The march of science has never proceeded smoothly. It has been marked through the years by episodes of drama and comedy, of failure as well as triumph, by outrageous strokes of luck, deserved and undeserved, and sometimes by human tragedy. It has seen deep intellectual friendships, as well as ferocious animosities, and once in a while acts of theft and malice, deceit, and even a hoax or two. Scientists come in all shapes: the obsessive and the dilettantish, the genial, the envious, the preternaturally brilliant and the slow-witted who sometimes see further in the end, the open-minded and the intolerant, recluses and arrivistes. From the death of Archimedes at the hands of an irritated Roman soldier to the concoction of a superconducting witches' brew at the very close of the twentieth century, the stories in Eurekas and Euphorias pour out, told with wit and relish by Walter Gratzer. Open this book at random and you may chance on the clumsy chemist who breaks a thermometer in a reaction vat and finds mercury to be the catalyst that starts the modern dyestuff industry; or a famous physicist dissolving his gold Nobel Prize medal in acid to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis, recovering it when the war ends; mathematicians and physicists diverting themselves in prison cells, and even in a madhouse, by creating startling advances in their subject. We witness the careers, sometimes tragic, sometimes carefree, of the great women mathematicians, from Hypatia of Alexandria to Sophie Germain in France and Sonia Kovalevskaya in Russia and Sweden, and then Marie Curie's relentless battle with the French Academy. Here, then, a glorious parade unfolds to delight the reader, with stories to astonish, to instruct, and most especially, to entertain.

With endearing humor and unabashed compassion, Willie Morris--a self-declared dog man and author of the classic paean to canine kind, My Dog Skip--reveals the irresistible story of his unlikely friendship with a cat. Forced to confront a lifetime of kitty-phobia when he marries a cat woman, Willie discovers that Spit McGee, a feisty kitten with one blue and one gold eye, is nothing like the foul felines that lurk in his nightmares.

For when Spit is just three weeks old he nearly dies, but is saved by Willie with a little help from Clinic Cat, which provides a blood transfusion. Spit is tied to Willie thereafter, and Willie grows devoted to a companion who won't fetch a stick, but whose wily charm and occasional crankiness conceal a fount of affection, loyalty, and a "rare and incredible intelligence." My Cat Spit McGee is one of the finest books ever written about a cat, and a moving and entertaining tribute to an enduring friendship.

Ian Shipley has now been traditionally hand-digging graves for 40 years. He was taught to dig the old-fashioned way and four decades on, averaging 114 graves per year, Ian can still be found habitually toiling away in one of any number of locations across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In Tales of a Gravedigger, the author's first book, he recalls true tales from his early years whilst working at Newark's London Road Cemetery in Nottinghamshire. It is a light-hearted and occasionally amusing look into the life of a gravedigger. From coffins getting stuck to stomach-churning exhumations. From unexpected cave-ins to practical jokes and various other ghostly goings-on. It's an interesting glimpse into a profession that most of us know very little about. Ian has always believed that a grave should be hand-dug. It's more personal that way. For years he has declined to use mechanical digging, preferring instead to keep alive the old ways. In Newark-on-Trent and throughout the surrounding villages of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, Ian will possibly be the last of the traditional gravediggers.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Charming' - The Sunday Times 'Delicious' - Daily Mail 'Wonderful' - Stephen Fry 'Delightful' - Delia Smith 'Brilliant' - Claudia Winkleman 'Joyous' - Caitlin Moran 'Entertaining' - Observer 'Funny' - Ken Follett 'Glorious' - Daily Express 'Touching' - Robert Peston Appetite is a memoir with a twist: each chapter is a recipe that tells a story. Ed Balls was just three weeks old when he tried his first meal in 1967: pureed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. From that moment on he was hooked on food. Taught to cook by his mother, Ed's now passing her wisdom on to his own kids as they start to fly the nest. Reflecting on his life in recipes, Ed takes us from his grandma's shepherd's pie to his first trip to a restaurant in the 1970s (and ordering an orange juice as a starter); from the inner workings of Westminster to the pressures of parenting. This is a collection of the meals he loves most, and the memories they bring back. The world may have changed since 1967, but the best recipes last a lifetime. Appetite is a celebration of love, family, and really good food.

This is the true story of the most remarkable horse in history. Foaled in the lavish Ottoman stables of the Topkapl Palace in the late 1870s, this dark bay stallion was hard schooled in the disciplines of war. Until now, his remarkable story has never been told.

In March 2020 Covid struck and the world changed - much of the world locked down - will it ever be the same again? The author woke up one morning at the end of June 2021 and decided that she wanted to put a book together of "lives during these times". She had been watching families and friends becoming increasingly divided by their opposing views on what was going on in the world. People were becoming angry and frustrated with each other for not sharing the same view on what was going on. Fear, blame, anxiety, were on the increase. People were suffering and if there was one thing we didn't need more of it was suffering. We all have our own unique circumstances, views, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears and her aim for this book is to create more understanding, respect and love. She has gathered individual heartfelt stories from friends, ordinary people, of where they were in their lives when Covid struck and how they have navigated the past 2 and a half years. The world is in crisis and we need unity, trust and love, not division, hopelessness and fear. This book tells the unique stories of people living in different circumstances, in different countries with some very different opinions. Each story is the truth of the person who wrote it even if it is not your truth. The author hopes you will enjoy reading the wonderful stories that have been shared with her.

Michael Finkel was a top New York Times Magazine journalist publicly fired and disgraced for making up a composite character for a big investigative news piece about Africa. This book is about how this brilliant, high achieving journalist found himself at that point in his life. But in parallel it's also about Christian Longo, a man accused of the multiple murder of his own wife and three children. After the deaths, Longo fled to Mexico, where he passed himself off as Michael Finkel, New York Times journalist. These two weird stories come together as Finkel in turn becomes fascinated (perhaps obsessed) with Longo the accused murderer, who while in prison and during his trial would talk only to Finkel. Who is using whom...?

On Friday 13th September 2019 I embarked on an Elementary Pilot Training Course. 4 days later I would awake to be told most of the left hand side of my body & back were broken along with other serious injuries. I was told I'd sustained life changing injuries. Determined that I was not going to give my life up. I focused solely on what needed to be done to get me through. What had happened to me? 6 months into rehabilitation the COVID lockdown hit, physiotherapy, complimentary therapies & all types of training stopped. Completely isolated the only thing I could do now was to keep working on my walking until it became better & I grew stronger. With a body full of metalwork & the NHS completely at a standstill due to the pandemic would I be able to get the operations I need to release myself from the metal prison that is holding me captive? Would I be able to get myself out of the biggest challenge I was yet to face? Would I ever be able to get myself back to some semblance of a life I recognise?