From the Archives: The Cloak and Dagger Expedition

Here at the HarperCollins Archive, there are many accounts written by explorers of vast deserts, climbers of the highest peaks and survivors of treacherous seas. This month, we are shining the spotlight on the three mountaineers who formed the first ever female-led expedition in the Himalayas. Their names are Monica… Read More

Extract from Extreme Survivors foreword

Having spent my life in so many dangerous and at times unforgiving terrains, I have learnt that to come out the other side alive you have to find the spirit to keep going, whatever the cost. As individuals we cannot conquer a mountain or a storm, but we can learn… Read More

Spanish word of the week: cien

cien ADJECTIVE, PRONOUN a hundred Cien is the shortened version of ciento and both mean a hundred. Which one you need to use depends on the words that come before or after. You use cien in front of a noun, as in the title of the famous… Read More

Paul Noble – an easy way to learn the days of the week in another language!

Bestselling language coach Paul Noble has a quick and easy way to help you learn the days of the week, using the meaning behind each of the terms. Well, what are you waiting for? Read on! Most people aren’t aware what the days of the week actually mean in Spanish,… Read More

Our relationship with the Moon

Our close relationship with the Moon spans the whole of human history, across all times and cultures. For thousands of years it was a distant light in the sky, remote and unattainable in all but the wildest dreams. In July 1969, it became a tangible place when humankind first stepped… Read More

Moon Facts

The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. It is the only object, other than Earth, to have been stepped on by human beings. You can clearly see, particularly with binoculars, many dark patches on the Moon’s surface. Ancient… Read More

The 1960s: words then and now

The 1960s saw a boom in space exploration, with humans finally travelling to and experiencing the wonders of the regions beyond earth. But which words were flourishing in this revolutionary decade? Naturally, advances in space flight brought some previously specialist vocabulary into general use. We made acquaintance with previously unfamiliar… Read More

Shining moonlight on our language

From the moment that we enter the world as moon-faced babes, the moon is an ever-present force in our lives. Looking up at the night sky puts our day-to-day world into perspective; something that generations of humans have experienced. Seen from afar, the moon can seem completely unobtainable. If… Read More

From the Collins Archive – Times Atlas of the Moon

On 20th July 1969, history was made when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon, proclaiming the now immortal phrase, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,’ while doing so. With the 50th anniversary of this momentous historic event… Read More