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Book of the week

Book of the week

New Arrivals

Browse all New Arrivals (100 products)

Genghis Khan
His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy
Frank McLynn
Although his name has become a byword for tyranny, Genghis Khan is also credited with creating the unified trade routes that brought the cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Asia into contact, as well as some enlightened lawmaking (by medieval standards). This account of the great conqueror explores the cultural background of the nomadic Mongolian tribes and analyses the Khan's personality as well as the events that saw him acquire and rule the largest contiguous empire in history.
$32.50
now£9.99
Waiting for the Albino Dunnock
How Birds Can Change Your Life
Rosamond Richardson
Despite having written many books about the countryside, including the bestselling Country Wisdom, Rosamond Richardson only picked up a pair of binoculars and started birdwatching in her sixties. In a series of lyrical prose poems, this book charts her growing engagement with the world of birds over a single year, and the joy and serenity it brought. The result is a precisely observed exploration of the importance of nature to one’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
£16.99
now£6.99
Grammar Rules
Writing with Military Precision
Craig Shrives
During his many years as an intelligence officer, Craig Shrives learned how to write clearly for the eyes of British and American generals. In this guide he shares his practical experience: he identifies common mistakes and ambiguities and offers suggestions for correcting and clarifying what you want to say, and a final section gives useful advice on easily confused words. (Previously sold in Postscript as Grammar for Grown-ups.)
£10.99
now£4.99
Boswell's London Journal
1762–1763
Ed. Frederick A Pottle
‘Friday 19 November 1762... When we came upon Highgate Hill and had a view of London, I was all life and joy.’ Fresh from Scotland and lodging in Downing Street, 22-year-old James Boswell revelled in London - its theatres, coffee houses and conversation, sexual adventures and freedom. His journal is a vivid portrayal of the city's high-life and low-life, rich and poor, and of his new acquaintances, from prostitutes to the great Dr Johnson.
$23.00
now£7.99
The Five Giants
A Biography of the Welfare State
Nicholas Timmins
Five giants loomed over the reconstruction of postwar Britain: want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The battle against them was fought by five great programmes at the core of the Welfare State: social security, health, education, housing and full employment. Meticulously researched and vividly written, this award-winning history charts the epic struggle to forge a fair and decent society from the ashes of war, and chronicles the highs and lows of the decades that followed.
£12.99
now£5.99
The Mackintosh Style
Decor & Design
Elizabeth Wilhide
Elizabeth Wilhide begins this study of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928) and his achievements in architecture and design by looking at how influences such as the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic movements were forged into a new style and a ‘unique vocabulary of design and decoration’. The book goes on to give a detailed and richly illustrated account of buildings and interiors by Mackintosh, including The Glasgow School of Art, Windyhill, The Hill House and the Willow Tea Rooms.
£20.00
now£7.99
Rising Star
The Making of Barack Obama
David J Garrow
Barack Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention catapulted the little-known senator into the national spotlight. Four years later, he would make history as America’s first black president. Drawing on encyclopaedic research and more than 1,000 interviews, this biography charts his upbringing in Hawaii, his formative time as a community organizer on Chicago’s tough South Side, his academic achievements and his first steps in politics, to present a penetrating portrait of the politician and the man.
£30.00
now£7.99
Paris
Then and Now
Peter Caine;Oriel Caine
Matching archive images of the landmarks of Paris with photographs taken from the same viewpoints today, this book captures the changes that have taken place in the French capital from the heady days of the Belle Epoque. Here are the great monuments such as Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, alongside the atmospheric old streets of the Marais and the Left Bank. A detailed colour map shows the location of every view.
£14.99
now£6.99
Country House Life
A Century in Photographs
Elizabeth Drury;Francesca Scoones
With an engaging commentary and over 250 photographs of the people who lived and worked in houses such as Polesden Lacey, Lacock Abbey and Castle Drogo, this book offers an authentic picture of life in the English country house during its heyday. Drawn from family albums and collections and covering the period from the 1840s to 1945, the photographs record everyday life for the families and staff as well as family celebrations, garden parties, sporting events and the occasional visit by royalty.
£14.99
now£6.99
Samarkand
Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & The Caucasus
Caroline Eden;Eleanor Ford
Samarkand, the turquoise oasis in the valley of the Zerafshan River, Uzbekistan, has been a cultural crossroads for centuries. In this book, the authors have gathered the cuisines of seven ethnic groups that have left their mark on the city: the Tajiks, Russians, Turks, Jews, Koreans, Caucasians and native Uzbeks. The result is a wonderfully spiced and perfumed collection of recipes for soups, main courses, accompaniments, sweets and drinks.
£25.00
now£9.99
Legacies of the First World War
Building for Total War 1914–18
Ed. Wayne Cocroft;Paul Stamper
Drawing together studies by English Heritage and Historic England’s archaeologists and historians, this volume explores the physical effects of the First World War on the English countryside and built environments. Among the topics discussed in the ten illustrated essays are army camps, airfields and coastal defences; munitions factories, civic and civilian building during wartime and the impact of enemy blockade on the nation’s agriculture; and a final essay examines the building of war memorials.
£30.00
now£14.99
The Liberation of Europe 1944–1945
The Photographers Who Captured History from D-Day to Berlin
Mark Barnes
This collection of archival images from The Times and Kemsley Newspapers, many published here for the first time, documents remarkable scenes from the Allies’ invasion of Europe, including the capture of Berlin, where a sombre Churchill inspects the site at which Hitler’s body was burnt. Set against a backdrop of devastation, action shots of airdrops, beach landings, tank battles and troop manoeuvres contrast with the delighted faces of liberated civilians, telling stories as compelling as they are harrowing.
£25.00
now£9.99
The Lost Border
The Landscape of The Iron Curtain
Brian Rose;Fore. Anthony Bailey
For almost half a century, the Iron Curtain divided the nations of Europe. Then, almost overnight, it vanished. During the 1980s, the photographer Brian Rose followed its course, before going on to record its disappearance. His images capture the eerie concrete and barbed-wire barriers running through mundane towns and villages, the tumultuous scenes as the Berlin Wall came down, and the ghostly traces that are all that remain today.
£28.00
now£12.99
Postcards on Parchment
The Social Lives of Medieval Books
Kathryn M Rudy
The miniature paintings on parchment that were often slipped into medieval prayer books are identified by Kathryn Rudy as ‘postcards’: colourful, usually devotional pictures sent or given by one person to another, often with a greeting inscribed on the reverse. Illustrated with almost 300 examples of postcards and manuscript pages, this volume explores the production of such paintings, the social contexts in which they were exchanged as gifts and the new functions they assumed as images independent of a text.
£60.00
now£30.00
The World of Mummies
From Ötzi to Lenin
Albert Zink;Trans. Cordula Werschkun
Mummies are found not only in ancient Egyptian tombs but all around the world, in locations as varied as the mountains of South America, European churches and the ice of Greenland. This introduction to the subject, by a distinguished mummy-researcher, explains the natural and artificial processes by which human remains are preserved. The book features colour photographs of several mummies, together with case studies that reveal what scientific analysis of their bodies can teach us about these people’s lives, deaths and diseases.
£19.99
now£5.99
Bloody Scotland
Crime in 19th Century Scotland
Malcolm Archibald
This true crime book investigates some of the lesser-known murders, robberies and misdemeanours committed in 19th-century Scotland; and while it pursues a thematic approach to crime, including poisoning, rural murders and drink-related offences, it also reserves stand-alone chapters for the Dundee Museum Robbery and the Siege of John Street. Archibald is keen to contrast the romantic ‘glens and bens’ notion of Scotland with the reality of a cruel and desperate criminal underworld.
£9.99
now£4.99
Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places
Philip Wilkinson
Launched by Historic England and Ecclesiastical, the History of England in 100 Places project called on the public to nominate sites that have played a crucial role in the nation’s science, industry, arts and culture. The final list, selected by a team of judges including Tanni Grey-Tompson, Monica Ali, Mary Beard and Tristram Hunt, includes both familiar landmarks such as Stonehenge and St Paul’s, and lesser-known but crucially important places such as the ICI research laboratory in Widnes.
£20.00
now£9.99
Mary Queen of Scots
Susan Watkins;Photo. Mark Fiennes
‘No man saw her without love,’ wrote a contemporary French chronicler, ‘or will read her story without pity.’ More than four centuries after her death, Mary, Queen of Scots remains a compelling figure. This book recreates her dramatic life and the courtly, intrigue-ridden world in which she lived. Its 194 colour illustrations include portraits, sketches and colour photographs of the castles and palaces in England, Scotland and France where her tragic story was played out. Off-mint.
£19.95
now£9.99
Mars
Making Contact
Rod Pyle
The inhospitable atmosphere and violent climate on Mars have not prevented numerous space probes and orbiters from visiting the planet over the last 50 years, their data-gathering abilities growing ever more sophisticated. From the successful Mariner and Viking programs of the 1960s and 1970s, to human missions being planned today, Rod Pyle charts the history of Martian exploration, lists the key scientific discoveries made and presents striking images of the Red Planet from space and from the surface.
£25.00
now£9.99
Animals
A Visual Guide to the Animal Kingdom
Keith Laidler
Beginning with cells – ‘the smallest units of independent existence’ – and covering all animal life, from simple sponges to the great apes (gorilla, chimpanzees and orang-utan), this carefully designed, large-format guide is arranged by scientific classification in a way that illuminates the place of each family and species within the animal kingdom. The deeply informative and very accessible text is accompanied by over 350 colour photographs taken in the animals’ natural habitats by leading wildlife photographers.
£30.00
now£12.99

