Search results for ""profile books""
Profile Books Ltd Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
School maths is not the interesting part. The real fun is elsewhere. Like a magpie, Ian Stewart has collected the most enlightening, entertaining and vexing 'curiosities' of maths over the years... Now, the private collection is displayed in his cabinet. There are some hidden gems of logic, geometry and probability -- like how to extract a cherry from a cocktail glass (harder than you think), a pop up dodecahedron, the real reason why you can't divide anything by zero and some tips for making money by proving the obvious. Scattered among these are keys to unlocking the mysteries of Fermat's last theorem, the Poincaré Conjecture, chaos theory, and the P/NP problem for which a million dollar prize is on offer. There are beguiling secrets about familiar names like Pythagoras or prime numbers, as well as anecdotes about great mathematicians. Pull out the drawers of the Professor's cabinet and who knows what could happen...
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home
A TIMES LITERARY NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 A TIME MAGAZINE MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 'I was so captivated by this book, so utterly drawn in and overwhelmed by the emotional force of it, that it stayed in my bloodstream, it felt, long after I'd finished it.' Nigella Lawson 'Sharp and engrossing' Roxane Gay As the bookish daughter of a travelling salesman, Jami Attenberg was drawn to the road. Her wanderlust led her to drive solo across America, and eventually on travels around the globe, embracing - for better and worse - all the messy life she encountered along the way. As she travelled she was crafting, grafting and honing her work, piecing together a living and career, and wrestling with a deep longing for independence while also searching for community, and eventually, a place she might want to stay in for good. This remarkable memoir reveals the defining moments that pushed her to create a life, and voice, she could claim for herself. Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring and singular story of living the creative life, and finding one's way home.
£14.99
Profile Books Ltd A Good House for Children
'In her beautifully written debut, Kate Collins gives the haunted house novel a refreshing renovation, while retaining a deliciously chilling atmosphere that fans of Shirley Jackson will love. I was entranced' Francine Toon, author of Pine The perfect place to destroy a family... The Reeve stands on the edge of the Dorset cliffs, awaiting its next inhabitants. Despite Orla's misgivings, her husband insists this house will be the perfect place to raise their two children. In 1976, Lydia moves to Dorset as a nanny for a family grieving their patriarch. She soon starts to hear and feel things that cannot be real, but her bereaved employer does not listen when Lydia tells her something is wrong. Separated by forty years, both Lydia and Orla realise that the longer they stay at the Reeve, the more deadly certain their need to keep the children safe from whatever lurks inside it... Nothing is quite what it seems at the Reeve, and with its pervasive atmosphere of claustrophobia and dread, Kate Collins' gothic creation will chill you to the core.
£14.99
Profile Books Ltd BOOTH: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 A TELEGRAPH BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 AN EVENING STADARD MUST-READ NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 ONE OF NICOLA STURGEON'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2022 'Accomplished, immersive and profoundly satisfying' Cathy Rentzenbrink 'Effortlessly resonant ... breathes rich imaginative colour in her characters' Daily Telegraph From the million-copy bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves comes an epic novel about the infamous, ill-fated Booth family. SIX BROTHERS AND SISTERS. ONE INJUSTICE THAT WILL SHATTER THEIR BOND FOREVER. Junius is the patriarch, a celebrated Shakespearean actor who fled bigamy charges in England, both a mesmerising talent and a man of terrifying instability. As his children grow up in a remote farmstead in 1830s rural Baltimore, the country draws ever closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war. Of the six Booth siblings who survive to adulthood, each has their own dreams they must fight to realise - but it is Johnny who makes the terrible decision that will change the course of history - the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Booth is a riveting novel focused on the very things that bind, and break, a family. 'In its stretch and imaginative depth, Booth has an utterly seductive authority' Guardian 'Karen Joy Fowler's novels are wildly inventive and deservedly popular' Daily Mail 'Booth is a triumph!' Ruth Ozeki 'Captures with enthralling vividness a country caught in the grip of fanatical populism, ripped apart by irreconcilable political differences and boiling with fury and rage ... An unalloyed triumph' Literary Review 'Brilliantly recounts the story of the American theatrical dynasty that produced Lincoln's assassin' Sunday Times Book of the Month 'Her finest, most beautiful novel to date' Neel Mukherjee
£17.09
Profile Books Ltd Before the Ruins
'Engrossing, beguiling, and with an undertow of menace, Before the Ruins is a masterly debut from a richly talented author.' Sarah Waters 'Jaw-droppingly brilliant writing' Marian Keyes Andy believes that she has left her past far behind her. But when she gets a call from Peter's mother to say he's gone missing, she finds herself pulled into a search for answers. Bored and restless after their final school exams, Andy, Peter, Em and Marcus broke into a ruined manor house nearby and quickly became friends with the boy living there. Blond, charming and on the run, David's presence was as dangerous as it was exciting. The story of a diamond necklace, stolen from the house fifty years earlier and perhaps still lost somewhere in the grounds inspired the group to buy a replica and play at hiding it, hoping to turn up the real thing along the way. But the game grew to encompass decades of resentment, lies and a terrible betrayal. Now, Andy's search for Peter will unearth unimaginable secrets - and take her back to the people who still keep them.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd Something Out of Place: Women & Disgust
