Non Fiction Books

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Book Synopsis365 Days of Art is an inspiring journal designed to help readers and budding artists nurture their creativity and explore their feelings through the medium of art.Featuring an activity for every day of the year, from simple tasks like drawing shapes and lines to more considered tutorials such as calligraphy writing and shading, each task is designed to expand your creative skills and spark the artist within.With helpful hints and tips as well as more considered tasks to help build your creative confidence, 365 Days of Art is a beautiful keepsake as well as well as a powerful tool for positive change.Discover all the books in the 365 Days of Art series: 365 Days of Art, 365 Days of Art in Nature, 365 Days of Creativity, 365 Days of Drawing.

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Book SynopsisA BOOK OF THE YEARGUARDIAN, THE ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, BLOOMBERGAnil Seth's radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.'A brilliant beast of a book.' DAVID BYRNE'Hugely important.' JIM AL-KHALILI'Masterly . . . An exhilarating book: a vast-ranging, phenomenal achievement that will undoubtedly become a seminal text.'GAIA VINCE, GUARDIANBeing You is not as simple as it sounds. Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons work to create our conscious experience. How does this happen? Why do we experience life in the first person? After over twenty years researching the brain, world-renowned neuroscientist Anil Seth puts forward a radical new theory of consciousness and

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Book SynopsisHelmut Newton (1920–2004) always showed a healthy disdain for the easy or predictable, so it’s no surprise that the SUMO was an irresistible project. The idea of a book the size of a private exhibition, with spectacular images reproduced to state-of-the-art origination and printing standards, emerged from an open, experimental dialogue between photographer and publisher. With the SUMO weighing in—boxed and shrink-wrapped—at 35.4 kg (just under 80 pounds), Newton created a landmark book that stood head and shoulders above anything previously attempted, both in terms of conceptual extravagance and technical specifications. Published in an edition of 10,000 signed and numbered copies, the SUMO sold out soon after publication and quickly multiplied its value. It now features in numerous collections around the world, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The legendary copy number one, signed by more than 100 of the book’s featured celebrities, broke the record for the most expensive book published in the 20th century, sold at an auction in Berlin on April 6, 2000 for 620,000 German marks—about 317,000 euros. Now, this XL edition celebrates 20 years of SUMO, the result of a project conceived by Helmut Newton some years ago. Revised by his wife June, the volume gathers 464 images and a booklet that takes us through the making-of this publishing venture—a spectacular tribute to the larger-than-life Helmut Newton, now in a friendly format.Trade Review“Fashion photography is a competitive field, but there's one art book above all that remains incredibly monumental: Helmut Newton's SUMO.” * gq-magazine.co.uk *“Cool, controversial and classic.” * Amateur Photographer *“A collector’s item if ever there was one.” * Refinery29.com *“TASCHEN reminds us what all the fuss was about with an anniversary edition of SUMO, a collection of museum-sized prints bound and elegantly packaged in a monochrome casing with one of Newton’s Giant Nudes on the cover, a hint at the arresting selection of silver, pearl and shadow-toned captures within.” * LA Weekly *“Timeless. A reference work.” * Der Standard *

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Book SynopsisThe translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of the poem by the translator himself, in the written form of a series of lectures given at Oxford in the 1930s; and from these lectures a substantial selection has been made, to form also a commentary on the translation in this book. From his creative attention to detail in these lectures there arises a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if he entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beached their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to the rising anger of Beowulf at the taunting of Unferth, or looking up in amazement at Grendel's terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot.Trade Review“This is long-awaited, and hugely exciting for Tolkien readers” The Guardian “If he had never written The Lord of the Rings he would have been famous in academic circles for writing one published lecture on Beowulf called The Monsters and the Critics. It turned things upside down. Beowulf was probably the medieval text that influenced him the most and the commentary and lectures are ‘nuggets of gold’”The Independent “A tantalising prospect. Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain is a master class in linguistic chicanery – Middle English meets Middle Earth… it will be interesting to see if it gives Heaney's Beowulf a run for its money”Simon Armitage, The Guardian

