penguin essentials

One of BookPage's Best Books of 2020 The detailed, nuanced, gripping account of that strange and complex journey offered in Robert Draper s To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq is essential reading now, especially now . . . Draper s account [is] one for the ages . . . A must-read for all who care about presidential power. The Washington Post From the author of the New York Times bestseller Dead Certain comes the definitive, revelatory reckoning with arguably the most consequential decision in the history of American foreign policy--the decision to invade Iraq. Even now, after more than fifteen years, it is hard to see the invasion of Iraq through the cool, considered gaze of history. For too many people, the damage is still too palpable, and still unfolding. Most of the major players in that decision are still with us, and few of them are not haunted by it, in one way or another. Perhaps it's that combination, the passage of the years and the still unresolved trauma, that explains why so many protagonists opened up so fully for the first time to Robert Draper. Draper's prodigious reporting has yielded scores of consequential new revelations, from the important to the merely absurd. As a whole, the book paints a vivid and indelible picture of a decision-making process that was fatally compromised by a combination of post-9/11 fear and paranoia, rank naïveté, craven groupthink, and a set of actors with idées fixes who gamed the process relentlessly. Everything was believed; nothing was true. The intelligence failure was comprehensive. Draper's fair-mindedness and deep understanding of the principal actors suffuse his account, as does a storytelling genius that is close to sorcery. There are no cheap shots here, which makes the ultimate conclusion all the more damning. In the spirit of Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August and Marc Bloch's Strange Defeat, To Start A War will stand as the definitive account of a collective process that arrived at evidence that would prove to be not just dubious but entirely false, driven by imagination rather than a quest for truth--evidence that was then used to justify a verdict that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and a flood tide of chaos in the Middle East that shows no signs of ebbing.

The first in Deborah Levy's essential three-part 'Living Autobiography' on writing and womanhood. 'Unmissable. Like chancing upon an oasis, you want to drink it slowly . . . Subtle, unpredictable, surprising' Guardian _________________________________ Taking George Orwell's famous essay, 'Why I Write', as a jumping-off point, Deborah Levy offers her own indispensable reflections of the writing life. With wit, clarity and calm brilliance, she considers how the writer must stake claim to that contested territory as a young woman and shape it to her need. Things I Don't Want to Know is a work of dazzling insight and deep psychological succour, from one of our most vital contemporary writers. The final two instalments in Deborah Levy's 'Living Autobiography', The Cost of Living and Real Estate, are available now. _________________________________ 'Superb sharpness and originality of imagination. An inspiring work of writing' Marina Warner 'An exciting writer, sharp and shocking as the knives her characters wield' Sunday Times 'A writer whose anger and confusion in the face of the world transform into poetic flights of fancy . . . which always feel marvellously right' Independent

Fiber and yarn enthusiasts nationwide will celebrate Ann Budd's latest addition to The Knitter's Handy Book series. Answering to a growing interest in knitting sweaters from the top down and knitting seamless sweaters that require little finishing, this handy book offers instructions for knitting four basic sweater types: circular yoke, raglan, set-in sleeve, and saddle shoulder. Patterns are offered in multiple sizes and yarn gauges and for a broad age group. Following the basics for each of the four sweater types are three diverse patterns from top designers that illustrate some of the many ways that instructions can be used as springboards for creative expression, including color, texture, and shaping variations. Also included for intermediate to advanced knitters are personal design touches, detailed charts, clear instruction, and quick tips to expand knitting possibilities and maintain creative originality. A key reference for knitters of all skill levels, this is the new essential knitting resource on your bookshelf.

The authors of the classic Difficult Conversations teach you how to take criticism productively in Thanks for the Feedback. We get feedback every day of our lives, from friends and family, colleagues, customers, and bosses, teachers, doctors, and strangers. We're assessed, coached, and criticized about our performance, personalities and appearance. We know that feedback is essential for professional development and healthy relationships - but we dread it and even dismiss it. That's because while want to learn and grow, we also want to be accepted just as we are. Thanks for the Feedback is the first book to address this tension head on. In it, the world-renowned team behind the Harvard Negotiation Project offer a simple framework and powerful tools, showing us how to take on life's blizzard of comments and advice with curiosity and grace. 'I'll admit it: Thanks for the Feedback made me uncomfortable. And that's one reason I liked it so much. With keen insight and lots of practical takeaways, it reveals why getting feedback is so hard - and then how we can do better' Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell Is Human and Drive 'Thanks for the Feedback is a road map to more self-awareness, greater learning, and richer relationships. A tour de force' Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of Give and Take Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen are Lecturers on Law at Harvard Law School and cofounders of Triad Consulting. Their clients include the White House, Citigroup, Honda, Johnson & Johnson, Time Warner, Unilever, and many others. They are co-authors of the international bestseller Difficult Conversations. Stone lives in Cambridge, MA. Heen lives with her husband and three children in a farmhouse north of Cambridge, MA.

