An account of the many Scots involved in Arctic exploration, including the search for the North-West Passage: in particular John Ross, James Clark Ross, John Richardson, John Rae and their h... read more
The 60 years following the Portuguese arrival in the Moluccas in 1511 saw an epic global struggle for the sources and distribution of this new geyser of wealth. Told with verve and authority... read more
A dive through other dives: architecture as the key to Soho's history, with its waves of immigrants - Huguenots, East European Jews, Chinese. Has an elegiac quality in the face of the dispir... read more
In 1600 Adams was the first English man to step on Japanese shores - one of only nine survivors of a Dutch trading expedition. He became the shogun's advisor and ship builder, and a samurai.... read more
9000BC years ago there were pastoral economies; by 3000BC the desert reasserted itself. A fascinating study of human adaptability in the face of early climate change and geophysical influenc... read more