Search results for ""icon books""
Icon Books That Was When People Started to Worry: Young women and mental illness
'This is mental illness. It is unexpected strength and unusual luck and an uninterrupted string of steps. Then the next wave comes. And while you wipe grit from your eyes and swipe blood from your knees, the smiling faces in the distance call out: Why do you keep falling over?! Just stand up!'Conversations about mental health are increasing, but we still seldom hear what it's really like to suffer from mental illness.Enter Nancy Tucker, author of the acclaimed eating disorder memoir, The Time In Between. Based on her interviews with young women aged 16-25, That Was When People Started to Worry weaves together experiences of mental illness into moving narratives, humorous anecdotes, and guidance as to how we can all be more empathetic towards those who suffer. Tucker offers an authentic impression of seven common mental illnesses: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, self-harm, disordered eating, PTSD and borderline personality disorder. Giving a voice to those who often find it hard to speak themselves, Tucker presents a unique window into the day-to-day trials of living with an unwell mind. She pushes readers to reflect on how we think, talk about and treat mental illness in young women.
£9.99
Icon Books 30-Second Twentieth Century: The 50 most significant ideas and events, each explained in half a minute
You probably know, or think you know, quite a bit about what happened in the 20th century - chances are, if you're reading this, you lived through at least some of it - and you may have referenced the Cuban Missile Crisis, the double helix, or the Wall Street Crash in conversation. But even for people who were there, it was the fastest-moving hundred years in history, so refresh your memory with these pacey profiles on everything from Sputnik to Stonewall.30-Second Twentieth Century presents a unique approach to modern history, condensing 100 years of innovation and art, politics and conflict, triumph and disaster, into 50 graphic snapshots that offer an instant appreciation of the way the world revolves and evolves. Consider which events define a period of history and why. From the Red Army to Black Monday, from Woodstock to the World Wide Web, this is the fastest way to travel in time.
£9.99
Icon Books The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (And What We Can Do About Them)
When the forces that give our planet life exceed our ability towithstand them, they become disasters. Together they have shaped ourcities and architecture, elevated leaders and toppled governments, influencedthe way we think, feel, fight, unite and pray. The history of naturaldisasters is a history of ourselves. The Big Ones investigates some of the most impactful naturaldisasters, and how their reverberations are still felt today. From a volcaniceruption in Pompeii challenging and reinforcing prevailing views of religion,through the California floods of 1862 and the limitations of memory, to whatHurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami can tell us about governance andglobalisation. With temperatures rising around the world, naturaldisasters are striking with ever greater frequency. More than just history or science, The Big Ones is acall to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes arenot. With this energising and richly-researched book, Jones offers a lookat our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future.
£12.99
Icon Books 30-Second Elements: The 50 most significant elements, each explained in half a minute
When was radium discovered? Who are Dmitri Mendeleev and Glenn T. Seaborg? Who discovered uranium's radioactivity? Which element is useful for dating the age of Earth? And why doesn't gold have a scientific name?30-Second Elements presents you with the very foundations of chemical knowledge, explaining concisely the 50 most significant chemical elements. This book uses helpful glossaries and tables to fast track your knowledge of the other 68 elements and the relationships between all of them.
£9.99
Icon Books Who Is Dracula’s Father?: And Other Puzzles in Bram Stoker’s Gothic Masterpiece
When it was first published in 1897 - 120 years ago - Irish author Bram Stoker's Dracula was ranked by the Daily Mail above work by Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as Wuthering Heights. Yet it never madeStoker any money.Since 1931's film Nosferatu the Vampire, however, it has never been out of print and is legendary among fans of the dark, macabre and mysterious .Critic John Sutherland, a Dracula fan since childhood - and author of the literary puzzle classics Is Heathcliff a Murderer? and Can Jane Eyre be Happy? explores the enigmas and puzzles of this towering giant of gothicnovels, such as:Who was Dracula's father? Why does the Count come to England? Does the Count actually give Jonathan a 'love bite'? Why does every country we know of have a vampire legend? And finally - how long is it before we're all vampires?The book also includes 'Dracula Digested' by John Crace, author of the Guardian's Digested Reads column.
£9.04
Icon Books 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your Day
This book believes that you're worth looking after - even when you don't. 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your Day is a friendly book of tips on how to look after yourself and your mental health, in an age where we too often forget to pause and take a breath. For anyone with anxiety issues, those who struggle to prioritise their own mental health over catching up on emails and social media, or those looking for a bit of encouragement, these small tips will help you shine again. With small actions, you can make a big improvement to your well-being - whether it's making your phone a source of positivity instead of stress, engaging in habits that make you feel healthier and more positive, or preparing for darker days. Ailbhe Malone's simple tips combine with witty illustrations from Naoise Dolan to create a resource you'll dip into whenever you need a helping hand.A totem for your bedside table, backpack, or to give to a friend in need, this book believes that you're worth looking after, even when you don't.