The blistering non-fiction debut from the author of the critically acclaimed A Girl is a Half-formed Thing *As heard on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour* 'A fearless, interrogative work ... A fierce and fascinating manifesto in McBride's persuasive prose' Sinéad Gleeson 'There is something very exciting about contemplating a future for women where our disagreements about how best to live don't translate into weakness and division' Megan Nolan, New Statesman Here, Eimear McBride unpicks the contradictory forces of disgust and objectification that control and shame women. From playground taunts of 'only sluts do it' but 'virgins are frigid', to ladette culture, and the arrival of 'ironic' porn, via Debbie Harry, the Kardashians and the Catholic church - she looks at how this prejudicial messaging has played out in the past, and still surrounds us today. In this subversive essay, McBride asks - are women still damned if we do, damned if we don't? How can we give our daughters (and sons) the unbounded futures we want for them? And, in this moment of global crisis, might our gift for juggling contradiction help us to find a way forward? 'A satisfying feminist polemic' Susie Orbach 'Remarkable' Scotsman 'Eimear McBride is that old fashioned thing, a genius' Guardian
£12.65
Profile Books Ltd The Wonderbox: Curious histories of how to live
There are many ways to try to improve our lives - we can turn to the wisdom of philosophers, the teachings of religions or the latest experiments of psychologists. But we rarely to look to history for inspiration - and when we do it can be surprisingly powerful. Showing the lessons that can be learned from the past, cultural historian Roman Krznaric explores twelve universal topics, from work and love to money and creativity, and reveals the wisdom that we've been missing. There is much to be learned from Ancient Greece on relationships, from the industrial revolution on job satisfaction, and from Ming-dynasty China on bringing up our children. Just as a Renaissance 'Wunderkammer' was a curiosity cabinet full of fascinating objects, each with a story behind it, The Wonderbox is full of stories and ideas from history, each of which sheds invaluable light on the decisions we make every day, whether we think about the different uses of the senses or changing attitudes to time. History is usually read for pleasure or for insight into current affairs, but The Wonderbox, stepping into the territory of Alain de Botton and Theodore Zeldin, is 'practical history' - using the past to think about our day to day lives.
£8.99
Profile Books Ltd When the World Feels Like a Scary Place: Essential Conversations for Anxious Parents and Worried Kids
If you have kids, you'll have been asked questions that are hard to answer. Many of us feel out of our depth when talking to our kids about the big stuff, whether it's bullying, social justice, Covid-19 or climate change. Child psychologist Dr Abigail Gewirtz explains how to coach your three- to eighteen-year-old through difficult events that raise 'big' emotions. Using real-world examples, talking points and insightful asides, you'll learn how to frame difficult issues in age-appropriate ways, so your children can process big emotions in conversation with you. Offering clear and practical advice for having the kind of tough conversation that really helps, When the World Feels Like a Scary Place is an indispensable guide to talking to our kids about the big things that worry them - making us calmer parents with more resilient children.
£16.07
Profile Books Ltd The Law in 60 Seconds: A Pocket Guide to Your Rights
'An indispensable guide to the law and your rights, giving you a lawyer in your pocket for a multitude of legal questions and problems that crop up in everyday life. ... Exceptional' - The Secret Barrister 'Brilliant and generous and very necessary' - Sarah Langford, author of In Your Defense 'A triumph of a book. It should form the basis for a national curriculum in law.' - Joanna Hardy-Susskind From junior barrister Christian Weaver comes an indispensable guide to your basic legal rights. We engage with the law every day: when we leave the house, and even when we don't, we're bound by rules we don't even notice. Until they're used against us. Knowing our rights means taking control of our lives. In this handbook, lawyer Christian Weaver brings together everything you need to know to claim your space in the world. Whether you are arguing with your landlord, looking for a refund, going to a protest or being harassed, this essential guide illuminates the full power of the law, and arms you with your rights, including: - in a relationship - at home - out on the street - when you've spent money, owe it or are owed it From housing to relationships, police conduct to travel, this guide will give you the confidence and clarity to take control in any situation.
£8.99
Profile Books Ltd How to Build a Human: What Science Knows About Childhood
'Byrne's book is about scientific parenting, and it is very welcome indeed ... breezy and digestible ... this is such a good book' Tom Whipple, The Times Kids aren't all the same. You can't follow instructions and expect success every time. So what if parents approached their children as questions to be answered and not problems to be solved? Scientist Emma Byrne takes evidence-based information on everything from physical and emotional development to what is really happening during sleep and separation anxiety, then shows how to apply it to the unique child in front of you. She challenges perceived wisdom by focusing on the variance as well as the mean - because your child is an individual, not an average. Like all good scientists, you're going to have a few missteps along the way. You'll reach dead ends; you'll need to wrack your brain for new approaches. But by staying curious, creative and paying attention to what's really happening with your family, Emma Byrne will help you figure it out. Just in time for everything to change once again.
