Reportage, journalism or collected columns Books

Book SynopsisThe ideal gift for rugby fansPairing epic sports photography with articles from The Times and The Sunday Times archive, this volume brings together 100 of the most iconic moments from World Cup history.With striking, full-colour photography, rarely seen archival images and sensational reporting on the action, The Times Rugby World Cup Moments tells the story of one of the world's greatest single sporting events as it unfolded on and off the pitch.Featuring the most memorable tries, historic drop goals, legendary players and unforgettable controversies, these split-second moments have changed the course of Rugby World Cup history and generated a global sensation along the way.The perfect gift for any rugby fan, some of the best moments from this book include: The first Rugby World Cup, New Zealand & Australia 1987 Western Samoa upset the odds, Britain, Ireland & France 1991 National victory for the Springboks, South Africa 1995 Squeegees triumph over weather conditions, South Africa 1995 Jonny Wilkinson's winning drop goal, Australia 2003 Award-winning tries by Magali Harvey, France 2014 Brave Blossoms shock South Africa and the world, England 2015 Typhoon Hagibis hits World Cup, Japan 2019 Black Ferns and Red Roses battle for glory, New Zealand 2021

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Book SynopsisPatrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction), Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (now streaming on Disney+), as well as two previous critically-acclaimed books, The Snakehead, and Chatter. He is the writer and host of the eight-part podcast Wind of Change on the origins of the Scorpions' power ballad, which The Guardian named the #1 podcast of 2020. He is the recipient of the 2014 National Magazine Award for Feature Writing, was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting in 2015 and 2016, and also received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He grew up in Boston and now lives in New York.Trade ReviewEminently bingeable, religiously fact-checked and seductively globetrotting . . . A preternaturally attentive reporter at work. * Observer *A new book by Keefe means drop everything and close the blinds; you’ll be turning pages for hours . . . Highly entertaining’ * Los Angeles Times *Keefe follows his award-winning opus with a collection of 12 pen portraits . . . that are no less compelling for being sketched on a smaller canvas. * Financial Times ‘Best Summer Books of 2022’ *Reflects the collective preoccupations of the unsettling era in which we now live: mass shootings and terrorism, mental health issues, and the many flavors of financial corruption . . . Keefe is a virtuoso storyteller, able to create suspense with his descriptions of how these crimes unfolded. * Washington Post *Each [piece] could be a book in its own right . . . [Keefe] has an eye for the smallest detail that reveals something big. * Sunday Times *A wonderful book, not only because Keefe's prose is masterful, but because he has a preternatural gift for reading people. * National Public Radio *Extraordinary * Wall Street Journal *One of the finest non-fiction writers of his generation * Toronto Star *A king of contemporary nonfiction * Entertainment Weekly *Iconic . . . Keefe delivers masterpieces * Oprah Daily *I read everything he writes. Every time he writes a book, I read it. Every time he writes an article, I read it . . . he’s a national treasure. -- Rachel Maddow

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Book SynopsisA WATERSTONES BOOK OF 2023''A beautiful blend of memoir, reportage and history...superb.''Irish Times''...powerful and insightful...Miller provides a human dimension to a bloody conflict.'' Kirkus ReviewsThis is a fully updated paperback edition of the highly successful The War Came To Us, written by the leading journalist of the conflict who has lived and worked in Ukraine for over a decade, and includes a new foreword and never-before-seen photographs.Although Russia''s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched in 2022, the seeds of the war were sown a decade earlier.This is the definitive, inside story of Ukraine''s long fight for freedom. Told through Miller''s personal experiences, vivid front-line dispatches and illuminating interviews with unforgettable characters, The War Came To Us takes readers on a riveting journey through the key locales and pivotal events of Ukraine''s mod

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Book SynopsisAn important and deeply moving book' TelegraphThis gripping, inflaming book, itself an act of fury, shows how revenge can transmute into politics or be crushed by it' Larissa MacFarquharBrittany Smith, a young woman from Stevenson, Alabama, killed a man she said raped her in her own home, but was denied the protection of a self-defense argument. Angoori Dahariya led a gang in Uttar Pradesh, India, dedicated to avenging victims of domestic abuse. Cicek Mustafa Zibo fought in a thousands-strong all-female militia that battled ISIS in Syria. Can women's acts of vengeance help to create lasting change in their communities, or will they ultimately hurt their cause?In this profoundly moving book, award-winning journalist Elizabeth Flock explores the stories of three women living in deeply patriarchal places with destructive cultures of honour, places in which institutions government, police, courts failed to protect women from violence, leaving them no option but to stand up and prot

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Book SynopsisThe twentieth anniversary edition of Caroline Elkins's Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé, now with a new introductionAfter decades of British rule in Kenya, 1952 saw the start of the Mau Mau uprising a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain''s colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of 1.5 million. Detainees in their thousands possibly a hundred thousand or more died from exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. For decades these events remained untold.Caroline Elkins conducted years of research to piece together this story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors. A groundbreaking account of Kenya's fight for independence and its violent suppression, Britain''s Gulag details the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to uphold its empire.''An extraordinary act of historical recovery'' New Yorker''Disturbing and horrifying...important and memorable'' Caroline Moorehead

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Book Synopsis‘We must reveal the truth – it’s our duty. The world must know what is going on here … We have to carry on reporting. This is what keeps me going: reporting so that the world will never forget.’ – Asami Terajima, reporter for The Kyiv IndependentHow does a newsroom, made up of young journalists, find itself in a war zone overnight? How do you do your job as a correspondent when the conflict is literally on your doorstep?One member of The Kyiv Independent’s young editorial staff was covering the business world in Ukraine, another was reporting on entertainment, while a third was dealing with geopolitics, when the Russian army crossed the border. They made the choice to stay: to face head-on the uncertainty of living and working in an active war zone. The power cuts, threat to life, trips to shelters, lethal attacks – despite it all, they keep informing.In War Diary of the Ukrainian Resistance, they share their work on the war that is ravaging their country. Combining articles published during the conflict with personal accounts, they give us an unprecedented inside look at the reality of the Russian invasion and its consequences.Everyone has a part to play in the resistance; reporting the truth is theirs. Their names are Alexander, Anastasiia, Anna, Artur, Asami, Daria, Daryna, Dinara, Francis, Igor, Illia, Iryna, Kostyantyn, Liza, Natalia, Oleg, Oleksiy, Olena, Olga, Thaisa, Toma, Veronika and Zakhar. Their lives will never be the same again. Nor will ours.

