Search results for ""penguin books""

So much has been written about forbidden pleasures. What about pleasures that are unforbidden?Society is fascinated by taboo - we spend our lives chasing illicit pleasures - but nobody pays much attention to all the unforbidden pleasures freely available to us every day. Could we be gaining just as much reward from these unnoticed, unforbidden indulgences as from the much-glorified forbidden - or even more?Starting with Oscar Wilde, Adam Phillips elegantly unfolds all the meanings and significances of the Unforbidden, from Genesis to Freud and his 20th century colleagues. Unforbidden Pleasures explores the philosophical, psychological and social complexities that govern human desire and shape our reality.

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The long-awaited autobiography of the legendary hurler Henry ShefflinIn an era when Kilkenny established itself as the dominant force in hurling, one man stood out from a remarkable group of players: Henry Shefflin. Now widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, Shefflin has more All-Stars, Hurler of the Year awards and All-Ireland medals than any other hurler. But beneath the surface image of calm efficiency and effortless genius, his hurling life has included its share of bitter disappointments, agonizing injuries and intense rivalries. Now, in what will be an essential read, Shefflin tells his own story.'The greatest player of this, or perhaps any, generation' Sean Moran, Irish Times

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Simon Baron-Cohen's The Essential Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain is an unflinching look at the scientific evidence behind the innate sex differences of the mind. Men and women have always seemed to think in entirely different ways, from conversation and communication to games and gadgets. But are these differences created by society, or do our minds come ready-wired one way or another, with female brains tending towards interaction and male towards organisation? And could this mean that autism - rather than being a mental anomaly - is in fact simply an extreme male brain? Why are female brains better at empathasing? How are male brains designed to analyse systems? And what really makes men and women different? Simon Baron-Cohen explores list-making, lying and two decades of research in a ground-breaking examination of how our brains can be male or female but always completely fascinating. 'Compelling ... Inspiring' Guardian 'This is no Mars/Venus whimsy, but the conclusion from twenty years of experiment' Evening Standard 'A devastating contribution to the gender debate' Mail on Sunday 'A fascinating, thought-provoking book' Observer Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor at Cambridge University in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. He is also the Director of Cambridge's internationally renowned Autism Research Centre. He has carried out research into social neuroscience over a career spanning twenty years. He is the author of Mindblindness and Zero Degrees of Empathy.

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THE AWARD-WINNING, MILLION-COPY BESTSELLERA hilarious, lively, moving and compassionate debut about one Ukrainian-British family's tumultuous relationship and the history they never knew. 'Delightful, funny, touching' Spectator*****"As Romeo and Juliet found to their cost, marriage is never just about two people falling in love, it is about families."Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their widowed, tractor-obsessed Ukrainian father from the voluptuous, wealth-obsessed Valentina. With her proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, she outmanoeuvres the sisters at every turn. But their campaign to oust Valentina unearths family secrets, uncovers fifty years of European and Ukrainian history, and sends them back to roots they'd much rather forget . . .***** 'Hugely enjoyable . . . yields a golden harvest of family truths' Daily Telegraph 'Captures the peculiar flavour of Eastern European immigrant life . . . a very rich mixture indeed' Daily Express'It's rare to find a first novel that gets so much right . . . Lewycka is a seriously talented comic writer' Time Out

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Discover the intense and gripping story of a daughter uncovering her mother's secret past from the international bestseller Lesley PearseEva's life was secure, until the death of her mother changed everything.For when Flora leaves Eva a London artist's studio in her will, she finds her mother had a secret past.In the studio's attic are Flora's paintings and diaries, and Eva learns her mother was a popular artist in the swinging sixties. Eva's hunt for answers uncovers clues to a shocking crime which led Flora to hide her past.But will discovering the truth destroy Eva's belief in everything she holds dear?And will this journey lead her and those she loves into danger?___________'Engrossing and emotional, it's another winner from Lesley Pearse' Woman's Own'I absolutely loved this book. The characters are likeable and the writing is always brilliant' Sun'Intriguing, heart-tugging, beautifully written' Closer

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In A Rough Ride to the Future, James Lovelock - the great scientific visionary of our age - presents a radical vision of humanity's future as the thinking brain of our Earth-systemJames Lovelock, who has been hailed as 'the man who conceived the first wholly new way of looking at life on earth since Charles Darwin' (Independent) and 'the most profound scientific thinker of our time' (Literary Review) continues, in his 95th year, to be the great scientific visionary of our age. This book introduces two new Lovelockian ideas. The first is that three hundred years ago, when Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine, he was unknowingly beginning what Lovelock calls 'accelerated evolution', a process which is bringing about change on our planet roughly a million times faster than Darwinian evolution. The second is that as part of this process, humanity has the capacity to become the intelligent part of Gaia, the self-regulating Earth system whose discovery Lovelock first announced nearly 50 years ago. In addition, Lovelock gives his reflections on how scientific advances are made, and his own remarkable life as a lone scientist.The contribution of human beings to our planet is, Lovelock contends, similar to that of the early photosynthesisers around 3.4 billion years ago, which made the Earth's atmosphere what it was until very recently. By our domination and our invention, we are now changing the atmosphere again. There is little that can be done about this, but instead of feeling guilty about it we should recognise what is happening, prepare for change, and ensure that we survive as a species so we can contribute to - perhaps even guide - the next evolution of Gaia. The road will be rough, but if we are smart enough life will continue on Earth in some form far into the future.Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, JAMES LOVELOCK is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory). His many books on the subject include Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (1979), The Revenge of Gaia (2006), and The Vanishing Face of Gaia (2009). In 2003 he was made a Companion of Honour by Her Majesty the Queen, in 2005 Prospect magazine named him one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, and in 2006 he received the Wollaston Medal, the highest Award of the UK Geological Society.

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'Be short, be simple, be human.'When Sir Ernest Gowers first wrote Plain Words, it was intended simply as a guide to the proper use of English for the Civil Service. Within a year, however, its humour, charm and authority had made it a bestseller. Since then it has never been out of print.Six decades on, writer Rebecca Gowers has created a new edition of this now-classic work that both revises and celebrates her great-grandfather's original. Plain Words has been updated to reflect numerous changes in English usage, yet Sir Ernest's distinctive, witty voice is undimmed. And his message remains vital: our writing should be as clear and comprehensible as possible, avoiding superfluous words and clichés - from the jargon of 'commercialese' to the murky euphemisms of politicians.In a new preface, this edition draws on an extensive private archive, previously hidden away in family cupboards and attics, to tell the story behind a book that has become an institution: the essential guide to making yourself understood.

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My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding is a funny, brave, tender story of self-discovery'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and suspect I had aged in dog years.'Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. Her father a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen.She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs. From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky Hattie, each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to play.The running family joke was that "women ain't people". Clare had to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say.'Moving, funny and larger than life' Michael Morpurgo'Magical, enchanting, riotously eccentric' Daily Mail'Funny and unexpectedly wise. Balding has lots of good stories to tell. It is impossible not to admire her honesty Mail on Sunday'The reading equivalent of snuggling by the fire with a labrador' The Guardian

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'The Ministry of Defence does not comment upon submarine operations' is the standard response of officialdom to enquiries about the most secretive and mysterious of Britain's armed forces, the Royal Navy Submarine Service. Written with unprecedented co-operation from the Service itself and privileged access to documents and personnel, The Silent Deep is the first authoritative history of the Submarine Service from the end of the Second World War to the present. It gives the most complete account yet published of the development of Britain's submarine fleet, its capabilities, its weapons, its infrastructure, its operations and above all - from the testimony of many submariners and the first-hand witness of the authors - what life is like on board for the denizens of the silent deep.Dramatic episodes are revealed for the first time: how HMS Warspite gathered intelligence against the Soviet Navy's latest ballistic-missile-carrying submarine in the late 1960s; how HMS Sovereign made what is probably the longest-ever trail of a Soviet (or Russian) submarine in 1978; how HMS Trafalgar followed an exceptionally quiet Soviet 'Victor III', probably commanded by a Captain known as 'the Prince of Darkness', in 1986. It also includes the first full account of submarine activities during the Falklands War. But it was not all victories: confrontations with Soviet submarines led to collisions, and the extent of losses to UK and NATO submarine technology from Cold War spy scandals are also made more plain here than ever before.In 1990 the Cold War ended - but not for the Submarine Service. Since June 1969, it has been the last line of national defence, with the awesome responsibility of carrying Britain's nuclear deterrent. The story from Polaris to Trident - and now 'Successor' - is a central theme of the book. In the year that it is published, Russian submarines have once again been detected off the UK's shores. As Britain comes to decide whether to renew its submarine-carried nuclear deterrent, The Silent Deep provides an essential historical perspective.

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Alex Grecian's The Black Country sees the Scotland Yard Murder Squad return in a gruesome historical thriller.When members of a prominent family disappear from a coal-mining village - and a human eyeball is discovered in a bird's nest - the local constable sends for help from Scotland Yard's new Murder Squad. Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith respond, but they have no idea what they're about to get into. The villagers have intense, intertwined histories. Everybody bears a secret. Superstitions abound. And the village itself is slowly sinking into the mines beneath it.Not even the arrival of forensics pioneer Dr. Bernard Kingsley seems to help. In fact, the more the three of them investigate, the more they realize they may never be allowed to leave. . . .From The Yard author Alex Grecian comes The Black Country- a horrifying journey into the darkest backwoods of Victorian Britain. The Black Country is guaranteed to appeal to fans of recent Ripper TV dramas (BBC's Ripper Street, ITV's Whitechapel) as well as Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films.Praise for Alex Grecian:'Will keep you riveted from page one' Jeffrey Deaver'Outstanding. If Charles Dickens isn't somewhere clapping his hands for this, Wilkie Collins surely is.' The New York Times Book ReviewAlex Grecian has worked for an ad agency on accounts for Harley-Davidson, Cub Foods, and The Great American Smokeout, before returning to writing fiction full time and raising his son. Alex is the author of the long-running and critically acclaimed comic book series Proof, and he lives in Topeka, Kansas, with his wife and son. The Yard is his first novel.

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The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War. For more than forty years Achebe was silent on those terrible years, until he produced this towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events. A marriage of history, remembrance, poetry and vivid first-hand observation, There Was a Country is a work of wisdom and compassion from one of the great voices of our age.

