Search results for ""Penguin Books Ltd""

The philosophy of La Rochefoucauld, which influenced French intellectuals as diverse as Voltaire and the Jansenists, is captured here in more than 600 penetrating and pithy aphorisms.

Read more less

Mont Saint Michel and Chartres is a record not of a literal jouney but of a meditative journey across time and space into the medieval imagination. Using the architecture, sculpture, and stained glass of the two locales as a starting point, Adams breathes life into what others might see merely as monuments of a past civilization. With daring and inventive conceits, Adams looks at the ordinary people, places, and events in the context of the social conventions and systems of thought and belief of the thirteenth century turning the study of history into a kind of theater.As Raymond Carney discusses in his introduction, Adams' freeedom from the European traditions of study lends an exuberance—and puckish wit—to his writings.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Read more less

Watch out for Nancy Atherton's latest, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, coming in July 2018 from Viking! The latest in this enchanting and fast-selling series, featuring the beloved ghost Aunt Dimity, opens in a picturesque English cottage where the lovable Lori Shepherd is up to her elbows in pureed carrots and formula bottles, striving to be the perfect mother to twins! Luckily, a beautiful Italian nanny arrives just in time--so Lori can help settle the local civil war stirred up by a visiting archaeologist's excavation.With Reginald, the stuffed pink rabbit and Edmond Terrance, the stuffed tiger in tow, Lori hunts down a missing document, and the archaeologist digs up a lot more than artifacts. It is Aunt Dimity's magic blue notebook that provides the key to buried secrets and domestic malice, and shows all the residents of Finch that even the darkest acts can be overcome by forgiveness.

Read more less

The origins, consequences and limitations of an ideology that has quickly become highly influential around the world.For much of their history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious and sexual minorities. It is no surprise then that many who passionately believe in social justice have come to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity if they are to resist injustice.But over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minorities has transformed into an obsession with group identity in all its forms. A new ideology - which Yascha Mounk terms the 'identity synthesis' - seeks to put each citizen's matrix of identities at the heart of social, cultural and political life. This, he argues, is The Identity Trap.Mounk traces the intellectual origin of these ideas. He tells the story of how they were able to win tremendous power over the past decade. And he makes a nuanced case why their application to areas from education to public policy is proving to be deeply counterproductive. In his passionate plea for universalism and humanism, he argues that the proponents of identitarian ideas will, though they may be full of good intentions, make it harder to achieve progress towards genuine equality.

Read more less

What happens when a washed-up musician looks for another chance? And miles away, a restless woman looks for a change? NICK HORNBY'S HILARIOUS INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER IS NOW A MAJOR FILM'A comic delight' Evening Standard _____________In 1986, legendary musician Tucker Crowe disappeared from the public eye and for 20 years, his rabid fans have speculated his whereabouts. Annie lives in Gooleness, the north's answer to a question nobody asked, and has put fifteen years into a safe relationship with one such "Crowe-ologist", Duncan. And she wants her money back, please.Then Tucker releases new material. Duncan thinks it's genius, Annie does not, and when she dares to go public with her dislike, there are unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three . . .Juliet, Naked is a humblingly humorous novel about music, love, loneliness, and the struggle to live up to our own potential. If you like David Nicholls, David Sedaris and Jonathan Coe, you will love this book._________________'Ingenious, funny and moving' Daily Mail'Pitch-perfect' Observer'Sharply funny, touching' Daily Telegraph

Read more less

Robert Browning was one of the greatest of English poets, whose intense and original imagination enabled him to transform any subject he chose - whether everyday or sublime - into startling memorable verse. In his work he brought to life the personalities of a diverse range of characters, and introduced a new immediacy, colloquial energy and psychological complexity to the poetry of his day. This selection brings together verse ranging from early dramatic monologues such as the chilling 'My Last Duchess' and the ribald 'Fra Lippo Lippi', which show his gift for inhabiting the mind of another, to the popular children's poem 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' and many lesser known works. All display his innovative techniques of diction, rhythm and symbol, which transformed Victorian poetry and influenced major poets of the twentieth century such as Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot and Robert Frost.

