When the Spanish Conquistadors swept through Peru in the sixteenth century, they were searching for great golden treasure. In 1572 they stormed the Inca stronghold of Vilcabamba, only to find the city deserted, burned, a nd already stripped of its wealth. According to legend the Incas had retreated deep into the jungle where they built another magnificent city in an inaccessible quarter of the cloud forest. For more than four centuries explorers and adventurers, archaeologists and warrior-priests have searched for the gold and riches of the Incas, and this lost city of Paititi, known by the local Machiguenga tribe as 'The House of the Tiger King'. House of the Tiger King is the tale of Shah's remarkable adventure to find the greatest lost city of the Americas, and the treasure of the Incas. Along the way he found himself considering others who have spent decades in pursuit of lost cities, and asks why anyone would find it necessary to mount such a quest at all.

For more than a century Henry Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines has inspired generations of young men to set forth in search of adventure. But long before Rider Haggard's classic, explorers, theologians and scientists scoured the known world for the source of King Solomon's astonishing wealth. Taking his leads from a mixture of texts including The Septuagint, the earliest known form of the Bible, as well as using geological, geographical and folkloric sources, Tahir Shah sets out in search for Solomon's gold mines. For him the obvious place to look is Ethiopia, in the horn of Africa. On the ensuing journey Shah discovers a massive illegal gold mine, itself like something out of the Old Testament, with thousands of men, women and children digging with their hands. But the hardest leg of the journey is to the 'cursed mountain' of Tullu Wallel where legend says there lies an ancient shaft, once the entrance to Solomon's mines.

Enthralled by a line from the chronicle of a sixteenth-century monk, which said that the Incas 'flew like birds' over the jungle, and by the recurring theme of flying in Peruvian folklore, Tahir Shah set out to discover whether the Incas really did fly or glide above the jungles of Peru. Or was the Spanish cleric alluding to flight of a different kind - flight inspired by a powerful hallucinogen? After gathering equipment in London - and advice, not least from Wilfred Thesiger - the long quest begins. First, to the mountains of Peru and a trek to Machu Picchu, the Incas' most sacred city. Then on to the mountain city of Cusco and a mysterious island on the great glittering expanse of Lake Titicaca. Picking up clues as he goes, the author's trail takes him on to the coast and through the desert, to the immense animal-like etchings which form the Nazca Lines, and a remote burial ground for 30,000 mummified corpses. And finally to an epic river journey up the Amazon to discover the secrets of the Shuar, a tribe of infamous savagery living in the deep jungle of the Upper Amazon. In the course of this journey we learn much about the Spanish treatment of the Incas, about Peruvian folklore and magic, about the great but brief Amazon rubber boom of the nineteenth century, about head-shrinking, shamanic knowledge and plant-based hallucinogens. Even for a traveller so used to surreal adventures, there are many strange encounters and physical challenges - gruesome but often hilarious - among madmen and dreamsers, sorcerers, con-men and jungle experts, before Tahir Shah can at last discover the truth about the Birdmen of Peru.

“An Epic.”—THE GUARDIAN We rejoin The Expedition for its third and final instalment with Jason, now seasoned adventurer, and April, American schoolteacher at sea for the first time, battling to keep their pedal-powered boat Moksha from being dashed against Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Crossing the infamous Coral Sea, they’ve endured gale force winds, rogue waves, and powerful currents pushing them off course for days at a time. On her thirtieth consecutive day of seasickness and now haemorrhaging blood, April is in urgent need of medical treatment. But in the uncharted waters north of Cape Flattery, far from coastguard assistance, there is little if any hope of rescue. Even if they survive, Jason faces untold hazards to complete the first circumnavigation of the planet using only human power: waterless deserts, towering mountain ranges, seaborne pirates, and extremist hotspots. And there is still the overarching question he posed at the beginning, the one driving him forward that will take him to the brink for an answer. “A mind-boggling odyssey beyond the stretch of the average imagination.”—ASSOCIATED PRESS “Lewis writes with gritty realism and unexpected humour, and the result is both horrifying and enormously inspiring.”—NEW TIMES “We see a man who is – as Mowgli put it in The Jungle Book – prepared to pull the whiskers of death.”—LONDON TIMES “Arguably, the most remarkable adventurer in the world today. Many people would certainly go insane if they weren’t killed first.”—THE DAILY MAIL “I believe it is important in our era of cars, trains and aeroplanes that we are reminded what human beings can achieve using their own strength and resources.”—HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance meets Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. A thoroughly entertaining and insightful read.”—CHARLIE BOORMAN, Long Way Down “An extraordinary adventure.”—THE INDEPENDENT “An enthralling read.”—OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF USA TODAY'S MUST-READ BOOKS • This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project “Alice Wong provides deep truths in this fun and deceptively easy read about her survival in this hectic and ableist society.” —Selma Blair, bestselling author of Mean Baby In Chinese culture, the tiger is deeply revered for its confidence, passion, ambition, and ferocity. That same fighting spirit resides in Alice Wong. Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer. From her love of food and pop culture to her unwavering commitment to dismantling systemic ableism, Alice shares her thoughts on creativity, access, power, care, the pandemic, mortality, and the future. As a self-described disabled oracle, Alice traces her origins, tells her story, and creates a space for disabled people to be in conversation with one another and the world. Filled with incisive wit, joy, and rage, Wong’s Year of the Tiger will galvanize readers with big cat energy.

Grady County Jail is no place to call home for a Tiger King. It's even less hospitable if you happen to be a Queen. Jailed Tiger King Tails explores Joe Exotics descent from Oklahoma Royalty, to federal property. As he trades places with the tigers he used to house, the reality of his 22 year prison sentence slowly sets in. Fear, depression, manipulation and rage fill the cage he shared with the author of this book. Kevin had never met Joe before, nor has he seen the popular documentary recently released. This is a truly unbiased account of events that took place during his first 60 weeks behind bars. Whether or not you are a fan of Joe Exotic, this book may give you different view of who Joe Maldonado-Passage truly is.

Sorcerer's Apprentice is an extraordinary tale of Indian magic... India is a land of miracles, where godmen and mystics mesmerise audiences with wondrous feats of magic. In great cities and remote villages alike, these mortal incarnations of the divine turn rods into snakes, drink acid, eat glass, hibernate and even levitate. A quest for the bizarre, wondrous underbelly of the Subcontinent, Shah's travels lift the veil on the East's most puzzling miracles. The Journey of Observation leads him to a cornucopia of characters. Illusionists all, some are immune to snake venom, others speak through oracles, or have the power to transform ordinary water into petrol. Along the way Shah witnesses a 'duel of miracles', crosses paths with an impoverished billionaire, and even meets a part-time god. Revealing confidence tricks and ingenious scams, Sorcerer's Apprentice exposes a side of India that most writers never even imagine exists.