The shipwrecks featured in the book represent trade, passenger transportation, slavery, war, and exploration. A few are well known and most are not - they are the stories of British people and each chapter relies heavily on written evidence. Chapters include the Merchantman St Cross and 22 other Great Yarmouth ships 1297, the Pilgrim ship Cogman 1446, the English royal warship Regent 1512, the Eastindiaman Trades Increase 1614, three pirate ships called Resolution 1684, the 74-gun warship Berwick 1805, the slave ship Eliza of Liverpool 1806, the Arctic exploration ship HMS Fury 1825. The human stories of eight shipwrecks serve as waypoints on the voyage, as the book explores how and why Britain became a global sea power. Each chapter has people at its heart - sailors, seafaring families, passengers, merchants, pirates, explorers, and many others. The narrative encompasses an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, such as a bloody maritime civil war in the 13th century, a 17th century American youngster who stepped from one ship to another - and into a life of piracy, a British warship that fought at Trafalgar (on the French side), and the floating hell of a Liverpool slave-ship, sunk in the year before the slave trade was abolished. The book is full of surprising details and scenes, including England's rudest and crudest street name, what it was like to be a passenger in a medieval ship (take a guess), how a fragment of the English theatre reached the Far East during Shakespeare's lifetime, who forgave who after a deadly pirate duel, why there were fancy dress parties in the Arctic, and where you could get the best herring. 23 illus, maps and many diagrams. 204 pages.

Luxuriate in the red leather interior of the Roadster E-Type with the early metal-effect console trim and toggle switches or the pearlescent green Amalgam Collection E-Type S1 Coupé or the One Low Drag E-Type created by Sayer and Jaguar in 1962 - lighter, sleeker with a more domed roof panel. Sir William Lyons and Malcom Sayer carved automotive history with this car across its 1960s to 70s incarnation from roadster to coupe amid the fitting of Straight-Six to V12 engines. With its definition of sculptural styling, performance handling and innovative style, the E-Type or XKE Series in the USA, created a car of global impact that remains a great classic of all time. Here experienced automotive writer and industrial designer Lance Cole pays tribute to the car in a showcase of new photography telling the whole design story with full coverage of the modelling options in synthetic materials and die-cast metals. He presents all E-Type features of the series 1, 2 and 3 variants and produces a series of specially commissioned colour artworks presenting a wide range of front, rear, pan and profile views of these stunning cars in all colours. Outsize 64 page softback.
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The motor scooter 'story' is told in this charming book from Piaggios through potholes, Ferdinando Innocenti's Lambrettas, the Vespa and La Dolce Vita complete with posters and of course the famous scene from the Hollywood film Roman Holiday. The evolution of these two-wheeled utility motor scooters is told with unique artworks and engaging photographs all celebrating scooter mania. We look at the style-conscious transport choice for the Mod generation, three-wheelers, the Lambro 600 and variants for refuse disposal, firefighting, street maintenance, postal services and port authorities. The first practical two-stroke engine as we know it is credited to Dugald Clerk around 1880. His idea was to fire the mixture on every upward stroke and so develop twice the power. His long-stroke engine had the complication of an auxiliary piston and cylinder to produce the mixture at atmospheric pressure plus primitive poppet valves. Joseph Day took the concept forward in 1889 by using a crankcase to compress and transfer the mixture. Here too are brands like Scott with its 1922 Flying Squirrel, the James ML The Clockwork Mouse of 1944, to the futuristic looking 50cc Buddfab Streamliner, the 1915 Autoped from the USA which looks just like one of today?s adult scooters, or the more complicated looking 1920 Macklum from Britain, the 1920 Unibus and Excelsior Welbike and the Japanese 1946 Fuji Rabbit S1. But it is the iconic Lambrettas and Vespas which of course take central place in this story, whether with an animal print seat cover, black and white chequered panel, the Quadrophenia scooters with aftermarket engine parts and of course dozens of mirrors. Romolo Ferri's 1951 record of 124.89mph is as yet unbeaten by any 125cc Lambretta. 110 glossy white pages, hundreds of colour images.