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Book SynopsisAn award-winning journalist courageously reveals the personal cost of war reporting, vividly recalling his dangerous assignment and confronting its devastating impact on his family. After ten years reporting from central Africa, Anjan Sundaram is living a quiet life in Canada with his wife and new-born. But when preparations for genocide emerge in the Central African Republic, he is suddenly torn between his duty to his family, and his moral responsibility to expose the conflict. Soon he is travelling through the CAR, driven by a possible spy—discovering ransacked villages and locals fleeing imminent massacre, fielding offers of mined gold, and hearing of soldiers who steal schoolbooks for cigarette paper. When he refuses to return home, journeying instead into a rebel stronghold, he learns that there is no going back to the life he has left behind. Breakup illuminates the personal price paid by those bearing witness on the frontlines of humanitarian crimes across the globe. This brilliantly introspective, strikingly grounded account of perilous warzones and inner turmoil is sure to become a modern classic.Trade Review'War destroys countries. War destroys love. At its heart, Breakup is about a forgotten war in a country far away. But it is also a universal story, beautifully written and passionately told, of a seeker on a dangerous journey, about the power of love and the eventual redemption that a child and family can bring. Breakup captures this in all its pain, joy, sadness, and mystery.' * Janine di Giovanni, author of Ghosts by Daylight: Love, War, and Redemption *

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Book SynopsisAnna Politkovskaya turns her steely gaze on President Putin and his early regime in this explosive book.From Putin's tyrannical grip on ordinary citizens to rampant corruption in highest ranks of the government, as well as Mafia dealings, scandals in the provinces and the decline of the intelligentsia, Politkovskaya offers a scathing condemnation of the President and his rule, revealing a shocking state of affairs: soldiers dying from malnutrition, parents requiring to bribes to recover their dead sons' bodies and conscripts are being hired out as slaves.Politkovskaya was an internationally admired, fearless and award-winning journalist who was assassinated in 2006. More relevant and important than ever in today's political landscape, Putin's Russia is both a gripping portrayal of a country in crisis and the testament of an extraordinary reporter.'A searing portrait of a country in disarray and of the man at its helm, from the bravest of journalists' New York Times'Anna Politkovskaya is a heroic journalist' Guardian'We will continue to learn from her for years' Salman RushdieTrade ReviewA hero among hacks * Guardian *If you haven't done so yet, read Politkovskaya's books * Independent *Anna Politkovskaya refused to lie, in her work; her murder is a ghastly act, and an attack on world literature -- Nadine GordimerWe will continue to learn from her for years -- Salman RushdieHer eye for detail was unfailing * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisEvery time you try to say 'Africa is...' the words crumble and break. From every generalisation you must exclude at least five countries. And just as you think you've nailed down a certainty, you find the opposite is also true. Africa is full of surprises. For the past three decades, Richard Dowden has travelled this vast and varied continent, listening, learning, and constantly re-evaluating all he thinks he knows. Country by country, he has sought out the local and the personal, the incidents, actions, and characters to tell a story of modern sub-Saharan Africa - an area affected by poverty, disease and war, but also a place of breathtaking beauty, generosity and possibility. The result is a landmark book, compelling, illuminating, and always surprising. Updated for 2018, Africa remains one of the most comprehensive, intelligent and responsive works on the continent ever written.

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Book SynopsisLouisa May Alcott (1832–1888) is, of course, best known as the author of Little Women (1868). But she was also a noted essayist who wrote on a wide range of subjects, including her father’s failed utopian commune, the benefits of an unmarried life, and her experience as a young woman sent to work in service to alleviate her family’s poverty. Her first literary success was a contemporary close-up account of the American Civil War, brilliantly depicted in Hospital Sketches drawn from her own experience of serving as an army nurse near the nation’s capitol. As with her famous novel, Alcott writes these essays with clear observation, unforgettable scenes, and one of the sharpest wits in American literature. Blending gentle satire with reportage and emotive autobiography, Alcott’s exquisite essays are as exceptional as the novels she is known for. Published together for the first time, this delightful selection shows us another side to one of our most celebrated writers.Trade Review'Lively, occasionally grim, and genuinely funny essays from a beloved author.' * Kirkus *'A Strange Life is a thorough pleasure. Modest in size and design – it’ll fit in a pocket – the book puts emphasis where it belongs: on the vigorous prose of one of America’s most charming and memorable stylists.' * Wall Street Journal *'In bringing together opinion pieces, travelogues and personal snippets, this pocket-sized volume opens fascinating windows into Alcott’s mind.' * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisNeerja Chowdhury's book explores India's prime ministers' key decisions, offering insights into their leadership styles and historical impact. It analyzes pivotal moments to reveal decision-making processes of leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V. P. Singh, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh.

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Book SynopsisAs European empires crumbled in the 20th century, the power structures that had dominated the world for centuries were up for renegotiation. Yet instead of a rebirth for democracy, what emerged was a silent coup namely, the unstoppable rise of global corporate power.Exposing the origins of this epic power grab as well as its present-day consequences, Silent Coup is the result of two investigative journalists'' reports from 30 countries around the world. It provides an explosive guide to the rise of a corporate empire that now dictates how resources are allocated, how territories are governed, and how justice is defined.

