Showing 161–176 of 693 resultsSorted by latest
-
€19.95
The sea has always been a part of Nuala Moore’s life: her earliest memory is of jumping off her father’s fishing boat in Dingle Harbour and swimming back to shore. Since then, she’s swum in some of the coldest, most remote and dangerous waters in the world, from the Bering Strait to the Drake Passage. After years of marathon swimming, Nuala struggled to balance sacrifice and achievement.
Her work-life balance, coupled with caring for her father, forced a change in her pathway. She turned to ice swimming. For Nuala, these extreme situations offered freedom and a chance to find her true north.
Nuala believes that everyone is capable of greatness, whatever shape that might take. Limitless is her breathtaking memoir, detailing what goes through her mind when she’s in the water and how, when she returns home, she processes the fallout of pushing herself to the brink.
-
€45.00
Every now and again I need to get down here, to get into the Diogenes tub, as it were, or the Colmcille beehive hut, or the Mossbawn scullery. At any rate, a hedge surrounds me, the blackbird calls, the soul settles for an hour or two . . .
For all his public eminence, Seamus Heaney seems never to have lost the compelling need to write personal letters. In this ample but discriminating selection from fifty years of his correspondence, we are given access as never before to the life and poetic development of a literary titan – from his early days in Belfast, through his controversial decision to settle in the Republic, to the gradual broadening of horizons that culminated in the award of a Nobel Prize and the years of international acclaim that kept him heroically busy until his death.
Editor Christopher Reid draws from both public and private archives to reveal this story in the poet’s own words. Generous, funny, exuberant, confiding, irreverent, empathetic and deeply thoughtful, the letters encompass decades-long relationships with friends and colleagues, as well as showing an unstinted responsiveness to passing acquaintances. Moreover, Heaney’s joyous mastery of language is as evident here as it is in any of his writing for a literary readership.
Listening to Heaney’s voice, we find ourselves in the same room as a man whose presence, when he lived, enriched the world immeasurably, and whose legacy continues to deepen our sense of what truly matters.
-
€23.00
Science is a serious business, right? Wrong. Scientists have been participants in the best reality show of all time, with all the highs, lows, bust-ups, and strange personalities of any show on telly today. From Luke O’Neill – the science teacher you wish you’d had – this hugely accessible history of science reveals the human stories behind the biggest discoveries.
For example, we meet Charles Darwin as he weighs up the pros and cons of marrying his cousin: ‘constant companion’ vs ‘less money for books’. Tough call. To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before covers everything from space travel and evolution to alchemy and AI.
Written by one of our leading scientists, this is an insider’s account that celebrates the joy of science. It is filled with all the juicy bits that other histories leave out. ‘If science and medicine were a theme park, Luke O’Neill is the best company on the wildest rides . . . serious and fun . . . expansive and detailed .
-
€18.95
Alice celebrates the special moments and the everyday blessings of life. Come sit awhile with Alice Taylor. Take a little time out – to rest, to think, or just to be.
Life can race along at a fast pace, sometimes almost stampeding us along with it. What a pity not to slow down and take the time to enjoy little things, or simply doing nothing or chatting with a good friend. Sometimes Alice finds a comfortable place to sit, maybe a low wall, a garden seat or a grassy bank.
A place to let the mind calmdown and let thoughts drift. With this book she invites you to share the special moments of life.
-
€12.95
Israel, late 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below . . . and promptly disappears.
NASA Flight Controller and former US Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis watches the scene from the ground – and is quickly pulled into a dizzying, high-stakes game of spies, lies and a possible high-level defection that plays out across three continents.
The prize is beyond value: the secrets of the Soviets’ mythical ‘Foxbat’ MiG-25, the fastest, highest-flying fighter plane in the world and the key to Cold War air supremacy. But every defection is double-edged with risk, and Kaz must tread a careful line between trust and suspicion. Ultimately, he must invite the fox into the henhouse – bringing the defector into the heart of the United States’ most secret test site – and hope that, with skill and cunning, the game plays out his way.
