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Clear, concise yet wide-ranging, The Ancient World in Minutes is the quickest way to understand the great civilizations of the distant past. From the first-ever cities of Sumeria and Babylon around 3500 BCE to the fall of Rome and the bloody demise of the Aztecs, here - in 200 mini-essays - are the critical leaders and wars; ideas and inventions; myths and religions; and art and architecture of the first 5000 years of recorded history. Discover the spiritual, cultural, technological and artistic innovations of the ancient civilizations that still amaze and influence us today - from the Pyramids and Parthenon to Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China; and from the first hieroglyphic writings and great epics of world literature to democracy and the Olympic Games. The great civilizations are brought to life in vivid illustrations with 200 maps, iconic artworks and ancient artefacts. Contents include Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, Ancient China, The Persian Empire, Classic Greece, The Roman Republic, the Maya, The Inca and many more.

What does the future hold? How will we live, work and entertain ourselves? What new technologies will emerge? Will humanity evolve - and perhaps live forever? Or are we facing threats that could end us - and even the whole universe? The Future in Minutes tackles these and many other fundamental questions, concisely and lucidly explaining everything from cryptocurrencies and world governments to gene therapy and colonizing planets - and painting our options for utopia or disaster. Contents include: Predicting the future; How we'll live; Shifts in society; Technology of the future; Scarcity and solutions; Politics, warfare and ethics; The quest for immortality; Transhumans and posthumans; Artificial intelligence; Threats to humanity; Space travel and colonization; Super-advanced science; and The Fate of the Earth and the Universe.

The latest no-f**ks-given guide from New York Times bestselling author of the international sensations The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, Get Your Sh*t Together, You Do You, and Calm the F**k Down. It is something that happens to most of us every day. You are up to your eyeballs in work/childcare/social commitments and someone asks you to do that little something that promises to be the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back. 'No!' you think. But what do you hear coming out of your mouth? 'Yes, that's great, I'd love to do that.' Why? How on earth . . .?? Do not fret. Help is at hand. In this new no-f**ks-given guide, 'anti-guru' Sarah Knight is going to show you how to stop saying yes when you mean to say no. How to be polite but firm. How to get the message across (nicely) that you really mean it. Read this book and start taking charge of your time and your life.

'I have always been ridiculous, and I have known it, perhaps from the hour I was born' A man goes mad because he is happy. A civil servant behaves like a monster at a wedding-party. A man is swallowed by a crocodile, but not eaten nor seriously damaged. Dostoevsky's stories inhabit similarly volcanic atmospheres as his novels, places of curiosity and exception. They resemble jokes and anecdotes, told by volatile, voluble, morbidly sensitive and frustrated characters. These narrators all have a tendency to express themselves in crescendos of conflicting emotions, while the stories themselves steer clear of grand conclusions. Michael Wood's selection of Dostoevsky's shorter works is drawn from the timeless translations of Constance Garnett whose work, he says in his preface, gives readers the best of several worlds.

Why 60 seconds in a minute? Who invented zero? What exactly is pi? Why do mathematicians hunt prime numbers? And how can you get a number bigger than infinity? To find out, take a tour through 200 important, fascinating and unusual numbers - the easy and entertaining way to grasp mathematics. Numbers in Minutes demystifies the maths surrounding the key numbers including: zero, 1-40, negatives, percentages, prime numbers, fractions, decimals, pi, exponentials, imaginary numbers, squares and cubes, roots and powers, Fibonacci numbers, the golden ratio, millions and trillions, a googol, 'perfect,' 'kissing,' 'vampire' and 'weird' numbers, infinity, infinity+1 and other sizes of infinity... Every number is explained in a few short paragraphs with a helpful picture, making the maths simple to understand and remember.

'I have a dream', 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people', 'This was their finest hour', 'Tear down this wall', 'Give me liberty, or give me death', 'Free at last!'. They are the great words of history, inspiring war and peace, outrage and justice, rebellion and freedom. Great Speeches in Minutes presents the key extracts of 200 of the orations that changed the world, from antiquity to the modern day. Each is accompanied by an explanation of the historic context of the speech and its momentous consequences. Includes the speeches of: Buddha, Socrates, Alexander the Great, Cicero, Julius Caesar, Jesus, Augustine of Hippo, Muhammad, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Simon Bolivar, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abraham Lincoln, Emmeline Pankhurst, Patrick Pearse, Vladimir Lenin, David Lloyd George, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin D Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Lyndon B Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, Pope John Paul II, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and many more.