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Book SynopsisThe hidden costs of artificial intelligence, from natural resources and labor to privacy and freedomTrade Review“This study argues that [artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . . A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained.”—New Yorker“Crawford argues passionately that while AI is presented as disembodied, objective and inevitable, it is material, biased and subject to our own outlooks and ideologies.”—David A. Shaywitz, Wall Street Journal“As Kate Crawford’s trenchant Atlas of AI demonstrates again and again, artificial intelligence does not come to us as a deus ex machina but, rather, through a number of dehumanizing extractive practices, of which most of us are unaware.“—Sue Halpern, New York Review of BooksNamed one of the “Five Best Books to Read to Get Smart about AI” by the Wall Street Journal“One of the world’s most thoughtful researchers on the impact of AI delivers a sobering, but essential, read about how AI is accelerating undemocratic governance and increased inequality.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times, Best Books of 2021“Exposes the dark side of AI’s success. . . . Meticulously researched and superbly written.”—Virginia Dignum, Nature“A sweeping view of artificial intelligence that frames the technology as a collection of empires, decisions, and actions that are together fast eliminating possibilities of sustainable future on a global scale. . . . A timely and urgent contribution.”—Michael Spezio, Science“Reveals the hidden costs of artificial intelligence, from the consumption of natural resources to the more subtle costs to our privacy, equality and freedom.—Simon Ings, New Scientist, “Best Books of the Year”“A compelling new book.”—Stephanie Wood, Sydney Morning Herald“Atlas of AI is a seminal work that brings AI within our circle of care. . . . Crawford’s book is a great contribution to the field, as efforts are made at various levels, national and international, in companies and educational institutions, to mitigate the harms of this technology. Crawford underlines that this can only happen if we ‘challenge the structures of power that AI currently reinforces and create the foundations for a different society.’”—Anais Resseguier, AI and Ethics“Presents an insightful perspective coupled with in-depth analysis. . . . Essential reading for those who are interested in the real-world effects of AI development, along with its political ramifications. More importantly, Atlas of AI draws attention to widely ignored aspects of policy debates, namely the human and planetary costs of AI. This book should be welcomed by AI enthusiasts, students, scholars and policy-makers seeking to grasp the fundamentals of the relationship between AI, politics and society.”—Muhammed Can, International Affairs“Well-researched, well-written, and enlightening.”—Terry Freedman, Teach Secondary“Crawford brings the reader on a global journey to places and interventions which have historically played, and continue to play, a key function in developing and maintaining the machinery of artificial intelligence. With a variety of well-illustrated descriptions of environmentally hazardous industries, exploitation of human labour, the origin of deeply biased data sets, and methods of classification, Crawford assists the reader in seeing through the myth of AI.”—Lina Olsson, Metascience“Atlas of AI is the perfect medium to begin to understand AI. Crawford wisely avoids any form of jargon and her message comes across clear and loud. The book also contains a wide array of notes and references which the more experienced readers will find very useful to go deeper into the several themes that Crawford’s atlas illustrates, but also to find new directions for future research.”—Federico Cugurullo, TechnoscienzaCHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles 2021Winner of the 2022 Sally Hacker Prize, sponsored by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT)Winner of the 2022 Best Information Science Book of the Year Award, sponsored by ASIS&T“A must read. Moving from lithium mines to data extraction, from labor exploitation to government surveillance, Atlas of AI eloquently reveals how intelligence is ‘made.’ It displaces anemic calls for ‘ethics’ with probing investigations into the environmental degradation, capital accumulation, and labor conditions that AI make possible.”—Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, SFU’s Canada 150 Chair in New Media“It’s a masterpiece, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”—Karen Hao, senior editor, MIT Tech Review“In this eloquent and revelatory survey, Crawford limns the dire stakes of unbridled technological expansion. Methodologically original and keenly intelligent, Atlas of AI is an indispensable map of the present that boldly calls readers to chart a more just and sustainable future.”—Alondra Nelson, president, Social Science Research Council“Eloquent, clear and profound—this volume is a classic for our times. It draws our attention away from the bright shiny objects of the new colonialism through elucidating the social, material and political dimensions of Artificial Intelligence.”—Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of California, Irvine“By brilliantly tracing the history, mythology, ethics and politics of artificial intelligence, Atlas of AI reminds us that the stories we tell about AI are just as vital as the mathematical models that comprise these systems.”—Ruha Benjamin, author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code

