Search results for ""Penguin Books""

''Chukwuebuka Ibeh''s writing has a certain delicacy to it, so wonderfully observant, and so beautiful'' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie''A sublime coming-of-age tale an extraordinarily composed and deeply felt debut'' Guardian When Obiefuna''s father witnesses an intimate moment between his teenage son and the family''s apprentice, newly arrived from the nearby village, he banishes Obiefuna to a Christian boarding school marked by strict hierarchy and routine, devastating violence. Utterly alienated from the people he loves, Obiefuna begins a journey of self-discovery and blossoming desire, while his mother Uzoamaka grapples to hold onto her favourite son, her truest friend.Interweaving the perspectives of Obiefuna and his mother Uzoamaka, as they reach towards a future that will hold them both, BLESSINGS is an elegant and exquisitely moving story of love and loneliness. Asking how we can live freely when politics reaches into our hearts and l

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‘Nobody who comes away from reading The Bill Gates Problem will look at him in the same way’ - The TimesYou know him as the founder of Microsoft; the philanthropic, kind-hearted billionaire who has donated endless funds to good causes around the world. But there's another side to Bill Gates.We might like to think of the Gates Foundation as an innocent charity giving away money, collaborating with stakeholders, and listening to the desires of the populations it hopes to help, but is that how it works in practice?Combining rich storytelling and ground-breaking reporting, The Bill Gates Problem offers readers a provocative and timely counter-narrative about one of the world's most widely recognized individuals - a true global celebrity with international reach. But more than that, this book speaks to a vital political question around economic inequality and the erosion of democratic institutions - why should the super-rich be able to transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they go?

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The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year A Times Book of the Year A Financial Times Book of the YearA Guardian Book of the YearA New Statesman Book of the Year'The heartwarming story of the collaboration and friendship between English football’s oddest couple, Elton John and Graham Taylor' The Times ' A wonderful, feel-good account of an ultimately English provincial story' Simon Kuper_____________________ An unforgettable British underdog story from one of our greatest narrative nonfiction writers, John Preston, and the international musical icon and bestselling author, Sir Elton John.Britain in the 1970s was beset by unrest and unemployment, as inflation soared, fuel was scarce, and hooliganism was on the rise. And for Watford FC, the outlook was even gloomier. Rundown and rat-infested, Watford were an ailing side with holes in their kit and barely enough fans to fill a stand. Of the 92 clubs in the Football League, spread across four divisions, Watford were in 92nd place.Meanwhile, Elton John was the most successful rockstar in the world. With six-inch platforms, spangled jumpsuits, and peroxide hair, he was glamorous, gay, and seemingly a world away from the semi-detached house in Pinner where he had supported Watford FC as a child. Many assumed he would move to America. Instead, he bought the football club.Watford Forever is the remarkable story of Elton John's ownership of Watford FC and its transformational journey to the top of the First Division under iconic manager Graham Taylor. Perhaps most remarkably, four of the same players who had been written off as has-beens went with them all the way from the bottom to the top. Inspiring and infectiously funny, this is a tribute to football's unlikeliest friendship as Elton John and Taylor, a straight-talking former fullback with a love of Vera Lynn, beat the odds and their personal demons to save a club and a community.Immersed in the grime and glamour of '70s Britain, Watford Forever is one of sport's great underdog stories and a love letter to the beautiful game.

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THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE – essential reading ahead of the 2024 US election‘Just like their previous work, this book is concise, readable, and convincing’ Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy-------------------------------------How has democracy become so threatened – and what can we do to save it?With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, leading Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent new framework for understanding the dangerous times we live in. They draw on a wealth of examples – from the Capitol riots, to Edwardian Britain, from 1930s France to present-day Thailand – to explain why political parties turn against democracy, and how to see when this will happen.In this razor-sharp analysis, Levitsky and Ziblatt offer in particular an urgent warning about right-wing efforts to undermine the very foundations of the American political system. Multiracial democracy is something few societies have ever achieved – but even the prospect of this change can spark an authoritarian backlash whose dangerous effects will resonate long into the future. Donald Trump’s astonishing lead in the run-up to the Republican nomination, even after his indictment and imprisonment on charges of election interference, is evidence of that.With its attention on factors from election losses to demographic change and voting rights, its urgent call for a reform of our politics to balance the need for majority rule with the need for minority protections, and a citizens’ movement to put enough pressure on lawmakers to act before it’s too late, Tyranny of the Minority is a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy – and to understand where future threats may come from.-------------------------------------‘Provocative and readable’ David Runciman on How Democracies Die'A useful primer on the importance of norms, institutional restraints and civic participation in maintaining a democracy' Barack Obama on How Democracies Die

