A rich evocation of a world poised on the brink of Stalin's Great Terror, based on the 1994 Oscar-winning film written by Nikita Mikhalkov and Rustam Ibragimbekov.General Kotov, decorated hero of the Russian Revolution, is spending an idyllic summer in the country with his beloved young wife and family. But on one glorious sunny morning in 1936, his wife's former lover returns from a long and unexplained absence. Amidst a tangle of sexual jealousy, retribution and remorseless polit...

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.“Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—

An odyssey into life’s challenging questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle tripAcclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance became an instant bestseller upon its publication in 1974. A powerful examination of how we live, as well as a breath-taking meditation on how to live better, it tells the epic story of a father and son’s motorcycle trip across ...

Terra preta is the Portuguese name of a type of soil which is thought to have almost miraculous properties. The newspapers are flooded with reports about black gold,” scientists believe that two of the greatest problems facing the world climate change and the hunger crisis - can be solved by it. The beauty of it is that everyone can do something about it because since 2005 the secret of producing this black soil has been revealed - and it is a secret that seemed to have been lost foreve...

Peter Flannery's adaptation of his own iconic BAFTA award winning TV series - with a brand new final episode by award-winning writer Adam Usden'A stunning state-of-the-nation social commentary' The TelegraphFirst broadcast in 1996, Our Friends in the North was one of the most highly acclaimed TV shows of the 1990s. It launched the careers of Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee and Mark Strong, won nume...

Thirteen plays about human connection, from some of BBC Radio's best writers exploring love, family, romances and life's ups and downsThis diverse collection of stories centres around family dynamics, relationships both romantic and platonic, and the diverse ways ordinary people navigate the vicissitudes of everyday life.Ranging from modern fairy tales to coming-of-age dramas, they feature a wide variety of styles, and are scripted by an array of writers fr...

From the authors of A Gap in Nature, a breathtaking visual adventure showcasing ninety of the world's most astounding creatures.Sumptuous birds of paradise, amazing soft-shell turtles, frogs that look like tomatoes, and terrifying fish (including the deep-water angler fish from Finding Nemo) are just some of the extraordinary creatures that can be found in Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten's new book, Astonishing Animals.Superbly il...

Revised and updated, this long-awaited second edition provides a comprehensive introduction to what the most thoughtful Americans have said about the American experience from the colonial period to the present. The book examines the political thought of the most important American statesmen, activists, and writers across era and ideologies, helping another generation of students, scholars, and citizens to understand more fully the meaning of America.This new second edition of the b...

Sometime this century, after 4 billion years, some of Earth's regulatory systems will pass from control through evolution by natural selection, to control by human intelligence. Will humanity rise to the challenge? This landmark essay by Tim Flannery is about sustainability, our search for it in the twenty-first century, and the impact it might have on the environmental threats that confront us today. Flannery discusses in detail three potential solutions to the most pressing of the sustai...

“Like The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben's The Inner Life of Animals will rock your world. Surprising, humbling, and filled with delight, this book shows us that animals think, feel and know in much the same way as we do—and that their lives are, to them, as precious as ours are to us.”—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an OctopusThrough vivid stories of devoted pigs, two-timing magpies, and scheming roosters, The Inner Life...

“As you read these pages you will understand why I so admire [Peter Wohlleben] and am so in love with his work.”—JANE GOODALLNature is full of surprises: deciduous trees affect the rotation of the Earth, cranes sabotage the production of Iberian ham, and coniferous forests can make it rain. But what are the processes that drive these incredible phenomena? And why do they matter?In The Secret Wisdom of Nature, master storyteller and international se...

A social history that pulls back the covers on the most intimate piece of furniture in our lives: "Entertaining . . . will keep you awake long into the night." —Paul Chrystal, author of The History of SweetsLouis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers routinely used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensi...