Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisTales from the Tower of London

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Book SynopsisA classic study of the Jews by a best selling author.In this critically acclaimed book, Paul Johnson delves deep into the 4,000-year history of the Jews: a race of awe-inspiring endurance, steadfast homogeneity and loyalty and, above all, the belief that history has a purpose and humanity a destiny.With exacting precision and enthusiasm, Paul Johnson has mapped the lives of these people from their early ancestors in the House of David, through great periods of creativity and enterprise, alienation in the ghettos, Adolf Hitler's obsession to obliterate the race, up until the present day.This book is a powerful argument about the nature of Jewish genius, its strengths and contradictions, which brilliantly presents the entire Jewish phenomenon. It makes incisive though-provoking sense of the whole.Trade ReviewA tour de force...A remarkable achievement * NEW YORK TIMES *A marvellous book ... This is history: richly textured, provocative and wise * PLAIN DEALER *

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Book SynopsisIn her apron and rubber gloves, a smile lipsticked permanently across her face, the woman of the Fifties has become a cultural symbol of all that we are most grateful to have sloughed off. A homely compliant creature, she knows little or nothing of sex, and stands no chance at all of having a career. She must marry or die. But what if there was another side to the story?In this book Rachel Cooke tells the story of ten extraordinary women whose pioneering professional lives - and complicated private lives - paved the way for future generations. Muriel Box, film director. Betty Box, film producer. Margery Fish, plantswoman. Patience Gray, cook. Alison Smithson, architect. Sheila van Damm, rally car driver and theatre owner. Nancy Spain, journalist and radio personality. Joan Werner Laurie, editor. Jacquetta Hawkes, archaeologist. Rose Heilbron, QC.Plucky and ambitious, they left the house, discovered the bliss of work, and ushered in the era of the working woman.Trade ReviewInspirational, warm and witty * Daily Mail *A gallery of vividly drawn portaits - witty, poignant, inspiriting - that opens up a new front in our understanding of the "lost" Fifties -- David Kynaston, author of Modernity BritainRachel Cooke shines a new light in an elegantly original way into the 1950s and especially into the role of women therein. By cleverly focussing on the lives of several extraordinary women, she manages to produce a social history which is highly absorbing and richly informative. A very enjoyable and distinctive book -- Kate AtkinsonThere is warmth and lightness of spirit to this book: it is witty, intelligent, kind and poignant. Cooke exudes love and knowledge of people, gardens, food, art . . . she leaves you wanting more * The Times *Vastly entertaining, cannily researched and sharply perceptive * Telegraph *Eloquent, concise, fair-minded, witty and elegant . . . Her Brilliant Career is the perfect book with which to celebrate Virago's 40 years of championing feminist writing -- Amanda Craig * Independent on Sunday *Ten fascinating biographies for the price of one, and an exuberant dig into a decade which we've rather grassed over. Her Brilliant Career is a vivid, witty, affectionate page-turner about some amazing lost heroines -- Melanie Reid * The Times *Rachel Cooke's fantastic, clever, funny, illuminating book about 10 remarkable women -- India Knight * Sunday Times *What a treat . . . Thank you, Rachel Cooke, for finding, and judiciously commenting on, these women insouciant of feminism and strangers to guilt (which 'had not yet been invented'); for succinct scene-setting of the 1950s with phrases like 'Cue mambo on the juke-box'; and for never once using the dread word "feisty" * Oldie *Cooke is one of the outstanding British journalists of her generation -- Sebastian Faulks * New York Times *Cooke writes with such zest about such interesting lives * Guardian *Her Brilliant Career is a corrective, a hurrah for the oldies. Despite barriers that dwarf those that persist today, plenty of gutsy women rode the Fifties unthwarted and unclenched. Ms Cooke takes an exuberant gallop through the careers and private lives of ten of them in Britain * The Economist *

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Book Synopsis'An excellent and intelligent investigation of the realities of urban living that respond to no design or directive... This is a book about the nature of London itself' Peter Ackroyd, The TimesA powerful exploration of the seedy side of Victorian London by one of our most promising young historians.In 1887 government inspectors were sent to investigate the Old Nichol, a notorious slum on the boundary of Bethnal Green parish, where almost 6,000 inhabitants were crammed into thirty or so streets of rotting dwellings and where the mortality rate ran at nearly twice that of the rest of Bethnal Green. Among much else they discovered that the decaying 100-year-old houses were some of the most lucrative properties in the capital for their absent slumlords, who included peers of the realm, local politicians and churchmen. The Blackest Streets is set in a turbulent period of London's history when revolution was in the air. Award-winning historian Sarah Wise skilfully evokes the texture of life at that time, not just for the tenants but for those campaigning for change and others seeking to protect their financial interests. She recovers Old Nichol from the ruins of history and lays bare the social and political conditions that created and sustained this black hole which lay at the very heart of the Empire.A revelatory and prescient read about cities, class and inequality, the message at the heart of The Blackest Streets still resonates today.Trade ReviewThe Blackest Streets is an excellent and intelligent investigation of the realities of urban living that respond to no design or directive...This is a book about the nature of London itself -- Peter Ackroyd * The Times *A revelatory book...beaming the light of impartial historical research into the horrible dens and alleys. It avoids the voyeurism that such books often fall into: Wise describes the terrible conditions dispassionately, bringing out the resilience and self-respect of the slum-dwellers -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Read it and be flabbergasted * New Statesman *She is a sure-footed guide. In each strand of enquiry she has something new and surprising to say -- Jerry White * Times Literary Supplement *Sarah Wise has created an exceptional work, in that it is both scholarly and page turning - a genuine treat -- Gilda O'Neill

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Book SynopsisSimon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of England to select his thousand best churches. Organised by county, each church is described - often with delightful asides - and given a star-rating from one to five. All of the county sections are prefaced by a map locating each church, and lavishly illustrated with colour photos from the Country Life archive. Jenkins contends that these churches house a gallery of vernacular art without equal in the world. Here, he brings that museum to public attention.

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Book SynopsisSrinivas, an elderly Brahmin, has been living in a south London suburb for thirty years. After the death of his son, and later his wife, this lonely man is befriended by an Englishwoman in her sixties, whom he takes into his home. The two form a deep and abiding relationship. But the haven they have created for themselves proves to be a fragile one. Racist violence enters their world and Srinivas's life changes irrevocably - as does his dream of England as a country of tolerance and equality. First published in 1972, The Nowhere Man depicts a London convulsed by fear and bitterness. A recent re-appraisal of her work in the Paris Review said: "With The Nowhere Man, Markandaya wrote a British state of the nation novel whose acuteness and depth of understanding , unsung at the time, resounds eerily today.' Truly shocking, The Nowhere Man is as relevant today as when it was first published almost fifty years ago.Trade Review`It's great that this lost gem has been rediscovered, and at a time when Markandaya's acute delineation of displacement, alienation, and the scapegoating of immigrants is so pertinent once again. Perhaps for a decade or two, the novel might have seemed `dated' to many, falsely believing that we inhabit a `post-racial' world. It is, in fact, a novel that will endure not only because of the depth of understanding it brings about the immigrant experience, but also because Markandaya has, in Srinivanas, created a remarkable, indelible character. Monica Ali; `It's a travesty that this novel has been erased from British and international literary history. It is just as relevant today as when it was published - perhaps even more so. It has absolutely vital things to say about England and Englishness, race and racism, identity, belonging and prejudice. It struck many chords as I read it. Anyone who loves literature and cares about diversity in our cultural life - and is perturbed by what is happening in our country today - should read it immediately.'Bidisha; `A book for our times written half a century ago is a fair definition of a classic. This brilliant if unjustly forgotten London novel combines the moral clarity of To Kill A Mockingbird with Markandaya's own understanding that words are all it takes to set a society ablaze.' Maya Jaggi; `This is a compelling, delicate portrayal of a brutalising time. A love story between a couple who defy caricature confronted by hatred rooted in stereotype. Powerful, human, engaging and appalling.' Gary Younge; `The Nowhere Man was Kamala Markandaya's favourite of all her works - no doubt because the story featured something she observed frequently in England, her adopted country: racism. By addressing that issue frontally, she paved the way for novelists like Salman Rushdie and Nadeem Aslam. The novel is a richly rewarding and compelling narrative - I will leave you to discover for yourself its hellish ending.' Charles R. Larson; With The Nowhere Man, Markandaya wrote a British state of the nation novel whose acuteness and depth of understanding, unsung at the time, resounds eerily today.' Paris Review; `Markandaya’s writing grabs hold and doesn’t let go. She weaves the reality of racial politics as a lived experience, as well as themes of community, conquest, belonging and love. Character interiority and complexity are exploited to the full, fostering empathy, even when people should be despised. Cultures clash, generations are divided by gaps, there are private and political rebellions, families are ripped apart, much goodness prevails, but when immigrants are made scapegoats, innocent people suffer. The Nowhere Man is worryingly topical in our unsettled times with hate crimes on the rise and anti-foreign sentiment stoked by the Brexit agenda. Unfortunately, Markandaya died in 2004 and isn’t around to witness renewed interest in the book she considered her greatest. Generations of readers lost out on reading this gem.’ Bernardine Evaristo, THE OBSERVER

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Book SynopsisBurns Suppers have existed for over 200 years in celebration of Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns. The Ultimate Burns Supper Book highlights the fun in organising a Burns Supper., whether you are a host or a guest.The book includes a complete run through of what to expect on the night, with a list of courses and speeches, what to wear, how to prepare and present speeches, common Burns Supper questions (and answers!), Burn's greatest poems, including a full English verse translation of the Address to a Haggis', and answers to your worries about eating haggis and drinking whisky.

