Bloomsbury The Performance Curve. Maximize Your Potential at Work while Strengthening Your Well-being Watkins Laura, Dietzel Vanessa

At the age of seventeen, Eustace Conway ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from deer he killed and skinned before using their sinew as sewing thread. But he didn't stop there. In the years that followed, he stopped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, bolder challenges. He travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two-thousand-mile Appalachian Trail; he hiked across the German Alps in trainers; he scaled cliffs in New Zealand. One Christmas, he finished dinner with his family and promptly upped and left - to ride his horse across America

For those hoping to improve their work/life balance, this book offers the perfect mix of clear advice and practical suggestions to help you work out your priorities, reduce your stress levels, and identify the positive steps that can make your life easier • If you feel overwhelmed by the constant juggling of different areas of your life, this book can help. There's so much pressure on many people today to succeed at work that sometimes 'real life' tends to take a backseat. With the rise in flexible working and increased options to work from home, the boundaries can become even more blurred, and your relationships with friends, family, partner, and children can all suffer as you try to cram everything into a normal day • Whether you want to reevaluate and improve your current situation, or opt for a complete change of scene with a career break, Balance Your Life and Work will help you to make all the right moves

Lucas Pereyra, an unemployed writer in his forties, embarks on a day trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to pick up fifteen thousand dollars in cash. An advance due to him on his upcoming novel, the small fortune might mean the solution to his problems, most importantly the unbearable tension he has with his wife. While she spends her days at work and her nights out on the town-with a lover, perhaps, he doesn't know for sure- Lucas is stuck at home all day staring at the blank page, caring for his son Maiko and fantasizing about the one thing that keeps him going: the Uruguayan woman he met at a conference several months back and who he is longing to see on his day trip to Montevideo • The surprising, moving story of this incredibly impactful day in Lucas' life, The Woman from Uruguay is both a gripping narrative and tender, thought-provoking exploration of the nature of relationships

Set your sails east with this stunningly original new history of the world • Peter Frankopan, number one bestselling author and historian, explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science and technology in this extraordinary book about how the east married the west with a remarkable voyage at it's heart - the journey along the Silk Roads • From ancient world laws laid down by King Hammurabi and the mighty Persian empire, to terrifying huns, the rise of Europe, two world wars and politics today, "The Silk Roads" illustrated edition moves through time and history sewing together the threads from different peoples, empires and continents into a phenomenal history of the globe • With stories from each and every corner of society, Frankopan's magnificent brand new text based on his literary triumph "The Silk Roads", sumptuously illustrated by Neil Packer, is a must-have world history

Cursed! David was only trying to be cool when he helped some other boys steal an old lady's cane. But when the plan backfires, he is the one whom she 'curses'. Now David can't seem to do anything right. The cool kids taunt him and his only friends are weirdos. He even walks into Spanish class with his fly unzipped! And when he finally gets his nerve up to ask out a cute girl, his trousers fall down midway! But is this the curse at work or is David turning into a total loser? • Another witty and very clever tale by the master storyteller Louis Sachar

How hard can it be to find the perfect partner for your dad? • Esmie misses her mum, even though she was only a tiny baby when she died. She has a photo by her bed, and sometimes – when she needs advice or just fancies a chat – she asks her mum for help. Sometimes she even hears her reply • But Esmie thinks her dad is lonely. And her big brother Matthew would definitely benefit from a female influence. So Esmie decides to take action: she's going to find her dad a girlfriend. Beautiful, clever, charming, kind to children and animals ... How hard can it be to find the perfect partner for your dad? • In the book which won her the Red House Children's Book Award, Gwyneth Rees tells a story of healing and love with characteristic charm and humour. The Mum Hunt comes to Bloomsbury for a refreshed cover look and renewed marketing and publicity to bring new readers to this quirky, lovely modern classic

According to the economy, we have never been wealthier or happier. So why doesn't it feel that way? The Growth Delusion explores how we prioritise growth maximisation without stopping to think about the costs. So much of what is important to our well-being, from safe streets to sound minds, lies outside the purview of statistics. In a book that is both thought provoking and entertaining, David Pilling argues that our steadfast loyalty to growth is informing misguided policies, and proposes different criteria for measuring our success

A sheer fantastical delight. Exploding whitewood trees, lamps made of glowing pollen, moving statues and rock formations of pure glass... Pulley writes elegantly and plots like a pro The Times Deep in uncharted Peru, the holy town of Bedlam stands at the edge of a forest. The shrine statues move, and anyone who crosses the border dies. But somewhere inside are cinchona trees, whose bark yields quinine: the only known treatment for malaria. By 1859 the hunt for a reliable source of quinine is critical and the India Office searches out its last qualified expeditionary, Merrick Tremayne. Against his own better judgement, Merrick finds himself dispatched to Bedlam under orders to bring back cinchona cuttings. As he travels into hostile territory, Merrick meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin impossible stories, and through him Merrick finally discovers a legacy that will prove more dangerous and valuable than the India Office could ever have imagined

The story of the suffragettes with the Jiu Jitsu and roller-skating left in... this impeccably researched debut novel from Iszi Lawrence shows the fight for women's suffrage as it really was • Lettice Pegg's father is a working-class policeman and her mother is a middle-class suffragette. Stuck between them (and her terrifying grandma) as they argue, Lettice mostly cares about trying to fit in at school and convincing her parents to let her have roller skates and go to the music hall. But, when Lettice sees her mother brutally thrown to the ground by a policeman while on a protest march, her life changes forever. Not all of the women on the march are vulnerable to attack. Some of them have a secret weapon: Jiu Jitsu • As the suffragettes welcome Lettice to the fight back, things at home go from bad to worse

At the start of the 137-kilometre Tour de Mont Aigoual, Tim Krabbe glances up from his bike to assess the crowd of spectators. 'Non-racers,' he writes. 'The emptiness of those lives shocks me.' Immediate and gripping from the first page, we race with the author as he struggles up the hills and clings on during descents in the unforgiving French mountains • Originally published in 1978, The Rider is a modern-day classic that is recognised as one of the best books ever written about the sport. Brilliantly conceived and best read at a break-neck pace, it is a loving, imaginative and passionate tribute to the art of cycle racing

The captivating prequel to the treasured Grantchester series follows the life, loves and losses of a young Sidney Chambers in post-war London • It is 1938, and eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing the quickstep with Amanda Kendall at her brother Robert's birthday party at the Caledonian Club. No one can believe, on this golden evening, that there could ever be another war • Returning to London seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best friend on the battlefields of Italy. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like the rest of the world – and Sidney, carrying a terrible, secret guilt, must decide what to do with the rest of his life. But he has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent

The galaxy is at war and Jake Cutler is at the heart of it • With his friends and allies captured, it's up to teenage space pirate Jake to go into battle and take down the corrupt Interstellar Government once and for all. But in order to win this battle, Jake must find his father and confront secrets from his own past … • Prepare for blast-off with the explosive third book in the Spacejackers series – perfect for fans of Star Wars, pirates and space adventures of all shapes and sizes