AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT PRIZEA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE OBSERVER, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND THE NEW YORKERA NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTCyrus Shams has always been lost. He’s grown up tangled in the mysteries of his past – an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields, a haunting work of art by an exiled painter, and his mother, whose plane was shot down over the Persian Gulf when he was just a baby. Now, newly sober and maybe in love, he’s headed for an encounter that will transform everything he thought he knew. Can a final revelation change the truth of Cyrus's life?Electrifying, funny, and all-consuming, Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is a masterpiece.'Dazzling' Ann Patchett‘Profoundly moving' Elif Shafak‘Gorgeous’ Tommy Orange‘Radiant’ Lauren Groff‘Stunning’ John Green‘Miraculous' The New York Times‘Sensational’ Daily Mail‘Kaleidoscopic’ The Guardian* Martyr! was an instant New York Times bestseller w/c 27/1/24 Read more

From the award-winning writer and thinker, an essential reckoning with the war in Gaza, its historical conditions, and moral and geopolitical ramifications'Courageous and bracing, learned and ethical, rigorous and mind-expanding' NAOMI KLEIN'Mishra has made a powerful contribution to the moral history of the world' ANDREW O'HAGAN'Urgent' HISHAM MATAR'Brilliant' WILLIAM DALRYMPLEMemory of the Holocaust, the ultimate atrocity of Europe’s civil wars and the paradigmatic genocide, has shaped the Western political and moral imagination in the postwar era. Fears of its recurrence have been routinely invoked to justify Israel’s policies against Palestinians. But for most people around the world – the ‘darker peoples’, in W. E. B. Du Bois’s words – the main historical memory is of the traumatic experiences of slavery and colonialism, and the central event of the twentieth century is decolonisation – freedom from the white man’s world.The World After Gaza takes the war in the Middle East, and the bitterly polarised reaction to it within as well as outside the West, as the starting point for a broad reevaluation of two competing narratives of the last century: the West’s triumphant account of victory over Nazi and communist totalitarianism, and the spread of liberal capitalism, and the global majority's frequently thwarted vision of racial equality. At a moment when the world’s balance of power is shifting and a long-dominant Western minority no longer commands the same authority and credibility, it is critically important to enter the experiences and perspectives of the majority of the world’s population.As old touchstones and landmarks crumble, only a new history with a sharply different emphasis can reorient us to the world and worldviews now emerging into the light. In this concise, powerful and pointed treatise, Mishra reckons with the fundamental questions posed by our present crisis – about whether some lives matter more than others, why identity politics built around memories of suffering is being widely embraced and why racial antagonisms are intensifying amid a far-right surge in the West, threatening a global conflagration. The World After Gaza is an indispensable moral guide to our past, present and future. Read more

**Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024** A gripping account of survival and recovery from internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize-winner Salman Rushdie‘A masterpiece… Extraordinary’ Daily Telegraph‘A story of hatred defeated by love’ Guardian On the morning of 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was sitting onstage in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black – black clothes, black mask – rushed down the aisle towards him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are. What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey of healing and recovery. This an intimate meditation on life, loss, love, art – and finding the strength to stand up again A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, DAILY TELEGRAPH, SPECTATOR, INDEPENDENT, EVENING STANDARD, NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER AND TIME‘An incandescent book about love and hard-won survival’The Times‘Salman Rushdie is a genius… A brave book by a brave man’ Evening Standard‘Gripping… It reminds us of the things worth fighting for’New York Times No.1 Sunday Times bestseller, April 2024 Read more

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE**A TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR*'A bona fide historical classic' Sunday Times'Simply one of the best history books I have ever read' BBC HistoryIn the frontier town of Springfield in 1651, peculiar things begin to happen. Precious food spoils, livestock ails and property vanishes. People suffer fits and are plagued by strange visions and dreams. Children sicken and die. As tensions rise, rumours spread of witches and heretics, and the community becomes tangled in a web of spite, distrust and denunciation. The finger of suspicion falls on a young couple struggling to make a home and feed their children: Hugh Parsons the irascible brickmaker and his troubled wife, Mary. It will be their downfall.The Ruin of All Witches tells the dark, real-life folktale of witch-hunting in a remote Massachusetts plantation. These were the turbulent beginnings of colonial America, when English settlers' dreams of love and liberty, of founding a 'city on a hill', gave way to paranoia and terror, enmity and rage. Drawing on uniquely rich, previously neglected source material, Malcolm Gaskill brings to life a New World existence steeped in the divine and the diabolic, in curses and enchantments, and precariously balanced between life and death.Through the gripping micro-history of a family tragedy, we glimpse an entire society caught in agonized transition between supernatural obsessions and the age of enlightenment. We see, in short, the birth of the modern world.'Gaskill tells this deeply tragic story with immense empathy and compassion, as well as historical depth' The Guardian 'As compelling as a campfire story ... Gaskill brings this sinister past vividly to life' Erica Wagner, Financial TimesSunday Times bestseller, November 2022 Read more

The long-awaited follow-on to "Every Family Has One."The story of Kathleen's escape from incarceration in an institution for "fallen women."In 1975, the shadows of the Magdalene laundry still haunt Kathleen as she daringly escapes from a life of oppression. Now on the run, the priest is hot on her trail. As the priest's attention shifts to other lost souls, the consequences are nothing short of devastating.Meanwhile, a famous American actress and her wealthy husband have arrived in Ireland to adopt a baby and discover an unexpected offer they cannot refuse. Will it turn out to be a dream come true or a nightmare waiting to unfold?Enter the O’Sullivans, a struggling Catholic family in Belfast battling the weight of poverty and the turmoil of the Troubles. With a fifth child adding to their financial strain and ostracised by their Protestant neighbours, their house is about to be petrol-bombed. The couple face a momentous choice––hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life. Desperation drives Mrs O’Sullivan to come up with a plan that offers the family a glimmer of hope, but at what price?Inspired by true events, this is a powerful story of joy and sorrow uncovering the profound and catastrophic effects of the Irish Troubles, the Catholic Church’s practices in Ireland and the systemic abuse by those in positions of authority.For fans of the book, Philomena, that inspired the Academy Award-nominated film, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. Read more

'Burns with righteous anger. An urgent read for our times' Riz Ahmed'Fiery, insightful and persuasive... We cannot afford to lose Warsi. She is a vital and impassioned voice' Suzanne Moore, The Daily Telegraph'There is no more powerful fighter for the cause that Muslims do, should and must matter than Sayeeda Warsi' David Baddiel'A vitally important book from a vitally important voice'David OlusogaA DAILY TELEGRAPH MUST-READ FOR AUTUMN 2024Three grandfathers killed on the streets of England in three separate incidents by three different men. Each targeted simply for being Muslim - each attack a consequence of the insidious rise in Islamophobia in Britain.From the far-right violence that broke out in the summer of 2024 to the hatred directed at Muslims in public life during the Gaza conflict, anti-Muslim racism is dangerously out-of-control. Fed by a network of media outlets, think tanks, commentators, and even the entertainment industry, Islamophobia not only passes the dinner table test but is also Britain's bigotry blind spot. For too many, Muslims Don't Matter.In this incisive polemic, Britain's first Muslim Cabinet minister, Conservative peer, campaigner and podcaster Sayeeda Warsi uses her dual experience at the centre of British power and in the heart of our Muslim communities to unapologetically challenge the corrosive consensus. As Muslims terrified by the riots seriously consider whether Britain should still be their home, Warsi urges us to change course, to unite and dismantle this toxic bigotry. Read more

Co-authored by two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, an indispensable book for understanding the situation in Gaza right nowWhat is the future of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement directed at Israel? Which is more viable, the binational or one state solution? Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine in this urgent and timely book, a sequel to their acclaimed Gaza in Crisis.'Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet' The New York Times Book Review'Ilan Pappé is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian' John Pilger'This sober and unflinching analysis should be read and reckoned with by anyone concerned with practicable change in the long-suffering region' Publishers Weekly (on Gaza in Crisis) Read more