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Book SynopsisThe Maamtrasna Murders provides a cultural history of the events and subsequent impact of the renowned Maamtrasna murders from the perspective of language change in late nineteenth-century Ireland. Professor Kelleher takes the Maamtrasna case - one that is notorious for its failure to provide interpretation and translation services for monoglot Irish speakers - and examines broader sociolinguistic issues. Uncovering archival materials not previously consulted, this work illuminates a story that has proven to be much richer, `messier', and a more intricate social narrative than previous commentators have recognized. The Maamtrasna Murders moves Maamtrasna's violation of human rights from a local to a global stage. While the wrongful execution of monolingual Myles Joyce would prove to be the best-known feature of the case, the complex significance of language-use in an isolated region mirrors the dynamics that continue to influence the fates of monolingual and bilingual people today.Trade Review'For those people today whom we might see as the symbolic descendants of Myles Joyce - seeking legal representation in a court whose language is not theirs - standing at the bar of judicial process and of public opinion can remain a perilous place.' ;Margaret Kelleher on the the shambles of Maamtrasna, Irish Times, November 2018; 'powerful and meticulous new history of the murders and their aftermaths'; Christopher Kissane, Irish Times, December 2018'The Maamtrasna Murders, written with clarity and precision, describes the crime, the trial and the executions in meticulous detail, using a wide range of contemporary sources, some newly discovered. Moreover, the book is a perceptive cultural history of the case’s aftermath. It traces its periodic reemergence as a symbol in Irish culture over the course of almost 140 years, from responses in 1882 through James Joyce’s essay “Ireland at the Bar” (1907) to the pardon Myles Joyce was granted in 2018 by President Michael D. Higgins.' Christopher Cusack, Times Literary Supplement, February 2019; 'Meticulously researched ... In the Maamtrasna Murders linguistic imprisonment moves from being a metaphor to becoming a grim reality' Professor Deirdre Raftery, Irish Independent, January 2019; 'The value of her book is its exploration of the extent to which, in a world of migrations and state barriers, “these dynamics continue to influence the destinies of monolinguals and bilinguals today, and the fate of languages that they seek to retain”.' Richard Pine, Sunday Times, December 2018; 'This book relates in marvellous and scholarly detail one of the infamous miscarriages of justice on this island and also records its rectification 136 years later when earlier this year, President Michael D. Higgins issued a posthumous Presidential pardon to Seoighe’ Michael Halpenny, Liberty, December 2018; 'My own spin in the book, or what I hope is new, is to see the plight of Myles Joyce but at a time when cultural changes were happening quite quickly. Some of the accused men could speak some English but he couldn’t. In the barony of Ross where Joyce lived in 1881 90% of people spoke Irish and half of those spoke Irish-only. It was very much a living language of a community.' Margaret Kelleher interviewed in the Journal, December 2018; 'The Maamtrasna case, both in the events that made headlines and in the hidden stories, is a salutary reminder of what can transpire when a judicial system fails to recognize linguistic diversity or to ensure that its proceedings can be understood by all.' Margaret Kelleher on the tragic case of the Maamtrasna Murders, Irish Independent, November 2018

