Ever wanted to see the world in a new way? Infographica collects intriguing data from across our planet — including how many people were killed by cows in 2011, the average lifespan of people living on each continent and the number of McDonalds restaurants in different countries — and presents it in stylish, memorable and original infographics. Quirky, irreverent and visually appealing, this book is a must for everyone wishing to keep informed, and be inspired, by innovative graphic design.

This stunning collection of cutting-edge images and concise essays surveys the key breakthroughs that have shaped our understanding of the universe around us — from the discovery of the solar system to Supermassive black holes and the remote depths of the cosmos. Beginning with the theories put forward for the origin of our universe — the Big Bang and its rivals — and ending with what the eventual fate of our cosmos might be, this overview of 100 landmark discoveries tells the story of how we have endeavoured to understand the place of our own planet in the wider universe. Among the key concepts and discoveries examined are: the origin and development of matter; the Milky Way; the Sun and our solar system; the quest for life on Mars; the mysteries of star death and extreme objects; supernovae and 'hypernovae'; Dark Energy and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Superbly illustrated with over 300 stunning photographs, computer-generated images and illustrations which clarify even the most complex theories, this is a thought-provoking account of the scientific revelations that have shed light on our place in the universe and — perhaps the biggest question of all — if life exists anywhere else in the cosmos.

Darkness is the friend and enemy of those who hunt by night. Ellie and her friends have found safety after months of fighting. But the New Zealand Defence Force needs their help to infiltrate occupied Australian territory. And so the friends must fight on.

Is there any safer space for secret desires than virtual reality? This is the most unusual and compelling love story of the new millennium. It begins by chance: Leo receives emails in error from an unknown woman called Emmi. Being polite he replies, and Emmi writes back. A few brief exchanges are all it takes to spark a mutual interest in each other, and soon Emmi and Leo are sharing their innermost secrets and longings. The erotic tension simmers, and it seems only a matter of time before they will meet in person. But they keep putting off the moment — the prospect both unsettles and excites them. And, after all, Emmi is happily married. Will their feelings for each other survive the test of a real-life encounter?

Chil Rajchman, a Polish Jew, was arrested with his younger sister in 1942 and sent to Treblinka, a death camp where more than 750,000 were murdered before it was abandoned by German soldiers. His sister was sent to the gas chambers, but Rajchman escaped execution, working for ten months under incessant threats and beatings as a barber, a clothes-sorter, a corpse-carrier, a puller of teeth from those same bodies. In August 1943, there was an uprising at the camp, and Rajchman was among the handful of men who managed to escape. In 1945, he set down this account, a plain, unembellished and exact record of the raw horror he endured every day. This unique testimony, which has remained in the sole possession of his family ever since, has never before been published in English. For its description of unspeakably cruelty, Treblinka is a memoir that will not be superseded. In addition to Rajchman's account, this volume includes the complete text of Vasily Grossman's 'The Hell of Treblinka', one of the first descriptions of a Nazi extermination camp; a powerful and harrowing piece of journalism written only weeks after the camp was dissolved. Introduction by Samuel Moyn, Professor of History at Columbia University and author of A Holocaust Controversy: The Treblinka Affair in Postwar France.

Boxed set edition of the Millennium Trilogy, the first volume of which, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has been adapted as a major Hollywood film starring Daniel Craig to be released on the 26th December. The set includes revised hardback editions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, plus a fourth volume containing essays by those who knew and worked with the author, as well as other original material. Extra material in the fourth volume includes an essay by Eva Gedin, Larsson's publisher, on working with the author; an email correspondence between Larsson and Eva Gedin; an essay by John-Henri Holmberg, placing Stieg Larsson in the context of the resurgence of Scandinavian crime writing; maps and photographs.

Though controversial in his time, Gustav Klimt's works are today recognized as masterpieces. The Byzantine luxuriance of form, the vivid juxtaposition of colours and the rich symbolism, sensuality and eroticism of his work have made the artist one of the most popular in the world. In this lavish volume his most important and iconic works are arranged thematically, and accompanied by Rachel Barnes' expert commentary on all aspects of the artist's life, influences and paintings — from the inspiration and provenance of each painting, to the technique used to create it and a list of exhibitions. Interspersed with gold pages and featuring some of the most iconic artworks of the late 19th/early 20th centuries in spectacular giant-size — including Judith I, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer and The Kiss — this special edition presents Klimt's work in exquisite detail.

An unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog; the only clue to its identity being a DNA sibling match to a local farmer. But this islander, Tormod Macdonald — now an elderly man suffering from dementia — has always claimed to be an only child. When Tormod's family approach Fin Macleod for help, Fin feels duty-bound to solve the mystery.

What do you do if you've been married to a man for half your life and out of nowhere he leaves your bed — permanently? When this happens to Jeanie, she's furious and hurt, and determined to confront George, her husband of thirty years. Her worst fear is that he's in love with someone else. What did she do wrong? The brightest day of her week is Thursday, the day Jeanie takes her granddaughter to the park. There, one day, she meets Ray and his grandson. Ray is kind, easy to talk to, and gorgeous — everything George isn't. She starts to live for Thursdays. But does she have the courage to turn her life upside down for another shot at love? Family ties, dramas, secrets and lies all weave their way though this beautiful and insightful first novel.

Join us on a voyage of discovery to the world's most incredible places. This once-in-a-lifetime experience surveys every continent on the planet, selecting the most spectacular, heart-stirring and inspirational journeys — across landscapes so breathtaking that once seen they are never forgotten. Part reference, part travel guide, Dream Journeys contains a unique combination of inspirational photography, descriptive narrative and travel information: it will inspire and inform in equal measure. The 50 once-in-a-lifetime journeys featured in the book have been carefully selected by acclaimed travel writer Mary-Ann Gallagher. Geographically grouped and presented in easily accessible spreads, featured routes include America's renowned Route 66 and spectacular Pacific Coast Highway, the old and beautiful Orient Express and Silk Routes, stunning drives along Australia's Gold Coast and Stuart Highway, as well as more adventurous journeys across the plains of the Kalahari, to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, or around the magical Golden Triangle of the Orient. Beauty and nature abound on these journeys: discover incredible treks along Inca trails, winding paths along the foothills of the Andes, or the serene wilderness of the Trans-Siberian Railway and Antarctica. Or perhaps you would prefer to lay back and enjoy the romantic cities of Europe along the Appian Way; the paradise scenery of Costa Rica; or the awe-inspiring cruises down the Amazon or the Nile. Packed with travel tips and advice, as well as fascinating facts and descriptions of the world's most memorable routes, Dream Journeys allows the intrepid traveller to plan a trip of a lifetime or simply to explore the very best locations around the planet from the comfort of an armchair.

The Big Questions series is designed to let renowned experts address the 20 most fundamental and frequently asked questions of a major branch of science or philosophy. Each 3,000-word essay simply and concisely examines a question that has eternally perplexed enquiring minds, and provides answers based on the latest research. This ambitious project is a unique distillation of humanity's best ideas. In Big Questions: Evolution, Francisco Ayala answers the 20 key questions: What is evolution? What is natural selection? Is evolution a random process? What are chromosomes, genes and DNA? What is molecular evolution? What is the tree of life? What does the fossil record tell us? Is intelligence inherited? Can I clone myself? Is language a uniquely human attribute? Was Darwin right? What is 'survival of the fittest'? What is a species? How do genes build bodies? How did life begin? Am I really a monkey? What is the missing link? Will humans continue to evolve? Where does morality come from? Is Creationism true?

Childhood friends Laurie and Rachel's lives have taken very different paths since they picked up their A-level results together. Laurie is living in London and dedicated to her career, keeping track of her friends on Facebook. Rachel is seemingly living the family idyll in a cottage in Yorkshire — except she worries her marriage is starting to show cracks. When Rachel's mother in law falls ill and needs treatment in London, and Laurie decides she needs to get away for a break, a house swap falls into place. Soon Rachel is braving the mean streets of London while trying to keep her family together, while Laurie tries to figure out how to work an Aga and befriend the locals — and forget the man who seems intent on breaking her heart. Will their relationships survive this test? And will they make it home in time for Christmas?

We are in the throes of a revolution, yet the rapid pace of technological and cultural change makes it difficult to understand what's going on. 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know: Digital provides a clear path through the misinformation surrounding those technologies that are transforming the world. Leading technology writer Tom Chatfield provides a sure-footed guide to the seminal digital phenomena of our time: from the basic browsers that we use to surf the web, to the implications for our own privacy. From plumbing the depths of the deep web that represents well over 99 per cent of the internet and remains inaccessible to most search engines, to digital distribution that threatens to sweep away entire industries, this is an indispensable road map for our journey to a digital future.

