On – serie

"Besides being one of our greatest presidents, Roosevelt stands alone as a conservationist, a visionary when it came to the protection and preservation of America's natural resources, and an author."--Library JournalThere have been few hunters as daring, as powerful, and as articulate as our twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt. From his ranching years in the Dakota Territory to the famous African adventures, Roosevelt's tales are unparalleled stories of the hunt. The best of them are collected here. Of Roosevelt's many volumes of hunting and exploration, two reader favorites have always been Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail and African Game Trails, both excerpted here. During his ranching years, Roosevelt ranged far and wide, and his African trips were also famously bold. In all his expeditions, Roosevelt reveals in detail hunts that were incredible journeys of both pursuit and discovery, for wherever he went in the outdoors he assumed the dual roles of hunter and naturalist. The hunts range from upland birds and waterfowl to prized big game animals like elk, bear, and sheep amid lofty peaks. There are goat pursuits among ice-glazed mountain spires, and close encounters with grizzlies in the black timber. He survives lion charges and buffalo attacks, and stumbles on elephants.

A collection of some of the most well-known stories by one of America’s premier adventure writers.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known to most as Mark Twain, was a quintessential American writer who spent much of his life traveling the world. He encountered colorful characters, cultures, and a variety of adventures along the way, and Mark Twain on Travel is a timeless collection of his writings on the subject. Excerpts included are from classics such as: The Innocents Abroad; A Tramp Abroad; Life on the Mississippi; Roughing It; and Following the Equator.

When things turn out right for Bordeaux, as they frequently do, its wines are sublime. They inspire many thousands of tributes, from Samuel Pepys’ succinct reviews to the most rhapsodic of Michael Broadbent’s tasting notes – in short, over 300 years of wine writing. On Bordeaux is a collection of the best bits, from our best-loved wine writers, critics and commentators, set around 10 of the themes that make Bordeaux tick.As Jane Anson writes in her introduction: “multi-layered, clear-eyed, moving and often extremely funny [this] collection of stories… celebrates, illuminates and renews our understanding of Bordeaux.”* Hugh Johnson, Fiona Beckett and Baron Elie de Rothschild discuss dining out on Bordeaux: how best to serve it, with what and who with.* Mathieu Chadronnier, Christian Seely and Joe Fattorini shed light on the way we see claret today.* Ian Maxwell Campbell extols the virtues of 1871 and 1875, the last great vintages before the phylloxera plague.* Fiona Morrison MW explores Bordeaux’s great bounce-back and how the vintage of 1982 changed everything.* John Salvi, Bill Blatch and Peter Vinding-Diers reveal the wines that lead the way to Bordeaux’s future.* Joe Fattorini serves up everything you need to know on running the iconic Médoc Marathon.* Hugh Johnson pays tribute to Bordeaux master Michael Broadbent.

"A standout among the drink books published this year, which ought to be on the Christmas list of every wine lover, even if they don't think they have much interest in American wine."  —Victoria Moore, The Telegraph"This is a book for novices and geeks interested in the significance of California through America’s wine history, from the swashbuckling era of Agoston Haraszthy through modern Napa’s cult cabernets and today’s despair over wildfires and drought." —David McIntyre, Washington Post"New York Times picks On California for their "This Year’s Best Wine Books": ". Its short selections from nearly three dozen writers offer impressionistic, thought-provoking views of the state and its winemaking history."—New York Times"There is something for everyone here." —Sommelier IndiaOn California explores the grapes and the people who have made California wine great. The pioneers, the boffins, the whizz-kids and scientists, many of whom tell their stories on its pages – some in precious archive material, others have set down their thoughts mid-pandemic in 2021: Randall Grahm, Gerald Asher, Steven Spurrier, Paul Draper and Warren Winiarski take a bow….Includes:California wine and the future: where will the ‘California spirit’ lead next?The ‘Hollywood Grape’: our authors chart the path of Cabernet Sauvignon, from the wish-list of Thomas Jefferson to the hallowed hillsides of Stag’s Leap and Screaming Eagle1976? Of course it was a competition! Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher look back at the motivations behind the famous Paris wine tastingTop New York sommelier Victoria James tells of her near-death introduction to the whacky world of winemaking in SonomaWill the real Zinfandel please stand up? Paul Draper seeks out the true heritage of California’s versatile orphan grapeContributions from top California writers: Elaine Chukan Brown, Mary Margaret McCamic MW, Karen MacNeil, Esther Mobley, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Liz Thach MW, Clare Tooley MW, and Kelli WhiteHugh Johnson, Jane Anson and Fiona Morrison MW introduce California’s intrepid wine pioneersRex Pickett’s Sideways heroes, Jack and Miles, clink glasses over the Central Coast’s finest Pinot NoirA–Z: from ‘Bob’ Mondavi to Xylem sap-sensors and pink Zinfandel – California wine in bite-size

"On Champagne is the wine book that every lover of the world’s most famous bubbles has been waiting for – whether they realised it or not." — Club O Enologique"...if you love champagne, this is another must-buy. And apologies for the terrible pun, but it is genuinely true – this book fizzes with wonderful stuff." — Jancis Robinson"Presenting the story of the iconic French fizz from its accidental beginnings to the present day and looking to the future, there is plenty for Champagne-lovers to enjoy."  — DecanterChampagne is never a simple glass of fizz… As soon as the cork flies, the first sip reveals a wine of fascinating complexity. For even the most modest non-vintage cuvée, a bevy of blending decisions, multi layers of history and the incalculable climate of this northern corner of France all come into play. In On Champagne the thoughts, opinions and conclusions of the world’s finest champagne writers gather to reveal this wine’s action-packed trajectory from the myth of its accidental discovery – not in France, we find, but in the cider cellars of England – to the development of a high-tech champagne fit for space travel. It’s a journey that starts and ends with capturing that sparkle in a bottle and along the way beguiles us with the nuances of its chalky terrain, the determination of rebels from Ambonnay to Avize, and the mystery of a champagne cellar under the sea. We meet the pioneers who created the great champagnes of the past and the personalities who are ‘greening’ this landscape, nurturing it through climate change to shape the exquisite champagnes of the future.

"You might not be able to afford the top wines, but you can still read about them." — Decanter"It’s a book full of all the grand gestures – sweeping statements, effusive adoration, intense emotion, hyperbole and predictable clichés. Few authors have held back. But somehow, because it’s burgundy, it’s OK. Thank goodness for drunken wolves." — JancisRobinson.com"...a compilation that delivers on the title. Did you know there were once wolves in Burgundy?" — Bloomberg"Some anthologies preserve, some embalm; this one’s exuberantly alive, a divergent parliament, a busy talking place with no whispers." — World Of Fine WineBurgundy is France's most prized and prestigious wine region today as well as being one of its oldest and most traded, if not always by the English. Its wines, to quote Jay McInerney who contributes, are "for lovers, lunatics and poets…" and are the textbook definition of what terroir is all about. Villages mere metres apart produce wines of startlingly different personalities, and it is one of the rare regions in Europe whose red and white wines are equally celebrated. For all of its precious history it is also a region at the forefront of vinous innovation, with many winemakers certified as biodynamic. It is home to some of the world's most famous wine estates, and its top wines are all made from just one red and one white grape, yet the range of wine styles across the region, from Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south is significant.  On Burgundy explores all of these themes and ideas with contributions from many of the world's top wine writers, looking at the kings, popes, mavericks and pioneers who have made wine in this region for generations.