Guess How Much I Love You

Teen & Young Adult

McBratney, Sam

Literature & Fiction

Walker Books

Guess How Much I Love You: Board Book and Hare Gift Box

Sam McBratney

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Anyone alive in Florence on August 19, 1418, would have understood the significance of the competition announced that day concerning the city's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, already under construction for more than a century. "Whoever desires to make any model or design for the vaulting of the main Dome…shall do so before the end of the month of September." The proposed dome was regarded far and wide as all but impossible to build: not only would it be enormous, but its original and sacrosanct design eschewed (shunned) the flying buttresses that supported cathedrals all over Europe. The dome would literally need to be erected over thin air.
Of the many plans submitted, one stood out―a daring and unorthodox solution to vaulting what is still the largest dome (143 feet in diameter) in the world. It was offered not by a master mason or carpenter, but by a goldsmith and clock maker named Filippo Brunelleschi, then 41, who would dedicate the next 28 years to solving the puzzles of the dome's construction. In the process, he did nothing less than reinvent the field of architecture.
Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of how a Renaissance genius bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder we continue to marvel at today. Denounced at first as a madman, Brunelleschi was celebrated at the end as a genius. He engineered the perfect placement of brick and stone, built ingenious hoists and cranes (some among the most renowned machines of the Renaissance) to carry an estimated 70 million pounds hundreds of feet into the air, and designed the workers' platforms and routines so carefully that only one man died during the decades of construction―all the while defying those who said the dome would surely collapse and personal obstacles that at times threatened to overwhelm him. This drama was played out amidst plagues, wars, political feuds, and the intellectual ferments of Renaissance Florence―events Ross King weaves into the story to great effect, from Brunelleschi's bitter, ongoing rivalry with the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti to the near capture of Florence by the Duke of Milan. King also offers a wealth of fascinating detail that opens windows onto fifteenth-century life: the celebrated traditions of the brickmaker's art, the daily routine of the artisans laboring hundreds of feet above the ground as the dome grew ever higher, the problems of transportation, the power of the guilds.
Even today, in an age of soaring skyscrapers, the cathedral dome of Santa Maria del Fiore retains a rare power to astonish. In telling the story of the greatest engineering puzzle of the Renaissance and one of the world's architectural marvels, Ross King brings its creation to life in a fifteenth-century chronicle with twenty-first-century resonance.

History

King, Ross

Europe

An irresistible festive follow-up from award-winning author-illustrator Emma Yarlett, with hilarious letters and parcels to open.\nSanta receives post from children all over the world. But when Amy sends him a letter, he just can't work out what she wants as her gift. Will Santa manage to find Amy the right present in time for Christmas Eve?\nThis joyous story sparkles with Emma Yarlett’s vibrant illustrations and quirky humour.

Santa Post

Children's Books

Yarlett, Emma

Humor

An elegant gift edition of the cherished classic, perfect for commemorating special moments with loved ones. 
When you love someone right up to the moon and back, what better way to tell them so than with a tender universal story that has touched hearts across generations? Now dressed in a stunning blush-coloured cover accentuated with delicate rose gold foil details, this beautiful volume is perfect for gifting and a true treasure to hold.

Parenting & Relationships

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Walker Books publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Walker Books