Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

Book Synopsis'Utterly gripped' Hilary MantelCharles Moore's bestselling and definitive biography of Britain's first female Prime Minister, now in a single volumeWith unparalleled authority and dramatic detail, Charles Moore's definitive biography of Margaret Thatcher presents the whole history of the woman who transformed Britain and the world. With unique access to Thatcher's private and governmental papers and extensive interviews with her, her family, and colleagues, Moore gives readers an unsurpassed portrait of her early years, her rise to power and her revolutionary eleven and a half years as Prime Minister. He guides us through her economic battles to her zenith at the Falklands crisis, her extraordinary three election victories and her dramatic final days in office. Moore describes her sometimes combative relationships with senior colleagues especially Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson and Michael Heseltine - who contributed both to her rise and to her fall. He portrays the strength and importance of her relationship with Queen Elizabeth II, while offering a candid account of their difficulties. He also brilliantly conveys Thatcher's pivotal role on the world stage including in the ending of the Cold War, the fierce battle over the future of Europe, and her relationships with Reagan, Gorbachev, Bush, Kohl and Mandela. He shows how she was a pioneer of privatization, which has since been copied all over the world, and as the first leader of a major state to understand climate change. He explains how Thatcherism' became a set of ideas both welcomed and contested across the world. Throughout, Moore illuminates the complexities of Thatcher's character her determination, boldness and the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated political world - but is by no means uncritical. He shows what was remarkable about her and what was infuriating, her extraordinary strengths and sometimes surprising vulnerability. This edition, published to mark the centenary of Thatcher's birth, combines the insights of the original three volumes, providing a comprehensive portrait of one of the most influential figures of her age, whose life reminds us today of the power of great leadership.

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Book SynopsisWinston's Bandits provides, for the first time, a detailed account of Winston Churchill's greatest friendships.

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Book SynopsisIn this intriguing, insightful and extremely educational novel, the world''s most famous hacker teaches you easy cloaking and counter-measures for citizens and consumers in the age of Big Brother and Big Data (Frank W. Abagnale).Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world''s biggest companies -- and no matter how fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. As the FBI''s net finally began to tighten, Mitnick went on the run, engaging in an increasingly sophisticated game of hide-and-seek that escalated through false identities, a host of cities, and plenty of close shaves, to an ultimate showdown with the Feds, who would stop at nothing to bring him down.Ghost in the Wires is a thrilling true story of intrigue, suspense, and unbelievable escapes -- and a portrait of a visionary who forced the authorities to rethink the way they pursued him, and forced companies to rethink the way they protect their most sensitive information.Mitnick manages to make breaking computer code sound as action-packed as robbing a bank. -- NPR

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Book SynopsisRock stars to royalty, society to sobriety, get to know the real Susannah Constantine in the hottest memoir of the year! ''Sensational, juicy, gossipy, filthy and bravely honest in equal measure, Susannah Constantine''s memoir is a rollicking romp through the upper middle classes'' SUNDAY TIMES, ''BEST BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR BOOKS OF 2022'' ''Hilarious and honest. A book for anyone who''s after laughter, tears and one hell of a rollercoaster ride'' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, ''BOOKS OF THE YEAR'' ''Wildly fun'' DAILY TELEGRAPH, ''BEST BOOKS OF 2022'' ''Sensational, juicy, honest, terrific - it reminded me of reading Lady Anne Glenconner'' GRAHAM NORTON, Virgin Radio ''Hilarious and unsparing. An extraordinary story'' REV. RICHARD COLES, Saturday Live ''Bonkers and brilliant. With comedy and candour, she bares her soul . . . Magnificent'' SUNDAY MAIL ''There is a lot we

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Book SynopsisTracing the political (and not-so-political) tussles of the dogs, cats and even tarantulas on both sides of the Atlantic from the time of Cardinal Wolsey, political journalist and former special adviser Peter Cardwell tells never-before-heard tales from senior figures.

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Book SynopsisIn these pages, former coalition Cabinet minister David Laws explores periods in British history when one party needed the other to secure electoral support or the ability to govern.

