Edward Brooke-Hitching Knihy

A visual history of how mankind has studied the sky throughout history, featuring some of the most stunning images ever created.

The Golden Atlas is a spectacular visual history of exploration and cartography, a treasure chest of adventures from the chronicles of global discovery, illustrated with a selection of the most beautiful maps ever created. The book reveals how the world came to be known, featuring a magnificent gallery of exceptionally rare hand-coloured antique maps, paintings and engravings, many of which can only be found in the author's collection. Arranged chronologically, the reader is taken on a breathtaking expedition through Ancient Babylonian geography and Marco Polo's journey to the Mongol Khan on to buccaneers ransacking the Caribbean and the voyages of seafarers such as Captain Cook and fearless African pathfinders. Their stories are told in an engaging and compelling style, bringing vividly to life a motley collection of heroic explorers, treasure-hunters and death-dealing villains - all of them accompanied by eye-grabbing illustrations from rare maps, charts and manuscripts. The Golden Atlas takes you back to a world of darkness and peril, placing you on storm-lashed ships, frozen wastelands and the shores of hostile territories to see how the lines were drawn to form the shape of the modern world. The author's previous book, The Phantom Atlas, was a critically acclaimed international bestseller, described by Jonathan Ross as 'a spectacular, enjoyable and eye-opening read' and this new book is sure to follow suit.

The stories behind some of the most unusual and remarkable artworks from around the world, beautifully illustrated throughout

A stunning new volume from Edward Brooke-Hitching, revealing some of the strangest books ever written and produced.

Do you know how big the biggest book in the world is? Have you ever heard of books made out of knots? What about a book written in human blood? Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of utterly bizarre book history in THE MADMAN'S LIBRARY. THE MADMAN'S LIBRARY is a beautifully illustrated journey through the fascinating and arcane territories of literature, hunting down the strangest books ever written and revealing the stories behind their creation. This eccentric and extraordinary collection features books that hoaxed the world, books invisible to the eye, books that tower over the reader, ancient spell books, books bound in human skin, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered . . . and others that are almost too bizarre for words. Every strand of strangeness imaginable has been unearthed and bound together to please the curious book-lover. Following in the footsteps of the author's celebrated THE PHANTOM ATLAS and THE SKY ATLAS, this eccentric collection will take you on a vivid journey through the unknown crevices of literature to examine the most unusual books ever created.

A lavishly illustrated guide to how humanity has imagined heavens, hells and the afterlife

Nine-foot giants were once thought to stalk the Patagonian landscape. The Island of California was known to drift off the coast of North America, The Mountains of Kong were believed to stretch across the continent of Africa. With fascinating stories and beautiful Illustrations, this unique atlas gathers together the wildest misbeliefs ever drawn on maps, revealing the world as it existed purely in the imaginations of our ancestors. Book jacket.

For those who enjoyed the quirkiness of Schott's Miscellany, the erudition of The Etymologicon or the extremes of The Dangerous Book for Boys, this is the perfect read. From Flagpole Sitting to Hot Cockles, Edward Brooke-Hitching has researched through piles of dusty tomes to bring vividly back to life some of the most curious, dangerous and downright bizarre sports and pastimes that mankind has ever devised, before thinking better of it and erasing it from the memory. After all, who would ever want to bring back Fox Tossing, a popular sport for men and women in 17th-century Germany? As the name suggests, it would involve dozens of couples pairing up and standing 20-25 feet apart in an enclosed field, each holding one end of a net, and then they would pull hard at both ends as the fox ran past, sending it flying high into the air. There are many other sports revealed within these pages that are unlikely ever to make an appearance on our TV screens, such as Firework Boxing, which is just as dangerous as it sounds. Meanwhile, Ski Ballet may not have been so risky, but Suzy 'Chapstick' Chaffee's signature move - the Suzy Split (a complete forward split while balanced on the tips of her skis) - was probably not one to try at home. An intriguing, entertaining and occasionally shocking insight into the vivid imaginations of mankind across the years, Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports is an unforgettable read.

Delve into a collection of bizarre and astonishing facts that challenge the boundaries of reality. Compiled by a former BBC presenter, this book showcases an array of unusual stories and phenomena that seem unbelievable yet are backed by intriguing evidence. Each entry invites readers to explore the extraordinary, sparking curiosity and wonder about the world around them. Perfect for those who love to uncover the peculiar and the extraordinary in everyday life.

From the author of critically acclaimed works comes a magnificent illustrated collection that traces the story of love through the ages. This unique gathering features a wealth of curious objects and surprising tales, including prehistoric carvings, ancient Egyptian statues, medieval spell books, and Victorian code-writing. Explore the royal marriage that defied death in 14th-century Portugal, judicial duels between husbands and wives in Early Modern Europe, and love spells found in medieval manuscripts. Encounter the ancient Greek army regiment of male couples, the French pirate queen avenging her husband, the first woman to sail around the world, and the quack sexologist who deceived 18th-century London with his musical mechanical bed. Discover ancient gods, mythical monsters, Elizabethan portraits of men on fire, and erotic paintings hidden beneath the ash of Pompeii. Delve into Nigerian wedding chains, Welsh love spoons, cryptic postcards, and the centuries-old tradition of mapping the heart. This curiosity cabinet of romantic treasures draws on diverse sources, making it a perfect collection for fans of beautifully illustrated works and curious history, as well as an ideal romantic gift.