The quest to find Shakespeare’s personal library—one of literature’s most enduring enigmas—is at the heart of this “enchanting work that bibliophiles will savor and Shakespeare fans adore” (Kirkus Reviews).Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world’s most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare’s library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces and libra...

A sharp and delightful celebration of libraries around the world, and throughout time—for the passionate bibliophile and literary historian.“Excellent . . . Tracks the history of that greatest of all cultural institutions.” —The Washington PostLibraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve. Some still exist...

"Messrs. Gow and Kells have made an invaluable contribution, writing in an amused tone that nevertheless acknowledges the firms' immense power and the seriousness of their neglect of traditional responsibilities. 'The Big Four' will appeal to all those interested in the future of the profession--and of capitalism itself." —Jane Gleeson-White, Wall Street JournalWith staffs that are collectively larger than the Russian army and combined revenues of over $130 billion ...

From acclaimed author and ardent bibliophile Stuart Kells comes an exploration of the quest to find the personal library of the world’s greatest writer.Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world’s most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare’s library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces, and libraries; in riverbeds, sheep pens, and partridge coops; and in th...

Libraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve.To research this book, Stuart Kells traveled around the world with his young family like modern-day "library tourists." Kells discovered that stories about libraries are stories about people, containing every possible human drama.The Library is a celebration of books as objects, a celebration o...

With staffs that are collectively larger than the Russian army, the Big Four accounting firms are a keystone in global finance --but do they really provide stability and safety? Leading scholar Ian Gow and award-winning writer (and former KPMG director) Stuart Kells warn that a house of cards may be about to fall.Across the globe, the so-called Big Four accounting and audit firms - Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG - are massively influential. Together, they...

A Little Guide for Teachers: Engaging Parents and Carers with Schools builds on author experience, and findings from the spotlight thrown on home-school relationships during Covid-19, to provide teachers with effective strategies to enhance these relationships and instill confidence in teachers working with parents.The Little Guide for Teachers series is little in size but BIG on all the support and inspiration you need to navigat...

In 64 AD, on the night of July 19, a fire began beneath the stands of Rome's great stadium, the Circus Maximus. The fire would spread over the coming days to engulf much of the city of Rome. From this calamity, one of the ancient world's most devastating events, legends grew: that Nero had been responsible for the fire, and fiddled while Rome burned, and that Nero blamed the Christians of Rome, burning them alive in punishment, making them the first recorded martyrs to the Christian faith ...

A Sunday Times History Book of the YearShortlisted for The Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award'No Briton has written better than Winder about Europe' - Sunday TimesIn AD 843, the three surviving grandsons of the great Emperor Charlemagne met at Verdun. After years of bitter squabbles over who would inherit the family land, they finally decided to divide the territory and go their separate ...

The history of pi, says the author, though a small part of the history of mathematics, is nevertheless a mirror of the history of man. Petr Beckmann holds up this mirror, giving the background of the times when pi made progress—and also when it did not, because science was being stifled by militarism or religious fanaticism.

When Pepper Stetler was told that her daughter who has Down Syndrome would be regularly required to take IQ tests to secure support in school, she asked a simple question: why? In questioning the authority and relevance of the test, Stetler sets herself on a winding investigation into how the IQ test came to be the irrefutable standard for measuring intelligence. The unsettling history causes Stetler to wonder what influence this test will have over her daughter's future and whether Louisa...

The first comprehensive history of felines—from the laps of pagan gods to present-day status as meme stars—as revealed by a very learned tabby with a knack for hunting down factsSince the dawn of civilization, felines have prowled alongside mankind as they expanded their territory and spread the myth of human greatness. And today, cats are peddled on social media as silly creatures here to amuse humans with their antics. But this is an absurd, self-centered fantasy...