Michael Symmons Roberts’s fourth book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Griffin International Prize. His sixth collection, Drysalter, was the winner of both the Forward Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize in 2013. He collaborated with Paul Farley on Edgelands (Cape/Vintage) and will do so again in The Deaths of the Poets (Cape, 2017). He has also worked many times with the composer James MacMillan. He has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Michael Symmons Roberts

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Maggie Campbell-Culver

Given the extent of his influence on 17th-century life, and his lasting impact on the British landscape it is remarkable that no book has been written before about John Evelyn. He was a longstanding friend of Samuel Pepys (who wrote of him, ' A most excellent person he is, and must be allowed a little for conceitedness; but he may well be so, being a man so much above others.'), a founder-member of the Royal Society and a prolific writer and diarist. He was an early advocate of the garden city but his most important work was Sylva: a Discourse of Forest Trees. Sylva was presented to the Royal Society to promote the planting of timber trees 'for the supply of the Navy, the employment and advantage of the poor as well as the ornamenting of the nation.' He was responsible for the first great raft of tree-planting and for a great influx of tree introductions to Britain. 
 
Maggie Campbell-Culver's book, like Sylva, has at its core a section detailing the characteristics, history and uses of 33 trees incorporating the advice Evelyn gave and demonstrating its relevance still in the 20th-century. Not only was Evelyn probably the first horticultural writer to show an appreciation of the aesthetic benefits of trees in our landscape, he is shown to be a founder-father of the modern conservation movement.

A Passion For Trees

The Legacy Of John Evelyn

Hannah Fry

Adam Rutherford

'If only Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry were on tap to all of us, all the time . . . The pair have such a gift for making life, numbers and the forces at work in the universe all the richer, stranger, funnier and more marvellous.' Stephen Fry 
 
In Rutherford and Fry's comprehensive guidebook, they tell the complete story of the universe and absolutely everything in it - skipping over some of the boring parts. 
This is a celebration of the weirdness of the cosmos, the strangeness of humans and the fact that amid all the mess, we can somehow make sense of life. 
 
Our brains have evolved to tell us all sorts of things that feel intuitively right but just aren't true: the world looks flat, the stars seem fixed in the heavenly firmament, a day is 24 hours... This book is crammed full of tales of how stuff really works. With the power of science, Rutherford and Fry show us how to bypass our monkey-brains, taking us on a journey from the origin of time and space, via planets, galaxies, evolution, the dinosaurs, all the way into our minds, and wrestling with some truly head-scratching questions that only science can answer: 
 
What is time, and where does it come from? 
Why are animals the size and shape they are? 
How horoscopes work (Spoiler: they don't, but you think they do) 
Does my dog love me? 
Why nothing is truly round? 
Do you need your eyes to see? 
 
'A wonderfully engaging blend of wit, enthusiasm, clarity and knowledge.' Bill Bryson 
'Like the universe itself, this book is multi-faceted, surprising and full of wonders. It's also funny, wise and exceedingly brainy. You really owe it to yourself to read it.' Tim Harford, author of How To Make The World Add Up

Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything

Timothy Ferriss

Timothy Ferris, bestselling author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way, brilliantly synthesizes inner and outer space with a penetrating examination into the nature of the universe and the human brain that perceives it. Through the lenses of two innovative fields of scientific research - neuroscience and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI - Ferris brings into focus a startling new vision of the relationship between mind and universe. 
 
Whether he is contemplating the possibility of otherwordly life-forms or pondering the consequences of virtual reality computer technology, Timothy Ferris captures our sense of wonder with a lucid and imaginative look at one of modern science's greatest challenges; how we can understand, interpret and, ultimately, reconcile the equally mysterious realms of mind and universe. From ancient Stone Age burial mounds to today's state-of-the-art laboratories, solving this eternal riddle has been the goal of philosophers and mystics, occultists and poets, alchemists and scientists. In The Mind's Sky, Ferris examines the 'dance' between mind and cosmos, showing how the universe is partly a construct of the mind itself and asking whether intelligence - far from being a product of our world alone - may have universal currency. 
 
Ferris considers the intriguing complexity of the human brain and what constitutes real intelligence. Laughter, near-death experiences, athletic performance ('Joe Montana's Premotor Cortex'), the neurobiology of mystical experience, and a subtle mental program called 'the interpreter' are all part of his freewheeling quest into the nature of consciousness. 
 
Ferris advances the provocative thesis that SETI, our current search for life on other planets, could reward the human race with the fruit of cosmic knowledge - or prove as cataclysmic as Eve's desire for the apple. And he gives us an inside look at IT - information theory - a new philosophy of knowledge and communication. 
 
Filled with the combination of scientific fact, human anecdote, and provocative insight that has become his trademark, Timothy Ferris's The Mind's Sky offers a rare, life-enhancing perception of our world and our cosmos and underscores the unique choices we face as a species capable of deciding our own fate on the planet - and among the stars.