In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical - and accessible - plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions-suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

What do you do when work is overwhelming, it feels like you're completely lost, and every mistake you make seems to pile more pressure on your shoulders? 'This book is the resilience you need to adapt and thrive as you enter the workplace. ' Paul Jarvis, author of Company of One ________________ The definitive careers guide for starting out in today's working world. It's never been tougher to get started in your career. In a world where entry-level positions require years of experience, it can feel like you've fallen behind before you've even begun. Even when you finally manage to get yourself a job, how do you make sure you're standing out from the crowd and succeeding? In How to Go to Work, careers experts Lucy Clayton and Steven Haines deliver the indispensable guide to surviving and thriving at work. Whether you've just begun working your first Saturday shift, you're about to start an apprenticeship, or you're already climbing the leadership ladder, it's chock-full of the vital advice you need to jump-start your professional life. This practical and accessible guide will show you how to: - Find the right work experience and internships to make the best of your time - Deal with mistakes and handle the pressure that comes with professional work - Gain confidence, authority and resilience, and thrive in your role - Navigate the ups and downs of your early career and make fast progress From getting your foot through the door, to dealing with office politics and toxic workplaces, to negotiating pay, pensions and promotions, How to Go to Work is the essential manual for anyone embarking upon or consolidating their career. Using the collective wisdom of CEOs, creatives, scientists, activists and professionals in every industry, presented in the style of an entertaining but direct guide, Clayton and Haines prepare you for the ride of your life. ________________ 'A vital book to anyone trying to get their head round the challenges or work. Deadly serious advice delivered in a style that is never deadly serious. An important but entertaining read' Bruce Daisely, bestselling author of The Joy of Work 'Full of invaluable advice for those at the start of their career' Cate Sevilla, author of How to Work Without Losing Your Mind

'Genuinely empowering' Daisy Buchanan 'An invaluable guide to surviving professional life' Viv Groskop 'Comforting during these uncertain times' Yomi Adegoke Award-winning journalist and editor-in-chief Cate Sevilla has survived the messy, stressy and sometimes bizarre world of work - just. In How to Work Without Losing Your Mind, she gives an unflinchingly honest account of the bad bosses, the time spent crying in work loos, the hell and humiliation of her working life but, most importantly, she reveals the solid self-belief, the sage advice and the hard-won lessons that got her through. Filled with humour, wit and supportive words, this book is your essential guide to fixing your relationship with your work. Press it into the hands of every womxn who is sinking in a toxic work environment, battling burnout, recovering from redundancy or trying to find the right career fit. 'Entertaining and practical; moving and funny; a helping hand from someone who's been through it' Emma Gannon, Sunday Times bestselling author

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around you. This is the only authorized paperback edition in the US. Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves. We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.

Here are some of Tolstoy's extraordinary short stories, from "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." in a masterly new translation, to "The Raid," "The Wood-felling," "Three Deaths," "Polikushka," "After the Ball," and "The Forged Coupon," all gripping and eloquent lessons on two of Tolstoy's most persistent themes: life and death. More experimental than his novels, Tolstoy's stories are essential reading for anyone interested in his development as one of the major writers and thinkers of his time. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Discover 10 Essential Ways to Make the Most of Your Time "Time is money," as the saying goes, but most of us never feel we have enough of either. In Master Your Time, Master Your Life, internationally acclaimed productivity expert and bestselling author Brian Tracy presents a brilliant new approach to time management that will help you gain control of your time and accomplish far more, faster and more easily than you ever thought possible. Drawing on the latest research in productivity science and Tracy's decades of expertise, this breakthrough program allocates time into ten categories of priority-including strategic planning/goal setting, people and family, income improvement, rest/relaxation, and even creative time-and reveals the best techniques for focusing on each effectively. By thoughtfully applying the principles in Master Your Time, Master Your Life, you'll not only achieve greater results and reach your goals more quickly and successfully, you'll also have more time to devote to what you truly love.

