Search results for ""penguin books""

'I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room'Cynical Los Angeles Private Investigator Philip Marlowe always falls for a sob story. Eight years ago Moose Malloy and cute little redhead Velma were getting married - until Malloy was framed for armed robbery. Now he's out and he wants Velma back. Marlowe meets Malloy one hot day in Hollywood and, out of the generosity of his jaded heart, agrees to help. Dragged from one smoky bar to another, Marlowe's search for Velma turns up plenty of gangsters with a nasty habit of shooting first and talking later. And soon what started as a search for a missing person becomes a matter of life and death . . .Farewell, My Lovely is Raymond Chandler's second novel featuring laconic PI Philip Marlowe.'Chandler grips the mind from the first sentence' Daily Telegraph 'One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times'Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes' Anthony BurgessDiscover the newest addition to the inimitable Philip Marlowe series - Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne - out 6 September 2018 in hardback and ebook from Hogarth.

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Journalist, maverick, rebel and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson offers another novel of American counterculture in Hell's Angels, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range.'A phalanx of motorcycles came roaring over the hill from the west... the noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Even knowing the Angels I couldn't quite handle what I was seeing. It was like Genghis Khan, Morgan's Raiders, the Wild One and the Rape of Nanking all at once.'In September, 1964 a cavalcade of motorbikes ripped through the city of Monterey, California. It was a trip destined to make Hell's Angels household names across America, infamous for their violent, drunken rampages and feared for the destruction left in their wake. Enter Hunter S. Thompson, the master of counter-culture journalism who alone had the ability and stature to ride with the Angels on their terms. In this brilliant and hair-raising expose, he journeys with the last outlaws of the American frontier.A mixture of journalism, story-telling and sheer bravado, Hell's Angels is Hunter S. Thompson at full throttle.'Excellent documentary non-fiction' Time Out'The maverick voice of American counterculture' Guardian'There are only two adjectives writers care about any more - "brilliant" and "outrageous" - and Hunter has a freehold on both of them' Tom Wolfe'The book that made Thompson's name' LoadedHunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1937. He began his writing career as a sports columnist in Florida and went on to work on newspapers and magazines in New York, San Juan and Rio de Janeiro. His articles appeared in Esquire, Rolling Stone magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of a number of books, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, The Great Shark Hunt, Generation of Swine, The Curse of Lono, Songs of the Doomed, Better Than Sex, The Proud Highway and The Rum Diary. Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005.

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'The unhappiness that I need and long for . . . is of the kind that will let me suffer with eagerness and die with lust. That is the unhappiness, or happiness, that I am waiting for.'Alienated from society, Harry Haller is the Steppenwolf, wild, strange and shy. His despair and desire for death draw him into an enchanted, Faust-like underworld. Through a series of shadowy encounters, romantic, freakish and savage by turn, Haller begins to rediscover the lost dreams of his youth.Adopted by the Sixties counterculture, Steppenwolf captured the mood of a disaffected generation that was beginning to question everything.

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The Catcher in Rye is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues (in conventional terms, there is hardly any plot at all). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation, it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally, as though you too have seen through the pretences of the American Dream and are growing up unable to see the point of living in, or contributing to, the society around you.Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood, it deals with society, love, loss, and expectations without ever falling into the clutch of a cliche.

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A sunny, brilliantly witty comedy of manners, this edition of A Room with a View is part of the Penguin Essentials collection and features beautiful cover art by Chris Silas Neal'You love the boy body and soul, plainly, directly, as he loves you . . .' Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance.Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Pertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Victorian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?'He says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and we can go on reading Forster indefinitely' The Times'I loved it. My first intimation of the possibilities of fiction' Zadie Smith

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER In his ground-breaking new book, Sathnam Sanghera traces the legacies of British empire around the world. Beautifully written, and not just a welcome corrective but a book for our times. This is essential reading' Peter FrankopanAn absolute masterpiece' James O'BrienDeeply poignant . . . riveting . . . brave, painful, urgent and timely' Jerry Brotton, Financial Times_____________________________________________________2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies.The empire''s influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries, to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, to the origins of international law. Yet Britain''s idea of its imperial history and the world''s experience of it are two very different t

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''The most exciting book I have ever read ... a feverish, fascinating novel'' Antony Beevor, Sunday Telegraph''I can''t take any more of your revolting merciful kindness!''Who would have thought that the great military hero Captain Hofmiller - that living monument to his own courage - would have anything burdening his soul? But when he reveals his story, it is not one of bravery but tragedy: a simple blunder at a dance from which disaster grows, ruining lives with his weak, foolish pity...Beware of Pity is Stefan Zweig''s greatest novel, fiercely capturing human emotions in all their subtleties and extremes - while Hofmiller, his unforgettable, naïve creation, misunderstands everything, resulting in his downfall.Translated by Jonathan Katz. Previously published as Impatience of the Heart.

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The most provocative philosopher of our times returns with a rousing and counterintuitive analysis of our global predicamentWe hear all the time that it's five minutes to global doomsday, so now is our last chance to avert disaster. But what if the only way to prevent a catastrophe is to assume that it has already happened - that we're already five minutes past zero hour?Why do we seem unable to avert our course to self-destruction? Too Late to Awaken sees Slavoj Žižek deliver his most forceful, hopeful account of our discontents yet. Surveying the interlocking crises we currently face - global warming, war, famine, disease - he points us towards the radical, emancipatory politics that we need in order to halt our drift towards disaster.Pithy, urgent and witty, Žižek's diagnosis reveals our current geopolitical nightmare in a startling new light, and shows why, in order to change our future, we must reimagine our past.