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From the author of Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive is a visionary study of the mysterious downfall of past civilizations.Now in a revised edition with a new afterword, Jared Diamond's Collapse uncovers the secret behind why some societies flourish, while others founder - and what this means for our future.What happened to the people who made the forlorn long-abandoned statues of Easter Island?What happened to the architects of the crumbling Maya pyramids?Will we go the same way, our skyscrapers one day standing derelict and overgrown like the temples at Angkor Wat?Bringing together new evidence from a startling range of sources and piecing together the myriad influences, from climate to culture, that make societies self-destruct, Jared Diamond's Collapse also shows how - unlike our ancestors - we can benefit from our knowledge of the past and learn to be survivors.'A grand sweep from a master storyteller of the human race' - Daily Mail'Riveting, superb, terrifying' - Observer'Gripping ... the book fulfils its huge ambition, and Diamond is the only man who could have written it' - Economis'This book shines like all Diamond's work' - Sunday Times

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NOW A MAJOR TV ADAPTATION STARRING DAVID WALLIAMS & SAMANTHA BONDThe Queen and I is a hilarious satire on modern Britain and an exploration of what it really means to be human, by the bestselling author of the Adrian Mole series.____________The Royals, they're just like us . . . THE MONARCHY HAS BEEN DISMANTLEDWhen a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act in power is to strip the royal family of their assets and titles and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands. Exchanging Buckingham Palace for a two-bedroomed semi in Hell Close (as the locals dub it), caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. But is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else?____________'No other author could imagine this so graphically, demolish the institution so wittily and yet leave the family with its human dignity intact' The Times'Absorbing, entertaining . . . the funniest thing in print since Adrian Mole' Daily Telegraph'Kept me rolling about until the last page' Daily Mail

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Number Ten is the brilliantly funny political satire by Sue Townsend, bestselling author of the Adrian Mole series'Wickedly entertaining. There is a gem on nearly every page. Nothing escapes Townsend's withering pen. Satirical, witty, observant' Observer____________Behind the doors of the most famous address in the country, all is not well.Edward Clare was voted into Number Ten after a landslide election victory. But a few years later and it is all going wrong.The love of the people is gone. The nation is turning against him.Panicking, Prime Minister Clare enlists the help of Jack Sprat, the policeman on the door of No 10, and sets out to discover what the country really thinks of him. In disguise, they venture into the great unknown: the mean streets of Great Britain.And for the first time in years, the Prime Minister experiences everything life in this country has to offer - an English cream tea, the kindness of strangers, waiting for trains that never come and treatment in a hospital. And at last he remembers some of things he once really cared about . . ._____________'Poignant, hilarious, heart-rending, devastating' New Statesman'Hilarious. Sue Townsend's laughter is infectious' Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year

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Settle into this intoxicating and tantalising romantic comedy from the bestselling author of A Cornish Summer and A Rural AffairA girl can get into all kinds of trouble just by going back to work . . .Henrietta Tate gave up everything for her husband Marcus and their kids. But now that the children are away at school and she's rattling round their large country house all day she's feeling more than a little lost.So when a friend puts her in touch with Laurie, a historian in need of a PA, Henrietta heads for London. Quickly, she throws herself into the job. Marcus is - of course - jealous of her spending so much time with her charming new boss. And soon enough her absence causes cracks to form in their marriage that just can't be papered over. Then Rupert, a very old flame, reappears, and Henrietta suddenly finds herself torn between three men.How did this happen?She's not that kind of girl . . . is she?Praise for Catherine Alliott:'Compulsively readable' The Times'Possibly my favourite writer' Marian Keyes

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Curl up on the sofa with this tantalising rural romantic comedy about taking control of your life from the bestselling author of A Cornish Summer'I don't care what colour you paint the sodding hall. I'm leaving.'When her husband Johnny suddenly walks out on ten years of marriage, their ten-year-old daughter and the crumbling house they're up to their eyeballs renovating, Olivia is at first totally devastated. How could he? How could she not have noticed his unhappiness?But she's not one to weep for long.Not when she's got three builders camped in her back garden, a neighbour with a never-ending supply of cast-off men she thinks Olivia would be drawn to and a daughter with her own firm views on . . . well, just about everything.Will Johnny ever come back?And if he doesn't, will Olivia's luck ever change for the better?Praise for Catherine Alliott:'The writing is both intelligent and sparkling' Marian Keyes'Alliott's joie de vivre is irresistible' Daily Mail

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THE MILLION-COPY GLOBAL BESTSELLER - BASED ON THE LIFE-CHANGING TED TALK! DISCOVER YOUR PURPOSE WITH ONE SIMPLE QUESTION: WHY?'One of the most incredible thinkers of our time; someone who has influenced the way I think and act every day' Steven Bartlett, investor, BBC Dragon and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast*****Why are some people more inventive, pioneering and successful than others? And why are they able to repeat their success again and again?Because it doesn't matter what you do, it matters WHY you do it.Those who have had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate in the same way - and it's the opposite to most. In Start with Why, Simon Sinek uncovers the fundamental secret of their success. How you lead, inspire, live, it all starts with why.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:'It's amazing how a book can change the course of your life, and this book did that.' 'Imagine the Ted Talk expanded to 2 hours long, with more depth, intrigue and examples.''What he does brilliantly is demonstrate his own why - to inspire others - throughout.'

