Abbey's Advocate

By the winner of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction, 2018. Since her sister died, Meg has been on her own. She doesn't mind, not really-not with Atticus, her African grey parrot, to keep her company-but after her house is broken into by a knife-wielding intruder, she decides it might be good to have some company after all. Andy's father has lost his job, and his parents' savings are barely enough to cover his tuition. If he wants to graduate, he'll have to give up his student flat and find a homeshare. Living with an elderly Australian woman is harder than he'd expected, though, and soon he's struggling with more than his studies.

The powerful new novel from master storyteller Jackie French The soldiers she saved called her the Angel of Waterloo. The husband she loved and lost called her Hen. The patients she treated in secret called her Auntie Love. She was Henrietta Bartlett, a surgeon's daughter, a survivor of the Napoleonic Wars. But now the battlefield is just a blood-soaked memory, and Hen dreams of peace, a home, and a society that allows women to practise medicine. On the other side of the world, the newly founded colony of New South Wales seems a paradise. But Europe's wars cast long shadows ... From bestselling author Jackie French comes the story of one woman's journey from the hell of Waterloo to colonial Australia, where she can forge her own dreams in a land of many nations. PRAISE FOR JACKIE FRENCH 'a master storyteller ... [she] gives women a rich, strong, and brutally honest voice' Better Reading 'Heartwarming, heartbreaking and hard to put down' Australian Women's Weekly on If Blood Should Stain the Wattle

If you devoured THE CROWN you will love this exuberant story of a young Australian actress caught up in the excesses, royal intrigues and class divide of Jazz Age London, losing her way but reclaiming her heart in the process London, 1920s: Kit Scott, a privileged young Australian aiming to become a star, arrives in the city to find the Jazz Age in full swing. Cast in a West End play opposite another young hopeful, Canadian Zeke Gardiner, she dances blithely into the heady lifestyle of English high society and the London theatre set, from Noel Coward to Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele. When Kit is photographed dancing the Charleston alongside the Prince of Wales, she finds herself at the centre of a major scandal, sending the Palace into damage control and Kit to her aristocratic English relatives - and into the arms of the hedonistic Lord Henry Carleton. Amid the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, both Zeke and Kit are faced with temptations - and make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever. Readers of Natasha Lester's A KISS FROM MR FITZGERALD will love THE CHARLESTON SCANDAL. Bestselling author Pamela Hart's energetic, masterful storytelling will have you glued right until the end.

'The characters leap off the page and into your imagination, the settings are vivid, the narrative is fast moving and dramatic, the resolution satisfying.' Reading, Writing and Riesling on Fool Me Once Jason Weaver just wants to be left alone. It was a tough transition from his army days to civilian life, and he's looking forward to settling into a solitary life. Tilly Hollis is working two jobs to save for her dream career: running an equine therapy program. Tilly loves her horses more than anything, and after losing her husband and business partner just a few years earlier, she's determined to make it work on her own. When Jason walks into the cafe where Tilly works, they're immediately drawn to one another. But can they overcome their pasts to find a future together? 'A story of love, loss, endurance and determination . . . Lane's passion for helping her readers to better understand the everyday predicaments faced by our rural community is very clear. It definitely kept me fully engaged in this story.' Mrs B's Book Reviews on Fool Me Once

Beautiful, beguiling and treacherous ... Big Little Lies meets Picnic at Hanging Rock in a secluded valley over the Blue Mountains.

Four women and their children are invited to the beautiful but remote Capertee Valley, west of the Blue Mountains.

Once home to a burgeoning mining industry, now all that remains are ruins slowly being swallowed by the bush and the jewel of the valley, a stunning, renovated Art Deco hotel. This is a place haunted by secrets. In 1948 Clara Black walked into the night, never to be seen again.

As the valley beguiles these four friends, and haunts them in equal measure, each has to confront secrets of her own: Nathalie, with a damaged marriage; Emmie, yearning for another child; Pen, struggling as a single parent; and Alexandra, hiding in the shadow of her famous husband.

But as the mystery of what happened seventy years earlier unravels, one of the women also vanishes into this bewitching but wild place, forcing devastating truths to the surface.

Praise for The Lost Summers of Driftwood:

'McCausland is a natural storyteller who weaves love, loss, mystery and secrets into a satisfying tale' Herald Sun 'Full of mystery and romance, this is the perfect atmospheric summer read' Who Weekly

This vivid story of campervans, stowaways and mischief at any age is essentially about families: the ones you have and the ones you make. When Ruby and Angela embark on a Grey Nomads road trip, the last thing they expect is a tiny stowaway; one who will turn them from unsuspecting tourists into wanted kidnappers and land them in a world of trouble. As their leisurely retirement plans unravel, Angela's relationship with her brother Bernard goes from bad to worse. Bernard has his own problems to contend with. Adrift in life, his career as a news presenter has been reduced to opening fetes and reading Voss as an audio book (a seemingly impossible task). His troubles are compounded when his wife starts dating a younger man and a drink-driving incident turns him into a celebrity offender. As Angela and Ruby set about repairing burnt bridges and helping their unexpected guest, and Bernard attempts to patch together his broken life, they discover that even after a lifetime of experience, you're never too old to know better. A warm, funny, sharply observed story about aging disgracefully and loving the one you're with. PRAISE 'Laugh out loud funny. If you love characters of a certain age behaving very, very badly - read this book.' Victoria Purman, bestselling Australian author of The Land Girls 'A great debut novel packed with crazy characters, this is an entertaining story of growing older and coming up trumps.' Tricia Stringer, bestselling author of The Model Wife 'Olivia Wearne's compelling and witty novel unveils the frailties and passions of a complex array of characters...The perfect book to take on your own Grand Tour.' - Jane Coverdale, author

From the bestselling author of The Light After the War comes the unforgettable story of a young woman waging her own war against the Nazis as a spy for the Resistance on the French Riviera. Paris, 1943: Lana Antanova is rushing to tell her husband she is pregnant when she witnesses him being executed by a Gestapo officer for hiding a Jewish girl in a piano. Overcome with grief, Lana loses the baby. A few months later, a heartbroken Lana is approached to join the Resistance on the French Riviera. As the daughter of a Russian countess, Lana has the perfect background to infiltrate the emigre community of Russian aristocrats who socialise with Nazi officers, including the man who killed her husband. Lana's cover story makes her the mistress of a wealthy Swiss playboy, the darkly handsome and charismatic Guy Pascal, and her base his villa in Cap Ferrat. Together they make a ruthlessly effective team. Consumed by her mission, Lana doesn't count on becoming attached to a young Jewish girl or falling helplessly in love with Guy. As the Nazis close in, Lana's desire to protect the ones she loves threatens to put them all at risk.

Collected Stories includes both volumes of National Book Award-winning author Shirley Hazzard's short story collections - Cliffs of Fall and People in Glass Houses - alongside uncollected works and two previously unpublished stories. Twenty-eight works of short fiction in all, Shirley Hazzard's Collected Stories is a work of staggering breadth and talent. Taken together, Hazzard's short stories are masterworks in telescoping focus, 'at once surgical and symphonic' (New Yorker), ranging from quotidian struggles between beauty and pragmatism to satirical sendups of international bureaucracy, from the Italian countryside to suburban Connecticut. In an interview, Hazzard once said, 'The idea that somebody has expressed something, in a supreme way, that it can be expressed; this is, I think, an enormous feature of literature'. Her stories themselves are a supreme evocation of writing at its very best: probing, uncompromising and deeply felt.

A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery... Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She doesn't hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy - and one final scavenger hunt. Now as the owner of Prospero's Book, Miranda finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store's shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. She becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy's last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy's past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda's mother has kept hidden - and the terrible secret that tore her family apart. Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to the healing power of community and how our histories shape who we become.

Sharp, searching, thoroughly imagined, utterly of the moment . . . it throws much contemporary writing into the shade' Hilary Mantel From the acclaimed author of Ghost Wall, Summerwater is a devastating story told over twenty-four hours in the Scottish highlands, and a searing exploration of our capacity for both kinship and cruelty in these divided times. On the longest day of the summer, twelve people sit cooped up with their families in a faded Scottish cabin park. The endless rain leaves them with little to do but watch the other residents. A woman goes running up the Ben as if fleeing; a retired couple reminisce about neighbours long since moved on; a teenage boy braves the dark waters of the loch in his red kayak. Each person is wrapped in their own cares but increasingly alert to the makeshift community around them. One particular family, a mother and daughter without the right clothes or the right manners, starts to draw the attention of the others. Tensions rise and all watch on, unaware of the tragedy that lies ahead as night finally falls. 'Nothing escapes her sly humour and brilliant touch. Deft and brimming with life, Summerwater is a novel of endless depth. A masterpiece.' Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist

'This homage to P.G. Wodehouse is so good ... a masterpiece in every sense' Mail

The Drones club's in peril. Gussie's in love. Spode's on the warpath. Oh, and His Majesty's Government needs a favour. I say - it's a good thing Bertie's back!

One man - and his Gentleman's Personal Gentleman - valiantly set out to save the Drones, thwart Spode and nobly assist His Majesty's Government.From the mean streets of Mayfair to the scheming spires of Cambridge we encounter a joyous cast of characters- chiselling painters and criminal bookies, eccentric philosophers and dodgy clairvoyantes, appalling poets and pocket dictators, vexatious aunts and their vicious hounds.

Replete with a Times crossword, and classic Schottian endnotes, you hold in your hands the most blissfully entertaining means to while away an idle hour or two.P.G. Wodehouse has long been a panacea for the woes of the world... have we ever needed a new Jeeves and Wooster more?

'Peerless in its wit, elegance and silliness.' Evening Standard BOOKS OF THE YEAR on Jeeves and the King of Clubs'A tonic for these testing times' Eithne Farry, Sunday Express

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley, The Strays of Paris is a captivating story of three extraordinary animals - and one little boy - whose lives cross paths in Paris. Paras is a spirited young racehorse living in a stable in the French countryside. That is until one afternoon, when she pushes open the gate of her stall and, travelling through the night, arrives quite by chance in the dazzling streets of Paris. She soon meets a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated crow, and life amongst the animals in the city's lush green spaces is enjoyable for a time. But everything changes when Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the secluded, ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great grandmother live quietly and unto themselves. As the cold weather of Christmas nears, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom among humans and animals alike. But how long can a runaway horse live undiscovered in Paris? And how long can one boy keep her all to himself? Charming and beguiling in equal measure, Jane Smiley's novel celebrates the intrinsic need for friendship, love, and freedom, whomever you may be . . .

Sunday Times number one bestseller Joanna Trollope explores the issues at the heart of a modern family with her trademark wit and warmth, in Mum & Dad.

'What a mess, she thought now . . . what a bloody, unholy mess the whole family has got itself into.' It's been twenty-five years since Gus and Monica left England to start a new life in Spain, building a vineyard and wine business from the ground up. However, when Gus suffers a stroke and their idyllic Mediterranean life is thrown into upheaval, it's left to their three grown-up children in London to step in . . .

Sebastian is busy running his company with his wife, Anna, who's never quite seen eye-to-eye with her mother-in-law.

Katie, a successful solicitor in the City, is distracted by the problems with her long-term partner, Nic, and the secretive lives of their three daughters.

And Jake, ever the easy-going optimist, is determined to convince his new wife, Bella, that moving to Spain with their eighteen-month-old would be a good idea.

As the children descend on the vineyard, it becomes clear that each has their own idea of how best to handle their mum and dad, as well as the family business. But as long-simmering resentments rise to the surface and tensions reach breaking point, can the family ties prove strong enough to keep them together?

'Trollope writes about family relationships with intelligence and clear-eyed sympathy' - The Times

'Surreal and unsettling' OBSERVER CULTURAL HIGHLIGHT 'Wise, comical and exceptionally relatable' ZEBA TALKHANI 'Quietly hilarious and deeply attuned to the uncanny rhythms and deadpan absurdity of the daily grind' SHARLENE TEO A woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that requires no reading, no writing - and ideally, very little thinking. She is sent to an office building where she is tasked with watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods. But observing someone for hours on end isn't so easy. How will she stay awake? When can she take delivery of her favourite brand of tea? And, perhaps more importantly - how did she find herself in this situation in the first place? As she moves from job to job, writing bus adverts for shops that mysteriously disappear, and composing advice for rice cracker wrappers that generate thousands of devoted followers, it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all, but something altogether more meaningful...

Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation- fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter Kitty by her hostile daughter-in-law, who finds solace in rebellious drinking and shoplifting; and shy, bookish Minna who in the safety of shepherd's hut shares with her surrogate granddaughter Rose her passion for reading. The outlook of all three women subtly alters when through their encounters with each other they discover that the past is always with us and that we go on learning and changing until the very end.

THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT - A #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story. For readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and Orphan Train. Born into a world of wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. A loving daughter to her father, a US senator, with her own ambitious career as a lawyer and a handsome fiance waiting for her in Baltimore, she has lived a charmed life. But when Avery returns to Aiken to help her father weather a health crisis and a political attack, a chance encounter with May Crandall, an elderly woman she's never met before, leaves Avery deeply shaken. Avery's decision to learn more about May's life will take her on a journey through a hidden history of stolen children and illegal adoption. A journey that will reveal a secret that could lead to devastation...or redemption. Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals - in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organisation, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country - Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong. PRAISE 'Wingate is a compelling storyteller, steeping her narrative with a forward momentum that keeps the reader as engaged and curious.' - Publisher's Weekly 'It is impossible not to get swept up in this near perfect novel. It invades your heart from the very first pages and stays there long after the book is finished.' - Huffington Post 'The society seems too Dickensian to be true, except that it was, and its black-market adoption practices caused a stir in the mid-twentieth century. Wingate writes with flair, and her distinctly drawn characters and adept use of the adoption scandal will keep readers turning the pages.' - Booklist 'Lisa Wingate's heart-racing, heart-wrenching tale of a family ripped apart by the Tennessee Children's Home Society scandal, rang so true I couldn't sleep until I knew their fate. Days later, I'm still haunted by the diabolical plot to steal and sell the most vulnerable children to high bidders, sanctioned by high-ranking officials who looked the other way.' - Julie Kibler, International Bestselling Author of Calling Me Home

It's 1699, and the salons of Paris are bursting with the creative energy of fierce, independent-minded women. But outside those doors, the patriarchal forces of Louis XIV and the Catholic Church are moving to curb their freedoms. In this battle for equality, Baroness Marie Catherine D'Aulnoy invents a powerful weapon: 'fairy tales'. When Marie Catherine's daughter, Angelina, arrives in Paris for the first time, she is swept up in the glamour and sensuality of the city, where a woman may live outside the confines of the church or marriage. But this is a fragile freedom, as she discovers when Marie Catherine's close friend Nicola Tiquet is arrested, accused of conspiring to murder her abusive husband. In the race to rescue Nicola, illusions will be shattered and dark secrets revealed as all three women learn how far they will go to preserve their liberty in a society determined to control them. This second book from Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife, restores another remarkable, little-known woman to her rightful place in history, revealing the dissent hidden beneath the whimsical surfaces of Marie Catherine's fairy tales. The Bee and the Orange Tree is a beautifully lyrical and deeply absorbing portrait of a time, a place, and the subversive power of the imagination.

'An excellent new series by the consistently brilliant Robert Fabbri' - Sunday Sport

Babylon, 323 BC: Alexander the Great is dead, leaving behind him the largest, and most fearsome, empire the world has ever seen. As his final breaths fade in a room of seven bodyguards, Alexander refuses to name a successor. But without a natural heir, who will take the reins? As the news of the king's sudden and unexpected death ripples across the land, leaving all in disbelief, the ruthless battle for the throne begins. What follows is a devious, tangled web of scheming and plotting, with alliances quickly made and easily broken, each rival with their own agenda. Let the battles begin...

Four Emperors. Two Friends. One Destiny. As twilight descends on the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire is but a shadow of its former self. Into this chaos Emperor Diocletian steps, reforming the succession to allow for not one emperor to rule the world, but four. 'A page turner from beginning to end ... A damn fine read' Ben Kane. Four Emperors. Two Friends. One Destiny. As twilight descends on the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire is but a shadow of its former self. Decades of usurping emperors, splinter kingdoms and savage wars have left the people beleaguered, the armies weary and the future uncertain. And into this chaos Emperor Diocletian steps, reforming the succession to allow for not one emperor to rule the world, but four. Meanwhile, two boys share a chance meeting in the great city of Treverorum as Diocletian's dream is announced to the imperial court. Throughout the years that follow, they share heartbreak and glory as that dream sours and the empire endures an era of tyranny and dread. Their lives are inextricably linked, their destinies ever-converging as they rise through Rome's savage stations, to the zenith of empire. For Constantine and Maxentius, the purple robes beckon...

In 1901, the word 'Bondmaid' was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it. Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the 'Scriptorium', a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme's place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word 'bondmaid' flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world. Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women's experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. Set when the women's suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It's a delightful, lyrical

There are a lot of Ambers in the stripping world. And Aprils and Summers, and Skys and Rains. There are quite a few gems: Sapphires, Diamonds, Rubies and even an Amethyst. And exotic creatures: Tigers, Cheetahs, Phoenixes and Kitties. Plenty of weather conditions, like Misty, Stormy and Cloudy. There are, of course, a selection of fruits: Cherry, Berry, Peaches and Apple. And confectionery to go with it, like Candy, Lolly and Caramel. And then there are the generic hot-girl/sexy names: Lolita, Tiffany, Chanel, Lulu, Sasha and Brigitte. Meet Sunshine. That's her stage name. Follow her downstairs into the shadowy underworld of the so-called Gentlemen's Clubs, where men hide in dark corners and pay gorgeous women like Sunshine to take their clothes off. Follow her to the private rooms where the lap dances happen, the hustle plays out and the real money flows. Sit with her in the back room with the other dancers, her friends and colleagues, who laugh and cry and rake in the dollars and party as though a zombie apocalypse is on the horizon. Sunshine tells us in her own brutally honest and audacious words what it's like to work as a stripper, both in Australia and overseas. Confessional, confronting, revealing, wildly entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny, Sunshine: The diary of a lap dancer will take you into a world that most of us can only imagine and that others know all too well. But only the dancers know what really goes on - and this book shows you their world stripped bare.

What makes a man turn his back on society? What makes him return? For years a man calling himself Will Power lived in near-total isolation in northern New South Wales, foraging for food, eating bats and occasionally trading for produce. But who was this mysterious man who roamed the forest and knew all of its secrets and riddles? Some people thought he might be Jesus. Others feared he was a more sinister figure. The truth was that he was neither miraculous nor malevolent, but he was, most certainly, gifted. And when he finally emerged from the forest, emaciated and close to death, he was determined to reclaim his real name and 'give society another chance'. Today, Dr Gregory Peel Smith, who left school at the age of fourteen, has a PhD and teaches in the Social Sciences at university. His profoundly touching and uplifting memoir is at once a unique insight into how far off track a life can go and powerful reminder that we can all find our way back if we pause for a moment in the heart of the forest.

The first biography of this great and tragic poet that takes advantage of a wealth of new material, this is an unusually balanced, comprehensive and definitive life of Sylvia Plath. Determined not to read Plath's work as if her every act, from childhood on, was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark presents new materials about Plath's scientist father, her juvenile writings, and her psychiatric treatment, and evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century, in the shadow of the atom bomb and the Holocaust, as she explores Sylvia's world- her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her conflicted ties to her well-meaning, widowed mother; her troubles at the hands of an unenlightened mental-health industry; and her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes, a true marriage of minds that would change the course of poetry in English. Clark's clear-eyed sympathy for Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath's suicide promotes a deeper understanding of her final days, with their outpouring of first-rate poems. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark's meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.

This third and climactic volume of Charles Moore's authorised biography gives the definitive account of Margaret Thatcher's third term in office and her life after it. Three stories run through the whole book. The first is Mrs Thatcher's dominance of her government in almost every domestic field, but also her growing intolerance of dissent, the increasing alienation of her most senior ministers over Europe and the fatal corrosion which followed. The second is her commanding presence on the world stage (including relations with Reagan, Gorbachev, Bush, Kohl and Mandela), her role in the ending of the Cold War, her central position in the response to the invasion of Kuwait, and her increasing isolation as America's priorities in Europe changed. The third is how she, a woman, coped and led in political worlds almost entirely occupied by men. The three stories come dramatically together in the autumn of 1990 when, at the moment of greatest domestic danger, she travelled to Paris to participate in the ceremonies ending the Cold War. The chapters here on her fall are, in their drama, unmatched in modern political biography.

'Biden has overcome unimaginable tribulation, multiple presidential primary humiliations, a potentially crippling speech impediment and his own mediocrity. Now he carries the hopes of billions upon his shoulders' Sunday Times The new biography of President-elect Joe Biden by National Book Award winner and New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos - A Financial Times Book of the Year President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has been called both the luckiest man and the unluckiest - fortunate to have sustained a fifty-year political career that reached the White House, but also marked by deep personal losses that he has suffered. Yet even as Biden's life has been shaped by drama, it has also been powered by a willingness, rare at the top ranks of politics, to confront his shortcomings, errors and reversals of fortune. His trials have forged in him a deep empathy for others in hardship - an essential quality as he addresses a nation at its most dire hour in decades. Blending up-close journalism and broader context, Evan Osnos illuminates Biden's life and captures the characters and meaning of an extraordinary presidential election. He draws on lengthy interviews with Biden and on revealing conversations with more than a hundred others, including President Barack Obama, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and a range of progressive activists, advisers, opponents, and Biden family members. In this nuanced portrait, Biden emerges as flawed, yet resolute, and tempered by the flame of tragedy - a man who just may be uncannily suited for his moment in history. 'Treads back along the trail of horrendous tragedies, dashed hopes and dramatic implosions that preceded Biden's improbable third run at the presidency . . . It is impossible to come away from Osnos's biography without a sense of awe at what Biden has overcome to arrive at this point' Guardian 'Osnos, who has been writing about Biden for years for the New Yorker, believes Biden could be more radical in office than people who have tracked his career might believe . . . A beautifully written short volume' Financial Times

Joe Posnanski enters the colorful world of Harry Houdini and his legions of devoted fans to explore the illusionist's impact on global culture-and why his legacy endures to this day. Nearly a century after Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, he feels as modern and alive as ever. The name Houdini still leaps to mind whenever we witness a daring escape. The baby who frees herself from her crib? Houdini. The dog who vanishes and reappears in the neighbor's garden? Houdini. Every generation produces new disciples of the magician, from household names in magic like David Copperfield and David Blaine to countless other followers whose lives have been transformed by the power of Houdini. In rural Pennsylvania, a thirteen-year-old girl finds the courage to leave a violent home after learning that Houdini ran away to join the circus; she eventually becomes the first female magician to saw a man in half on television. In Australia, an eight-year-old boy with a learning impediment feels worthless until he sees an old poster of Houdini advertising Nothing on earth can hold Houdini prisoner, and begins his path to becoming that nation's most popular magician. In California, an actor and Vietnam War veteran finds purpose in his life by uncovering the secrets of his hero. But the unique phenomenon of Houdini was always more than his death-defying stunts or his ability to escape handcuffs and straitjackets. It is also about the power of imagination and self-invention. His incredible transformation from Ehrich Weiss, humble Hungarian immigrant and rabbi's son, into the self-named Harry Houdini has won him a slice of immortality. No one has withstood the test of time quite like Houdini. Fueled by Posnanski's personal obsession with the magician-and magic itself-The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini is a poignant odyssey of discovery, blending biography, memoir, and first-person reporting to trace Houdini's metamorphosis into an iconic figure who has inspired millions.

The first English-language account of Ivan Morozov and his ambition to build one of the world's greatest collections of modern art A wealthy Moscow textile merchant, Morozov started buying art in a modest way in 1900 until, on a trip to Paris, he developed a taste for the avant-garde. Meticulous and highly discerning, he acquired works by the likes of Monet, Pissarro, and Cezanne. Unlike his friendly rival Sergei Shchukin, he collected Russian as well as European art. Altogether he spent 1.5 million francs on 486 paintings and 30 sculptures-more than any other collector of the age.

Natalya Semenova traces Morozov's life, family, and achievements, and sheds light on the interconnected worlds of European and Russian art at the turn of the century. Morozov always intended to leave his art to the state-but with the Revolution in 1917 he found himself appointed assistant curator to his own collection. He fled Russia and his collection was later divided between Moscow and St. Petersburg, only to languish in storage for decades.

Morozov: The Story of a Family and a Lost Collection is being published to coincide with The Morozov Collection exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, in October 2020.

A biography of the most brilliant of the Mitford sisters, who dazzled and scandalised interwar high society with their wit and sometimes controversial lifestyles. 'The book is a gem: fresh, intelligent and assured' Sunday Times Nancy Mitford was, in the words of her sister Lady Diana Mosley, 'very, very complex'. Her biographies and novels, her journalism, and the vast body of letters to her family, friends such as Evelyn Waugh, and to the great love of her life, Gaston Palewski, all tell an intriguing story. Drawing from these, as well as conversations with Mitford's two surviving sisters and colleagues, prize-winning author Laura Thompson has fashioned a portrait of a contradictory and courageous woman. Thompson approaches her subject with wit, perspicacity and affection, while eschewing cliches about the eccentricities of the Mitford clan. Life in a Cold Climate is full of the sound of Mitfordian laughter; but tells also the often paradoxical and complex story beneath the smiling and ever elegant facade. 'A brilliant study, original, perceptive, passionate' Selina Hastings 'Well-nigh perfect' Diana Mosley, Literary Review

For most of human history, the seas and oceans have been the main means of long-distance trade and communication between peoples. This book traces the history of human movement and interaction around and across the world's greatest bodies of water, charting our relationship with the oceans from the time of the first voyagers. Following merchants, explorers, pirates, cartographers and travellers in their quests for spices, gold, ivory, slaves, lands for settlement and knowledge of what lay beyond, David Abulafia has created an extraordinary narrative of humanity and the oceans. And today, as plastic refuse covers thousands of square miles of the waters, and once exotic trading cities and outposts are replaced by vast, mechanized container ports, he asks - what next for our oceans and our world?