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**An instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller!**The real UK edition of the menopause health plan that is taking the US by storm and already helped 100,000 women lose stubborn weight and tame their symptoms.When Dr Mary Claire Haver hit the perimenopause, she was shocked at the severity of her symptoms. She had always lived a very healthy lifestyle, but the weight seemed to be piling on and no diet or fitness regime could shift it.Exhausted and miserable, she decided to research her own solutions and was able to transform her health with three principles which are now central to The Galveston Diet:Fuel Refocus - Alter the ratio of healthy fats, lean protein, and quality carbohydrates to efficiently burn fat.Intermittent Fasting - Eat within a flexible 8-hour eating window to draw energy from stored fat.Anti-inflammatory Food - Eat more foods like leafy greens, olive oil, berries, nuts, and tomatoes.By combining these key principles Dr Haver has created a nutritional plan that finally makes it possible to lose stubborn weight and tame everyday symptoms from brain fog to insomnia.The first menopause diet designed by a woman for women, this is a kind, honest and science-backed plan with recipes, practical tips and shopping lists so that, no matter your lifestyle, you can finally regain control of your health and feel like YOU again.Reviews from women who have tried The Galveston Diet: 'When I found The Galveston Diet, I wasn't eating unhealthy food; I was just not eating the right foods. I have now lost 42+ pounds! Thank you, Dr. Haver, for helping me find me' Janice S'I cannot believe the changes I've seen since doing The Galveston Diet. I have lost 55lbs and feel amazing. I'm sleeping better. I no longer have any back pain and have more energy now than I did in my 30's' Sandra S'In two months, I have lost 13 pounds. My husband has lost 14 pounds. We feel so much better, and our clothes fit like they haven't fit in many, many months! That stubborn "middle expansion" is finally reversing' Suzanne J'I've never been obese but just could not get off the extra belly weight after my hysterectomy at 32 years old. I'm now 62 and feel better than I've ever felt about my body' Lesia M

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*The #1 Sunday Times bestseller*''Explosive and beautifully told these truths can set us free'' - Danny Dorling''This book is dynamite shining a spotlight on the evils of neoliberalism, shattering the myth that there is no alternative', and laying the foundations for a new politics'' - Caroline LucasHow can you fight something if you don't know it exists? We live under an ideology that preys on every aspect of our lives: our education and our jobs; our healthcare and our leisure; our relationships and our mental wellbeing; the planet we inhabit the very air we breathe. So pervasive has it become that, for most people, it has no name. It seems unavoidable, like a natural law.But trace it back to its roots, and we discover that it is neither inevitable nor immutable. It was conceived, propagated, and then concealed by the powerful few. Our task is to bring it into the lightand to

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The latest novel in the smash-hit Plated Prisoners by Sunday Times bestselling author Raven Kennedy'Find me in another life. Find me in them all' It all ends now. . . But Every end is also a beginning. I was supposed to die. If it weren’t for Slade, I would have. But he tore a hole the world I know and I went through it. To Annwyn. To home. Annwyn is the realm of the fae, a magical place full of beauty and danger. Here, I am known as Lyäri Ulvêre – the golden one gone. And there are people in this world who want to keep me that way. But I am not that girl in the gilded cage anymore, and I won’t be used again. Nor stopped on my way back to Slade. I am my own woman. And I will find him. In this world, or the next.'An emotional rollercoaster of a book that brings vivid and layered characters into a magical realm. The world building and pace is intricate and fast, this is a book you will race through' Glamour Praise for The Plated Prisoner Series 'Raven writes with a magic that comes to life on the page. Every single word gleams like gold' Beck Michaels, author of Divine Blood 'This is one of those series that started off phenomenal, and only gets better with every subsequent book' Laura Thalassa, author of The Bargainer Series ‘An astonishing world with captivating characters and a story you won't be able to put down' Ivy Asher, author of The Osseous Chronicles and The Lost Sentinel Series 'This series is amazing and I can't recommend it enough.' Kay Thatcher, author of Prince of Blades 'TEN GILDED STARS! Remarkably original. . . gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous' Olivia Wildenstein 'An emotional rollercoaster' Elizabeth Brown, author of Blood Crown*Gleam by Raven Kennedy featured on The Sunday Times bestseller list May 2023*

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Sometimes you need to clash to make an impact.Bianca Bridge is like an eyeshadow palette. She's a vibrant kaleidoscope of big personality and even bigger dreams, with a tendency towards messiness and fallout. Case in point: ruining her career prospects and hopes of becoming a writer by having an affair with a married government minister.Fiercely confident and uncompromising, her tyrannical new boss Obadiah Cortland - makeup artist and legend in Trinidad's beauty scene - is like a statement red lipstick. 'The God of Good Looks' is a facade he has perfected over years of slipping through the island's rigid class barriers, and he knows as well as Bianca that the tiniest smudge can ruin your image.When Bianca's ex threatens both their futures, this clashing combination must find a way to work together to save everything they care about. But might they actually bring out the best in each other?Sparkling, big-hearted and life-affirming, The God of Good Looks is a story about prejudice and pride, the masks we wear and who we can become if we dare to take them off.-----'Phenomenal! A book worthy of a standing ovation. I will never forget how this novel made me feel' LIZZIE DAMILOLA BLACKBURN, author of Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?'A dazzling delight ... I didn't want it to end!' COCO MELLORS, author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein'A glittering will-they, won't-they Bridget Jones re-boot' NIKKI MAY, author of Wahala

