Search results for ""icon books""

** The true story that inspired the stage adaptation of the Amiri family's journey from Afghanistan to the UK **A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 29 JUNE - 3 JULY 2020 READ BY SANJEEV BHASKAR (GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME, THE KUMARS AT NO. 42 AND MORE) 'Enthralling ... A fascinating insight' Daily Mail'An inspiring read' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 LiveA powerful tale of a family in crisis, and a moving love letter to the NHS.Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. A mother speaks out against the fundamentalist leaders of her country. Meanwhile, her family's watchful eyes never leave their beloved son and brother, whose rare heart condition means that he will never lead a normal life.When the Taliban gave an order for the execution of Hamed Amiri's mother, the family knew they had to escape, starting what would be a long and dangerous journey, across Russia and through Europe, with the UK as their ultimate destination.Travelling as refugees for a year and a half, they suffered attacks from mafia and police; terrifying journeys in strangers' cars; treks across demanding terrain; days spent hidden in lorries without food or drink; and being robbed at gunpoint of every penny they owned.The family's need to reach the UK was intensified by their eldest son's deteriorating condition, and the prospect of life-saving treatment it offered.The Boy with Two Hearts is not only a tale of a family in crisis, but a love letter to the NHS, which provided hope and reassurance as they sought asylum in the UK and fought to save their loved ones.

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'[A] tale of cloak and dagger intrigue, intense rivalries and political machinations you'd expect in a spy thriller.' Engineering & TechnologyGross Domestic Product is failing. For decades it has rewarded environmental destruction and obscured inequality. Its formula can be-and has been-gamed to the detriment of developing countries.In this powerfully argued book, now updated with a new chapter, science writer Ehsan Masood shows how GDP fell from the path envisaged by its architects, and how its long-term misapplication has kept large parts of the world in poverty, while helping accelerate global warming and biodiversity loss.As the world rebuilds after the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying global recession, our need for a more sustainable and inclusive measure of economic growth has never been greater. Change must come if we are to break the cycle. With clarity and passion, Masood shows how we can update GDP for a better future.[previously published as The Great Invention in North America]

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'This delightful memoir is an inspiring account of changing direction in mid-life, and a passionate plea on behalf of the honeybee.' Daily Mail'A light-hearted account of midlife, a yearning for adventure, the plight of bees, the quest for "liquid gold" and, above all, friendship.' Sunday TelegraphAfter a chance meeting in the pub, Roger Morgan-Grenville and his friend Duncan decide to take up beekeeping. Their enthusiasm matched only by their ignorance, they are pitched into an arcane world of unexpected challenges.Coping with many setbacks along the way, they manage to create a colony of beehives, finishing two years later with more honey than anyone knows what to do with. By standing back from their normal lives and working with the cycle of the seasons, they emerge with a new-found understanding of nature and a respect for the honeybee and the threats it faces.Wryly humorous and surprisingly moving, Liquid Gold is the story of a friendship between two unlikely men at very different stages of their lives. It is also an uplifting account of the author's own midlife journey: coming to terms with an empty nest, getting older, looking for something new.'A great book. Painstakingly researched, but humorous, sensitive and full of wisdom.' Chris Stewart, author of Driving Over Lemons'Beekeeping builds from lark to revelation in this carefully observed story of midlife friendship. Filled with humour and surprising insight, Liquid Gold is as richly rewarding as its namesake. Highly recommended.' - Thor Hanson, author of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees

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What do we mean by social class in the 21st century?University of Brighton sociologists Laura Harvey and Sarah Leaney and award-winning comics creator Danny Noble present an utterly unique, illustrated journey through the history, sociology and lived experience of class.What can class tell us about gentrification, precarious work, the role of elites in society, or access to education? How have thinkers explored class in the past, and how does it affect us today? How does class inform activism and change?Class: A Graphic Guide challenges simplistic and stigmatising ideas about working-class people, discusses colonialist roots of class systems, and looks at how class intersects with race, sexuality, gender, disability and age. From the publishers of the bestselling Queer: A Graphic History, this is a vibrant, enjoyable introduction for students, community workers, activists and anyone who wants to understand how class functions in their own lives.

