Alzheimer's
Britain like the rest of the developed world is in the grip of a silent plague. Its thousands of victims can no longer make sense of the world and are contained for their own safety in fading Victorian piles and nondescript redbrick detention centres around the country. For them the present is a foreign country and the past a lost continent.
There are now more people in the UK with Alzheimer's than the population of Liverpool, and four million Americans are reported to have the disease. Longevity is a major factor in the increasing incidence of the disease, with the number of over 65s in the UK having trebled in the last 100 years, and forecast to double again in the next 25 years.
With such an alarming background, the race to find the causes - and therefore potentially a cure - for Alzheimer's is urgent. In this Penguin Special, Dr Andrew Lees, a world expert on the neurodegenerative diseases, explains what we know, and don't know, about Alzheimer's and its amelioration. The drugs that are currently available do not do enough to help, and the various physical and mental exercises we are encouraged to undertake are unproven. Yet it's not entirely a black picture: scientific endeavour has greatly increased our knowledge of the disease's spread and rate of deterioration, and the composition of the starchy plaques and the mechanism of the bindweed tangles in the brain which are core to the illness are much better understood.
Alzheimer's is tough even to contemplate. But it represents one of the greatest medical mysteries of our age, and Andrew Lees's book provides a fascinating account of our knowledge of this terrible disease to this point.
There are now more people in the UK with Alzheimer's than the population of Liverpool, and four million Americans are reported to have the disease. Longevity is a major factor in the increasing incidence of the disease, with the number of over 65s in the UK having trebled in the last 100 years, and forecast to double again in the next 25 years.
With such an alarming background, the race to find the causes - and therefore potentially a cure - for Alzheimer's is urgent. In this Penguin Special, Dr Andrew Lees, a world expert on the neurodegenerative diseases, explains what we know, and don't know, about Alzheimer's and its amelioration. The drugs that are currently available do not do enough to help, and the various physical and mental exercises we are encouraged to undertake are unproven. Yet it's not entirely a black picture: scientific endeavour has greatly increased our knowledge of the disease's spread and rate of deterioration, and the composition of the starchy plaques and the mechanism of the bindweed tangles in the brain which are core to the illness are much better understood.
Alzheimer's is tough even to contemplate. But it represents one of the greatest medical mysteries of our age, and Andrew Lees's book provides a fascinating account of our knowledge of this terrible disease to this point.
House of Cards
In the summer of 2011, investors with Custom House Capital - some of whom had all their pension savings tied up with the investment house - faced a nightmare: the possibility that their money was gone, and that they wouldn't be getting it back.
Finance journalist Niall Brady takes us behind the scenes for the first in-depth account of a disaster that has cost investors millions. He shows how clients' funds were mis-allocated to cover losses, how the Financial Regulator, though aware of irregularities at CHC for years, failed to forestall the crisis, and how it remains unclear, over a year after the scandal was uncovered, whether people will get their money back. His account of the strange culture and practices of CHC makes House of Cards a must-read for fans of Too Big to Fail and The Big Short.
Finance journalist Niall Brady takes us behind the scenes for the first in-depth account of a disaster that has cost investors millions. He shows how clients' funds were mis-allocated to cover losses, how the Financial Regulator, though aware of irregularities at CHC for years, failed to forestall the crisis, and how it remains unclear, over a year after the scandal was uncovered, whether people will get their money back. His account of the strange culture and practices of CHC makes House of Cards a must-read for fans of Too Big to Fail and The Big Short.
How to Exceed Your Expectations in the Leaving Cert
Every year sixth year students are bombarded with ideas on how to handle the leaving cert. Where How to Exceed Your Expectations in the Leaving Cert is different is that these ideas have been taken, tested, and refined through the eyes of someone who sat his exams just one year ago and got straight As.
In How to Exceed Your Expectations in the Leaving Cert Rory Crean shares his detailed, structured and fail-safe blueprint to help students at every level get through that final crucial year of school and to come out the other end having reached their full potential. He does not come up with a rigid formula but instead a detailed set of guidelines that will allow each student to develop his or her customized approach.
There is no getting away from it: the leaving cert is a challenge and Rory Crean makes it clear that to do their best students need to focus right from the start of sixth year. But he also shows that if they do so they will be rewarded with peace of mind, exam results that will exceed their current expectations, and indeed self-management skills that will be invaluable for the rest of their lives.
In How to Exceed Your Expectations in the Leaving Cert Rory Crean shares his detailed, structured and fail-safe blueprint to help students at every level get through that final crucial year of school and to come out the other end having reached their full potential. He does not come up with a rigid formula but instead a detailed set of guidelines that will allow each student to develop his or her customized approach.