For Chris Hadfield’s second heart-stopping thriller, we move from Space to another rich and exciting part of Chris’s CV: his time as a top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and as an RCAF fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace.
Full of insider detail, excitement and political intrigue drawn from real events, The Defector brings us the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat, as told by one of the world’s best fighter pilots.
-
€18.95
In my fantasy of the Rambling Man who is something of a hobo, walking – or maybe jumping into the car of a moving train – is what he does. He slings his guitar or banjo over his shoulder and strides out along the road to the next town. There he plays a few songs at a local gig and meets a beautiful woman who feeds and shags him.
It’s a wonderful life, and a million miles better than sitting on your couch watching reality TV.
During his lifetime of global adventures, Sir Billy Connolly’s genuine curiosity and natural ability to connect with the people he meets on the road has made him a true ‘citizen of the world’.
A good trip, in my book, should be littered with little detours. Travelling from A to B is all very well, but you risk missing out on so much .
In RAMBLING MAN, Billy takes us with him on his incredible journeys criss-crossing the world.
But this is no conventional travel memoir. From Ireland to India, Australia to the Arctic, we join the Big Yin on an international voyage full of detours, digressions and the most eccentric of characters – all underscored by the chosen soundtrack of the ultimate ramblin’ man himself.
-
€9.50
An unmissable essay from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Don’t Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next.
For too long, beauty has been entangled in the forces of patriarchy and capitalism: objectification, shame, control, competition and consumerism. We need to find a way to do beauty differently.
This radical, deeply personal and empowering essay points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies. It accompanies The Cult of Beauty, a major exhibition at Wellcome Collection, opening in October 2023.
-
€22.95
The Sea Area Forecast is broadcast daily on RTE radio at 6 a.m. and midnight. Foretelling fair days or fierce storms coming in across our seas, it has become a national institution – its hypnotic, rhythmic language as reassuring as the Angelus.
Acting as a gentle morning wake-up call and a soothing bedtime lullaby, it transports us to faraway places and describes weather patterns we can’t comprehend. From Mizen Head to Malin, Valentia to Loop Head, and Carlingford Lough to Hook Head – rising or falling slowly, backing south-east to north-east or veering south-to-south-west – it has a unique language all of its own, but what does it all mean? Here, meteorologist Joanna Donnelly takes readers on a journey around Ireland’s Sea Area Forecast, visiting the places that are a familiar part of the daily broadcast and explaining its unique history, language and science.
-
€17.95
Not long before he died, Michael completed Michael Viney’s Natural World, which he described as ‘a personal popular narrative that gives a lot of my illustrations a further bit of life’. This highly visual publication contains over fifty of Michael’s meticulous illustrations in full colour, accompanied by a personal narrative full of keen insights and observations on nature, our relationship with nature, and a growing awareness of our vulnerability.
‘In the blunders of the Anthropocene, the era of human dominance,’ he writes, ‘we may not be “threatening the planet” – it will carry on without us – but we have affected the Earth’s systems in ways that make our own survival uncomfortable and insecure.’
The foreword is written by his longtime friend, the poet Michael Longley, with whom the Vineys shared this ‘soul-landscape’ for almost half a century. Longley writes of Viney, ‘Born to write, born to draw and paint, this deep-souled creator reconciled poetry and science.’
-
€15.95
While all the wolves in the valley are busy preparing for the big Howling Ceremony, Little Wolf is afraid to use his voice. Little Wolf thinks he’ll never find his howl – but then some wise words from Big Wolf remind him that even the smallest voice can make the sweetest sound.
An inspiring, heartfelt tale for little pups everywhere about having the courage to find your own voice – even if it makes you stand out from the pack.
