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Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

How did France’s youngest-ever president assemble the network, team and finances to sweep to electoral victory in just twelve months? Based on previously unpublished interviews with Emmanuel Macron’s friends, mentors, opponents, and key members of his team, this first-ever biography in English charts his meteoric rise. It outlines his political vision, examines his support-base, analyses his strengths and weaknesses, and asks what his presidency means for Britain and the EU.

In 1817 James Parkinson defined the disease that bears his name so precisely that it is still diagnosed today by recognizing the symptoms he identified. In this study, the story of Parkinson’s significant contributions to the Age of Enlightenment is told through his three passions – medicine, radical politics and fossils. The book restores a neglected pioneer to his rightful place in history and creates a vivid portrait of life as an ‘apothecary surgeon’ in Georgian London.

From theories of red vegetation and canal systems to Elon Musk’s ambitions in the race to Mars, Andrew May looks at our fascination with the red planet and the practicalities of getting there, covering topics including the development of rocket science and 50 years of robots and rovers on Mars.

Slightly off-mint.

An astrophysicist, science journalist and former BBC Science editor, David Whitehouse tells the dramatic ‘inside story’ of the race to the Moon, drawing on his own archive of notes, tapes and extensive interviews with astronauts, as well as his familiarity with the science and, not least, a vivid memory of watching television, transfixed, as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon on 20 July 1969.

Venturing into the emerging field of astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life, Andrew May gives an expert overview of the current state of astrobiological knowledge, deals with the techno-signatures we might expect from advanced alien civilizations and the bio-signatures of simpler life forms; and also examines the wider, speculative aspects of the search for life beyond Earth.

‘There’s always an extra connection, another link that joins two words that most of mankind quite blithely believe to be separate’. Erudite, discursive and highly entertaining, Forsyth’s book pursues the etymological pathways from ancient languages and through the twists and (often ribald) turns of English, demonstrating how testicles are linked to testaments and parentheses to codpieces; how the Vikings’ Sedge-Stream relates to Starbuck’s; and how the Zodiac’s Gemini becomes both equal sign and oily beaver.

Although predicted by Einstein’s general relativity, it was not until 2015 that gravitational waves – ripples in space and time – were first detected. This accessible introduction to their discovery explains how the technology required to record movements 100 times smaller than the nucleus of an atom was developed, and how, with their ability to travel through barriers that stop light, the waves offer a new way to investigate the universe.

After the Second World War, the ‘iron curtain’ divided Germany, leaving the British, American and French sectors of the devastated capital stranded in the Soviet-controlled East. Only three air corridors remained open, and between June 1948 and September 1949, Allied air forces defied the blockade, delivering food and fuel by plane. Barry Turner gives a full account of the crisis developing between East and West, the events leading up to June 1948, and the heroic Airlift that saved a besieged city.

Using examples from a vast range of writings, Mark Forsyth presents an amusing and wonderfully erudite guide to the ‘formulas, flowers and figures’ of rhetoric. For each of 39 figures, he explains some that are well-known - hyperbole, paradox, rhetorical questions – and other, less familiar strategies that work their magic behind the scenes, such as diacope in the immortal phrase ‘Bond. James Bond.’

The world’s grandest hotels offer luxury, service and splendour, and each has its own story of love affairs conducted and revolutions fomented beneath its roof. Arranged geographically, this book visits 50 of the greatest, including New York’s Algonquin, where Dorothy Parker held court; the Dorchester in London, favoured by Hitchcock and Hemingway; and the Imperial in Delhi, where the details of India’s independence were negotiated. Slightly off-mint.

Herne Hill Velodrome has been at the centre of British cycling since it was built in the 1890s. Although in decline from the 1960s it was at the heart of the new boom in the sport from the 1990s. This history of the venue recalls its many important competitions and the great riders who were regulars at the track, from Tommy Simpson to Bradley Wiggins.

This third part of Rolls-Royce’s company history picks up the story in 1987 when privatization began a new era for the firm. Both the aeronautical and car businesses struggled in the 1990s, after the recession, and the rights to make Rolls-Royce cars were subsequently sold, but the introduction of the Trent family of turbofan engines restored the company’s fortunes in the aero engine market. Off-mint.

The midget submarines that were famously used to attack the battleship Tirpitz in 1943 were developed further and the improved 'XE-class' craft were used in a daring attack on Singapore harbour in 1945. This history recounts how 18 British, Australian and New Zealand submariners, two of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross and several others decorated, piloted two XE craft through the Japanese defences to successfully incapacitate the heavy cruiser Takao.

While he commanded the German submarine fleet, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz earned Allied respect as a military leader and formidable enemy, but after he succeeded Hitler as head of the Third Reich, his name became more closely associated with Nazi ideology. Turner's study looks in depth at the Admiral's character and conduct, particularly his Operation Hannibal, which rescued two million civilians and troops from the Russian advance; his negotiations for ending the war; and his actions in its aftermath.

As he challenges the persistent myth that the Middle Ages brought little scientific progress, Hannam shows that the Church did not hold back ‘natural philosophy’, and that even astrology and alchemy were important in the development of modern science. He discusses the period’s sophisticated technological achievements, which include lenses, mechanical clocks and the blast furnace, and highlights the debts owed by Copernicus and Galileo to their medieval forebears’ pioneering ideas. Off-mint.

In 1915 Albert Einstein produced his masterwork, the ‘General Theory of Relativity’, which describes the evolution of the Universe, black holes, the behaviour of orbiting neutron stars, and why clocks run slower on the Earth than in space. Here, Gribbin explains the basics of the General Theory and places its genesis in the context of Einstein’s life and work.

