Penguin Group

The Rough Guide to Greece has been the definitive guidebook to the country for 30 years. This new full-colour edition has been completely revamped and updated, keeping all our best features like detailed background and a journalistic eye for detail, but with new user-friendly accommodation, eating reviews and crystal-clear maps. Get the lowdown on Greece's world class attractions from the Acropolis to Crete's Minoan Palaces. Rediscover Athens and find the perfect bars to kick off a night out. Read insider tips on the best beaches to escape the crowds, the choicest accommodation from boutique to backpacker plus information on how to hike the Samarian Gorge, windsurf off Corfu or hire a yacht in the Cyclades. As our readers put it: «a superb bit of kit — and as essential as a pair of shorts», «what really shines through is the writers love of the subject», «entertaining and a wealth of information». Make the most of your time, with The Rough Guide to Greece.

The award-winning Rough Guide to Japan is the definitive guide to this fascinating country with its stunning landscapes, dynamic pop culture, world-class dining and rich history. It will guide you with reliable information and a clearly explained background on everything from Japan's history, religions, arts, movies and music to the country's pressing environmental issues. Whether you're looking for great places to eat and drink or the most exciting places to party and the newest accommodation, you'll find the solution. Plus, all the major and many off-the-beaten-track sights are covered, including tropical dives in Okinawa, mountain traverses across the Japanese Alps and contemporary art exhibits on islands in the Inland Sea. Accurate maps and comprehensive practical information help you get under the skin of this dynamic country, whilst stunning photography and a full-colour introduction make The Rough Guide to Japan your ultimate travelling companion.

Full-colour throughout, The Rough Guide to London is the ultimate travel guide to one of the world's most exciting cities. With 30 years experience and our trademark 'tell it like it is' writing style Rough Guides cover all the basics with practical, on-the-ground details, as well as unmissable alternatives to the usual must-see sights. At the top of your to-pack list, and guaranteed to get you value for money, each guide also reviews the best accommodation and restaurants in all price brackets — we know there are times for saving, and times for splashing out.

The new Rough Guide to New Zealand is the definitive guide to the world's adventure capital. Now in full-colour throughout, it contains dozens of tempting colour photos illustrating the country's iconic landmarks and its stupendously diverse scenery. Detailed accounts of every attraction along with crystal-clear maps and plans will show you the very best New Zealand has to offer: from white-sand beaches and vast kauri trees in the north to the hairline fiords and penguin colonies in the south. With expert guidance you won't put a foot wrong when experiencing Maori culture or simply striking out on multi-day hikes. At every point this guide steers you to little-known sights such as secluded hot pools or Wellington's best cafés. Insider tips, planning itineraries and author picks give you the inside scoop on the best accommodation across every price range, how to track down Marlborough's tastiest Sauvignon blancs and where the most delectable Maori hangi can be found.

The Rough Guide to Sicily is the ultimate guide to this fascinating island. From flamboyant Arabo-Norman cathedrals to stunning galleries and the best collection of Greek temples outside Greece, all Sicily's attractions are thoroughly covered. Sicily's natural beauties are also taken care of; including the ascent of Europe's greatest volcano, Etna, hiking trails in the Monti Madonie and the most exquisite beaches of the Aeolian Islands. From Palermo to Taormina, unearth all the best restaurants, bars and cafés, the liveliest nightlife and the most brilliant festivals. The Rough Guide to Sicily provides detailed practical advice on where to stay, from hostels to luxury boutique hotels, how to get around and how to get the best value for money. The guide also includes two full-colour sections, and background information on the art, architecture and history of this most colourful of Mediterranean islands. Accurate maps and comprehensive practical information help you get under the skin of Sicily, whilst stunning photography and a full-colour introduction make this your ultimate travelling companion.

The Rough Guide to Switzerland is the ultimate travel companion to this clean and idyllic country with detailed coverage of all the top attractions. From the medieval streets of Bern to the stunning views of Lake Geneva and the iconic Matterhorn to the best spots to enjoy sensational alpine scenery, discover Switzerland's highlights inspired by dozens of colour photos. You'll find practical advice on getting around by train, bus, boat and car whilst relying on up-to-date descriptions of the best hotels, bars, clubs, shops, restaurants and resorts for all budgets. The Rough Guide to Switzerland includes expert guidance on a host of outdoor activities, from summer hikes to skiing and snowboarding, colour sections on 'cheese and chocolate' and 'mountain excursions', and a crucial language section with basic words, phrases and handy tips for pronunciation. Explore every corner of Switzerland with clear maps and expert backgound on everything from the country's folklore, music, alpine flora and fauna to the roots of Switzerland's neutrality.