Many of us grew up on The Pan Book of Horror Stories and its later incarnations. For the first time in a decade or more, there's a successor: A Book of Horrors features brand-new, never-before-published stories by the international Grand Master of horror Stephen King, John Ajvide Linqvist, author of the cult hit Let the Right One In, award-winning playwright Robert Shearman, Sunday Times bestseller Michael Marshall Smith and many others. One word of warning: be sure to read this collection with the lights on!

The newspaper was founded in Rome in the 1950s, a product of passion and a multi-millionaire's fancy. Over fifty years, its eccentricities earned a place in readers' hearts around the globe. But now, circulation is down, the paper lacks a website, and the future looks bleak. Still, those involved in the publication seem to barely notice. The obituary writer is too busy avoiding work. The editor-in-chief is pondering sleeping with an old flame. The obsessive reader is intent on finishing every old edition, leaving her trapped in the past. And the publisher seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound, Schopenhauer. The Imperfectionists interweaves the stories of eleven unusual and endearing characters who depend on the paper. Funny and moving, the novel is about endings — the end of life, the end of sexual desire, the end of the era of newspapers — and about what might rise afterward.

Elizabeth Moynihan, a young journalist, has hit the jackpot. It's 1992 and a chance remark has sent her to a small farm in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. There resides Russia's most notorious sniper-turned-spy, the one-time beautiful assassin, Tat'yana Levchenko, and she's ready to tell her story. During the Second World War, Tat'yana was Russia's secret weapon. After the Germans killed her daughter, aged four, she enlisted as a sniper for the Russian army. Having finally achieved her goal of killing three hundred Germans, she was badly injured in a siege and shipped back to Moscow. She was presented to Stalin, paraded among the ranks of high society and before the world's press. Her duty to her country not yet over, she was sent to America, to befriend Eleanor Roosevelt, touring the nation with her, securing support for the war. And all the while, she was to send vital information about American armament and troop plans back to her homeland. Before long, Tat'yana was ready to defect, putting her own life — and that of the man she loves — in more grave danger than ever before.

One man saved the British Royal Family in the first decades of the 20th century — amazingly he was an almost unknown, and certainly unqualified, speech therapist called Lionel Logue, whom one newspaper in the 1930s famously dubbed 'The Quack who saved a King'. Logue wasn't a British aristocrat or even an Englishman — he was a commoner and an Australian to boot. Nevertheless it was the outgoing, amiable Logue who single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied, Duke of York into the man who was capable of becoming King. Had Logue not saved Bertie (as the man who was to become King George VI was always known) from his debilitating stammer, and pathological nervousness in front of a crowd or microphone, then it is almost certain that the House of Windsor would have collapsed. The King's Speech is the previously untold story of the extraordinary relationship between Logue and the haunted young man who became King George VI, drawn from Logue's unpublished personal diaries. They throw extraordinary light on the intimacy of the two men — and the vital role the King's wife, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, played in bringing them together to save her husband's reputation and his career as King. The King's Speech is an intimate portrait of the British monarchy at a time of its greatest crisis, seen through the eyes of an Australian commoner who was proud to serve, and save, his King.

Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern English from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to become the linguistic equivalent of a superpower, and is now sometimes described as the world's lingua franca. Worldwide some 380 million people speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be learning it. English is the premier international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy and also on the Internet. It has been one of the official languages of the United Nations since its founding in 1945. It is considered by many good judges to be well on the way to becoming the world's first universal language. Author Philip Gooden tells the story of the English language in all its richness and variety. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'beserk', 'curfew', 'cabal' and 'pow-wow', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare. The Story of English is a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, and one that is accessibly and authoritatively told by an author in perfect command of his material.

Sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true — Sergej, the deadly nosferat, has kidnapped her best friend Graves and she must now go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece. That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day...

Paha Sapa, 'Black Hills', is a Red Indian shaman who as a young boy at the Battle of Little Bighorn takes the ghost of the dying General Custer into his own body. Sixty years later as an old man working as a dynamiter on Mount Rushmore, he plots to blow it up. Meanwhile, Custer finds himself trapped in a strange, dark place and begins to write sensuous, heartbreaking missives to his beloved wife. Thus begins an intricate narrative that sweeps across decades of American history, building up a portrait of one country's relentless expansion and what was lost and destroyed in its path. Black Hills is historical fiction with Dan Simmons' trademark twist. He weaves in real places, events and people with his own uniquely weird take on reality to create a portrait of a world that is hilarious and tragic, spiritual and disturbing.