A. J. Liebling, born in Manhattan in 1904, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935 and contributed innumerable articles to the magazine throughout his lifetime, on subjects ranging from food to boxing and France to horse racing. As a war correspondent during the Second World War, he reported from France, England and Algeria, and participated in the Normandy landings. In later life he married the writer Jean Stafford, his third wife. He died in 1963.

A. J. Liebling

A. J. Rosen is an author of YA fantasy and is known as @agatharoza on Wattpad.

A. J. Rosen

A. K. Davidson

A. O. Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times since 2000. His writing has appeared in many other publications, including the New York Review of Books, Slate, the New Yorker and the Nation. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2010, Scott is currently Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
@aoscott

A. O. Scott

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) was a novelist, short-story writer and critic of international renown. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize 1990), the Frederica Quartet and The Children’s Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999, and was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2016 for her ‘inspiring contribution to life writing’ and the Pak Kyongni Prize 2017. In 2018 she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

A. S. Byatt

A. T. Williams won the George Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2013 for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa. He lives in Warwickshire.

A. T. Williams

A. W. Chase

Dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’ by the Guardian newspaper, and ‘the real thing’ by the Washington Post, A.C. 'Ava' Glass is the CWA Dagger-shortlisted author of Alias Emma (The Chase), The Traitor and The Trap. The Traitor was a 2023 Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alias Emma was a Barnes and Noble book of the month. A former crime reporter and communications consultant, for five years Ava worked closely with spies. Her time in that world fascinated her, and the people she met back then inspire every book she writes.

A.C. Glass

A.E. Housman

Arthur Edward Waite was the designer and co-creator of the now famous Rider Waite Tarot deck. 
 
An American-born British poet and scholarly mystic, his strong interest in all esoteric matters - divination, magic, Kabbalism, alchemy and Freemasony - led to him penning a number of books. These include the Key to the Tarot, The Book of Ceremonial Magic and A New Encyclopedia of Freemasony.

A.E. Waite

A.E. Warren is the author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series, which consists of Subject Twenty-One, The Hidden Base, The Fourth Species and The Final Rising. 
 
After spending eight years working as a lawyer, she began to write in the evenings and early mornings as a form of escapism from life in a very small cubicle with lots of files. She self-published her first novels in her spare time, which were picked up by Del Rey UK which is the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. 
 
 She is an avid reader, occasional gamer and fair-weather runner. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and hopefully, one day, a wise border terrier named Austen.

A.E. Warren

A.G.D. Maran

A.J. Ayer

A.J. Cronin

A K Benedict writes crime and speculative fiction in a room filled with clowns, mannequins and Doctor Who figures. Her first novel, The Beauty of Murder, was nominated for an eDunnit award and is in development for a major 8-part TV series by Company Pictures. Her second, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts, came out in February 2016. She's written Torchwood audio dramas for Big Finish and her short stories have featured in anthologies including Great British Horror and Best British Short Stories. She lives in St Leonards-on-Sea with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

A.K.Benedict

A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

A.L. Kennedy

A.M. Ellis is a speculative fiction author and lover of everything steeped in myth and mystery. Her stories often lean into diverse voices, not only in her identity as a Black woman, but in exploring neurodivergence and mental health. A proud introvert and nostalgic gamer, she lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and three children. Angelica is also the author of Hunt A Killer, a PERFECT SCORE novel, under the pen name A.M. Ellis, which she wrote as an IP for Scholastic in the US.

A.M. Ellis

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.

A.N. Wilson

A.T. Emerald

A.W. Priest

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor was a barrister, writer and munitions worker born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1877. His published works include A Series of Lectures on the Negro Race and The Story of the African Slave in a Nutshell. He also edited two editions of the Handbook of Sierra Leone. He arrived in the UK in 1904 to study law. In 1907, he organised a centenary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in Westminster Abbey. He later embarked on an 'entertainment-lecture' tour called Life and Scenes in Britain, travelling across thousands of miles of West, South West and Central Africa, which he expanded on to create Britons Through Negro Spectacles.

ABC Merriman-Labor

AJ Cronin

AJ Molloy

Aabria Iyengar is an American actress and author.

Aabria Iyengar

Aaliya Jaleel is a freelance illustrator, designer, and visual development artist, currently majoring in Animation at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the illustrator of Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. You can visit her online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Aaliya Jaleel

Aaron Allston

After more than fifteen years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist, Dr Aaron Balick has taken the amazing insights from psychology and psychotherapy out of the consultation room and made them accessible to the wider world. 
 
He has been an ‘agony uncle’ for many years for both CBBC and BBC Radio 1, as well as on television, including BBC Worldwide, BBC 3 and BBC Learning.

Aaron Balick

Aaron Carroll

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

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Shane Parrish

'An indispensable guide' James Clear, author of Atomic Habits 
'A game-changer' Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money 
'A must-read' Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck 
'A masterwork' Ryan Holiday, author of The Daily Stoic 
 
We all face thousands of decisions every day. They define the trajectory of our lives. There’s just one problem: most of us have no idea how to make them. 
 
Here, Shane Parrish – ‘the former spy who helps Wall Street mavens think smarter’ (New York Times) – draws upon conversations with the world’s leading entrepreneurs and experts to offer a simple, revolutionary method to clear your head and make better decisions. It will help you unlock the life you seek. 
 
__ 
 
‘Shane Parrish doesn’t just teach clear thinking – he lives it . . . A lucid manual for overcoming cognitive biases and making better decisions.’ Adam Grant, author of Originals 
 
‘If you want results – good ones – that you can achieve confidently again and again, read this book.’ Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets 
 
‘Incisive. Practical. Full of vivid examples, and enormously fun to read.’ Jim Collins, author of Good to Great

Clear Thinking

The Art and Science of Making Better Decisions

Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

Erik Angner

Our world is in a mess. The challenges of climate change, inequality and hunger mean our way of life seems more imperilled and society more divided than ever. But economics can help! From parenting to organ donation, housing to anti-social behaviour, economics provides the tools we need to fix the biggest issues of today. Far more than a means to predict the stock market, economics provides a lens through which we can better understand how things work, design clever solutions and create the conditions in which we can all flourish. 
 
With a healthy dose of optimism, and packed with stories of economics in everyday situations, Erik Angner demonstrates the methods he and his fellow economists use to help improve the lives of people and the society in which they live. He shows us that economics can be a powerful force for good, awakening the possibility of a happier, more just and more sustainable world.

How Economics Can Save the World

Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems

David Omand

'David Omand is exactly the man you need in a crisis' RORY STEWART 
 
From the former Director of GCHQ comes a guide to surviving crises using the latest intelligence strategies 
 
War, terrorism, cyberattack, climate change, the threat of AI: it has never been more important to be prepared for the crises that await us. 
 
In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his experience in defence, security and intelligence, including as Director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, to show how you can detect a looming crisis and extinguish it (or at least survive it with minimum loss). 
 
Using gripping real-world examples from Omand's storied career, and drawing lessons from historic catastrophes such as Chernobyl, 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, this empowering book is filled with practical advice on how to survive the multiplying crises of the future. Not every crisis need tip into disaster, if we have invested in we are prepared for it. 
 
'This book is the instruction manual we all need' SIR ALEX YOUNGER, CHIEF OF MI6 
 
UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD

How to Survive a Crisis

Lessons in Resilience and Avoiding Disaster

Amy Edmondson

Winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award 
 
&lsquo;Absolutely outstanding&rsquo; Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist | 'A masterclass&rsquo; Angela Duckworth, author of Grit | &lsquo;Excellent&rsquo; Andrew Hill, Financial Times 
 
We used to think of failure as a problem, to be avoided at all costs. Now, we're often told that failure is desirable - that we must &lsquo;fail fast, fail often&rsquo;. The trouble is, neither approach distinguishes the good failures from the bad. As a result, we miss the opportunity to fail well. 
 
Here, Amy Edmondson &ndash; the world&rsquo;s most influential organisational psychologist &ndash; reveals how we get failure wrong, and how to get it right. Drawing on four decades of research into the world&rsquo;s most effective teams, she unveils the three archetypes of failure &ndash; basic, complex and intelligent - and explains how to harness the revolutionary potential of the good ones (and eliminate the bad). Along the way, she poses a simple, provocative question: What if it is only by learning to fail that we can hope to truly succeed? 
 
&lsquo;Lays out a clearer path about how to stop avoiding failure and take smarter risks.&rsquo; Books of the Year, Financial Times

Right Kind of Wrong

How the Best Teams Use Failure to Succeed

Why Learning to Fail Can Teach Us to Thrive

Cara McGoogan

The shocking true story of how a miracle cure became a deadly poison, and the lengths that big pharma and government took to cover it up, for readers of Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain and John Carreyrou's Bad Blood 
 
'Essential reading' Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist 
 
When it was first put on the market in the late 1960s, Factor VIII was sold as a medical miracle: a revolutionary treatment that freed people with haemophilia to reclaim their lives, no longer in fear that a bleed might prove fatal. But as the cure was rolled out wholesale in the 1970s and 80s, haemophiliacs began to contract hepatitis and AIDS in terrifying numbers. Questions began to be asked. Rumours circulated in the press. How safe was Factor VIII? 
 
