Robert Uhlig Books

In this highly entertaining book, fellow film actors and bike enthusiasts Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman travel 20,000 miles around the world by motorbike. They will encounter many troublesome situations on the way, ranging from extreme and threatening weather to impenetrable terrain, and will face challenges such as caviar fishing in the Caspian sea, wrestling with the Mongolian Olympic team and riding with the Canadian Mounties. Whilst throwing themselves enthusiastically into the culture of each new country - from Alaska to Mongolia, from Canada to Kazakhstan - the two friends will also have to rely on each other's good humour, as the journey tests their relationship and their stamina to the limits. Long Way Round is the action-packed account of the trip and a true portrait of friendship in extremis - as irreverent, engaging and articulate as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman themselves.

From London to New York, Ewan and Charley chased their shadows through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, across the Pacific to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. But as the miles slipped beneath the tyres of their big BMWs, their troubles started. Exhaustion, injury and accidents tested their strength. Treacherous roads, unpredictable weather and turbulent politics challenged their stamina. They were chased by paparazzi in Kazakhstan, courted by men with very large guns in the Ukraine, hassled by the police, and given bulls' testicles for supper by Mongolian nomads. And yet despite all these obstacles they managed to ride more than twenty thousand miles in four months, changing their lives forever in the process. As they travelled they documented their trip, taking photographs, and writing diaries by the campfire. Long Way Round is the result of their adventures - a fascinating, frank and highly entertaining travel book about two friends riding round the world together and, against all the odds, realising their dream.

This compelling journey through the history of invention, under the guidance of inventor and manufacturer extraordinaire James Dyson, reveals the myriad stories of inventions and inventors that have shaped civilisation. Packed with colour illustrations, the book examines a host of lesser known as well as more famous discoveries, ranging from early Persian ice cream to the invention of the microchip and the extraordinary advances in animal cloning. Discover how: * Roman dentists developed rope-powered drills * Women's corsets led to the invention of the modern umbrella * The hovercraft emerged from an empty cat-food tin * And how the internet really came about With unique insights into the processes of invention and additional expert contributions, Dyson's History of Great Inventions is certain to fascinate and inspire in equal measure.