Read more less

A famous account of growing up to be a fanatical football supporter. Told through a series of match reports, FEVER PITCH has enjoyed enormous critical and commercial success since it was first published in 1992. It has helped to create a new kind ofsports writing, and established Hornby as one of the finest writers of his generation.

Read more less

THE TALE OF A WOMAN THE WORLD SHALL NEVER FORGET . . .'Vivid with fury, passion and strength, this is a fabulous myth retelling' JENNIFER SAINT'A blaze of a novel, fiery and furious - and alight with murderous revenge' DAILY MAIL'A powerhouse of a novel. Clytemnestra's rage, heartbreak and determination radiate off the page' ELODIE HARPER'A thrilling tale of power and prophecies, and the fierce Queen who fought back at those who wronged her' COSMOPOLITAN, 'The best books to look forward to in 2023'__________Mother. Monarch. Murderer. Magnificent.You are born to a king, but marry a tyrant. You stand helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore and comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own.You play the part, fooling enemies who deny you justice. Slowly, you plot.You are Clytemnestra.But when the husband who owns you returns in triumph, what then?Acceptance or vengeance - infamy follows both. So you bide your time and wait, until you might force the gods' hands and take revenge. Until you rise. For you understood something that the others don't. If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece and told through the eyes of its greatest heroine, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred and love, perfect for fans of ARIADNE and THE SONG OF ACHILLES.__________'Strong and immersive. Well-worth plucking from the pile of chiton-lit' THE TIMES'Casati brings the blood-soaked world of Greek mythology fully alive in this powerful novel' WOMAN & HOME'A heroine of fierce spirit. With the fire and spark of Madeline Miller and the depths of Mary Renault' MANDA SCOTT'A passionate picture of a fiercely patriarchal society and her heroine's refusal to be bound by itsrules' SUNDAY TIMES'Rivals House of the Dragon in conspiracies and feminine brutality. An electrifying read' ELIZABETH FREMANTLE'Redefines the mythical retelling genre with a warrior queen who, instead of enduring suffering, avenges it' ANNIE GARTHWAITE'A thrilling reimagining of an infamous Greek figure' RED

Read more less

SUNDAY TIMES and GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015What does it mean to devote yourself wholly to helping others? In Strangers Drowning, Larissa MacFarquhar seeks out people living lives of extreme ethical commitment, and tells their intimate stories: their stubborn integrity and their compromises; their bravery and their recklessness; their wrenching dilemmas.A couple adopts two children in distress. But then they think: if they can change two lives, why not four? Or ten? They adopt twenty. But how do they weigh the needs of unknown children in distress against the needs of the children they already have?Another couple founds a leprosy colony in the wilderness in India, living in huts with no walls, knowing that their two small children may contract leprosy or be eaten by panthers. The children survive. But what if they hadn't? How would their parents' risk have been judged?We honour such generosity and high ideals; but when we call people 'do-gooders' there is scepticism in it, even hostility. Why do moral people make us uneasy? Between her stories, MacFarquhar threads a lively history of the novels, philosophy, social science, and self-help that have contributed to a deep suspicion of do-gooders in Western culture.Through its sympathetic and beautifully vivid storytelling, Strangers Drowning confronts us with fundamental questions about what it means to be human. In a world of strangers drowning in need, how much should we help, and how much can we help? Is it right to care for strangers even at the expense of those we are closest to? Moving and provocative, Strangers Drowning challenges us to think about what we value most, and why.