£9.99
Icon Books A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurship: Be Your Own Boss
Turn your passions into a thriving business. From finding a niche, to expanding a successful enterprise to new horizons, learn how to turn any business opportunity into a rewarding venture - while avoiding the pitfalls of pursuing a pipe dream. Distilling the key points into down-to-earth, realistic advice, business experts Alison and David Price explain how to create the right brand to stand out from the crowd, achieve the best work-life balance and grow your business to success.This Practical Guide offers expert insights, case studies and practical techniques to help you begin and prosper on your entrepreneurial journey.
£8.42
Icon Books The Berlin Airlift: The Relief Operation that Defined the Cold War
Acclaimed historian Barry Turner presents a new history ofthe Cold War's defining episode.Berlin, 1948 - a divided city in a divided country in adivided Europe. The ruined German capital lay 120 miles insideSoviet-controlled eastern Germany. Stalin wanted the Allies out; the Allieswere determined to stay, but had only three narrow air corridors linking thecity to the West. Stalin was confident he could crush Berlin's resolve bycutting off food and fuel.In the USA, despite some voices still urging 'Americafirst', it was believed that a rebuilt Germany was the best insurance againstthe spread of communism across Europe.And so over eleven months from June 1948 to May 1949,British and American aircraft carried out the most ambitious airborne reliefoperation ever mounted, flying over 2 million tons of supplies on almost300,000 flights to save a beleaguered Berlin.With new material from American, British and German archivesand original interviews with veterans, Turner paints a fresh, vivid picture theairlift, whose repercussions - the role of the USA as global leader, Germanascendancy, Russian threat - we are still living with today.
£10.99
Icon Books In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea
'Danny Goldberg is probably one of the purest, most reasonableguides you could ask for to 1967.' Ex-Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. 'Weaves together rollicking, rousing, wonderfully colourful anddisparate narratives to remind us how the energies and aspirations of thecounterculture were intertwined with protest and reform . mesmerising.' The NationIt wasthe year that saw the release of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts ClubBand, and of debut albums from the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix andJanis Joplin. The year of the Summer of Love and LSD; the Monterey Pop Festivaland Black Power; Muhammad Ali's conviction for draft avoidance and MartinLuther King Jr's public opposition to war in Vietnam.On its 50th anniversary, music business veteranDanny Goldberg analyses 1967, looking not only at the political influences, butalso the spiritual, musical and psychedelic movements that defined the era,providing a unique perspective on how and why its legacy lives on today.Exhaustively researched and informed byinterviews including Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary and Gil Scott-Heron, InSearch of the Lost Chord is the synthesis of a fascinating andcomplicated period in our social and countercultural history that was about somuch more than sex, drugs and rock n roll.
£9.99
Icon Books Destination Mars: The Story of our Quest to Conquer the Red Planet
Mars is back. Suddenly everyone - from Elon Musk to Ridley Scott to Donald Trump - is talking about going to the Red Planet.When the Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon in 1969, many people imagined Mars would be next. However NASA's Viking 1, which landed in 1976, was just a robot. The much-anticipated crewed mission failed to materialise, defeated by a combination of technological and political challenges.Four decades after Viking and almost half a century after Apollo technology has improved beyond recognition - as has politics. As private ventures like SpaceX seize centre stage from NASA, Mars has undergone a seismic shift - it's become the prime destination for future human expansion and colonisation.But what's it really like on Mars, and why should anyone want to go there? How do you get there and what are the risks? Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May answers these questions and more, as he traces the history of our fascination with the Red Planet.
£8.42
Icon Books Jane Austen, the Secret Radical
'A sublime piece of literary detective work that shows us once and for all how to be precisely the sort of reader that Austen deserves.' Caroline Criado-Perez, GuardianAlmost everything we think we know about Jane Austen is wrong. Her novels don't confine themselves to grand houses and they were not written just for readers' enjoyment. She writes about serious subjects and her books are deeply subversive. We just don't read her properly - we haven't been reading her properly for 200 years. Jane Austen, The Secret Radical puts that right. In her first, brilliantly original book, Austen expert Helena Kelly introduces the reader to a passionate woman living in an age of revolution; to a writer who used what was regarded as the lightest of literary genres, the novel, to grapple with the weightiest of subjects - feminism, slavery, abuse, the treatment of the poor, the power of the Church, even evolution - at a time, and in a place, when to write about such things directly was seen as akin to treason. Uncovering a radical, spirited and political engaged Austen, Jane Austen, The Secret Radical will encourage you to read Jane, all over again.
£10.99
Icon Books How to be a Study Ninja: Study smarter. Focus better. Achieve more.
