s December 2021 statement, the United Nations this month acknowledged a formal request from Ankara for the country to be known as Türkiye. It is after...
Türkiye, A New Name For An Ancient World
Following on from President Erdogan’s December 2021 statement, the United Nations this month acknowledged a formal request from Ankara for the country to be known as Türkiye. It is after...
Views of the Holy Kaaba
The Holy Kaaba is the most important site in the Islamic world. The cube-like structure draped in black cloth is located at the centre of the most important mosque in...
Views of the Holy Kaaba
The Holy Kaaba is the most important site in the Islamic world. The cube-like structure draped in black cloth is located at the centre of the most important mosque in...
Would You Judge A Book By Its Cover?
The joy of book collecting is the freedom to form a library exactly as one wants. There are no constraints, it is entirely a personal decision as to what you...
Would You Judge A Book By Its Cover?
The joy of book collecting is the freedom to form a library exactly as one wants. There are no constraints, it is entirely a personal decision as to what you...
The Anglo-Iranian Relationship From 1600-1900
Seen in the light of the past forty years, since the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty and the rise of the present day theocracy, relations between Britain and Iran look...
The Anglo-Iranian Relationship From 1600-1900
Seen in the light of the past forty years, since the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty and the rise of the present day theocracy, relations between Britain and Iran look...
The Magnificent Minimalist Mountaineer
I have always been fascinated by mountains and travel and one of the first books I ever purchased was an early edition of Blank on the Map by Eric Shipton which describes...
The Magnificent Minimalist Mountaineer
I have always been fascinated by mountains and travel and one of the first books I ever purchased was an early edition of Blank on the Map by Eric Shipton which describes...
The Book in India From The 19th Century
Nowadays India is one of the largest and most important centres of printing and publishing, the culmination of a tradition that started in the mid-sixteenth century with the Jesuits in...
The Book in India From The 19th Century
Nowadays India is one of the largest and most important centres of printing and publishing, the culmination of a tradition that started in the mid-sixteenth century with the Jesuits in...
Travelling to Timbuctoo: Not Everyone Gets There!
The first thing that needs saying is that not everybody that sets out for Timbuctoo gets there. In my case, driving down from Algiers in the 1970’s, much to my...
Travelling to Timbuctoo: Not Everyone Gets There!
The first thing that needs saying is that not everybody that sets out for Timbuctoo gets there. In my case, driving down from Algiers in the 1970’s, much to my...
Heinrich Schliemann: A Man of Our Times
Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), although born almost 200 years ago, seems very much a man of our times.
Heinrich Schliemann: A Man of Our Times
Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), although born almost 200 years ago, seems very much a man of our times.
'Dr Livingstone I Presume': Iconic Meeting Was ...
Today marks the 150th anniversary of one of those moments that schoolchildren remember all their lives, for a single phrase.
'Dr Livingstone I Presume': Iconic Meeting Was ...
Today marks the 150th anniversary of one of those moments that schoolchildren remember all their lives, for a single phrase.