Martin Garrett

Entertainingly-written and concise guide to Oxford and its environs. Oxford started as an Anglo-Saxon border outpost, with a bridge replacing the “oxen ford” from which it takes its name. It became a center for trade and religion and developed one of the oldest universities in Europe from the lat...

Established on its many islands by Roman refugees, the heart of a maritime empire, a republic for a thousand years, Venice has always been distinct from the rest of Italy - and from anywhere else. It's unique light and hundreds of canals, palaces and churches - from mosaic-encrusted Byzantine to ...