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Book SynopsisWhy did Marcel Proust have bonsai beside his bed? What was Jane Austen doing, coveting an apricot? How was Friedrich Nietzsche inspired by his ‘thought tree’? In Philosophy in the Garden, Damon Young explores one of literature’s most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens. For some, the garden provided a retreat from workaday labour; for others, solitude’s quiet counsel. For all, it played a philosophical role: giving their ideas a new life. Philosophy in the Garden reveals the profound thoughts discovered in parks, backyards, and pot-plants. It does not provide tips for mowing overgrown couch grass, or mulching a dry Japanese maple. It is a philosophical companion to the garden’s labours and joys.Trade Review‘This is a gardening book that takes readers not on a walk around great estates but on a tour of great minds … It's a lovely extension on the notion that gardens make you contemplative and in working with the soil you see life's big picture.’ * The Daily Telegraph *‘Erudite, yet witty and accessible, [Philosophy in the Garden] is intellectual history at its most completely pleasurable.’ * Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote *‘[S]prightly and stimulating.’ * The Spectator *‘Like a garden coming into spring … tremendous vistas of thought.’ * The Daily Telegraph *‘A gentle dig for ideas about how to live — this book will grow your mind and put a glow in your cheeks.’ * Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home *‘A brilliant philosophical and literary meditation that helps us rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with ourselves.’ * Roman Krznaric, author of Empathy *‘Young writes with a delightful combination of humour and insight.’ * The Literary Review *‘[T]hought-provoking … fine book.’ * Gardens Illustrated *‘[T]hought provoking indeed.’ * The Good Book Guide *‘I've been looking forward to Damon Young’s [Philosophy in the Garden] … all year. Part philosophy lesson, part literary companion, it's a contemplative stroll through writers' relationships with their gardens.’ * Charlotte Wood, author of Animal People *‘I found it utterly engaging and most illuminating. His style is very readable and full of wit and personality.’ * Kate Forsyth, author of The Wild Girl *‘This beautiful looking book is a wonderfully refreshing mix of literary gossip, historical exposition and philosophical reflection, and I never wanted it to end.’ -- Walter Mason, author of Destination Saigon‘Young is an engaging writer. His technique is fluent and stylish and never marred by cliches or cliched thinking. He is sincere, a great relief from the ocean of irony in which we live, and intellectually questing, a relief from that other ocean of schmaltzy platitude.’ * The Australian *‘Reading this book is like strolling in a luxuriant garden with an erudite friend, although one of a literary rather than horticultural bent … Think of this engaging little book … as a philosophical primer, an approachable introduction to ideas about gardens and the natural world.’ * The Age *‘[Philosophy in the Garden] is a stimulating read where individual truths may well bloom … [T]his volume is packed with brilliant literary info.’ * The West Australian *‘[M]ore my kind of ‘gardening’ than the digging type … Particularly interesting is his account of Jane Austen’s creative relationship with her Hampshire gardens.’ * The Lady *‘Young helps readers reflect on the value of the garden beyond a place to hold a backyard barbecue … [He] writes engagingly, showing off his skills as a storyteller … [A]n intriguing little book.’ * Weekly Times *‘[T]ake the plunge: the writing is fresh, the observations discursive, and the garden … placed front and centre.’ * Australian Garden History *‘[T]houghtful and highly entertaining.’ * Limelight *‘Young has managed the difficult task of creating an academically rigorous work while maintaining a light and engaging tone throughout the book, which is actually a highly intellectual look at the complex relationship between humanity and nature.’ * Voice *‘[W]ith his vivid, critical, and, sometimes loving, attention to detail, he brings to new life writers and philosophers that anyone with a liberal arts education thought they already knew … Young's enthusiasm, compassion, and moments of personal insight are infectious.’ * Island *‘An absolute joy of a book — I couldn't put it down. Its prose is as careful and lovely as a beautifully tended garden.’ -- Nikki Gemmell, columnist for The Australian and author of Honestly‘[A] fascinating journey through the lives and creativity of writers … It is an intimate, charming book.’ * Sensibilities: The Journal of the Jane Austen Society of Australia *‘[L]ucid and entertaining … an enjoyable and erudite addition to a burgeoning literature.’ -- David E. Cooper * Los Angeles Review of Books *‘[F]or readers drawn to learning about the millennia-old tradition of teaching, writing, and thinking in the outdoors, this pithy offering will more than satisfy.’ * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisWhite women are one of the most influential demographics in America—we are the largest voting bloc, with purchasing power that exceeds anybody else's, and when we unify to demand change, we are a force to be reckoned with. Yet, so many of us sit idly on the sidelines, opting out of raising our hands to do, learn, and engage in ways that could make a difference. Why? White American women are no monolith. Yet, as Women's March national organizer Jenna Arnold has learned over the past few years criss-crossing the US in conversations with white women about their identity and role in the country, we do possess common characteristics—ones that get in the way of us becoming more engaged as citizens. We're so focused on checking off our to-do lists, or so afraid of getting it wrong, or so busy trying to avoid conflict, that we are actively avoiding the urgent conversations we need to have. We are confused about how we got here and unsure how to do better. Raising Our Hands is the reckoning cry for white women. It asks us to step up and join the new frontlines of the fight against complacency—in our homes, in our behaviors, and in our own minds. Consider Raising Our Hands your starting place, your "Intro to Being a White Woman in Today's World" freshman-year class. In these pages, Jenna peels back the history that's been kept out of textbooks and the cultural norms that are holding us back, so we can finally start really listening to marginalized voices and doing our part to promote progress. The American white woman is a powerful force—an essential participant—to mobilize alongside the rest of humanity on behalf of the world, and we can no longer make excuses for why we don't have time or don't know enough.Trade Review"Jenna has uplifted marginalized voices embodying a crucial sentiment of Malcolm X's: It is white people's responsibility to bring other well-intended white people to the social justice work of our time. Raising Our Hands is the urgent answer to our request." —Angela Rye, political analyst and commentator "The world doesn't have time to wait for you to decide that you're brave enough to do the work laid out in Raising Our Hands—you can't read this fast enough." —Reshma Saujani, bestselling author of Brave Not Perfect and founder of Girls Who Code "The wisdom in these pages will help you see the world, and your role in it, through a powerful new lens. If you want to raise your hand and step up to the frontline, this book will firmly point you in the direction of how." —Sophia Bush, actress and activist "Jenna is a bold and brilliant writer who cleverly holds herself, her sisters, and the reader accountable to a higher standard . . . As a non-binary person of color, I was surprised to see my own privilege reflected in these pages. Raising Our Hands is a helpful tool for confronting privilege and bias regardless of race or gender identity." —Dr. Tiffany Jana, author of Overcoming Bias, Erasing Institutional Bias and Subtle Acts of Exclusion and founder of TMI Consulting "Jenna tackles this topic with care and simplicity through an intersectional lens. I'm excited for people to engage with this much needed conversation." —Geena Roccero, supermodel and first trans Asian Pacific Islander Playboy Playmate "So many of the ‘well intended' white women who have enthusiastically been marching over the past few years have been missing the urgent context of the foundational work that's needed today which Raising Our Hands provides. This is the book that willing white women have needed for so long: directions for how to engage in the collective work of liberation for all." —Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs, director of community engagement for the Women's March "At a time of division and uncertainty, we need true allies to hold their communities accountable and this book does just that." —Jamira Burley, social justice activist and White House Champion of Change "Arnold provides a useful and compassionate resource to guide readers seeking to transform themselves and their communities through self examination, deep listening, and accountability." —Jamia Wilson, author, activist, and publisher at The Feminist Press "We have a great responsibility to the future. The time has come to address our past, our origin, and the ways it continues to dictate our choices. This book is an amazing starting point." —Mesiah Burciaga-Hameed, Afro-indigenous youth advocate "Jenna Arnold's Raising Our Hands is a daring call-out that bravely tells white women with supremacist sensibilities that the jig is up . . . This is the book I want all of my white friends to read—they will be forced to own their collective ability to challenge injustice in profound ways." —Avis Wanda McClinton, Quaker anti-racist activist and preservationist "This book and books like this bring us to a space of collective healing so we can see how deeply dependent and connected we truly are. I applaud Jenna's delivery of a work whose time has come." —Erica Ford, social justice activist and cofounder of the National Black and Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium "It is time for action and young people are wondering where you are. Raising Our Hands is a user guide to how to be a great ally. Girls, especially black and brown girls, need your help and Jenna Arnold tells you how you can be your most effective selves!" —Naomi Wadler, youth activist "Funny, profound and engaging, Raising Our Hands is a catalytic treatise for the future of ourselves and country. Through searing truisms, it challenges us all to think and behave deeply and to be . . . more. Every chapter takes us collectively one step closer to a reimagined us." —Denise Hamilton, author of When Sleeping Women Wake, social justice facilitator, and CEO of WatchHerWork "Raising Our Hands is bright as it is straightforward. This is exactly the type of content, matched with motivating instruction, that so many of us white women are eager to dive into—it answers so many questions we didn't even know we had." —Reverend Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, Baptist Minister "This book is a call to action to raise our hands to say, ‘That's me—I don't know what I don't know but I want to do better. I'm that white woman. I'm ready to do the work now' . . . Whether we like it or not, we white people are implicated at birth and it's gonna take all of us digging deep, decolonizing our minds and dismantling the systems we are a part of to bring about the change we wish to see in the world." —Kerri Kelly, co-founder of Race & Resilience, author of American Detox (May 2021), and host of CTZN Podcast "Gripping. Urgent. Unflinching. A must-read." —Marie Forleo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything is Figureoutable "Impressive in scope and effective in its simplicity, Raising Our Hands is the tool many willing Americans have needed for too long. There are so many willing women eager to do something besides march but they don't know where to start—I suggest right here." —Rachel O'Leary Carmona, COO of the Women's March and social-justice activist "Jenna takes white women on a journey through self-discovery by pushing them to see the world through a more equitable lens. She demands they listen, they learn and they hold themselves accountable no matter how upside down it might turn their worlds." —Paola Mendoza, artist, activist, and author of Sanctuary "This book is a welcomed invitation to remind us all that we have learning to do and homage to pay to those who fought before us. Raising Our Hands does a great service in this education and provides an excellent road map on the work to do within ourselves and in the world around us." —Sarah Sophie Flicker, activist, artist, and contributor to the New York Times bestseller Together We Rise "Racial justice is something that Black and Brown folks cannot achieve alone. We need white people to do the courageous work to confront problematic behaviors within their own communities and families. Jenna has raised her hand to do just that with Raising Our Hands, clearly outlining the mental and societal roadblocks for white women while emphasizing the potential tectonic shifts that could happen if they were removed." —Carmen Perez, civil rights and racial justice activist, 2017 National Women's March co-chair, and CEO of The Gathering for Justice "This is the book I give those interested in being part of the solution but don't know where to start on wrapping their arms around the complex social fabric of the US. Presented through Jenna's engaging and simplistic lens, readers will draw complicated truths much closer." —Tiphani Montgomery, founder of Millions Conference and faith-based motivational speaker "Raising Our Hands is a firm, compassionate reminder to bind back to what is already so familiar to us humans if we consciously seek it out: compassion for each other and ourselves as we navigate what feels like the daunting complexity of life." —Zoe Buckman, visual artist and activist "Think you're too busy to make a difference? Think again. In this insightful, inspiring book, Jenna Arnold shows how to raise your hand and your voice to create a ‘rising tide raising all people' conversation, community and country. Read it and reap." —Sam Horn, author of Someday is Not a Day in the Week: 10 Hacks to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life Table of ContentsContents Author’s Note IntroductionChapter 1: Silence(d)Chapter 2: Performance Chores, Perfection, & PrivilegeChapter 3: White LiesChapter 4: Go White-Savior YourselfChapter 5: KKK & Kale SmoothiesChapter 6: What About the Boys?Chapter 7: “Us” vs. “Them”Chapter 8: You, Them, WeChapter 9: The Frontline—HOLDChapter 10: Our Reckoning Appendix: How to Facilitate a Listening CircleAcknowledgmentsEndnotesAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisFrom New York to New Delhi, COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our urban world, turning the physical proximity which is central to the creative energy of the city into a potentially deadly threat to our health and well being. Yet most of us live or work in cities. They are a vital part of both local and global economies and shape the lives we lead and our interactions with others. How can we adjust to this new reality and what lessons can we learn from the past?In this urgently relevant book, leading experts Edward Glaeser and David Cutler, examine the history and future of the global city. They argue the biggest threats are those we have created ourselves - inequalities in housing, health, work and education - and that we need to address these as a matter of urgency if our cities are to continue to thrive and drive economic growth and prosperity. They conclude by proposing some practical measures that governments and citizens need to act on to ensure the survival of the city around the world..Trade ReviewSurvival of the City is a work of stunning brilliance. I learned something on every page, and these are topics I thought I understood. This book is a must read for anyone who hopes to talk intelligently about a postCOVID world. -- Steven Levitt, William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago; coauthor of FreakonomicsThis fascinating book is about everything- the plague, COVID-19, obesity, robots, schools, and more-all seen through the lens of the city, its past and future. It's a gripping read for anyone, but especially those who are wondering just what is the place of the city in their post-pandemic lives. -- Emily Oster, professor of economics, Brown UniversityOver the past three decades, David Cutler has done pathbreaking work on the determinants of health, while Ed Glaeser has done pathbreaking work on cities and economic growth. Now they've teamed up to write a book that focuses on the intersection between these two areas: how cities shape our health and livelihoods amidst a global pandemic. A fascinating read that helps us understand how we got to where we are today and design policies to build healthier, opportunity-rich cities in the future, Survival of the City will be a terrific resource for the public and policymakers for years to come. -- Raj Chetty, William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics, Harvard UniversityThis is a must read for anyone interested in the health of cities and their residents. Glaeser and Cutler sift through the evidence to offer an incisive, engaging analysis of the real challenges posed by pandemics and other threats to urban life. Their clear and balanced policy prescriptions will protect cities from long COVID and help them emerge from the pandemic as resilient and vital as ever. -- Ingrid Gould Ellen, Paulette Goddard Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, NYU WagnerSurvival of the City is a smart and surprising account of how the modern metropolis can bounce back from the current crisis, and a compelling argument for sweeping policy change. The authors-one liberal, one conservative-are not ideologically aligned, but their differences yield fresh ideas and bursts of insight. I found myself learning from, arguing with, and thoroughly enjoying every part of this totally necessary book. -- Eric Klinenberg, Helen Gould Shepard Professor in Social Science, New York UniversityIn this readable yet rigorous book, two brilliant economists tackle the question of our time: How can the people and places whose energies drive our economy thrive in a postCOVID world? Their answer: put health improvement above medical care, striving outsiders before privileged insiders, and cities at the heart of a revitalized American dream. -- Jacob S. Hacker, Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science, Yale University; coauthor of Let Them Eat TweetsIn their new book, Survival of the City, Harvard economics professors Ed Glaeser and David Cutler write that "the ability of cities to enable the joys of human interactions and shared experiences may be their greatest protection against urban exodus" -- Guardian

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Book SynopsisDespite the all-pervading influence of television ninety per cent of people in Britain still listen to the radio, clocking up over a billion hours of listening between us every week. It's a background to all our lives: we wake up to our clock radios, we have the radio on in the kitchen as we make the tea, it's on at our workplaces and in our cars. From Listen With Mother to the illicit thrill of tuning into pirate stations like Radio Caroline; from receiving a musical education from John Peel or having our imagination unlocked by Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; from school-free summers played out against a soundtrack of Radio One and Test Match Special to more grown-up soundtracks of the Today programme on Radio 4 and the solemn, rhythmic intonation of the shipping forecast in many ways, our lives can be measured in kilohertz.Yet radio is changing because the way we listen to the radio is changing. Last year the number of digital listen