Read more less

A beautiful new hardback edition of The Return of The Naked Chef, jam-packed with more proper food you'll love to cook.Filled with all the techniques and tips you'll need to become a pro in the kitchen, The Return of the Naked Chef contains a whole range of new, simple, but exciting recipes which anyone can make, delivered with boundless enthusiasm. These recipes will become firm family favourites in no time, and Jamie also includes kitchen tips & tricks to get you started. Delicious recipes include: · SPAGHETTI with ANCHOVIES, DRIED CHILLI and PANGRATTATO · Fantastic FISH PIE· Baked Jerusalem ARTICHOKES, BREADCRUMBS, THYME and LEMON · Tray baked PORK CHOPS with HERBY POTATOES, PARSNIPS, PEARS and MINTED BREAD SAUCE · CHOCOLATE POTS This book is full of recipes for every meal of the day, with chapters on: Potty about Herbs, Morning Glory, Tapas, Munchies & Snacks, Simple Salads and Dressings, Soups and Broths, Pasta & Risotto, Fish & Shellfish, Meat Poultry & Game, Vegetables, Bread, Desserts, Bevvies, and Stocks, Sauces, Bits, Bobs, This, That & The Other!'Jamie Oliver goes from strength to strength ... the main attraction is that he does not seem to want to be, or know that he might be, a star: the food is what matters' The Times ____________Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Naked Chef Penguin are re-releasing Jamie's first five cookbooks as beautiful Hardback Anniversary Editions - an essential for every kitchen. The Naked Chef The Return of the Naked Chef Happy Days with the Naked Chef Jamie's Kitchen Jamie's Dinners'20 years on . . . Does it stand the test of my kitchen? The answer is a resounding yes. Jamie's genius is in creating maximum flavour from quick, easy-to-follow recipes . . . It hasn't dated at all' Daily Telegraph on The Naked Chef

Read more less

Bestselling author Rachel Khoo is on the go once again with her latest cookbook, Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook. Her latest cookbook is packed to the brim with 100 standout recipes, full-colour photography and Rachel's very own sketches of the food and places she encounters. Out and about, she finds the most delicious fare, recording it all in her kitchen notebook. From a Ham Hock Tiffin Box to Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Sloe Gin, and Rhubarb and Custard Millefeuille, Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook will inspire even the most jaded cook to try something new.After graduating from Central Saint Martin's College with a degree in Art and Design, British food writer Rachel was lured to Paris to study pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu. Rachel shot to fame when her TV series, The Little Paris Kitchen, was broadcast by the BBC. Her beautiful tie-in cookbook and the follow-up, My Little French Kitchen, have been published around the globe. Rachel now travels the world working on a variety of projects, including a weekly recipe column for the Evening Standard.'Rachel Khoo is the queen of creating culinary masterpieces' Glamour

Read more less

The bestselling autobiography of the greatest rugby player of our time: Brian O'Driscoll.Since 1999, when he made his international debut, there has been no greater player in world rugby than Brian O'Driscoll. In 2010 Rugby World magazine named him its world player of the decade - and since then the legend has only grown.Now, at the end of his amazing career - which culminated in fairy-tale fashion with Ireland's victory in the 2014 Six Nations championship - he tells his own story. Honest, gritty and thoughtful, Brian O'Driscoll's Autobiography is not just an essential sports book. It is an essential book about family, friends, hard work, courage and imagination.'Honest, charming and revealing - a thoroughly good read' Rugby World'A thoroughly enjoyable read ... After reading The Test I warmed even more to O'Driscoll as a player and a man. He stood for a new ethos in Irish sport that refused to accept mediocrity or glorious failure' Fergal Keane, Irish Times'O'Driscoll's honesty ... takes the reader to a place they simply have not been before' Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent'A must-read insight into the life and mind of Ireland's greatest rugby player' Irish Mail on Sunday'There are fascinating insights into the lengths he was willing to go to perform at the highest level' Sunday Business PostBestseller, April 2015

Read more less

Distrust That Particular Flavor - an acclaimed nonfiction collection by William Gibson, bestselling author of Neuromancer'The future's already here: it's just not evenly distributed'William Gibson was writing fiction when he predicted the internet. And as his stories bled into reality so he became one of the first to report on the real-world consequences of cyberspace's growth and development.Now, with the dust settling on the first internet revolution, comes Gibson's first collection of non-fiction - essays from the technological and cultural frontiers of this new world. Covering a variety of subjects, they include:- Metrophagy - the Art and Science of Digesting Great Cities- An account of obsession in 'the world's attic' - eBay- Reasons why 'The Net is a Waste of Time'- Singapore as 'Disneyland with the Death Penalty' - A primer on Japan, our default setting for the future These and many other pieces, collected for the first time in Distrust that Particular Flavour, are studded with revealing autobiographical fragments and map the development of Gibson's acute perceptions about modern life. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks will love this book.'Gibson is a prophet and a satirist, a black comedian and an astounding architect of cool. He's also responsible for much of the world we live in' Spectator'Part-detective story, part-cultural snapshot ... all bound by Gibson's pin-sharp prose' Arena