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, ECONOMIST, DAILY TELEGRAPH, EVENING STANDARD, OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR''Undoubtedly the best single-volume life of Churchill ever written'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA magnificently fresh and unexpected biography of Churchill, by one of Britain''s most acclaimed historiansWinston Churchill towers over every other figure in twentieth-century British history. By the time of his death at the age of 90 in 1965, many thought him to be the greatest man in the world.There have been over a thousand previous biographies of Churchill. Andrew Roberts now draws on over forty new sources, including the private diaries of King George VI, used in no previous Churchill biography to depict him more intimately and persuasively than any of its predecessors. The book in no way conceals Churchill''s faults and it allows the reader to appreciate his virtues and character in full: his titanic capacity for work (and drink), his ability see the big picture, his willingness to take risks and insistence on being where the action was, his good humour even in the most desperate circumstances, the breadth and strength of his friendships and his extraordinary propensity to burst into tears at unexpected moments. Above all, it shows us the wellsprings of his personality - his lifelong desire to please his father (even long after his father''s death) but aristocratic disdain for the opinions of almost everyone else, his love of the British Empire, his sense of history and its connection to the present.During the Second World War, Churchill summoned a particular scientist to see him several times for technical advice. ''It was the same whenever we met'', wrote the young man, ''I had a feeling of being recharged by a source of living power.'' Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt''s emissary, wrote ''Wherever he was, there was a battlefront.'' Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Churchill''s essential partner in strategy and most severe critic in private, wrote in his diary, ''I thank God I was given such an opportunity of working alongside such a man, and of having my eyes opened to the fact that occasionally such supermen exist on this earth.''Trade ReviewThis terrific book, which bursts with character, humour and incident on almost every page ... is undoubtedly the best single-volume life of Churchill ever written -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The best single-volume life imaginable -- Simon Heffer * Sunday Telegraph *It's the sort of biography that, one feels, Churchill himself would have wanted. Colossal, energetic, deeply knowledgeable, properly critical, but also sympathetic and, in places, deliciously funny -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *An original portrait of an all-too-familiar figure ... He enriches the saga with wonderful examples of Churchill's aristocratic eccentricity, glittering oratory and wit -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *Roberts has produced a more complete picture of his subject than any previous biography. His certainly knocks into a cocked hat Boris Johnson's boisterously self-referential effort of a few years ago * Economist *A stupendous achievement: lucid, erudite, intelligent, but also inspiring. Roberts catches the imperishable grandeur of Churchill's life as no other historian has done -- Daniel Johnson * Standpoint *As Andrew Roberts reminds us in this epic biography ... Churchill's career provides ample proof that fact can be far more extraordinary than fiction -- Nick Rennison * Daily Mail *A work of unequalled scholarship. Read it and you will not have to bother with the previous 1,000 biographies -- Paul Routledge * Tablet *A heroic biography, appropriately matched to the ambition, egotism and undoubted achievement of the life it describes -- John Campbell * Finest Hour *Brilliant, breathtaking, unputdownable ... All Roberts's past life has been but a preparation for this hour and this work, and this brilliant book is a fitting crown to his own career -- Michael Gove * Evening Standard *In a single volume, Andrew Roberts has captured the essence of one of the world's most impactful, most memorable statesmen. It is the crowning achievement of his career - and will become the definitive biography of its subject. -- Henry Kissinger

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Book Synopsis''Vital reading'' STYLIST''...hooting with laughter - what a swashbuckler that Hannah Jewell is'' MARINA HYDE''Because 100 Nasty Women is so easy to read and witty, I didn''t expect it to be the life changing, important book that I''m discovering it to be'' PHILIPPA PERRY''A fantastic addition to your feminist library and historical knowledge.'' ANN SHEN, author of Bad Girls Throughout History* * * * * *100 fascinating and brilliantly written stories about history''s bravest, baddest but little known ''nasty'' women from across the world.These are the women who were deemed too nasty for their times, too nasty to be recognised, too nasty to be paid for their work and sometimes too nasty to be allowed to live. When you learn about women in history, they''re often made out to be shining, glittering souls. But when you hear about these Bold-Yet-Morally-Irreproachable Women of History who wTrade Review'Both heartbreaking and hilarious, this book aims to give every woman "who gave zero f*cks" the respect and notoriety they have always deserved and long been denied. Vital reading' * STYLIST *'Laugh-out-loud funny and inspiring . . . Read it to pick a glorious new role model ... and feel more connected to strong women all across time' -- Krista Suh, creator of the Pussyhat Project and author of DIY Rules for a WTF WorldA fun, hilarious read that will make a fantastic addition to your feminist library and historical knowledge -- Ann Shen, author of BAD GIRLS THROUGHOUT HISTORY'Because 100 Nasty Women is so easy to read and witty, I didn't expect it to be the life changing, important book that I'm discovering it to be' -- Philippa Perry'Hooting with laughter - what a swashbuckler that Hannah Jewell is' -- Marina Hyde'Like Rebel Girls for adults' -- Katy Lovell

