The Royal College of Physicians celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2018, and to observe this landmark is publishing this series of ten books. Each of the books focuses on fifty themed elements that have contributed to making the RCP what it is today, together adding up to 500 reflections on 500 years. Some of the people, ideas, objects and manuscripts featured are directly connected to the College, while others have had an influence that can still be felt in its work.This, the sec...

BBC Radio adaptations of Nancy Mitford's most famous novels and acclaimed biography of Madame de Pompadour plus bonus programmesThe eldest of the notorious Mitford sisters, Nancy Mitford was renowned for her comic novels of upper-class life. An aristocrat and socialite, she mingled with the 'Bright Young Things' in interwar London, and went on to satirise their foibles in razor-sharp, wickedly funny prose. Collected here are adaptations of her two bestsellers, the ...

A BBC Radio 4 production of Wynyard Browne’s classic play about a 1950s family homecoming at Christmas.It is Christmas Eve and the family are gathering at Reverend Martin Gregory’s Norfolk vicarage. A soldier son destined for Oxbridge, two elderly aunts with a passion for chatter, a cousin with a military background and a pair of daughters who are both hiding secrets join the vicar to celebrate the festive season.But family tensions soon come to the fore, and as skeletons tum...

The ideal portable companion, the world-renowned Collins Gem series returns with a fresh new look and updated material.This is the perfect pocket guide for nature enthusiasts keen to identify the wild flowers they might encounter on a walk along the coast or in the mountains, or a ramble through woodland, fields or wetlands.Authoritative text, beautiful photographs and detailed illustrations show the parts of the flower, stem, leaf and fruit, including both common and scien...

Enter the mind of the creator of the gardens at Brandywine Cottage and find inspiration for your next gardening project with this guide that includes “breathtaking” photos of the Cottage (Library Journal).Brandywine Cottage is David Culp's beloved two-acre Pennsylvania garden where he mastered the design technique of layering—interplanting many different species in the same area so that as one plant passes its peak, another takes over. The result is a nons...

A passionate and informative celebration of trees and of man's ingenuity in exploiting their resources: the perfect gift for anyone who cares about the natural world.Trees are marvels of nature, still-standing giants of extraordinary longevity. In a beautifully written sequence of essays, anecdotes and profiles of Britain's best-loved species (from yew to scots pine), Max Adams explores both the amazing biology of trees and humanity's relationship with wood and forest across the ce...

Learn all about tropical plants and flowers with this with this useful and portable reference book.This handy field guide introduces approximately 60 plant species found in the Tropics. Trees, shrubs, flowers and fruits are all presented in full color. Included are exotic and beautiful blooms, plants with utilitarian uses and some of the more extraordinary members of the plant kingdom. Each entry is described in detail, and the expert botanical information is inclu...

This practical field guide describes and illustrates in colour 90 common and widespread wetland plants found in Queensland, and gives a distribution map for each species. To assist those readers who are keen to learn more, the book includes a series of keys to help identify those species that are not illustrated in the book but which may be encountered in the field. The keys also help to identify closely related species. There is also a glossary of technical terms. Creating artificial wetland...

Another volume in the popular New Naturalist series, this book covers all aspects of the plant life of Britain and Ireland.Michael Proctor, an expert in his field, discusses the development of the landscape of Britain and Ireland from prehistoric times, including the influence of people and their agricultural practices on the vegetation.He provides a comprehensive account of all the different types of plant habitat in Britain and Ireland: from woodlands and scrubland to mea...

Learn the essentials of tropical and Asian fruits with this useful and portable reference book.Handy Pocket Guide to Tropical Fruits introduces approximately 40 frit species commonly found in the Tropics. Each exotic item is described in detail and its country of origin and areas of growth are discussed. Culinary uses are given, with tips on how to produce the best flavors, and the book ends with a number of mouth-watering fruit recipes. Illustrated with b...

A revision of the definitive reference, containing plant characteristics, distribution, and medicinal qualities, an updated taxonomy, and fifteen new species.The Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants is the ultimate handbook for identifying and using wild plants for medicinal purposes. This illustrated guide to North American wild medicinals has been a nature classic for over thirty years. In this second edition, David K. Foster revises Bradford Angier's in...

Flowering Earth is an extraordinary work in which Peattie explores the origin and significance of plant life with an unmatched sense of astonishment and reflection. According to The New York Times, his prose in Flowering Earth is pervaded by a continuous sense of beauty and illuminative insight,” and Books hails it as a piece for people who are refreshed by any sort of emancipation from the trivial…”