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'A heartbreaking exploration of a family fractured by civil war. This beautiful, nuanced novel follows a young doctor caught within conflicting ideologies as she tries to save lives. I couldn't put this book down' BRIT BENNETT, bestselling author of THE VANISHING HALF Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war tears through her hometown of Jaffna, her dream takes her on a different path as she sees those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. Desperate to act, she must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm?"With immense compassion and deep moral complexity, V. V. Ganeshananthan brings us an achingly moving portrait of individual and societal grief. "I want you to understand," the narrator of BROTHERLESS NIGHT insists, and by the end of this blazingly brilliant novel, we do: that in a world full of turmoil, human connections and shared stories can teach us how - and as importantly, why - to survive" CELESTE NG, bestselling author of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE"Stunningly great" Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of ROMANTIC COMEDY, via Twitter'Ganeshananthan is a superb writer...I wept at many points in this novel and I also wept when it was over' Sunday Times

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'A sparkling page-turner full of wit, original insight and unassuming erudition.' Katja Hoyer, the GuardianDemocracy is a living, breathing thing and Erica Benner has spent a lifetime thinking about the role ordinary citizens play in keeping it alive: from her childhood in post-war Japan, where democracy was imposed on a defeated country, to working in post-communist Poland, with its sudden gaps of wealth and security. This book draws on her experiences and the deep history of self-ruling peoples – going back to ancient Greece, the French revolution and Renaissance Florence – to rethink some of the toughest questions that we face today.What do democratic ideals of equality mean in a world obsessed with competition, wealth, and greatness? How can we hold the powerful to account? Can we find enough common ground to keep sharing democratic power in the future? Challenging well-worn myths of heroic triumph over tyranny, Benner reveals the inescapable vulnerabilities of people power, inviting us to consider why democracy is worth fighting for and the role each of us must play.

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERA CAPTIVATING TALE THAT CHARTS THE CONTROVERSIAL LIFE AND RISE TO POWER OF SEMIRAMIS, THE ONLY FEMALE RULER OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE A stirring, addictive and intoxicating tale. . . Casati's Babylonia has cemented her as one of the most skilled and exciting writers of historical fiction' BEA FITZGERALD, author of GIRL, GODDESS, QUEEN''An astounding achievement, one of the most vivid, powerful works of historical fiction I have ever read. . . I was utterly swept up in the world of this novel'' ELODIE HARPER, author of THE WOLF DEN----There are whispers of her fame, in the land long since turned to dust. The Queen who rose from nothing and changed everything . . .Ancient Assyria, 9th century BC.An orphan is raised on the outskirts of a brutal empire. Heir to a tragic prophecy, Semiramis dreams of wielding power and escaping her destiny.

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THE NO. 5 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERDISCOVER THE LIFE-CHANGING NEW BOOK FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MANIFEST'An empowering and clear read, filled with helpful exercises, the book explores everything from your inner child to daily rituals, stepping outside your comfort zone and how to stop caring about what people think' VOGUE'Roxie is the voice manifestation needs' Jay Shetty'The Queen of Manifesting' Financial Times'The face of manifesting in Britain' The Times'The A-list's new favourite manifester' Sunday Times Style'THE MILLENNIAL ANSWER TO THE SECRET' VOGUE__________Manifest showed you it's possible to change your life. Now Manifest: Dive Deeper will show you every step you need to take to get there.In this hotly-demanded follow-up, you will discover exactly how to unlock your limitless potential, create lasting, transformative change, and turn your dreams into a reality.Expanding your understanding of each of the unique seven steps to manifestation, Roxie Nafousi provides practical techniques to teach you how to harness your potential and confidently step into your power.Each chapter is filled with simple and inspiring exercises designed to cultivate self-awareness, reflection and growth, empowering your manifesting process even more.Make 2023 the year your life truly begins . . .__________'Looking to live more intentionally? Put Manifest: Dive Deeper on your radar' HELLO!'Manifesting expert Roxie Nafousi is back . . . This deeper dive into the principles and practice of manifestation seeks to expand your understanding of the seven steps on a journey to lasting transformative change' SUNDAY EXPRESS'Where Nafousi's first book was an entry into the manifesting practice, Dive Deeper focuses more closely on helping the reader with their self-belief. It follows the same seven-steps as Manifest, but approaches them from a more introspective angle, and provides more exercises, advice, and personal anecdotes from Nafousi's own manifesting journey.' - COSMOPOLITANPRAISE FOR MANIFEST'The essential guide to anyone and everyone wanting to feel more empowered' Glamour'A phenomenon' Grazia'A roadmap for a more positive way of life' Financial Times'The book you're seeing all over your Instagram feed' RedNumber 5 Sunday Times bestseller, March 2023

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''Thank God for Kate and this book'' Dawn French ''Kate''s natural warmth, wit and wisdom shines through every page'' Sara Cox *****Hello there, come on in.Firstly, I know what you''re thinking, ''I''m not religious so I''m not sure if this is for me'' but, the truth is, we can all benefit from having a little faith and it will look different to each of us. Granted, some of the stories about a man who can walk on water and come back from the dead are anything but normal, but the point isn''t about what we believe in, it''s about believing in something. It''s what humans have always done, it''s in our DNA, because having faith in something makes us feel connected. It makes us feel like we matter. Faith means we are in it together, that we believe we will be OK.So, yes, this book is about faith, but it''s also about being human, because believing in things is just part of our existence. Wh