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Book Synopsis''Fascinating . . . Shot through with fresh insights . . . No previous biography has attempted anything so comprehensive.'' ObserverNelson is a thrilling new appraisal of Horatio Nelson, the greatest practitioner of naval command the world has ever seen. It explores the professional, personal, intellectual and practical origins of one man''s genius, to understand how the greatest warrior that Britain has ever produced transformed the art of conflict, and enabled his country to survive the challenge of total war and international isolation. In Nelson, Andrew Lambert - described by David Cannadine as ''the outstanding British naval historian of his generation'' - is able to offer new insights into the individual quality which led Byron rightly to celebrate Nelson''s genius as ''Britannia''s God of War''. He demonstrates how Admiral Nelson elevated the business of naval warfare to the level of the sublime. Nelson''s unique gift was to take that which other commanders found complex, and reduce it to simplicity. Where his predecessors and opponents saw a particular battle as an end in itself, Nelson was always a step ahead - even in the midst of terrifying, close-quarters action, with officers and men struck down all around him. ''Excellent . . . Worthy of the stirring events [it celebrates].'' IndependentTrade Review"'It addresses Nelson's career with energy and good sense.' Max Hastings, Sunday Telegraph 'Good on the influence of sea power on history, and also examines in some detail the two controversial episodes of Nelson's life: his treatment of his wife, Fanny, after leaving her for Emma Hamilton, and his alleged betrayal of the armistice given to the defeated Jacobin rebels at Naples, followed by the execution of the Neapolitan officer Francesco Caracciolo.' Evening Standard 'No previous biography has attempted anything so comprehensive... fascinating' Observer"

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Book SynopsisTed Hughes''s Birthday Letters are addressed, with just two exceptions, to Sylvia Plath, the American poet to whom he was married. They were written over a period of more than twenty-five years, the first a few years after her suicide in 1963, and represent Ted Hughes''s only account of his relationship with Plath and of the psychological drama that led both to the writing of her greatest poems and to her death. The book became an instant bestseller on its publication in 1998 and won the Forward Prize for Poetry in the same year. ''To read [Birthday Letters] is to experience the psychic equivalent of the bends. It takes you down to levels of pressure where the undertruths of sadness and endurance leave you gasping.'' Seamus Heaney ''Even if it were possible to set aside its biographical value . . . its linguistic, technical and imaginative feats would guarantee its future. Hughes is one of the most important poets of the century and this is his greate

