Bloomsbury Publishing strana 3 z 113

Genghis Khan built a formidable land empire, but he never crossed the sea. Yet by the time his grandson Kublai Khan had defeated the last vestiges of the Song empire and established the Yuan dynasty in 1279, the Mongols controlled the most powerful navy in the world. How did a nomad come to conquer China and master the sea? Based on ten years of research and a lifetime of immersion in Mongol culture and tradition, Emperor of the Seas brings this little-known story vibrantly to life. Kublai Khan is one of history’s most fascinating characters. He brought Islamic mathematicians to his court, where they invented modern cartography and celestial measurement. He transformed the world’s largest land mass into a unified, diverse and economically progressive empire, introducing paper money. And, after bitter early setbacks, he transformed China into an outward looking sea-faring empire. By the end of his reign, the Chinese were building and supplying remarkable ships to transport men, grain, and weapons over vast distances, of a size and dexterity that would be inconceivable in Europe for hundreds of years. Khan had come to a brilliant realization: control the sea, and you control everything.

In 2024, two billion people went to vote - and populism won big. Donald Trump returned to the White House. Marine Le Pen surged in France. Reform UK became Britain's most successful far-right party in modern history. Across the West, authoritarian populists now govern one-quarter of the world's democracies. But is this peak populism - or the populists' tipping point? From the counting halls of inner-city Birmingham to the trading floors of Wall Street, from the Heritage Foundation war room to the algorithmic outrage machines of social media, Liam Byrne exposes the forces propelling the populist surge - and reveals how to stop it. Drawing on original polling of thousands of voters, interviews with leading thinkers, and on-the-ground reporting across Britain, Europe and America, Byrne decodes the populist playbook. He reveals populism's five tribes, showing which voters can still be won back. He traces the millions flowing into Britain's populist media-political complex. He maps the rhetoric populists use to weaponise fear and nostalgia. And he warns: democracies rarely collapse in normal times - they fall after the next crisis, when hope collapses.

beware of me, my love beware of the silent woman in the desert… These are the words the Professor finds, scrawled in nail polish, above the mutilated corpse of a man. She reports the crime to the police and becomes the first informant in an investigation led by the Detective, who has a newfound obsession with poetry. As the bodies of more men are discovered alongside cryptic lines of verse, it becomes clear that this is only one in a string of crimes - all connected, all with literary clues. As the Professor becomes wrapped up in the murders, the boundaries of story - and of genre - break down. Can the Detective decipher the meaning of the poems in time to stop the spread of violence?

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who sees everything, but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors - until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late...

Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals -the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic. Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only one: vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn't after the gods' magic - she's going to kill them. First, she must survive the Culling, the king's deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith's apprentice, Aris doesn't have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords - ones that contain power - are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor - but a target. Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren't dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can't trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king's guard who betrayed her years ago - and who may now be the key to her survival. But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family's death. And when it's revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what's coming...

Spooky silliness reigns in Catherine Doyle's brand new series as Ted and Frankie team up to save their hotel from a ghostly duke and his restless spirits. Featuring hilarious illustrations from Rachael Dean. Ted McKenley would rather live anywhere than with Frankie "spawn-of-the-devil" Stark. And Frankie wouldn't go near a coward like Ted. Too bad - their parents just got married and blew their savings turning a creepy old mansion into a boutique hotel. At least it's big enough for the stepsiblings to stay far apart. But when Ted encounters a disappearing housekeeper and Frankie runs into a screaming suit of armour, their feud becomes the least of their problems. With cranky spirits on the loose, Ted and Frankie reluctantly team up to stop the devious Duke of Snoring from turning their new home into haunted rubble. The battle for the hotel has begun!

Did you know that the food we eat says a lot about how we love? Psychologist Dr Andrea Oskis shows us how we connect with each other and how we can change our personal 'recipes' to have better relationships. Along the way, she also reveals her own food story about love and loss. Inviting us into her therapy room with her patients, she tells us: the real reason why comfort food comforts why dessert isn't a good idea when you're stressed why you should never give a bottle of hot sauce to someone who has been rejected Be prepared to never look at your plate in the same way again.

In a rotten and bloody world, four magical rivals are forced to work together to avoid certain death in a deadly competition. Gothic, visceral and utterly compelling, These Shattered Spires is the first book in the Wyrdos trilogy. Beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots. At the heart of the decaying world is Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines: bone, blood, botany and stone. When the king is assassinated, chaos erupts. To seize the crown, arcanists and their human familiars are dragged into the Slaughter - a deadly competition, where survival means killing and death is the only escape. Amidst the bloodshed, four rival familiars must work together … Taro, a bone witch still obsessed with her ex. Nixie, a botanical familiar with a ghost living in her bedroom. Elliot, a cursed and vengeful blood familiar and Alix, banished from the stone arcania tower and shrouded in secrets. Together, the four Wyrdos are not just fighting to survive, but to lift the curse upon their world. There must be more to the sky than a dome of teeth and spittle; there must be something beyond the decay of Fourspires …

What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world? When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his new bleak and barbarous surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilisation ceased to exist. Our fascination with the Greek and Roman world, and the abundance of writing that we have from it, means that we usually explore the ancient world from this perspective too. Was Ovid's exile really as bad as he claimed? What was it truly like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world? Thanks to archaeological excavations, we now know that the borders of the empires we consider the 'heart' of civilisation were in fact thriving, vibrant cultures - just not ones we might expect. This is where the boundaries of 'civilised' and 'barbarians' began to dissipate; where the rules didn't always apply; where normally juxtaposed cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities. Taking us along the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from Co-Loa in the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian's Wall, Owen Rees explores the powerful empires and diverse peoples in Europe, Asia and Africa beyond the reaches of Greece and Rome. In doing so, he offers us a new, brilliantly rich lens with which to understand the ancient world.