A perfect gift to introduce children to the world of Beatrix Potter, The Complete Tales is a timeless and classic essential for any nursery shelf. This complete and unabridged collection contains all 23 of Beatrix Potter's tales in one deluxe volume with all their original illustrations. The tales are arranged in the order in which they were first published. This edition includes a section at the end that contains four additional works by Beatrix Potter that were not published in her lifetime. The stories inside are: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit, The Story of Miss Moppet, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies, The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, The Tale of Mr. Tod, The Tale of Pigling Bland, Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes, The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse , Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes, The Tale of Little Pig Robinson, Three Little Mice, The Sly Old Cat, The Fox and the Stork andThe Rabbit's Christmas Party.

This New York Times bestselling, kid-favorite, parent-approved almanac is National Geographic in a book! Kids who want to know it all need the National Geographic Kids Almanac! Packed with bright visuals, bite-sized facts, and endless browsability, the latest edition of this internationally best-selling almanac is brand-new and updated for 2027 and features: interviews from the field with real National Geographic Explorers the latest images from the James Webb Space Telescope an all-new chapter on art and creativity fascinating discoveries about animals expertly curated photography games, jokes, and laugh-out-loud features ...and more! Must-have reference materials, including fast facts and maps of every country, are fully updated. Homework help on key topics is sprinkled throughout the book. This is the essential all-in-one book for curious kids!

Entertain like a queen with these forty recipes for Bridgerton-style food and drink in the first official cookbook from this hugely popular Shondaland series on Netflix. Whether it's a sumptuous lawn party, a high tea, or a boozy late-night salon, this gorgeous cookbook delivers recipes for finger food, cocktails, and entertaining ideas that help you recreate the high society of Bridgerton in your own home. Host the perfect pique-nique, complete with the Duke's favorite Gooseberry Hand Pies and a rousing game of Pall Mall (played the Bridgerton way, of course). Create grazing boards with recipes like Roasted Pork Belly Skewers and Beet-Dyed Deviled Eggs that are perfect for a stylish watching party. Evoke the delightful decadence of Lady Danbury's Den of Iniquity with Sausage-Stuffed Mushroom Caps, an espresso martini, and an old-fashioned game of chance. These forty recipes have been developed with a modern audience in mind, offering mocktail, vegetarian, and gluten-free options to ensure that no fan is left hungry. They are presented alongside mouth-watering food photography, stills from the show, and sidebars explaining essential expertise, such as how to address a Marquis, execute the perfect curtsy, or build a macaron tower sturdy enough to last the night. It's time to entertain, Bridgerton-style.

A New York Times bestseller!  A pioneering and timely study of how to navigate life's biggest transitions with meaning, purpose, and skill Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Secrets of Happy Families and Council of Dads, has long explored the stories that give our lives meaning. Galvanized by a personal crisis, he spent the last few years crisscrossing the country, collecting hundreds of life stories in all fifty states from Americans who d been through major life changes from losing jobs to losing loved ones; from changing careers to changing relationships; from getting sober to getting healthy to simply looking for a fresh start. He then spent a year coding these stories, identifying patterns and takeaways that can help all of us survive and thrive in times of change. What Feiler discovered was a world in which transitions are becoming more plentiful and mastering the skills to manage them is more urgent for all of us. The idea that we ll have one job, one relationship, one source of happiness is hopelessly outdated. We all feel unnerved by this upheaval. We re concerned that our lives are not what we expected, that we ve veered off course, living life out of order. But we re not alone. Life Is in the Transitions introduces the fresh, illuminating vision of the nonlinear life, in which each of us faces dozens of disruptors. One in ten of those becomes what Feiler calls a lifequake, a massive change that leads to a life transition. The average length of these transitions is five years. The upshot: We all spend half our lives in this unsettled state. You or someone you know is going through one now. The most exciting thing Feiler identified is a powerful new tool kit for navigating these pivotal times. Drawing on his extraordinary trove of insights, he lays out specific strategies each of us can use to reimagine and rebuild our lives, often stronger than before. From a master storyteller with an essential message, Life Is in the Transitions can move readers of any age to think deeply about times of change and how to transform them into periods of creativity and growth.

