Hollywood 1939. The year that The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were made. Detective Craine has spent his life working as a studio fixer, whitewashing the misdemeanours and crimes committed by t
Martin Bell has served as a corporal in a colonial army, been embedded with British forces, gone on missions with Americans and crossed the Suez Canal with the Israelis. He has kept the company of sol
Drawing on religious and spiritual traditions of the past and the present, Professor Suheil Bushrui, in collaboration with Mehrdad Massoudi, Michael Dravis, James Madaio, and Michael Russo, explores t
According to the majority of modern Muslims and Christians, the Qur’an denies the crucifixion of Jesus, and with it, one of the most sacred beliefs of Christianity. However, it is only mentioned in o
The Christian faith is often charged with being outmoded and anachronistic. A monolithic institution rooted in the past, many critics have claimed that it lacks the resources to adapt to modern societ
Information Generation is the story of the seminal role data plays in our lives and explains how the advance of our civilization has come hand in hand with our ability to collect and interpret data. S
One of greatest Persian writers of both classical prose and poetry, Sa'di was revered in his time as a man of great wisdom and passion. Filled with extracts of the poet's melodious and insightful writ
Tells the story of Iran's shaping and transmitting of the world's religions, starting with the Iranian merchants and missionaries who brought, not only Islam but also Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhi
With coverage not only of India, but also of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, this book surveys nearly 5000 years, from the early settlers of pre-history to the Tamil Tiger conflicts and the
Drawing on a wide variety of religious traditions, Cantwell Smith addresses how, why, and with what implications our understanding of the terms faith and belief has altered with time.
When her husband dies in the year 2000, Wang Di is forced into the solitary life of a widow in modern Singapore. But this new silence brings with it a surge of memories, taking her back to the brutal
Who decides what is right? How do we judge our actions?And how do we live with ourselves when things go wrong? Following his father's death, troubled idealist Nick abandons his safe London life for a
Lala has lived a dazzling life, filled with love, betrayals, acts of courage and some of the most extraordinary events of the twentieth century. There is nothing she likes better than to tell stories
A man wakes up in a hospital bed. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or how he came to be there. The only information that the doctor shares with his patient before urging him to write down every
Baghdad, 1991. In the midst of the first Gulf War, a young Iraqi girl huddles with her neighbours in an air raid shelter. There, she meets Nadia. The two girls quickly become best friends and together
Decades after the colonial powers withdrew from Africa, the continent is still struggling to catch up with the rest of the world. When the same colonists withdrew from Asia, it kick-started several de
Suppose our knowledge of the Quran began only recently with the discovery of mysterious scrolls in a desert cave. Suppose there was no Islamic history and no Muslim community to help us understand thi
Cesare is 77 years old, a widower and cynical troublemaker, a man who has always had trouble caring for others and has given up trying. Aside from an intermittent fling with a mature nurse called Ross
A Guardian best history book of 2016Every family has its skeletons, but in 1823 the grand Wallop family was about to share theirs with the world. The 3rd earl of Portsmouth was a peculiar man but, by
What would a world without disease look like? With the victory against smallpox behind us, polio, malaria and measles each provide their own set of roadblocks as we fight for a world free of epidemic
By pairing a scholar of Islamic law with a scholar of Jewish law, a unique dynamic is created. This new perspective not only provides a deeper understanding of the other’s legal tradition, but it also
Homosexuality is anathema to Islam ? or so the majority of both believers and non-believers suppose. Throughout the Muslim world, it is met with hostility, where state punishments range from hefty fin
Revealing the thoughts of history's biggest philosophers on the biggest question of all, The God Question will help you grapple with a wide array of divine puzzles. Presenting pithy arguments from the
Abu'l-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (915-965) is often regarded as the greatest of the classical Arab poets, with his work occupying a unique position at the heart of Arab culture. Born the son of a water-carri
Nourished by an admiration of Khayyam that has been with him since childhood, Aminrazavi's comprehensive new biography reintroduces the figure of Khayyam, and his great achievements, to the Western wo
Renowned as one of the world’s most astute interpreters of Kabbalistic texts, Elliot Wolfson offers an illuminating and original presentation of Kabbalah. Combining its wisdom with Western philosoph
This important work marks the first attempt to look at Khayyam's impact on the worlds of science, philosophy, and poetry. Uniting a personal journey with scholarly ambition, Aminrazavi's work debunks
The author is abundantly successful in showing the importance of argument in matters of religion. I don't know of another book that does this with as much success over such a range of materials. --Pro
Keith Ward offers a new interpretation of Christianity, presenting a faith in harmony with the scientific worldview, while remaining true to its traditions.
One in a series of books, a primer on Buddhism past and present draws on interviews with a diverse variety of practicing Buddhists from around the world to describe the history, teachings, rituals, an
What is the nature of the Qur’an? It might seem a straightforward question, but there is no consensus among modern communities of the Qur’an, both Muslim and non-Muslim, upon the answer. And why shoul
The Second World War is drawing to a close, but the world is far from safe. Left to fend for themselves, women and children are forced out of their homes in East Prussia to make way for the advancing
p>It was 11pm when I checked my email for the last time and turned off my phone for what I hoped would be forever.No running water, no car, no electricity or any of the things it powers: the internet,
Discussions of the Arab world, particularly the Gulf States, increasingly focus on sectarianism and autocratic rule. These features are often attributed to the dominance of monarchs, Islamists, oil, a
When Hammoudi, a young surgeon based in Paris, returns to Syria to renew his passport, he only expects to stay there a few days. But the authorities refuse to let him leave and Hammoudi finds himself
The Baha’i faith is the youngest of the world religions and the second most widespread after Christianity. It is well known for its belief in the essential unity of all religions and its global outloo
Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya is a figure of myth. Certainly a woman by this name was born in Basra, Iraq, in the eighth century, but her life remains recorded only in legends, stories, poems and hagiographies.
The hotly anticipated sequel to The Pictures. Guy Bolton’s unforgettable 1930s Hollywood fixer Jonathan Craine is thrust into the dark underbelly of the LA mafia, only to discover more secrets and lie
It is 2043, and a glitch in the global communications network is ripping a previously united world apart at the seams. The millennials find themselves hardest hit – among them childhood friends Evan,
Democracies are being gamed. Authoritarian governments, moneyed elites and fringe hackers are exploiting our digital infrastructure and the vulnerabilities in our democratic system to influence our po