A highly decorated Israeli military officer, leader, and former director of the internal security service, Shin Bet, sees the light on what his country must do to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. In this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspective from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own. As head of the Shin Bet security agency, he gained empathy for 'the enemy' and learned that when Israel carries out anti-terrorist operations in a political context of hopelessness, the Palestinian public will support violence, because they have nothing to lose. Researching and writing Friendly Fire, he came to understand that his patriotic life had blinded him to the self-defeating nature of policies that have undermined Israel's civil society while heaping humiliation upon its Palestinian neighbours. 'If Israel becomes an Orwellian dystopia,' Ayalon writes, 'it won't be thanks to a handful of theologians dragging us into the dark past. The secular majority will lead us there motivated by fear and propelled by silence.' Ayalon is a realist, not an idealist, and many who consider themselves Zionists will regard as radical his conclusions about what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security and to sustain itself as a Jewish homeland and a liberal democracy. 'How can a staunch Zionist who was raised on one of Israel's earliest settlements and trained as a kill-or-be-killed elite commando spearhead a campaign for peace with his enemies? The answer, in Ami Ayalon's captivating narrative, is an eye-opener for Palestinians and Israelis alike.' -Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country- a Palestinian life, former president of the Al-Quds University, and former Palestinian National Authority representative in Jerusalem ' Ayalon's aims and accomplishments are ... undeniably impressive ... Hope finds a prominent presence in what so many think is a hopeless, endless conflict.' -Kirkus Reviews 'Ami Ayalon discusses how he came to see a two-state solution with the Palestinians as the best way to ensure Israel's security, not just through analysing numbers and statistics, but through a humanistic approach. He discusses ... how his humanist paradigm not only allowed him to see how the Palestinians' grievances and aspirations are intertwined with Israel's security, but also how he still acknowledges and sympathises with the narratives of those in Israel whom he may disagree with.' -Jonah Naghi, The Times of Israel

Archaeological sites tell a story spanning thousands of years, and the ones in this book range from the well-known to hidden gems, handpicked for their desirability as destinations. From the Abu Simbel twin temples in Egypt that commemorate Pharaoh Ramesses II and his queen Nefertari to the Nazca Lines in Peru that feature large geoglyphs in the desert soil, this book is a striking tour through human history. Great Sites of the Ancient World is a journey through the most remarkable archaeological sites the world has to offer. It serves as both a dazzling spectacle and travel inspiration, making it perfect for armchair travellers and world adventurers alike. Each site features stunning photographs accompanied by essential information and a lively, expert text that brings each location to life.

From the frozen wastes of Antarctica to the burning ruins of the Bali bombings, For Gallantry tells the stories of the 28 Australians awarded the nation's highest non-combat awards for bravery: the Imperial George Cross and its Australian Honours and Awards replacement, the Cross of Valour.

Created to mark extraordinary deeds away from the field of battle, the awards are the non-combat equivalent of the coveted Victoria Cross. More than a quarter of the recipients were awarded posthumously - testimony to the selflessness recognised by the decorations.

They came from all walks of life. From teachers and farmers to defence force members and firefighters, theirs are stories of incredible physical and moral courage. Some were recognised for single heroic acts, others for their conduct over many months of terrible adversity.

With assistance from the sole surviving Australian holder of the George Cross, and recipients of the Cross of Valour, For Gallantry profiles their heroic actions in a dedicated volume for the first time.

'Courageous behaviour comes in many forms. For Gallantry tells the remarkable true stories of some of Australia's most selfless people. A beautifully illustrated work that keeps you captivated from the first page.' - Dan Keighran VC

A story of unsung bravery at a defining moment in Britain's history.

"A compelling picture of a glamorous, gossipy, unstable world of concealment and enjoyment - and the bravery of a group of gay MPs... Fills an important historical gap." Neil MacGregor

"A must-read." Owen Jones

"A fascinating, beautifully-written story I had never heard before." Hugh Grant


We like to think we know the story of how Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, but there is one chapter that has never been told. In the early 1930s, a group of young, queer British MPs visited Berlin on a series of trips that would change the course of the Second World War. As Hitler rose to power, they watched the Nazis arrest their gay and Jewish friends, send them to concentration camps and murder them.

These men were some of the first to warn Britain about Hitler, repeatedly speaking out against their government's policy of appeasing him. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain hated them. Branding them 'the glamour boys', he had them followed, harassed, spied upon and derided in the press. They suffered abuse, innuendo and threats of de-selection. At a time when even the suggestion of homosexuality could land you in prison, the bravery these men were forced to show in their personal lives gave them extraordinary courage in public. Adept at hiding their true nature, some became talented spies, while others witnessed the brutality of Hitler's camps first-hand. Four of them died in action. And without them, Britain would never have faced down the Nazis.

Based on years of archival research, The Glamour Boys is a story of unsung bravery at a defining moment in Britain's history.

The 'conquistadores', the early explorers and settlers of Spanish America, have become the stuff of legends and nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation, as men who decimated the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs and the Incas, and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory. In Conquistadores, Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes cuts through the layers of myth and fiction to immerse the reader in the world of the late-medieval imperialist. It is a world as unfamiliar to us as the Indigenous peoples of the New World were to the conquistadores themselves. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including diaries, letters, chronicles and treatises, Cervantes reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, set against the political and intellectual landscape from which its main actors emerged. At the heart of the story are the conquistadores, whose epic ambitions and moral contradictions defined an era. From Columbus to Cortes, Pizarro and beyond, the explorers we think we know come alive in this thought-provoking and illuminating account of a period that irrevocably altered the course of world history.

*LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA NON-FICTION CROWN 2020*Meet the three women who helped shape the course of modern Chinese history; a gripping story of sisterhood and betrayal from the bestselling author of Wild Swans.They were the most famous sisters in China. As the country battled seismic transformations these three women left an indelible mark on history. Red Sister rose to be Mao's vice-chair. Little Sister became first lady of pre-Communist Nationalist China. Big Sister made herself one of country's richest women. Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister takes us on a sweeping journey from exiles' quarters in Japan and Berlin to secret meeting rooms in Moscow, and from the compounds of the Communist elite in Beijing to the corridors of power in democratic Taiwan. By turns intimate and epic, Jung Chang reveals the lives of three extraordinary women who helped shape twentieth-century China.

Steam power transformed our world, initiating the complex, resource-devouring industrial system the consequences of which we live with today. It revolutionized work and production, but also the ease and cost of movement over land and water. The result was to throw open vast areas of the world to the rampaging expansion of Europeans and Americans on a scale previously unimaginable.Unlocking the World is the captivating history of the great port cities which emerged as the bridgeheads of this new steam-driven economy, reshaping not just the trade and industry of the regions around them but their culture and politics as well. They were the agents of what we now call 'globalization', but their impact and influence, and the reactions they provoked, were far from predictable. Nor were they immune to the great upheavals in world politics across the 'steam century'.This book is global history at its very best. Packed with fascinating case histories (from New Orleans to Montreal, Bombay to Singapore, Calcutta to Shanghai), individual stories and original ideas, Darwin's book allows us, for better or worse, to see the modern age taking shape.

Who stole the priceless Picasso from the NGV? Was Errol Flynn a Nazi spy? Did an Australian kill the infamous Red Baron? If you think Australia's history is straightforward, you're dead wrong. This is a land of the strange, the spooky and the unexplained. From the eerie ball of light that stalked a terrified family across the Nullabor, to the whereabouts of Victoria's parliamentary mace, to the unidentified body found propped up on an Adelaide beach, and, yes, to the whereabouts of Ned Kelly's skull, you'll find our history has plenty of mysterious twists and unanswered questions. With his signature wit, Eamon Evans investigates Australia's most curious mysteries, digs up the evidence and lays it out for the court of public opinion to decide. Whatever Happened to Ned Kelly's Head? will have you scratching your head and wondering long after the last page.

A thrilling history of MI9-the WWII organization that engineered the escape of Allied forces from behind enemy lines When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: MI9. The organization set up clandestine routes that zig-zagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men. Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9's wartime role. Central to its success were figures such as Airey Neave, Jimmy Langley, Sam Derry, and Mary Lindell-one of only a few women parachuted into enemy territory for MI9. This astonishing account combines escape and evasion tales with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of MI9-and reveals how the organization saved thousands of lives.

A history of the elaborate and brilliantly sustained World War II intelligence operation by which Hitler's generals were tricked into giving away vital Nazi secrets At the outbreak of World War II, MI6 spymaster Thomas Kendrick arrived at the Tower of London to set up a top secret operation: German prisoners' cells were to be bugged and listeners installed behind the walls to record and transcribe their private conversations. This mission proved so effective that it would go on to be set up at three further sites-and provide the Allies with crucial insight into new technology being developed by the Nazis.

In this astonishing history, Helen Fry uncovers the inner workings of the bugging operation. On arrival at stately-homes-turned-prisons like Trent Park, high-ranking German generals and commanders were given a phony interrogation, then treated as guests, wined and dined at exclusive clubs, and encouraged to talk. And so it was that the Allies got access to some of Hitler's most closely guarded secrets-and from those most entrusted to protect them.

A joint biography that investigates how, during their lifetimes, Philip and Alexander of Macedon transformed a weak kingdom in northern Greece into a globe-spanning empire, and in so doing changed the course of human history. Philip and Alexander of Macedon transformed a weak kingdom in northern Greece into a globe-spanning empire. In so doing, they changed the course of history. By the end of his short life, Alexander the Great had eclipsed the power of Persia, crossed the Hindu Kush and marched into what is now Pakistan, redrawing the map of the ancient world to create an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indian subcontinent. But his success was not just the product of his own genius and restless energy, it was built on decades of effort by his father. History has portrayed Philip II of Macedon as an old man, one-eyed and limping, whose convenient assassination allowed Alexander the Great to come to power. However, there was far more to him than this. Through decades of hard fighting and clever diplomacy, Philip unified his country and conquered Greece. His son inherited all of this at the perfect moment and age for him to chance his luck and win greater glory. Between them, Philip and Alexander played a key role in spreading Greek language and culture over a vast area, the consequences of which were many and profound, for it led to the New Testament being written in Greek, and a Greek-speaking 'Roman' empire surviving in the eastern Mediterranean for a thousand years after the last emperor to rule from Italy. As authoritative as it is accessible, Philip and Alexander is the latest in a much-praised sequence of essential ancient histories from Adrian Goldsworthy; it is the work of a master historian at the peak of his powers. Praise for Philip and Alexander : 'A thrilling read, as sweeping as Alexander's conquests' TOM HOLLAND 'Sterling scholarship, engaging prose, insightful analysis and unbiased assessment' VICTOR DAVID HANSON 'History-writing at its best. Expert, fluent and vivid' BARRY STRAUSS

The end of Europe's empires has so often been seen as a story of high politics and warfare. In Tim Harper's remarkable new book the narrative is very different - it shows how empires were fundamentally undermined from underneath. Using the new technology of cheap printing presses, global travel and the widespread use of French and English, young radicals from across Asia were able to communicate in ways simply not available before. These clandestine networks stretched to the heart of the imperial metropolises- to London, to Paris, but also increasingly to Moscow. They created a secret global network which was for decades engaged in bitter fighting with imperial police forces. They gathered in the great hubs of empire - Calcutta, Bombay, Singapore, Penang, Batavia, Hanoi, Shanghai and Hong Kong - and plotted with ceaseless ingenuity, both through persuasion and terrorism, the end of the colonial regimes. Many were caught and killed or imprisoned, but others would go on to rule their newly independent countries. Drawing on an amazing array of exotic sources, Harper's book turns upside down our understanding of 20th-century empire. The reader enters an extraordinary world of stowaways, false identities, secret codes, cheap firearms, posters and conspiracies as young Asians made their own plans for their future.

As one of the heroes of the 1917 February Revolution and then Prime Minister at the head of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky was passionately, even fanatically, lauded as a leader during his brief political reign. Symbolic artefacts - sculptures, badges and medals - featuring his likeness abounded. Streets were renamed after him, his speeches were quoted on gravestones and literary odes dedicated to him proliferated in the major press. But, by October, Kerensky had been unceremoniously dethroned in the Bolshevik takeover and had fled to Paris and then to the US, where he would remain exiled and removed from his former glory until his death. The breakneck trajectory of his rise and fall and the intensity of his popularity were not merely a symptom of the chaos of those times but offer a window onto a much broader historical phenomenon which did not just begin with Lenin and Stalin - the cult of the leader.

In this major new study of the Russian leadership cult, Boris Kolonitskii uses the figure of Kerensky to show how popular engagement with the idea of the leader became a key component of a cultural re-imagining of the political landscape after the fall of the monarchy. A parallel revolution was taking place on the level of creating a resonant political vocabulary where one had not existed before, and it was in the shared exercise of bestowing and dissolving authority that a politicised way of seeing began to emerge. Kolonitskii plots the unfurling of this symbolic revolution by examining the tapestry of images woven by Kerensky and those around him, and, in so doing, exposes his vital role in the development of nascent Soviet political culture.

This highly original portrait of a revolutionary sheds new light on the cult of Kerensky that developed around this charismatic leader during the months following the overthrow of the tsar. It will be of value to students and scholars of Russian history and to those interested in political culture.

The definitive biography of John F. Kennedy, from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Fredrik Logevall. This is the untold story of how the rise of President Kennedy and the rise of the United States mirror one another - from 1917, when Kennedy was born, to 1963, when he died and the US was at the peak of its power. Full of new material from sources including a huge number of Oval Office tapes, a large volume of interviews with Jackie Kennedy, and never-before-seen CIA documents, Harvard professor Logevall focuses on international relations more so than any other biographer of this misunderstood figure. For example, he uncovers detailed material not only on President Kennedy's father as ambassador to Britain but also on his rapidly-established relationship with Harold Macmillan, and on his and Jackie's relationships with individuals in the United Kingdom. Peerlessly authoritative, this is a biography for the ages.