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Book SynopsisEminent historian Patricia Crone defines the common features of a wide range of pre-industrial societies, from locations as seemingly disparate as the Mongol Empire and pre-Columbian America, to cultures as diverse as the Ming Dynasty and seventeenth-century France. In a lucid exploration of the characteristics shared by these societies, the author examines such key elements as economic organization, politics, culture, and the role of religion. An essential introductory text for all students of history, Pre-Industrial Societies provides readers with all the necessary tools for gaining a substantial understanding of life in pre-modern times. In addition, as a perceptive insight into a lost world, italso acts as a starting point for anyone interested in the present possibilities and future challenges faced by our own global society.Table of ContentsPreface 1 Introduction: What is a Complex Society? Part I The Pre-Industrial Pattern 2 Socio-economic Organization 3 The State 4 Politics 5 Culture 6 Society and the Individual 7 Religion Part II The Departure from the Pattern 8 The Oddity of Europe 9 Modernity Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis is the first academic history of the FA England women’s national football team. Based on unprecedented access to FA data, it details the careers of the 227 women who debuted for England from 1972 to 2022. England won the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022, and Jean worked with Sarina Wiegman and the squad, on the Legendary Lionesses from 1972.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction England Women in a New Era—The 1960s.- Chapter 2. First Eleven: From Unofficial to Official.- Chapter 3. New Horizons for a New England: Thomas, Bampton, Coultard, Davis, Reagan.- Chapter 4. The Hope Powell Era, Mary Phillip, and the Kelly Smith Effect.- Chapter 5. From Mark Sampson to Sarina./

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling social history of Victorian domestic life, told through the letters, diaries, journals and novels of 19th-century men and women.The Victorian age is both recent and unimaginably distant. In the most prosperous and technologically advanced nation in the world, people carried slops up and down stairs; buried meat in fresh earth to prevent mould forming; wrung sheets out in boiling water with their bare hands. This drudgery was routinely performed by the parents of people still living, but the knowledge of it has passed as if it had never been. Running water, stoves, flush lavatories even lavatory paper arrived slowly throughout the century, and most were luxuries available only to the prosperous.Judith Flanders, author of the widely acclaimed A Circle of Sisters', has written an incisive and irresistible portrait of Victorian domestic life. The book itself is laid out like a house, following the story of daily life from room to room: from childbirth in the master bedrooTrade Review‘Judith Flanders is the Mary Poppins of academic toil. “Spit spot”, she says, and suddenly you have…amusing information…the delight of this book is the intelligence and freshness of its inferences.’ Lynne Truss, Sunday Times ‘A God-among-loo-books…here, the past is not so much a foreign country as another planet…there is not a single piece of trivia here that I don’t feel better for knowing.’ Time Out ‘An enthralling, entertaining and thought-provoking revelation of the realities of life in the tall, thin, Victorian town house.’ Evening Standard ‘This book is a splendidly entertaining read, and it also breaks new ground. No one has ever written so interestingly or wittily about housework.’ Spectator ‘Rich and well ordered, this study casts brilliant light…Curious facts tumble from the pages.’ Economist

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Book SynopsisThe No1 Sunday Times BestsellerA Mail on Sunday Best Holiday Read 2024'A searing exposé' GlamourA timely reminder of the dangers posed by men who crave power' ObserverFrom New York Times bestseller Maureen Callahan, a fierce, character-driven exposé of the real Kennedy Cursethe family''s generations-long legacy of misogyny, murder, and mayhemand the women who have paid the price for our obsession with Camelot.For decades, the Kennedy name has been synonymous with wealth, power, andabove all elseintegrity. But this carefully constructed veneer hides a dark truth: the Kennedy men''s legacy of physical and psychological abuse of women, part of a tradition of toxic masculinity that spans generations and has ruined untold lives. Through scandal after scandal, the family and their defenders have managed to keep this shameful story out of the spotlight. Now, in Ask Not, bestselling journalist Maureen Callahan reveals the Kennedys'' hidden history of abuse and exploitation, laying bare their

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Book SynopsisTartan is one of the most enduring symbols of Scottish pride, in a fascinating history and directory, updated for this new edition.

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Book SynopsisWhat is a shogun? Who were the samurai and what is the warrior code? What lies behind the Japanese work ethic? From the ancient tea ceremony to the boom and subsequent downturn of its economic prosperity, this uniquely concise introduction to Japan and its history surveys nearly 10,000 years of society, culture, economics and politics. Balancing economic and political information with new insights into the twin spheres of art and religion, Mikiso Hane offers authoritative coverage of all aspects of Japanese life. With a particular focus on the key events of the last 200 years, the author also pays special attention to the changing conditions of those whose history has been so frequently neglected - the women, the peasants, and the lowest order of untouchables. Well-rounded and enlightening, this informative account of Japan and its people will be greatly appreciated by historians, students and all those with an interest in this diverse and enigmatic country.

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Book SynopsisNew and Updated EditionWho owns Scotland? How did they get it? What happened to all the common land in Scotland? Has the Scottish Parliament made any difference? Can we get our common good land back? In this book, Andy Wightman updates the statistics of landownership in Scotland and explores how and why landowners got their hands on the millions of acres of land that were once held in common.He tells the untold story of how Scotland''s legal establishment and politicians managed to appropriate land through legal fixes. Have attempts to redistribute this power more equitably made any difference, and what are the full implications of the recent debt-fuelled housing bubble, the Smith Commission and the new Scottish Government''s proposals on land reform? For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, this updated edition of The Poor Had No Lawyers provides a fascinating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland.

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Book SynopsisSex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England.Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was one of the most flamboyant and influential women of the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, a political savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict, an adulteress and the darling of the common people.This authoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizing picture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues, grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth always on the edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals of individuals.Trade Review‘Mesmerizing’Antonia Fraser, Literary Review ‘Well-written, extensively researched and highly readable… Gripping’Stella Tillyard, Mail on Sunday ‘An outstanding debut by a young biographer fully in control of her sources, and with an easy and elegant writing style’Roy Strong, Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisFrom bestselling author, racer and stunt driver Ben Collins - the man who was The Stig - comes a story of spies, speed and hard-driving genius: a driver's love letter to one of the world's best-loved machines.Aston Martin's first, wickedly fast models were forged at a time when Ferrari's premises at Maranello was nothing but a ploughed field. This book celebrates a century of innovators who kept the fire burning brightly for over a century, from the visionary pioneers Martin and Bamford to modern-day design guru Adrian Newey; from a glamorous web of pre- and post-war spies and racing drivers, to David Brown and the achingly beautiful DB models beloved of Bonds past and present.Ben Collins explores the car with the double-o prefix from a unique perspective behind the wheel, carving through country lanes in his father's V8 Vantage, driving Aston Martins in four James Bond movies and competing against them in the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race.Ultimately, this is a very British success story: of a triumph of engineering that has burned brightly from the Roaring 20s to the 2020s, and an iconic car that never says die.Trade ReviewThis pacy history of a legendary brand is a love letter to an era of gears and gasoline now accelerating towards its twilight * Financial Times *A must-read for any Aston Martin aficionado * Aston Martin newsletter *The 100-year story of the fast and fabulous motors in this super book, in which [Ben] also reveals his own first-hand experiences with the greatest of Britain's iconic cars * Weekend Sport *This bold novelisation could have turned out neither fish nor fowl, but instead has invented a new style of motoring book * Octane *A great read, covering the marque chronologically, from its creator's early days right up to the latest models. It's the story of a brand that refuses to die, despite the challenges it's faced over more than a century * Auto Express *This personal connection, delivered via Collins's own insight and light-hearted tone, helps Aston Martin: Made in Britain in its mission to stand apart from its competitors * Auto Sport magazine *Ben ('The Stig') Collins, racer and Bond stunt driver, is behind the wheel as we belt through a century of innovation from the pioneering 1920s to the David Brown model loved by 007 * Saga Magazine *Ben brilliantly writes about the roaring '20s to the present, enlightens us about the charismatic character of the marque and shares a multitude of interesting and humorous facts * Aston Martin magazine *[The perfect gift] for the petrolhead in your life * The Scotman *[Told] with a genuine affection ... a glorious tale of British seat-of-the-pants invention * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIs Santa Claus really a magic mushroom in disguise? In this timely and definitive study, Andy Letcher strips away the myths to get at the true story of how hallucinogenic mushrooms, once shunned in the West as the most pernicious of poisons, came to be the illicit drug of choice.Trade Review"'Elegant and authoritative.' Independent on Sunday"