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The beautifully illustrated second adventure from cherished friends and Sunday Times bestsellers BIG PANDA AND TINY DRAGON'James has a way to speak to your soul. This book is nothing short of comforting and heartwarming' VEX KING'While the drawings have the charm of Winnie-the-Pooh, the captions have the depth of ancient proverbs' GUARDIAN'A beautifully illustrated book which draws on tender moments. Exquisite' DR RANGAN CHATTERJEE__________'We shall go on a journey, across the river . . .'Join Big Panda and Tiny Dragon as they set off on an extraordinary adventure in this companion to the global bestselling phenomenon Big Panda and Tiny Dragon.Although content in their temple high up in the mountains, Tiny Dragon realises that something feels incomplete. So it is that they decide to make a journey together, to new and distant lands.As they encounter dangers and challenges, they learn that everything they need is already inside them and that change, though sometimes scary, is possible and, with patience, can lead to better things.Inspired by Buddhist philosophy and spirituality, the story of these whimsical characters makes the perfect gift for anyone looking for a little hope and comfort.__________'If we have to be lost,' said Big Panda, 'I am glad it is with you . . .'

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THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVELDancing is the one thing that can solve Stephen's problems.At Church with his family, the shimmer of Black hands raised in praise. With his band, making music speaking not just to their hardships, but their joys. Grooving with his best friend, so close their heads might touch. Dancing alone to his father's records, uncovering parts of a man he has never truly known. His youth, shame and sacrifice.Stephen has only ever known himself in song. But what becomes of him when the music fades?Set over the course of three summers, from South London to Ghana and back again, SMALL WORLDS is a novel about the worlds we build for ourselves. The worlds we live, dance and love within. *****'Caleb Azumah Nelson's stunning second novel confirms his status as a literary star' Observer'Beautiful, unforgettable and all-consuming' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie'SMALL WORLDS is a book for everyone . . . an uplifting symphony of a summer read' Times

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*** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SILENT PATIENT ***'Infinitely thrilling and delicately crafted, the plot keeps everyone guessing until the very end, with an unscrupulous villain to underline just how good it is. DO NOT MISS IT' Daily Mail'Deliciously twisty and fiendishly clever. A highly enjoyable tale of subterfuge, secrets and murder' Observer‘My favourite Alex Michaelides yet – the undisputed master of the twist’ Lucy Foley‘The king of all unreliable narrators, enough twists and turns to power two novels’ David Baldacci‘You'll think you know where it's going and you couldn't be more wrong’ Linwood Barclay‘A very special book and highly recommended’ Janice Hallett‘A masterclass in suspense’ Steve Cavanagh‘A glorious triumph - just brilliant’ Stephen Fry‘The best novel yet from Alex Michaelides’ Sophie HannahEven better than The Silent Patient… Alex Michaelides is a magician’ JP Delaney*****'There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island.One of us was a murderer . . .'On a small private Greek island, former movie star Lana Farrar - an old friend - invites a select group of us to stay.It'll be hot, sunny, perfect. A chance to relax and reconnect - and maybe for a few hidden truths to come out.Because nothing on this island is quite what it seems.Not Lana. Not her guests.Certainly not the murderer - furiously plotting their crime . . .But who am I?My name is Elliot Chase, and I'm going to tell you a story unlike any you've ever heard.BESTSELLING AUTHORS ARE ALREADY FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE FURY‘The Fury is a masterfully woven story of Shakespearean twists and Machiavellian turns. A Greek Tragedy in the guise of a postmodern thriller. Do not miss this one’ Holly Jackson‘A classic, twisting, brilliant murder mystery. A wonderfully drawn cast of characters with a motive to kill for, in a location to die for, keep you guessing until the shocking finale. Clever, and fiendishly fun’ Chris Whitaker‘A very sophisticated book which takes the format of a classic murder mystery and elevates it to something very devious and clever indeed. The narrator is fabulous - I was throughly gripped’ Harriet Tyce‘Endlessly evolving, wildly entertaining, and like the very best fiction, impossible to pin down. Just when you think you have it cornered, it moves, impossibly and with stunning flourish, toward a devastating finale. The Talented Mr. Ripley for our time’ Blake Crouch‘Alex Michaelides is the grand master of the modern mystery. The Fury reads like Hitchcock with a heart, or Agatha Christie running amok on a wind-whipped Greek island. The Fury will, quite literally, blow you away. Totally brilliant’ Tony Parsons‘One of those rare books where really nothing is as it seems. As usual, Alex Michaelides does not disappoint’ Ragnar Jonasson‘Glamorous, sinister, and endlessly surprising, The Fury reads like Agatha Christie and Patricia Highsmith took a Greek vacation together and decided to write a book while there. It's twisty, twisted entertainment’ Riley SagerThe Fury, the instant New York Times bestseller, January 2024, and Sunday Times bestseller, February 2024