Award-winning investigative journalist and host of the Bed of Lies podcast Cara McGoogan traces the line of infection back to the pharmaceutical companies - Alpha, Armour, Baxter and Bayer - who made Factor VIII by pooling thousands of donors' paid-for plasma and selling it for billions of dollars. The miracle treatment was infected with HIV, and it was being injected straight into the arms of people with haemophilia around the world. Before long, Factor VIII was killing those it promised to protect. 
 
In this David and Goliath story, we follow the survivors-turned-campaigners, the small-town lawyers and the fearless journalists who took on some of the most powerful interests in the world - from medical institutions to governments and big business - to uncover what really happened in the infected blood scandal, the worst treatment disaster in NHS history. From 'an indefatigable detective and born storyteller' (Steve Coll), The Poison Line brings the full truth into the light in all its shocking and riveting detail. 
 
'An important and mostly unknown story of pharmaceutical malfeasance and greed with devastating and lethal consequences' Gerald Posner, author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America

The Poison Line

Life and Death in the Infected Blood Scandal

A True Story of Death, Deception and Infected Blood

Matt Watkinson

Csaba Konkoly

'Mandatory reading. Not just for company founders and leaders, but for anyone wanting to succeed in our ever-changing world.' Keith Ferrazzi 
 
What separates the world's most successful entrepreneurs and business tycoons from the rest? It's not their superhuman intelligence. It's something more fundamental: they understand how to turn uncertainty to their advantage. 
 
We all know that the future is inherently unknowable, and yet we behave and plan as though it is. Once we truly understand the nature of uncertainty, though, we can take practical steps to make the most of the opportunities that come our way. In Mastering Uncertainty award-winning author Matt Watkinson and investor and entrepreneur Csaba Konkoly offer a masterclass on the workings of luck and probability. They show how to calculate when to make big bets and when to pull back. And they offer supremely practical advice on how we can improve our odds, whether through maximising our networks, learning how to read warning signs, or assessing where best to place our energies. 
 
The unforeseen always occurs. Mastering Uncertainty shows you how to prepare for it and make the best use of it.

Mastering Uncertainty

How to Thrive in an Unpredictable World

Alex Hill

Start-ups rarely survive their second birthday. Even established firms in the UK and the US average a life of only fifteen years. So how can your company build and sustain success for decades to come? 
 
Professor Alex Hill has conducted thirteen years of groundbreaking research into a clutch of organisations that have outperformed their peers for over 100 years - from NASA to the New Zealand All Blacks, from Eton College and the Royal College of Art to the Royal Marines and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Here, Professor Hill shares the twelve traits that have set these organisations apart for over a century, from the way they analyse success and failure to their approach to finding the best people and the brightest new ideas. 
 
In so doing, he identifies the strategies and habits that you can employ in your company to create a strong, stable core and ensure the same long-term prosperity while remaining dynamic. In short, he shows you how to build a promising enterprise into an enduring, great organisation. 
_____________________________________________ 
'An instant classic.' Charles Handy, author of 'The Empty Raincoat' and 'The Second Curve' 
 
'Every CEO should be given a copy with their morning coffee.' Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford

Centennials

The 12 Habits of Great, Enduring Organisations

Emma Gannon

"Highly comforting" Alain de Botton, Founder of The School of Life 
 
"This book changed how I think" Annie Macmanus, author of The Mess We're In 
 
"You will not be able to put this book down" The Independent 
 
 
 
OUR OBSESSION WITH ACHIEVEMENT IS A TRAP. THIS IS HOW TO BREAK FREE. 
 
Emma Gannon was thriving in her portfolio career, enjoying a happy personal life and to anyone looking in, she was undoubtedly a success... She was also burned out and confused at why she felt unhappy, yet was still striving for more. 
 
After taking a deep look at her own journey, and interviewing many other successful people on her podcast Ctrl, Alt, Delete, she realised that our overly celebrated and traditional version of success is making us lonely, unfulfilled and dispirited. Now she has worked out a way to do things differently, and here Emma shares her hard-won lessons, including: 
 
• how to set goals that are ambitious but not overwhelming 
• why the 'tick-box' moments in life often feel anticlimactic 
• and how to break free from comparison and the endless pursuit of more 
 
A manifesto to craft work (and life) on your own terms, The Success Myth will give you the belief and tools to walk away from 'having it all', uncovering your individual path to fulfilment.