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing 2017 Journeying around the globe, through past and present, Emma Tarlo unravels the intriguing story of human hair and what it tells us about ourselves and society. When it’s not attached to your head, your very own hair takes on a disconcerting quality. Suddenly, it is strange. And yet hair finds its way into all manner of unexpected places, far from our heads, including cosmetics, clothes, ropes, personal and public collections, and even food. Whether treated as waste or as gift, relic, sacred offering or product in a billion-dollar industry for wigs and hair extensions, hair has many stories to tell. Collected from Hindu temples and Buddhist nunneries and salvaged by the strand from waste heaps and the combs of long-haired women, hair flows into the industry from many sources. Entering this strange world, Emma Tarlo tracks hair’s movement across India, Myanmar, China, Africa, the United States, Britain and Europe, meeting people whose livelihoods depend on this singular commodity. Whether its journey ends in an Afro hair fair, a Jewish wig parlour, fashion salon or hair loss clinic, hair is oddly revealing of the lives it touches.Trade Review‘Tarlo is excellent at elucidating the vanity, money, pain and revulsion that unattached hair can represent. Think you know hair? You’ll never see it in the same way again.’ * Independent *‘If you’re curious about your roots, you’ll enjoy exploring UK anthropology professor Emma Tarlo’s Entanglement a brilliant, comprehensive Baedeker to the billion dollar global hair trade.’ * Elle *‘By turns surprising, unsettling and disturbing but never anything less than absorbing…weaving in history, politics and science in an interlocking, mesmerising narrative that seems wholly appropriate to the subject’. * Literary Review *‘Brilliant...Entanglement tracks its subject doggedly through an almost infinite number of twists and turns.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘Entanglement is dense with colourful characters and startling, unexpected information, which makes it both exhausting and delightful. Tarlo brings a lovely open-mindedness and a deadpan sense of humour to her writing.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘Tarlo uses an ethnographer’s eye to analyse the religious, social, cultural and commercial forces that drive the industry. Yet her book reads like a travelogue as we follow her through the temple towns of India, the hair factories of China, the sorting sheds of Myanmar and the salons of Europe and Britain… By employing an anecdotal yet vigorously researched approach, Tarlo succeeds in untangling a knotty topic while keeping the reader engaged through 400-plus pages. The result is a fascinating and authoritative work.’ * John Zubrzycki, The Australian *‘Interesting – and, at times strange’. * Times *'Clever, idiosyncratic…lively…full of amusing, “fancy that” information and arresting observations…what a rich subject Tarlo has chosen for her book’. * New Statesman *‘Wonderful…it’s not often a book gives you new eyes for your everyday world’. * The Oldie *‘I had no idea that a non-fiction book about hair could be quite so fascinating’. * The Pool *‘The questions she examines and the “secret lives of hair” that she exposes are fascinating… An engrossing investigation.’ * Library Journal, starred review *‘This is a book about the only crop we routinely harvest from our own bodies – hair. From that disconnection come amazing tales: histories of paupers and pedlars in Europe, vast global trades in wigs, poignant stories of chemotherapy and memorialisation...Tarlo has done an extraordinary job of reattaching hair to humanity.’ -- Daniel Miller, professor of anthropology, University College London, and author of Stuff and The Comfort of Things‘I will never think about hair the same way after reading Emma Tarlo’s brilliant, fascinating book!’ -- Valerie Steele, author of The Corset: A Cultural History, and director and chief curator, The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology‘A timely book that takes a fascinating journey through the business practices and politics of hair, and the questionable relationship between hair dealers, middle-men and the consumer.’ -- Professor Caroline Cox, author of How to be Adored‘Written in conversational prose with historical images, little-known facts, and an absorbing narrative woven throughout, this is a lively read that explores the fashion, industry, and history of hair, while untangling our own often-complicated relationship with this natural accessory. In an informative and often whimsical voice, Tarlo personalizes her research with vignettes about her own fascination with hair. From eccentric wig makers in China to hair hunters in India and customers in Europe, Tarlo takes us on an eye-opening journey that will make us wonder if our own hair doesn’t have a secret life of its own.’ * Booklist *‘In Entanglement Tarlo opens up a whole secret world of human hair, its diverse social meanings across cultures and the robust trade of it that has carried on for centuries across the world. She weaves in historical details that address issues of religion, symbolism, fashion and economy, and presents ethnographic encounters with a range of characters from Dakkar to Wenzhou, Chennai to New York – millionaire wig dealers, impoverished villagers sorting comb waste, temple officials and fashionable women – who all perform an important role in this ubiquitous but unseen trade. This book is for everybody who is curious about how a single object can become a sought after commodity around the globe. Entanglement is beautifully written and while based on rigorous academic research it eschews jargon and makes the fascinating story of hair the centrepiece of the narrative. A most rewarding and edifying read.’ -- Mukulika Banerjee, anthropologist, London School of Economics and Political Science

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Book SynopsisWas Jesus a Freemason? The discovery of evidence of the most secret rites of Freemasonry in an ancient Egyptian tomb led authors Chris Knight and Bob Lomas into and extraordinary investigation of 4, 000 years of history. This astonishing bestseller raises questions that have challenged some of Western civilisation''s most cherished beliefs: Were scrolls bearing the secret teachings of Jesus buried beneath Herod''s Temple shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman''s? Did the Knights Templar, the forerunners of modern Freemasonry, excavate these scrolls in the twelfth century? And were these scrolls subsequently buried underneath a reconstruction of Herod''s Temple, Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland - where they are now awaiting excavation? The authors'' discoveries shed a new light on Masonic ceremony and overturn out understanding of history.Trade ReviewA breakthrough book. The last four thousand years are never going to look the same again * Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods *

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Book SynopsisTakes the enslaved person's claims of human consumption seriously, focusing on both the literal starvation of the slave and the tropes of cannibalism on the part of the slaveholder, and further draws attention to the ways in which Blacks experienced their consumption as a fundamentally homoerotic occurrence.Trade ReviewWe have all read about the hunger of slaves whose masters sought to starve them into submission. ButThe Delectable Negroasks of these slaves: 'How does it feel to be an edible, consumed object?' Inverting the trope of slave hunger, VincentWoodardprovocatively suggests that the slaveholder is a parasite who feeds off the slaves body in acts that range from cannibalistic to sexual modes of consumption, especially the homoerotic. In an even greater provocation, however, Woodard argues that within the black community, hunger is transformed into a regenerative space from which the search for home and communal belonging may be initiated. A bold and brilliant book. -- Carla L. Peterson,author of Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York CityThe Delectable Negrouncovers a compelling set of themes in the scholarship on U.S. slave culture: white cannibalism as a significant trope for white depletion of, and desire for, the laboring and eroticized black male body. In a stunning series of arguments, Woodard forces us to reconsider the historical out-of-hand rejection of black African fear (and, not rarely, claims) of white cannibalism, showing how remarkably wide-reaching was the sense that slavery satisfied some sadomasochistic instinct among the slave-owning class. -- Maurice O. Wallace,author of Constructing the Black MasculineThe Delectable Negro is a brilliant, fearless, and deeply political book. * Early American Literature *With unflinching clarity,The Delectable Negroexposes and examines the pervasive cultural fantasies that have rendered the enslaved black body into a consumable object from the eighteenth century to the present. [] [I]ts powerful insights will continue to generate new lines of important inquiry for years to come. * American Historical Review *It should be noted here that Woodard died before this book was published; it is a shame that he could not see his daring work enter debate. Praise must go to Joyce and McBride, moreover, for their careful and attentive editorial work that made this publication of this text possible. . . . Woodard's career would surely have been even bolder after this book, but this text's interruption into critical theory alone is itself worth celebrating. * American Studies *Table of ContentsEditor's Note Justin A. JoyceForewordE. Patrick Johnson Introduction: "Master ... eated me when I was meat" 1. Cannibalism in Transatlantic Context 2. Sex, Honor, and Human Consumption 3. A Tale of Hunger Retold: Ravishment and Hunger in F. Douglass's Life and Writing 4. Domestic Rituals of Consumption 5. Eating Nat Turner 6. The Hungry Nigger Notes BibliographyIndex About the Author About the Editors

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Book SynopsisFiguring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries - beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalysed the environmental movement. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists - mostly women, mostly queer - whose public contribution has risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience and appreciate the universe. Among them are the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who paved the way for women in science; the sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who did the same in art; the journalist and literary critic Margaret Fuller, who sparked the feminist movement; and the poet Emily Dickinson. Emanating from these lives are larger questions about the measure of a good life and what it means to leave a lasting mark of betterment on an imperfect world: Are achievement and acclaim enough for happiness? Is genius? Is love? Weaving through the narrative is a set of peripheral figures - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman - and a tapestry of themes spanning music, feminism, the history of science, the rise and decline of religion, and how the intersection of astronomy, poetry and Transcendentalist philosophy fomented the environmental movement.Trade ReviewA highly original survey of life, love and creativity; an intellectual odyssey that challenges easy categorisation . . . Popova writes beautifully, translating abstractions into sensuous, evocative subjects, turning history and science into symphonic prose poetry . . . To read Figuring is to be immersed in a gloriously ambitious symphony of ideas that segues effortlessly * * Guardian * *Ambitious, challenging and somewhat category-defying * * New York Times * *I can't pull myself away from Maria Popova's mesmerising new book Figuring . . . With glorious writing, storytelling, gems of insight and unique literary range, she tenderly brings to life celebrated scientists and artists we always thought we knew but really didn't, and illuminates the fine threads that connect us all. I'm diving back in! -- DIANE ACKERMANThese chapters on Dickinson are among the most compelling biographical pages I have ever read, rendering me incapable of closing the book . . . The final chapters on Rachel Carson were so moving that I cried for thirty-odd pages . . . When Popova quoted Carson on great books, "something that would raise you a little higher than you were yesterday, something that would make you willing and able for your part in the work of the world", I knew that I had one such book in my hands * * Irish Times * *The polymathic Popova, presiding genius behind brainpickings.org, looks at some of the forgotten heroes of science, art, and culture . . . she peppers thoughtful, lucid consideration of acts of the imagination with stories that, if ever aired before, are too little known . . . Throughout her complex, consistently stimulating narrative, the author blends biography, cultural criticism, and journalism to forge elegant connections: Dickinson feeds onto Carson, who looks back to Mitchell, who looks forward to Popova herself, and with plenty of milestones along the way . . . A lyrical work of intellectual history, one that Popova's many followers will await eagerly and that deserves to win her many more * * Kirkus [starred] * *Fascinating and compellingly written, bringing the reader into the lives of its subjects, ending with a long description of Rachel Carson's life that has only made me love her more * * Arts Desk * *

