BookOdyssey

Σελίδες: 256, Διαστάσεις: 21.6x21.6cm

Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy; it is no exaggeration to say that had it not been for his influence on Plato, the whole development of Western philosophy might have been unimaginably different. Yet Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of him is derived primarily from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato\'s dialogues. In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Taylor explores the life of Socrates and his philosophical activity, before looking to the responses his philosophical doctrines have evoked in the centuries since his betrayal and execution at fellow Athenian hands. Examining the relationship between the historical Socrates and the Platonic character, Taylor considers the complex question of how far it is possible to distinguish the philosopher\'s own thought from that of those others who wrote about him, and explores the enduring image of Socrates as the ideal exemplar of the philosophic life - a thinker whose moral and intellectual integrity permeated every detail of his life. This new edition also includes a new chapter analysing the reception and influence of Socrates in 19th and 20th century philosophical thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Σελίδες: 160, Διαστάσεις: 11.1x11.1cm

Lady Diana Cooper had been famous from her earliest youth, the subject of gossip and adoration as the queen of the \'Coterie\', an exclusive high society set. Her marriage to Duff Cooper, a rising political star, and her career on the stage and in early silent films only increased her notoriety. Her second volume of autobiography chronicles these years in the run-up to the Second World War, and her adventures as an unconventional hostess, actress, wife and mother are told in typically fast-paced, witty and brilliant style. Σελίδες: 304, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAmerica is suffering from PTSD. The Reckoning diagnoses its core causes and helps begin the healing process.For four years, Donald J Trump inflicted an onslaught of overlapping and interconnected traumas upon the American people, targeting anyone he perceived as being an \'other\' or an enemy. Women were discounted and derided, the sick were dismissed as weak and unworthy of help, immigrants and minorities were demonised and discriminated against and money was elevated above all else. In short, he transformed America into a macro version of his malignantly dysfunctional family.How can Americans make sense of the degree to which their institutions and leaders have let them down? How can they negotiate a world in which all sense of safety and justice seems to have been destroyed? How can they - as individuals and as a nation - confront, process and overcome this loss of trust and the ways they have been forever altered by chaos, division and cruelty? And when the dust finally settles, how can they begin to heal, in the midst of ongoing health and economic crises and the greatest political divide since the Civil War?Mary L Trump is uniquely positioned to answer these difficult questions. She holds a PhD in clinical psychology specialising in trauma, has herself been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and happens to be Donald J Trump\'s only niece. In The Reckoning, she applies her unique expertise to the task of helping Americans confront an all-encompassing trauma, one that has taken an immense toll on their nation\'s health and well-being.A new leader alone cannot fix the situation. Donald J Trump is only the latest symptom of a disease that has existed within the body politic since America\'s inception - from the original sin of slavery through its population\'s unceasing, organised commitment to inequality. An enormous amount of healing must be done to rebuild the lives of Americans, their faith in leadership and their hope for their nation. It starts with The Reckoning. Σελίδες: 208, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

The story of a single family during the Irish Revolution, Four Killings is a book about political murder, and the powerful hunger for land and the savagery it can unleash. \'A vivid and chilling narrative... Confronts uncomfortable questions that still need answering\' Roy Foster \'Marries acute storytelling skills with scholarship, fortified throughout by the author\'s wry sense of humour\' Michael Heney \'Narrative history, told through a unique prism\' Irish Sunday Independent \'Dungan knows his history; he also knows how to tell a story... A gem of a book\' RTÉ Culture \'Sober and intelligent... Dungan does a fine job of showing that little people can make history too\' Business Post Myles Dungan\'s family was involved in four violent deaths between 1915 and 1922. Jack Clinton, an immigrant small farmer from County Meath, was murdered in the remote and lawless Arizona territory by a powerful rancher\'s hired assassin; three more died in Ireland, and each death is compellingly reconstructed in this extraordinary book. What unites these deaths is the violence that engulfed Ireland during the war of independence, but also the passions unleashed by arguments over the ownership of the soil. In focusing on one family, Four Killings offers an original perspective on this still controversial period: a prism through which the moral and personal costs of violence, and the elemental conflict over land, come alive in surprising ways. Σελίδες: 336, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0802, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

A strikingly original book about a terrible photograph – an exceptionally rare image documenting the horrific final moment of the murder of a family in Ukraine. A Times Book of the Year \'A very rare kind of picture... To the murdered others, this book is an act of restitution\' David Aaronovitch, The Times \'Detective work of the highest and most gripping order\' Philippe Sands \'Lower\'s pursuit of the truth is both captivating and meticuous\' TLS \'Extraordinary and spell-binding\' Daily Mail \'One photograph. That\'s what it took to start Wendy Lower on an incredible journey of discovery\' Deborah Lipstadt The terrible mass shootings in Poland and the Ukraine are often neglected in studies of the Holocaust, because the perpetrators were meticulously careful to avoid leaving any evidence of their actions. Wendy Lower stumbled across one such piece of evidence – a photograph documenting the shooting of a mother and her children and the men who killed them – and has crafted a forensically brilliant and moving study that brings the larger horror of the genocide into focus. Shortlisted for the Historical Writers\' Association Non-Fiction Crown. Σελίδες: 272, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0301, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

A moving tribute to the sacrifice and bravery of the fliers of RAF Bomber Command. ****************************** The Crew, based on interviews with Ken Cook, the crew\'s sole surviving member, recounts the wartime exploits of the members of an Avro Lancaster crew between 1942 and the war\'s end. Gloucestershire-born bomb aimer Ken Cook, hard-bitten Australian pilot Jim Comans, Navigator Don Bowes, Upper Gunner George Widdis, Tail Gunner \'Jock\' Bolland, Flight Engineer Ken Randle and Radio Operator Roy Woollford were seven ordinary young men living in extraordinary times, risking their lives in freedom\'s cause in the dark skies above Hitler\'s Reich. From their earliest beginnings – in places as far apart as a Cotswold village and the suburbs of Sydney – through the adventure of training in North America and the dread and danger of the forty-five bombing raids they flew with 97 Squadron, David Price describes the crew\'s wartime experiences with human sympathy allied to a secure technical understanding of one of the RAF\'s most iconic aircraft. The drama and anxiety of individual missions – to Kassel, Munich and Augsburg as well as Berlin – is evoked with thrilling immediacy; while the military events and strategic decisions that drove the RAF\'s area bombing campaign against Nazi Germany are interwoven deftly with the narrative of the crew\'s operational careers. ****************************** Reviews: \'A sensitive account of the bomber\'s life... Price has given the bomber offensive a human face. This book [...] has a heart and soul\' The Times. \'A fascinating and fast-paced account of the exploits of an Avro Lancaster bomber crew from 97 Squadron RAF\' The Herald. \'A remarkable insight into the bravery, determination and skill of British Bomber Command crews during WWII\' Waterstones. Σελίδες: 448, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0401, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Do you think you know everything there is to know about Churchill? Have you seen every film and read every book ever produced about this great British statesman? Then delve into The Churchill Quiz Book to find 800 fascinating questions on every aspect of his heroic, colourful and controversial life! With multiple-choice questions, anagrams, truth or fiction sections to baffle and intrigue, picture quizzes and much more, you will find there is still something new to learn about the compelling icon who led Great Britain to ultimate victory in World War II. Published in association with Imperial War Museums, this quiz book covers all aspects of the extraordinary life of Sir Winston Churchill. Σελίδες: 256, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0702, Διαστάσεις: 12x12cm

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world\'s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-SmithCelebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Today, George Orwell is perhaps most famous for his iconic novels - Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm - but in his own time it was his remarkable nonfiction writing which drew most attention. Kind-hearted, intelligent, often funny, occasionally indignant, always insightful: his essays are some of the best ever written. Among others, this selection includes \'Shooting an Elephant\', \'Such, Such Were the Joys\' and \'Some Thoughts on the Common Toad\'. Σελίδες: 192, Διαστάσεις: 11.9x11.9cm

\'In its exploration of geographical, racial and cultural dislocation, Sugar and Slate is in the finest tradition of work to have emerged from the black diaspora in recent times\' Gary Younge, GuardianA powerful, radiant memoir from writer Charlotte Williams exploring the intertwined history of Wales, Africa and the CaribbeanThe daughter of a white Welsh-speaking mother and a Black father from Guyana, Charlotte Williams\' childhood world was one of mixed messages, dominated by the feeling that \'somehow to be half Welsh and half Afro-Caribbean was always to be half of something but never quite anything whole at all\'.Sugar and Slate tells the fascinating story of her journey of self-discovery, toing and froing between the small north Wales town where she grew up, Africa and the Caribbean. Blending memoir with historical research, Sugar and Slate delves deep into Black Welsh history, revealing the nation as home to one of the first interracial marriages in Britain in 1768, and a site of Britain\'s first major race riots in 1919.Powerful, lyrical and intimate, Williams\' experience casts light on Wales and Welshness, illuminating what it is to be racially marginalized within a community, which is itself marginalized within Britain, and offering a unique insight into the complex Black history of Wales.A title in the Black Britain: Writing Back series - selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this series rediscovers and celebrates pioneering books depicting black Britain that remap the nation. Σελίδες: 304, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Long did she reign and peacefully may she rest: this beautiful and thoughtful tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates the life of a remarkable woman whose 70 years on the throne made her the longest-reigning monarch in British History. Royal biographer Brian Hoey describes the childhood, accession and coronation of young Elizabeth, and chronicles her extraordinary and dignified transfiguration into beloved wife, mother and grandmother during her seven decades of unflagging service and dedication as Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth. He also explains the constitutional roles and public duties of this accomplished stateswoman, conducted with such outstanding grace and professionalism throughout her life. As the royal family, her country, and countless people around the world prepare to say goodbye, he describes all the honour and ceremony one would expect to be lavished on this cherished sovereign and considers the everlasting effect that her work, life, and legacy will continue to have for many years to come. Σελίδες: 96, Διαστάσεις: 18.9x18.9cm