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The exhilarating follow-up to Pat Barker''s The Women of Troy and The Silence of the Girls After ten blood-filled years, the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks fill their ships with the spoils of battle.Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra, and her watchful maid, Ritsa. Enslaved as concubine war-wife to King Agamemnon, Cassandra is plagued by visions of his death and her own while Ritsa is forced to bear witness to both Cassandra's frenzies and the horrors to come.Meanwhile, awaiting the fleet's return is Queen Clytemnestra, vengeful wife of Agamemnon. Heart-shattered by her husband's choice to sacrifice their eldest daughter to the gods in exchange for a fair wind to Troy, she has spent this long decade plotting retribution, in a palace haunted by child-ghosts.As one wife journeys toward the other, united by

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'Masterly... Utterly compelling... A highly readable and engaging tour' Sam Freedman, The TimesFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Signal and the Noise, the definitive guide to our era of risk-and the players raising the stakesIn the bestselling The Signal and the Noise, Nate Silver showed how forecasting would define the age of Big Data. Now, in this timely and riveting new book, Silver investigates The River, or those whose mastery of risk allows them to shape-and dominate-so much of modern life. These professional risk takers-poker players and hedge fund managers, crypto true-believers and blue-chip art collectors-can teach us much about navigating the uncertainty of the 21st century. By embedding within these worlds, Silver offers insight into a range of issues that affect us all, from the frontiers of finance to the future of AI.The River has increasing amounts of wealth and p

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - AND THE GIFT THAT WILL BE ON EVERY BRUCE AND BARACK FAN'S WISH LIST!Two long-time friends share an intimate and urgent conversation about life, music and their enduring love of America, with all its challenges and contradictions, in this stunningly-produced expansion of their groundbreaking Higher Ground podcast, featuring more than 350 photographs, exclusive bonus content, and never-before-seen archival material.Renegades: Born in the USA is a candid, revealing, and entertaining dialogue between President Barack Obama and legendary musician Bruce Springsteen that explores everything from their origin stories and career-defining moments to their country's polarized politics and the growing distance between the American Dream and the American reality. Filled with full-colour photographs and rare archival material, it is a compelling and beautifully illustrated portrait of two outsiders-one Black and one white-looking for a way to connect their unconventional searches for meaning, identity, and community with the American story itself.It includes:· Original introductions by President Obama and Bruce Springsteen· Exclusive new material from the Renegades podcast recording sessions· Obama's never-before-seen annotated speeches, including his "Remarks at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches· Springsteen's handwritten lyrics for songs spanning his 50-year-long career· Rare and exclusive photographs from the authors' personal archives· Historical photographs and documents that provide rich visual context for their conversation.In a recording studio stocked with dozens of guitars, and on at least one Corvette ride, Obama and Springsteen discuss marriage and fatherhood, race and masculinity, the lure of the open road and the call back to home. They also compare notes on their favourite protest songs, the most inspiring American heroes of all time, and more. Along the way, they reveal their passion for-and the occasional toll of-telling a bigger, truer story about America throughout their careers, and explore how their fractured country might begin to find its way back toward unity.

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A love letter to Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell, The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst is a witty novel of manners and gossip, class and family, scandal and romance. ''Romance and scandal abound in this compelling period drama . . . Recommended for all lovers of Regency historical fiction'' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines ''Warm and witty, with a wonderful cast of quirky characters whose company I found irresistible'' JESSICA BULL, author of Miss Austen Investigates --- A single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife . . . But why would he choose her? Summer 1841. It is marriage season in the county of Wickenshire, and Miss Amelia Ashpoint isn't sure she can face yet another ball. But now that she has reached the grand age of three-and-twenty, time is (apparently) running out. Her father is anxious to secure her a husb

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Albert Camus' existentialist masterpiece, now in a wonderful new Clothbound Classics editionIn The Outsider, his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms. Meursault, his anti-hero, will not lie. When his mother dies, he refuses to show his emotions simply to satisfy the expectations of others. And when he commits a random act of violence on a sun-drenched beach near Algiers, his lack of remorse compounds his guilt in the eyes of society and the law. Yet he is as much a victim as a criminal.

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BASED ON THE NO 1 HIT PODCAST 'The Lazarus Heist''You'll never see North Korea the same way again' Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland'One of the most incredible cyber-espionage stories I've ever heard' Jamie Bartlett, author of The Missing Crypto Queen'Pacy and eye-popping' - Tom Burgis, author of KleptopiaThey have been accused of causing mayhem in Hollywood with 2014's infamous Sony hack.They're allegedly behind WannaCry, a cyber-attack which brought NHS hospitals to a dangerous standstill.And it has been claimed that they have stolen more than $ 1bn in an international crime spree.They are the Lazarus Group, a shadowy cabal of hackers accused of working on behalf of the North Korean state.From the streets of Dhaka to the casinos of Macau to the secretive capital of Pyongyang, this shocking story uncovers the secret world of the Lazarus Group, their victims and those who have tried - and so far, failed - to stop them. 'Madly intriguing' Guardian

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''Tense, fast-paced, compelling'' Sunday TimesDetective William Wisting returns for another spine-tingling mystery. . . When the body of an Australian backpacker is found in Spain, an online group of amateur true crime sleuths springs up around the world, attempting to solve the mystery of her death.Foremost on the message boards is Astri, a young Norwegian woman whose feverish pursuit takes her closer than anyone else to solving the case.But just as she prepares to publicly unravel the mystery, she goes offline.No one in the group has heard from her since.When William Wisting is sent to investigate, he is plunged deep into a fascinating world of unorthodox investigators, whose connections are as vague and varied as their abilities. But in a dangerous case where nothing is as it seems, these online detectives may be the best hope he has for solving the mystery - before another victim falls . . .''Relentlessly exciting''

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THE FOURTH NOVEL IN THE RECORD-BREAKING, MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING THURSDAY MURDER CLUB SERIES BY RICHARD OSMAN ----------‘The rightful king of crime’ i News'Deeply moving... some of his best writing yet' TelegraphShocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?----------'As charming and funny as always but SO MOVING' Marian Keyes

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CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY SUNDAY TIMES AND HISTORY TODAY ''Absolutely stunning. . . a formidable achievement. A six-part historical thriller that is essential reading for both our politicians and the ordinary citizen'' Kai BirdBest-selling historian Serhii Plokhy returns with an illuminating exploration of the atomic age through the history of six nuclear disasters In 2011, a 43-foot-high tsunami crashed into a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. In the following days, explosions would rip buildings apart, three reactors would go into nuclear meltdown, and the surrounding area would be swamped in radioactive water. It is now considered one of the costliest nuclear disasters ever. But Fukushima was not the first, and it was not the worst. . . In Atoms and Ashes, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy tells the tale of the six nuclear disasters that shook the world: Bikini Atoll, Kyshtym, Windscale, Thre

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A stunning new Clothbound Classics edition of Jane Austen's tantalizing final work - set to be a major Andrew Davies ITV adaptation this autumnWritten in the last months of Austen's life, Sanditon features a glorious cast of hypochondriacs and speculators in a newly established seaside resort, and shows the author contemplating a changing society with scepticism and amusement. It tells the story of Charlotte Heywood, who is transported by a chance accident from her rural hometown to Sanditon, where she is exposed to the intrigues and dalliances of a small town - and encounters the intriguingly handsome Sidney Parker.This edition also includes the early epistolary novel Lady Susan and the delightful fragment The Watsons.

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THE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe breathtaking new novel from the Booker-shortlisted, bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. *****This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives all connected by a single drop of water.In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. Arthur's only chance of escaping poverty is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, Arthur's world opens up far beyond the slums, with one book soon sending him across the seas: Nineveh and Its Remains.In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised with water brought f

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'A masterclass in spotting the early signs of a crisis' Nouriel Roubini'This is the historical perspective we need' John Kay'A first point of entry for anybody who wants to learn how the world sleep-walked into multiple crashes' Daron Acemoglu'Fascinating, well-written and authoritative' Tim Harford-----------------------------------------------------------------The global economy has weathered the most tumultuous century in modern financial history. Since the Wall Street Crash in 1929, financial meltdowns have repeatedly sent shockwaves through our world. From the currency crises of the 1980s and 1990s, to Japan's housing crash, the dot com boom and bust, the global financial meltdown, the euro crisis and the COVID pandemic, The Great Crashes tells the stories of ten of these historic events. They serve as a series of cautionary tales, each with their own set of lessons to be learnt.With clear-eyed analysis, renowned economist Dr Linda Yueh extracts a three step framework to help recognise the early signs of a crash and mitigate the effects - all with the hope of preventing the worst mistakes of the past from being repeated in the next inevitable financial crisis. She warns about where the next one might come from and shows how her framework could contain it.Combining her in-depth knowledge with compelling storytelling, The Great Crashes is essential reading that offers urgent lessons for the modern world.-----------------------------------------------------------------'An important contribution that can help society anticipate and tackle potential crashes in the future' Christine Lagarde

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Lunch with the FT has been a permanent fixture in the Financial Times for almost 30 years, featuring presidents, film stars, musical icons and business leaders from around the world.The column is now a well-established institution, which has reinvigorated the art of conversation in the convivial, intimate environment of a long and boozy lunch.This new and updated edition includes lunches with:Elon MuskDonald TrumpHilary MantelRichard BransonZadie SmithNigel FarageRussell BrandDavid GuettaYanis VaroufakisJean-Claude JunckerGwyneth PaltrowRebecca SolnitJordan PetersonChimamanda Ngozi AdichieAnd more...

