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	Tibetan Pilgrimage By combining masonry with the skills of nomad tent-makers, Tibetan architects have produced unique, magnificent buildings that, for too long, have remained obscure and underestimated. It took author-illustrator Michel Peissel, who speaks Tibetan, forty-five years and twenty-nine expeditions on foot and on horseback to reach the lesser-known fortresses, chapels, and monasteries that he sketched and painted for this book. Tibet - the impossible pilgrimage also reveals how the Tibetan nation and its culture are still very much alive even though Tibet has since been partitioned and appropriated by China, India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Incredibly today, from the Himalayas of Nepal to Mongolia, from Baltistan and Ladakh across occupied Tibet to Kansu and Szechuan, hundreds of new, elegant buildings are still being built according to the finest Tibetan traditions. This book is certain to foster an appreciation for the elegance of Tibetan architecture, confirming the extent of its influence and its remarkable originality. Author: Michel Peissel Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN: 9780810959446 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $60.00 Our Price: $53.40
	Versailles The sumptuous palace and gardens of Versailles were designed to represent both Louis XIV's celebration of himself and a perfectly balanced integration of art and nature. Millions of tourists have long admired the gardens for their beauty and enduring mystery. The allees and parterres resonate with memories of pomps and promenades, feasts and follies. The solar symbolism of Apollo reigns over both architecture and ornament at Versailles, yet French classicism dominates the gardens, imposing a strict geometrical order on the forest, shaping the flowerbeds and boxwood, and brightening the woodsy depths with fountains and statuary. Photographer Jacques Dubois presents Versailles through the cycle of the seasons and the shifting intensities of their light. His evocative images show great facades, stone goddesses, flowers and pools, masks, columns, and towering trees transformed by the ever-shifting forces of nature. Brief essays provide historical perspective and insight into the development of this enduring landmark. This gorgeous book will be treasured by visitors to Versailles as well as any garden lover. Author: Jacques Dubois, Jean D'Ormesson & others Pierre Arizzoli-Clemental Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN: 9780810959910 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $120.00 Our Price: $106.80
	Venice, CA Venice, California, is LA's version of New York's East Village, Williamsburg, Tribeca and Coney Island, all in one. It is best known for its rambunctious boardwalk, babes on roller skates and Gold's Gym. Venice has also been a magnet for artists, architects and creative entrepreneurs who have continuously given it new life, from the Beat poets to Frank Gehry. Venice, CA explores this vibrant scene as it exists today, taking the reader into homes, studios and spaces that capture a contemporary West Coast approach to lifestyle, architecture, design and work. Included are the homes and studios of artists Chuck Arnoldi, John Baldessari, Larry Bell, Billy Al Benston, Ed Moses and Ed Ruscha architectural projects by Frank Gehry, Morphosis, Frederick Fisher, Koning-Eizenberg, David Hertz, Antoine Predock, Coop Himmelblau, Charles Ward, Philippe Starck and Brian Murphy beach houses and canal houses and designers' studios. This is the new Venice, but throughout the book are also scattered images of the Venice of legend: the surfers, lifeguards, skaters, and the boardwalk. Author: Michael Webb & Frank O. Gehry, Juergen Nogai Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN: 9780810993068 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $59.95 Our Price: $53.36
	Tribes of the Great Rift Valley Tribes of the Great Rift Valley is a celebration and photographic study of the traditional peoples who occupy the tiny, remote villages scattered across the deserts, plains, hills and forests of the Great Rift Valley. From the red-ochre-painted warriors of Samburu to the Mursi with their jutting lip-plates to the guinea-fowl-painted faces of the Karo, the people of the Rift Valley remain among the most untouched and unchanged on the planet.This gorgeously illustrated book provides sweeping views of this wild landscape and its people, from the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Eritrea, across the Ethiopian highlands, and down to the great lakes and primordial forests of Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi. These fascinating cultures are remarkably diverse, yet nearly all of their communities and traditions face extinction due to Western influence.For the people of the Rift Valley, this book serves as a historic record of the living traditions they have carried with them into the twenty-first century. For those outside of Africa's borders, it serves as a family reunion, bringing the viewer into the world of their lost African relatives. This journey into the heart of Africa is designed to be a broad profile of tribal humanity to which every reader has a connection and provides a lasting record, perhaps even the last record, of a quickly disappearing way of life. Author: Elizabeth L. Gilbert Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN: 9780810994119 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $95.00 Our Price: $84.55
	Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die We only get one life so we owe it to ourselves to see as much of this beautiful world as possible. For many of us, lying on a beach for two weeks each year is just not enough any more. We want to see ancient monuments, extraordinary scenery, endangered wildlife, foreign cultures, architecture and art - places that give us the chance to grow and expand our horizons. Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die will help you search out some of these essential destinations and experiences. International travel writer and photographer Steve Davey has drawn on his years of experience in selecting forty of his favourite places. Some, such as the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra, are relatively well-known, but most, such as the incredible temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the amazing sand dunes of Dead Vlei in the Namib desert, are very much off the beaten track. Some, such as Venice or New York, involve relatively comfortable journeys, whilst others present more of a challenge - crossing the wilderness to see the rock-hewn churches at Lalibela in Ethiopia, for example, or trekking for nine days at altitude to see the stunning Himalayan scenery around Makalu in Nepal. Although there are plenty of tips for travellers, this is not a travel guide, and is certainly not definitive, but it will introduce you to a host of spectacular locations, all of which can be visited in a holiday of two weeks or less. Beautifully illustrated throughout with specially commissioned photographs, this is a book that will inspire you to think beyond the walls of your room and take time out to visit some of the world's truly unforgettable places. Author: Steve Davey Publisher: Ebury Press ISBN: 9780563487463 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $54.95 Our Price: $48.91
	Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die Following the success of Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die, this is the second title in an exciting new series of books that will help you search out essential sights and experiences around the world. In Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die, international travel writers and photographers Steve Watkins and Clare Jones draw on their years of experience to select forty of their favourite trips of a lifetime. This book isn't a travel guide, nor is it definitive, but it will introduce you to a host of unusual and amazing activities to be done in fabulous destinations during a break of two weeks or less. Steve and Clare's diverse adventures range from searching for pearls in Tahiti, French Polynesia, and dog-sledding through the snowy landscapes of Sweden, to exploring the rainforests of Belize, and sailing down the Nile on an Egyptian felucca. For the less active explorer, they offer more relaxed, but equally unmissable pursuits, such as watching an opera in the ancient ruins of Verona, Italy, or wine-tasting in Bordeaux, France. Lavishly illustrated throughout with specially commissioned photographs, Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die is aimed at anyone looking for ideas for an inspirational experience of a lifetime. The Unforgettable series has so far been published in 14 countries across Europe, Asia and America. Author: Steve Watkins & Clare Jones Publisher: Ebury Press ISBN: 9780563521075 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $55.00 Our Price: $48.95
	Unforgettable Journeys to Take Before You Die Following the success of Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die and Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die, this is the third title in an exciting new series of books that will help you search out essential sights and experiences around the world. In Unforgettable Journeys to Take Before You Die, international travel writers and photographers Steve Watkins and Clare Jones draw on their years of experience in selecting thirty of their favourite trips of a lifetime. Steve and Clare's diverse adventures range from cruising through Patagonian fjords to taking a slow barge down the Canal du Midi from following in the footsteps of Shackleton in Antarctica to tracking gorillas through the Rwandan rainforest. This book isn't a travel guide, nor is it definitive, but it will introduce you to a host of unusual and amazing journeys from around the world. Lavishly illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, Unforgettable Journeys to Take Before You Die is aimed at anyone looking for ideas for an inspirational experience of a lifetime. Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die has sold over 50,000 copies in the UK and has printed in many editions around the world. Author: Steve Watkins & Clare Jones Publisher: Ebury Press ISBN: 9780563522638 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $55.00 Our Price: $48.95
	AA Complete Travel - Spiral Guide Berlin A new title in the Spiral Guide series, exploring the historical capital of Germany. Fun to read, it gives you real in-depth guidance with expert choices, so there's no need to plan ahead. Stylish - bright, colourful and modern design with witty and informative writing Up-to-date - Written by a local and translated into English Unique - like no other guide on the market fun to read with its own personality Recommendation - personally recommended places for the best eating and drinking Practical - pocket-sized for travelling light and unique wiro binding so pages fold back flat Informative - must-see sights covered and expert choices make best use of your time Clear - top quality, detailed maps and colour-coded pages for quick and easy use Locator Map - provides a colour-coded overview of the top attractions Atlas included, plus street index and index The Magazine, with articles including: City of architecture, Berlin on the water, Did you know? Culture for everyone, From the TV tower: 360 degree view of Berlin's history Finding Your Feet - vital details for starting out, from airport information to shops Zone-by-Zone chapters split into geographical zones Each zone in Author: Gisela Buddee Publisher: AA Publishing ISBN: 9780749540432 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $22.21