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Book SynopsisFrom the writer of Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and Superbad, and the director of This is 40 and Trainwreck, comes a collection of intimate, hilarious conversations with the biggest names in comedy from the past thirty yearsTrade Review'The funniest man in Hollywood' Sunday Times'Hilarious and informative... my representatives assure me I will appear in a future edition' Will Ferrell'I can't stop reading it... I don't want this book to end' Jimmy Fallon'Anyone interested in comedy should invest' Heat'It's funny (natch), gossipy, page-turningly readable and packed with hard-won observations about showbusiness and life' GQ'Open this book anywhere, and you're bound to find some interesting nugget from someone who has had you in stitches many, many times' New York Times'These are wonderful, expansive interviews-at times brutal, at times breathtaking-with artists whose wit, intelligence, gaze, and insights are all sharp enough to draw blood' Michael Chabon

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Book Synopsis''This book expertly captures the extraordinary events and legendary drivers who made the sport what it is today. A must-read for any F1 fan.'' Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Winner of the 2024 World Constructors'' Championship''The book is as much for new fans to grasp the glamour and risk of the first decades of the championship, as it is for long-term followers who'll be transported back through F1's 74 seasons by colourful contemporary reporting.'' Motor Sport Magazine________________________________________________________________________________________The perfect gift for Formula 1 fansIt''s the sport that has it all: thrills, spills, technical sophistication and daredevil brilliance. From its origins in war-torn Europe to today''s global phenomenon, Speed: The History of Formula 1 World Championships charts the past eight decades of F1.With articles from The Times covering the most iconic races, epic rivalries, engineering innovations and mind-bending statistics, this collection will make you feel as if you were there in the moment watching Formula 1''s greatest legends unfold on the track.Filled with incredible stories about the sport''s movers and shakers, in this volume you''ll find:Coverage of 74 World Championships, from 1950 to 2023A foreword by Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren RacingExpert commentary from Kevin Eason, former motor racing correspondent for The TimesSeason analysis, race reports, results tables and recordsIncredible photography of the cars, drivers and key racing momentsA must-read history book for Formula 1 enthusiasts and fans of Netflix''s Drive to Survive series.

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Book SynopsisOn the morning of Saturday 22nd April 1978, members of an Active Service Unit of the IRA hijacked a car and crossed the countryside to the town of Lisburn. Within an hour, they had killed an off-duty policeman in front of his young son. In Anatomy of a Killing, award-winning journalist Ian Cobain documents the hours leading up to the killing, and the months and years of violence, attrition and rebellion surrounding it. Drawing on interviews with those most closely involved, as well as court files, police notes, military intelligence reports, IRA strategy papers, memoirs and government records, this is a unique perspective on the Troubles, and a revelatory work of investigative journalism.Trade ReviewBy homing in on one man's violent death, Ian Cobain tells a riveting and tragic story but, while doing that, he has also written a precise, compelling history of the Troubles. It's one of the best I've read -- Roddy DoyleA remarkable piece of forensic journalism and a worthy addition to the Troubles bookshelf -- Ed MoloneyIan Cobain has provided a superb piece of journalism that avoids any moralising or analysing from his own perspective and that has a powerful impact on the reader, forcing the reader to consider the humanity of the players but also leaving space for the reader to make the final judgment on who was right and who was wrong or if the whole sorry mess could have been avoided -- Malachi O’DohertyAnatomy of a Killing is meticulously researched and the results are arresting. For anyone who grew up in The Troubles, this will be a valuable reminder of just how dark a shadow we lived under. For many others, it will be shocking to discover what people in one part of the British Isles had to endure in recent times -- Timothy PhiliipsIan Cobain has written a brilliant and balanced account of the ugly war of attrition fought between the IRA and the British state. He traces the interwoven lives of an IRA team, revealing the social divisions, injustices and passions that that led to a brutal killing in the late 1970s. His reconstruction of a forgotten assassination and its reverberations offers a compelling microhistory of the Troubles, and explains why Northern Ireland is still a deeply traumatised society -- Ian McBride, Foster Professor of Irish History, University of OxfordAn ambitious social and political history of the Troubles, drawing on court files, interviews, police notes and IRA strategy papers... Cobain leaves no perspective unexamined... A deftly rendered history that refuses to simplify a messy and tragic period * Prospect *A brilliant, captivating, richly illuminating account of a brutal killing. Essential reading for anyone interested in the Northern Ireland conflict * Richard English, author of Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA *

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Book SynopsisIn 1964 Ryszard Kapuscinski was appointed by the Polish Press Agency as its only foreign correspondent, and for the next ten years he was 'responsible' for fifty countries. He befriended Che Guevara in Bolivia, Salvador Allende in Chile and Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. He reported on the fighting that broke out between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969 around their matches to determine which one of them would qualify for the 1970 World Cup. By the time he returned to Poland he had witnessed twenty-seven revolutions and coups. The Soccer War is Kapuscinski's eyewitness account of some of the most defining moments in twentieth-century history.Trade Review* 'Part-diary, part-documentary account of the twenty years in which Kapuscinski make the telex machines chatter with his unique reportage, his datelines forming a gazetter of the world's trouble spots' Sunday Telegraph *'In this book you learn what it feels like to have benzene poured over you by someone who is about to set you alight. You feel very cold indeed' James Fenton, Independent on Sunday *'As rich and strange as anything in Marquez' Guardian

