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The Uptown Local: Joy, Death, and Joan Didion
by Cory LeadbeaterAs an aspiring novelist in his early twenties, Cory Leadbeater was presented with an opportunity to work for a well-known writer whose identity was kept confidential. Since the tumultuous days of childhood, Cory had sought refuge from the rougher parts of life in the pages of books. Suddenly, he found himself the personal assistant to a titan of literature: Joan Didion.In the nine years that followed, Cory shared Joan's rarefied world, transformed not only by her blazing intellect but by her generous friendship and mentorship. Together they recited poetry in the mornings, dined with Supreme Court justices, attended art openings, smoked a single cigarette before bed.But secretly, Cory was spiraling. He reeled from the death of a close friend. He spent his weekends at a federal prison, visiting his father as he served time for fraud. He struggled day after day to write the novel that would validate him as a real writer. And meanwhile, the forces of addiction and depression loomed large.In hypnotic prose that pulses with life and longing, The Uptown Local explores the fault lines of class, family, loss, and creativity. It is a love letter to a cultural icon-and a moving testament to the relationships that sustain us in the eternal pursuit of a life worth living.
The Devil Three Times: 'a page-turning, rollicking novel' Nathan Harris
by Rickey Fayne'A major new talent announces himself' Attica Locke, New York Times bestselling author of Guide Me Home and Bluebird, Bluebird'A debut of enormous ambition that succeeds on every level. .. a page-turning, rollicking novel' Nathan Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness of WaterThe Devil first visits Yetunde aboard a slave ship heading to America. Her home burned to ash, she lies shackled in the belly of the ship with only her dead sister's spirit for company. Worse, she has a caught the eye of a white man. To survive the hell that awaits her, the Devil offers his protection and a piece of his supernatural power. In return, Yetunde makes an incredible sacrifice.Their bargain extends far beyond Yetunde's mortal lifespan. Over the next 175 years, the Devil visits all her descendants in their darkest hour of need. There's Lucille, a conjure woman; Asa, the white-passing son of a slave; Louis and Virgil, a twentieth-century Cain and Abel; Cassandra, a girl who speaks to the dead; James, a father struggling to keep his family together; and many others. The Devil offers each of them his own version of salvation, all the while wondering: can he save himself, too?Steeped in the spiritual traditions and oral history of the Black diaspora, The Devil Three Times is a baptism by fire and water, heralding a new voice in fiction.
This Immaculate Body: 'electric . . . A chilling book by an exciting new voice’ VOGUE
by Emma van Straaten'an impeccable debut from a rising talent' Alice Slater'transgressive, with an ending that gave me whiplash' Kirsty Capes'deserves immediate cult status' Dazed'Baby Reindeer meets Convenience Store Woman' Kirsty LoganAlice has been cleaning Tom's flat every Wednesday for a year. With every smudge wiped from his coffee cup, every crease smoothed out in his bed, every multivitamin counted from the jar, Alice spirals deeper into infatuation. But as Alice prepares for the moment when they will finally meet face-to-face, she discovers that love might not be the cure she thought it was.This Immaculate Body is a story of obsession, of the way women view the world and the ways that the world views them. As Alice frantically tries to cling to an imagined future with Tom, the line between fantasy and reality become ever more blurred, putting everything she has dreamed of at risk.
Etiquette for Lovers and Killers
by Anna Fitzgerald Healy'Utterly delightful and crackling with wit, I could not put this down!' KRISTIN PERRIN, New York Times bestselling author of HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER'Alluring and impressive . . . a powerful new voice to the genre' ELLE COSIMANO, New York Times bestselling author of FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT'Billie McCadie is Nancy Drew, if Nancy had been raised by Emily Post and Dorothy Parker' JULIA SEALES, bestselling author of A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER'Delightful . . . a nostalgic treat wrapped in the briny ocean breezes of Maine' NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKSWhat are the chances of receiving a love letter and an engagement ring for a perfect stranger, only to see that same woman murdered the very next day? It's 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She's surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive . . . and the first to see her dead. What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she's more than just a side character? And after yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own? A love letter to uncivilized behaviour, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.
