Oil is the lifeblood of the modern world. Without it, there would be no planes, no plastic, no exotic produce, and a global political landscape few would recognize. Humanity’s dependence upon oil look
Tang Shuxiu and her husband are on an 800-mile train journey from Beijing to Shifang, where they believe their only child has perished in a recent earthquake. Three days after the event, Tang is too d
For more than a century successive US and UK governments have sought to thwart nationalist, socialist and pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. Through the Cold War, the ‘War on Terror’ and the
The La Fleur restaurant has a slew of unusual phenomena. Bonnet-clad apparitions pass through walls, blood leaks from ceilings and rats besiege the dining room. Experts from the Great Essex Witch Muse
You're already playing the game, whether you like it or not. You can try to ignore what others say about you or you can choose to learn the rules and discover that the potential benefits are unlimited
I’ve invented a new pastime. I call it Hedgerow Russian Roulette. It involves randomly eating fruits and berries I find in bushes along the side streets of West Hampstead. My reasoning is that I’d be
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Abraham Ascher offers a skillful blend of engaging narrative and fresh analysis in this concise introduction to Russian history.Newly updated on the 100th anniversary
I was ten years old when I came across Boadicea, and she became the first woman to make me realise that the designated future of a girl born in 1950 – to be sweet, domesticated, undemanding and super
Prompted by the EU referendum in the UK and the presidential election in the USA, A. C. Grayling investigates why the institutions of representative democracy seem unable to hold up against forces the
Stanley Johnson's new satirical thriller KOMPROMAT purports to tell what really happened in the run-up to those two recent political earthquakes, the Brexit Referendum in the UK in June 2016 and the U
When the government announced plans to sell off up to 150,000 hectares of English forests and woodland in 2010, it ignited an immediate and impassioned fight against the proposal. Even today, the Brit
Human Rights ? Equality ? Free Speech ? Privacy ? The Rule of LawThese five ideas are vitally important to the way of life we enjoy today. The battle to establish them in law was long and difficult, a
It’s all over our televisions, newspapers and the internet. Every day we’re bludgeoned by news of how bad everything is ? Brexit, financial collapse, unemployment, poverty, environmental disasters, di
Muslim pilgrims travel to a wide variety of places, not only the holy cities of Mecca and Karbala. Around the world there are countless sacred sites, including the graves of important historical and r
The Gazans are a uniquely imprisoned people, most of them unable to travel to the West Bank, let alone Israel ? where tens of thousands once worked ? and unable to flee in times of war. Despite the de
Rosie Strange doesn't believe in ghosts or witches or magic. No, not at all. It’s no surprise therefore when she inherits the ramshackle Essex Witch Museum, her first thought is to take the money and
In 2005, twenty-two years of civil war in Sudan were brought to an end by the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Negotiations between north and south had ended in compromise, however, and h
The world of education is far more diverse and a great deal more interesting than the mainstream media would have us believe. The notion that our most valuable educators might have more to offer than
Growing up in the Nairobi of the 90s, a seething boiling pot of racial tension and conflicting cultural taboos, Leena and Jai are raised to believe in a Kenya full of possibility and potential. But as
When the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26, 1991, it looked like the start of a remarkable new era of peace and co-operation. Some even dared to declare the end of history, assuming all countries
Bilodo lives a solitary daily life, routinely completing his postal rounds every day and returning to his empty Montreal apartment. But he has found a way to break the cycle ? Bilodo has taken to stea
In May 1978 Harold Pinter and Antonia Fraser visited Israel at the time of the 30th Anniversary of Independence. It was three years after they first lived together; neither had set foot in Israel befo
A man drives alone along the vast, desolate roads of Patagonia, a mystical land. He comes across a starving and helpless teenager, who is now the prince grown older and returned to Earth. The two trav
The brief euphoria that followed the Arab Spring’ of 2011 quickly gave way to religious politics, sectarian war, bloody counter-revolutions and the most brutal incarnations of Islamic extremism ever s
Following his critically acclaimed investigation of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in the 1940s, renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe turns his attention to the annexation and occupation of Gaza a
The 3rd Earl of Portsmouth voted in the House of Lords, took county positions, invited Jane Austen to his balls, counted William Cobbett as one of his Hampshire neighbors and had Lord Byron as his bes
At 28,251 ft, K2 might be almost 800 ft shorter than Everest, but it’s a far harder climb. In this definitive account, Mick Conefrey grippingly describes the early attempts to reach the summit and pro
It’s on the televisions, in the papers and in our minds. Every day we’re bludgeoned by news of how bad everything is financial collapse, unemployment, growing poverty, environmental disasters, disease
The Middle East- the uprisings, the fallen leaders, the insurgencies and civil conflict plaguing the regionIn this pioneering introduction, Oxford University’s Philip Robins argues that the region is
Gold. For centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises; thousands have gone wild in their search for it and surely there will be many more.After the Financial Crisis, the price of go
"It’s not particularly difficult to run a successful bookshop, thought Valerie: a grasp of the rudiments of business, a sensible plan, a little skill in negotiation, a couple of contacts and a la
Human rights, equality, freedom of expression, privacy, the rule of law. These five ideas are vitally important to the way of life we enjoy today. The battle to establish them in law was long and diff
To escape his troubled past, Norman heads to the Utah desert to lose himself in work. Having just received a research grant he plans to study the ghost towns and now-obsolete mines littering the inhos
Before Socrates, philosophers sought explanations for naturally-occurring phenomena from earthquakes and eclipses to the existence of the entire cosmos. But the Socratic era saw a great shift towards
Throughout history female composers have been subjected to ludicrous criticisms, had their sex lives scrutinized and the veracity of their authorship questioned. Fanny Mendelssohn, who established one
Masha dreams of becoming one of the great European auteurs. But first she must escape the drudgery of her daily existence: a father who drinks, a dull and empty city, the fear of getting stuck in a li
A shocking investigation into the despair that traps the rural poor as well as a technically brilliant excursion into the claustrophobic realm of classic horror and suspense, A Perfect Crime is a thri
The Victorian period is crucial to any understanding of modern Britain, yet it is frequently understood only through the crude stereotypes of emotional repression, factories, child labour and the purs
Based on extensive reporting across the Middle East, this vital and timely book charts the rise of the most threatening strand of radical Islam to occur in the modern era. It is a totalitarian regime
A hard-hitting and controversial examination of honor crimes that involve a 'punishment'-often death or disfigurement-carried out by a relative to restore the family's honor.
