Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? The periodic table is one of our crowning...

From 1915 to 1970, an exodus of almost six million people would change the face of America. With stunning historical detail, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson gives us this definitive, vividly dramatic account of how these journeys unfolded. Based on interviews with...

An exploration of the amazing world of surface science from the author of Science and the City. You are surrounded by stickiness. With every step you take, air molecules cling to you and slow you down; the effect is harder to ignore in water. When you hit the road,...

A charming and eye-opening exploration of the special relationship between humans and chickens from Sy Montgomery, "one of our finest chroniclers of the natural world" (The New York Times). For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery--whose The Soul of an...

A spellbinding look at the history of the world through the stories of twelve carpets Beautiful, sensuous, and enigmatic, great carpets follow power. Emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai crave them as symbols of earthly domination. Shamans and priests desire them to evoke the...

Diaries, sketchbooks, common-places, notebooks, ledgers and ships' logs: how the blank book changed the way we think, and helped us change the world.

Simon Winchester's The Surgeon of Crowthorne was an international bestseller and tells an extraordinary true story of murder, madness and an extraordinary friendship in the nineteenth century. It is the tale of James Murray, the compiler of the first Oxford English Dictionary, and his...

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2019 WINNER OF THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2020 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2020 'You'd be crazy not to read this book'...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets "An irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure...

"THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BIOGRAPHY," hails Scientific American: A thrilling new history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists. "A masterpiece of science writing." --Washington Post A New York Times Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards ...

"An extraordinary history of the perils and promise of every breath we take" - James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath "Another brilliant work from one of the very best science writers, Air-Borne will leave you agog at the incredible world that floats...

"Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured." --New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller * New York Times Book Review * 10 Best Books of 2018 New York Times Notable Book * Author of the highly anticipated forthcoming book, A...

The #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller The basis for the PBS Ken Burns Documentary The Gene: An Intimate History From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies--a fascinating history of the gene and "a magisterial account of...

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! . #1 Washington Post bestseller! . #1 Indie Bestseller! . USA Today Bestseller! 'Earnest and empathetic.' - New York Times Tuberculosis has been entwined with hu-manity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of...

WINNER OF THE 2010 SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION What if the world imagined by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-four was real? What if everything around you was black and white except for the red letters on propaganda signs? Where spies like Orwell's thought Police studied your...

A rich, provocative and entertaining history of women's words - of the language we have, and haven't, had to share our lives.'Fascinating, intriguing, witty, a gem of a book' KATE MOSSE'Wonderful' DAILY TELEGRAPH'This superb book teems with historical marvels and their...

'Glorious' The New York Times 'A jewel of a book, a paean to the wonders of water and our place within it' James Nestor, bestselling author of Breath Take a dive into the deep with writer and swimmer Bonnie Tsui and discover what...

**Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2023** A NEW YORK TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, ECONOMIST, MAIL ON SUNDAY and GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 From the prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies, The Song of the Cell...

How often do we open the fridge or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we'll find something fresh and ready to eat? It's an everyday act - but just a century ago, eating food that had been refrigerated was cause for both fear and excitement. The introduction of artificial refrigeration...

"Who knew the humble pocket could hold so much history? In this enthralling and always surprising account, Hannah Carlson turns the pocket inside out and out tumble pocket watches, coins, pistols, and a riveting centuries-long social and political history." ―Jill Lepore, author...

The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They - or, more precisely, we - originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years.Over these...

"Winning, cheeky, and illuminating....What appears initially as a folly with a look-at-this cover and title becomes, thanks to Radke's intelligence and curiosity, something much meatier, entertaining, and wise." --The Washington Post "Lively and thorough, Butts...

**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024** 'Enthralling and exuberant ... Here is a wonder-book for word-lovers' Jeanette Winterson 'A lively, entertaining, and illuminating read. I loved it' Susie Dent What do...

From wooden bicycles and spoon brakes to recumbent bikes and carbon fibre rims, take a visual journey through the beautiful engineering history of the bicycle. The Bicycle Book is an extraordinary celebration of the history of cycling, from BMX and mountain...

In At Home, Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating...

The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. The study of sexual physiology--what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better--has been a paying career or a diverting sideline...