LEIGH FORBES: Books of all Sorts

26th February 2019
by Leigh Forbes
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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

Blind Descent cover

13th February 2018
by Leigh Forbes
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Blind Descent

by James M. Tubor. James M. Tubor chronicles the search for the world’s deepest cave, as lead by two teams – one American (in Mexico), one Ukrainian (in Georgia) – between 1991 to 2009. He describes the characters involved, and the … Continue reading

19th December 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Island on Fire: the extraordinary story of Laki, the volcano that turned eighteenth-century Europe dark

Island on Fire: the extraordinary story of Laki, the volcano that turned eighteenth-century Europe dark

Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe. A brilliant book, which looks at the 1783 eruption of Laki, one of Iceland’s most damaging volcanoes, as well as others in Iceland and around the world. Drawing from the eyewitness account of local minister, … Continue reading

15th January 2017
by Leigh Forbes
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Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

by Simon Winchester. The events surrounding the cataclysmic 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, a island in the Sunda Strait, make for fascinating reading. It might seem impossible to convey the immensity of the forces required to blow a 2,600’ mountain to … Continue reading