The Success Myth

Letting go of having it all

Mariana Mazzucato

Rosie Collington

There is an entrenched relationship between the consulting industry and hollowed-out, risk-averse governments and shareholder value-maximizing firms. Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington show that our economies' reliance on companies such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY stunts innovation, obfuscates corporate and political accountability and impedes our collective mission of halting climate breakdown. The 'Big Con' is possible in today's economies because of the unique power that consultancies wield through extensive contracts and networks - as advisors, legitimators and outsourcers - and the illusion that they are objective sources of expertise and capacity. The Big Con weakens our businesses, infantilizes our governments and warps our economies. 
 
Mazzucato and Collington expertly debunk the myth that consultancies always add value to the economy. With a wealth of original research, they argue brilliantly for investment and collective intelligence within all organizations and communities, and for a new system in which public and private sectors work innovatively for the common good. We must recalibrate the role of consultants and rebuild economies and governments that are fit for purpose.

The Big Con

How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies

James B. Stewart

Rachel Abrams

'Explosive' Esquire 
'Epic' Financial Times 
'Riveting' Vanity Fair 
 
Sumner Redstone was the CEO of Hollywood's most powerful company: in charge of Indiana Jones and Star Wars, film studios and TV production companies, a fleet of private jets and tailor-made jewellery lines. He was notorious for his fearsome temper, his all-consuming ambition and his pledge to live forever. Until, one day, he lost control. 
 
Unscripted is the story of an empire embroiled in scandal, a will in tatters, and a family on the edge of self-destruction. It sounds too outrageous to be true - except it is.

Unscripted

Sex and Lies in a Hollywood Media Empire

The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire

Tracey Camilleri

Samantha Rockey

Robin Dunbar

'A remarkable and important book . . . a highly accessible, timely and invaluable guide to anybody working in groups.' Prof Paul Gilbert OBE 
___________________________________________________ 
 
 
How can we work more successfully with others? 
How can we form better relationships and build trust? 
How do we create great, high-performing teams? 
 
In this groundbreaking new book, world-leading experts in evolutionary psychology and strategic leadership come together to offer a primer on how to build groups that succeed and thrive together. They show how an understanding of our 'social brain' can help us build productive relationships. They explain the science of group dynamics and what size group is most suited to the task at hand. They offer practical hints on how to diffuse tensions and encourage cohesion. And they demonstrate the vital importance of balancing a sense of unity with the need to encourage different outlooks and strengths 
 
This is a brilliant guide to how our social brains work – and how to make the best use of them. 
 
_________________________________________________________________________ 
'This wonderful book reminds us that businesses are also biological and social . . . It could not be more timely, wise and useful.' Margaret Heffernan, author of Wilful Blindness

The Social Brain

The Psychology of Successful Groups

Alastair Campbell

'Everything a manifesto should be: heartfelt, hectoring, impassioned, rousing.' The i 
__________________________________________________ 
 
Your country needs you. 
 
Your planet needs you. 
 
Your time is now. 
 
Our world is a mess. It faces challenges that few are prepared to confront. It is littered with governments that lie, led by people who can’t or shouldn’t be allowed to lead. It’s no surprise, therefore, that so many of us feel angry, frustrated and let down. Yet we also feel overcome by such a sense of powerlessness that we find ourselves asking in despair, ‘But what can I do?’ 
 
That question is regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest Is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart. 
 
This book is his answer.

But What Can I Do?

Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It

William D. Cohan

Perhaps no company reflects American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial fortunes as well as the iconic General Electric Company. Producing storied leaders and almost every product imaginable, GE built a cult of success that hid cracks in its foundation. In this masterful history, William D. Cohan, one of America's most pre-eminent financial journalists, argues that GE's legacy is both a paragon and a cautionary tale through which to understand twentieth-century America. 
 
Power Failure limns the eventful 130-year history of GE, bringing fresh analysis drawn from rare interviews with key figures of the company's golden era, including Jack Welch himself. As Cohan recounts, Welch traded on a sterling legacy to make GE the most valuable and respected company in the world, while cloaking its vulnerabilities. What he handed to his successor Jeffrey Immelt was, Cohan argues, both an impossible standard and a more troubled reality. 
 
Tracing the company's leaps and stumbles through the personalities that defined it, Power Failure offers a surprising retelling of the GE story, puncturing the myth we think we know for a fresh look at its legacy - and what it tells us about the state of the financial world.

Power Failure

The Rise and Fall of General Electric

Lionel Barber

Lunch with the FT has been a permanent fixture in the Financial Times for almost 30 years, featuring presidents, film stars, musical icons and business leaders from around the world. 
 
The column is now a well-established institution, which has reinvigorated the art of conversation in the convivial, intimate environment of a long and boozy lunch. 
 
This new and updated edition includes lunches with: 
Elon Musk 
Donald Trump 
Hilary Mantel 
Richard Branson 
Zadie Smith 
Nigel Farage 
Russell Brand 
David Guetta 
Yanis Varoufakis 
Jean-Claude Juncker 
Gwyneth Paltrow 
Rebecca Solnit 
Jordan Peterson 
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
And more...

Lunch with the FT

A Second Helping

Conventional wisdom holds that innovation is the preserve of the private sector, best left in the hands of that modern day folk hero - the lone entrepreneur. In this popular tale, the role of the public sector is simply to get out of the way, at best fixing market failures, in order to facilitate our daring hero's bold, risk-taking endeavours. But what if this powerful, contemporary myth is wrong? 
 
In this sharp and controversial expose, Mariana Mazzucato comprehensively debunks the myth of a lumbering, bureaucratic state weighing down a dynamic private sector, to reveal how public investments have been behind many of the greatest innovations of our time. From the technologies that make the iPhone 'smart', to biotech, pharmaceuticals and today's emerging green technologies, it is the state that has been the investor of first resort, our boldest and most valuable innovator. Meanwhile, the private sector only finds the courage to invest after the State has made the truly pioneering, high-risk investments.

The Entrepreneurial State

10th anniversary edition updated with a new preface

Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths

Dorie Clark

Being yourself has never been so important (or so lucrative). 
 
The working world has changed. In an era where the cost of living is rising and competition increasing, it's no longer good enough to have a university degree, a cushy corporate job and a strong work ethic. The once-guaranteed routes to success are leaving employees poorer and undervalued. More and more, people are finding that they have to take alternative paths to their careers - whether that's by starting a side hustle, or by finding a breakthrough idea at work, or even by quitting the rat race entirely and pursuing their own passion projects. 
 
With an increasingly educated and experienced population to contend with, discovering what makes you stand out as an individual is more important than ever - within a corporate structure, a freelance market, a virtual collective or any other workplace. So how do you do it? The answer, according to world-renowned strategy consultant Dorie Clark, is to be yourself, entirely and unapologetically. 
 
You might not know what your breakthrough idea is. Or you might know, but have no idea how to implement it. You might think you have an idea, but you don't trust yourself enough to pursue it. Regardless of what's holding you back, this book will teach you how to burst through that barrier and establish yourself as an individual thought leader - and it starts with being true to who you are. Drawing on interviews from some of the most influential thought leaders in the world, including Seth Godin, Daniel Pink and David Allen, Clark shows you how to break through the clamour of everyday life, understand yourself and your worth, and ultimately inspire others to embrace your vision. 
 
Unapologetically You is a manifesto for individuality. Whoever you are, whatever your perspective, your ideas matter. The world won't wait for you. It needs your insights, and now is the time to be bold, daring and unapologetic.

Unapologetically You

Harness Your Individuality and Stand Out at Work

Christian Wolmar

The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 
'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________ 
British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . . 
From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned organisation to be privatised - has received a terrible press. 
But after its controversial 1948 creation, British Rail was actually an innovative powerhouse that over five decades transformed the UK, creating one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. 
Award-winning journalist Christian Wolmar takes us from promise to punchline, exploring British Rail's birth into post-war austerity, the many battles and struggles to evolve what many considered to be a dinosaur, and how, at the height of its success, the service was misunderstood and unfairly maligned, ruthlessly broken up and privatised._______ 
Praise for Christian Wolmar 
'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 
'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 
'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 
'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 
 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer

British Rail

Reid Hoffman

June Cohen

Deron Triff

What can you learn from a Silicon Valley legend and a pantheon of iconic leaders? The key to scaling a successful business isn't talent, network or strategy. It's an entrepreneurial mindset - and that mindset can be cultivated. 
 
Behind the scenes in Silicon Valley, Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn, investor at Greylock) is a sought-after advisor to heads of companies and heads of state. On his podcast Masters of Scale, he sits down with an all-star list of visionary founders and leaders, digging into the surprising strategies that power their growth. In this book, he draws on their most riveting, revealing stories - as well his own experience as a founder and investor - to distil the counterintuitive secrets behind the most extraordinary success stories of our times. 
 