There is no getting away from it: the leaving cert is a challenge and Rory Crean makes it clear that to do their best students need to focus right from the start of sixth year. But he also shows that if they do so they will be rewarded with peace of mind, exam results that will exceed their current expectations, and indeed self-management skills that will be invaluable for the rest of their lives.
The Economist: International Banking
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Retail banking is heading for a revival. With the financial crisis still hanging over Western economies, banks have rejuvenated the retail arm of the business. They are now seen as more stable sources of profit than the risky traders.
Technology is both a help and a hindrance. On one hand, online banking is revolutionizing money management. But will this lead to the close of the high street bank? How can banks outstrip the developing tech companies who are offering rival services?
This report will assess the challenges and opportunities that banks face in the rich world and the emerging markets. Sections include:
Retail renaissance
Withering away
Dispatches from the hothouse
Crunching the numbers
A wealth of wallets
Over the sea and far away
Private pursuits
World, here we come
Retail banking is heading for a revival. With the financial crisis still hanging over Western economies, banks have rejuvenated the retail arm of the business. They are now seen as more stable sources of profit than the risky traders.
Technology is both a help and a hindrance. On one hand, online banking is revolutionizing money management. But will this lead to the close of the high street bank? How can banks outstrip the developing tech companies who are offering rival services?
This report will assess the challenges and opportunities that banks face in the rich world and the emerging markets. Sections include:
Retail renaissance
Withering away
Dispatches from the hothouse
Crunching the numbers
A wealth of wallets
Over the sea and far away
Private pursuits
World, here we come
Pray
'That is why there is NOTHING better than sport' Kevin Pietersen
The 2011-12 Premier League season finished on an afternoon so extraordinary that it prompted Kevin Pietersen's tweet. Yet this was just the climax of an incredible season. By May fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked and enraged. Along the way football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law and matters of life and death.
In Pray Nick Hornby, author of the classic Fever Pitch, offers an entertaining and typically insightful account of this most extraordinary of seasons. Beginning with the weekend of 28 August when the Man Utd demolition of Arsenal 8-2 and the Man City demolition of Spurs 5-1 showed what was to come, he concentrates on a number of games whose significance went beyond the immediate result: the October games with alleged rascist incidents, the fairy-tale return of Thierry Henry, the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Carling Cup Final where Liverpool's victory only served to point up the club's problems, the unusual (but increasingly more common) 4-4 draw between Man Utd and Everton...
It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. Read all about it, and relive it, here.
The 2011-12 Premier League season finished on an afternoon so extraordinary that it prompted Kevin Pietersen's tweet. Yet this was just the climax of an incredible season. By May fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked and enraged. Along the way football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law and matters of life and death.
In Pray Nick Hornby, author of the classic Fever Pitch, offers an entertaining and typically insightful account of this most extraordinary of seasons. Beginning with the weekend of 28 August when the Man Utd demolition of Arsenal 8-2 and the Man City demolition of Spurs 5-1 showed what was to come, he concentrates on a number of games whose significance went beyond the immediate result: the October games with alleged rascist incidents, the fairy-tale return of Thierry Henry, the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Carling Cup Final where Liverpool's victory only served to point up the club's problems, the unusual (but increasingly more common) 4-4 draw between Man Utd and Everton...
It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. Read all about it, and relive it, here.
Being Sam Frears
This is Sam Frears' story.
This is also the story of an actor, a rock-climber and a man born with an extremely rare genetic disorder only affecting Ashkenazi Jews. Sam was supposed to live to the age of 5. In February, he celebrated his 40th birthday.
Challenged by blindness and a body under great stress, Sam Frears is trying to live an ordinary life under extraordinary circumstances His struggles and triumphs offer an illuminating look at the differences - and similarities - that make us human.
This is also the story of an actor, a rock-climber and a man born with an extremely rare genetic disorder only affecting Ashkenazi Jews. Sam was supposed to live to the age of 5. In February, he celebrated his 40th birthday.
Challenged by blindness and a body under great stress, Sam Frears is trying to live an ordinary life under extraordinary circumstances His struggles and triumphs offer an illuminating look at the differences - and similarities - that make us human.
The Economist: Cuba
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Raúl Castro is changing Cuba. Recognising the limits that the Soviet style economy places upon the Cuban people, he is allowing the market greater freedoms. A new, private sector is emerging and is expected to employ around 25% of the labour force by 2015.
What will these changes mean for foreign business and for Cuba's position on the global stage?
