Until recently, Germany appeared to be a paragon of economic and political success. Angela Merkel was widely seen as the true 'leader of the free world', and Germany's export-driven economic model seemed to deliver prosperity. But recent events - from Germany's dependence on Russian gas to its car industry's delays in the race to electric - have undermined this view.In Kaput, Wolfgang Münchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany's economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. T...

Bloomsbury presents The Shabbat Effect by Alan Morinis, read by Mark Elstob.What if one day of rest could transform your entire life?One of the most important biblical mandates, so significant that it numbers among the Ten Commandments, is the directive to observe a weekly day of rest. The Shabbat Effect illuminates how the practice of a day set aside for rest brings about a deep, lasting, and pervasive transformation of character,...

'Well-researched and enthralling, Peter Ricketts brings the wartime Foreign Office to life.’ – Tim Bouverie'The gripping story of how the men and women of the Foreign Office secured Britain's victory in the Second World War and created a new international order.' – Professor Helen McCarthyDiscover the untold story of the British diplomats who shaped WWII—and the peace that followed—in this vivid exploration of a transformative moment in modern history....

Bloomsbury presents Flirting with Evil by Ambrogio A. Caiani, read by Mark Elstob.The history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is one of spies, scandals and bad political choices. It’s a shadowy, ornate world of cover-ups and hidden motives. In this book, Ambrogio Caiani lifts back the heavy velvet curtains of the chancel and peers behind the locked mahogany doors of the Vatican to reveal the shocking truths that make up a century of Catholi...

Learn more about the ideas and beliefs key to the teachings of the most widely printed religious book of all time, in this perfect introduction to The Bible, narrated by Mark Elstob.The Bible Book audiobook features breakdowns of some of the most well-known passages ever written from The Bible. Looking at more than 100 of the most important Old and New Testament stories, The Bible Book profiles key figures, from Adam and Eve to Peter and Paul, locations, such as Jerusalem and Rome ...

Bloomsbury presents… Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China by Jack Weatherford, read by Mark ElstobControl the sea, and you control everything...a gripping tale of naval warfare, dynastic rivalry, and technical innovation, from the author of the classic work Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.Genghis Khan built a formidable land empire, but he never...

From an award-winning historian, the definitive history of classical Greece and the rivalry between its two greatest cities.No period has more profoundly influenced the Western world than classical Greece, and at its center stood two cities: Athens and Sparta. Side by side, they beat the Persians, the only superpower of that age. Yet later, they spread conflict and destruction throughout the eastern Mediterranean, culminating in the horrors of the Peloponnesian War...

'It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.'Considered as the foundation of evolutionary biology, Charles Darwin's groundbreaking On the Origin of Species profoundly transformed the field of biology at the time, as well as contemporary religious beliefs.First published in 1859, On the Origin of Species presents Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin argues ...

**The extraordinary history of the epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers.“Magnificent.” —Spectator**The Roman Empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyon...

Based on a true story, The Forgotten Child is a heart-breaking memoir of an abandoned newborn baby left to die, his tempestuous upbringing, and how he came through the other side.It’s a freezing winter’s night in 1954. A baby boy, a few hours old, is left by his mother, wrapped in nothing but two sheets of newspaper and hidden amongst the undergrowth by a canal bank. An hour later, a late-shift postman is walking wearily home when he hears a faint cry. He finds the newspaper parcel...

'A superb book’ – Observer‘Gripping, vivid and compelling’ – The Critic‘Humane, absorbing and meticulous’ – New Statesman‘An extraordinary book’ James O’Brien, TLSThree Weeks in July is the extraordinary and definitive account of the events of the 7/7 London bombings, publishing on the 20th anniversary of the event.Thr...

In 1679, Samuel Pepys is Secretary to the Admiralty, in charge of the navy, and at the right hand of King Charles.But also in 1679, England is awash with suspicion and fear. In this maelstrom of distrust, Pepys finds himself at the heart of a conspiracy, charged with treason and facing a crooked trial and potential execution.The only person who can save him is his brother, Balthazar, and Balthazar’s twin children, Betty and Sam – precociously smart and deviously determined ...