£14.99
Profile Books Ltd Solo: How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind)
'Kind, realistic and genuinely helpful' Observer 'Bravo on the publication of this witty, wise guide to solo working' Alice Lascelles 'Filled to the brim with advice . . . Such a brilliant book' Emma Gannon Whether by choice or circumstance, as a freelancer or a company employee working from home, more of us are becoming solo workers than ever before. But once you've made the leap, how to do you actually work well in isolation? And how can you thrive while working alone? Picking up where the freelancer bibles stop, Solo addresses what we gain but also miss when we shift from the structure of an office environment to the solitary confines of our homes or studios. Blending the latest research in psychology, economics and social science with guided self-examination and more than ten years of freelance experience, Rebecca Seal shows you how to stay resilient, productive and focused in a company of one. Practical and inspiring, she also explores the idea of meaningful work and helps you define your own success.
£13.49
Profile Books Ltd The Plague Letters
'A riotous delve into the dark medical world of Restoration London' - S.G. MACLEAN 'An infectious read, packed with atmosphere and colourful characters' - OSCAR DE MURIEL 'A gripping whodunnit with a sinister twist' - JENNIFER RYAN ________________________________________ WHO WOULD MURDER THE DYING... London, 1665. Hidden within the growing pile of corpses in his churchyard, Rector Symon Patrick discovers a victim of the pestilence unlike any he has seen before: a young woman with a shorn head, covered in burns, and with pieces of twine delicately tied around each wrist and ankle. Desperate to discover the culprit, Symon joins a society of eccentric medical men who have gathered to find a cure for the plague. Someone is performing terrible experiments upon the dying, hiding their bodies amongst the hundreds that fill the death carts. Only Penelope - a new and mysterious addition to Symon's household - may have the skill to find the killer. Far more than what she appears, she is already on the hunt. But the dark presence that enters the houses of the sick will not stop, and has no mercy... This hugely atmospheric and entertaining historical thriller will transport readers to the palaces and alleyways of seventeenth-century London. Perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Andrew Taylor and C.J. Sansom. ________________________________________ 'A sickening, desperate London, wonderfully evoked. A terrific read!' - ALIX NATHAN 'A rollicking, roistering tale with humour horror and human decency at its dark heart' - KATE GRIFFIN 'Brilliantly convincing and thrillingly infectious' - S.W. PERRY 'A gorgeous, darkly witty novel that transports readers to the London of Charles II' - MARIAH FREDERICKS 'Dark, haunting and unexpectedly witty' - SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL
£16.07
Profile Books Ltd I Give It To You
Jan Vidor seems like the ideal tenant for a long summer holiday in a Tuscan villa. Unobtrusive and quietly sociable, the American academic can be relied upon to entertain herself - but her aristocratic landlady Beatrice has made a terrible mistake. A chance remark about a violent death at Villa Chiara during the war piques Jan's writerly interest and sends her digging into the Salviati family's tragic past. Was Beatrice's uncle Sandro really mistaken for a partisan, or was his killer someone closer to home? Does it matter if Jan just fills in the gaps? After all, Beatrice said she could do as she liked with the story, she even said 'I give it to you' . . . Written with a deep understanding of loyalty and temptation, I Give It To You is a riveting novel about who owns a story, whether we have a right to what we inherit, and what a gift really means.
£14.99
Visual Profile Books Designing Spaces
£33.29
Profile Books Ltd Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
Winner of the 2010 Royal Society Prize for science books Powerful new research methods are providing fresh and vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining the atomic structure of proteins and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation and evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their historical impact, role in living organisms today and relevance to current controversies. DNA, sex, sight and consciousnesses are just four examples. Lane also explains how these findings have come about, and the extent to which they can be relied upon. The result is a gripping and lucid account of the ingenuity of nature, and a book which is essential reading for anyone who has ever questioned the science behind the glories of everyday life.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and South East Asia
40 or 50 families control the economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Their interests range from banking to property, from shipping to sugar, from vice to gambling. 13 of the 50 richest families in the world are in South East Asia yet they are largely unknown outside confined business circles. Often this is because they control the press and television as well as everything else. How do they do it? What are their secrets? And is it good news or bad for the places where they operate? Joe Studwell explosively lifts the lid on a world of staggering secrecy and shows that the little most people know is almost entirely wrong.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
The struggle to perform well is universal, but nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine. In his new book, Atul Gawande explores how doctors strive to close the gap between best intentions and best performance in the face of obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable. His vivid stories take us to battlefield surgical tents in Iraq, to a polio outbreak in India and to malpractice courtrooms around the country. He discusses the ethical dilemmas of doctors' participation in lethal injections, examines the influence of money on modern medicine and recounts the astoundingly contentious history of hand-washing. Finally, he gives a brutally honest insight into life as a practising surgeon. Unflinching but compassionate, Gawande's investigation into medical professionals and their progression from good to great provides a detailed blueprint for success that can be used by everyone.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd The Moth: This Is a True Story
With an introduction by Neil Gaiman Before television and radio, before penny paperbacks and mass literacy, people would gather on porches, on the steps outside their homes, and tell stories. The storytellers knew their craft and bewitched listeners would sit and listen long into the night as moths flitted around overhead. The Moth is a non-profit group that is trying to recapture this lost art, helping storytellers - old hands and novices alike - hone their stories before playing to packed crowds at sold-out live events. The very best of these stories are collected here: whether it's Bill Clinton's hell-raising press secretary or a leading geneticist with a family secret; a doctor whisked away by nuns to Mother Teresa's bedside or a film director saving her father's Chinatown store from money-grabbing developers; the Sultan of Brunei's concubine or a friend of Hemingway's who accidentally talks himself into a role as a substitute bullfighter, these eccentric, pitch-perfect stories - all, amazingly, true - range from the poignant to the downright hilarious.