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Step into the Cornish sun in this sparkling romantic comedy from the bestselling author of A Cornish Summer and A Rural AffairAnnie O'Harran is getting married . . . all over againA divorced, single mum, Annie is about to tie the knot with David. But there's a long summer to get through first. A summer where's she's retreating to a lonely house in Cornwall, where's she's going to finish her book, spend time with her teenage daughter Flora and make any last-minute wedding plans.Annie should be so lucky.For almost as soon as Annie arrives her competitive sister and her wild brood fetch up. While Annie's louche ex-husband and his latest squeeze are holidaying nearby and insist on dropping in. Plus there's the surprise American houseguest who can't help sharing his heartbreak.Suddenly Annie's big day seems a long, long way off - and if she's not careful it might never happen at all . . .Step into Alliott country with The Wedding Day.Praise for Catherine Alliott:'Alliott's joie de vivre is irresistible' Daily Mail'Possibly my favourite writer' Marian Keyes

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Our gadgets are getting smarter. Technology can log what we buy, customize what we consume and enable us to save and share every aspect of our existence. In the future, we're told, it will even make public life - from how we're governed to how we record crime - better. But can the digital age fix everything? Should it? By quantifying our behaviour, Evgeny Morozov argues, we are profoundly reshaping society - and risk losing the opacity and imperfection that make us human.

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Fascination is master storyteller William Boyd's third volume of short storiesDescribed as "the finest storyteller of his generation", and following his acclaimed collections On the Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie X, in Fascination Boyd shows his brilliance of the form as these stories range widely through time and space. In a dazzling array of styles and narratives we move from 1930s Germany to Los Angeles in the Second World War, from contemporary Oxford to 19th century Russia. Whether in London or Amsterdam. Eastbourne or a Normandy village these stories explore and expose the fraught, funny, absurd, poignant and lovelorn lives of their many and varied characters.Fascination will be loved by fans of Any Human Heart, as well as readers of William Trevor, Sebastian Faulks, Nick Hornby and Hilary Mantel.'The stories here are perfect . . . suffused with an understanding of love, desire and emotional incompetence' Guardian'Perfectly formed snapshots of life at its most mystifying' Daily Mail'Consistently entertaining' Literary Review'Boyd achieves his best writing, observing tiny moments of love, lust and epiphany with extraordinary sensitivity' Spectator

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The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase is a hilarious new collection of diplomatic tales by Matthew Parris and Andrew BrysonHeard the one about the Spanish Ambassador who arrived in the scorching Saharan desert fully suited and with a mysteriously enormous suitcase? Or the horse they gave Prime Minister John Major in Turkmenistan - which hapless embassy officials had to rescue from the clutches of the Moscow railway? These and other 'funnies', as they are known in Whitehall, are included in Matthew Parris and and Andrew Bryson's glorious new volume of not so diplomatic writing, which accompanies a new BBC Radio 4 series is a follow up to their acclaimed collection of ambassadors' final despatches, Parting Shots.Drawn from Freedom of Information requests and previously overlooked Valedictories these startling despatches throw a revealing light on how the British have viewed the world - and, unwittingly perhaps, on how the world has viewed the British.Praise for Parting Shots:'Parting Shots is unbuttoned, indiscreet and very funny' Yorkshire Post'Fascinating, if sometimes uncomfortable, reading' Financial Times'Very funny' GuardianAfter working in the Foreign Office then serving as a Conservative MP, Matthew Parris joined The Times in 1988. He writes two weekly columns for The Times and one for the Spectator, and in 2011 won the Best Columnist Award at the British Press awards. His acclaimed autobiography Chance Witness was published by Penguin in 2003. He is a frequent broadcaster.Andrew Bryson is a radio journalist working in the BBC's Business and Economic Unit. He frequently works as a producer on Radio 4's Today programme and on Radio 5 Live.

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Yang Jisheng's Tombstone is the book that broke the silence on of one of history's most terrible crimesMore people died in Mao's Great Famine than in the entire First World War, yet this story has remained largely untold, until now. Still banned in China, Tombstone draws on the author's privileged access to official and unofficial sources to uncover the full human cost of the tragedy, and create an unprecedented work of historical reckoning.'A book of great importance' Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans'The first proper history of China's great famine ... So thorough is his documentation that some are already calling Yang "China's Solzhenitsyn"' Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag: A History

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Jeremy Clarkson gets really riled in Round the Bend.What's it like to drive a car that's actively trying to kill you?This and many other burning questions trouble Jeremy Clarkson as he sets out to explore the world from the safety of four wheels. Avoiding the legions of power-crazed traffic wombles attempting to block highway and byway, he he:* Shows how the world of performance cars may be likened to Battersea Dogs Home* Reveals why St Moritz may be the most bonkers town in all of the world* Reminds us that Switzerland is so afraid of snow that any flakes falling on the road are immediately arrested* Argues that washing a car is a waste of timeFunny, globe-trotting, irreverent and sometimes downright rude, Round the Bend is packed with curious and fascinating but otherwise hopelessly useless stories and facts about everything under the sun (and just occasionally cars). It's Jeremy Clarkson at his brilliant best.Praise for Jeremy Clarkson'Brilliant . . . laugh-out-loud' Daily Telegraph'Outrageously funny . . . will have you in stitches' Time Out'Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the tube' Evening Standard