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Book SynopsisIn this new, expanded edition of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails—issued for the 100th Anniversary of National Prohibition—historian, expert, and drink aficionado Ted Haigh, aka Dr. Cocktail vastly widens his examination of 1920–1933, the thirteen-year period when women got the Vote, child labor was abolished and, ironically, saw the cocktail elevated, prolonged, and expanded, spreading this signature American drink form in tasty ripples around the world. All this, plus more drink recipes!Nothing is so desired as the thing denied. Prohibition made people want cocktails very, very badly. Because "synthetic" liquor was the easiest to make, it was also the easiest to get. Problematically, it tasted awful and wasn't exactly good for you either. Cocktails with their mélange of flavors were a made-to-order method for disguising the bad hooch. Along with 100+ rare and delicious authentic recipes gathered from old cocktail manuals and scraps of paper never published, this illustrated trip down mixology lane tells the fascinating origins of the cocktail and how it evolved over time, including its rising popularity during Prohibition. Vintage illustrations and advertisements, photos of old bottles and cocktail artifacts, and fascinating Prohibition-era photographs bring the tippling past back to vivid life. Recipes for rare treasures like The Fogcutter, Knickerbocker à la Monsieur, The Moscow Mule, and Satan’s Whiskers are each presented with: Historical background on its origin and cultural context Drink Notes that provide additional information on ingredients and tips for substitutions and variations Fascinating historical ephemera from Dr. Cocktail's personal collection This homage to the great bartenders of the past and the beverages they created also profiles some of the most influential cocktail pioneers of today. For anyone who enjoys an icy drink and an unforgettable tale, this is a must-have volume.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Greetings, Cocktail Archaeologists! The Origins of the Cocktail The Centennial of Prohibition Cocktail Archaeology: A Trip Down Mixology Lane RECIPESNon-Alcoholic Prohibition Cocktails Strawberry Cocktail Cantaloupe Cocktail Punch Iced Orange Coffee Superior Grape Juice Raspberry Shrub Frozen Fruit Punch Florida Punch Fruit Punch Fiji Frappe Temperance Punch Meridian Mansions Punch Fruit Swizzle Congressional Club Punch Concord Float Cream Orange Pineapple Cream Illegal Prohibition Cocktails 1920 Pick-Me-Up Attack Cocktail Barton Special Between the Sheets The Bunny Hug The Byrrh Cocktail Cameron’s Kick Careless Love C.F.H. Cocktail Cuban Bacardi Cocktail De Rigueur Cocktail Diabola Cocktail Eagle’s Dream Dorothy Gish Cocktail Eve’s Apple Green Fizz Greenbriar Cocktail Gringo Killer The Hell Raiser The I.B.F. Pick-Me-Up Jamaica Glow The Last Word Legion Cocktail The Lightner Special Little Devil Cocktail Littlest Rebel Cocktail The Peacherino Prohibition Cocktail Quaker’s Cocktail Quarantine Cocktail The Red Flag The Pussyfoot Cocktail Reform Cocktail The Revolving Door The Ritz Millionaire The Rising Sun Stop Your Snuffling Now The Tanglefoot The Third Rail Thunderclap Truro Pick-Me-Up Two Broken Legs Volstead Cocktails Twelve Miles Out Ward Eight The Wayne Wheeler Wine Cup Cocktails Redux The Alamagoozlum Cocktail The Algonquin Cocktail The Amarosa Cocktail Arnaud’s Special Cocktail The Avenue The Aviation Barbara West Cocktail Barnum (Was Right) Cocktail The Bebbo Cocktail The Blackthorn Cocktail The Blinker Blood and Sand The Blue Moon Blue Paradise The Boulevardier The Brandy Crusta The Brooklyn Cocktail The Calvados Cocktail Chatham Hotel Special The Coffee Cocktail The Communist The Corpse Reviver #2 Crimean Cup à la Marmora Curaçao Punch The Delicious Sour The Derby Diki-Diki Cocktail Doctor Cocktail East India Cocktail Fairbank Cocktail The Filmograph Cocktail Fish House Punch The Flying Dutchman The Fogcutter Fogcutter (Early) The Ford Cocktail The Fred Collins Fiz The French 75 The Georgia Mint Julep Golden Dawn Hanky Panky Have a Heart Cocktail Honeymoon Cocktail The Income Tax Cocktail The Jack Rose Cocktail The Japalac Cocktail Jasper’s Jamaican Planter’s Punch The Jupiter Cocktail Knickerbocker à la Monsieur La Floridita Daiquiri Leatherneck Cocktail The Liberal The Lion’s Tail Lucien Gaudin Cocktail Mamie Taylor Milk Punch The Millionaire The Modernista The Monkey Gland The Moscow Mule The Mother-in-Law Cocktail Palm Beach Special Park Avenue Cocktail Pegu Club Cocktail The Pendennis Cocktail Picon Punch Pink Gin Ritz Sidecar The Rose Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail Saint Croix Rum Fix Satan’s Whiskers Cocktail The Scofflaw The Secret Cocktail The Seelbach Cocktail Seventh Heaven The Soother Soyer au Champagne The Straits Sling Three to One Cocktail Twelve Mile Limit The Twentieth Century Cocktail The Vesper Vieux Carré Cocktail Vowel Cocktail The Widow’s Kiss Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie APPENDIX Pioneers of the Forgotten Cocktail Bibliography Afterword About the Author Index

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Book Synopsis''This riveting behind-the-scenes story of the clothes on our backs is a must-read for clotheshorses everywhere'' Harper''s Bazaar ''Extraordinary . . . fascinating . . . a wonderful way into history, quite often through the voices of people who don''t have a say in history'' Cerys MatthewsLinen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool: through the stories of these five fabrics, Sofi Thanhauser illuminates the world we inhabit in a startling new way, travelling from China to Cumbria to reveal the craft, labour and industry that create the clothes we wear. From the women who transformed stalks of flax into linen to clothe their families in nineteenth century New England to those who earn their dowries in the cotton-spinning factories of South India today, this book traces the origins of garment-making through time and around the world. Exploring the social, economic and environmental impact of our most personal possessions, Worn looks beyond care labels to show how clothes reveal the truth about what we really care about.''A must-read . . . combines remarkable research with heartfelt care'' Clare HunterTrade ReviewFascinating . . . a good yarn . . . the joy of this history of clothing, which is eminently readable and meticulously researched, is its focus on people -- Paula Byrne * The Times *This riveting behind-the-scenes story of the clothes on our backs is a must-read for clotheshorses everywhere * Harper's Bazaar *A terrific book especially for those who want to be informed about sustainable clothing. Knowing the history is fascinating. -- Alexandra SchulmanRichly evocative . . . One of the great pleasures of this panoramic history of getting dressed is Sofi Thanhauser's ability to spot moments like these where human desire and material culture collide -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *Knowledgeable, fascinating . . . explores the complex systems woven between the producers of cloth and its consumers . . . bulges at the seams with finely spun descriptions of the places and people she encounters -- Kassia St Clair * Economist *The story of what we wear is the story of who we are, and Worn offers a riveting, provocative, and eye-opening account. One cannot make sense of our modern world without this book -- Brian Christian * Author of The Most Human Human *Expansive . . . elegantly chronicling how textile production came to be defined by worker exploitation, misogyny, environmental devastation, and colonialism . . . Yet she also finds space to appreciate sartorial marvels and to celebrate the loom aficionados, "denimheads," and "wool enthusiasts" who aim for a more ethical, analog future * New Yorker *Extraordinary . . . fascinating . . . a wonderful way into history, quite often through the voices of people who don't have a say in history -- Cerys MatthewsA masterpiece of investigative reporting and a riveting adventure story, Worn is both panoramic and richly particular. Thanhauser is the best of guides: humane, engaging, generous with historical anecdote and always able to reveal the telling detail. She shows how the cost of fashion far exceeds any retail price tag, and how the revival of venerable traditions might yet lead us to a sustainable future -- Geraldine Brooks * author of The Secret Chord *An incredibly well-reported account of how fashion, far from being trivial, has shaped human history -- Pippa Bailey * New Statesman *This is a must-read book for anyone interested in textiles. In it Sofi Thanhauser tracks the ingenuity, creativity and human cost of textile production across centuries and cultures in a book which combines remarkable research with heartfelt care -- Clare Hunter * author of Threads of Life *Captivating and deeply researched . . . Thanhauser unearths the secret life of fabrics with skill and precision. Readers won't look at their wardrobes the same way again * Publishers Weekly *A fascinating read, laying out how our increasingly careless use and discarding of clothing has come to damage our planet. Thanhauser has carried out a remarkable mass of research on clothes and the fibers they are made from. She has stitched it all together in a clear and engaging style that invites one to keep reading and to start mending our ways -- Elizabeth Wayland Barber * author of Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years *Original, insightful and thought provoking . . . a delight to read such rich insights into the weaving and knitting together of industries, societies, political initiatives and economies of cloth that truly demonstrates humans activities -- Dilys Williams * Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion *Sofi Thanhauser's history of cloth is not just about clothing: it is about ethics, workers' rights, women's progress, climate justice. It is the about the fabric of who we are. And as told in Worn, it also makes an absolutely gripping read! -- Peggy Orenstein * author of Girls & Sex and Boys & Sex *Admirable concision and formidable scholarship . . . Now and then in the life of a book reviewer, a book comes along that makes you glad to be one . . . Worn falls plumb into this category -- Nicola Schulman * Oldie *Thanhauser's geographical reach is impressive . . . as is the rigour of her examinations of the cultural, economic, political and environmental impacts -- Lucy Scholes * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWinter takes us on an intimate tour of the artists, poets, composers, writers, explorers, scientists and thinkers who helped shape a new and modern idea of winter. We learn how literature heralds the arrival of the middle class; how snow science leads to existential questions of God and our place in the world; how the race to the poles marks the human drive to imprint meaning on a blank space. Offering a kaleidoscopic take on the season, Winter is a homage to an idea of a season and a journey through the modern imagination.Trade Review'Gopnik's mind darts about like mercury as he tells his tale' The Times. * The Times *'Often startlingly good ... The perfect fireside companion' Observer. * Observer *'Brilliantly insightful ... Any writer who can take subjects as diverse as Wilson Bentley's snow crystal photographs, Dickens's Christmas stories and the myth that the Inuit have dozens of different words for snow, and find something original and interesting to say about each of them, has to be worth reading' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *'Makes chilliness worth every minute' The Economist. * Economist *Table of ContentsAuthor's Note. Romantic Winter. Radical Winter. Recuperative Winter. Recreational Winter. Remembering Winter. Bibliography. Permissions. Index.

