This is It And Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience Watts Alan Random House, Inc

Readers worldwide know the work of Stephen Hawking through his phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time • In this collection of essays and other pieces - on subjects that range from warmly personal to the wholly scientific- he is revealed variously as the scientist, the man, the concerned world citizen, and - as always - the rigorous and imaginative thinker. Whether remembering his first experience of nursery school; puncturing the arrogance of those who think science can best be understood only by other scientists and should be left to them; exploring the origins and the future of the universe; or reflecting on the phenomenon of A Brief History of Time, Stephen's wit, directness of style and absence of pomp are vital characteristics at all times

A selection of witty and provocative essays from the father of New Journalism, Gay Talese's Frank Sinatra Has a Cold and Other Essays is published in Penguin Modern Classics • Gay Talese is the father of American New Journalism, who transformed traditional reportage with his vivid scene-setting, sharp observation and rich storytelling. His 1966 piece for Esquire, one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published, describes a morose Frank Sinatra silently nursing a glass of bourbon, struck down with a cold and unable to sing, like 'Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel - only worse'. The other writings in this selection include a description of a meeting between two legends, Fidel Castro and Muhammad Ali; a brilliantly witty dissection of the offices of Vogue magazine; an account of travelling to Ireland with hellraising actor Peter O'Toole; and a profile of fading baseball star Joe DiMaggio, which turns into a moving, immaculately-crafted meditation on celebrity

Virginia Woolf began writing reviews for the Guardian 'to make a few pence' from her father's death in 1904, and continued until the last decade of her life. The result is a phenomenal collection of articles, of which this selection offers a fascinating glimpse, which display the gifts of a dazzling social and literary critic as well as the development of a brilliant and influential novelist. From reflections on class and education, to slyly ironic reviews, musings on the lives of great men and 'Street Haunting', a superlative tour of her London neighbourhood, this is Woolf at her most thoughtful and entertaining

The full story of seabirds from one of the greatest nature writers. The book looks at the pattern of their lives, their habitats, the threats they face and the passions they inspire – beautifully illustrated by artist Kate Boxer • Seabirds are master navigators, thriving in the most demanding environment on earth. In this masterly book, drawing on all the most recent research, Adam Nicolson follows them to the coasts and islands of Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and the Americas. Beautifully illustrated by Kate Boxer, The Seabird’s Cry is a celebration of the wonders of the only creatures at home in the air, on land and on the sea. It also carries a warning: the number of seabirds has dropped by two-thirds since 1950. Extinction stalks the ocean and there is a danger that the grand cry of a seabird colony will this century become little but a memory

These interlocking essays uncover art as an active force in the world - neither elitist or remote, present to those who want it, affecting even those who don't. Winterson's own passionate vision of art is presented here, provocatively and personally, in pieces on Modernism, autobiography, style, painting, the future of fiction, in two essays on Virginia Woolf, and more intimately in pieces where she describes her relationship to her work and the books that she loves

In 'The Decay of Lying' Oscar Wilde uses his decadent ideology in an attempt to reverse and therefore reject his audiences' 'normal' conceptualizations of nature, art and morality. Wilde's views of life and art are illustrated through the use of Platonic dialogue where the character Vivian takes on the persona of Wilde. Wilde's goal is to subvert the norm by reversing its values. Wilde suggests to us that society is wrong, not him. Calling on diverse examples - from Ancient Greek sculpture to contemporary paintings - Oscar Wilde's brilliant essay creates a witty, paradoxical world in which the only Art worth loving is that built on complete untruths

With an introduction by New York Times bestselling author Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve West • The first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston • You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could • Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people’s inner lives and culture rather than destroying it

Put on a play in the Middle Ages, find out what happens to Floppy in Ancient Egypt and join Nadim and Anneena as they help invent a flying machine! • This collection contains four Read with Oxford Stage 5 stories that are ideal for children who are beginning to read independently. There are tips for parents and fun activities throughout the book for you and your child to enjoy together • Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy the dog are the well-loved characters from Oxford Reading Tree, used in schools around the world. With exciting stories, humorous illustrations, tips for parents and after-reading activities, this series is the perfect companion from your child’s very first steps in phonics all the way to reading independence • Featuring much-loved characters, great authors, engaging storylines and fun activities, Read with Oxford offers an exciting range of carefully-levelled reading books to build your child’s reading confidence

The powerful, beautiful and chilling sequel to the bestselling Straw Dogs • 'By nature volatile and discordant, the human animal looks to silence for relief from being itself while other creatures enjoy silence as their birthright' • Why do humans seek meaning to life? How do our imaginations leap into worlds so far beyond our actual reality? In this chilling and beautiful sequel to Straw Dogs, John Gray explores how we decorate our existence with countless fictions, twisting and turning to avoid acknowledging that we too are animals. Drawing on an extraordinary array of writers who are mesmerized by extremity, from Ballard to Conrad, Gray makes us re-imagine our place in the world

A swift flies two million kilometres in its lifetime. That’s far enough to get to the moon and back twice over – and then once more to the moon • A giraffe was once given to the King of France; she marched through the streets, dressed in the finest couture raincoat Paris could produce • A pangolin’s tongue is longer than its body. It keeps it neatly furled in a pouch near the hip • A lavishly illustrated collection of the lives of some of the Earth’s most astounding animals, The Golden Mole is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck – to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness

Тетушки, помолвки, недоразумения и средства от похмелья; восхитительный сборник от величайшего летописца Англии «Дживс и дух Святочного прилива, и другие истории» объединяет дюжину лучших рассказов П. Г. Вудхауза • Книга на английском языке • 'Does one desire the Yule-tide spirit, sir?' • 'Certainly one does. I am all for it.' • Aunts, engagements, misunderstandings and hangover cures; this delightful collection from 'the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness' (Julian Fellowes) brings together a baker's dozen of P. G. Wodehouse's finest short stories

На высокой колонне над городом стоит статуя Счастливого принца, покрытая листками чистого золота. Вместо глаз у него сапфиры, а в рукояти меча сияет рубин. Принц уговаривает ласточку забрать его золото и драгоценности и отдать их беднякам… • В сборник вошли следующие сказки: «Счастливый принц», «Соловей и Роза», «Великан-эгоист», «Преданный друг» и «Замечательная ракета» • Издательство Faber & Faber и магазин Liberty London представляют вашему вниманию коллекционное издание любимой классики наивысшего качества. Дизайн обложки был выполнен известными дизайнерами. Данное издание станет идеальным подарком для творческих людей и любителей художественной литературы • Книга на английском языке • High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince