Antibiotics. Invented by microbes. Mined by humans. And now running out.‘Combines the passion of Robert Macfarlane with the incisiveness of Patrick Radden Keefe … Brilliant’ Rachel Clarke, Spectator‘This history of scientific discovery and corporate greed chronicles arguably the most significant technological advance of the 20th century … A lively history and a stark warning’ Sunday Times, Best Books of th...

**Brought to you by Penguin.Antibiotics: one of humanity’s greatest achievements – but invented by microbes.**An epic narrative of discovery and innovation – but also of extraction and exploitation.This is the spellbinding story of how we have burned through the fossil fuels of medicine.Since their advent, antibiotics have saved millions of lives, marking one of the greatest medical advances in our history. Dangerous Mir...

The world is increasingly confronted with new challenges related to climate change, globalization, disease, and technology. Governments are faced with having to decide how much risk is worth taking, how much destruction and death can be tolerated, and how much money should be invested in the hopes of avoiding catastrophe. Lacking full information, should decision-makers focus on avoiding the most catastrophic outcomes? When should extreme measures be taken to prevent as much destruction as...

'Why do I like bogs so much? I think it is because I feel very at home with them, I think this has something to do with my queerness and their queer nature as a space.'The value of peat bogs as a natural resource and haven of biodiversity is undisputed, yet few of us have been lucky enough to experience their beauty and richness. In Peatlands, Wainwright Prize-shortlisted author Alys Fowler calls for us to sink deep into the dark, black soils of these rugg...

This audiobook narrated by pioneering NASA scientist Kevin Peter Hand takes you inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar systemWhere is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of sev...

'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...

The dropping of two atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their shocking aftermath finally ended World War II in the eastern theatre. But they weren't the only experimental weaponry at the time.In this fascinating account, Chris McNab examines the development of a range of hitherto unknown and at times shockingly effective weapons that were developed and unleashed on an unsuspecting world over the course of the war.They include the bouncing bomb, t...

Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? Or are they passive, incapable of independent action or social behavior? Philosophers and scientists have pondered these questions since ancient Greece, most often concluding that plants are unthinking and inert: they are too silent, too sedentary—just too different from us. Yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged these ideas, shedding new light on the extraordinary capabilities...

You definitely know one.This book is about the poisonous people who walk among us. The romantic partner who twists every conversation, the office bully who keeps being promoted, or the reckless relative who never takes responsibility for their actions.Award-winning researcher Leanne ten Brinke has studied dark personalities for decades, examining their behaviour in settings as varied as prisons, schools and financial boardrooms, even in the United States Se...

Brought to you by Penguin.The global powerhouse that is the United States of America is younger even than the British Museum, Guinness and the flushing toilet. In 2026 it will celebrate its 250th birthday. How did this vast land, long inhabited by diverse indigenous cultures, come to be dominated by English speakers? How has it grappled with the stark contradictions between its ideals of liberty and the grim reality of genocide and slavery?This extraordinar...

Brought to you by Penguin.An eye-opening exploration of humanity’s unprecedented path to global depopulation and why it's in everyone's interests to prevent itIIf we continue as we are, with birth rates falling globally, the world’s human population will peak in the next few decades – and then begin a sudden and rapid decline. It would be easy to think that fewer people would be better: better for the planet, better for the people who remai...

Brought to you by Penguin.From breakups that ended empires to naps that sank ships, 10 Mistakes That Changed History reveals how overlooked historical errors are responsible for some of the most era-defining events of the past.Featuring many of the most recognisable characters and episodes in history, from Cleopatra to the sinking of the Titanic, comedian and historian Paul Coulter reframes our understanding of the...