Reference Books

Explore the unique stories behind every Grand Prix track in this fully updated second edition. Written by award-winning journalist Maurice Hamilton and complete with bespoke digital maps of each course, this is the ultimate guide to the circuits of Formula One. Each venue is listed in chronological order from the first time it hosted a Grand Prix, starting with Monza, then taking in renowned locations such as Spa, Nürburgring, Monaco and Silverstone, all the way up to F1’s latest destination: Miami. Uncover little-known facts about famous circuits and discover the story behind some of the sport’s lesser-known venues. This fully updated second edition includes: all 77 Formula 1 circuits, featuring six additional venues from the previous edition, bespoke digital maps of every racetrack, statistics including circuit lengths, lap records, and names of corners and straights, alphabetical and ‘by country’ indices for ease of reference.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780008554798 • Author: Maurice Hamilton  • Publisher:  Collins • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  336 • Dimensions:  22.7 x 2.8 x 27.1 cm

The must-have companion to the greatest event in world rugby... Containing everything rugby fans will need to enjoy the World Cup, this official guide is packed with images, profiles, previews and charts, making it essential reading for any fan and the perfect companion to all of the tournament action. Contents include Team-by-team profiles, Star player profiles, a guide to every venue, a Fill-in tournament progress chart, a History of the Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup records, Qualification round-up and more!  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781802796360 • Author: Simon Collings • Publisher:  Welbeck • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  128 • Dimensions:  18.9 x 24.6 cm

If you've always wanted to know how societies function - and why sometimes they don't - this beginner's guide to sociology has got the essential theories and thinkers covered! Sociology has almost limitless scope. From the smallest everyday interaction to the impact of vast systemic change, societies are brimming with fascinating phenomena we all want to understand more clearly. There's never been a more important moment to grasp what's going on around us, and this pocket-sized guide offers an engaging introduction to the key sociological concepts and debates. It includes easy-to-follow coverage of: The origins and development of modern sociology and the influence of foundational figures such as Durkheim, Marx and Weber. The major sociological schools or perspectives, from functionalism to feminism. How sociologists strive to test their theories ethically and carefully by using scientific research methods. The key topics in sociology, including inequality, class, crime, gender and race. How sociology can help us tackle new challenges and change our societies - and the wider world - for the better. Perfect for newcomers, or anyone seeking a concise breakdown of the subject, The Little Book of Sociology takes all the big ideas and makes them crystal clear.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781800077188 • Author: Rasha Barrage • Publisher:  Summersdale • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  144 • Dimensions:  10.6 x 2 x 14 cm

Now including the top astronomical places to visit, star festivals and the latest on star parties in Britain and Ireland, the new 2024 edition is totally up-to-date for exploring the wonder of the night skies, month-by-month and day-by-day. Whether you're a seasoned astronomer or just starting out, Philip's Stargazing 2024 is the only book you'll need. Compiled by experts and specially designed for easy and daily use, Stargazing 2024 acts as a handily illustrated and comprehensive companion. Includes 12 updated sky charts for year-round astronomical discovery, Month-to-Month information. Daily Moon Phase Calendar, highlighting special lunar events throughout the year and planet Watch for ideal viewing days in 2024. Find the best places to experience Dark Skies, along with the latest on Star Festivals and Star Parties and the top places to visit for astronomical insights. With expert advice and insight throughout from internationally renowned Prof Nigel Henbest, a special article on the use of filters for astro-photography by expert Robin Scagell, the complete calendar of major astronomical events, including the Top 20 Sky Sights of 2024 and Jargon Buster, explaining common or confusing terms, the planets' movements explained from solar and lunar eclipses to meteor showers and comets.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781849076517 • Author: Nigel Henbest • Publisher:  Philip's • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  96 • Dimensions: 14.9 x 14.9 x 21 cm

Eddy de Wind, a Dutch doctor and psychiatrist, was shipped to Auschwitz with his wife Friedel, whom he had met and married at the Westerbork labour camp in the Netherlands. At Auschwitz, they made it through the brutal selection process and were put to work. Each day, each hour became a battle for survival. For Eddy, this meant negotiating with the volatile guards in the medical barracks. For Friedel, it meant avoiding the Nazis’ barbaric medical experiments. As the end of the war approached and the Russian Army drew closer, the last Nazis fled, taking many prisoners with them, including Friedel. Eddy hid under a pile of old clothes and stayed behind. Finding a notebook and pencil, he began to write with furious energy about his experiences. Last Stop Auschwitz is an extraordinary account of life as a prisoner, a near real-time record of the daily struggle to survive but also of the flickering moments of joy Eddy and Friedel found in each other - passing notes through the fence, sometimes stealing a brief embrace. Documenting the best and the worst of humanity, it is a unique and timeless story that reminds us of what we as humans are capable of, but that there is hope, even in Hell. Thought to be the only complete book written within Auschwitz itself, it will linger with you long after the final page has been turned. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804995730 • Author:  Eddy de Wind • Publisher:  Doubleday • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  272 • Dimensions: 14.4 x 2.7 x 22.2 cm