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'One of the most important thinkers alive' The Times'Britain's best philosopher' The TelegraphEver since its publication in 1651, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan has unsettled and challenged how we understand the world. Condemned and vilified by each new generation, Hobbes' cold political vision continues to see through any number of political and ethical vanities.In his wonderfully stimulating book The New Leviathans, John Gray allows us to understand the world of the 2020s with all its contradictions, moral horrors and disappointments through a new reading of Hobbes' classic work. The collapse of the USSR ushered in an era of near-apoplectic triumphalism in the West: a genuine belief that a rational, liberal, well-managed future now awaited humankind and that tyranny, nationalism and unreason lay in the past. Since then, so many terrible events have occurred and so many poisonous ideas flourished, and yet still our liberal certainties treat them as aberrations which will somehow dissolve away. Hobbes would not be so confident.Filled with fascinating and challenging perceptions, The New Leviathans is a powerful meditation on historical and current folly. As a species we always seem to be struggling to face the reality of base and delusive human instincts. Might a more self-aware, realistic and disabused ethics help us all?

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The greatest hero of the Second World War . . . is a girl you've never heard ofThe blazing debut novel based on the unsung true story of Hannie Schaft, a young-woman-turned-Dutch-Resistance-fighter in Nazi-occupied Netherlands'Inspiring, empowering, and timely, compellingly detailed and impressively researched, but better still, it's an immersive story of a terrifying warren of history through which our guide is the sort of hero we all need right now: relatable and resolute and absolutely right' Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS'An intriguing story that keeps you captivated till the end. A true hero!' 5***** READER REVIEW __________1940, Amsterdam.You're nineteen years old. The war has stolen your future and your country is under siege. The people you love are no longer safe.Will you stand aside as the menace of Nazi evil tightens its grip on your homeland? Or do you unleash your fury, joining forces with your enemies' enemies, plotting to strike?Because if not you, then who?You're drawn deep into a web of plots, disguises and assassinations. The Resistance trained you for this. You flash your enemies a smile and beckon them closer.Little do they know you've grown used to the weight of a gun in your hand.Soon, they will all know your name . . .__________A tale of formidable defiance told through the eyes of a young heroine so notorious that Hitler himself personally ordered for her capture. Buzzy Jackson's debut is an unputdownable novel of love, loyalty, and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested. 'The Girl with the Red Hair brings Hannie alive and I finished it in almost one gulp! What an amazing, inspiring, true-life hero she was . . . An engrossing read' Gwen Strauss, author of THE NINE'An inspiring book with an immense amount of research. One of those books that will be with me for a long time' 5***** READER REVIEW'A mixture of emotions, from feeling hopeful to a pit of your stomach fear, from heart-warming to heartbreaking. A book I want on my bookshelf to pass down the generations' 5***** READER REVIEW

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Mikhail Bulgakov's devilish salute to artistic freedom, now in a beautiful clothbound edition'Bulgakov is one of the greatest Russian writers, perhaps the greatest' IndependentWritten in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign, The Master and Margarita became an overnight literary phenomenon when it was finally published it, signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere. Bulgakov's carnivalesque satire of Soviet life describes how the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow one Spring afternoon. Brimming with magic and incident, it is full of imaginary, historical, terrifying and wonderful characters, from witches, poets and Biblical tyrants to the beautiful, courageous Margarita, who will do anything to save the imprisoned writer she loves. Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky with an Introduction by Richard Pevear

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A new selection of foundational works from the influential philosopher who developed the theory of mimetic desireWhy do humans have such a remarkable capacity for conflict? From ancient foundational myths to the modern era, the visionary thinker Rene Girard identified the constant, competing desires at the heart of our existence - desires that we copy from others, igniting a contagious violence. This remarkable and accessible new selection of Girard's work shows him as a writer for our times, as he ranges over human imitation and rivalry, herd behaviour, scapegoating and how our violent longings play out in stories, from Shakespeare to religion. 'The explosion of social media, the resurgence of populism, and the increasing virulence of reciprocal violence all suggest that the contemporary world is becoming more and more recognizably "Girardian" in its behaviour' The New York Review of BooksEdited with an Introduction by Cynthia L. Haven

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'The perfect book for a cold winter’s night...an immersive gothic tale, dark and mysterious. Truly haunting!' ANITA FRANK 'An atmospheric, eerie read’ PRIMA‘A chilling and atmospheric tale…you are drawn into a haunting mystery that will keep you guessing’ Yours Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . . When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her. She is mistaken . . . Edward's sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers - claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited. At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, an eerie almost haunting feeling takes over her. What exactly happened to Edward's first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed? And should Annie be watching for signs from the dead - or rather is she the one being watched? SET ON THE YORKSHIRE MOORS IN THE 1800S, THE BLACK FEATHERS IS A GHOSTLY TALE OF MAGIC AND WICKEDNESS. 'Reminiscent of Jane Eyre and The Silent Companions... Spooky, twisty, with a surprisingly emotional pay off' KATE COLLINS 'Looking for an atmospheric read to while away the autumn nights? This Gothic ghost story delivers intrigue and suspense in spades' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Chilling, haunting and incredibly moving' BARBARA COPPERTHWAITE 'With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca...a spine-tingling ghost story' IRIS COSTELLO‘If Halloween whets your appetite for Victorian Gothic, the author of The Whistling delivers once again.’ – Saga ‘A chilling gothic thriller’ – Woman’s Own Praise for THE WHISTLING 'Wonderfully atmospheric, genuinely eerie' GUARDIAN 'A wicked twist . . . brilliant, scary, clever' 5***** READER REVIEW 'Gripping, chilling and very, very satisfying' DAILY MAIL