-
€20.00
“This guide to plants and how to grow them is a thing of beauty” i News
“An exceptionally good-looking volume” The Bookseller
Grow BEAUTY. Grow COMPANIONSHIP. Grow FLAVOUR. Grow PLANTS!
Discover 15 plants and fungi with heroic powers, then learn how to grow them. Meet their surprising relatives (the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!) and unearth their interesting histories (lettuce was the first vegetable to be grown in space!). Then follow step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.
Written by horticulturalist Riz Reyes and fully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, this is the perfect introduction to growing plants for families everywhere.
-
€32.00
The only official companion to the Harry Potter stories – the ultimate compendium of wizarding lists, charts, maps and all things magical!Whisk yourself away to Harry Potter’s wizarding world with this Whiz-bang of an illustrated companion. Discover magical places, study wandlore, encounter fantastic beasts and find out about the witches and wizards who lived. From the Sorting Hat to spell-casting, it’s all packed inside! This dazzling gift book brings together beloved characters, unforgettable moments and iconic locations from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone all the way through to The Deathly Hallows.
It’s the ultimate magical miscellany, filled with facts and fun about the wizarding world, beautifully catalogued and brilliantly explored. Joyfully illustrated throughout in full colour by seven stunning artists and tingling with things to spot on every page, this is the ideal introduction to the Harry Potter stories for new readers and the perfect book for families to share. The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac also features an astonishing level of detail that is sure to surprise and fascinate lifelong fans.
From incredible cross-sections to magical maps and ingenious lists, lose yourself exploring Hogwarts and beyond …
-
€9.50
The second thrilling and unputdownable mystery starring a new generation of the Detective Society, from the million-copy-bestselling author of Murder Most Unladylike: Robin Stevens. March 1941. Britain is at war, and a secret agency called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up children as spies – because grown-ups always underestimate them.
Enter May, Eric and Nuala: courageous, smart, and the Ministry’s newest recruits. May’s big sister Hazel has arranged for them to stay on a quiet street close to the Ministry, home to an unlikely collection of people thrown together by the war. And it is in the basement of the bombed-out house at the end of that street that they discover something mysterious.
Something that was not there when the Blitz wreckage was first combed through. Something that has been placed there recently. A body…
Could this be the missing Ministry spy that Daisy Wells is on a dangerous mission in France to find? Or could it be someone else – someone a resident of the street wanted silenced . . .
-
€17.95
Trees mirror in many ways the life cycle of human beings: they are born from seed, they breathe and drink, they grow to maturity, reproduce and eventually die from age or disease. Their branches, roots and the veins of their leaves resemble human blood vessels, and certain species even ooze a reddish, blood-like sap when damaged. From ancient times, people appreciated the spiritual value of trees, singling out individual trees for special veneration. In Ireland the roots of tree worship reach deep into pagan Celtic religion and spirituality.
Christine Zucchelli looks at these trees, from Fairy Thorns to Rag Trees, from Mass Bushes to Monument Trees. This fascinating exploration of their stories and legends reveals their spiritual, social and historical functions from pagan times to the present.
-
€34.00
A NEW WAY OF SEEING THE ROMAN EMPIRE
What was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world? In her international best-seller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome.
Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained? Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.
-
€16.95
From the internationally bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies comes an exquisitely crafted work of fiction. Jhumpa Lahiri sets her gaze on the eternally beautiful city, illuminating the frailties of the human condition and dissecting lives lived on the margiNS.
A man recalls a summer party that awakens an alternative version of himself. A couple haunted by a tragic loss return to seek consolation.
An outsider family is pushed out of the block in which they hoped to settle. A set of steps in a Roman neighbourhood connects the daily lives of the city’s myriad inhabitants. This is an evocative fresco of Rome, the most alluring character of all: contradictory, in constant transformation and a home to those who know they can’t fully belong but choose it anyway.
Rich with Lahiri’s signature gifts, Roman Stories is a masterful work from one of the finest writers of our time.
Translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri and Todd Portnowitz