'A history that somehow manages to be at once succinct and sweeping: essential reading for anyone interested in this most fascinating of countries' - Tom Holland 'The perfect introduction to [Japan's] intriguing society is Christopher Harding's lively new A Short History of Japan... The book is short, yes - but its scope is long, deep and rich' - Rana Mitter, History Extra, History Books of the Year 2025 In this enormously enjoyable introduction to a remarkable country, Christopher Harding traces Japan's rich history over several millennia. Beginning with its earliest coastal communities through to the spread of Buddhism, the rise of the warlords, the promise and menace of the West and Japan's own empire-building, Harding explores how a distinctly Japanese society and culture was forged. Drawing on the latest scholarship, A Short History of Japan moves beyond traditional tourist-board clichés to consider Japan's own view of its past, values and culture, from ceramics and theatre to food and architecture. The result is a sensory, tactile history conveying to the reader much about Japan's special nature. Harding skilfully shows how these everyday details are intimately bound up with the bigger historical picture, as an expression of the values that have been extraordinarily successful in helping the country to cope with centuries of radical change.

In this essential Star Wars Legends novel, discover the legacy of Rogue Squadron and its fabled pilots, who became a symbol of hope throughout the galaxy. They are sleek, swift, and deadly. They are the X-wing fighters. And as the struggle rages across the vastness of space, the fearless men and women who pilot them risk both their lives and their machines. Their mission: to defend the Rebel Alliance against a still-powerful and battle-hardened Imperial foe in a last-ditch effort to control the stars! Its very name strikes fear into enemy hearts. So when Rebel hero Wedge Antilles rebuilds the legendary Rogue Squadron, he seeks out only the best the most skilled and most daring X-wing pilots. Through arduous training and dangerous missions, he weeds out the weak from the strong, assembling a group of hard-bitten warriors willing to fight, ready to die. Antilles knows the grim truth: Even with the best X-wing jockeys in the galaxy, many will not survive their near-suicidal missions. But when Rogue Squadron is ordered to assist in the assault on the heavily fortified Imperial stronghold of Blackmoon, even the bravest must wonder if any at all will survive. . .

What were the twelve labours of Herakles? Why did Zeus turn himself into a shower of gold? What was the name of the guard-dog of the Underworld? Which two-faced Roman god gave his name to the month January? What is the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx? The myths of ancient Greece and Rome are the most dramatic and unforgettable tales of love, war, heroism and betrayal ever told. Whether it's Ikaros flying too close to the sun, Prometheus stealing fire from the gods or the tragedy of Oedipus, their characters have inspired art, literature, plays and films, and constellations named after them fill the night sky. But how much do you really know about them? From the clash of the Titans to the fall of Troy, here are the greatest legends of all time, brilliantly retold by classical scholar Jenny March. All the heroes, monsters, villains, gods and goddesses of classical civilization are included; the epic journeys of Odysseus and Aeneas; the founding of Athens and Rome; the quests of Jason seeking the Golden Fleece and Theseus slaying the minotaur. Giving the origins, development and interpretation of each myth, this is the essential guide to the stories that have shaped our world.

An Instant New York Times Bestseller “Excellent and deeply reported.” —Tim Wu, The New York Times “Startling and intensely researched . . . an essential account of how OpenAI and ChatGPT came to be and the catastrophic places they will likely take us.” —Vulture “Hao’s reporting inside OpenAI is exceptional, and she’s persuasive in her argument that the public should focus less on A.I.’s putative ‘sentience’ and more on its implications for labor and the environment.” —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman's OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong? Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations? Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Armed with Microsoft’s billions, OpenAI is setting a breakneck pace, chased by a small group of the most valuable companies in human history—toward what end, not even they can define. All this time, Hao has maintained her deep sourcing within the company and the industry, and so she was in intimate contact with the story that shocked the entire tech industry—Altman’s sudden firing and triumphant return. The behind-the-scenes story of what happened, told here in full for the first time, is revelatory of who the people controlling this technology really are. But this isn’t just the story of a single company, however fascinating it is. The g forces pressing down on the people of OpenAI are deforming the judgment of everyone else too—as such forces do. Naked power finds the ideology to cloak itself; no one thinks they’re the bad guy. But in the meantime, as Hao shows through intrepid reporting on the ground around the world, the enormous wheels of extraction grind on. By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed. An astonishing eyewitness view from both up in the command capsule of the new economy and down where the real suffering happens, Empire of AI pierces the veil of the industry defining our era.

One of the most talked-about books of the decade, an inspiring true story of hope and the healing powers of the natural world. **Now a major film, featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs** OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE TOP 100 BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS (SUNDAY TIMES 2024) WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD __ Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey. The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways. -- Praise for The Salt Path 'A beautiful, thoughtful, lyrical story of homelessness, human strength and endurance' Guardian 'A tale of triumph: of hope over despair; of love over everything' Sunday Times 'Mesmerising. It is one of the most uplifting, inspiring books that I've ever read' i 'The most inspirational book of this year' The Times 'Luminescent. A literary phenomenon' Mail on Sunday 'This is what you need right now to muster hope and resilience . . . a beautiful story and a reminder that humans can endure adversity' Stylist 'A beautiful book, it really lives up to the hype . . . an enjoyable, gentle yet moving read' Pandora Sykes on The High Low __ Sunday Times bestseller, September 2023 Winner, Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize, 2018 Raynor Winn's books have sold over two million copies across all formats and languages, March 2025

Want to master pasta? Let Jamie help, with his essential Food Tube guide to simple and seasonal pasta dishes 'Enjoy this pocket-sized cookbook, full of incredible, achievable pasta recipes, from the very basics to kick-ass dishes for any night of the week. Buon appetite!' Jamie Oliver Jam-packed with delicious and easy recipes, The Pasta Book has all the need-to-know basics from Jamie's own Italian mentor, chef Gennaro Contaldo. Whatever your ability in the kitchen, pasta is a staple supper guaranteed to please everyone. With The Pasta Book, you can learn how to spice up your pasta for every craving - and even learn to make your own pasta from scratch! Full of delicious, simple, seasonal recipes such as: - Spring fresh WILD ROCKET & PECORINO ORECCHIETTE - Summery VEGETABLE CAPPELLACCI - Autumnal WILD MUSHROOM TAGLIATELLE - Wintery GAME RAGU - Gennaro's take on classic favourites such as CARBONARA and BOLOGNESE Discover exciting new pasta dishes to freshen up your Italian cooking adventures and satisfy every stomach with The Pasta Book.

'Essential reading' Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy 'Possibly the best-timed book ever' Merryn Somerset Webb, Bloomberg Gold (noun): A precious, yellow metal, prized for its beauty. Inert, immune to corrosion, highly malleable though with little utility. Seen as pure wealth. The definitive biography of the metal that has shaped our world - and may yet determine its fate. The Secret History of Gold tells the epic tale of the world's oldest, and most treasured, currency. From its origins in the formation of the solar system to its pivotal role in both ancient myth and modern finance, Dominic Frisby explores, with wit and brevity, how gold has defined the entire course of human civilisation. Gold has inspired men to do the most brilliant - and terrible - things. The most stolen metal in history, it has lured explorers, conquerors and thieves. It has sparked wars, it has built empires, it has empowered leaders - from Alexander the Great to Adolf Hitler - good and bad. As nations today such as China and Russia mine and hoard gold at record rates, Frisby examines its enduring significance in the digital age and its potential to influence global peace and power. This is the untold story of gold: its past, its present and its future. 'A fabulous, fascinating, fantastical tale' Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works 'Well-researched and razor-sharp' Al Murray, comedian and historian

A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives-from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Road to Character and The Second Mountain If you are going to care for someone, you must first understand them. If you're going to hire, marry, or befriend someone, you have to be able to see them. If you are going to work closely with someone, you have to be able to make them feel recognized and valued. As David Brooks observes, "The older I get, the more I come to the certainty that there is one skill at the center of any healthy family, company, classroom, community or nation: the ability to see each other, to know other people, to make them feel valued, heard and understood." And yet we humans don't do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us to do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us. If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person's story should you pay attention to? Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience, and from the worlds of theatre, history, and education, to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate towards others; it helps readers find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception. The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is a profoundly creative act: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, seeking to understand and yearning to be understood.