Read more less

THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 40TH MIKE LEIGH'S CLASSIC PLAY - WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION FROM THE PLAYWRITE.Forty years on from its first performance at the Hampstead Theatre and original screening on BBC1 soon after, Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party - telling of two marriages spectacularly unravelling at an awkward neighbourhood drinks party - remains a pinnacle of British theatre.Here is the original script, complete with a new introduction by Mike Leigh describing the play's unlikely genesis, how it came to be made and where he believes it fits within his oeuvre as one of the country's leading writers and directors.'The play came from my intuitive sense of the spirit and the flavour of the times, and from a growing personal fear of, and frustration with the suburban existence' Mike Leigh, from his new introduction'Leigh's play isn't simply about marriage and Essex, but also about the unhappy state of the realm' Guardian

Read more less

'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray When a tramp is recovered from the Seine, after being badly beaten, Maigret must delve into the man's personal circumstances to figure out just who wanted to kill him.This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Dosser and Maigret and the Bum. 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

Read more less

'Folks, life is beautiful! Bring on the drinks, I'm sticking around till I'm ninety! Do you hear?'A young boy grows up in a sleepy Czech community where little changes. His raucous, mischievous Uncle Pepin came to stay with the family years ago, and never left. But the outside world is encroaching on their close-knit town - first in the shape of German occupiers, and then with the new Communist order. Elegiac and moving, Bohumil Hrabal's gem-like portrayal of the passing of an age is filled with wit, life and tenderness. 'What is unique about Hrabal is his capacity for joy' Milan Kundera'Even in a town where nothing happens, Hrabal's meticulous and exuberant fascination with the human voice insists that, as long as there's still breath in a body, life is endlessly eventful' Independent

Read more less

'Erudite, original and surprisingly moving ... This Christmas, as at every Christmas, millions of listeners will have relished the ethereal King's choir ... Day's meticulous history of a special choral sound investigates the creation of a style, and the evolution of a tradition, that now feels as anciently English as the stonework of King's chapel itself' Boyd TonkinThe sound of the choir of King's College, Cambridge - its voices perfectly blended, its emotions restrained, its impact sublime - has become famous all over the world, and for many, the distillation of a particular kind of Englishness. This is especially so at Christmas time, with the broadcast of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, whose centenary is celebrated this year. How did this small band of men and boys in a famous fenland town in England come to sing in the extraordinary way they did in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries?It has been widely assumed that the King's style essentially continues an English choral tradition inherited directly from the Middle Ages. In this original and illuminating book, Timothy Day shows that this could hardly be further from the truth. Until the 1930s, the singing at King's was full of high Victorian emotionalism, like that at many other English choral foundations well into the twentieth century.The choir's modern sound was brought about by two intertwined revolutions, one social and one musical. From 1928, singing with the trebles in place of the old lay clerks, the choir was fully made up of choral scholars - college men, reading for a degree. Under two exceptional directors of music - Boris Ord from 1929 and David Willcocks from 1958 - the style was transformed and the choir broadcast and recorded until it became the epitome of English choral singing, setting the benchmark for all other choral foundations either to imitate or to react against. Its style has now been taken over and adapted by classical performers who sing both sacred and secular music in secular settings all over the world with a precision inspired by the King's tradition.I Saw Eternity the Other Night investigates the timbres of voices, the enunciation of words, the use of vibrato. But the singing of all human beings, in whatever style, always reflects in profound and subtle ways their preoccupations and attitudes to life. These are the underlying themes explored by this book.

Read more less

Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackOn Christmas Day 1066, William, duke of Normandy was crowned in Westminster, the first Norman king of England. It was a disaster: soldiers outside, thinking shouts of acclamation were treachery, torched the surrounding buildings. To later chroniclers, it was an omen of the catastrophes to come.During the reign of William the Conqueror, England experienced greater and more seismic change than at any point before or since. Marc Morris's concise and gripping biography sifts through the sources of the time to give a fresh view of the man who changed England more than any other, as old ruling elites were swept away, enemies at home and abroad (including those in his closest family) were crushed, swathes of the country were devastated and the map of the nation itself was redrawn, giving greater power than ever to the king. When, towards the end of his reign, William undertook a great survey of his new lands, his subjects compared it to the last judgement of God, the Domesday Book. England had been transformed forever.

