Short Books

Our phones have become a constant distraction; it's time we put them down and rediscovered the simple art of taking a few minutes out. This book offers an imaginative list of games and tips aimed at curing us of our portable tech addiction. More than mere time-killers, these activities include ways to unleash your creative side and train your brain, but above all methods to set you on the road to calm.

Denmark is the country of the moment. Recently named the happiest nation in the world, it's the motherland of The Bridge, Borgen, and The Killing, and home to Noma, the world's best restaurant. But though we wear their jumpers and watch their thrillers, how much do we really know about the Danes themselves? Part reportage, part travelogue, How to be Danish is an attempt to fill in some of the gaps - an in...

In the summer after leaving school, a young botanist sets out to fulfil a childhood dream -- to find every species of orchid native to the British Isles. He has just a few months to complete his quest - no one has ever done it before within one growing season - and it will require ingenuity, stamina and a large dose of luck. As he battles the vagaries of the British climate, feverishly chasing each emerging...

How many snowflakes are needed to make a snowman? Where is the snowiest place on Earth? When will the last snowflake fall? Snow has a lot in common with religion. It comes from heaven. It changes everything. It creates an alternative reality and brings on irrational behaviour in humans. But unlike most religions, snow has never had a bible, until now. Giles Whittell, a passionate snow enthusiast, takes the ...

Nelson was a young South African with a reputation for trouble-making. Who would have thought he would one day lead his people to freedom? Nelson grew up at a time when black South Africans suffered terrible injustice. He was determined to change this - even if it meant grave personal danger. Twenty-seven years of his life were spent in prison, and everyone seemed to be against him - even his own family...

WARTIME BERLIN: The Niemann family - Karl, Minna and their four children - live in a quiet, suburban enclave. Every day Karl commutes to work, a business manager travelling around inspecting his "factories". In the evenings he returns home to life as a normal family man.

Jessica Fox is living in Hollywood, a 26-year-old filmmaker with a high-stress job at NASA. Working late one night, craving another life, she is seized by a moment of inspiration and types "secondhand bookshop Scotland" into Google...

Are you really aware of what you spend? Do you know how to value things beyond their price? For the answer to these questions and more, look no further than Kakebo - the budgeting journal used by millions every day in Japan to manage their household spending. The Japanese believe that tidiness in one's finances is as important as tidiness in one's house - indeed for them, the act of thinking mindfully about...

Emily was angry. She worked as hard as any man, but she couldn't change laws that affected her - laws made by men. Because women didn't have the right to vote.

On 30th April 1945 Germany is in chaos - Russian troops have reached Berlin. All over the country, people are on the move - concentration camp survivors, Allied PoWs, escaping Nazis - and the civilian population is fast running out of food. The man who orchestrated this nightmare is in his bunker beneath the capital, saying his farewells. Hitler's Last Day: Minute by Minute is pure chronological narrat...

"In the summer of 1940, lying in the sun, I saw a family of redstarts, unconcerned in the affairs of our skeletal multitude, going about their ways in cherry and chestnut trees..." Soon after his arrival at Warburg PoW camp, British army officer John Buxton found an unexpected means of escape from the horrors of internment. Passing his days covertly watching birds, he was unaware that he, too, was being wat...

Live well and feel great - go vegan in 15...The vegan revolution is here. More and more people are looking to eat and shop in a way that treads as lightly as possible on our fragile planet and that doesn't cause suffering to animals. In Vegan in 15, renowned green food blogger and cook Kate Ford presents the easy way to 'go vegan' - showing you how to conjure up incredibly tasty meals in just 15 minutes, wi...

Learning birdsong is not just a way to become a better bird-spotter. It is tuning in: a way of hearing the soundtrack of the planet earth...Why do birds sing? What are they trying to say? Birdsong is not just about natural history. It is also about our history. We got melody from the birds as we got rhythm from the womb. This vital book - with a free podcast - takes you from winter into deepest spring...

Vatanescu, an impoverished construction worker, wants a future for himself and a pair of football boots for his son. So he decides to head north to a cold, dark country where there is money to be made.

On 30th April 1945 Germany is in chaos...Russian troops have reached Berlin. All over the country, people are on the move - concentration camp survivors, Allied PoWs, escaping Nazis - and the civilian population is fast running out of food. The man who orchestrated this nightmare is in his bunker beneath the capital, saying his farewells. This is the gripping story of Hitler's final hours, as seen through t...

Shortlisted for a 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award. In the summer after leaving school, a young botanist sets out to fulfil a childhood dream - to find every species of orchid native to the British Isles. He has just a few months to complete his quest - no one has ever done it before within one growing season- and it will require ingenuity, stamina and a large dose of luck. ...

We are a nation that loves its ancient woods and trees. We prize our sturdy oaks, craggy pines, bluebells and primroses, badgers and dormice. We value the history and heritage of places that have been woodland since before the Norman Conquest. But only a generation ago we were all set to wipe them out. It was said that in the space of just 30 years, nearly half of our ancient woods were destroyed. How and w...

Daughter of the famous romantic poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was a child prodigy. Brilliant at maths, she read numbers like most people read words.Lady Byron wanted Ada to be as unlike her father as possible. Ada grew up surrounded by an army of tutors who taught her every subject every waking moment, except for poetry.In 1843 Ada came to the attention of Charles Babbage, a scientist and inventor who had j...

In a country parsonage in the late 18th century, there lived a large family of seven children. They were all bright and clever and noisy, so nobody really noticed when little Jane turned quietly into a genius... The modest, obedient youngest daughter of the Reverend Austen was to grow up to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. And the story of how she succeeded is every bit as romantic as...

The most irresistibly witty and revealing tour of Paris in years...In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and Paris resident John Baxter recounts his year-long experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers. Along the way, he tells the city's history through a brilliant cast of characters: the favourite cafes of Erne...