	Words in a French Life Imagine a former French major getting vocabulary tips from her young children! That was the experience of Kristin Espinasse, an American who fell in love with a Frenchman and moved to his country to marry him and start a family. When her children began speaking the language, she found herself falling in love with it all over again. To relate the stories of her sometimes bumpy, often comic, and always poignant assimilation, she created a blog called French Word a Day, drawing more admirers than she ever could have imagined. With an approach that is as charming as it is practical, Espinasse shares her story through the everyday French words and phrases that never seem to make it to American classrooms. Comptoir (counter) is a piece about the intricacies of grocery shopping in France, and Linge (laundry) swoons over the wonderful scent the laundry has after being hung out in the French countryside while Toquade (crush) tells of Espinasse's young son, who begins piling gel onto his hair before school each morning when he becomes smitten with a girl in class. Steeped in French culture but experienced through American eyes, Words in a French Life will delight armchair travelers, Francophiles, and mothers everywhere. Author: Kristin Espinasse Publisher: Touchstone Books ISBN: 9780743287296 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $22.95 Our Price: $20.43
	Vanilla Beans and Brodo Foreign writers living in Italy frequently treat the local people as an exotic species to provide amusing stories for their readers. Sipping cappuccino and supping pasta, rarely do they perceive what is going on around them, nor understand the complexity of life for today's Italians. Isabella Dusi came from Australia to settle in Montalcino, a Tuscan mountain eyrie famous for its wine. Her acceptance into this close-knit community was a hard-won thing. This text is her account of life there, offering a rare insight into the anxiety, joy, fun and pressure of inhabiting this medieval village. It also tells of the village's bloody history which has left its mark on the character traits of the Montalcinese. In this evocative story of the rivalry between village neighbourhoods, of football fever and festival pageantry, Isabella Dusi destroys the myth that Tuscan villages are tranquil places and instead reveals a life infinitely rich and full of dramas. This moving and often humorous journey changes the cliched image of Tuscany and brings real understanding of the fierce passion of today's Tuscans for their ancient village, their fertile land and their life in Montalcino. Author: Isabella Dusi Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9780743404112 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $22.95 Our Price: $20.43
	A Sense of the World When Lieutenant James Holman sailed to Russia in 1822, intent on crossing Siberia on his way to circumnavigate a globe still largely uncharted, the authorities of the Tsar arrested him on suspicion of espionage. Their scepticism was understandable: James Holman was completely blind. Holman returned to London and wrote a bestselling book about his abortive trip. But the wanderlust remained: as he put it, In my case, the deprivation of sight has been succeeded by an increased desire for locomotion. In 1827 he set off again, this time for Africa. He would not return until 1832, having visited India, the Far East and Australia en route, and indulged in seemingly suicidal adventures such as stalking rogue elephants in Ceylon and helping blaze a road through uncharted New South Wales. For Holman it was the raw intensity of such experiences that kept depression at bay: he travelled in order to regain the sensation of feeling fully alive. Jason Roberts has used Holman's own writings as well as myriad other contemporary sources to weave a spellbinding narrative about this fascinating character.Full of suspense and humour, and vivid in its re-creation of a world experienced through the non-visual senses, A SENSE OF THE WORLD is a marvellous blend of travel, biography and history, and a great tribute to a man of rare spirit. Author: Jason Roberts Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 9780743468053 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $22.21
	Reflections on America At a time when so many cracks have emerged within the imagined community of 'the West', this important new book, by one of the leading social scientists in Europe, examines the intellectual history of comparing Europe and the United States. Claus Offe considers the perspectives adopted by three of Europe's greatest social scientists - Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber and Theodor W. Adorno - in their comparative writings on Europe. While travelling, studying and working in the US, all three constantly looked back to their European origins, trying to decipher from their American experience what the future may hold for Europe, be it for better or worse. Alexis de Tocqueville, the French aristocrat, observed the functioning of American democracy with a mix of admiration, envy and deep concerns about the fate of liberty in the 'democratic age'. Max Weber, the German sociologist, reported enthusiastically about the youthful energy