'The fascinating story of ancient words … new revelations await' The Guardian'A magisterial feat' New Scientist________________________________One ancient language transformed our world. This is its story.Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see.Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanity’s past. All three of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient ancestor.Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen?In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.________________________________'Lively and fascinating. I loved it' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in your Ear?'A truly extraordinary detective story' Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything Read more

Educational fun through simple rules, engaging activities, diverse challenges, and playful characters. Visually compelling puzzles and games engage children in purposeful problem-solving and STEM skill development through grit-building challenges. Over 150 developmentally appropriate activities are organized by subject and captivate a wide spectrum of learners.Spatial ReasoningMath PuzzlesLogic ProblemsWord GamesFocus ActivitiesTwo-Player GamesEach section has a low floor but high ceiling as puzzles grow in difficulty, inspiring children through early success which motivates continued engagement. Beautifully illustrated characters capture attention and inspirational messages written in spirited rhyme provide encouragement while shifting focus away from the stress of skill mastery. 80+ unique puzzle types prioritize providing diverse opportunities as kids work through meaningful activities to build essential problem-solving and critical thinking skills fundamental to all curriculum.Answers are provided in the back of the book and a certificate of achievement is included that can be presented upon completion. 13 pencil and paper two-player games facilitate the direct application of acquired skills and provide the foundation for continued fun and growth after the book is finished.Whether you are looking for activities to develop or entertain, Logic Workbook for Gritty Kids is unmatched. Comprehensive content is most appropriate for kids ages 6-10, but some puzzles and games are entertaining for older kids and adults, making this book a great family value.Educational fun.Playful fun.Developmental fun.Engaging fun.Hard fun.Motivating fun.Enduring fun.Fun fun. Read more

200 Riddles, Puzzles and Brainteasers specially designed for clever Teens!Wake up the detective in you!What better way to have fun and improve your logic than with a book full of different puzzles?Inside you’ll find :Mathematical puzzlesLogic gamesPolice investigationsQuizzesVarious riddles for all levelsAccompanied by their solutions!Put on your detective costume and try to solve the many mysteries in this book! Read more

Learn more about the beautiful trees around you with this identification guide, perfect for beginners, featuring over 150 common British and European species.If you want to know the difference between a Serbian spruce and a silver birch or how different trees change through the seasons then What's that Tree? is the ideal guide for you. Species overviews show you what to look for where and related trees are shown side by side for quick comparison and identification.Clear photography of leaves will help you to directly compare the tree you're looking at with those in the guide and will assist you with specific features of the leaf to help identify the tree. This quick-reference guide also includes information on bark, flowers, and seeds.The perfect pocket guide for beginners but also a handy reference for the more seasoned naturalist, What's that Tree? will help you to become an expert tree-spotter in no time. Read more

Challenge yourself with word and number puzzles300 compelling and addictive word and number puzzles from The Times. Appearing daily in the newspaper, Codeword is the cracking alternative to Su Doku and Crosswords.The concept is simple: each number represents a letter, so, starting with the solved letters, use your logic and vocabulary to reveal more letters, form words, and then crack the code!The Codeword series is so popular because you don’t need any prior knowledge, unlike a crossword. You can just pick up a pen and get puzzling. It steadily increases your vocabulary, as the difficulty slowly grows as you progress through the book, and even though you’ll be working your brain, it’s the perfect way to unwind.Contains previously published puzzles from Times Codeword Books 2 and 3. Read more

Information, inspiration, tips and trivia to help you make the most of your gardening year.Packed with new features and advice, the 2025 edition of this guide remains a perfect gift for any gardener. Month by month, there’s timely gardening advice and information from the National Trust, together with inspiring writing and beautiful illustrations.Every month include:Weather charts – sunrise and sunset, average temperaturesA task to start; a task to finishPruning made simpleA recycling projectIf you only do one thing…Crop of the monthSomething to savourHouse plant of the monthWildlflower focusTrivia – Facts too good to keep to yourselfQuotations – Wit and wisdom from famous gardeners, past and presentThere’s information on enjoying other gardens too – with dates for open gardens around the country, including from the National Trust and RHS. Read more

