Biography & Memoir

A compelling new biography that recasts the most important European statesman of the first half of the nineteenth century, famous for his alleged archconservatism, as a friend of realpolitik and reform, pursuing international peace.Metternich has a...

A fiercely personal and startlingly universal essay collection about the mysteries of gender and desire, of identity and class, of the stories we tell and the places we call home.   Flyover country, the middle of nowhere, the space between the coasts...

'Hough's conversational prose reads like the voice of a blues singer, taking breaks between songs to narrate her heartbreak in verse, cajoling her audience to laugh to keep from crying' - The New York Times'Hough's writing will break your heart' - Roxane...

Hannah Arendt is one of the most renowned political thinkers of the twentieth century and her work has never been more relevant than it is today. Born in Germany in 1906, Arendt published her first book at the age of 23, before turning away from the...

(Available after 3-20 days)A seminal biography, essential reading for anyone studying the philosophy of history's most enigmatic and fascinating thinker.   No other modern philosopher has proved as influential as Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and none...

“Kwame Onwuachi’s story shines a light on food and culture not just in American restaurants or African American communities but around the world.” —QuestloveBy the time he was twenty-seven years old, Kwame Onwuachi had opened—and closed—one of the most...

'Like nothing else you will read' Hilary MantelEvery day a beloved father dies. Every day a lover departs. Every day a woman turns forty.All three happening together brings a moment of reckoning.Medieval historian Elizabeth Boyle made sense of these...

A timeless collection of wisdom on love, friendship, respect, individuality, and honesty from the beloved PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.There are few personalities who evoke such universal feelings of warmth as Fred Rogers. An enduring presence...

This is the story of Gandhi’s spiritual evolution – the turning points and choices that made him not just a great political leader but also a timeless icon of nonviolence.Eknath Easwaran grew up in India and witnessed how Gandhi inspired people of all...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • An enduring account of joy and sorrow from one of the great writers of our time, The New Yorker’s Kathryn Schulz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.“I...

King John ruled England for seventeen and a half years, yet his entire reign is usually reduced to one image: of the villainous monarch outmanoeuvred by rebellious barons into agreeing to Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. Ever since, John has come to be...

'AEthelred's reign of nearly thirty-eight years was the longest of any Anglo-Saxon ruler. If he had died in AD 1000, history would have remembered him more kindly'Few monarchs of the Middle Ages have had a worse popular reputation than AEthelred II, 'the...

"A reputation as a ruthless ruler was sealed that would last beyond his lifetime. In that respect, at least, Cnut had succeeded..."Cnut, or Canute, is one of the great 'what ifs' of English history. The Dane who became King of England after a long period...

Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible formatQueen Victoria inherited the throne at 18 and went on to become the longest-reigning female monarch in history, in a time of intense industrial,...

(Available after 3-20 days)The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackThe formation of England happened against the odds - the division of the country into rival kingdoms, the assaults of...

'After my death,' George V said of his eldest son and heir, 'the boy will ruin himself within twelve months.'The forecast proved uncannily accurate. Edward VIII came to the throne in January 1936, provoked a constitutional crisis by his determination to...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback   Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII, became king at the age of nine and died wholly unexpectedly at the age of fifteen. All around him...

Foremost medieval historian Anne Curry offers a new reinterpretation of Henry V and the battle that defined his kingship: AgincourtHenry V's invasion of France, in August 1415, represented a huge gamble. As heir to the throne, he had been a failure, cast...

On Christmas Day 1066, William, duke of Normandy was crowned in Westminster, the first Norman king of England. It was a disaster: soldiers outside, thinking shouts of acclamation were treachery, torched the surrounding buildings. To later chroniclers, it...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackHenry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of the most dynamic,...