Wood engravings
by Ann McEwan
Campbell Smith is a New Zealand artist who was born in Masterton in 1925. He was a huge admirer of the Englishman Thomas Bewick, who is considered the 'father' of wood engraving, and this led eventually to his own fascination with the medium.
"Wood engraving, with its black and white image, is something close to music. It is a form of art which invites the engraver to make a statement: for me, that is about life and living in this country, New Zealand."
Ann McEwan's lovely book showcases Campbell Smith's art, which itself demonstrates his love of his native country and his feel for rural New Zealand. You cannot fail to be charmed by this book and converted (if you are not already a fan) to this simple, direct and intimate art form.
The Beautiful Game
A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness
by Musa Okwonga
Feet, balance, fun, endurance, graft, toughness, guts, aura, madness, luck, vision: if you have all of these in spades, then you have the makings of a real football great (according to Musa Okwonga).
Okwonga's book presents the eleven key qualities that make up footballing greatness, with a chapter on each one. These elements combined create the perfect player: think Pele and Maradona.
This is a must-read for every football fan and player. Pop into the shop and pick up a copy or buy one from our on-line catalogue and find out why being a football great is a lot harder than it looks.
Stupidity
Stupid, foolish, dull, thick, dense, brainless, ignorant, mindless, idiotic, asinine, dim, witless.
The Encyclopaedia of Stupidity
by Matthijs Van Boxsel
"Stupidity forced man to develop his intelligence but intelligence is no guarantee of self-preservation. Indeed, intelligence can boost stupidity. For example, stupidity comes to the fore in the smouldering civil war we wage on the highways, which, worldwide, causes hundreds of thousands of fatalities every year - not to mention serious injury. This chronic catastrophe makes less of an impression than a one-off disaster, such as an aeroplane crash."
This book is a compilation from the fields of art, fairy tales, history, poetry, maths, science, and general knowledge. It is entertaining and clever and sometimes quite funny. It will certainly make you think and it will provoke a reaction.
Mad cows are the result of recycled butchers' waste.
The Little Prince
Just in case you haven't already read the book, it is a charming story of a little boy who leaves his own tiny planet to travel the universe. He has a series of encounters which help him to learn about the weirdness of adult behaviour. His odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures ensue.
No more detail or the pleasure of meeting The Little Prince for the first time will be ruined and so will the fun of re-reading after an absence of many many decades.
A primer in visual awareness
Are you left-eyed?
Who are you going to believe, me or your eyes?
What is the belly button problem?
An inexhaustible mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, curious facts and useless information, oddities, jokes, science and all of it concrned with the interplay between the verbal and the visual and the resources of the human mind. Even the pages of this book are a superb demonstration of the expressive use of type, space, colour and imagery. A witty exploration of perception, colour, pattern, proportion, paradox, illusion, language, alphabets, words, ideas, creativity, culture, style, aesthetics and value.
If any of the above excites your curiosity or piques your interest, then you need a copy of:
The Art of Looking Sideways
by Alan Fletcher
Weapons
All these weapons you know: axes, knives, swords, pistols, crossbows, daggers, cannons, rifles, spears, clubs, lances and many more you may not. . . .
. . . kindjal, morgenstern, halberd, kukri, nimcha, dirk, fang, and yet more. . .
. . . . .and that's just a small taster of what you can find in today's book
The Illustrated History of Weaponry: From Flint Axes to Automatic Weapons
by Chuck Wills in association with the Berman Museum of World History
This is a comprehensive look at the history of weapons (as you can tell from the title of the book). It spans more than 3,500 years of weapony and also covers conflicts from all over the world. It is a great reference book for anyone with an interest in the subject.
We have recently bought a large collection of books on weaponry and so there are plenty of new titles entering our on-line catalogue and our shop stock every day. Why not check out our website or come into the shop and have a look at the weaponry section - whether you're a collector, a weaponry connoisseur, an interested amateur, or a historian, you're bound to find something of interest.
MUSIC
The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
by Daniel Levitin
Daniel Levitin is now a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience but has also been a session musician, sound engineer and record producer. This little introduction will go some way to explaining his fascination with music and human nature.
In this book Levitin blends art and science in describing how music has played a pivotal role in the creation of society. He addresses the role of music in the evolution of language, thought and culture.
He covers every kind of music from Bach to Beatles, rock to reggae and Mozart to marimba (via Matinee Idle, of course). If you have any interest in music at all, this is a fascinating read.
Winnie the Pooh
This beautiful first edition of AA Milne's classic children's book was published by Methuen & Co in 1926. The famous illustrations by Ernest Shepard are familiar to nearly everyone and deservedly much admired.
This edition has lovely dark green fine cloth boards with an appealing gilt motif of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin on the front. The upper page edges are gilt too. The front & rear eps are illustrated with a map of the area where Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Pooh, Kanga, the Heffalumps and Christopher Robin live.
This book isn't cheap but how often do you get the chance to buy a first edition of such a classic?