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Book SynopsisFor many decades, the proponents of `artificial intelligence'' have maintained that computers will soon be able to do everything that a human can do. In his bestselling work of popular science, Sir Roger Penrose takes us on a fascinating tour through the basic principles of physics, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy to show that human thinking can never be emulated by a machine.Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary masterpiece. * Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathmatical Society *Perhaps the most engaging and creative tour of modern physics that has ever been written * Sunday Times *A superb book... provocative and absorbing * Physics Today *A bold, brilliant, groundbreaking work... When Mr Penrose talks, scientists listen * New York Time Book Review *. . One cannot imagine a more revealing self-portrait than this enchanting, tantalising book... Roger Penrose reveals himself as an eloquent protagonist, not only of the wonders of mathematics, but also of the uniqueness of people. * Nature *I fail to see how anybody can remain unmoved by the book's central theme, which concerns the nature of human beings... His style is relaxed and entertaining, There are nuggets on almost every page. * Financial Times *Table of ContentsPrologue 1: Can a Computer Have a Mind? 2: Algorithms and Turing Machines 3: Mathematics and Reality 4: Truth, Proof, and Insight 5: The Classical World 6: Quantum Magic and Quantum Mystery 7: Cosmology and the Arrow of Time 8: In Search of Quantum Gravity 9: Real Brains and Model Brains 10: Where Lies the Physics of the Mind? Epilogue References Index

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Book SynopsisFrom the debris of her troubled early life, Lidia Yuknavitch weaves an astonishing tale of survival. It is a life that navigates, and transcends, abuse, addiction, self-destruction and the crushing loss of a stillborn child.A kind of memoir that is also a paean to the pursuit of beauty, self-expression, desire - for men and women - and the exhilaration of swimming, The Chronology of Water lays a life bare.Trade ReviewA brutal beauty bomb and a true love song. Rich with story, alive with emotion, both merciful and utterly merciless, I am forever altered by every stunning page. This is the book I'm going to press into everyone's hands for years to come. This is the book I've been waiting to read all of my life -- CHERYL STRAYED, author of WILDRendered with incredible grace . . . Like water, the memoir takes on an unpredictable journey . . . This is a story grounded in womanhood and what it means to be a woman in this world where women are all too often victimised by those who are meant to care for us most . . . Entrancing -- ROXANE GAYLidia Yuknavitch sets off, fiercely and unrelentingly towards the deep end. Here are phrases of nerve-jangling beauty, moments of sly humour and lines so raw you want to look away. The Chronology of Water is a story about surviving, destroying, becoming, and ultimately, falling in love with the written word. It's a marvel -- JESS KIDD, author of HIMSELF and THE HOARDERSomething about this story - the goddamn gorgeous language, the raw power of its brutality - gave me so much comfort and solace. In Yuknavitch's word embrace, I felt the magic of self-acceptance and self-love, and the crazy-wonderful beauty of life * * Huffington Post * *I've read The Chronology of Water, cover to cover, a dozen times. I am still reading it. And I will, most likely, return to it for inspiration and ideas, and out of sheer admiration, for the rest of my life. The book is extraordinary -- CHUCK PALAHNIUKYuknavitch's dark memoir is both exorcism and dissection, a raw and visceral account with the emphasis on physicality. . . . An unnerving but bracing memoir about her drive to survive and find her own voice * * Herald * *Lidia Yuknavitch is my favorite new writer . . . Genius. The tone is a combination of high and low, with some of the writing literary and metaphorical, some conversational and shock-jockey, all of it fueled by rage and pain and love and art and transformation * * The Atlantic * *Bold and highly unconventional . . . Hot, gritty, unrelenting in its push to dismantle the self and then, somehow, put the self back together again - gets not just under a reader's skin but seeps all the way into her bloodstream * * Publishers Weekly * *I love this book and I am thankful that Lidia Yuknavitch has written it for me and for everyone else who has ever had to sometimes kind of work at staying alive. It's about the body, brain, and soul of a woman who has managed to scratch up through the slime and concrete and crap of life in order to resurrect herself. The kind of book Janis Joplin might have written if she had made it through the fire - raw, tough, pure, more full of love than you thought possible and sometimes even hilarious. This is the book Lidia Yuknavitch was put on the planet to write for us -- REBECCA BROWN, author of THE GIFTS OF THE BODY

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Book SynopsisThe perfect gift book on dogs by artist Harriet Lowther.

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Book Synopsis''Brilliant and disturbing'' Stephen Spender, New York Review of BooksThe classic work on ''the banality of evil'', and a journalistic masterpieceHannah Arendt''s stunning and unnverving report on the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared as a series of articles in the New Yorker in 1963. This edition includes material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt''s postscript directly addressing the controversy that arose over her account. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, this classic portrayal of the banality of evil is as shocking as it is informative - an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling issues of the twentieth century.''Deals with the greatest problem of our time ... the problem of the human being within a modern totalitarian system'' Bruno BettelheimTrade ReviewA touchstone in the 20th century's thinking about morality and politics * The New York Times *Quite astonishing . . . her indictment of Eichmann reached beyond the man to the historical world in which true thinking was vanishing -- Judith ButlerDeals with the greatest problem of our time . . . the problem of the human being within a modern totalitarian system * The New Republic *

