From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book – which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings – who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Is a River Alive? takes the reader on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.The book flows first to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened by goldmining.Then, to the wounded rivers, creeks and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is under way.And finally, to north-eastern Quebec, where a spectacular wild river – the Mutehekau or Magpie – is being defended from death by damming in a river-rights campaign.At once Macfarlane’s most personal and most political book to date, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, spark debates and lead us to the revelation that our fate flows with that of rivers – and always has Read more

***Steve Mann's brand new memoir Another Day, Another Collar: Confessions of a dog trainer out now!***YOUR SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO RAISING AND TRAINING A HAPPY PUPPY OR DOG!My name's Steve Mann and I've been a professional dog trainer and behaviourist for over 30 years. As founder of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers, I've helped transform the lives of over 100,000 dogs and their families - and now I want to help you, too!Whether you're living with a brand-new puppy, an adult dog or rescue dog, my methods will give you everything you need to know. Using simple, proven, science-based and ethical techniques, I'll show you how to have the best relationship with your pup, as well as teaching you how to get: super-fast recalls, great loose lead walking, perfect manners and much, MUCH more... I promise, it really is easy peasy and every tip, trick and lesson will bring you and your puppy closer together. I'll see you on the other side, Enjoy! Steve Mann Read more

Super Agers is a detailed guide to a revolution transforming human longevity. This is a breakthrough moment in the history of human health care. The person making that bold claim is one of the most respected medical researchers in the world, Eric Topol. Dr. Topol's unprecedented, evidenced-based guide is about how you and your family and friends can benefit from new treatments coming available at a faster rate than ever. From his unique position as a leader overseeing millions in research funding, Dr. Topol also explains the fundamental reasons--from semaglutides to AI--that we can be confident these breakthroughs will continue. Ninety-five percent of Americans over sixty have at least one chronic disease and almost as many have two. That is the essential problem this revolution is solving. He explains the power of the new approaches to the worst chronic killers--diabetes/obesity, heart disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration--and how treatments can begin long before middle age, and even long after. In thirty years, we will have five times as many people at least one hundred years old and they will be healthier than ever because of the breakthroughs Dr. Topol describes. The amazing discoveries Topol brings into sharp focus are deeply inspiring about our human potential. We can now realistically see how we can make considerable headway for preventing age-related diseases and may one day be able to slow the body-wide aging process itself. Read more

‘I’m full of energy and I feel great. The compliments are flooding in’ – The TimesPraise for Petronella Ravenshear and The Human Being Diet:‘Whisper it, but the secret weapon for weight loss among the sleekest, leanest women of southwest London is the Human Being Diet’ The Times‘The remarkable results are incontrovertible.’ The Telegraph‘Fashion set go wild for tough new nutrition plan’ Daily Mail‘[Petronella Ravenshear] knows her stuff’ Tatler‘Hailed for its transformative powers’ The Times'I like the HBD because it's so simple, there's no faffing around endlessly totting up calories or points.''I feel renewed. I'd battled my relationship with food for so many years and now I'm healthy and I feel fantastic. It's a feeling money can't buy.'Change the way you eat to change the way you feel.The Human Being Diet is a revolutionary programme to help you become the best, healthiest, lightest, most energetic, happiest version of YOU.These delicious recipes are based on the groundbreaking nutritional science of The Human Being Diet. Find out when to eat, what to eat and how much to eat to reset your metabolic rhythm and restore your health, resulting in perfect weight, boundless energy, flawless skin, healthy digestion and refreshing sleep. Read more

A compact, lightweight and informative guide to 310 of the most common birds found in the UK. RSPB Pocket Guide to British Birds is a compact, lightweight and informative field guide, featuring 310 bird species regularly seen in the UK. Species are illustrated in all distinct plumage forms likely to be observed in the wild by renowned bird artist Stephen Message, and a detailed distribution map for the British Isles is also provided. Concise text covers appearance, behaviour and voice - focusing on key identification points - and also outlines where you will find the species, describes its seasonal movements and includes the latest UK population data. Finally, confusion species are cross-referenced, with their most important and easily noted differences from the subject species described. A comprehensive introduction provides a guide on how and where to find birds, and how to make the most useful and rewarding observations for newcomers to birdwatching. Uniquely, this guide also provides images and descriptions for not only a selection of rarer visitors, but also for a range of domestic species and certain commonly observed aberrant forms of more familiar birds, all of which are omitted from most field guides but can cause great confusion for beginners when encountered in the wild. Read more