Want to impress your friends and family with both useful, worthless but undeniably interesting facts? Then Interesting Facts For Curious Minds: 1572 Random But Mind Blowing Facts About History, Science, Pop Culture and Everything in Between is the book for you! Know the answers to a variety of questions such as: When did zero become a number? Who was the inventor of Bitcoin? What did the Big Bang sound like? How have sports changed around the world? What’s a malapropism? and many more! With 63 chapters, this book has a nice mix of science, history, pop culture, and all sorts of stuff in between. Each chapter contains 25 concise yet engaging factoids that are sure to make you think and at times laugh. I guarantee you’ll find it one of the best tools to pass some time, relax alone, or connect with others. So sit back, relax, and get ready to learn some truly interesting facts!  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9798887680026 • Author: Jordan Moore  • Publisher: Red Panda Press • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  198 • Dimensions: 17.78 x 1.14 x 25.4 cm

With several spells and rituals to enhance all aspects of life, this beautifully illustrated, gold-embossed guide will empower its readers with magical instruction. These awe-inspiring traditional and modern spells will clearly show readers how to bring more magic into their lives. From attracting love to finding success in business and careers, every aspect of modern living is touched upon and ancient ideas about magic are used to manifest positive change. This essential reference guide is sure to become a handy Book of Shadows for every practicing witch or those interested in magic. Included is a section on tools and techniques, correspondences for different spells, and spellwork for manifesting wishes. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781398805651 • Author: Marie Bruce • Publisher: Arcturus Publishing  • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  160 • Dimensions:  16.7 x 13.7 x 2.2cm 

Experience the world by train alongside best-selling travel writer Tom Chesshyre, as he takes a whistle-stop tour around the globe in 49 unique journeys... Why do people love trains so much? Tom Chesshyre is on a mission to find the answer by experiencing the world through train travel – on both epic and everyday rail routes, aboard every type of ride, from steam locomotives to bullet trains, meeting a cast of memorable characters who share a passion for train travel. Join him on the rails and off the beaten track as he embarks on an exhilarating whistle-stop tour around the globe, on journeys on celebrated trains and railways including: India’s famed toy train, Sri Lanka’s Reunification Express, The Indian Pacific across the Australian outback, The Shanghai maglev, And the picturesque rail journeys of the Scottish Highlands. Plus trains through Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Iran, Finland, Russia, America and France, with short interludes in North Korea, Italy, Poland, Peru, Switzerland, England and Lithuania. All aboard!  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781849538268 • Author:  Tom Chesshyre  • Publisher:  Sumersdale • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  320 • Dimensions: 13.34 x 2.54 x 19.69 cm

A classic collection the Art of War and other Chinese military texts, beautifully presented with a striking, foil-embossed cover design. Written between 500 BCE and 700 CE, these seven texts have inspired generals for millennia, both in China and the wider world. These seven texts display an understanding of strategy and warfare still relevant more than 2,000 years after they were originally written. Together, they present a uniquely eastern tradition of warfare that emphasizes speed, stealth, and cunning. This collection includes seven of the most famous military texts of ancient China: The Art of War, Wuzi, Wei Liaozi, Taigong's Six Secret Teachings, The Methods of the Sima, Three Strategies of Huang Shigong, and Questions and Replies Between Emperor Taizong of Tang and General Li Jing. These new translations bring to light several texts that display an understanding of strategy and warfare that still has relevance millennia after their original publication. From the 11th-century AD onward, these texts became required reading for Chinese military officers. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781839401596 • Author: Sun Tzu • Publisher:  Arcturus • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  384 • Dimensions: 23.7 x 3.3 x 19.2 cm