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Book SynopsisA brand new book from Square Peg coming soon in September 2020

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Book SynopsisThis is the extraordinary true story of how a former British soldier turned extreme adventurer set out to run marathons in the world's most dangerous countries. In 2018, Jordan Wylie trained and ran in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan to raise awareness of the plight of children suffering in war zones as well as the funds to help provide education. Risking his life in some of the most hostile places in the world, Wylie defies suicide bombers, official advice, dehydration and exhaustion, as well as his own mental and physical health issues in an incredible tale of endurance and tenacity against the odds. His first race, in Somalia, is moved to Somaliland after a suicide bomber kills 600 people. Running the Baghdad half-marathon brings back painful memories of friends and colleagues he lost when he served there. Finally, at the Afghanistan marathon, he provides a high-profile target for the Taliban, who murder seventeen people the day before he arrives. What makes these three runs even more challenging is the fact that Jordan is affected not just by mental health issues from his own experiences, but also with epilepsy. Alongside the more extreme obstacles, Jordan has to overcome self-doubt - and the doubt of others - to show what can be achieved with belief and fortitude.

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Book SynopsisLonely Planet''s China is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all the country has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Climb the Great Wall, wander the Forbidden City and visit historic Tiananmen Square; all with your trusted travel companion.Inside Lonely Planet''s China Travel Guide: Lonely Planet''s Top Picks - a visually inspiring collection of the destination''s best experiences and where to have themItineraries help you build the ultimate trip based on your personal needs and interestsLocal insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - whether it''s history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, politicsEating and drinking - get the most out of your gastronomic experience as we reveal the regional dishes and drinks you have to tryToolkit - all of the planning tools for solo travellers, LGBTQIA+ travellers, family travellers and accessible travelColour maps and images throughoutLanguage - essential phrases and language tipsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsCovers Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei,Liaoning, Jilin, Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanxi, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia and moreAbout Lonely Planet:Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures Company, is the world''s number one travel guidebook brand. Providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973, Lonely Planet reaches hundreds of millions of travellers each year online and in print and helps them unlock amazing experiences. Visit us at lonelyplanet.com and join our community of followers on Facebook (facebook.com/lonelyplanet), Twitter (@lonelyplanet), Instagram (instagram.com/lonelyplanet), and TikTok (@lonelyplanet).''Lonely Planet. It''s on everyone''s bookshelves; it''s in every traveller''s hands. It''s on mobile phones. It''s on the Internet. It''s everywhere, and it''s telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.'' Fairfax Media (Australia)

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis‘Do yourself a favour and grab this fantastic guide! Explains practical strategies for getting out of our own heads and finding more connection, presence, and joy’ LAURIE SANTOS, Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast _______________________________________________________________________We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we’re too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves with others and fail to see the good in our lives.In The Science of Happiness, world-leading psychologist and happiness expert Bruce Hood demonstrates that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. He presents seven simple but life-changing lessons to break negative thought patterns and re-connect with the things that really matter. Alter Your Ego Avoid Isolation Reject Negative Comparisons Become More Optimistic Control Your Attention Connect With Others Get Out of Your Own Head  Grounded in decades of studies in neuroscience and developmental psychology, this book tells a radical new story about the roots of wellbeing and the obstacles that lie in our path. With clear, practical takeaways throughout, Professor Hood demonstrates how we can all harness the findings of this science to re-wire our thinking and transform our lives. _______________________________________________________________________‘The Science of Happiness is a rare bird – a book that is grounded in the best new science, written with wit and wisdom, and provides clear and valuable lessons for living your best life. Highly recommended!’ DANIEL GILBERT, author of the New York Times bestseller Stumbling on Happiness‘This is a wonderful guide to what actually makes people happier – full of wisdom backed by a wealth of scientific evidence. If you want practical ideas that you can use right now to boost your wellbeing, this is your book’ ROBERT WALDINGER, author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Study on Happiness‘The most erudite, thoughtful, and original take on this important subject I have ever encountered. I learned something new in every chapter, and as a bonus it’s a page-turning read' MICHAEL SHERMER, author of Why People Believe Weird Things  

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis fully updated and accessible textbook combines Year 1 and Year 2 content for the refreshed OCR specification with brand new cases, activities and features to provide comprehensive support for the A level course. Written by experts Nigel Briggs, Nick Price and Richard Wortley, and edited by Sue Teal, the content is carefully tailored to the OCR specification.- Develop conceptual understanding with full coverage of all topics in the OCR A level specification in one book.- Establish a firm understanding with key term definitions and tables of relevant cases and legislation for each topic.- Build sound knowledge and analysis throughout the course with knowledge-based questions and revision summaries at the end of each chapter.This Student Book is endorsed by OCR- This title fully supports the specification- It has passed OCR''s rigorous quality assurance programme- It is written by curriculum experts