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Book SynopsisThis is the astounding story of the six female aviators who battled to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane. In the early 20th century, the dream of crossing the Atlantic by air was as potent as putting a man on the moon would be 50 years later. But many people believed women too fragile andlacking in the skills to endure the gruelling conditions of flying long distances. In Atlantic Furies, Midge Gillies uncovers the stories of Elsie Mackay, Lady Anne Savile, Frances Grayson, Ruth Elder, Amelia Earhart, and Mabel Boll. These courageous, rule-breaking aviators risked everything to prove that women could fly the Atlantic. Some had lied to their families in order not to be stopped, others duped the press about their intentions and, ultimately, three lost their lives, but each pushed the boundaries of the possible. Atlantic Furies celebrates the bravery, panache, and drive of these trail-blazing aviators, who showed the world that it wasn't just men who could conquer the skies.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the British Book Awards History Book of the YearLonglisted for the Samuel Johnson PrizeThis thrilling biography of Stalin and his entourage during the terrifying decades of his supreme power transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader and Russian tsar. Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals in captivating detail the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous cruelty of this secret world. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, this magnificent feat of scholarly research has become a classic of modern history writing. Showing how Stalin''s triumphs and crimes were the product of his fanatical Marxism and his gifted but flawed character, this is an intimate portrait of a man as complicated and human as he was brutal and chilling.Trade ReviewOne of the two outstanding books of the year ... the most civilised and elegant chronicle of brutality and ruthlessness I have ever read, its prose cool and clear but never indifferent * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Horrific, revelatory and sobering ... triumph of research and should be required reading in Russia. Book of the Year -- John Le Carre * OBSERVER *This grim masterpiece, shot through with lashes of black humour ... The personal details are riveting -- Antonia Fraser * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Fascinating ... [Montefiore] concentrates, as any good historian should, on pushing forward the boundaries of our knowledge of the subject ... [He] provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out ... scrupulously fair in the way he describes Stalin's qualities - including his ability to charm, his uncanny grasp of geopolitical issues, his brilliant handling of foreign statesmen and his genuine passion for literature -- Antony Beevor * SUNDAY TIMES *Masterful and terrifying account of Stalin ... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths * THE TIMES *This magnificent portrait ... Montefiore has mined the rich veins of recent Russian writing on the Stalin age and of newly opened archives to give us an intimate history ... The stifling, contiguous life of the Soviet elite in and around the Kremlin is wonderfully conveyed, in some of the most striking and literary passages in the book ... A wonderfully rich and vibrant portrait of the Stalinist elite who lived in the shadow of a remarkable and dangerous colossus * LITERARY REVIEW *Read it or face social Siberia ... a cross-over success. Academically and intellectually rigorous, it's also a riveting read ... it takes a great writer to make it seem fresh. And Sebag Montefiore certainly does that ... his greatest achievement has been to "humanise" Stalin. Uncle Joe was a mass murderer and a paranoid sociopath. But he was also charming, friendly and flirtatious -- 100 Best Things in the World Right Now * GQ *Grimly brilliant -- Andrew Marr * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Excellent ... This book is like a vast Russian novel full of characters, colour, terror, passion and treachery ... love affairs, marriages, divorces, imprisonments and killings -- Susannah Tarbush * AL-HAYAT *Montefiore has managed to get inside the mind of the 20th century's worst mass murderer. What he has found there will affect your view of human nature ... a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as a transfixing narrative ... vividly recreated by Montefiore's caustically witty prose -- Andrew Roberts * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questions about the Stalinist regime -- Orlando Figes * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Montefiore drives his story forward with breathless enthusiasm ... in a work of great importance. Scholars will read it for the valuable new evidence it assembles. Others will enjoy it as a fascinating page-turner and an everyday saga of extraordinary Kremlin folk * FINANCIAL TIMES *Gripping and timely ... [Montefiore] had the bright idea of examining the letters, telegrams and diaries of [Stalin's] intimate associates. As a result, this is a book based on extraordinary primary research ... one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come. The devil is in the detail * GUARDIAN *An extraordinary book... he has managed to persuade a whole generation of little old ladies and elderly men - the wives, granddaughters, servants, nieces and nephews of Stalin's henchmen - to give him a series of extraordinary interviews and, in some cases, lend him their hand-written memoirs... For anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page -- Anne Applebaum * EVENING STANDARD *Montefiore's STALIN, I should imagine, will be the standard work on this twentieth-century monster for years to come -- Jeremy Paxman * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *The most revealing account of the inner circles of tyranny since Albert Speer's inside story of Hitler's bunker. Book of the Year * EVENING STANDARD *Enlivened by sharp pen portraits and grisly anecdotes, Montefiore's study ... was admired for its elegant prose as well as its grotesque cavalcade of monsters -- Books of the Year * THE WEEK *Brings alive that many-sided monster ... the first book that has given me grounds for thinking it might be possible to understand how Stalin got away with his enormities * SPECTATOR *Montefiore's masterful study of Stalin and his entourage provides the best personal portrait to date of the man and his group * JEWISH CHRONICLE *Enormously readable and even grimly amusing ... the details of the cruelty and depravity ... are incredible -- Miriam Gross * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *One of the two outstanding books of the year ... the most civilised and elegant chronicle of brutality and ruthlessness I have ever read, its prose cool and clear but never indifferent -- Ruth Rendell * Daily Telegraph *Horrific, revelatory and sobering ... triumph of research and should be required reading in Russia. Book of the Year -- John Le Carré * Observer *This grim masterpiece, shot through with lashes of black humour ... The personal details are riveting -- Antonia Fraser * Mail on Sunday *Fascinating ... [Montefiore] concentrates, as any good historian should, on pushing forward the boundaries of our knowledge of the subject ... [He] provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out ... scrupulously fair in the way he describes Stalin's qualities - including his ability to charm, his uncanny grasp of geopolitical issues, his brilliant handling of foreign statesmen and his genuine passion for literature -- Antony Beevor * Sunday Times *Masterful and terrifying account of Stalin ... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths -- Alistair Horne * The Times *This magnificent portrait ... Montefiore has mined the rich veins of recent Russian writing on the Stalin age and of newly opened archives to give us an intimate history ... The stifling, contiguous life of the Soviet elite in and around the Kremlin is wonderfully conveyed, in some of the most striking and literary passages in the book ... A wonderfully rich and vibrant portrait of the Stalinist elite who lived in the shadow of a remarkable and dangerous colossus -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *Read it or face social Siberia ... a cross-over success. Academically and intellectually rigorous, it's also a riveting read ... it takes a great writer to make it seem fresh. And Sebag Montefiore certainly does that ... his greatest achievement has been to "humanise" Stalin. Uncle Joe was a mass murderer and a paranoid sociopath. But he was also charming, friendly and flirtatious -- 100 Best Things in the World Right Now * GQ Magazine *Grimly brilliant -- Andrew Marr * Daily Telegraph *Excellent ... This book is like a vast Russian novel full of characters, colour, terror, passion and treachery ... love affairs, marriages, divorces, imprisonments and killings -- Susannah Tarbush * Al-Hayat *Montefiore has managed to get inside the mind of the 20th century's worst mass murderer. What he has found there will affect your view of human nature ... a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as a transfixing narrative ... vividly recreated by Montefiore's caustically witty prose -- Andrew Roberts * Daily Telegraph *Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questions about the Stalinist regime -- Orlando Figes * Sunday Telegraph *Montefiore drives his story forward with breathless enthusiasm ... in a work of great importance. Scholars will read it for the valuable new evidence it assembles. Others will enjoy it as a fascinating page-turner and an everyday saga of extraordinary Kremlin folk -- Rodric Braithwaite * Financial Times *Gripping and timely ... [Montefiore] had the bright idea of examining the letters, telegrams and diaries of [Stalin's] intimate associates. As a result, this is a book based on extraordinary primary research ... one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come. The devil is in the detail -- Robert Service * Guardian *An extraordinary book... he has managed to persuade a whole generation of little old ladies and elderly men - the wives, granddaughters, servants, nieces and nephews of Stalin's henchmen - to give him a series of extraordinary interviews and, in some cases, lend him their hand-written memoirs... For anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page -- Anne Applebaum * Evening Standard *Montefiore's STALIN, I should imagine, will be the standard work on this twentieth-century monster for years to come -- Jeremy Paxman * Sunday Telegraph *The most revealing account of the inner circles of tyranny since Albert Speer's inside story of Hitler's bunker. Book of the Year -- Norman Lebrecht * Evening Standard *Enlivened by sharp pen portraits and grisly anecdotes, Montefiore's study ... was admired for its elegant prose as well as its grotesque cavalcade of monsters -- Books of the Year * The Week *Brings alive that many-sided monster ... the first book that has given me grounds for thinking it might be possible to understand how Stalin got away with his enormities -- David Pryce-Jones * Spectator *Montefiore's masterful study of Stalin and his entourage provides the best personal portrait to date of the man and his group -- Daniel Beer * Jewish Chronicle *Enormously readable and even grimly amusing ... the details of the cruelty and depravity ... are incredible -- Miriam Gross * Sunday Telegraph *I'm currently reading Simon Sebag-Montefiore's excellent biography of the Soviet monster [Stalin] 'the Court of the Red Czar' which I heartily recommend -- Matthew Gwyther * MANAGEMENT TODAY *

