26th February 2019
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Henry Winstanley and the Eddystone Lighthouse
by Adam Hart Davis and Emily Troscianko This book is about Henry Winstanley the man whose life (and death) became intractably linked with the first Eddystone Lighthouse. The Eddystone rocks – an outcrop of slippery, sloping gneiss that barely pokes … Continue reading
21st December 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Sane New World: Taming the Mind
by Ruby Wax. Ruby Wax makes an excellent ambassador for mental health. She writes with clarity, humour, and detailed knowledge. The greater part of the book details the workings of the brain and the mind (as distinct entities), and gives … Continue reading
17th September 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Dr Johnson’s Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story Of The Book That Defined The World
by Henry Hitchings. This is a story of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary – the first comprehensive dictionary of English, which was published in 1755. We start with a brief history of Johnson’s early life: his very modest upbringing in Litchfield; his education – and … Continue reading
18th August 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on A Field Guide to Getting Lost
by Rebecca Solnit. A Field Guide to Getting Lost morphs between memoir and social history, with a fair bit of philosophy along the way. Rebecca Solnit writes about growing up in California, and much of the book focusses on the … Continue reading
22nd May 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Restoration: 1666, a Year in Britain
by Alexander Larman. Restoration details the day-to-day, the politics, culture, and dangers of English life in the mid 1660s. Charles II has retaken his father’s throne after 12 gruelling years of Cromwellian rule. His lavish lifestyle delights many (after the … Continue reading
28th October 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson. Twenty years after Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson tours Britain again. With the “Bryson Line” as his guide, the he (roughly) follows his own footsteps, from Bognor Regis on England’s south coast to the very North … Continue reading
25th September 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story
by Michael Rosen. Michael Rosen takes the reader, letter by letter, through the alphabet, introducing the history, usage, and relevance of each as he goes. Each chapter begins with an brief history of each letter’s original form, and how it … Continue reading
17th July 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Walking the Nile
by Levison Wood. We all know the longest river in the world is the Nile (or is it the Amazon?), but we don’t actually know how long that is. From it’s (disputed) source in Rwanda, to Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, the … Continue reading
4th May 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Mercator: the Man who Mapped the Planet
by Nicholas Crane. A fascinating and incredibly detailed biography of the man who gave us the Mercator projection – the method still used to reproduce the 3D world on a 2D world-map. The last two pages of the epilogue tell … Continue reading
17th April 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Dead Water
by Ann Cleeves. A bereaved Jimmy Perez gradually gets hooked into a murder case, this time led by an incoming inspector, the very likable Willow Reeves. Spoiled journalist Jerry Markham is dead, but who did it? Was it his spurned … Continue reading