\'THE BOOK CHINA DOESN\'T WANT YOU TO READ\' CNN \'READS LIKE A THRILLER\' FINANCIAL TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2021 In the headline-making and bestselling tradition of Bill Browder’s Freezing Order comes a unique and incendiary memoir from an entrepreneur who rose to the zenith of power and money in 21st century China and whose wife was disappeared - and then mysteriously reappeared four years later on the eve of Red Roulette’s publication and global media coverage about it. As Desmond Shum was growing up impoverished in China, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity, he earned an American college degree and returned to his native country to establish himself in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan who was determined to make her mark within China’s male-dominated society. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, aided by relationships they formed with top members of China’s Communist Party, the so-called Red Aristocracy, he vaulted into China’s billionaire class. Soon they were developing the massive air cargo facility at Beijing International Airport, and they followed that feat with the creation of one of Beijing’s premier hotels. They were dazzlingly successful, travelling in private jets, funding multi-million-dollar buildings and endowments, and purchasing expensive homes, vehicles and art. But in 2017, their fates diverged irrevocably when Desmond, while living overseas with his son, learned that his now ex-wife Whitney had vanished along with three co-workers.In this updated edition of Red Roulette Desmond Shum pulls back the curtain on China’s ruling elite and reveals the real truth of what is happening inside China’s wealth-making machine. This is both Desmond’s story and Whitney’s, because she has not been able to tell it herself.   Σελίδες: 336, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0901, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

Discover the vivid stories of Britain\'s iconic rulers, from 600 CE to the present day.From the Saxons to the Windsors, Britain\'s royal lineage is brought to life in the pages of this visual guide. Confused about which Henry had six wives and which was crowned at the age of eight? Kings and Queens of England and Scotland documents the public and private lives of the royal dynasties. Year-by-year chronologies reveal the major events of each monarch\'s reign, while family trees trace the royal lineage and claim to the throne of each royal house. This new edition features recent royal events, including the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and a biography of King Charles III. With crisp biographies of each sovereign, illustrated with contemporary portraits, painting, or statues. Kings and Queens of England and Scotland is an essential handy reference for all history buffs, and includes the following: - Accessible guide to the monarchs of both England and Scotland with extensive royal history distilled into a handy, compact format.- Concise summaries of every English sovereign from Alfred the Great and his Saxon ancestors to King Charles III.- Family tree for each of the royal houses.- Contemporary portraits, paintings, or photographs with each monarch\'s profile.- Concise bullet-point summaries of key events in each monarch\'s reign.The ideal history book for history buffs of all ages, whether you are or know of a fan of royal history, or looking for the perfect gift book for history students - Kings and Queens of England and Scotland is your go-to guide for a complete history of the monarchy. Σελίδες: 100, Διαστάσεις: 12.5x12.5cm

\'Beautifully written and deeply researched\' The Observer Upon victory in 1945, Britain still dominated the Middle East. But her motives for wanting to dominate this crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa were changing. Where ‘imperial security’ – control of the route to India – had once been paramount, now oil was an increasingly important factor. So, too, was prestige. Ironically, the very end of empire made control of the Middle East precious in itself: on it hung Britain’s claim to be a great power. Unable to withstand Arab and Jewish nationalism, within a generation the British were gone. But that is not the full story. What ultimately sped Britain on her way was the uncompromising attitude of the United States, which was determined to displace the British in the Middle East. Using newly declassified records and long-forgotten memoirs, including the diaries of a key British spy, James Barr tears up the conventional interpretation of this era in the Middle East, vividly portraying the tensions between London and Washington, and shedding an uncompromising light on the murkier activities of a generation of American and British diehards in the region, from the battle of El Alamein in 1942 to Britain’s abandonment of Aden in 1967. Reminding us that the Middle East has always served as the arena for great power conflict, this is the tale of an internecine struggle in which Britain would discover that her most formidable rival was the ally she had assumed would be her closest friend. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________\'Bustles impressively with detail and anecdote\' Sunday Times‘Consistently fascinating’ The Spectator\'Barr draws on a rich and varied trove of sources to knit a sequence of dramatic episodes into an elegant whole. Great events march through these pages\' Wall Street Journal Σελίδες: 416, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0701, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

