The Top Five Sunday Times Bestseller'Excellent . . . persuasive . . . convincing' – The Times'Funny, whipsmart and devastating. Sanity on steroids' – Emily Maitlis'Fantastic. An exquisite analysis' – The Secret BarristerWhy does nothing work in Britain?It’s harder than ever to get a GP appointment. Burglaries go unpunished. Rivers are overrun with sewage. Real wages have been stagnant for years, even as the cost of housing rises inexorably. Why is everything going wrong at the same time?It's easy to blame dysfunctional politicians who are out for themselves. But, in reality, it’s more complicated. Politicians can make things better or worse, but all work within our state institutions. And ours are utterly broken.In Failed State, Sam Freedman, one of Britain's leading policy experts, offers a devastating analysis of where we’ve gone wrong. With historical depth and plenty of infuriating examples, he explains why British governance has fallen so far behind. Speaking to politicians of all stripes, civil servants and workers on the frontline, this book bursts with insight on the real problems that are so often hidden from the front pages. The result is a witty, landmark book that paves the way for a fairer and more prosperous Britain.'We can only hope that every member of the new government will read and digest this book' – David Aaronovitch, BBC Radio 4 Presenter'Brilliantly timed and frighteningly true' – Sir Anthony Seldon, bestselling author of Johnson at 10 Read more

NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERDouglas Murray, international bestselling author and renowned cultural commentator confronts what he views as the most pressing issue of our time: why Western support of the Palestinian cause is ultimately playing into the hands of a much more dangerous force.Drawing from intensive on-the-ground reporting in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, Murray presents a compelling case that places the latest violence in its historical context. He takes readers on a harrowing journey through the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 massacre, piecing together exclusive accounts from victims, survivors and even the terrorists responsible for the atrocities.On Democracies and Death Cults argues that Israel’s commitment to fundamental Western values – capitalism, individual rights, democracy and reason – has made it a beacon of progress in a region dominated by authoritarianism and extremism. Murray contrasts Israel’s principles with the ideology of Hamas, which openly proclaims its love of death over life. If left unchecked, Murray argues, this misplaced Western sympathy could embolden forces that seek to undermine democratic values and perpetuate a culture of violence.Clear-eyed and deeply reasoned, On Democracies and Death Cults is a gripping and essential read for all who seek to understand the complexities of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and its implications for the future of democracy – and for the world itself.Douglas Murray's book 'On Democracies and Death Cults' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2025-04-07. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe essential blueprint for a better future, from the leading economist and Labour rising star‘Stellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic’ Rory Stewart‘No one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy’ Emily Maitlis'Everyone should read this book if they care about our country' Tom BaldwinGreat Britain? is both a clear-eyed diagnosis of the problems facing our country – a uniquely toxic combination of huge inequality and stagnant economic growth – and a bold vision for the alternative.In this treasure trove of enlightening and original analysis, Torsten Bell argues that our era of chaos and cynicism needs neither utopianism nor nostalgia, but a practical patriotism to raise living standards and create a more equal country. This is a book bursting with ideas and infectious hope: Bell passionately points us towards a Britain that we can actually build – a future worth fighting for.*Updated with a new Preface*'Pretty cool' Alastair Campbell‘Refreshingly optimistic’ The Times‘A dose of Torstenomics is the only thing that can give us hope’ Amol Rajan‘Spiced with wit, masterful, fact-packed’ Polly Toynbee Read more

THE NO. 1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF POLITICS ON THE EDGERory Stewart explores his love for the UK in this account of history, memory and landscape as he traverses the the borderlands between England and Scotland.‘This beautifully written book is a haunting reflection of identity and our relationships with the people and places we love’ Daily MailHis father Brian taught Rory Stewart how to walk, and walked with him on journeys from Iran to Malaysia. Now they have chosen to do their final walk together along ‘the Marches’ - the frontier that divides their two countries, Scotland and England.On their six-hundred-mile, thirty-day journey - with Rory on foot, and his father ‘ambushing’ him by car – the pair relive Scottish dances, reflect on Burmese honey-bears, and on the loss of human presence in the British landscape.Travelling across mountain ridges and through housing estates they uncover a forgotten country crushed between England and Scotland: the Middleland. They discover unsettling modern lives, lodged in an ancient place, as their odyssey develops into a history of the British nationhood, a chronicle of contemporary Britain and an exuberant encounter between a father and a son.And as the journey deepens, and the end approaches, Brian and Rory fight to match, step by step, modern voices, nationalisms and contemporary settlements to the natural beauty of the Marches, and a fierce absorption in tradition in their own unconventional lives.‘Suggests an open-mindedness in Stewart, a tolerance and flexibility that could make him an exceptional politician while it also continues to define him as a writer’ New York Review of Books‘Travel writing at its best’ GuardianPlease note: The book cover received may differ from the cover displayed here. Read more