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Read the new novel from the worldwide Number One bestselling author behind the Emmy and Golden Globe winning HBO series Big Little Lies and recent smash hit bestseller Apples Never Fall. ''Liane Moriarty is a genuine GENIUS. Here One Moment is off the scale brilliant'' Marian Keyes ''A riveting story so wild you don't know how she'll land it, and then she does, on a dime'' Anne Lamott, Number 1 New York Times bestselling author ----We're all so busy, caught up in life''s moments, big and small . . .The flight attendant working a shift on her birthday.The mother struggling alone with two young children.The newlyweds setting off on their tropical honeymoon .The overworked father missing his kid's big show.The young man returning from his best friend's funeral.The ER nurse wondering what retirement will bring.

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'No brief survey can do justice to the richness, complexity and detail of Foucault's discussion' New York Review of BooksThe second volume of Michel Foucault's pioneering analysis of the changing nature of desire explores how sexuality was perceived in classical Greek culture.From the stranger byways of Greek medicine (with its advice on the healthiest season for sex, as well as exercise and diet) to the role of women, The Use of Pleasure is full of extraordinary insights into the differences - and the continuities - between the Ancient, Christian and Modern worlds, showing how sex became a moral issue in the west. 'Required reading for those who cling to stereotyped ideas about our difference from the Greeks in terms of pagan license versus Christian austerity' Los Angeles Times Book Review

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Quite simply, this book is a work of genius - Matthew Parris, The SpectatorAn essential study of post-war gay London life... one of the best anthologies I have ever read - John Self, The ObserverWith it's wide-ranging selection, generous biographical notes and provocative bibliography, Some Men in London is a serious and important contribution to our understanding of Britain up to today - Fiona Sampson, The TabletAn absolutely extraordinary book about actually what life was like for homosexual men in London in the 1940s and the 1950s It's amazing - Dominic Sandbrook The first part of a major new anthology which uncovers the rich reality of life for queer men in LondonIn the 1940s, it was believed that homosexuality had been becoming more widespread in the aftermath of war. A moral panic ensued, centred around London as the place to which gay men gravitated.In a major new a

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Read this rollicking rock ''n'' roll memoir of the last 50 years of rock history, from David Bowie''s longest serving lead guitarist and legendary sideman, Earl Slick. He''s played with everyone from John Lennon to the New York Dolls and he''s got the stories to prove it.----Earl is a legendary guitar star. His playing is earth, timeless and never less than stellar' DAVID BOWIE You play mean ass blues for a skinny ass white boy' BUDDY GUY Had a good night out did we . . .?' JOHN LENNON Earl Slick was barely out of his teens when David Bowie hired him to play guitar on the ground-breaking 1974 Diamond Dogs tour. It marked the beginning of a relationship that would endure through thick and thin for the next forty years. Gracing classic albums like Young Americans, Station to Station and the 2013 comeback, The Next Day, Slick played on the tour that followed Bowie's smash

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In the summer of 1820, Keats published this collection, his third and final volume of poetry. A few months earlier, he had started coughing up blood; the following February, he would die of tuberculosis in Rome, aged just twenty-five. This volume contains his greatest work, written in an astonishing burst of creative genius in 1819. It includes 'Lamia', his tale of love and betrayal in ancient Corinth; the haunting medieval romance of 'The Eve of St Agnes'; and his six famous odes, now considered among the most famous verse in the language.

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Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette. There, she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, the hostility of headmistress Madame Beck, and her own complex feelings - first for the school's English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor Paul Emanuel. Drawing on her own deeply unhappy experiences as a governess in Brussels, Charlotte Brontë'sautobiographical novel, the last published during her lifetime, is a powerfully moving study of loneliness and isolation, and the pain of unrequited love, narrated by a heroine determined to preserve an independent spirit in the face of adverse circumstances. Helen M. Cooper's new introduction places the novel in the context of Brontë's life and career and argues for the importance of the novel as an exploration of imperialism.'I am only just returned to a sense of real wonder about me, for I have been reading Villette' George Eliot'Her finest novel'Virginia Woolf

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"This book is a miraculous event." –Elizabeth Gilbert, from the forewordA transformative path for women to reclaim their power in a world all too eager to strip it awayWomen know what it’s like to feel powerless. We have had power taken from us and used over us, and sometimes we have had to give it away for our own safety. But when power is built internally, it is stronger and more enduring than that bestowed externally. In Power, renowned leadership coach Kemi Nekvapil introduces a new framework for cultivating your power from the inside out.When you tap into the power that comes from within, you have the capacity to rebuild yourself. You give yourself the opportunity to break free from chronic people-pleasing and start making choices that align with your needs and values. You stop living and leading with apology, and instead use your power as a force for good.Through the principles of Presence, Ownership, Wisdom, Equality, and Responsibility, Power invites you to stop waiting for power to be handed to you and instead choose it for yourself and on your own terms. Drawing on stories from her own life as a Black woman in a society where power is often used as a tool for fear and obedience, and from the lives of leaders, gamechangers, and everyday women who’ve learned to step into their power, Nekvapil shows you how to practice, build, and feel your inner force.

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For millennia, societies have told tales of their fears incarnate otherworldly couriers of plague, death, temptation and moral decline. Drawing from three thousand years of religious traditions and world literature, The Penguin Book of Demons follows these supernatural creatures and the humans who have hunted and been haunted by them through accounts across cultures and continents, including: the daimones of ancient Greece and Rome; the giant, biblical half humans known as Nephilim who stalked the earth before the Great Flood; corrupted angels, condemned to eternity in Hell; the djinn of Islamic Arabia; the female, child-eating gelloudes of Byzantium; the seductive incubi and succubi of northern Europe; the animal spirits of early modern China; and the cannibalistic wendigo of Native American folklore. From demonic possession to black magic, these accounts give life to a spellbinding, skin-crawling history of the paranormal.

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A definitive collection of stories from the unrivaled master of twentieth-century horror in a Penguin Classics Deluxe edition with cover art by Travis Louie. Frequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft's preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master's fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as "The Outsider" to the overpowering cosmic terror of "The Call of Cthulhu." More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical- and visionary-American writer.

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Paul Auster's signature work, "The New York Trilogy," consists of three interlocking novels: "City of Glass," "Ghosts," and "The Locked Room" - haunting and mysterious tales that move at the breathless pace of a thriller."City of Glass" - As a result of a strange phone call in the middle of the night, Quinn, a writer of detective stories, becomes enmeshed in a case more puzzling than any he might hace written"Ghosts"Blue, a student of Brown, has been hired to spy on Black. From a window of a rented house on Orange street, Blue stalks his subject, who is staring out of "his" window. "The Locked Room" - Fanshawe has disappeared, leaving behind his wife and baby and a cache of novels, plays, and poems. What happened? Features an introduction from Luc Sante and incredible cover illustrations by Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic artist Art Spiegelman, creator of "Maus "and "In the Shadow of No Towers".

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A definitive edition of stories by the master of supernatural fictionHoward Phillips Lovecraft's unique contribution to American literature was a melding of traditional supernaturalism (derived chiefly from Edgar Allan Poe) with the genre of science fiction that emerged in the early 1920s. This Penguin Classics edition brings together a dozen of the master's tales-from his early short stories "Under the Pyramids" (originally ghostwritten for Harry Houdini) and "The Music of Erich Zann" (which Lovecraft ranked second among his own favorites) through his more fully developed works, "The Dunwich Horror," The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and At the Mountains of Madness.The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories presents the definitive corrected texts of these works, along with Lovecraft critic and biographer S. T. Joshi's illuminating introduction and notes to each story.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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'Funny, kind, generous and smart - I could have done with the wisdom of Flo Perry far sooner' Dolly AldertonWhen it comes to our sex lives, few of us are free of niggling fears and body image insecurities. Rather than enjoying and exploring our bodies uninhibited, we worry about our bikini lines, bulging tummies and whether we're doing it 'right'.Flo broaches everything from faking it to consent, stress to kink, and how losing your virginity isn't so different to eating your first chocolate croissant. Her mission is to get more people talking openly about what they do and don't want from every romantic encounter.

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THE TIMES, ECONOMIST AND GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017It is accepted wisdom today that human beings have irrevocably damaged the natural world. Yet what if this narrative obscures a more hopeful truth?In Inheritors of the Earth, renowned ecologist and environmentalist Chris D. Thomas overturns the accepted story, revealing how nature is fighting back.Many animals and plants actually benefit from our presence, raising biological diversity in most parts of the world and increasing the rate at which new species are formed, perhaps to the highest level in Earth's history. From Costa Rican tropical forests to the thoroughly transformed British landscape, nature is coping surprisingly well in the human epoch.Chris Thomas takes us on a gripping round-the-world journey to meet the enterprising creatures that are thriving in the Anthropocene, from York's ochre-coloured comma butterfly to hybrid bison in North America, scarlet-beaked pukekos in New Zealand, and Asian palms forming thickets in the European Alps. In so doing, he questions our irrational persecution of so-called 'invasive species', and shows us that we should not treat the Earth as a faded masterpiece that we need to restore. After all, if life can recover from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, might it not be able to survive the onslaughts of a technological ape?Combining a naturalist's eye for wildlife with an ecologist's wide lens, Chris Thomas forces us to re-examine humanity's relationship with nature, and reminds us that the story of life is the story of change.

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WINNER OF THE 2021 DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORYA DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020From an acclaimed military historian, the definitive account of Italy's experience of the Second World WarWhile staying closely aligned with Hitler, Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940. Then, with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies, Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in southern France and Africa. This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation, dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war, immense casualties and an Allied invasion in 1943 which ushered in a terrible new era for the country.John Gooch's new book is the definitive account of Italy's war experience. Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini's arrest, Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too small an industrial sector, too incompetent a leadership and too many fronts on which to fight.Everywhere - whether in the USSR, the Western Desert or the Balkans - Italian troops found themselves against either better-equipped or more motivated enemies. The result was a war entirely at odds with the dreams of pre-war Italian planners - a series of desperate improvizations against Allies who could draw on global resources and against whom Italy proved helpless.This remarkable book rightly shows the centrality of Italy to the war, outlining the brief rise and disastrous fall of the Italian military campaign.'It is hard to imagine a finer account, both of the sweep of Italy's wars, and of the characters caught up in them' Caroline Moorhead, The Guardian

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From Neil MacGregor, the author of A History of the World in 100 Objects, this is a view of Germany like no otherFor the past 140 years, Germany has been the central power in continental Europe. Twenty-five years ago a new German state came into being. How much do we really understand this new Germany, and how do its people now understand themselves?Neil MacGregor argues that uniquely for any European country, no coherent, over-arching narrative of Germany's history can be constructed, for in Germany both geography and history have always been unstable. Its frontiers have constantly floated. Königsberg, home to the greatest German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, is now Kaliningrad, Russia; Strasbourg, in whose cathedral Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's greatest writer, discovered the distinctiveness of his country's art and history, now lies within the borders of France. For most of the five hundred years covered by this book Germany has been composed of many separate political units, each with a distinct history. And any comfortable national story Germans might have told themselves before 1914 was destroyed by the events of the following thirty years.German history may be inherently fragmented, but it contains a large number of widely shared memories, awarenesses and experiences; examining some of these is the purpose of this book. Beginning with the fifteenth-century invention of modern printing by Gutenberg, MacGregor chooses objects and ideas, people and places which still resonate in the new Germany - porcelain from Dresden and rubble from its ruins, Bauhaus design and the German sausage, the crown of Charlemagne and the gates of Buchenwald - to show us something of its collective imagination. There has never been a book about Germany quite like it.

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'A feel-good extravaganza, nourishing both heart and mind ... What unites the stories are the twin ideas that an advantage can sometimes be a disadvantage and that a disadvantage can sometimes be an advantage. Yet there is something more powerful and more uplifting that links them' Kate Kellaway, Financial Times'I devoured in a single reading' Richard E. Grant'When you read it, you feel like you can topple giants' Jon Ronson'An energetic, counterintuitive exploration of why (and how) underdogs succeed' Lisa Appignanesi, Guardian, Books of the Year'Breathtaking' The New York Times'Truly intriguing and inspiring' Los Angeles Times

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Henry James's classic tale of romance in urban nineteenth-century America, Washington Square is edited with an introduction and notes by Martha Banta in Penguin Classics.When timid and plain Catherine Sloper is courted by the dashing and determined Morris Townsend, her father, convinced that the young man is nothing more than a fortune-hunter, delivers an ultimatum: break off her engagement, or be stripped of her inheritance. Torn between her desire to win her father's love and approval and her passion for the only man who has ever declared his love for her, Catherine faces an agonising dilemma, and becomes all too aware of the restrictions that others seek to place on her freedom. James's masterly novel deftly interweaves the public and private faces of nineteenth-century New York society; it is also a deeply moving study of innocence destroyed.This edition of Washington Square includes a chronology, suggested further reading, notes and an introduction discussing the novel's lasting influence and James's depiction of the quiet strength of his heroine.Henry James (1843-1916) son of a prominent theologian, and brother to the philosopher William James, was one of the most celebrated novelists of the fin-de-siècle. His novella 'Daisy Miller' (1878) established him as a literary figure on both sides of the Atlantic, and his other novels in Penguin Classics include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Awkward Age (1899), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) and The Golden Bowl (1904).If you enjoyed Washington Square, you might like Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, also available in Penguin Classics.'Washington Square is a perfectly balanced novel... a work of surpassing refinement and interest'Elizabeth Hardwick'Perhaps the only novel in which a man has successfully invaded the feminine field and produced a work comparable to Jane Austen's'Graham Greene

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'In Persuasion, Jane Austen is beginning to discover that the world is larger, more mysterious, and more romantic than she had supposed' Virginia WoolfJane Austen's moving late novel of missed opportunities and second chances centres on Anne Elliot, no longer young and with few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she was persuaded by others to break off her engagement to poor, handsome naval captain Frederick Wentworth. What happens when they meet again is movingly told in Austen's last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, and a mature, tender love story tinged with heartache.Edited with an Introduction by Gillian Beer

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Niccolò Machiavelli's brutally uncompromising manual of statecraft, The Prince is translated and edited with an introduction by Tim Parks in Penguin Classics.As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today. Tim Parks's acclaimed contemporary translation renders Machiavelli's no-nonsense original as alarming and enlightening as when it was first written. His introduction discusses Machiavelli's life and reputation, and explores the historical background to the work.Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.If you enjoyed The Prince, you might like Plato's Republic, also available in Penguin Classics.'A gripping work, and a gripping translation'Nicholas Lezard, Guardian'Tim Parks's swift and supple new translation brings out all its chilling modernity' Boyd Tonkin, Independent

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One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'A stunning new clothbound edition of Mary Shelley's infamous work of horror fiction, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the designObsessed by creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life by electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. This chilling gothic tale, begun when Mary Shelley was just nineteen years old, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.This edition also includes 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and 'The Vampyre: A Tale' by John Polidori, as well as an introduction and notesMary Shelley (1797-1851), the daughter of pioneering thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, eloped with the poet Percy Shelley at the age of sixteen. Three years later, during a wet summer on Lake Geneva, Shelley famously wrote her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The years of her marriage were blighted by the deaths of three of her four children, and further tragedy followed in 1822, when Percy Shelley drowned in Italy. Following his death, Mary Shelley returned to England and continued to travel and write until her own death at the age of fifty-three.

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Young, handsome and fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby appears to have it all, yet he yearns for the one thing that will always be out of his reach, the absence of which renders his life of glittering parties and bright young things ultimately hollow. Glamorous, dangerous, hopeful and desperately in love, Gatsby's naïve dreams can only lead to destruction.

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A definitive collection of stories from the unrivaled master of twentieth-century horror"I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale." -Stephen KingFrequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft's preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master's fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as "The Outsider" to the overpowering cosmic terror of "The Call of Cthulhu." More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical- and visionary-American writer.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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It is Ireland in the early 1950s and for Eilis Lacey, as for so many young Irish girls, opportunities are scarce. So when her sister arranges for her to emigrate to New York, Eilis knows she must go, leaving behind her family and her home for the first time.Arriving in a crowded lodging house in Brooklyn, Eilis can only be reminded of what she has sacrificed. She is far from home - and homesick. And just as she takes tentative steps towards friendship, and perhaps something more, Eilis receives news which sends her back to Ireland. There she will be confronted by a terrible dilemma - a devastating choice between duty and one great love.

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Christopher Clark's Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power is a short, fascinating and accessible biography of one of the 20th century's most important figures.King of Prussia, German Emperor, war leader and defeated exile, Kaiser Wilhelm II was one of the most important - and most controversial - figures in the history of twentieth-century Europe. But how much power did he really have?Christopher Clark, winner of the Wolfson prize for his history of Prussia, Iron Kingdom, follows Kaiser Wilhelm's political career from his youth at the Hohenzollern court through the turbulent decades of the Wilhelmine era into global war and the collapse of Germany in 1918, to his last days. He asks: what was his true role in the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War? What was the nature and extent of his control? What were his political goals and his success in achieving them? How did he project authority and exercise influence? And how did his people really view him?Through original research, Clark presents a fresh new interpretation of this contentious figure, focusing on how his thirty-year reign from 1888 to 1918 affected Germany, and the rest of Europe, for years to come. 'Clark's fresh and enlightening history brings the Kaiser's life into critical and illuminating review' German History Christopher Clark is a lecturer in Modern European History at St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge. His book Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600 to 1947 was the winner of the Wolfson Prize for History.

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Roget's Thesaurus ranks as one of the greatest English language reference works, used for generations by anyone looking for help in order to write a letter, prepare a speech, solve a crossword, or write any manner of prose or poem. Its sales now exceed 32 million copies. This concise edition contains the essential entries from the original 1852 volume, and has been revised and updated to include all the latest buzzwords and phrases.

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A small boy imagines what it would be like to have his own rainbow to play with.

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In The Marquise of O-, a virtuous widow finds herself unaccountably pregnant. And although the baffled Marquise has no idea when this happened, she must prove her innocence to her doubting family and discover whether the perpetrator is an assailant or lover. Michael Kohlhaas depicts an honourable man who feels compelled to violate the law in his search for justice, while other tales explore the singular realm of the uncanny, such as The Beggarwoman of Locarno, in which an old woman's ghost drives a heartless nobleman to madness, and St Cecilia, which portrays four brothers possessed by an uncontrollable religious mania. The stories collected in this volume reflect the preoccupations of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) with the deceptiveness of human nature and the unpredictability of the physical world.

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