Lifeform
by Jenny SlatePraise for Jenny Slate and Little Weirds'Magical' Mindy Kaling'Delicious' Amy Sedaris'This book is something new and wonderful. It made me remember I was alive' George SaundersFrom actor, comedian, co-creator of Marcel the Shell, and New York Times bestselling author of Little Weirds Jenny Slate, a wild, soulful, hilarious collection of genre-bending essays depicting the journey into motherhood as you've never seen it before.What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina during a global plague and then she was expected to carry on like everything was normal-but was this normal, and had she or anything ever been normal?Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases-Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing-through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny, unclassifiable essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between racoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about post-partum hair loss, graduation speeches, and more. No one writes like Jenny Slate.
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers
by Caroline FraserFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Prairie Fires comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond - a gripping investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence.Pulitzer Prize-winning author Caroline Fraser grew up in the shadow of Ted Bundy, the most notorious serial murderer of women in American history, surrounded by his hunting grounds and mountain body dumps, in the brooding landscape of the Pacific Northwest. But in the 1970s and 80s, Bundy was just one perpetrator amid an uncanny explosion of serial rape and murder across the region. Why so many? Why so weirdly and nightmarishly gruesome? Why the senseless rise and then sudden fall of an epidemic of serial killing? As Murderland indelibly maps the lives and careers of Bundy and his infamous peers in mayhem - the Green River Killer, the I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker, the Hillside Strangler, even Charles Manson - Fraser's Northwestern death trip begins to uncover a deeper mystery and an overlapping pattern of environmental destruction. At ground zero in Ted Bundy's Tacoma, stood one of the most poisonous lead, copper, and arsenic smelters in the world, but it was only one among many that dotted the area. As Fraser's investigation inexorably proceeds, evidence mounts that the plumes of western smelters not only sickened and blighted millions of lives, but also warped young minds, spawning a generation of serial killers. A propulsive non-fiction thriller, Murderland transcends true-crime voyeurism and noir mythology, taking readers on a profound quest into the dark heart of the real American berserk.Praise for Murderland:'What makes a murderer? Pulitzer winner Fraser (Prairie Fires) makes a convincing case for arsenic and lead poisoning as contributing factors in this eyebrow-raising account . . . her methodical research and lucid storytelling argue persuasively for linking the health of the planet to the safety of its citizens. This is a provocative and page-turning work of true crime' Publishers Weekly (starred review)'A provocative, eerily lyrical study of the heyday of American serial killers . . . A true-crime story written with compassion, fury, and scientific sense' Kirkus (starred review)
Heartwood: 'nearly impossible to put down' Jennifer Egan
by Amity Gaige'Fast-paced and full of grace . . . a memorable meditation on the forms of care' Sarah Moss'An unforgettable treat' Janice Hallett'An absolute must-read' Elin HildebrandIn the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. At the centre of the search is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who managing the search on the ground. While Beverly is searching, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie's disappearance may not be accidental.