Here, Hoffman teams up with Masters of Scale's executive producers to offer a rare window into the entrepreneurial mind. They share surprising, never-before-told stories from leaders of the world's most iconic companies, including Apple, Nike, Netflix, Spotify, Starbucks, Google, Instagram and Microsoft, as well as the bold, disruptive startups - from 23andMe to TaskRabbit, from the Black List to the Bevel razor - solving the problems of the twenty-first century. 
 
Through vivid storytelling and straightforward analysis, Masters of Scale distils their collective insights into a set of counterintuitive principles that anyone can use. How do you find a winning idea and turn it into a scalable venture? What can you learn from a 'squirmy no'? When should you stop listening to your customers? Which fires should you put out right away, and which should you let burn? And can you really make money while making the world a better place? (Answer: Yes. But you have to do the work to keep your profits and values aligned.) 
 
Based on more than 100 interviews, and incorporating new material never aired on the podcast, Masters of Scale offers a unique insider's guide, filled with insights, wisdom, and strategies that will inspire you to reimagine how you do business today.

Masters of Scale

Surprising truths from the world’s most successful entrepreneurs

Eric Collins

At a time when half of Black households in the UK live in persistent poverty - over twice as many as their white counterparts - We Don't Need Permission argues that investing in Black and under-represented entrepreneurs to create successful businesses is the surest, fastest socio-economic game-changer. 
 
Long-lasting economic empowerment - from education to health outcomes - is key to solving the multiple problems that result from systemic racism and sexism. And it is the best way to close the inequality gaps that have hampered and continue to hinder Black people and all women too. To address this problem head on, Eric Collins co-founded venture capital firm Impact X Capital Partners to invest in under-represented entrepreneurs in the UK and Europe. 
 
In We Don't Need Permission, Collins identifies ten key principles of successful entrepreneurship, and reveals how it's possible to change a system that has helped some, while holding others back. The book not only aims to inspire and motivate under-represented people to take their future and economic destiny into their own hands, but will demand of current business leaders and organizations that they do business better. It's time to stop waiting for someone else to give permission and to start boldly making the world we want to see.

We Don't Need Permission

How black business can change our world

Dan McCrum

When journalist Dan McCrum followed a tip to investigate the hot new tech company challenging Silicon Valley, everything about Wirecard looked a little too good to be true: offices were sprouting up around the world, it was reporting runaway growth and the CEO even wore a black turtleneck in tribute to Steve Jobs. In the space of a few short years, the company had come from nowhere to overtake industry giants like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank on the stock market. 
 
As McCrum dug deeper, he encountered a story stranger and more dangerous than he ever imagined: a world of short sellers and whistleblowers, pornographers and private militias, hackers and spies. Before long he realised that he wasn't the only one in pursuit. Shadowy figures were following him through the streets of London, high-flying lawyers were sending ominous letters to his boss, and he was named as the prime suspect in a criminal inquiry. The race was on to prove his suspicions and clear his name. 
 
Money Men is the astonishing inside story of Wirecard's multi-billion-dollar fraud, Europe's biggest new tech darling revealed as a house of cards. Uncovering fake bank accounts, fake offices and possibly even a fake death, McCrum offers a searing exposé that will finally lay bare the truth.

Money Men

A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth

Tristram Hunt

Josiah Wedgwood, perhaps the greatest English potter who ever lived, epitomized the best of his age. From his kilns and workshops in Stoke-on-Trent, he revolutionized the production of ceramics in Georgian Britain by marrying technology with design, manufacturing efficiency and retail flair. He transformed the luxury markets not only of London, Liverpool, Bath and Dublin but of America and the world, and helping to usher in a mass consumer society. Tristram Hunt calls him 'the Steve Jobs of the eighteenth century'. 
 
But Wedgwood was radical in his mind and politics as well as in his designs. He campaigned for free trade and religious toleration, read pioneering papers to the Royal Society and was a member of the celebrated Lunar Society of Birmingham. Most significantly, he created the ceramic 'Emancipation Badge', depicting a slave in chains and inscribed 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?' that became the symbol of the abolitionist movement. 
 
Tristram Hunt's hugely enjoyable new biography, strongly based on Wedgwood's notebooks, letters and the words of his contemporaries, brilliantly captures the energy and originality of Wedgwood and his extraordinary contribution to the transformation of eighteenth-century Britain.