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Give your mind the one thing it needs in 2024 with the book everyone is STILL talking about, from clinical psychologist and TikTok sensation Dr Julie SmithTHE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Sound wisdom, easy to gulp down. I'm sure this book is already helping lots of people. Great work, Dr Julie' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of REASONS TO STAY ALIVE'A toolkit of deceptively simple strategies for life's troubles. Everyone could benefit from the wisdom of Dr Smith' i 'BEST NON-FICTION BOOKS OF 2022''Brilliant. Bite-size. Easy to understand. Easy to flick through. It's like a reference to how you feel' Phillip Schofield on ITV's THIS MORNING'Julie Smith is the psychology teacher you wish you'd had at school' EVENING STANDARD'This book is a goldmine. I truly treat it like a handbook now' STYLIST'It's real, it's authentic . . . Very practical and very, very helpful' LORRAINE KELLYAS FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER, STYLIST, EVENING STANDARD, WOMEN'S HEALTH, MARIE CLAIRE AND GRAZIA________Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith shares all the skills you need to get through life's ups and downs.Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way.Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help with . . .- Managing anxiety- Dealing with criticism- Battling low mood- Building self-confidence- Finding motivation- Learning to forgive yourselfThis book tackles the everyday issues that affect us all and offers easy, practical solutions that might just change your life.________'Sound, therapeutic wisdom that is easy to gulp down. Full of principles and advice that work and comfort whether you are in a very bad situation or an everyday worrying one. I'm sure this book is already helping lots of people. Great work, Dr Julie' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of REASONS TO STAY ALIVE'I'm blown away by her ability to communicate difficult ideas with ease, simplicity and practicality. Amazing. Go and buy it now!' Jay Shetty'Relatable, real and easy to digest . . . As if your wise best friend is chatting to you. An essential mental-health bible for adults and teenagers' YOU Magazine'If you want to feel like you have a therapist sitting across from you, empowering you with how to be your best self, this book is for you!' Nicole LePera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work'Full of sound, helpful advice with life skills, from building confidence to managing stress' Sunday Times'Smart, insightful, and warm. Dr Julie is both the expert and wise friend we all need' Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and co-host of the 'Dear Therapists' podcastNumber 1 Sunday Times Bestseller, September 2022

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A richly illustrated book in which leading cultural critics, authors, and academics reflect on the radical achievement and innovation of Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Maus'The most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust' Wall Street Journal___________________________________________________________________________It is hard to overstate Art Spiegelman's effect on postwar American culture. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is one of our most influential contemporary artists, and his masterpiece Maus has shaped the fields of literature, history, and art. Collecting responses to the work that confirm its unique and terrain-shifting status, Maus Now is a new collection of essays that sees writers such as Philip Pullman, Robert Storr, Ruth Franklin, and others approaching the complexity of Maus from a wide range of viewpoints and traditions.Offering translations of important French, Hebrew, and German essays on Maus for the first time, this collection edited by American literary scholar Hillary Chute - an expert on comics and graphic narratives - assembles the world's best writing on this classic work of graphic testimony.___________________________________________________________________________'The first masterpiece in comic book history' The New Yorker on Maus'No summary can do justice to Spiegelman's narrative skill' Adam Gopnik on Maus'Like all great stories, it tells us more about ourselves than we could ever suspect' Philip Pullman on Maus

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AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERDiscover space as you've never seen it before, with these awe-inspiring, breathtakingly restored images of our first missions to the Moon'The next best thing to being there' Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 astronautIn a frozen vault in Houston sits the original NASA photographic film of the Apollo missions. For half a century, almost every image of the Moon landings publicly available was produced from a lower-quality copy of these originals.Now we can view them as never before. Expert image restorer Andy Saunders has taken newly available digital scans and, applying pain-staking care and cutting-edge enhancement techniques, he has created the highest quality Apollo photographs ever produced. Never-before-seen spacewalks and crystal-clear portraits of astronauts in their spacecraft, along with startling new visions of the Earth and the Moon, offer astounding new insight into one of our greatest endeavours. This is the definitive record of the Apollo missions and a mesmerizing, high definition journey into the unknown.

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Economics has the power to make the world a better, happier and safer place: this book shows you howOur world is in a mess. The challenges of climate change, inequality, hunger and a global pandemic mean our way of life seems more imperilled and society more divided than ever; but economics can help! From parenting to organ donation, housing to anti-social behaviour, economics provides the tools we need to fix the biggest issues of today. Far from being a means to predict the stock market or enrich the elite, economics provides a lens through which we can better understand how things work, design clever solutions and create the conditions in which we can all flourish. With a healthy dose of optimism, and packed with stories of economics in everyday situations, Erik Angner demonstrates the methods he and his fellow economists use to help improve our lives and the society in which we live. He shows us that economics can be a powerful force for good, awakening the possibility of a happier, more just and more sustainable world.

