Tom Parfitt

A polish bear in World War II rose to the rank of colonel. Penguins can't taste fish. The ashes of the man who invented the Pringles container are buried in one one. On Neptune it rains diamonds.'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words. These are just 0.1% of all the facts in this incredible tome! Written by seven authors and covering subjects as diverse as The Universe, Art and Literature, The Natural World and Movies, The Colossal Book of Incredible Facts for Curious Minds is the ultimate trivia book! Why not amaze family and friends with the reasons pandas do handstands, the sinister source of the term 'rule of thumb', or that the patent for the fire hydrant was destroyed... in a fire. Every entry is weird, wonderful, inspiring and quite brilliantly, true!

'Outstanding' TIMES'Gripping' ECONOMISTSHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE PUSHKIN HOUSE BOOK PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAREmotionally scarred after witnessing the bloody climax of the Beslan school siege in Russia's North Caucasus, in which 314 hostages died, Tom Parfitt set out on a journey. In High Caucasus, he shares his remarkable thousand-mile quest in search of personal peace - and a greater understanding of the roots of violence in a region whose fate has tragic parallels with the Ukraine of today. Starting in Sochi on the Black Sea and walking the mountains to Derbent, the ancient fortress city on the Caspian, Parfitt traverses the political, religious and ethnic fault-lines of seven Russian republics, including Chechnya and Dagestan. Through bear-haunted forests, across high altitude pastures and over the shoulders of Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain, he finds companionship and respite in the homes of proud, little-known peoples. This is a stunning story of confronting trauma through connection with history, people and place.

Everything you need to know about Britain's most iconic rural drama can be found in this beautifully designed and fact-filled book. Celebrating 50 years since the show's creation, this book is packed with history, engrossing features, long lost imagery, and plenty of behind-the-scenes detail. Each character, event, family and location is explored in exhaustive detail, with special features on Emmerdale legends, the show's villains, births, marriages, deaths, and celebrity cameos, bringing all the highlights together with interviews and insights from cast and crew members past and present. This book also includes gatefold section on key family trees, a specially commissioned map of Emmerdale and bespoke artworks for each location, making it a truly desirable package to read or give as a gift.50 Years of Emmerdale is a stunning and engrossing book, which will delight every fan of this iconic show.