The time since the Second World War has been seen by some as the longest uninterrupted period of harmony in human history: the 'long peace', as Stephen Pinker called it. But despite this, there has been a military conflict ongoing every year since 1945. The same can be said for every century of recorded history. Is war, therefore, an essential part of being human? In War, Professor Margaret MacMillan explores the deep links between society and war and the questions they raise. We learn when war began - whether among early homo sapiens or later, as we began to organise ourselves into tribes and settle in communities. We see the ways in which war reflects changing societies and how war has brought change - for better and worse. Economies, science, technology, medicine, culture: all are instrumental in war and have been shaped by it - without conflict it we might not have had penicillin, female emancipation, radar or rockets. Throughout history, writers, artists, film-makers, playwrights, and composers have been inspired by war - whether to condemn, exalt or simply puzzle about it. If we are never to be rid of war, how should we think about it and what does that mean for peace?

Hawaii, 7th December 1941, shortly before 8 in the morning: Japanese torpedo bombers launch a surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The devastating attack claims the lives of over 2,400 American soldiers, sinks or damages 18 ships and destroys nearly 350 aircraft. The US Congress declares war on Japan the following day. In this vivid and lively book, Takuma Melber breathes new life into the dramatic events that unfolded before, during and after Pearl Harbor by putting the perspective of the Japanese attackers at the centre of his account. This is the dimension commonly missing in most other histories of Pearl Harbor, and it gives Melber the opportunity to provide a fuller, more definitive and authoritative account of the battle, its background and its consequences. Melber sheds new light on the long negotiations that went on between the Japanese and Americans in 1941, and the confusion and argument among the Japanese political and military elite. He shows how US intelligence and military leaders in Washington failed to interpret correctly the information they had and to draw the necessary conclusions about the Japanese war intentions in advance of the attack. His account of the battle itself is informed by the latest research and benefits from including the planning and post-raid assessment by the Japanese commanders. His account also covers the second raid in March 1942 by two long-range seaplanes which was intended to destroy the shipyards so that ships damaged in the initial attack could not be repaired. This balanced and thoroughly researched book deepens our understanding of the battle that precipitated America's entry into the war and it will appeal to anyone interested in World War II and military history.

'Moorehead paints a wonderfully vivid and moving portrait of the women of the Italian Resistance' MAX HASTINGS, SUNDAY TIMESThe extraordinary story of the courageous women who spearheaded the Italian Resistance during the Second World WarIn the late summer of 1943, in the midst of German occupation, the Italian Resistance was born.

Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca were four young women who signed up. Living in the mountains surrounding Turin their contribution was invaluable. They carried messages and weapons, provided safe houses and took prisoners. As thousands of Italians rose up, they fought to liberate their country.

With its corruption, greed and anti-Semitism, the fall of Fascist Italy was unrelentingly violent, but for the partisan women it was also a time of camaraderie and equality, pride and optimism. Through the stories of these four exceptional women, the resolve, tenacity and, above all, courage of the Italian Resistance is laid bare.

A Spectator Book of the Year

Charles, King of the Franks, is one of the most remarkable figures ever to rule a European super-state. That is why he is so often called 'Charles the Great'- by the French 'Charlemagne', and by the Germans 'Karl der Grosse'. Janet L. Nelson's wonderful new book brings together everything we know about Charlemagne and sifts through the evidence to come as close as we can to understanding the man and his motives. Nelson has an extraordinary knowledge of the sources and much of the book is a sort of detective story, prying into and interpreting fascinating material and often obdurate scraps, from prayerbooks to skeletons, gossip to artwork. Above all, Charles' legacy lies in his deeds and their continuing resonance. His successors - in some ways to the present day - have struggled to interpret, misinterpret, copy or subvert Charlemagne. Nelson gets us as close as we can ever hope to come to the real figure, as understood in his own time.

Drawing on vital new evidence, a top historian dramatically reinterprets the ruler of the world's first transatlantic empire The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.

Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles's achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles's reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.

Loving Country is a powerful and essential guidebook that offers a new way to travel and discover Australia through an Indigenous narrative. In this beautifully designed and photographed edition, co-authors Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou show travellers how to see the country as herself, to know her whole and old story, and to find the way to fall in love with her, our home. Featuring 18 places in detail, from the ingenious fish traps at Brewarrina and the rivers that feed the Great Barrier Reef, to the love stories of Wiluna and the whale story of Margaret River, there is so much to celebrate. This immersive book covers history, Dreaming stories, traditional cultural practices, Indigenous tours and the importance of recognition and protection of place. It offers keys to unlock the heart of this loving country for those who want to enrich their understanding of our continent, and for travellers looking for more than a whistle-stop tour of Australia. In Loving Country, Bruce and Vicky hope that all communities will be heard when they tell their stories, and that these stories and the country from which they have grown will be honoured. This guide has been created in consultation with communities, and readers are encouraged to discover sacred Australia by reconsidering the accepted history, and hearing diverse stories of her Indigenous peoples. It is a roadmap to communication and understanding, between all peoples and country, to encourage environmental and social change.

The latest volume in Paul Rahe's expansive history of Sparta's response to the challenges posed to its grand strategy In a continuation of his multivolume series on ancient Sparta, Paul Rahe narrates the second stage in the six-decades-long, epic struggle between Sparta and Athens that first erupted some seventeen years after their joint victory in the Persian Wars. Rahe explores how and why open warfare between these two erstwhile allies broke out a second time, after they had negotiated an extended truce. He traces the course of the war that then took place, he examines and assesses the strategy each community pursued and the tactics adopted, and he explains how and why mutual exhaustion forced on these two powers yet another truce doomed to fail. At stake for each of the two peoples caught up in this enduring strategic rivalry, as Rahe shows, was nothing less than the survival of its political regime and of the peculiar way of life to which that regime gave rise.

Of all civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean, it is perhaps the Etruscans who hold the greatest allure. This is fundamentally because, unlike their Greek and Latin neighbours, the Etruscans left no textual sources to posterity. The only direct evidence for studying them and for understanding their culture is the archaeological, and to a much lesser extent, epigraphic record. The Etruscans must therefore be approached as if they were a prehistoric people; and the enormous wealth of Etruscan visual and material culture must speak for them. Yet they offer glimpses, in the record left by Greek and Roman authors, that they were literate and far from primordial: indeed, that their written histories were greatly admired by the Romans themselves.

Applying fresh archaeological discoveries and new insights, A Short History of the Etruscans engagingly conducts the reader through the birth, growth and demise of this fascinating and enigmatic ancient people, whose nemesis was the growing power of Rome. Exploring the 'discovery' of the Etruscans from the Renaissance onwards, Corinna Riva discusses the mysterious Etruscan language, which long remained wholly indecipherable; the Etruscan landscape; the 6th-century growth of Etruscan cities and Mediterranean trade. Close attention is also paid to religion and ritual; sanctuaries and monumental grave sites; and the fatal incorporation of Etruria into Rome's political orbit.

Hard on the heels of his best-selling autobiography Rather His Own Man, one of Australia's foremost public intellectuals turns his mind to one of the most important contemporary questions that divides the world of art and culture- the restitution of heritage treasures removed in earlier times from subjugated peoples who now want them back.

Taking his cue from Cicero, the great Roman barrister, Geoffrey Robertson argues that justice requires the return not only of the 'Elgin' Marbles to Greece, but of many looted antiquities on display in the museums of Britain, Europe and America. He argues that the Gweagal Shield - dropped when Cook shot at Aboriginals in Botany Bay in 1770 - should be returned to Australia from the British Museum. He wants the government to acquire the hull of HMS Endeavour recently located off Rhode Island. He has located Arthur Phillip's tombstone for Yemmerrawanne, the first Australian expatriate, in a South London churchyard, and he wants to bring it back.

Robertson's judgement is uncompromising- cultural heritage belongs to the people of whose history it is a part, unless its return would be attended by danger to the artwork itself. And since the movement for the restitution of cultural property is based on human rights, governments that want it back must show respect for the rights of the peoples on whose behalf they make the claim.

Who Owns History? not only delves into the crucial debate over the Marbles, but examines how the past can be experienced by everyone, as well as by the people of the country of origin.

Australia and New Zealand are often considered close cousins. But why, despite being so close, do we know so little about each other? And now, in the wake of COVID-19, is it time to change that? In this wise and illuminating essay, Laura Tingle looks at leadership, character and two nations in transition. In the past half-century, both countries have remade themselves amid shifting economic fortunes. New Zealand has been held up as a model for everything from privatisation to the conduct of politics to the response to COVID. Tingle considers how both countries have been governed, and the different way each has dealt with its colonial legacy. What could Australia learn from New Zealand? And New Zealand from Australia? This is a perceptive, often amusing introduction to two countries alike in some ways, but quite different in others. Jacinda Ardern is not the first reason we have had to look across the Tasman and wonder whether there is another way of doing things . . . New Zealand - perhaps the only place in the world that has suffered isolation and the tyranny of distance more than Australia - has repeatedly jumped out of its comfort zone and changed direction harder, faster and for longer than Australia has done in the past half-century. Laura Tingle, The High Road

Telling the story of its people and its rulers, from its medieval origins up to the present day, Berlin is a fascinating and informative history of an extraordinary city from the author of the international bestseller Partition. Berlin is Europe's most fascinating and exciting city. It is and always has been a city on the edge - geographically, culturally, politically and morally. The great movements that have shaken Europe, from the Reformation to Marxism have their origins in Berlin's streets. The long-time capital of Prussia and of the Hohenzollern dynasty it has never, paradoxically, been a Prussian city. Instead it has always been a city of immigrants, a city that accepts everyone and turns them into Berliners. A typical Berliner, it is said, is someone who has just arrived at the railway station. With its unique dialect, exceptional museums, experimental cultural scene, its liberated social life and its open and honest approach to its history, with monuments to the Holocaust as prominent as its rebuilt royal palace, it is as challenging a city as it is absorbing. And it has always been like that, since its medieval foundation as twin fishing villages. Too often Berlin is seen through the prism of Nazism and its role on the front line in the Cold War. Important, frightening and interesting as those periods are, its history starts much further ago than that. As approachable for the casual visitor to Berlin as it is informative for those who enjoy reading history, Berlin: The Story of a City is as fascinating as its subject.

A tenth anniversary edition of the iconic book about the wonderful world of maths Sunday Times bestseller | Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize The world of maths can seem mind-boggling, irrelevant and, let's face it, boring. This groundbreaking book reclaims maths from the geeks. Mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives: from the surprising geometry of the 50p piece to how probability can help you win in any casino. In search of weird and wonderful mathematical phenomena, Alex Bellos travels across the globe and meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany and a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan. Packed with fascinating, eye-opening anecdotes, Alex's Adventures in Numberland is an exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs that will leave you awestruck. This anniversary edition is fully revised and updated.

In Great Adaptations, Kenneth Catania presents an entertaining and engaging look at some of nature's most remarkable creatures. Telling the story of his biological detective work, Catania sheds light on the mysteries behind the behaviors of tentacled snakes, tiny shrews, zombie-making wasps, and more. He shows not only how studying these animals can provide deep insights into how life evolved, but also how scientific discovery can be filled with adventure and fun. Beginning with the star-nosed mole, Catania reveals what the creature's nasal star is actually for, and what this tells us about how brains work. He explores how the deceptive hunting strategy of tentacled snakes leads prey straight to their mouths, how eels use electricity to control other animals, and why emerald jewel wasps make zombies out of cockroaches. He also solves the enigma of worm grunting-a traditional technique in which earthworms are enticed out of the ground-by teaming up with professional worm grunters. Catania demonstrates the merits of approaching science with an open mind, considers the role played by citizen scientists, and illustrates that most animals have incredible, hidden abilities that defy our imagination. Examining some strange and spectacular creatures, Great Adaptations offers a wondrous journey into nature's grand designs.

Sir Joseph Banks was a true botanical adventurer and pioneer. Not only did he reveal the flora wonders of the South Seas, New Zealand and Australia to Europan eyes, but he set Kew Gardens on its path to becoming the world's foremost botanic garden, bringing in a wealth of rare and useful plants, which had far-reaching impact. Banks was uniquely privileged and no-one before or since has had such influence in the sphere of botany. He helped to raise botanical science to new heights and brought many new beautiful plants to Britain, which we now take for granted in our gardens. Here, his life in botany is told through some of the intriguing objects, books and plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - the place he held dear until his death in 1820.

We are unprepared for the greatest discovery of modern science. Scientists are confident that there is alien life across the universe yet we have not moved beyond our perception of 'aliens' as Hollywood stereotypes. The time has come to abandon our fixation on alien monsters and place our expectations on solid scientific footing.Using his own expert understanding of life on Earth and Darwin's theory of evolution - which applies throughout the universe - Cambridge zoologist Dr Arik Kershenbaum explains what alien life must be like.Observing fishes whose electrical pulses indicate social status, we can see that conditions on other planets might allow for communication by electricity. As there was evolutionary pressure to wriggle along a sea floor, Earthling animals tend to have left/right symmetry; on planets where creatures evolved mid-air or in soupy tar - to be ready to move in any or multiple directions - they might be lacking any symmetry at all. Dr Kershenbaum uses cutting-edge science to paint an entertaining and compelling picture of extra-terrestrial life.Moreover, as The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy is the story of communication, intelligence, cooperation and technology, on Earth and in space, we see how life really works - and what it means to be human.

Ever wondered what happens to us as we die? Or how the Esky became an Aussie cultural icon? Or why we have leap years? Then look no further - and even if you haven't wondered, you'll want to find out. This anthology is a diverse collection of explainers by some of the finest writers from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. It tackles quintessentially Australian topics (where does the term 'mate' come from?) as well as questions being grappled with around the world (what will our homes be powered by in the future?). Inquisitive readers love the explainer columns for their strong and surprising storytelling, deeply researched reporting and inventive illustrations. They have become some of the most popular content articles in The Age and Herald, and reader requests have inspired explainers about exploring everything from think tanks to tennis racquets, from quantitative easing to why cicadas sing at dusk. Explainers offer a rich understanding of how and why - rather than just who, what, when and where. Within these pages you will find an absorbing and illuminating selection of some of the most popular explainers, as well as never before published pieces especially written for this book. There are surprising facts about all aspects of life and information about all kinds of investigations from throughout history and around the world. Prepare to be enlightened, enthralled and educated - you'll never ponder how to evade that rampaging cassowary again!

For at least half a million years, people have been doing some very strange things with fossils. Long before a few 17th-century minds started to decipher their true, organic nature, fossils had been eaten, dropped in goblets of wine, buried with the dead, adorned on bodies and even used to try and cause harm. What triggered such curious behaviour was the belief, passed down from prehistoric to Medieval times, that some fossils could cure illness, protect against being poisoned, ease the passage into the afterlife, ward off evil spirits and even kill those who were just plain annoying. But above all, to our early prehistoric ancestors living hundreds of thousands of years ago, fossils were the very stuff of artistic inspiration. Drawing on archaeology, mythology and folklore, Kenneth McNamara takes you on a journey through prehistory with these strange and curious stones, and explores humankind's unending quest for the meaning of fossils.

Celestial Tapestry places mathematics within a vibrant cultural and historical context, weaving together threads that involve many intriguing characters: the seriously injured soldier who laid the foundations for fractals and computer art; the Scottish necromancer, dedicatee of the most important medieval mathematics book; the mathematician imprisoned for bigamy whose books had a huge influence on twentieth century art; the pioneer clockmaker who suffered from leprosy and never recovered from a lightning strike on his bedchamber; the Victorian housewife who amazed mathematicians with her intuition for higher-dimensional space.

No recent scientific enterprise has been so alluring, terrifying, and filled with extravagant promise and frustrating setbacks as artificial intelligence. How intelligent are the best of today's AI programs? To what extent can we entrust them with decisions that affect our lives? How human-like do we expect them to become, and how soon do we need to worry about them surpassing us in most, if not all, human endeavours?From leading AI researcher and award-winning author Melanie Mitchell comes a knowledgeable and captivating account of modern-day artificial intelligence. Flavoured with personal stories and a twist of humour, Artificial Intelligence illuminates the workings of machines that mimic human learning, perception, language, creativity and common sense. Weaving together advances in AI with cognitive science and philosophy, Mitchell probes the extent to which today's 'smart' machines can actually think or understand, and whether AI requires such elusive human qualities in order to be reliable, trustworthy and beneficial.Artificial Intelligence- A Guide for Thinking Humans provides readers with an accessible, entertaining and clear-eyed view of the AI landscape, what the field has actually accomplished, how much further it has to go and what it means for all of our futures.

The annual collection - now in its tenth year - celebrating the finest voices in Australian science writing.

Can fish feel pain? Does it matter if a dingo is different from a dog? Is there life in a glob of subterranean snot? Science tackles some unexpected questions. At a time when the world is buffeted by the effects of a pandemic, climate change and accelerating technology, the fruits of scientific labour and enquiry have never been more in demand. Who better to navigate us through these unprecedented days than Australia's best science writers?

Now in its tenth year, this much-loved anthology selects the most riveting, poignant and entertaining science stories and essays from Australian writers, poets and scientists. In their expert hands such ordinary objects as milk and sticky tape become imbued with new meaning, while the furthest reaches of our universe are made more familiar and comprehensible.

With a foreword from Nobel laureate and immunologist Peter C Doherty, this collection brings fresh perspective to the world you thought you knew.

In 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein. The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity. Until then Einstein's masterpiece of time and space had been trapped behind the physical and ideological lines of battle, unknown.Einstein's name is now synonymous with 'genius', but it was not an easy road. He spent a decade creating relativity and his ascent to global celebrity owed much to against-the-odds international collaboration, including Eddington's globe-spanning expedition of 1919 - two years before they finally met. We usually think of scientific discovery as a flash of individual inspiration, but here we see it is the result of hard work, gambles and wrong turns.Einstein's War is a celebration of what science can offer when bigotry and nationalism are defeated. Using previously unknown sources and written like a thriller, it shows relativity being built brick-by-brick in front of us, as it happened 100 years ago.

They know something you don't know. They work inside investment banks, betting companies and social media giants. What are the secrets held by mathematicians and what can everyone else learn from them?

Their advantage can be reduced to a small number of equations. Ten of them. And, surprisingly, it isn't their technical details that give them an edge. It is the way these equations allow them to view problems from a different angle -- a way of seeing the world that anyone can learn.

In this eye-opening book, mathematician David Sumpter reveals the formulas that make the modern world go round, and how we can use them to better our chances of success, solidify friendships and live healthier lives, to guard against failure and financial ruin, and to see through scaremongering. Writing with clarity and wit, Sumpter explains how the same equations that are integral to Facebook can help you to work out how long to persist with a difficult task or how many episodes of a new Netflix series to watch before giving up.

Empowering and enlightening, The Ten Equations shows how maths can truly change our way of understanding the world.

'Beautiful, evocative, authoritative.' Professor Brian Cox 'Important reading not just for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity.' Yuval Noah Harari Kindred is the definitive guide to the Neanderthals. Since their discovery more than 160 years ago, Neanderthals have metamorphosed from the losers of the human family tree to A-list hominins.Rebecca Wragg Sykes uses her experience at the cutting-edge of Palaeolithic research to share our new understanding of Neanderthals, shoving aside cliches of rag-clad brutes in an icy wasteland. She reveals them to be curious, clever connoisseurs of their world, technologically inventive and ecologically adaptable. Above all, they were successful survivors for more than 300,000 years, during times of massive climatic upheaval. Much of what defines us was also in Neanderthals, and their DNA is still inside us. Planning, co-operation, altruism, craftsmanship, aesthetic sense, imagination, perhaps even a desire for transcendence beyond mortality. Kindred does for Neanderthals what Sapiens did for us, revealing a deeper, more nuanced story where humanity itself is our ancient, shared inheritance.

A look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions-and how this shapes our everyday lives. Why is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your child expertly fix the computer and yet still forget to put on a coat? From making a cup of coffee to buying a house to changing the world around them, humans are uniquely able to execute necessary actions. How do we do it? Or in other words, how do our brains get things done? In On Task, cognitive neuroscientist David Badre presents the first authoritative introduction to the neuroscience of cognitive control-the remarkable ways that our brains devise sophisticated actions to achieve our goals. We barely notice this routine part of our lives. Yet, cognitive control, also known as executive function, is an astonishing phenomenon that has a profound impact on our well-being. Drawing on cutting-edge research, vivid clinical case studies, and examples from daily life, Badre sheds light on the evolution and inner workings of cognitive control. He examines issues from multitasking and willpower to habitual errors and bad decision making, as well as what happens as our brains develop in childhood and change as we age-and what happens when cognitive control breaks down. Ultimately, Badre shows that cognitive control affects just about everything we do. A revelatory look at how billions of neurons collectively translate abstract ideas into concrete plans, On Task offers an eye-opening investigation into the brain's critical role in human behavior.

Why can humans alone invent? In this book, psychologist and world renowned autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen puts forward a bold new theory- because we can identify patterns, specifically if-and-then patterns. And he argues that the genes for this unique ability overlap with the genes for autism. From the first musical instrument to the agricultural, industrial and digital revolutions, Baron-Cohen shows how this unique ability has driven human progress for 70,000 years. By linking one of our greatest human strengths with a condition that is so often misunderstood, The Pattern Seekers challenges us to think differently about those who think differently.

New Book by International Bestselling Author Rhonda Byrne. Once you know, freedom is yours.The Greatest Secret, the long-awaited major work by Rhonda Byrne, lays out the next quantum leap in a journey that will take the reader beyond the material world and into the spiritual realm, where all possibilities exist. The book reflects Rhonda's own journey, and shares the most direct way out for those experiencing hardship and the path to end pain and suffering endured by so many, and shines a light on a future without anxiety or fear. Filled with accessible practices that can be immediately put to use and profound revelations that take the reader on an incomparable journey, Rhonda's discovery is reinforced throughout by the revelatory words of sages from around the world, past and present.'The Secret showed you how to create anything you want to be, do, or have. Nothing has changed - it is as true today as it ever was. This book reveals the greatest discovery a human being can ever make, and shows you the way out of negativity, problems, and what you don't want, to a life of permanent happiness and bliss.' - From The Greatest Secret

Everyone knows who you find in bookshops: people who want to buy books. But, as Shaun Bythell, author of the bestselling Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a Bookseller, reveals, that's really only half the story. Join Shaun as he introduces us to seven bookshop characters, from the Person Who Doesn't Know What They Want (But Thinks It Might Have a Blue Cover) to the harried Parents Secretly After Free Childcare and all the way over to the erotica section, where we'll meet The Person Who Is Up to No Good. Affectionate, sardonic and laugh-out-loud funny, Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops is your indispensable guide to the flora and fauna of your local bookshop.

The instant Sunday Times Top Ten and New York Times bestseller SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES/MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019 A Financial Times Essential Reads of 2019 pick 'I loved Range' - Malcolm Gladwell 'Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.' - Daniel H. Pink 'So much crucial and revelatory information about performance, success, and education.' - Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet A powerful argument for how to succeed in any field: develop broad interests and skills while everyone around you is rushing to specialize.

From the '10,000 hours rule' to the power of Tiger parenting, we have been taught that success in any field requires early specialization and many hours of deliberate practice. And, worse, that if you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up with those who got a head start.

This is completely wrong.

In this landmark book, David Epstein shows you that the way to succeed is by sampling widely, gaining a breadth of experiences, taking detours, experimenting relentlessly, juggling many interests - in other words, by developing range.

Studying the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists, Epstein demonstrates why in most fields - especially those that are complex and unpredictable - generalists, not specialists are primed to excel. No matter what you do, where you are in life, whether you are a teacher, student, scientist, business analyst, parent, job hunter, retiree, you will see the world differently after you've read Range. You'll understand better how we solve problems, how we learn and how we succeed. You'll see why failing a test is the best way to learn and why frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers.

As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, Range shows how people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive and why spreading your knowledge across multiple domains is the key to your success, and how to achieve it.

Has COVID-19 ushered in the end of the office? Or is it the office's final triumph? For decades, futurologists have prophesied a boundaryless working world, freed from the cramped confines of the office. During the COVID-19 crisis, employees around the globe got a taste of it. Confined by lockdown to their homes, they met, mingled, collaborated, and created electronically. At length, they returned to something approaching normality. Or had they glimpsed the normal to come? In The Momentous, Uneventful Day, Gideon Haigh reflects on our ambivalent relationship to office work and office life, how we ended up with the offices we have, how they have reflected our best and worst instincts, and how these might be affected by a world in a time of contagion. Like the factory in the nineteenth century, the office was the characteristic building form of the twentieth, reshaping our cities, redirecting our lives. We all have a stake in how it will change in the twenty-first. Enlivened by copious citations from literature, film, memoir, and corporate history, and interspersed with relevant images, The Momentous, Uneventful Day is the ideal companion for a lively current debate about the role offices will play in the future.

Are you out of ideas? Feel your creativity drying up? Is brain fog taking over your life? Give your right brain a workout with the experts. In just ten weeks, you can reignite your imagination and tap into the creative potential inside you. Following on from the highly successful Right-brain Workout Vol 1, here are seventy more questions posed by some of Australia's most innovative individuals - creatives from the world of comedy, film, literature, art, photography and advertising - designed to help you to think outside the box to unleash your inner genius. You wanted more, and Russel Howcroft and Alex Wadelton have delivered.

Geoff Lemon takes on The Comeback Summer of cricket, in this gripping follow-up to the multi-award-winning Steve Smith's Men. At the height of the 2019 season, the biggest names in Australian and English cricket faced off for sporting glory - and public forgiveness. It was always going to be a summer to remember. Steve Smith, captain of the Australian team, a batsman with a shot at rivalling the greatest of all time. Ben Stokes, star of the English team, an all-rounder with a knack for moments of genius. Both disgraced in scandals of very different kinds. Both attempting a tough comeback trail through the most crucial contests in cricket: the World Cup back-to-back with the Ashes. Geoff Lemon was there, in the commentary boxes and on the boundaries, for this season of unparalleled drama on the field. The Comeback Summer is an insightful, lively and sharp take on the cricketing world, which asks why we're so obsessed with the idea of sport as a means of redemption.

This book collects together cultural pearls of wisdom from 86 countries to form the ultimate reference book for how to live well. Each culture lives by its own words of wisdom - handed down from generation to generation, covering everything from keeping a house tidy as a Shinto shrine to cooking a meal as simple and nutritious as a southern Italian's supper. Do you want to eat as well as (more...)

This catalogue is a companion to the annual exhibition which celebrates another year in Australia's unique, vibrant and fearless tradition of political cartooning. No politician, party or policy is safe from the nation's best cartoonists; witty, powerful or ribald, their images offer an astutely observed journey through twelve months in our political life.

Nat’s What I Reckon was the tattooed lockdown saviour we didn’t know we needed, rescuing us from packet food, jar sauce and total boredom with his hilarious viral recipe videos that got us cooking at home like champions again.

Now that we’ve cooked our way out of lockdown and are wondering what the hell to do next, our favourite ratbag is back... and he’s ready to teach us more about life in this thoroughly unhelpful (but maybe actually kinda helpful?) self-help guide.

Nat’s already shown us that jar sauce can get f*cked. But what else is sh*t? And what’s actually not sh*t? Is it all as bad as we feel like it is most of the time?

No part of our weird world and strange behaviour is spared as our long-haired guru tells us what he reckons about it all – and amps up the flavour with some eye-watering stories from his early years before a sweary video about pasta sauce shot him to global fame.

With Nat’s nine no-nonsense rules, you’ll be on the road to being a better d*ckhead faster than you can say "quarantine spirit risotto with parzley on top". And if you screw it up: it doesn’t bloody Parramatta, champ.

Features a small illustrated selection of Nat's favourite recipes.

About the Author

Content creator, comedian, rock musician, isolation cooking champion and mental health ambassador, Nat has been making videos as Nat’s What I Reckon for almost a decade. His hilarious social commentary has collected Nat a fast-growing, dedicated audience of over 2 million along the way, and his videos have clocked up more than 100 million views across all platforms. Finding entertainment everywhere from the weird to the pedestrian, Nat has taken the piss out of everything from trade shows and tattoo events to burnout festivals and exploring Area 51.

In response to the craziness he was seeing when COVID-19 crashed the party, Nat waged a war against processed food and launched a no-nonsense instructional video for one of his tried and true recipes. It struck a chord and sent views skyrocketing. This unlikely hero of lockdown got the internet cooking (and laughing) again. When he’s not filming, cooking or foraging for rosemary, Nat can often be found indulging his love of rock'n'roll and comedy, playing in various bands and stand-up rooms around Sydney.

We've often been told that anything worthwhile can only be achieved through sustained effort, hard work or 10,000 hours of practice. But what if the opposite were true? The French have known it for centuries. We can see it in their laissez faire parenting, their chic style and their haute cuisine - the French barely seem to be trying, yet the results are world famous. Here, philosopher Ollivier Pourriol draws lessons from French legends to show that the best results in life come not from working harder but from letting go. From Stendhal's writing technique to Phillipe Petit's grace on the tightrope; from the eloquence of Cyrano de Bergerac to the serenity of Rodin and the simplicity of Descartes, this book shows how the greatest French artists, musicians, writers, thinkers and chefs have perfected the art of making their achievements seem easy. And how we can cultivate such je ne sais quoi in our own lives.

Are we doomed? Is an Almighty Power or an earth-shattering meteor waiting for us just around the corner? Probably not. So why are we so obsessed with imagining our own demise? And what does that say about us as a species? In this thought-provoking book, acclaimed critic Adam Roberts explores our many different visions of the apocalypse - both likely and unlikely, mundane and bizarre - and what they say about how we see the world, how we respond to the changes and upheavals in our societies, and what it is we're really afraid of. An uncaring Universe? An uncontrollable environment? The human capacity for destruction? Or just our own, very personal, apocalypse: our mortality? From our ancient fears of angry gods calling time, to scientific speculations about the full extent of the climate crisis, via creeping disease, last men, arriving aliens, rising robots, falling bombs and insect Armageddon, buckle in for the end of the world. Where an ending may really be a new beginning...

In A Secret Australia, nineteen prominent Australians discuss what Australia has learnt about itself from the WikiLeaks revelations - revelations about a secret Australia of hidden rules and loyalty to hidden agendas. However Australians may perceive their nation's place in the world - as battling sports stars, dependable ally or good international citizen - WikiLeaks has shown us a startlingly different story. This is an Australia that officials do not want us to see, where the Australian Defence Force's 'information operations' are deployed to maintain public support for our foreign war contributions, where media-wide super injunctions are issued by the government to keep politicians' and major corporations' corruption scandals secret, where the US Embassy prepares profiles of Australian politicians to fine-tune its lobbying and ensure support for the 'right' policies. The revelations flowing from the releases of millions of secret and confidential official documents by WikiLeaks have helped Australians to better understand why the world is not at peace, why corruption continues to flourish, and why democracy is faltering. This greatest ever leaking of hidden government documents in world history yields knowledge that is essential if Australia, and the rest of the world, is to grapple with the consequences of covert, unaccountable and unfettered power. Among the contributors are former senator Scott Ludlam, former defence secretary Paul Barratt, lawyers Julian Burnside and Jennifer Robinson, academics Richard Tanter, Benedetta Brevini, John Keane, Suelette Dreyfus, Gerard Goggin and Clinton Fernandes, as well as journalists Andrew Fowler, Quentin Dempster and Helen Razer.

Bitcoin may appear to be a revolutionary form of digital cash without precedent or prehistory. In fact, it is only the best-known recent experiment in a long line of similar efforts going back to the 1970s. But the story behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its blockchain technology has largely been untold-until now. In Digital Cash, Finn Brunton reveals how technological utopians and political radicals created experimental money to bring about their visions of the future: to protect privacy, bring down governments, prepare for apocalypse, or launch a civilization of innovation and abundance that would make its creators immortal. Filled with marvelous characters, stories, and ideas, Digital Cash is an engaging and accessible account of the strange origins and remarkable technologies behind today's cryptocurrency explosion.

Discover the impact of blockchain on the trade relationship between the world's two largest economies China's Trump Card: Cryptocurrency and its Game-Changing Role in Sino-US Trade grapples with the fascinating issue of the effect of digital currencies on world trade and the relationship between China and the United States in particular. Full of forward-looking insights, solid data analysis, extensive collection of relevant literature and incisive observations, author Raymond Yeung compellingly argues that cryptocurrencies will have a significant role to play in harmonizing geopolitical power struggles. Covering all the subjects required for a full understanding of the future of the Sino-US trade relationship, China's Trump Card discusses: The looming risks of de-dollarization in the wake of de-globalization The pressing need to construct a new currency standard superior to the fiat money regime in response to the global imbalance. China's diversification of its offshore portfolios to include alternative investments The implications of Facebook's plan to create a blockchain-based digital currency The fact that blockchain offers a fungible asset class option for China's reserves investment, which can be relatively independent of political considerations This book is perfect for business leaders, investors, financial analysts, policymakers, economists, fintech developers and others who have a stake in the outcome of the blossoming trade disputes between the United States and China.

Peter Kropotkin's anarchist texts had a fundamental impact on 19th and 20th century radicals of all kinds. These essays from The Conquest of Bread are bravura examples of his optimistic and angry vision of a world in which the just actions of the many can destroy the grip of the few.GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

It should not surprise anyone that democracies can become dangerously illiberal; indeed, it was one of the classical critiques of ancient democracies. Is the contemporary backlash against liberal democracy merely the same old story, or are we witnessing something unprecedented? In this witty and engaging book, Aviezer Tucker argues that the contemporary revival of authoritarian populism combines the historically familiar with new technologies to produce a highly unstable and contagious new synthesis that threatens basic liberal norms, from freedom of the press to independent judiciaries. He examines how the economic crisis blocked social mobility and thereby awakened the dark, dormant political passions exploited by demagogues such as Orban and Trump. He argues that this slide towards 'neo-illiberal democracy' can be countered if we hard-headedly restore a 'liberalism without nostalgia' which institutes policies that can dampen down populist passions and strengthen liberal institutional barriers against them. Readers interested in current affairs, social science, history, and political and social theory will find Aviezer Tucker's original theoretical and historical analysis incisive, innovative, and entertaining.

What are the secrets to a contented life? One of Rome's greatest and most influential poets, Horace (65-8 BCE) has been cherished by readers for more than two thousand years not only for his wit, style, and reflections on Roman society, but also for his wisdom about how to live a good life-above all else, a life of contentment in a world of materialistic excess and personal pressures. In How to Be Content, Stephen Harrison, a leading authority on the poet, provides fresh, contemporary translations of poems from across Horace's works that continue to offer important lessons about the good life, friendship, love, and death. Living during the reign of Rome's first emperor, Horace drew on Greek and Roman philosophy, especially Stoicism and Epicureanism, to write poems that reflect on how to live a thoughtful and moderate life amid mindless over-consumption, how to achieve and maintain true love and friendship, and how to face disaster and death with patience and courage. From memorable counsel on the pointlessness of worrying about the future to valuable advice about living in the moment, these poems, by the man who famously advised us to carpe diem or 'harvest the day,' continue to provide brilliant meditations on perennial human problems.

From Pulitzer Prize-finalist Steven Nadler, an engaging guide to what Spinoza can teach us about life's big questions. In 1656, after being excommunicated from Amsterdam's Portuguese-Jewish community for 'abominable heresies' and 'monstrous deeds,' the young Baruch Spinoza abandoned his family's import business to dedicate his life to philosophy. He quickly became notorious across Europe for his views on God, the Bible, and miracles, as well as for his uncompromising defense of free thought. Yet the radicalism of Spinoza's views has long obscured that his primary reason for turning to philosophy was to answer one of humanity's most urgent questions: How can we lead a good life and enjoy happiness in a world without a providential God? In Think Least of Death, Pulitzer Prize-finalist Steven Nadler connects Spinoza's ideas with his life and times to offer a compelling account of how the philosopher can provide a guide to living one's best life. In the Ethics, Spinoza presents his vision of the ideal human being, the 'free person' who, motivated by reason, lives a life of joy devoted to what is most important-improving oneself and others. Untroubled by passions such as hate, greed, and envy, free people treat others with benevolence, justice, and charity. Focusing on the rewards of goodness, they enjoy the pleasures of this world, but in moderation. 'The free person thinks least of all of death,' Spinoza writes, 'and his wisdom is a meditation not on death but on life.' 'A helpful explication of [Spinoza's] ideas about ethics, the afterlife, and human nature.' - Kirkus Reviews

To give and receive well may be the most human thing you can do - but it is also the closest you can come to divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BCE-65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, On Benefits (De Beneficiis). James Romm's splendid new translation of essential selections from this work conveys the heart of Seneca's argument that generosity and gratitude are among the most important of all virtues. For Seneca, the impulse to give to others lies at the very foundation of society; without it, we are helpless creatures, worse than wild beasts. But generosity did not arise randomly or by chance. Seneca sees it as part of our desire to emulate the gods, whose creation of the earth and heavens stands as the greatest gift of all. Seneca's soaring prose captures his wonder at that gift, and expresses a profound sense of gratitude that will inspire today's readers.

It is only in the last three centuries that the formidable knowledge-making machine we call modern science has transformed our way of life and our vision of the universe - two thousand years after the invention of law, philosophy, drama and mathematics. Why did we take so long to invent science? And how has it proved to be so powerful?

The Knowledge Machine gives a radical answer, exploring how science calls on its practitioners to do something apparently irrational- strip away all previous knowledge - such as theological, metaphysical or political beliefs - and channel unprecedented energy into observation and experiment. In times of climate extremes, novel diseases and rapidly advancing technology, Strevens contends that we need more than ever to grasp the inner workings of our knowledge machine.

Goddesses, monsters, humans and the semi-divine - whether courageous or meek, gruesome or irresistible, female characters are ever present on the peripheries of the great Greek myths, but rarely do they take centre stage. Their time has finally come to act as protagonists in their own stories. Heroines of Olympus retells the tales of 50 classic characters, plucking the threads of their lives from the myriad narratives in which they have appeared and weaving them together to create the full stories of these legendary women. Each story is accompanied by a captivating illustration and followed by a critical analysis of their role in the tradition of Greek storytelling, and in ancient society. Renowned ancient historian Ellie Mackin Roberts offers a contemporary perspective on loved, reviled and feared figures who are finally placed at the centre of their own story.

A festive, delightfully-illustrated compendium that features holiday traditions from around the world. From Jolabokafloo (Christmas Book Flood) in Iceland to Festa dei sette pesci (Feast of Fishes) in Italy and Christmas lanterns in the Philippines, The Atlas of Christmas uncovers the fascinating (and sometimes, downright odd) ways that people and nations celebrate the holiday season, and inspires us to share these unique traditions together with family and friends. Do you know that in Guatemala there's a Burn the Devil tradition to kick off the Christmas season, where people gather to set fire to devil-pinatas? Or that in Sweden, a popular figure in Christmas traditions is the Yule Goat, a rowdy, menacing character who demands gifts? Serbian men traditionally throw grain and corn at a tree, then kiss its bark, before they cut it down to make a Yule Log. And in Japan, a big bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken has become the classic Christmas Day feast. These and many other global Christmas traditions are featured here in this delightful little book. From decorations and activities to feasts and special treats, there's a wide range of both lovely and unusual traditions from around the globe.

Ben Jonson famously accused Shakespeare of having 'small Latin and less Greek.' But he was exaggerating. Shakespeare was steeped in the classics. Shaped by his grammar school education in Roman literature, history, and rhetoric, he moved to London, a city that modeled itself on ancient Rome. He worked in a theatrical profession that had inherited the conventions and forms of classical drama, and he read deeply in Ovid, Virgil, and Seneca. In a book that combines stylistic brilliance, accessibility, and extraordinary range, acclaimed literary critic and biographer Jonathan Bate, one of the world's leading authorities on Shakespeare, offers groundbreaking insights into how, perhaps more than any other influence, the classics made Shakespeare the writer he became.