In the world of smartphones, instant internet access and on-demand documentaries, studying should be easier than ever. Yet all this background noise can make us unfocused and inefficient learners. So how can you cut through the distractions and get back to productive, rewarding learning? Four little words: Think like a Ninja.Paralysed by procrastination? Harness some Ninja Focus to get things started. Overwhelmed by exam nerves? You need some Zen-like Calm to turn those butterflies into steely focus. Surrounded by too many scrappy notes and unfinished to-do lists? Get Weapon-savvy with the latest organizational technology.With nine Ninja techniques to learn, there is a solution here for everyone who wants to learn better - and they don't involve giving up the rest of your life.Written by one of the world's foremost productivity experts, How to be a Study Ninja is a fun, accessible and practical guide on how to get the most out of your studying and love the quest for knowledge again.
£9.99
Icon Books Introducing Game Theory: A Graphic Guide
When should you adopt an aggressive business strategy? How do we make decisions when we don't have all the information? What makes international environmental cooperation possible?Game theory is the study of how we make a decision when the outcome of our moves depends on the decisions of someone else. Economists Ivan and Tuvana Pastine explain why, in these situations, we sometimes cooperate, sometimes clash, and sometimes act in a way that seems completely random.Stylishly brought to life by award-winning cartoonist Tom Humberstone, Game Theory will help readers understand behaviour in everything from our social lives to business, global politics to evolutionary biology. It provides a thrilling new perspective on the world we live in.
£9.04
Icon Books The Comet Sweeper (Icon Science): Caroline Herschel's Astronomical Ambition
Having escaped domestic servitude in Germany by teaching herself to sing, and established a career in England, Caroline Herschel learned astronomy while helping her brother William, then Astronomer Royal.Soon making scientific discoveries in her own right, she swept to international scientific and popular fame. She was awarded a salary by George III in 1787 - the first woman in Britain to make her living from science.But, as a woman in a male-dominated world, Herschel's great success was achieved despite constant frustration of her ambitions. Drawing on original sources - including Herschel's diaries and her fiery letters - Claire Brock tells the story of a woman determined to win independence and satisfy her astronomical ambition.
£9.04
Icon Books The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn the Perfect English Phrase
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON. 'An informative but highly entertaining journey through the figures of rhetoric ... Mark Forsyth wears his considerable knowledge lightly. He also writes beautifully.' David Marsh, Guardian. Mark Forsyth presents the secret of writing unforgettable phrases, uncovering the techniques that have made immortal such lines as 'To be or not to be' and 'Bond. James Bond.' In his inimitably entertaining and witty style, he takes apart famous quotations and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde or John Lennon.Crammed with tricks to make the most humdrum sentiments seem poetic or wise, The Elements of Eloquence reveals how writers through the ages have turned humble words into literary gold - and how you can do the same.
£9.89
Icon Books Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession and Greed along Coastal South Africa
'Ghost towns, corporate cruelty, the centuries-old relationship between humans and a species almost magical in its abilities ... fabulous.' The New York Times'Eye-opening' Geographical 'A beautifully written book on diamond smuggling, the universe, life and much of what lies in between.' Toby Muse, author of Kilo: Life and Death Inside the Secret World of the Cocaine CartelsFor nearly 80 years, a huge portion of coastal South Africa was closed off to the public. With many of its pits now deemed "overmined" and abandoned, journalist and author Matthew Gavin Frank set out across the infamous Diamond Coast to investigate an illicit trade - the smuggling of diamonds by carrier pigeon - that supplies a global market.Uncovering a long overlooked truecrime story dating back to the founding of the De Beers corporation, and blending elements of reportage, memoir and legend, he weaves interviews with local diamond divers, who extract mineral wealth from the seabed by day and raise pigeons in secret by night, with harrowing anecdotes from former heads of security, environmental managers, and vigilante pigeon hunters.A rare and remarkable portrait of exploitation and greed, Flight of the Diamond Smugglers reveals how these feathered bandits became outlaws in every mining town.
£13.49
Icon Books Who Poisoned Your Bacon?: The Dangerous History of Meat Additives
'Highly persuasive ... a well-organised and solid dossier that alerts us to legalised chemical trickery.'Joanna Blythman, The Spectator'A bombshell book' Daily Mail'Eye-opening and important . . . a book full of righteous anger' Bee Wilson, from her ForewordDid you know that bacon, ham, hot dogs and salami are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as 'category 1 carcinogens'?Would you eat them if you knew they caused bowel cancer?Following ten years of detailed investigation, documentary film-maker Guillaume Coudray presents a powerful examination of the use of nitro-additives in meat. As he reveals, most mass-produced processed meats, and now even many 'artisanal' products, contain chemicals that react with meat to form cancer-causing compounds. He tells the full story of how, since the 1970s, the meat-processing industry has denied the health risks because these additives make curing cheaper and quicker, extending shelf life and giving meat a pleasing pink colour.These additives are, in fact, unnecessary. Parma ham has not contained them for nearly 30 years - and indeed all traditional cured meats were once produced without nitrate and nitrite. Progressive producers are now increasingly following that example.?Who Poisoned Your Bacon? - featuring a foreword by acclaimed food writer Bee Wilson - is the authoritative, gripping and scandalous story of big business flying in the face of scientific health warnings. It allows you to evaluate the risks, and carries a message of hope that things can change.
