Penguin Group

This is the shocking story of how a continent succumbed to temptation and took leave of its senses. Greek monks became playboy financiers. Icelandic fishermen became investment bankers. And Germans became even more German. Then, the money ran out. In this tragicomic romp across Europe, Michael Lewis sets out to uncover what happens when the greed of entire nations comes back to bite them. What he finds is stranger and more compelling than fiction. «Boomerang» is the ultimate book for our times. It's time to brace ourselves for impact. And, with Michael Lewis, to laugh out loud while we're doing it.

SKYE and SUMMER TANBERRY are identical twins, and Skye loves her sister Summer more than anyone else in the world. They do everything together, but lately Skye's been feeling like second-best ? It's the story of her life. And when her friend Alfie confesses he's fallen not for her, but for Summer, it hurts. Skye wants to be her own person, but with an effortlessly cool twin, how can she? Will Skye ever step out of Summer's shadow and find her own chance to shine?

If in the year 1411 you had been able to circumnavigate the globe and compare the dazzling civilizations of the Orient with Europe and North America, the idea that the West would dominate the Rest for most of the next half millennium would have struck you as wildly fanciful. So how did it happen? The answer, Ferguson argues, was the West's development of six 'killer applications': competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic. But has the West now lost its monopoly on these six things? If so, are we living through the end of Western ascendancy?

Woolf's first and most popular volume of essays. This collection has more than twenty-five selections, including such important statements as Modern Fiction and The Modern Essay.

As near as possible to experiencing what it was like to be there... It is almost impossible for a reader not to get caught up in the excitement. (Giles Foden, Guardian ). The Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was simply awesome. What followed them was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war, at times as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side. Antony Beevor's gripping narrative conveys the true experience of war.

Plunging into the enchanted and luminous worlds of Speak, Memory, Ada, or Ardor; and the infamous Lolita, Lila Azam Zanganeh seeks out the Nabokovian experience of time, memory, sexual passion, nature, loss, love in all its forms, language in all its allusions. She explores his Russian childhood, his European sojourns, the landscapes of 'his' America, hallucinates an interview and seeks the 'crunch of happiness' in Vladimir Nabokov's singular vocabulary. This rhapsodic and beautifully illuminated book, which includes such fans as Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk, will lure the innocent reader to a well of delights.

Lady Chatterley's Lover is both one of the most beautiful and notorious love stories in modern fiction. The summation of D.H. Lawrence's artistic achievement, it sharply illustrates his belief that tenderness and passion were the only weapons that could save man from self-destruction.

»A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth.» After the death of her father, Ann Whitefield becomes the joint ward of two men: the respectable Roebuck Ramsden and John Tanner, author of The Revolutionist's Handbook. Believing marriage would prevent him from achieving his higher intellectual and political ambitions, Tanner is horrified to discover that Ann intends to marry him, and flees to Spain with the determined young woman in hot pursuit. The chase even leads them to the underworld, where the characters alter egos discuss questions of human nature and philosophy in a lively debate in a scene often performed separately as Don Juan in Hell. In Man and Superman, Shaw combined seriousness with comedy to create a satirical and buoyant exposé of the eternal struggle between the sexes. This is the definitive text under the editorial supervision of Dan H. Laurence. This volume includes Shaw's Preface of 1903 and his appendix, The Revolutionist's Handbook, the cast list from the first production of Man and Superman and a list of his principal works.

When Jonny went missing everything changed. His mother's heart is full of terror and sadness instead of joy. His father's study overflows with newspaper cuttings and profiles on missing people instead of the academic texts that were there before. His sister, once carefree, now carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. His bedroom at home remains untouched and ready for his return. A place is set for him at the table on Christmas day each year. His birthday is always celebrated; unopened gifts for him gather dust. The hands on the clock continue to move forwards and yet Jonny hasn't returned. Where is he?

Dorian Gray is a popular and balanced young man, until he cannot resist corruption from the power of his own beauty. As he falls into the lure of a selfish world of luxury, his beauty remains unaltered. But in an attic, his portrait, painted by Basil Hallward, illustrates the damning effects of his unquenchable vanity. A master of language and turn of phrase — an Oscar Wilde classic.