Lottie Brooks continues to navigate the many perils of growing up in this fantastically funny illustrated series for a 9-12 audience, filled with friendship, embarrassing moments and plenty of lols. Woe is me. So much is wrong in my life... Still look like a tomato Am stuck indoors whilst my friends go bowling without me (rude) My parents are leaving me to go out on a 'Date Night'. GROSS! After a summer of meeting handsome French boys and getting a tiny bit sunburnt. OK, fine - a lot sunburnt, Lottie's heading off on a week-long residential school trip. A whole week away from embarrassing parents and Toby's tasty air biscuits! But the trip soon turns into a total disaster. The other girls staying at the camp are MEGA-MEAN, best friend Jess is spending all her time with new girl Isha, and Lottie's diary gets stolen! Who knew a school trip could cause so much DRAMA?! Perfect for fans of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Dork Diaries and Wimpy Kid. Readers LOVE Lottie Brooks: My daughter couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days. Read at breakfast, walking downstairs, tea time, in the bath. My 9-year-old daughter devoured it in two nights, and all I could hear from her was giggling and the occasional "Mum! Listen to this! This is SO me!". My 12 year old reluctant reader took this book, read 100 pages in one night and proclaimed it 'the best book ever' Katie has managed to capture the essence of what this group think and feel in a positive, life-affirming fashion' Have you read all of Lottie's embarrassing diaries? Book 1: The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks Book 2: The Catastrophic Friendship Fails of Lottie Brooks Book 3: The Mega-Complicated Crushes of Lottie Brooks Book 4: Lottie Brooks's Totally Disastrous School-Trip Book 5: The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks Book 6: The Majorly Awkward BFF Dramas of Lottie Brooks Book 7: Lottie Brooks Vs The Ultra Mean Girls Book 8: The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks Other books from the world of Lottie Brooks: Lottie Brooks's Totally Essential Guide to Life Lottie Brooks's Twelve Disasters of Christmas (coming October 2026)

'How to Feed the World had a lot to teach me - and I'm sure it will teach you a lot, too. It challenges readers to think differently about a problem we thought we understood' Bill Gates'Concise and erudite . . . How to Feed the World is weighted with statistics, but there is something light and irresistible about the way Smil structures his argument and propels his narrative . . . The breadth of Smil's knowledge is as impressive as the depth' Talha Burki, LancetIn this ambitious, myth-busting book, leading scientist and internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil investigates many of the burning questions facing the world today:Why are some of the world's biggest food producers also the countries with the most undernourished populations?Why is food waste a colossal 1,000kcal per person daily, and how can we solve that?Could we all go vegan and be healthy? Should we?How will we feed the ballooning population without killing the planet?How Food Really Works shows how we misunderstand the essentials of where our food really comes from, how our dietary requirements shape us, and why this impacts our planet in drastic ways. Ultimately, this data-based, rigorously researched guide explains how we will survive and thrive long into the future. 'There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil' GUARDIAN

From New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind, an essential investigation into the collapse of youth mental health—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhoodAfter more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on most measures. Why?In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the "play-based childhood" began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the "phone-based childhood" in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this "great rewiring of childhood" has interfered with children's social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the "collective action problems" that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot.

'As a call to action in the face of an unstoppable tide, Susskind's book is at once challenging, compelling and refreshingly optimistic' Guardian From one of our leading experts on work and technology, a bold, clear-eyed, and hopeful guide to seizing opportunity in the age of AI What should the next generation learn-and what should they stop worrying about-in a world transformed by artificial intelligence? AI is rewriting the rules in the classroom, the job market and the workplace, leaving parents, teachers, students and all types of workers unsure about how best to prepare for what lies ahead. In What Should My Children Do?, globally renowned economist Daniel Susskind cuts through the outdated advice to show us what young people actually need to succeed now. We should not ban tools or discourage new skills that are in demand, Susskind argues, or cling to inherited ways of working. Instead, he reveals how people can master new technologies without eroding other essential skills. From reorganizing the curriculum to re-imagining white-collar careers, Susskind maps a smarter, more productive path forward. This requires a fundamental mindset shift: we must embrace the extraordinary opportunities that AI brings-from personal tutors to scientific breakthroughs-rather than retreat from them. Drawing on fifteen years of research, this book is an evidence-based and practical guide to one of the most urgent questions of our time.