£10.99
Icon Books Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: The mission to rescue the hostages the world forgot
'Captivating, a John le Carre-esque yarn' Telegraph'A thoroughly good read' Michael Portillo, author of Portillo's Hidden History of Britain and presenter of Great British Railway Journeys'A compelling story of courage, determination and skill' Terry Waite CBE, author of Taken on TrustThe true story of a retired British army officer's private Somali-hostage rescue missionDuring the peak of the Somali piracy crisis, three ships - from Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan - were hijacked and then abandoned to their fate by their employers, who lacked the money to pay ransoms. All would still be there, were it not for Colonel John Steed, a retired British military attaché, who launched his own private mission to free them. At 65, Colonel Steed was hardly an ideal saviour. With no experience in hostage negotiations and no money behind him, he had to raise the ransom cash from scratch, running the operation from his spare room and ferrying million-dollar ransom payments around in the boot of his car. Drawing on first-hand interviews, former chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph, Colin Freeman, who has himself spent time held hostage by Somali pirates, takes readers on an inside track into the world of hostage negotiation and one man's heroic rescue mission.
£10.99
Icon Books Introducing Nietzsche: A Graphic Guide
Why must we believe that God is dead? Can we accept that traditional morality is just a 'useful mistake'? Did the principle of 'the will to power' lead to the Holocaust? What are the limitations of scientific knowledge? Is human evolution complete or only beginning? It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Friedrich Nietzsche for our present epoch. His extraordinary insights into human psychology, morality, religion and power seem quite clairvoyant today: existentialism, psychoanalysis, semiotics and postmodernism are plainly anticipated in his writings - which are famously enigmatic and often contradictory."Introducing Nietzsche" is the perfect guide to this exhilarating and oft-misunderstood philosopher.
£9.04
Icon Books Introducing Darwin: A Graphic Guide
Progress in genetics today would not be possible without Darwin's revolution, but the mysterious man who laid the rational basis for undermining belief in God's creation was remarkable timid. He spent most of his life in seclusion; a semi-invalid, riddled with doubts, fearing the controversy his theories might unleash.In this brilliantly lucid book - a classic originally published in 1982 - Jonathan Miller unravels Darwin's life and his contribution to biology, and traces the path from his scientific predecessors to the later modifications that his own evolutionary theories required.Introducing Darwin brings alive the difficult progress from pre-Darwinian thinking to modern genetics and the devastatingly important impact of one man on our fundamental understanding of biology, life and ourselves.
£7.19
Icon Books Jane Austen the Secret Radical
''A sublime piece of literary detective work that shows us once and for all how to be precisely the sort of reader that Austen deserves.'' Caroline Criado-Perez, GuardianAlmost everything we think we know about Jane Austen is wrong. Her novels don''t confine themselves to grand houses and they were not written just for readers'' enjoyment. She writes about serious subjects and her books are deeply subversive. We just don''t read her properly - we haven''t been reading her properly for 200 years.Jane Austen, The Secret Radical puts that right. In her first, brilliantly original book, Austen expert Helena Kelly introduces the reader to a passionate woman living in an age of revolution; to a writer who used what was regarded as the lightest of literary genres, the novel, to grapple with the weightiest of subjects - feminism, slavery, abuse, the treatment of the poor, the power of the Church, even evolution - at a time, and in a place, when to write about such things directly was seen as a
£10.99
Icon Books To Catch a Spy
The Spycatcher affair remains one of the most intriguing moments in the history of British intelligence and a pivotal point in the public''s relationship with the murky world of espionage and security. It lifted the lid on alleged Soviet infiltration of British services and revealed a culture of law-breaking, bugging and burgling. But how much do we know about the story behind the scandal?In To Catch a Spy, Tim Tate reveals the astonishing true story of the British government''s attempts to silence whistleblower Peter Wright and hide the truth about Britain''s intelligence services and political elites. It''s a story of state-sanctioned cover-up plots; of the government lying to Parliament and courts around the world; and of stories leaked with the intention to mislead and deceive.This is a tale of high treason and low farce. Drawing on thousands of pages of previously unpublished court transcripts, the contents of secret British government files, and original interviews with many of t
£22.50
Icon Books Interstellar Tours
£9.99
Icon Books The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers between Music and Technology: A Memoir
Thomas Dolby is a five-time Grammy nominee, whose 'She Blinded Me With Science' reached number 5 on the US Billboard charts in 1982, appeared in Breaking Bad, and was even covered by The Muppets...Based on his meticulous notes and journals, The Speed of Sound chronicles Dolby's life in the music business during the eighties; in Silicon Valley through the nineties, and at the forefront of the mobile phone revolution around the turn of the millennium - it was Dolby who created the synthesizer installed today on most mobile phones.With humour and a considerable panache for storytelling, The Speed of Sound is a revealing look behind the curtain of the music industry, as well as a unique history of technology over the past thirty years. From sipping Chablis with Bill Gates to visiting Michael Jackson at his mansion or viewing the Web for the first time on Netscape founder Jim Clark's laptop, this is both the view from the ultimate insider and also that of a technology pioneer whose groundbreaking ideas have helped shape the way we live today.