The Radical Potter

Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain

Bruce Daisley

'This is a truly refreshing, captivating and important book that shifted my perception on a topic I thought I knew! A must read.' Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and host of 'The Diary of a CEO' 
 
'It hooked me right in . . . A fantastic book.' Chis Evans 
 
'Entertaining. Engaging. Educating.' Professor Damian Hughes, co-host of the 'High Performance' podcast 
____________________________________________ 
 
Resilience is the buzzword of the moment. We're told that if we have it, our lives will be happy and successful ones. If we don't, we need to acquire it. But what if the version of resilience we've been peddled is a myth? 
 
Here, Sunday Times bestselling author Bruce Daisley demolishes a concept that has spawned a multi-million pound industry of books, workshops and courses, exposing the highly questionable science it rests on. In its place he outlines a very different approach to good mental health that embraces the latest science and research. Offering empirically tested advice, Fortitude sets out a practical path to greater self-confidence and courage for us all.

Fortitude

The Myth of Resilience, and the Secrets of Inner Strength: A Sunday Times Bestseller

Andrew Chen

'A true Silicon Valley insider' Wired 
 
Why do some products take off? And what can we learn from them? 
 
The hardest part of launching a product is getting started. When you have just an idea and a handful of customers, growth can feel impossible. This is the cold start problem. 
 
Now, one of Silicon Valley's most esteemed investors uncovers how any product can surmount the cold start problem - by harnessing the hidden power of network effects. Drawing on interviews with the founders of Uber, LinkedIn, Airbnb and Zoom, Andrew Chen reveals how any start-up can launch, scale and thrive.

The Cold Start Problem

How to Start and Scale Network Effects

Using Network Effects to Scale Your Product

What's stopping you from doing the best work of your life? 
 
People are sick of the old ways of doing business. Despite the enthusiasm that surrounded the emergence of a hybrid working world, it still takes for ever to get anything done. Meetings and emails are almost belligerently incessant. Bureaucracy and hierarchy continue to stifle creativity and talent. So - after literal decades of management theory, as well as multiple shifts in the technological landscape - why can't we do better? 
 
Aaron Dignan is an expert in modernizing workplaces. He has built a career teaching top-level companies how to change to suit their workforce better and, in doing so, how to foster genuine innovation, loyalty and growth. In Brave New Work, he uses stories and experiences gathered from that career to lay out a fearless manifesto for a new type of work. 
 
This book will show you how to transform your team, department or business from the inside out, making work more adaptable, enjoyable and human. It's packed with tactics and tips for updating your company's operating system: the assumptions so deeply embedded within your organization that you don't even know you're being crippled by them. 
 
Learn how to reignite passion and energy throughout your organization, how to retain and attract a dedicated and happy workforce, and, ultimately, how to build a company that runs itself.

Brave New Work

Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?

Simon Clark

Will Louch

AS FEATURED IN BBC TWO'S BILLION DOLLAR DOWNFALL: THE DEALMAKER DOCUMENTARY 
 
Two Wall Street reporters investigate the man entrusted with millions to make profits and end poverty but now stands accused of masterminding one of the biggest, most brazen frauds in history. 
 
'Gripping' Guardian 
 
*** 
 
Arif Naqvi was a man with an immeasurable dream: to end world suffering, poverty and disease. His vision? Capitalism used for good, progress and profit. 
 
He persuaded politicians he could help stabilize the Middle East after 9/11 by providing jobs. He got Bill Gates to help him start a billion-dollar fund to improve health care in poor countries. He won the support of Obama's administration and was even appointed to boards by the UN and Interpol. 
 
The only problem? In 2019 Arif Naqvi was arrested on charges of money laundering and misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars. He now faces up to 291 years in jail. This is the true, jaw-dropping investigation into the smoke and mirrors world of The Key Man. 
 
*** 
 
'Impeccably researched and sumptuous in its detail . . . It's a page-turner' The Economist 
 
'This book tells the story brilliantly. . . Well-paced and cleverly organised. It also draws some devastating conclusions' The Sunday Times 
 
'A pacy and deeply-reported tale' Financial Times 
 
LONGLISTED FOR THE FT MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Key Man

How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale

Sara Davies

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER! THE #1 BESTSELLING BUSINESS BIOGRAPHY OF 2022. 
'Determined, focused and full of heart - this book encapsulates all that has made Sara Davies the powerhouse she is.' Giovanna Fletcher 
 
From student halls to Dragons Den (and Strictly Come Dancing!), this is Sara Davies MBE's story of building her multi-million-pound business from scratch and why we can all make it big. 
------------------------ 
Sara Davies is the queen of crafts. Whilst working as an intern in a small company, Sara noticed a gap in the industry and decided to pursue it. By the time she left university, she was running a business with a half million-pound turnover from her student bedroom. When she became the youngest of BBC 1's iconic Dragons, that turnover was £25 million. Today, she is one of Britain's biggest business names. 
 
