Approximately 100 photographs from the Francis Frith Collection of the town and surrounding villages spanning over 100 years.

Devon has a range of beautiful landscapes, breathtaking coastline and historical heritage. Photographer Jonathan Neale has captured Devon's essence in this collection of stunning images. With rugged moorland and hills, peaceful villages and towns, beautiful rural landscapes and river valleys, magnificent coastlines, scenic estuaries, fascinating wildlife, and man-made treasures, Devon in Photographs displays the south of the county at its best. For those who are proud to live in the county, as well as those visiting, this book is a must. Look through these photographs and you will quickly see why this area in the south-west of England has such enduring appeal.

In this vivid memoir, Douglas Model tells the incredible true story of his wartime childhood in Wembley amidst the horrors of the Blitz. Contrasting his peaceful infant life - which included a hiking holiday to Nazi Germany in 1934 - with the terrors of war, Douglas remembers his schooling, friendships and childhood mischief alongside the everyday realities of bombing raids, gas masks and rationing. Memories of a Wartime Childhood in London provides an invaluable account of significant wartime events through the eyes of a child, including the fall of France, the Dunkirk evacuation, the horrifying discoveries of Nazi concentration camps and, at long last, the sweetness of Allied victory.

Nathaniel Philbrick, the bestselling author of" In the Heart of the Sea" and "Mayflower," brings his prodigious talents to the story of the Boston battle that ignited the American Revolution.
Boston in 1775 is an island city occupied by British troops after a series of incendiary incidents by patriots who range from sober citizens to thuggish vigilantes. After the Boston Tea Party, British and American soldiers and Massachusetts residents have warily maneuvered around each other until April 19, when violence finally erupts at Lexington and Concord. In June, however, with the city cut off from supplies by a British blockade and Patriot militia poised in siege, skirmishes give way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It would be the bloodiest battle of the Revolution to come, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
Philbrick brings a fresh perspective to every aspect of the story. He finds new characters, and new facets to familiar ones. The real work of choreographing rebellion falls to a thirty-three year old physician named Joseph Warren who emerges as the on-the-ground leader of the Patriot cause and is fated to die at Bunker Hill. Others in the cast include Paul Revere, Warren's fiance the poet Mercy Scollay, a newly recruited George Washington, the reluctant British combatant General Thomas Gage and his more bellicose successor William Howe, who leads the three charges at Bunker Hill and presides over the claustrophobic cauldron of a city under siege as both sides play a nervy game of brinkmanship for control.
With passion and insight, Philbrick reconstructs the revolutionary landscape--geographic and ideological--in a mesmerizing narrative of the robust, messy, blisteringly real origins of America.

Tavistock has cast its spell over generations of visitors. Attractively set between two significant natural barriers, the River Tamar to the west and Dartmoor to the east, residents and visitors today would still recognise the truth of what one impressed tourist wrote in 1892: 'The town has a leisurely and beautiful appearance, and the people do not seem to need to kill themselves and slay each other in the mad rush of life which spoils so many other towns.' However, being relaxed is not the same as being sleepy. The economic and social life of the town has, at each stage of its development, been dynamic. The designation 'Ancient Stannary Town' on the welcoming road signs, for example, is a reminder of the long association with the tin industry, and the oft-quoted description 'The Gothic town of the West' brings to mind the great age of copper mining and the changes to the town centre that accompanied it. This fully illustrated account brings the modern resident and visitor face to face with the factors that have influenced the development of this unique and fascinating corner of Devon.

Many books have been written about Appalachia, but few have voiced its concerns with the warmth and directness of this one. From hundreds of interviews gathered by the Appalachian Oral History Project, editors Laurel Shackelford and Bill Weinberg have woven a rich verbal tapestry that portrays the people and the region in all their variety. The words on the page have the ring of truth, for these are the people of Appalachia speaking for themselves. Here they recollect an earlier time of isolation but of independence and neighborliness. For a nearer time they tell of the great changes that took place in Appalachia with the growth of coal mining and railroads and the disruption of old ways. Persisting through the years and sounding clearly in the interviews are the dignity of the Appalachian people and their close ties with the land, despite the exploitation and change they have endured. When first published, Our Appalachia was widely praised. This new edition again makes available an authentic source of social history for all those with an interest in the region.

The town of Redcar and the resort of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, with the adjoining village of Marske-by-the-Sea, lie on an eight-mile stretch of the coast in North East England. In this book author Colin Wilkinson reveals the stories behind how these once small villages along a remote coast grew into the present-day resorts. Centuries ago the beaches were ideal for smugglers. The arrival of the railway in the 19th century brought an influx of visitors and at the same time new industries emerged following the discovery of iron ore in the local hills, bringing in more people looking for work. In the twentieth century war left its mark on the area. In the First World War lookout posts were set up on the beaches, an early warning station was built to listen for Zeppelins and at Marske an aerodrome was set up nearby to train pilots. Depression in the 1930s and postwar industrial decline brought hardship to the area but the holiday industry boomed in the first half of the twentieth century and has seen a resurgence in recent years. Over the course of the last century Redcar has seen the birth of Redcar racecourse, motor racing along the beach, famous visitors such as Emily Pankhurst and Keir Hardy and much more. With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and tucked away or disappeared historical buildings and locations, Secret Redcar, Marske and Saltburn will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this corner of the coastline of North East England.

Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Ireland takes you on an absorbing journey around Ireland to unearth the adventures, inventions, legends, firsts and birthplaces that have shaped the unique history of Ireland. From Baltimore to Barbary, Titanic to Shergar, and even the myth of the Aran jumper, this intriguing compendium of facts and stories will give you a captivating insight into The Emerald Isle, and the ideas and events that have shaped the individual identity of this remarkable country. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.

Leominster History Tour takes the reader on an exciting journey through 800 years of the town's history. But the story of Leominster is even older than that. The town grew around the priory that was established in 660 and became the centre of an extensive manor. The produce of the rich farmland of Herefordshire helped it to prosper, and this legacy has left a rich heritage. With the help of a location map, the carefully selected photographs in this guide offer a glimpse of those bygone eras to those who want to uncover more about this unique town.

St Andrews is without doubt one of Scotland's most historic and beautiful cities. Once the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, it played a prominent role in the nation's political life until the seventeenth century. In addition, it is also home of the nation's oldest university; and whilst claims that it is the birthplace of golf may remain controversial, there is no doubt it is regarded as world capital of the game today. This fascinating and comprehensive account of St Andrews traces its history from Pictish times to the present day. It is based not only on a huge amount of original research, but also on an intimate knowledge of the town which Raymond Lamont-Brown accumulated in over twenty years' residence there. In addition to facts and figures, the book also introduces many of the people who have featured prominently in the story of St Andrews - from doughty residents such as Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair and Cardinal Archbishop David Beaton to illustrious visitors like Mary, Queen of Scots, John Knox and Samuel Johnson.

Updated with a new foreword by Tom Hanks: acclaimed historian William Manchester A World Lit Only by Fire is a "captivating and marvelously vivid" popular history of the Middle Ages (Publishers Weekly). From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of the Inquisition and the misery of the Black Death, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In graceful prose, and with the authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization teetering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth during the Renaissance, a dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains. The result is an unforgettable journey into the medieval mind, as Manchester ingeniously re-creates the lives of ordinary people and offers vivid portraits of the era's most astonishing figures, such as Galileo, Machiavelli, Anne Boleyn, and Ferdinand Magellan. "Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune

The Somerset town of Frome is something of a paradox. Since being founded at the end of the sixth century its fiercely independent nature has been unchanging. A nature which, as one columnist has noted: 'seems to have revolved around the eminently sensible attitude of "To hell with national events! We will stay as we are."' And yet a century ago, when called on by its country to do its duty in the Great War, it rose to the task admirably. Men from Frome and the surrounding area experienced action in all the theatres of war that the global conflict encompassed, and they took part in the numerous battles and campaigns, on land and at sea, that have become synonymous with that conflict: Ypres, Gallipoli, Jutland, the Somme. At the same time, its civilian population received a special commendation after the war for its effort throughout it. However, the town's contribution did not stop there, as many of the returning soldiers helped to create several of the national and international monuments and memorials that would pay eternal tribute to their comrades who fell on the fields of Flanders and elsewhere.Using letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper reports and eyewitness accounts, along with other archive material, local historian and author David Lassman has assembled the story of Frome during the Great War; a story which charts the transformation of this once rich and powerful textile centre and manufacturing town, along with its people, through the life-changing events of 1914 to 1918.

Cornwall through Magic Lantern Slides is a quality book of 287 superb professional photographs of bygone Cornwall from the later years of Queen Victoria and through the reign of Edward VII. The book transports the reader back to the nostalgic, but hard times of our forefathers. The original photographs are all positives printed on glass of subjects varying from men at work underground in the Cornish mines to chocolate box views of Cornish harbours. Many images will have been made available commercially at the time of production whilst others are taken by private individuals for lectures at their local social evenings. Photographs of Rocks or cliffs at the time would have looked dramatic to the photographer, but to the present day viewer they may seem less interesting, so these are generally not included unless something else of interest is happening in the scene. The reader will find the variety of the subjects both fascinating and of great social interest. Logistic difficulties of the cumbersome, and technically difficult equipment is discussed. This is a book for anyone interested in Magic Lantern slides or the photographic, social and topographical history of Cornwall.

Sheffield's story is one of fierce independence and a revolutionary spirit, its industrial origins having their roots in the same forests as the legends of Robin Hood. From Huntsman's crucible steel in the eighteenth century, to Brearley's stainless steel in the twentieth, Sheffield forged the very fabric of the modern world. As the industrial age drew to a close the city's reputation for rebelliousness spawned its popular reputation as capital of the 'People's Republic of South Yorkshire'. Yet in the wake of the Miners' Strike and the Hillsborough Disaster, the early twenty-first century has seen Sheffield retain its unique character while reinventing itself as a centre of education, creativity and innovation.