Bestsellers

Browse all Bestsellers (100 products)

The Wrinklies' Guide to Keeping Supple
New Pursuits for Old Hands
Vicky Hales-Dutton
Discounting visits to the gym and running, Hales-Dutton emphasizes the importance of stretching to keep the muscles toned in later years, recommending activities that won’t strain the joints. A chapter on walking explains its health benefits, as well as how to do it properly. Swimming, cycling and yoga similarly have a chapter each, and the book includes dietary advice, simple exercises and daily suppleness challenges.
£9.99
now£3.99
Scottish Colourists
Susan Grange
In this Masterpieces of Art study of the four painters who came to be known as the Scottish Colourists – Samuel Peploe (1871–1935), John Duncan Fergusson (1874–1961), George Leslie Hunter (1877–1931) and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937) – Susan Grange examines their shared artistic influences, including the Glasgow Boys and continental Post-Impressionism, gives an illustrated introduction to the career of each artist, and presents 88 reproductions, including still life, landscapes, portraits, townscapes and interiors.
£12.99
now£6.99
Mercia
The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom
Annie Whitehead
Negotiating the bias in surviving sources about the kingdom of Mercia – as most written evidence was lost during Viking aggression and other material comes mainly from enemies of the Mercians – Annie Whitehead presents a history of the kingdom of middle England. Beginning with Penda in the 7th century, the book describes the reigns of Aethelbald, Offa the Great, Burgred and Ceolwulf II, Aethelred of Mercia and Lady Aethelflaed, and rulers of the house of Leofric up to the early 11th century.
£20.00
now£9.99
'You've Never Had It So Good!'
Recollections of Life in the 1950s
Stephen F Kelly
With full employment, a boom in car sales, and washing machines making housework less of a chore, life in the 1950s certainly seemed better than ever before. Following a theme, such as family life, childhood or the rise of television, each chapter in this compendium brings together recollections of those who lived through the decade, remembering everything from sweet rationing to the meagre contents of a Christmas stocking, and how to find Indian spices.
£14.99
now£5.99
Black Death
A New History of the Bubonic Plagues of London
Stephen Porter
From its onset in the 6th century AD, bubonic plague has excited fear and revulsion like no other disease, so hideous are its symptoms and so small the chance of survival. Crowded, insanitary London was badly hit in 1347 and 1665, and plague pits are still being uncovered, for example during Crossrail construction works. This readable history combines documentary sources with the latest scientific evidence to convey the full horror of the plague and the conditions in which it thrived.
£25.00
now£9.99
Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious
Design
Brian Webb;Peyton Skipwith
Published in association with the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, this book originally accompanied an exhibition of the design work of Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious. A short essay on the two artists introduces over 100 reproductions of their work in a great range of media, including wallpaper design, book jackets and illustration, posters and ceramics, for clients including Wedgwood, Kew Gardens and the Golden Cockerel Press.
£12.50
now£5.99
Bloomers, Biros and Wellington Boots
How the Names Became the Words
Andrew Sholl
As you sit on the davenport eating garibaldi biscuits, do you ever consider how people's names become words we use in everyday English? From Achilles to Zeppelin, this entertaining book investigates both familiar and unusual eponyms and tells the stories behind them. At last, we meet the man who gave the world the Hoover, the farmer responsible for macadamia nuts (John Macadam), and Dr Salmon, immortalized in salmonella. (Formerly in Postscript as Teddy Bears, Tupperware and Sweet Fanny Adams.)
£6.99
now£2.99
The Elements
The Ultimate Guide to The Building Blocks of Our Universe
Jack Challoner