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Book SynopsisIn this Church Times ''Top 100 Best Christian Book'', a chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son, catapulted Henri Nouwen into a long spiritual adventure. He shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell.In seizing the inspiraton that came to him through Rembrandt's depiction of the powerful Gospel story, Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son's return, the father's resoration of sonship, the elder son's vengefulness, and the father's compassion. In his reflection on Rembrandt in light of his own life journey, the author evokes the powerful drama of the parable in a rich, captivating way.The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as the father and be loved as the son is represented with new freshness and vigour for our

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Book Synopsis''The best portrait of rural life in England'' Roger Deakin''Exquisite'' John Updike''The finest contemporary writer on the English countryside'' ObserverRonald Blythe''s perceptive and vivid evocation of the rural Suffolk he had known since childhood was acclaimed as an instant classic when it was published in 1969. It reverberates with the voices of the village inhabitants, from the reminiscences of survivors of the Great War evoking days gone by, to the concerns of a younger generation of farm-workers and the fascinating and personal recollections of, among others, the local schoolteacher, doctor, blacksmith, saddler, district nurse and magistrate. Providing insights into the land, education, welfare, class, religion and death, Akenfield forms a unique document of a way of life that has, in many ways, disappeared.Trade ReviewA hundred years from now, anyone wanting to know how things were on the land will turn more profitably to Akenfield than to a sheaf of anaemically professional social surveys. * the Guardian *Blythe lovingly opens the curtains of legend and landscape, revealing the inner, almost clandestine, spirit of the village behind. His book consists of direct-speech monologues, delivered by 49 Suffolk residents, and interpretatively linked by the author. The effect is one of astonishing immediacy: it is as if those country people have looked up for a moment from their plow, lawnmower or kitchen sink, and are talking directly (and disturbingly frankly) to the reader -- Jan Morris * The New York Times *Exquisite -- John Updike