In her first book - as full of warmth, wit and wisdom as she is - Sara shares what it took to get there: from manning factories overnight with her mam and dad to hitting the trade shows of Las Vegas alone, armed with little more than ambition and passion. 
 
We Can All Make It chronicles everything from what she looks for in a business investment to how she manages to find time to enjoy family life while running an empire. From the buzz of witnessing your latest product sell out, dancing the cha cha as you broadcast live to 96 million American homes, thriving after lockdown to being at the head of the biggest tables, Sara's unique storytelling answers all the questions for women in business today. 
 
Praise for Sara Davies 
 
'A business whizz' - Radio Times 
'A brilliant read.' Steph McGovern 
'Page-turning, inspiring' - Gethin Jones 
'She is amazing!' - Alison Hammond 
'Energy, focus, commitment: she's relentless!' - Peter Jones

We Can All Make It

the star of Dragons' Den shares her secrets of success

Cate Sevilla

How to Work Without Losing Your Mind is a painfully honest, hilarious and relatable guide to surviving the hell of the nine to five. It will help you navigate the real, messy, stressful and sometimes bizarre side of work that everyone experiences but no one talks about, whether at home or in the office. 
 
Whether you're drowning in a toxic working environment, battling burnout, recovering from redundancy or furlough, or just struggling to figure out what you actually want from your career, Cate Sevilla is here to help coach you through the shittiness of your working day, and help you shift your relationship with your career. 
 
Packed full of hilarious, relatable stories as well as practical tools to help you move forward, Cate Sevilla is the fabulous career guide you never knew you needed!

How to Work Without Losing Your Mind

Nathaniel Zinsser

You don't have to be born confident. You can learn to be confident. Here's how. 
 
Dr Nate Zinsser works with the cream of the US military to prepare them mentally for leadership and for action. He also trains top sportsmen and women to develop the self-belief essential for world-class performance. Now he shares the tried and tested techniques he has perfected over many years to help anyone who wants to acquire the confidence that will enable them to perform at their very best, whatever the environment, however stressful the situation. In the process he shows how to make positive use of nervousness, what acquiring a 'success cycle' involves, and why self-assurance, like all skills, requires constant practice. 
 
Drawing on the latest research, and packed with real-life examples, this is a supremely practical - and inspirational - guide to achieving bullet-proof confidence. 
__________________________________________ 
 
'The new definitive guide to building and mastering confidence.' Forbes 
 
'Gamechanging advice on how to dispel those pesky naysaying voices.' Guardian

The Confident Mind

A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance

Michael Barber

With a wealth of both professional experience as government advisor and from his own journey overcoming a rare skin cancer diagnosis, Michael Barber offers an accessible guide on how to set and achieve even the most challenging of goals. Drawing on historic visionaries and modern heroes - from Mary Fischer and Rosa Parks to Paula Radcliffe and Gareth Southgate - Barber presents a unique combination of personal anecdote, historical evidence and interviews from inspirational figures to unpack the route to success. With both frank honesty, and humour, Accomplishment is set to empower readers with a blueprint of how they, too, can achieve greatness.

Accomplishment

How to Achieve Ambitious and Challenging Things

Greg Hoffman

'The marketing genius behind Nike . . . Greg Hoffman has inspired me tremendously' Steven Bartlett, author of Happy Sexy Millionaire 
 
- How did Nike go from being a small sneaker brand to the world's most revered company? 
- Why do its campaigns - from 'Just do it' to the famous Nike swoosh - capture the imaginations of millions worldwide? 
- And what can any founder or marketer learn from them? 
 
Greg Hoffman joined Nike as 22-year-old design intern. Over the next thirty years, he would help craft some of the most iconic campaigns in history - for Ronaldo and Serena, Olympic Games and World Cup finals. Now, he unveils a transformative method that will make any brand more creative: emotion by design. 
 
'Great story, amazing career, so inspirational . . . I couldn't put it down' Chris Evans 
 
'The ultimate playbook to unleash creativity in any team' Jake Humphrey, author of High Performance 
 
'An unforgettable account of a man and a business that never had to try to be someone else's idea of cool - because they had already defined it themselves' Rory Sutherland, Vice-Chairman of Ogilvy and author of Alchemy

Emotion by Design

Lessons on Creativity from a Life at Nike

A Private Thriller

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

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