Read more less

A brilliant companion piece to Wide Sargasso Sea, this is Jean Rhys's beautifully written, bitter-sweet autobiography, covering her chequered early years in Dominica, England and Paris.Jean Rhys wrote this autobiography in her old age, now the celebrated author of Wide Sargasso Sea but still haunted by memories of her troubled past: her precarious jobs on chorus lines and relationships with unsuitable men, her enduring sense of isolation and her decision at last to become a writer. From the early days on Dominica to the bleak time in England, living in bedsits on gin and little else, to Paris with her first husband, this is a lasting memorial to a unique artist.Includes an introduction by Diana Athill.

Read more less

'No one characteristic clasps us purely and universally in its embrace.'A selection of charming essays from a master of the genre exploring the contradictions inherent to human thought, words and actions.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). Montaigne's works available in Penguin Classics are The Complete Essays, An Apology for Raymond Sebond, On Friendship, On Solitude and The Essays: A Selection

Read more less

'Ye Ice-Falls! Ye that from the mountain's browAdown enormous ravines slope amain -...'A selection of Coleridge's poems, including 'This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison' and 'Frost at Midnight'Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Coleridge's Selected Poetry, The Complete Poems and (with William Wordsworth) Lyrical Ballads are available in Penguin Classics.

Read more less

'Exquisite. . . a classic tour de force' The New York Times 'It struggled to keep itself aloft, to gain height. But then it suddenly gave up, and dropped as though it were breaking into many pieces'Early on a cold Sunday morning, forty-five-year-old Edgardo Limentani gets up to join a shooting party in the countryside surrounding the town of Ferrara. As the day passes, he contemplates his past, his disappointments and how he has got here. Like the birds he shoots, he realizes, he is trapped, broken, waiting alone for the final coup de grâce. Then he sees a way out.The fifth book in Bassani's Novel of Ferrara sequence, and his final novel, The Heron is a taut, poignant portrait of a middle-aged man's reckoning with his life.

Read more less

George Orwell's best-known novels, Animal Farm, describing a revolution that goes horribly wrong, and Nineteen Eighty-Four, portraying a world where human freedom has been crushed, are two of the most famous, well-quoted and influential political satires ever written. The other novels in this volume also tell stories of people at odds with repressive institutions: the corrupt imperialism of Burmese Days, disaffection with materialistic society in Keep the Aspidistra Flying, the perils of modern suburban living in Coming Up for Air and surviving on the streets in A Clergyman's Daughter.All the novels brought together here display Orwell's humour, his understanding of human nature and his great compassion.

Read more less

'No man is free of his own history' Hartmann and Fibich came to England on the kindertransport. As orphans of the war they were strangers in a strange land. Together, they survived. And in adulthood they have been unable to separate, sharing a successful business.Yet Hartmann's carefully polished manners conceal the past he refuses to think about. While Fibich, a mass of fears and neuroses, can do nothing but remember. Together these two men seek to build a future from the shaky foundations of their own pasts . . .'Like Virginia Woolf, Brookner's aim is not to draw characters in the round, but to reveal psychological reality in the deep' The Times

Read more less

'Extremely funny' Sunday Telegraph _____________________________A poet is a rock star without the sex'n'drugs, or the rock'n'roll. But that never stopped Simon Armitage dreaming, and in Gig, he explores how music and the muse intertwine in work and in life. Crammed with stories, anecdotes, jokes, absurdities, the odd informal homily, pitfalls and pratfalls (not all the author's own), Yorkshire life and death, Gig is about the dream and reality of what you are, and what you might have been._____________________________'One of our most entertaining authors' Independent'Very, very funny' GQ'Witty, terrific, stupendously funny' Daily Telegraph