The searing inside story of our broken politics from the former Cabinet minister and co-host of The Rest Is Politics. ‘The most exceptional political memoir I’ve ever read’ ALAN JOHNSON ‘An instant classic’MARINA HYDE ‘At last a politician who can write’SEBASTIAN FAULKS Over the course of a decade, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise. Uncompromising, honest and darkly humorous, this is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life. Instantly praised as a new classic, it is an astonishing portrait of our turbulent times. ‘Genuinely eye-opening…always riveting, often horrifying’ iNEWS ‘Beautifully written’ GUARDIAN ‘Hugely entertaining’ EVENING STANDARD BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 * A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FT, GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, TIMES, OBSERVER, i NEWSPAPER, NEW STATESMAN, PROSPECT, CHURCH TIMES AND SCOTSMAN * Politics on the Edge was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller from 09.09.23–16.09.23, 09.12.23–16.12.23, 30.12.23–06.01.24 and 11.06.24—25.06.24. Read more

A NEW EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED BOOKS ON THE TROUBLESBranded as 'Bandit Country' by the British government, South Armagh was the heartland of the Provisional IRA. It was the rebel Irish stronghold where Thomas 'Slab' Murphy reigned supreme, bomb attacks on England were planned and the SAS tracked the IRA snipers who hunted British soldiers.In this acclaimed and remarkable book – originally published in 1999 – Toby Harnden, winner of the Orwell Prize, brings to bear his skills as a fearless journalist, inspired investigator and gifted historian, threatened with imprisonment for protecting his sources in Northern Ireland but undeterred. He draws on secret documents and unsparing interviews with key protagonists on both sides to produce perhaps the most compelling and essential account of the IRA and the Troubles. Read more

WINNER OF THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZE 2023Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political WritingShortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical PublishingLonglisted for the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural UnderstandingA Guardian Book of the Year'Brilliantly arranged and rich with fresh insights' Akala'A radical, beautifully written understanding of our history' Owen Jones'You can't understand how Britain works today without reading it' Frankie Boyle'A challenge to a nation living in the shadow of empire: reckon with your imperial past, or it will come back to bite you' Grace Blakeley'This book should be part of the national curriculum' Ellie Mae O'HaganBritain didn't just put the empire back the way it had found it.Uncommon Wealth is the little known and shocking history of how Britain treated its former non-white colonies after the end of empire. It is the story of how an interconnected group of British capitalists enabled horrific inequality across the globe, profiting in colonial Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. However, the greed unleashed in this era would boomerang, now leaving many ordinary Britons wondering where their own prosperity has gone. Ranging from Jamaica to Singapore, Ghana to Britain, this is a blistering account of how buried decisions of decades past are ravaging Britain today. Read more

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and MOST-ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 FROM THE FINANCIAL TIMES and NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB'Spectacular ... Inspires hope' New York Times'Forceful, quick-moving ... important' Financial Times'Ambitious' New Yorker'Necessary' New Statesman'Chilling ... Inspirational ... A book that matters' Sunday Times'One of the most important political books of the past decade' The New EuropeanThe threat to liberal democracy isn't just autocrats - it's a lack of effective action by so-called progressives. We have the means to build an equitable world without hunger, fuelled by clean energy. Instead, we have a politics driven by scarcity, lives defined by unaffordability and public institutions that no longer deliver on big ideas. It's time for change.Bestselling authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson have spent decades analysing the political, economic and cultural forces that have led us here. In this once-in-a-generation intervention, they unpick the barriers to progress and show how we can, and must, shift the political agenda to one that not only protects and preserves, but also builds. From healthcare to housing, infrastructure to innovation, they lay out a path to a future defined not by fear, but by abundance. Read more

