Sonny is working on a whaling ship in the South Atlantic, reckoning with the most vicious storms he has ever seen. It’s a brutal way to make a living. When he finally returns to his Shetland home to build a life with his wife and young son, the legacy of his time at sea is felt by all of them.In present day Shetland, Jack is an old man, living alone in the cottage where he grew up, in the shadow of a hill. And it is here, one evening, that something appear...

Longlisted for the Ondaatje PrizeShortlisted for the Highland Book Prize'The thing he felt ending was not just one person, or even one generation; it was older, and had, in truth, been ending for a long time . . . It was a chain of stories clinging to stories, of love clinging to love. It was an inheritance he did not know how to pass on.'Shetland: a place of sheep and soil, of harsh weather, close ties and an age-old way of...

A critically acclaimed author invites readers on fascinating adventures to the mysterious and forgotten corners of the map.Be prepared to be captivated by the astounding tales of two dozen islands once believed to be real but no longer on the map. These are the products of the imagination, deception, and human error: an archipelago of ex-islands and forgotten lands. From the well-known story of Atlantis and the mysteries of frozen Thule to more obscure tales from a...

'Luminous' The Times'Beautiful’ Caught by the RiverBringing together contemporary Scottish writing on nature and landscape, this inspiring collection takes us from walking to wild swimming, from red deer to pigeons and wasps, from remote islands to back gardens, through prose, poetry and photography.Edited and introduced by Kathleen Jamie, and with contributions from Amy Liptrot, Jim Crumley, Chitra Ramaswamy, Malac...

Sonny is working on a whaling ship in the South Atlantic, reckoning with the most vicious storms he has ever seen. It’s a brutal way to make a living. When he finally returns to his Shetland home to build a life with his wife and young son, the legacy of his time at sea is felt by all of them.In present day Shetland, Jack is an old man, living alone in the cottage where he grew up, in the shadow of a hill. And it is here, one evening, that something appear...

Shetland: a place of sheep and soil, close ties and an age-old way of life. A place where David has lived all his life, like his father and grandfather before him. A place where Sandy, a newcomer but already a crofter, may have finally found a home. A place that Alice has fled to after the death of her husband. In the wind and sun and storms from the Atlantic, these islanders must decide: what is left of us when the day's work is done, the children grown, and all our choices have been made...

"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean in a masterful work of narrative nonfiction. A gifted storyteller and...

Obscure Events that Shaped the World is part of the series-a conveniently portable, stylishly packaged and eminently collectible set of six books that each open a window onto a selection of remarkable stories, characters and themes from the past.Obscure Events that Shaped the World will open your eyes to significant places, events and peoples that have been largely excluded from the standard histories we learn yet have directly affected our history. These stories ...

VIVE LA REVOLUTION!Dolphins shed and replace their skin every two hoursPluto was named by an eleven-year-old schoolgirlA donkey's personality is called its donkeyshipFreud didn't lose his virginity until the age of 30The bastion that was QI has been stormed, elves have been put to the guillotine, the readers are in charge.After nine and a half years of cumulative reading time, readers of the QI App have selected the definitive Q...

Atlantis and Other Lost Worlds is the most up-to-date and comprehensive investigation of history's infamous sunken city. Nowhere else will you find a more dramatic and convincing presentation of the evidence for its archaeological reality. The book uncovers the scientific genius of the ancients and the spiritual power of their mysterious religion. They are revealed as the inventors of a crystal technology to surpass our own, and the master builders of pyramidal monuments around th...

The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic volcanic eruption off the coast of Java of the earth’s most dangerous volcano — Krakatoa.The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa — the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic natural disaster — was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty...

In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed up the east coast of Australia in his ship, the HM Bark Endeavour. Setting out from England in 1768, he was given two instructions: to observe the transit of Venus and to find and chart the mythical "Great Southern Land". He succeeded in both tasks, despite he and his crew facing great hardship and danger, to complete one of the great voyages of exploration. But as a result of this voyage and reports made later by Joseph Banks, botanist on board the Endea...