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated history of the Cold War operations of the submarines of the Royal Navy from 1948 to 1990.The Cold War was a period of intense activity for submarines of the Royal Navy, with many hair-raising incidents involving Soviet vessels. They were engaged in frequent hazardous surveillance patrols investigating Soviet submarines and surface warships and their operational tactics, and trailing Soviet strategic submarines (SSBNs), as well as conducting British deterrent SSBN patrols and protecting those patrols using attack submarines (SSNs). There were also dangerous patrols which trialed submarine operation under the Arctic ice-cap. In addition to these activities there were operations in other conflicts and war theaters including the Falklands War, the Suez campaign, the Northern Ireland Troubles, and the Indonesian Confrontation.Naval history expert Dr Paul Brown presents the full history of the Royal Navy in this pivotal era in a fully il

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Book SynopsisWhy do we need art? What Art Does is an invitation to explore this vital question. It is a chance to understand how art is made by all of us. How it creates communities, opens our worlds, and can transform us.Curious and playful, richly illustrated, full of ideas and life, it is an inspiring call to imagine a different future.

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Book SynopsisLonely Planet''s local travel experts reveal all you need to know to plan the trip of a lifetime to Norway.Discover popular and off the beaten track experiences from watching walruses lolling and hunting in Borebukta to hiking in the remote causeway of Ekkerøy in Finnmark, and road tripping along the Lofoten Islands to admire villages replete with traditional fishing cabins.Build a trip to remember with Lonely Planet''s Norway Travel Guide: Our classic guidebook format provides you with the most comprehensive level of information for planning multi-week trips Updated with an all new structure and design so you can navigate Norway and connect experiences together with ease Create your perfect trip with exciting itineraries f

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Book SynopsisAncient scriptures from the most popular book of all time, revolutionised to reveal its themes and narratives for a modern generation.Billions of people across the world find solace, meaning and wisdom from reading the Bible. But for some, it can be a difficult book to engage with and understand. In this this pioneering book Karen Sawrey shows you the bible as you never seen it before, using powerful infographics, with data sourced by experts in their fields, to communicate the key biblical themes and narratives. The Info Graphic Bible focuses on the meta narrative, the key points of the major stories and themes, to give the reader insight into the bigger story and help you understand the complex or abstract themes in a relevant way.Through revealing the ancient traditions, showing connections between Old and New Testament themes, and profiling important characters, you are left with a deeper and more memorable interpretation of the scriptures. Covering themes such as the First Family Trade ReviewSHORTLISTED FOR THE CHRISTIAN RETAILERS TOGETHER AWARD FOR BEST BIBLE AND BEST BOOK OF 2019 ‘Awesome and ambitious … an elegant revisioning of the most read book in the world’ David McCandless [Author of Information is Beautiful] ‘This is an exciting and innovative project which will open many people’s eyes to hitherto unsuspected dimensions of the biblical story’ NT Wright [Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of St Andrews]

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Book SynopsisBy walking, you escape from the very idea of identity, the temptation to be someone, to have a name and a history ... The freedom in walking lies in not being anyone; for the walking body has no history, it is just an eddy in the stream of immemorial life.In A Philosophy of Walking, a bestseller in France, leading thinker Frédéric Gros charts the many different ways we get from A to B-the pilgrimage, the promenade, the protest march, the nature ramble-and reveals what they say about us. Gros draws attention to other thinkers who also saw walking as something central to their practice. On his travels he ponders Thoreau's eager seclusion in Walden Woods; the reason Rimbaud walked in a fury, while Nerval rambled to cure his melancholy. He shows us how Rousseau walked in order to think, while Nietzsche wandered the mountainside to write. In contrast, Kant marched through his hometown every day, exactly at the same hour, to escape the compulsion of thought. Brilliant and erudite, A Philosophy of Walking is an entertaining and insightful manifesto for putting one foot in front of the other.Trade Review"Resolving to take more walks in the new year might sound like promising to take more naps--choosing idleness over work. But a lot of clever people don't see it that way [...] Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers--Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac--have also been indefatigable walkers." -- Christopher Caldwell * Financial Times *A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it's beautifully written: clear, simple, precise. -- Carole Cadwalladr * Observer *Poignant life-stories ... are interspersed with the author's own meditations on walking... In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk! * Independent *Impressive. * Telegraph *"Life-affirming stuff." * National Geographic Traveller *"Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul." * Booklist *"This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject." * Publisher's Weekly *This short, simple and profound book... will be read and re-read. * Times Higher Education *Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers - Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac - have also been indefatigable walkers . there are certain magical things that happen on the trail, and Gros is familiar with them. He thinks like a hiker. * Financial Times *An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary. * Le Monde *An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning. * L’Express *Unpretentious and refreshing. -- Jonathon Sturgeon * Flavorwire *A long walk, Gros suggests, allows us to commune with the sublime. * New York Times *Celebrates the liberation of the mind that comes with walking, especially in natural areas: I hike, therefore, I am. -- Matt Jaffe