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE AMERICAN BOOK AWARD AND THE LA TIMES BOOK AWARD''Masterly. Brilliantly crafted, powerfully written and deftly reported'' Guardian The urgent and unforgettable true story of post-Katrina New Orleans . . .In August 2005, as Hurricane Katrina blew in, the city of New Orleans has been abandoned by most citizens. But resident Abdulrahman Zeitoun, though his wife and family had gone, refused to leave. For days he traversed an apocalyptic landscape of flooded streets by canoe. But eventually he came to the attention of those ''guarding'' this drowned city. Only then did Zeitoun''s nightmare really begin.Zeitoun is the powerful, ultimately uplifting true story of one man''s courage when confronted with an awesome force of nature followed by more troubling human oppression.''Eggers uses Zeitoun''s eyes to report on America''s reasonless post-Katrina world, Reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Márquez''s documentaries, this is a true story told with the skills of a master of fiction. Immensely readable'' Independent''The stuff of great narrative non-fiction. Fifty years from now, when people want to know what happened to this once-great city, they will be talking about a family named Zeitoun'' The New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewEggers uses Zeitoun's eyes to report on America's reasonless post-Katrina world. Reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's documentaries, this is a true story told with the skills of a master of fiction. Immensely readable * Independent *Masterly. Brilliantly crafted, powerfully written and deftly reported * Guardian *The shocking tale of a true New Orleans hero. This is narrative non-fiction at its very, very best * Herald *Shocking * The Times *Extraordinary, gripping * Daily Telegraph *Terrifying * Observer *Riveting * Vanity Fair *

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Book SynopsisUranus is the coldest planet in the solar system, a frozen giant named after a Greek deity. It is also the inspiration for Uranism, a concept coined by the writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs in 1864 to define the 'third sex' and the rights of those who 'love differently'. Following in Ulrichs's footsteps, Paul B. Preciado dreams of an apartment on Uranus where he can live, free of the modern power taxonomies of race, gender, class or disability. In this bold and transgressive book, Preciado recounts his transformation from Beatriz into Paul B., and examines other processes of political, cultural and sexual transition, reflecting on socio-political issues including the rise of neo-fascism in Europe, the criminalization of migrants, the harassment of trans children, the technological appropriation of the uterus, and the role artists and museums might play in the writing of a new social contract. A stepchild of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, Preciado argues, with courage and conviction, for a planetary revolution of all living beings against the norm.Trade Review‘Paul B. Preciado has the magic ability to fire off imperatives that don’t feel bossy, but rather incite us to join him in whatever crackling energy, urgent curiosity, and dynamic nomadism is flowing through him. Reading these chronological missives offers the real pleasure of Preciado’s company in time, and inspires us not just to stay with our trouble, but to greet it with unstoppable speech, complex solidarity, glitter, and defiance.’ — Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts‘An arresting, bold and moving book about crossing boundaries — of body, sex, nation, species and language — by an important dissident of dualism.’ — Amia Srinivasan, author of The Right to Sex‘Like all of us, it turns out, Preciado was born on Uranus and dragged down to earth against his will. The language of that fall from grace won’t get us home, but at least Preciado helps us imagine what might.’ — Kevin Brazil, ArtReview

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Book SynopsisDiscover the lives of some of the most fascinating and unconventional characters of recent times, with 85 obituaries carefully curated from The Times archive. Be they dons, pop stars, vicars, MPs, rugby players or aristocrats, each has marched to the beat of their own drum and led a life far from ordinary.The Times obituaries have given readers throughout the world an instant picture of a life for more than 150 years. Meet the mavericks, rogues and eccentrics from recent history, including:Baroness Trumpington, the codebreaking, chainsmoking, two-finger-flicking grande dame of British politicsMagic Alex' Mardas, inventor who was the Beatles' scientific guru'Zsa Zsa Gábor, Hungarian socialite and actress who made a success out of celebrity and was best known for having married nine timesJohn Lucas, influential philosopher who argued against determinism and had a reputation for being the most eccentric don in OxfordBrigadier Jack Thomas, military police commander who survived a landmine,

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Book SynopsisSELECTED BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND DAUNTS BOOKS AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024ONE OF PROSPECT''S POLITICS & REPORTAGE BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023''Exquisite . . . A genuine, melancholy masterpiece'' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE''A journalistic marvel'' JAMES MEEK''A powerful, unforgettable book'' NADIFA MOHAMMEDFrom Orwell Prize winning journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad comes a searing and nuanced biography of a lost IraqThis is the story of a people who once lived under the rule of a megalomaniac leader who shaped the state in his own image. Then one day, after yet another war, a foreign army invaded, toppled the leader, destroyed the state, and proceeded to invent a new country. This is the story of a people who watched with horror as their world fragmented into a hundred different cities, as walls rose between them and bodies piled in the streets.

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Book Synopsis'Revisiting this selection of diaries and essay-reviews from the London Review of Books is restorative, an extended spa treatment that stretches tired brains and unkinks the usual habitual responses where Hitchens is concerned.' James Wolcott in his introduction Christopher Hitchens was a star writer wherever he wrote, and the same was true of the London Review of Books, to which he contributed sixty pieces over two decades. Anthologised here for the first time, this selection of his finest LRB reviews, diaries and essays (along with a smattering of ferocious letters) finds Hitchens at his very best. Familiar bêtes noires - Kennedy, Nixon, Kissinger, Clinton - rub shoulders with lesser-known preoccupations: P.G. Wodehouse, Princess Margaret and, magisterially, Isaiah Berlin. Here is Hitchens on the (first) Gulf War and the 'Salman Rushdie Acid Test', on being spanked by Mrs Thatcher in the House of Lords and taking his son to the Oscars, on America's homegrown Nazis and 'Acts of Violence in Grosvenor Square' in 1968. Edited by the London Review of Books, with an introduction by James Wolcott, this collection recaptures, ten years after his death, 'a Hitch in time': barnstorming, cauterising, and ultimately uncontainable.Trade ReviewAnd yet... there are few journalists who can match the verve and panache of Hitchens's prose. He mixes the loquaciousness of the barfly with the fluency of the literary artist, and could not pen a dull sentence if he tried. * Guardian on AND YET... *The range is remarkable... Literary criticism is often where he shines - the pieces on Orwell and Chesterton, in particular, are alert, nuanced and witty. * The Financial Times on AND YET *What you will find in And Yet..., is a body of work that offers some of the most various, nutritious and amusing prose you are likely to encounter, and that stands as a testament to the consolations of a phrase he cherished: litera scripta manet - the written word remains. * Daily Telegraph on AND YET... *A must-read for its laugh-out-loud consideration of Ian Fleming, alongside his thoughts on Charles Dickens, Salman Rushdie, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. How sad and dull it will be to follow the next American election without his coruscating commentary. * GQ on AND YET... *Table of Contents1: Introduction by James Wolcott 2: The Wrong Stuff: On Tom Wolfe, 1983 3: Diary: Operation Desert Storm, 1991 4: Oh, Lionel! On P.G. Wodehouse, 1992 5: Mary, Mary: On J. Edgar Hoover, 1993 6: Say what you will about Harold: On Harold Wilson, 1993 7: Diary: The Salman Rushdie Acid Test, 1994 8: Diary: Spanking, 1994 9: Who Runs Britain? Police Espionage, 1994 10: Lucky Kim: On Kim Philby, 1995 11: Diary: At the Oscars, 1995 12: Look over your shoulder: The Oklahoma Bombing, 1995 13: Letters: Richard Cummings, Christopher Hitchens 14: After-Time: On Gore Vidal, 1995 15: A Hard Dog to Keep on the Porch: On Bill Clinton, 1996 16: The Trouble with HRH: On Princess Margaret, 1997 17: Brief Shining Moments: Kennedy and Nixon, 1998 18: Letters: Arthur Schlesinger Jr, Christopher Hitchens, Mervyn Jones 19: Acts of Violence in Grosvenor Square: On 1968, 1998 20: Diary: The 'Almanach de Gotha', 1998 21: Moderation or Death: On Isaiah Berlin, 1998 22: Letters: Roger Scruton, Francis Wheen, Mark Lilly, Christopher Hitchens 23: What a Lot of Parties: On Diana Mosley 24: 11 September 1973: Pinochet and Britain

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFor those of us who are Vladimir Nabokov completists perhaps we finally have closure ... Now we have the full Nabokovian ex cathedra pronouncements in all their typical vim and vigour. -- William Boyd * Times Literary Supplement *Masterly, hilarious, truly insightful ... Vladimir Nabokov's views are of compelling interest - paradoxically, because he regularly insisted that his novels sent no message, made no moral case and presented no argument ... His non-fiction stands up astonishingly well. -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator *A rich treat for Nabokov's admirers. * Kirkus *The writer's genius for nailing a subject in a sentence lives on in his stinging reviews and defensive interviews. -- Christian Lorentzen * Financial Times *A fuller, and maybe truer, image of Nabokov ... The greatest pleasure in reading this book is the impression you get that you're opening your presents underneath the Christmas tree ... A lovely blend of literary elements and of personal details pertaining to Nabokov: you experience intellectual marvel when you detect the premises of a famous quote or a literary pattern, and you feel particular pleasure when you get a glimpse of the man hiding behind the famous writer and becoming suddenly relatable. -- Julie Loison-Charles * Transatlantica *

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Book SynopsisOliver Bullough studied modern history at Oxford University and moved to Russia after graduating in 1999. He lived in St Petersburg, Bishkek and Moscow over the next seven years, travelling widely as a reporter for Reuters news agency. He is now the Caucasus Editor for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting. His first book, Let Our Fame Be Great, Journeys Among the Defiant People of the Caucasus, received the Cornelius Ryan award in the United States and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in Britain. Oliver Bullough received the Oxfam Emerging Writer award in 2011.Trade ReviewAn ambitious and wide-ranging journey into the heart of a great, sad country ... He has a talent for sketching the people he meets, often administering a welcome dose of humour, and he appreciates the absurd, in the best Russian tradition -- Arthur House * Sunday Telegraph *Vivid ... very engaging * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis''See my hand up-tipped, learn the secret of my human heart...''Soaring, freewheeling snapshots of life on the road across America, from the Beat writer who inspired a generation.Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGarcía Márquez always thought of himself as a journalist first and foremost and this brilliant collection goes a long way towards justifying that belief. Or, at least, it puts his journalism on the same level as his fiction, which is quite some level. -- Salman RushdieThe articles and columns in The Scandal of the Century demonstrate that his forthright, lightly ironical voice just seemed to be there, right from the start. . . . He's among those rare great fiction writers whose ancillary work is almost always worth finding. . . . He had a way of connecting the souls in all his writing, fiction and nonfiction, to the melancholy static of the universe. * The New York Times *In his journalism, García Márquez's prose was as precise, euphonious and inventive as it was in his fiction. Only a magician of a translator like Anne McLean could get it right. For anyone who has been enthralled by One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Scandal of the Century is an essential book. -- Juan Gabriel Vásquez, author of The Sound of Things Falling

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Book SynopsisJaz O'Hara is the founder of The Worldwide Tribe, a charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers globally. Since founding the charity in 2015, Jaz O'Hara has worked in refugee camps across the world, amplifying the voices of people who too often go unheard via her podcast, Asylum Speakers.As a writer for The Huffington Post, winner of Marie Claire's 'Future Shaper' award and member of Amnesty International's 'Collective', Jaz has become a leading voice on the topic of migration, speaking everywhere from TedX to the United Nations in NYC.

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Book Synopsis'A true genius of comedy' Grayson PerryAs a Metropolitan Elitist Snowflake, Stewart Lee was disappointed by the EU referendum result of 2016.

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Book SynopsisA selection of the next best writing by A. A. Gill -- 'By miles the most brilliant journalist of our age' (Lynn Barber)Trade ReviewA new collection of some of the legendary writer and critic's greatest travel and travel-adjacent pieces, from investigations into Mexican refugees to visiting a nudist beach with Jeremy Clarkson or a review of the last ever night at iconic Spanish restaurant El Bulli. Expect opinions. One to dip in and out of as you journey * HIGH LIFE magazine *Far and Away is a delicious collection of the late AA Gill's travel writing. The pieces bear all the hallmarks of Gill's writing: wit, irreverence, perceptiveness, and the cascading virtuosity of his prose * COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE magazine *

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Book SynopsisPart Chasing the Scream, part How to do Nothing, Breaking Awake is a riveting journey into the world of modern drug use and the global mental health crisis, and a search for reasons and answers.

