Search results for ""profile books""

'I can never understand how the scribbles of such an ordinary person ... can possibly have value.' So wrote Nella Last in her diary on 2 September 1949. More than sixty years on, tens of thousands of people have read and enjoyed three volumes of her vivid and moving diaries, written during the Second World War and its aftermath as part of the Mass Observation project - and the basis for BAFTA-winning drama Housewife 49 starring Victoria Wood. The Diaries of Nella Last, brings together into a single volume the best of Nella's prolific outpourings, including a great deal of new, unpublished material from the war years. Capturing the everyday trials and horrors of wartime Britain and the nation's transition into peacetime and beyond, Nella's touching and often humorous narrative provides an invaluable historical portrait of what daily life was like for ordinary people in the 1940s and 1950s. Outwardly Nella's life was commonplace; but behind this mask were a penetrating mind and a lively pen. As David Kynaston said on Radio 4, she 'will come to be seen as one of the major twentieth century English diarists.'

Read more less

Ru: In Vietnamese it means lullaby; in French it is a small stream, but also signifies a flow - of tears, blood, money. Kim Thúy's Ru is literature at its most crystalline: the flow of a life on the tides of unrest and on to more peaceful waters. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in Saigon to a crowded and muddy Malaysian refugee camp, and onward to a new life in Quebec. There, the young girl feels the embrace of a new community, and revels in the chance to be part of the American Dream. As an adult, the waters become rough again: now a mother of two, she must learn to shape her love around the younger boy's autism. Moving seamlessly from past to present, from history to memory and back again, Ru is a book that celebrates life in all its wonder: its moments of beauty and sensuality, brutality and sorrow, comfort and comedy.

Read more less

What would be your ideal job if you didn't have to worry about money? Would you like to have more responsibility or less? How far would you go for a promotion? When did you last stand up for what you believe in? What are you afraid of? In this unique handbook to your own life and work, there are no right or wrong answers: only honest ones. Featuring sections on subjects everyone can relate to, from the professional (work and finance), to the personal (sex and relationships), The Question Book can be used alone, like a journal; or with a colleague, partner or friend. It will probe and enlighten on everything, including what your boss really thinks about you, whether you are in the right job, and what motivates you to get out of bed every morning. These wide-ranging questions - which provoke short 'yes or no's as well as open-ended responses that dig deeper - are pertinent, direct, and compulsively fun to answer. In The Question Book, you are under the spotlight. And only you have the answer.

Read more less

Her central themes are the classics, universities and teaching - and much else besides. In this second collection following on from the success of It's a Don's Life, Beard ponders whether Gaddafi's home is Roman or not, we share her 'terror of humiliation' as she enters 'hairdresser country' and follow her dilemma as she wanders through the quandary of illegible handwriting on examination papers and 'longing for the next dyslexic' - on whose paper the answers are typed, not handwritten. Praise for It's a Don's Life 'Delightful... it has the virtues of brevity, eclecticism and learning worn lightly... if they'd had Mary Beard on their side back then, the Romans would still have their empire' Daily Mail

Read more less

From Newton's Law of Gravity to the Black-Scholes model used by bankers to predict the markets, equations, are everywhere -- and they are fundamental to everyday life.Seventeen Equations that Changed the World examines seventeen ground-breaking equations that have altered the course of human history. He explores how Pythagoras's Theorem led to GPS and Satnav; how logarithms are applied in architecture; why imaginary numbers were important in the development of the digital camera, and what is really going on with Schrödinger's cat. Entertaining, surprising and vastly informative, Seventeen Equations that Changed the World is a highly original exploration -- and explanation -- of life on earth.

Read more less

The Shielding of Mrs Forbes Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. Though her own husband isn't all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people's predilections. The Greening of Mrs Donaldson Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating...

Read more less

Mary Magdalene is a larger figure than any text, larger than the Bible or the Church; she has taken on a life of her own. She has been portrayed as a penitent whore, a wealthy woman, Christ's wife, an adulteress, a symbol of the frailty of women and an object of veneration. And, to this day, she remains a potent and mysterious figure. In the manner of a quest, this book follows Mary Magdalene through the centuries, explores how she has been reinterpreted for every age, and examines what she herself reveals about woman and man and the divine. It seeks the real Mary Magdalene in the New Testament and in the Gnostic gospels where she is extolled as the chief disciple of Christ. It investigates how and why the Church recast her as a fallen woman, it traces her story through the Renaissance when she became a goddess of beauty and love, and it looks at Mary Magdalene as the feminist icon she has become today.