An exploration of the Jack the Ripper murders through the eyes of the Londoners who lived through it, including eye-witness accounts and inquest testimonies. The shocking murders carried out by an unknown serial killer in London's East End in during the autumn of 1888 dominated the news and public imagination at the time and have continued to exert a baleful influence ever since. But what was it like to live through those terrifying weeks? No matter what precautions the locals took, the killings continued. Featuring eye-witness accounts, photographs and documents of the time, this book looks at the crimes of Jack the Ripper and their impact on the people of Victorian London. It follows the way the crimes affected the local population, the rumours that swept the streets, the alarms, the riots, the persecutions, the suspicions and the sheer naked terror of the awful autumn when Jack the Ripper stalked the streets. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781398845664 • Author:  Rupert Matthews • Publisher: Arcturus Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  256 • Dimensions: 12.5 x 2.1 x 19.5 cm

Another year on the Diddly Squat Farm and Jeremy is still knee-deep in mud and endless challenges. Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. Since taking the wheel three years ago Jeremy's had his work cut out. And it's now clear from hard-won experience that, when it comes to farming, there's only one golden rule: Whatever you hope will happen, won't. Enthusiastic schemes to diversify have met with stubborn opposition from the red trouser brigade, defeat at the hands of Council Planning department, and predictable derision from Kaleb - although, to be fair, even Lisa had doubts about Jeremy's brilliant plan to build a business empire founded on rewilding and nettle soup. And only Cheerful Charlie is still smiling about the stifling amount of red tape that's incoming... But he charges by the hour. Then there are the animals: the sheep are gone; the cows have been joined by a rented bull called Break-Heart Maestro;. the pigs are making piglets; and the goats have turned out to be psychopaths. But despite the naysayers and (sometimes self-inflicted) setbacks, Jeremy remains irrepressibly optimistic about life at Diddly Squat. Because It's hard not to be when you get to harvest blackberries with a vacuum cleaner. And, after all, it shouldn't just be Break-heart Maestro who gets to enjoy a happy ending...  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780241674895 • Author:  Jeremy Clarkson • Publisher:  Michael Joseph • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  192 • Dimensions: 15.2 x 2.6 x 23.6 cm

Want to sleep better, work better and feel better in yourself? Well, this guide will help create the best personal routine for you, using the science of the body clock… Nowadays, we increasingly push our daily routines into the night, carrying out work, exercise and our social lives long after dark. But we have forgotten that our bodies are governed by a 24-hour biological clock which guides us towards the best time to sleep, eat and think. Using personal studies, as well as insights from an international community of sleep scientists and biologists studying circadian rhythms, Professor Russell Foster illustrates the sur-prising effects the time of day can have on our health. Enjoy this fascinating and surprising journey through the science of our body clocks and understand how it can revolutionise your sleep and health today!  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780241529317 • Author:  Russell Foster • Publisher:  Penguin Life • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  480 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 2.8 x 19.8 cm

Discover the ancient language of the universe, decipher its messages and unravel its mysteries - all you need is this book and your own intuitive powers! Has a song ever popped into your head only for you to hear it on the radio a minute later? Does the same sequence of numbers follow you wherever you go? This could be more than a coincidence. The universe is always pointing you in the right direction - all you have to do is heed its whispers. Filled with advice and inspiration, this book will be your essential guide to reading the universe. Complete with fill-in sections to chronicle your experiences, learn how to: Ask for and manifest guidance from the universe, interpret common signs, synchronicities and their meanings and unlock your unconscious and reconnect with your inner voice. It's time to discover your true path and find magic and meaning in the everyday. The cosmos is ready and waiting to guide you in your endeavours. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781837991914 • Author:  Astrid Carvel • Publisher:  Summersdale • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  160 • Dimensions:  15 x 21 x 1.6cm 

As the parachutists and glider troops of the US and British airborne divisions went in on the night of June 5, Allied shipping began massing out in the Channel. As dawn broke on June 6, waves of assault craft hit the Normandy beaches. British, American, Canadian, polish and Free French troops began to stream ashore to storm the defences of the Atlantic Wall in the teeth of overwhelming enemy firepower. By midnight on D-Day 150,000 Allied troops were ashore and the process of consolidating the beachheads and pushing inland had begun. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781398810662 • Author:  Nigel Cawthorne  • Publisher:  Arcturus Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  290 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1 cm 

An indispensable introduction to the darker side of life, revealing the often strange and grisly stories behind the world's most infamous murderers, swindlers and crooks. 100 Most Infamous Criminals is an astounding compendium of crimes and their perpetrators. The range of crimes is extraordinary, from the bizarre to horrific, and from the heart-breaking to the ridiculous. The book tells in vivid detail the story of the history's most infamous criminals; lives they led, the crimes they committed, and the destruction and sorrow left in their wake. Find out more about: Jack the Ripper, the man who terrorized Victorian London. Ted Bundy, the serial killer beloved by his neighbours. Jeffrey Dahmer, the creator of real-life zombies. Al Capone, the king of gangsters. Harold Shipman, Britain's angel of death. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781398845206 • Author:   Jo Durden Smith • Publisher:  Arcturus Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  208 • Dimensions: 12.5 x 2.1 x 19.5 cm

