Search Results: British Isles from The Real Book Shop

The anthropology of Britain is hotly debated. What does it mean to live in Britain and to be 'British', and is an anthropology of Britain even a legitimate undertaking? British Subjects presents a forthright voice in this debate. Key anthropological concerns such as community, rationality, aesthetics, the body, power, work and leisure, nationalism and transnationalism are found reflected in the lives of a wide range of British 'subjects'--from farmers to dancers, children to retired miners, new-agers to entrepreneurs. In disputing traditional claims that anthropology 'at home' and 'of one's own' is misconceived, unnecessary or unperceptive, this book clearly establishes that an anthropology of Britain can set excellent standards of subtle ethnography and complex analysis. Providing a nuanced appreciation of the intricacies of British society, this book shows how the anthropological study of Britain can offer an enlightening paradigm for the study of individual lives.

A fascinating look at historical Dorset. Illustrated throughout with b/w photographs.
Fine. Like new. Light shelf wear.

With 35 full-page photographs of Dorset Scenery, including iconic scenes from Portland, Dorchester, Tolpuddle, Swanage and many more loved beauty spots.
Used, very good. Clean. No inscriptions.

Dorset is a maritime county with a long and varied coastline, and a long and complex history. Some aspects of this past are well known, others less so but all are equally fascinating, from the three thousand year old carving of a ship, which was found inWales, but which depicts a vessel from Dorset, to the vicious pirates which infested the Isle of Purbeck. From the unlikely heroes who swept these pirates from the sea, to the merchants who sailed to Africa and brought gold and ivory to the tiny port of Lyme Regis.Even aspects of the coast that may seem dull, such as sea defences and land reclamation, can have an amazing history. From the first attempts to keep back the sea in the 770s, to the grandiose scheme nine hundred years later to drain the Fleet Lagoon, to the military men who turned their skills at fighting the French to fighting the sea, and who rebuilt the Cobb at Lyme Regis so that it has stood firm for two hundred years, the story is intriguing and exciting.
Finally this book can suggest… Read More

For some people, winter is the period between autumn and spring that has to be endured and can't pass too quickly. But others love the season. They love the snow that brings back memories of childhood days playing snowballs and sledging (when of course the snow was deeper and more frequent!).They also love the bright frosty mornings, as the hoar frost clings to every twig and ice patterns form on windows and on standing water.Of course there are times when the weather is foul, but to sit in front of a roaring log fire while the rain patters on the window, or to crowd into a Christmas-decorated church are experiences to be treasured.
The weather generally smiles benignly on Dorset in winter, although it can be harsh, especially in the north of the county. Even the Poole Harbour shoreline has been known to freeze over on rare occasions. The county can be spectacularly beautiful under a mantle of snow, or when the early morning rays of the sun catch a meadow coated in frost, a church tower standing above… Read More

Lovely large coffee table book, filled with artistic pen & ink/watercolour illustrations of rural, historical Dorset. Paintings and drawings of Wessex accompany a discussion of the portrayal of the region of England in the novels of Thomas Hardy.

Illustrated throughout with b/w photographs. CONDITION: DJ worn, foxed and historically taped inside but intact, not price clipped. Foxing to edges. Binding good.

First published in 1925, this book elaborated Alfred Watkins's theory of 'ley' lines, first put forward in his Early British Trackways. Based on his fieldwork in Herefordshire, Watkins's surmise was that the straight lines crossing Britain were ancient alignments with marked points, used for navigation by Stone Age man.

Archeological account of the hillfort near Dorchester, one of the largest hillforts in the world and still to this day, not fully understood or excavated. The author brings findings to life. With b/w photographs.

Through illustrations which span four centuries, this text takes another look at the changing face of Weymouth and its surrounding villages from 1790 to 2004.

Regular railway-operated steamer services commenced between Weymouth and the Channel Islands following the opening of the railway to the town in 1857, and continued until the demise of Sealink. Originally both the GWR and LSWR served the port amid great rivalry until 1860 when the LSWR withdrew to Southampton, from where the competition continued until the disastrous loss of the Stella in 1899. The GWR service from Weymouth was operated on their behalf by the Weymouth & Channel Islands Steam Packet Company, a financially impoverished concern that the GWR were constantly bailing out. During 1878 the GWR commenced a service to Cherbourg operating it in their own right with their own vessels, unsuccessful, it struggled on for seven years before it ceased, leaving the Channel Island service to the Packet Company. Following the loss of the Brighton in 1887 and the condition of the other two outdated paddle steamers operated by the Packet Company, the GWR decided to take the service over in 1889, providing… Read More

In this provocative new study, Iain McLean argues that the traditional story of the British constitution does not make sense. It purports to be both positive and normative: that is, to describe both how people actually behave and how they ought to behave. In fact, it fails to do either; it is not a correct description and it has no persuasive force. The book goes on to offer a reasoned alternative. The position that still dominates the field of constitutional law is that of parliamentary sovereignty (or supremacy). According to this view, the supreme lawgiver in the United Kingdom is Parliament. Some writers in this tradition go on to insist that Parliament in turn derives its authority from the people, because the people elect Parliament. An obvious problem with this view is that Parliament, to a lawyer, comprises three houses: monarch, Lords, and Commons. The people elect only one of those three houses.