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When his fist album was released in 1967, Leonard Cohen was already well known in his native Canada as a poet and novelist, and in the United States as the writer behind Judy Collins' hugely popular recording of 'Suzanne. ' With the sucess of the first and through the release of ten more albums, Cohen Gained a reputation as a dazzlingly literate and consistently daring songwriter. Over the years his status as a cult artist has grown, and in 1988 the release of his album I'm Your Man' put Cohen back into the mainstream spotlight. His latest recording, 'The Future' has brought him renewed, widespread acclaim and this collection will include lyrics from that album, together with many of his famous classics, such as Suzanne, Joan of Arcand The Chelsea Hotel. STRANGER MUSIC brings together Cohen's song lyrics and a generous selection of his poetry (originally published between 1956-1992). It is a long overdue celebration of Leonard Cohen's extraordinary gift for language that speaks with rare clarity, passion and timelessness. (19930524)

And, you thought your adolescence was scary. Suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. We learn from the outset that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested any number of ways - from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable) - but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back. As we inhabit the heads of several key characters - some kids who have it, some who don't, some who are about to get it - what unfolds isn't the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness of it, or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high-school alienation itself - the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety and ennui, the longing for escape. And, then the murders start. As hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying (and, believe it or not, autobiographical), "Black Hole" transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it - back when it wasn't exactly cool to be a hippie any more, but Bowie was still just a little too weird. To say nothing of sprouting horns and moulting your skin...

Jung Chang's Wild Swans was an extraordinary bestseller throughout the world, selling more than 10 million copies and reaching a wider readership than any other book about China. Now she and her husband Jon Halliday have written a groundbreaking biography of Mao Tse-tung. Based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before - and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him - this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology, his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power, he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China, and he schemed, poisoned and blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. Combining meticulous history with the story-telling style of Wild Swans, this biography makes immediate Mao's roller-coaster life, as he intrigued and fought every step of the way to force through his unpopular decisions. The reader enters the shadowy chambers of Mao's court, and eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao's character and the enormity of his behaviour towards his wives, mistresses and children are unveiled for the first time. This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content and approach. It will astonish historians and the general reader alike.

Utterly original, deeply moving and very funny, Ethel & Ernest is the story of Raymond Brigg's parents' marriage, from their first chance encounter to their deaths told in Brigg's unique strip-cartoon format. Nothing is invented, nothing embroidered - this is the reality of two decent, ordinary lives of two people who, as Briggs tells the story, become representative of us all. The book is also social history; we see the dark days of the Second World War, the birth of the Welfare State, the advent of television and all the changes which were so exhilarating and bewildering for Ethel and Ernest. A marvellous, life-enhancing book for all ages.