£11.09
Profile Books Ltd Whatever
Just thirty, with a well-paid job, no love life and a terrible attitude, the anti-hero of this grim, funny novel smokes four packs of cigarettes a day and writes weird animal stories in his spare time. A computer programmer by day, he is tolerably content, until he's packed off with a colleague - the sexually-frustrated Raphael Tisserand - to train provincial civil servants in the use of a new computer system Houellebecq's first novel was a smash hit in France, expressing the misanthropic voice of a generation. Like A Confederacy of Dunces, Houellebecq's bitter, sarcastic and exasperated narrator vociferously expresses his frustration and disgust with the world.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd The Economist: Managing Talent: Recruiting, retaining and getting the most from talented people
Survey after survey confirms how the success of businesses has become increasingly dependent on the ability and skills of their staff. And because talented workers are in short supply the hunt for people of unusual ability will continue in earnest. Hiring such people is the relatively easy part; keeping them engaged so that they don't move on and getting the best out of them while they are with you is what really matters. Drawing on original research, including interviews with senior executives, recruitment specialists and headhunters, and people considered 'talented' within their organisations, this book outlines the way in which companies such as Ford, Goldman Sachs, Cisco, Diageo, Tesco, General Electric and HSBC are facing the challenge of recruiting and developing the talent they need. This book will also boost readers' own career prospects.
£15.00
Profile Books Ltd The French Revolution: From Enlightenment to Tyranny
The fall of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 has become the commemorative symbol of the French Revolution. But this violent and random act was unrepresentative of the real work of the early revolution, which was taking place ten miles west of Paris, in Versailles. There, the nobles, clergy and commoners of France had just declared themselves a republic, toppling a rotten system of aristocratic privilege and altering the course of history forever. The Revolution was led not by angry mobs, but by the best and brightest of France's growing bourgeoisie: young, educated, ambitious. Their aim was not to destroy, but to build a better state. In just three months they drew up a Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was to become the archetype of all subsequent Declarations worldwide, and they instituted a system of locally elected administration for France which still survives today. They were determined to create an entirely new system of government, based on rights, equality and the rule of law. In the first three years of the Revolution they went a long way toward doing so. Then came Robespierre, the Terror and unspeakable acts of barbarism. In a clear, dispassionate and fast-moving narrative, Ian Davidson shows how and why the Revolutionaries, in just five years, spiralled from the best of the Enlightenment to tyranny and the Terror. The book reminds us that the Revolution was both an inspiration of the finest principles of a new democracy and an awful warning of what can happen when idealism goes wrong.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd Natural Born Heroes: The Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance
AS HEARD ON THE CHRIS EVANS BREAKFAST SHOW - "It's not just for runners. It's for life! It's a great story." When Chris McDougall stumbled across the story of Churchill's 'dirty tricksters', a motley crew of English poets and academics who helped resist the Nazi invasion of Crete, he knew he was on the track of something special. To beat the odds, the tricksters-starving, aging, outnumbered-tapped into an ancient style of fitness: the lost art of heroism. They listened to their instincts, replaced calories with stored bodily fat and used their fascia, the network of tissue which criss-crosses the body, to catapult themselves to superhuman strength and endurance. Soon McDougall was in the middle of a modern fitness revolution taking place everywhere from Parisian parkour routes to state-of-the-art laboratories, and based on the know-how of Shanghai street-fighters and Wild West gunslingers. Just as Born to Run got runners off the treadmill and into nature, Natural Born Heroes will inspire casual athletes to dump the gym membership for cross-training, mud runs and free-running.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd A Voyage For Madmen: Nine men set out to race each other around the world. Only one made it back ...
