Atlantic Books strana 21 z 32

Personality tests. Team-building exercises. Forced Fun. Desktop surveillance. Open-plan offices. Acronyms. Diminishing job security. Hot desking. Pointless perks. Hackathons. If any of the above sound familiar, welcome to the modern economy. In this hilarious, but deadly serious book, bestselling author Dan Lyons looks at how the world of work has slowly morphed from one of unions and steady career progression to a dystopia made of bean bags and unpaid internships. And that's the 'good' jobs... With the same wit that made Disrupted an international bestseller, Lyons shows how the hypocrisy of Silicon Valley has now been exported globally to a job near you. Even low-grade employees are now expected to view their jobs with a cult-like fervour, despite diminishing prospects of promotion. From the gig economy to the new digital oligarchs, Lyons deliciously roasts the new work climate, while asking what can be done to recoup some sanity and dignity for the expanding class of middle-class serfs.

Do you eat too much sugar? What proportion of your country are immigrants? What does it cost to raise a child? How much tax do the rich pay? Are we more ignorant than we used to be?Take a minute to answer these questions. No matter how educated you are, this book suggests you are likely to be very wrong indeed. Informed by exclusive research across 40 countries, conducted by global polling firm Ipsos, The Perils of Perception investigates why we don't know basic facts about the world around us. Using the latest research into the media and decision science, Bobby Duffy asks how we can address our ignorance and why the populations of some countries seem better informed than others. Essential reading in the so-called 'post-truth' era, this book will transform the way you engage with the world.

Robin Ince has a good life. As a successful comedian, presenter, and writer, he's got a job that you are probably jealous of. So, why did he find himself stuck on a train platform in rural Northumberland, swearing maniacally, punching his own leg, vowing never to do stand-up again? Was he having an existential crisis? He didn't know. But he wanted to find out. Insightful, witty, and often just plain weird, this book charts his journey to discover why he's made the choices he did in life, and what makes us who we are. Why did Robin become a comedian? Why did you become an accountant (sorry)? Why are we like we are? Informed by interviews with a bevy of neuroscientists, comedians, psychologists and doctors, Robin looks back on his life and turns his comedic observational skills on himself - exploring the key psychological we all ask ourselves. How does our childhood shape our life choices? Do we all have a need to perform? Are we more than our brains? Is failing good for us? Did our parents f*&k us up? A primer to psychology and neuroscience without the textbooks, this fascinating book will amuse, inform, and give you an invaluable insight into yourself (and Robin), while also treating you to his hilarious musings on the human condition.

'History as you've never seen it before.' Dan Snow 'A wonderful, eclectic and entertaining history of everything, full of fascinating, surprising stories.' Suzannah Lipscomb Did you know that the history of the beard is connected to the Crimean War; that the history of paperclips is all about the Stasi; and that the history of bubbles is all about the French Revolution? And who knew that Heinrich Himmler, Tutankhamun and the history of needlework are linked to napalm and Victorian orphans? In Histories of the Unexpected, Sam Willis and James Daybell lead us on a journey of discovery that tackles some of the greatest historical themes - from the Tudors to the Second World War, from the Roman Empire to the Victorians - but via entirely unexpected subjects. By taking this revolutionary approach, they not only present a new way of thinking about the past, but also reveal the everyday world around us as never before.

From Murdoch's media empire to Trump's 'fake news', John Lloyd explodes the myths and misinformation of the Post-Truth age, providing a panoramic overview of the state of journalism as it faces the biggest crisis of its history. Is journalism in jeopardy? How can the press respond to the threats of social media, fake news and an increasing hostility towards journalists? And are we really in the post-truth age?John Lloyd answers these questions and more in this panoramic survey of the global news media. Journeying from Putin's Russia to Trump's America, from Saudi Arabia to Israel, from Mexico to China, Lloyd shows how the power of investigative journalism matters now more than ever. With passion and expertise, Lloyd argues that a free world is only possible with a free press, and offers fascinating insight into the responsibilities of a profession - perhaps the only one left - that can truly hold power to account.

The thrilling story of the English merchant adventurers who changed the world. In the mid-sixteenth century, England was a small and relatively insignificant kingdom on the periphery of Europe, and it had begun to face a daunting array of social, commercial and political problems. Struggling with a single export - woollen cloth - a group of merchants formed arguably the world's first joint-stock company and set out to seek new markets and trading partners. It was a venture that relied on the very latest scientific innovations and required an extraordinary appetite for risk. At first they headed east, and dreamed of Cathay, with its silks and exotic luxuries. Eventually, they turned west, and so began a new chapter in history. Based on archival research and a bold interpretation of the historical record, New World, Inc. draws a portrait of life in London, on the Atlantic and across the New World, and reveals how profit-hungry business people transformed England into a world power.

Can we resurrect dinosaurs? Is a Martian holiday good for your health? Can we build a time machine? (And more importantly, can it look like the DeLorean?) Answering these questions and more, Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks delve into the real science behind the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. From Planet of the Apes to Interstellar, each chapter probes a different classic, blasting apart tricky topics like astrophysics, neuroscience, psychology, botany, artificial intelligence, evolution, and plenty more. Packed with illustrations, bizarre facts and indispensable movie trivia, Science(ish) is the perfect read for curious minds.

Why do gazelles have legs and not wheels? Why is all life based on carbon rather than silicon? Why do humans have eyes on the front of their heads? And beyond earth, would life - if it should exist - look like our own? The puzzles of life astound and confuse us like no other mystery. An astrophysicist once conceded that even the smallest insect is far more complex than either an atom or a star. But in this groundbreaking new account of the process of evolution, Professor Charles Cockell reveals how nature is far more understandable and predictable than we would think. Refining Darwin's theory of natural selection, Cockell puts forward a remarkable and elegant account of why evolution has taken the paths it has. The key is understanding how fundamental physical laws constrain nature's direction and form at every turn. From the animal kingdom to the atomic realm, he shows how physics is the true touchstone for understanding life in all its extraordinary forms. Provocative and captivating, this book will fundamentally change how you view the world.

'Potent, disturbing and revelatory' Evening Standard We all define ourselves by our profession. But what if our job was demeaning, poorly paid, and tedious? Cracking open Britain's divisions journalist James Bloodworth spends six months living and working across Britain, taking on the country's most gruelling jobs. He lives on the meagre proceeds and discovers the anxieties and hopes of those he encounters, including working-class British, young students striving to make ends meet, and Eastern European immigrants. From the Staffordshire Amazon warehouse to the taxi-cabs of Uber, Bloodworth narrates how traditional working-class communities have been decimated by the move to soulless service jobs with no security, advancement or satisfaction. This is a gripping examination of Brexit Britain, a divided nation which needs to understand the true reality of how other people live and work before it can heal. show less

When Britain declared war on China in 1839, it sealed the fate of what had been, for centuries, the wealthiest and most powerful empire in the world.China was much weaker than was commonly understood and the war set in motion the fall of the Qing dynasty which, in turn, would lead to the rise of nationalism and communism in the twentieth century. Beginning with the very first efforts by the British government to 'open' China to trade, Stephen Platt tells the epic story of the decades leading up to the war and, given the growing uncertainty in current relations between China and the West, shows how the conflict still has important implications for the world today.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2018 A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Courageous and brave and disturbing and will stay with you for a long time' -- Stylist Caught in the hook of love, a young woman marries a dashing university professor. She moves to a rain-washed coastal town to be with him, but behind closed doors she discovers that her perfect husband is a perfect monster. As he sets about battering her into obedience and as her family pressures her to stay in the marriage, she swears to fight back - a resistance that will either kill her or set her free.

It all starts with the death of Martijn van Vliet's wife. His grief-stricken young daughter, Lea, cuts herself off from the world, right up until the day that she hears a snatch of Bach being played on a violin by a busker. Transfixed by the sweet melody, she emerges from her mourning, vowing to learn the instrument. Lea's all-consuming passion is matched by talent, and she becomes one of the finest players in the country - but as her fame blossoms, her relationship with her father only withers. Desperate to hold on to Lea, Martijn is driven to commit an act that threatens to destroy both him and his daughter.

Here's a strange fact: murder a man, and you feel responsible for his life - possessive, even. You know more about him than his father and mother; they knew his foetus, but you know his corpse. Meet Balram Halwai, the 'White Tiger': servant, philosopher, entrepreneur... murderer. Balram was born in a backwater village on the River Ganges, the son of a rickshaw-puller. He works in a teashop, crushing coal and wiping tables, but nurses a dream of escape. When he learns that a rich village landlord needs a chauffeur, he takes his opportunity, and is soon on his way to Delhi at the wheel of a Honda. Amid cockroaches, call-centres, thirtysix-million gods, slums, shopping malls, and crippling traffic jams, Balram comes to see how the Tiger might slip the bars of his cage.

An exclusive, insider viewpoint on the "Murdoch Method" from his right-hand man and advisor, Irwin Stelzer. Rupert Murdoch is one of the most notorious and successful businessmen of our age. Now, for the first time, an insider within the Murdoch empire reveals the formidable method behind the man. Irwin Stelzer, an advisor to Murdoch for 35 years reveals what makes Rupert tick and how he grew from humble beginnings as the owner of an Adelaide newspaper, to becoming the head of a globe-circling enterprise worth over $50 billion. But this isn't just a straight-forward business memoir. Rather, Stelzer explores what makes Murdoch so unique: whether that be down to his love of taking risks, his mistrust of the establishment, or his unconventional management style. Revealing what really happened during Murdoch's most infamous moments, Stelzer examines how Murdoch navigated both his success and his failures: including his tussles with regulators, his doomed foray into social media, his victories over trade unions, and how he handled the fallout of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Venerated, despised, admired and mistrusted, Murdoch has left an indelible imprint on the world of business, media, and politics. Read this engrossing account to find out how he did it.

The hair-raising mash-up of feminist X-Men, gothic fairy tale, family saga and biting social criticism that is taking Europe by storm. When Anita Naakka jumps in front of an oncoming train, her daughter, Norma, is left alone with the secret they have spent their lives hiding: Norma has supernatural hair, sensitive to the slightest changes in her mood--and the moods of those around her--moving of its own accord, corkscrewing when danger is near. And so it is her hair that alerts her, while she talks with a strange man at her mother's funeral, that her mother may not have taken her own life. Setting out to reconstruct Anita's final months--sifting through puzzling cell phone records, bank statements, video files--Norma begins to realise that her mother knew more about her hair's powers than she let on: a sinister truth beyond Norma's imagining.

The car shrieked and stopped. Around its red and white light a cloud of smoke rose and dissolved. A door opened. A man got out, stood at the edge of the shoulder, looked back, a shadow, indistinguishable. Fifteen years after their divorce, Susan Morrow receives a strange gift from her ex-husband: a manuscript that tells the story of a terrible crime, of an ambush on the highway, of a secluded cabin in the woods. It is a chilling tale of death and corruption, written by the man she once loved. Why, after so long, has he sent her such a disturbing and personal message?