Celebrate the days when trains were trains, individual expresses had their own character, serving their passengers in style in the restaurant car, and connecting services ran over picturesque branch lines that were a very part of the countryside they served. Railway Season captures all our railway yesterdays with panache.
This is indeed a railway book like no other, a portfolio of word portraits by an enthusiast who knows his subject intimately and is never at a loss for a telling example.
Though this is not specifically a book about the countryside, inevitably it looms large since even intercity trains run through it, as demonstrated in the chapter ‘A country journey like no other’, which also emphasises the author’s West Country background. But whatever your interest in railways and wherever your favourite part of the countryside, there is much here for you. The chapter on railways for pleasure perhaps sums it all up.
SPECIFICATIONS: Cased and Jacket | 195 x 135 mm | 192 Pages |
AUD $19.99 Tax Included
True stories that rocked a nation
The 30 stories in this book describe some of the most extraordinary events in New Zealand history. Who knew that a fire killed 39 people at Seacliff Mental Hospital in 1942? That 10 people died in a lahar on White Island in 1914? That a yacht race between Lyttelton and Wellington in 1951 resulted in 10 fatalities? That a tornado ripped through 150 houses in Hamilton in 1948? These and many other stories are told in this eye-opening book, which also reveals acts of heroism among the rescuers.
SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback | 280 x 210 mm | Colour | 224 Pages |
AUD $34.99 Tax Included
Inspiring stories of the world’s unsung heroes
In this inspirational book, writer and film-maker Miles Roston tells the stories of people from around the world who, despite unlikely backgrounds, have used their skills and energy to change the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. They demonstrate that one person can make a difference, and by doing so live a life of sheer joy.
SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback | 234 x 153 mm | Illustrations | 248 Pages |
AUD $99.00 Tax Included
This beautiful Leather Bound collectors edition is presented in its own full colour slip case. Each copy is individually signed and numbered by the author. With only 199 copies of this edition being produced this will be a rare collectable. Order your copy now.
SPECIFICATIONS: Leather Bound | 270 x 250 mm | 264 Pages |
AUD $60.00 Tax Included
The writings of Elizabeth Macquarie
‘In Her Own Words: The writings of Elizabeth Macquarie’ is a beautifully presented volume containing the annotated letters and journal of Elizabeth Macquarie, wife of early colonial Australia’s planning visionary, Lachlan Macquarie. This publication is historically significant as until now, very little has been in print about Elizabeth Macquarie and her influence in the shaping of our nation.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback | 270 x 250 mm | 264 Pages |
AUD $24.99 Tax Included
In 1999, idealistic 23-year-old Registered Nurse Sharon Bown left her comfortable family life in Tasmania and joined the Royal Australian Air Force with the aim of providing humanitarian aid to the world.
Through her 16-year military career she deployed on three operations, barely survived a helicopter crash, struggled to return to military service, mixed in political circles in Canberra and around the world as Aide de Camp to the Minister for Defence, and commanded a combat surgical team during some of the most intense fighting in Afghanistan.
From teaching East Timorese orphans to learn English to tending to wounded Coalition soldiers choppered into her surgical team from deadly battles on the Afghan dust, Sharon’s story is that of a sheltered civilian RN becoming a military Nursing Officer and a commander.
Her military service was unique, varied and far-reaching but came at the cost of her physical and mental health. A broken back, shattered jaw and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are the price she has paid for a remarkable and inspirational career in the Royal Australian Air Force.
SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback | 229 x 152 mm / 9 x 6 Inches | Approx. 30 Colour Photographs | 248 Pages |
In his ‘thinking traveller’s tour’, David St John Thomas journeys by rail and ‘Little Car’ around Britain, exploring the fascinating and diverse character of Britain today. He reflects on Britain, Britishness, the British people and how they have changed, not always for the worse, over the fifty-odd years he has known them as an author and a publisher.
Taking in places as various as beaches, mountain moors, industrial and early Christian sites, great hotels, art galleries, canals and cycleways, meeting people- famous ones, friends, gardeners, railwaymen, craftsmen, bus conductors- who enrich his journey with their stories and observations, and drawing on literature and history, he discovers the true heartbeat of the country. The result is a narrative that surprises, amuses and engages, as well as offering a treasure trove of facts, anecdotes and new perspectives on this extraordinary nation.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback/Paperback | 240 x 160mm / 198 x 126 mm | 700 Pages |
AUD $44.99 Tax Included
When troops from Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and India landed on a strategic peninsula in the Aegean Sea in April 1915, they believed they would quickly defeat Turkey and shorten the war with Germany. Few foresaw the tragedy that lay ahead and no one predicted the impact Gallipoli would have on the later development of the participating nations.
Now, for the first time, Gallipoli: A Ridge Too Far tells the full story of the climactic battles from multiple perspectives, describing the pivotal events of that momentous year as they affected all the countries involved.
SPECIFICATIONS: Paperback | 242 x 184 mm / 9 ½ x 7 â…• Inches | 8 Pages of Photographs & Maps | 336 Pages |
AUD $44.99
False Flags tells the epic untold story of German raider voyages to the South Seas during the early years of World War II. In 1940 the raiders Orion, Komet, Pinguin and Kormoran left Germany and waged a ‘pirate war’ in the South Seas — part of Germany’s strategy to attack the British Empire’s maritime trade on a global scale. Their remarkable voyages spanned the globe and are maritime sagas in the finest tradition of seafaring. The four raiders voyaged across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as the Arctic and Antarctic.
False Flags is also the story of the Allied sailors who encountered these raiders and fought suicidal battles against a superior foe as well as the men, women and children who endured captivity on board the raiders as prisoners of the Third Reich.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback | 234 x 151 mm / 9 ¼ x 6 Inches | Approx. 50 Black & White photos and maps | 368 Pages |
The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War 1914–1918
Produced to commemorate the publishing of one of New Zealand’s most important historical works, Johnny Enzed (Limited Leather Edition) is a foundation title in the First World War Centenary History Series. This handcrafted limited edition leather bound book will be a collectors’ piece for generations. Just 101 have been produced and all have been individually signed and numbered by the author. Johnny Enzed was published in an ordinary edition hardback to vast critical acclaim.
SPECIFICATIONS: Leather bound hardback in slip case | Signed and Numbered Limited Ediiton | 240 x 160 mm / 9 ½ x 6 ¼ Inches | Black & White (150 photographs, 9 maps, plus diagrams) | 720 Pages |