Author:Henry De Monfreid
Nobleman, writer, adventurer and inspiration for the swashbuckling gun runner in the Adventures of Tintin, Henri de Monfried lived by his own account ‘a rich, restless, magnificent life’ as one of the great travellers of his or any age. Infamous as well as famous, his name is inextricably linked to the Red Sea and the raffish ports between Suez and Aden in the early years of the twentieth century. This is a compelling account of how de Monfried seeks his fortune by becoming a collector and merchant of the fabled Gulf pearls, then is drawn into the shadowy world of arms trading, slavery, smuggling and drugs. Hashish was the drug of choice, and de Monfried writes of sailing to Suez with illegal cargos, dodging blockades and pirates.
This gem of a history book is slim enough to squeeze into the smallest piece of carry-on luggage but contains a wealth of stories about Istanbul's famous Galata bridge...Weaving the long history of the bridge with those who populate it today, the sensitive Mak shines a light on contemporary Turkey and its changing relationship with the rest of Europe
—— Sunday TelegraphGeert Mak introduces us to the city's denizen and history, stressing the symbolic importance of the bridge to a nation that sees itself as the meeting place between Europe and Asia
—— London Review of BooksGeert Mak's thoughtful travelogue sketches out Istanbul's past, and provides a touching portrait of its present inhabitants... his thoughtful, beautifully written book is suffused with respect for the richness of the individual life
—— IndependentStories from the heart of a travelogue written with sympathy and acute observation
—— Financial TimesPart history lesson, part cultural essay, The Bridge's slender size does not diminish it's riches
—— Viola Fort , GuardianMason brings together a wealth of inspiring stories of workers' struggles of the past with accounts of workers' fights today
—— Socialist ReviewIt has taken a mere 2,700 years for archaeology to reveal Homer as a truly talented historian, not just a peddler of second hand myths. Contrary to age-old academic prejudice, finds since 1988 have confirmed that the Trojan War happened much as Homer - the Iron Age writer with an inspired grasp of Bronze Age culture - related it. Homer's heroes remain mythical, but so much else is spot-on that Barry Strauss extends the benefit of the doubt by re-telling The Iliad in his own chattily lyrical style as if Achilles & Co were as real as the other proven evidence. Cracking book ...
—— The Daily TelegraphIn this gripping reconstruction [Strauss] deploys an impressive array of archaeological, historical and linguistic evidence...
—— Mail on SundayA gripping account
—— Adam Forrest , The HeraldDeGroot tells the story of the American lunar mission with verve and elegance
—— Richard Aldous , Irish TimesFascinating, gossipy and occasionally hilarious
—— Jeffrey Taylor , Express