Both a classic coming-of-age story and a uniquely refreshing tale for our time, Gautam Malkani's internationally acclaimed debut novel has turned heads with its themes of new tribalism, aggressive masculinity, integration and the enduring shadow of generations. Now in a Perennial edition with a fascinating P.S. section, Londonstani is poised to become an iconic favourite of contemporary British literature, at par with the works of Irvine Welsh, Zadie Smith and Monica Ali.

Londonstani

Literature & Fiction

Malkani, Gautam

Contemporary

Penguin Press

National Bestseller "Net Worth is explosive. It details in print for the first time much of what has only been talked about in the past....It chronicles the fates and fortunes of everyone who is anyone, from Jim Norris to Clarence Campbell to Alan Eagleson to Gordie Howe to Bobby Orr to John Ziegler to Lindros, perhaps the most significant hockey book ever written." Bob McKenzie, The Toronto Star

Net Worth - Exploding the Myths of Pro Hockey (The BookThat Changed theGame)

Cruise, David; Griffith

The sensational second volume of Charles Moore's bestselling authorized biography of the Iron Lady In June 1983 Margaret Thatcher won the biggest increase in a government's Parliamentary majority in British electoral history. Over the next four years, as Charles Moore relates in this central volume of his uniquely authoritative biography, Britain's first woman prime minister changed the course of her country's history and that of the world, often by sheer force of will. The book reveals as never before how she faced down the Miners' Strike, transformed relations with Europe, privatized the commanding heights of British industry and continued the reinvigoration of the British economy. It describes her role on the world stage with dramatic immediacy, identifying Mikhail Gorbachev as 'a man to do business with' before he became leader of the Soviet Union, and then persistently pushing him and Ronald Reagan, her great ideological soulmate, to order world affairs according to her vision. For the only time since Churchill, she ensured that Britain had a central place in dealings between the superpowers. But even at her zenith she was beset by difficulties. The beloved Reagan two-timed her during the US invasion of Grenada. She lost the minister to whom she was personally closest to scandal and almost had to resign as a result of the Westland affair. She found herself isolated within her own government over Europe. She was at odds with the Queen over the Commonwealth and South Africa. She bullied senior colleagues and she set in motion the poll tax. Both these last would later return to wound her, fatally. In all this, Charles Moore has had unprecedented access to all Mrs Thatcher's private and government papers. The participants in the events described have been so frank in interview that we feel we are eavesdropping on their conversations as they pass. We look over Mrs Thatcher's shoulder as she vigorously annotates documents, so seeing her views on many particular issues in detail, and we understand for the first time how closely she relied on a handful of trusted advisors to help shape her views and carry out her will. We see her as a public performer, an often anxious mother, a workaholic and the first woman in western democratic history who truly came to dominate her country in her time. In the early hours of 12 October 1984, during the Conservative party conference in Brighton, the IRA attempted to assassinate her. She carried on within hours to give her leader's speech at the conference (and later went on to sign the Anglo-Irish agreement). One of her many left-wing critics, watching her that day, said 'I don't approve of her as Prime Minister, but by God she's a great tank commander.' This titanic figure, with all her capacities and all her flaws, storms from these pages as from no other book.

Margaret Thatcher (Volume 2): The Authorized Biography, Volume Two: Everything She Wants

Biographies & Memoirs

MOORE, Charles

Historical

On 6 June 1944, D Day, Allied troops landed in France, opening the way to eventual history. In this controversial reappraisal of the course of World War II, John Grigg suggests that the Allied invasion could have been launched succesfully in 1943. Beginning with America's entry into the war, Grigg explores policy and grand military strategy, especially the Churchill-Roosevelt relationship. Most crucially he explores the politics of the decision to delay invasion until 1944 and its terrible repercussions.

