Non-fiction

The past is a foreign country - this is your guide. We think of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603) as a golden age. But what was it actually like to live in Elizabethan England? If you could travel to the past and walk the streets of London in the 1590s, where would you stay? What would you eat? What would you wear? Would you really have a sense of it being a glorious age? And if so, how would that glory sit alongside the vagrants, diseases, violence, sexism and famine of the time? In this book Ian Mortimer reveals a country in which life expectancy is in the early thirties, people still starve to death and Catholics are persecuted for their faith. Yet it produces some of the finest writing in the English language, some of the most magnificent architecture, and sees Elizabeth's subj

Well hello to you dear browser. Now I have your attention it would be rude if I didn't tell you a little about my literary feast. So, here is the thing: is it just me or does anyone else find that adulthood offers no refuge from the unexpected horrors, peculiar lack of physical coordination and sometimes unexplained nudity, that accompanied childhood and adolescence? Does everybody struggle with the hazards that accompany, say, sitting elegantly on a bar stool; using chopsticks; pretending to understand the bank crisis; pedicures - surely it's plain wrong for a stranger to fondle your feet? Or is it just me? I am proud to say I have a wealth of awkward experiences - from school days to life as an office temp - and here I offer my 18-year-old self (and I hope you too dear reader) some m

Marriage should be based on love, right? But does it seem as though you and your spouse are speaking two different languages? "New York Times" bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse's primary love language-quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationsh

Good public speakers are made, not born - or so thinks Dale Carnegie, the pioneer of personal business skills. Yet business, social and personal satisfaction depend heavily upon a person's ability to communicate clearly. Public speaking is an important skill which anyone can acquire and develop. It is also the very best method of overcoming self-consciousness and building confidence, courage and enthusiasm. This classic, well established title has been called 'the most brilliant book of its kind'. It takes you step by step through: -Acquiring basic public speaking skills -Building confidence -Speaking effectively the quick and easy way -Earning the right to talk -Vitalising your talk -Sharing the talk with the audience as well as organisation and presentation skills

'Dear Ta-ra-ra, It surprises us to find that a girl sufficiently educated to write and spell well should be so deplorably ignorant of the common rules of society to think that she may go out alone with a young man in his canoe' - "Girl's Own Paper", 1895. "Never Kiss a Man in a Canoe" is a fascinating glimpse into our social past and harks back to a time when agony aunts played a pivotal role in society, advising men and women on love, sex, relationships and other taboo subjects. From advice on the immorality of reading a crime novel or riding a bicycle to Sunday school, to tips on beauty, etiquette and how to make a boy into a man, this wonderful book is a slap in the face for everyone accustomed to the politically correct advice of today, and is a tribute to the manners of the past t

'You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed...' Julian Barnes' new book is about ballooning, photography, love and grief; about putting two things, and two people, together, and about tearing them apart. One of the judges who awarded him the 2011 Man Booker Prize described him as 'an unparalleled magus of the heart'. This book confirms that opinion

By turns harrowing and inspiring, "Prague Winter" is Madeleine Albright's account of her early life from 1937 to 1948, a dozen years that witnessed the Nazi invasion of her native Prague, World War II, the Holocaust, the defeat of fascism, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War. Her experiences, and those of her family, provide a unique lens through which to view this tumultuous period in modern history. Moving from the thousand-year-old Prague Castle to the bomb shelters of London, from the desolate prison ghetto of Terezin to the war councils of Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt and Hitler, Albright reflects on her discovery of her family's Jewish heritage decades after the war, her Czech homeland's tangled history, and the stark moral choices faced by her parents, ordinary

How on earth did 'with bells on' come to express enthusiasm? Why is good health compared to a small stringed instrument? ('As fit as a fiddle.') And what do pickles have to do with quandaries? Let's not beat about the bush: despite the fact that we have all used these phrases at one time or another, and even enjoyed expressing them, they are in truth - when you take a moment to consider them - completely senseless and utterly fantastical. We all know what somebody means when they use these phrases due to our common knowledge of them, but it wouldn't be surprising if, when asked to explain them, you found that the cat had got your tongue, or you simply clammed up! "Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas" provides us with the meanings to these well-worn and much-loved phrases by putting

The story of Lance Armstrong - the cyclist who recovered from testicular cancer and went on to win the Tour de France a record seven tmes, the man who wrote a bestselling and inspirational account of his life, the charitable benefactor - seemed almost too good to be true. And it was. As early as Armstrong's first victory on the Tour in 1999, Sunday Times journalist David Walsh had reason to think that the incredible performances we were seeing from Armstrong were literally too good to be true. Based on insider information and dogged research, he began to unmask the truth. Cycling's biggest star used every weapon in his armoury to protect his name. But he could not keep everyone silent. In the autumn of 2012, the USADA published a damning report on Armstrong that resulted in the America

Jane Walmsley shares George Bernard Shaw's belief that America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language. In this title she looks beyond this shared facade to see the great gulfs that separate us in such areas as tastes in food, dress, home decoration, the way we conduct business, vacation, engage in sex and even die. Her prototype American is an eternal optimist who believes it is only a matter of correct technique and will power to become beautiful, clever, skinny, successful and healthy. A Brit, on the other hand, seems to expect disaster at any moment, so lives with a certain detachment, content to muddle through as best he or she can. Walmsley pokes gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) fun at both cultures and in the process offers a portrait of our cultural differe

On the heels of his runaway "Bunny Suicides" books, cartoonist Andy Riley turns his irreverent wit to another group of small creatures that lurk among us seemingly everywhere: children. From the benign (every ant you meet must be named) to the truly cruel (Ronald McDonald is dead!), each hilarious cartoon has a tall tale to educate children and entertain wicked adults everywhere.

The perfect gift for Father's Day - 60 brilliant ALL NEW cartoons from Andy Riley celebrating the special one. Affectionate, witty and endearing - just like Dad. It's the gift that keeps on giving - just like Dad. Every day should be Father's Day.