In this ground-breaking and compelling book, Nicholas Carr argues that not since Gutenberg invented printing has humanity been exposed to such a mind-altering technology. He draws on the latest research to show that the Internet is literally re-wiring our brains inducing only superficial understanding. As a consequence there are profound changes in the way we live and communicate, remember and socialise -- even in our conception of ourselves. By moving from the depths of thought to the shallows of distraction, the web is actually fostering ignorance. The Shallows is not a manifesto for luddites, nor does it seek to turn back the clock. Rather it is a revelatory reminder of how far the Internet has become enmeshed in our daily existence and is affecting the way we think; it compels us all to look anew at our dependence on this all-pervasive technology. 

A decade after the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars had given way to retrenchment and repression, 1824 became a watershed year. The premiere of the Ninth Symphony, the death of Lord Byron -- who had been aiding the Greeks in their struggle for independence, Delacroix's painting of the Turkish massacre of Greeks at Chios and Pushkin's anti-tyrannical play ‘Boris Godunov’ all signalled that the desire for freedom was not dead. And all of these works and events were part of the flowering of the High Romantic period. In this fascinating book, eminent music historian Harvey Sachs employs memoir, anecdote and his vast knowledge of history to explain how the premiere of Beethoven’s staggering last symphony was emblematic of its time – a work of art unlike any other – and a magisterial, humanistic statement that remains a challenge for today’s and future generations.

On 2 May 2008, an enormous tropical cyclone made landfall in Burma. The cyclone wreaked untold havoc, but the regime, in an unfathomable decision of near-genocidal proportions, blocked international aid from entering the country, and provided little relief themselves. Emma Larkin, who has been travelling to and secretly reporting on Burma for years, managed to arrange for a tourist visa in those frenzied days and arrived to chaos. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens lacked food, drinking water and basic shelter. In Everything is Broken, Larkin not only exposes the extent of the damage, but provides a singular portrait of the generals responsible for compounding the tragedy, examining in revealing detail the historical, religious, and superstitious setting that created Burma's tenacious and brutal dictatorship.

Pulitzer Prize winner Kai Bird’s fascinating memoir of his early years spent between cultures, as a child in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and as a young man in Lebanon, provides an original and illuminating perspective into the Arab-Israeli conflict. Weeks before the Suez War of 1956, four-year-old Kai, son of an American Foreign Service officer, moved to Jerusalem with his family. Each day on his way to school, Kai was driven through Mandelbaum Gate, where armed soldiers guarded the line separating Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem from Arab-controlled East. He had a front-seat view to both sides of a divided city -- and the roots of the widening conflict between Arabs and Israelis. Crossing Mandelbaum Gate is Bird’s compelling personal history of growing up an American in the midst of three major wars and three turbulent decades in the Middle East.

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the new dynamics that are reshaping our world. Recent discoveries by economists and scientists suggest that momentum exerts a far stronger influence than previously assumed -- and that its impact is increasing. The integration of communications, technology and markets has accelerated the velocity at which events unfold -- and generates momentum on a massive scale. In The Big Mo Mark Roeder tells the fascinating story of how people unknowingly become swept along by this powerful momentum, which then takes on a life of its own. He argues that Big Mo is the real driver in spheres as diverse as the media, religion, economics (particularly finance), politics and the environment. This timely and provocative book charts the rise of Big Mo. Drawing on the latest research and real-life examples, it shows how easily even the most powerful people and organisations can succumb to the flow, and discusses how we can deal with it.   

Take a truly technicolour tour of one of the most remarkable construction projects of 2009 in all its architectural glory. British broadcaster, writer and toy 'nut-case' James May lived a childhood dream by designing, building and sleeping in a quite stunning full-size house inspired by and completely made from LEGO, one of the world's most favourite toys and a design icon in its own right. James May's Lego House provides a complete photographic record of this stunning creation. However, this is not a simple recreation of a childhood vision of a house but is fully informed by the 'simple complexity' of LEGO's design philosophy centring around the basic 'eighter' brick. Indeed, 3.3 million LEGO elements were used exclusively to create the two-storey house and its incredible fittings. 

The gripping inside story of the last unknown realm of the British secret service: GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) is the successor to the famous Bletchley Park wartime code-breaking organisation and is the largest and most secretive intelligence organisation in the country. During the war, it commanded more staff than MI5 and MI6 combined, and since the end of the Cold War, it has played a pivotal role in shaping Britain's secret state. In this ground-breaking, compelling and revelatory book, Richard Aldrich traces GCHQ's evolvement to one of the world’s leading espionage organisations. It is packed full of dramatic spy stories that shed fresh light on Britain's role in the Cold War, its military confrontations in far-flung locations such as Indonesia and Malaya, and its struggles with some of the most difficult issues of our time, such as the state's security efforts against militant terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda. This book is the crucial missing link in Britain's intelligence history. 

Our investments are devastated, obesity is epidemic, blue-chip companies circle the drain, and popular medications turn out to be ineffective and even dangerous. What happened? Didn't we listen to the scientists, economists, and other experts who promised us that if we followed their advice all would be well? Actually, those experts are a big reason we're in this mess. Their expert counsel usually turns out to be wrong -- often wildly so. David Freedman’s book Wrong reveals the dangerously distorted ways experts come up with their advice, and why the most heavily flawed conclusions end up getting the most attention -- all the more so in the online era. But there's hope: Wrong spells out the means by which every individual and organisation can do a better job of unearthing the crucial bits of right within a vast avalanche of misleading pronouncements