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 Cartoon History of the Universe: From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great Pt.1
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Thoroughly researched, beautifully drawn, highly informative and entertaining Larry Gonick demonstrates a gentle humour regarding all areas of evolution and human development.
Starting, as the title suggests, with the Big Bang you are taken through the beginning of life, the rise of the dinosaurs, and the appearance of humans. From early hominids, via hunter-gathering to the first settlements in Mesopotamia Larry Gonick maintains pace and humour with his clearly drawn cartoons.
Places such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Ur, Athens, Sparta, Persia are all visited in due course. The lives of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Xerxes, Darius, Alexander and many others are woven together into this history book. Nothing else brings history to life quite as effectively.
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 Even the most avid readers of travel guides and travel literature will
not have encountered a book quite like this one. It is huge and heavy
but reasonably priced, and it is vastly informative, which is its
calling card. All the writers who contribute to the Lonely Planet
travel guide series have put heads, knowledge, and experience together
and come up with an A-Z series of capsule profiles of every country in the world,
230 in number. Each country gets a two-page spread, on which are
placed, like luscious dishes set before one at a feast, illustrations
that are typical of Lonely Planet's unique, non-picture-postcard brand
of shots. The accompanying text presents a cogent rundown of the best
experiences for gaining the essence of the place. One of many of the well known Lonely Planet series.
Buy this book and other Lonely Planet guides and books HERE
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 This is a rather silly book but has some interesting bits and bobs. One for the toilet stack. Good bits explain that jumping in water when being chased by bees won't help much but running like fury will. It helps to destroy myths about the best way to beat off a shark, as well as explaining (unconvincingly) how to open a croc's mouth.
The bad bits say things like 'if you have a small skeleton key then winkle it in the hole, and if not you're going to die'. It is still worth knowing though, on the off-chance you leave your small skeleton key in your pocket.
This is the first in a long line of 'Worst Case Scenario' offshoots like parenting, studying, golf, you name it. Not one about teaching yet I notice.
Buy them all HERE
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 The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream
This fascinating book describes the development of an estate in what is now Zambia. The story of Sir Stewart Gore-Browne and his obsession with Africa and Africans stretches over 50 years from before WW I to his death in 1967.
Although very much the 'stiff upper lip' type of English gentleman his true self is more apparent in his letters and diaries. He was in some ways a lonely man, surviving for years many miles away from others, but made such an impact on Africa and Zambia's quest for independence that he remains the only white man to have been given a state burial.
It can make uncomfortable reading in parts but by the end of the book it is plain that Gore-Browne had had an incredible life of work, passion and courage.
Buy a copy HERE
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Book Reviews 