Published to coincide with the Golden Globe Race's 50th Anniversary It lay like a gauntlet thrown down; to sail around the world alone and non-stop. No one had ever done it, no one knew if it could be done. In 1968, nine men - six Englishmen, two Frenchmen and an Italian - set out to try, a race born of coincidence of their timing. One didn't even know how to sail. They had more in common with Captain Cook or Ferdinand Magellan than with the high-tech, extreme sailors of today, a mere forty years later. It was not the sea or the weather that determined the nature of their voyages but the men they were, and they were as different from one another as Scott from Amundsen. Only one of the nine crossed the finishing line after ten months at sea. The rest encountered despair, sublimity, madness and even death.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries
Like its wildly popular predecessors Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities and Hoard of Mathematical Treasures, Professor Stewart's brand-new book is a miscellany of over 150 mathematical curios and conundrums, packed with trademark humour and numerous illustrations.In addition to the fascinating formulae and thrilling theorems familiar to Professor Stewart's fans, the Casebook follows the adventures of the not-so-great detective Hemlock Soames and his sidekick Dr John Watsup (immortalised in the phrase 'Watsup, Doc?'). By a remarkable coincidence they live at 222B Baker Street, just across the road from their more illustrious neighbour who, for reasons known only to Dr Watsup, is never mentioned by name. A typical item is 'The Case of the Face-Down Aces', a mathematical magic trick of quite devilish cunning... Ranging from one-liners to four-page investigations from the frontiers of mathematical research, the Casebook reveals Professor Stewart at his challenging and entertaining best.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd Just My Type: The original and best book about fonts
Just My Type is not just a font book, but a book of stories. About how Helvetica and Comic Sans took over the world. About why Barack Obama opted for Gotham, while Amy Winehouse found her soul in 30s Art Deco. About the great originators of type, from Baskerville to Zapf, or people like Neville Brody who threw out the rulebook, or Margaret Calvert, who invented the motorway signs that are used from Watford Gap to Abu Dhabi. About the pivotal moment when fonts left the world of Letraset and were loaded onto computers ... and typefaces became something we realised we all have an opinion about. As the Sunday Times review put it, the book is 'a kind of Eats, Shoots and Leaves for letters, revealing the extent to which fonts are not only shaped by but also define the world in which we live.' This edition is available with both black and silver covers.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd Mathematics Of Life: Unlocking the Secrets of Existence
A new partnership of biologists and mathematicians is picking apart the hidden complexity of animals and plants to throw fresh light on the behaviour of entire organisms, how they interact and how changes in biological diversity affect the planet's ecological balance. Mathematics offers new and sometimes startling perspectives on evolution and how patterns of inheritance and population work out over time-scales ranging from millions to hundreds of years - as well as what's going on to change us right now. Ian Stewart, in characteristically clear and entertaining fashion, explores these and a whole range of pertinent issues, including how far genes control behaviour and the nature of life itself. He shows how far mathematicians and biologists are succeeding in tackling some of the most difficult scientific problems the human race has ever confronted and where their research is currently taking us.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd The War On Heresy: Faith and Power in Medieval Europe
The war on heresy obsessed medieval Europe in the centuries after the first millennium. R. I. Moore's vivid narrative focuses on the motives and anxieties of those who declared and conducted the war: what were the beliefs and practices they saw as heretical? How might such beliefs have arisen? And why were they such a threat? In western Europe at AD 1000 heresy had barely been heard of. Yet within a few generations accusations had become commonplace and institutions were being set up to identify and suppress beliefs and practices seen as departures from true religion. Popular accounts of events, most notably of the Albigensian Crusade led by Europe against itself, have assumed the threats posed by the heretical movements were only too real. Some scholars by contrast have tried to show that reports of heresy were exaggerated or even fabricated: but if they are correct why was the war on heresy launched at all? And why was it conducted with such pitiless ferocity? To find the answers to these and other questions R. I. Moore returns to the evidence of the time. His investigation forms the basis for an account as profound as it is startlingly original.
£11.99
Profile Books Ltd Perfumes: The A-Z Guide
'I've long wished perfumery to be taken seriously as an art, and for scent critics to be as fierce as opera critics, and for the wearers of certain "fragrances" to be hissed in public, while others are cheered. This year has brought Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, which I breathed in, rather than read, in one delighted gulp.' Hilary Mantel, Guardian Perfumes: The Guide is the culmination of Turin's lifelong obsession and rare scientific flair and Sanchez's stylish and devoted blogging about every scent that she's ever loved and loathed. Together they make a fine and utterly persuasive argument for the unrecognised craft of perfume-making. Perfume writing has certainly never been this honest, compelling or downright entertaining.
£16.99
Profile Books Ltd Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle
Although Daniel Everett was a missionary, far from converting the Pirahãs, they converted him. He shows the slow, meticulous steps by which he gradually mastered their language and his gradual realisation that its unusual nature closely reflected its speakers' startlingly original perceptions of the world. Everett describes how he began to realise that his discoveries about the Pirahã language opened up a new way of understanding how language works in our minds and in our lives, and that this way was utterly at odds with Noam Chomsky's universally accepted linguistic theories. The perils of passionate academic opposition were then swiftly conjoined to those of the Amazon in a debate whose outcome has yet to be won. Everett's views are most recently discussed in Tom Wolfe's bestselling The Kingdom of Speech. Adventure, personal enlightenment and the makings of a scientific revolution proceed together in this vivid, funny and moving book.
