Penguin The Blank Slate. The Modern Denial of Human Nature Pinker Steven

James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a Scottish classic, a quintessentially Gothic tale of psychological horror, and a relentless attack on Calvinist dogma. The Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Karl Miller • Robert Wringham's family is composed of a dissolute father and brother, a pious mother, and a rival father in the person of a fanatical Calvinist minister. He comes to believe that he is one of the elect, predestined to be saved, while others are damned. Sure of his freedom from the dictates of morality, he embarks on a series of crimes in the company of a new friend Gil-Martin, a man of many likenesses who can be mistaken for Robert, and who explains that they are as one in the holy work of purifying the world

A unique collection of advice for life, Baltasar Gracian's The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence is a philosophical gem, and perhaps the first 'self-help' book ever written. This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Spanish with an introduction by Jeremy Robbins • Written over 350 years ago, The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence is a subtle collection of 300 witty and thought-provoking aphorisms. From the art of being lucky to the healthy use of caution, these elegant maxims were created as a guide to life, with further suggestions given on cultivating good taste, knowing how to refuse, the foolishness of complaining and the wisdom of controlling one's passions. Baltasar Gracian intended these ingenious, pragmatic aphorisms to challenge the mind, and recognised that few would be capable of applying them

In the annals of military history, the Western Front stands as an enduring symbol of the folly and futility of war • However, as bestselling military historian Nick Lloyd reveals in this highly-praised history - the first of an epic trilogy -- the story is not one of pointlessness and stupidity, but rather a heroic triumph against the odds. With a cast of hundreds and a huge canvas of places and events, Lloyd tells the whole tale, revealing what happened in France and Belgium between August 1914 and November 1918 from the perspective of all the main combatants - including French, British, Belgian, US and, most importantly, German forces • Lloyd examines the most decisive campaigns of the Great War and explains the unprecedented innovation, adaptation and tactical development that have been too long obscured by legends of mud, blood and futility, drawing upon the latest scholarship on the war, wrongly overlooked first-person accounts, and archival material from every angle

The most timely and informative history book you will read this year, tracing a century of pandemics, with a new chapter on COVID-19 • Ever since the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, scientists have dreamed of preventing catastrophic outbreaks of infectious disease. Yet, despite a century of medical progress, viral and bacterial disasters continue to take us by surprise, inciting panic and dominating news cycles. From the Spanish flu and the 1924 outbreak of pneumonic plague in Los Angeles, to the 1930 'parrot fever' pandemic and the more recent SARS, Ebola, Zika and - now - COVID-19 epidemics, the last 100 years have been marked by a succession of unanticipated pandemic alarms • In The Pandemic Century, Mark Honigsbaum chronicles 100 years of history in 10 outbreaks

The Green Flag stands as the most comprehensive and illuminating history of Irish Nationalism yet published. For many years available as three separate volumes (The Most Distressful Country, The Bold Fenian Men and Ourselves Alone), this outstanding history is now available as a single volume

Eighteenth-century Scotland is famed for generating many of the enlightened ideas which helped to shape the modern world. But there was in the same period another side to the history of the nation. Many of Scotland's people were subjected to coercive and sometimes violent change, as traditional ways of life were overturned by the 'rational' exploitation of land use. The Scottish Clearances is a superb and highly original account of this sometimes terrible process, which changed the Lowland countryside forever, as it also did, more infamously, the old society of the Highlands • Based on a vast array of original sources, this pioneering book is the first to chart this tumultuous saga in one volume, with due attention to evictions and loss of land in both north and south of the Highland line

Arty has always lived in the Clearing, a commune hidden in the forests of south India. But her happy life, separate from the rest of the world, is shattered after a terrible event • For the first time, Arty must leave her home, and head into the intriguing but frightening outside world. On the streets of India, a chance encounter leads to her becoming an unwilling overnight celebrity • As she embarks on her journey, she discovers she is being followed by thousands of strangers, who seem to know her every move • Forced to fight against mysterious hashtags and being constantly photographed, how can she find the help she desperately needs? • Everything is changing too fast for this girl who came out of the woods... could she be running into a trap? • The new thriller from the acclaimed author of The One Memory of Flora Banks, perfect for fans of Karen McManus, E

In July 1988, Barbara Taylor, then an acclaimed young historian, was admitted to what had once been England's largest psychiatric institution: Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, later known as Friern Hospital • This searingly honest, thought-provoking and beautifully written memoir is the story of the author's madness years, set inside the wider story of the death of the asylum system in the twentieth century. It is a meditation on her own experience of breakdown and healing, but also that of the millions of other people who have suffered, are suffering, will suffer mental illness

Шестнадцать столетий назад Британия вышла из состава Римской империи и быстро пришла в упадок. В этот жестокий и нестабильный мир пришли иностранные захватчики из-за моря и утвердились в качестве его новых хозяев. В захватывающей и оригинальной книге "Англосаксы. История зарождения Англии" известный историк Марк Моррис отделяет правду от легенды и рассказывает необычную историю о том, как были заложены основы Англии • Книга на английском языке • Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. In this sweeping and original history, renowned historian Marc Morris separates the truth from the legend and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid

Одно из самых значительных произведений западной философии, трактат Юма, был опубликован в 1739-40 годах, когда ему еще не исполнилось тридцати лет. Являясь вершиной английского эмпиризма, она представляет собой всестороннюю попытку применить научные методы наблюдения к изучению человеческой природы и энергичную атаку на принципы традиционной метафизической мысли. С виртуозным красноречием Юм отрицает бессмертие души и реальность пространства; рассматривает способ, которым мы формируем концепции идентичности, причины и следствия; и размышляет о природе свободы, добродетели и эмоций. Противопоставляемая как метафизике, так и рационализму, философия обоснованного скептицизма Юма рассматривает человека не как религиозное творение и не как машину, а как существо, в котором доминируют чувства, страсти и аппетиты

За годы до Второй мировой войны на военно-воздушной базе в центральной Алабаме небольшая группа пилотов-ренегатов выдвинула радикальную идею. Что, если бы мы сделали бомбардировки настолько точными, что войны можно было бы вести исключительно с воздуха? Что, если бы мы могли оставить жестокие столкновения между армиями на земле в прошлом? • Книга Малкольма Гладуэлла "Мафия подрывников. История об инновациях и одержимости" рассказывает истории голландского гения-затворника и его самодельного компьютера, лучшего друга Уинстона Черчилля, команды химиков-пироманов из Гарварда, блестящего пилота, который пел водевильные мелодии своему экипажу, и командира бомбардировщика Кертиса Эмерсона Лемея, который отдал приказ о самой кровавой атаке Второй мировой войны

A slave who represented his masters in court and negotiations, Aesop relied on allegorical animal stories, collected here in The Complete Fables, to convey his key points. This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Greek by Olivia and Robert Temple with an introduction by Robert Temple • In a series of pithy, amusing vignettes, Aesop created a vivid cast of characters to demonstrate different aspects of human nature. Here we see a wily fox outwitted by a quick-thinking cicada, a tortoise triumphing over a self-confident hare and a fable-teller named Aesop silencing those who mock him. Each jewel-like fable provides a warning about the consequences of wrongdoing, as well as offering a glimpse into the everyday lives of Ancient Greeks