Ben Fogle

Sunday Times Bestseller ‘Passionate and well-researched’ Tatler ‘A must-read’ Independent A social history of Labradors, and how they have become the world’s most beloved dogs, by writer, presenter and long-time dog lover Ben Fogle.

Labrador: The Story of the World’s Favourite Dog

Marina Fogle

My eyes lifted to the horizon and the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest. Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs and films but never in real life. She looked angry.

Up: My Life's Journey to the Top of Everest

the World's Favourite Dog

Labrador

Ben Fogle's life has been action-packed to say the least. He has rowed across the Atlantic, walked to the South Pole, run the Sahara and ice-skated across Sweden. He has encountered isolated tribes in deepest Papua New Guinea, caused a Boeing 747 to dump £100k of fuel before making an emergency landing in Sao Paolo, and frequently been mistaken for Prince William along the way. So how did a cripplingly shy, geeky, perennially homesick boy end up doing all this? Ben's still not entirely sure himself, but this wonderful book tells his story and will strike a chord with anyone puzzling about life, and how to live it differently. This is a book about defying expectations, conquering fears, battling laziness and, just occasionally, winning.

The Accidental Adventurer

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite - or is it something less easily defined?

English: a Story of Marmite, Queuing and Weather

Bruce Fogle

A social history of Labradors, and how they have become the world s most beloved dogs, by writer, presenter and long-time dog lover Ben Fogle, whose beloved black Labrador, Inca, famously accompanied him on numerous journeys and adventures. Native to Newfoundland, where they worked side-by-side with fishermen, then brought to England in the 1800s by English ships, Labradors are not only popular as a family companion but also excel in hunting, tracking, retrieving, guiding and rescuing. In this unique first social history of the Labrador, Ben Fogle investigates what makes Labradors so beloved and why they are considered so trustworthy 30 per cent of dogs used as guide dogs in the UK by The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are Labradors, for instance. They have an extraordinary capacity for companionship, intelligence, work ethic, and loyalty. With stories of RNIB Labradors and Labradors at war, Labradors as working dogs and every other manifestation of Labrador/human interaction, Ben writes engagingly and passionately about our lasting love for one of man s best friends and companions. Exploring their origin, early characteristics, their use as gun dogs, as therapy dogs, as police dogs, as search and rescue dogs and last and absolutely not least as family pets, Ben draws on the extraordinary experiences we have encountered with Labradors to tell the story of a dog breed which has captured our imagination and love for hundreds of years."

Labrador: the Story of the World's Favourite Dog

Sunday Times Bestseller As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British. It is said that for more than half the world's population, the first car they ever saw was a Land Rover Defender. It mirrors many of our national traits, stiff upper-lipped and slightly eccentric. The car has remained relatively unchanged for nearly seven decades and has spawned an industry that includes dozens of publications, car shows, clubs, associations and even model car collectors who dedicate their lives to the Land Rover. To understand this national love affair, Ben has travelled the length of the British Isles in a Defender, spending time with fellow Land Rover enthusiasts: from visiting Colonel Blashford-Snell, who crossed the jungles of the Darien Gap, to patrolling the streets of Belfast with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Ben has met folk who have converted their beloved Defenders into everything from hearses and coffee shops to works of art and fire trucks. He has travelled from the Red Wharf in Anglesey, Wales onto the Western Isles of Scotland and Islay, the island used as a testing ground by Spencer Wilks in 1947 to put several of the early Series Land Rover prototypes through their paces. After 67 years and 2 million vehicles the Land Rover Defender has ceased production, and this book is a fitting tribute to this most British institution which has stood as a beacon of durability and Britishness across the world. Every Land Rover has its own unique story to tell. This is the story of the world's favourite car.

Land Rover

Sunday Times Bestseller As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British.

Land Rover: The Story of the Car that Conquered the World

James Cracknell

When James Cracknell and Ben Fogle decided to compete in the Atlantic Rowing Race, they thought they knew what awaited them: nearly three thousand miles of empty ocean, stormy weather and colossal physical stress. But their epic journey would become a living hell that tested the strength of every fibre of their being. Forty nine days later James and Ben were the first pair to cross the finishing line.They had pushed themselves physically, psychologically and emotionally to the limit. They had survived without water rations, lost the few clothes they had in a freak wave, capsized, hallucinated, played games, wept, fought, grown beards, nursed blisters and rowed 2,930 miles. They will never be the same again.

Conquering the Atlantic in the World's Toughest Rowing Race

The Crossing

Steve Cole

A brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiences... Co-written with best-selling children’s author Steve Cole and illustrated throughout with beautiful black and white illustrations by Nikolas Ilic.

Mr Dog and the Faraway Fox (Mr Dog)

Mr Dog and the Seal Deal (Mr Dog)

The latest adventure from bestselling author Ben Fogle explores what we can learn from nature about living well and living wild.

Inspire: Life Lessons from the Wilderness

A brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiences... Co-written with best-selling children’s author Steve Cole

Mr Dog and a Deer Friend (Mr Dog)

Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit (Mr Dog)

For as long as he can remember, Ben Fogle has been surrounded by creatures great and small. As a young boy his best friends were Liberty and Lexington, the family dogs. Then there was Milly the puma-sized cat, Jaws the goldfish and three very 'charismatic' parrots, not to mention a whole host of weird and wonderful animals that came through the doors of his father's veterinary practice. Then came Inca, Ben's adorable black Labrador, who changed his life. Since first melting the nation's heart on Castaway, the duo have been inseparable. With Inca's help, Ben was soon charming worms and tickling trout on Countryfile, minding the big cats on Animal Park and fronting the BBC's coverage of Crufts. Ben's passion for wildlife has taken him all over the world, from the plains of Africa to the sea ice of Antarctica. He has played with penguins, been chased by bull elephant seals and tapirs, and helped operate on a cheetah. He has given mud packs to rhinos, bathed with elephants and risked life and limb diving with Nile crocodiles, all the while campaigning tirelessly for conservation, the environment and animal welfare. Hair-raising, heart-breaking and wildly entertaining, The Accidental Naturalist tells the extraordinary true stories of Ben's amazing encounters with animals and how they changed his life.

Ben Fogle

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