£9.04
Icon Books Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2022'Well-researched and readable' - Financial Times'An absorbing, pacy read' - New Statesman'The story of lycra-clad feminism' Stylist'Canny and informative' - The New YorkerThe untold history of women's exercise culture, from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda.Author of The Cut's viral article shared thousands of times unearthing the little-known origins of barre workouts, Danielle Friedman explores the history of women's exercise, and how physical strength has been converted into other forms of power.Only in the 60s, thanks to a few forward-thinking fitness pioneers, did women begin to move en masse. In doing so, they were pursuing not only physical strength, but personal autonomy.Exploring barre, jogging, aerobics, weight training and yoga, Danielle Friedman tells the story of how, with the rise of late-20th century feminism, women discovered the joy of physical competence - and how, going forward, we can work to transform fitness from a privilege into a right.
£16.99
Icon Books The Year of the Robin: Watching It All Go Wrong for Charlton Athletic and the World
SHORTLISTED IN THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 FOR NEW FEMALE SPORTS WRITING'Jen has captured the human (and humorous) side of following a football team. A compelling story hilariously told' Sara Pascoe'From family to football, Jen Offord has captured something we can all relate to. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. A must read.' Cariad Lloyd'Hilarious and moving in equal parts' Carrie DunnJen Offord watches it all go wrong for Charlton Athletic and the world.When her beloved Charlton Athletic clinched promotion to The Championship in May 2019, sportswriter Jen Offord splashed out on season tickets for herself and her sceptical brother Michael, setting out to chronicle the south-east London outfit's first season back in the second tier of English football.But this season, more than any other before it, would be a game of two halves. A billionaire takeover backfired spectacularly; the team plummeted into the relegation zone just as Coronavirus swept in to suspend life as we know it.The Year of The Robin is a love letter to the power of football even when there is no football to actually watch, filled with wild characters searching for redemption and wrestling over issues of money, racism and mental health. A funny, sharp and a thought-provoking exploration of the idea of family in unprecedented times and season from which the world may never fully recover.
£14.99
Icon Books Dark Matter and Dark Energy: The Hidden 95% of the Universe
'Clear and compact ... It's hard to fault as a brief, easily digestible introduction to some of the biggest questions in the Universe' Giles Sparrow, BBC Four's The Sky at Night, Best astronomy and space books of 2019: 5/5All the matter and light we can see in the universe makes up a trivial 5 per cent of everything. The rest is hidden. This could be the biggest puzzle that science has ever faced.Since the 1970s, astronomers have been aware that galaxies have far too little matter in them to account for the way they spin around: they should fly apart, but something concealed holds them together. That 'something' is dark matter - invisible material in five times the quantity of the familiar stuff of stars and planets.By the 1990s we also knew that the expansion of the universe was accelerating. Something, named dark energy, is pushing it to expand faster and faster. Across the universe, this requires enough energy that the equivalent mass would be nearly fourteen times greater than all the visible material in existence.Brian Clegg explains this major conundrum in modern science and looks at how scientists are beginning to find solutions to it.
£9.99
Icon Books Ghost Riders: Operation Cowboy, the World War Two Mission to Save the World's Finest Horses
April 1945. As Alliedbombs rain down on Europe, a 400-year-old institution looks set to be wiped offthe face of the Earth. The famous white Lipizzaner stallions of the SpanishRiding School in Vienna, unique and precious animals representing centuries ofcareful breeding, are scattered across rural Austria and Czechoslovakia inareas soon to be swallowed up by Soviet forces - there, doubtless, to becomerations for the Red Army. Their only hope lies withthe Americans: what if a small, highly mobile US task force could be sent deepbehind German lines, through fanatical SS troops, to rescue the horses beforethe Soviets arrive. Just five light tanks, a handful of armoured cars and jeeps,and 300 battle-weary GIs must plunge headlong into the unknown on a rescuemission that could change the course of European history. So beginsOperation Cowboy, the greatest Second World War story that has never been fullytold. GIs will join forces with surrendered German soldiers and liberatedprisoners of war to save the world's finest horses from fanatical SS and theruthless Red Army in an extraordinary battle during the last few days of thewar in Europe.