1943

Grigg, John

History

"The New Pengiun Opera Guide" is a fully revised and updated edition of the most comprehensive single-volume opera encyclopaedia ever published. In the course of hundreds of meticulously researched articles, it explores the complete operas of figures as diverse as Bellini and Britten, Handel and Hindemith, Massenet and Monteverdi, Rameau and Rossini, Weber and Weill; offers fresh insights into such perennial favourites as Mozart, Verdi and Wagner; and examines stage works by composers not primarily remembered for their operas - Schumann, Faure and Schoenberg among them. It also brings the reader right up to date with the latest operas by contemporary composers worldwide, including Ades, Carter, Holliger, Macmillan, Picker, Reich, Saariaho and Tan Dun. In all it discusses nearly 850 composers and looks in detail at around 2,000 works. For every composer, there is an outline of their operatic career and an assessment of their contribution to the genre. Each of their significant operatic works has its own entry, with information about the libretto, duration, cast and orchestra, the background to the work, the plot, and musical highlights. Selected recordings are included, to guide the reader towards the best versions, and there is also information about publishers and available editions, as well as bibliographical references. Each article has been written by a leading expert in the field, for example, Tim Carter on Monteverdi, Philip Gossett on Rossini, David Cairns on Berlioz, Roger Parker on Puccini, Michael Kennedy on Richard Strauss, John Tyrrell on Janacek, Stephen Walsh on Stravinsky. For the enthusiast or novice, amateur or professional, "The New Penguin Opera Guide" is an ideal source of information and insight. It brings alive the entire rich and varied tapestry of opera, from its beginnings four hundred years ago right up to the present day.

The New Penguin Opera Guide (Penguin Reference Books)

Holden, Amanda

Reference

"The Penguin Atlas of British and Irish History" is a comprehensive guide to the richly eventful history of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Drawing on the very latest findings of historians and archaeologists, and illustrated throughout with detailed maps and photographs, it follows the story of the British Isles from the arrival of the first humans half a million years ago right up to the present day. The atlas takes a multi-faceted view of history. It traces the unfolding of major events, including the Roman conquest, the Black Death, the Civil War, the rise and fall of the British Empire. It looks at the life of society: the growth of towns, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the changing languages of the British Isles, the spread of literacy. And it explores some fascinating new historical themes, like the ascent of the Victorian seaside resort, the roots of organized sport and the advance of the 20th-century suburb. Throughout the atlas, historical overviews are supplemented by more detailed regional studies that reveal the ways in which history actually affected local communities. In addition, artwork reconstructions of major settlements as they were at key moments in their development - York at the time of the Vikings, Dublin in the 18th century, industrial Manchester - show graphically just how the face of the British Isles has changed over the centuries. Many details have never before been mapped in a general historical atlas, from the extraordinary density of mediaeval markets around London to the true balance of casualties in the Anglo-Irish and Irish Civil wars of the 1920s. Meticulously researched by a team of some forty academics and experts, this is a wonderfully kaleidoscopic account of centuries of change and achievement, and one that brings the history of the British Isles fully to life.

Penguin Atlas of British and Irish History From Earliest Times to the Present Day

HALL

Europe

An entertaining guide to the colourful, inventive and frequently irreverent world of slang which enlivens everyday speech.

Slang Thesaurus (Penguin Reference Books)

GREEN, Jonathon

Dictionaries & Thesauruses

What is the true origin of the phrase 'one fell swoop'? Does the word 'honeymoon' really derive from an old Persian custom of giving the happy couple mead, a honey wine, for the first month after the wedding? The rapid growth of the internet and the use of email has increased the circulation of (usually) false tales about the evolution of language. In this entertaining and fascinating new book on the origins of words and expressions, Michael Quinion retells the mythic tales that have become popular currency - the word 'posh' deriving from 'port out, starboard home' - and also tries to find and explain the true stories behind the origins of phrases. Quinion offers explanations of why and how stories about words are created, and how misunderstanding word origins - while usually harmless - can have serious consequences.

Port Out, Starboard Home : And Other Language Myths

MIchael Quinion

Foreign Language Study & Reference

The first major new book on British superstitions and their history in over a generation, this survey not only explains what people have believed and why, but when superstitions arose, which parts of the country adopted them, how they evolved and what people believe today. Drawing extensively on literary sources from medieval times to the present, the book settles many arguments, debunks many myths and provides in the process a fascinating sideways view of social customs and beliefs over the centuries.

A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles

Politics & Social Sciences

Steve, Roud

Social Sciences

Looks at the gods and goddesses of Celtic myth; at the nature of Celtic religion, with its rituals of sun and moon worship; and at the druids who served society as judges, diviners and philosophers. It also examines the dieties who were linked with animals and other natural phenomena as rivers and caves.

Myths and Legends of the Celts

James MacKillop

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Penguin Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Penguin Press