From hydrogen to ununoctium, this accessible guide explores the properties of each element in the periodic table, explaining their chemical behaviours – how their atoms interact with atoms of other elements – and their worldly uses, from light bulbs and mobile phones to dental fillings and space suits. The introduction explains the chemistry and physics of nuclei, electrons and chemical bonds and provides the groundwork for understanding the entries and their data.
£9.99
now£4.99
Sisters to the King
The Tumultuous Lives of Henry VIII's Sisters – Margaret of Scotland and Mary of France
Maria Perry
Much has been written about the six wives of Henry VIII, but less attention has been paid to his two sisters. This groundbreaking volume restores these two women to their rightful place at the crux of European history. The book describes how Margaret became Queen of Scotland at 13, how her younger sister Mary was married to the ageing king of France, and how both, defying convention, chose their second husbands for love.
£16.99
now£5.99
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off...
Unpublished Letters to the Daily Telegraph
Ed. Iain Hollingshead
‘Sir, It has all been a terrible mistake. We thought we were voting to leave Eurovision.’ In a year dominated by the EU Referendum, the Telegraph’s letter-writers were in full spate – and not just on the momentous vote. Here, in sections such a ‘The Use and Abuse of Language’, ‘Box Gogglers’ and ‘Royal Blushes’ are readers’ opinions – frankly stated – on everything from family life to ‘Benito Trump’.
£9.99
now£3.99
The Romanov Sisters
The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
Helen Rappaport
With access to previously unseen or unpublished diary entries, letters, photographs and archival material, Rappaport brings the four daughters of Russia’s last tsar back to life, incorporating some of their own words. Among the most photographed royals of their day, outwardly the sisters seemed to live charmed lives; inwardly, the family was loving, deeply religious and often claustrophobic. Intelligent and sensitive, the girls were not completely unaware of the fate that might await them as the Russian Revolution approached.
$27.99
now£7.99
Forgotten History
Unbelievable Moments from the Past
Jem Duducu
Have you heard about the ancient Egyptian workers who organized a mass walkout, or the Kettle War, during which only one shot was fired? This entertaining book is full of quirky and intriguing snippets of history that you probably didn’t find out about at school: read it to learn where to locate the other ‘Hadrian’s Walls’, when the world’s first cyberattack happened and which Pope put his dead predecessor on trial.
£9.99
now£4.99
A Brief History of the Private Life of Elizabeth II
Michael Paterson
Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British monarch. Her life has been exhaustively documented, but what of the woman beneath the crown? Who are her friends? How does she feel about the demands of duty? What are her hobbies? Examining her early life, the training she received, and her attitudes to national life, historian Michael Paterson offers a refreshing portrayal of Britain's figurehead.
£8.99
now£3.99
A Brief Guide to Native American Myths and Legends
Lewis Spence;Ed. Jon E Lewis
The world of Native American mythology is inhabited by such fantastical and capricious characters as the shape-shifting trickster Coyote and the mischievous Blue Jay. The seminal study of these sacred tales was written by the Scottish folklorist Lewis Spence in 1914; this updated edition has a new introductory essay, commentary on Native American culture and stories from tribes, not covered by Spence such as the Inuit.
£8.99
now£3.99
The Philosophy of Cats
Federica Sgarbi
Federica Sgarbi combines her passions for philosophy and felines in this heart-warming account of her successful project to rehome all 78 residents of her local cattery. She tells how she wrote 'lonely-cat ads' for them, and describes their character and appearance before reflecting on what their stories teach us about our relationship with animals, as theorized by philosophers from Plutarch and Schopenhauer to contemporary thinkers on animal rights.
£9.99
now£3.99

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