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THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE'A marvellous book . . . I just loved it all, and have a permanently marked-up, dog-eared copy on my shelf for the next generation' Tom Hanks'Furious and fascinating' The Times*****Looking for wonder and some reprieve from the everyday, Anna Funder slips into the pages of her hero George Orwell. As she watches him create his writing self, she tries to remember her own . . .When she uncovers his forgotten wife, it's a revelation. Eileen O'Shaughnessy's literary brilliance shaped Orwell's work and her practical nous saved his life. But why - and how - was she written out of the story?Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder recreates the Orwells' marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and WWII in London. As she rolls up the screen concealing Orwell's private life, she is led to question what it takes to be a writer - and what it is to be a wife.*****'A spellbinding achievement' FT'Brilliant' Claire Tomalin'Wonderful, unexpected and exciting' Antonia Fraser

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They say John Maynard Keynes called gold a 'barbarous relic'. They say there isn't enough gold to support finance and commerce.They say the gold supply can't increase fast enough to support world growth.They're wrong.In The New Case for Gold, James Rickards explains why gold is one of the safest assets for investors in times of political instability and market volatility, and how every investor should look to add gold to his or her portfolio. Drawing on historical case studies, monetary theory and his personal experience as an investor, Rickards argues that gold should be a part of any prudent investor's portfolio.James Rickards is the bestselling author of Currency Wars and The Death of Money. He is a portfolio manager at West Shore Group and an adviser on international economics and financial threats to the Department of Defence and the US intelligence community. He served as facilitator of the first-ever financial war games conducted by the Pentagon.

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A new Penguin English Library 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 determined to reinvent itself - 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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Give Mum the gift of time to unwind with this relaxing activity journal from Mrs HinchTHE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'A must for fans' Mail on Sunday ________________Hello! Mrs Hinch here! Welcome to your very own Hinch activity journal!This little book is all about giving yourself the gift of time out: time to plan, time to dream, time to relax, time for us to have a bit of a giggle and a de-stress.We all live such stressful lives and it can be hard to take a moment just to breathe, but I want this book to be all about YOU. Something that we can all enjoy together.So, make yourself a cuppa and curl up with this journal on the sofa in the mornings, or use it to wind down every evening before bed; whenever you need a bit of calm - just don't forget your crystal pen, as there are loads of relaxing, light-hearted activities for you to have fun with. Plus plenty of pages for you to plan your own hinching lists ready for the week ahead.Read from start to finish or dip in on random pages - there are absolutely no rules here! Think of it as a book-shaped slice of you time. You deserve it!Love, Mrs Hinch xx'Get your Hinch on with to-do lists and plenty of relaxing, light-hearted activities to just have some fun with' Heat'The perfect gift for anyone who needs to a deep breath and relax' Good Housekeeping__________________'The sensation' Sun'We're mad about Mrs Hinch' Vogue'My new cleaning goddess' Daily Telegraph

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A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERBOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ACCORDING TO FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, TIME MAGAZINEThe mesmerising new novel from the twice Booker-shortlisted author of Hot Milk and Swimming HomeAt the height of her career, concert pianist Elsa M. Anderson - former child prodigy, now in her thirties - walks off the stage in Vienna, mid-performance.Now she is in Athens, watching as another young woman, a stranger but uncannily familiar - almost her double - purchases a pair of mechanical dancing horses at a flea market. Elsa wants the horses too, but there are no more for sale. She drifts to the ferry port, on the run from her talent and her history.So begins a journey across Europe, shadowed by the elusive woman who bought the dancing horses.A dazzling portrait of melancholy and metamorphosis, August Blue uncovers the ways in which we seek to lose an old story, find ourselves in others and create ourselves anew.'A writer at the peak of her talents' Lisa Appignanesi'There's no one touching the brilliance of Deborah Levy's prose today' Lee Rourke'Levy's strength is her originality of thought and expression' Jeanette Winterson

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What are you doing today to make your dream future come true? 'A rare self-help book that's actually informed by evidence. A host of perceptive, practical tips for getting out of your own way and making progress toward your career goals.' Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again and Originals'A practical and accessible guide to using behavioural science in your career.' Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ We all have big ambitions for the future but those dreams only become reality if we do something towards them regularly. To achieve audacious goals, we need to take action and make small changes every day. We need to think big and act small. Drawing on cutting-edge research from behavioural science, Dr Grace Lordan offers immediate actionable solutions and tips that will help you get closer to your dream future, every day.Focusing on six key areas - your time, goal planning, self-narratives, other people, your environment, and resilience - Dr Lordan reveals practical, science-backed hacks that will help you get ahead. Each chapter introduces us to behavioural science concepts like the 'halo effect', 'confirmation bias', 'affect heuristic' and the 'ostrich effect', to help you better understand yourself and others, so that you can get the most out of your career.Whether you fantasise about changing industry, landing that big promotion, writing a screenplay or setting up your own company, Think Big creates a clear pathway to the future you want now. Some of the things you'll learn include how to:· Overcome a fear of failure and throw yourself at opportunity· Craft the optimum environment for work and give yourself ample time for tasks· Rewrite self-narratives and tackle imposter syndrome· Watch out for other people's biases and stop them from holding you backThink Big provides a practical framework to keep you moving in the right direction towards any goal. It will help you get out of your own way and propel you on the path to success, transforming you from dreamer to doer!

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Described by Clarice Lispector as 'the best one', this intoxicating portrayal of a man searching for his destiny is her mystical, enigmatic masterpiece'All I've got is hunger. And that instable way of grasping an apple in the dark-without letting it fall'Martim, believing that he has committed a murder, flees the city and escapes into the night. Wandering through the vastness of nature he arrives, in a state of fear and wonder, at a remote ranch run by two women. There Martim finds work and, as he labours in the blistering heat of the Brazilian summer, becomes transfigured; remade into something else entirely.Translated by Benjamin Moser 'The most important Brazilian woman writer of the twentieth century... The richness of The Apple in the Dark defies the explanatory power of any single interpretation' TLS

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'Böll's novel blows a stent in the human heart. . . It feels more necessary than ever.' Anna Funder, from the introduction'This is the best book I have read this year; not by miles, but by whole astronomical units; I am stunned by it as if by a blow. It is *astonishing* to the extent that I cannot convey to you its power' Sarah Perry, bestselling author of The Essex Serpent and Melmoth Twenty-four-year-old Andreas, a disillusioned German soldier, is travelling on a troop train to the Eastern Front when he has an awful premonition that he will die in exactly five days. As he hurtles towards his death, he reflects on the chaos around him - the naïve soldiers, the painfully thin girl who pours his coffee, the ruined countryside - with sudden, heart-breaking poignancy. Arriving in Poland the night before he is certain he will die, he meets Olina, a beautiful prostitute, and together they attempt to escape his fate...'His work reaches the highest level of creative originality and stylistic perfection' Daily Telegraph'Boll combines a mammoth intelligence with a literary outlook that is masterful and unique' Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22'My most-admired contemporary novelist' John Ashbery'From the moment I stepped on board the troop train with Private Andreas, concerns pertaining to my own world fell away completely. Holding this impelling book is tantamount to holding the young soldier's fate in one's hands. It is impossible to let go.' Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Pond

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Book of the Year 2023 according to New York Times, New Yorker, Guardian, Economist, Observer, The Spectator, Financial Times, Vogue, The Times, The Oldie, i Paper, The Standard, Washington Post, Independent, Daily ExpressSHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE WRITERS’ PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024ONE OF SARAH JESSICA PARKER’S BEST BOOKS OF 2023‘A writer at the peak of her powers’ The TelegraphTruth and fiction. Jamaica and Britain. Who gets to tell their story? Zadie Smith returns with her first historical novel.Kilburn, 1873. The 'Tichborne Trial' has captivated the widowed Scottish housekeeper Mrs Eliza Touchet and all of England. Readers are at odds over whether the defendant is who he claims to be - or an imposter.Mrs Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature, justice, abolitionism, class, her novelist cousin and his wives, this life and the next. But she is also sceptical. She suspects England of being a land of façades, in which nothing is quite what it seems.Andrew Bogle meanwhile finds himself the star witness, his future depending on telling the right story. Growing up enslaved on the Hope Plantation, Jamaica, he knows every lump of sugar comes at a human cost. That the rich deceive the poor. And that people are more easily manipulated than they realise.Based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about how in a world of hypocrisy and self-deception, deciding what's true can prove a complicated task.‘It’s difficult to give any idea of how extraordinary this book is. One of the great historical novels, certainly. But has any historical novel ever combined such brilliantly researched and detailed history with such intensely imagined fiction? Or such a range of living, breathing, surprising characters with such an idiosyncratically structured narrative?’ Michael Frayn‘As always it is a pleasure to be in Zadie Smith’s mind, which, as time goes on, is becoming contiguous with London itself. Dickens may be dead, but Smith, thankfully, is alive’ New York Times‘Zadie Smith’s Victorian-set masterpiece holds a mirror up to Britain . . . The Fraud is the genuine article’ Independent‘Smith’s dazzling historical novel combines deft writing and strenuous construction in a tale of literary London and the horrors of slavery’ GuardianInstant Sunday Times bestseller, September 2023

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'The story of the negro in America is the story of America ... it is not a very pretty story'James Baldwin's breakthrough essay collection made him the voice of his generation. Ranging over Harlem in the 1940s, movies, novels, his preacher father and his experiences of Paris, they capture the complexity of black life at the dawn of the civil rights movement with effervescent wit and prophetic wisdom. 'A classic ... In a divided America, James Baldwin's fiery critiques reverberate anew' Washington Post'Edgy and provocative, entertainingly satirical' Robert McCrum, Guardian'Cemented his reputation as a cultural seer ... Notes of a Native Son endures as his defining work, and his greatest' Time

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The Tower was W. B. Yeats's first major collection of poetry as Nobel Laureate after the receiving the Nobel Prize in 1923. It is considered to be one of his most influential collections. The title refers to Thoor Ballylee Castle, a Norman tower that Yeats purchased in 1917 and later restored. The Tower includes some of his greatest and most innovative poems including 'Sailing to Byzantium', a lyrical meditation on man's disillusionment with the physical world; 'Leda and the Swan', a violent and graphic take on the Greek myth of Leda and Zeus and 'Among School Children', a poetic contemplation of life, love and the creative process.

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It is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades, Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few.This anthology contains twelve key stories from the first two years of Spider-Man's publication history (from 1962 to 1964). These influential adventures not only transformed the super hero fantasy into an allegory for the pain of adolescence but also brought a new ethical complexity to the genre-by insisting that with great power there must also come great responsibility.A foreword by Jason Reynolds and scholarly introductions and apparatus by Ben Saunders offer further insight into the enduring significance of The Amazing Spider-Man and classic Marvel comics.The Penguin Classics black spine paperback features full-colour art throughout.

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A fantastic floral adventure and the latest sensational coloring book from bestselling artist Johanna Basford This book invites you to travel the world and beyond into fantastical realms, discovering exotic blooms and extraordinary plants along the way. From floating gardens of water poppies in South Africa to delicate cosmos in Japan, and from fanciful toadstools to enchanted fairytale gardens, an abundance of fascinating florals awaits, ready for you to bring to life in color. Join “colorist queen” (New York Magazine) Johanna Basford on a dazzling floral adventure of fantasy and imagination, filled with countless new blooms and blossoms to discover. Beautiful and interactive, World of Flowers is a blissful and relaxing at-home activity for people of all ages.

