Books published by Whittles Publishing

Explores the world of ditches - prepare to be surprised! Explains how ditches in the UK are faring in the 21st century Reveals the steps being taken to ensure their survival, and the plants, reptiles and animals that frequent these places.

Often amusing, sometimes romantic or fraught with danger, these 30 short stories are about local people, spectacular places and the special wildlife the author sets out to find. The stories include seeking out Arabian Oryx on the searing plains of the Saudi desert; eiderdown collecting in Iceland, crouching in swirling clouds and darkness on a knife-edge ridge in the rugged Madeiran mountains and swimming with Grey Seals off the Pembroke coast. The author describes incredible encounters with spectacular animals from lumbering manatees and dangerous rhinos to unforgettable experiences such as being led by a honeyguide with a Kenyan Dorobo tribesman to the nest of wild bees and watching cranes tip-toeing their courtship dances. He also attended a Parsi funeral where the corpses are no longer consumed by vultures; experienced a close encounter with armed Omani police, bluffed his way on to the largest refuse tip in southern Asia and canoed along Mali's Niger River watching black and yellow 'bishops' displaying along its banks. These are just a few of the remarkable experiences recounted by Malcolm in a lifetime searching out some of the most interesting, and some of the rarest, animals on earth. These hugely entertaining tales visit places as diverse as the Florida Everglades, England's New Forest, Iceland's offshore islands, the Empty Quarter of the Saudi Desert, the tiny remnants of the Jordan's Azraq wetland and the impressive oak dehesas of Extremadura. Sit back and visit the world!

This is a study of the origins of the revolution in social and physical planning in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. It reveals the rationale for the expansive building programme post-1750 and identifies key personnel.

This analysis of decision-making in the energy field, especially electricity in the UK and Western Europe, provides a critique of the various claims that are made for different ways of approaching the critical need for vast amounts of new investment. It explores reasons for the paralysis in decision-making, which is contrasted with past periods of rapid change, including the growth of electricity and renewables in the late 19th century, the development of centralised grids in the 1920s and 1930s and the rapid deployment of nuclear power in the 1970s and 1980s. The UK faces a potential crisis in investment in its power infrastructure just as the need for new electricity-generating capacity is becoming urgent. Over the next decade or so the majority of its existing power stations are likely to have reached the end of their operating lives yet very little new reliable capacity is being built to replace it and a government decision to build new nuclear power stations announced in early 2008 had produced no fruit eight years later. This book briefly reviews the history of each major fuel then considers the reasons for the decision sclerosis and suggests possible ways out of it. It reviews the difficulties of investing in long-term electricity generating capacity in competitive marketplaces; the problems caused by a lack of understanding of basic physics among elected representatives coupled with a degree of short-term political opportunism; the fundamentally dishonest approach of the Big Green industry; a nave approach to communication on the part of the energy industry itself and a lax approach to scientific rigour among those advocating action against climate change which has bred disillusionment and suspicion. Comparisons with recent experience in Germany and Japan are offered to illustrate the issues.

Reveals the contribution made by Scottish lighthouse technology when New Zealand governments built 8 major lighthouses during the period 1859-1941. It provides a comprehensive account of all New Zealand lighthouses, including details of the Scottish innovations.

The story of the man after whom the mountain was named

Every day, every one of us contributes to the waste problem but, despite being a part of our lives, waste is poorly understood, even by those who should know better. We live in a throw-away society and yet what is discarded is a vital raw material and ingredient being traded as a valuable commodity around the world. Recycling our Future provides an insight into the challenges facing the industry and individuals as the world contemplates expanding waste mountains. Finite sources are being eroded as the world's growing and increasingly affluent population demands a better standard of living with bigger houses, new TVs, computers, etc. Waste is a valuable raw material when treated correctly but a hazard when neglected. The author warns of illegal shipments of waste continuing unabated, and highlights the pressures and challenges facing governments and the industry. He also explains how the system works from the moment a carton is dropped into a bin to being recycled, resold and restocked on supermarkets' shelves. He explodes the myths about waste recycling, looks at the technology that is used and explains why the subject matters to everyone. The book is supported by information from sources around the world and the author reveals how so-called rubbish has a value, how it is traded on the financial markets and suggests that waste should be treated as a prize worthy of investment, rather than a problem to be shunned.

This new edition is a definitive handbook of digital imaging, enabling the reader to understand the technology, terms, relationships and to follow developments in this rapidly growing sector of imaging.

This text considers numerous facets of what has become termed by many forensic engineering. It covers the spectrum of this discipline with chapters on risk assessment and management, limiting the incidence of failures and much more.

The study of cements, aggregates and the other components of concrete, has developed and grown over the years to the point where it has become a science. This review provides a detailed treatment of the subject, clarifying and quantifying aspects of the subject pertinent to the curing of concrete.

The story of the author's renovation of a derelict windmill and the discovery of a fascinating history. It charts the realization of a young boy's dream and, despite the numerous obstacles and problems, the successful culmination of many hopes and plans.

A comprehensive work concerning the basic principles of plate theory and its methodology, in which the author discusses both plastic and elastic responses. The reader is taken from relatively elementary aspects of the topic right through to the most recent research findings.

Introductory handbook to the essentials of the subject

An integrated approach to thermodynamics and heat transfer suitable for undergraduates in engineering and fuel science

A comprehensive manual that examines the systems available for data capture and photogrammetic processing. Included within the 12 chapters are the principles of digital systems, digital aerial photography, cameras, survey-camera mountings, survey navigation, GPS and (d)GPS systems.

* Reveals, through the eyes of a conscripted soldier, the day-to-day lives of British soldiers in British West Africa during World War II * Looks at the strange cultures, the landscape and wildlife, the unusual situations that were encountered in an alien and often frightening location known as 'The White Man's Grave'

Within days of arriving back from five years of studying bears, wolves and lynxes in Spain, he is up a wild cliff in Cornwall watching three peregrine falcon chicks from hatching to flying stage. We can follow his astounding adventures over the next ten years as he obsessively searches all through Britain for that elusive 'small wild paradise' so many of us would also like to find. He lives in, but finally loses, no less than six new homes in that time and the complications and reasons why are both hilarious and sad. Even more fascinating is his continual obsessive quest to get up close and personal with nesting goshawks, buzzards and ospreys, as well as mammals like fishing otters, a fox family and he even feeds wild badgers by hand. At one remote farmhouse in the Borders, he learns how to handle a bulldozer, digs out his own 70-yard lake and stocks it with trout. Over three years there he raises ten barn owl chicks and establishes three breeding pairs in areas where they had long been absent. It was the most successful barn owl release at the time. There are many amusing anecdotes such as when he dreaded taking some of Prince Harry's classmates to 'otter bay' and then saw far more otters than when he had gone there on his own!Transcending all are his new studies and descriptions of hunting and nesting golden eagles, during which he passed his 3,050th hour in one of his home-made 'invisible' hides, and a huge female allowed him to bring much-needed meat to her chicks in their eyrie. The book ends with triumphant filming of the magnificent white-tailed sea eagles on Mull, hunting and sailing into their high nest with prey and feeding their chicks. Mike also achieved valuable publicity for the pioneering public sea eagle hide project on Mull.

This is a personal story about some of the most famous engineers Scotland has ever produced and places the lives and work of the world-famous Stevenson lighthouse engineers in their social and historical context. It draws on eye witness accounts from Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

This is a surprising insight into an untold aspect of Scottish/American history. It features some of Scotland's 'finest exports' to America including killers, con men, scandalmongers and blundering military men, revealing the dastardly deeds of the emigrant Scots who shamed their nation.

Roger Redfern - author, writer and photographer - had been writing about his travels and exploration of different areas of Britain and abroad for over 50 years, most notably as a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper's Country Diary feature. He is the author of over 30 books and was once described as 'the doyen of countryside writers', an accolade that recognised his lyrical and poetic writings about his travels. This book, the first in a short series, reveals the unknown side of Redfern, his photography, in stunning fashion. This first volume, to be followed by A Mountain Camera and An Island Camera, focuses upon his images of Britain's countryside from his wanderings amongst the hills, valleys and villages of rural England, Wales and Scotland. He always had a camera with him to record his journeys; the countryside, the people and animals, and the weather - all captured on colour slides that date back to the 1950s. Many of his early images constitute valuable documents of social history - each one is meticulously captioned and dated to give an accurate record of its content and captures the changing nature of our countryside over the decades. Many would qualify as 'art' images because of the careful balance of colour, composition and atmosphere in these stunning colour photographs.. The author, a life-long friend of Roger Redfern, inherited the entire Redfern Collection of images and in the process of reviewing and sorting them has unearthed some absolutely magnificent photographs that deserve a wider audience. He has included quotations from Roger's books and Country Diary articles, as well as snippets of personal information, to help the reader gain more of an insight into his life and character - a highly enjoyable mix of memorable images and colourful nostalgia from the past 50 years.

Scotland's Global Empire is one journalist's tribute to some of the lesser-known great Scots and their contribution to the world. Jock Gallagher was encouraged in his epic enterprise by a quote from Voltaire: We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation. 'Voltaire may have over-egged the pudding but in many areas, I believe, our small nation has punched well above its weight and has earned this generous compliment,' says Gallagher. Is that a fine conceit, an extravagant claim or perhaps a journalist talking in headlines? You will have to read the book to find out! Written over five years, this engrossing and enlightening book stretches to over a quarter of a million words and is a fast, pacy read as it races through the exploits and achievements of an astonishing gallery of the Scots who make up his Scottish Empire. Gallagher is quick to disassociate himself from other empire models. 'It's not an empire of colonisation that diminishes or enslaves those whom it embraces. It involves neither the greed nor ruthlessness so often inherent in empire-building. It's an empire that breaks down barriers rather than creates ownership and, it can be claimed, enhances civilisation.' Although household names such as Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell, John Logie Baird and Charles Rennie Mackintosh are mentioned to underpin the strength and breadth of the Empire, only abbreviated reminders of their well-known achievements are shown. It's not a recital of the adventures of conquering heroes, although some are included. It's more an outreach of ideas, the story of human endeavour in its many forms pushing at the boundaries of the imagination and stretching the accepted order. It encompasses everything from the spirit of pioneering to the mystical qualities of leadership. 'It's luckily not dependent on a seat of power and nor is it affected by the bruising arguments about Scotland's place within the UK or as an independent state.'Gallagher brings together an astonishing array of characters who may not have made headlines but are essential elements in his illusory empire with a heady mix of extraordinary vision, creativity, energy, leadership, diplomacy, skill, artistry, sometimes pure genius and, more often, downright doggedness.

Personal account from conflicts in Burma and Korea

Provides an insight into the theory and practice of severe plastic deformation technology used to refine grain structure and improve properties of metallic materials. The only book to be entirely devoted to SPD processes/techniques. Written by a team of international experts.

The West Highland Way is Scotland's first official Long Distance Route and runs near 100 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. It was nicknamed the 'Way Way' by a trio from Fife who set off to walk it in the year of the Millennium. This is not a guidebook but an account of their experiences, the highs and lows which any challenge presents of their marvellous, surprising, amusing and weird memories. They met many hundreds of people along the way but, naturally, those they recall were the more eccentric. Although the trio never managed another bigger trip together they realize how lucky, and wise, they had been to grab the chance when it came. There is remarkably pleasant rural walking at the start to reach the Highlands at Loch Lomond, fine woodland on its banks and later, the contrast of lonely, empty miles across Rannoch Moor, the Devil's Staircase and the great pass of the Lairig Mor to finish. Encounters with other people are an important part of Long Distance Routes. Anyone who has walked the Way Way (or is planning to do so) will enjoy this story, bringing back plenty of similar memories of people and places, adventures and misadventures. The illustrations too give a wonderful idea of the rich variety of country traversed and well capture the atmosphere of this walk through Scotland's fine landscapes.

The most thorough study available on the Great George Street building. Reveals many previously undisclosed facets of the building. Highly illustrated with photographs from Edwardian times to the present day.