Books published by publisher Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated

Everybody loves a good mystery and sometimes the questions can be more interesting than the answers. Will Pearson investigates twenty unique mysteries with their broad spectrum of strangeness. Some, like the sudden disappearance of the sailing ship Mary Celeste's passengers and crew have gained universal currency. Was the Wow! Signal a radio transmission form deep space, or was it the ambient resonating frequency of a passing comet? Cryptids like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster teeter on the boundaries of probable and improbable, hoax and reality, fact and fiction. Whether it be the intrigue of lost civilisations, like Göblekli Tepe in Turkey, sensationalist interest in The Zodiac Killer, or the elusive Shugborough Code that neither Dickens nor Darwin could crack, each unsolved mystery presents a challenge in its own way. Occasionally, it can feel as if there's a conspiracy at work - one in which scientists, journalists and 'professional explainers' want to put an end to anything and everything mysterious in life. Thankfully, not everything can be nailed down, sucked dry of its secrets and turned into a factoid.Mysteries do still exist - and continue to tease us.Sceptic or believer, the fun lies in probing them.

The Wild Things clothing brand is back with more sewing projects to make for your children.Following on from prolific sewer Kirsty Hartley's WILD THINGS FUNKY LITTLE CLOTHES TO SEW, this second book will offer over 40 more projects for your child. The Wild Things Funky Little Dresses clothing range brings exciting and mythical clothing to your child's wardrobe; now you can make your own everyday play clothes and accessories to bring to life. WILD THINGS TO MAKE will inspire makers of all abilities to create something exciting for their children that they will really want to wear. Drawing on simple shape and whimsical imagery, the step-by-step projects include dresses, hats, jackets and dungarees, as well as some simple accessories and keepsake gifts with a little heart and soul. With themes from enchanted woodland to summer essentials for beginners, and outfits including a robin pinafore, mermaid sundress, shark dungarees and fun accessories like your child's very own puppet theatre or teepee, this book adds a spark of adventure to everyday clothes and playtime fun.

A leading expert examines one of Napoleon's most decisive but least analysed victoriesIn early July 1809 Napoleon crossed the Danube with 187,000 men to confront the Austrian Archduke Charles and an army of 145,000 men. The fighting that followed dwarfed in intensity and scale any previous Napoleonic battlefield, perhaps any in history: casualties on each side were over 30,000. The Austrians fought with great determination, but eventually the Emperor won a narrow victory. Wagram was decisive in that it compelled Austria to make peace. It also heralded a new, altogether greater order of warfare, anticipating the massed manpower and weight of fire deployed much later in the battles of the American Civil War and then at Verdun and on the Somme.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018It is late summer 2013. Ben Ryan, a red-haired, 40-something, spectacle-wearing Englishman, is given 20 minutes to decide whether he wants to coach Fiji's rugby sevens team, with the aim of taking them to the nation's first-ever Olympic medal. He has never been to Fiji. There has been no discussion of contracts or salary. But he knows that no one plays rugby like the men from these isolated Pacific islands, just as no one plays football like the kids from the Brazilian favelas, or no one runs as fast as the boys and girls from Jamaica's boondocks. He knows too that no other rugby nation has so little - no money and no resources, only basic equipment and a long, sad history of losing its most gifted players to richer, greedier nations.Ryan says yes. And with that simple word he sets in motion an extraordinary journey that will encompass witchdoctors and rugby-obsessed prime ministers, sun-smeared dawns and devastating cyclones, intense friendships and bitter rows, phone taps and wild nationwide parties. It will end in Rio with a performance that not only wins Olympic gold but reaches fresh heights for rugby union and makes Ben and his 12 players living legends back home.

The best of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poems in a beautiful new gift editionSamuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was educated at Christ's Hospital, London and Jesus College, Cambridge. Close collaboration with Wordsworth resulted in joint production of the volume Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which contained Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', signposting the Romantic movement. After wintering in Germany in 1797-8 he settled in the Lake District, where he wrote the 'Letter' that turned into 'Dejection: An Ode' (1802). In later years Coleridge turned increasingly to prose, covering philosophical, political, religious and critical subjects, although new poems continued to appear in most years until his death.

Robert Twigger goes to the Far East in search of the world's longest snake - 'echoes of Gerald Durrell's trips crossed with Redmond O'Hanlon's foray into the heart of Borneo . . . a fantastic book' DAILY MAILAbout to be married, Robert Twigger decides on his last great adventure as a bachelor. Surfing the net, he discovers the Roosevelt Prize - worth $50,000 - for the capture of a live 30 foot python. Armed only with a tin of High Toast Snuff (deadly if sniffed by a snake), Twigger sets off into the remote jungles of Indonesia in search of his prey.Along the way, he investigates the legendarily beautiful women of Sulawesi, treads in Nabokov's footsteps, looks for giant snakes beneath the sewers of Kuala Lumpur, and spends time with a variety of snake catchers and cults. After being caught up in anti-Chinese riots and surviving on greasy civet cat in the jungle, Twigger finally comes face to face with the big one; but the final capture is not quite what he had in mind.

Now running wild with all dinosaur (and humor) lovers: the "home care" guide to these rowdy pets. It's funny, its irresistible, it's been a bestseller-and now it's available at an amazing new, low price."[A] delightful, tongue-in-cheek guide to the care and feeding of dinosaurs."--VOYACongratulations! You're bringing home your very first pet dinosaur. But there's so much to think about. Which dino gets on well with children? What kind of food does it eat (and how can you avoid becoming its meal)? What bed would make it feel completely comfy?With tongue planted firmly in cheek, this "dino owner's manual" amusingly explains what every human needs to know before adopting a new saurus. Find out what should go into the basic toolkit (a stout shovel is helpful and so are reinforced gauntlets); which species thrive in household life and which will cause BIG problems; and what dinosaurs are just right for circuses and zoos, in security, and for giving eggs and meat. For every dinosaur covered, there's information on feeding, breeding, housing, and availability; maps of where they lived; details on weight and size; as well as other pertinent facts. The illustrations cleverly mix photography and art to bring humans and dinos together for the first time, and show the animals in domestic situations. This creative and fun approach will stir everyone's imagination, and is surely the most amusing way to learn about dinosaurs ever.Robert Mash earned advanced degrees in zoology from Oxford University. He lives in a thatched cottage in Dorset, England with his wife...and pet Hysilophodon.The much-honored zoologist, author, and Oxford professor Richard Dawkins has received, among others, the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los Angeles Times Literary Prize.