Asking questions about human motivation and living and reaching some conclusions, this book aims to be at the heart of things we see and do and the subjects that bedevil us: from parenting to crime, sport to politics, fat to cheating, fear to traffic jams.

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely in his own study at home, he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. This book is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization.

A guide to perfect punctuation for those who care about precise writing.

This work abandons the conventional distinctions between history and science. Diamond focuses on what ancient people were endowed with in the way of land, animals and plants, and on the confrontations between less and more advanced people to see how this led to today's inequalities.

Explores the links between Hollywood and the fast food trade, and the tactics used to target ever younger consumers. This title is a meticulously researched account.

Intuition is not some magical property that arises unbidden from the depths of our mind. This book shows us how we can hone our instinctive ability to know in an instant, helping us to bring out the best in our thinking and become better decision-makers in our homes, offices and in everyday life.

In July 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse. Over the next two years, Anne describes not only the daily frustrations of living in such close quarters, but also her thoughts, feelings and longings as she grows up.

This is the story of the men and women whose lives were irrevocably changed by the Chicago World Fair, and of two men in particular: an architect and a serial killer. Spicing the narrative are the stories of a cast of historical characters including Buffalo Bill, Scott Joplin and Theodore Dreiser.

The biography of an idea: that many of the problems we face - from teenage delinquency to traffic jams - behave like epidemics and are capable of sudden and dramatic change due to their inherent volatility. The author explores the ramifications of this, offering a way to view the world.

Was there a beginning of time?, Could time run backwards? and Is the universe infinite are just some of the questions considered in this book for the non-scientific layman. The author begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein and then delves into the secrets which lie at the heart of space and time.

Reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. The author's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved.

Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty level wages. Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them in order to find out how anyone survives on six dollars an hour. So began a gruelling, hair-raising and darkly funny odyssey though the underworld of working America.

Presenting different arguments for religion, this book demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. It aims to show how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children.

At last...the Number 1 bestselling writer offers a unique insight into his life and work as well as inspiring advice and instruction on writing.

Everything you ever wanted to know about what happens to bodies after they die. In this exploration into the macabre, Mary Roach tells a story that reaches from medieval pharmacies, stories of 19th century body snatching, to the present-day Body Farms, and conferences on human composting.

Stunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s.

This is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history.

The making of the Oxford English Dictionary was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the OED's editor, went to Crowthorne in Berkshire to meet him.

From the author of Notes from a Small Island and The Lost Continent comes this humorous report on his walk along the Appalachian Trail. The Trail is the longest continuous footpath in the world, and it snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in America.

This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. This 'little' book can help students communicate more effectively, showing them how to enliven their sentences, put statements in the positive form and write in a clear and simple style.