Blue River Black Sea

The Danube is Europe's Amazon. It flows through more countries than any other river on Earth - from the Black Forest in Germany to Europe's farthest fringes, where it joins the Black Sea in Romania. Andrew Eames' journey along its length brings us face to face with the Continent's bloodiest history and its most pressing issues of race and identity. As he travels - by bicycle, horse, boat and on foot - Eames finds himself seeking a bed for the night with minor royalty, hitching a ride on a Serbian barge captained by a man called Attila and getting up close and personal with a bull in rural Romania. He meets would-be kings and walks with gypsies, and finally rows his way beyond the borders of Europe entirely.

Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart - Tim Butcher

When "Daily Telegraph" correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to cover Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the idea of recreating H. M. Stanley's famous expedition - but travelling alone. Despite warnings that his plan was 'suicidal', Butcher set out for the Congo's eastern border with just a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Making his way in an assortment of vessels including a motorbike and a dugout canoe, helped along by a cast of characters from UN aid workers to a campaigning pygmy, he followed in the footsteps of the great Victorian adventurers. Butcher's journey was a remarkable feat, but the story of the Congo, told expertly and vividly in this book, is more remarkable still.

Underground London - Stephen Smith

Travel writer Stephen Smith provides an alternative guide and history of the capital. It's a journey through the passages and tunnels of the city, the bunkers and tunnels, crypts and shadows. As well as being a contemporary tour of underground London, it's also an exploration through time: Queen Boudicca lies beneath Platform 10 at King's Cross (legend has it); Dick Turpin fled the Bow Street Runners along secret passages leading from the cellar of the Spaniards pub in North London; the remains of a pre-Christian Mithraic temple have been found near the Bank of England; on the platforms of the now defunct King William Street Underground, posters still warn that 'Careless talk costs lives'. Stephen Smith uncovers the secrets of the city by walking through sewers, tunnels under such places as Hampton Court, ghost tube stations, and long lost rivers such as the Fleet and the Tyburn.

The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Its 1962, in Jackson Mississippi, where black maids raise white children, but are not trusted not to steal the silver. We follow the lives of several black maids and their interactions with their white masters. As each maid plucks up the courage to step over boundaries and cross lines they should never cross, but the result is an extraordinary tale to tell.

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall brings the brutal life of the Tudors to the forefront. We mostly follow the rise of and fall of Thomas Cromwell and follow Henry VIII and his courtiers.  The key events of the story take place over just less than a ten year period from the 1520s to the 1530s. Mantel has taken what is, supposedly, Britain's best loved history topic, Henry VIII and his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, marriage to Anne Boleyn and the resulting split with Rome.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Its 1939 Nazi Germany and death has never been so busy.  This novel focuses from the view point of Death who follows the life of a book thief. Liesil is nine year old girl who gets left with a foster family during the war. She steals books.  We follow her life through War ridden Germany, her foster family, her best friend and neighbour Rudy, and the Jew living in the basement.  A poignant tale about the life's of one family and how they were affected by the war.  

A Fantastic Book 

The True History of Paradise –Margaret Cezair-Thompson

A True History of Paradise, follows Jean having to flee her home in Jamaica due to Civil Unrest.  Which is a treacherous journey through dangerous lands, and soldiers trying to stop her at every turn. She is travelling with  Paul, the only man she has ever loved.  She also has to come to terms with her sisters death. It during this journey we learn about how the story came to be, with memories of her childhood and stories of her ancestors.  

Mister Pip - Lloyd James

Mr Pip, centres around a young girl caught up in civil unrest on an island in the South Pacific.  When everyone who can flees, and only a small village remains,  one of the only remaining White Man decides to take on the task of teaching the local children. However he is not a teacher by trade and the only information he has at his disposal is a copy of Great Expectations.