Learn to make every moment a once-in-a-lifetime experience with this definitive guide to the Japanese art of ichigo ichie, from the bestselling authors of Ikigai. 'Ikigai urges individuals to simplify their lives by pursuing what sparks joy for them' (Marie '' Kondo) Every moment in our life happens only once, and if we let it slip away, we lose it forever-an idea captured by the Japanese phrase ichigo ichie. Often used to convey that the encounter is unique and special, it is a tenet of Zen Buddhism and is attributed to a sixteenth-century master of the Japanese tea ceremony, or 'ceremony of attention', whose intricate rituals compel us to focus on the present moment. From this age-old concept comes a new kind of mindfulness. In The Book of Ichigo Ichie, you will learn to use all five senses to anchor yourself in the present. Every one of us contains a key that can open the door to attention, harmony with others, and love of life. And that key is ichigo ichie.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'The two main characters will captivate you as their paths are destined to cross... you won't be able to put this one down!'Reese Witherspoon'I was willingly propelled into a fascinating and exotic world'Daily MailThey say a tiger that devours too many humans can take the form of a man and walk among us... In 1930s colonial Malaya, a dissolute British doctor receives a surprise gift of an eleven-year-old Chinese houseboy. Sent as a bequest from an old friend, young Ren has a mission: to find his dead master's severed finger and reunite it with his body. Ren has forty-nine days, or else his master's soul will roam the earth forever. Ji Lin, an apprentice dressmaker, moonlights as a dancehall girl to pay her mother's debts. One night, Ji Lin's dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir that leads her on a crooked, dark trail. As time runs out for Ren's mission, a series of unexplained deaths occur amid rumours of tigers who turn into men. In their journey to keep a promise and discover the truth, Ren and Ji Lin's paths will cross in ways they will never forget. Captivating and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores the rich world of servants and masters, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and unexpected love. Woven through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order. 'An exuberant medley of magic, romance and weirdness'The Times'[A] highly imaginative and a spellbinding read'Woman's Weekly

'SMART, EMOTIONAL, INTRIGUING AND COMPELLING - I LOVED IT!' JILL MANSELL 'Full of twists and turns, this is a heart-breaking yet uplifting story about love and friendship, and is one of this year's must-reads' Heat magazine ***** Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny... Where do you see yourself in five years? Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals. That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It's the same night - December 15th - but 2025, five years in the future. It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real... Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind. That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream... In Five Years is a love story, brimming with joy and heartbreak. But it is definitely not the love story you're expecting. 'What a clever, beautiful, special book. The writing is stunning, the concept is so original - it just has everything going for it. I loved every page!' BETH O'LEARY, author of Sunday Times bestseller The Flatshare 'I adored In Five Years, it's so poignant and tender. It broke my heart' JOSIE SILVER, author of One Day in December 'I loved In Five Years. A beautiful, intelligent story about friendships and love' CLARE MACKINTOSH, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End 'A rare love story with an unexpected ending' Bella magazine 'I read it in one late night. Very, very clever. And lovely. The end is EXACTLY what it should be' ANSTEY HARRIS, author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton 'In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won't forget' CHLOE BENJAMIN, author of The Immortalists 'Clever, heartbreaking and beautifully written. The perfect story' HOLLY MILLER, author of The Sight of You 'A wonderfully unique read. Clever, compelling and always surprising' HEIDI SWAIN, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Wish List 'Smart, clever and achingly beautiful. Not many love stories surprise me, but this one did. I really loved it' DANI ATKINS, bestselling author of Fractured and A Million Dreams 'An exquisite portrayal of friendship and love at its purest. Stunning' EMMA COOPER, author of The Songs of Us 'Deeply moving and emotional - I absolutely adored it' SUSAN ELLIOT WRIGHT, author of The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood 'What a wonderful book. So moving and such an amazing, satisfying ending. Excellently done' TRACY REES, author of The House at Silvermoor

