(Image shows the cover of the book which is a picture of Roald Amundsen. Photo credit: Aurum Press) In the early twentieth century, many of the great geographical mysteries that had intrigued adventurers for centuries remained unsolved; leaving unexplored blank areas on otherwise increasingly detailed global maps. Whereas Tibet, African and the Amazon had […]
Author: Louise Jack
Miracle brew: hops, barley, water, yeast and the nature of beer
Do you like beer? Do you fully understand the process of brewing beer? There is no doubt that beer is a highly popular alcoholic drink but how many of those who enjoy it stop to think about how its four ingredients – hops, malted barley, water and yeast – miraculously combine.
Great discoveries in medicine
Sickness and health, birth and death, disease and cure: medicine and our understanding of the workings of our bodies and minds are an important part of how we know who we are. Great Discoveries in Medicine is a fascinating account of the evolution of medical knowledge and practice from ancient Egypt, India, and China […]
Night trains : the rise and fall of the Sleeper
Night trains have long been a source of fascination. Authors from Agatha Christie to Graham Greene have used sleeper trains to tell tales of romance, intrigue and decadence against a rolling background of dramatic landscapes. The reality could be just as thrilling as the fiction: early British travellers on the Orient Express were advised to […]
100 documents that changed the world : from Magna Carta to WikiLeaks
We are surrounded by documents in our everyday lives and, of course, not all documents are in themselves important or worth saving. However, some, be they an ancient scroll of papyrus, a letter, a contract or a 140-character tweet, can have a huge and lasting impact on the world.
Behind the scenes at the BBFC : film classification from the silver screen to the digital age
Established by the film industry in 1912 as the nation’s only official and independent classifier of the moving image, the British Board of Film Classification (originally the British Board of Film Censors) has long been a source of fascination – and sometimes a bone of contention – for filmgoers, film-makers and industry figures.
Browse: the world in bookshops
Bookshops have always possessed a kind of magic. How many of us have wandered into a bookshop for “a quick look” and have found ourselves still browsing the shelves hours later? In Browse: the world in bookshops, Henry Hitchings asks fifteen writers from around the world on their thoughts and experiences of bookshops.
On the burning of books
The burning of a book is a powerful action – especially when the act is carried out in public. The book may be burnt for many reasons but whatever the reason, it is a strong statement. In On the Burning of Books, Kenneth Baker explores famous moments throughout history when books have been burnt for […]
Marriages are made in Bond Street
(Photo credit: Macmillan. Image above shows a woman in a long green coat and hat looking at a notice on a wall. The title of the book is written in gold text) Online dating is common nowadays with numerous dating sites competing to help set people up. But engaging an outside party to help find […]
The book of tea
(Photo credit: The book of tea: Growing it, making it, drinking it, the history, recipes and lots more by Nick Kilby and Louise Cheadle is published by Jacqui Small LLP) (Image above shows the title of the book and the author names against an orange background with a white teacup and saucer) Louise Cheadle […]