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For the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, an anthology chronicling the tumultuous fight for LGBTQ rights in the 1960s and the activists who spearheaded itJune 28, 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising - the most significant event in the gay liberation movement and the catalyst for the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States. Drawing fromthe New York Public Library's archives, The Stonewall Reader is a collection of firsthand accounts, diaries, periodic literature and articles from LGBTQ magazines and newspapers that documented both the years leading up to and the years following the riots. Most importantly, this anthology shines a light on forgotten figures who were pivotal in the movement, such as Lee Brewster, head of the Queens Liberation Front and Ernestine Eckstine, one of the few out, African American, lesbian activists in the 1960s.

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AMERICAN COLONIES starts with the earliest years of human colonization of the American continent and environs with the Siberian migrations across the Bering Strait 15,000 years ago. It ends in around 1800 when the rough outline of the contemporary North America could be perceived.Dropping the usual Anglocentric description of North America's fate, Taylor brilliantly conveys the far more vivid and startling story of the competing interests--Spanish, French, English, Native, Russian--that over the centuries shaped and reshaped both the continent and its 'suburbs' in the Caribbean and the Pacific. It is one of the greatest of all human stories.

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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, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. Based on wide-ranging research and witness testimony, Plokhy traces the arc of each crisis, exploring in depth the confused decision-making on the ground and the panicked responses of governments to contain the crises and often cover up the scale of the catastrophe.As the world increasingly looks to renewable and alternative sources of energy, Plokhy lucidly argues that the atomic risk must be understood in explicit terms, but also that these calamities reveal a fundamental truth about our relationship with nuclear technology: that the thirst for power and energy has always trumped safety and the cost for future generations.

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'A landmark piece of non-fiction' Janet Maslin, The New York TimesFrom the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this is one of the great untold stories of American history: the migration of black citizens who fled the south and went north in search of a better life From 1915 to 1970, an exodus of almost six million people would change the face of America. With stunning historical detail, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson gives us this definitive, vividly dramatic account of how these journeys unfolded. Based on interviews with more than a thousand people, and access to new data and official records, The Warmth of Other Suns tells the story of America's Great Migration through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career.Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country journeys, as well as how they changed their new homes forever.'You will never forget these people' Gay Talese'A brilliant and stirring epic' John Stauffer, Wall Street Journal 'The mass migration of African Americans out of the US south forever changed the country's cultural fabric - and Wilkerson's history of this period is full of sacrifice and hope ... a long overdue account' Lettecha Johnson, Guardian'A deeply affecting, finely crafted and heroic book. . . .Wilkerson has taken on one of the most important demographic upheavals of the past century and told it through the lives of three people ... lyrical and tragic' Jill Lepore, New Yorker

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The New York Times bestseller based on the Oscar nominated documentary filmIn June 1979, the writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin embarked on a project to tell the story of America through the lives of three of his murdered friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. He died before it could be completed. In his documentary film, I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck imagines the book Baldwin never wrote, using his original words to create a radical, powerful and poetic work on race in the United States - then, and today. 'Thrilling . . . A portrait of one man's confrontation with a country that, murder by murder, as he once put it, "devastated my universe"' The New York Times'Baldwin's voice speaks even more powerfully today . . . the prose-poet of our injustice and inhumanity . . . The times have caught up with his scalding eloquence' Variety 'A cinematic séance . . . One of the best movies about the civil rights era ever made' Guardian 'I Am Not Your Negro turns James Baldwin into a prophet' Rolling Stone

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'[He] inspired a generation ... He changed the course of history' Barack ObamaAs Martin Luther King, Jr. prepared for the Birmingham campaign in early 1963, he drafted the final sermons for Strength to Love, a volume of his best-known lectures. King had begun working on the sermons during a fortnight in jail in July 1962 and A Gift of Love includes these classic sermons, along with two new lectures. Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the non-violent philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, A Gift of Love illustrates King's vision of love and peaceful action as social and political forces for change.

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Transit Maps of the World is the first, comprehensive collection of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colourful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of urban transport systems, including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs. Transit Maps could not be more relevant to our modern existence. It uncovers the way many of us are able live and work day to day. It is an inspiring compendium for graphic designers and transport enthusiasts alike.

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Originally written only for his personal consumption, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations has become a key text in the understanding of Roman Stoic philosophy. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with notes by Martin Hammond and an introduction by Diskin Clay.Written in Greek by an intellectual Roman emperor without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a wide range of fascinating spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the leader struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation, they cover such diverse topics as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods and Aurelius's own emotions. But while the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation, in developing his beliefs Marcus also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a series of wise and practical aphorisms that have been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and ordinary readers for almost two thousand years.Martin Hammond's new translation fully expresses the intimacy and eloquence of the original work, with detailed notes elucidating the text. This edition also includes an introduction by Diskin Clay, exploring the nature and development of the Meditations, a chronology, further reading and full indexes.Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus (121-80) was adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius and succeeded him in 161, (as joint emperor with adoptive brother Lucius Verus). He ruled alone from 169, and spent much of his reign in putting down various rebellions, and was a persecutor of Christians. His fame rest, above all, on his Meditations, a series of reflections, strongly influenced by Epictetus, which represent a Stoic outlook on life. He was succeeded by his natural son, thus ending the period of the adoptive emperors.If you enjoyed Meditations, you might like Seneca's Letters from a Stoic, also available in Penguin Classics.

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