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Book SynopsisTakes us around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history - the court jester. This work includes anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations that shed light on little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on the head honchos of history.Trade Review"Through anecdotes, historical details, analyses, and commentary, Otto brilliantly delineates the court jester, and quotations and illustrations do much to enhance this eminently readable text." - Library Journal"

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Book SynopsisAS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK. The fascinating story of how we have gone out to eat, from the ancient Romans in Pompeii to the luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants of today. Tracing its earliest incarnations in the city of Pompeii, where Sitwell is stunned by the sophistication of the dining scene, this is a romp through history as we meet the characters and discover the events that shape the way we eat today. Sitwell, restaurant critic for the Daily Telegraph and famous for his acerbic criticisms on the hit BBC show MasterChef, tackles this enormous subject with his typical wit and precision. He spies influences from an ancient traveller of the Muslim world, revels in the unintended consequences for nascent fine dining of the French Revolution, reveals in full hideous glory the post-Second World War dining scene in the UK and fathoms the birth of sensitive gastronomy in the US counterculture of the 1960s.Trade Review'Fascinating and often counterintuitive' -- Michael Hodges * Radio Times *'William Sitwell has the palate of a great chef, the honesty of a high court judge and he holds the pen of P.G.Wodehouse' -- Marco Pierre White'A warm-hearted romp through the history of eating out... This wide-ranging literary feast is particularly apposite at a time when many of us are noticing how much money we’re saving by not eating out.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * The Times *'As tales of saucepan-throwing, cocaine-snorting chefs attest, restaurants revel in drama and excitement... Always well-informed, never dull.' -- Andrew Lycett * Mail on Sunday *‘An immensely engaging guide ... Sitwell never takes himself too seriously. As Dr Johnson declared, “There is nothing… by which so much happiness is produced, as by a good tavern or inn,” and it is bittersweet to enjoy it here vicariously.' -- Robert Eustace * Daily Telegraph *'Beautifully timed to keep your favourite dishes fresh in your mind and get you planning for how and where you’re going to indulge when the lockdown finally ends... About as close as you can get to the fun of eating out right now. Sitwell is a witty writer who understands the need to entertain... I found this book more entertaining than many a restaurant meal and it’s something to keep us going until everything reopens.' -- Richard Vines * Bloomberg *'The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out is a story of life. A must read for anyone interested in food or history.’ * SLMAG *'Supremely readable' -- Annie Gray * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisBY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHORThe perfect gift for anyone who has ever wondered about the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs! For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don''t know much about Christmas. We don''t know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means Go away, Christ. We''re oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.''Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant'' Raymond Briggs ''Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff'' Matthew ParrisTrade ReviewWitty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant -- Raymond BriggsEverything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff -- Matthew ParrisMark imparts knowledge about Christmas traditions from the essential to the (very) abstruse in wry and sardonic style. An effortless and enjoyable way to learn more about this fulcrum of our calendar -- Paul Smiddy, Former Head of pan-European retail research, HSBCMark Forsyth wears his considerable knowledge lightly. He also writes beautifully -- David Marsh, on 'The Elements of Eloquence' * Guardian *This year's must-have stocking filler ... the essential addition to the library in the smallest room is Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon. -- Ian Samson * Guardian *With his casual elegance and melodious voice, Mark Forsyth has an anachronistic charm totally at odds with the 21st century (The Horologicon) * Sunday Times South Africa *[The Etymologicon is] a perfect bit of stocking filler for the bookish member of the family, or just a cracking all-year-round-read. Highly recommended. * The Spectator *As good as promised - could have been thrice as long -- Ben Schott, on 'The Elements of Eloquence'

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Book SynopsisWinner of Randy Shilts AwardIn the half century before the Nazis rose to power, Berlin became the undisputed gay capital of the world. Activists and medical professionals made it a city of firsts—the first gay journal, the first homosexual rights organization, the first Institute for Sexual Science, the first sex reassignment surgeries—exploring and educating themselves and the rest of the world about new ways of understanding the human condition. In this fascinating examination of how the uninhibited urban culture of Berlin helped create our categories of sexual orientation and gender identity, Robert Beachy guides readers through the past events and developments that continue to shape and influence our thinking about sex and gender to this day.

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Book Synopsis A beautifully packaged gift using classic Chinese binding Includes 100 illustrations and photographs Offers a concise, entertaining guide to Norse mythology

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Book SynopsisUsing his own drawings, diagrams and photographs, author Trevor Yorke explains all aspects of the Georgian and Regency house and provides a comprehensive guide to the houses of this notable period. This book is divided into three sections, outlining the history of the period; stepping inside the different rooms and their fittings, what they were used for and how they would have appeared; and the final section contains a quick reference guide with notes on dating houses, suggestions for further reading, a glossary of unfamiliar terms and details of places to visit.

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Book Synopsis'He is as funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' ObserverIt was the spirit of our finest hour, the backbone of our post-war greatness, and it promoted some of the boldest and most brilliant schemes this isle has ever produced: it was the Welfare State, and it made you and I. But now it's under threat, and we need to save it.In this timely and provocative book, Stuart Maconie tells Britain’s Welfare State story through his own history of growing up as a northern working class boy. What was so bad about properly funded hospitals, decent working conditions and affordable houses? And what was so wrong about student grants, free eye tests and council houses? And where did it all go so wrong? Stuart looks toward Britain’s future, making an emotional case for believing in more than profit and loss; and championing a just, fairer society.

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Book SynopsisA unique chronicle of the hundred-year period when the Jewish people changed the world – and it changed them Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Bernhardt and Kafka. Between the middle of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a few dozen men and women changed the way we see the world. But many have vanished from our collective memory despite their enduring importance in our daily lives. Without Karl Landsteiner, for instance, there would be no blood transfusions or major surgery. Without Paul Ehrlich no chemotherapy. Without Siegfried Marcus no motor car. Without Rosalind Franklin genetic science would look very different. Without Fritz Haber there would not be enough food to sustain life on earth. These visionaries all have something in common – their Jewish origins and a gift for thinking outside the box. In 1847 the Jewish people made up less than 0.25% of the world’s population, and yet they saw what others could not. How?Trade Review‘[Lebrecht] guides us through his chosen period… in a breathless present continuous, with an enthusiasm that holds the reader’s attention… Lebrecht’s passion is persuasive, while the depth and variety of his reading and the sweep of his writing consistently engage.’ -- TLS‘Claims to have “changed the world” tend to be exaggerations, but Lebrecht’s subtitle…seems understated. The world wasn’t changed, it was remade, by the emancipation of Jews into public life that began in the 1840s…Narrated not by a straight-faced professional historian, but by a sprightly raconteur, with anecdotes and jokes, digressions and embellishments. Lebrecht piles them high in a ziggurat of enthusiasm for those “who changed the way we see the world”’. * The Times *‘A riveting, gossipy, action-packed, seam-bursting blast through 100 years of (mainly) European history…Lebrecht is an exuberant storyteller who ably brings these personalities to life…Impressively wide-ranging in scope and unflaggingly fascinating in detail.’ * Financial Times *'[An] urgent and moving history.’ * The Spectator *‘Norman Lebrecht has a rare ability to evoke the past with the immediacy of a good journalist, broadcaster, novelist or blogger… In his new book, a magnum opus of well over 400 pages, he brings his lifelong interests together.’ * Jewish Chronicle *‘This is unapologetically a book about Jews – scores of Jews whose lives and achievements made a significant difference to the world. In themselves, their histories make for fascinating reading, but a deeper theme informs these absorbing biographical sketches… Fascinating’. * Jerusalem Post *‘An exercise in boosterism… While Genius and Anxiety presents itself as a work of serious historical research, it is also laced with journalistic pizzazz.’ * Guardian *‘This book unapologetically celebrates Jewish genius by asking some piercing questions… the book is also a reminder that the unremitting antisemitism that contextualises Jewish genius has not disappeared.’ -- Jewish Renaissance‘… the book features dozens of remarkable scientists, artists and politicians of Jewish descent. Lebrecht’s wide net captures the usual suspects — Marx, Freud, Kafka, Einstein — but also many lesser-known, and equally fascinating, individuals.’ -- New York Times‘This book is a joy. Concise, vivid, well-written, in clear antithesis to banality… One not only enjoys the wealth of interesting facts and people, but is also delighted to be treated with many of [Lebrecht’s] aphoristic pearls… A vivid psychological study of Jewishness.' -- The Times of Israel‘A dazzling masterpiece depicting the glory and tragedy of Europe’s most persecuted people.’ -- Tom Bower‘Lebrecht vividly portrays the tensions between success and discrimination, offering a timely reminder of what western civilisation owes to the Jews.’ -- David Abulafia, Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean History, University of Cambridge, and author of The Great Sea

