Stanfords staff reveal which books they’re looking forward to reading in 2013:
David Mantero
Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration, David Roberts
David, our travel guides specialist, is looking forward to the release of David Roberts’ Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration – a confident title for a story that, at first glance, is scarcely believable. In January 1913, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition was pulling a sledge towards base camp, 100 miles away. Suddenly, the dogs at the front were gone, and not long after, Douglas Mawson, the expedition’s leader, fell through the same snow bridge. An extraordinary tale of survival followed. Despite crawling for much of the way and the soles of his feet detaching from the rest of his body, a skeletal Mawson arrived at base camp, against all odds, just over three weeks later. With the release of this book, David believes Mawson may become one of polar exploration’s legendary figures.
Paul Harniess
Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, William Dalrymple
Travel literature buyer Paul is a big fan of prolific author and historian William Dalrymple, whose latest book Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan is being published in February. It tells the story of Britain’s 1839 invasion of Afghanistan, with almost 20,000 troops from Britain and the East India Company marching through mountain passes to re-seat Shah Shuja ul-Mulk on the throne. Two years later, the events would give rise to the first Anglo-Afghan war, a conflict that – historical parallels with events of the early 21st century aside – would be regarded as Britain’s worst imperial disaster.
Tim Cleary
London Underground’s Strangest Tales, Iain Spragg
British books buyer Tim recently started Iain Spragg’s London Underground’s Strangest Tales, a book that tells the ‘real’ story of the Tube. Released next month, Tim has enjoyed its accessibility, readability and wit, and believes it’s the ideal travelling companion for the capital’s commuters. Published in line with the Underground’s 150th anniversary, this is a collection of the strange and fantastic, from the early days through to the Tube of the future.
Gregor Swiderek
London Bridge in America: The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing, Travis Elborough
A book that’s doing the rounds among Stanfords staff (testament to how interesting and well-written it is) is Travis Elborough’s London Bridge in America, which Gregor is just coming to the end of, though admittedly he’s slowing down so he can hold onto it for a little longer. It tells the story of one of the most peculiar events in Anglo-American history, when in 1968 Arizona’s McCulloch Oil Corporation bought London Bridge. Brick by brick, this 1831 London icon was dismantled before being reconstructed in the emptiness of the Arizonan desert. But the book goes a little deeper than a description of the event per se, shedding light on Anglo-American relations and stereotyped national characteristics.
Charlie Gilbert
The Love-charm of Bombs, Lara Feigel
Much has been written about the devastation suffered by 1940 London during the Blitz, but was there another side to the relentlessness of the German bombing campaign, and the suffering and sleeplessness it caused? Five writers believed so – and one of them, Graham Greene, went so far as to say that the effect of the bomb blasts was “like a love-charm”. In The Love-charm of Bombs, Lara Feigel has collected anecdotes from Greene, Elizabeth Bowen, Rose Macaulay, Hilde Spiel and Henry Yorke, interweaving their diaries, letters and works of fiction to paint a previously unseen and unknown picture of war-afflicted London, Berlin and Vienna.
Tim Cleary
Penguin London Underground anniversary paperbacks
Tim’s second recommendation is a range of paperback titles to be published by Penguin in partnership with Transport for London in March – each celebrating an individual Tube line. Also released to coincide with the London Underground’s 150th anniversary, titles include Paul Morley’s Bakerloo line-inspired Earthbound and John Lancaster’s What We Talk About When We Talk About The Tube, a tribute to the District line. A further title will concentrate on iconic Tube design, from posters to maps.
Aaron Glover
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
It may not be a new release, but maps buyer Aaron believes that 2013 is the perfect time to re-visit David Mitchell’s 2004 novel Cloud Atlas. With the film release of Life of Pi reigniting interest in Yann Martel’s 2001 Man Booker Prize-winning book, Aaron believes the film version of Cloud Atlas – one of the most expensive independent movies ever made – will encourage more of us to pick up the book. If you’re not familiar with the plot, it tells the story of a reluctant explorer crossing the Pacific in the mid 19th century, a composer attempting to forge a living in Belgium before the onset of WWII, a Pacific Islander being awakened to science, and a journalist in Ronald Reagan’s California.
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