Read more less

His haunting, impressionistic study of a man's slow corruption by jealousy, Emile Zola's The Beast Within (La Bete Humaine) is translated from the French with an introduction and notes by Roger Whitehouse in Penguin Classics.Roubaud is consumed by a jealous rage when he discovers a sordid secret about his young wife's past. The only way he can rest is by forcing her to help him murder the man involved, but there is a witness - Jacques Lantier, a fellow railway employee. Jacques, meanwhile, must contend with his own terrible impulses, for every time he sees a woman he feels the overwhelming desire to kill. In the company of Roubaud's wife, Severine, he finds peace briefly, yet his feelings for her soon bring disasterous consequences. A key work in the Rougon-Macquart cycle, The Beast Within is one of Zola's most dark and violent works - a tense thriller of political corruption and a graphic exploration of the criminal mind.Roger Whitehouse's vivid translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing Zola's depiction of the railways, politics and the legal system and the influence of the studies of criminology and the Jack the Ripper murders on his novel. This edition also includes a chronology, suggestions for further reading and notes.Emile Zola (1840-1902) was the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. His principal work, Les Rougon-Macquart, is a panorama of mid-19th century French life, in a cycle of 20 novels which Zola wrote over a period of 22 years, including Au Bonheur des Dames (1883), The Beast Within (1890), Nana (1880), and The Drinking Den (1877).If you enjoyed The Beast Within, you might like Zola's The Drinking Den, also available in Penguin Classics.

Read more less

Isak Dinesen takes up the absorbing story of her life in Kenya begun in the unforgettable Out of Africa, which she published under the name of Karen Blixen. With warmth and humanity these four stories illuminate her love both for the African people, their dignity and traditions, and for the beauty and wildness of the landscape. The first three were written in the 1950s and the last, 'Echoes from the Hills', was written especially for this volume in the summer of 1960 when the author was in her seventies. In all they provide a moving final chapter to her African reminiscences.

Read more less

''There is no poetry or romance in war, it is brutal and ugly and terrifying and it turns men into animals - shrieking, screaming and running while destroying all in their path. It is survival''Visari, the vicious Helghast dictator, is vanquished, lying dead at the feet of ISA forces soldiers Sev and Rico. Yet the battle is far from over. Visari''s death has wreaked havoc in the Helghast Empire, leaving a legacy of destruction. His last act of violence - a nuclear bomb - has decimated the Special Forces. Sev and Rico must complete their mission alone. They will fight to the death to keep the ruthless Helghast troops at bay. Based on Sony''s bestselling game Killzone 3

Read more less

The Chimney Sweeper''s Boy - a classic crime novel by bestselling, prize-winning author Barbara Vine''Gripping, almost impossible to put down'' Guardian''One of the most frightening novels I have ever read ... Gerald Candless, the monster at the heart of the maze, is a marvellous creation'' Amanda Craig, Express on SundayWhen successful author Gerald Candless dies of a sudden heart attack, his eldest, adoring daughter Sarah embarks on a memoir of him and soon discovers that her perfect father was not all he appeared to be. That in fact he wasn''t Gerald Candless at all. But then, who was he? And what terrible secret had driven him to live a lie for all those years?''So ingeniously constructed, its truth and falsehoods are so deftly and convincingly interwoven, that its solution ... is as jolting as a flash of lightning'' Sunday Times''About the power of taboos, transgressions, guilts, deceptions, horrors, atoneme

Read more less

Robert Graves''s controversial historical novel is a bold reworking of the story of Christ. Here Jesus is not the son of God, but the result of a secret marriage - the descendant of Herod and true King of the Jews. Written from the perspective of a lowly official at the end of the first century AD, King Jesus recounts Jesus''s birth, youth, life as a charismatic ''wonder worker'' and the unorthodox, bitter nature of his death and resurrection. Portraying Jesus not as divine but as a flawed human bent upon his own doom, this retelling of the gospels is a compelling blend of research, imagination and narrative power.

Read more less

A successful author and Liberal MP with a loving and benevolent wife, Richard Remington appears to be a man to envy. But underneath his superficial contentment, he is far from happy with either his marriage or the politics of his party. The New Machiavelli describes the disarray into which his life is thrown, when he meets the young and beautiful Isabel Rivers and becomes tormented by desire. At first, he struggles to resist and remain focused upon his familiar political, personal and social life. But as he soon learns, it is harder than he could have imagined to turn his back on love.

Read more less

The companion to Vegetable Book, this is an alphabetical guide to fruit, from apple, apricot and arbutus to sorb apple, strawberry and water-melon. The author adds fragments of history or poetry, and explains the why'' as well as the how of cookery.