£11.09
Profile Books Ltd Vermeer's Hat: The seventeenth century and the dawn of the global world
'Effortless and compelling, Brooks is a wonderful storyteller. I doubt I will read a better book this year.' Sunday Telegraph Each of Vermeer's paintings tells a story. In one, a military officer leans toward a laughing girl; in another, a woman stands by a window and weighs silver; in a third, fruit spills from a porcelain bowl onto a lavish Turkish carpet. Hiding in plain sight, these details hint at the intricate threads that bound Vermeer's world together - the officer's hat is made from North American beaver, bought with silver extracted from the mines of Peru, while beaver pelts were traded in their thousands for the Chinese porcelain so beloved by the Dutch in the Golden Age. From a view of Delft, Vermeer gives us the world. As a new Vermeer exhibition opens at the Rijksmuseum, the largest of its kind in history, Vermeer's Hat offers a fascinating perspective on how the burgeoning forces of trade and commerce shaped Vermeer's masterpieces.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd The PARA Method: Simplify, Organise and Master Your Digital Life
From the bestselling author of Building a Second Brain comes a primer on the essential tools you need to organize your digital life. Living a modern life requires juggling a lot of information. But we were never taught how to manage this material effectively so that we can find what we need when we need it. In The PARA Method, Tiago Forte outlines a simple and intuitive system that can be implemented in just seconds but has the power to transform the trajectory of your work and life, without the tedious filing or time-consuming maintenance of other approaches. The PARA Method will bring order to your inbox, filing system, notes app and more - so that you can focus on what really matters, moving forward to achieve your goals.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A Waterstones Best Book of 2023 'Brilliant - a must read' Tim Spector 'Ravenous is a truly important book ... we need a food revolution to ensure children don't go hungry, eat right, and reach their potential' Tom Kerridge The food system is no longer simply a means of sustenance. It is one of the most successful, most innovative and most destructive industries on earth. It sustains us, but it is also killing us. Diet-related disease is now the biggest cause of preventable illness and death in the developed world - far worse than smoking. The environmental damage done by the food system is also changing climate patterns and degrading the earth, risking our food security. In Ravenous, Henry Dimbleby takes us behind the scenes to reveal the mechanisms that act together to shape the modern diet - and therefore the world. He explains not just why the food system is leading us into disaster, but what can be done about it.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd The Change Book: Fifty models to explain how things happen
How do you make your way in a fast-changing world? Why do we have less and less time? Why are some people unfaithful? Who governs the world? This book is about change - from the small and seemingly insignificant transitions in our day-to-day lives, to the big and almost incomprehensible shifts in human history. Because if we want to make change happen ourselves, we have to understand it first. Distilling expert wisdom and complex theories, the authors of the bestselling The Decision Book present fifty simple and effective models to help us make sense of our changing world. Everything is in a constant state of change, from the personal and political to economics and the environment. Whether you're buying a new car, deciding who to vote for, or making an investment, this little book offers surprisingly simple explanations of the biggest theories of transformation that will help you see the world anew - and radically challenge some of your preconceived ideas.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd Write for Life: A Toolkit for Writers from the author of multimillion bestseller THE ARTIST'S WAY
ONE OF THE WATKINS TOP 100 MOST SPIRITUALLY INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2023 From JULIA CAMERON, author of the multimillion bestselling THE ARTISTS WAY comes WRITE FOR LIFE. Legendary author of The Artist's Way Julia Cameron has pioneered the field of creative recovery, inspiring millions of people around the world to discover their true creative selves. Now in Write for Life, the 'Queen of Creativity' speaks directly to writers - it is an openhearted invitation to begin, stick with, and finish a project. Write for Life delivers a wonderful balance of firm and inspiring advice, shaped into a 6-week program for writers of all levels. From setting daily writing quotas to changing genres, fighting perfectionism to polishing a first draft, Julia Cameron provides holistic guidance and support every step of the way. Write for Life is written for every writer, and every writer should read it. It is Julia Cameron at her best, distilling decades of wisdom and experience in practical lessons on the craft and spiritual practice of writing. Itis an unmissable addition to Julia Cameron's creative canon, destined to sit in the pantheon of classic books on writing.
£17.09
Profile Books Ltd The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet
'Essential brain food' Condé Nast Traveler 'As much a manifesto as a guide' Los Angeles Times 'Read this book and save the planet' Soho House Notes One of Business Insider's Most Anticipated Non-fiction Books of 2022 We cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people - especially those most often unheard. Leah Thomas coined the term 'intersectional environmentalism' to describe the inextricable link between climate change, activism, racism and privilege. The fight for the planet should go hand in hand with the fight for civil rights. In fact, one cannot exist without the other. This book is a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all and a pledge to work toward the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet - an indispensable primer for activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive and sustainable change. Driven by Leah's expert voice and complemented by the words of young activists from around the globe, it is essential reading on the issue - and the movement - that will define a generation.
