Kirjahaku

Country gentlemen, bird-watching vicars and farmers have traditionally been the chroniclers of the British countryside. This book introduces a very different point of view. We see the changing seasons - and the 20th century revolution in the long-settled ways of rural life - through the sharp eyes of ten exceptional women including a leading suffragette, a classical scholar, an artist with her own large farm and a climber's daughter who turned to writing when her children grew up and left home.

Abysmal weather, slag heaps, funny accents, the bleak uplands of a landscape carved out of millstone grit and townscape of abadoned mills and shipyards, the detritus of an industrial revolution past its sell-by date. That, anyway, is the myth, the foundation for the dismissive gibe that nothing north of Watford is worth a bag of chips. This and other myths are swiftly dispatched in "True North" - an incisive and wittily observant assessment of a socially and culturally flourishing region that can boast an unrivalled setting of wild coastline, lakes and green dales, as well as inhabitants who are indomitably inventive, proud of their past and keen to forge a brilliant new future.

The twentieth century saw two world wars and countless other conflicts whose effects on society have been well documented. Here you will find the less familiar story of how these international struggles managed to reach into the quietest corners of the British countryside. From Battle of Britain vapor trails looping over summer cornfields and affecting local hawks and waterfowl to the lone ringed bird who limped in from invaded Czechoslovakia, diarists note down and discuss the momentous changes wrought by wars on British country life. Women and children fetching in the harvest as their menfolk fight in Flanders. Italian prisoners of war singing opera in Herefordshire orchards. Mobilizing the Women's Institute to make jam for the war effort. Beautifully written and subtly observed, these rediscovered treasures reveal how for all its soft beauty, Britain's rural landscape has been shaped, in part, by man at war with man.

Abysmal weather, slag heaps, funny accents; the bleak uplands of a landscape carved out of millstone grit; townscapes of abandoned mills and shipyards; and, the detritus of an industrial revolution well past its sell-by date. These, all too often, are the gloomy perceptions of 'the north', the foundations for the belief that northerners spend their lives battling hardship and misery, and that nothing beyond Watford is worth a bag of chips. With an insider's sensitivity and a journalist's enquiring mind, northerner Martin Wainwright swiftly dispels these and other myths. He reaches back through the historical record to uncover where - and how - many of the old cliches arose, and goes on to paint a picture of the north as it is today and has always been: a setting of wild coastline, lakes, and green dales inhabited by indomitably inventive northeners, proud of their past and forging a future of brilliant new enterprises. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 stunning images from the Guardian's archives, Wainwright's incisive and wittily observant assessment of a region that is flourishing socially and culturally leaves us in no doubt that true north is as vibrant and exciting as it is beautiful.

Presents an assessment of the redevelopment and regeneration of Leeds. This book identifies the drivers for change in the renaissance of contemporary Leeds following its evolution from Georgian/Victorian times. It explores the depth and complexity of the public-private partnerships involved in the delivery structures and their achievements. If Leeds was good in Arthur Ransome's day, it is hard to find an adjective that describes its fizz and chutzpah at the beginning of the 21st century. The city has been so successful in the last 30 years that its rivals have had to fall back on the insult 'smug', a jibe which, by definition, has little effect on its target. There is a deep-rooted sense of satisfaction, every bit as cosy as Ransome's, in the unofficial capital of Yorkshire. It shows mostly in the attitude of its people but also finds expression in the architecture, and especially in the strong sense of place in the city centre. "Leeds: Shaping the City" is an authoritative and objective assessment of the redevelopment and regeneration of Leeds. It identifies the drivers for change in the renaissance of contemporary Leeds following its evolution from Georgian/Victorian times; explores the depth and complexity of the public-private partnerships involved in the delivery structures and their achievements; articulates the importance of urban design for successful regeneration; uses case studies to illustrate the processes involved in the major physical change of the city and to assess their influence on future projects; and, provides a chronology of critical regeneration activities and key events over the last 20 years. Leeds has done exceptionally well in transforming itself from a grimy 'factoryopolis'.There are challenges ahead but the physical expression of Leeds' success - seen everywhere from clubs and cool restaurants to lofts above the inland port, where canal and river entwine - keep stimulating the imagination of new generations of entrepreneurs.