Most Popular Books by Simon Winchester

A True Portrait of One of the World''s Most Chaotic and Beautiful Regions That Explains Why Violence Has Always Occurred There--And Why It May Continue For Years To Come The vast and mountainous area that makes up the Balkans is rife with discord, both cultural and topographical. And, as Simon Winchester superbly demonstrates in this intimate portrait of the region, much of the political strife of the past century can be traced to its inherent contrasts. With the aid of a guide and linguist, Winchester traveled deep into the region''s most troublesome areas--including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, and Turkey--just as the war was tearing these countries apart. The result is a book not just about war but also about how war affects the living. Both timeless and current, The Fracture Zone goes behind the headlines to offer a true picture of a region that has always been on the brink. Winchester''s remarkable journey puts all the elements together--the faults, the fractures, and the chaos--to make sense out of a seemingly senseless place.

The year is 1999. As Hong Kong collapsed in the years leading up to 1997, Asia became dangerously unstable. Civil war breaks out in China between North and South, Shanghai against Szechuan. A new North Korean leader follows in his father''s footsteps and invades the prosperous miracle country of South Korea. The Western allies, committed to defending South Korea, are reluctantly drawn into a conflict not of their own making.

In 1997, the colony of Hong Kong will be ceded to the People''s Republic of China. To capture Hong Kong in transition, 11 photojournalists spent two weeks on a shoot in Hong Kong. The result is this book which presents the many cultures and subcultures of a city about to undergo a radical change.

Eruptions. Explosions. Shock waves. Tsunamis. The almighty explosion that destroyed the volcano island of Krakatoa was followed by an immense tsunami that killed more than thirty thousand people. The effects of the waves were felt as far away as France, and bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. Today, one hundred and twenty-five years after the volcano erupted in one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known, the name Krakatoa is still synonymous with disaster. In this illustrated account based on Simon Winchester''s bestselling Krakatoa, the colossal explosion is brought to vivid life. From the ominous warnings leading up to the eruption to the wave of killings it provoked, here is an engaging and insightful look at what happened on the day the world exploded.

A unique, arresting and versatile document of the traumatic earthquake which hit Haiti in 2010 and its aftermath. Encased in a cardboard box, the project comprises 16 unbound posters and a map page which draws attention to the epicentre and its rippling impact on the population of the island. The unique format allows the viewer to absorb each page individually or to hang the entire project. The visual testimony to the events of the the first days after the event are provided by award-winning photographer Ron Haviv and the essay by esteemed writer Simon Winchester.

Winchester By the year 2000 tourism will be the biggest industry in the world. Even now an estimated 750 million tourists'' generate a massive £2,000 billion annual expenditure on accomodation, catering, transport and souvenirs. Internationally recognised Magnum photographer Martin Parr, whose recent projects have included the bestselling ''Signs of the Times,'' now turns his camera on the tourist. Is nothing safe? Includes 69 full colour plates.''

Lonely Planet: The world''s leading travel guide publisher Humorous tales of travel and misadventure. Lonely Planet knows that some of life''s funniest experiences happen on the road. Whether they take the form of unexpected detours, unintended adventures, unidentifiable dinners or unforgettable encounters, they can give birth to our most found travel lessons, and our most memorable - and hilarious - travel stories. These 31 globegirdling tales that run the gamut from close-encounter safaris to loss-of-face follies, hair-raising rides to culture-leaping brides, eccentric expats to mind-boggling repasts, wrong roads taken to agreements mistaken. The collection brings together some of the world''s most renowned travellers and storytellers with previously unpublished writers. Includes stories by Wickam Boyle, Tim Cahill, Joshua Clark, Sean Condon, Chistopher R.Cox, David Downie, Holly Erikson, Bill Fink, Don George, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Jeff Grenwald, Pico Iyer, Amanda Jones, Kathie Kertesz, Doug Lansky, Alexander Ludwick, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Jan Morris, Brooke Neill, Rolf Potts, Laura Resau, Michelle Richmond, Alana Semuels, Deborah Steg, Judy Tierney, Edwin Tucker, Jeff Vize, Danny Wallace, Kelly Watton, Simon Wichester, Michelle Witton About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world''s leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet''s mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places where they travel. TripAdvisor Travellers'' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category ''Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.'' - New York Times ''Lonely Planet. It''s on everyone''s bookshelves; it''s in every traveller''s hands. It''s on mobile phones. It''s on the Internet. It''s everywhere, and it''s telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.'' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *#1 in the world market share - source: Nielsen Bookscan. Australia, UK and USA. March 2012-January 2013 Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

Martin Parr, one of Britain''s best-known contemporary photographers, and President of Magnum, the world-famous photographic agency has undertaken a photo-documentary book project. Oxford is a collection of around 100 photographs documenting an academic year in the life of the university. They captures the day-to-day life of the colleges and University at work and play, and the colourful and arcane rituals that make it so distinctive. His photographs are accompanied by an extended essay that draws on, and enriches, the photographic material and penned by Simon Winchester, OBE, the British writer, journalist and broadcaster. The very first photo-documentary of Oxford was created by William Henry Fox Talbot. A century and a half later, Martin Parr''s new project pays tribute to the great the pioneer of photography, and coincides with the Bodleian Library''s bid to secure his personal archive.