In 1609, the entire Muslim population of Spain was given three days to leave Spanish territory or else be killed. In a brutal and traumatic exodus, entire families were forced to abandon the homes and villages where they had lived for generations. In just five years, Muslim Spain had effectively ceased to exist: an estimated 300,000 Muslims had been removed from Spanish territory making it what was then the largest act of ethnic cleansing in European history.Blood and Faith is a riveting chronicle of this virtually unknown episode, set against the vivid historical backdrop of Muslim Spain. It offers a remarkable window onto a little-known period in modern Europe-a rich and complex tale of competing faiths and beliefs, of cultural oppression and resistance against overwhelming odds. Read more

Nearly a century had passed since Languedoc had been put to the sword in the Albigensian Crusade, but the stain of Catharism still lay on the land. Any accusation of Catharism invited peril. But repression bred resentment and it was in Carcassonne that resistance began to stir. In 1300 a great orator emerged who brought together the currents of resistance. Three years later the terrible prisons were stormed and the inmates set free. The orator was a Franciscan friar, Bernard Délicieux. The forces ranged against Delicieux included the ruthless Pope Boniface VII, the Machiavellian French King Philip IV and the grand inquisitor of Toulouse Bernard Gui (the villain of The Name of the Rose). This magnificent book, which forms a kind of sequel to Stephen O'Shea's bestselling The Perfect Heresy, tells his inspiring life and tragic story. Read more

ECONOMIST, SUNDAY TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES AND GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017'Comprehensive and compelling ... A nuanced, landmark study that has deservedly won plaudits from both Palestinian and Israeli historians' Justin Marozzi, The TimesA century after Britain's Balfour Declaration promised a Jewish 'national home' in Palestine, veteran Guardian journalist Ian Black has produced a major new history of one of the most polarising conflicts of the modern age. Drawing on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral testimonies and his own decades of reporting - Enemies and Neighbours brings much-needed perspective and balance to the long and unresolved struggle between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land.Beginning in the final years of Ottoman ruleand the British Mandate period, when Zionist immigration transformed Palestine in the face of mounting Arab opposition, the book re-examines the origins of what was a doomed relationship from the start. It sheds fresh light on critical events such as the Arab rebellion of the 1930s; Israel's independence and the Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba in Arabic) of 1948; the watershed of the 1967 war; two Intifadas; the Oslo Accords and Israel's shift to the right. It traces how - after five decades of occupation, ever-expanding Jewish settlements and the construction of the West Bank 'separation wall' - hopes for a two-state solution have all but disappeared, and explores what the future might hold.Yet Black also goes beyond the most newsworthy events - wars, violence and peace initiatives - to capture thereality of everyday life on the ground in Jerusalem and Hebron, Tel Aviv,Ramallah, Haifa and Gaza, for both sides of an unequal struggle. Lucid, timelyand gripping, Enemies and Neighbours illuminates a bitter conflict that shows no sign of ending - which is why it is so essential that we understand it. Read more

With over ten million copies sold, God's Smuggler has thrilled and inspired readers for more than forty years. It tells the true story of how a young Dutchman risked his life to bring faith and hope to believers behind the Iron Curtain.Now updated with new material from interviews with Brother Andrew, he tells of his adventures as his ministry took him to the Middle East, Africa, China, Israel, Pakistan and other places of great danger and extraordinary opportunities. With new relevance, and at such a poignant time for persecuted Christians, this book is set to inspire a whole new generation of readers. Read more

A vivid new history of the criminal underworld in the medieval Holy Land   The religious wars of the crusades are renowned for their military engagements. But the period was witness to brutality beyond the battlefield. More so than any other medieval war zone, the Holy Land was rife with unprecedented levels of criminality and violence.   In the first history of its kind, Steve Tibble explores the criminal underbelly of the crusades. From gangsters and bandits to muggers and pirates, Tibble presents extraordinary evidence of an illicit underworld. He shows how the real problem in the region stemmed not from religion but from young men. Dislocated, disinhibited, and present in disturbingly large numbers, they were the propellant that stoked two centuries of unceasing warfare and shocking levels of criminality.  Crusader Criminals charts the downward spiral of desensitisation that grew out of the horrors of incessant warfare―and in doing so uncovers some of the most surprising stories of the time. Read more