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Book SynopsisThe first full biography of one of the Second World War’s most enigmatic secret agents

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Book SynopsisExtraordinary' ANNE APPLEBAUMThrilling . . . a record of an infatuation' TELEGRAPH The book of a lifetime' ELIF SHAFAKThe North Pole proves to be the perfect subject for him' MICHAEL PALIN''Heart-catching . . . fabulous'' OBSERVER A beautiful book' ALAIN DE BOTTONThe epic adventure story of humanity's obsession with the North Pole, from Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge who travelled there in 1990Throughout recorded human time, few places on Earth have inspired as much fascination as the North Pole. This is an otherworldly place where the sun rises and stays aloft for six whole months before setting, plunging the expanse of ice and water into darkness for half a year.Foot-stepping alongside Erling Kagge, who ventured to the North Pole in the spring of 1990, we hear the story of the North Pole as never told before. From Herodotus who first wondered what the northernmost point of our planet might be like, to the intrepid early cartographers who mapped the world, and the legendary expeditions led by Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary the first polar explorer global celebrities who were in the grip of a dangerous obsession to get to the North Pole first. What emerges is a new history of the world, spanning thousands of years, as seen from the silver-shining vacantness' of the North Pole.Blending memories from Kagge's own 1990 trip with this epic history, The North Pole is an adventure story, a book about enacting hidden human dreams, about difficult fathers and their difficult sons, and a psychological record of what it means to keep putting one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity. It is for anyone who's gazed out at the horizon and wondered what happens if you just keep walking.''As an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted' RANULPH FIENNES

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Book SynopsisBest known today as a fine composer, the twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen was also a religious leader and visionary, a poet, naturalist and writer of medical treatises. Despite her cloistered life she had strong, often controversial views on sex, love and marriage too - a woman astonishing in her own age, whose book of apocalyptic visions, Scivias, would alone have been enough to ensure her lasting fame.In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard''s prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages.More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first biography of one of the twentieth century's most scholars of Hebridean culture, making extensive use of Maragret Fay Shaw's own dairies letters and notebooks, this book celebrates the legacy and life of a remarkable woman, and is a must-read for anyone interested in Gaelic and island culture.