“Does for the Civil War period what Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States did for the study of American history in general.” —Library Journal   Historian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War as viewed though the eyes of ordinary people—foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illustrated with little-known anecdotes and firsthand testimony, this path-breaking narrative moves beyond presidents and generals to tell a new and powerful story about America’s most destructive conflict.  A People’s History of the Civil War is a “readable social history” that “sheds fascinating light” on this crucial period. In so doing, it recovers the long-overlooked perspectives and forgotten voices of one of the defining chapters of American history (Publishers Weekly).   “Meticulously researched and persuasively argued.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Read more

As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive fantasy.Based on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance.With murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.  Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, Get In is the definitive behind-the-scenes account of Labour’s brutal reinvention and dramatic return to power.'The book about Keir Starmer we have all been waiting for' TIM SHIPMAN'Stuffed full of scoops . . . revealing who's really in charge' LAURA KUENSSBERG'A remarkable piece of journalism' RORY STEWARTFrom electoral wipeout in 2019 to landslide victory in 2024 and on into Labour’s first hundred days in government, Get In is a blistering exposé of the most significant and ruthless political transformation in a generation.At its heart is Morgan McSweeney, a mastermind of political subterfuge and author of a strategy to eviscerate the party, bury the left and rebuild it as a vote-winning machine. In Starmer he saw the perfect vessel for his vision: a man with no political identity but burning with ambition and a single all-consuming principle: to win.Drawing on unrivalled access throughout the party and extensive leaks of internal party documents and WhatsApp messages, Get In shows how together they betrayed and marginalised Corbyn and his followers, then forged a path in which promises, and at times principles, were readily discarded in pursuit of power.Richly peopled with the major figures of Labour present and past, this is the coming-of-age story of Britain's government. In an era in which faith in politics has plummeted, this is how to game your way to the ultimate prize. But what on earth do you do when you get there?‘A rattling tale terrifically well told . . . extremely well-sourced . . . dramatic detail’ Andrew Rawnsley, Observer‘Fast-paced . . . cutting one-liners . . . it reads as if the authors were alongside McSweeney and Starmer’ Jason Cowley, Sunday Times‘Fascinating . . . devastating . . . full of lively stories’ Andrew Marr, New Statesman‘Unsparing . . . brilliant . . . so many golden nuggets’ Michael Gove, Spectator‘Revealing . . . pacy . . . dispassionate but informed . . . a cracking read’ Financial Times‘A gripping story of raw politics and ruthless men’ Helen Lewis'Revealing . . . compelling' Anne McElvoy, Evening Standard'Extraordinarily detailed and sometimes bloodstained' Tom Baldwin, Guardian'As excruciating as it is insightful' Economist‘A superb work of contemporary history which defines the Starmer premiership’ Peter Oborne'If you have questions about Starmer’s budding reign . . . expect many of them to be answered' Kara Kennedy, Telegraph ****‘Compelling’ John Harris, Guardian‘Fascinating’ Andrew Grice, Independent Read more

America's most popular progressive radio host and New York Times bestselling author Thom Hartmann paves the way to saving our democracy.In this powerful, sweeping history and analysis of American democracy, Thom Hartmann shows how democracy is the one form of governance most likely to produce peace and happiness among people.With the violent exception of the Civil War, American democracy resisted the pressure to disintegrate into factionalism for nearly two centuries, and now our very system of democratic elections is at stake. So how do we save our democracy?Hartmann's newest book in the celebrated Hidden History Series offers a clear call to action and a set of solutions with road maps for individuals and communities to follow to create a safer, more just society and a more equitable and prosperous economy. Read more

***PRE-ORDER THE SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION OF PRECIPICE, THE THRILLING NEW NOVEL FROM ROBERT HARRIS, NOW. PUBLISHING AUGUST 2024, AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE STOCK LASTS AND EXCLUSIVE TO THE FIRST PRINT RUN***'Impossible to stop reading' OBSERVER'Thrilling, intricate and hilarious' DAILY MAILAPRIL 1945: From the ruins of Berlin, a Luftwaffe transport plane takes off carrying secret papers belonging to Adolf Hitler. Half an hour later, it crashes in flames.APRIL 1983: In a bank vault in Switzerland, a German magazine offers to sell more than 50 volumes of Hitler's secret diaries. The asking price is $4 million.40 years from the alleged discovery, Robert Harris chronicles the gripping tale of one of the biggest frauds in history.'Brilliantly chronicled' NEW STATESMAN'A masterly account' LITERARY REVIEW Read more

*WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION* *THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, AND PROSPECT*‘If I had to name a single book that makes sense of these last few dark years, it would be this one’ New York Times‘A deeply compelling read … urgent and necessary’ Evening StandardNaomi Klein, author of era-defining bestsellers, The Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything and No Logo, is back with her most compulsive and personal book yet: a revelatory journey into the mirror world of our polarised ageWhen Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn't. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger. Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path? Why was identity - all we have to meet the world - so unstable?To find out, Klein decided to follow her double into a bizarre, uncanny mirror world: one of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters, where soft-focus wellness influencers make common cause with fire-breathing far right propagandists (all in the name of protecting 'the children'). In doing so, she lifts the lid on our own culture during this surreal moment in history, as we turn ourselves into polished virtual brands, publicly shame our enemies, watch as deep fakes proliferate and whole nations flip from democracy to something far more sinister.This is a book for our age and for all of us; a deadly serious dark comedy which invites us to view our reflections in the looking glass. It's for anyone who has lost hours down an internet rabbit hole, who wonders why our politics has become so fatally warped, and who wants a way out of our collective vertigo and back to fighting for what really matters. Read more

*INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*‘Extraordinary’ The Observer‘A stupefyingly pleasurable book to read’ New Yorker‘Lewis’s storytelling is as good as ever’ The EconomistFrom the #1 bestselling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the high-octane story of the enigmatic figure at the heart of one of the 21st century's most spectacular financial collapses'I asked him how much it would take for him to sell FTX and go do something other than make money. He thought the question over. "One hundred and fifty billion dollars," he finally said-though he added that he had use for "infinity dollars"...'Sam Bankman-Fried wasn't just rich. Before he turned thirty he'd become the world's youngest billionaire, making a record fortune in the crypto frenzy. CEOs, celebrities and world leaders vied for his time. At one point he considered paying off the entire national debt of the Bahamas so he could take his business there.Then it all fell apart.Who was this Gatsby of the crypto world, a rumpled guy in cargo shorts, whose eyes twitched across TV interviews as he played video games on the side, who even his million-dollar investors still found a mystery? What gave him such an extraordinary ability to make money - and how did his empire collapse so spectacularly?Michael Lewis was there when it happened, having got to know Bankman-Fried during his epic rise. In Going Infinite he tells us a story like no other, taking us through the mind-bending trajectory of a character who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own. Both psychological portrait of a preternaturally gifted 'thinking machine', and wild financial roller-coaster ride, this is a twenty-first-century epic of high-frequency trading and even higher stakes, of crypto mania and insane amounts of money, of hubris and downfall. No one could tell it better. Read more

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 BY THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, LONDON EVENING STANDARD, DAILY MAIL AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE'Magisterial ... If anyone wants to know what has been happening to Britain since the 1950s, it is difficult to imagine a more informative, or better-humoured guide ... a Thucydidean coolness, balance and wisdom that is superb.' - AN Wilson, The Times'Who Dares Wins captures the period with clairvoyant vividness. Compulsively readable, the book will be indispensable to anyone who wants to understand these pivotal years.' - John Gray, New Statesman'Immaculately well-researched, breathtakingly broad and beautifully written ... Sandbrook leaves the reader impatient for the next volume.' - Simon Heffer, Daily TelegraphThe acclaimed historian of modern Britain, Dominic Sandbrook, tells the story of the early 1980s: the most dramatic, colourful and controversial years in our recent history. Margaret Thatcher had come to power in 1979 with a daring plan to reverse Britain's decline into shabbiness and chaos. But as factories closed their doors, dole queues lengthened and the inner cities exploded in flames, would her radical medicine rescue the Sick Man of Europe - or kill it off?Vivid, surprising and gloriously entertaining, Dominic Sandbrook's new book recreates the decisive turning point in Britain's recent story. For some people this was an age of unparalleled opportunity, the heyday of computers and credit cards, snooker, Sloane Rangers and Spandau Ballet. Yet for others it was an era of shocking bitterness, as industries collapsed, working-class communities buckled and the Labour Party tore itself apart. And when Argentine forces seized the Falkland Islands, it seemed the final humiliation for a wounded, unhappy country, its fortunes now standing on a knife-edge. Here are the early 1980s in all their gaudy glory. This is the story of Tony Benn, Ian Botham and Princess Diana; Joy Division, Chariots of Fire, the Austin Metro and Juliet Bravo; wine bars, Cruise missiles, the ZX Spectrum and the battle for the Falklands. And towering above them all, the most divisive Prime Minister of modern times - the Iron Lady. Read more