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'Dr Cullen provides the reader with a wealth of knowledge, highly perceptive insights and practical strategies in a clear well-written book that will be very useful for both parents and teenagers to read and use. Highly recommended.' - Tim Francis, HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologist (Educational)An original, theoretically informed way of thinking about, understanding and actually living with teenagers.Complex, exciting and often turbulent, every teenage experience is different, and growth, development and learning are intrinsic to these years. This book is for anyone who cares about a teenager's wellbeing, development and learning.Experienced professional educational psychologist Kairen Cullen, parent of four adult children, draws upon a wealth of experience as she looks at the areas of particular challenge in the teenage years, and the different psychological theories and approaches that can be used to address them. Full of case studies, practical tips and exercises, this guide focuses on the three major issues prevalent in teenage years: achievement, belonging and control, and the behaviours that fall within these categories. Underpinning everything with educational psychology literature and psychology theory in general, Dr Kairen Cullen expertly explains how the reader can develop and improve their relationships with teenagers.

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'Powerful, humane and deeply affecting, Lister's wise and truthful writing makes this essential reading for anyone touched, and utterly confused, by grief.' Sali Hughes'The must-read memoir' RedWhat does it mean to become a widow at 35?In her mid-thirties Kat Lister lost her husband to brain cancer. After five years of being a wife and one of being a carer, in love and in and out of hospitals, she became a widow.In the year following his death Kat seeks refuge in stories of grief and widowhood, but struggles to find a language that can make sense of her experience and the physicality of bereavement. Instead, she turns to the elements - fire, water, earth, air - on her quest to come to terms with her grief, to inhabit her body again, and to find out who she is now.The Elements is a story of love, pain, hope and, ultimately, transformation.

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'The unexpected comic masterpiece of the year' Daily MailIn 1967, retired army major and self-made millionaire Paddy Roy Bates inaugurated himself ruler of the Principality of Sealand on a World War II Maunsell Sea Fort near Felixstowe - and began the peculiar story of the world's most stubborn micronation. Having fought off attacks from UK government officials and armed mercenaries for half a century - and thwarted an attempted coup that saw the Prince Regent taken hostage - the self-proclaimed independent nation still stands. It has its own constitution, national flag and anthem, currency, and passports - and offers the esteemed titles of 'Lord' or 'Lady' to its loyal patrons. Incorporating original interviews with surviving members of the principality's royal family, and many rare, vintage photographs, Dylan Taylor-Lehman recounts the outrageous attempt to build a sovereign kingdom by a family of rogue, larger-than-life adventurers on an isolated platform in the freezing waters of the North Sea.

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'Both moving and hilarious' Spectator, Books of the Year'A tale of gloriously eccentric British pensioners. Aitken rivals Alan Bennett in the ear he has for an eavesdropped remark ... boy, can he write.' Daily Mail, Book of the WeekFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE ACCLAIMED A CHIP SHOP IN POZNAN.One millennial, six coach trips, one big generation gap.When Ben Aitken learnt that his gran had enjoyed a four-night holiday including four three-course dinners, four cooked breakfasts, four games of bingo, a pair of excursions, sixteen pints of lager and luxury return coach travel, all for a hundred pounds, he thought, that's the life, and signed himself up. Six times over.Good value aside, what Ben was really after was the company of his elders - those with more chapters under their belt, with the wisdom granted by experience, the candour gifted by time, and the hard-earned ability to live each day like it's nearly their last.A series of coach holidays ensued - from Scarborough to St Ives, Killarney to Lake Como - during which Ben attempts to shake off his thirty-something blues by getting old as soon as possible.

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UPDATED TO INCLUDE HIS CONTROVERSIAL TRANSFER TO BARCELONA Quick, incisive and versatile, Antoine Griezmann is the ultimate modern forward. But did you know that he had to leave France in order to find a professional club willing to take a chance on him?Or that he wears the number 7 shirt as a tribute to his idol, David Beckham? Or that Real Sociedad fans came to affectionately refer to him as 'The Little Devil'? Find our about all this and more in Luca Caioli and Cyril Collot's tirelessly researched biography, featuring exclusive interviews with those who know him best.Includes all the action from the 2018/19 season