_______________ 'Another brilliant book that's jam-packed with top-class tips you won't want to miss.' - MC Grammar, teacher and parent ‘Here is basically ‘the bible’ for parents (like me!) with kids in junior school – it’s everything a parent needs to know and understand in the curriculum from fractions basics to calculating the volume of a cuboid and everything in between…’ – Sara Davies MBE, Founder of Crafter's Companion and Dragon on BBC Dragons’ Den _______________ When your child comes home with the dreaded maths homework and you don’t know your BIDMAS from your BODMAS, then Maths Like a Ninja is the book for you. It’s jam-packed full of all the key concepts children need to know, all the mathematical terminology they’ll ever come across in primary school and tons of easy-to-follow visual examples on every area of maths featured in the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Whether a child is stuck on a fractions question or struggling to remember what composite numbers are, they’ll find the answer in this handy all-in-one reference guide. It supports teachers in planning and delivering lessons and shows parents how help their kids at home. Written by a practising teacher and creator of the successful Vocabulary Ninja brand, this book is worth its weight in gold. It empowers children to become independent (in school and at home) by providing them with all the information they need in one place. Neat, affordable and child-friendly, Maths Like a Ninja is game changing. Perfect for Key Stage 2 children, aged 7 and up. Read more

The ultimate reference book for bird enthusiasts – now in its third edition.With expanded text and additional colour illustrations, the third edition of the hugely successful Collins Bird Guide is a must for every birdwatcher.The new edition has an extra 32 pages allowing several groups more space and completely or partly new plates with more detailed text: grouse, loons, several groups of raptors, terns, owls, swifts, woodpeckers, swallows, redstarts and some other relatives to the flycatchers (formerlyoften called ‘small thrushes’), tits and a few finches and buntings are some of these. More than 50 plates are either new or have been repainted, completely or partly. Apart from this, a few new vignettes have been added. The section with vagrants has been expanded to accommodate more images and longer texts for several species. The entire text and all maps have of course also been revised.The book provides all the information needed to identify any species at any time of the year, covering size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and illustrations showing the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding: whatever is important).In addition, each group of birds includes an introduction which covers the major problems involved in identifying or observing them: how to organise a sea watching trip, how to separate birds of prey in flight, which duck hybrids can be confused with which main species. These and many other common birdwatching questions are answered.The combination of definitive text, up-to-date distribution maps and superb illustrations, all in a single volume, makes this book the ultimate field guide, essential on every bookshelf and birdwatching trip. Read more

The ideal gift for all amateur and seasoned astronomers.“This is a great guide to the night sky at a great price.” Astronomy Now“A handy and straightforward guide.” British Astronomical Association's Journal“An ideal Christmas stocking-filler.” The ObservatoryFrom the UK’s Number One Astronomy publisher, this is the bestselling stargazing handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the northern hemisphere. With 6 pages for each month covering January–December 2025.This practical guide is an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers.Designed for Britain and Ireland but usable anywhere in the world between 40°N and 60°N, covering most of Europe, southern Canada and the northern United States.Advice on where to start looking and a map of dark sky sites to avoid light pollution.Charts for the circumpolar and seasonal constellations.Easy-to-use star charts for each month with descriptions of objects and events to look for in 2025.Positions of the moon, visible planets and eclipses.Includes a section on comets and a detailed map of the moon.Now in three editions: Britain and Ireland; North America; Southern Hemisphere.Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Read more

ESSENTIAL MONEY SKILLS EVERY TEENAGER SHOULD KNOW!The teenage years are important for learning, discovering the world, and exploring new interests and passions. It's a time of growth and self-discovery, where teens learn more about themselves and their place in the world.While these are exciting times, they can also be daunting. With so much to learn and so many new experiences, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of growing up.That's where this book comes in. To help teens navigate one of the biggest responsibilities and challenges every young adult has to face: Money.Love it or hate it, money is an essential part of life, and learning how to manage it effectively is crucial.Money Skills for Teens, by Ferne Bowe (author of Life Skills for Young Adults & Life Skills for Tweens), provides everything a teen needs to know about personal finance. From budgeting and saving to investing and building credit, this book covers all the essential money skills every teenager should know.Using real-life examples and easy-to-understand language, the book provides practical advice to help teens develop a healthy relationship with money. From budgeting and saving for emergencies to investing in stocks and using credit responsibly, this book covers it all.In Money Skills for Teens, Ferne covers how to:Choose and open your first bank accountRead a bank statementMaintain a healthy credit scoreAvoid financial fraud and scamsIdentify your spending personality (and keep it in check)Use credit responsiblyPay for your first carSave for a rainy dayDevelop a healthy, long-term outlook to investingAnd 40+ more financial skillsMoney Skills for Teens is the go-to beginner’s guide to personal finance for teenagers. Providing them with a solid foundation of money skills, knowledge, and experiences to help them make wise financial decisions.If you like simple, practical, and real-world advice, you'll love this book.Tap 'Add to Cart' and start your teen on their journey to financial independence. Read more