The Mind's Sky

Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context

Lee Lipsenthal

Lee Lipsenthal had a charmed life: married to the love of his life, the proud father of two remarkable children, working as medical director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. In his personal relationships and with his patients, Lee was committed to living his life fully and gratefully each day. 
 
The power of those beliefs were tested in July 2009 when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, leaving him with a 90 percent chance of dying within five years. As Lee and his wife Kathy navigated his diagnosis, illness and treatment, he discovered that he did not fear death, and even as he faced his own mortality, he felt more fully alive than ever before. 
 
In the bestselling tradition of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and The Last Lecture, Enjoy Every Sandwich distils everything Lee learned about how we find meaning, purpose and peace in our lives. Told with humour and heart, this deeply inspiring book will help readers embrace their humanity, accept uncertainty and live a life of gratitude - whether they are facing the end now or not.

Enjoy Every Sandwich

Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last

Jay Nussbaum

In the tradition of The Celestine Prophecy and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, THE BLUE ROAD TO ATLANTIS is an inspirational retelling of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. This is a gently humorous and ultimately touching story told from the perspective of a remora who is travelling with his mentor, a wise and beautiful marlin, to Atlantis in order to save the lives of all the fish in the ocean. En route to Atlantis, the marlin is hooked by a fisherman, who turns out to be Hemingway's character from The Old Man and the Sea. As the marlin struggles for survival, he ponders the meaning of life, the importance of love, friendship and forgiveness, the power of fear and the importance of following one's dreams at all costs. His thoughts encourage readers to 'go with the current' by accepting the ebb and flow of life and not fighting against our instinct and our intuition, but rather following the current of our heart and soul to happiness and contentment.

The Blue Road To Atlantis

Gary Ferguson

'A classic' - Sir Tim Smit, Co-founder of the Eden Project 
'I saw truth, I saw beauty, I saw a better future in these pages.' - John Lewis-Stempel 
 
For too long we have set ourselves apart from nature, seeing ourselves as superior, removed, independent. But in doing so we have lost sight of all that the natural world can teach us. 
 
In Eight Master Lessons of Nature, Gary Ferguson reveals the wisdom of the natural world. By keenly observing and admiring wildlife and their surroundings, he shows us why sympathy is our greatest asset and crucial to our survival, that feminine rule is default in the natural world, and how even from the ashes of destruction, life is still able to thrive. 
 
Written in rich and nourishing prose, Ferguson gently dismantles the walls we have erected between ourselves and nature, showings us the wonder of our surroundings in all their splendour. Drawing on stories from art and science, flora and fauna, philosophy and history, he carefully unravels the dazzling web of connections that binds us to earth and the rich supply of wisdom that is stored here. The result is a powerful and timely reminder of our place in this world, our interdependence, and how much nature is able to teach, heal and ultimately restore us.

Eight Master Lessons of Nature

Lorraine Kelly

From childhood family day trips to Loch Lomond, to her days as TVam&rsquo;s roving correspondent, Lorraine Kelly has covered the length and breadth of Scotland. But certain special places tug at her heartstrings and lure her back time and time again. Travelling to the highlands and islands and all her favourite places in between, this is Lorraine&rsquo;s personal journey around her beautiful and beguiling country. 
 
Each and every stop gives rise to fascinating stories and memories along the way, from her adopted home of Dundee to the wild and remote islands of St Kilda. She revisits childhood haunts in Glasgow, indulges in a spot of whisky-tasting on the island of Islay and reveals what led her to once arrive in Edinburgh pushing a pram and wearing a pair of rollerskates. She rediscovers the joys of the natural wilderness in the Highlands, visits a dramatic Viking fire festival in Shetland and recalls the week she and her family spent hunting the Loch Ness monster . . . 
 
Beautifully illustrated with stunning original photographs, Lorraine Kelly&rsquo;s Scotland is a celebration of a gloriously diverse country with a deep and rich heritage, told with all Lorraine&rsquo;s characteristic warmth and humour.

Lorraine Kelly's Scotland

Kitty Ferguson

The extraordinary, unlikely tale of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and their enormous contribution to astronomy and understanding of the cosmos is one of the strangest stories in the history of science. 
 
Kepler was a poor, devoutly religious teacher with a genius for mathematics. Brahe was an arrogant, extravagant aristocrat who possessed the finest astronomical instruments and observations of the time, before the telescope. Both espoused theories that seem off-the-wall to modern minds, but their fateful meeting in Prague in 1600 was to change the future of science. 
 
Set in one of the most turbulent and colourful eras in European history, when medieval was giving way to modern, Tycho and Kepler is a double biography of these two remarkable men.

Tycho and Kepler

The Unlikely Partnership that Forever Changed our Understanding of the Heavens

Fred Pearce

DEEP JUNGLE is an exploration of the most alien and feared habitat on Earth. Starting with man's earliest recorded adventures, Fred Pearce journeys high into the canopy - home to two-thirds of all the creatures on our planet, many of whom never come down to earth. During his travels he encounters all manner of fantastic flora and fauna, including a frog that can glide from tree to tree, a spider that can drag live chickens into its burrow and a flower that smells of decaying flesh. 
 