Jane and Dan at the End of the World: 'Oakley is in a world of her own when it comes to creating loveable, quirky characters' Taylor Jenkins Reid
by Colleen OakleyDate night goes off the rails when one unhappy couple find themselves taken hostage by a climate activist group'Marital discord meets mortal danger in this high-stakes tongue-in-cheek romp' Good Housekeeping'The true definition of unputdownable... A must-read!' LIBBY PAGE, author of The Lido'My favourite book of the year' SHELBY VAN PELT, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures'This sharply original romp is entirely too much fun' People---------------------------------------Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn't sure they're going to make it to twenty. She feels unneeded by her teenagers, her one published novel has sold under five hundred copies, and she's pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. Arriving at renowned restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it's time to ask for a divorce.But before they even get to the second course, a climate activist group bursts into the room. Jane is shocked - and not just because she's in a movie-style hostage situation. Nearly everything the disorganized activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Which means Jane and Dan are the only ones who know what's going to happen next. And they're the only ones who can stop it. If they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything - even marriage.---------------------------------------READERS LOVE JANE AND DAN!'The plot was plotting!''Oakley had me laughing OUT LOUD''A five-star must read''I couldn't put it down''Pure joy wrapped up in 370 pages'
Jane and Dan at the End of the World: 'Oakley is in a world of her own when it comes to creating loveable, quirky characters' Taylor Jenkins Reid
by Colleen OakleyDate night goes off the rails when one unhappy couple find themselves taken hostage by a climate activist group'Marital discord meets mortal danger in this high-stakes tongue-in-cheek romp' Good Housekeeping'The true definition of unputdownable... A must-read!' LIBBY PAGE, author of The Lido'My favourite book of the year' SHELBY VAN PELT, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures'This sharply original romp is entirely too much fun' People---------------------------------------Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn't sure they're going to make it to twenty. She feels unneeded by her teenagers, her one published novel has sold under five hundred copies, and she's pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. Arriving at renowned restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it's time to ask for a divorce.But before they even get to the second course, a climate activist group bursts into the room. Jane is shocked - and not just because she's in a movie-style hostage situation. Nearly everything the disorganized activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Which means Jane and Dan are the only ones who know what's going to happen next. And they're the only ones who can stop it. If they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything - even marriage.---------------------------------------READERS LOVE JANE AND DAN!'The plot was plotting!''Oakley had me laughing OUT LOUD''A five-star must read''I couldn't put it down''Pure joy wrapped up in 370 pages'
City of Light, City of Shadows: Paris in the Belle Époque
by x Mike RapportParis in the Belle Époque is remembered as a golden age of cultural flourishing and political progress. The period between the revolutionary 1870s and the outbreak of war in 1914 saw the modern French capital take shape: by day Parisians could admire the rising Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur Basilica, while at night they roamed the Bohemian world of the Moulin Rouge. But as Mike Rapport reveals in this authoritative and beautifully written new history, City of Light, City of Shadows, beneath the elegant veneer Paris was at war with itself. For the Belle Époque was also an era of social and religious unrest, arguments over women's emancipation and violent clashes over what it meant to be French.Paris pulsated with pleasure, anxieties and tension stemming from the giddying speed of modernity: blazing electric lights illuminating the night, the first cars speeding down the boulevards, as well as the first Métro trains and aeroplane flights. At the same time reactionary forces reasserted themselves through the new mass media-mostly dramatically in the infamous Dreyfus affair, which exposed the dark heart of French antisemitism. Told through the eyes of the greatest personalities of the age-novelist Émile Zola, feminist activist Marguerite Durand, Vietnamese diplomat Nguyễn Trọng Hợp and socialist politician Jean Jaurès-the book weaves together stories of splendour and suffering, delight and agony, offering a brilliant account of the shadows cast across the City of Light.
The Art of Fairness: The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean
by David Bodanis'David Bodanis is an enthralling storyteller. Prepare to be taken on a surprising, wide-ranging and ultimately inspiring journey to explore what makes us human' Tim HarfordCan you succeed without being a terrible person? We often think not: recognising that, as the old saying has it, 'nice guys finish last'. But does that mean you have to go to the other extreme, and be a bully or Machiavellian to get anything done?In THE ART OF FAIRNESS, David Bodanis uses thrilling historical case studies to show there's a better path, leading neatly in between. He reveals how it was fairness, applied with skill, that led the Empire State Building to be constructed in barely a year - and how the same techniques brought a quiet English debutante to become an acclaimed jungle guerrilla fighter. In ten vivid profiles - featuring pilots, presidents, and even the producer of Game of Thrones - we see that the path to greatness doesn't require crushing displays of power or tyrannical ego. Simple fair decency can prevail.With surprising insights from across history - including the downfall of the very man who popularised the phrase 'nice guys finish last' - THE ART OF FAIRNESS charts a refreshing and sustainable new approach to cultivating integrity and influence.
Life As No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence
by Sara Imari WalkerWhat is life? This is among the most difficult open problems in science, right up there with the nature of consciousness and the existence of matter. All the definitions we have fall short. None help us understand how life originates or the full range of possibilities for what life on other planets might look like.In LIFE AS NO ONE KNOWS IT, physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker argues that solving the origin of life requires radical new thinking and an experimentally testable theory for what life is. This is an urgent issue for efforts to make life from scratch in laboratories here on Earth and missions searching for life on other planets.Walker proposes a new paradigm for understanding what physics encompasses and what we recognize as life. She invites us into a world of maverick scientists working without a map, seeking not just answers but better ways to formulate the biggest questions we have about the universe. The book culminates with the bold proposal of a new theory for identifying and classifying life, one that applies not just to biological life on Earth but to any instance of life in the universe. Rigorous, accessible, and vital, LIFE AS NO ONE KNOWS IT celebrates the mystery of life and the explanatory power of physics.
Human Frontiers: The Future of Big Ideas in an Age of Small Thinking
by Michael Bhaskar'A fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas?'Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of DeepMind and Google VP'Have "big ideas" and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar's Human Frontiers is the best look at these all-important questions.'Tyler Cowen, author of The Great Stagnation and The Complacent Class'Michael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilization has lost ambition and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling for bold, adventurous innovators to go big again. A fascinating book'Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation WorksWhere next for humanity? Is our future one of endless improvement in all areas of life, from technology and travel to medicine, movies and music? Or are our best years behind us? It's easy to assume that the story of modern society is one of consistent, radical progress, but this is no longer true: more academics are researching than ever before but their work leads to fewer breakthroughs; innovation is incremental, limited to the digital sphere; the much-vaunted cure for cancer remains elusive; space travel has stalled since the heady era of the moonshot; politics is stuck in a rut, and the creative industries seem trapped in an ongoing cycle of rehashing genres and classics. The most ambitious ideas now struggle. Our great-great-great grandparents saw a series of transformative ideas revolutionise almost everything in just a few decades. Today, in contrast, short termism, risk aversion, and fractious decision making leaves the landscape timid and unimaginative.In Human Frontiers, Michael Bhaskar draws a vividly entertaining and expansive portrait of humanity's relationship with big ideas. He argues that stasis at the frontier is the result of having already pushed so far, taken easy wins and started to hit limits. But new thinking is still possible. By adopting bold global approaches, deploying cutting edge technology like AI and embracing a culture of change, we can push through and expand afresh.Perfect for anyone who has wondered why we haven't gone further, this book shows in fascinating detail how the 21st century could stall - or be the most revolutionary time in human history.
COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened, and How to Stop the Next One
by Debora MacKenzie'Excellent . . . analyses clearly and authoritatively how the coronavirus pandemic played out, what governments should have done, and what we need to do when it happens again - as it undoubtedly will' Financial Times'You could not hope for a better guide to the pandemic world order than Debora MacKenzie, who's been on this story from the start. This is an authoritative yet readable explanation of how this catastrophe happened - and more important, how it will happen again if we don't change'Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist, Adapt and Messy'This definitely deserves a read - the first of the post mortems by a writer who knows what she's talking about'Laura Spinney, author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the WorldIn a gripping, accessible narrative, a veteran science journalist lays out the shocking story of how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic happened and how to make sure this never happens againOver the last 30 years of epidemics and pandemics, we learned every lesson needed to stop this coronavirus outbreak in its tracks. We heeded almost none of them. The result is a pandemic on a scale never before seen in our lifetimes. In this captivating, authoritative, and eye-opening book, science journalist Debora MacKenzie lays out the full story of how and why it happened: the previous viruses that should have prepared us, the shocking public health failures that paved the way, the failure to contain the outbreak, and most importantly, what we must do to prevent future pandemics.Debora MacKenzie has been reporting on emerging diseases for more than three decades, and she draws on that experience to explain how COVID-19 went from a potentially manageable outbreak to a global pandemic. Offering a compelling history of the most significant recent outbreaks, including SARS, MERS, H1N1, Zika, and Ebola, she gives a crash course in Epidemiology 101--how viruses spread and how pandemics end--and outlines the lessons we failed to learn from each past crisis. In vivid detail, she takes us through the arrival and spread of COVID-19, making clear the steps that governments knew they could have taken to prevent or at least prepare for this. Looking forward, MacKenzie makes a bold, optimistic argument: this pandemic might finally galvanize the world to take viruses seriously. Fighting this pandemic and preventing the next one will take political action of all kinds, globally, from governments, the scientific community, and individuals--but it is possible.No one has yet brought together our knowledge of COVID-19 in a comprehensive, informative, and accessible way. But that story can already be told, and Debora MacKenzie's urgent telling is required reading for these times and beyond. It is too early to say where the COVID-19 pandemic will go, but it is past time to talk about what went wrong and how we can do better.
How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World
by Dambisa Moyo'Highly instructive . . . provides thoughtful analysis' Financial Times'Exactly what any prospective-or sitting-board member needs' Arianna Huffington'A must read . . . highly engaging . . . an indispensable guide to how boards function, malfunction, and, most importantly, should operate better' Mohamed A. El-ErianCorporate boards are under great pressure. Scandals and malpractice at companies like GE, Theranos and WeWork have raised justified questions among regulators, shareholders, and the public about the quality of corporate governance. Boards face ever-louder demands to weigh in on questions of climate change, racial and gender equity, data privacy, and other social issues that range far beyond their traditional mandate: choosing the CEO and endorsing corporate strategy.In HOW BOARDS WORK, prizewinning economist, veteran board director, and bestselling author Dambisa Moyo offers an insider's view of corporate boards as they are buffeted by the turbulence of our times. Drawing on her decade of experience serving on corporate boards, Moyo lays out what it is that boards actually do, and she outlines how they must adapt to survive the challenges of coming years. Corporations need boards that are more transparent, more knowledgeable, more diverse, and more deeply involved in setting the strategic course of the companies they lead.HOW BOARDS WORK is an urgent road map for how boards can steer companies through tomorrow's challenges and ensure they thrive to benefit their employees, shareholders, and society at large.
Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence
by Paco Calvo Natalie LawrenceWhat is it like to be a plant?It's not a question we might think to contemplate, even though many of us live surrounded by plants. Science has long explored the wonderful ways in which plants communicate, behave and shape their environments: from chemical warfare to turning their predators to cannibalism. But they're usually just the backdrop to our frenetic animal lives.While plants may not have brains or move around as we do, cutting-edge science is revealing that they have astonishing inner worlds of an alternate kind to ours. They can plan ahead, learn, recognise their relatives, assess risks and make decisions. They can even be put to sleep. Innovative new tools might allow us to actually see them do these things - from electrophysiological recordings to MRI and PET scans. If you can look in the right way, a world full of drama unfurls.In PLANTA SAPIENS, Professor Paco Calvo offers a bold new perspective on plant biology and cognitive science. Using the latest scientific findings, Calvo challenges us to make an imaginative leap into a world that is so close and yet so alien - one that will expand our understanding of our own minds.From their rich subjective experiences to how they are inspiring novel ways of approaching the ecological crisis, PLANTA SAPIENS is a dazzling exploration of the lives of plants and a call to approach how we think about the natural world in a new, maverick way.
The Power of Art: A World History in Fifteen Cities
by Caroline CampbellTHE POWER OF ART is an epic work of non-fiction that will transform our understanding of the world by unlocking the human stories behind millennia of art. Taking readers from ancient Babylon to contemporary Pyongyang, the eminent curator Caroline Campbell explains art's power to illuminate our lives, and inspires us to benefit from its transformative and regenerative power.Unlike the majority of art history, this book is about much more than the cult of personality. Instead, each chapter is structured around a city at a particularly vibrant moment in its history, describing what propelled its creativity and innovation. The emotions and societies she evokes are recognisable today, showing how great art resonates powerfully by transcending the boundaries of time.