*FEATURED IN BILL GATES'S 2019 SUMMER READING RECOMMENDATIONS* From world-renowned economist Paul Collier, a candid diagnosis of the failures of capitalism and a pragmatic and realistic vision for how we can repair itDeep new rifts are tearing apart the fabric of Britain and other Western societies: thriving cities versus the provinces, the highly skilled elite versus the less educated, wealthy versus developing countries. As these divides deepen, we have lost the sense of ethical obligation to others that was crucial to the rise of post-war social democracy. So far these rifts have been answered only by the revivalist ideologies of populism and socialism, leading to the seismic upheavals of Trump, Brexit and the return of the far right in Germany. We have heard many critiques of capitalism but no one has laid out a realistic way to fix it, until now. In a passionate and polemical book, celebrated economist Paul Collier outlines brilliantly original and ethical ways of healing these rifts - economic, social and cultural - with the cool head of pragmatism, rather than the fervour of ideological revivalism. He reveals how he has personally lived across these three divides, moving from working-class Sheffield to hyper-competitive Oxford, and working between Britain and Africa, and acknowledges some of the failings of his profession. Drawing on his own solutions as well as ideas from some of the world's most distinguished social scientists, he shows us how to save capitalism from itself - and free ourselves from the intellectual baggage of the 20th century. Read more

BY THE AUTHOR OF CHERNOBYL: HISTORY OF A TRAGEDY, WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2018 WINNER OF THE PUSHKIN HOUSE RUSSIAN BOOK PRIZE 2015 On Christmas Day 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union. By the next day the USSR was officially no more and the USA had emerged as the world’s sole superpower. Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy presents a page-turning account of the preceding five months of drama, filled with failed coups d’état and political intrigue. Honing in on this previously disregarded but crucial period and using recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, he shatters the established myths of 1991 and presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union’s final months. Plokhy argues that contrary to the triumphalist Western narrative, George H. W. Bush desperately wanted to preserve the Soviet Union and keep Gorbachev in power, and that it was Ukraine and not the US that played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The consequences of those five months and the myth-making that has since surrounded them are still being felt in Crimea, Russia, the US, and Europe today. With its spellbinding narrative and strikingly fresh perspective, The Last Empire is the essential account of one of the most important watershed periods in world history, and is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to make sense of international politics today. Read more

'I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.'Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation, or disease, or even execution. This book is the story of Park's struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on earth; her harrowing escape through China's underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and then her escape from China across the Gobi desert to Mongolia, with only the stars to guide her way, and from there to South Korea and at last to freedom; and finally her emergence as a leading human rights activist - all before her 21st birthday.'Clear-eyed and devastating' Observer Read more

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR The definitive biography of one of the greatest, most extraordinary runners and Olympic heroes of all time, from the author of running classic Feet in the Clouds. Emil Zátopek won five Olympic medals, set 18 world records, and went undefeated over 10,000 metres for six years. He redefined the boundaries of endurance, training in Army boots, in snow, in sand, in darkness. But his toughness was matched by a spirit of friendship and a joie de vivre that transcended the darkest days of the Cold War. His triumphs put his country on the map, yet when Soviet tanks moved in to crush Czechoslovakia’s new freedoms in 1968, Zátopek paid a heavy personal price for his brave defence of ‘socialism with a human face’. Rehabilitated two decades later, he was a shadow of the man he had been – and the world had all but forgotten him.Today We Die A Little strips away the myths to tell the complex and deeply moving story of the most inspiring Olympic hero of them all. Read more