An essential guide for the discerning time-traveller: take a trip to ancient Egypt at the height of its power and prosperity in the reign of Ramesses II. More reliable than Herodotus and more upbeat than The Book of the Dead, this popular book in Thames & Hudson’s successful Time Travel series takes the reader to Ancient Egypt in the time of Ramesses II (1250BC). Egyptologist Donald Ryan guides the time-travelling tourist on a journey up the Nile, and en route he offers useful advice on everything from deciphering hieroglyphics to mummifying household pets. So leave the protective amulets at home and banish all fear of being sold as a galley slave – this imaginative guide is all you need to survive and enjoy your visit to Egypt in its golden age. Σελίδες: 144, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0525, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

A compelling and fascinating account of aerial combat in World War I, revealing the terrible risks run by the men who fought and died in the world\'s first air war.Little more than ten years after the first powered flight, aircraft were pressed into service in World War I. Yet the romantic image of gallant \'aces\' belies the horrible reality of air warfare: of flimsy aircraft, of unprotected pilots with no parachutes; of burning 19-year-olds falling screaming to their deaths; of pilots freezing and disorientated as they flew across enemy lines.In this unforgettable book, bestselling author James Hamilton-Paterson reveals the brutal truths of wartime aviation and shows how those four years of fighting in the air would change the nature of warfare forever.\'For its mix of clear-eyed history, myth-busting and gobsmacking derring-do it\'s hard to beat James Hamilton Patterson\'s Marked for Death\' Nick Curtis, Book of the Year in the Evening Standard Σελίδες: 368, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0901, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the Civil War to our combustible present, White Rage reframes the continuing conversation about race in America, chronicling the history of the powerful forces opposed to black progress.Since the abolishment of slavery in 1865, every time African Americans have made advances towards full democratic participation, white reaction has fuelled a rollback of any gains. Carefully linking historical flashpoints – from the post-Civil War Black Codes and Jim Crow to expressions of white rage after the election of America’s first black president – Carol Anderson renders visible the long lineage of white rage and the different names under which it hides. Compelling and dramatic in the history it relates, White Rage adds a vital new dimension to the conversation about race in America.‘Beautifully written and exhaustively researched’ CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE‘An extraordinarily timely and urgent call to confront the legacy of structural racism’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW‘Brilliant’ ROBIN DIANGELO, AUTHOR OF WHITE FRAGILITY Σελίδες: 304, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Think Like a Feminist is an irreverent yet rigorous primer that unpacks over two hundred years of feminist thought. In a time when the word feminism triggers all sorts of responses, many of them conflicting and misinformed, Professor Carol Hay provides this balanced, clarifying and inspiring examination of what it truly means to be a feminist today. She takes the reader from conceptual questions of sex, gender, intersectionality and oppression to the practicalities of talking to children, navigating consent and fighting for adequate space on public transport, without deviating from her clear, accessible, conversational tone. Think Like a Feminist is equally a feminist starter kit and an advanced refresher course, connecting longstanding controversies to today’s headlines. Hay takes on many of the essential questions that feminism has risen up to answer: Is it nature or nurture that’s responsible for our gender roles and identities? How is sexism connected to racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of oppression? Who counts as a woman, and who gets to decide? Why have men got away with rape and other forms of sexual violence for so long? What responsibility do women themselves bear for maintaining sexism? What, if anything, can we do to make society respond to women’s needs and desires? Ferocious, insightful, practical and unapologetically opinionated, this is the perfect book for anyone who wants to understand the continuing effects of misogyny in society. By exploring the philosophy underlying the feminist movement, Hay brings today’s feminism into focus, so we can deliberately shape the feminist future. Σελίδες: 256, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0308, Διαστάσεις: 11.7x11.7cm

\'It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it\' PANDORA SYKES, THE HIGH LOW ‘My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect ... Essential reading\' ELIZABETH GILBERT All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it. Σελίδες: 288, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0504, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

An exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. How far would you go to protect yourself? Your dignity? Your family? In the days before Homeira Qaderi gave birth to her son, Siawash, the road to the hospital in Kabul would often be barricaded because of the frequent suicide explosions. With the city and the military on edge, it was not uncommon for an armed soldier to point his gun at the pregnant woman’s bulging stomach, terrified that she was hiding a bomb. Propelled by the love she held for her soon-to-be-born child, Homeira walked through blood and wreckage to reach the hospital doors. But the joy of her beautiful son’s birth was soon overshadowed by other dangers that would threaten her life. No ordinary Afghan woman, Homeira refused to cower under the strictures of a misogynistic social order. Defying the law, at the age of thirteen, she risked her freedom to teach children reading and writing and fought for women’s rights in her theocratic and patriarchal society. Devastating in its power, Dancing in the Mosque is a mother’s searing letter to the son she was forced to leave behind. In telling her story – and that of Afghan women – Homeira challenges us to reconsider the meaning of motherhood, sacrifice, and survival. Σελίδες: 240, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Σελίδες: 384, Διαστάσεις: 10.5x10.5cm

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring For 30 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse chronicled the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court and its justices as a correspondent for the New York Times. In this Very Short Introduction, she draws on her deep knowledge of the court\'s history and of its written and unwritten rules to show readers how the Supreme Court really works. Greenhouse offers a fascinating institutional biography of a place and its people--men and women who exercise great power but whose names and faces are unrecognized by many Americans and whose work often appears cloaked in mystery. How do cases get to the Supreme Court? How do the justices go about deciding them? What special role does the chief justice play? What do the law clerks do? How does the court relate to the other branches of government? Greenhouse answers these questions by depicting the justices as they confront deep constitutional issues or wrestle with the meaning of confusing federal statutes. Throughout, the author examines many individual Supreme Court cases to illustrate points under discussion, including Marbury v. Madison, the seminal case which established judicial review; District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), which struck down the District of Columbia\'s gun-control statute and which was, surprisingly, the first time in its history that the Court issued an authoritative interpretation of the Second Amendment; and Dobbs v. Jackson Women\'s Health Organization (2022), which repudiated the right to abortion the Court had recognized nearly fifty years earlier in Roe v. Wade (1973). To add perspective, Greenhouse also compares the Court to foreign courts, revealing interesting differences. For instance, no other country in the world has chosen to bestow life tenure on its judges. The third edition of Greenhouse\'s Very Short Introduction tracks the changes in the Court\'s makeup over the past decade, including the landmark decisions of the Obama and Trump eras and the emergence of a conservative supermajority. A superb overview packed with telling details, this volume offers a matchless introduction to one of the pillars of American government. Σελίδες: 160, Διαστάσεις: 11.3x11.3cm

An original and profound portrait of contemporary Britain told through the testimonies of its inhabitants.\'A spectacularly enjoyable and compelling reading experience . . . funny, moving, surprising and thought-provoking. It humanises literature in this toxic moment.\'MAX PORTER, author of Lanny\'Seemingly simple yet so deeply profound, The Passengers is an absorbing insight into the lives and minds of so-called ordinary people: their hopes and fears and idiosyncrasies at a specific moment in time.\'CLIO BARNARD, director of Ali & Ava and The Essex Serpent\'A nation\'s psyche comes to the surface. The Passengers is not just an oral history of the contemporary moment but, drenched in mood and texture, renders the country itself as a sonic collage.\'SUKHDEV SANDHU, GUARDIANBetween October 2018 and March 2021, Will Ashon collected voices - people talking about their lives, needs, dreams, loves, hopes and fears - all of them with some connection to the British Isles. He used a range of methods including letters sent to random addresses, hitchhiking, referrals from strangers and so on. He conducted the interviews in person, on the phone, over the internet or asked people to record themselves. Interview techniques ranged from asking people to tell him a secret to choosing an arbitrary question from a list.The resulting testimonies tell the collective story of what it feels like to be alive in a particular time and place - here and now. The Passengers is a book about how we give shape to our lives, find meaning in the chaos, acknowledge the fragility of our existence while alleviating this anxiety with moments of beauty, love, humour and solidarity.\'A magical mystery tour of Britain . . . extraordinary.\'DAILY TELEGRAPH\'Ashon\'s gloriously polyphonic book scales the heights. A deeply felt and humane portrait of where we are.\'NIVEN GOVINDEN, author of Diary of a Film\'This book couldn\'t have come into my life at a better time. It\'s a guiding mate. It enters like a cat through a window, ready to take your attention and show you what it needs to.\'TICE CIN, author of Keeping the House Σελίδες: 384, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Ancient Greece is often considered to be the birthplace of science and medicine, and the explanation of natural phenomena without recourse to supernatural causes. The early natural philosophers - lovers of wisdom concerning nature - sought to explain the order and composition of the world, and how we come to know it. They were particularly interested in what exists and how it is ordered: ontology and cosmology. They were also concerned with how we come to know (epistemology) and how best to live (ethics). At the same time, the scientific thinkers of early Greece and Rome were also influenced by ideas from other parts of the world, and incorporated aspects of Egyptian, Babylonian, and Indian science and mathematics in their studies. In this Very Short Introduction Liba Taub gives an overview of the major developments in early science between the 8th century BCE and 6th century CE. Focussing on Greece and Rome, Taub challenges a number of modern misconceptions about science in the classical world, which has often been viewed with a modern lens and by modern scientists, such as the misconception that little empirical work was conducted, or that the Romans did not \'do\' science, unlike the Greeks. Beginning with the scientific notions of Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides and other Presocratics, she moves on to Plato and Aristotle, before considering Hellenistic science, the influence of the Stoics and Epicurean ideas, and the works of Pliny the Elder, Eratosthenes, and Ptolemy. In her sweeping discussion, Taub explores the richness and creativity of ideas concerning the natural world, and the influence these ideas have had on later centuries. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Σελίδες: 176, Διαστάσεις: 10.1x10.1cm

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring The British constitution is regarded as unique among the constitutions of the world. What are the main characteristics of Britain\'s peculiar constitutional arrangements? How has the British constitution altered in response to the changing nature of its state - from England, to Britain, to the United Kingdom? What impact has the UK\'s developing relations with the European Union caused? These are some of the questions that Martin Loughlin addresses in this Very Short Introduction. As a constitution, it is one that has grown organically in response to changes in the economic, political, and social environment, and which is not contained in a single authoritative text. By considering the nature and authority of the current British constitution, and placing it in the context of others, Loughlin considers how the traditional idea of a constitution came to be retained, what problems have been generated as a result of adapting a traditional approach in a modern political world, looking at what the future prospects for the British constitution are. In this new edition of the Very Short Introduction, Loughlin includes a disucssion of the impact of developments over the decade since its first publication, examining Brexit, the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, and the settlement in Northern Ireland. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Σελίδες: 144, Διαστάσεις: 11.2x11.2cm

Σελίδες: 256, Διαστάσεις: 15.3x15.3cm

\'Impassioned, scholarly and succinct\' The TimesFREE SPEECH AND WHY IT MATTERSFree speech is the bedrock of all our liberties, and yet in recent years it has come to be mistrusted. A new form of social justice activism, which perceives language as potentially violent, has prompted a national debate on where the limitations of acceptable speech should be drawn. Governments throughout Europe have enacted \'hate speech\' legislation to curb the dissemination of objectionable ideas, Silicon Valley tech giants are collaborating to ensure that they control the limitations of public discourse, and campaigners in the US are calling for revisions to the First Amendment.However well-intentioned, these trends represent a threat to the freedoms that our ancestors fought and died to secure. In this incisive and fascinating book, Andrew Doyle addresses head-on the most common concerns of free speech sceptics, and offers a timely and robust defence of this most foundational of principles. Σελίδες: 144, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0614, Διαστάσεις: 12.6x12.6cm

\'I was fascinated, moved and entertained by every page. This is the kind of book the world needs right now\' DONAL RYAN_______________\'My dictionary\'s first two definitions of \'comrade\' are:A close companion.An intimate associate or friend.The third one is:A fellow soldier.My friends have been all those things to me.\'In this stunning essay collection, award-winning journalist Rosita Boland explores the many friendships that have shaped her life. Surprising and beautiful, she writes about the imaginary friends of early childhood, books that have provided companionship and joy, kindred spirits met while travelling, the friend she hoped might become something more, and also the friendships that become lost over time.Life-affirming, affecting and wise, Comrades is a powerful exploration of what it is to live, to connect, and to be human in this world._______________\'An absorbing journey along life\'s tracks and trails.\' THE SUNDAY TIMES IRELAND\'A moving, beautiful and deeply felt meditation on friendship, loyalty and connectedness in a disconnected world\' HILARY FANNIN Σελίδες: 272, Διαστάσεις: 12.7x12.7cm

