The Sunday Times Bestseller A new assessment of the West's colonial record In the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the 'End of History' - that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever.Now however, with Russia rattling its sabre on the borders of Europe and China rising to challenge the post-1945 world order, the liberal West faces major threats. These threats are not only external. Especially in the Anglosphere, the 'decolonisation' movement corrodes the West's self-confidence by retelling the history of European and American colonial dominance as a litany of racism, exploitation, and massively murderous violence. Nigel Biggar tests this indictment, addressing the crucial questions in eight chapters: Was the British Empire driven primarily by greed and the lust to dominate? Should we speak of 'colonialism and slavery' in the same breath, as if they were identical? Was the Empire essentially racist? How
A month-by-month celebration of the best of Countryfile magazine as well as an illustrated overview of the beauty and the drama of a year in the countryside. The BBC's Countryfile magazine is full of fresh and inspiring ideas for making the most of the UK's beautiful outdoors, while also covering the latest in rural issues, celebrating wildlife and highlighting seasonal crafts. Now for the first time, the best of the magazine's archives have been brought together and illustrated with gorgeous new nature photography.John Craven, beloved longtime presenter, introduces the very best of Countryfile, a selection of articles and stories offering a month-by-month guide to the best of rural Britain and the natural world around us. These touch on areas as diverse as astronomy, farming, weather, wildlife watching and so much more. Organised from January to December, they tell the story of a year in the countryside in all the most beautiful parts of the British Isles.
Sunday Times Bestseller How did life on Earth begin? What is the nature of space and time? What are the chances that we will discover life on other worlds? Think you know our planet? Think again. Forc
Written in the twilight of the Roman Republic, the poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus offers a delicious insight into the passions and gossip of high Roman society.
Longlisted for the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 'A thrilling and complex book, enlarges our view of Homer ...There's something that hits the mark on every page' Claire Tomalin, Books of t
‘The pampered, petulant, self-pitying Prince. A devastating book by Britain’s top investigative author’ Daily Mail‘Explosive new book delves inside the bizarre, ultra luxury world of Prince Charles’ T
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING EDDIE REDMAYNE AND FELICITY JONESA GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA NEW STATESMAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA DAILY TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA NEW REPUBLIC BEST BOO
The Top 10 Sunday Times Bestseller NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREOscar Nominated For Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s
Inspired by the fortunes and misfortunes of the Getty family, whose most extraordinary and troubled episode - the kidnap and ransom of grandson Paul Getty - is now a major motion picture, directed by
From the acclaimed and bestselling biographer Jonathan Bate, a luminous new exploration of Shakespeare and how his themes can untangle comedy and tragedy, learning and loving in our modern lives.'The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.'How does one survive the death of a loved one, the mess of war, the experience of being schooled, of falling in love, of growing old, of losing your mind?Shakespeare's world is never too far different from our own 'permeated with the same tragedies, the same existential questions and domestic worries. In this extraordinary book, Jonathan Bate brings then and now together. He investigates moments of his own life - losses and challenges - and asks whether, if you persevere with Shakespeare, he can offer a word of wisdom or a human insight for any time or any crisis. Along the way we meet actors such as Judi Dench and Simon Callow, and writers such as Dr Johnson, John Keats, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, who turned to Shakespeare
'A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing . . . a fantastic story of a truly Odyssean journey across all the world's great oceans - but is also the inspiring story of the developing of a restless and inquiring mind' Simon Winchester 'A classic memoir of childhood. This is a book that every parent should read to consider the consequences of their midlife crises, and every child should read to learn how to deal with impossible mums and dads, as well as boils and barnacles' Mail on Sunday 5* 'This is a story of an epic childhood journey, so exciting and so shocking it is hard to know whether you're reading about a dream or a nightmare... Wavewalker is thrilling, horrifying, beautifully written - I couldn't put it down' ED BALLS Aged just seven, Suzanne Heywood set sail with her parents and brother on a three-year voyage around the world. What followed turned instead into a decade-long way of life, through storms, shipwrecks, reef
Slugs and snails are part of the great Phylum Mollusca, a group that contains creatures as different as the fast-moving squid of the oceans and the sedentary clams, cockles and mussels. The largest gr