Skulls is a beautiful spellbinding exploration of more than 300 different animal skullsu00ad—amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles—written by New York Times bestselling author, Simon Winchester and produced in collaboration with Theodore Gray and Touch Press, the geniuses behind The Elements and Solar System. In Skulls, best-selling author Simon Winchester (author of The Professor and the Madman; Atlantic: A Biography of the Ocean; Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded; and others)tells the rich and fascinating story of skulls, both human and animal, from every perspective imaginable: historical, biographical, cultural, and iconographic. Presenting details about the parts of the skull (including the cranium, the mandible, the shape and positioning of the eye sockets, and species-specific features like horns, teeth, beaks and bills), information about the science and pseudoscience of skulls, and a look at skulls in religion, art and popular culture, his stories and information are riveting and enlightening. At the center of Skulls is a stunning, never-before-seen-in-any-capacity, visual array of the skulls of more than 300 animals that walk, swim, and fly. The skulls are from the collection of Alan Dudley, a British collector and owner of what is probably the largest and most complete private collection of skulls in the world. Every skull is beautifully photographed to show several angles and to give the reader the most intimate view possible. Each includes a short explanatory paragraph and a data box with information on the animal''s taxonomy, behavior, and diet. Skulls was published in December 2011 as an e-book for the iPad by the innovative e-book publishers Touch Press, creators of the best-selling e-books for iPad The Elements and Solar System. Both books were also published in print by Black Dog & Leventhal.

Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis. Headline-making natural disasters with devastating consequences for millions of people. But what do we actually know about these literally earth-shaking events? New York Times bestselling author, explorer, journalist, and geologist Simon Winchester—who’s been shaken by earthquakes in New Zealand, skied through Greenland to help prove the theory of plate tectonics, and even charred the soles of his boots climbing a volcano—looks at the science, technology, and societal impact of these inter-connected natural phenomena. A master nonfiction storyteller, Winchester digs deep into the powerful natural forces that shape the earth, exploring the how and why of world-changing events from the 19th-century’s infamous volcanic eruption at Krakatoa and the earthquake that flattened San Francisco, to the 21st-century tsunamis that devastated Indonesia and Japan. It’s a gripping story about what happens when our seemingly unmovable planet shakes, explodes, and floods—all richly illustrated with fascinating historical and stunning contemporary photographs.

Presents an anthology of the best travel writing published in the past year, selected from American magazines and newspapers.

A chi appartiene la terra? È possibile rivendicarne la proprietà? La questione è da sempre materia di uno scontro di carattere etico, politico e ideologico, ma nella maggior parte dei casi sono state le armi a risolvere la contesa. In questo libro, il giornalista britannico Simon Winchester affronta il tema della gestione della terra da parte dell’uomo, i modi in cui viene spartita e passata di mano, le grandi controversie legate al cambiamento climatico e alla riparazione del colonialismo. Uno studio globale che va dal grande furto ai danni dei nativi americani alla creazione di nuove province sottratte all’acqua in Olanda, passando per la confisca delle terre in India fino alle rivendicazioni della popolazione Maōri in Nuova Zelanda. Un’affascinante esplorazione di ciò che la proprietà della terra potrebbe realmente significare, non in termini aridamente burocratici, ma per le persone che la abitano.

No photographer until David Freese has explored the various and wondrous landscapes along the Pacific Ocean in such depth, making this the first book to look comprehensively at what makes the natural beauty of this particular coast so memorable.

From bestselling author Simon Winchester, the extraordinary story of how America was united into a single nation.

"A collection of photographs capturing the deadpan geographic beauty of vast stretches of Canada and North America taken by Canadian photographer Scott Conarroe as he traveled the continent documenting railways."--Publisher''s website.

In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell--clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world--making it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this unseen universe to create an epochal and remarkably beautiful hand-painted map. But instead of receiving accolades and honors, he ended up in debtors'' prison, the victim of plagiarism, and virtually homeless for ten years more. The Map That Changed the World is a very human tale of endurance and achievement, of one man''s dedication in the face of ruin. With a keen eye and thoughtful detail, Simon Winchester unfolds the poignant sacrifice behind this world-changing discovery.

For five years, Simon Winchester criss-crossed the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean and the 56 countries that lie around and within it. The result is this encyclopaedic study which encompasses visits to the jungles of Sarawak and the satellite-factories of Los Angeles; drinking passion-fruit juice with the King of Tonga and gold-flavoured tea with the new rich of Tokyo. Each chapter forms an essay which examines a significant aspect of the Pacific, an area of the world that is only now emerging fully as a challenge to the dominance of the Atlantic nations.

I denne boken gir Simon Winchester leseren historien om det storslåtte Atlanterhavet som har dannet livsrammen for millioner av mennesker langs titusener av kilometer med kystlinje. Atlanterhavet har utfordret oppdagere, vitenskapsmenn og erobrere i århundrer, og det fortsetter å prege våre holdninger, drømmer og ambisjoner. Winchesters episke beretning spenner fra jordens geologiske opprinnelse til de store oppdagelsene, fra annen verdenskrig til dagens forurensing.