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'A compelling novel about the tragedy of corrupting power, set in post-independence Kenya...Ngugi writes with passion about every form, shape and colour which power can take' Sunday Times • After decades of British rule Kenya has declared its independence, but drought and poor harvests still govern the village of Ilmorog. Undeterred, Munira, Karega, Wanja and Abdulla each move to Ilmorog in search of a more provincial life, only to find themselves suspects in a crime that signals a dark turning of the times • A classic of modern African literature, Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s damning satire of politics and corruption in Kenya would prove the catalyst for his imprisonment by the Kenyan government

In the brief golden years before the outbreak of World War I, Rosie McCosh and her three very different sisters are growing up in an eccentric household in Kent, with their neighbours the Pitt boys on one side and the Pendennis boys on the other. But their days of childhood adventure are shadowed by the approach of the conflict that will engulf them on the cusp of adulthood • When the boys end up scattered along the Western Front, Rosie is left confused by her love for two young men - one an infantry soldier and one a flying ace. Can she, and her sisters, build new lives out of the opportunities and devastations that follow the Great War?

"Моряк, утративший благодать моря" - величайший роман Мисимы и один из величайших за последнее столетие. Банда свирепых тринадцатилетних мальчишек отвергает мир взрослых как иллюзорный, лицемерный и сентиментальный и воспитывает в себе жестокую черствость, которую они называют "объективностью". Когда мать одного из них заводит роман с корабельным офицером, он и его друзья сначала идеализируют этого человека; но вскоре они приходят к выводу, что на самом деле он мягкий и романтичный • Они расценивают это разочарование как акт предательства с его стороны - и возмездие, следующее за этим, преднамеренное и ужасающее • Книга на английском языке • Mishima's greatest novel, and one of the greatest of the past century' The Times • A band of savage thirteen-year-old boys reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call 'objectivity'

Юкио Мисима - самый знаменитый и читаемый в мире японский писатель. Прославился он в равной степени как своими произведениями во всех мыслимых жанрах (романы, пьесы, рассказы, эссе), так и экстравагантным стилем жизни и смерти (харакири после неудачной попытки монархического переворота) • «Моряк, которого разлюбило море», возможно, самый страстный роман Мисимы. В центре сюжета судьбы трех людей: мужчины, женщины, подростка. Их чувства, сплетенные в единый клубок, который невозможно распутать, стремительные события и внезапный, невообразимый финал… • Книга на английском языке • 'A major work of art' Time • A band of savage thirteen-year-old boys reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call 'objectivity'

Soap Saves Lives. But did you know that excessive use of soap and skin-care products is harming our health and the environment? Apart from in hand-washing there is no need to use soap on our bodies at all? • Doctor and preventative medicine expert James Hamblin gave up showering five years ago and only ever uses soap on his hands. In Clean, he takes us on an irreverent and entertaining journey through our complex relationship with our bodies and cleanliness. Drawing on the latest science, he introduces a new way to think about cleanliness - one that is cheaper, simpler and better for our skin, our immunity and the world in which we live

Creepy. Peculiar. Fairy. Goblin. Liar. Weirdo. Crank. Genius • No one knows what to make of Juliet Slater, not even her mother. And clothes, boys, school, friends, the changing seasons and what other people think - none of these things seem to matter to Juliet. She spends hours in her room with incomprehensible mathematical text books, her mind voyaging in strange seas of thought, alone. Is she a genius? It might take the rest of her life to find out • While Stella Gibbons was celebrated for her beloved bestseller Cold Comfort Farm, the manuscript for Pure Juliet lay unseen and forgotten until it was brought to light by her family in 2014, and is published here for the first time in Vintage Classics. A tale that travels from an eco-millionaire's British country idyll to an Arabian Nights-style fantasy of the Middle East, this is a treat for fans of this witty, curious and always surprising author

The definitive, chilling account of Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan and the first book to document the entire conflict, from the leading academic expert on the subject • Afghanistan was an unwinnable war. As British and American troops withdraw, discover this definitive account that explains why • It could have been a very different story. British forces could have successfully withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2002, having done the job they set out to do: to defeat al-Qaeda. Instead, in the years that followed, Britain paid a devastating price for their presence in Helmand province • So why did Britain enter, and remain, in an ill-fated war? Why did it fail so dramatically, and was this expedition doomed from the beginning? Drawing on unprecedented access to military reports, government documents and senior individuals, Professor Theo Farrell provides an extraordinary work of scholarship

An outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, discover this laugh-out-loud cult favourite • Led by the reliably under-insightful Binder, a team of seven British men including Dr Prone (constantly ill); Jungle the route finder (constantly lost), Constant the diplomat (constantly arguing) and 3,000 Yogistani porters, set out to conquer the highest peak in the Himalayas • Vintage Voyages: A world of journeys, from the tallest mountains to the depths of the mind

Greene takes us on a wild, unconventional and enlightening voyage with an ordinary, retired bank manager and his eccentric, daring aunt • Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at what he supposes to be his mother's funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood, to travel to Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay, and a shiftless, twilight society of hippies, war criminals, CIA men that will help Henry come alive after a dull suburban life • Vintage Voyages: A world of journeys, from the tallest mountains to the depths of the mind

In the two novels - The Captive and The Fugitive - contained in this volume, Proust's narrator is living in his mother's apartment in Paris with his lover, Albertine. However, this is far from an idyllic state of affairs. His obsessive love for her means that their relationship is shadowed by jealousy and headed for tragedy

An inventive biography of one of the most famous ships of all time - recently discovered off the coast of America- Endeavour is an alluring combination of history, adventure and science • From Johnson's Dictionary to campaigns for liberty, the Enlightenment was an age of endeavours. It was also the name given to a commonplace, coal-carrying vessel bought by the Royal Navy in 1768 for an expedition to the South Seas • No one could have guessed that Endeavour would go on to become the most significant ship in the history of British exploration • Endeavour famously carried Captain James Cook on his first great voyage, but her complete story has never been told before. Here, Peter Moore sets out to explore the different lives of this remarkable ship - from the acorn that grew into the oak that made her, to her rich and complex legacy

We need finance – but when finance grows too big it becomes a curse • The City of London is the single biggest drain on our resources, sucking talent out of every sphere, siphoning wealth and hoovering up government time. Yet to be ‘competitive’, we’re told we must turn a blind eye to money laundering and appease big business with tax cuts • Tracing the curse back through economic history, Nicholas Shaxson uncovers how we got to this point. Moving from offshore tax havens to the bizarre industry of wealth management, he tells the explosive story of how finance established a stranglehold on society – and reveals how we can begin to break free