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For fans of Call the Midwife, a unique autobiography of a 1930s London childhood.Enid Elliot Linder was the daughter of a butler and a lady's maid in service in some of England's grandest country houses. Evoking the lost world of a childhood 'below stairs', Linder's touching memoir describes how her life changed as Britain headed towards war.After the family moved to a Marylebone tenement, her father sought work in London restaurants whilst battling personal demons. Meanwhile Linder's aunt was nanny to a high-ranking member of the British Union of Fascists as they grew in influence.In a photorealistic and immensely charming narrative reminiscent of Patrick Hamilton, Linder evokes the sights and smells of prewar London - and of lonely Cornwall, to where she was unhappily evacuated - in a way that will appeal to fans of Downton Abbey. A unique personal account of a tumultuous time.

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THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE NETFLIX FILM THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT. 'Secret missions, brazen deceptions and thrilling, clandestine operations - Red Sea Spies has it all. But it has something more important, too - a genuine human mission that made a difference.' David Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy'[A] thrilling and meticulous account.' The TimesIn the early 1980s on a remote part of the Sudanese coast, a new luxury holiday resort opened for business. Catering for divers, it attracted guests from around the world. Little did the holidaymakers know that the staff were undercover spies, working for the Mossad - the Israeli secret service. Providing a front for covert night-time activities, the holiday village allowed the agents to carry out an operation unlike any seen before. What began with one cryptic message pleading for help, turned into the secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews who had been languishing in refugee camps, and the spiriting of them to Israel. Written in collaboration with operatives involved in the mission, endorsed as the definitive account and including an afterword from the commander who went on to become the head of the Mossad, this is the complete, never-before-heard, gripping tale of a top-secret and often hazardous operation.'Red Sea Spies is what really happened. There is none of the Hollywood colouring-in, and yet the book is all the more vivid for it ... part thriller, part dark comedy, all true ... Berg brings out the native drama in an improbable story of a clandestine homecoming.' Spectator

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'[This] crisply succinct, beautifully synthesized study brings to life Tesla, his achievements and failures...and the hopeful thrum of an era before world wars.' - NatureNikola Tesla is one of the most enigmatic, curious and controversial figures in the history of science. An electrical pioneer as influential in his own way as Thomas Edison, he embodied the aspirations and paradoxes of an age of innovation that seemed to have the future firmly in its grasp. In an era that saw the spread of power networks and wireless telegraphy, the discovery of X-rays, and the birth of powered flight, Tesla made himself synonymous with the electrical future under construction but opinion was often divided as to whether he was a visionary, a charlatan, or a fool. Iwan Rhys Morus examines Tesla's life in the context of the extraordinary times in which he lived and worked, colourfully evoking an age in which anything seemed possible, from capturing the full energy of Niagara to communicating with Mars.Shattering the myth of the 'man out of time', Morus demonstrates that Tesla was in all ways a product of his era, and shows how the popular image of the inventor-as-maverick-outsider was deliberately crafted by Tesla - establishing an archetype that still resonates today.

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** Featured as a Guardian Long Read **'[A] fast-paced, myth busting exposé' Max Blumenthal, author of The Management of Savagery'Contentious... forceful... salutary' The New YorkerEVERYTHING WE HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE INTERNET IS A MARKETING PLOY.As the Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown, private corporations consider it their right to use our data (and by extension, us) which ever way they see fit. Tempted by their appealing organisational and diagnostic tools, we have allowed private internet corporations access to the most intimate corners of our lives.But the internet was developed, from the outset, as a weapon.Looking at the hidden origins of many internet corporations and platforms, Levine shows that this is a function, not a bug of the online experience. Conceived as a surveillance tool by ARPA to control insurgents in the Vietnam War, the internet is now essential to our lives. This book investigates the troubling and unavoidable truth of its history and the unfathomable power of the corporations who now more or less own it.Without this book, your picture of contemporary society will be missing an essential piece of the puzzle.'A masterful job of research and reporting about the military origins of the 'world wide web' and how its essential nature has not changed in the years since its creation during the Cold War.' - Tim Shorrock, author of Spies For Hire

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Based on practical, clinically proven, and tried-and-testedapproaches, A PracticalGuide to Family Psychologylooks at fifteen major problems that are typicallyencountered by families. A Practical Guide to FamilyPsychology provides workable solutions based on experiences that crosscultural boundaries. This Practical Guide is a valuable resource to help childcarers - from single parents to grandparents - deal with the difficulties thatcan arise when bringing up a child.

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'Fee writes with stunning honesty ... utterly breathtaking' - BustleA beautiful memoir from an exciting young writer, Meg Fee, on finding her way in New York City. Full of the dramas and quiet moments that make up a life, told with humour, heart, and hope. In Places I Stopped on the Way Home, Meg Fee plots a decade of her life in New York City - from falling in love at the Lincoln Center to escaping the roommate (and bedbugs) from hell on Thompson Street, chasing false promises on 66th Street and the wrong men everywhere, and finding true friendships over glasses of wine in Harlem and Greenwich Village. Weaving together her joys and sorrows, expectations and uncertainties, aspirations and realities, the result is an exhilarating collection of essays about love and friendship, failure and suffering, and above all hope. Join Meg on her heart-wrenching journey, as she cuts the difficult path to finding herself and finding home.

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For me it begins in such an ordinary way ... with a gorilla, a blonde,and a gun ...Mid- 20th century Hollywood; 'RaymondChandler's LA before Pilates and cell phones'. Clancy Sigal (who would later bethe inspiration for Doris Lessing's 'Saul Green') is just back fromfighting in the Second World War and an abortive solo attempt to assassinate HermannGoering at the Nurenburg trials. Charming his way into a job as anagent with the Sam Jaffe agency, Sigal plunges into a chaotic Hollywood peopled by fastwomen, washed-up screenwriters, wily directors, and starstruck FBI agentstrailing 'subversives'. He parties with the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, TonyCurtis and an anxious Peter Lorre, who becomes a drinking buddy.But this is the era of the Hollywood Blacklistand Sigal, like many of his contemporaries, is subpoenaed to testify before theHUAC. Will he give up the list of nine names, burning a hole in his pocket, tosave his own skin? Hilarious, touching, intimate and revealing: Sigal'smemoir reads like a forgotten hardboiled detective novel and has all the makings of aninstant classic.

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Under the Lights and in the Dark: Untold Stories of Women's Soccer takes an unprecedented look inside the lives of professional football players around the world - from precarious positions in underfunded teams and leagues, to sold-out stadiums and bright lights. Award-winning filmmaker and journalist Gwendolyn Oxenham tells the stories of the phenoms, underdogs, and nobodies - players willing to follow the game wherever it takes them. Under the Lights and in the Dark takes us inside the world of women's soccer, following players across the globe, from Portland Thorns star Allie Long, who trains in an underground men's league in New York City; to English national Fara Williams, who hid her homelessness from her teammates while playing for the English national team. Oxenham takes us to Voronezh, Russia, where players battle more than just snowy pitches in pursuing their dream of playing pro, and to a refugee camp in Denmark, where Nadia Nadim, now a Danish international star, honed her skills after her family fled from the Taliban.Whether you're a newcomer to the sport or a die-hard fan, this is an inspiring book about stars' beginnings and adventures, struggles and hardship, and, above all, the time-honored romance of the game.

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On 1 September 2015, Anthony Martial completed his transfer from Monaco to Manchester United. At just 19 years of age, the fee of £36m (potentially rising to £58m) made the France international the most expensive teenager of all time.Eyebrows were raised at the landmark fee but a goal against Liverpool in his first game helped get the supporters onside, while a number of key strikes in his debut season soon won over the critics as he became integral to Manchester United's attack.Renowned sports biographers Luca Caioli and Cyril Collot talk to coaches, teammates and even Martial himself, to provide an unrivalled behind-the-scenes look at the life of the teenage superstar.

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'Whoever The Coquette is, she's the voice of reason for these crazy times' Maria Alyokhina, Pussy RiotDear Coquette unleashes the brutal truth about life, love, dating, sex and everything in between.For nearly a decade, The Coquette has delivered wisdom with a harsh wit and devastating elegance to the hundreds of thousands of readers who know where to come for her practical, no-nonsense advice.Rising forth from the glitter and madness of the L.A. party scene, this mysterious online oracle has evolved into one of the most insightful and conscientious voices of her generation, and Dear Coquette is consistently rated amongst the funniest and most beloved blogs on the net by publications ranging from The Guardian to The Huffington Post.Here, for the first time between hard covers, is the very best of Dear Coquette.