As there doesn't seem to be a Castro successor and the party is pressured by the younger generation and the digital world, where will Cuba be in ten years time?
This report will reflect on the likelihood and impact of political and economic change on the island - essential reading for anyone involved in the region.
Sections include:
Revolution in retreat
The deal's off - growing inequalities
Hasta la vista, baby - a disappearing population
Edging towards capitalism - slow reform
Grandmother's footsteps - political change
The Miami mirror - Cuba and Miami
The biological factor - what next for the Castro dynasty?
Raúl Castro is changing Cuba. Recognising the limits that the Soviet style economy places upon the Cuban people, he is allowing the market greater freedoms. A new, private sector is emerging and is expected to employ around 25% of the labour force by 2015.
What will these changes mean for foreign business and for Cuba's position on the global stage?
As there doesn't seem to be a Castro successor and the party is pressured by the younger generation and the digital world, where will Cuba be in ten years time?
This report will reflect on the likelihood and impact of political and economic change on the island - essential reading for anyone involved in the region.
Sections include:
Revolution in retreat
The deal's off - growing inequalities
Hasta la vista, baby - a disappearing population
Edging towards capitalism - slow reform
Grandmother's footsteps - political change
The Miami mirror - Cuba and Miami
The biological factor - what next for the Castro dynasty?
The Economist: State Capitalism
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
As Western liberalist capitalism flounders in the wake of global recession, state backed companies are slowly taking over.
The melding of the power of the state and the power of capitalism is on the rise. Prevalent in the emerging economies of China, Russia and Brazil, some of the world's most powerful companies are state owned.
The 13 biggest oil firms are government controlled. China Mobile has over 600million customers and the Emirates airlines is growing at 20% a year.
However, despite the numerous successes, Adrian Wooldridge urges caution. He asks whether it could easily survive if confronted with difficulty, criticises the embedded corruption and cronyism and asks whether a fair trading system is possible to maintain with government favoured business.
Slowly but surely, the invisible hand of the market is being usurped by the visible, often authoritarian, hand of state capitalism.
Sections include:
The visible hand
Something old, something new - a brief history of state capitalism
New masters of the universe - how state enterprise is spreading
Theme and variations - state capitalism is not all the same
Mixed bag - infrastructure and innovation
The world in their hands - state capitalism looks outward and inward
And the winner is - fatal flaws
As Western liberalist capitalism flounders in the wake of global recession, state backed companies are slowly taking over.
The melding of the power of the state and the power of capitalism is on the rise. Prevalent in the emerging economies of China, Russia and Brazil, some of the world's most powerful companies are state owned.
The 13 biggest oil firms are government controlled. China Mobile has over 600million customers and the Emirates airlines is growing at 20% a year.
However, despite the numerous successes, Adrian Wooldridge urges caution. He asks whether it could easily survive if confronted with difficulty, criticises the embedded corruption and cronyism and asks whether a fair trading system is possible to maintain with government favoured business.
Slowly but surely, the invisible hand of the market is being usurped by the visible, often authoritarian, hand of state capitalism.
Sections include:
The visible hand
Something old, something new - a brief history of state capitalism
New masters of the universe - how state enterprise is spreading
Theme and variations - state capitalism is not all the same
Mixed bag - infrastructure and innovation
The world in their hands - state capitalism looks outward and inward
And the winner is - fatal flaws
The Making of the Greek Crisis
Penguin Specials are designed to fill a gap. Written to be read over a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively in digital form.
The financial and social crisis in Greece has deep roots in the country's society and history. In this new Penguin Short, the leading Balkan commentator and Oxford University historian James Pettifer explores the reasons for Greece's current situation, tracing the deep fissures caused by unresolved issues dating back to the Second World War, Greece's often difficult relationships with Turkey and the Balkan neighbours to the north, and its problematic position in the European Union. In 1981, Greece became the tenth member of what was then the European Economic Community, and for a time seemed to be making good progress in democratisation and economic development. Now that achievement is at serious risk.
The author has extensive experience in Greece dating back to the time of the Colonels dictatorship in the early 1970s and its bitter aftermath. The Making of the Greek Crisis sets the scene for the country's intractable financial crisis and associated conflict with the European Union institutions in Brussels, and explains the practical, difficult choices facing the Greek people at this important turning point in their history.
The financial and social crisis in Greece has deep roots in the country's society and history. In this new Penguin Short, the leading Balkan commentator and Oxford University historian James Pettifer explores the reasons for Greece's current situation, tracing the deep fissures caused by unresolved issues dating back to the Second World War, Greece's often difficult relationships with Turkey and the Balkan neighbours to the north, and its problematic position in the European Union. In 1981, Greece became the tenth member of what was then the European Economic Community, and for a time seemed to be making good progress in democratisation and economic development. Now that achievement is at serious risk.
