‘We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.’

Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up.

A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again.

‘What I learned is that we are infinitely more complex and wondrous, and often more mysterious, than I had ever suspected. There really is no story more amazing than the story of us.’ Bill Bryson

A new, beautifully illustrated edition of the Number One Bestseller and Sunday Times Science Book of the Year, which takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body.

Now enhanced in this new edition by hundreds of stunning photographs and illustrations, Bryson's book about the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself, is an instant classic. A Sunday Times and international bestseller, it is jam-packed with extraordinary facts, remarkable characters and astonishing stories.

This timely book offers an integrated and pragmatic approach to understanding recovery from all types of shock. Whilst particular focus is given to identifying and exploring various aspects of recovering societies in the context of COVID-19, Pandemic Recovery? is framed with a wider appreciation of other societal challenges, most notably anthropogenic climate change.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This timely Research Agenda provides a state-of-the-art review of existing research on manufacturing, as well as highlighting key areas of study to advance the field. Expert contributors from across the globe analyse the central role of manufacturing industries in the global economy, considering it as a multi-scalar process and assessing the impact of climate change in necessitating the decarbonization of production processes. Chapters identify and explore disruptive innovations in production technologies, including additive manufacturing, and their implications for future research. The book further highlights megatrends in automotive, electronics and emerging industries, including small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, Asian electronics production networks, global production networks, and operations and supply chain management. It develops a framework for accessing corporate elites and for guiding the process of undertaking qualitative semi-structured interviews. This Research Agenda will be a critical collection for economic geography, urban studies, city and regional planning, and business and management studies scholars seeking a forward-looking approach to the topic. It will also be useful to policymakers and practitioners working in regional economic development and planning.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Bill Bryson's biography of William Shakespeare unravels the superstitions, academic discoveries and myths surrounding the life of our greatest poet and playwright. Ever since he took the theatre of Elizabethan London by storm over 400 years ago, Shakespeare has remained centre stage. His fame stems not only from his plays - performed everywhere from school halls to the world's most illustrious theatres - but also from his enigmatic persona. His face is familiar to all, yet in reality very little is known about the man behind the masterpieces. Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard - from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died. Taking us on a journey through the streets of Elizabethan and Jacobean England, Bryson examines centuries of stories, half-truths and downright lies surrounding our greatest dramatist. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, he introduces a host of engaging characters, as he celebrates the magic of Shakespeare's language and delights in details of the bard's life, folios, poetry and plays.

Providing an integrated and multi-level analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on people, place, economies and policies, across the globe, this timely book explores how the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic combines failure with success. It focuses on exploring rapid adaptation and improvisation by individuals, organisations and governments as they attempted to minimise and mitigate the socio-economic and health impacts of the pandemic. Interdisciplinary chapters written by social policy, geography, planning, policy, sociology and public health experts explore the broader impacts of COVID-19, positioning the pandemic in the context of wider trends and risks including climate change. Chapters highlight the importance of place and local contexts in understanding its impacts in different settings including Europe, Canada, North America, South Korea, South Africa and Lebanon. In doing so, the book develops a pandemic preparedness, responsiveness and recovery research framework and intends to inform post-pandemic policy development and research. This is an important book for geography, social policy, politics, urban studies, planning and business and management researchers and students, particularly those focusing on crisis management and risk and resilience. With key case studies from across the globe, it will help elucidate key issues for policy makers and practitioners across a range of sectors including strategic management, social policy, public health and the built environment.

This insightful book explores smaller towns and cities, places in which the majority of people live, highlighting that these more ordinary places have extraordinary geographies. It focuses on the development of an alternative approach to urban studies and theory that foregrounds smaller cities and towns rather than much larger cities and conurbations. Comparative case studies from Australia, Cambodia, India, Korea, the UK and US provide a rich collection of theoretically informed investigations into smaller urban centres that are connected in complex ways to regional, national and international flows of people, goods, ideas and materials. The book further examines policy development and implementation in smaller towns and cities. Chapters analyse core societal challenges, including economic restructuring, urban decline and renewal, and ageing populations. This is a timely and important book for students of human geography, urban studies, planning, and economic geography, particularly those focusing on cities and economic development. It will also appeal to policymakers and planners seeking insights on current debates reframing urban theory to embrace more ordinary towns and cities.

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER _______ 'A directory of wonders.' – The Guardian 'Jaw-dropping.' – The Times 'Classic, wry, gleeful Bryson…an entertaining and absolutely fact-rammed book.' – The Sunday Times 'It is a feat of narrative skill to bake so many facts into an entertaining and nutritious book.' – The Daily Telegraph _______ ‘We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.’ Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up. A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again. ‘What I learned is that we are infinitely more complex and wondrous, and often more mysterious, than I had ever suspected. There really is no story more amazing than the story of us.’ Bill Bryson

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. City-regions are regeneration economies, or in other words, places that are experiencing on-going processes of recovery, adaptation or transformation. This Research Agenda provides both a state-of-the-art review of existing research on city-regions, and expands on new research approaches. Expert contributors from across the globe explore key areas of research for reading city-regions, including: trade, services and people, regional differentiation, big data, global production networks, governance and policy, and regional development. The book focuses on developing a more integrated and systematic approach to reading city-regions as part of regeneration economics by identifying conceptual and methodological developments in this field of study. Students in geography, urban studies and city and regional planning will greatly benefit from reading this, as it provides a wealth of stimuli for essays and dissertation topics. Advanced business and public policy students will also benefit from the focus on translating research into practice, an approach that this Research Agenda takes in several chapters. Contributors include: L. Andres, J.R. Bryson, J. Clark, G.J.D. Hewings, N. Kreston, M. Nathan, P. Nijkamp, J. Steenbruggen, R.J. Stimson, E. Tranos, A. Weaver, D. Wojcik, G. Yeung