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Book SynopsisFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SKY WARRIORS AND SBS, COMES AN EPIC HISTORY ABOUT THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAn invaluable collection of wisdom penned by the ancient philosopher Seneca. This compendium of insightful correspondence offers a road map to a more fulfilled existence, inviting readers to adopt the stoic mindset and attain greater resilience, wisdom, and serenity. Seneca's words resonate across centuries, guiding modern minds to live purposefully and confront the complexities of existence with grace and wisdom.

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Book SynopsisPerennially on the outside, Brian has led a solitary life; he works at Camden Council, lunches every day at Il Castelletto café and then returns to his small flat on Kentish Town Road. It is an existence carefully crafted to avoid disturbance and yet Brian yearns for more. A visit one day to the BFI brings film into his life, and Brian introduces a new element to his routine: nightly visits to the cinema on London’s South Bank. Through the works of Yasujirō Ozu, Federico Fellini, Agnes Varda, Yilmaz Güney and others, Brian gains access to a rich cultural landscape outside his own experience, but also achieves his first real moments of belonging, accepted by a curious bunch of amateur film buffs, the small informal group of BFI regulars. A tender meditation on friendship and the importance of community, Brian is also a tangential work of film criticism, one that is not removed from its subject matter, but rather explores with great feeling how art gives meaning to and enriches our lives.Trade Review‘Brian is affecting, funny and, at 184 pages, a skilfully compressed chronicle of one man’s life and the cornucopia of film that enriches it.’ — Max Liu, Financial Times‘[T]he novel’s celebration of ordinariness and anonymity…It’s a quiet and even melancholic vision…Cooper gives us chronology without event, people without relationships, art without identification, agglomeration without purpose. And so we are forced to focus on what’s left—the structure of a life story, mediated through art, but not redeemed by it.’ — Clair Wills, New York Review of Books‘What makes Jeremy Cooper’s seventh novel appealing and convincing is the author’s serene prose and tender, understated empathy…This is an affectionate, thoughtful portrait of a gentle soul.’ — David Collard, Times Literary Supplement‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt such warmth for a character, or that I’ve been able to see cinema through another’s eyes insuch a lucid, sustained way. As Brian moves further and further into a life of moviegoing, ordering his days, and then years, around it, he finds companionship and a calm sense of wellbeing. As I read this beautifully subtle novel, I found the same.’ — Amina Cain, author of A Horse at Night‘After having published his luminous Ash Before Oak, Jeremy Cooper now brings us Brian, equally a work of mysterious interiority and poetry. It confirms that however solitary life might be, art enriches both our imaginations and our realities. This is a very tender book.’ — Xiaolu Guo, author of A Lover’s Discourse‘There’s a strange magic to Jeremy Cooper’s writing. The way he puts words together creates an incantatory effect. Reading him is to be spellbound, then. I have no idea how he does it, only that I am seduced.’ — Ben Myers, author of The Offing‘Jeremy Cooper’s work is consistently haunting and layered, built on a refreshing trust in the reader to delve deeper behind the quiet insinuations of his prose. His work resists every modern accelerant, creating a patient and precise tonic. He is easily one of the most thoughtful British fiction writers working today.’ — Adam Scovell, author of How Pale the Winter Has Made Us‘This novel achieves a great deal with its close insistence on the dignity of a quiet life invigorated by the most defamiliarising art form of them all.’ — Jonathan Gharraie, Review 31‘A novel of simmering cinephilia…. Told in close third person, Brian unfolds neutrally and with little at stake, the frictionless description of the extremely circumscribed life of its protagonist often segueing to plot synopses and analyses of the scores of movies he takes in.’ — Melissa Anderson, Bookforum‘Every city has its Brians. Every cinema has its Brians. Still, in his looping disassociation, Cooper’s Brian recalls not just Bartleby[...] and Prufrock[...] but also a particularly English lineage of introverts and isolates….’ — Sukhdev Sandhu, 4 Columns‘Somewhere between a novel and a work of film criticism, Cooper’s book is a celebration of the amateur enthusiast, and a reminder of why we all need art in our lives.’ — Lucy Scholes, Prospect Books of the Year‘A novel in epistolary form, the writer and art historian’s latest work is both an intimate account of a mother-daughter relationship and a lively history of London’s art scene. It is October 1985 when Lynn moves to the capital to study at Saint Martin’s, later making a successful career as an artist. She and her mother, who is back at home in Birmingham, begin a 30-year-long written relationship – via letters, postcards and emails. Their contact is irregular, and by turns affectionate and combative, making the relationship feel engrossing, deep and utterly true.’ — New Statesman (Praise for Bolt from the Blue)‘Low-key and understated, this beautiful book ... is a civilised and melancholy document that slowly progresses towards a sense of enduring, going onwards, and even new life. It feels like a healing experience.’ — Phil Baker, Sunday Times (Praise for Ash Before Oak)

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2022''Pacey and potentially revolutionary'' Sunday Times ''Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read'' The Guardian For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what''s really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action.''This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast'' Nassim Nicholas Taleb''The most profound and exciting book I''ve read in thirty years'' Robin D. G. KelleyTrade ReviewA boldly ambitious work ... entertaining and thought-provoking ... an impressively large undertaking that succeeds in making us reconsider not just the remote past but also the too-close-to-see present, as well as the common thread that is our shifting and elusive nature. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *What a gift ... Graeber and Wengrow offer a history of the past 30,000 years that is not only wildly different from anything we're used to, but also far more interesting: textured, surprising, paradoxical, inspiring. -- William Deresiewicz * The Atlantic *Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read ... As we seek new, sustainable ways to organise our world, we need to understand the full range of ways our ancestors thought and lived. And we must certainly question conventional versions of our history which we have accepted, unexamined, for far too long. -- David Priestland * The Guardian *Pacey and potentially revolutionary ... This is more than an argument about the past, it is about the human condition in the present. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *A fascinating, radical, and playful entry into a seemingly exhaustively well-trodden genre, the grand evolutionary history of humanity. It seeks nothing less than to completely upend the terms on which the Standard Narrative rests ... erudite, compelling, generative, and frequently remarkably funny ... once you start thinking like Graeber and Wengrow, it's difficult to stop. -- Emily M. Kern * Boston Review *A spectacular, flashy and ground-breaking retelling of human history, blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom. Full of fresh thinking, it's a pleasure to read and offers a bracing challenge on every page. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * BBC History *A timely, intriguing, original and provocative take on the most recent thirty thousand years of human history ... consistently thought-provoking ... In forcing us to re-examine some of the cosy assumptions about our deep past, Graeber and Wengrow remind us very clearly of the perils of holding ourselves captive to a deterministic vision of human history as we try to shape our future. -- James Suzman * Literary Review *An engrossing series of insights ... They re-inject humanity into our distant forebears, suggesting that our prevailing story about human history - that not much innovation occurred in human societies until the invention of agriculture - is utterly wrong. -- Anthony Doerr * Observer *Fascinating, thought-provoking, groundbreaking. A book that will generate debate for years to come. -- Rutger BregmanThe Dawn of Everything is also the radical revision of everything, liberating us from the familiar stories about humanity's past that are too often deployed to impose limitations on how we imagine humanity's future. Instead they tell us that what human beings are most of all is creative, from the beginning, so that there is no one way we were or should or could be. Another of the powerful currents running through this book is a reclaiming of Indigenous perspectives as a colossal influence on European thought, a valuable contribution to decolonizing global histories. -- Rebecca SolnitSynthesizing much recent scholarship, The Dawn of Everything briskly overthrows old and obsolete assumptions about the past, renews our intellectual and spiritual resources, and reveals, miraculously, the future as open-ended. It is the most bracing book I have read in recent years. -- Pankaj MishraThis is not a book. This is an intellectual feast. There is not a single chapter that does not (playfully) disrupt well seated intellectual beliefs. It is deep, effortlessly iconoclastic, factually rigorous, and pleasurable to read. -- Nassim Nicholas TalebA fascinating inquiry, which leads us to rethink the nature of human capacities, as well as the proudest moments of our own history, and our interactions with and indebtedness to the cultures and forgotten intellectuals of indigenous societies. Challenging and illuminating. -- Noam ChomskyThe book has captured the public imagination ... and is being cited as the reason why students apply to do archaeology courses. It's probably the biggest boost to the field since Indiana Jones escaped from the snake pit. -- Andrew Anthony * The Observer *Graeber and Wengrow have effectively overturned everything I ever thought about the history of the world ... The authors don't just debunk the myths, they give a thrilling intellectual history of how they came about, why they persist, and what it all means for the just future we hope to create. The most profound and exciting book I've read in thirty years. -- Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical ImaginationScholarly, irreverent, radical and genuinely ground-breaking - my kind of non-fiction. -- Emma DabiriA massive, bracing book that turns ideas like progress and civilization inside out. It looks at the past with excitement and the future with optimism and invites you to do the same. -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce * The Tablet *A fascinating, intellectually challenging big book about big ideas. * Kirkus *An act of intellectual effrontery that recalls Karl Marx ... The book's a gem. Its dense scholarly detail, compiling archaeological findings from some 30,000 years of global civilizations, is leavened by both freewheeling jokes and philosophic passages of startling originality ... The Dawn takes to the open sea to argue that things are, above all, subject to change. -- Virginia Heffernan * Wired *Are you looking for some hope in a dark season? The Dawn of Everything is a line of light at the edge of the world - an exploration of the radically different ways societies have been organised throughout time ... exciting, fresh and, yes, hopeful. -- Naomi Alderman * The Spectator *A work of dizzying ambition, one that seeks to rescue stateless societies from the condescension with which they're usually treated ... Our forebears crafted their societies intentionally and intelligently: This is the fundamental, electrifying insight of The Dawn of Everything. It's a book that refuses to dismiss long-ago peoples as corks floating on the waves of prehistory. Instead, it treats them as reflective political thinkers from whom we might learn something. -- Daniel Immerwahr * The Nation *Not content with different answers to the great questions of human history, Graeber and Wengrow insist on revolutionizing the very questions we ask. The result: a dazzling, original, and convincing account of the rich, playful, reflective, and experimental symposia that 'pre-modern' indigenous life represents; and a challenging re-writing of the intellectual history of anthropology and archaeology. The Dawn of Everything deserves to become the port of embarkation for virtually all subsequent work on these massive themes. Those who do embark will have, in the two Davids, incomparable navigators. -- James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University, author of Seeing Like a StateGraeber and Wengrow debug cliches about humanity's deep history to open up our thinking about what's possible in the future. There is no more vital or timely project. -- Jaron LanierAs dense, dizzying and ambitious as the title suggests, it offers a new take on 30,000 years of humanity, suggesting our present-centric focus does a disservice to the fascinating lives of our forebears, and providing fresh context for the modern condition. * City A.M. *A truly crucial book ... an engrossing and revelatory re-examination of the human past challenges us to reject outdated ideas and consider new directions for our future. -- Natalie Bennett * Politic Home *A work that is at once dense, funny, thorough, joyful, unabashedly intelligent, and infinitely readable. * The Rumpus *

