**Mozart wasn’t born with perfect pitch.Most athletes are not born with any natural advantage.Three world-class chess players were sisters, whose success was planned by their parents before they were even born.**Anders Ericsson has spent thirty years studying The Special Ones, the geniuses, sports stars and musical prodigies. And his remarkable finding, revealed in Peak, is that their special abilities are acquired through training. The innate ‘gift’ of tal...

“This book is a breakthrough, a lyrical, powerful, science-based narrative that actually shows us how to get better (much better) at the things we care about.”—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin**“Anyone who wants to get better at anything should read [Peak]. Rest assured that the book is not mere theory. Ericsson’s research focuses on the real world, and he explains in detail, with examples, how all of us can apply the principles of great performance...

Deliberate practice: your path to extraordinary performanceIn Peak, psychologist Anders Ericsson, whose research inspired the famous “10,000-hour rule,” reveals what truly drives mastery - and it’s not talent. Drawing on three decades of much-admired, myth-shattering research, Ericsson shows that focused, purposeful practice can unlock exceptional skill in anyone.Drawing on countless case-studies of musicians and a...

We have long recognized technology as a driving force behind much historical and cultural change. The invention of the printing press initiated the Reformation. The development of the compass ushered in the Age of Exploration and the discovery of the New World. The cotton gin created the conditions that led to the Civil War. Now, in Beyond Engineering, science writer Robert Pool turns the question around to examine how society shapes technology. Drawing on such disparate fields as...

The etiology of the Wimbum people in the Western Grassfields of Cameroon is described through an examination of the way in which the meanings of key concepts, used to interpret and explain illness and other forms of misfortune, are continually being produced and reproduced in the praxis of everyday communication. During the course of numerous dialogues, witchcraft, a highly ambivalent force, gradually emerges as the prime mover. As destructive cannibals or respectable elders the witches ar...

In the international bestseller The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg explained why we do what we do. In Smarter Faster Better, he applies the same relentless curiosity, rigorous reporting and rich storytelling to explain how we can get better at the things we do. The result is a groundbreaking exploration of the science of productivity.A group of data scientists at Google embark on a four-year study of how the best teams function, a...

**'This is the book we need right now' CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ‘Lucid, funny and fascinating’ ADAM BUXTONThe tech disruptor. The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist.**You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate.Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Floridian rocket launches of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Hel...

**ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BEST BOOKS OF 2025 • See ancient Rome through the eyes of a gladiator—from the evening before the games at the Colosseum to the evening after"A grippingly original way of making the alien world of the Roman Amphitheatre both accessible and comprehensible." —Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is History**What did a gladiator feel when he stepped out onto the sand of the Colosseum, his life in the balance? What ran through the minds of...

HOW MUCH IS YOUR SUFFERING WORTH?'Timely, innovative and fantastically compelling.' PANDORA SYKES'Your next must read.' Cosmopolitan UKThe unmissable, thought-provoking new dystopian thriller, perfect for fans of John Marrs, The Power, and The School for Good Mothers.**Why should you suffer when she can do it for you?A revolutionary company can free you ...

**The Instant New York Times bestseller‘Masterful’** – Adam Grant'So interesting' – Pandora Sykes‘Wonderful’ – Angela DuckworthAn essential read to become the most creative, productive, and satisfied version of yourself, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Range.We are constantly told to ‘keep our options open’ and ‘think outside the box’ – but what if endless freedom...

'Nothing but a good time.' - Stephen Graham Jones, NYT bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw and I Was a Teenage Slasher'The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem.' - Marcus Kliewer, NYT bestselling author of The Caretaker Come on in, the water’s fine! Autumn 2006. Low...

What if climate change isn’t an environmental challenge, but an energy challenge?'Fascinating' JAMES O'BRIEN'Thrilling...vividly written, filled with fascinating facts, and inspiring' STEVEN PINKERSunday Times**, i Paper and Nature Book of the Year**This visionary book urges us to rethink the path to net zero, arguing that the solution to climate change lie...