Read more less

Penelope Lively was born in Cairo in 1933. Her childhood there is the subject of her memoir Oleander Jacaranda. At the age of 12 she was sent to boarding school in England, and subsequently read history at Oxford. She married the academic Jack Lively, who became Professor of Politics at the University of Warwick. She first began writing highly praised children's fiction, then published her first adult novel in 1977. Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize in 1987. She lives in north London.

Read more less

Jane Walmsley shares George Bernard Shaw's belief that America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language. In this title she looks beyond this shared facade to see the great gulfs that separate us in such areas as tastes in food, dress, home decoration, the way we conduct business, vacation, engage in sex and even die. Her prototype American is an eternal optimist who believes it is only a matter of correct technique and will power to become beautiful, clever, skinny, successful and healthy. A Brit, on the other hand, seems to expect disaster at any moment, so lives with a certain detachment, content to muddle through as best he or she can. Walmsley pokes gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) fun at both cultures and in the process offers a portrait of our cultural differences.

Read more less

Written around the thirteenth century AD by Icelandic monks, the seven tales collected here offer a combination of pagan elements tightly woven into the pattern of Christian ethics. They take as their subjects figures who are heroic, but do not fit into the mould of traditional heroes. Some stories concern characters in Iceland - among them Hrafknel's Saga, in which a poor man's son is murdered by his powerful neighbour, and Thorstein the Staff-Struck, which describes an ageing warrior's struggle to settle into a peaceful rural community. Others focus on the adventures of Icelanders abroad, including the compelling Audun's Story, which depicts a farmhand's pilgrimage to Rome. These fascinating tales deal with powerful human emotions, suffering and dignity at a time of profound transition, when traditional ideals were gradually yielding to a more peaceful pastoral lifestyle.

Read more less

Short narrative poems, religious and secular lyrics, and moral, political, and comic verses are all included in this comprehensive collection of works from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Read more less

John Milton was celebrated and denounced in his own time both as a poet and as a polemicist. Today he is remembered first and foremost for his poetry, but his great epic Paradise Lost was published very late in his life, in 1667, and in his own time most readers more readily recognised Milton as a writer of prose. This superbly annotated new book is an authoritative edition of Milton's major prose works, including Of Education, The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and the Divorce tracts, as well as the famous 1644 polemical tract on the opposing licensing and censorship, Areopagitica.

Read more less

Aurora Leigh (1856), Elizabeth Barrett Browning's epic novel in blank verse, tells the story of the making of a woman poet, exploring 'the woman question', art and its relation to politics and social oppression. The texts in this selection are based in the main on the earliest printed versions of the poems. What Edgar Allan Poe called 'her wild and magnificent genius' is abundantly in evidence. In addition to Aurora Leigh, this volume contains poetry from the several volumes of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's published poetry from 1826 to 1862, including Casa Guidi Windows (1851), Songs for the Ragged Schools of London (1854) and the British Library manuscript text of the 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' (1846) which records her courtship with Robert Browning.

Read more less

With the aid of Leonardo da Vinci's note books, as well as a wide variety of sources, this biography covers the full life of the great Renaissance painter and architect. It is an account of Leonardo, both as an artist and as an individual. The book charts the artist's family background, childhood and apprenticeship, successes and failures, patronage, travels, interests and friendships. The book include b&w reproductions of paintings and sketchings by da Vinci. All surviving paintings are listed in the text, and there are family trees of Leonardo's family.

Read more less

Eminent Victorians marked an epoch in the art of biography; it also helped to crack the old myths of high Victorianism and to usher in a new spirit by which chauvinism, hypocrisy and the stiff upper lip were debunked. In it Strachey cleverly exposes the self-seeking ambitions of Cardinal Manning and the manipulative, neurotic Florence Nightingale; and in his essays on Dr Arnold and General Gordon his quarries are not only his subjects but also the public-school system and the whole structure of nineteenth-century liberal values.