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Book Synopsis'Compulsively readable . . . thrilling' – Sunday Telegraph'Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine' – Sunday TimesIn June 1952, a woman was murdered by an obsessive colleague in a hotel in South Kensington. Her name was Christine Granville – Churchill's favourite spy. That she died young was perhaps unsurprising. That she had survived the Second World War was remarkable.The daughter of a feckless Polish aristocrat and his wealthy Jewish wife, Christine fled to Britain on the outbreak of war and persuaded MI6 to make her their first female recruit. She took on mission after mission, skiing into occupied Poland, serving in Egypt and later parachuting into occupied France.Her quick wit, courage and determination won her release from arrest more than once, and she saved the lives of several fellow officers, including one of her many lovers just hours before he was due to be eTrade ReviewA stunning biographical achievement -- Alison Weir, lison Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Innocent Traitor and The Lady ElizabethClare Mulley tells her story with a bravura that matches Christine's charismatic character * Saga *A fine account of Christine Granville's extraordinary war, told with skill and care . . . Mulley succeeds in making her human . . . inspiring * Literary Review *Compulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life. Understandably obsessed by her charismatic subject, she has written a thrilling book and paid due homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands * Daily Telegraph *A breath-taking story, told with panache and sympathy for an extraordinary heroine. Mulley vividly brings to life not only a resourceful and unusual woman but in doing so helps us understand what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. The Spy Who Loved is required reading for anyone interested in understanding what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. This is a gripping read -- Anne Sebba, New York Times bestselling author of That WomanNot only was Christine Granville Britain's first woman agent in World War II but carried out some of the most daring missions ever conceived. Her biographer Clare Mulley has provided a vivid account of her activities yet maintains a balanced assessment of the results. Careful research has created sustained tension, vitality and immediacy which are truly page-turning -- Gordon Thomas, bestselling author of The Pope's Jews and Gideon's SpiesI enjoyed and admired The Spy Who Loved . . . A really gripping account of the remarkable Christine Granville -- Simon Mawer, bestselling author of Trapeze and The Glass RoomAn astonishing story, brilliantly told. If a Hollywood movie isn't made about Christine Granville's remarkable life, I'd be amazed -- Charles Cumming, award-winning author of A Foreign CountryImpressively researched, and absolutely fascinating. Christine Granville is one of those women you can't help wishing you'd met in real life -- Jojo Moyes, award-winning author of Me Before YouCompulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life... She has written a thrilling book, and paid overdue homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands * The Sunday Telegraph *Mulley writes well . . . This is both a compelling read and a testimony to the work of a dedicated opponent of Nazism. I highly recommend it * BBC History Magazine *Spellbinding saga of espionage and adventure * Vogue.com *Admirable and overdue -- Ben Macintyre, The New York Times Book ReviewOustanding . . . While a few books about Christine have emerged in the intervening decades, only now, with the publication of Clare Mulley's scrupulously researched and expertly rendered biography, do we have a multi-dimensional, uncensored, impartial portrait of the legendary spy – said to be Churchill's favorite – whose forty-four-year existence was filled with more eye-popping adventures than we'd find plausible in any novel or movie * The Daily Beast *Well-written and thoroughly researched . . . One British functionary described [Granville's] dispatches from the field as 'good reading.' The same can be said of Ms. Mulley's biography of this extraordinary woman * Wall Street Journal *Excellent . . . A romping adventure of international espionage, grand plots and sex, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance . . . [a] well-researched portrayal, a fascinating and riveting account of an exceptional spy's exceptional life . . . An exemplary feminist biography, which, without ever slipping into didacticism, takes its subject, her desires and her choices seriously * Haaretz *A dazzling tale * Maclean's *Mulley gives a remarkable, charismatic woman her due in this tantalizing biography -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)Compulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life . . . She has written a thrilling book, and paid overdue homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands -- The Sunday Telegraph (UK)Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine -- The Sunday Times (UK)Engrossing biography details the high-voltage life of one of Britain's most remarkable female spies . . . Fascinating -- Mail on Sunday (UK)

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Book SynopsisRobert Cecil, statesman and spymaster, lived through an astonishingly threatening period in English history. Queen Elizabeth had no clear successor and enemies both external and internal threatened to destroy England as a Protestant state, most spectacularly with the Spanish Armada and the Gunpowder Plot. Cecil stood at the heart of the Tudor and then Stuart state, a vital figure in managing the succession from Elizabeth I to James I & VI, warding off military and religious threats and steering the decisions of two very different but equally wilful and hard-to-manage monarchs. The promising son of Queen Elizabeth's chief minister Lord Burghley, for Cecil there was no choice but politics, and he became supremely skilled in the arts of power, making many rivals and enemies. All His Spies is a wonderfully engaging and original work of history. Many readers are familiar with the great events of this tumultuous time, but All His Spies shows how easily these dramas could have turned out