"This is a delightful male-male sweet romance. Sunny is just adorable and Milan is the perfect guy for him! I raced through this book in one highly enjoyable weekend. -Bestselling author Jeevani CharikaWho knew that an innocent trip to India in the year 2000 would have such an impact on his life?Sunny had only gone as a chaperone for his sister and her best friend and to attend to a few business matters.He'd ended up with a deal that would change the shape of his professional future and possibly his personal one too.Battling the pressures of marriage by his family isn’t Sunny’s only fight, as he finds his feelings for a certain ‘friend’ may be more than just friendship.But how can he tell anyone how he truly feels?Because the road to love isn't always straight...Ritu Bhathal is a fresh, new, and much-needed voice for British Asian fiction.Straight As a Jalebi is Book 2 in the Rishtay Series, following the Gill family in the new millennium.Book 3 Due out in 2024. Read more

On 14 February 1989, Valentine's Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told that he had been 'sentenced to death' by the Ayatollah Khomeini. For the first time he heard the word fatwa. His crime? To have written a novel called The Satanic Verses, which was accused of being 'against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran'.So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. He was asked to choose an alias that the police could call him by. He thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names; then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov - Joseph Anton.How do a writer and his family live with the threat of murder for over nine years? How does he go on working? How does he fall in and out of love? How does despair shape his thoughts and actions, how and why does he stumble, how does he learn to fight back? In this remarkable memoir Rushdie tells that story for the first time; the story of one of the crucial battles, in our time, for freedom of speech. He talks about the sometimes grim, sometimes comic realities of living with armed policemen, and of the close bonds he formed with his protectors; of his struggle for support and understanding from governments, intelligence chiefs, publishers, journalists, and fellow writers; and of how he regained his freedom.It is a book of exceptional frankness and honesty, compelling, provocative, moving, and of vital importance. Because what happened to Salman Rushdie was the first act of a drama that is still unfolding somewhere in the world every day. Read more

How identity politics failed one particular identity.‘A must read and if you think YOU don’t need to read it, that’s just the clue to know you do’ SARAH SILVERMAN‘A masterpiece' STEPHEN FRYJews Don’t Count is a book for people on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. People, possibly, like you.It is the comedian and writer David Baddiel’s contention that one type of racism has been left out of this fight. In his unique combination of reasoning, polemic, personal experience and jokes, Baddiel argues that those who think of themselves as on the right side of history have often ignored the history of anti-Semitism. He outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don’t count as a real minority.David Baddiel's book 'The God Desire' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 17-04-2023. Read more

Have you ever wondered how one man could be so influential in decades of political turbulence, religious upheaval, and social transformation?Dive deep into the life of Ian Paisley, a towering figure whose influence shaped Northern Ireland's landscape for over half a century. Ian Paisley: Preacher, Politician, and the Man Who Shaped a New Northern Ireland takes readers on an intimate journey through his life—from his humble beginnings in 1926, through the founding of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951, and the rise of his political career which lead to the formation of the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971.Throughout the Troubles, and following the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998, Ian Paisley remained a steadfast—yet controversial—figure, blending uncompromising religious beliefs with a commanding political presence.Patrick McElvaney masterfully chronicles both the preacher and the politician, exploring how Paisley's faith and determination shaped his decisions, polarised communities, and ultimately left an indelible mark on Northern Ireland’s history.This compelling biography is a must-read for history buffs and political enthusiasts seeking to understand the complexities of Northern Ireland’s struggles, triumphs, and the enigmatic character of Ian Paisley.Discover the man behind the pulpit, the political leader behind the headlines, and the legacy that continues to provoke passion and debate. Read more

Radical Islam has been waging war against our global civilization throughout history—and now, it’s closer than ever to American soil. Dr. Michael Youssef, a Coptic Christian who was born in Egypt and now leads a megachurch in America, knows from firsthand experience that radical Islamists have goals that many American Christians believe are “unthinkable.” In this book, he warns Western Christians that it doesn’t help to ignore what’s going on. There’s a third jihad underway, and its goal is to take over the West.The Third Jihad is a call for Christians to defend their families, protect their nation, and boldly share the good news of Jesus with their communities—especially their Muslim neighbors.Packed with surprising insights from history, compelling and dramatic stories, and a practical agenda that one person—or one church—can immediately put into practice to make a difference in the world. Rich in encouraging biblical principles and prophetic insights, The Third Jihad leads the reader to an empowering conclusion in our troubling (and even frightening) times.Michael Youssef’s insights will inspire Christians to take their faith seriously, share their faith freely, and to truly be salt and light in a world of increasing darkness and decay. Read more

Behind a gruesome ISIS beheading video lies the untold story of the men in orange and the faith community that formed these unlikely modern-day saints and heroes.In a carefully choreographed propaganda video released in February 2015, ISIS militants behead twenty-one orange-clad Christian men on a Libyan beach.In the West, daily reports of new atrocities may have displaced the memory of this particularly vile event. But not in the world from which the murdered came. All but one were young Coptic Christian migrant workers from Egypt. Acclaimed literary writer Martin Mosebach traveled to the Egyptian village of El-Aour to meet their families and better understand the faith and culture that shaped such conviction.He finds himself welcomed into simple concrete homes through which swallows dart. Portraits of Jesus and Mary hang on the walls along with roughhewn shrines to now-famous loved ones. Mosebach is amazed time and again as, surrounded by children and goats, the bereaved replay the cruel propaganda video on an iPad. There is never any talk of revenge, but only the pride of having a martyr in the family, a saint in heaven. “The 21” appear on icons crowned like kings, celebrated even as their community grieves. A skeptical Westerner, Mosebach finds himself a stranger in this world in which everything is the reflection or fulfillment of biblical events, and facing persecution with courage is part of daily life.In twenty-one symbolic chapters, each preceded by a picture, Mosebach offers a travelogue of his encounter with a foreign culture and a church that has preserved the faith and liturgy of early Christianity – the “Church of the Martyrs.” As a religious minority in Muslim Egypt, the Copts find themselves caught in a clash of civilizations. This book, then, is also an account of the spiritual life of an Arab country stretched between extremism and pluralism, between a rich biblical past and the shopping centers of New Cairo. Read more

In 1590 three hundred Scottish 'witches' were tried for plotting the murder of their King, James VI of Scotland (soon to be James I of England). James is known to have suffered from a morbid fear of violent death, and the trial heightened his anxiety over this apparently treasonous 'un-Christian' sect, and stimulated him to study the whole subject of witchcraft. 'Daemonologie' is the result of this royal research, detailing his opinions on the topic in the form of a Socratic dialogue between the sceptic Philomathes and witch-averse Epistemon, who reveals many aspects of witch-craft. The book consists of three sections, on magic, on sorcery and witchcraft, and on spirits and ghosts, and ends with a lurid account of the North Berwick witch trials, based on the evidence of Dr John Fian, the alleged head of the coven, whose 'confession' was obtained with the aid of thumbscrews, the Boot, and by the ripping out of his fingernails. Read more

We are living through a period of cultural climate change. We have outsourced morality to the markets on the one hand, and the state on the other. The markets have brought wealth to many, and the state has done much to contain the worst excesses of inequality, but neither is capable of bearing the moral weight of showing us how to live. This has had a profound impact on society and the way in which we interact with each other. Traditional values no longer hold, yet recent political swings show that modern ideals of tolerance have left many feeling rudderless and adrift. In this environment we see things fall apart in unexpected ways - toxic public discourse makes true societal progress almost unattainable, a more divisive society is fuelled by identity politics and extremism, and the rise of a victimhood mentality calls for 'safe spaces' but stifles debate. The influence of social media seems all-pervading and the breakdown of the family is only one result of the loss of social capital. Many fear what the future may hold.Delivering a devastatingly insightful critique of our modern condition, and assessing its roots and causes from the ancient Greeks through the Reformation and Enlightenment to the present day, Sacks argues that there is no liberty without morality, and no freedom without responsibility.If we care about the future of western civilisation, all of us must play our part in rebuilding our common moral foundation. Then we will discover afresh the life-transforming and counterintuitive truths that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, and rich when it cares for the poor.Here is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place, and face the future without fear. Read more