*An Economist, Financial Times, Guardian, Prospect and Sunday Times Book of the Year*Shortlisted for the FT and Schroders Business Book of the YearThis is the only book you need to understand our new world – from the ultimate AI insider, the CEO of Microsoft AI and co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind.'If you want to understand the rise of AI, this is the best book to read' BILL GATES'Important' YUVAL NOAH HARARI'Astonishing' STEPHEN FRY'Stunning' RORY STEWARTSoon you will live surrounded by AIs. In a world of quantum computers, robot assistants and abundant energy, they will organise your life, operate your business, and run government services.None of us are prepared.Mustafa Suleyman has been at the centre of this revolution. The next decade, he explains, will be defined by a wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies. These will create immense prosperity but also present risks.How do we ensure the flourishing of humankind? How do we maintain control over these technologies? And how do we find the narrow path to a successful future? In this groundbreaking book we learn how to think about the essential challenge of our age.Be prepared. Read The Coming Wave.**CHOSEN AS ONE OF BILL GATES' BOOKS TO KEEP YOU WARM THIS HOLIDAY SEASON****A New York Times and Instant Sunday Times bestseller, Sept 2023** Read more

Let’s face it: you won’t learn much by just reading through your study notes. If you really want to make sure you know GCSE Biology, you’ll need to test yourself - and that’s where these CGP Revision Question Cards come in!There are 95 cards in the pack, covering every key Grade 9-1 AQA topic. Each one starts off with quick questions to warm you up, followed by harder questions to get your brain into top gear. Flip the card over and you’ll find full answers to each question, carefully written to help you understand everything you need to know.Along the way, we’ve packed in plenty of diagrams and expert revision tips, and there are even questions on Working Scientifically and Practical Skills. Amazing!You’ll find matching study notes for the whole course in CGP’s AQA GCSE Biology Revision Guide (9781782945567). And of course, we have Revision Question Cards for AQA GCSE Chemistry (9781789080537) and Physics (9781789080544) too. Read more

'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

'Interesting and provocative... It gives you a sense of how briefly we've been on this Earth' Barack ObamaWhat makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?One of the world's preeminent historians and thinkers, Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human.Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us.In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**PRAISE FOR SAPIENS:'Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last... It may be the best book I've ever read' Chris Evans'Startling... It changes the way you look at the world' Simon Mayo'I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who's interested in the history and future of our species' Bill GatesOver 2 million copies sold since publication [Nielsen BookScan UK, Circana BookScan US, April 2024] Read more

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, LONDON STANDARD, NEW STATESMAN AND IRISH TIMES 'Covers so many topics that have been troubling me but I hadn't been able to resolve myself - as a parent and a clinician. An absolutely absorbing read' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN'A brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis' - GUARDIAN'Compassionate and bracingly independent thinking' - THE TIMESFrom autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good? The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be 'normal'. Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they're even born. And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren't as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.*As heard on Good Morning Britain, Sky News, Radio 4 Today and more.* Read more

Now in a revised and updated 6th edition, the groundbreaking, research-based approach to understanding and parenting children who frequently exhibit severe fits of temper and other challenging behaviors, from a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the field.What’s an explosive child? A child who responds to routine problems with extreme frustration—crying, screaming, swearing, kicking, hitting, biting, spitting, destroying property, and worse. A child whose frequent, severe outbursts leave his or her parents feeling frustrated, scared, worried, and desperate for help. Most of these parents have tried everything-reasoning, explaining, punishing, sticker charts, therapy, medication—but to no avail. They can’t figure out why their child acts the way he or she does; they wonder why the strategies that work for other kids don’t work for theirs; and they don’t know what to do instead.Dr. Ross Greene, a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the treatment of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, has worked with thousands of explosive children, and he has good news: these kids aren’t attention-seeking, manipulative, or unmotivated, and their parents aren’t passive, permissive pushovers. Rather, explosive kids are lacking some crucial skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem solving, and they require a different approach to parenting. Throughout this compassionate, insightful, and practical book, Dr. Greene provides a new conceptual framework for understanding their difficulties, based on research in the neurosciences. He explains why traditional parenting and treatment often don’t work with these children, and he describes what to do instead. Instead of relying on rewarding and punishing, Dr. Greene’s Collaborative Problem Solving model promotes working with explosive children to solve the problems that precipitate explosive episodes, and teaching these kids the skills they lack. Read more