Why do the poor borrow to save? Why do they miss out on free life-saving immunizations, but pay for unnecessary drugs? In Poor Economics, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two practical visionaries working toward ending world poverty, answer these questions from the ground. In a book the Wall Street Journal called marvelous, rewarding, the authors tell how the stress of living on less than 99 cents per day encourages the poor to make questionable decisions that feed — not fight — poverty. The result is a radical rethinking of the economics of poverty that offers a ringside view of the lives of the world's poorest, and shows that creating a world without poverty begins with understanding the daily decisions facing the poor.

What is quantum physics? How does it help us understand our amazing world? Where does it leave Newton and Einstein? And why, above all, can we be sure that the theory is good? This title gives us the real science behind the bizarre behaviour of the atoms and energy that make up the universe.

The fast lane is much too slow for Rachel Walsh. And Manhattan is the perfect place for a young Irish female to overdo everything. But Rachel's love of a good time is about to land her in the emergency room. It will also cost her a job and the boyfriend she adores. When her loving family hustles her back home and checks her into Ireland's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic, Rachel is hopeful. Perhaps it will be lovely — spa treatments, celebrities, that kind of thing. Instead, she finds a lot of group therapy, which leads her, against her will, to some important self-knowledge. She will also find something that all women like herself fear: a man who might actually be good for her.

In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf imagines that Shakespeare had a sister: a sister equal to Shakespeare in talent, equal in genius, but whose legacy is radically different. This imaginary woman never writes a word and dies by her own hand, her genius unexpressed. But if only she had found the means to create, urges Woolf, she would have reached the same heights as her immortal sibling. In this classic essay, Virginia Woolf takes on the establishment, using her gift of language to dissect the world around her and give a voice to those who have none. Her message is simple: A woman must have a fixed income and a room of her own in order to have the freedom to create.

What's it like to drive a car that's actively trying to kill you? This and many other burning questions trouble Jeremy Clarkson as he sets out to explore the world from the safety of four wheels. Avoiding the legions of power-crazed traffic wombles attempting to block highway and byway, he shows how the world of performance cars may be likened to Battersea Dogs' Home; reveals why St Moritz may be the most bonkers town in all of the world; reminds us that Switzerland is so afraid of snow that any flakes falling on the road are immediately arrested; and, argues that washing a car is a waste of time. Funny, globe-trotting, irreverent and sometimes downright rude, Round the Bend is packed with curious and fascinating but otherwise hopelessly useless stories and facts about everything under the sun (and just occasionally cars). It's Jeremy Clarkson at his brilliant best.

Once a cop. Always a cop... Ex-NYPD detective Dave Gurney is supposed to be retired. But people with problems keep knocking on his door. Like the police, for instance, who are baffled by a gruesome murder they just can't seem to solve. A young bride has been killed in the middle of her own wedding reception. The prime suspect — her new husband's Mexican gardener — is missing. As is the murder weapon — likely a machete — used to decapitate the bride. The police have drawn a blank. It's as if the killer has vanished into thin air. But when Gurney begins his investigations, he finds that a baffling murder is just the latest of many sadistic crimes committed by an individual who'll do anything to avoid capture.

The rotting, naked corpse of a man is found amidst swarms of flies in the living room of a confused woman. Who is he? Why is Michelle Doyce trying to serve him afternoon tea? And how did the dead body find its way into her flat? DCI Karlsson needs an expert to delve inside Michelle's mind for answers and turns to former colleague, psychiatrist Frieda Klein. Eventually Michelle's ramblings lead to a vital clue that in turn leads to a possible identity. Robert Poole. Jack of all trades and master conman. The deeper Frieda and Karlsson dig, the more of Poole's victims they encounter... and the more motives they uncover for his murder. But is anyone telling them the truth except for poor, confused Michelle? And when the past returns to haunt Frieda, she finds herself in danger. Whoever set out to destroy Poole also seems determined to destroy Frieda Klein.

In the years following the First World War a new generation emerges, wistful and vulnerable beneath the glitter. The Bright Young Things of 'twenties Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade. In a quest for treasure, a favourite party occupation, a vivid assortment of characters hunt fast and furiously for ever greater sensations and the fulfilment of unconscious desires.

In 1926, de Saint-Exupery began flying for the pioneering airline Latecoere — later known as Aeropostale — opening up the first mail routes across the Sahara and the Andes. Wind, Sand and Stars is drawn from this experience. Interweaving encounters with nomadic Arabs and other adventures into a richly textured autobiographical narrative which includes the extraordinary story of his crash in the Libyan Desert in 1936, and his miraculous survival. 'Self-discovery comes when a man measures himself against an obstacle', writes Saint-Exupery. In this book, he explores the transcendent perceptions that arise when life is tested to its limits. Both a gripping tale of adventure and a poetic meditation.

