Aurum press

In 45 beautiful, unique maps and with evocative photography, Atlas of the Unexpected is a journey to far-off lands, obscure discoveries and unimaginable locations. From the fortuitous discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls by a stray goat, to the wonderfully bizarre beginnings that led to the aptly named Just Enough Room Island and even the royal romance that led shipwrecked lovers to discover Madeira, Travis Elborough takes you on a voyage to some of the world's most wondrous, improbable and - most of all - unexpected of places.

Go on a treasure hunt around the world as you scratch to discover animals, famous buildings, people and icons from across the globe. Every spread features a fully-illustrated map with dozens of icons, paired with a search-and-find activity that prompts readers to search for and scratch to reveal ten items on every spread. An appealing, interactive first introduction to the world.

Choose your own learning adventure with Curiositree, a new series of visually compelling information charts. Discover the myriad reasons why humans have become the most successful species on the planet in this fascinating complete visual history of mankind. Travel from our earliest beginnings to the modern day, and discover how our evolution is interconnected by following the arrows that link to charts on related topics throughout the book. Exploring the development of farming, the origins of writing, religion, trade, weapons and armour, the first cities, and the growth of technology in the modern age, this visual compendium of wonders from the mind of man is full of fascinating information for curious young readers.

Sportopedia is your ultimate guide to the exhilarating world of sport. Learn amazing facts about all your favourite sports, and discover new ones you may not have come across before, like kabaddi and boccia. Whether you're into team sports, target sports, track and field, or aquatic sports, this book showcases a diverse array of athletes - male, female, able-bodied and Paralympians - and celebrates the unique talents of sportspeople everywhere, making it a treasure trove for all the family to share.

From a school girl running the streets of London to a world record-breaking athlete racing on mountains, long-distance runner Lizzy Hawker is an inspiration to anyone who would like to see how far they can go, running or not. This is the complete story of Lizzy's journey, uncovering the physical, mental and emotional challenges that runners go through at the edge of human endurance. Scared witless and surrounded by a sea of people, Lizzy Hawker stands in the church square at the centre of Chamonix on a late August evening, waiting for the start of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. The mountains towering over the pack of runners promise a gruelling 8,600 metres of ascent and descent over 158 kilometres of challenging terrain that will test the feet, legs, heart and mind. These nervous moments before the race signal not just the beginning of nearly twenty-seven hours of effort that saw Lizzy finish as first woman, but the start of the career of one of Britain's most successful endurance athletes. She went on to become the 100km Women's World Champion, win the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc an unprecedented five times, hold the world record for 24 hours road running and become the first woman to stand on the overall winners' podium at Spartathlon. An innate endurance and natural affinity with the mountains has led Lizzy to push herself to the absolute limits, including a staggering 320 kilometre run through the Himalayas, from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu in Nepal. Lizzy's remarkable spirit was recognised in 2013 when she was a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. These ultimate challenges ask not just what the feet and legs can do, but question the inner thoughts and contemplations of a runner.

It is perhaps the eighth wonder of our world that despite modern mapping and satellite photography our planet continues to surprise us. Travis Elborough goes in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and estranged. From the church tower of San Juan Parangaricutiro - that miraculously stands as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava - to the underground realms of Berlin and Beijing dug for refuge and espionage, these maps reveal incredible stories of hidden lairs, forgotten cities and improbable wonders. With beautiful maps and stunning photography, Atlas of Improbable Places is a fascinating voyage to the world's most unusual destinations. These curious locations are not just extraordinary sights, but reflections on our own relationship with the world around us.

Through in-depth and informative text written by film journalist Ian Nathan, The Coen Brothers Archive re-examines the brothers' most famous work including Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men and True Grit. Plus, some of their cult films, like The Evil Dead, Paris je t'aime, and A Serious Man. Packed with stunning images from the Kobal archives, this book will also highlight their surprising involvement in recent films like Bridge of Spies and Unbroken, as well as looking at those who they frequently collaborate with.

A unique and beautiful collection of fifty maps in which our physical, political and cultural world is visualised, measured and mapped like never before. From charting energy networks to revealing new and emerging lands, measuring human migration to assessing the planet's ant populations - and including the phenomena we have little control over such as lightning strikes or asteroid impact - each map asks you to question, wonder and look again at our rapidly changing and often surprising world. Divided into three thematic sections: Land, Air and Sea; Human and Animal, and Globalisation, New Views offers a fresh and truly global portrait of our intricately fascinating planet.

The Year of the Geek is a fascinating look into geek culture. Each day will tell a different story from the sci-fi universe, from famous franchises and figures such as Star Wars, The Matrix, Peter Jackson and Luc Besson, to lesser known stories, including the French cult classic City of Lost Children, the Japanese anime Akira and bestselling German novelist, Marcus Heitz. With text written by self-confessed geek James Clarke and accompanied by over 100 infographics that have been specially commissioned for this book, The Year of the Geek celebrates all things geek in a new and intriguing way.

From historic rock-faces to never-before summited peaks, this stunning visual book brings to life the incredible experience of climbing hard and climbing high. Whether it is scaling the world's most challenging peaks, bouldering on epic rock faces or hanging underneath the cavernous crags spread out along the ocean, rock-climbing is one of the world's most exciting sports. From the most beautiful routes in the UK, France and America, to deep-water soloing in Majorca and opening new lines in South Africa, James Pearson and Caroline Ciavaldini, two of rock-climbing's biggest stars, take you to the sport's most iconic, unusual and daring destinations. With stunning photography showcasing rock-climbing's various styles and landscapes, each entry also includes expert tips, grading details and intricate topography of specific routes or sectors. Perfect for the avid and aspiring climber, Climbing Beyond is a beautiful homage to the sport of rock-climbing and an inspiration to anyone who has ever dreamt of chalking up their hands and taking on the world's epic rock faces.

The name of David Brown is synonymous with the glory days of Aston Martin, when a tiny British sports car company was rescued from near-extinction and turned into a marque that could compete with Ferrari--and win. Stylish design, lavish illustration and meticulously researched text come together in this large-format, 224-page book to create a superb celebration of the 70th anniversary of DB Aston Martins in 2017. There’s a wealth of detail on the Aston Martin DB road and race cars, both from the David Brown era of 1947-1972 and the modern DB era from 1993 onwards, together high quality images and specification tables for all the key models. Aston Martin DB 70 Years is a fitting celebration of one of the world's most enduring sports cars. The fast, beautiful sports cars that Aston Martin built under Brown’s ownership ­won the Le Mans 24-hour race and the World Sports Car Championship, and provided James Bond with his most famous transport: the ejector-seat equipped DB5 that won acclaim in Goldfinger. Though the DB era ended when Brown sold the company in 1972, its influence continued to be felt. James Bond’s most recent car, the specially-made DB10, and Aston Martin has just launched its most complete car ever, the DB11. ‘DB’ means as much to Aston Martin now as ever.

Why are Scandinavians constantly topping the happiness table? How do you get more Scandi-style in your life? Just how do you use lagom? Whether you want your apartment to look like it belongs in Copenhagen, to workout like a Norwegian or to make cinnamon buns like a Swede, this is the ultimate insider's guide to the countries of the north. Full of inspiration and ideas, how-tos and recipes to help you experience the very best of Scandinavian design, philosophy, cookery and culture, this honest behind-the-scenes look at the culture provides an invaluable insight into the wonderful and visually stunning world of Scandinavia. Like her viking ancestors before her, Bronte Aurell left Denmark to explore the world beyond home shores and in her travels has come to understand the fascination with her kinfolk, as well as seeing the idiosyncrasies of the Scandinavian lifestyle that locals take for granted. With a signature wit and a keen eye for detail, she takes you on a journey through fjords and mountains, farmlands and cities to better understand these three nations and what makes each one so unique. So get outdoors, learn the life lesson that there's no such thing as bad weather (only bad clothing) and you may discover your inner Scandi sooner than you think.