It is in the jungle that Pearce discovers secrets about how evolution works, the intricate links that connect us all, and maybe even clues to where humans came from - here is the key to our future foods and medicines, our climate and our understanding of how life works. At the start of a new millennium Pearce asks why we continue to waste precious time - and billions of dollars - looking for signs of life elsewhere in our universe when the greatest range of life-forms that have ever existed lies right here on our doorstep. Today environmentalists say we are on the verge of destroying the last rainforests, and with them the planet's evolutionary crucible, and maybe even its ability to maintain life on Earth. But nature has a way of getting its own back. The Mayans and the people of Angkor went too far in manipulating nature and paid the ultimate price. Their civilisations died and the jungle returned. Nature reclaimed it's own and it may do so again ...

Deep Jungle

Journey To The Heart Of The Rainforest

John Gribbin

The quantum computer is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Pioneering physicists are on the brink of unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers – which, like Schrödinger’s famous ‘dead and alive’ cat, rely on entities like electrons, photons or atoms existing in two states at the same time – is set to turn the computing world on its head. 
 
In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology, John Gribbin updates his previous views on the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where ‘everything is real’. Looking back to Alan Turing’s work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications – from machines which learn through ‘intuition’ and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to create a world where communication occurs faster than light and teleportation is possible.

Computing with Quantum Cats

From Colossus to Qubits

Jilly Cooper

A celebration of the mongrel. 
 
The mongrel occupies a special place in our hearts and homes. Jilly Cooper collected stories from hundreds of owners to write this engaging and affectionate tribute. She presents a delightful account of the lives and natures of a vast assortment of dogs of doubtful parentage: a fascinating, moving and entertaining chronicle of their exploits and accomplishments, their bravery, devotion and wisdom. Jilly's special method of classification enables you to tell instantly if your pet is a Woolly Whitejaw, a Borderline Collie, a Bertrand Russell or a Lancashire Hot Pet. At last, our mongrels have achieved the recognition they have so long deserved...

Intelligent and Loyal

Mark Henderson

This mini ebook features a sample chapter from Mark Henderson’s brilliant new book THE GEEK MANIFESTO: why science matters. 
 
The geeks are coming. And our world needs them. 
 
We live in a country where: 
-A writer can be forced into court for telling the scientific truth. 
-The media would rather sell papers by scaremongering about the MMR vaccine or GM crops than reporting the facts. 
-A government advisor was sacked for a decision based on science rather than public opinion. 
-Only one of our 650 MPs has ever worked as a research scientist. 
 
It is time to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into politics and society. To fight for policy based on evidence. 
 
The full book is available from 12th May 2012.

The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters to Government (mini ebook)

Jenny McCarthy

On the morning Jenny McCarthy discovered her two-year-old son Evan having a seizure, her life turned upside down. From being the mother of an average toddler she was suddenly thrown into a world of turmoil. As doctor after doctor misdiagnosed his symptoms, Evan suffered many harrowing, life-threatening episodes. Then, one amazing doctor recognized the truth. Evan was autistic. 
 
Desperate, but relieved to finally have a diagnosis, Jenny didn't know what to do or where to go for guidance. Alone, and without any resources - except for her unshakeable determination to help her son - Jenny soon realized that she'd have to become a detective if she was ever going to be able to help her son. She embarked on a frantic search for guidance and information, and spoke with many doctors, nurses, parents, government agencies and private foundations. Essentially, she earned a Ph. D. in 'Google research'. Eventually, she discovered the groundbreaking programme that became the key to helping Evan. 
 
Deeply moving, and at times heartbreaking, in Louder Than Words Jenny McCarthy reveals more than the winning formula that worked for her son. Here she tells of the remarkable, sometimes harrowing, journey of discovery they took together. She shares the frustrations and joys of raising an autistic child and creates a road map for concerned parents. She also shows how, with love and determination, parents may be able to shape their child's destiny and their future happiness.

Louder Than Words

Paul Rosolie

Madre de Dios – ‘Mother of God’ – is a place where the Andean Cloud Forest intermingles with the steaming tropical jungle at the head of the Amazon river. Here can be found the greatest proliferation of living species that has ever existed on Earth, ever. And it is a place which is now under grave threat. 
 
Paul Rosolie has travelled to the very heart of this wilderness in search of rare flora and fauna. His adventures – with giant anacondas, huge cayman, the mighty jaguar and one very small anteater – are by turn thrilling, terrifying and revelatory. Paul crosses some of the world’s harshest terrain and encounters some of its most extreme weather conditions. He battles with life-threatening tropical diseases and the extreme mental challenges presented by being alone in the heart of the jungle. 
 
Mother of God is an astonishing tale of adventure and survival, set in one of the world’s few remaining truly wild places. It’s a story of nature, red in tooth and claw, and how we must both respect its awesome power and protect its extraordinary glory.

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