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Just
in for May 2008
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Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance Lloyd Jones PB £7.99 |
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From the author
of the bestselling "Mister Pip". In a cave set back from the ocean,
on the coast of New Zealand, Louise and Schmidt hide along
with two local boys frightened of being called
up to fight in the Great War. But the sensual
rhythm of the tango lessons which Schmidt teaches on that
sandy cave floor will have devastating consequences for all of
them. Two generations later, Schmidt's fiery granddaughter Rosa, running an Argentine restaurant, captivates
a young man with the same sultry music that inspired seduction and
deception so many years before. | |
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"Travels with Herodotus" records how Kapuscinski set out on his first forays - to India, China and Africa - with the great Greek historian constantly in his pocket. He sees Louis Armstrong in Khartoum, visits Dar-es-Salaam, arrives in Algiers in time for a coup when nothing seems to happen (but he sees the Mediterranean for the first time). At every encounter with a new culture, Kapuscinski plunges in, curious and observant, thirsting to understand its history, its thought, its people. And he reads "Herodotus" so much that he often feels he is embarking on two journeys - the first his assignment as a reporter, the second following Herodotus' expeditions. | |
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In God We Doubt |
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Stalin remains one of the creators of our world - like Hitler, the personification of evil. Yet Stalin hid his past and remains mysterious. This enthralling biography that reads like a thriller finally unveils the secret but extraordinary journey of the Georgian cobbler's son who became the Red Tsar.What forms such a merciless psychopath and consummate politician? Was he illegitimate? Did he owe everything to his mother - was she whore or saint? Was he a Tsarist agent or Lenin's chief gangster? Was he to blame for his wife's premature death? If he really missed the 1917 Revolution, how did he emerge so powerful? Born in poverty, exceptional in his studies, this charismatic but dangerous boy was hailed as a romantic poet, trained as a priest, but found his mission as fanatical revolutionary. The secret world of Joseph Conrad-style terrorism was Stalin's natural habitat, where he charmed his future courtiers, made the enemies he later liquidated, and abandoned his many mistresses and children. Montefiore shows how the murderous paranoia and gangsterism of the criminal underworld, combined with pitiless ideology, taught Stalin how to triumph in the Kremlin. | |
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Many of us were put off history by the dry and dreary way it was taught at school. Back then 'The Origins of the Industrial Revolution' somehow seemed less compelling than the chance to test the bold claim on Timothy Johnson's 'Shatterproof' ruler. But here at last is a chance to have a good laugh and learn all that stuff you feel you really ought to know by now... In this "Horrible History for Grown Ups" you can read how Anglo-Saxon liberals struggled to be positive about immigration; 'Look I think we have to try and respect the religious customs of our new Viking friends - 'oi, he's nicked my bloody ox!' Discover how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendents still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne today. And explore the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel; (because the Stuarts were such a useless bunch of untalented, incompetent, arrogant, upper-class thickoes that Parliament didn't have much choice.) A book about then that is also incisive and illuminating about now, "2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge", is a hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain' fascinating and bizarre history.As entertaining as a witch burning, and a lot more laughs. | |
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At a cafe table in Lahore, a Pakistani man converses with a stranger. As dusk deepens to dark, he begins the tale that has brought him to this fateful meeting...Among the brightest and best of his graduating class at Princeton, Changez is snapped up by an elite firm and thrives on New York and the intensity of his work. And his infatuation with fragile Erica promises entree into Manhattan society on the exalted footing his own family once held back in Lahore.For a time, it seems as though nothing will stand in the way of Changez's meteoric rise to personal and professional success: the fulfillment of the immigrant's dream. But in the wake of September 11, he finds his position in the city he loves suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and perhaps even love.. | |
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This is the enthralling story of the great powerhouse of British history - the middle class. The death of feudalism, the advancement of democracy, the spread of literacy, the industrial and sexual revolutions, the development of mass media - the middle class is never far away, drawing up petitions, pushing for change in attitude and legislation, engaging in philanthropy. In this scholarly and hugely entertaining account, Lawrence James brings to life the stories of churchmen and charity-workers, lawyers and lobbyists to create an engaging and colourful social and political panorama. Richly textured and highly relevant, this is narrative history at its best. | |
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From Love's Executioner to The Gift of Therapy, over the past quarter century Irvin Yalom has established himself as the world's leading group psychotherapist. In this new work, Staring at the Sun, Dr. Yalom opens the 'mortal wound', our knowledge of death. Carried by each and every human being, death anxiety is the price for our self-awareness and the shadow from which we cannot be separated. Because we cannot live frozen in fear, we turn to our children, to wealth, to fame, or to a belief in a higher power to soften death's terror. But in spite of the staunchest, most venerable of our defences, death anxiety is never completely subdued: it is always there, lurking in the hidden ravines of our minds. At age 70 and facing his own fear of death, which he will discuss in a special after-word - Dr. Yalom tackles his toughest subject yet, and finds it to be the root cause of patients' fears, stressors and depression. If therapists are to do their best to deliver 'the gift of therapy', they must confront the realities of life for themselves and their practice, as must we all. This book is a book of wisdom for us all about how to cope with our 'ultimate concerns'. | |
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"A History of Modern Britain" confronts head-on the victory of shopping over politics. It tells the story of how the great political visions of New Jerusalem or a second Elizabethan Age, rival idealisms, came to be defeated by a culture of consumerism, celebrity and self-gratification. In each decade, political leaders think they know what they are doing, but find themselves confounded. Every time, the British people turn out to be stroppier and harder to herd than predicted. Throughout, Britain is a country on the edge - first of invasion, then of bankruptcy, then on the vulnerable front line of the Cold War and later in the forefront of the great opening up of capital and migration now reshaping the world.This history follows all the political and economic stories, but deals too with comedy, cars, the war against homosexuals, Sixties anarchists, oil-men and punks, Margaret Thatcher's wonderful good luck, political lies and the true heroes of British theatre. 'Superb, colourful, outspoken, fresh and richly entertaining. Don't miss' - "The Times". 'Lively, full of rich anecdotes and sparkling pen portraits. He has the rare gift of being able to explain complex issues in a few crisp sentences' - "Sunday Telegraph". | |
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