Books with author Gillian Chapman

An interactive introduction to car racing that recreates the immediacy and excitement of being behind the wheelRacing Driver is a thrilling training course that shows children how to drive the world’s fastest cars. Filled with stats and facts, the book includes basic mechanics and driving tips on track and off-road racing. Young readers who dream of becoming racing drivers can pore over cars and voraciously compile information. The “Pit Stop” section looks at car engineering and the science of driving. “On the Track” puts readers behind the wheel of a variety of vehicles ―including stock cars, F1 cars, and sports racers―and shows how to speed off the grid, negotiate corners at high speed, and deal with spins and skids. There are also ID guides to different kinds of racing cars, including historical models. With a wealth of accurate information and a hands-on approach that will appeal to children, Racing Driver brings the excitement of a popular sport to life for the younger generation. Illustrated in color throughout

Fifteen-year-old Callum Murdoch knows he's a fool. He's just arrived from Scotland, and he's already handed over his money to a total stranger. And for what? A filthy, half-starved dog and a carved box that he's been warned never to open. Now he'll have to explain his impulsive action to Uncle Rory, the only relative willing to give him a home. Callum is unprepared for the grinding physical labor of farm work. His only source of comfort is Dog. She seems to know all his secret wishes and fears. With Dog by his side, Callum gains the courage to face life in the New World. But when the mysterious carved box is accidentally broken open, Callum is faced with astonishing revelations -- and difficult decisions.

The ancient ruins of Southeast Asia have long sparked curiosity and romance in the world’s imagination. They appear in accounts of nineteenth-century French explorers, as props for Indiana Jones’ adventures, and more recently as the scene of Lady Lara Croft’s fantastical battle with the forces of evil. They have been featured in National Geographic magazine and serve as backdrops for popular television travel and reality shows. Now William Chapman’s expansive new study explores the varied roles these monumental remains have played in the histories of Southeast Asia’s modern nations.Based on more than fifteen years of travel, research, and visits to hundreds of ancient sites, A Heritage of Ruins shows the close connection between “ruins conservation” and both colonialism and nation building. It also demonstrates the profound impact of European-derived ideas of historic and aesthetic significance on ancient ruins and how these continue to color the management and presentation of sites in Southeast Asia today. Angkor, Pagan (Bagan), Borobudur, and Ayutthaya lie at the center of this cultural and architectural tour, but less visited sites, including Laos’s stunning Vat Phu, the small temple platforms of Malaysia’s Lembah Bujang Valley, the candi of the Dieng Plateau in Java, and the ruins of Mingun in Burma and Wiang Kum Kam near Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, are also discussed. All share a relative isolation from modern urban centers of population, sitting in park-like settings, serving as objects of tourism and as lynchpins for local and even national economies. Chapman argues that these sites also remain important to surrounding residents, both as a means of income and as continuing sources of spiritual meaning. He examines the complexities of heritage efforts in the context of present-day expectations by focusing on the roles of both outside and indigenous experts in conservation and management and on attempts by local populations to reclaim their patrimony and play a larger role in protection and interpretation. Tracing the history of interventions aimed at halting time’s decay, Chapman provides a chronicle of conservation efforts over a century and a half, highlighting the significant part foreign expertise has played in the region and the ways that national programs have, in recent years, begun to break from earlier models. The book ends with suggestions for how Southeast Asian managers and officials might best protect their incomparable heritage of art and architecture and how this legacy might be preserved for future generations.

Life has been tough for 14-year-old Ellen Logan. With her country embroiled in the Second World War, she's forced to shoulder many family responsibilities. Life's even tougher for Stephen Dearborn, a young British pilot in training at the local airfield. As Ellen and Stephen are forced to grow up before their time, their friendship deepens -- and together they discover that sometimes falling apart is only steps away from falling in love.