One of the great historians of our age asks: how far can a single leader alter the course of history?

The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders whose personalities had somehow given them the ability to do whatever they wished.

Ian Kershaw's new book ...

The essential guide to mental health from the bestselling author of The School of Life

This is a book about getting unwell. About losing direction and hope. About imagining that we have let ourselves and everyone down.

But it is also a book about getting better. About regaining the thread, rediscovering meaning and finding a way back to connection and joy.

Here, Alain de Botton follows the arc of a mental health journey, from crisis to recuperation; the moments we realize we cannot cope; the ...

Improve all of your relationships, starting with your relationship with yourself

'I breathed in stories, as soon as I breathed in air. Sometimes I think I wasn't born, but I just came out of an ink blot.'

'Mantel's idiosyncratic and magisterial voice comes through on every page, carrying readers across an astonishing array of subject matter with ease. This is a treasure' Publishers Weekly

As well as her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel long contributed to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it...

A stunning history of indigenous plant knowledge, from origin myths to medical applications

Black holes are the universe's strangest and most fascinating objects. In A Brief History of Black Holes, Dr Becky explores the mysteries and realities of this misunderstood phenomenon - and that nearly everything you know about them is wrong.

They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage that housed the Astronomy Tower, having 'a breath of fresh air' as we referred to it. There would be painters and plasterers and chippies and sparks, and among them all would be me and Dumbledore having a crafty cigarette.

From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton's childhood was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged ...

Space: the biggest geopolitical story of the coming century - new from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography

Airborne to Arnhem is the second of three volumes of reminiscences of the Battle of Arnhem, Operation MARKET, 17th-26th September 1944 published by Helion and Company. The three volumes contain over 150 personal accounts received from veterans of the 1st Airborne Division alongside those from RAF aircrew and XXX Corps.

The study is the culmination of over forty years of research concentrating on the British 1st Airborne Division's role in the capture of the north end of the Arnhem bridge and ...

In this collection of BBC television and radio transcripts, Bowie's life story is told in his own words, across more than 35 appearances spanning over forty years.