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Book SynopsisAn original and thrilling investigation into psychedelics and the claims that currently surround them, achieving profound insights' Mike Jay, author of Psychonauts Psychedelics have made a comeback, but the truth is they remain a mystery. In this daring, profound and wildly entertaining investigation, clinical neuropsychologist Andy Mitchell tests the claims being made for these substances by taking ten different psychedelics in ten different settings.Journeying from a neuroimaging lab in London to the Colombian Amazon via Silicon Valley and his friend's basement kitchen, his encounters with scientists and gangsters, venture capitalists and con men, psychonauts and shamans, and above all with the drugs themselves, take us beyond the hype and reveal the reality of psychedelics in all their strangeness, darkness and wonder.Canny and somewhat sceptical . . . rigorous and penetrating . . . This is a wonderful book, a journey into the nature and p

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Book SynopsisWhen you fill up your car, install your furniture or choose a wedding ring, do you ever consider the human cost of your consumables? There is a war raging in the heartlands of Peru, waged on the land by the global industries plundering the Amazon and the Andes. In Saweto, charismatic activist Edwin Chota returns to his ashaninka roots, only to find that his people can't hunt for food because the animals have fled the rainforest to escape the chainsaw cacophony of illegal logging. Farmer Maxima Acuña is trying to grow potatoes and catch fish on the land she bought from her uncle - but she's sitting on top of a gold mine, and the miners will do anything to prove she's occupying her home illegally. The awajun community of the northern Amazon drink water contaminated with oil; child labourer Osman Cuñachí's becomes internationally famous when a photo of him drenched in petrol as part of the clean-up efforts makes it way around the world. Joseph Zárate's stunning work of documentary takes three of Peru's most precious resources - gold, wood and oil - and exposes the tragedy, violence and corruption tangled up in their extraction. But he also draws us in to the rich, surprising world of Peru's indigenous communities, of local heroes and singular activists, of ancient customs and passionate young environmentalists. Wars of the Interior is a deep insight into the cultures alive in the vanishing Amazon, and a forceful, shocking exposé of the industries destroying this land.

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Book SynopsisFear and loathing on the 2020 campaign trail...'26 February, White House Briefing RoomThe coronavirus feels like it is changing everything. Suddenly it's not just a public health emergency; it has the potential to upend this whole election...'In UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others, BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel presents a diary of an election like we've never quite seen before.Experience life as a reporter on the campaign trail, as the election heats up and a global pandemic slowly sweeps in. As American lives are lost at a devastating rate, the presidential race becomes a battle for the very soul of the nation - challenging not just the Trump presidency, but the very institutions of American democracy itself.In this highly personal account of reporting on America in 2020, Jon Sopel takes you behind the scenes of a White House in crisis and an election in turmoil, expertly laying bare the real story of the presidential campaign in a panoramic account of an election and a year like no other.

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Book Synopsis‘The blessing of an inherently interpretive medium like comics is that it hasn't allowed me to . . . make a virtue of dispassion. For good or for ill, the comics medium is adamant, and it has forced me to make choices. In my view, that is part of its message’ – from the preface by Joe SaccoOver the past decade, Joe Sacco has increasingly turned to short-form com­ics journalism to report from conflict zones around the world. Collected here for the first time, Sacco's darkly funny, revealing reportage confirms his standing as one of the foremost international correspondents working today. Journalism takes readers from the smuggling tunnels of Gaza to war crimes trials in The Hague, from the lives of India's 'untouchables' to the ordeal of sub-Saharan refugees washed up on the shores of Malta. Sacco also confronts the misery and absurdity of the war in Iraq, including the darkest chapter in recent American history – the torture of detainees.Vividly depicting Sacco's own interactions with the people he meets, the stories in this remarkable collection argue for the essential truth in comics reportage, an inevitably subjective journalistic endeavour. Among Sacco's most mature and accomplished work, Journalism demonstrates the power of a great comics artist to chronicle lived experience with a force that often eludes other media.Trade ReviewIt is clear that Sacco is one of the masters of his craft. -- Alex Hern * New Statesman *One of the most original cartoonists of the past two decades. * Guardian *Sacco is formidably talented. A meticulous reporter…and a gifted artist whose richly nuanced drawings tread a delicate path between cartoonishness and naturalism. * Independent *Joe Sacco's brilliant, excruciating books of war reportage are potent territory... He shows how much that is crucial to our lives a book can hold. * New York Times Book Review *Moving and informative. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *

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Book SynopsisEighty years ago, at the end of a devastating fratricidal war, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, completely dependent on the United States for security and development. Today it's the tenth economy in the world, dynamic and innovative, a lively and participatory democracy that sits at the table of the great powers. Hallyu the Korean wave of contemporary entertainment has reached every corner of the world.This rapid, astonishing transformation inevitably brought with it rifts and contradictions. If global youth look at Korea as previous generations looked at Hollywood and New York, young Koreans, on the other hand, view it as Hell Joseon: an aging country, an economic system dominated by powerful families, with a fiercely competitive education system, a wide generational gap, and, at the centre of it all, the role of women - one of the keys that The Passenger has chosen to decipher a complex, fascinating country, central to the dynamics of the contemporary

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Book SynopsisSince its relaunch in 1979, Granta magazine has championed the art and craft of reportage - journalism marked by vivid description, a novelist's eye to form and eyewitness reporting that reveals hidden truths about people and events that have shaped the world we know. This new edition of The Granta Book of Reportage collects a dozen of the finest and most lasting pieces Granta has published. Featuring distinguished writers and reporters - John Simpson, James Fenton, Martha Gellhorn, Germaine Greer, Ryszard Kapuscinski, John le Carre, as well as new talents Elana Lappin, Suketu Mehta and Wendell Steavenson - the book covers some of the signal events of our time: the fall of Saigon, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the massacre in Tiananmen Square and the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq.Trade Review"* 'Some of the most powerful journalism of [recent] years, transmitting excitement and intelligence that would be hard to match' John Carey, Sunday Times * 'Killer stuff' Guardian * 'Excellent... Old-fashioned journalism at its best-authoritative, interesting, passionate and honest' Philip Knightley, Mail on Sunday * 'Writings to cherish... A good bedside read' Birmingham Post * 'Essential journalism-in the broadest sense of the word-from a host of justly famous names displaying the classiest form of the reporter's art' Nottingham Evening Post"

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Book SynopsisSeventy-five years after 1984first published, George Orwell is back. Progressives denounce Orwellian' untruths by Trump, Johnson, Putin et al, while conservatives accuse governments and mainstream media of Orwellian' censorship. But what does Orwellian' really mean? What would the man himself say about these crises, and what can we learn from his ideas?Orwell's Ghostsreveals Orwell in all his complexity, exploring his commitment to political liberty and economic justice alongside his undeniable chauvinism. This sharp free thinker's commentaries remain invaluable, whether on political truth, disinformation, class, race and empire, or highlighting the promise of socialism and the dangerous appeal of authoritarianism. Even Orwell's misogyny offers troubling lessons about gender politics on the left. All of his books show remarkable resonance between the first half of the twentieth century and today's world.Revisiting Orwell's own age of rap

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Book Synopsis*Soft cover edition*The most famous sports book in the world, Wisden Cricketers'' Almanack has been published every year since 1864. Highlights from this year''s edition include Gideon Haigh on the men''s Ashes, former England captain Mike Brearley on the captaincy of Ben Stokes, Jonathan Liew on the departure of Stuart Broad, Michael Collins on English cricket''s equity problem, as well as articles by Ebony Rainford-Brent, Emma John, Harry Pearson, Sir Hilary Beckles and many more of the world''s best sportswriters.As usual, Wisden includes the thought-provoking Notes by the Editor, the famous Cricketers of the Year awards, and the authoritative obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.There can''t really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it''s obviously Wisden. Andrew Baker in The Daily Telegraph @

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Book Synopsis*Standard hardback edition*The most famous sports book in the world, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has been published every year since 1864. Home to some of the finest sports writing of the year from the likes of Lawrence Booth, Gideon Haigh, Rob Smyth, Patrick Collins, Simon Wilde, Osman Samiuddin, Tony Cozier, Benj Moorehead, Raf Nicholson and Dileep Premachandran Wisden includes the thought-provoking Notes by the Editor, the famous Cricketers of the Year awards, and the authoritative obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.There can''t really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it''s obviously Wisden. Andrew Baker, The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack

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Book SynopsisJames Bloodworth is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Times, New York Review of Books, Guardian, Prospect and elsewhere. He is also the author of The Myth of Meritocracy and Hired: Six Months in Low-Wage Britain.

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Book SynopsisPassionate, independent-minded nonfiction from the international bestselling author of The Corrections'.Jonathan Franzen''s Freedom' was the literary sensation of 2010, whilst The Corrections' was the best-loved and most written-about novel the previous decade. How to be Alone', is a collection of the personal essays and painstaking, often humorous reportage that have earned Franzen a wide and loyal readership, including what has come to be known as ''The Harper''s Essay'', Franzen''s controversial 1996 look at the fate of the novel. From the sex-advice industry to the way a supermax prison works, from his father''s struggle with Alzheimer''s disease to a rueful account of Franzen''s brief tenure as an Oprah Winfrey author, each piece wrestles with Franzen''s familiar themes: the erosion of civic life and private dignity, and the hidden persistence of loneliness, in postmodern imperial America.These collected essays record what Franzen calls ''a movement away from an angry and frightenTrade Review‘Compelling and invigorating.’The Times ‘A passionate and compelling piece of work … Each page is studded with irresistible writing which leaves you breathless for more. Franzen’s strength is his ability to combine a rigorous intellectual appraoch with an upbeat energy, using language which touches the heart as surely as the head.’Time Out ‘Oprah was right. Franzen is conflicted. That’s what makes him a trustworthy, sceptical essayist.’FT