The Power of Art: A World History in Fifteen Cities
by Caroline CampbellTo read most histories of art, you might be forgiven for supposing that great artists are superhuman, and the knowledge of different movements, periods and styles is essential to truly appreciate art.It's time to look at art in a new way.THE POWER OF ART delves into the stories behind remarkable acts of creation in fifteen global cities at pivotal moments of artistic brilliance. It shows how art is an integral part of our daily lives, embedded in the very fabric of our existence. From the enduring wonders of ancient Babylon to the menacing pastel architecture of contemporary Pyongyang, eminent curator Caroline Campbell intertwines the stories of artists with the broader social, cultural and political landscapes of their time.In each vivid episode, Campbell reveals how art, in all its forms, is a testament to humanity's inventiveness and ingenuity: it has served our fundamental needs for shelter, sustenance, spirituality, pleasure, order and community. But it can also evoke envy, anger, greed, and even be used as a means of social control.Spanning thousands of years of creativity, THE POWER OF ART will ignite your imagination and open your eyes to the art that surrounds us, whether it be a painting in a gallery, a public sculpture or an everyday object with hidden beauty.
Too Famous: The Rich, The Powerful, The Wishful, The Damned, The Notorious – Twenty Years of Columns, Essays and Reporting
by Michael WolffBarbed, witty, revealing and entertaining, Too Famous could be an instant classic.Bestselling author of Fire and Fury, Siege and Landslide and chronicler of the Trump White House Michael Wolff dissects more of the major monsters, media moguls and vainglorious figures of our time. His scalpel opens their lives, careers and always equivocal endgames with the same vividness and wit he brought to his evisceration of the former president. These brilliant and biting profiles form a mesmerising portrait of the hubris, overreach and periodic self-destruction of some of the most famous faces of the last twenty years.This collection draws on new and unpublished work - recent reporting about Jared Kushner, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein - and decades of coverage of the most notable figures of the time - among them Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, Rudy Giuliani, Alan Rusbridger, Arianna Huffington, Piers Morgan, Boris Johnson and Rupert Murdoch - to create a lasting statement on the corrosive influence of being in the public eye.Ultimately, Too Famous is an examination of how the quest for fame and power became the driving force of culture and politics and the drug that alters all public personalities. And how the need, the desperation, the ruthlessness demanded to fulfil that quest became the toxic grease that keeps the world spinning. You know the people here by name and reputation, but it's guaranteed that after this book you will never see them the same way again. Or fail to recognise the scorched earth the famous leave behind them.
Engineers of Human Souls: Four Writers Who Changed Twentieth-Century Minds
by Simon IngsFour writers. Four dictators. One world, changed out of all recognition. ENGINEERS OF HUMAN SOULS is an intimate and shocking shadow history of creative vanity in a time that turned writers - once the faithful servants of authority - into figures of political consequence.Maurice Barrès, who first wielded the politics of identity. Gabriele D'Annunzio, whose poetry became a blueprint for fascism. Maxim Gorky, dramatist of the working class and Stalin's cheerleader. The Maoist Ding Ling, whose stories exculpated the regime that kept her imprisoned.All four nursed extravagant visions of the future, and believed they were vital to its realisation. Each was lured to the centre of political action. Each established a dangerous and damaging relationship with a notorious dictator. And when writers and rulers find a use for each other, the consequences can be shattering for us all. These stories - of courage and compromise, vanity and malevolence - speak urgently to the uncontrollable power of words.
Bad Data: How Governments, Politicians and the Rest of Us Get Misled by Numbers
by Georgina Sturge'Essential reading ... An incisive and urgently needed book' Tim Harford'[An] entertaining introduction to the uses (and misuses) of data ... a penetrating analysis of why statistical literacy matters to our politics and our daily lives' Professor Jonathan Portes Our politicians make vital decisions and declarations every day that rely on official data. But should all statistics be trusted?In BAD DATA, House of Commons Library statistician Georgina Sturge draws back the curtain on how governments of the past and present have been led astray by figures littered with inconsistency, guesswork and uncertainty.Discover how a Hungarian businessman's bright idea caused half a million people to go missing from UK migration statistics. Find out why it's possible for two politicians to disagree over whether poverty has gone up or down, using the same official numbers, and for both to be right at the same time. And hear about how policies like ID cards, super-casinos and stopping ex-convicts from reoffending failed to live up to their promise because they were based on shaky data.With stories that range from the troubling to the empowering to the downright absurd, BAD DATA reveals secrets from the usually closed-off world of policy-making. It also suggests how - once we understand the human story behind the numbers - we can make more informed choices about who to trust, and when.