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGavin’s engrossing biography of the singer takes the measure of a gifted, tragic and infuriating man. * New York Times *A fascinating, heartbreaking bio. * People Magazine *“James Gavin has delivered a stunning, empathic, and peerlessly knowledgeable biography of George Michael. Gavin’s attention to his subject’s artistry, his honest treatment of Michael’s struggles, his sharp-eyed understanding of the last days of record-company dominance, and his comprehension of the shifting tides of gay acceptance in our culture are sublime. The author of biographies of Chet Baker, Lena Horne, and Peggy Lee has, with this book, firmed up his place as one of our very best writers about music and life.” * Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation *“James Gavin is a biographer of the highest order, with a gorgeous sense of narrative and insight galore. His George Michael: A Life is a backstage, all-access pass into a glittery world filled with dark corners and trap doors. It’s a thrilling, albeit cautionary tale of success, excess, and a remarkable performer who met his destiny head-on.” * Bob Spitz, New York Times bestselling author of The Beatles: The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography *“A compelling portrayal of one of the most enigmatic entertainers in music, a fascinating tale meticulously researched and written by James Gavin.” * Steven Gaines, bestselling author of Simply Halston: The Untold Story and The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles *“Read without prejudice and be prepared to be rattled and moved. Only James Gavin could do justice to this story of mercurial creativity, sex, and self-destruction in the glittery, harrowing, ethereal heights of pop stardom.” * David Hajdu, author of Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn and Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña *“George Michael: A Life is quite a life—one you won’t easily forget. James Gavin has written a thoroughly researched, engrossing, and illuminating portrait of a pop icon battling his own demons, the era’s raging homophobia, and the ever-changing musical scene. Gavin captures the highs and lows with great intelligence and sensitivity. It’s insightful and profoundly moving.” * Patricia Morrisroe, author of Mapplethorpe: A Biography *“James Gavin is an ace biographer, and inGeorge Michael: A Life he tells the heartrending tale of a pop legend who couldn’t love himself but made the whole world feel good.” * Danny Fields, manager, the Ramones *“George Michael’s burning ambition, incredible talent, and dark secrets are examined by James Gavin in this engrossing behind-the-scenes portrait.” * Doug Herzog, former president of MTV Productions *“Though much has been written (and rewritten) about our fallen hero aka Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, this revealing (and often shocking) portrait by music biographer Gavin draws on scores of published media features and hundreds of interviews with friends, colleagues, and insiders. Exposing Michael's past battles with the media, his rampant sexual proclivities, and probing the later years as his personal life unraveled, this biography is moving, eye-opening, and essential, even for readers with just a casual interest in pop culture.” * Bay Area Reporter *“Music biographer Gavin offers a probing, definitive portrait of the equally gifted and tortured artist, charting his meteoric rise in the ’80s through his public self-destruction and tragic death.” * USA Today *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES No. 1 BESTSELLERWITH AN AFTERWORD BY JOHN LE CARRÉ''Riveting, astounding . . . An unputdownable postwar thriller'' Observer''Irresistibly readable'' Sunday Times''Worthy of John le Carré at his best'' Guardian''Hugely engrossing . . . Both authoritative and enthralling'' William Boyd________________Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War.In the aftermath of the Second World War, Philby, Nicholas Elliott and James Jesus Angleton were rising stars in the intelligence world and shared every secret. Elliott and Angleton thought they knew Philby better than anyone - and then discovered they had not known him at all.This is a story of loyalty, trust and treachery, of m

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Book Synopsis **A Sunday Times top ten bestseller****Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2023****Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize for Non-Fiction 2023****Shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed First Biography Prize 2023**Masterly.' ObserverWonderful, joyous.' Maggie O'FarrellFrankly brilliant.' Sunday TimesUnmissable.' Simon JenkinsEvery page sparkles.' Claire TomalinA triumph.' Matt HaigStylish, scholarly and gripping.' Rose TremainJohn Donne lived myriad lives. Sometime religious outsider and social disaster, sometime celebrity preacher and establishment darling, Donne was incapable of being just one thing.He was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, an MP, a priest, the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language.In Super-Infinite, Katherine Rundell shows us the many sides of Donne's extraordinary life, his obsessions, his blazing words, and his tempestuous Elizabethan times unveiling Donne as the most remarkable mind and as a lesson in living.Katherine Rundell''s book Super-Infinite was a Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 16-04-2022Trade Review'Fascinating and incisive: spellbinding.' - John Carey'A wonderful, joyous piece of work . . . with fierce, interrogative intelli-gence. it is fantastic to have this most elusive and mysterious of men brought out into the light, for all to see. I just loved it.'- Maggie O'Farrell

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Book SynopsisTHE BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTERA Times Book of the Year; A Telegraph Book of the Year; A Daily Mail Book of the Year; A Waterstones Book of the YearRequired reading for anyone who has an interest in who governs Britain'' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL?''This will be the most important political book of the year' MATTHEW D'ANCONA, EVENING STANDARDThis authoritative but not authorised biography by Tom Baldwin provides answers by drawing deeply on many hours of interviews with Prime Minister himself, as well as unprecedented access to members of his family, his oldest friends and closest colleagues.Together, they tell an unexpectedly intimate story filled with feelings of grief and love that has driven him on more than any rigid ideology or loyalty to a particular faction.The book tracks Starmer's emergence from a troubled small town background and rebellious youth, through a storied legal career as a human rights barrister and the country's chief prosecutor, to becoming an MP relatively late in life.Baldwin provides a vivid and compelling account of how this untypical politician then rose to be leader of his party in succession to Jeremy Corbyn, then transformed it with a ruthless rapidity that has enraged opponents from the left just as much as it has bewildered those on the right.Above all, this is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to understand how someone who has too often been underestimated or dismissed as dull, now intends to change Britain.''The first serious and consistently readable biography of StarmerIt is a wonder that he has said so much to Baldwin'' PATRICK MAGUIRE, THE TIMES''This is an absolutely riveting and very timely biography'' AMOL RAJANHighly readable Baldwin has peeled back more layers than anyone else'' ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES

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