Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" was the first comprehensive treatment of political economy. Originally delivered in the form of lectures at Glasgow, the book's publication in 1776 co-incided with America's Declaration of Independence. These volumes include Smith's assessment of the mercantile system[...]

Adam Tooze's "The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy" provides a groundbreaking new account of how Hitler established himself in power, mobilized for war - and led his country to annihilation. Was the tragedy of the Second World War determined by Nazi Germany's terrify[...]

From 'shotclog' a Yorkshire term for a companion only tolerated because he is paying for the drinks to Albanian having 29 words to describe different kinds of eyebrows, the languages of the world are full of amazing, amusing and illuminating words and expressions that will improve absolutely everybo[...]

Missing Out is a meditation on reality and opportunity by Adam Phillips. We all have two lives - the life we live and the life of our fantasies. But it is the life unlived - the person we have failed to be - that can trouble and even haunt us. In Missing Out acclaimed psychoanalyst Adam Phillips del[...]

Adam Smith's landmark treatise on the free market paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that competition is the engine of a productive society, and that self-interest will eventually come to enrich the whole community, as if by an 'invisible hand'. Throughout history, some books have changed [...]

Andrei Bely's masterpiece, "Petersburg" is a vivid, striking story set at the heart of the 1905 Russian revolution. This "Penguin Classics" edition is translated from the Russian by David McDuff with an introduction by Adam Thirlwell. St Petersburg, 1905. An impressionable young university student, [...]

In this amusing and brilliantly conceived book, Michael Sims introduces you to your body. Moving from head to toe, Sims blends cultural history with evolutionary theory to produce a wonderfully original narrative in which he analyzes the visible parts of the body. In this fascinating brew of science[...]

Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm (and Grimm-inspired) fairy tales. An irreverent, witty narrator leads us through encounters with witches, warlocks, dragons, and the devil himself. As the siblings roam a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn t[...]

Adam Strand isn't depressed. He's just bored. Disaffected. So he kills himself--39 times. No matter the method, Adam can't seem to stay dead; he awakes after each suicide alive and physically unharmed, more determined to succeed and undeterred by others' concerns. But when his self-contained, self-a[...]

Freud was fascinated by the mysteries of creativity and the imagination. The groundbreaking works that comprise "The Uncanny" present some of his most influential explorations of the mind. In these pieces Freud investigates the vivid but seemingly trivial childhood memories that often "screen" deepl[...]

Saul Bellow evokes all the rich colors and exotic customs of a highly imaginary Africa in this acclaimed comic novel about a middle-aged American millionaire who, seeking a new, more rewarding life, descends upon an African tribe. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for l[...]

Best known for his revolutionary free-market economics treatise "The Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith was first and foremost a moral philosopher. In his first book, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments", he investigated the flip side of economic self-interest: the interest of the greater good. Smith's clas[...]