A collection of three conversations between artists and public servants.Intended to inspire public servants of all kinds to reconnect fearlessly with their fundamental humanity, the three conversations in Art, Imagination and Public Service present a way of thinking about imaginative, compassionate, and intelligent public service. The book consists of three dialogues: between former UK Home Secretary David Blunkett and poet Micheal O’Siadhail, former UK Su...

Archbishop Justin Welby explores the inner lives of public figures in revealing conversationsListen now to fascinating and remarkable conversations between The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and leading men and women as they discuss big questions about humankind. This collection is a must-listen for anyone looking to explore life beyond the sensational headlines and glossy PR that dominate our world. The interviews delve into what it really means to be hum...

In the first Quarterly Essay for 2011, David Malouf returns to one of the most fundamental questions and gives it a modern twist: what makes for a happy life?With grace and profundity, Malouf discusses new and old ways to talk about contentment and the self. In considering the happy life what it is, and what makes it possible David Malouf returns to the "highest wisdom" of the classics, looks at how, thanks to Thomas Jefferson's way with words, happiness became a "right", and exami...

The pitch is the absolute essence of modern business. Ideas are the most valuable commodity in the modern economy and it is human skill which develops them. In pitching for new business, ideas and emotional intelligence dominate. However the skills of the pitch are not only relevant to the world of business, rather they apply to just about every significant personal transaction in your life...Life's a Pitch is the ultimate how-to book - a mixture of mechanics and magic. Nothing lik...

What does it take to succeed as a law student? This book will show you how.Voted one of the top 6 books that all future law students should read by The Guardian’s studying law website*, Letters to a Law Student is packed full of practical advice and helpful answers to the most common questions about studying law at University across every stage of taking, or thinking about taking, a law degree.Discover:· Whether reading law at University is...

The bestseller from our pre-eminent philosopher, A.C. Grayling'Grief and loneliness, depression, despair and failure - those things are the common human lot at least at times in all our lives'.Yet it is philosophy which, while not providing an answer to these problems, can enable us to prepare for them, and create strategies with which to deal with them. It is only through reflecting upon the world around us, reading, thinking, questioning, enjoying, that w...

Trust is indispensable, yet it can be dangerous. Without trusting others, we cannot function in society, or even stay alive for very long, but being overly-trustful can be a bad strategy too. Trust is pragmatic, but it also has a moral dimension: trustworthiness is a virtue, and well-placed trust benefits us all. In this Very Short Introduction, Katherine Hawley explores the key ideas about trust and distrust. Considerings questions such as 'Why do we value trust?' and Why do we w...

Another rapid-fire selection of short, stimulating and entertaining capsules of philosophy from the master of the genre. This time Baggini applies his philosophical scalpel to famous sayings, proverbs and pieces of homespun wisdom. Should you really do as the Romans do when in Rome and practise what you preach? Is the grass always in fact greener on the other side of the fence, and is there ever smoke without fire? Is beauty always in the eye of the beholder and is it actually better to be...

Today culture is everywhere as maybe never before. We read culture reviews, watch culture shows, live in Cities of Culture, and witness the Cultural Olympiad. Government, museums and arts councils worry that we are not getting enough culture and shape policy around notions of art and culture for all. Access and inclusion are in. Difficulty and exclusivity out. In "Being Cultured: in defence of discrimination" Angus Kennedy asks if this explosion of culture, and the breaking down of distinc...

Political leaders in Britain are consistently drawn from a class born to be educated away from their families in institutions - elite boarding schools. This has a direct effect on their ability to love, to relate, to make good judgments and to develop the necessary leadership qualities for today's world.In this controversial and highly acclaimed book, the author guides the reader along the elite path through boarding school and Oxbridge to government, unpacking what he calls the En...

Whatever the eventual outcome of Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, the critical questions remain: what does the Referendum vote tell us about British society? As with the election of Donald Trump in the United States, why did so few people in Britain see the result coming? Why was there such a fundamental misunderstanding about divisions in society that had existed for years?In this short but powerful book, Stephen Green argues that it is time to acknowledge that u...

Extracts from Erin Pizzey's Foreword: 'Mike Buchanan is a very brave man. I've known other men who've tried to draw the public's attention to the damage done by the radical feminist movement. Many lost their jobs and none of them were able to find a publisher for their books. Men have been thrown out of their own houses and unjustly accused of domestic violence towards their partners, and some of sexually abusing their children. The legitimate interests of men in Western society are being ...