The author has extensive experience in Greece dating back to the time of the Colonels dictatorship in the early 1970s and its bitter aftermath. The Making of the Greek Crisis sets the scene for the country's intractable financial crisis and associated conflict with the European Union institutions in Brussels, and explains the practical, difficult choices facing the Greek people at this important turning point in their history.
The Economist: Financial Innovation
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Is financial innovation good or bad?
Did it cause the financial crisis of 2007/2008?
Are the current financial systems working for a stable global economy?
Andrew Palmer answers these questions in his special report, but urges that it's more that just a debate on whether financial innovation does or doesn't work. In fact, he claims, it is almost impossible to draw these distinctions.
Using a variety of examples - from social bonds to securitisations risks - he highlights the weaknesses in innovative strategies, revealing how some innovation is doomed to failure.
The consequences of innovation are now so crucial and so scrutinised - it is essential reading for anyone in the business world.
Sections include:
Playing with fire
The ferment of finance
The little guy
From vanilla to rocky road
The fast and furious
Of plumbing and promises
On the side of the angels
Safety first
Is financial innovation good or bad?
Did it cause the financial crisis of 2007/2008?
Are the current financial systems working for a stable global economy?
Andrew Palmer answers these questions in his special report, but urges that it's more that just a debate on whether financial innovation does or doesn't work. In fact, he claims, it is almost impossible to draw these distinctions.
Using a variety of examples - from social bonds to securitisations risks - he highlights the weaknesses in innovative strategies, revealing how some innovation is doomed to failure.
The consequences of innovation are now so crucial and so scrutinised - it is essential reading for anyone in the business world.
Sections include:
Playing with fire
The ferment of finance
The little guy
From vanilla to rocky road
The fast and furious
Of plumbing and promises
On the side of the angels
Safety first
The Economist: Pakistan
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Pakistan is in a tricky situation. It is under constant scrutiny by the world media but is more often than not described in terms of its problems.
There are indeed difficulties - bordering the unsettled nations of Afghanistan and Iran puts it in a precarious position. A poor and badly educated population for the most part is not helping the country's growth.
There is hope.
The wealth of natural resources, a growing, urban population and a more democratic government all point to a positive future.
But with the NATO withdrawal from its troubled neighbours nearing, Pakistan's survival hangs in the balance.
Simon Long's special report includes the following sections:
Perilous Journey
Too close for comfort
State of vulnerability
Captain's innings
In the shadow of the mosque
Lights off
A taste of Hunny
Always with us
Dripping with blood
Going with the flow
Pakistan is in a tricky situation. It is under constant scrutiny by the world media but is more often than not described in terms of its problems.
There are indeed difficulties - bordering the unsettled nations of Afghanistan and Iran puts it in a precarious position. A poor and badly educated population for the most part is not helping the country's growth.
There is hope.
The wealth of natural resources, a growing, urban population and a more democratic government all point to a positive future.
But with the NATO withdrawal from its troubled neighbours nearing, Pakistan's survival hangs in the balance.
Simon Long's special report includes the following sections:
Perilous Journey
Too close for comfort
State of vulnerability
Captain's innings
In the shadow of the mosque
Lights off
A taste of Hunny
Always with us
Dripping with blood
Going with the flow
The Economist: China
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
'The line up for next year's change of leadership does not give cause for optimism' says James Miles, the Economist's China correspondent.
With a heavily state owned banking system, waning numbers of workers in a labour intensive industrial economy and lack of development in new business, China's current boom may be set to bust.
In the following sections, James Miles examines the restrictive nature of government in China, and what it will mean for the country and the rest of the world.
Urbanisation: Where do you live?
Rising power, anxious state
China's new leaders: The princelings are coming
Growth prospects: Beware the middle-income trap
Deng & Co
Government's role in industry: The long arm of the state
Demography: Getting on
Ideological battles: Universalists v exceptionalists
'The line up for next year's change of leadership does not give cause for optimism' says James Miles, the Economist's China correspondent.
With a heavily state owned banking system, waning numbers of workers in a labour intensive industrial economy and lack of development in new business, China's current boom may be set to bust.
In the following sections, James Miles examines the restrictive nature of government in China, and what it will mean for the country and the rest of the world.
Urbanisation: Where do you live?