£12.99
Profile Books Ltd What They Still Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School
Between the theories of business school and the real world of business, there is still a gap - one that can only be filled by experience, helped by the knowledge of someone who has already done it. Over a lifetime as one of the world's most influential business leaders, Mark McCormack gathered more insights than could ever fit in one book: here he has distilled the strategies, techniques and wisdom that everyone needs to get organised, get ahead and gain and keep the competitive edge. Building on from What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School, this straight-talking, practical guide offers essential tools and skills - from negotiating to managing, advancing your career to building a new idea - that will help you be a leader at any level.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER A FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH A FAST COMPANY TOP SUMMER PICK 'Completely changed my life' - Ali Abdaal, YouTuber and Entrepreneur 'Reading this book feels like being let in on a secret. ... an absolute must read' - Ryder Carroll, author of The Bullet Journal Method Discover the full potential of your ideas and make powerful, meaningful improvements in your work and life by Building a Second Brain. For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world's knowledge. There has never been a better time to learn, to create and to improve ourselves. Yet, rather than being empowered by this information, we're often overwhelmed, paralysed by believing we'll never know or remember enough. This eye-opening and accessible guide shows how you can easily create your own personal system for knowledge management, otherwise known as a Second Brain. A trusted and organised digital repository of your most valued ideas, notes and creative work, a Second Brain gives you the confidence to tackle your most important projects and ambitious goals. From identifying good ideas, to organising your thoughts, to retrieving everything swiftly and easily, it puts you back in control of your life and information.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd You’d Look Better as a Ghost
* WINNER OF THE CRIME FICTION LOVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL AWARD * 'An absolute roller-coaster of a read' - DAILY MAIL 'The most fun you're ever likely to have with a hammer-wielding maniac' - DAILY EXPRESS 'Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny' - CLARE MACKINTOSH I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them. The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But even before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby. The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Claire will do anything to keep her secret hidden - not to mention the bodies buried in her garden. Let the games begin... Dexter meets Killing Eve in this superb thriller, perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family and My Sister, the Serial Killer. 'A welcome addition to darkly humorous female serial killer novels' - GUARDIAN 'Delightfully shocking and irreverently funny' - JANICE HALLETT 'If Bret Easton Ellis ever went to grief counselling, this would be just the kind of brilliant book he'd write' - PHILIPPA EAST
£14.99
Profile Books Ltd Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City
'Original and illuminating ... what a good book this is' Jonathan Dimbleby 'A love letter to the people of the Old City' Jerusalem Post In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn't reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods. Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city's depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller's highly original 'biography' features the Old City's Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem's holiness and the ideas - often startlingly secular - that have shaped lives within its walls. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare
A FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 INDIE CHAMPIONS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOK 2023 'Prepare to be blown away' CHIKWE IHEKWEAZU, Assistant Director General at WHO 'Important and ambitious' OBSERVER This searing polemic reveals how racism and colonialism have shaped science and medicine - leading to the health inequalities we see all around us today. Activist, doctor and patient, Annabel Sowemimo reinserts the stories of Black and Indigenous scientists and doctors into the historical narrative, reframing how we see the 'objective' systems we operate within. In confronting this history, she argues for better understanding of our collective past to bring about urgent change. 'Outstanding ... I can't stress the importance of this book strongly enough' JACQUELINE ROY, author of The Fat Lady Sings 'An unflinching, hugely eye-opening exploration of medicine's brutal colonial history' THE i
£10.99
Profile Books Ltd The Nation of Plants: The International Bestseller
As plants see it, humans are not the masters of the Earth but only one of its most unpleasant and irksome residents. They have been on the planet for only about 300,000 years ago (nothing compared to the three billon years of plant evolution), yet have changed the conditions of the planet so drastically as to make it a dangerous place for their own survival. It's time for the plants to offer advice. In this playful, philosophical manifesto, Stefano Mancuso, expert on plant intelligence, presents a new constitution on which to build our future as beings respectful of the Earth and its inhabitants. These eight articles - the fundamental pillars on which plant life is based - must henceforth regulate all living beings.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd Cook As You Are: Recipes for Real Life, Hungry Cooks and Messy Kitchens
WINNER OF THE 2022 GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS GENERAL COOKBOOK AWARD A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A GUARDIAN FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR A STYLIST BOOK OF THE YEAR A DIANA HENRY 'BEST COOKBOOK TO BUY' AUTUMN 2021 'Practical, straight-talking, endlessly inspirational - this is Ruby at her best.' Nigel Slater 'I'd recommend it for everyone from novice cooks looking for a helping hand in the kitchen, to keen cookbook buyers looking for new inspiration' Rukmini Iyer, author of The Roasting Tin 'One of the best, most interesting cookbooks I've seen in a long time.' Ravneet Gill, author of The Pastry Chef's Guide and judge on Junior Bake Off 'A warm invitation to relax into and enjoy the experience of cooking and eating.' Nigella Lawson 'Beautiful, practical and a total game-changer' Ella Risbridger, author of Midnight Chicken Ruby Tandoh wants us all to cook, and this is her cookbook for all of us - the real home cooks, juggling babies or long commutes, who might have limited resources and limited time. From last-minute inspiration to delicious meals for one, easy one-pot dinners to no-chop recipes for when life keeps your hands full, Ruby brings us 100 delicious, affordable and achievable recipes, including salted malted magic ice cream, one-tin smashed potatoes with lemony sardines and pesto and an easy dinner of plantain, black beans and eden rice. This is a new kind of cookbook for our times: an accessible, inclusive and inspirational addition to any and every kitchen. You don't have to be an aspiring chef for your food to be delectable or for cooking to be a delight. Cook as you are.
