The making of the Oxford English Dictionary was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the OED's editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him.

From the Vikings to Clarence Birdseye, the author introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs and fisherman, whose lives have been interwoven with the prolific fish. He chronicles the cod wars of the 16th and 20th centuries. He shows how the most profitable fish in history is faced with extinction.

By the author of Band of Brothers , this title recounts the colourful characters involved with the opening of the American West, beginning with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803. Drama, suspense, danger and diplomacy combine with romance and personal tragedy.

Describes all the events and personalities involved in the monumental undertaking which precipitated revolution, scandal, economic crisis, and a new Central American republic.

Chronicles the destruction of Indonesian island of Krakatoa in 1883. This book describes how one island and its inhabitants were blasted out of existence and how colonial society was turned upside-down in a cataclysm.

Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles. This title tells his story.