Current Events

He raises hackles or receives resounding cheers, he's loved or hated but never ignored. Christopher Hitchens is possibly the most provocative writer of our time, fearless and forthright with no subject off limits. This volume of essays spans a remarkable four decades of writing. From early articles in the New Statesman, where he worked alongside writers such as Ian McEwan and Martin Amis, through to his pieces for Salon, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair, these articles display his rare genius, indomitable wit and singular command of la... read more

As he grew up, Andrew O'Hagan witnessed the decline of Britain and the rise of America, the end of British industry and the rise of Blair and the tabloids. This collection of essays tells the story of that period in our cultural and political life. Through the reported essays that first made O'Hagan's name, it's a book filled both with personal story and the power of documentary witness. Opening with a major personal piece examining the journey of Britain and America since the closing of the Thatcher years, it concludes with a piec... read more

There is currently an epidemic of 'affluenza' throughout the world - an obsessive, envious, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses - that has resulted in huge increases in depression and anxiety among millions. Over a nine-month period, bestselling author Oliver James travelled around the world to try and find out why. He discovered how, despite very different cultures and levels of wealth, affluenza is spreading. Cities he visited include Sydney, Singapore, Moscow, Copenhagen, New York and Shanghai, and in each place he interviewed several g... read more

Every now and again America confronts its demons, walks away from deep internal division, and strives towards justice. Barack Obama: A Movement for Change tells the story of a visionary leader who refuses to be limited by America's history and determines instead to change it. His plan for change is the latest expression of a movement for justice: a movement that has swept forward with the collective energy of great leaders like Martin Luther King, Robert F Kennedy, Lyndon B Johnson, Harold Washington, Chicago's first black Mayor, a... read more

Three of the world's greatest detectives - a renowned former FBI agent, a forensic sculptor and an eccentric profiler known as 'the living Sherlock Holmes' - were distraught at the growing tide of unsolved murders. And so William Fleisher, Frank Bender and Richard Walter pledged themselves to a quest for justice ...They invited the finest collection of forensic minds ever assembled, drawn from five continents, to bring the coldest killers in the world to account. Named after the first detective - Eugene Francois Vidocq - the Vidocq... read more

If the quest for Mount Everest began as a grand imperial gesture, as redemption for an empire of explorers that had lost the race to the Poles, it ended as a mission of regeneration for a country and a people bled white by war. Of the 26 British climbers who, on three expeditions (1921-24), walked 400 miles off the map to find and assault the highest mountain on Earth, twenty had seen the worst of the fighting. Six had been severely wounded, two others nearly killed by disease at the Front, one hospitalized twice with shell shock. ... read more

Exploding with thousands of new records, Guinness World Records 2011 has a fun, poster-style look reminiscent of the circus, the old Wild West and letter-pressed wanted ads. Quiz of the year - record-breaking questions are peppered throughout the book. Readers can log their answes online and see how they rate against other readers around the world. Instant expert - fascinating record-related snippets scattered across the book, allowing readers to become instant records experts. Tour the world, city by city, revealing fascinating re... read more

Ten years later, where are we looking? How do we see things differently? From Ground Zero to Kampala to London to Mumbai, the echoes are still heard, the impact is still felt. The way we interact, the way we travel, our relationship to media and technology, and the very way we regard the world we live in have all been irrevocably changed. Granta 116 will examine the consequences of the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, from a global perspective. Rather than recounting where we were when it happened and what we saw, thi... read more

"The power of the people is stronger than the people in power." Social media allow ideas to be shared. They are places where people can unite, Revolutions can begin. A new type of Revolution -- Revolution 2.0 Wael Ghonim used to be a man unwilling to publicly criticise the Egyptian regime. Like many, he was silenced by the fear of reprisals. But in January 2011 Wael decided he had seen too much oppression go unchallenged and started a Facebook page calling for the people to protest. It became a rallying-point for revolution and Egy... read more

"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." Gertrude Stein The world's a complex and bewildering place. Every day we are bombarded with far information than we can possibly hope to absorb. We don't have the time, energy or patience to process it all and select what's important, and sometimes it's tempting to drop the news section straight in the bin and curl up on the sofa with the colour supplements instead. But there are a lot of things happening in the world that we simply can't afford t... read more

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In August 2008, Pervez Musharraf stood down as Pakistan's president after having already resigned the posts of Chief of Army Staff and Prime Minister. It was a final end to a dictorial rule that started when he seized power in a military coup in 1999, and seemed to many to be the inevitable conclusion to a government that had started in idealism but had ended in corruption - another example of the cycle of army intervention-idealism-corruption-failure-coup that has blighted Pakistan's political history. In this book, Asian politics... read more

The honey bee is a miracle. It is the cupid of the natural world. It pollinates crops; making plants bear fruit and helping farmers make money. But in this age of vast industrial agribusiness, never before has so much been asked of such a small wonder. And never before has its survival been so unclear - and the future of our food supply so acutely challenged. In steps John Miller, or rather in he bounds. Miller tasks himself with the care and safe transportation of billions of bees. He is descended from N.E. Miller, America's first... read more

Do you want to live well, be green and make a difference? 'Greeniology 2020' is a practical, comprehensive and fun guide to sustainable living, with topics covering everything from green cleaning and ecofashion to growing food and saving energy and water. Globally, we're starting to feel the effects of climate change. Locally, petrol, water and energy prices are rising. There's never been a better time to reduce your personal impact in the environment and prepare for the changes we will see as our society transitions towards sustai... read more

The third edition of this dynamic book has been fully revised and updated to provide a comprehensive introduction to contemporary politics in the Middle East. This is a perfect introduction for undergraduates, covering key political, economic and social debates and providing updates and guidance for further reading.

The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. These scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politi... read more

Amid the hand-wringing over the death of "true journalism" in the Internet Age-the din of bloggers, the echo chamber of Twitter, the predominance of Wikipedia-veteran journalists and media critics Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel have written a pragmatic guide to navigating the twenty-first century media terrain. Yes, old authorities are being dismantled, new ones created, and the very nature of knowledge has changed. But seeking the truth remains the purpose of journalism. How do we discern what is reliable? "Blur" provides a road m... read more

A generation after Pol Pot's regime killed one quarter of the nation's population, Cambodia shows every outward sign of having overcome its devastating history the streets of Phnom Penh are paved; skyscrapers dot the skyline. But behind this facade lies a country still haunted by its years of terror. In 1992, the world came together to help pull the small nation out of the mire. Cambodia became a United Nations protectorate the first and only time the UN has tried something so ambitious. What did the new, democratically elected gov... read more

The author has spent years talking to terrorists - from Gaza and Afghanistan, to Indonesia and Europe. In this book, he delivers a fascinating journey into the mindsets of radicalised people in the twenty-first century, and offers deep insights into the history of all religions.

Addresses the economic challenges facing the United States and offers a plan to get America back into the future business. This title details how to get out of the economic crisis and lay a foundation for long-term prosperity.