£20.00
Icon Books Saving Capitalism: For The Many, Not The Few
'A very good guide to the state we're in' Paul Krugman, New York Review of Books'A well-written, thought-provoking book by one of America's leading economic thinkers and progressive champions.' Huffington PostDo you recall a time when the income of a single schoolteacher or baker or salesman or mechanic was enough to buy a home, have two cars, and raise a family?Robert Reich does - in the 1950s his father sold clothes to factory workers and the family earnt enough to live comfortably. Today, this middle class is rapidly shrinking: American income inequality and wealth disparity is the greatest it's been in eighty years.As Reich, who served in three US administrations, shows, the threat to capitalism is no longer communism or fascism but a steady undermining of the trust modern societies need for growth and stability.With an exclusive chapter for Icon's edition, Saving Capitalism is passionate yet practical, sweeping yet exactingly argued, a revelatory indictment of the economic status quo and an empowering call to action.
£9.99
Icon Books How to Win a Roman Chariot Race: Lives, Legends and Treasures from the Ancient World
Who first thought of atoms? How much can you learn about archaeology from an oil lamp? Who came up with the theory of the 'wandering womb'?Oxford Classicist Jane Hood delves into the history, culture, literature, mythology and philosophy of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, using her expert eye to unearth unexpected gems, glittering fragments and quotable nuggets from a lost world.From ancient cosmetics to the earliest known computer, from the deciphering of ancient languages to the amazing things the Romans did with concrete, this is the essential miscellany for all curious minds, whether you learned the Classics at school or not.
£8.09
Icon Books Nine Musings on Time
Time travel is a familiar theme of science fiction, but is it really possible?Surprisingly, time travel is not forbidden by the laws of physics - and John Gribbin argues that if it is not impossible then it must be possible. Gribbin brilliantly illustrates the possibilities of time travel by comparing familiar themes from science fiction with their real-world scientific counterparts, including Einstein's theories of relativity, black holes, quantum physics, and the multiverse, illuminated by examples from the fictional tales of Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Carl Sagan and others. The result is an entertaining guide to some deep mysteries of the Universe which may leave you wondering whether time actually passes at all, and if it does, whether we are moving forwards or backwards. A must-read for science fiction fans and anyone intrigued by deep science.
£9.99
Icon Books The Army That Never Was
The Army That Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception tells the remarkable story of the deceptions, hoaxes and misdirections carried out by the Allies ahead of the most pivotal moment of the Second World War - the D-Day invasion. The most audacious of these schemes aimed to convince German forces that plans to storm Normandy were a mere sideshow, and featured a fictitious army led by General Patton and furnished with hundreds of real-world dummy landing craft, tanks and aircraft. New research reveals a hidden link with Britain's film industry, as the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of this dramatic gambit is explored in detail. Full of fascinating characters from the US, Britain and Germany, this compelling and propulsive narrative explores one of the most remarkable secret campaigns of the Second World War.
£22.50
Icon Books UPROAR
**A brilliant new history of Georgian Britain through the eyes of the artists who immortalised it, by one of the UK''s most exciting young historians**''Alice Loxton is the star of her generation ... the next big thing in history'' DAN SNOW''Vivid, pacey and endlessly engaging, this brilliant debut brings the late Georgian period dazzlingly to life. Irresistible stuff'' TRACY BORMANLondon, 1772: a young artist called Thomas Rowlandson is making his way through the grimy backstreets of the capital, on his way to begin his studies at the Royal Academy Schools. Within a few years, James Gillray and Isaac Cruikshank would join him in Piccadilly, turning satire into an artform, taking on the British establishment, and forever changing the way we view power. Set against a backdrop of royal madness, political intrigue, the birth of modern celebrity, French revolution, American independence and the Napoleonic Wars, UPROAR! follows the satirists as they lampoon those in power, from the Prince R
£11.99
Icon Books The 50 Greatest Wonders of the World
Machu Picchu, the Acropolis, the Great Rift Valley: these are some of the most beautiful, mysterious and awe-inspiring places on the planet. Award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar reveals the greatest wonders of the world and the insider secrets on how to see them. From where to catch the perfect sunrise over the Grand Canyon to how to swim up to the very edge of the Victoria Falls, this is a road map for discovering the greatest experiences of your life. There are wonders of our future too: the Large Hadron Collider, the most complicated machine ever built; the International Space Station, the greatest international peacetime collaboration in history; the Rio Carnival, the biggest party on the planet. The 50 Greatest Wonders of the World reminds us how fantastically inspiring our planet really is, and how we're a part of it.
