'The who, what, where, when and how of human evolution, from one of the world's experts on the dating of prehistoric fossils' Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs'Fascinating and entertaining. If you read one book on human origins, this should be it' Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules - For Now50,000 years ago, we were not the only species of human in the world. There were at ...

Brought to you by Penguin.50,000 years ago, we were not the only species of human in the world. There were at least four others, including the Neanderthals, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonesis and the Denisovans. At the forefront of the latter's ground-breaking discovery was Oxford Professor Tom Higham. In The World Before Us, he explains the scientific and technological advancements - in radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA,...

'You will love Harry Sidebottom’s magnificent, blood-drenched study of the life of a gladiator … Was I not entertained? I absolutely was.' Dominic Sandbrook, The Times'Grippingly original' Tom Holland***A TIMES AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR***In ancient Rome, a single day could decide a gladiator’s fate. Follow in their footsteps with bestselling author Harry Sidebottom.

A Telegraph Best Book 2025'Elegant and terrifying, the story of those who gave up life in the West for Ukraine's frontlines – some to save democracy, some to save themselves. A modern-day Homage to Catalonia – and Fight Club on steroids.' – Oliver Poole, London Standard‘A great read’ – Mark Galeotti'Brilliant' – The Daily ExpressW...

**Brought to you by Penguin.Wreckers** sinks the old narratives of imperialism, revealing the violent, chaotic and improvised reality of empire-building from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries.While figures such as Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan are celebrated for their maritime achievements – reaching the Americas, India, and circumnavigating the globe – focusing solely on these voyages distorts our perspective on t...

Brought to you by Penguin.Brimming with wry humour and fascinating insights, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.With his eightieth birthday looming, it crossed Michael Palin’s mind that now might be the time to hang up his boots, to lounge about at home, to take things easy. Then the opportunity to visit Africa’s most populous nation arose. A few weeks later, he was at Lagos airport, camera crew in town.In the ...

'Gripping and essential reading' - TIM SPECTOR'A compelling true crime story' - THE NEW YORK TIMES'Strips away the lies to show what's really happening in the world' - OLIVER BULLOUGH'Totally compelling' - ELIZABETH KOLBERTPlastic is everywhere in our daily lives. But the companies making it - oil and petrochemical giants like ExxonMobil and INEOS - are hiding in plain sight. Becaus...

**Brought to you by Penguin.What if climate change isn’t an environmental challenge, but an energy challenge?**In this visionary book, Dr Tim Gregory urges us to rethink the path to net zero. He argues that the solution to climate change lies not simply in replacing fossil fuels with renewables, but in fully embracing another energy source that emits zero carbon dioxide: nuclear power.Gregory dismantles the conventional wisdom that renewables such as wind a...

A FRESH RETELLING OF ENGLISH HISTORY BY ACCLAIMED HISTORIAN DAN SNOW AND THE HISTORY HIT TEAM: THE PERFECT GIFT FOR FANS OF THE REST IS HISTORY and UNRULY!Praise for History Hit:'Really enjoyable ... highly recommended' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Easy to pick up and hard to put down' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Eye wateringly funny and jaw-droppingly astonishing' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐From battlefields, cathedrals and museums to castles and stately homes, from the Lancastrians and Yor...

Brought to you by Penguin.A dazzling, globe-spanning history of humankind's greatest invention: the city.From its earliest incarnations 7,000 years ago to the megalopolises of today, the story of the city is the story of civilisation. Although cities have only ever been inhabited by a tiny minority of humanity, the heat they generate has sparked most of our political, social, commercial, scientific and artistic revolutions. It is these worl...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Steve Brusatte has a rare gift for bringing the distant past vividly and fascinatingly to life' - Bill Bryson'One of the stars of modern palaeontology' – National Geographic'An unqualified success from beginning to end' – New Scientist'An enjoyable tour of evolutionary science' – Financial Times'[This] origin story ...

It is generally accepted that the European Renaissance began in Italy. However, a historical transformation of similar magnitude also took place in northern Europe at the same time. This 'Other Renaissance' was initially centred on the city of Bruges in Flanders (modern Belgium), but its influence was soon being felt in France, the German states, England, and even in Italy itself.Following a sequence of major figures, including Copernicus, Gutenberg, Luther, Catherine de Medici, Ra...