Read more less

'Inspirational ... I can't recommend this book highly enough' Bill Gates Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba and Russia, as the charismatic but flawed genius Dr Paul Farmer challenges widely-held preconceptions about poverty and healthcare. As a medical student, Farmer found his life's calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine - so readily available in the developed world - to those who need them most. Beginning in Haiti, he tackles the conditions that contribute to so many unnecessary deaths with his trademark combination of world-class expertise, unlimited compassion, and the unstinting dedication of friends and colleagues. Tracy Kidder's magnificent and moving account shows how, from achieving this modest dream, one person can make a difference in solving global problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems and medicine.

Read more less

But what does your furniture point at?' asks the character Joey in the sitcom Friends on hearing an acquaintance has no TV. It's a good question: since its beginnings during WW2, television has assumed a central role in our houses and our lives, just as satellite dishes and aerials have become features of urban skylines. Television (or 'the idiot's lantern', depending on your feelings about it) has created controversy, brought coronations and World Cups into living rooms, allowed us access to 24hr news and media and provided a thousand conversation starters. As shows come and go in popularity, the history of television shows us how our society has changed. Armchair Nation reveals the fascinating, lyrical and sometimes surprising history of telly, from the first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird (in Selfridges) to the fear and excitement that greeted its arrival in households (some viewers worried it might control their thoughts), the controversies of Mary Whitehouse's 'Clean Up TV' campaign and what JG Ballard thought about Big Brother. Via trips down memory lane with Morecambe and Wise, Richard Dimbleby, David Frost, Blue Peter and Coronation Street, you can flick between fascinating nuggets from the strange side of TV: what happened after a chimpanzee called 'Fred J. Muggs' interrupted American footage of the Queen's wedding, and why aliens might be tuning in to The Benny Hill Show.

Read more less

It's time for us to re-examine the past. Our lives are infinitely richer if we take the time to look at what the Greeks and Romans have given us in politics and law, religion and philosophy and education, and to learn how people really lived in Athens, Rome, Sparta and Alexandria. This is a book with a serious point to make but the author isn't simply a classicist but a comedian and broadcaster who has made television and radio documentaries about humour, education and Dorothy Parker. This is a book for us all. Whether political, cultural or social, there are endless parallels between the ancient and modern worlds. Whether it's the murder of Caesar or the political assassination of Thatcher; the narrative arc of the hit HBO series The Wire or that of Oedipus; the popular enthusiasm for the Emperor Titus or President Obama - over and over again we can be seen to be living very much like people did 2,000 or more years ago.

Read more less

There are many books on the First World War, but award-winning and bestselling historian Peter Englund takes a daring and stunning new approach. Describing the experiences of twenty ordinary people from around the world, all now unknown, he explores the everyday aspects of war: not only the tragedy and horror, but also the absurdity, monotony and even beauty. Two of these twenty will perish, two will become prisoners of war, two will become celebrated heroes and two others end up as physical wrecks. One of them goes mad, another will never hear a shot fired. Following soldiers and sailors, nurses and government workers, from Britain, Russia, Germany, Australia and South America - and in theatres of war often neglected by major histories on the period - Englund reconstructs their feelings, impressions, experiences and moods. This is a piece of anti-history: it brings this epoch-making event back to its smallest component, the individual.

Read more less

The ancient world that Alexander the Great transformed in his lifetime was transformed once more by his death. The imperial dynasties of his successors incorporated and reorganized the fallen Persian empire, creating a new land empire stretching from the shores of the Mediterranean to as far east as Bactria. In old Greece a fragile balance of power was continually disturbed by wars. Then, from the late third century, the military and diplomatic power of Rome successively defeated and dismantled every one of the post-Alexandrian political structures. The Hellenistic period (c. 323-30 BC) was then one of fragmentation, violent antagonism between large states, and struggles by small polities to retain an illusion of independence. Yet it was also a period of growth, prosperity, and intellectual achievement. A vast network spread of trade, influence and cultural contact, from Italy to Afghanistan and from Russia to Ethiopia, enriching and enlivening centres of wealth, power and intellectual ferment. From Alexander the Great's early days building an empire, via wars with Rome, rampaging pirates, Cleopatra's death and the Jewish diaspora, right up to the death of Hadrian, Chaniotis examines the social structures, economic trends, political upheaval and technological progress of an era that spans five centuries and where, perhaps, modernity began.

Read more less

In September 1939, housewife and mother Nella Last began a diary whose entries, in their regularity, length and quality, have created a record of the Second World War which is powerful, fascinating and unique. When war broke out, Nella's younger son joined the army while the rest of the family tried to adapt to civilian life. Writing each day for the "Mass Observation" project, Nella, a middle-aged housewife from the bombed town of Barrow, shows what people really felt during this time. This was the period in which she turned 50, saw her children leave home, and reviewed her life and her marriage - which she eventually compares to slavery. Her growing confidence as a result of her war work makes this a moving (though often comic) testimony, which, covering sex, death and fear of invasion, provides a new, unglamorised, female perspective on the war years.'Next to being a mother, I'd have loved to write books.' Oct 8, 1939

Read more less

Since bestselling author Ryan Holiday re-introduced Stoicism to the world with The Obstacle Is the Way in 2014, this simple but powerful philosophy for life has become a global phenomenon. From professional athletes and world leaders to entrepreneurs and creatives just starting out, this brilliant and engaging book has been an invaluable source of wisdom for anyone who wants to become more successful at what they do. Now, Holiday has updated and expanded this modern classic with a new introduction and new chapters featuring a diverse set of inspiring characters.Unpacking lessons from the lives of historical icons, and reframing them for today''s world, this book gives us an infinitely elastic formula for turning our toughest trials into triumphs. Success for the world''s greatest men and women has often come in the shape of their biggest obstacles - Stoicism, and this invaluable book, shows this can be true for us all.

Read more less

''So great ... it''s criminal'' SAGA''With Cecily Gayford in charge, we are on safe ground'' DAILY MAILFrom beneath the beach umbrella, all might seem idyllic - children playing, sunbathers relaxing, ice slowly melting in a cocktail glass. But look a little closer, and all is not as it seems ... In these classic crime stories of midsummer murder and madness, the mercury is climbing - and so is the body count. Prepare to spend this summer holiday with some shady characters (in sunny places) and immerse yourself in tales of mystery and depravity at home and abroad.Just remember - there might be nothing new under the sun ... but murder is the most ancient art of all.

Read more less

Not everything that goes bump in the night brings gifts ... As the nights draw in, the veil between worlds thins, and all sorts of ghosts and ghouls come tumbling in. In the shadows, under the bed, in wind-whipped snowy landscapes and in rooms lit by guttering candles, the dead of winter are waiting for us ... and their hearts are cold as ice. From the mysterious occupant of an ancient tomb to the Christmas visitor who is troubled by violent dreams, these are ten ghost stories from the masters of the genre that will chill your blood and haunt your dreams through the darkest months of the year. With stories from Lennox Robinson, M. Burrage, Ruth Rendell, E.F. Benson, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Russell Wakefield, M.R. James, Margaret Irwin, Algernon Blackwood and W.W. Jacobs

Read more less

** A TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD **''Nattrass''s best yet'' - S.G. MACLEAN''Wonderfully evocative'' - DAILY TELEGRAPH''Authentic and relentlessly pageturning'' - SUNDAY EXPRESSA rigged election. A feuding Cornish town. A suspicious death. And a perspicacious pig.May 1796, and former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago and his larger-than-life employer, the journalist William Philpott, have escaped America - and Philpott''s near imprisonment for libel - by the skin of their teeth. They return to Laurence''s hometown of Helston, Cornwall, in the hope of rest and recuperation, but instead find themselves in the middle of a tumultuous election that has the inhabitants of the town at one another''s throats.Only two men may vote in this rotten borough, and when one of them dies in suspicious circumstances, Laurence is ordered to investigate on behalf of the town''s political patron, his old master the Duke of Leeds. Then the second elec

Read more less

A Guardian ''Best ideas book of 2023''A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK''The best book I have ever read that explores the effect on the brain of the carer, when someone has dementia'' Professor June Andrews, author of Dementia: The One-Stop GuideDasha Kiper was twenty-five when she first became the live-in carer for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer''s disease. She soon discovered the emotional strain and challenges of caring for a person whose condition disrupts the rules of time, order and continuity. In Travellers to Unimaginable Lands, Kiper explores the complex and profound psychology of caregiving, illuminating how the healthy brain''s biases and intuitions make caring for people with dementia disorders so profoundly and inherently difficult.Blending neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and literature with beautifully-observed case studies, Kiper illuminates the underlying mental mechanisms behind carers'' experiences, dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver and, in the process, ope

Read more less

Trees have played countless roles in human history - by turns hopeful symbols of freedom, pioneering space travellers, keepers of ancient history and accessories to murder. From art to politics, science to crime, these are the stories of the trees that have shaped life on Earth. Neurobiologist and philosopher Stefano Mancuso brings his signature charm and eye for unforgettable detail to tell eight stories of trees that have rooted themselves in human history - from the red spruces that were made into Stradivarius' violins to the wooden ladder that solved 'The Crime of the Century'. Combining scientific vigour with his inimitable voice, Mancuso reveals the amazing ways that the world's green-print has shaped the course of our lives, issuing a passionate rallying cry for greater care and attention towards the plants that have helped us survive and thrive.

Read more less

25 Days to Aden is the story of how in a week in 2015 the Gulf States pulled together a ten-nation coalition and the biggest military operation they ever launched unilaterally. It is an amazing account of Arab militaries doing what America would not, preventing Iran from taking a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. The risks for global security were huge: Iran already overshadowed one of the world's greatest maritime straits, at Hormuz, and now it sought to dominate the southern approaches to the Suez Canal as well. Aden had to hold out against the Houthis. The Gulf States were used to America stepping up at such moments, but the White House was partway through negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. No help would come from Washington. Instead, for the first time, the Gulf States acted alone. Told by an expert communicator on the region, it is a unique story. If the US is truly a global empire in decline, then the story may hold important pointers for a future of warfare driven by emergent powers in the gap left by the withdrawal of American influence.

Read more less

'Destined to become a classic of its kind' Maggie Nelson 'One of the most compulsive voices I've read in years' Olivia Laing, Observer When Constance told her ex-husband that she was dating women, he made a string of unfounded accusations that separated her from her young son, Paul. Laurent trained Paul to say he no longer wants to see his mother, and the judge believed him. She approaches this new life with passionate intensity and the desire for an unencumbered existence, certain that no love can last. Apart from cigarettes, two regular lovers and women she has brief affairs with, Constance's approach is monastic and military - she swims daily, reads, writes, and returns to small or borrowed rooms for the night. A starkly beautiful account of impossible sacrifices asked from mothers, Love Me Tender is a bold novel of defiance, freedom and self-knowledge.

Read more less

'Absorbing and original . . . A very smart tale packed with jeopardy' Daily Mail 'Keeps you guessing till the very end' The Times 'An absolute page-turner' Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace He's in your house. He's in your family. Or is he in your mind? Gil has been estranged from his sister ever since her obnoxious son tried to drown his daughter on a family holiday. That's Gil's interpretation; his sister thinks Matthew was just playing around. Or did. When she and her husband perish in a car crash, Gil becomes Matthew's legal guardian. Matthew is now an urbane 17-year-old, raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a planet away from rural Vermont, where Gil lives with his wife and daughters, teaching at the local university. At first, Matthew appears to have changed, but when he joins Gil's writing class, he submits a story detailing the various ways a character resembling Gil's youngest daughter might die. While Gil believes he has invited a psychopath to live under his roof, the women in his life are impressed by Matthew's intelligence and charm. Is Gil losing his mind, or are his family in desperate danger?

Read more less

''Tongueless is a slow-burn social horror that deftly captures the way human cruelty always returns to destroy its originator.'' Molly McGhee, author of Jonathan Abernathy You Are KindWai and Ling are secondary school Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong, both crumbling under the pressure of a forced transition from using Cantonese to Mandarin as a medium of Chinese-language instruction. Apolitical and focused only on surviving their professional environment, Wai and Ling approach the challenge differently: Wai, awkward and unpopular, becomes obsessed with Mandarin learning, only to fail the qualification exam, lose her job, become mentally ill, and kill herself by inserting a drill into her head.Ling is polished and cunning, she knows how to please her superiors and believes she can tactfully dodge the Mandarin challenge through her social savviness. Ling sees herself haunted and mirrored by Wai''s tragedy: things around her slowly spiral out of control and her colleagues begin to s

Read more less

''A high-spirited, richly informed, and original portrait, a cross between biography, literary analysis and a study in modern canonisation: Karolina Watroba is an inspired guide and her book a pleasure to read.'' Marina WarnerIn 2024, exactly one hundred years after his death at the age of 40, readers all over the world will reach for the works of Franz Kafka. Many of them will want to learn more about the enigmatic man behind the classic books filled with mysterious courts and monstrous insects. Who, exactly, was Franz Kafka?Karolina Watroba, the first Germanist ever elected as a Fellow of Oxford''s All Souls College, will tell Kafka''s story beyond the boundaries of language, time and space, travelling from the Prague of Kafka''s birth through the work of contemporary writers in East Asia, whose award-winning novels are in part homages to the great man himself.Metamorphoses is a non-chronological journey through Kafka''s life, drawing together literary scholarship with the response

Read more less

With an introduction by Lynne Tillman 'The last literary outlaw in mainstream American fiction' Bret Easton Ellis Physically beautiful and strangely passive, George Miles attracts his fellow students' attention, like a wallet lying on the street. One after another, his teenage friends rifle through George, ransacking him for love, secrets or anything else they can plausibly extract. Closer follows the subterranean connections that drag George into the arms of men like John, an artist who drains his portraits of humanity in order to find what lies beneath; Alex, fascinated by splatter films and pornography; and Steve, an underground entrepreneur who turns his parents' garage into a nightclub. Boys and men pass George from hand to hand, fascinated by the nightmarish intensity of his detachment, but soon he will be confronted by desires he may find harder to endure. Closer is an unflinching exploration of the very limits of experience. Still shocking after more than two decades, here is a provocative classic that assaults the senses as it engages the mind.