Everything you need to transform your garden into a haven for birds.Packed full of expert birding advice and practical ideas, this compact, easy-to-use bird-watching book will help you create an environment that will invite a rich diversity of birdlife to your garden.It's time to get out into your garden and get bird spotting with this indispensable field guide. Here's what you'll discover: - Profiles of 40 of the most common British garden birds - In-situ photography shows birds as you will see them in your garden or local park, for more accurate identification- Explains the benefits of different bird foods, and gives practical advice on types of feeders and how to site them- Each season is outlined with the major bird activities and feeding requirements- Produced in association with the RSPB's Big Garden BirdwatchBirdwatching can be done in the comfort of your own garden thanks to this revised and updated bird guide. It contains expert advice on how to provide water, food, and nesting sites to create a bird-friendly environment. It also reveals essential tips on observing birds, including the basic equipment needed.Find profiles of 40 of the most common British garden birds, each illustrated with in-situ photography, you'll be identifying all kinds of bird species in no time. Practical projects include making and siting a nest box, and how to design a bird-friendly garden, including choosing plants to attract particular species. With information about seasonal changes in bird behaviour and a helpful size-comparison gallery for the species profiled in the book Look out for more RSPB books from DK. Discover the simplest, clearest guide to identifying common European birds ever in RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe or learn how to easily spot the difference between similar birds in RSPB What's the Bird? Read more

*** THE INSTANT TOP TEN BESTSELLER *** ‘This spare but elegant account is an unexpected delight, and as soothing as a walk down a tree-dappled lane at sunset’ – Daily Mail‘Gentle and timeless, Paul is the authentic voice of the countryside. This is the story of a man at one with the land.’ – Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking'It is impossible not to like Lamb, or this book' – Sunday Times Paul Lamb is a hedgelayer. From the end of summer until the birds nest in the spring, he maintains the ancient boundaries of the British countryside. He lives in his wagon, as many itinerant farm workers used to, and travels the south-west corner of England, restoring an important but often forgotten part of our country.   Hedgerows are a living structure, woven into the fabric of rural life, a vital aspect of man’s partnership with nature. As traditional management techniques are lost to modernisation, hedges have declined dramatically. Paul works alone and by hand to rejuvenate these linear woodlands, saving the homes of the wildlife that rely on them and bringing many other ecological benefits.   Following the rhythm of the seasons, Of Thorn & Briar describes Paul’s life on the road and the practical aspects of his job. It is about practising a craft with skill, preserving our heritage for future generations and celebrating the glory of the landscape he’s spent his life caring for.   Read more

A beautiful guide to Earth's wildlife and natural history, including its rocks, minerals, animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms and more!Introducing The Natural History Book - a complete guide to the nature and wildlife of our world and written by a worldwide team of natural history experts. In the 11 years since the book was originally released, thousands of new species have been identified, and new revelations have redrawn the tree of life.Already featuring galleries of more than 5,000 species, The Natural History Book has since been updated to include dynamic discoveries such as the olinguito (the "kitty bear" of the Andean cloud forest), and a new species of deep-sea Bolosoma glass sponge photographed by the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, alongside a reorganization of the groups of living things to reflect the latest scientific understanding.Explore each and every page of this stunning nature book to discover:- A full-colour gallery of over 5,000 species- Over 500 rocks, minerals and fossils featured throughout- Includes glossary of important natural history terms- Specially-commissioned photographs showcase wildlife in close-up detailThis treasure-trove of natural history is accompanied with easy-to-read, accessible information and beautifully-striking imagery, making it a riveting reference guide to pass down for generations to come. The only book to offer a complete visual survey of all kingdoms of life, this nature book for adults is the perfect addition to every family bookshelf, as well as an ideal gift for the nature, animal and plant lover in your life! Gardeners, hikers, and visitors to wildlife park and natural history museums alike would also love this niche nature book, which also doubles up as the perfect coffee table book.Split into 6 core chapters, covering Living Earth, Minerals, Rocks and Fossils, Microscopic Life, Plants, Fungi, and Animals - there truly is something for everyone to explore, love and learn. From granites to grape vines, from microbes to mammals, The Natural History Book is the ultimate celebration of the diversity of the natural world. Read more