he found in the United States, which, however, he saw as gradually succumbing to the stifling tendencies of European bureaucratization. Theodor W. Adorno, the critical theorist and refugee from Nazi Germany, observed with a sense of despair the workings of the American 'culture industry' which he equated to the totalitarian experience of Europe, only to switch to a much more favourable picture upon his return to Germany. Europe and the US are conventionally assumed to share the same trajectory and develop according to some common pattern of 'occidental rationalism', with the observed differences resulting from mere lags and relative advances on one side or the other. In this insightful book, Offe questions the relevance of this paradigm to transatlantic relations today. Author: Claus Offe Publisher: Blackwell Publishers ISBN: 9780745635064 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $27.95 Our Price: $24.88
	Video Night in Kathmandu When Pico Iyer began his travels, he wanted to know how Rambo conquered Asia. Why did Dire Straits blast out over Hiroshima, Bruce Springsteen over Bali and Madonna over all? If he was eager to learn where East meets West, how pop culture and imperialism penetrated through the world's most ancient civilisations, then the truths he began to uncover were more startling, more subtle, more complex than he ever anticipated. Who was hustling whom? When did this pursuit of illusions and vested interests, with it's curious mix of innocence and calculation, turn from confrontation into the mating dance? Iyer travelled to Bali where despite tourism he realised that Paradise might not be lost after all. He checked on how Tibet was faring as the word's last secret to be revealed to full view. In Nepal, he saw how the Dharma path met Freak Street, and witnessed in China how doors locked to trade were thrown open with breathless courtesy. This is a world where the movie star has become a god and Rajiv Gandhi a celluloid hero, and to travel with Iyer is to experience the seductions and ironies of today's Asian cultures - and our own. Author: Pico Iyer Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 9780747551201 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $32.99 Our Price: $29.36
	Wallpaper - Toronto City Guide Compiled by the magazine's travel experts, and by the extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider's guide to each featured city. Both people who live there, as well as the well-travelled editorial team of Wallpaper, have put their heads together to come up with a fascinating, efficient guide that keeps the hip, urban traveler with his/her finger on the pulse. The Wallpaper City Guides are especially useful for the weekend tourist, and the business traveller. If you only have 24 hours to discover a city, each guide offers an exact hour-to-hour plan of what to see, eat, and purchase. For those travelling for a weekend, the guides even go as far as to tell you what you could see for a day-trip outside the city. The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary. For a decade, Wallpaper has been the first to uncover and present enticingly the best in new design and urban travel spots from across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007. Author: Wallpaper* Magazine Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd ISBN: 9780714847337 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $11.53
	Ghost Train Through the Andes It was not until long after his grandmother, Sophie had died that Michael Jacobs was eventually permitted to read the lengthy and passionate letters that his grandfather Bethel had written her from nine thousand miles away. In these letters, Jacobs discovered a remarkable story of hardship, deprivation and enduring love. His grandfather's work on the railway through the Andes was exhausting and desperately lonely. He had little in common with his fellow workers and became consumed by a mounting despondency, from which only his love for Sophie could save him. But, as the months and years of separation passed, the world in which Sophie was blossoming appeared more and more remote from his own. Michael Jacobs' journey back through time takes him from a rain-swept Hull churchyard to desolate Antofagasta in Chile and to the former silver capital of Potosi. Climbing through ghostly, lunar-like scenery towards the snow-capped summits of the Andes, he follows the route of his grandfather's railway -- across giant rocky plateaux, through terrifyingly steep gorges and valleys of tropical lushness, and past grim mining townships buffeted by winds, rain and snow -- to reveal an extraordinary love story. Author: Michael Jacobs Publisher: John Murray General Publishing Division ISBN: 9780719561818 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $26.69
	See Naples and Die Penny Green returned to Italy after a holiday in Australia ready for a challenge. She was looking for a new job and romance, and found work and perhaps love in the toughest Italian city of them all Napoli.Penny takes on her new home with almost the same open acceptance she had when she first arrived in Rome four years ago. Now, though, she is older, wiser and more experienced when it comes to breaking into a new city.She writes with a feeling of growing love for the Neapolitans, for the beauty of the city s waterfront, and the delights of the old town. But she is realistic she also steps into the city s underworld and sees for herself how the Camorra operate and how they will murder for no reason.Penny delves into the myths about Naples to discover what aspects of those myths are true today. To help in her investigations she talks to people from all walks of Neapolitan life from the mayor, to her colleagues and landlady, to the family of Annalisa Durante who was killed by the Mafia, to the local friends she makes at cafes and parties.The result is a colourful, first-hand account of life in a city that is filed with fear, crime, rubbish, beauty, great food, generous inhabitants and a thrilling sense of living every moment to the fullest. Author: Penelope Green Publisher: Hachette Australia ISBN: 9780733621765 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $35.00 Our Price: $31.15
	Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond Mapping Asia presents an authoritative selection of the most important antique maps of Asia and the Middle East produced from the time of Alexander the Great to the early nineteenth century, by cartographers from England, France, Portugal, Holland, Turkey, Italy, and China. A fascinating visual chronicle of the maps and their makers, this book explores the history of Europe's discovery of lands to the east, from Constantinople to present-day Alaska. It tells the stories of the thriving trade that linked east and west beginning with the ancient Silk Road, the explorers - such as Magellan and Sir Francis Drake - who continually searched for new lands and routes to reach the east beginning in the fifteenth century, and the indigenous peoples who struggled to retain their autonomy in the face of European missionary activity and influence. Mapping Asia reproduces in full color 80 beautifully rendered and rare maps, more than 40 of which have never been published for the general public. Each map is accompanied by an accessible essay that provides extensive background on the mapmaker and how the map was originally produced, and describes the geography, sites, and details on the map. Most Author: Kenneth Nebenzahl Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd ISBN: 9780714844091 Format: Hardback Book List Price: $85.00 Our Price: $75.65
	Wallpaper - Basel City Guide Compiled by the magazine's travel experts, and by the extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider's guide to each featured city. Both people who live there, as well as the well-travelled editorial team of Wallpaper, have put their heads together to come up with a fascinating, efficient guide that keeps the hip, urban traveler with his/her finger on the pulse. The Wallpaper City Guides are especially useful for the weekend tourist, and the business traveller. If you only have 24 hours to discover a city, each guide offers an exact hour-to-hour plan of what to see, eat, and purchase. For those travelling for a weekend, the guides even go as far as to tell you what you could see for a day-trip outside the city. The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper* magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary. For a decade, Wallpaper* has been the first to uncover and present enticingly the best in new design and urban travel spots from across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007. Author: Wallpaper* Magazine Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd ISBN: 9780714847160 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $11.53
	Wallpaper - Bilbao City Guide Compiled by the magazine's travel experts, and by the extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider's guide to each featured city. Both people who live there, as well as the well-travelled editorial team of Wallpaper, have put their heads together to come up with a fascinating, efficient guide that keeps the hip, urban traveler with his/her finger on the pulse. The Wallpaper City Guides are especially useful for the weekend tourist, and the business traveller. If you only have 24 hours to discover a city, each guide offers an exact hour-to-hour plan of what to see, eat, and purchase. For those travelling for a weekend, the guides even go as far as to tell you what you could see for a day-trip outside the city. The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper* magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary. For a decade, Wallpaper* has been the first to uncover and present enticingly the best in new design and urban travel spots from across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007. Author: Wallpaper* Magazine Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd ISBN: 9780714847191 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $11.53
	Wallpaper - Havana City Guide Compiled by the magazine's travel experts, and by the extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider's guide to each featured city. Both people who live there, as well as the well-travelled editorial team of Wallpaper, have put their heads together to come up with a fascinating, efficient guide that keeps the hip, urban traveller with his/her finger on the pulse. The Wallpaper City Guides are especially useful for the weekend tourist, and the business traveller. If you only have 24 hours to discover a city, each guide offers an exact hour-to-hour plan of what to see, eat, and purchase. For those travelling for a weekend, the guides even go as far as to tell you what you could see for a day-trip outside the city. The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper* magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary. For a decade, Wallpaper* has been the first to uncover and present enticingly the best in new design and urban travel spots from across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007. Author: Wallpaper* Magazine Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd ISBN: 9780714847221 Format: Paperback Book List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $11.53