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewBryant has an encyclopedic knowledge of public affairs and popular culture ... The result is riveting, often revelatory, crammed with facts … The great strength of Bryant’s book is his ability to make large structural changes vivid through outsized personalities and his own personal experiences … Readable, powerful and instructive. * Washington Post *A masterclass from an outstanding chronicler of modern America ... Insightful, thoughtful, and beautifully written. -- Orla GuerinNick Bryant writes like a dream, and is one of those very rare things on TV - a man who makes you want to turn up the sound. His eye for description is sublime, and he has a way of showing you what you’ve been missing from the whole story, whilst never leaving you feeling stupid. -- Emily MaitlisAn absolutely belting achievement ... An elegy for a lost nation and a lost cause. -- Justin WebbThere are all too many people who can opine about the United States but there are very few with Nick Bryant’s depth of knowledge, experience and empathy for the country and his ability to communicate intelligently, engagingly and entertainingly. -- Nick RobinsonBryant is a genuine rarity, a Brit who understands America. * Washington Post *A scathing indictment of the polarization and degradation that has transformed the US … [A]n adroit political critique. * Kirkus Reviews *Few outsiders explain America better than Nick Bryant or write about it as well. This is a must-read guide to an extraordinary time. -- Katty Kay[Bryant] has a deeper understanding than many of the ebb and flow of history ... [His] breezy prose displays a keen eye for good quotations and telling anecdotes. * TLS *Listeners who want a perspective that’s both outside and inside and crucially, that comes from a place of love for the US, should look out for When America Stopped Being Great. * The New Statesman *Terrific. Very much recommended. * The Monocle Daily *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Face to Face with ‘The Donald’ 1 It’s Morning Again in America 2 Goodbye to the Greatest Generation 3 Bill and Newt 4 The Three Convulsions 5 No You Can’t 6 The Donald Trump Show 7 American Carnage 8 The Descent into January 6th Conclusion: Present at the Destruction Afterword: Code Red for American Democracy Acknowledgements Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn The Beekeeper of Sinjar, the acclaimed poet and journalist Dunya Mikhail tells the harrowing stories of women from across Iraq who have managed to escape the clutches of ISIS. Since 2014, ISIS has been persecuting the Yazidi people, killing or enslaving those who won't convert to Islam. These women have lost their families and loved ones, along with everything they've ever known. Dunya Mikhail weaves together the women's tales of endurance and near-impossible escape with the story of her own exile and her dreams for the future of Iraq. In the midst of ISIS's reign of terror and hatred, an unlikely hero has emerged: the Beekeeper. Once a trader selling his mountain honey across the region, when ISIS came to Sinjar he turned his knowledge of the local terrain to another, more dangerous use. Along with a secret network of transporters, helpers, and former bootleggers, Abdullah Shrem smuggles brutalised Yazidi women to safety through the war-torn landscapes of Iraq, Syria, and Eastern Turkey. This powerful work of literary nonfiction offers a counterpoint to ISIS's genocidal extremism: hope, as ordinary people risk torture and death to save the lives of others.Trade ReviewIt is not for the faint-hearted, but they should read it anyway. We should all read it. -- Peter Stanford * Observer *Remarkable ... With this short book, the tragedies and the heroism of this time of horror will survive intact. -- Louise Callaghan * Sunday Times *Rare and powerful ... Mikhail has created a searing portrait of courage, humanity and savagery, told in a mosaic of voices. ... [her] gifts as a poet infuse these narratives with unexpected beauty * The New York Times *Mikhail bears witness to women in war-torn Iraq, women who have scarcely known peace throughout their lives. That she is a poet is clear on each page. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThis sensational 1941 memoir of life on wartime Europe's frontline by a trailblazing female reporter is an 'unforgettable' (The Times) rediscovered classic, introduced by Christina Lamb.Paris as it fell to the NazisLondon on the first day of the BlitzBerlin the day Germany invaded PolandMadrid in the Spanish Civil WarPrague during the Munich crisisLapland as the Russians attackedMoscow betrayed by the GermansVirginia Cowles has seen it all.As a pioneering female correspondent, she reported from the frontline of 1930s Europe into WWII always in the right place at the right time. Flinging off her heels under shellfire; meeting Hitler ('an inconspicuous little man'); gossiping with Churchill by his goldfish pond; dancing in the bomb-blasted Ritz ... Introduced by Christina Lamb, Cowles' incredible dispatches make you an eyewitness to the twentieth century as you haveTrade Review'A brilliant describer with an uncanny ability to be present in the right country when it falls into the abyss ... One of the most atmospheric war descriptions I've read ... Unforgettable.' - The Times'An amazingly brilliant reporter ... One of the most engrossing [books] the war has produced in all its diverse richness of drama and compassion and penetration and wit.' - New York Times

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Book Synopsis With contributions from seven of Mexico''s finest journalists, this is reportage at its bravest and most necessary - it has the power to change the world''s view of their country, and by the force of its truth, to start to heal the country''s many sorrows. Supported the Arts Council Grant''s for the Arts Programme and by PEN Promotes Veering between carnival and apocalypse, Mexico has in the last ten years become the epicentre of the international drug trade. The so-called war on drugs has been a brutal and chaotic failure (more than 160,000 lives have been lost). The drug cartels and the forces of law and order are often in collusion, corruption is everywhere. Life is cheap and inconvenient people - the poor, the unlucky, the honest or the inquisitive - can be disappeared leaving not a trace behind (in September 2015, more than 26,798 were officially registered as not located). Yet people in all walks of life have refused to give up. Trade ReviewThe Sorrows of Mexico describes not only the bloody tragedy of this beautiful country, but also the struggle to make things better. -- Ioan Grillo * Author of Gangster Warlords and El Narco. *Indispensable . . . What is striking about these essays is the sensibilities they reveal, the sense of exasperation, resignation and wry anger coursing through the collection -- Scott Esposito * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisA captivating, eloquent and nuanced book, We All Go into the Dark is an absolute must-read for true-crime fans across the board.Three women were brutally murdered between early 1968 and late 1969, each after a night dancing at Glasgow's infamous Barrowland Ballroom. Their murders were linked and ascribed to the spectre of the well-dressed, scripture-quoting killer who had apparently stalked the city's dancehalls. The figure was never caught or identified.But the intervening years spawned a legend that never quite lost its grip on the popular imagination of Glasgow. The killings provoked the country's largest ever manhunt, as well as countless suspects, books, documentaries, earnest speculation, pub theorising and bouts of urban mythmaking.In We All Go into the Dark, Francisco Garcia delves into how Bible John has morphed across generations, interrogates our collective obsession with solving' historic crimes and questions why some killings are forgotten with indecent haste and why otherTrade Review‘Both profound and hypnotic, this is a deep dive into the mysteriously compelling nature of all true true crime stories. I could not put it down. – Denise Mina ‘Fantastic…a book about our obsession with true crime, what it says about us and the dark corners in our heads.’ – David Whitehouse, author of About a Son We All Go Into the Dark is a highly original book – a work of true crime that is as interested in the myths surrounding the Bible John murders as it is in the person who committed them. With moral sensitivity, sophistication and scrupulous honesty, Francisco Garcia takes us deep into the realm of endless ambiguity which is the true subject of this fascinating book. – Mark O’Connell author of To Be a Machine We All Go Into The Dark is a tremendous feat of compassion, integrity and incisive consideration. Its sophisticated moral analysis and humanity mark it as something far beyond the usual confines of the true crime genre, most fascinatingly on the competing mythologies which emerge around crimes which grip the press and the culture. Garcia asks not only who we remember and why, but also who we forget and why, and in this subtle expansion of terms has created a powerful, original and beautifully written account of a haunting killer and the stories which surround him. – Megan Nolan author of Acts of Desperation

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