THE UNTOLD STORY OF BRITAIN\'S MOST SECRETIVE SPECIAL FORCES UNITJune 1942. The shadow of the Third Reich falls across Europe. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form an unusual plan - a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees. This top secret unit becomes known as X Troop. Others simply call them a suicide squad.From British internment camps, to the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration camp, Leah Garrett follows this band of brothers who will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis.\'A thrilling, stirring story\' Daily Telegraph\'Gripping... Garrett\'s chief strength is her ability to relight the lamps of the past so that they glow anew\' The Times Σελίδες: 368, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘A fascinating exploration into the lives of three women ignored by history … Eye-opening, engrossing’Brit Bennett, bestselling author of The Vanishing Half  In her groundbreaking debut, Anna Malaika Tubbs tells the incredible storIES of three women who raised three world-changing men. Much has been written about Berdis Baldwin\'s son James, about Alberta King\'s son Martin Luther and Louise Little\'s son Malcolm. But virtually nothing has been said about the extraordinary women who raised them, each fighting their own battles, born into the beginning of the twentieth century and a deadly landscape of racial prejudice, Jim Crow, exploitation, unpoliced violence and open police vitriol. It was a society that would deny their sons’ humanity from the beginning as it had denied theirs, but Berdis, Alberta and Louise were extraordinary women who instilled resilience, resistance and greatness in their sons. They would become mothers not just to three world-famous men but to the civil rights movement itself. These women represent a piece of history left untold and a celebration of Black motherhood long overdue. Σελίδες: 272, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

THE CRIMES. THE STORIES. THE LAW ‘Fascinating’ – Sunday Times ‘Masterful’ – Judith Flanders ‘A page-turning read\' – Prof. David Wilson Totally gripping and brilliantly told, Murder: The Biography is a gruesome and utterly captivating portrait of the legal history of murder. The stories and the people involved in the history of murder are stranger, darker and more compulsive than any crime fiction. There’s Richard Parker, the cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to decisively outlaw a defence of necessity to murder. Dr Percy Bateman, the incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter. Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s, played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases. And Archibald Kinloch, the deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people – victims, killers, lawyers and judges, who unwittingly shaped the history of that most grisly and storied of laws. Join lawyer and writer Kate Morgan on a dark and macabre journey as she explores the strange stories and mysterious cases that have contributed to UK murder law. The big corporate killers; the vengeful spouses; the sloppy doctors; the abused partners; the shoddy employers; each story a crime and each crime a precedent that has contributed to the law’s dark, murky and, at times, shocking standing. Σελίδες: 320, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Discover the secret history behind the headlines.The Mexican drug wars have inspired countless articles, TV shows and movies. From Breaking Bad to Sicario, El Chapo’s escapes to Trump’s tirades, this is a story we think we know. But there’s a hidden history to the biggest story of the twenty-first century. The Dope exposes how an illicit industry that started with farmers, families and healers came to be dominated by cartels, kingpins and corruption. Benjamin T Smith traces an unforgettable cast of characters from the early twentieth century to the modern day, whose actions came to influence Mexico as we now know it. There’s Enrique Fernández, the borderlands trafficker who became Mexico’s first major narco and one of the first victims of the war on drugs; Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Fernández, Mexico’s most prominent heroin chemist and first major cocaine importer; Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, the brilliant doctor and Marxist who tried (and failed) to decriminalize Mexico’s drugs; and Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics whose sensationalist strategies paved the way for U.S. interference and the extraordinary levels of violence in Mexico today.The Dope is the epic saga of how violence and corruption came to plague modern Mexico, and the first book to make sense of the political and economic big picture of the Mexican drug wars. Σελίδες: 448, Διαστάσεις: 12.7x12.7cm

