Foreword by Penelope Lively Cairo is a city of extremes. On its chaotic streets B.M.Ws driven by sharp-suited businessmen compete for space with donkey carts laden with farm produce. In its mosques the wealthy and the destitute pray side by side. The largest metropolis in Africa since the Middle Ages, it was in Ibn Battutah's words "the mother of cities." With a present-day population of around eighteen million, this sprawling metropolis is home to one thousand new migrants every day, drawn to the seething intensity of a modern, cosmopolitan capital that blends together the cultures of the Middle East and Europe. The fabled city on the banks of the River Nile, once home to pharaohs and emperors, now forms a focal point of the Islamic faith and of the Arab world. Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of this city where the enduring legacies of the ancient Egyptians, the early Coptic Church, British colonial rule and the modernist zeal of the post-independence era have all left their mark. - City of Writers, Conquerors and Revolutionaries: From Mark Twain and William Thackeray to Paul Theroux and Naguib Mahfouz, Alexander the Great to Napoleon, and Lawrence of Arabia to Colonel Nasser. - City of Monuments and Spectacle: From the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara to the Mosque of Mohammed Ali; from the teeming bazaars of the muski to Coptic and Islamic festivals. - City of Ancient and Modern: Where ancient churches and mosques sit cheek-by-jowl with modern skyscrapers and busy highways; where prosperous suburbs lie close to areas of third world poverty and deprivation.

Cairo: A Cultural History (Cityscapes)

History

Beattie, Andrew

Ancient Civilizations

Oxford University Press

Cairo is a city of extremes. On its chaotic streets BMWs driven by businessmen in suits compete for space with donkey carts laden with farm produce. In its mosques the wealthy and destitute pray side by side. The largest metropolis in Africa since the Middle Ages, it was in Arab traveller Isn Battutah's words "the mother of cities." With a present-day population of around eighteen million, this sprawling urban center is home to one thousand new migrants a day, drawn to the seething intensity of a modern, cosmopolitan capital that blends together the culture of the Middle East and Europe. The fabled city on the banks of the River Nile, once home to pharaohs and emperors, now forms a focal point of the Islamic faith and of the Arab world. Andrew Beattie, an established travel writer, explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of this city, where the enduring legacies of the ancient Egyptians, the early Coptic Church, British colonial rule, and the modernist zeal of the post-independce era have all left their marks. Some of the people through whose lives readers will come to know are writers (Mark Twain, Paul Theroux), conquerors (Alexander the Great and Napoleon), and revolutionaries (Lawrence of Arabia and Nasser). Buildings covered will include the pyramids at Giza and the mosques of Cairo, modern skyscrapers and suburbs, waelthy and impoverished.

Middle East

The Alps are Europe's highest mountain range: their broad arc stretches right across the center of the continent, encompassing a wide range of traditions and cultures. Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of this landscape, where early pioneers of tourism, mountaineering, and scientific research, along with the enduring legacies of historical regimes from the Romans to the Nazis, have all left their mark.

The Alps: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

Travel

The Danube: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

The Danube is the longest river in western and central Europe. Rising amidst the beautiful wooded hills of Germany's Black Forest, it touches or winds its way through ten countries and four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea through a vast delta whose silt-filled channels spread across eastern Romania. From earliest times, the river has provided a route from Europe to Asia that was followed by armies and traders, while empires, from the Macedonian to the Habsburg, rose and fell along its length. Then, in the middle of the twentieth century, the Danube took on the role of a watery thread that unified a continent divided by the Iron Curtain. In the late 1980s the Iron Curtain lifted but the Danube valley soon became an arena for conflict during the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Now, passing as it does through some of the world's youngest nations, including Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Moldova, and Ukraine, the river is a tangible symbol of a new, peaceful, and united Europe as well as a vital artery for commercial and leisure shipping. Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of the landscape through which the Danube flows, where the enduring legacies of historical regimes from the Romans to the Nazis have all left their mark.

Europe

The Danube is the longest river in western and central Europe. Rising amidst the beautiful wooded hills of Germany's Black Forest, it touches or winds its way through ten countries and four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea through a vast delta whose silt filled channels spread across eastern Romania. From earliest times, the river has provided a route from Europe to Asia that was followed by armies and traders, while empires, from the Macedonian to the Habsburg, rose and fell along its length. Then, in the middle of the twentieth century, the Danube took on the role of a watery thread that unified a continent divided by the Iron Curtain. In the late 1980s the Iron Curtain lifted but the Danube valley soon became an arena for conflict during the violent break up of the former Yugoslavia. Now, passing as it does through some of the world's youngest nations, including Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Moldova, and Ukraine, the river is a tangible symbol of a new, peaceful, and united Europe as well as a vital artery for commercial and leisure shipping. Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of the landscape through which the Danube flows, where the enduring legacies of historical regimes from the Romans to the Nazis have all left their mark.

The Rough Guide to Switzerland is the ultimate guide to the country where tourism as we know it first took off. The Alpine landscape that so entranced Thomas Cook's pioneering group of package tourists in 1863 still draws tourists in their millions. Whether you're looking to check out the 365 days-per-year snowboarding scene in Zermatt, wander the medieval streets of exceptionally preserved Bern or sleep on the straw in a Valais farm, you'll find plenty of insight and advice from our team of expert authors. Beyond the hinterlands, we uncover the surprisingly dynamic alternative scene in Switzerland's cities, its cutting-edge contemporary galleries and myriad film, music and design festivals, not to mention the scientists at CERN attempting to discover the neutron-sized building-blocks of our universe in the world's biggest experiment. Make the most of your trip with The Rough Guide to Switzerland.

The Rough Guide to Switzerland (Rough Guides)

ROUGH GUIDES

Rough Guides

Discover the length and breadth of Germany with the most incisive and entertaining guidebook on the market. Whether you plan to check out Berlin's art galleries, cruise down the Rhine Valley or go wine-tasting along the Mosel Weinstrasse, The Rough Guide to Germany will show you the ideal places to sleep, eat, drink, shop and visit along the way. - Independent, trusted reviews writtenwith Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and insight, to help you get the most out of your visit, with options to suit every budget. - Full-colour maps throughout- navigate Rügen's meandering coastline or Munich's Altstadt without needing to get online. - Stunning images - a rich collection of inspiring colour photography. - Things not to miss -Rough Guides' rundown of Germany's best sights and experiences. - Itineraries - carefully planned routes to help you organize your trip. - Detailed regional coverage - whether off the beaten track or in more mainstream tourist destinations, this travel guide has in-depth practical advice for every step of the way. Areas covered include: Berlin and Brandenburg; Saxony, including Leipzig and Dresden; Saxony-Anhalt and the Harz; Thuringia, including Weimar; Franconia (Northern Bavaria), including Nuremberg and Bamberg; Munich and central Bavaria; the Alps and eastern Bavaria; Baden-Württemberg, including Stuttgart and Heidelberg; the Black Forest; Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland; Frankfurt and Hesse; North-Rhine Westphalia, including Cologne; Lower Saxony and Bremen, including Hannover; Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein; Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.Attractions include: Berlin Wall Memorial, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Bode Valley, Amalienburg, Ulm Münster, Baden-Baden spas, Europa-Park, Schauinsland cable car, the Romantic Rhine, Schloss Neuschwanstein, the Altmühltal nature reserve, the Romantic Road, Berchtesgadener Land, Aachen cathedral, Folkwang collection, Essen, North Sea island-hopping, Schwerin Schloss, to name but a few. - Basics - essential pre-departure practical information including getting there, local transport, accommodation, food and drink, the media, festivals, sports and outdoor activities, culture and etiquette, travelling with children, shopping and more. - Background information - a Contexts chapter devoted to history, books, film and music, plus a handy language section and glossary.

The Rough Guide to Germany (Rough Guides)

Humor & Entertainment

In this fascinating and abundantly illustrated book, two eminent ecologists explain how the millions of species living on Earth?some microscopic, some obscure, many threatened?not only help keep us alive but also hold possibilities for previously unimagined products, medicines, and even industries. In an Afterword written especially for this edition, the authors consider the impact of two revolutions now taking place: the increasing rate at which we are discovering new species because of new technology available to us and the accelerating rate at which we are losing biological diversity. Also reviewed and summarized are many ?new” wild solutions, such as innovative approaches to the discovery of pharmaceuticals, the ?lotus effect,” the ever-growing importance of bacteria, molecular biomimetics, ecological restoration, and robotics. ?An easy read, generating a momentum of energy and excitement about the potential of the natural world to solve many of the problems that face us.”?E. J. Milner-Gulland, Nature ?Must-reading for everyone.”?Simon A. Levin, author of Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons ?An engaging book clearly intended to impress upon a lay audience the practical value of biological diversity. . . . An outstanding work.”?Ecology ?A most stimulating read for all those budding science students from secondary through graduate schools.”?Science Books &amp; Films

Wild Solutions: How Biodiversity is Money in the Bank

Business & Money

Ehrlich, Paul R.

Economics

Yale University Press

We live on an unexplored planet, ignorant of more than eighty percent of the species that share our world. In this fascinating and abundantly illustrated book, two eminent ecologists discuss the biological diversity of the Earth, showing how the natural systems that surround us play an essential role in protecting our basic life-support systems.
Andrew Beattie and Paul Ehrlich tell us about the millions of species providing ecosystem services that maintain the quality of our air and water and the fertility of the soil, dispose of domestic, industrial, and agricultural waste, and protect crops from pests. The authors also describe how biological diversity opens the way for new medicines, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and designs, and manufactured goods. They point to innovative industries that harness species for the biological repair of damaged landscapes, biological mining, biological pest control, and biomonitoring of the environment. The organisms upon which these activities are founded―although often microscopic, obscure, or bizarre―provide natural capital that is worth infinitely more than anyone has previously guessed. The authors urge us to protect the biological wealth of our Earth and keep it from being destroyed by human activity.

Henry VIII: A History of his Most Important Places and Events

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Pen and Sword History

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Beattie, Andrew. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Beattie, Andrew

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Beattie, Andrew. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cairo: A Cultural History (Cityscapes)

Cairo: A Cultural History (Cityscapes)

The Alps: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

The Danube: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

The Danube: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

The Rough Guide to Switzerland (Rough Guides)

The Rough Guide to Germany (Rough Guides)

Wild Solutions: How Biodiversity is Money in the Bank

Wild Solutions: How Biodiversity is Money in the Bank

Henry VIII: A History of his Most Important Places and Events