This personal selection of great ecclesiastical architecture features buildings in 27 countries. Chosen both for decorative interest and for the stories behind them, the structures range from Ethiopian rock-hewn churches to Rio de Janeiro’s colossal concrete cathedral.

By building and populating a virtual universe, Clegg demonstrates that reality is not a system of immovable absolutes; instead, the ever-shifting world of relativity is what provides the frame of reference that allows us to understand both the universe and humanity’s place within it.

John Henry discusses how the 16th-century astronomer Copernicus not only disproved the ‘common-sense’ view that the Earth was stationary but also showed what mathematics can reveal about the material world, setting in motion the development of a completely new physics.

This survey of the ancient Greek scientific tradition introduces pioneering figures, including Archimedes, Aristotle and the Hippocratic doctors, and explains the theories with which they developed a rational attitude to the natural world.

The fast-moving 20th century brought extraordinary medical and technological advances as well as some of humanity’s darkest hours. These 50 snapshots encapsulate the century through defining moments from the Boxer Rebellion to the exponential growth of the World Wide Web.

This introduction to political theory surveys the various forms of rule by the few and by the many, including key elements of democracy and different schools of communism, together with concepts in the fields of political economy and international relations.

From life’s origins to humanity’s future, this overview of evolution covers such topics as the geological record of early organisms, the processes by which natural selection created millions of species, and the development of our modern understanding of genetics.

For anyone wanting the quick answer to ‘what is free market capitalism?’ or a brief profile of David Ricardo, this illustrated crash course brings together the 50 most thought-provoking economic theories and theorists and explains each of them in half a minute.

Questions about Dracula’s blood temperature, risk-taking behaviour, sexuality, social status and wealth are among the many issues raised in this sharp-witted dissection of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.

James Clerk Maxwell’s famously challenging thought experiment in which a Demon controls a door between hot and cold gases, suggests that the second law of thermodynamics can be broken. In this very accessible biography, the Demon as a narrator helps Brian Clegg argue that Maxwell’s work in fields such as electricity and magnetism not only laid the groundwork for much modern physics, but put him on a par with Newton and Einstein.

In 1968 the singer Serge Gainsbourg, devastated by his break-up with Brigitte Bardot, met Londoner Jane Birkin, who would revive his career and his personal life. Following the author’s itinerary as she zigzags across France from Deauville to St Tropez to interview their friends and associates – and in Paris, Jane herself – this book explores the charismatic couple’s 10-year romantic and creative partnership.

Adolf Hitler had a wide array of British sympathisers, some of whom were abusing their positions of power while plotting a fascist coup. This study of the treachery and spying of fifth columnists relies on recently opened MI5 files to show how the establishment often ignored the activities of aristocrats such as the Duke of Buccleuch or the traitorous pilot who worked at the Air Ministry throughout the war, while pursuing humbler members of society using false-flag and spycatcher operations.

Starting with a chapter on the background to the composition of Frankenstein (1818), John Sutherland explores the conundrums and ‘narrative obstacles’ in the novel, posing questions such as ‘Who makes the Creature’s trousers?’ and ‘Why go to the North Pole to commit suicide?’

Roxelana, the 16th-century slave girl who became an Ottoman queen, is depicted as a woman who dealt with her situation with great common sense, ingenuity and ambition in this detailed social history. As Hurrem Sultan, consort and wife to Suleiman the Magnificent, she had to navigate the complexities of the harem, court life, and domestic and international rivalries, strengthening the role of women in Ottoman society in the process.

This investigative history of Reagan, Gorbachev and the Cold War’s final decade draws on many previously unpublished sources, including classified Kremlin documents and interviews with political leaders, scientists, military officials and diplomats. As well as cataloguing the Russian automatic nuclear-control system called the ‘Dead Hand’, the book shows how the regime persisted in their paranoid belief that the US was planning a first strike strategy.

Throughout history, human society has been threatened by earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. This chronological survey of natural disasters, from Pompeii to Fukushima, examines their causes, effects and how people have responded to them. It demonstrates their global consequences – a volcanic eruption in Iceland, for example, caused a famine that may have ignited the French Revolution – and contemplates how they might be dealt with in future.

The world’s grandest hotels offer luxury, service and splendour, and each has its own story of love affairs conducted and revolutions fomented beneath its roof. Arranged geographically, this book visits 50 of the greatest, including New York’s Algonquin, where Dorothy Parker held court; the Dorchester in London, favoured by Hitchcock and Hemingway; and the Imperial in Delhi, where the details of India’s independence were negotiated.

Brian Clegg’s quiz book-cum-science compendium explores surprising facts about physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, technology and the history of science in over 100 questions ranging from ‘Why do hands and feet go wrinkly in the bath?’ to ‘What is Sagittarius A*?’ Related facts and anecdotes accompany each question and, on the following page, the answer is explained and discussed.

The author and activist Harry Leslie Smith recalls how, as an RAF serviceman stationed in Hamburg, he met the love of his life, a young German woman named Frieda. In a city reduced to rubble by Allied bombing, and populated with refugees, black-marketeers, corrupt businessmen and cynical soldiers, their relationship flourished, despite suspicion and disapproval on both sides. Slightly off-mint.

The letters folded inside Christmas cards can say more about the writers than they would like, revealing the lives they want rather than those they have. The correspondents satirized here include the teen blogger and the hypochondriac, the newlyweds married in a field of cows and the ex-MP completely lacking in self-awareness. ‘Any similarity to persons living or dead is entirely to be expected.’ Slightly off-mint.