92 piece luminous build-it-yourself car racing track, the very bright fluorescent yellow, green, blue and orange track pieces really easily click together and can create a loop-the-loop plus track, a huge caterpillar style track, and is flexible enough to tilt for extra daring feats. The kit comes complete with a jeep style racing car and you simply push the button on and off the top after inserting two AA size batteries (not included) - and it glows in the dark! CE Safety approved, designed from ages three for creativity and hand to eye coordination but we know this will sell to adults with a sense of fun.

The best bridges are both functional and beautiful, with the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco one of the most celebrated, closely followed by the Roman Pont du Gard in France, Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, and the Humber crossing so much admired by Philip Larkin and pictured here against a spectacular sunset. Functionality can itself be beautiful, and Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash, completed in 1859, is "a masterpiece in pure, raw, and beautiful function", with the top arch of the truss restrained by the lower inverted arch and exerting no outward thrust. The scale and audacity of bridges can create a sense of identity and place. The Zhaozhou Bridge in China by Li Chun dates from the 7th century AD and is the world's oldest open-spandrel arched bridge in stone, with the Taotie motif on the keystones giving it a heroic, almost mystical significance. The Charles Bridge in Prague, built in the 15th century with 16 arches, connected Europe to the east, a bridge between two worlds both literally and metaphorically, and built on a palindromic and astronomical principle that also involve the Kabbalah and Jewish golem. The author covers different materials and methods of construction, from the timber spans of the 17th century Japanese Kintaikwo Bridge to the cantilevered steel of the Forth Bridge in the 1880s. Other bridges discussed and illustrated with impressive photography include the 12th century bridge at Avignon, which stood at the centre of one of Christianity's bloodiest crusades as the Cathars were declared blasphemous revolutionaries. The bridge of Khaju in Isfahan dates from 1650 as part of Shah Abbas's vision of a paradise on earth, with the stunning Mosque of the Imam in the background. The vaults below are shady refuges in warm-coloured stone. Railway bridges include Gateshead's Millennium Bridge, Newcastle's High Level Bridge and the Hell Gate Bridge in New York. A superb book, combining technological detail with impressive aesthetics. 384pp, 7 x10", colour photos.
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The publishing supremo has helped thousands of ordinary motorists become home mechanics with his wonderful Haynes Car Repair Manuals. The biography looks under the bonnet at his extraordinary life and his legacy to the motoring world and how one man's vision and enthusiasm gave a small enterprising rural Somerset a global footprint. The story begins with John's childhood in Ceylon and his schooldays, when as a young entrepreneur he sowed the seeds of what would become his iconic car repair manuals, to his time as a young RAF officer and the driving force behind the Haynes brand and the Haynes International Motor Museum. It all began with the classically sleek, low slung open-topped British two-seater the AC Cobra. John had owned MGs and Minis and Triumphs, big bodied Fords and Jaguars and stately Rolls Royces. He had raced cars too nearly every weekend and ended up in hospital just weeks before his wedding to Annette in the summer of 1963 when his Lotus spun violently on the track circuit at Goodwood and flipped over hurling him straight onto his back. His passion for motor racing remained, and both his business and personal lives were fundamentally changing. The business of Haynes Publishing with its iconic catalogue of car repair manuals took roots, taking apart the cars, photographing them and putting them back together, drawing cutaways and plans, writing and printing the first generation of manuals and selling them along with an assortment of other motoring titles from a combination office cum bookshop in Odcombe. John was awarded and OBE in 1995 for his services to the British publishing industry and his Haynes Motor Manuals touched the lives of more than 200 million people around the globe. The speed and suddenness of his final decline caught everyone by surprise. Eight pages of colour and archive photos including hauling the engine of his Austin Healey Sprite up fur flights of stairs and his glamorous wife on their honeymoon posing in front of their MG. 248pp.