Chasing Shadows: A true story of drugs, war and the secret world of international crime
by Miles Johnson'As breathless, complex and on-the-edge suspenseful as the finest thriller fiction - but it's all real, which makes it truly extraordinary' Lee Child'McMafia for the new age' Catherine Belton, author of Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then took on the West'Compelling, visceral and highly readable' Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of Moneyland'This astonishing and cinematic rollercoaster of a debut will bring Miles Johnson's talent into the brilliant light. Delivered with trademark verve and precision, it achieves that rare and precious thing that is the goal of all great reporting: it reveals the world to itself' Alex Perry, author of The Good Mothers'Miles has used his extensive Italian contacts to get a fully-fleshed out story in the Mafia section; likewise with the Hezbollah characters. He has interviewed over 100 people for the book, including many hours with Jack Kelly, the DEA investigator and hero of the book, which gives us an intimate look at a man dedicated to catching bad guys at the expense of his personal life' Dan McCrum, author of Money MenA compulsive true crime thriller about modern-day international drugs trafficking, terrorism and geopolitical intrigue following an investigation driven by one DEA agent, Jack Kelly. Three very different men battle to control their destinies as they hurtle through the hall of mirrors of the global shadow economy.Jack Kelly, a veteran US Drug Enforcement Administration agent, tasked with following a trail of dirty money across continents from a top-secret investigative unit based in Virginia.Salvatore Pititto is an ambitious Mafia capo working on a vast cocaine shipment who becomes unexpectedly pulled into an arms-smuggling conspiracy. Mustafa Badreddine is a ghost-like master terrorist wanted by governments across the world who has been secretly dispatched to Syria for his final mission. Each man, born in radically different circumstances in the 1960s, is in his own way grappling with the powerful and unstoppable forces that shape the world around us; forces which topple governments, send refugees fleeing across borders, and put guns in the hands of mercenaries and militias. Each has devoted his whole life to an institution-the DEA, the Mafia and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah-and each will eventually be destroyed or betrayed by the thing they believe in the most.Set during 2015 and 2016, as the global order began to implode under the pressures of the Syrian civil war and the European refugee crisis, CHASING SHADOWS looks back over the historical conflicts, events and personal histories that have shaped the lives of these three men. It's a book that shows the betrayals, the disillusionment and the violence as Jack Kelly hunts down his targets.
Chasing Shadows: A true story of drugs, war and the secret world of international crime
by Miles Johnson'As breathless, complex and on-the-edge suspenseful as the finest thriller fiction - but it's all real, which makes it truly extraordinary' Lee Child'McMafia for the new age' Catherine Belton, author of Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then took on the West'Compelling, visceral and highly readable' Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of Moneyland'This astonishing and cinematic rollercoaster of a debut will bring Miles Johnson's talent into the brilliant light. Delivered with trademark verve and precision, it achieves that rare and precious thing that is the goal of all great reporting: it reveals the world to itself' Alex Perry, author of The Good Mothers'Miles has used his extensive Italian contacts to get a fully-fleshed out story in the Mafia section; likewise with the Hezbollah characters. He has interviewed over 100 people for the book, including many hours with Jack Kelly, the DEA investigator and hero of the book, which gives us an intimate look at a man dedicated to catching bad guys at the expense of his personal life' Dan McCrum, author of Money MenA compulsive true crime thriller about modern-day international drugs trafficking, terrorism and geopolitical intrigue following an investigation driven by one DEA agent, Jack Kelly. Three very different men battle to control their destinies as they hurtle through the hall of mirrors of the global shadow economy.Jack Kelly, a veteran US Drug Enforcement Administration agent, tasked with following a trail of dirty money across continents from a top-secret investigative unit based in Virginia.Salvatore Pititto is an ambitious Mafia capo working on a vast cocaine shipment who becomes unexpectedly pulled into an arms-smuggling conspiracy. Mustafa Badreddine is a ghost-like master terrorist wanted by governments across the world who has been secretly dispatched to Syria for his final mission. Each man, born in radically different circumstances in the 1960s, is in his own way grappling with the powerful and unstoppable forces that shape the world around us; forces which topple governments, send refugees fleeing across borders, and put guns in the hands of mercenaries and militias. Each has devoted his whole life to an institution-the DEA, the Mafia and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah-and each will eventually be destroyed or betrayed by the thing they believe in the most.Set during 2015 and 2016, as the global order began to implode under the pressures of the Syrian civil war and the European refugee crisis, CHASING SHADOWS looks back over the historical conflicts, events and personal histories that have shaped the lives of these three men. It's a book that shows the betrayals, the disillusionment and the violence as Jack Kelly hunts down his targets.
Beliefism: How to stop hating the people we disagree with
by Paul Dolan'Brilliant, wise, humane, scientific, and kind. Beliefism is exactly what the doctor ordered - and it could change the world' Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University"Repeated throughout is the fine principle that whatever position you wish to argue on an issue, you must be honest about what bad effects, as well as good, will follow." Steven Poole, The TimesBeliefism (noun): Discrimination against people who disagree with us Do you avoid people who are strongly against immigration? Or strongly for trans rights? Against abortion? For drug legalisation? We might like to think that we're tolerant, but many of us struggle to engage with people whose opinions differ strongly from our own-even if they might have something useful to contribute to the debate. That means we're falling victim to what behavioural scientist Professor Paul Dolan defines as Beliefism: discrimination against those with different beliefs to us.Drawing on the evidence from across the social sciences, Dolan shows how easy it is for us to divide ourselves into opposing camps - and how harmful that can be. Using the central metaphor of the duck-rabbit illusion-where the same image can be viewed as one animal or the other-the book shows that looking at an issue from only one perspective can lead to bad decisions and unnecessary conflict. The world would be a better place if there was less beliefism and Dolan shows how more tolerance is only possible "by design". We need to embed less beliefism into our organisations and lives and he provides a checklist called EMBRACE to help us do that.Combining curiosity, irreverence and warmth, Beliefism is a definitive behavioural science take by a leader in his field. Whether it's among friends, at university or at work, being less beliefist will make you a better partner or parent, and a more effective buddy or boss.
Beliefism: How to stop hating the people we disagree with
by Paul Dolan'Brilliant, wise, humane, scientific, and kind. Beliefism is exactly what the doctor ordered - and it could change the world' Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University"Repeated throughout is the fine principle that whatever position you wish to argue on an issue, you must be honest about what bad effects, as well as good, will follow." Steven Poole, The TimesBeliefism (noun): Discrimination against people who disagree with us Do you avoid people who are strongly against immigration? Or strongly for trans rights? Against abortion? For drug legalisation? We might like to think that we're tolerant, but many of us struggle to engage with people whose opinions differ strongly from our own-even if they might have something useful to contribute to the debate. That means we're falling victim to what behavioural scientist Professor Paul Dolan defines as Beliefism: discrimination against those with different beliefs to us.Drawing on the evidence from across the social sciences, Dolan shows how easy it is for us to divide ourselves into opposing camps - and how harmful that can be. Using the central metaphor of the duck-rabbit illusion-where the same image can be viewed as one animal or the other-the book shows that looking at an issue from only one perspective can lead to bad decisions and unnecessary conflict. The world would be a better place if there was less beliefism and Dolan shows how more tolerance is only possible "by design". We need to embed less beliefism into our organisations and lives and he provides a checklist called EMBRACE to help us do that.Combining curiosity, irreverence and warmth, Beliefism is a definitive behavioural science take by a leader in his field. Whether it's among friends, at university or at work, being less beliefist will make you a better partner or parent, and a more effective buddy or boss.