Neil MacGregor was Director of the National Gallery, London from 1987 to 2002 and of the British Museum from 2002 to 2015, and Chair of the Steering Committee of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin from 2015 to 2018. His previous books include A History of the World in 100 Objects, Shakespeare's Restless World and Germany: Memories of a Nation, all available in Penguin and now between them translated into more than a dozen languages. In 2010, he was made a member of the Order of Merit, the UK's highest civil honour. In 2015 he was awarded the Goethe Medal and the German National Prize. In 2018 the radio series Living with the Gods received the Sandford Saint Martin Award for Religious Broadcasting.

Neil MacGregor

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Colin Wilson

Taking the most famous 'prophet' of recent times, David Koresh, as a starting point, this is an analytical look at the troubled history of charlatan messiahs around the world. But Koresh was neither the first, nor the most excessive, nor even the most misguided, and Colin Wilson looks at cult leaders from the early days of Christianity through, among others, the 'Rev' Jim Jones and Jeffrey Lundgren. 
 
He goes on to consider what it is that makes these messiahs believe they are who they claim to be, and what makes people give up everything to follow them - a messiah is nothing without someone to believe in him. This comprehensive study untangles the history of the charlatan messiahs and explores their world view. 
 
Colin Wilson's remarkable career has led him to write on subjects as diverse as archaeology, astronomy, cosmology, Egyptology, crime and the paranormal. His other books have been translated into many languages and he travels the world, lecturing and holding workshops.

The Devil's Party

A History of Charlatan Messiahs

Guy Martin

It is a largely forgotten fact that Britain was the first industrialized country in the world, but Guy Martin - the cult motorcycle racer and mechanic - is about to remind us how the industrial revolution helped make Britain great. 
 
Guy shows how the discoveries made in the late 18th-19th centuries are to thank for the ease of our every day lives: in order to cook a bacon and egg sandwich in Industrial-era conditions, Guy has to restore a steam locomotive and railway to have the components delivered to the local shop; he has to bring a saw mill back into working order to be able to make a bicycle; he has to revamp a Victorian fishing trawler so he can cook himself some fish and chips, and when he decides to mow the lawn, he restores a Victorian botanical garden. After all that, he's in need of a holiday - so he sets to work restoring a Victorian holiday resort. 
 
Illustrated throughout with specially commissioned photography as well as historical images, Guy will take us through each project; his passion, enthusiasm and sheer inventiveness bringing a completely new perspective to the Industrial Revolution. He invites us to live it with him, to enjoy the nostalgia, marvel in the mechanics and learn from its legacy.

How Britain Worked

Richard Wolffe

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama himself told veteran political reporter Richard Wolffe, 'You'll get more access than anyone else', and Renegade is his unique story of how a political newcomer with no money and an outsider's name grew into the world's most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the man codenamed 'Renegade' by his Secret Service protectors. Wolffe portrays an historic candidate and his - until now - inscrutable character and campaign in untold, stunning detail, from his university lecturer's office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington. With unprecedented access, gained over a dozen exclusive interviews with Obama, Wolffe shares with us his front row seat. We fly on the candidate's plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a country in crisis; we stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures the nomination; and feel the tension backstage as he delivers his convention speech to a stadium crowd and a transfixed TV audience. 
 
Renegade is not just an election epic but is also an insightful biography of the new President of the United States.

Renegade

The Making of Barack Obama

Damon Wilson

What makes a good scandal? Money, politics and power, and a huge dose of media interest. 
 
Scandal reigns in the world of politics, celebrity, business, religion, royalty and art, and this book covers it all - from Watergate to Michael Jackson, Diana to Oscar Wilde. Distinguished writer Colin Wilson delves into the murky intrigues of British and American life to bring the most scandalous secrets to light. 
 
Containing brand new chapters on Michael Jackson, ENRON, the death of David Kelly, the Catholic Church sex scandals and the cash-for-honours scandal, and an updated chapter on OJ Simpson, here are the embarrassing true stories the rich and famous tried but failed to hide.

Scandal!

An Explosive Exposé of the Affairs, Corruption and Power Struggles of the Rich and Famous

Naomi Shragai

'Nobody understands the everyday madness of working life better than Naomi Shragai. This book should be read by everyone who ventures anywhere near an office.' - Lucy Kellaway, Financial Times 
 
A revolutionary approach to understanding the emotional dynamics within our working lives. 
 
'Nobody understands the everyday madness of working life better than Naomi Shragai. This book should be read by everyone who ventures anywhere near an office' - Lucy Kellaway 
 
You probably don't realise this, but every working day you replay and re-enact conflicts, dynamics and relationships from your past. Whether it's confusing an authority figure with a parent; avoiding conflict because of past squabbles with siblings; or suffering from imposter syndrome because of the way your family responded to success, when it comes to work we are all trapped in our own upbringings and the patterns of behaviour we learned while growing up. 
 
Many of us spend eighteen formative years or more living with family and building our personality; but most of us also spend fifty years - or 90,000 hours - in the workplace. With the pull of the familial so strong, we unconsciously re-enact our personal past in our professional present - even when it holds us back. 
 
Through intimate stories, fascinating insights and provocative questions that tackle the issues that cause us most problems - from imposter syndrome and fear of conflict to perfectionism and anxiety - business psychotherapist Naomi Shragai will transform how you think about yourself and your working life. 
 
Based on thirty years of expertise and practice, Shragai will show you that what is holding you back is within your gift to change - and the first step is to realise how you, like the rest of the people you work with, habitually confuse your professional present with your personal past.

The Man Who Mistook His Job for His Life

How to Thrive at Work by Leaving Your Emotional Baggage Behind

Julie Burchill

Daniel Raven

Britain is experiencing a sudden reckless rush of liberalisation, from 24 hour licensing to gay marriages. But how did we get from idolising Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier to Jordan and Peter Andre? Funny and bittersweet, Made In Brighton interweaves personal stories of life in Brighton with larger themes of sex, politics and class to take a cold, hard look at the changing face of Britain, and at the town which has always been at the vanguard of Britain's cultural evolution. From punk to dance, dope to coke, the Labour party to hen parties, straight to gay to bi, this book holds a mirror up to the dazed face of Britain and gives it a good hard slap.

Made In Brighton

From the grand to the gutter: Modern Britain as seen from beside the sea

Dawn Porter

There's a new shade in vogue: silver is the new black. Women everywhere are falling for the sophisticated charms of this increasingly visible species - the silver fox. Take a trip to the cinema and there's gorgeous George Clooney smiling at you with his salt and pepper charm, Harrison Ford with his shimmering locks, Sean Connery with that white-silver tonsure. Turn on your TV and there's a shiny array of them; Des Lynam and Parky, John Slattery as Roger Sterling in Mad Men, endless re-runs of Inspector Morse, Larry Lamb in Eastenders. 
 
All your favourites and more are packed into this treat of a book. You won't be able to resist: there's only one reason Monica Lewinsky kept returning to the Oval Office - it's the silver fox charm.

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