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Discover the heart-warming and uplifting story of a Glasgow tenement urchin finding her way against adversityBorn during the Second World War in Glasgow, Christine Fraser was her mother's eighth child.Growing up with her siblings in a tiny flat, learning to avoid her hardworking, hard-drinking one-eyed father, making a menace of herself in the streets along with the other urchins, Christine lived an impoverished life but never once cared.Until she was struck down by a terrible illness.Suddenly, her wild days of childhood were over. A long spell in hospital completely changed her life. Now she found herself dependent on others for so many of her needs. And on top of that, her mother and father have died.Yet Christine was always resourceful and never once looked down.She knew that always there, if you looked hard enough, was some blue up above the chimneys . . .Readers are captivated by Blue Above the Chimneys'Keeps you enthralled from the first to the last chapter' 5***** Reader Review'Christine wrote with so much passion that you could envisage each and every scene' 5***** Reader Review'A joyous read' 5***** Reader Review

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'This isn't just any cookery book. It is Mastering the Art of French Cooking, first published in 1961, and it's a book that is a statement, not of culinary intent, but of aspiration, a commitment to a certain sort of good life, a certain sort of world-view; a votive object implying taste and appetite and a little je ne sais quoi. Julia Child was like Amelia Earhart, or Eleanor Roosevelt: she was a hero who'd gone out there and made a difference. Her books are a triumph, and also a trophy' A. A. Gill, The Times

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The Most Human Human by Brian Christian is a mind-blowing piece of reportage that will appeal to readers of Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, and an inspiring riposte to John Gray's classic Straw Dogs - a book that will change your whole understanding of what being human actually means...AI is on the brink of a new dawn. And so are we. . .Telling the difference between humans and computers used to be easy. But artificial intelligence is now so advanced that it is capable of behaving, and even thinking, in ways that have long been considered exclusive to humankind. The time has come to rethink what being human actually means...In The Most Human Human Brian Christian meets the world's leading artificial intelligences, finds out what they're capable of - and what makes us unique. The result is a funny, shocking, inspiring, deeply humane and intelligent book that reaches into every aspect of our lives.'Tremendously entertaining' ****Metro'Excellent ... a fascinating explanation of what it means to be human'Financial Times'Remarkable. A philosophical joyride. The day that a machine creates work of such wit and originality, we should all be very worried'The Times'An epic tour of philosophical, linguistic and scientific discovery. We stop off in places as far-flung as existential anxiety, predictive text and Gary Kasparov's defeat by Deep Blue' ****Time Out'Lively, thought-stirring, entertaining, invaluable ... compelling insights'John Gray, New StatesmanAt the age of twenty-six, Brian Christian has lectured at the LSE, Royal Academy, Bristol Festival of Ideas, Microsoft and Google, been interviewed on The Daily Show, BBC and in the Paris Review, profiled in the Guardian, featured in The New York Times, the New Yorker and on the front cover of Atlantic, and has made numerous appearances at universities and in online videos speaking on his subject. He holds a dual degree from Brown University in computer science and philosophy, and an MFA in poetry.

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In Home Francis Pryor, author of The Making of the British Landscape, archaeologist and broadcaster, takes us on his lifetime's quest: to discover the origins of family life in prehistoric BritainFrancis Pryor's search for the origins of our island story has been the quest of a lifetime. In Home, the Time Team expert explores the first nine thousand years of life in Britain, from the retreat of the glaciers to the Romans' departure. Tracing the settlement of domestic communities, he shows how archaeology enables us to reconstruct the evolution of habits, traditions and customs. But this, too, is Francis Pryor's own story: of his passion for unearthing our past, from Yorkshire to the west country, Lincolnshire to Wales, digging in freezing winters, arid summers, mud and hurricanes, through frustrated journeys and euphoric discoveries. Evocative and intimate, Home shows how, in going about their daily existence, our prehistoric ancestors created the institution that remains at the heart of the way we live now: the family.'Under his gaze, the land starts to fill with tribes and clans wandering this way and that, leaving traces that can still be seen today . . . Pryor feels the land rather than simply knowing it' - Guardian

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In Someone Like You are fifteen classic tales told by the grand master of the short story, Roald Dahl.Here, in Roald Dahl's first collection of his world famous dark and sinister adult stories, a wife serves a dish that baffles the police; a harmless bet suddenly becomes anything but; a curious machine reveals a horrifying truth about plants; and a man lies awake waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach.Through vendettas and desperate quests, bitter memories and sordid fantasies, Roald Dahl's stories portray the strange and unexpected, sending a shiver down the spine.'One of the most widely read and influential writers of our generation' The TimesRoald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

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Boy is Roald Dahl's extraordinary glimpse into his childhood and early life.'An autobiography is a book a person writes about his own life and it is usually full of all sorts of boring details. This is not an autobiography. I would never write a history of myself. On the other hand, throughout my young days at school and just afterwards a number of things happened to me that I have never forgotten . . .'Boy is a funny, insightful and at times grotesque glimpse into the early life of Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors. We discover his experiences of the English public school system, the idyllic paradise of summer holidays in Norway, the pleasures (and pains) of the sweetshop, and how it is that he avoided being a Boazer. This is the unadulterated childhood - sad and funny, macabre and delightful - that inspired Britain's favourite storyteller and also speaks of an age which vanished with the coming of the Second World War.'A shimmering fabric of his yesterdays, the magic and the hurt' Observer'As frightening and funny as his fiction' The New York Times Book Review'Superbly written. A glimpse of a brilliant eccentric' New StatesmanRoald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