'As it became clear that Bomber Command was achieving far less than even the most pessimistic had imagined, it seemed time to rethink Britain's war strategy. Success in Africa had demonstrated that Allied armies were also capable of rapid advances. With the Soviet Union fighting alongside Britain there was no longer any need to rely on the bomber. With Bomber Command achieving little and tactical airpower helping to win battles in the Western Desert it was very difficult to see a way forward for the bomber strategy.' When Hitler launched the Blitzkrieg upon France and the Low Countries in 1940, and the much-vaunted French Army and the British Expeditionary Force were swept away in just six weeks, this new form of warfare shook the Air Ministry. But the expected invasion never came, and the Battle of Britain was fought in the air. Bombing Germany into defeat seemed Britain's only option. In North Africa however, Commonwealth armies and air forces were demonstrating that they too could use Blitzkrieg tactics to crush opponents. Britain was no longer alone - Greece and then the Soviet Union joined the fight. The book describes how British air power developed and how attitudes were beginning to change - the fighter rather than the bomber was re-emerging as the principal means of gaining air superiority. Chapters include Discord in the Ranks, The War Office Strikes Back, Butt Bombshell and Air Strategy at the Crossroads. Appendices cover UK Production and Imports 1940 and 1941 and Aircraft Arriving in the Middle East by All Routes 1941 and Air Craft Performance. Photos, maps and diagrams, 304pp.

In a huge plume of smoke a black and red steam train numbered 761 powers towards the viewer pulling two blue carriages and several red carriages as it emerges between trees from under a bridge on a sunny day. The finished puzzle size is 51 x 69cm in this most traditional image we think will appeal to many of our Bibliophile customers. 1000 piece quality jigsaw puzzle, boxed.

The RAF for 100 years has forged a distinguished military record from the First World War through to recent operations over Iraq and Syria. With facilities to accommodate large audiences, it has produced scintillating flying displays with ever more impressive aircraft. Originally centred on the RAF station at Hendon in North London, its first public Air Pageant in 1920 was the result of Sir Hugh Trenchard trying to fend off disparaging attacks by the other services. A grand affair that showcases numerous military aircraft, it continued as an annual event until 1937 when it was succeeded by the widespread Empire Air Day, held at several RAF stations until war intervened in 1939. The once annual Mildenhall Air Fête was a must for aviation enthusiasts and it ran from 1976 to 2001. Other public air extravaganzas include RIAT (Royal International Air Tattoo) with the opportunity to demonstrate, in sight and sound and at close quarters to everyone from across the social spectrum, the increasing development of aviation. One of the Bibliophile Family (Captain Mark Grigg) organised the Queen's Coronation fly-past over Buckingham Palace including the Red Arrows and Concorde. A proud day. 352 heavyweight pages packed with images.

The development and evolution of fighter tactics with particular concentration on the interwar period. The increase in aircraft engine power led to recognition that ideas emanating from the First World War would have to be either modified or completely replaced. Ultimately this increase in engine thrust resulted in the emergence of all-metal monoplane fighters with enough speed for a single wing to provide life to get both the heavy engine and the rest of the aeroplane into the air and keep it there. There was a debate whether the unbridled manoeuvrability of a biplane was more important. The logic was that any money spent on fighters to defend the home territory was simply wasted and could be better used on the purchase of an even larger fleet of fast self-defending bombers. During these years there were three bitterly contested regional air wars fought over the skies of Spain (1936-39), China (1937-1941), and the Mongolia-Manchuria border (May to September 1939). Finland and France were testing grounds for a new approach to air tactics, with western democracies and totalitarian states taking note of the resulting lessons. Several countries chose to learn from these conflicts, but others to ignore them - the Soviet Union - the Soviet state directly involved in those air wars failed to apply new air tactics during the Winter War, while Finland, a country that had no previous involvement in air wars during this time, successfully implemented new aerial tactics. How was the intelligence collected? Why were the lessons learnt during these conflicts often not applied in future combat? The answers are fully explored alongside 50 high quality images. The book also covers Burma and the Chaco War (1928-1935). 176pp.