22 Products

Written by the Hindu philosopher Vatsyayana around 300 CE, the Kama Sutra is popularly known as a sex manual but is actually a moral treatise on the achievement of sensual and aesthetic pleasure, one of Hinduism’s four goals of life. The text was first translated and published in the West in 1883 by the explorer and linguist, Sir Richard Burton. This edition presents his candid translation, illustrated with classical Indian miniatures.

This collection of unusual puzzles challenges the reader not only to find solutions but, in the spirit of computing pioneer Alan Turing’s methodology, to tease out the rules of the puzzles themselves. The puzzles, which mainly involve words and letters, increase in difficulty as the book progresses, but cryptic titles and numerous optional hints (listed in a separate section) lead codebreakers step by step to solutions catalogued at the back.

Terminally ill Lawrence Todhunter decides to make a last contribution to humanity – by eliminating the most obnoxious person he can find. But when an innocent man is arrested, he must prove his own guilt.

Early civilizations created chemical transformations by mixing materials and heating them to make metal and pottery, but chemistry only emerged as a science in the 17th century when a more rigorous scientific approach began to be applied to the ancient art of alchemy. This illustrated introduction discusses the key discoveries and principal actors in the history of chemistry from the observations of Aristotle to modern chemical industries.

Fateful meetings, ruptured relationships and a small town shattered by violent death… A guilty verdict against solicitor John Prescott seems inevitable, but the real killer is still at large.

‘Vedanta’, writes Brian Hodgkinson, ‘hinges upon this truly remarkable idea, that everything, without any exception whatsoever, is the one spirit’. In this book he first discusses the ancient historical and literary origins of Vedanta, then turns to the central tenets of Vedic philosophy and their social dimension.

Bernard Simon looks at elements of Gnosticism that are common to ancient pagan and occult religions; he compares its teachings with the Judeo-Christian faiths, and in particular with the writings of Paul; and considers the spiritual and cosmic principles and iconography that have endured to the present day.

John Baldock begins this introduction with chapters on the life of the Prophet Mohammad, the Qur’an, the principal tenets of Islam and the emergence of Sufism, before discussing the Sufis themselves, their literature, and the path of transformation and fulfilment that frees the individual from the dictates of ego.

Brian L Lancaster approaches Kabbalah as ‘Judaism’s inner teaching’ which primarily addresses the nature of God and the secret meanings of the Torah. He explores key extracts from the sacred works, the role of the Hebrew language within Kabbalah, and how it relates to the modern world.

Having first examined the evidence for the historical Jesus and the reliability of the New Testament documents to establish who Jesus was, what he did and what he taught, Rowe goes on to look at how Jesus has been interpreted and experienced through history up to the present day.

German cartoonists mocked Hitler when he came to prominence in the 1920s, but such satire was not possible once the Nazis were in power and the job was left to foreign illustrators. This book follows the career of the Führer through a collection of political cartoons, demonstrating how artists such as Herb Block, EH Shepard and Ding Darling were able to show Hitler as he was – in contrast to the German propaganda image of god-like superman.

This board book explains such interesting stuff as why giraffes have long necks and how elephants drink – plus press-out and slot-together models of a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe and a crocodile. Age 3+ and not suitable for children under 36 months due to small pieces.

As well as interesting facts about work on the farm and sheep, cows, pigs and horses, this colourful board book has press-out and slot-together models of the four animals. Age 3+ and not suitable for children under 36 months due to small pieces.

If the alphabet goes from A to Z, what goes from Z to A? Here are more than 300 clever, funny and sometimes quite tricky riddles and brain teasers to work out. The answers are at the back. Age 7+

Physics is the science that ties together all others, aiming to explain the nature of the universe from the smallest subatomic particles to vast galaxies and the nature of space-time. Profiling the most important figures in the history of science and covering topics such as light and optics, energy and the Big Bang, this well-illustrated book traces the development of physics from the natural philosophers of the ancient world to cutting-edge experiments in quantum mechanics.

In an age when monarchies are little more than tourist pageantry, it is easy to forget that sovereigns once wielded absolute power. This book examines the reigns of more than 70 European autocrats, from Caligula to Nicholas II via 'Bloody Mary' and Ivan the Terrible. All were to some degree mad, bad or dangerous to live under, but the stronger connection is that they failed to fulfil the extravagant hopes placed in them.

Beginning with 'What is there?', this is a book of questions and philosophers' attempts to answer them over 2,500 years, from Parmenides and Plato describing reality in Ancient Greece, to Marx, Durkheim and Rawls tackling the last question: 'How do we make a good society?' With quotations from philosophers, brief explanations of terms and colourful illustrations, Rooney's survey offers an engaging and informative introduction to philosophy.

The 20th century saw massive social and technological change, two world wars, and empires won and lost. Throughout these epochal events, cartoonists cast an irreverent eye on human folly. Selected by the award-winning cartoonist Tony Husband, the 230 satirical and at times savage images in this book chart the events of the century, decade by decade, from the Boer War to the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the suffragette movement to the Poll Tax.

In this very accessible and well-illustrated book, Anne Rooney traces humankind's greatest mathematical achievements, starting with innumerate cave-dwellers, then profiling the great mathematicians from Euclid to Bertrand Russell and David Hilbert, and explaining key developments such as solid geometry, calculus and statistical mathematics, up to 'the death of numbers' with set theory and fuzzy logic.

Dante's great poem, the first book written in Italian, begins with his descent through nine circles of Hell to the lake of ice where Lucifer is trapped for all eternity. In this edition of Longfellow's verse translation, the Inferno's 34 cantos are each preceded by a brief introduction and illustrated with a selection of artists' representations of the Last Judgement, the landscape of Hell and scenes from Dante's infernal voyage of self-discovery.

In the battle for hearts and minds during the Second World War, cartoonists had a vital role to play. All nations are represented in this book and it is fascinating to see how each side's artists handled the war, aiming their bullets with the precision of frontline snipers. Selected and with notes by cartoonist Tony Husband, the cartoons follow the progress of the war and include work by Kukryniksy, David Low, Sennep, Philip Zec, Pont, EH Shepard and Bernard Partridge.

Starting 'on top of the world' amid icebergs and igloos, this colourful puzzle book covers the continents, oceans and cities of the world, finding mazes everywhere. You can pick your way along the struts and girders of the Eiffel Tower, climb the Great Pyramid or navigate your way out of the Bermuda Triangle - and if you get completely lost, the answers are at the back. Age 8+