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Sociology is interested in the ways people shape the society they live in, and the ways society shapes them. Simply, it is the study of what modern society is and how it functions. In the series' inimitable style, Introducing Sociology traces the origins of sociology from industrialization, revolution and the Enlightenment through to globalization, neoliberalism and the fear of nationalism - introducing you to key thinkers, movements and concepts along the way. You will develop insight into the world around you, as you engage your 'sociological imagination' and explore studies of the city, theories of power and knowledge, concepts of national, racial and sexual identity, and much more.

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On 14 September 2015, after 50 years of searching, gravitational waves were detected for the first time and astronomy changed for ever.Until then, investigation of the universe had depended on electromagnetic radiation: visible light, radio, X-rays and the rest. But gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of space and time - are unrelenting, passing through barriers that stop light dead.At the two 4-kilometre long LIGO observatories in the US, scientists developed incredibly sensitive detectors, capable of spotting a movement 100 times smaller than the nucleus of an atom. In 2015 they spotted the ripples produced by two black holes spiralling into each other, setting spacetime quivering.This was the first time black holes had ever been directly detected - and it promises far more for the future of astronomy. Brian Clegg presents a compelling story of human technical endeavour and a new, powerful path to understand the workings of the universe.

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Whether you're on the Orient Express or the Inverness to Wick and Thurso route traversing some of the wildest country in Britain, train travel affords a vision of the world like no other.From the modest line through North Yorkshire's Esk Valley to the Trans-Siberian; from a narrow-gauge web of lines in the Harz Mountains to the coast-tocoast journey through the mountains of Corsica, acclaimed travel writer Anthony Lambert presents an unmissable selection for any traveller who loves the journey as much as the destination.Here is a carefully chosen, wide-ranging selection of train journeys with character, sublime scenery and a real sense of history.

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FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON.'Reading The Horologicon in one sitting is very tempting' Roland White, Sunday Times.Mark Forsyth presents a delightfully eccentric day in the life of unusual, beautiful and forgotten English words.From uhtceare in the hours before dawn through to dream drumbles at bedtime, The Horologicon gives you the extraordinary lost words you never knew you needed.Wake up feeling rough? Then you're philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That's fudgelling (which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch). A Radio 4 Book of the Week, The Horologicon is an eye-opening, page-turning celebration of the English language at its most endearingly arcane.

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'Danny Goldberg is probably one of the purest, most reasonableguides you could ask for to 1967.' Ex-Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. 'Weaves together rollicking, rousing, wonderfully colourful anddisparate narratives to remind us how the energies and aspirations of thecounterculture were intertwined with protest and reform . mesmerising.' The NationIt wasthe year that saw the release of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts ClubBand, and of debut albums from the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix andJanis Joplin. The year of the Summer of Love and LSD; the Monterey Pop Festivaland Black Power; Muhammad Ali's conviction for draft avoidance and MartinLuther King Jr's public opposition to war in Vietnam.On its 50th anniversary, music business veteranDanny Goldberg analyses 1967, looking not only at the political influences, butalso the spiritual, musical and psychedelic movements that defined the era,providing a unique perspective on how and why its legacy lives on today.Exhaustively researched and informed byinterviews including Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary and Gil Scott-Heron, InSearch of the Lost Chord is the synthesis of a fascinating andcomplicated period in our social and countercultural history that was about somuch more than sex, drugs and rock n roll.

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Smell is the most emotional and evocative of our senses: it can bring back memories faster and with more immediacy than a photograph - so why is it so little understood? Armed with a hungry curiosity and a willingness to self-experiment, author Barney Shaw goes in search of the hidden meanings of smells. Using plain words to describe what he finds, he investigates the chemistry, psychology, history and future of this underappreciated sense.Journeying around boatyards, perfume shops and memories, Shaw opens your nose to the world, breaking down "chords" of smells into their component notes and through them revealing new ways of understanding the spaces through which we move. An investigation into the biology, psychology and history of smell, and a search for effective ways to put into words scents that we instantly relate to, but find strangely ineffable, THE SMELL OF FRESH RAIN includes a 200-entry thesaurus of succinct descriptions of common smells.

