Do you remember the first time you fell in love with a book?The stories we read as children extend far beyond our childhoods; they are a window into our deepest hopes, joys and anxieties. They reveal our past – collective and individual, remembered and imagined – and invite us to dream up different futures.In a pioneering history of children's literature, from the ancient world to the present day, Sam Leith reveals the magic of our most cherished stories, a...

To every explorer with his map upside down, to every air-traffic controller suddenly receiving Magic FM through his headphones, to every astronomer whose new planet turns out to be a bit of bran-flake on the eyepiece of his telescope, Sod's Law says: you are not alone.Sam Leith tells the hilarious - and painful - stories of the unsinkable boat that sunk, the unbeatable horse that lost, and the fireproof theatre that burned to the ground. Sod's Law demonstrates tha...

Good writers follow the rules. Great writers know the rules—and follow their instincts!Finding the right words, in the right order, matters—whether you're a student embarking on an essay, a job applicant drafting your cover letter, an employee composing an email…even a (hopeful) lover writing a text. Do it wrong and you just might get an F, miss the interview, lose a client, or spoil your chance at a second date.Do it right, and the world is yours.

Writing tends to make people anxious, and with good reason. The first sentence of a job application letter can consign it to the bin. A speech intended to rouse can put a room to sleep. A mistimed tweet can cost you your job. And a letter to a beloved may aim to convey feelings of tenderness but end up making the recipient laugh rather than melt.In this complete guide to persuasive writing, Sam Leith shows how to express yourself fully across any medium, and how to maximise your ch...

Rhetoric is what gives words power. It's nothing to be afraid of. It isn't the exclusive preserve of politicians: it's everywhere, from your argument with the insurance company to your plea to the waitress for a table near the window. It convicts criminals (and then frees them on appeal). It causes governments to rise and fall, best men to be shunned by brides, and people to march with steady purpose towards machine guns.In this highly entertaining (and persuasive) book, Sam Leith examines...

The Sunday Times Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2025A Sunday Times, Irish Times, Financial Times, Independent, Daily Mail, TLS, Economist, Prospect, Evening Standard and New Statesman Book of the Year 2024'A MARVEL' PHILIP PULLMANThe stories we read as children matter a great deal. The best ones are indelible in our memories; reaching...

A parliament of fools, or a confederacy of dunces? Blethering celebrities and blundering politicians, royal babies and right royal cock-ups, milkshake madness and vegan sausage rolls - and, of course, the long and winding road to Brexit.If ever the times were ripe for a return to the high days of Augustan satire, it’s now – and the Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith provides it.Our Times in Rhymes is a waspish, affectionate and very fun...

Here lies Lord Berners/One of life's learners,Thanks be to the Lord/He was never bored.So reads the epitaph on the gravestone of Lord Berners. In its witty way, it hints at his range of accomplishment. He was a composer (admired by Stravinsky), writer, painter, aesthete and eccentric, indeed in Mark Amory's words 'The Last Eccentric', famously dyeing the pigeons at his house, Faringdon, in vibrant colours, and, for a time, having a giraffe as a pet and tea companion...

Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction'A tremendous novel - droll, savvy, original. An invigorating blast of fiction' William Boyd'A superbly entertaining brain-twister' The TimesA hurricane sweeps off the Gulf of Mexico and in the back-country of Alabama, assembles a passenger jet out of old bean-cans and junkyard waste. An eccentric mathematician - last heard of investiga...

“A tremendous novel—droll, savvy, original. An invigorating blast of fiction.”—William Boyd, Author of Any Human Heart and Restless.”A hurricane sweeps off the Gulf of Mexico and, in the back country of Alabama, assembles a passenger jet out of old bean cans and junkyard waste. This piques the interest of the enigmatic Directorate of the Extremely Improbable. Their fascination with this random event sets into motion a madcap caper that will...

“A tremendous novel—droll, savvy, original. An invigorating blast of fiction.”—William Boyd, Author of Any Human Heart and Restless.”A hurricane sweeps off the Gulf of Mexico and, in the back country of Alabama, assembles a passenger jet out of old bean cans and junkyard waste. This piques the interest of the enigmatic Directorate of the Extremely Improbable. Their fascination with this random event sets into motion a madcap caper that will...

Change Not Only What You Think—But How You Think2021 INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist!#1 Best Seller in Creativity Self-HelpExperience a complete mental fitness and cognitive change program through simple visualization exercises. Eric Maisel, PhD. guides you through techniques that change not only what you think—but how you think.Your mind is yours to redesign, redecorate and create! ...