The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book was 2018's bestselling Christmas gift book so why not brush up on your map reading skills and crack an array of fiendish puzzles all whilst learning amazing facts so YOU can become the ultimate map-reader! Do you know your trig points from your National Trails? Can you calculate using contours? And can you fathom exactly how far the footpath is from the free house? Track down hidden treasures, decipher geographical details and discover amazing facts as you work through this unique puzzle book based on 40 of the Ordnance Survey's best British maps. Explore the first ever OS map made in 1801, unearth the history of curious place names, encounter abandoned Medieval villages and search the site of the first tarmac road in the world. With hundreds of puzzles ranging from easy to mind-boggling, this mix of navigational tests, word games, code-crackers, anagrams and mathematical conundrums will put your friends and family through their paces on the path to becoming the ultimate map-master! Read more

Level: KS2Subject: MathsLearn the easy way with this multiplication & division activity book!Including helpful questions and answers, this Maths book provides reassurance whilst supporting your child’s learning at home.Combining useful Maths practice with engaging, colourful illustrations, this Multiplication and Division practice book helps to boost your child’s confidence and develop good learning habits for life. Each fun activity is designed to give your child a real sense of achievement.Included in this book:questions that allow children to practise the important skills learned at schoolcolourful activities that make learning fun and motivate children to learn at homehelpful tips and answers so that you can support your child’s learning Read more

20 years later The Music of the Primes is still a groundbreaking popular science book. This new edition features updates from the author and a foreword by actor and director, Simon McBurney.In 1859, the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann presented a paper to the Berlin Academy which would change the history of mathematics. The subject was the strange and enigmatic prime numbers. At the heart of the presentation was an idea, a hypothesis, that Riemann had not yet proved but which has come to obsess mathematicians for the last 150 years. No one knows if he ever found the proof; on his death his housekeeper burnt all the personal papers. Today, the hypothesis is considered by many the holy grail of mathematics but has significance far beyond maths.At the of the heart of the enigma is a prize much larger than just intellectual glory; not only is there a $1 million reward for the person who can crack it but also is the key to all banking and e-commerce security. It is the idea that brings together many other areas of science and has ramifications within Quantum Mechanics, Chaos Theory and the future of computing.In 'The Music of the Primes', one of Britain's leading mathematicians, Marcus du Sautoy, recounts the history of these elusive numbers. It is a story of eccentric and brilliant men, last minute escapes from death, strange journeys, dangerous ideas and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge that drove some men mad and others to unparalleled glory. du Sautoy also tells a coruscating history of Mathematics. Combining in-depth knowledge as a practitioner in the field with narrative flair, this book will become a classic of popular science writing and will rank alongside 'Chaos' and 'Fermat's Last Theorem' within the genre.The Riemann Hypothesis:• Compared to Fermat's Last Theorem, the Hypothesis is mathematicians’ real Holy Grail• Is the only problem from Hilbert's 1900 Centenary Problems that was unproved in the 20th century and now has a $1 million reward for the person who cracks it.• The Hypothesis is the key to all Internet and e-commerce security Read more

Stop and smell the roses with this delightful flower spotter guide.Know your geraniums from your pansies! This beautiful flower identification book features over 150 British and European flower species along with a simple, visual approach to help you tell them apart with absolute ease.With its compact, portable format, this nature book is designed for ease of use anywhere - ideal for nature lovers everywhere. Here's what's inside: - Similar flower species are shown together for quick comparison and identification- Fully-illustrated introductions explain the basics of flower identification - what to look for and how to tell the difference between similar wildflower species or specimens- Overview pages on main features give readers more detailed information on how to make an accurate identification- The at-a-glance finder at the back shows thumbnails of the species grouped in an intuitive way for ease of referenceCall all flower enthusiasts! Are you interested in identifying the wildflowers you encounter on your walks along the coast or in the mountains, woodlands or fields? Look no further than What's That Flower? Detailed text, beautiful photographs and stunning illustrations show different parts of the flower - from the stem to the petals. Flower type overviews show you what to look for where and similar flowers are shown side by side for quick comparison and identification. It's the perfect flower encyclopedia for beginners but also a handy reference guide for the more seasoned flower lovers. Read more

The Rubik's Cube is the world's best-known puzzle, a magical object that has baffled and fascinated the world for over fifty years. This clearly-illustrated step-by-step guide teaches you a foolproof beginners' method for solving the Cube, plus advanced techniques if you want to learn to solve it in seconds.An Official Guide to cracking the cube! Read more

Do you ever feel like your brain is running on dial-up in a fiber-optic world?In his 20s, Dave Asprey did too. He battled debilitating brain fog and chronic fatigue syndrome, frustrated by his broken brain. Determined to upgrade his “MeatOS,” fix his brain, and biohack his biology to live past the age of 180, Dave embarked on a lifelong quest to push the boundaries of human potential, including running a neuroscience center for entrepreneurs for over a decade. Now, he's sharing his mind-blowing secrets in Heavily Meditated, blending cutting-edge science, a sprinkle of woo, and ancient wisdom from around the globe.This book is your ticket to unlocking altered states of consciousness and tapping into unlimited energy, happiness, and inner peace. Dive into breathwork, harness sexual energy, safely induce pain, explore psychedelics, and geek out with EEG and neurofeedback. Discover the magic of the Reset Process, the core program from Dave's renowned neurofeedback center, to remove the triggers stealing your power. These methods are your toolkit to enhance cognitive performance, biohack your MeatOS, boost productivity, and unlock your hidden potential. Read more

This little book makes serious math simple—with more than 120 laws, theorems, paradoxes, and more explained in jargon-free terms.The Little Book of Mathematical Principles provides simple, clear explanations for the principles, equations, paradoxes, laws, and theorems that form the basis of modern mathematics. It is a refreshingly engaging tour of Fibonacci numbers, Euclid's Elements, and Zeno's paradoxes, as well as other fundamental principles such as chaos theory, game theory, and the game of life.Renowned mathematics author Dr. Robert Solomon simplifies the ancient discipline of mathematics and provides fascinating answers to intriguing questions, such as: What is the greatest pyramid?, What is a perfect number?, and Is there a theory for stacking oranges? Read more

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Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022Football has always measured success by what you win, but only in the last twenty years have clubs started to think about how you win. Data has now suffused almost every aspect of how football is played, coached, scouted and consumed. But it’s not the algorithms or new metrics that have made this change, it’s the people behind them.This is the story of modern football’s great data revolution and the group of curious, entrepreneurial personalities who zealously believed in its potential to transform the game. Central to this cast is Chris Anderson, an academic with no experience in football, who saw data as an opportunity to fundamentally change a sport that did not think it could be changed. His aim: to infiltrate the strange, insular world of professional football by establishing a club whose entire DNA could be built around data.Expected Goals charts his remarkable journey into the heart of the modern game and reveals how clubs across the world, from Liverpool to Leipzig and Brentford to Bayern Munich, began to see how data could help them unearth new players, define radical tactics and plot their path to glory. Read more

A handy 3-in-1 Spanish study book: grammar, verbs and vocabulary in one volume, ideal for beginners who need a clear and easy-to-understand Spanish reference and revision guide.This book gives you the essential tools to help you progress quickly in your study of Spanish. The grammar, verb and vocabulary sections have been designed for all those learning Spanish at school, in an evening class, for work or for leisure.Grammar: this section provides easily accessible information in an attractively presented layout. Key grammatical points are highlighted throughout the text as a means of reinforcement. Hundreds of examples of real Spanish illustrate clearly the grammatical points being made. In addition, a full glossary gives clear and simple explanations of grammatical terminology.Verbs: you will find 120 fully conjugated regular and irregular verbs in this section. Each is self contained in a double-page spread showing all the major tenses. Major constructions and idiomatic phrases are given for all verb models, as well as hundreds of examples of real Spanish to show you how verbs are used in context . An index contains thousands of verbs which are cross-referred to their conjugation model.Vocabulary: this handy section covering 50 topics (such as family, free time, careers, computing, education, food and drink, health, shopping) gives you all the vocabulary you need to communicate effectively in Spanish.With its clear, user-friendly grammar, all the most important Spanish verbs shown in full, and an extensive vocabulary guide, this book gives you all the elements to start speaking and writing with confidence in Spanish. Read more