'For many years I had wanted to start a zoo... any reasonable person smitten with an ambition of this sort would have secured the zoo first and obtained the animals afterwards. but throughout my life I have rarely if ever achieved what I wanted by tackling it in a logical fashion'. A Zoo in My Luggage is Gerald Durrell's account of his attempt to set up his own zoo, after years spent gathering animals for other zoos. Journeying to Cameroon, he and his wife collected numerous mammals, birds and reptiles, including Cholmondely the chimpanzee and Bug-eye the bush-baby. But their problems really began when they attempted to return with their exotic menagerie. Not only had they to get them safely home to Britain but they also had to find somewhere able and — most of all — willing to house them. Told with wit and a zest for all things furry and feathered, Gerald Durrell's A Zoo in My Luggage is a brilliant account of how a pioneer of wildlife preservation came to found a new type of zoo.

After the enormous success of The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman is back with a completely new collection of beautiful images of the men and women who have caught his attention. His much-loved blog, thesartorialist.com, remains one of the most-read in the fashion world and continues to grow in popularity as Scott travels further and more widely. This book encompasses the diverse style and visual attitude of people as far afield as Japan, Korea, London, Milan, New York, Paris and beyond. In The Sartorialist II, Scott Schuman looks deeper and with greater breadth at human style, and the way it is expressed across the world. Always reacting to an inspirational moment, the images in this new book continue to reflect Scott's unique sensibility and vision.

Emily Pointer would rather jog naked through Harvey Nichols' beauty hall than be seen with last season's handbag. A fashion stylist with Chic magazine, Emily is a natural blonde, a effortless size 10, travels the world for work and gets 30 per cent discount at Prada. As far as she's concerned, life is perfect. So surely a night of wild sex with a hunky Australian photographer during the fashion show season in Milan will be just another fabulous experience to add to the package? Instead, Emily starts to discover that life can be messy — and the designer clothes in your closet can be squeezed out by the skeletons lurking in there too. From the bestselling author of Pants on Fire and a former magazine editor herself, comes the delicious tale of a woman who was kidding herself that another Birkin bag was all she needed to achieve fulfilment.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived the darkest and most dangerous life of any of the great painters. The worlds of Milan, Rome and Naples through which Caravaggio moved and which Andrew Graham-Dixon describes brilliantly in this book, are those of cardinals and whores, prayer and violence. On the streets surrounding the churches and palaces, brawls and sword fights were regular occurrences. In the course of this desperate life Caravaggio created the most dramatic paintings of his age, using ordinary men and women — often prostitutes and the very poor — to model for his depictions of classic religious scenes. Andrew Graham-Dixon's exceptionally illuminating readings of Caravaggio's pictures, which are the heart of the book, show very clearly how he created their drama, immediacy and humanity, and how completely he departed from the conventions of his time.

Julia Llewellyn, Top Ten bestselling author of The Model Wife and Amy's Honeymoon looks at finding — and keeping — your soul mate in Ten Minutes to Fall in Love. Zu Forbes has a complicated relationship with love. Her mother died when she was a teenager, leaving her with a lonely father and emotional baggage. So at the earliest opportunity she switched the baggage for luggage and took off around the world. But now she's home and working for a dating agency. Can she find the perfect match for her dad? If only she can pair him off, she can run away again with a clear conscience. While Zu busies herself fixing her dad's love life, she almost misses Cupid creeping up behind her. They say it takes ten minutes to fall in love so how can she be falling for someone she's known for years? And why is it taking so damn long to matchmaker her dad? Zu must make a commitment one way or the other: to her love life; to her family; and to the memories of a mother she's tried so desperately to forget. Ten Minutes to Fall in Love is an engaging, witty and romantic story about finding that perfect person to share your life. Praise for Julia Llewellyn: A perfect beach read' Elle 'Engaging and entertaining. (Evening Standard). Julia Llewellyn is the author of The Love Trainer, If I Were You, Amy's Honeymoon, The Model Wife and Love Nest, all published as Penguin paperbacks. As Julia Llewellyn Smith she writes regularly for the Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday Times and many other publications. Julia lives in London with her family.