£9.91
Icon Books The Jay The Beech and the Limpetshell
''Generous, moving and alive. A gift'' - Tim Dee, author of Greenery''Intelligent, thought-provoking and always, always interesting'' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment''Smyth writes with warmth and engaging perception about our relationship and understanding of the natural world on our doorsteps'' - Jon Dunn, author of The Glitter in the Green''Fresh and tender and playful'' - Patrick Galbraith, author of In Search of One Last SongWeren''t they richer, rock pools, wasn''t the seashore busier, when I was a kid?Richard Smyth had always been drawn to the natural world, but when he became a father he found a new joy and a new urgency in showing his kids the everyday wild things around them. As he and his children explore rockpools in Whitley Bay, or the woods and moors near his Yorkshire home, he imagines the world they might inhabit as they grow up. Through different objects discovered on their wanderings - a beech leaf, a jay feather, a limpetshell - Smyth examines his own pa
£9.99
Icon Books 100 Years of Leeds United: 1919-2019
UPDATED TO INCLUDE ALL THE ACTION FROM THE CLUB'S TITLE-WINNING CENTENARY YEAR.THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH LEEDS UNITED'Every up and down at Leeds United. Essential reading.' Phil HayThe definitive history of Leeds United's first century. 100 Years of Leeds United tells the story of a one-club city and its unique relationship with its football team. Since its foundation in 1919, Leeds United Football Club has seen more ups and downs than most, rising to global fame through an inimitable and uncompromising style in the 70s, clinching the last Division One title prior to the Premier League's inauguration in 1992, before a spectacular fall from grace at the start of the 21st century.United finally restored their top flight status after a sixteen-year wait with an unstoppable promotion campaign in the club's 100th year; the transformation under manager Marcelo Bielsa fittingly reminiscent of those instigated by Howard Wilkinson and Don Revie decades earlier.In 100 Years of Leeds United, Chapman delves deep into the archives to discover the lesser-known episodes, providing fresh context to the folkloric tales that have shaped the club we know today, painting the definitive picture of the West Yorkshire giants.
£12.99
Icon Books The 50 Greatest Walks of the World
Barry Stone, author of 1001 Walks You Must Experience Before You Die, delves into some of the lesser-known aspects of the world's most famous - and not-quite-famous-yet - trails.The perfect accompaniment to practical guidebooks, Stone relates how slings and carabiners kept him from falling headlong off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and reports on the progress of the continental-wide monster, the Trans Canada Trail, gaps in which are still being filled by countless grass-roots communities.With walks that will appeal to everyone regardless of ability, The 50 Greatest Walks of the World includes British classics such as the Pennine Way, Offa's Dyke Path, and the Old Man of Hoy as well as personal favourites such as Italy's Cinque Terre Classic and the Isle of Skye's Trotternish Ridge, one of Britain's finest ridge traverses with almost 2,500m of ascents. Whether it's a climb, a stroll, or a life-changing slog, this book has the walk for you.
£9.13
Icon Books Artificial Intelligence: Modern Magic or Dangerous Future?
Artificial intelligence has long been a mainstay of science fiction and increasingly it feels as if AI is entering our everyday lives, with technology like Apple's Siri now prominent, and self-driving cars almost upon us.But what do we actually mean when we talk about 'AI'? Are the sentient machines of 2001 or The Matrix a real possibility or will real-world artificial intelligence look and feel very different? What has it done for us so far? And what technologies could it yield in the future?AI expert Yorick Wilks takes a journey through the history of artificial intelligence up to the present day, examining its origins, controversies and achievements, as well as looking into just how it works. He also considers the future, assessing whether these technologies could menace our way of life, but also how we are all likely to benefit from AI applications in the years to come.Entertaining, enlightening, and keenly argued, this is the essential one-stop guide to the AI debate.
£8.99
Icon Books George Russell: A Biography
From James Gray, author of the bestselling Max Verstappen, comes the very first biography of Lewis Hamilton's designated successor George Russell, published to mark the British Grand Prix.From dominating the karting tracks of East Anglia to the top of the podium in Formula 3 and Formula 2, George Russell has now fully established himself as a rising Formula 1 star. After cutting his teeth as a driver with Williams, in 2022 he signed a lucrative contract with Mercedes, highlighting the extent of his raw talent.Driving for Mercedes, Russell has been confirmed as the designated successor to none other than Lewis Hamilton. As Hamilton's heir-apparent, will this protégé manage to follow in the footsteps of the greatest F1 driver of all time?Sports journalist and author of Max Verstappen James Gray traces how George Russell has been setting the racing track alight since the age of seven and how he is now destined to become the successor to the crown of British motor racing.
£14.99
Icon Books The Science of Music: How Technology has Shaped the Evolution of an Artform
Music is shaped by the science of sound. How can music - an artform - have anything to do with science? Yet there are myriad ways in which the two are intertwined, from the basics of music theory and the design of instruments to hi-fi systems and how the brain processes music.Science writer Andrew May traces the surprising connections between science and music, from the theory of sound waves to the way musicians use mathematical algorithms to create music.The most obvious impact of science on music can be seen in the way electronic technology has revolutionised how we create, record and listen to music. Technology has also provided new insights into the effects that different music has on the brain, to the extent that some algorithms can now predict our reactions with uncanny accuracy, which raises a worrying question: how long will it be before AI can create music on a par with humans?
