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A deeply learned yet highly readable and entertaining history of Moscow, a city defined by its survival and reinvention, and whose rich history offers crucial insight into contemporary global politics.An erudite and entertaining history of Moscow, a city whose rich past offers crucial insight into c...

A kaleidoscopic journey through the secret history of hues—and the story of the obsessive genius behind the definitions of colors we use today, from the beloved author of Word by Wordbegonia (n.): 3 -s : a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral (see coral 3b), bluer than...

Babylon often appears more myth than history. Purportedly the site of the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel, its infamous presence in the Bible has made it a byword for sinful decadence. But Babylon was a real place teeming with life, a bustling mega-city on the Euphrates where schoolteachers...

“As skillful and oblique in its structure as the precious gowns she describes." -Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, “Best Books of the Year"An expert and intimate exploration of a life in clothes: their memories and stories, enchantments and spells.A linen sheet, smooth with age. A box of buttons, mother...

A joyous exploration of the cultural phenomenon that created Mario, Zelda and Pokémon, and an ode to our love of gaming, by one of the most trusted voices in video games writing.A joyous exploration of the cultural phenomenon that created Mario, Zelda and Pokémon, and an ode to our love of gaming...

A human history of one of the planet’s most iconic lakes, and the civilizations that surrounded its shoresThe Dead Sea is a place of many contradictions. Hot springs around the lake are famed for their healing properties, though its own waters are deadly to most lifeforms—even so, civilizations...

Scrabble may be truly called America's game. But for every group of "living-room players" there is someone who is "at one with the board." In Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis introduces readers to those few, exploring the underground world of colorful characters for which the Scrabble game is life-playing...

Where did they come from? How did they get there? Why did they carve the island's colossal iconic statues and how? What happened to the civilisation they created?These are just a few of the questions about Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, that have puzzled generations.Europeans first encountered the Isla...

The first definitive biography of gold; the metal that has shaped our world - and may yet determine its future.The Secret History of Gold tells the epic tale of the world's oldest, and most treasured, currency. From its origins in the formation of the solar system to its pivotal role in both ancient...

'Outrageously good. An unforgettable book" - OLIVIA LAING'Reverie and road-trip, Aqua succeeds in turning the Cadillac Desert and Land of Little Rain into something lush and unexpected. Chiara Barzini ducts and dives through a wonderful and revelatory journey' - GEOFF DYERIn 1913, William Mulholland...

Schott is back - and better than ever! From the mind that created the million-copy selling Schott's Original Miscellany comes Schott's Significa- an indispensable field guide to the hidden lore and language of our modern age.A language taxonomy for our curious times. Every day we are surrounded by c...

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.They are the things we step on without noticing and the largest organisms on Earth. They are symbols of inexplicable growth and excruciating misery. They are grouped with plants, but they behave...

Blending high adventure with history, this chronicle of 100 astonishing discoveries from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the fabulous "Lost City of the Monkey God" tells incredible stories of how explorers and archaeologists have uncovered the clues that illuminate our past.Archaeology is the key that unloc...

Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventu...

Most of us give little thought to the back of the book - it's just where you go to look things up. But here, hiding in plain sight, is an unlikely realm of ambition and obsession, sparring and politicking, pleasure and play. Here we might find Butchers, to be avoided, or Cows that sh-te Fire, or eve...

From the acclaimed Wolfson Prize-winning author, a dazzling history of the world's emperors. For millennia much of the world was ruled by a handful of individuals claimed no limit to the lands they could rule over and no limit to their authority. They operated beyond normal human constraint and inde...

An accessible, authoritative single-volume narrative history of China, from the earliest times to the present day, designed both to engage the general reader and to challenge the horizons of the China specialist.Many nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in...

'If a house could gossip, this is the book that Hampton Court would whisper. An enjoyable and readable stroll through 500 years of Hampton Court history: royal residents, common visitors, thieves, invaders and ghosts’ PHILIPPA GREGORYFor centuries, Hampton Court has been a place of power, scandal...

A must-read for makers, tinkerers, fixers and creators, The Repair Shop's Dominic Chinea shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for the history and practical uses of tools.This book is a beautifully-illustrated celebration of 140 essential tools, their history, their unique appeal and how they are used...

The relationship between language, thought and culture is of concern to anyone with an interest in what it means to be human.explains how the invention of words at 1.6 million years ago began the evolution of human language from the ape-like calls of our earliest ancestors to our capabilities of tod...

A car book like no other, Auto Erotica offers a nostalgic look at vintage cars through the literature, leaflets and pamphlets that sold them to usOver the course of its 240 pages, Auto Erotica covers the gamut of motoring in Britain during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s through rare ephemeral booklets f...

'One of the most important works on the origins and presence of prejudices in our time.' ― Amnesty Journal‘A magisterial contribution to the understanding of the cultural position of Romani people in Europe. … nothing short of astounding’ Literary ReviewA cultural history of Europe's respons...

The story of Britain told through its islands - a personal journey through an ancient landscapetells the story of Britain's islands and how they are woven into its collective cultural psyche. From Neolithic Orkney to modern-day Thanet, Alice Albinia explores the furthest reaches of Britain's island...

A world history of citrus, from the art of antiquity to the science of the modern era.Citrus traces the history of today's global superfood from its cultivation in the ancient world from just a handful of original wild species, via Arab trade routes, the noble collectors of medieval Europe, imperial...