£17.99
Profile Books Ltd Fear: An Alternative History of the World
It's been said that, after 9/11, the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic, we're a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces - perhaps the driving force - of world history: fear of God, of famine, war, disease, poverty, and other people. In Fear: An Alternative History of the World, Robert Peckham considers the impact of fear in history, as both a coercive tool of power and as a catalyst for social change. Beginning with the Black Death in the fourteenth century, Peckham traces a shadow history of fear. He takes us through the French Revolution and the social movements of the nineteenth century to modern market crashes, Cold War paranoia and the AIDS pandemic, into a digital culture increasingly marked by uniquely twenty-first-century fears. What did fear mean to us in the past, and how can a better understanding of it equip us to face the future? As Peckham demonstrates, fear can challenge as well as cement authority. Some crises have destroyed societies; others have been the making of them. Through the stories of the people and the moments that changed history, Fear: An Alternative History of the World reveals how fear and panic made us who we are.
£22.50
Profile Books Ltd Detransition, Baby: Longlisted for the Women's Prize 2021 and Top Ten The Times Bestseller
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 Shortlisted for the 2022 National Book Critics' Circle John Leonard Prize for best first book As heard on BBC Radio 4's Front Row 'A voraciously knowing, compulsively readable novel' Chris Kraus 'Tremendously funny and sexy as hell' Juliet Jacques 'I loved this very smart book from start to finish, with its beautifully drawn, complicated, and winning characters.' Madeleine Miller Reese nearly had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York, a job she didn't hate. She'd scraped together a life previous generations of trans women could only dream of; the only thing missing was a child. Then everything fell apart and three years on Reese is still in self-destruct mode, avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men. When her ex calls to ask if she wants to be a mother, Reese finds herself intrigued. After being attacked in the street, Amy de-transitioned to become Ames, changed jobs and, thinking he was infertile, started an affair with his boss Katrina. Now Katrina's pregnant. Could the three of them form an unconventional family - and raise the baby together?
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd The Sunny Nihilist: How a meaningless life can make you truly happy
'Mindful nihilism is all about seeing yourself as an insignificant cog in the universe - and it works' Evening Standard In an era defined by stress and selfishness, self-care, and obsessive individuality, emptiness can offer peace. A balm for the soul of burnt-out Millennials - disillusioned with the search for meaning through career success, a beautiful life and a beautiful Instagram account - The Sunny Nihilist explains why achievement has not made us happy. Looking anew at a philosophy usually associated with grumpy pessimists, writer Wendy Syfret examines our modern experience of work, love, religion and wider society, and asks whether a touch of upbeat nihilism could actually lighten our loads. Making the case for rejecting the cult of purpose and accepting our un-importance in the universe as a positive reality, The Sunny Nihilist urges us to be cheerful in the face of it - because if nothing matters, we might as well be happy and good to each other.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd How to Deal With Idiots: (and stop being one yourself)
Idiocy is all around us, whether it's the uncle spouting conspiracy theories, the colleagues who repeat your point but louder, or the commuters who still don't know how to use an escalator. But what is the answer to this perpetual scourge? Here, philosopher Maxime Rovere turns his attention to the murkiest of intellectual corners. With warmth, wit and wisdom, he illuminates a new understanding of idiots, one which examines our relations to others and our own ego, offers tools and strategies to dismantle the most desperate of idiotic situations, and even reveals how to stop being the idiots ourselves (because we're always someone else's idiot). Expertly translated by David Bellos, this is an erudite, enjoyable and much-needed solution to a most familiar vexation.
£9.99
Profile Books Ltd The Artist's Way Workbook: A Companion to the International Bestseller
For the millions of people who have uncovered their creative selves through The Artist's Way: a workbook and companion to the international bestseller. In this elegantly redesigned and user-friendly volume you'll find: - More than 110 Artist's Way tasks - More than 50 Artist's Way check-ins - Insights into the creative process - New ideas for Morning Pages and Artist's Dates The Artist's Way Workbook is an indispensable book for anyone following the path to creativity laid out in The Artist's Way.
£16.99
Profile Books Ltd The Warriors
It's a hot 4th of July night in New York City. In the darkness of the Bronx, thousands of boys have gathered from all across the city. Among them are the warriors of the Coney Island Dominators. Ismael Rivera, leader of the Delancey Thrones, has called an assembly of New York's disparate youth gangs. Why should they keep taking it from the Man when they could be the ones giving it to everyone else? But when the assembly descends into violence, the Dominators are suddenly a very long way home from home. The Warriors follows the Dominators as they rape and murder their way back to Coney Island through the terrifying New York night. First published in 1965, Sol Yurick's bleak and shocking novel is a brutal tale of young men left to raise themselves, and an urgent warning about the animal savagery that emerges from the torn fabric of human society.
£9.99