The most celebrated French storyteller of the nineteenth century, Guy de Maupassant was a master of the modern short story. Offering an intriguing picture of French life, the enduring appeal of his stories derives from understated artistry... Zobraziť viac
When he arrived in Moscow in 1851, a young Leo Tolstoy set himself three immediate aims: to gamble, to marry and to obtain a post. At that time he managed only the first. The writer's momentous life would be full of forced breaks and abrupt departures... Zobraziť viac
If there is anything that distinguishes us from animals, it is our ability to understand that such a thing as the future exists and our willingness to try and look into it. But how have people through the ages gone about making predictions? ... Zobraziť viac
This is ancient Greece - but not as we know it. Few people today appreciate that Greek civilization was spread across the Middle East, and that there were Greek cities in the foothills of the Himalayas... Zobraziť viac
Astronomers are on the verge of answering one of the most profound questions ever asked: are we alone in the universe? The ability to detect life in remote solar systems is at last within sight... Zobraziť viac
The Goths are truly a 'lost civilization'. Sweeping down from the north, ancient Gothic tribes sacked the imperial city of Rome and set in motion the decline and fall of the western Roman Empire. Ostrogothic and Visigothic kings ruled over Italy and Spain Zobraziť viac
Dmitry Shostakovich was one of the most successful composers of the twentieth century - a musician who adapted as no other to the unique pressures of his age. By turns vilified and feted by Stalin during the Great Purge, ... Zobraziť viac
One of the most important tools in the public health arsenal, vaccines are to thank for the global eradication of smallpox,... Zobraziť viac
The humble soybean is the world’s most widely grown and most traded oilseed. And though found in everything from veggie burgers to cosmetics, breakfast cereals to plastics, soy is also a poorly understood crop often ... Zobraziť viac
What does it mean to be human? And what, if anything, does it have to do with being a member of the animal species Homo sapiens? This dazzling book gets to the very heart of our rather unscientific motivations and prejudices... Zobraziť viac
Tokyo today is one of the world's mega-cities, and the centre of a scintillating, hyper-modern culture - but not everyone is aware of its past. Founded in 1590 as the seat of the warlord Tokugawa family, Tokyo, then called... Zobraziť viac
Václav Havel claimed to want a quiet life dedicated to writing, but he lived exactly the opposite: as the most famous dissident in Czechoslovakia under Communist rule, he spent many years in jail as a political prisoner and, after leading... Zobraziť viac
In The Europe Illusion, Stuart Sweeney considers Britain's relationships with France and Prussia-Germany since the map of Europe was redrawn at Westphalia in 1648. A timely and far-sighted study, it argues that integration ... Zobraziť viac
From ancient Rome to the present day, ancient Egypt has been a source of fascin—ation and inspiration in many other cultures. But why? Christina Riggs introduces the history, art and religion of Egypt from its earliest... Zobraziť viac
We live in an electronic world. Electronic sounds and electronic music have long permeated our sonic landscape. What began as the otherworldly sounds of the film score for the 1956 film Forbidden Planet and the rarefied, ... Zobraziť viac
Cuba is a rare and fascinating place. In a world where revolutionary socialism seems an almost quaint reminder of the Cold War, the island remains one of the few nations on the planet guided by a Communist party... Zobraziť viac
Weaving together stories of science and sociology, The Selfish Ape offers a refreshing response to common fantasies about the ascent of humanity. Rather than imagining modern humans as a species with godlike powers, or Homo deus... Zobraziť viac
Gypsies have for centuries been simultaneously vilified and romanticized—associated with criminality and dirt, but at the... Zobraziť viac
Claire Preston's Bee tells the busy story of our long, complex relationship with this industrious, much-admired insect. Moving from ancient political descriptions to Renaissance debates about monarchy, to the conversion of the virtuous and ... Zobraziť viac
Victor Hugo is an icon of French culture. He achieved immense success as a poet, dramatist, and novelist, and he was also elected to both houses of the French Parliament. Leading the Romantic campaign against artistic tradition and ... Zobraziť viac
