Whole grain vegan baking

 

Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 176pp. Fully illustrated. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia. 

Have Your Cake and Feel Good About It Too!

Do whole grain flours intimidate you? Does amaranth flour sound fascinating but perhaps a little too froufrou? Do you love the chocolate cherry scones at your local coffee shop, but feel way too scared to attempt them on your own?

Fears begone! You are now in the safe (albeit floury) hands of Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes, two vegan ladies who know their way around the oven—and barley and buckwheat flour too. Expect to see not an ounce of white flour, refined white sugar, or powdered egg replacer in this book. Instead, indulge in wholesome breads, muffins, pies, pancakes, and other treats that draw on the nutty depth of flavor and enhanced taste of ingredients like whole grain flours and natural sweeteners.

All you need is a bowl, a spoon, and a little “can-do!” attitude to whip up treats like Caramel Nut Barley Squares, Potato and Walnut Wheat Bread, and Chocolate Raspberry Tart. With more than 100 recipes to choose from, the hardest thing you’ll have to do is pick out what to bake first!

Your taste buds will love you, your friends will adore you, your waist will thank you, and the planet will be singing your praises with Whole Grain Vegan Baking. You’re just a whisk away!

Baking the perfect cake

 

Rare book. Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 240pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

This book contains everything you need to know about baking cakes. There are detailed instructions on how to make every kind of cake - buttercakes, sponge cakes, fruit cakes, chocolate cakes, as well as information on lining cake pans, temperatures, tips and tricks on what can go wrong and how exactly to avoid it.

SOLD Madeleines biscuits

 

SOLD

Rare book. Mint condition. Ex-library. HB. 122pp. Fully illustrated. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The first crowd-sourced cookbook from Chronicle Books, this celebration of the dainty French delight proves that classic doesn't have to mean conventional. 

Forty reverential recipes—developed by madeleine lovers from Italy to Oregon and curated by Miss Madeleine herself—break the mold, with unexpected delights from Rosemary Parmesan Polenta to Molasses Spice to Chocolate Hazelnut, plus gluten-free and vegan options. 

Featuring expert tips on choosing ingredients, mixing and baking batter, and picking the right pan, as well as a chapter on glazes, dips, and other toppings, the wisdom of dozens of aficionados comes together in this delectable ode to the little shell-shaped cake we love.

Amazon selling for $67.

Miniature cakes, pastries, biscuits etc

 

Rare book. Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 256pp. $18 including postage anywhere in Australia.

SOLD Australian baking book

 

SOLD

Rare book. Ex-library. Mint condition. 688pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Presents recipes for cakes, muffins, biscuits, slices and scones. This book includes special features, each containing 12 photographs, which provide information about the satisfying art of baking.

SOLD An Australian girl travels to India in the early 20th century

 

SOLD

Vintage. Very good condition. HB. 240pp. $30 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Journeying across China

 

Very good condition. HB. 320pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Having learned Mandarin, and travelling alone by foot, bicycle and train, Colin Thubron sets off on a 10,000 mile journey from Beijing to Tibet, starting from a tropical paradise near the Burmese border to the windswept wastes of the Gobi desert and the far end of the Great Wall. 

What Thubron reveals is an astonishing diversity, a land whose still unmeasured resources strain to meet an awesome demand, and an ancient people still reeling from the devastation of the Cultural Revolution.

About the author

Colin Thubron, CBE FRSL is a Man Booker nominated British travel writer and novelist.

In 2008, The Times ranked him 45th on their list of the 50 greatest postwar British writers. He is a contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Thubron was appointed a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours. He is a Fellow and, as of 2010, President of the Royal Society of Literature.

Book of Sea Journeys

 

Rare book. Vintage. HB. 395pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Our imagination and physical being constantly go down to the sea for restoration, challenge, and the recovery of primeval memories. 

In this new treasury of prose and poetry, Ludovic Kennedy captures, in the words of intrepid voyagers and courageous survivors, the many moods and faces of the vast deep. 

From Hart Crane to Winston Churchill, from two views of Captain Bligh to Commodore Perry's opening of Japan, man's endurance and the ocean's sway is celebrated. 

Sea Journeys includes the legendary voyages of exploration and discovery recounted by Salazar and Vaz de Caminha, as well as the later voyages of self-discovery as reflected in the memoirs, stories, and letters of such voyagers as Anna Brassey and Sophia Taylor, Stephen Crane and Somerset Maugham. 

The terror and savagery of the sea is awesomely portrayed by those who made fantastic voyages in small and open boats. 

Then there are the magical days of the great steamships and ocean liners, from that Leviathan known as The Great Eastern to the eternally fascinating, doomed Titanic -- and the stories of those who sailed aboard and those who survived.

Some of the finest writing about man's centuries on the sea comes, as a delightful surprise, from unknown seafarers. Keeping them in goodly company are: Sylvia Plath, Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling, Melville and Dickens, Masefield and Poe, Conrad and Verne, Waugh and Auden, and many, many others singing the endless song of the sea.

About the author

Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, and author. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in 1985 and also held similar posts at the Universities of Edinburgh and Stirling. He was knighted in 1994 for services to journalism.

He was a member of the crew of the British destroyer HMS Tartar that took part in the pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck in May of 1941. 'Sub-Lieutenant' (1942) told of his naval experiences and 'Pursuit' (1974) told of the sinking of the Bismarck.

He undertook many campaigns on behalf of people who had been wrongly convicted of murder, including Derek Bentley and Timothy Evans and also wrote an account of the trial of Stephen Ward following the Profumo affair. He also wrote an account of the murders at Ten Rillington Place.

He married actress Moira Shearer (1926-2006) on 25 February 1950 and the couple had four children.

He died of pneumonia at Salisbury, Wiltshire on 18 October 2009.

SOLD Travels through Muslim lands

 

SOLD

Mint condition. HB. 271pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Travel narrative and compelling adventure are blended in this collection of tales of Westerners who traveled to Islamic lands during the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, describing the experiences of John Reed, Walter B. Harris, Lowell Thomas, Freya Stark, and others.

Granta's travel anthology

 

Excellent condition. PB. 448pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Granta has long been known for the quality of its travel writing. 

The 1980s were the culmination of a golden age, when writers including Paul Theroux and Bruce Chatwin, James Hamilton-Paterson and James Fenton set out to document life in largely unfamiliar territory, bringing back tales of the beautiful, the extraordinary and the unexpected. 

By the mid 1990s, travel writing seemed to change, as a younger generation of writers that appeared in the magazine made journeys for more complex and often personal reasons. 

Decca Aitkenhead reported on sex tourism in Thailand, and Wendell Steavenson moved to Iraq as foreign correspondent. 

What all these pieces have in common is a sense of engagement with the places they describe, and a belief that whether we are in Birmingham or Belarus, there is always something new to be discovered.

Ian Buruma on Japanese culture

 

Mint condition. PB. 256pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Both panoramic and intimate, A Japanese Mirror is a rich and surprising exploration of national identity.

In this scintillating book, Ian Buruma peels away the myths that surround Japanese culture. With piercing analysis of cinema, theatre, television, art and legend, he shows the Japanese both 'as they imagine themselves to be, and as they would like themselves to be.'

A Japanese Mirror examines samurai and gangsters, transvestites and goddesses to paint an eloquent picture of life in Japan. This is a country long shrouded in enigma and in his compelling book; Buruma reveals a culture rich in with poetry, beauty and wonder.

Glenn A Baker's travel best

 

Very good condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Glenn A Baker brings us his wry observations and sense of humour as he travels to Cuba and meets Castro, considers the moral dilemma of travelling to Burma, attends a Naadam, a festival of horse racing, archery and wrestling in Mongolia or waxes lyrical over the streets of Slovenia, to name but a few of his adventures.

SOLD Ireland in colour

 

SOLD

Ex-library. Mint condition. HB. 256pp. $35 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Glossy print. Colour photos throughout.

Amazon is also selling this book for over $100.

A misguided tour of our century

 

Ex-library. Very good condition. PB. 400pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

• Andrew Mueller doesn't consider himself a proper journalist, yet he's travelled from Afghanistan to Abkhazia, from Belfast to Belgrade and from Tirana to Tripoli in search of a good story. 'I Wouldn't Start From Here' is his random history of the 21st century so far, and all its attendant absurdities, intermittent horrors and occasional glimmers of hope. It features gunfights, car chases and gaol cells, any number of exotic locations, and a cast which includes revolutionaries, rock stars, politicians, hitmen, warmongers and peacemakers. Whether ducking for cover in Gaza, running roadblocks in Iraq, attempting to have fun in Luxembourg, or trying to buy Colonel Gadaffi T-shirts in Tripoli, Mueller is a man in search of an answer to perhaps the crucial question of our time: What is it with these people?

The Diggers who defended Malaya and Singapore during WWII

 

Ex-library. Mint condition. PB. 145pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

The Illustrated history of Australians in Malaya and Singapore, December 1941 – February 1942, with biographies of key figures.

The power of being bullied

 

Excellent condition. PB. 272pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Outstanding Australians on Hard Lessons Learned at School

edited by Fiona Scott-Norman

One of the most difficult things about being bullied is
the feeling that nobody else knows what it’s like.

Twenty-two of Australia’s most talented and successful people know exactly what it’s like.

In candid and entertaining interviews, leading lights
from across Australian life recount how they were bullied and shunned at school just for being different. Not only did they survive the ordeal but their experiences
helped shape them into the remarkable individuals they are today.