'A masterly achievement, a work of imaginative grandeur and complete artistic control' Ian McEwan 'Brilliant and unputdownable' Salman Rushdie He's a trickster, a player, a jester. His handshake's like a pact with the devil, his smile like a crack in the clouds; he's watching you now and he's gone when you turn. Tyll Ulenspiegel is here! In a village like every other village in Germany, a scrawny boy balances on a rope between two trees. He's practising. He practises by the mill, by the blacksmiths; he practises in the forest at night, where the Cold Woman whispers and goblins roam. When he comes out, he will never be the same. Tyll will escape the ordinary villages. In the mines he will defy death. On the battlefield he will run faster than cannonballs. In the courts he will trick the heads of state. As a travelling entertainer, his journey will take him across the land and into the heart of a never-ending war. A prince's doomed acceptance of the Bohemian throne has European armies lurching brutally for dominion and now the Winter King casts a sunless pall. Between the quests of fat counts, witch-hunters and scheming queens, Tyll dances his mocking fugue; exposing the folly of kings and the wisdom of fools. With macabre humour and moving humanity, Daniel Kehlmann lifts this legend from medieval German folklore and enters him on the stage of the Thirty Years' War. When citizens become the playthings of politics and puppetry, Tyll, in his demonic grace and his thirst for freedom, is the very spirit of rebellion - a cork in water, a laugh in the dark, a hero for all time.

The first in a rich historical trilogy that draws on legend, by a literary craftsman and the author of The Sixteen Trees of the Somme Norway, 1880. Winter is hard in Butangen, a village secluded at the end of a valley. The lake has frozen, and for months the ground is too hard to bury the dead. Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond all this, beyond marriage, children, and working the land to the end of her days. Then Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, with its 700-year-old stave church carved with pagan deities. The two bells in the tower were forged by Astrid's forefather in the sixteenth century, in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne. They are said to hold supernatural powers. The villagers are wary of the pastor and his resolve to do away with their centuries-old traditions, though Astrid also finds herself drawn to him. And then a stranger arrives from Dresden, with grand plans for the church itself. For headstrong Astrid this may be a provocation too far. Talented architecture student Gerhard Schonauer is an improbable figure in this rugged community. Astrid has never met anyone like him; he seems so different, so sensitive. She finds that she must make a choice: for her homeland and the pastor, or for an uncertain future in Germany. Then the bells begin to ring .

**THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO IS BACK!** **The sixth in the Millennium series - more than 100 million copies sold worldwide** "Expertly told, the plot crackles with life" DAILY MAIL "Salander is centre stage . . . A pacy read" SUNDAY EXPRESS "Exciting and disturbing" LITERARY REVIEW "Salander and Blomkvist are just as compelling as ever" NEW YORK TIMES ********************************************************************************** THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO HAS FRESH OUTRAGE TO AVENGE As Salander follows the scorched trail of her twin sister to Moscow, Blomkvist fears for her safety. He should, perhaps, be more concerned for himself. The murder of a homeless man on the streets of Stockholm has drawn him into a conspiracy that scales the heights of Everest and plunges to the depths of Russia's criminal underworld. And now Lisbeth will face her nemesis. For the girl with the dragon tattoo, the personal is always political - and ultimately deadly. "A unique concoction that should leave Salander's legion of followers clamoring for more" Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal Translated from the Swedish by George Goulding

Eileen is sick of being 79. Leena's tired of life in her twenties. Maybe it's time they swapped places... When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen. Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected. Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

A windowless shack in the woods. Lena's life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them. One day Lena manages to flee - but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called 'Lena', who disappeared without a trace 14 years ago. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle which doesn't quite seem to fit.

What happens when you fall down the rabbit hole? The compulsive must-have follow-up to CLEAN and MEAT MARKET from bestselling, award-winning author Juno Dawson Alice lives in a world of stifling privilege and luxury - but none of it means anything when your own head plays tricks on your reality. When her troubled friend Bunny goes missing, Alice becomes obsessed with finding her. On the trail of her last movements, Alice discovers a mysterious invitation to 'Wonderland': the party to end all parties - three days of hedonistic excess to which only the elite are welcome. Will she find Bunny there? Or is this really a case of finding herself? Because Alice has secrets of her own, and ruthless socialite queen Paisley Hart is determined to uncover them, whatever it takes. Alice is all alone, miles from home, and now she has a new enemy who wants her head... A searing exploration of mental health, gender and privilege, from the most addictive YA novelist in the UK today. NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS

'I was desperate to read more!' Amazon reviewer. From the bestselling author of While My Eyes Were Closed comes a heartbreaking novel about starting over. Jo Gilroy, an award-winning TV news reporter, gave her heart away once. She won't be making the same mistake again. Having been dumped by Richard, the father of her toddler son Alfie, she returns to work to find she has been demoted and that Richard is now her boss. As she tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, she resolves to never fall in love again. But then along comes enigmatic children's entertainer Dan Brady, who is a huge hit with Alfie. Just as she wonders if she can risk opening her heart again, dark secrets from Dan's past emerge and Jo discovers that he has his own reasons not to fall in love. Reasons that now threaten to tear their happiness apart . . .