£10.99
Icon Books Biomimetics: How Lessons from Nature can Transform Technology
An exploration of the transformative ways in which nature has inspired the technological advancement of humankind.Biomimetics literally means emulating biology - and in a broader sense the term covers technological advances where the original inspiration came from nature. The Earth is a vast laboratory where the mechanisms of natural selection have enabled evolutionary solutions to be developed to a wide range of problems. In this new title in the Hot Science series, science writer Brian Clegg looks at how humans have piggybacked on natural experimentation, redeploying a solution to create things that make our lives easier. He looks at how the hooks on burdock seeds inspired the creation of Velcro, how the stickiness of the feet of geckos and frogs has been used to create gripping surfaces, such as tyre treads, and how even the most basic optical enhancement in the form of spectacles is itself a form of biomimetics.
£10.99
Icon Books The Brontesaurus: An A–Z of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë (and Branwell)
Did Charlotte Brontë take opium? Did the Reverend Brontë carry a loaded pistol? What, precisely, does 'wuthering' mean?Distinguished literary critic John Sutherland takes an idiosyncratic look at the world of the Brontës, from the bumps on Charlotte's head to the nefarious origins of Mr Rochester's fortune, by way of astral telephony, letterwriting dogs, an exploding peat bog, and much, much more. Also features 'Jane Eyre abbreviated' by John Crace, author of the Guardian's 'Digested Reads' column - read Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece in five minutes!
£8.99
Icon Books The 50 Greatest Churches and Cathedrals of Great Britain
Britain is well-known for its churches and cathedrals; buildings of great architecture and religious grandeur that form many of our recognisable skylines. But these grand structures are also full of facts, histories and stories that you may not have been aware of. Did you know that there are only three cathedrals in Britain without a ringing bell? Or that St Davids Cathedral, nestled away in a Welsh valley, has a very unique choir, where the top line is sung only by female choristers, aged eight to eighteen? How about that the Great Pyramids in Egypt were the world's tallest structures for over 3,870 years, until the construction of Lincoln Cathedral in 1311? Award-wining travel writer and editor Sue Dobson takes us on a journey around the United Kingdom, showing us her highlights while providing fascinating details and stories along the way.
£8.09
Icon Books The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country
* NOW WITH A NEW CHAPTER *'A hugely enjoyable romp through the pleasures and pitfalls of setting up home in a foreign land.'- GuardianGiven the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too - or. her understanding of it - has shifted. It's a messy and flawed place, she concludes - but can still be a model for a better way of living.
£10.57
Icon Books Suarez: The Remarkable Story Behind Football's Most Explosive Talent
Bestselling football biographer Luca Caioli tackles his most controversial subject yet - Barcelona, Uruguay and former Liverpool forward Luis Suárez.When in late September 2013 Luis Suárez returned from a landmark ten-match ban for biting an opponent, one in a long line of high-profile misdemeanours, it seemed unlikely that he would ever win over his critics.In the months that followed he scored an astonishing 31 times, propelling Liverpool back into the Champions League following a four-year absence. The World Cup in Brazil followed but Suárez saw his action-packed tournament curtailed after just two games, two goals and one moment of madness, with favourable comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo once again overshadowed by those with Jekyll and Hyde.Acclaimed football biographer Luca Caioli provides an in-depth look at one of football's most enigmatic characters, from humble Uruguayan beginnings to his big-money move to Barcelona in July 2014.
£8.42
Icon Books Atomic: The First War of Physics and the Secret History of the Atom Bomb 1939-49
Spanning ten historic years, from the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939 to 'Joe-1', the first Soviet atomic bomb test in August 1949, Atomic is the first fully realised popular account of the race between Nazi Germany, Britain, America and the Soviet Union to build atomic weapons.Rich in personality, action, confrontation and deception, Jim Baggott's book tells an epic story of science and technology at the very limits of human understanding.
£10.99
Icon Books Introducing Jung: A Graphic Guide
'Clever and witty.' Susie Orbach, GuardianCarl Gustav Jung was the enigmatic and controversial father of analytical psychology.This updated edition of Introducing Jung brilliantly explains the theories that underpin Jung's work, delves into the controversies that led him to break away from Freud and describes his near psychotic breakdown, from which he emerged with radical new insights into the nature of the unconscious mind - and which were published for the first time in 2009 in The Red Book.Step by step, Maggie Hyde demonstrates how it was entirely logical for him to explore the psychology of religion, alchemy, astrology, the I Ching and other phenomena rejected by science in his investigation of his patients' dreams, fantasies and psychic disturbances.
£9.04
Icon Books Introducing Marx: A Graphic Guide
Compact INTRODUCING guide to the influential philosopher, sociologist and economist. INTRODUCING MARX - A GRAPHIC GUIDE explores the life of the most famous Socialist figure, from his early years to meeting Engels in1842. It provides a readable, understandable biography of Karl Marx as well as a fundamental account of his original philosophy, its roots in 19th century European ideology, his radical economic and social criticism of capitalism that inspired vast 20th century revolutions.
£9.04