Read more less

A RENOWNED BRAIN EXPERT SHARES THE SIMPLE TRICKS THAT WILL FUTURE-PROOF YOUR MEMORYMemory gets worse with age - right? A fact of life. But what if we told you that wasn't necessarily true? That memory decline isn't inevitable. In The Complete Guide to Memory, renowned neurologist and bestselling author Dr Richard Restak distils the wisdom of an entire career into a one-stop guide to the science of memory. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, case studies, famous anecdotes and more, he offers tips and tricks for anyone who wants to strengthen their memory, protect themselves from diseases like Alzheimer's and think smarter.Learn how to boost your memory through techniques like: -Mind mapping and making lists-Reading more novels than non-fiction-'Chunking' several pieces of information together to make them easier to remember-Choosing manual methods over technological solutions like phones and GPSPacked full of information for anyone curious about the power of their memory, this is the only guide you need to train your memory and make it stronger.

Read more less

'Captivating… The stuff of thrillers' - the Financial Times An explosive new vision of geopolitics from two trail-blazing political scientistsDeep beneath our feet, vast and sprawling, lies one of the most sophisticated empires the world has ever known. At first glance, it might not look like much - it is made up of fibre optic cables and obscure payment systems. But according to prominent political scientists Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, the United States has turned the most vital pathways of the world economy into tools of domination over foreign businesses and countries, whether they are rivals or allies, allowing it to maintain global supremacy.Drawing on original reporting and ground-breaking research, Farrell and Newman explain how this underground empire has allowed the United States to eavesdrop on other countries and isolate its enemies. Now, efforts by countries such as China and Russia to untether themselves from this coercive US-led system are turning the global economy into a battle zone. Today's headlines about trade wars, sanctions, and controls on technology exports are merely tremors hinting at far greater seismic shifts beneath the surface, as we sleepwalk into a dangerous new struggle for empire.Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how power is wielded today, Underground Empire weaves together tales of economic conflict, shadowy surveillance and covert infrastructure projects to explain how the world order has been brought to the brink of chaos - and how we might find a way back from the edge.

Read more less

'Gonzo brilliance ... unique and highly entertaining' Financial Times'Revelatory reading' Adam Tooze, author of Crashed'After reading Quinn Slobodian's new book, you are not likely to think about capitalism the same way' JacobinLook at a map of the world and you'll see a neat patchwork of nation-states. But this is not where power actually resides. From the 1990s onwards, globalization has shattered the map, leading to an explosion of new legal entities: tax havens, free ports, city-states, gated enclaves and special economic zones. These new spaces are freed from ordinary forms of regulation, taxation and mutual obligation - and with them, ultracapitalists believe that it is possible to escape the bonds of democratic government and oversight altogether.Historian Quinn Slobodian follows the most notorious radical libertarians - from Milton Friedman to Peter Thiel - around the globe as they search for the perfect home for their free market fantasy. The hunt leads from Hong Kong in the 1970s to South Africa in the late days of apartheid, from the neo-Confederate South to the medieval City of London, and finally into the world's oceans and war zones, charting the relentless quest for a blank slate where capitalism and democracy can be finally uncoupled.Crack-Up Capitalism is a propulsive history of the recent past, and an alarming view of our near future.

Read more less

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'What could be more reassuring in troubling times than a new William Boyd novel?' Sunday Telegraph________________________________________________________A producer. A novelist. An actress.It is summer in 1968, the year of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. There are riots in Paris and the Vietnam War is out of control. While the world is reeling our three characters are involved in making a Swingin' Sixties movie in sunny Brighton. All are leading secret lives. Elfrida is drowning her writer's block in vodka; Talbot, coping with the daily dysfunction of making a film, is hiding something in a secret apartment; and the glamorous Anny is wondering why the CIA is suddenly so interested in her.But the show must go on and, as it does, the trio's private worlds begin to take over their public ones. Pressures build inexorably - someone's going to crack.

Read more less

In AD68 Nero's suicide marked the end of the first dynasty of imperial Rome. The following year was one of drama and danger, though not of chaos.In the surviving books of his Histories the barrister-historian Tacitus, writing some thirty years after the events he describes, gives us a detailed account based on excellent authorities. In the 'long but single year' of revolution four emperors emerge in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian - who established the Flavian dynasty.Rhiannon Ash stays true to the spirit of Wellesley's prose whilst making the translation more accessible to modern readers.

Read more less