Bill Laws – författare

Of course, we are entirely dependent on plants for our food and the air we breathe, but did you know that 5,000 mature English oak trees were used in the construction of Admiral Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, or that sweet peas were involved in the birth of the science of genetics? King Cotton was the driver of the slave trade, which was the first domino to fall in the American Revolution, and cotton was also the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. These, and many other extraordinary facts in Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History, highlight the dynamic ways in which plants have influenced human history.This beautifully designed and illustrated volume provides an engaging guide to the fifty key plants that have had the most impact on human history. Packed full of information, the book includes details about the habitat and characteristics of each plant, fact boxes, full colour photographs and lovely botanical illustrations. Weaving together strands of economic, political and agricultural history, each entry is a fascinating look at the most influential plants known to mankind.

This delightful book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about real ale - from its first recorded brewing by the Sumerians 5,000 years ago through its spread to Europe via the cultivation of grains to its establishment as a British favourite. Did you know beer was buried with the Pharaohs in Egypt and used as an offering to the gods? Or that in Norse mythology, a warrior who died in battle would go to Valhalla and be entitled to drink as much beer as he wanted? Real Ale unearths all these unknown snippets and is packed with trivia that will inform and entertain.From the origins and history of brews like Bitter, originated in Burton-on-Trent due to the particular style of the water supply, and Black Beer created as a prophylactic against scurvy, this tantalising book includes accessible recipes for brewing and cooking classic beer dishes like Beef and Guinness stew and Welsh rarebit. With delicious recipes alongside little known facts, Real Ale will appeal to everyone from the avid foodie to anyone who simply savours a good pint.

Fifty Railways that Changed the Course of History is a fascinating and beautifully presented guide to the train lines and rail companies that have had the greatest impact on modern civilization.Entries range from the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, the world's first underground railway, to the Pacific Railroad, the first transcontinental railroad in North America.In order to justify the assertion that they literally 'changed the course of history,' each railway is judged by its influence in five categories: Engineering, Society, commerce, Politics, and Military.

Couch potatoes are idlers, cabbageheads are dunces, swede-bashers are stupid and you may as well give up life if you become a vegetable.A vegetable existence may imply dull monotony, but the humble vegetable has sparked protests, threatened to topple a British government and almost triggered a revolution. From the Scottish Presbyterian campaign against the ‘sinful potato’ to the class act that turned the carrot into a propaganda tool, from garlic inscriptions on Egyptian pyramids to Neolithic broad beans and medieval cabbage, and from the Dig for Victory campaign to competitive vegetable growing, The Curious History of Vegetables highlights just how vital our produce really is.

‘This book confirms the splendid eccentricity of the British, which often involves oddly dressed men opting to walk long distances for no apparent reason.’ – BBC Countryfile magazine‘Laws’ sprightly, often arch, account of Britain’s hiking heroes is a pleasure to read.’ – Walk magazine'The great affair is to move: to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot,' wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. This book celebrates the history of walking for leisure and pleasure.There’s no shortage of the famous, and the not-so-famous, exponents of a good, long walk: Dr Jonson and his faithful Boswell on their Hebridean jaunt; John Taylor, whose Penniless Pilgrimage – a record of his 1618 journey from London to Edinburgh – provided the first account of a walking tour; and Samuel Coleridge who conceived his epic tale of the Ancient Mariner on a ramble through Devon. Celebrating the history of walking for leisure and pleasure, Bill Laws tells the stories behind key walking inventions such as the rucksack, bloomers, youth hostels and the long-distance route.Fully illustrated throughout, A Ramble Through the History of Walking is sure to delight anyone interested in the engaging history of one of man’s favourite pastimes.

Home Truths uncovers the strange and often bizarre stories behind the inventions, and inventors, that have shaped our homes. From dado rails and stencilling – which date from Roman times – noggins and newel posts to power showers, lights and lightning rods, wallpapers and windows, floors and fitted kitchens, Bill Laws’s book takes us on a journey of discovery that exposes the true secrets behind our four walls. Included here are the incredible flying fitted kitchens, the true saga behind the Aga, Mr Chubb’s great lock scandal and how front doors were changed forever by the penny post, while the near-death experience of one British royal contributed to the contemporary bathroom. This book will ensure that you never look at your wallpaper and laminate flooring in the same way again!