Contributors include:
Missy Higgins (musician), Hazem El Masri (NRL),Christos Tsiolkas (writer), Tiffiny Hall (TV), Alice Pung (writer), Sam Bramham (paralympian), Stella Young (disability advocate), Eddie Perfect (actor),Megan Washington (musician), Brendan Cowell(actor), Marieke Hardy (writer), Adam Goodes (AFL),Adam Boland (TV), Bindi Cole (artist), Charlie Pickering (TV), Kate Miller-Heidke (musician), Tim Ferguson (comedian), Penny Wong (politician),Benjamin Law (writer), Judith Lucy (comedian), Paul Capsis (musician) and Wendy Harmer (TV).

About the author

Fiona Scott-Norman is a Melbourne-based comedian, writer and broadcaster. She writes for The Big Issue and is a regular on ABC Radio.

An account of Australia's secret war against ISIS in Iraq

 

Mint condition. PB. 352pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia

A brand new book. More information here and here.

From the best-selling author of The Commando and Born to Fight comes a fascinating investigation of modern warfare that combines methodical research and the fast-paced action of battle with the personal stories of the combatants on both sides of the line.

Taking us from the suburbs of western Sydney and Australia's military army bases, to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, this is a remarkable book that reveals the as-yet untold story of the battle for Mosul and the secret involvement of Australians on both sides of the war - both our Commandos and Australian ISIS fighters.

Mosul details the rise of ISIS influence in Australia, the Iran and Australia allegiance to fight Daesh and shows what led up to the battle and the ramifications that are still being felt at home - by our soldiers and the victims of that war.

Ben Mckelvey has extraordinary access to SOOCOMD/2COMMANDO units - the most decorated modern Australian fighting unit; ISOF - Iraq's premier fighters; Yazidis women who had been slaves of ISIS; returned Commandos and their devastated families, and explains how petty criminals in Western Sydney became some of our worst jihadists who took their families to Iraq to fight for ISIS. Focusing on the stories of key figures like 2 Commando's Ian Turner and one of Australia's most infamous Jihadist, Khaled Sharrouf, Mckelvey takes us the heart of this brutal battle and brings history to life in an honest, thoughtful and compelling examination of modern warfare.

A must-read for anyone interested in modern military history.

About the author

Ben Mckelvey is a freelance writer and editor from Sydney who has filed for Good Weekend, GQ, Voyeur, Rolling Stone, The Bulletin, Cosmo, Cleo and the Age and West Australian newspapers. Ben's previous gigs have included editing Sports&Style and Juice magazines, and working at the Sydney Morning Herald as a Senior Feature Writer. He has been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq, and has worked independently in Iran and Afghanistan.

A gorgeous book on India's history and present

 

Mint condition. HB. Colour photographs. Glossy. 336pp. $25 including postage anywhere in Australia.

In The Story of India, Michael Wood weaves a spellbinding narrative out of the 10,000-year history of the subcontinent. Home today to more than a fifth of the world's population, India gave birth to the oldest and most influential civilization on Earth, to four world religions, and to the world's largest democracy.

Now, as India bids to become a global economic giant, Michael sets out on an epic journey across this vibrant country to trace the roots of India's present in the incredible riches of her past. The Story of India is a magical mixture of history and travelogue, and an unforgettable portrait of India - past, present and future.

About the author

For more than 20 years, historian and broadcaster Michael Wood has made compelling journeys into the past, which have brought history alive for a generation of readers and viewers. He is the author of several highly praised books on English history including In Search of the Dark Ages, The Domesday Quest, In Search of England and In Search of Shakespeare. He has over 80 documentary films to his name, among them Art of the Western World, Legacy, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, Conquistadors and In Search of Myths and Heroes.

Michael was born in Manchester and educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oriel College Oxford, where he did post-graduate research in Anglo-Saxon history. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

A story of the cameleers who helped early Australian explorers

 

Rare book. Mint condition. PB. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Taj and the Great Camel Trek, by award-winning author Rosanne Hawke is an inspirational, gripping adventure and a tribute to the Afghan camel drivers who helped explore Australia.

South Australia, 1875: Twelve-year-old Taj and his camel Mustara are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. They are joining explorer Ernest Giles on his second attempt to cross the Australian desert where wild dogs, scorpions, poisonous snakes and a constant shortage of water mean they are never far from disaster.

As if things weren’t tough enough, Taj, raised in the ways of the Afghan people, is struggling to find his place in this new and exciting land.

About the author

Rosanne Hawke is a South Australian author of over thirty books. She lived in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates as an aid worker for ten years. Her books include Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll, a CBCA Notable Book, and Taj and the Great Camel Trek, winner of the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Children’s Literature and shortlisted for the 2012 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. She is the 2015 recipient of the Nance Donkin Award; an Asialink, Carclew, Varuna and May Gibbs Fellow; and a Bard of Cornwall. She has taught creative writing at Tabor Adelaide and writes in an old Cornish farmhouse with underground rooms, near Kapunda.