Non-fiction Adult ( excl. NZ)

On Saturday 9th September, 1922, the victorious Turkish cavalry rode into Smyrna, the richest and most cosmopolitan city in the Ottoman Empire. What happened over the next two weeks must rank as one of the most compelling human dramas of the twentieth century. Almost two million people were caught up in a disaster of truly epic proportions. PARADISE LOST is told with the narrative verve that has made Giles Milton a bestselling historian. It unfolds through the memories of the survivors, many of them interviewed for the first time, ... read more

The idea of a single divine being - God, Yahweh, Allah- has existed for over 4000 years. In this account of the evolution of belief Armstrong examines Western society's unerring fidelity to this idea of one God and the many conflicting convictions it engenders. Originally published in 1993 by William Heinemann.

Two of the most trusted reviewers in the field join with top authors, illustrators, and critics in a definitive guide to choosing books for children--and nurturing their love of reading. A FAMILY OF READERS is the definitive resource for parents interested in enriching the reading lives of their children. It's divided into four sections: 1. Reading to Them: Choosing and sharing board books and picture books with babies and very young children. 2. Reading with Them: Launching the new reader with easy readers and chapter books. 3. Re... read more

'My fingers close around the trigger. I pause for a split second to think about the bullets I am about to spray across the ground. After today, I'll no longer be the new girl.' Captain Charlotte Madison is blonde, beautiful and flies Apache helicopters for a living. She has completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan and is currently fighting on the frontline in her third. DRESSED TO KILL shows us what life is like for a girl in a resolutely male-dominated environment. But she isn't just a woman in a man's world, she's a woman women... read more

To coincide with the release of a major film adaptation, a new edition of Nigel Slater's much-loved and acclaimed memoir. TOAST is Nigel Slater's truly extraordinary story of a childhood remembered through food. Whether relating his mother's ritual burning of the toast, his father's dreaded Boxing Day stew or such culinary highlights of the day as Arctic Roll and Grilled Grapefruit (then considered something of a status symbol in Wolverhampton) this remarkable memoir vividly recreates daily life in sixties surburban England. His ... read more

The son of a deranged Italian immigrant, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was the most celebrated of English clowns. The first to use white-face make-up and wear outrageous coloured clothes, he completely transformed the role of the Clown in the pantomime with a look as iconic as Chaplin's tramp or Tommy Cooper's magician. One of the first celebrity comedians, his friends included Lord Byron and the actor Edmund Kean, and his memoirs were edited by the young Charles Dickens. But underneath the stage paint, Grimaldi struggled with depres... read more

The male-dominated world of bikers' clubs has long been shrouded in secrecy, but the role of women in these bastions of testosterone is even more mysterious. Popular images of scantily-clad females who are little more than slaves don't do justice to the rich history and culture of the many women who have chosen to ride with their men, or ride in their own right. Ever since the first female motorcycle club formed in the 1930s (the 'Motor Maids') with their quaint white gloves and a flourish of colour on their jackets, women bikers h... read more

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In the New York of the 1970s, in the wake of Stonewall and in the midst of economic collapse, you might find the likes of Jasper Johns and William Burroughs at the next cocktail party, and you were as likely to be caught arguing Marx at the New York City Ballet as cruising for sex in the warehouses and parked trucks along the Hudson. This is the New York that Edmund White portrays in "City Boy": a place of enormous intrigue and artistic tumult. Combining the no-holds-barred confession and yearning of "A Boy's Own Story" with the ea... read more

When God closes a door, he opens a dress. I guess what I'm saying is at some point we've all parked in the wrong garage. " Can I just fire everyone?" "When a man gets to a point in his life when his name's on the building, he can get an unnatural sense of entitlement." "It looks like you're all going to engage in a little mid-level camaraderie, so I'll be on my way." "You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbutt... read more

This book was shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson prize 2010. They were masters of the financial universe, flying in private jets and raking in billions. They thought they were too big to fail. Yet they would bring the world to its knees. Andrew Ross Sorkin, the news-breaking "New York Times" journalist, delivers the first true in-the-room account of the most powerful men and women at the eye of the financial storm - from reviled Lehman Brothers CEO Dick 'the gorilla' Fuld, to banking whiz Jamie Dimon, from bullish Treasury Secr... read more

Why is it so many of us lack contentment, despite all the wealth and freedoms we enjoy? The past two centuries delivered individual and political freedoms that promised unprecedented opportunities for personal fulfilment. Yet citizens of affluent countries are encouraged to pursue lives of consumerism, endless choice and the pleasures of the body. Clive Hamilton argues that the paradox of modern consumer life is that we are deprived of our inner freedom by our very pursuit of our own desires. He turns to metaphysics to find a sour... read more

In the 2006 case of the US Government vs Enron, the presiding judge instructed the jurors to take account of the concept of wilful blindness as they reached their verdict about whether the chief executives of the disgraced energy corporation were guilty. It was not enough for the defendants to say that they did not know what was going on; that they had not seen anything. If they failed to observe the corruption which was unfolding before their very eyes, not knowing was no defence. The guilty verdict sent shivers down the spine of ... read more

In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a Neohelix albolabris - a common woodland snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of the interconnections between species and her own human place in the... read more

The history of a family through 264 objects - set against a turbulent century - from an acclaimed writer and potter. 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: Potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the 'netsuke', they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imagined... The Ephrussis came from Odessa, and at one time were the largest grain exporters in the world; in the 1870s, Ch... read more

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From one of the world's most exciting new photographers and the editor of world-renowned New Yorker magazine,Power is an extraordinary portrait of political power at the highest level. Especially commissioned by the New Yorker magazine, Platon has photographed over 100 members of the United Nations. Presidents, prime ministers and heads of state sit side by side with dictators and revolutionaries to provide an intimate and unique perspective on the world's leaders.

In the former East there was one agent of the Stasi, the secret police, for every six citizens. What did it do to people to be so watched? And what sort of people were they, all those watchers? In her internationally acclaimed debut, Anna Funder presents with startling humour and sympathy the human face of the twentieth century's most repressive regime. Anna Funder lived in Berlin before the Wall came down. She visited Germany again after the fall of communism, and spoke with people about their experiences living under, or within, ... read more

SAS OPERATION STORM is the inside story - told by those who took part - of the greatest secret war in SAS history. The tipping point, Mirbat, South Oman, 19 July 1972 is one of the least-known yet most crucial battles of modern times. If the SAS had been defeated at Mirbat, the Russian and Chinese plan for a communist foothold in the Middle East would have succeeded, with catastrophic consequences for the oil-hungry West. SAS OPERATION STORM is a page-turning account of courage and resilience. Mirbat was a battle fought and won by ... read more

No-one travels like the renowned writer-adventurer Richard Grant and, really, no-one should. Having narrowly escaped death at the hands of Mexican drug barons in Bandit Roads, he now plunges with his trademark recklessness and curiosity into Africa. Setting out to make the first descent of a previously unexplored river in Tanzania, he gets waylaid by thieves, whores and a degenerate former golf pro in Zanzibar, then crosses the Indian Ocean in a cargo dhow before the real adventure begins on the Malagarasi river. Travelling by raft... read more