From detailed portraits of the icons of the sport, to statistical breakdowns of the greatest road races and potted histories of its most enduring records, this collection of superbly entertaining infographics includes everything you need to know about professional cycling.Whether it is the tallest and shortest champions, oldest and youngest Tour riders, or the richest in the peloton, Velopedia has it covered. Examining nearly all of the sport's most intriguing stories, it also includes the most memorable rivalries, heroic losers, most controversial stars and biggest scandals, not to mention the best punch-ups and mid-race mishaps. The eccentric side of the sport is here too, with kitsch kits, the strangest superstitions and most elaborate facial hair.Charting every generation from the Victorian age to the present day, Velopedia is the perfect book for both the most devoted amateur cyclist and the armchair fan.

Life. The Universe. Everything. The human race has always revealed an insatiable hunger to search "to infinity and beyond". In this truly mind-blowing book, partners in science Stuart Lowe and Chris North use cutting edge infographics to illuminate - in a new and unique way - the most amazing places and objects that modern science has laid bare. Featuring innovative, inspirational and original designs by leading authors in their field, COSMOS: THE INFOGRAPHIC BOOK OF SPACE delves into a truly international subject and will appeal to stargazers and space enthusiasts of all ages.Including the Big Bang itself, COSMOS: THE INFOGRAPHIC BOOK OF SPACE:Explores the secret lives of galaxies and starsExamines the thousand new planets now discovered beyond the Solar System, checking out their viability for alien lifeChronicles the incredible instruments and machines that are discovering the hidden secrets of the Universe, from 'telescopes' atop the highest mountains to robotic explorers on distant worlds...Investigates the astounding technology used by human and robotic explorers as they push out beyond the Moon to Mars - and on towards the stars...

BODY: A Graphic Guide to Us is the ultimate visual guide to the human body broken down into thematic sections of the physical, chemical, genetic, sensitive, coordinated, thinking, growing and medical body. Information gathered together by established author Steve Parker, is beautifully displayed through the striking and accessible graphics by artist Andrew Baker. Composed of some 206 bones, 100,000 km of blood vessels and millions of new cells each second, our bodies are so much more than the sum of their parts. It is an unceasing source of wonder and something we carry with us until the day we die, yet most of us know remarkably little about it. Moving away from the tired treatment of an anatomical guide, this is an intriguing and beautiful approach to our most universal and prized possession. Featuring 100 stunning graphics and illustrations, the full spectrum is covered: from our most basic components through to the brain's complex synaptic processes as well as the weird and the wonderful of modern medicine. BODY is the ideal guide to shed some light on truly getting to know yourself.

Tim Burton is one of the most popular and remarkable filmmakers of the last 30 years, being responsible for such films as Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland. He is famed for the visually arresting style of his films that combine with highly original storylines. A truly international filmmaker, Tim Burton has carved a reputation as one of the world's greatest creative directors. This stunning treasury explores the influences on his development as a filmmaker and assesses how he has captured the fruits of his imagination on screen. Illustrated with many behind-the-scenes photographs and stunning film stills, chapters analyze the success and style of films such as Beetlejuice, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks!, and examine how Burton breathed new life into well-known stories that include Batman, Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Finally, the book looks towards the future and his upcoming films Alice Through the Looking Glass, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Beetlejuice 2. Tim Burton's entire filmography is presented across a stunning 8-page gatefold in the heart of the book. Packaged in a handsome slipcase Tim Burton - the iconic filmmaker and his work is a must for anyone who enjoys the creativity of films and is a fitting appreciation of one of Hollywood' s most dynamic movie directors. Tim Burton - the iconic filmmaker and his work is a must for anyone who enjoys the creativity of films and is a fitting appreciation of one of Hollywood's most dynamic movie directors.