Rising power, anxious state
China's new leaders: The princelings are coming
Growth prospects: Beware the middle-income trap
Deng & Co
Government's role in industry: The long arm of the state
Demography: Getting on
Ideological battles: Universalists v exceptionalists
The Economist: Personal Technology
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Twenty years ago one gigabyte of memory cost $200,000. Now, a terabyte (1000 gigabytes) costs a mere $100.
Technology permeates our everyday lives and never more so than with our portable, personal devices. Businesses are struggling to keep up with their employees' technological abilities and demands.
In Personal Technology, Martin Giles unpicks the changing landscape of technology, examining apps, new devices and their effect on world trade. In the following sections, he explains how technology and the economy are becoming inextricably linked and how this has resulted in the birth of the new, digital age.
Beyond the PC
Consumerisation: The power of many
Apps on tap
Personal technology at work: IT's Arab spring
Adapting personal IT for business: The consumer-industrial complex
Droid wars
Ubiquitous computing: Up close
Technology and society: Here comes anyware
Twenty years ago one gigabyte of memory cost $200,000. Now, a terabyte (1000 gigabytes) costs a mere $100.
Technology permeates our everyday lives and never more so than with our portable, personal devices. Businesses are struggling to keep up with their employees' technological abilities and demands.
In Personal Technology, Martin Giles unpicks the changing landscape of technology, examining apps, new devices and their effect on world trade. In the following sections, he explains how technology and the economy are becoming inextricably linked and how this has resulted in the birth of the new, digital age.
Beyond the PC
Consumerisation: The power of many
Apps on tap
Personal technology at work: IT's Arab spring
Adapting personal IT for business: The consumer-industrial complex
Droid wars
Ubiquitous computing: Up close
Technology and society: Here comes anyware
The Economist: The Future of Jobs
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
Globalisation and technology are changing the structure of the labour market. Now, companies have the choice to recruit from further afield and without the need for traditional office workers. Matthew Bishop explores how companies can, and will, recruit employees in the future and how individuals can get ahead in this era of change.
Sections include:
The great mismatch
Labour-market trends: Winners and losers
Bottom of the pyramid
Self-help: My big fat career
Free-for-all
Companies' concerns: Got talent?
The role of government: Lending a hand
A better balance: More feast, less famine
Globalisation and technology are changing the structure of the labour market. Now, companies have the choice to recruit from further afield and without the need for traditional office workers. Matthew Bishop explores how companies can, and will, recruit employees in the future and how individuals can get ahead in this era of change.
Sections include:
The great mismatch
Labour-market trends: Winners and losers
Bottom of the pyramid
Self-help: My big fat career
Free-for-all
Companies' concerns: Got talent?
The role of government: Lending a hand
A better balance: More feast, less famine
The Economist: Video Games
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
In the US, the average age of a gamer is 37 and 42% are female. Last year the industry earned $56billion worldwide.
Tim Cross analyses the proliferation of the video games in this Economist special report, and how its successes are set to grow.
Sections in the report include:
All the world's a game
As you like it
The business of gaming: Thinking out of the box
Paying for pixels
E-sports: Gentlemen, start your computers
Violence and addiction: No killer app
Alternative uses: The play's the thing
The importance of fun: Homo ludens
In the US, the average age of a gamer is 37 and 42% are female. Last year the industry earned $56billion worldwide.
Tim Cross analyses the proliferation of the video games in this Economist special report, and how its successes are set to grow.
Sections in the report include:
All the world's a game
As you like it
The business of gaming: Thinking out of the box
Paying for pixels
E-sports: Gentlemen, start your computers
Violence and addiction: No killer app
Alternative uses: The play's the thing
The importance of fun: Homo ludens
The Economist: Women and Work
The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour.
When students graduate from university they are employed in equal numbers. Move up the ladder a few rungs and the number of women in high powered positions has fallen dramatically.
Women make up just 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs and still generally get paid less than their male counterparts.
Barbara Becks ask why this is and what can be done about it. She covers:
Closing the gap
Female labour markets: The cashier and the carpenter
A world of bluestockings
Work and family: Baby blues
Top jobs: Too many suits
Women in China: The sky's the limit
Looking ahead: Here's to the next half-century
When students graduate from university they are employed in equal numbers. Move up the ladder a few rungs and the number of women in high powered positions has fallen dramatically.
Women make up just 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs and still generally get paid less than their male counterparts.
Barbara Becks ask why this is and what can be done about it. She covers:
Closing the gap
Female labour markets: The cashier and the carpenter
A world of bluestockings
Work and family: Baby blues
Top jobs: Too many suits
Women in China: The sky's the limit
Looking ahead: Here's to the next half-century