Books

This book tells the often surprising, sometimes humorous, always interesting, stories of how human communications have developed. From prehistoric rock art, the alphabet, surveillance techniques gone wrong, strange military experiments (including flushing grenades down aircraft toilets), the first large scale modern network; used to take back control of a countries copper mines, to the modern internet and Wu related conspiracy theories. Find out how communications tools have been used for nefarious means, and the future implications of using these tools.

Amazon 5/5
GoodReads 5/5

Pedalling Tales is a collection of stories from bike adventures across Scotland and northern England. Included are multi-day off-road rides, races, bike-packing, and bothy visits. Travel with the author along secret ways hidden in the hills and well known routes, through struggles and exhilaration, meeting some strange characters along the way.

Amazon 3.9/5
GoodReads 5/5

A collection of short travelogues and stories about cycling adventures in Scotland.

Starting with a crash, then crossing the country from coast to coast, visiting the islands and west coast, and ending with some bikepacking, a haunted bothy and a race.

“Starting in Kyle of Lochalsh in the north-west and crossing the widest part of Scotland to reach the east coast in Montrose, it looked good. It promised adventure, beauty and excellent mountain biking, all contained within a five to seven day long, 270 kilometre mostly off-road route. The more of the route description I read, the more interested I became. I’d never really contemplated the possibility of a multi-day mountain biking trip before, but as I read on, it seemed like a pretty good way to spend a holiday.”

“It was the middle of winter. One of the wettest, most miserable winters in living memory.”

“The trees were a frozen whitish shade of green, crystals of ice clinging to the pine needles. The steam from our breath drifted across and made cloudy patterns in our beams of light.”

Amazon: 4.3/5
GoodReads: 4.41/5