Decode the secrets and uncover the origins and meanings of over 2,000 signs and symbols, from ancient hieroglyphs to modern-day logos. Why is a heart pierced by an arrow a classic symbol of love? What are the ancient roots of fertility symbols? Why are scales a symbol of justice? Delve into the meaning of each symbol and investigate how they have been interpreted in myth, religion, folklore, and art over time, with authoritative text from experts in the field and striking line drawings and photography that emphasize the visual strength and beauty of signs. Divided into six thematic sections - the cosmos, the natural world, human life, myths and religions, society and culture, and symbol systems - this guide to the secret language of signs and symbols is a must-have for those who want to understand the world around them.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780241387047 • Author: Miranda Bruce-Mitford • Publisher:  DK • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions:  19.8 x 2.8 x 23.3 cm

In this comprehensive guide, best-selling author and crystal expert Philip Permutt reveals the amazing ability of crystals to heal and energize, with details of over 400 crystals and how they can help a huge range of common ailments and enhance every part of your life. With crystal remedies for more than 250 common ailments and a directory of over 400 crystals, as well as detailed explanations of the most effective healing methods, this book is the ultimate guide to healing with crystals. By drawing on the unique qualities of crystals, you can balance the energy fields around your body and home to bring wellbeing and gain health benefits.  Crystals can help soothe emotional problems such as anxiety, mood swings, and shyness, as well as physical symptoms such as migraines and allergies. Illustrated with color photographs, and supplemented with exercises to try, The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing is the ultimate practical reference from a highly respected healer and teacher. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781800650091 • Author: Philip Permutt • Publisher: CICO Books • Format: Paperback •  Pages: 176 •  Dimensions: 19 x 2 x 23.5cm  

Unleash your inner witch, learn the secrets of modern magick, and find joy every day with The Modern Witch’s Guide to Happiness. Discover everything you need to know to unlock your inner witch with this essential guide. Learn how to use tarot cards and healing crystals, how to embrace your psychic power and dispel toxic energy, and how to harness the magick of nature to become the happiest and most grounded version of yourself. Written in layman’s terms, this book offers practical activities such as spellcraft, finding your own rituals, and how to use magickal herbs effectively. Coupled with positive affirmations and advice on spiritual self-care, The Modern Witch’s Guide to Happiness is the perfect handbook to guide you on your magickal journey. Product information: • ISBN: 9781789296419 • Author: Luna Bailey • Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 128 • Dimensions: 23 x 17 x 1.3cm 

The periodic table is one of the most extraordinary advances in modern chemistry. Here, in the authoritative Elementary, James Russell uses his lively, accessible and engaging narrative to tell the story behind all the elements we now know about. From learning about the creation of the first three elements, hydrogen, lithium and helium, in the big bang, through to oxygen and carbon, which sustain life on earth - along with the many weird and wonderful uses of elements as varied as fluorine, arsenic, krypton and einsteinium - even the most unscientifically minded will be enthralled by this fascinating subject. Learn about the most basic building blocks of the universe, and the people who identified, isolated and even created them with this wonderful book. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781789293609 • Author: James M. Russell • Publisher: Michael O'Mara • Format: Paperback • Pages: 192 • Dimensions: 19.69 x 12.7 x 2.03 cm

Kate Garraway has had to learn how to adapt ever since her husband Derek began his fight against the devastating impact of Covid, a condition that has left him needing 24-hour care at home and long spells in hospital, before he sadly passed away in February, surrounded by his loving family. In The Strength of Love, Kate explores issues that resonate with so many of us. She looks at the impact of trauma as well as the importance of resilience, adaptability, curiosity and positivity when recovering from it. She talks about identity, purpose, how to embrace uncertainty and take back control of our lives. Through her and Derek's story, she provides comfort and wisdom that will help anyone who has ever felt desperate, lonely or experienced profound loss, or who is fearful about what the future holds. Despite all that she and her family have had to endure, Kate shows us that love truly is the most powerful and resilient emotion of all. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781788707442 • Author:  Kate Garraway • Publisher:  Blink Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  310 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.6 x 2.2 cm