'A hymn of love to the world ... A journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, LoveAs a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two ways of knowledge together. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings - asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass - offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. Read more

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER**'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being MortalWhat makes life worth living in the face of death?At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father.Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson Read more

Winner of the Royal Society Science Book.'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer' - The Times4.6 billion years of the story of life on Earth, in twelve concise chapters. Brief, brilliant and entirely gripping.For billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place – covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape through volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again.From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you’ve never seen it before.Dr Henry Gee presents creatures from ‘gregarious’ bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period, to magnificent mammals with the future in their grasp. Life’s evolutionary steps – from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight – are conveyed with an up-close intimacy.'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting.' – Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel Read more

'A personal, fun and positive book encouraging dietary diversity and NOT calorie counting' Professor Tim Spector, author of The Diet Myth and Spoon-Fed'Empowering' Hello! magazineWhy stress causes weight gainHow fasting makes you less hungryWhy sunflower oil is unhealthyHow cold showers can cut your carb cravings'If I could give you one bit of advice right now, it would be to take all the energy you're putting into fad diets and put it into becoming the most genuinely healthy version of you. If you've got a plan, you're already halfway there. And now you've got this book, you've got one.'Davinia Taylor was overweight, depressed and unmotivated. She couldn't walk around the block, let alone go for a run or do an exercise class, and she struggled to keep up with her four young sons. In desperation she turned to biohacking to sort her head out - the unexpected bonus was that she lost nearly three stone and has kept it off for years through a series of health tricks from cold showers, to MCT oil, to ancestral eating. She spent tens of thousands of pounds on specialists and Harley Street doctors, trying the most cutting-edge therapies available, only to discover that the true secrets of feeling amazing are very easy and affordable. Start with eating for your mental health, and weight loss is an effortless side effect.Divided into four sections: Mood, Food, Movement and Rest, the book takes a holistic approach to weight loss, reminding you that true health is not just about what you eat. It's Not a Diet concludes with a two-week reset programme to put Davinia's advice into action easily and achievably.Non-Fiction Paperback No.1 bestseller, The Sunday Times, 6th June 2021 Read more

‘Insightful and breathtaking’ YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of Sapiens‘Bold and sweeping’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads‘Profoundly thought-provoking’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut EconomicsHow has humans' evolutionary inheritance shaped global society?Why are humans everywhere prone to believe in ghosts?How might our tendency to imitate one another be contributing to the climate catastrophe?And does our deep evolutionary past impel us to vote for strongmen?In 1987, Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there convinced him that, far from being wildly different, humans are fundamentally alike: their beliefs and behaviours rooted in a set of evolutionary urges that can be found in any society, anywhere.Here, Whitehouse roves across twelve millennia and five continents to uncover how these evolved urges have both shaped and been reshaped by human history. Along the way, he shows that this ancient inheritance does not just hold the key to explaining the modern world – but perhaps also to changing it.__‘Ranges widely across disciplines and timescales to formulate an exhilarating narrative of human history . . . Enthralling and mind-expanding’ IRISH TIMES‘Profoundly important . . . Whitehouse shows how evolution sculpted our psychological make-up, how we overcame its limitations over the course of world history, and how we can wield this knowledge to face the challenges of the future’ LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Being Human‘A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition . . . Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters’ GILLIAN TETT, Financial Times columnist and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge‘A thought provoking look at social forces, and the ways ordinary people can change the world’ GUARDIAN Read more

'When a robin appears, a loved one is near' In 2019, Tony Putman was working as a gardener in Edenbridge, Kent, when he noticed a bold robin sitting on a branch of an old plum tree. The robin glanced in his direction as he approached, but he didn't move, so Tony grabbed his camera and took a photo. This would be the first of hundreds of photos that Tony would take of Bob the robin - and the start of an extraordinary friendship that would last for years.As Tony shared his pictures on his social media account, Putman and Robin, he witnessed an outpouring of love - not just for Bob, but for robins everywhere, who populate our gardens with song and movement even on the direst winter days.In this book, Tony shares his touching journey with Bob, and tells the story of our unwavering affection for these magnificent creatures. This is an informative book about the life of a robin, as well as a beautiful love letter to these spirited and lively birds - who offer us a connection with nature, a moment of contact and a great source of comfort and joy. Read more