{"title":"Naoko Abe","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the poignant and evocative world of Naoko Abe, where everyday moments blossom into profound reflections on life, loss, and the enduring power of human connection. Start your reading journey here.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"cherry-ingram-book-naoko-abe-9781784742027","title":"'Cherry' Ingram","description":"'Sympathetic and engrossing... a portrait of great charm and sophistication' Guardian  The irresistible story of Japanese cherry blossoms, threatened by political ideology and saved by an unknown Englishman  Collingwood Ingram, known as ‘Cherry’ for his defining obsession, was born in 1880 and lived until he was a hundred, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.   After visiting Japan in 1902 and 1907 and discovering two magnificent cherry trees in the garden of his family home in Kent in 1919, Ingram fell in love with cherry blossoms, or sakura, and dedicated much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.  On a 1926 trip to Japan to search for new specimens, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity, driven by modernisation, neglect and a dangerous and creeping ideology. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.  The most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene, for Ingram, was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted.  Over decades, Ingram became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy. ‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49538185822481,"sku":"GOR009660304","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49642053239057,"sku":"GOR011451749","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49659711422737,"sku":"GOR010137854","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49849641206033,"sku":"GOR010437019","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50446276493585,"sku":"CIN1784742023VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51424686637329,"sku":"CIN1784742023G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784742023.jpg?v=1751184698"},{"product_id":"cherry-ingram-book-naoko-abe-9781784706920","title":"'Cherry' Ingram","description":"The irresistible story of Japanese cherry blossoms, threatened by political ideology and saved by an unknown Englishman  'This is not just a tale of trees, but of . . . endeavour, war and reconciliation' Sunday Times  Collingwood Ingram, born in 1880, became known as 'Cherry' for his defining obsession. As a young man, he travelled to Japan and learned of the astonishing displays of cherry blossoms, or sakura.  On a return visit in 1926, Ingram witnessed frightening changes to the country's cherry population. A cloned variety was sweeping the landscape and being used as a symbol for Japan's expansionist ambitions. Determined to protect the diversity of the trees, Ingram began sending the rare varieties from his own garden in England back to Japan with the help of a network of 'cherry guardians'.  This is an eloquent portrait of an extraordinary man whose legacy we enjoy every spring, and his unsung place in botanic history.  'Engrossing . . . A portrait of great charm and sophistication' Christopher Harding, Guardian  Winner of the 2020 Award for Excellence from The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49553624039697,"sku":"GOR010734813","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737904521489,"sku":"NGR9781784706920","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50477507051793,"sku":"GOR011938529","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50554854179089,"sku":"GOR010861584","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50960336257297,"sku":"CIN1784706922VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50976287228177,"sku":"CIN1784706922G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51134431265041,"sku":"GOR012053405","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784706922.jpg?v=1750962887"},{"product_id":"sakura-obsession-book-naoko-abe-9781524733575","title":"The Sakura Obsession","description":"The incredible--and improbable--story of how an English eccentric saved Japan's beloved cherry blossoms from extinction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Collingwood Ingram--known as Cherry for his defining passion--was born in 1880 and lived until he was a hundred, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change. Visiting Japan in 1902 and again in 1907, he fell in love with the country's distinctive cherry blossoms, or\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003esakura, \u003c\/i\u003e and brought back hundreds of cuttings with him to England, where he created a garden of cherry varieties. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e On a 1926 trip to Japan to search for new specimens, Ingram was shocked to find a dramatic decline in local cherry diversity. A cloned variety was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions, while the rare and spectacular\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eTaihaku, \u003c\/i\u003e or Great White Cherry, had disappeared entirely. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But thousands of miles away, at Ingram's country estate, the\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eTaihaku\u003c\/i\u003e still prospered. After returning to Britain, the amateur botanist buried a living cutting from his own collection into a potato and repatriated it to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Express. Over the decades that followed, Ingram became one of the world's leading cherry experts and shared the joy of\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003esakura\u0026gt;\u003c\/i\u003eboth nationally and internationally, sending more than a hundred varieties of cherry tree to new homes around the globe, from Auckland, New Zealand to Washington, D.C. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As much a history of the cherry blossom in Japan as it is the story of one remarkable man, \u003ci\u003eThe Sakura Obsession\u0026gt;\u003c\/i\u003efollows the flower from its significance as a symbol of the imperial court, through the dark days of the Second World War, and up to the present-day worldwide fascination with this iconic blossom.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49654926180625,"sku":"GOR013431757","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50164803240209,"sku":"CIN1524733571G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51839311413521,"sku":"GOR009970536","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52106138812689,"sku":"CIN1524733571VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53477708333329,"sku":"CIN1524733571A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1524733571.jpg?v=1751340980"},{"product_id":"martyr-and-the-red-kimono-book-naoko-abe-9781784744533","title":"The Martyr and the Red Kimono","description":"The remarkable true story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, and the two men in war-torn Japan whose lives he changed forever.  On the 14th of August 1941, a Polish priest named Maximilian Maria Kolbe was murdered in Auschwitz.  Kolbe's life had been remarkable. Fiercely intelligent and driven, he founded a movement of Catholicism and spent several years in Nagasaki, ministering to the 'hidden Christians' who had emerged after centuries of oppression. A Polish nationalist as well as a priest, he gave sanctuary to fleeing refugees and ran Poland's largest publishing operation, drawing the wrath of the Nazis. His death was no less remarkable: he volunteered to die, saving the life of a fellow prisoner.  It was an act that profoundly transformed the lives of two Japanese men. Tomei Ozaki was just seventeen when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, destroying his home and his family. Masatoshi Asari worked on a farm in Hokkaido during the war and was haunted by the inhumane treatment of prisoners in a nearby camp. Forged in the crucible of an unforgiving war, both men drew inspiration from Kolbe's sacrifice, dedicating their lives to humanity and justice. Ozaki followed in his footsteps and became a friar. Asari created cherry trees as peace offerings.  In The Martyr and the Red Kimono, award-winning author Naoko Abe weaves together a deeply moving and inspirational true story of resistance, sacrifice, guilt and atonement.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49746857492753,"sku":"NGR9781784744533","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50478902968593,"sku":"GOR013795885","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51605995815185,"sku":"GOR014343320","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53370621133073,"sku":"GOR014883723","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784744530.jpg?v=1750833268"},{"product_id":"sakura-obsession-book-naoko-abe-9780525435389","title":"The Sakura Obsession","description":"Each year, the flowering of cherry blossoms marks the beginning of spring. 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