Read more less

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE BERBICE SLAVE REBELLION Winner of the 2021 Cundill History Prize Winner of the 2021 Frederick Douglass Prize 'A gripping tale about the human need for freedom ... spellbinding' NPR 'Impressively detailed ... Kars provokes the reader into seeing the many sides involved in this bloody and desperate struggle with empathy and pity ... excellent' Paterson Joseph, actor and author of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho 'A masterpiece ... a story for the ages' Elizabeth Fenn, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Encounters at the Heart of the World In February 1763, thousands of slaves in the Dutch colony of Berbice - in present-day Guyana - launched a massive rebellion - and very nearly succeeded. For an entire year, they fought their enslavers, dreaming of establishing a free state, what would have been the first Black republic. Instead, they vanished from history. Blood on the River is the explosive story of this forgotten revolution, an event that almost changed the face of the Americas. Historian Marjoleine Kars draws on long-buried Dutch interrogation transcripts to reconstruct a rich day-by-day account of this extraordinary event, providing a rare look at the political vision of enslaved people at the dawn of the Age of Revolution. An astonishing original work of history, Blood on the River will change our understanding of revolutions, slavery and the story of freedom in the New World.

Read more less

'Insightful, moving, dramatic and darkly funny' - DAILY MAIL 'Brings a whole new meaning to domestic noir' - THE TIMES 'Funny, grim and very touching' - HARRIET TYCE She will leave your surfaces sparkling. But she may well leave you dead... Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who's losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Mr Balogan, with the terrible neighbours. If you're thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved. She didn't set out to kill anyone, of course, but her clients have hired her to clean up their lives, and she takes her job seriously - not to mention how much happier they all are now. The trouble is, murder can't be washed out. You can only sweep it under the carpet, and pray no one looks too closely... Darkly funny and completely gripping from the first page to the last, Make Me Clean is one thriller you won't be able to scrub from your mind. Perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce, Fiona Cummins and My Sister the Serial Killer. 'Make Me Clean is Tina Baker's best yet' - ALICE CLARK-PLATTS 'She has topped even her first two novels. Brilliant' - EDDIE MAIR 'Quirky, dark and delicious' - CAROLINE ENGLAND

Read more less

'A glorious debut' - SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Recommended reading for a long winter night' - GUARDIAN 'A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery' J.M. HALL A snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited. It's going to be murder... Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote snowbound Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. Things start to go sideways when their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, makes some shocking revelations at the dinner table. And when these are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits... and their trust. Snowed in and cut off, surrounded by enigmatic housekeepers and off-duty police inspectors, not to mention a peculiar last will and testament, suspicion and sarcasm quickly turn to panic. As the temperature drops and the tension mounts, Torben decides to draw upon all the tricks of Golden Age detectives past in order to solve the mystery: how much money would it take to turn one of his old friends into a murderer? But he'd better be quick, or someone else might end up dead... This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic country house whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett. 'A solid gold revival of the golden age whodunnit, with a delicious Danish twist' JANICE HALLETT 'Wonderfully descriptive and loaded with atmosphere' IAN MOORE

Read more less

'A superb chronicler of cop culture' - SUNDAY TIMES 'Disher is the equal of Joseph Wambaugh and James Lee Burke' - THE TIMES 'Doesn't get better than this' - DOMINIC NOLAN NOTHING STAYS BURIED FOREVER Twenty years ago, Charlie Deravin's mother went missing, believed murdered. Her body has never been found, and his father has lived under a cloud of suspicion ever since. Now Charlie has returned to the coastal town where his mother vanished, on disciplinary leave from his job with the police, and permanent leave from his marriage. After two decades worrying away at the mystery of his mother's disappearance, he's run out of leads. Then the skeletal remains of two people are found in the excavation of a new building site... and the past comes crashing in on Charlie. But as one mystery is solved another is posed, and as his hometown is shaken to the core by the discovery of a brutal crime hidden for years beneath its feet, Charlie must decide what matters more: peace for the living, or justice for the dead. From the multiple Ned Kelly Award-winning author of Consolation comes a stunning new standalone thriller, for readers of Jane Harper, Ian Rankin and Chris Hammer. 'Lyrically captures a moment in time' - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 'A deft and compelling crime novelist' - GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA

Read more less

We often imagine that rarity is special - we seek out the most uncommon wild plants to tick off our lists, while overlooking the extraordinary appeal of the species we encounter day-to-day. Yet it's these plants -the most successful, able to adapt and thrive - which are truly fascinating. Botanist, writer and expert gardener Ken Thompson has set out to chart Britain's fifty most abundant wild plants and reveal the secrets of their success. He explores the roots of their common names, from the dog rose to Yorkshire fog, and explains the key traits that have led them to flourish across Britain. And, along the way, he shares his tricks for making your garden a haven for green life. Stunningly illustrated by Sarah Abbott, Common or Garden is a celebration of the everyday wonder of the plants that you can see, as Thompson enthuses, 'before you even have lunch'

Read more less

* WINNER OF THE CRIME FICTION LOVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL AWARD * 'An absolute roller-coaster of a read' - DAILY MAIL 'The most fun you're ever likely to have with a hammer-wielding maniac' - DAILY EXPRESS 'Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny' - CLARE MACKINTOSH I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them. The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But even before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby. The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Claire will do anything to keep her secret hidden - not to mention the bodies buried in her garden. Let the games begin... Dexter meets Killing Eve in this superb thriller, perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family and My Sister, the Serial Killer. 'A welcome addition to darkly humorous female serial killer novels' - GUARDIAN 'Delightfully shocking and irreverently funny' - JANICE HALLETT 'If Bret Easton Ellis ever went to grief counselling, this would be just the kind of brilliant book he'd write' - PHILIPPA EAST

Read more less

** A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2023 ** 'Ward's most complex and brilliant book yet' - GUARDIAN 'A darkly moving and heartfelt exploration of obsession' - DAILY EXPRESS Writers are monsters. We eat everything we see... In a windswept cottage overlooking the sea, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood companions and the shadowy figure of the Daggerman, who stalked the New England town where they spent their summers. Of a horror that has followed Wilder through the decades. And of Sky, Wilder's one-time friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, The Sound and the Dagger. This book will be Wilder's revenge on Sky, who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky's signature green ink, and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? And who is the dark-haired woman drowning in the cove, whom no one else can see? No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder feels his grip on reality slipping. And he begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does. Discover the new dark thriller from the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street. 'So beautiful, so dark and so vivid' - JENNIFER SAINT 'A beautifully sinister tale of perception and identity' - JOANNE HARRIS 'Enthralling and heartbreaking' - M.R. CAREY

Read more less

'An authority on sleep and stress' Mail on Sunday Not sleeping well and waking up tired? Can't sleep at all? This guide will help you understand and overcome sleep problems to have the energy you need for the life you want. Tired But Wired offers Dr Nerina Ramlakhan's proven Sleep Toolkit, which has helped thousands of people - from burnt-out executives to mothers struggling with the demands of a job and children - to get better sleep. Hectic lives and modern living directly impact our ability to sleep well but, overturning the myth that you need eight solid hours every night, Dr Ramlakhan says that you really need fewer hours of quality restorative sleep, and shows you how to get it. With practical steps towards changing your lifestyle to find better quality sleep, more vitality and an inner equilibrium that is physically and emotionally revitalising, Tired But Wired explains the science behind sleep and how to find your natural sleep rhythms. Providing the Sleep Toolkit Programme that anyone can use, adjusting it for your own lifestyle, needs and personality, it delivers the essential habits and routines you need for brilliant sleep.

Read more less

A book of two halves, Decarbonomics first sets the scene of current global economics, outlining the effect of the pandemic, the trade war between the US and China and the resulting fragmentation of globalisation. In the second half of the book, leading financial analyst Charles Dumas examines the economic reasons for action on climate change, and what form that might take. Dumas argues that investment to combat the changing climate will provide not only a boost to growth but also a rebalancing of geopolitics, benefiting those economies best placed to exploit the new technologies - possibly away from the oil-rich Middle East and towards the sun-rich Southern Hemisphere. He also examines the implications of a carbon tax, shifting economics to forge a financial solution to climate change. Drawing on original analysis by one of the world's leading macroeconomic forecasters, Decarbonomics shows how climate-change economics has shifted from a story of necessary sacrifice to one of opportunity.

Read more less

Discover how to connect with fairies, accept their guidance to your inner self and restore your unity with the natural world. Fairies are benign spirits who can speak to you, if you can reawaken your childhood self and recapture the sense of awe and wonder that we lose as adults. Only then can you approach the fairy realm and become the friend of fairy folk. This is a complete guide to finding and meeting fairies, explaining the most favourable days and times for meeting the fairies, the tests you will experience, the most likely places to search and the best way to win the goodwill of these elemental beings. Once our feelings are attuned, we can again learn the fairy lore of magic and herbal medicine and use these skills to restore the world. With a wealth of colour illustrations of Victorian fairy paintings, this book will show you the way back to fairyland.

Read more less

History is a construction. What happens when we bring stories consigned to the margins up to the light? How does that complicate our certainties about who we are, as individuals, as nations, as human beings? As in her fiction, the essays in Out of the Sun demonstrate Esi Edugyan's commitment to seeking out the stories of Black lives that history has failed to record. In five wide-ranging essays, written with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the background, Edugyan reflects on her own identity and experiences. She delves into the history of Western Art and the truths about Black lives that it fails to reveal, and the ways contemporary Black artists are reclaiming and reimagining those lives. She explores and celebrates the legacy of Afrofuturism, the complex and problematic practice of racial passing, the place of ghosts and haunting in the imagination, and the fascinating relationship between Africa and Asia dating back to the 6th Century. With calm, piercing intelligence, Edugyan asks difficult questions about how we reckon with the past and imagine the future.

Read more less

'Truly infectious' Guardian 'A sparkling debut, full of tenderness and mischief. It's as if Roth and Narayan had a baby' Aatish Taseer It is a day of triumph for Appa and Amma, who have driven home a shiny new Honda Civic to show off to their neighbours in Blue Hills housing colony. But their eldest son Sreenath is behaving strangely, and it soon becomes clear why: a secretly filmed video of Sreenath and his girlfriend Anita has been posted to a porn site, and nearly everyone they know has seen it. The ensuing war - with Sreenath and Anita on one side and their families on the other - becomes a news sensation, emblematic of a wider generational struggle. The novel is narrated by Sreenath's younger brother, who is twenty years old and eager to escape his hometown and embrace his brother's rebellious spirit. But to keep his family together he will have to compromise his integrity and, in doing so, bring buried tensions between him and his brother to the surface. Full of dark comedy and insight about Indian society, shame and the online generation, this is a poignant story about now told by a narrator who will beguile and surprise you.

Read more less

Big Snake Little Snake is a cascade of true stories by DBC Pierre, recorded while on his way to make a short film with a parrot in Trinidad, which not only examines the nature of gambling, the love affair between gambler and game and the mindset of obsessive practitioners, but aims to shed light on the invisible odds and outrageous chances of everyday life on Earth. Snakes symbolise a road in a Trinidadian numbers game based on dreams and superstition. The inquiry was prompted by a little snake on Pierre's doorstep. 'If writers were athletes, DBC Pierre would be hanging out with the skydivers, the stunt-snowboarders and the white-water rafters' Independent 'One of the most original and seriously funny narrative voices' Observer

Read more less

'Duncan brings a new way of seeing to the world of prose' Irish Times Michael has been away from Ireland for most of his life and lives alone in Bilbao after the death of Catherine, his girlfriend. Each day he listens to two versions of the same piece of music before walking the same route to visit Richard Serra's enormous installation, The Matter of Time, in the Guggenheim. As he walks, his thoughts circle around the five-year period of mental agitation spent in Leipzig with Catherine. This 'sabbatical', caused by the stress of his job and the suicide of a former colleague, splits his career as an engineer into two distinct parts. Intensely realistic, mapped out like Michael's intricate drawings, this is a novel of precision and beguiling intelligence.

Read more less

'Bold, dramatic and deeply unsettling' Guardian When Velveteen Vargas, an eleven-year-old Fresh Air Fund kid from Brooklyn, comes to stay with a couple in upstate New York, what begins as a two-week visit blossoms into something much more significant. Soon Velvet finds herself torn between her hosts - Ginger, a failed artist and shakily recovered alcoholic and Paul, a college professor - and her own tormented mother. Ginger longs for a child of her own, but Paul continues to refuse. Bemused by her gentle middle-aged hosts, but deeply intuitive in the way of clever children, Velvet quickly senses the longing behind Ginger's rapturous attention. Velvet's one constant becomes her newly discovered passion for horse riding, and her affection for an abused, unruly mare. A profound and stirring novel about how love and family are shaped by place, race and class, The Mare is a stunning exploration of the sometimes unexpected but profound connections made throughout our lives.

Read more less

'Topical and desperately urgent. I absolutely loved it!' DANIEL COLE, author of RAGDOLL 'Grabs you by the throat and carries you through to the explosive end' SARAH BONNER, author of HER PERFECT TWIN 'As dark and gritty as it is pacy and original' JANICE HALLETT, author of THE APPEAL To save your child you must open The Box... Ed Truman's family is falling apart. His daughter Ally is being targeted by an alt-right incel organisation, Men Together. His house is being picketed, former clients are accusing him of sexual assault, his son won't speak to him. And then Ally disappears. Frantic, Ed suspects that Men Together have abducted her. But before he can go to the police, his DNA is found on the body of a young woman. Suddenly he's the subject of a nationwide manhunt, led by the tenacious DCI Jackie Rose. Ed finds himself on the run with Ally's friend, Phoenix, who claims to know where Ally is. But what is the truth? Is Ed a violent sexual predator? Or is he the victim of a ruthless conspiracy? The answers are in The Box. But not everyone who goes in, comes out alive... From the bestselling author of The Regret, this heart-pounding thriller is perfect for readers of Harlan Coben, Mark Billingham and M.W. Craven.

Read more less

Winner of The Center for Fiction's 2021 First Novel Prize 'A gorgeously written, Franzen-calibre tale' O Magazine In this vivid, darkly funny and beautifully rendered debut novel, Kirstin Valdez Quade brings to life the struggles of five generations of the Padilla family. Amadeo, struggling to stay off the bottle, Angel, his pregnant fifteen-year-old daughter, Yolanda, the family matriarch, reeling from a recent discovery, Angel's mother, who Angel isn't speaking to and Tío Tive, keeper of the family's history. But amid the challenges they face individually and together, it is Connor, Angel's baby, who might just be the one to save the family from themselves.

Read more less

Discover the answers behind the mysteries of the countryside in all their fascination and beauty... Ever wondered about the masses of twigs in bare-branched trees that look like abandoned nests? Seen fuzzy red balls on roses? A stranded pond on a hilltop? Or even considered the shaded ways we walk along? One of Britain's best-known naturalists, John Wright describes and explores fifty of the natural (and unnatural) puzzles of the countryside that might confound the ever-curious. He reveals the histories and practicalities of those that are man-made and the astounding and intricate lives of the natural wonders around us. From the enormous to the truly tiny he illuminates the oddities that pepper our countryside and reveals the many pleasures of spotting and understanding them. Informative, entertaining and beautifully illustrated, this is for anyone who has ever gone outside and wondered what is that?

Read more less

'The man who coaches husbands on how to avoid divorce' The New York Times 'One husband's confession you might be tempted to hand to your other half next time he does something infuriating' Daily Mail 'Could genuinely help save a few rocky marriages' Literary Review One night during his divorce, after one too many vodkas and a phone-in-therapist's advice to 'journal his feelings,' Matthew Fray started a blog. As he tried to piece together how his ex-wife went from adoring to angry he realised that even though he was a decent guy, he was kind of a bad husband. From the raw, uncomfortable and darkly humorous stories he shared about the lessons he's learned from his failed marriage comes this strangely hopeful guide to saving relationships. This is How Your Marriage Ends offers immediately actionable advice to help readers identify toxic behaviour patterns in their own lives, and break them out of the cycles of dysfunction that ruin relationships. This is a must-read for people in any stage of a relationship, whether it's near the beginning or nearing the end. Good people can be bad partners - here's how to ensure that isn't you.

Read more less

'The man who coaches husbands on how to avoid divorce' The New York Times 'One husband's confession you might be tempted to hand to your other half next time he does something infuriating' Daily Mail 'Could genuinely help save a few rocky marriages' Literary Review One night during his divorce, after one too many vodkas and a phone-in-therapist's advice to 'journal his feelings,' Matthew Fray started a blog. As he tried to piece together how his ex-wife went from adoring to angry he realised that even though he was a decent guy, he was kind of a bad husband. From the raw, uncomfortable and darkly humorous stories he shared about the lessons he's learned from his failed marriage comes this strangely hopeful guide to saving relationships. This is How Your Marriage Ends offers immediately actionable advice to help readers identify toxic behaviour patterns in their own lives, and break them out of the cycles of dysfunction that ruin relationships. This is a must-read for people in any stage of a relationship, whether it's near the beginning or nearing the end. Good people can be bad partners - here's how to ensure that isn't you.

Read more less

Martin Luther King, Jr. described Stride Toward Freedom as "the chronicle of 50,000 Negroes who took to heart the principles of non-violence, who learned to fight for their rights with the weapon of love, and who, in the process, acquired a new estimate of their own human worth." On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Rallied by the young preacher and activist Martin Luther King, Jr., the black community of Montgomery organised a historic boycott of the bus service, rising up together to protest racial segregation. This was the first large-scale, non-violent resistance of its kind in America and marked the beginning of a national Civil Rights movement based on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s principles. Stride Toward Freedom is the account of that pivotal turning point in American history, told through Martin Luther King, Jr.'s own experiences and stories, chronicling his community's refusal to accept the injustices of racial discrimination.

Read more less