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101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your World is a book of uplifting tips on how to look after yourself and your world, from your personal relationships, to your working space and relationships, to society and the environment at large. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be all too easy to lose sight of what really matters to us, and to take others and our world for granted. Focusing on tiny changes, Ailbhe Malone encourages us to take it step by step - with ideas to nurture our friendships, reduce plastic waste and make ethical choices, and improve our online spaces and our broader social environment. Simple practical tips combine with fun illustrations to create a treasure trove of inspiration, positive encouragement and optimism.

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At a time when that 1960s notion of air travel as decadent and exceptional is experiencing an unexpected revival, this book ... could be the G&T in a plastic glass you need.' The SpectatorTravel writer Julia Cooke's exhilarating portrait of Pan Am stewardesses in the Mad Men era.Come Fly the World tells the story of the stewardesses who served on the iconic Pan American Airways between 1966 and 1975 - and of the unseen diplomatic role they played on the world stage.Alongside the glamour was real danger, as they flew soldiers to and from Vietnam and staffed Operation Babylift - the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon. Cooke's storytelling weaves together the true stories of women like Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few African American stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of a jet-set life.In the process, Cooke shows how the sexualized coffee-tea-or-me stereotype was at odds with the importance of what they did, and with the freedom, power and sisterhood they achieved.

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'Funny and sad and relatable and wise - Rachael Smith's Quarantine Comix are like the hug from a friend you didn't know you needed.' Chris Addison 'In a period where every day seemed the same, Rachael found a way to make every day different. A tiny, comforting light of understanding, humour and hope in a dark time.' Kieron Gillen, author and creator of The Wicked + The DivineAn award-winning graphic memoir of lockdown life, Quarantine Comix is a funny, tender, heartfelt and insightful look at isolation.Written and drawn every day during the 2020 lockdown and shared online with #QuarantineComix, 2020 Comedy Women in Print-shortlisted Rachael Smith's delightful comics helped people who were isolated all over the world to feel connected.At times laugh-out-loud funny, at others bitter-sweet, philosophical or downright silly, this collection of 200 drawings tells the story of one woman overcoming loneliness and self-doubt with exquisite, wry humour and raw honesty.During a time when many feel anxious and apart from loved ones, Quarantine Comix offers relief in shared experiences.Praise for Stand in Your Power, shortlisted for the 2020 Comedy Women in Print prize:'Funny, fierce, poignant and reaches the lonely inside us all' Helen Lederer'Rachael uses humour to address her mental health and she does that successfully.' Jen Brister, author of The Other Mother'The tone is self-deprecating - she takes a sad situation and creates an invitation to laugh at it.' Hannah Berry, UK Comics Laureate 2019-21'The execution is one to admire' Janet Ellis'An important subject turned into pages of visual pathos' Nicola Streeton, LDComic

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'Shearwater is sheer delight, a luminous portrait of a magical seabird which spans the watery globe' Daily Mail.'Charming and impassioned ... a rich tribute to an extraordinary bird.' Horatio Clare, author of A Single Swallow and Heavy Light.A very personal mix of memoir and natural history from the author of Liquid Gold.Ten weeks into its life, a Manx shearwater chick will emerge from its burrow and fly 8,000 miles from the west coast of the British Isles to the South Atlantic. It will be unlikely to touch land again for four years.Part memoir, part homage to wilderness, Shearwater traces the author's 50-year obsession with one of nature's supreme travellers. In the finest tradition of nature writing, Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Liquid Gold - described by Mary Colwell (Curlew Moon) as 'a book that ignites joy and warmth' - unpicks the science behind its incredible journey; and into the story of a year in the shearwater's life, he threads the inspirational influence of his Hebridean grandmother who instilled in him a love of wild places and wild animals.Full of lightly-worn knowledge, acute human observation and self-deprecating humour, Shearwater brings to life a truly mysterious and charismatic bird.