**The most uplifting picture book of the year, from master storyteller Michael Rosen** Big Bear and Little Bear are going on a Big Journey to find a new home. So begins a grand adventure, as two bears set out on an epic journey over the mountains, drawing on all their courage and resilience to see them safely to the other side. In this heartwarming sequel to their acclaimed picture book The Big Dreaming, bestselling author Michael Rosen and award-winning illustrator Daniel Egnéus tell a story of hope, love and resilience: a modern classic for our times.

NOW WITH A BRAND NEW AFTERWORD Minority rule (noun): an irrational fear fuelled by right-wing pundits, lobby journalists and billionaires, that minority groups are displacing majority populations. We all know that the modern world is in crisis. But it's not just a crisis for the climate, or of living standards - it's a 'blame crisis'. Whether it's infighting on the left or the demonisation of immigrants on the right, there's always a new talking point to distract us from real, systemic change. Now is the time to realise that we have been duped into fighting with each other; now is the time to redirect our outrage towards those who deserve it. In Minority Rule, political commentator Ash Sarkar offers a sharp and lively reality check. Whether it's exposing the origins of the 'white working class', or examining how 'non-events' have taken over journalism, this book - now with a brand new afterword - will help you break the blame cycle for good.

A compelling insight into how our imagination works, based on the latest scientific research. People often think of imagination as something used only in creative endeavours. In fact, we use imagination constantly as we reminisce, anticipate, plan, daydream, read, create imagined worlds. The truth is we live in the here and now much less than we tend to think. Imagination isn’t the exception in our daily lives; it’s our default setting. Yet only now are we beginning to understand exactly how it works. From hallucination to sleepwalking, from REM sleep to delusions, neurologist Adam Zeman brilliantly guides us through the latest scientific studies in the world of the imagination. He draws on research in neuroscience, the study of human origins and child development to show how the human brain is above all else a creative, imaginative organ – and that we have evolved to share what we imagine. Our brains behave in strikingly similar ways when we observe, remember, imagine or act. Imagine looking at a cube and your eye will trace the contours of the cube as if you were actually seeing it. Yet it turns out that people differ hugely in their imaginative experience. Some people lack sensory imagery altogether – they would be unable to picture their family if asked to – but still lead fulfilling, even highly creative, lives. From how we visualise to how we understand the minds of others, from the benefits of play to mental disorders, The Shape of Things Unseen dazzles and delights. It is an essential guide to the latest discoveries about the workings of the human mind.

Imagine a future where we grow houses rather than build them. Where smartphones are living, clothing has opinions, and all human knowledge fits into a speck of DNA. A world where disease is a thing of the past, and the human lifespan is dramatically extended. To achieve this, says Adrian Woolfson - founder of the genome writing company Genyro - we must transform biology into a predictive, programmable engineering material. That means decoding the generative grammar of DNA: the language of life itself. It may then be possible to author genomes - and, if we choose, even rewrite our own. We are at the cusp of a technological revolution, driven by the convergence of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. Currently at the scribbling phase - writing the genomes of viruses, bacteria and yeast - we will eventually author the genomes of extinct and never-before-realised species. Life will become computable, detached from its past, and no longer bound by Darwinian evolution. While offering extraordinary opportunities, this power also carries great risk and it is vital for everyone to understand what the future might hold. Genome writing can help preserve the planet, but may also undermine human nature and disrupt ecosystems. In this bold and visionary account, Woolfson provides a guide to how this might all be achieved and how we should navigate this astonishing new world, offering a moral compass to help us do so safely, wisely and ethically.

What does real happiness look like? How can we find true purpose, meaning and connection in our finite time on Earth? 105-year-old Professor Kim reveals key aspects of ancient Korean philosophy and shares stories from over a century of living to help us live better. Showing us how to lean into the world with more softness, gratitude, openness and sincerity – especially when confronted with life’s challenges – he invites us to discover the everyday lessons we can take from Korean values, giving invaluable insight into: -how to find the happiness that already exists in our daily lives -how we can cultivate happiness through hard work and personal growth -how to nurture happiness in our closet relationships -how we can enjoy happiness that grows with us as we age and mature. The answers to finding genuine, long-lasting happiness in life are more straightforward than we think.

Welcome to Chicken Hill: join Ferdy, Gripper and Tink as they investigate all things strange in their seriously weird town. Three hilarious and off-the-wall stories in one full-colour graphic novel, perfect for fans of Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey. Chicken Hill: Just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill small town, where the pets can talk, the frogs rule over a secret underwater empire and you're only ever one day away from an alien invasion. Chicken Hill is home to Ferdy, a tech wiz with a knack for invention and a habit of running into trouble. Always with him is Gripper, his farty and self-obsessed pug, and Tink, his brother's forever-tired cat. Together, they investigate the many wild and weird happenings in town… And whether fending off an invasion of zombie cactuses, or trying to keep an army of cloned conspiracy theorist cats out of office, there's no shortage of things to keep them busy. Because in Chicken Hill, there's only one rule: if you think things can't get weirder, they always can.

I am writing this story without knowing its end: it begins long before I was born and will continue long after I die. I am writing this story to help myself heal and to make you understand. Strong Roots is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification, to Olia's grandmother's deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her Aunt Zhenia's school protest, to her own parents' flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022. This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations - the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances. Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots.