The Edge of Physics: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Cosmology

Why is the universe expanding at an even faster rate? What is the nature of the 'dark matter' that makes up almost a quarter of the universe? Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life? And are there other universes besides our own? In this timely and original book, science writer Anil Ananthaswamy sets out in search of the world's most audacious physics experiments: the telescopes and detectors that promise to shed new light on dark matter, dark energy and quantum gravity - and answer some of the most profound questions that confront humanity. Weaving together stories about the people and places at the heart of this research, while beautifully explaining the problems that scientists are trying to solve, Ananthaswamy provides a unique portrait of the universe and our quest to understand it. An atmospheric, engaging and illuminating read that shows us that, at its heart, science is a field that attracts us all. The Edge of Physics brings cosmology - with all its rarefied concepts - back down to earth.

Science & Math

Anil Ananthaswamy,Anil Ananrdaswamy

Astronomy & Space Science

Portico

The Stalin Epigram

robert-littell

In January 1918 the Imperialist newspaper made the startling claim that Britain was losing the war because the German secret service was blackmailing 47,000 sexual deviants in the British establishment. This account reveals how the ensuing libel trial drew Oscar Wildes friends into a posthumous battle for his reputation, and illuminates a twilight world of MPs and dancing girls, drug clubs in London and transvestites in the trenches.

Wilde's Last Stand

History

Philip Hoare

Military

The rewards you can reap from exploring this amazing planet are incalculable. Every year, more and more of us are discovering the joy, the excitement, the sheer sense of adventure in roaming the world.But travelling, particularly to the more remote and volatile corners of the globe, can be a dangerous business. If you don't prepare properly - by looking for potential hazards and learning how best to deal with them - you may wish you'd never started out.Written by international security expert Lloyd Figgins, using his experience of over 80 countries, The Travel Survival Guide is a unique new travel guide and essential reading for anyone planning an overseas trip, whether on business, as a tourist or gap-year traveller.If you want no-nonsense, easy-to-follow, practical advice on how to recognise the warning signs, how to prevent problems and cope with emergencies (should they occur), this is the book for you.

The Travel Survival Guide: Get Smart, Stay Safe

Travel

Figgins, Lloyd

Reference

Here is an irresistible assortment of 100 maddening mindbenders and curious conundrums, old and new. These brilliant brainteasers range from the neatly lateral to the downright perplexing. From chopping the chocolate to crossing the moat, mystifying matchsticks and a teasing typewriter, Mindbenders and Brainteasers provides many hours of mind-stretching enjoyment for even the most agile brains.

Mindbenders and Brainteasers: Where Maths Meets Creative Thinking

Humor & Entertainment

Eastaway, Rob

Wells, David

Puzzles & Games

Why do weather forecasters get it wrong? What are the best tactics for playing "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Weakest Link"? And what is the link between a tin of baked beans and a men's urinal? These and many other questions are answered in this book. It is for anyone wanting to remind themselves - or discover for the first time - that maths is relevant to almost everything we do. Dating, cooking, travelling by car, gambling and ranking sportsmen all have links with intriguing mathematical problems that are explained in this book. It reveals the secrets behind some of the best con tricks and the hidden workings of the taxi meter, and explains how epidemics start and stop.

How Long Is a Piece of String?: More Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life

Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts

Michael Winner, the legendary film director, writer and food critic, is a colourful figure who has led a remarkable life. He has a reputation for being outspoken, and, true to form, in his autobiography he tells it like it is with sharp and insightful observations. 'Winner Takes All' begins with his unconventional childhood as a Jewish boy attending a Quaker boarding school and introduces his eccentric mother, who was a compulsive gambler. Michael Winner gained his first taste of fame, when aged fourteen, he met the stars for a showbusiness column in twenty London local papers. At Cambridge he edited the student newspaper and became a local celebrity. The author is a natural raconteur and his anecdotes from the film industry are compelling. He recounts his early life with relish and provides fascinating accounts of his experiences directing some of the world’s most famous actors and actresses, including Charles Bronson, Sophia Loren, Joan Collins, Orson Welles, Marlon Brando and Anthony Hopkins. Many of them became close friends.As a food critic, Michael Winner is famous for shooting from the hip. Love him or loathe him, he is constantly in the public eye. His esure TV commercials – which produced a national catchphrase ‘Calm down dear!’ – have been an advertising industry phenomenon. What may come as a surprise to the reader is the gentle side that he reveals in his autobiography. He speaks with candour about his private life; he admits his fear of relationships with women and confides the heartbreaking story of the love of his life, a famous female star.

Biographies & Memoirs

Winner, Michael

Arts & Literature

The story of the 'Forgotten Army' – the British 14th, commanded by the brilliant but unorthodox General WJ 'Bill' Slim that took on the Japanese entrenched in Burma in 1944 – has been recorded. But Slim's bloody and fraught victory on the mainland would not have been possible without the springboard provided by a remarkable assortment of army and navy men in small boats, landing craft and even frogman suits who stole along the rivers and onto the islands along the eastern coast of Burma to open the way for a turning point as vital al El Alamein in the Western Desert or D-Day on the Normandy beaches.The missions that these men carried out were often as colourfully named as their own names; 'Operation Drakula', 'The Chung War', Operations 'Turret' and 'Screwdriver', and in this thoroughly researched and accessible analysis, Peter Haining details the Japanese response to these insidious assaults. He tells how Lietenant-General Sakurai instituted his own missions in which his men were told to show no mercy and take no prisoners.Battling against the hated Japanese, as well as some of the deadliest insects, animals and diseases known to man, in the thick, dense jungle of the Arakan, units of the Royal Marines and Royal Navy were helped by a motley collection of roving seamen in what makes for a story of heroism, extreme danger and occasional unforced errors. The book is largely based on personal stories by the men who served, and also draws on documents and information from naval and army records.

The Banzai Hunters: The Forgotten Armada of Little Ships that Defeated the Japanese, 1944-5

Haining, Peter`

Historical

By Jack Rosenthal: An Autobiography in Six Acts

Jack Rosenthal had always resisted writing an autobiography, until he hit on an original way of writing it that excited him—it would be as a screenplay, with himself as the central character, and the supporting cast drawn from the many wonderful and eccentric people who touched, shaped, and shared that life. What a prospect, coming from the author of such memorable classics as Bar Mitzvah Boy, The Evacuees, London's Burning, The Knowledge, and P'tang Yang, Kipperbang, a writer who uniquely won three successive BAFTA Awards. The story moves from Manchester in the 30s—via school, evacuation, university, the Navy, the early days of Granada TV, marriage and life with Maureen Lipman, fatherhood, writing the famous plays, and working with Streisand—to Muswell Hill in the 90s. Sharp, funny, evocative, teeming with memorable stories and characters this is an autobiography like no other.

Literature & Fiction

Rosenthal, Jack

Dramas & Plays

True and amusing tales of the extremes of political correctness, in the style of the 'Clangers' series created by David Mortimer. Wonderful examples of the seriously absurd - wittily presented, usually involving holders of authority taking themselves too seriously and making fools of themselves: the army, city councils, schools, etc. For example, there's the story of Birmingham City Council, who announced that 'Baa Baa Blacksheep' was racist … and the ensuing (and hilarious) hoo-ha. Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep articulates our inner suspicions about the PC brigade in a masterly manner, providing a welcome and much-needed reality check.

Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep: PC Tales from the Unhinged Kingdom

Mortimer, David

Humor

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