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Book SynopsisAdam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His books have sold millions of copies, his TED talks have been viewed more than 30 million times, and he hosts the hit podcast Re:Thinking. His pioneering research on motivation and meaning has enabled people to reach their aspirations and exceed others' expectations. His viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across platforms. He has been recognized as one of the world's ten most influential management thinkers and Fortune's 40 Under 40, and has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. Grant received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and their Trade ReviewIn a world of aggressive certitude, Adam Grant's latest book is a refreshing mandate for humble open-mindedness ... not just a useful lesson; it could be a vital one * Financial Times *Wise, frank, and funny; a fabulous book about how to think more clearly and more kindly. Think Again offers a spellbinding mix of storytelling and groundbreaking research -- we urgently need this book right now * Tim Harford, bestselling author of How To Make The World Add Up *Adam Grant believes that keeping an open mind is a teachable skill. And no one could teach this hugely valuable skill better than he does in this wonderful read. The striking insights of this brilliant book are guaranteed to make you rethink your opinions and your most important decisions * Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner in economics and author of THINKING, FAST AND SLOW *Rule number one: never miss a new Adam Grant book! I loved this one! * Malcolm Gladwell *THIS. This is the right book for right now. Yes, learning requires focus. But, unlearning and relearning requires much more -- it requires choosing courage over comfort. In THINK AGAIN, Adam Grant weaves together research and storytelling to help us build the intellectual and emotional muscle we need to stay curious enough about the world to actually change it. I've never felt so hopeful about what I don't know * Brené Brown, Ph.D., #1 New York Times bestselling author of DARE TO LEAD *

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Book Synopsis

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