From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious - curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood. As it turns out, they aren't the only curious ones. They've since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics. The pair have now taken their near-boundless whys and hows from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time - featuring a completely new array of subjects that they've long wondered about and wanted to explore. Each chapter is further embellished with snappy visual material to allow for rabbit-hole tangents and digressions?including charts, illustrations, sidebars, and footnotes. Follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost. Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there's something interesting about everything (...except maybe jackhammers).

A wise, witty, alternative history of humanity, Dog's Best Friend reflects on how our relationship with dogs has changed over the centuries, exploring the universal desire for non-human companionship.


One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend we'll have. An animal so much a part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its wellbeing and wardrobe. Dog.

In the last 200 years, no inter-species relationship has developed so fast, nor come so far, as that of man and dog. Dogs accompany us in every walk of life, usually three times a day. How and why did this relationship begin? How has it changed over the centuries? And who's getting the upper hand?

Dog's Best Friend investigates this unique bond by revisiting some of the most important milestones in our shared journey. It begins with the earliest visual evidence on ancient rock art and ends at the laboratory that sequenced the first dog genome. En route, we encounter the first Labradoodle in Australia, a misguidedly loyal Akita in Japan, an ill-fated Poodle trainer in the United States, and a hilariously disobedient Romanian rescue dog named Kratu at the Birmingham NEC. We also meet Corgis and Dorgis at the Palace, the weightless mutniks of the Soviet space programme, a Dalmatian who impersonates Hitler, and an owner who claims his Border Collie can remember the names of more than 1,000 soft toys.

If you own, or once owned, a dog, you'll know that our relationship can be as rich, complicated and rewarding as the relationship we have with other humans. This book reflects this diversity, with the aid of trainers, breeders and psychologists. Above all, it explores the extraordinary ability of dogs to enhance so many aspects of our lives.

Dog's Best Friend is as entertaining as it is informative, as eccentric as it is erudite, and all told with Simon Garfield's irrepressible gift for witty and insightful storytelling.


About the Author

Simon Garfield is the author of 20 books. His previous titles include the international bestsellers Just My Type, On the Map and Mauve, while To the Letter was one of the inspirations for the theatre shows Letters Live with Benedict Cumberbatch. His study of AIDS in Britain, The End of Innocence, won the Somerset Maugham prize.


Industry Reviews

Dog's Best Friend is as fascinating, funny and wise as we've come to expect from Simon Garfield. More than that, it's a book that asks profound questions about what it means to be canine.

Funny, fascinating and endearing - this is a book that will make your tail wag!

A fascinating, informative and highly entertaining expedition through the highways and byways of dogdom.

Byron, Sassoon, Woolf, Charles Schulz... many have managed to express the love we have for our dogs, but until now, no one has adequately explained it. Simon Garfield has written a book every owner will lap up with the same delight and enthusiasm their Fido would a discarded box of fried chicken. That is to say, with great pleasure.

Essentially, this is Clive James' desert island poems: a selection of his favourite verse and a personal commentary on each. The Fire of Joy was the final book Clive James completed before his death in 2019. It takes its title from the French expression Feu de Joie, which refers to a military celebration when all the riflemen of a regiment fire one shot after another in a wave of continuous sound: it is a reminder that the regiment's collective power relies on the individual, and vice versa. In this book, James has chosen a succession of English poems, exploding in sequence from Chaucer to the present day; they tell the story of someone writing something wonderful, and someone else coming along, reading it, and feeling impelled to write something even more wonderful. After a lifetime, these are the poems James found so good that he remembered them despite himself. In offering them to you, the main purpose of this book is to provide ammunition that will satisfy your urge to discover, learn and declaim verse. As well as his selection of poems, James offers a commentary on each: whether this is a biographical, historical or critical introduction to the poem, or a more personal anecdote about the role a particular poem has played in James's life, these mini essays provide the joy of James's enthusiasm and the benefit of his knowledge. Full of the flashing fires of poems you will not be able to forget, this book will ignite your passion and leave you with a contagious crackle rattling in your ears.

SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 From renowned, Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic, Michiko Kakutani, comes an inspiring and gorgeously illustrated selection of the life-changing books that none of us should miss 'Why do we love books so much?'For legendary literary critic Michiko Kakutani, books have always been an escape and a sanctuary, the characters of some novels feeling so real to her childhood self that she worried they might leap out of the pages at night if she left the book cover open. In Ex Libris, she offers a personal selection of over 100 works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, with passionate essays on why each has had a profound effect on her life.From Homer's The Odyssey to The Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, Ex Libris covers a rich and vast range of classics, old and new, that will help build a well-rounded reader and citizen of the world. With gorgeous illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplates leafed between Kakutani's inspiring essays, Ex Libris points us to our next great read - and proves an unmissable reminder of why we fell in love with reading in the first place.

Kindred in spirit to The Lost Words but new in form, The Lost Spells is a pocket-sized treasure, a new collection of 'spells' - acrostic poetry and artwork - by beloved creative duo Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris.Written to be read aloud, calling to forest, field, riverbank, ocean, and also to the heart, these 'spells' summon back what is often lost from sight and care, and inspire protection and action on behalf of the natural world. From Jay to Jackdaw, Oak to Barn Owl, Silver Birch to Grey Seal, they capture the special, individual spirit of each plant and creature. Above all, they celebrate a sense of wonder, bearing witness to nature's power to amaze, console and bring joy.

We love books. We take them to bed with us. They weigh down our suitcases on holiday. We display them on our bookshelves, give them as gifts, write our names in them. We take them for granted. And all the time, our books are leading a double life.

The Secret Life of Books is about everything that isn't just the words. It's about how books transform us as individuals, the stories they tell us about ourselves. It's about how books - and readers - have evolved over time. And it's about why, even with the arrival of other media, books still have the power to change our lives.

In this stylish and thought-provoking meditation, Tom Mole looks at everything from binding innovations to binding errors, to books defaced by lovers, to those imprisoning professors in their offices, to books in art, to burned books, to the books that create nations, to those we'll leave behind. A striking text in a stunning package, it will change how you think about books.

English has borrowed more words from French than from any other modern foreign language. French words and phrases-such as a la mode, ennui, naivete and caprice-lend English a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that would otherwise elude the language. Richard Scholar examines the continuing history of untranslated French words in English and asks what these words reveal about the fertile but fraught relationship that England and France have long shared and that now entangles English- and French-speaking cultures all over the world. Emigres demonstrates that French borrowings have, over the centuries, 'turned' English in more ways than one. From the seventeenth-century polymath John Evelyn's complaint that English lacks 'words that do so fully express' the French ennui and naivete, to George W. Bush's purported claim that 'the French don't have a word for entrepreneur,' this unique history of English argues that French words have offered more than the mere seasoning of the occasional mot juste. They have established themselves as 'creolizing keywords' that both connect English speakers to-and separate them from-French. Moving from the realms of opera to ice cream, the book shows how migrant French words are never the same again for having ventured abroad, and how they complete English by reminding us that it is fundamentally incomplete. At a moment of resurgent nationalism in the English-speaking world, Emigres invites native Anglophone readers to consider how much we owe the French language and why so many of us remain ambivalent about the migrants in our midst.

CRESTFALLEN at CHICANERY and CIRCUMLOCUTION? Have no TRUCK with TOMFOOLERY and TRUMPERY? Or OMNISCIENT about OBLOQUIES and OPSIMATHS? Whether you've answered yes, no or 'sorry, I didn't catch that', 500 Beautiful Words You Should Know is for you. It offers words that flow EXQUISITELY off the tongue; words that are just perfect for their meaning, like the lazy-sounding SLOTH and the heavy-footed GALUMPH; words that will make you sound clever, like DEUTERAGONIST and LETHOLOGICA; and words that are just fun to say, like LIQUEFACTION and LUXURIATE. It'll tell you where they come from, how to use them and whether you're likely to BAMBOOZLE anyone who's listening to you. With occasional special features on great words for colours, words from the Classics and words that make you laugh, this is a book to delight BIBLIOPHILES and BLATHERSKITES alike.

The year 2021 marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, a poet who, as T. S. Eliot put it, 'divides the world with Shakespeare, there being no third'. His, like ours, was a world of moral uncertainty and political violence, all of which made not only for the agony of exile but for an ever deeper meditation on the nature of human happiness.

In Why Dante Matters, John Took offers by way of three in particular of Dante's works - the Vita Nova as the great work of his youth, the Convivio as the great work of his middle years and the Commedia as the great work of his maturity - an account, not merely of Dante's development as a poet and philosopher, but of his continuing presence to us as a guide to man's wellbeing as man.

Committed as he was to the welfare not only of his contemporaries but of those 'who will deem this time ancient', Dante's is in this sense a discourse overarching the centuries, a discourse confirming him in his status, not merely as a cultural icon, but as a fellow traveller.

The gorgeous, pocket-sized edition of the two brand-new Talking Heads. 'Given the opportunity to revisit the characters from Talking Heads I've added a couple more, both of them ordinary women whom life takes by surprise. They just about end up on top and go on, but without quite knowing how. Still, they're in good company, and at least they've made it into print.' Alan Bennett's twelve Talking Heads are acknowledged masterworks by one of our most highly acclaimed writers. Some thirty years after the original six, Bennett has written Two Besides, a pair of monologues. Each, in its way, is a devastating portrait of grief. In An Ordinary Woman, a mother suffers the inevitable consequences when she makes life intolerable for herself and her family by falling for her own flesh and blood; while The Shrine tells the story behind a makeshift roadside shrine, introducing us to Lorna, bearing witness in her high-vis jacket, the bereft partner of a dedicated biker with a surprising private life. The two new Talking Heads were recorded for the BBC during the exceptional circumstances of coronavirus lockdown in the spring of 2020, directed by Nicholas Hytner and performed by Sarah Lancashire and Monica Dolan. The book contains a substantial preface by Nicholas Hytner and an introduction to each, by Alan Bennett.

The definitive reference for all Wes Anderson fans. Loaded with rich imagery and detailed analysis of his incredible films - including the classics The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom as well as Anderson's highly anticipated new release The French Dispatch - this is the first book to feature all of Wes Anderson's movies in a single volume. Acclaimed film journalist Ian Nathan provides an intelligent and thoughtful examination of the work of one of contemporary film's greatest visionaries, charting the themes, visuals, and narratives that have come to define Anderson's work and contributed to his films an idiosyncratic character that's adored by his loyal fans. From Anderson's regular cast members - including Bill Murray and Owen Wilson - to his instantly recognisable aesthetic, recurring motifs and his scriptwriting processes, this in-depth collection will reveal how Wes Anderson became one of modern cinema's most esteemed and influential directors. Presented in a slipcase with 8-page gatefold section, this stunning package will delight all Wes Anderson devotees and movie lovers in general.

'An absolutely masterly work' Stephen Fry Alex Ross, renowned author of the international bestseller The Rest Is Noise, reveals how Richard Wagner became the proving ground for modern art and politics-an aesthetic war zone where the Western world wrestled with its capacity for beauty and violence.

For better or worse, Wagner is the most widely influential figure in the history of music. Around 1900, the phenomenon known as Wagnerism saturated European and American culture. Such colossal creations as The Ring of the Nibelung, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal were models of formal daring, mythmaking, erotic freedom, and mystical speculation. A mighty procession of writers, artists, and thinkers, including Charles Baudelaire, Virginia Woolf, Isadora Duncan, Vasily Kandinsky, and Luis Bunuel, felt his impact. Anarchists, occultists, feminists, and gay-rights pioneers saw him as a kindred spirit. Then Adolf Hitler incorporated Wagner into the soundtrack of Nazi Germany, and the composer came to be defined by his ferocious anti-Semitism. His name is now almost synonymous with artistic evil.

Wagnerism restores the magnificent confusion of what it means to be a Wagnerian. A pandemonium of geniuses, madmen, charlatans, and prophets do battle over Wagner's many-sided legacy. The narrative ranges across artistic disciplines, from architecture to the novels of Philip K. Dick, from the Zionist writings of Theodor Herzl to the civil-rights essays of W. E. B. Du Bois, from O Pioneers! to Apocalypse Now. In many ways,Wagnerism tells a tragic tale. An artist who might have rivalled Shakespeare in universal reach is implicated in an ideology of hate. Still, his shadow lingers over twenty-first century culture, his mythic motifs coursing through superhero films and fantasy fiction. Neither apologia nor condemnation, Wagnerism is a work of intellectual passion, urging us toward a more honest idea of how art acts in the world.

The lyrics to the songs of the Beatles read like poetry. This book treats them as such, and deals with them artistically, awarding them the thought and detail they deserve. The stories, themes and ideas of more than 200 songs are explored in this beautiful book that includes photographs, artwork and illustration to bring the Fab Four's lyrics to life as never before.

Revealing the best of Lonely Planet's travel photography from across the globe, this pictorial does more than display beautiful photographs of classic scenes and locations. Our photographers - in their words - share the backstories of how they got the perfect shot, making this an inspirational and illuminating photography book for every kind of traveller. Featuring over 200 photographs from renowned photographers such as Philip Lee Harvey and Jonathan Gregson, discover the stories behind what makes a good photo and exactly how each photograph was taken. From off-the-map locations barely touched by tourism to iconic cityscapes and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, be transported on a photographic journey all around the world. From the Temples of(more...)

Criss Canning is one of Australia's best loved and most celebrated still life artists. Inspired by the beauty of nature and the works of advanced European modernists, and with dedication to the absolutes of colour and pictorial composition, she has created paintings that are immediately seductive. One cannot help but be astonished by their beauty and by the level of skill required to achieve their effects. Among the book's 280 colour images are reproductions of some 218 paintings created between 1980 and 2020 - including her most recent. David Thomas's text elucidates the artist's life story and describes the aesthetic qualities of the paintings from a critical and art historical point of view. The book also contains extensive biographical and bibliographical data and details of all works exhibited in art galleries since 1982. This comprehensive account of an artist's life and work also focuses on developments in the paintings over the past two years, which herald exciting new aspects of Canning's ongoing 'pursuit of beauty'.

How to grow your own food in the smallest spaces - in pots on balconies, courtyards and windowsills Increasingly people are keen to grow some of their own food, giving them fresh, delicious and healthy ingredients right on their doorstep. Homegrown food also means reduced food miles and packaging, and reminds us where food comes from and how plants grow. With backyards shrinking and more people living in apartments, we need to find a range of fruit, vegies and herbs that will grow and thrive in small spaces. Whether you love lush leafy greens, tangy citrus, crunchy carrots or vine-ripened tomatoes, there are lots of edible plants that can be grown in pots, hanging baskets and vertical gardens on sunny balconies, verandas, courtyards and windowsills, opening up the wonderful world of homegrown to everyone. This book provides the best information on which edible plants to grow in pots and how to care for them, no matter what your skill level. With loads of glorious photographs for inspiration, it puts 'patio to plate' within reach of everyone, whatever their gardening space.

Real Vietnamese Cooking brings you to Vietnam's vibrant culinary centres, where you can pull up a kitchen chair for a family feast, order noodles from a street side stall or even sit down in a mess hall with the hungry soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army. Real Vietnamese Cooking combines the collective culinary wisdom of three intrepid food explorers who spent many years training with Vietnam's best chefs while scouring the countryside in search of dishes few foreigners get to experience. It introduces readers to local takes on classic recipes, as well as many lesser known favourites - all made with easy-to-find ingredients. Street eats and home-cooked delicacies that only savvy travellers know about from the streets of Saigon and the cafes of Hanoi are gathered here for the first time. This one-of-a-kind cookbook opens a new culinary window on contemporary Vietnam, exposing the full range of sweet, salty and savoury tastes to the home cook.

A Guardian Travel Book of the Year Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 'The premise of this book is simple, or that is what it seemed when I started.' Peter Fiennes follows in the footsteps of twelve inspirational writers, bringing modern Britain into focus by peering through the lens of the past.

The journey starts in Dorset, shaped by the childhood visions of Enid Blyton, and ends with Charles Dickens on the train that took him to his final resting place in Westminster Abbey.

From the wilds of Skye and Snowdon, to a big night out in Birmingham with J. B. Priestley and Beryl Bainbridge, Footnotes is a series of evocative biographies, a lyrical foray into the past, and a quest to understand Britain through the books, journals and diaries of some of our greatest writers.

And as Fiennes travels the country, and roams across the centuries, he wonders:

'Who are we? What do we want? They seemed like good questions to ask, in the company of some of our greatest writers, given these restless times.'

Nogales is a border town caught between Mexico and the United States of America. A 40-foot steel fence runs through its centre, separating the prosperous US side from the impoverished Mexican side. It is a fascinating site of tension, now more than ever, as the town fills with hopeful border crossers and the deportees who have been caught and brought back. And it is here that Paul Theroux will begin his journey into the culturally rich but troubled heart of modern Mexico.

Mexico is a country that has captured literary imaginations from D. H. Lawrence and Graham Greene to Aldous Huxley. Now Paul Theroux, master of travel writing, immerses himself, attending local language and culinary schools, driving through the country, getting under its skin.

Gorges that plummet into serpentine shadows ... Cloaks of white that drape the rocky crags of snowy mountains ... In this magnificent celebration of country, Bronwyn Bancroft uses colours, shapes, patterns and words to explore the awe-inspiring beauty of the Australian continent, and to express the depth of her feelings for it. The Art in Country: A Treasury for Children is an essential addition to any young Australian's library, and a perfect introduction to the many wonders that this country has to offer. This is a treasury to be cherished by all who love this land.

The official story chosen for ALIA NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME 2021, TO BE CELEBRATED ALL ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND!

Una dreams of a life in Space. Life on Earth is just so so-so. But how will she get there? And will she complete her mission to discover life in Space? And did she remember to feed Neil the goldfish?

This year NSS takes place on Wednesday 19 May 2021 at 11:00am from the International Space Station and we would love it if you could join us by sharing Give Me Some Space written and illustrated by Philip Bunting.

Everyone can join NSS, it doesn't matter whether you are at home, a school, a public library or even a university library!

Help us get #1MillionKidsReading! For more information and to register your event visit: alia.org.au/nss.

Macmillan, the original publisher of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is proud to present Costa Award and Kate Greenaway Medal-winner Chris Riddell's gorgeous new visual interpretation of Lewis Carroll's magical story. This beautiful full-colour gift edition comes 200 years after the birth of Alice's first illustrator, Sir John Tenniel. Both celebrated political cartoonists of their day, for Punch and the Observer respectively, Tenniel and Riddell have much in common. These exceptional artists created some of the most loved and iconic children's illustrations of the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries.

This is a gorgeously produced hardback with foiled jacket, head and tail bands and a ribbon marker, and it is lavishly illustrated in full colour throughout by Chris Riddell. This is a beautiful gift for all the family to treasure and share.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published by Macmillan more than 150 years ago with Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations. Lewis Carroll's iconic story is now firmly established in the cultural fabric of countries throughout the world with curious, quick-witted Alice, its timeless heroine, at its heart. During her extraordinary adventures in Wonderland, she meets the the charming White Rabbit, the formidable Queen of Hearts, the mad Hatter and the grinning Cheshire-Cat. All of these unforgettable characters have become as famous as Alice herself and take their place alongside her in one of the most influential children's books of all time.

Little one, when we say Black Lives Matter, we're saying black people are wonderful-strong. That we deserve to be treated with basic respect, and that history's done us wrong. From birth to the end of school, in joy and in sorrow, on the trumpet and the djembe, at home and in the community, a black child's parents remind him why Black Lives Matter. A gorgeous and essential picture book for children of all ages from bestselling and award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke. In When We Say Black Lives Matter, a black child's parents explain what the term Black Lives Matter means to them: in protest and song, in joy and in sorrow. I see this picture book as an act of Black Love - I was inspired to write and create it when thinking about how to explain the concept of Black Lives Matter to the young African diaspora kids in my extended family, living in over eight different countries across the world - including America, Australia, Germany, Barbados and England. - Maxine Beneba Clarke, on writing WHEN WE SAY BLACK LIVES MATTER A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Wolf Girl and her trusty dogs are back for another hackle-raising adventure. On the run from sinister forces, Gwen rushes head-long into danger. With giant snakes, Komodo dragons and a whole new wolf pack to contend with, Wolf Girl will need all her cunning... and all her friends.

Zahra Gaines is missing. After three long years away, Ruthie Hayden arrives in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska to this devastating news. Zahra was Ruthie's best friend--the only person who ever really understood her--and she vows to do whatever it takes to find her. Zahra vanished from a party just days before Ruthie's return, but the more people she talks to, the more she realizes that the Zahra she knew disappeared long before that fateful night. Gone is the whimsical, artistic girl who loved books and knew Ruthie's every secret. In her place is an athlete, a partier, a girl with secrets of her own. Darker still are the rumors that something happened to Zahra while Ruthie was gone, something that changed her forever... As Ruthie desperately tries to piece together the truth, she falls deeper and deeper into her friend's new world, circling closer to a dangerous revelation about what happened to Zahra in the days before her disappearance--one that might be better off buried. In her stunning follow-up to Lies You Never Told Me, Jennifer Donaldson once again delivers a propulsive thriller with a masterful twist, skillfully creating a world where nothing is quite as it seems.

Age range 5 to 9 Claire's family has moved from Australia to Vietnam and the little girl finds herself lost in the busy, bustling streets of Hanoi, until she finds the red bridge and a new friend to show her the way. Kylie Dunstan's stunning collage illustrations bring Claire's exotic, exciting new home to vibrant life in this touching story. Teachers' notes available here

Age range 3 to 6 The bestselling scientific series continues to expand! With scientific information from an expert, this is the perfect book for enlightening the next generation of geniuses.

Set the children in your life on a lifelong path to learning with the next instalment of the Baby University board book series. Full of scientific information, this is the perfect book to teach complex concepts in a simple, engaging way. Pandemics for Babies is a colourfully simple introduction for youngsters (and grown ups!) to how pandemics work and what we can do to help flatten the curve and stop the spread of disease. It's never too early to become a scientist!

Meet our superheroes: - Binky, aka The Monotreme! - Worried Norman, once bitten by a radioactive croissant and now Pastry Person! - Letitia, an occasionally bossy science-wombat and genius inventor! Together, they are the EnviroTeens and they are about to get very, very angry. Singleuse Plastic Brendan may have an evil plan to destroy all the world's turtles with his dastardly tur-tele-pooter but, believe it or not, there is something even more sinister than an angry plastic bag on a garbage island in the middle of the ocean ... Climate change! Oh no! The EnviroTeens will do anything to stop this impending disaster: scale slippery volcanoes, scurry through forests full of poisonous armpit monsters, even meet Senator Ian, the Climate Denialist Potato. But can three teenagers and a chicken save the whole world? Why not, nobody else is! Maybe they are in with a chance? I can't look, it's too exciting! A hilarious graphic novel about a group of teens who are determined to clean the planet and clear the air. A proportion of the publisher's profits will be donated to School Strike 4 Climate Australia. 'I loved the book and found it entertaining and humorous yet still informative. It's well written and educational ... The muffin recipe is an extra bonus too. Good job. Great writing and illustrating.' Clementine, 11 years old 'Totally hilarious. I loved it. And the environmental message is what all my friends and I want to see adults fighting for. You are a good adult ... Gold star for you.' Maggie, 12 years old 'This whimsical, fun book will be fully enjoyed by children who are fans of Dav Pilkey's Dog Man books or Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton's Treehouse series. It is also a great way for parents to inspire conversations with their children about the complexities of contemporary environmental politics.' Books+Publishing

Aveline Jones loves reading ghost stories, so a dreary half-term becomes much more exciting when she discovers a spooky old book. Not only are the stories spine-tingling, but it once belonged to Primrose Penberthy, who vanished mysteriously, never to be seen again. Intrigued, Aveline decides to investigate Primrose's disappearance. Now someone...or something, is stirring. And it is looking for Aveline. Turn on your torches, and join Aveline Jones in her first charmingly spooky mystery, from debut author Phil Hickes.

There's an elephant and her calf hiding somewhere in this book - can you find them? This interactive picture book with unfolding flaps has a surprise for the reader at every turn. Lions turn into Orangutans with the help of Ali Khodai's innovative illustrations linking animals together. Where's Baby Elephant? combines entertainment and learning in a fun and exciting way. This beautiful hardback picture book is perfect for introducing the animal kingdom to young children and is the ideal gift. Khodai's illustrations excite young children's imaginations and creativity. His vibrant illustrations bring these adorable animal families to life on the page.

Welcome to Ravenwood, a mysterious old mining town that no longer exists, except in an ancient story book that only has blank pages! This is a story about time travel, greed, humans trapped in non-human forms, gypsy magic, evil curses, thousands of blood-thirsty ravens ready to peck out your eyes at any moment ... and a Christmas wish for a miracle. Will Jack, Poppy, Miss Julie and old Grumpy Grumpit ever get out of this alive? Turn the pages to find out.

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours- owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence- You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who's been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It's the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone. THE BRILLIANT NEW THRILLER FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE OF US IS LYING KAREN M MCMANUS

The perfect present for DOG MAN fans - starring some of your favourite characters from the series! Welcome to the Cat Kid Comic Club, where Li'l Petey (LP), Flippy, and Molly introduce twenty-one rambunctious, funny, and talented baby frogs to the art of comic making. As the story unwinds with mishaps and hilarity, readers get to see the progress, mistakes, and improvements that come with practice and persistence. Squid Kid and Katydid, Baby Frog Squad, Gorilla Cheese Sandwich, and Birds Flowers Tree: A Haiku Photo Comic are just some of the mini-comics that are included as stories-within-the-story, each done in a different style, utilizing humour and drama, prose and poetry, illustrated in different media including acrylics, pastels, coloured pencils, felt-tip markers, clay, hand-made cardboard sculptures, photographs, pipe cleaners, construction paper collages, and cookies. Readers of all ages will be inspired to dream up their own stories and unleash their own creativity as they dive into this pioneering graphic novel adventure from Dav Pilkey and his heartfelt, humorous, and amazing cast of characters in the Cat Kid Comic Club.

The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain - and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared and their eagle standard was lost. It's a mystery that's never been solved, until now . . . Marcus has to find out what happened to his father, who led the legion. So he sets out into the unknown, on a quest so dangerous that nobody expects him to return. The Eagle of the Ninth is heralded as one of the most outstanding children's books of the twentieth century and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Rosemary Sutcliff writes with such passion and attention to detail that Roman Britain is instantly brought to life and stays with the reader long after the last page has been turned.

Match each bone to each corresponding animal in this fun interactive game. Using vibrant illustrations, the images encourage youngsters to guess animals based on visual clues.