'As a call to action in the face of an unstoppable tide, Susskind's book is at once challenging, compelling and refreshingly optimistic' Guardian From one of our leading experts on work and technology, a bold, clear-eyed, and hopeful guide to seizing opportunity in the age of AI What should the next generation learn-and what should they stop worrying about-in a world transformed by artificial intelligence? AI is rewriting the rules in the classroom, the job market and the workplace, leaving parents, teachers, students and all types of workers unsure about how best to prepare for what lies ahead. In What Should My Children Do?, globally renowned economist Daniel Susskind cuts through the outdated advice to show us what young people actually need to succeed now. We should not ban tools or discourage new skills that are in demand, Susskind argues, or cling to inherited ways of working. Instead, he reveals how people can master new technologies without eroding other essential skills. From reorganizing the curriculum to re-imagining white-collar careers, Susskind maps a smarter, more productive path forward. This requires a fundamental mindset shift: we must embrace the extraordinary opportunities that AI brings-from personal tutors to scientific breakthroughs-rather than retreat from them. Drawing on fifteen years of research, this book is an evidence-based and practical guide to one of the most urgent questions of our time.

'Enlightening, impassioned, powerful' The Times From dating apps and self-driving cars to facial recognition and the justice system, the increasing presence of AI has been widely championed - but there are limitations and risks too. In this book Gigerenzer shows how humans are often the greatest source of uncertainty and when people are involved, unwavering trust in complex algorithms can become a recipe for disaster. We need, now more than ever, to arm ourselves with knowledge that will help us make better decisions in a digital age. Filled with practical examples and cutting-edge research, How to Stay Smart in a Smart World examines the growing role of AI at all levels of daily life with refreshing clarity. This book is a life raft in a sea of information and an urgent invitation to actively shape the world in which we want to live. 'Masterful ... an essential read' Gary Klein, author of Sources of Power 'One of the world's most eminent psychologists' Spectator

*Foreword by Robert Macfarlane, bestselling author of The Lost Words.*If you're worried about climate change, this book is an essential and reassuring read. We often feel like we don't have the power to make real change. But our small changes can add up to something BIG. Packed with reassuring step by step actions and easy to follow DIY activities, How You Can Save The Planet is the perfect gift for young activists who want to make a difference. With simple explanations, practical tips and stories from children across the world, this guide is ideal for young people who are worried about climate change and want to help our planet!Crafted by Hendrikus van Hensbergen, whose work is featured on BBC Bitesize[JP2] , this inspiring read is perfect for children at KS2. 'Every young person in the country should be given this book' Sir Tim Smit, Founder of The Eden Project'It's enlightening, inspiring and empowering' Kate Humble, TV presenter'Wonderfully informative, fun and practical [. . .] A great source of inspiration' The Rich Brothers, TV presenters

An Instant New York Times Bestseller “Excellent and deeply reported.” —Tim Wu, The New York Times “Startling and intensely researched . . . an essential account of how OpenAI and ChatGPT came to be and the catastrophic places they will likely take us.” —Vulture “Hao’s reporting inside OpenAI is exceptional, and she’s persuasive in her argument that the public should focus less on A.I.’s putative ‘sentience’ and more on its implications for labor and the environment.” —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman's OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong? Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations? Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Armed with Microsoft’s billions, OpenAI is setting a breakneck pace, chased by a small group of the most valuable companies in human history—toward what end, not even they can define. All this time, Hao has maintained her deep sourcing within the company and the industry, and so she was in intimate contact with the story that shocked the entire tech industry—Altman’s sudden firing and triumphant return. The behind-the-scenes story of what happened, told here in full for the first time, is revelatory of who the people controlling this technology really are. But this isn’t just the story of a single company, however fascinating it is. The g forces pressing down on the people of OpenAI are deforming the judgment of everyone else too—as such forces do. Naked power finds the ideology to cloak itself; no one thinks they’re the bad guy. But in the meantime, as Hao shows through intrepid reporting on the ground around the world, the enormous wheels of extraction grind on. By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed. An astonishing eyewitness view from both up in the command capsule of the new economy and down where the real suffering happens, Empire of AI pierces the veil of the industry defining our era.