Profile Books strana 25 z 28

In 1989, a North Korean dissident writer, known to us only by the pseudonym Bandi, began to write a series of stories about life under Kim Il-sung's totalitarian regime. Smuggled out of North Korea and set for publication around the world in 2017, The Accusation provides a unique and shocking window on this most secretive of countries. Bandi's profound, deeply moving, vividly characterised stories tell of ordinary men and women facing the terrible absurdity of daily life in North Korea: a factory supervisor caught between loyalty to an old friend and loyalty to the Party; a woman struggling to feed her husband through the great famine; the staunch Party man whose actor son reveals to him the absurd theatre of their reality; the mother raising her child in a world where the all-pervasive propaganda is the very stuff of childhood nightmare. The Accusation is a heartbreaking portrayal of the realities of life in North Korea. It is also a reminder that humanity can sustain hope even in the most desperate of circumstances - and that the courage of free thought has a power far beyond those seek to suppress it

Trade paperback. A love story between a young Israeli translator and a Palestinian painter, and a profound comment on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A provocative book that has been banned from schools in Israel, from the author of "Persian Brides". 'There are many astonishing things about this book.' Amos Oz

In The Last Wolf, a philosophy professor is mistakenly hired to write the true tale of the last wolf of Extremadura, a barren stretch of Spain. His miserable experience is narrated in a single, rolling sentence to a patently bored bartender in a dreary Berlin bar. In Herman, a master trapper is asked to clear a forest's last 'noxious beasts.' Herman begins with great zeal, although in time he switches sides, deciding to track entirely new game...In Herman II, the same events are related from the perspective of strange visitors to the region, a group of hyper-sexualised aristocrats who interrupt their orgies to pitch in with the manhunt of poor Herman...These intense, perfect novellas, full of Krasznhorkai's signature sense of foreboding and dark irony, are perfect examples of his craft.

Where can you find joy? What's the true measure of success? How should we manage anger? Find meaning? Conquer grief? The answers to these questions and more lie at the heart of Stoic philosophy. The Daily Stoic is a compelling, accessible guide to living a good life, offering daily doses of this classic wisdom. Long the secret weapon of history's great figures, from emperors to artists and activists to fighter pilots, the principles of Stoicism have shone brightly through the centuries as a philosophy for doers. Tested in the laboratory of human experience over the last two thousand years, this timeless knowledge is essential to navigating the complexities of modern life. The Daily Stoic offers a daily devotional of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, and the slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as diamonds like Zeno, Cleanthes and Musonius Rufus. On each page, one for every day of the year, you'll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes and provocative commentary to help you tackle any problem or approach any goal. By following these teachings over the course of a year (and, indeed, for years to come) you'll find the serenity, self-knowledge, and resilience you need to live well.

Vivienne Westwood began Get A Life, her online diary, in 2010 with an impassioned post about Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Since then, she has written two or three entries each month, discussing her life in fashion and her involvement with art, politics and the environment. Reading Vivienne's thoughts, in her own words, is as fascinating and provocative as you would expect from Britain's punk dame - a woman who always says exactly what she believes. And what a life! One week, you might find Vivienne up the Amazon, highlighting tribal communities' struggles to maintain the rainforest; another might see her visiting Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy, or driving up to David Cameron's house in the Cotswolds in a full-on tank. Then again, Vivienne might be hanging out with her friend Pamela Anderson, or in India for Naomi Campbell's birthday party, or watching Black Sabbath in Hyde Park with Sharon Osbourne. The beauty of Vivienne Westwood's diary is that it is so fresh and unpredictable. In book form, generously illustrated with her own selection of images, it is irresistible

The Cuban Cigar Handbook is an in-depth look at the complete history of Cuban cigars, with fascinating detours into stories of celebrated cigar aficionados from Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway to Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill, advice on the best Cuban rum to pair with a cigar, plus dynamic profiles of growers, hand-rollers, and producers. Every element of cigar production is described in detail, from the types of tobacco used and how to choose your first humidor to the history of Cuba's cigar industry. There is an unrivalled guide to the brands of cigar that available-from the Cohiba, Fidel Castro's personal favourite, to the Montecristo- along with tasting notes to help the reader fully experience the pleasures of a good cigar

From the foggy streets of Victorian London to the eerie perfection of 1950s suburbia, the everyday is invaded by the evil otherworldly in this unforgettable collection of new ghost stories from the author of The Woman in Black. In the title story, on a murky evening in a warmly lit club off St James, a bishop listens closely as a paranormal detective recounts his most memorable case, one whose horrifying denouement took place in that very building. In 'The Front Room', a devoutly Christian mother tries to protect her children from the evil influence of their grandmother, both when she is alive and when she is dead. A lonely boy finds a friend in 'Boy Number 21', but years later he is forced to question the nature of that friendship, and to ask whether ghosts can perish in fires. This is Susan Hill at her best, telling characteristically flesh-creeping and startling tales of thwarted ambition, terrifying revenge and supernatural stirrings that will leave readers wide-awake long into the night.

Ian Stewart's up-to-the-minute guide to the cosmos moves from the formation of the Earth and its Moon to the planets and asteroids of the solar system and from there out into the galaxy and the universe. He describes the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began, and how it will end. He considers parallel universes, what forms extra-terrestrial life might take, and the likelihood of Earth being hit by an asteroid. Mathematics, Professor Stewart shows, has been the driving force in astronomy and cosmology since the ancient Babylonians. He describes how Kepler's work on planetary orbits led Newton to formulate his theory of gravity, and how two centuries later irregularities in the motion of Mars inspired Einstein's theory of General Relativity. In crystal-clear terms he explains the fundamentals of gravity, spacetime, relativity and quantum theory, and shows how they all relate to each other. Eighty years ago the discovery that the universe is expanding led to the Big Bang theory of its origins. This in turn led cosmologists to posit features such as dark matter and dark energy. But does dark matter exist? Could another scientific revolution be on the way to challenge current scientific orthodoxy? These are among the questions Ian Stewart raises in his quest through the realms of astronomy and cosmology.

As in The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday delivers practical and inspiring philosophy, this time exploring a powerful concept that runs back centuries, across borders and schools of thought: ego. Ego is our biggest enemy. Early in our careers, it can prevent us from learning and developing our talents. When we taste success, ego can blind us to our own faults, alienate us from others and lead to our downfall. In failure, ego is devastating and makes recovery all the more difficult. It is only by identifying our ego, speaking to its desires, and systematically disarming it that we can create our best work. Organised into bite-sized observations featuring characters and narratives that illustrate themes and life lessons designed to resonate, uplift and inspire, Ego is the Enemy shows how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures. It is an inspiring and timely reminder that humility and confidence are still our greatest friends when confronting the challenges of a culture which tends to fan the flames of ego and encourage the cult of personality at all costs

Why is life the way it is? Bacteria evolved into complex life just once in four billion years of life on earth-and all complex life shares many strange properties, from sex to ageing and death. If life evolved on other planets, would it be the same or completely different? In The Vital Question, Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a cogent solution to conundrums that have troubled scientists for decades. The answer, he argues, lies in energy: how all life on Earth lives off a voltage with the strength of a bolt of lightning. In unravelling these scientific enigmas, making sense of life's quirks, Lane's explanation provides a solution to life's vital questions: why are we as we are, and why are we here at all? This is ground-breaking science in an accessible form, in the tradition of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel.

Eva never really wanted to be a mother; certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher who tried to befriend him. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her absent husband, Franklyn. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

When Chris Kraus, an unsuccessful artist pushing 40, spends an evening with a rogue academic named Dick, she falls madly and inexplicably in love, enlisting her husband in her haunted pursuit. Dick proposes a kind of game between them, but when he fails to answer their letters Chris continues alone, transforming an adolescent infatuation into a new form of philosophy. Blurring the lines of fiction, essay and memoir, Chris Kraus's novel was a literary sensation when it was first published in 1997. Widely considered to be the most important feminist novel of the past two decades, I Love Dick is still essential reading; as relevant, fierce and funny as ever. The novel's cult following has ensured a steady undercurrent of buzz since its first publication twenty years ago, with high-profile champions as diverse as Lena Dunham, Sheila Heti, Kim Gordon, Leslie Jamison and Alexa Chung

Not many of us can claim to have dipped our handkerchiefs in Charles I's blood after his execution, or to have watched Vesuvius erupt, but that's about to change... Wyllie, Acton & Goldblatt's Time Travel Handbook offers eighteen exceptional trips to the past, transporting you back to the greatest spectacles in history. We offer the chance to join Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and to march on Versailles with the revolutionary women of Paris. You can sail with Captain Cook to Tahiti and Australia, and spend time at Xanadu with Marco Polo and Kubla Khan. Or, closer to the present, you might accompany Charlie Parker at the birth of bebop or The Beatles in Hamburg, and take part in the VE Day celebrations in London or the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The notable authors and time travel agents, Wyllie, Acton & Goldblatt are your guide to these and other unmissable events, charting the action as it will unfold, and advising on local customs, and what to wear, eat and drink, for the most authentic of experiences. Forget museums, forget history books - the only way to do history is to live it.

If you thought it was worth hearing the insights of a man at the head of a major corporation or who has turned around a disaster-prone technology company, here's a new level. This book is packed with ideas for governance, leadership and life from the man behind the city that's home to the world's tallest tower, largest mall and two million people from 220 nationalities - backed by the world's busiest airport and the biggest manmade seaport on earth. This is Dubai and its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed. And these are his inspirations for leadership and success. Available for the first time in an updated and refreshed Pocket Edition, Sheikh Mohammed shares the many important ideas which not only sit at the heart of his vision for his nation but are also central to the wellbeing of society and personal happiness. By bringing together these unique experiences, ideas and thoughts, Flashes of Thought offers a compelling routemap and blueprint for professional and personal fulfilment.

The follow-up to global bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There (the Amazon.com no.1 bestseller for 2007 on Leading People) addresses the vital phases of gaining mojo (tough), maintaining it (tougher) and recapturing it after you lose it (toughest of all, but not impossible) This is vital in any competitive arena, whether business, sport or politics. Goldsmith draws on new research, as well as his extensive experience with corporate teams and top executives, to provide compelling case studies throughout. Readers will learn the 26 powers that are within us all and will come away with a new, hyper-effective technique to define, track and ensure future success for themselves and their organisations. Goldsmith's one-on-one training usually comes with a six-figure price tag. Now his advice is available without the hefty fee.

Today scientists are a resolutely monoglot community, using exclusively English - but the rise of English was anything but inevitable and only very recent. In a sweeping history, from the Middle Ages through to today, Michael Gordin untangles the web of politics, money, personality and international conflict that led to the English language dominated world of science we now inhabit. He takes us on a journey from the fall of Latin to the rise of English, telling how we lost Dutch, Italian, Swedish and many other languages on the way. The significance of language in the nationalistic realm of science is astounding - just one word mistranslated into German from Russian, triggered an inflammatory contest between Germany and Russia for the credit of having discovered the periodic table. In Michael's hands we see that science isn't the universal quest for truth we thought, but rather the subject of political jockeying, national rivalry, and fierce competition. Intelligent, revealing and full of amazing stories, Scientific Babel shows how the world has remade science just as much as science has transformed the world.