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Delight the bookworm in your life with the gift of this hilarious and heartbreaking modern-day adaptation of Nancy Mitford's classic, The Pursuit of Happiness.---Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it? She can't even get a signal on her mobile phone. Linda's strict, former rock star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda's urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry.Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and she escapes to London. She knows she doesn't want to marry 'a man who looks like a pudding', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead.But this is only the beginning of Linda's pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined.---'A savagely funny, bracingly sad, dazzlingly clever reimagining of The Pursuit of Love. I loved it' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss 'A triumph! Brilliantly done, faithful but imaginative, tremendously romantic and very funny' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful'Fans of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit Of Love will adore this brilliant contemporary take ... The writing is as sharp, the details as perfect, the jokes as funny as [the] original' Daily Mail'Beautifully and meticulously done' The Sunday Times

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Step aboard C.S. Forester's classic seafaring tale from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks 'A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction' Conn Iggulden, The Independent_______One vital convoy can break Mussolini's stranglehold on Malta - but it is intercepted in the Mediterranean by enemy warships . . . Five light British cruisers are left to beat back the armed might of the Italian battle fleet and C.S. Forester - creator of Horatio Hornblower - takes us aboard HMS Artemis as she steams into battle against overwhelming odds. We get inside the heads of Artemis's men, from the Captain on his bridge down to the lowest engine room rating, as they struggle over one long and terrifying afternoon to do their duty. This brilliant and gripping story recounts life aboard a British warship during some of the darkest days of the Second World War: capturing the urgency of the blazing guns, the thunderous rupturing of deck plates, the screams of pain and, most importantly, the shouts of triumph._______Praise for C.S. Forester'Unbelievably good' James Holland, bestselling author of Normandy '44'High and glittering excitement' New York Times

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'A highly enjoyable exercise in financial disaster tourism... politically incorrect, often very funny, and shot through with genuine insight' Robert Harris, The TimesIn this hilarious, fascinating, timely must-read, Michael Lewis reveals the true natures of the countries caught up in - and exacerbating - our boomerang economies, showing how the financial meltdown hit us all in the face. Right now, Europe is in serious financial chaos. In Greece, infrastructure costs mean it would be cheaper to transport all Greek rail passengers by taxi, and hairdressing is classified as arduous for tax avoidance purposes. In Iceland, Range Rovers frequently explode as owners collect the insurance to pay for them. Ireland saw the entire country put up for sale - to itself, while the Germans expected the whole world to behave like them. But the whole world didn't.'Chock-full of extraordinary characters, amusing anecdotes and shocking insights' Observer'A tour de force... All those questions you've half-asked yourself: nowhere else will you find them answered with such incisive wit or terrifying clarity' Mail on Sunday

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'Wonderfully written and characteristically brilliant' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads'Elegant, readable ... an impressive synthesis ... Not many historians could have done it' - Jonathan Sumption, Spectator'Tyerman's book is fascinating not just for what it has to tell us about the Crusades, but for the mirror it holds up to today's religious extremism' - Tom Holland, SpectatorThousands left their homelands in the Middle Ages to fight wars abroad. But how did the Crusades actually happen? From recruitment propaganda to raising money, ships to siege engines, medicine to the power of prayer, this vivid, surprising history shows holy war - and medieval society - in a new light.

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THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE, FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NO ONE HOMEA SECRET THAT WILL CHANGE LIVES FOREVERWhen Emily Kane arrives at her sister Carrie's house, she finds the front door unlocked and no one inside. Dinner's cooking, the TV's on. Carrie, her husband and their two daughters are gone.When the police draw a blank, Emily asks missing persons investigator David Raker to find them. It's clear someone doesn't want the family found.But as he gets closer to the truth, Raker begins to uncover evidence of a sinister cover-up, spanning decades and costing countless lives.And worse, in trying to find Emily's missing family, he might just have made himself the next target . . .Praise for Tim Weaver:'I couldn't put it down' - Sun'Weaver's books get better each time - tense, complex, written with flair as well as care' - Guardian'Weaver has delivered another cracking crime thriller' - Daily Mail'The reader is educated as well as entertained, enthralled and intrigued. David Raker is a most complex and engaging investigator, each case leaving its mark on his soul, and ours' Sunday Times bestselling author Liz Nugent

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'Among our most fascinating novelists ... unmissable' Daily Telegraph-------THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BLUE ANT TRILIOGY - READ PATTERN RECOGNITION AND ZERO HISTORY FOR MOREIn New York, a young Cuban called Tito is passing iPods to a mysterious old man. Such activities do not go unnoticed, however, in these early days of the War on Terror, and Tito's movements are being tracked. Meanwhile, in LA, journalist Hollis Henry is on the trail of Bobby Chombo, who appears to know too much about military systems for his own good. With Bobby missing and the trail cold, Hollis digs deeper and is drawn into the final moves of a chilling game . . .A gripping spy thriller by William Gibson, bestselling author of Neuromancer. Part prophesy, part satire, Spook Country skewers the absurdity of modern life with the lightest and most engaging of touches. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks won't be able to put this book down.-------'A cool, sophisticated thriller' Financial Times 'Superb, brilliant. A compulsive and deeply intelligent literary thriller' New Statesman 'A neat, up-to-the-minute spy thriller' Metro

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I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore - the film tie-in! They killed Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya.John Smith is not your average teenager. He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving those who hunt him will find and kill him.But you can't run forever. So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about - and who care about him. Never in John's short life has there been space for friendship, or even love.But it's just a matter of time before John's secret is revealed.He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed. John is Number Four. He knows that he is next . . .Praise for Pittacus Lore:'Tense, exciting, full of energy' Observer'Relentlessly readable' The Times'Set to eclipse Harry Potter and moody vampires. Pittacus Lore is about to become one of the hottest names on the planet' Big Issue'Tense, keeps you wondering' Sunday TimesPerfect for fans of The Hunger Games - I Am Number Four is the first book in Pittacus Lore's Lorien Legacies series and is now a major Disney film. Look out for the next books in the Lorien Legacies, The Power of Six and The Rise of Nine.

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An unmissable book that explores the brutal, heroic and extraordinary final days of the First World WarOn the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent.The Armistice, which brought the Great War to an end, marked a seminal moment in modern European and World history. Yet the story of how the war ended remains little-known. In this compelling and ground-breaking new study, Nick Lloyd examines the last days of the war and asks the question: how did it end? Beginning at the heralded turning-point on the Marne in July 1918, Hundred Days traces the epic story of the next four months, which included some of the bloodiest battles of the war.Using unpublished archive material from five countries, this new account reveals how the Allies - British, French, American and Commonwealth - managed to beat the German Army, by now crippled by indiscipline and ravaged by influenza, and force her leaders to seek peace.THE WESTERN FRONT BY NICK LLOYD IS AVAILABLE NOW'This is a powerful and moving book by a rising military historian. Lloyd's depiction of the great battles of July-November provides compelling evidence of the scale of the Allies' victories and the bitter reality of German defeat' Gary Sheffield (Professor of War Studies)'Lloyd enters the upper tier of Great War historians with this admirable account of the war's final campaign' Publishers Weekly

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'Part-detective story, part-cultural snapshot . . . all bound by Gibson's pin-sharp prose' Arena--------------THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE BLUE ANT TRILIOGY - READ ZERO HISTORY AND SPOOK COUNTRY FOR MORECayce Pollard has a new job. She's been offered a special project: track down the makers of an addictive online film that's lighting up the internet. Hunting the source will take her to Tokyo and Moscow and put her in the sights of Japanese hackers and Russian Mafia. She's up against those who want to control the film, to own it - who figure breaking the law is just another business strategy.The kind of people who relish turning the hunter into the hunted . . .A gripping spy thriller by William Gibson, bestselling author of Neuromancer. Part prophesy, part satire, Pattern Recognition skewers the absurdity of modern life with the lightest and most engaging of touches. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks won't be able to put this book down.--------------'Fast, witty and cleverly politicized' Guardian'A big novel, full of bold ideas . . . races along like an expert thriller' GQ'Dangerously hip. Its dialogue and characterization will amaze you. A wonderfully detailed, reckless journey of espionage and lies' USA Today'A compelling, humane story with a sympathetic heroine searching for meaning and consolation in a post-everything world' Daily Telegraph'Electric, profound. Gibson's descriptions of Tokyo, Russia and London are surreally spot-on' Financial Times

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Renowned historian, and author of A Short History of Byzantium, John Julius Norwich's classic history of VeniceA History of Venice tells the story of this most remarkable of cities from its founding in the fifth century, through its unrivalled status for over a thousand years as one of the world's busiest and most powerful city states, until its fall at the hands of Napoleon in 1797. Rich in fascinating historical detail, populated by extraordinary characters and packed with a wealth of incident and intrigue, this is a brilliant testament to a great city - and a great and gripping read.'Norwich has loved and understood Venice as well as any other Englishman has ever done' Sunday Times'Will become the standard English work of Venetian history' Financial Times'The standard Venetian history in English' The Times'Norwich has the gift of historical perspective, as well as clarity and wit. Few can tell a good story better than he' SpectatorJohn Julius Norwich was born in 1929. He was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, at Eton, at the University of Strasbourg and, after a spell of National Service in the Navy, at New College, Oxford, where he took a degree in French and Russian. In 1952 he joined the Foreign Service, where he remained for twelve years, serving at the embassies in Belgrade and Beirut. In 1964 he resigned from the service to write. He is the author of histories of Norman Sicily, the Republic of Venice and the Byzantine Empire. He has written and presented some thirty historical documentaries on television, and is a regular lecturer on Venice and numerous other subjects.

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One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World' The Far Pavilions is the story of an English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu. It is the story of his passionate, but dangerous love for Juli, an Indian princess. It is the story of divided loyalties, of friendship that endures till death, of high adventure and of the clash between East and West.To the burning plains and snow-capped mountains of this great, humming continent, M.M. Kaye brings her exceptional gifts of storytelling and meticulous historical accuracy, plus her insight into the human heart.'Magnificent' Evening Standard'A long, romantic adventure story of the highest calibre ... wildly exciting' Daily Telegraph

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M. M. Kaye, author of The Far Pavilions, sweeps her readers back to the vast, glittering, sunbaked continent of India. Shadow of the Moon is the story of Winter de Ballesteros, a beautiful English heiress who has come to India to be married. It is also the tale of Captain Alex Randall, her escort and protector, who knows that Winter's husband to be has become a debauched wreck of a man. When India bursts into flaming hatreds and bitter bloodshed during the dark days of the Mutiny, Alex and Winter are thrown unwillingly together in the brutal and urgent struggle for survival.

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'You are a wronged woman and shall have justice. Do not bring police. If you do, all will be in vain. Your unknown friend.'When a beautiful young woman is sent a letter inviting her to a sinister assignation, she immediately seeks the advice of the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. For this is not the first mysterious item Mary Marston has received in the post. Every year for the last six years an anonymous benefactor has sent her a large lustrous pearl. Now it appears the sender of the pearls would like to meet her to right a wrong. But when Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Watson, aiding Miss Marston, attend the assignation, they embark on a dark and mysterious adventure involving a one-legged ruffian, some hidden treasure, deadly poison darts and a thrilling race along the River Thames.

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'Holmes,' I cried.'Is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss?' Missing, presumed dead, for three years, Sherlock Holmes returns triumphantly to his dear companion Dr Watson. And not before time! London has never been in more need of his extraordinary services: a murderous individual with an air gun stalks the city. Among thirteen further brilliant tales of mystery, detection and deduction, Sherlock Holmes investigates the problem of the Norwood Builder, deciphers the message of the Dancing Men, and cracks the case of the Six Napoleons.

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In this new edition of his landmark book, Richard Layard shows that there is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most people want more income. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not just anecdotally true, it is the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe, and Japan. What is going on? Now fully revised and updated to include developments since first publication, Layard answers his critics in what is still the key book in 'happiness studies'.

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2016 is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme'There was hardly a household in the land', writes Lyn Macdonald, 'there was no trade, occupation, profession or community, which was not represented in the thousands of innocent enthusiasts who made up the ranks of Kitchener's Army before the Battle of the Somme...'The year 1916 was one of the great turning-points in British history: as the youthful hopes of a generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive, and traditional attitudes to authority were destroyed for ever. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. Yet while there were good political reasons to launch a joint offensive with a French Army demoralized by huge casualties at Verdun, the raw troops on the ground knew nothing of that. A hundred and fifty thousand were killed in the punishing shellfire, the endless ordeal of attack and counter-attack; twice that number were left maimed or wounded. Here, almost for the first time, Lyn Macdonald lets the men who were there give their own testimony. Their stories are vivid, harrowing, sometimes terrifying - yet shot through with humour, immense courage and an astonishing spirit of resilience.'What the reader will longest remember are the words - heartbroken, blunt, angry - of the men who lived through the bloodbath...a worthy addition to the literature of the Great War...'Daily MailOver the past twenty years Lyn Macdonald has established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are based on the accounts of eyewitnesses and survivors, told in their own words, and cast a unique light on the First World War. Most are published by Penguin.

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This book unravels a polyphony of silences from the history of Christianity and beyond. MacCulloch considers Judaeo-Christian borrowings from Greek explorations of the divine, and the silences which were a feature of Jesus's brief ministry. Besides prayer and contemplation, there are shame and evasion; careless and purposeful forgetting.Many deliberate silences are revealed: the forgetting of histories inconvenient to later Church authorities, and Christianity's problems in dealing honestly with sexuality. Behind all this is the silence of God. In a deeply personal conclusion, MacCulloch brings a message of optimism for those still seeking God beyond the clamour of over-confident certainties.

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Part of the Penguin Essentials series, discover a beautifully designed edition of Evelyn Waugh's British classic featuring cover art by Jim Tierney'I knew Sebastian by sight long before I met him. That was unavoidable for, from his first week, he was the most conspicuous man of his year by reason of his beauty, which was arresting, and his eccentricities of behaviour, which seemed to know no bounds.'Charles Ryder, a lonely student at Oxford, is captivated by the outrageous and exquisitely beautiful Sebastian Flyte. Invited to Brideshead, Sebastian's magnificent family home, Charles welcomes the attentions of its eccentric, aristocratic inhabitants. But he also discovers a world where duty and desire, faith and earthly happiness are in conflict; a world which threatens to destroy his beloved Sebastian.A scintillating depiction of the decadent, privileged aristocracy prior to the Second World War, Brideshead Revisited is widely regarded as Evelyn Waugh's finest work.'The Oxford novel . . . lush and evocative' The Times

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A Hay Festival and The Poole VOTE 100 BOOKS for Women Selection'Late into the night we talked of love, of its complications. In my father's eyes they were imaginary. . . This conception of rapid, violent and passing love affairs appealed to my imagination. I was not at the age when fidelity is attractive. I knew very little about love.'The French Riviera: home to the Beautiful People. And none are more beautiful than Cécile, a precocious seventeen-year-old, and her father Raymond, a vivacious libertine. Charming, decadent and irresponsible, the golden-skinned duo are dedicated to a life of free love, fast cars and hedonistic pleasures. But then, one long, hot summer Raymond decides to marry, and Cécile and her lover Cyril feel compelled to take a hand in his amours, with tragic consequences.Bonjour Tristesse scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager terrible Cécile, a heroine who rejects conventional notions of love, marriage and responsibility to choose her own sexual freedom.

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