The Number One BestsellerShortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2021\'A great achievement . . . Brilliant, engaging and essential\' Colm Tóibín\'At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book\' Fintan O\'TooleWhen Dubliner Derek Scally goes to Christmas Eve Mass on a visit home from Berlin, he finds more memories than congregants in the church where he was once an altar boy. Not for the first time, the collapse of the Catholic Church in Ireland brings to mind the fall of another powerful ideology - East German communism. While Germans are engaging earnestly with their past, Scally sees nothing comparable going on in his native land. So he embarks on a quest to unravel the tight hold the Church had on the Irish.He travels the length and breadth of Ireland and across Europe, going to Masses, novenas, shrines and seminaries, talking to those who have abandoned the Church and those who have held on, to survivors and campaigners, to writers, historians, psychologists and many more. And he has probing and revealing encounters with Vatican officials, priests and religious along the way.The Best Catholics in the World is the remarkable result of his three-year journey. With wit, wisdom and compassion Scally gives voice and definition to the murky and difficult questions that face a society coming to terms with its troubling past. It is both a lively personal odyssey and a resonant and gripping work of reporting that is a major contribution to the story of Ireland.\'Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence\' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times\'An unblinking look at the collapse of the Church and Catholic deference in Ireland. Excellent and timely\' John Banville, The Sunday Times\'Engaging and incisive\' Caelainn Hogan, author of Republic of Shame\'Remarkable ... Essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting\' Michael Harding\'Fair-minded ... thoughtful\' Melanie McDonagh, The Times\'Very pacey and entertaining ... and it changed how I regard Ireland and our history for good. Fantastic\' Oliver Callan\'Original, thought-provoking and very engaging\' Marie Collins\'A provocative insight into a time that many would rather forget\' John Boyne\'Challenging\' Mary McAleese\'Explores this subject in a way that I\'ve never seen before\' Hugh Linehan, Irish Times Σελίδες: 352, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Winner of the Whitley Award for Best Natural History Book 2022 A compelling, funny, first-hand account of Australia\'s wonderfully unique mammals and how our perceptions impact their future. Think of a platypus: they lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), they produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs and they can detect electricity. Or a wombat: their teeth never stop growing, they poo cubes and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas, devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has some truly astonishing mammals with incredible, unfamiliar features. But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean for their conservation?In Platypus Matters, naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these often-misunderstood animals. Informed by his own experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200-plus years, Ashby\'s tale not only explains the extraordinary lives of these animals, but the historical mysteries surrounding them and the myths that persist (especially about the platypus). He also reveals the toll these myths can take.Ashby makes it clear that calling these animals ‘weird’ or ‘primitive’ – or incorrectly implying that Australia is an ‘evolutionary backwater’ – a perception that can be traced back to the country\'s colonial history – has undermined conservation: Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Important, timely and written with humour and wisdom by a scientist and self-described platypus nerd, this celebration of Australian wildlife will open eyes and change minds about how we contemplate and interact with the natural world – everywhere. Σελίδες: 384, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

‘Haunting.’ Jonathan Freedland ‘Powerful.’ Daniel Finkelstein The profoundly moving and deeply intimate story of one Jewish family’s fate in the Holocaust, following the thread from Germany to Latvia and to Britain. In November 1941, Peter Bradley\'s grandparents, Sally and Bertha Brandes, were deported from their home in Bamberg to their deaths in Latvia. The Last Train is a profound and moving homage to Peter’s lost family and to his father who rarely spoke of the traumas through which he lived. It is also his attempt to understand, through the prism of his family’s story, how the Nazis came to conceive and implement the Final Solution. Why did Sally and Bertha’s fellow citizens put them on the train that carried them to the killing fields? Why did the democracies which so loudly condemned Hitler’s persecution of the Jews deny them sanctuary? And why, when Peter\'s father finally reached Britain after five terrible months in a Nazi concentration camp, was he arrested as an \'enemy alien\'? The quest for answers led Peter to explore the origins and evolution of an ancient hatred and the struggles against it of each generation of his family, from the Reformation, through the Enlightenment and the Age of Reform, to the catastrophe of the Holocaust. This is the powerful, poignant story of Peter’s journey through family papers and archives, through works of scholarship and the testimony of survivors, and from Bavaria and Buchenwald to the mass graves of the Baltic. And, reflecting on what he learned, he asks: in the events of our own times, we are all perpetrators or bystanders or resisters; which of those roles do we choose for ourselves? Σελίδες: 416, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

An astonishing tale of romance, resistance and bravery ‘A sad and beautiful book, shining a light on quiet heroism in dark times.’ Lucy Adlington, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmakers of Auschwitz Sabine’s War is the previously untold story of a remarkable resistance fighter and her incredible story of survival against the odds. When Germany invaded Holland in May 1940, Sabine Zuur joined the resistance movement without a moment’s hesitation aged just 22. Helping to hide those avoiding the German authorities, she was soon betrayed and subjected to repeated violent interrogations. Many of her friends were executed but Sabine was instead sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp, via the Amersfoort and Ravensbrück camps. Enduring gruelling conditions and backbreaking forced manual labour, she survived through a combination of guile and good fortune. But it was only after Sabine’s death that her daughter Eva discovered an archive of letters detailing her extraordinary life, revealing a rich inner world and a past she had discussed little. Amongst them were declarations of love from pilot Taro, shot down in his Spitfire over northern France aged just 26; notes from Sabine’s second love Gerard, executed by the Germans; letters to her mother smuggled out in her prison laundry; and passionate, creepy missives from a German professional criminal named Gebele who would ultimately save Sabine’s life. She emerges from this correspondence as a woman with an indefinable aura, somehow in control of her own destiny even when to all intents and purposes she was not. A transfixing story of survival, Sabine’s War captures a remarkable life in the words of the young woman who lived it. Σελίδες: 224, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm