Making your capital work hard has never been more important than it is today. Investment trusts, often over looked as an investing vehicle, are a key tool in getting better returns on your money.

The Financial Times Guide to Investment Trusts is your concise and jargon free introduction to one of the City’s best kept secrets. It explains how investment trusts differ from unit trusts and OEICs and explores the pros and cons of investment trusts including their superior performance. It also helps you identify your investment objectives, discusses the basic principles of successful investing, and how to run a trust portfolio.

Whether you are a novice DIY investor or have many years’ experience and wish to question the experts; the FT Guide to Investment Trusts:

• Provides a detailed overview of what investment trusts are and how they differ from other funds
• Examines the factors which help to explain the better performance of trusts – including cheaper fees, discounts and gearing
• Analyses the stepping stones to successful investing
• Shows you how to construct and monitor a trust portfolio
• Highlights the workings of two live and benchmarked portfolios which John has been sharing with Investor Chronicle readers over the years.

The subject of smoking and the hormone disorders associated with it are of relatively recent interest. Its importance increases as the average age at death of the population increases and many of those people will have had a lifetime smoking. The book provides summaries of the present status of research into the effects of smoking and the apparent protection offered against certain diseases. Some research workers have suggested ways of predicting trends of disease patterns such as osteoporetic fractures. Not all the disorders discussed are adverse effects of smoking and these have provided impetus for developing non-tobacco methods of disease prevention. As the smoking population diminishes and the availability of lower tar brands increases, a reduction in many of the adverse disorders is expected and will form the basis for continued monitoring.

Written by his friend, the physician John Baron (1786-1851), this laudatory biography of the 'father of immunology' did much to enhance the reputation of Edward Jenner (1749-1823) upon its publication in two volumes between 1827 and 1838. The work covers Jenner's personal and professional life both before and after his development of the vaccine for smallpox, as well as touching on the vaccine's reception and use around the world. Thoroughly explaining the history and facts of vaccination, Baron established himself as an authority on the subject. Although criticised by some for its unquestioning praise of Jenner's genius, the work is valuable for its use of primary sources, drawing heavily on correspondence and personal notes, excerpts of which appear throughout the text. Volume 2, published in 1838, covers Jenner's later life and the global reception of vaccination. The appendix lists the various honours bestowed upon him.

Written by his friend, the physician John Baron (1786-1851), this laudatory biography of the 'father of immunology' did much to enhance the reputation of Edward Jenner (1749-1823) upon its publication in two volumes between 1827 and 1838. The work covers Jenner's personal and professional life both before and after his development of the vaccine for smallpox, as well as touching on the vaccine's reception and use around the world. Thoroughly explaining the history and facts of vaccination, Baron established himself as an authority on the subject. Although criticised by some for its unquestioning praise of Jenner's genius, the work is valuable for its use of primary sources, drawing heavily on correspondence and personal notes, excerpts of which appear throughout the text. Volume 1, published in 1827, focuses on Jenner's early life and the history and science of vaccination.