A sweeping history of ski mountaineering and the author’s quest to complete its most challenging race: the Patrouille des Glaciers in the AlpsGod of skis, protect us.Simon Akam fell in love with ski mountaineering as a teenager and was happiest above the snowline—until a brush with disaster in the Caucasus mountains sent him into a prolonged mental collapse. The only way to regain control of his anxious, spiraling mind, he decided, was to return to the moun...

In this compendium of literary wisdom, celebrated authors share insights and anecdotes on the art of turning good stories into bestsellers.Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, hosts of the renowned podcast Always Take Notes, have spent years delving into the lives and minds of literary luminaries. Now they share the most illuminating and unforgettable interview moments, as writers from Irvine Welsh to Tracy Chevalier and Marlon James reveal the secrets to their su...

A TLS and a Prospect Book of the YearA revelatory, explosive new analysis of the British military today.Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Britain has changed enormously. During this time, the British Army fought two campaigns, in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. This book questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answe...

English Football has over 92 fully professional clubs. Players in the Premier League teams now earn an average salary of £2.3 million per annum. Meanwhile, on the bottom rung, entire squads make less in a year than Wayne Rooney takes home in a month. An army of young players sacrifice their education and prospects outside of sport for the dream of football success, despite that fact that 85% will be released from their contracts within five years. Simon Akam's book shows what the beautiful...

'Inspiring' - Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down'Fascinating and useful' - Joe Moran, author of First You Write A SentenceBestselling and award-winning authors share the secrets to their success, and the hard lessons they have learnt along the way.Where do the best ideas come from? How do you stay motivated? What does it take to become a published author? And how do you actually make money from your wr...

'Inspiring' - Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Write It All Down'Fascinating and useful' - Joe Moran, author of First You Write A SentenceBestselling and award-winning authors share the secrets to their success, and the hard lessons they have learnt along the way.Where do the best ideas come from? How do you stay motivated? What does it take to become a published author? And how do you actually make money from your wr...

Popular science writer Philip Ball explores a range of sciences to map our answers to a huge, philosophically rich question: How do we even begin to think about minds that are not human?Sciences from zoology to astrobiology, computer science to neuroscience, are seeking to understand minds in their own distinct disciplinary realms. Taking a uniquely broad view of minds and where to find them—including in plants, aliens, and God—Philip Ball pulls the pieces together...

Throughout time, from ancient Rome to modern Britain, the great empires built and maintained their domination through force of arms and political power. But not the United States. America has dominated the world in a new, peaceful, and pervasive way—through the continued creation of staggering wealth. In this authoritative, engrossing history, John Steele Gordon captures as never before the true source of our nation's global influence: wealth and the capacity to create more of it.

The definitive source of information, insight, and advice for creative writers, from the nation’s largest and most trusted organization for writers, Poets & Writers.For half a century, writers at every stage of their careers have turned to the literary nonprofit organization Poets & Writers and its award-winning magazine for resources to foster their professional development, from writing prompts and tips on technique to informative interviews with published author...

Dear Reader,If you are looking for a passionate romance, a slick political thriller or, perhaps, a ripping yarn with volcanos, pirates and ghosts; a book where everything ends neatly and makes perfect, unequivocal sense, then I’m afraid this is not the book you’re looking for.If you like stories about degenerate French poetry, second-hand bookshops, eccentric acting troupes, adulterous vicars, balloons with cryptic messages scrawled upon them and diamonds concealed in the s...

""We were as brothers,"" William Tecumseh Sherman said, describing his relationship with Ulysses S. Grant. They were incontestably two of the most important figures in the Civil War, but until now there has been no book about their victorious partnership and the deep friendship that made it possible.Heeding the call to save the Union, each struggled past political hurdles to join the war effort. Taking each other's measure at the Battle of Shiloh, they began their ...

In a world with a surplus of ideas, what separates a good idea from a bad one? Learn how to cultivate a mindset that produces the kind of ideas people can't turn down.Most professionals cannot generate a solid idea. They either offer up tired or reused ones, or they generate lots of ideas but none that are worth pursuing.A great idea presents a well-formulated thought or plan of action that spurs growth, change, advancement, adaptation, or new insight. Worthwhile ideas move...