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'It's a paradox but this was one of the most chilling books I've read this year. It's the definitive guide to where we're heading' ANTHONY HOROWITZ'The Earth is already in a dangerous phase of heating. Many scientists admit privately to actually being "scared" by recent weather extremes. But the public doesn't like pessimism, so we environment journalists hint at future optimism. This book provides a more steely-eyed view on how we can cope with a hothouse world.' - ROGER HARRABIN, former BBC Environment Analyst'This accessible and authoritative book is a must-read for anyone who still thinks it could be OK to carry on as we are for a little bit longer, or that climate chaos might not affect them or their kids too badly.' MIKE BERNERS-LEE is a professor at Lancaster University, founder of Small World Consultancy and author of There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years'If you read just one book about the menace of climate breakdown, make it this one.' - TIM RADFORD, Climate News NetworkWe inhabit a planet in peril. Our once temperate world is locked on course to become a hothouse entirely of our own making.Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant's Guide provides a post-COP26 perspective on the climate emergency, acknowledging that it is now practically impossible to keep this side of the 1.5°C dangerous climate change guardrail. The upshot is that we can no longer dodge the arrival of disastrous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown that will come as a hammer blow to global society and economy.Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical and Climate Hazards, explains the science behind the climate crisis and for the first time presents a blunt but authentic picture of the sort of world our children will grow old in, and our grandchildren grow up in; a world that we catch only glimpses of in today's blistering heatwaves, calamitous wildfires and ruinous floods and droughts. Bleak though it is, the picture is one we must all face up to, if only to spur genuine action - even at this late stage - to stop a harrowing future becoming a truly cataclysmic one.

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A NEW, FULLY ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ANDREW MAY'S ILLUMINATING GUIDE TO LIFE NOT ON EARTHThe possibility that alien life exists in the universe is among the most profound of human conjectures, which today is being investigated not just by science-fiction writers but by scientists.Astrobiology presents an expert guide to this compelling field of science. It shows how the tell- tale signatures of life on Earth might hold the key to detecting life beyond our planet; explores the many planets beyond our Solar System discovered by NASA's Kepler and TESS missions; and explains alien- hunting touchstones such as Fermi's Paradox, the Drake Equation, and the 'Wow' signal.As NASA's rovers burrow into Mars and its probes peer ever further into the cosmos, this illustrated edition combines deep space images with infographics to cast a scientific eye over the most significant of scientific treasure hunts.

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'An ideal introduction [to Stephen Hawking]' - Independent 'Astonishingly comprehensive - clearer than Hawking himself' - Focus Stephen Hawking was a world-famous physicist with a cameo in The Simpsons on his CV, but outside of his academic field his work was little understood. To the public he was a tragic figure - a brilliant scientist and author of the 9 million-copy-selling A Brief History of Time, and yet spent the majority of his life confined to a wheelchair and almost completely paralysed. Hawking's major contribution to science was to integrate the two great theories of 20th-century physics: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate's brilliant graphic guide explores Hawking's life, the evolution of his work from his days as a student, and his breathtaking discoveries about where these fundamental laws break down or overlap, such as on the edge of a Black Hole or at the origin of the Universe itself.

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Illustrated guide to the crucial Italian philosopher and author of The Prince. 'Machiavellian' is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism. Machiavelli's classic book on statecraft, The Prince, published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of 'the end justifies the means', or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government? Machiavelli was a loyal servant of the Florentine republic. His opposition to Medici despotism led him to torture on the rack and exile, and yet he chose as his model for the Prince the most notorious tyrant, Cesare Borgia. Introducing Machiavelli traces the colourful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist. Machiavelli is seen as central to the postmodern debate on Civil Society. This book brings the creative turbulence of Renaissance Italy to life, and presents a compelling portrait of a key figure of European political history.

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Our knowledge comes primarily from experience - what our senses tell us. But is experience really what it seems?The experimental breakthroughs in 17th-century science of Kepler, Galileo and Newton informed the great British empiricist tradition, which accepts a 'common-sense' view of the world - and yet concludes that all we can ever know are 'ideas'.In Introducing Empiricism: A Graphic Guide, Dave Robinson - with the aid of Bill Mayblin's brilliant illustrations - outlines the arguments of Locke, Berkeley, Hume, J.S. Mill, Bertrand Russell and the last British empiricist, A.J. Ayer. They also explore criticisms of empiricism in the work of Kant, Wittgenstein, Karl Popper and others, providing a unique overview of this compelling area of philosophy.

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