The Rough Guide to The Netherlands is an indispensable travel guide with clear maps and coverage of the country’s unique attractions. From the pretty village of Edam and the gritty port city of Rotterdam to Amsterdam’s famous canals and vibrant nightlife The Rough Guide to The Netherlands unearths the best sites, hotels, restaurants, coffee houses and nightlife across every price range inspired by dozens of colour photos. You’ll find everything you need to know for exploring the multitude of historic Dutch towns, coastal dunes, beaches, islands and of course, the famous colour-bursting bulbfields. The Rough Guide to The Netherlands includes specialist coverage of Dutch history, art and literature and detailed information on the best markets and shopping for each region. Explore all corners of this windmill-filled country armed with authoritative background on everything from the country’s battles with the sea to the Dutch Golden Age, relying on handy language tips and the clearest maps of any guide.

The Rough Guide to the Philippines is the ultimate companion for exploring this stunning Southeast Asian archipelago. Discover the Philippines' highlights in full-colour with information on everything from the sun-kissed islands of the Visayas to the lagoons of Palawan and the tribal villages of the northern Cordilleras. This guide includes detailed listings and essential information on where to stay — regardless of budget — where to eat the best Filipino food, where to see the most exuberant festivals and the best places to drink, dance, surf, trek, kayak and sail. You'll find updated in-depth coverage of major destinations and new details on emerging destinations in Mindanao. The Rough Guide to the Philippines offers an informative background on Filipino history, culture, society, music and politics, and comes with new maps and plans for every area, to make sure you don't miss the unmissable.

A punchy, humorous, and probing look at the nature of religious belief, by the author of the massively successful Whatever You Think Think the Opposite. In a series of brilliant visual episodes, Paul Arden investigates the questions that have persisted since our earliest days. As ever, he is a master of compression, getting us to scratch our heads as he examines our relationship to the divine.

Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Beautiful, clever, rich — and single — Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

We all have good days and bad days at work. Some days you feel bullet proof. People listen to you, your meetings run like clockwork, and you keep having new ideas. Other days are like wading through quick sand. You can't get anything done, and when the printer jams (again) you want to quit. Wouldn't it be great if every day went your way? If you jumped out of bed every morning ready for anything? You can stand out, break the rules and make things happen. You can be a bit more 'Elvis'. You can love every minute. The only limit is you: your energy, your belief, your perspective.

In what remains one of his most seminal papers, Freud considers the incompatibility of civilisation and individual happiness, and the tensions between the claims of society and the individual. We all know that living in civilised groups means sacrificing a degree of personal interest, but couldn't you argue that it in fact creates the conditions for our happiness? Freud explores the arguments and counter-arguments surrounding this proposition, focusing on what he perceives to be one of society's greatest dangers; 'civilised' sexual morality. After all, doesn't repression of sexuality deeply affect people and compromise their chances of happiness?

Through thirty-one songs that he either loves or has loved, Nick Hornby tells us what music means to his life. These personal and passionate pieces — refreshingly free of pretension — are a celebration of the joy that certain songs have given him. Together with additional writings on music from his column in the new Yorker — seen in the UK for the first time — 31 Songs is for Hornby what many of us have always wanted: a soundtrack to accompany life. Winner of The National Book Critics Circle award, this funny and touchingly personal book, from the author of the million-copy number one bestseller About A Boy, is a must for music fans everywhere. 'Original, well written and wholly lacking in pretension...as good a book about pop music as I have read in many years and the most accomplished of Hornby's books so far' Spectator. 'Funny, provocative, immensely readable. It is not simply about music...it is about Hornby, and us, and about being alive. His enthusiasm is such that he makes me want to be a better listener — and I can offer no better compliment. A triumph' Tim Lott, Evening Standard. 'Refreshing, candid, very moving. Reminds you why you loved music before you knew enough to explain your love away' Uncut. Nick Hornby has captivated readers and achieved widespread critical acclaim for his brilliantly observed comic books High Fidelity, How to be Good, A Long Way Down (shortlisted for the Whitbread Award), Slam, Juliet, Naked and his autobiographical Fever Pitch (winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award). Also available from Penguin is The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, which shares his thoughts on books and writing.

Frequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft's preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master's fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as «The Outsider» to the overpowering cosmic terror of «The Call of Cthulhu.» More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical- and visionary-American writer.

Nikolai Gogol was one of the great geniuses of nineteenth century Russian literature, with a command of the irrational unmatched by any writer before or since. His strange tales, though often read as forceful demands for social change, were displays of the fantasies of the human spirit. In this ideal marriage of subject and critic, Nabokov analyses his endlessly inventive compatriot, focusing on the masterpieces Dead Souls, 'The Overcoat' and 'The Government Inspector'. Misunderstood by his contemporaries, mishandled by theatre directors and ending his life mistreated by doctors — with medicinal leeches hanging from his exceptional nose — it took Nabokov to give Gogol, 'the oddest Russian in Russia', the critical biography he and his singular, brilliant work deserve.

The darkly comic Transparent Things, one of Nabokov's final books, traces the bleak life of Hugh Person through murder, madness, prison and trips to Switzerland. One of these was the last journey his father ever took; on another, having been sent to ingratiate himself with a distinguished novelist, he met his future wife. Nabokov's brilliant short novel sinks into the transparent things of the world that surround this one Person, to the silent histories they carry. Remarkable even in Nabokov's work for its depth and lyricism, Transparent Things is a small, experimental marvel of memories and dreams, both sentimental and malign.

Questions like these are at the heart of our lives. In this acclaimed book Michael Sandel — BBC Reith Lecturer and the Harvard professor whose 'Justice' course has become world famous — gives us a lively and accessible introduction to the intersection of politics and philosophy. He helps us think our way through such hotly contested issues as equal rights, democracy, euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage, as well as the ethical dilemmas we face every day.

Why are some people and organisations more inventive, pioneering and successful than others? And why are they able to repeat their success again and again? In business, it doesn't matter what you do, it matters WHY you do it. Start with Why analyses leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and Steve Jobs and discovers that they all think in the same way — they all started with why. Simon Sinek explains the framework needed for businesses to move past knowing what they do to how they do it, and then to ask the more important question-WHY? Why do we do what we do? Why do we exist? Learning to ask these questions can unlock the secret to inspirational business. Sinek explains what it truly takes to lead and inspire and how anyone can learn how to do it.

Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists. The mission Smith proposes? «To document and observe the world around you. As if you've never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.» With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-colour package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.

A series of provocative discussions on everything from individual authors to contemporary religious thinking, Against Interpretation and Other Essays is the definitive collection of Susan Sontag's best known and important works published in Penguin Modern Classics. Against Interpretation was Susan Sontag's first collection of essays and made her name as one of the most incisive thinkers of our time. Sontag was among the first critics to write about the intersection between 'high' and 'low' art forms, and to give them equal value as valid topics, shown here in her epoch-making pieces 'Notes on Camp' and 'Against Interpretation'. Here too are impassioned discussions of Sartre, Camus, Simone Weil, Godard, Beckett, L�vi-Strauss, science-fiction movies, psychoanalysis and contemporary religious thought. Originally published in 1966, this collection has never gone out of print and has been a major influence on generations of readers, and the field of cultural criticism, ever since. Susan Sontag (1933-2004) was born in Manhattan and studied at the universities of Chicago, Harvard and Oxford. She is the author of four novels — The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover and In America, which won the 2000 US National Book Award for fiction — a collection of stories, several plays, and six books of essays, among them Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Her books are translated into thirty-two languages. In 2001 she was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for the body of her work, and in 2003 she received the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.

First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images which are continually inserted between experience and reality. Sontag develops further the concept of 'transparency'. When anything can be photographed and photography has destroyed the boundaries and definitions of art, a viewer can approach a photograph freely with no expectations of discovering what it means. This collection of six lucid and invigorating essays, the most famous being «In Plato's Cave,» make up a deep exploration of how the image has affected society.

Gertrude Stein, as a college student at Radcliffe and a medical student at Johns Hopkins Medical School, was a privileged woman, but she was surrounded by women who were trapped by poverty, class, and race into lives that offered little choice. Her portraits of Anna and Lena are examples of realistic depictions of immigrant women who had no occupational choice but to become domestic workers. This collection of documents from the history of women's suffrage, medical history, modernist art, and literature enables readers to see how radical Stein's subject was.

The Rough Guide to Jordan is the definitive guide to the most alluring corner of the Middle East. Detailed accounts of every attraction, along with crystal-clear maps and plans, lift the lid on this fascinatingly diverse country. Explore the world wonder that is Petra, an ancient city carved from rose-red mountain cliffs. Roam the sands of Wadi Rum in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia, then relax on golden beaches at Aqaba, Jordan's beautiful Red Sea resort. You'll find full-colour pictures and maps throughout, alongside insider tips on getting the best out of a visit to Amman, the buzzing Jordanian capital, as well as Crusader castles and stunningly well preserved Roman cities. Float your cares away on the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, or take in spectacular views over the Dana biosphere reserve. At every point, the Rough Guide steers you to the best hotels, cafés, restaurants and shops across every price range, giving you clear, balanced reviews and honest, first-hand opinions.

The Rough Guide to Venice & the Veneto, long established as the most thorough and reliable guide to the city and its surroundings, has been completely redesigned and updated for this ninth edition. Unrivaled in its coverage of the Doge's Palace, the Basilica di San Marco and all the other major sights, the Rough Guide also reveals the treasures to be found in the districts that lie off the usual tourist trails — and has plenty of maps to make sure you find them easily. As well as being packed with stories that illuminate the city's history, the Rough Guide tells you more about the city as it is today than any other guidebook, with features on everything from flood-prevention projects to the travails of Venice's football team. It will tell you the best places to stay, eat and drink, in all price ranges, from backwater bars to gourmet restaurants, from homely B&Bs to spectacular Grand Canal hotels.