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Book Synopsis''Bobby''s oyster travelogue is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind piece that shines a spotlight on the extraordinary and the everyday of the industry. It''s the stuff that oyster bucket lists are made of'' Julie Qiu, In A Half Shell blog''A masterpiece'' Sandy Ingber, Executive Chef of the Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York''An amazing tome . . . The stories behind each oyster and location are informative, in depth, but, most importantly, fun'' Michel Roux JrThe oyster. Ostrea edulis. ''Edible bones''. The Great British oyster is deeply embedded in our geographical, historical and socio-cultural landscape. Five-thousand-year-old oyster shells have been discovered in the northern reaches of Scotland, and oyster shells are littered along the extinct riverbeds deep beneath the London of today. A highly prized delicacy of the Romans, the oyster has always been a class leveller: an everyman food of the poor during the Victorian age to a food of decTrade ReviewA great read, we love the book! Written with knowledge and enthusiasm * Si King (The Hairy Bikers) *A clever mix of food history, nature writing, travelogue and restaurant guide * The i *Part travelogue, part social history * Sunday Telegraph *A masterpiece. It is so interesting to read about oyster lore on the other side of the world. Being here in America, I tend to forget how many oysters are out there in other places, especially in the UK and Ireland. Thank you, Bobby, for bringing this world of joy to me and all the rest of America * Sandy Ingber, Executive Chef of the Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York *An amazing tome. It's a joy. The stories behind each oyster and location are informative, in depth, but, most importantly, fun. I shall never eat an oyster again in the same way, the knowledge impaired from this book will definitely enhance the eating * Michel Roux Jr, Le Gavroche *Bobby's oyster travelogue is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind piece that shines a spotlight on the extraordinary and the everyday of the industry. It's the stuff that oyster bucket lists are made of * Julie Qiu, In A Half Shell blog *This book is a rolling adventure of bike, sweat, salt, sea and oysters. A book full of history and love; love for the oyster and love for the coasts of the British Isles and Ireland * Margot Henderson, Rochelle Canteen *Bobby's storytelling puts you in his wellies, and makes me want to hop on a Triumph to explore the tastes, characters, and sights of the Oyster Isles . . . An instant oyster classic * Patrick McMurray, World Oyster Shuckin' Champion *To my mind, the best food book to be published this year. Bobby Groves's fascinating and beautifully written history of the oyster in the British Isles is meticulously researched. A captivating and utterly absorbing account of a young man's odyssey. A must-have, if you possess even the remotest interest in seafood and presented in a glorious old-school style. Divine * East Coast Avocet *A super book about a super food! Bobby Groves gives the oyster lover an insight into the social history of the coastline of our wonderful country * Brian Turner *

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Book SynopsisWitchcraft! Just the mention of the name is enough to cause fear, even terror, in the minds and hearts of many people. But that is not the full story. Yes, there have always been proponents of the ''dark arts,'' witches and warlocks willing to use their powers for evil, but the wise men and women of the ancient and medieval world - men and women eager to use their spells and potions for good - have often been overlooked.This book looks at witchcraft from the early days, tracing its development as a pseudo-religious cult, the good and the bad, from the wild plains of Babylon to the present day. It highlights witch scares and individuals, particularly the witch hunts of the medieval period when 100,000 women were accused of witchcraft and nearly 80,000 executed. It examines the concept of witch hunting, detailing the activities of men like Matthew Hopkins, the famous Witchfinder General.The book does not just focus on medieval and ancient witches, it takes in modern witch hunting - with

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Book Synopsis** AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK IN DECEMBER 2022 **'Curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine ... a remarkable debut.' SUNDAY TIMESAlice Vernon often wakes up to find strangers in her bedroom.Ever since she was a child, her nights have been haunted by nightmares of a figure from her adolescence, sinister hallucinations and episodes of sleepwalking. These are known as 'parasomnias' - and they're surprisingly common. Now a lecturer in Creative Writing, Vernon set out to understand the history, science and culture of these strange and haunting experiences. Night Terrors, her startling and vivid debut, examines the history of our relationship with bad dreams: how we've tried to make sense of and treat them, from some decidedly odd 'cures' like magical 'mare-stones', to research on how video games might help people rewrite their dreams. Along the way she explores the Salem Witch Trials and sleep paralysis, Victorian ghost stories, and soldiers' experiences of PTSD. By directly confronting her own strange and frightening nights for the first time, Vernon encourages us to think about the way troubled sleep has impacted our imaginations.Night Terrors aims to shine a light on the darkest parts of our sleeping lives, and to reassure sufferers from bad dreams that they are not alone.Trade ReviewFascinating - just don't read it at bedtime. * The Observer *Curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine ... a remarkable debut. * Sunday Times *By writing this gruelling, honest book, Alice Vernon has done her small bit to try to puncture the power of nightmares. * Daily Mail *In a discourse fired by lively inquiry and personal anecdote, [Vernon] looks to art, literature and science to demonstrate the profound effect these eerie and surprisingly common nocturnal states have had on the human imagination. Fascinating - just don't read it at bedtime. * The Observer *Fascinating ... a rich, immersive study of not just nightmares but the full range of parasomnias - the strange sleep disorders that can afflict us. ... [Vernon] can really write. ... This book felt like an extended hand to me. It is curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine - and, if you're a sufferer too, wonderfully reassuring. It is a remarkable debut. * Sunday Times *A vivid history of sleep disorders ... a candid, intense look at what keeps people up at night. * Publishers Weekly *A welcome addition to the vast library it cites and celebrates, Vernon's work is a compelling guide to the uncanny grammar of our dread and desire. * Fortean Times *

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Book SynopsisBig Tech has sold us the illusion that artificial intelligence is a frictionless technology that will bring wealth and prosperity to humanity. But hidden beneath this smooth surface lies the grim reality of a precarious global workforce of millions that labour under often appalling conditions to make AI possible. Feeding the Machine presents an urgent, riveting investigation of the intricate network of organisations that maintain this exploitative system, revealing the untold truth of AI.Based on hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of fieldwork over more than a decade, this book shows us the lives of the workers often deliberately concealed from view and the systems of power that determine their future. It shows how AI is an extraction machine that churns through ever-larger datasets and feeds off humanity''s labour and collective intelligence to power its algorithms. Feeding the Machine is a call to arms against this exploitative system and details w

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Book SynopsisIn this absorbing chronicle of the role of race in US history, David R. Roediger explores how the idea of race was created and recreated from the 1600s to the present day. From the late seventeenth century-the era in which Du Bois located the emergence of "whiteness"-through the American revolution and the emancipatory Civil War, to the civil rights movement and the emergence of the American empire, How Race Survived US History reveals how race did far more than persist as an exception in a progressive national history. Roediger examines how race intersected all that was dynamic and progressive in US history, from democracy and economic development to migration and globalisation.Trade ReviewA pithy little book ... Remind[s] us that whiteness was built over centuries on a foundation of deceit and confusion and disguised political imperatives. -- Kelefa Sanneh * The New Yorker *Starred Review. This rousing, thought-provoking history illuminates the enveloping 400-year-old history of race in America, and the issues [Roediger] raises are as relevant as ever. * Publishers Weekly *Scholars and activists will be able to rely upon this book for much needed historical perspective. Based heavily on an acute reading and insightful interpretation of a vast array of the secondary literature, this book is a worthy addition to Roediger's formidable oeuvre. * Journal of African American History *How Race Survived US History synthesizes a vast secondary literature ... into a simple yet elegant analysis. -- Kornel Chang * Journal of American History *An extremely timely argument about the enduring significance of 'race' in American society, as well as a sophisticated polemic against the complacent assumption that the Obama phenomenon spells the end of American racism. -- Richard Seymour

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Book SynopsisA Guardian book to look out for in 2024An insightful exploration of the nature of inequality by the internationally bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century. In his newest work, Thomas Piketty explores how social inequality manifests itself very differently depending on the society and epoch in which it arises. History and culture play a central role, inequality being strongly linked to various socio-economic, political, civilisational, and religious developments. So it is culture in the broadest sense that makes it possible to explain the diversity, extent, and structure of the social inequality that we observe every day. Piketty briefly and concisely presents a lively synthesis of his work, taking up such diverse topics as education, inheritance, taxes, and the climate crisis, and provides exciting food for thought for a highly topical debate: Does natural inequality exist?

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