Penguin Group

The Atomic Bazaar: Dispatches from the Underground World of Nuclear Trafficking

William Langewiesche, 2008

In the nuclear age, arms are the ultimate commodity. And now they are easier and cheaper to acquire and make than ever before — which means that for poor nations or non-state terror groups, weapons of mass destruction are up for grabs. William Langewiesche looks at how nuclear weapons have gone wholesale. He visits the smuggling routes in Turkey and closed Russian 'nuclear cities' where highly enriched uranium is on sale. He meets technicians, smugglers and spies. And he tells the extraordinary story of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist who stole plans to build Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Подробнее

One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey, 2008

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's «One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest» is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned. Подробнее

How to Lose All Your Friends

Nancy Carlson, 1997

With exuberant pictures and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, the author of I Like Me! takes a light-hearted look at bratty behavior that will have children laughing in recognition while learning exactly how not to behave. Colored-pencil illustrations throughout. Подробнее

1939: Countdown to War

Richard Overy, 2010

24 August 1939: The fate of the world is hanging in the balance. Hitler has ambitions to invade Poland and hopes Stalin will now help him. The West must try to stop him. If they don't, world war will result. In this dramatic account Richard Overy re-creates hour-by-hour the last days of peace in 1939, as politicians and the public braced themselves for a war they feared might spell the end of European civilization. Nothing was predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. The one constant feature was the determination of Poland to fight against the armed might of Germany. Countdown to War brings to life a defining moment in the history of the twentieth century. Подробнее

Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll, 2012

'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole without the least idea what was to happen afterwards', wrote Dodgson, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. In the nonsensical Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking-Glass kingdom, order is turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig; time is abandoned at a tea-party; and, a chaotic game of chess makes 7-year-old a Queen. Подробнее

And Another Thing:

Eoin Colfer, 2010

This is an Englishman's continuing search through space and time for a decent cup of tea...Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has not been entirely without incident. Arthur has travelled the length, breadth and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forwards and backwards through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released and colourfully insulted more than is strictly necessary. And, of course, he has comprehensively failed to grasp the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Arthur has, though, finally made it home to Earth. But that does not mean he has escaped his fate. For Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa are evaporating along with the world's oceans. Because no sooner has he arrived than he finds out that Earth is about to be blown up...again. «And Another Thing»...by Eoin Colfer is the rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth instalment of «The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy» trilogy. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favourite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer and at least one very large slab of cheese. Подробнее

And the Ass Saw the Angel

Nick Cave, 2009

Outcast, mute, a lone twin cut from a drunk mother in a shack full of junk, Euchrid Eucrow of Ukulore inhabits a nightmarish Southern valley of preachers and prophets, incest and ignorance. When the God-fearing folk of the town declare a foundling child to be chosen by the Almighty, Euchrid is disturbed. He sees her very differently, and his conviction, and increasing isolation and insanity, may have terrible consequences for them both. This new edition of Cave's cult classic has been cut down and reorganized by the author so the plot is clarified and the characters stand out more clearly. The book retains all its brilliance but is much more accessible to the general reader. Подробнее

Arthurian Romances

Chretien de Troyes, 2004

Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly manner, Chretien de Troyes fashioned a new form of medieval Romance. The Knight of the Cart is the first telling of the adulterous relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's Queen Guinevere, and in The Knight with the Lion Yvain neglects his bride in his quest for greater glory. Erec and Enide explores a knight's conflict between love and honour, Cliges exalts the possibility of pure love outside marriage, while the haunting The Story of the Grail chronicles the legendary quest. Rich in symbolism, these evocative tales combine closely observed detail with fantastic adventure to create a compelling world that profoundly influenced Malory, and are the basis of the Arthurian legends we know today. Подробнее

The Ballad of Reading Gaol and Other Poems

Oscar Wilde, 2010

This poem — originally published anonymously, written after Wilde's two year's hard labor in Reading prison — is the tale of a man who has been sentenced to hang for the murder of the woman he loved. The Ballad of Reading Gaol follows the inmate through his final three weeks, as he stares at the sky and silently drinks his beer ration. Heart-wrenching and eye-opening, the ballad also expresses perfectly Wilde's belief that humanity is made up only of offenders, each of us deserving a greater charity for the severity of our crimes. Подробнее

The Beach House

Jane Green, 2009

One summer a group of strangers — each with their own reason for wanting to step out of their busy life — meet at rented beachouse in sunny Nantucket. There's Daniel, who's causing heartbreak for his wife Bee; recently divorced Daff, who feels she's lost touch with her daughter Jess; and Michael — son of the house's mischievous, free-spirited owner Nan — who is having an ill-advised fling with his boss. With so many lost souls gathered under one roof, very soon there are tears and laughter, friendship and — for some — even love. Each one of them is hoping for a new beginning. But will any of them find it? Подробнее

The Believers

Zoe Heller, 2009

When Audrey makes a devastating discovery about her husband, New York radical lawyer Joel Litvinoff, she is forced to re-examine everything she thought she knew about their forty-year marriage. Joel's children will have to deal with this unsettling secret themselves, but meanwhile, they are trying to cope with their own dilemmas. Rosa, beautiful, disillusioned revolutionary, is grappling with a new-found attachment to Orthodox Judaism. Unhappily married Karla is falling in love with an unlikely suitor at the hospital where she works. Adopted brother Lenny is back on drugs again. In the course of battling their own demons and each other, every member of the family is called upon to decide what — if anything — they still believe in. Подробнее

The British Museum is Falling Down

David Lodge, 2010

Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. David Lodge's The British Museum is Falling Down was published in 1965 and is a brilliant comic satire of academia, religion and human entanglements. It tells the story of hapless, scooter-riding young research student Adam Appleby, who is trying to write his thesis but is constantly distracted — not least by the fact that, as Catholics in the 1960s, he and his wife must rely on 'Vatican roulette' to avoid a fourth child. Подробнее

Brooklyn

Colm Toibin, 2010

In a small town in the south-east of Ireland in the 1950s, Eilis Lacey is one among many of her generation who cannot find work at home. So when a job is offered in America, it is clear that she must go. Leaving her family and home, Eilis sets off to forge a new life for herself in Brooklyn. Young, homesick and alone, she gradually buries the pain of parting beneath the rhythms of a new life — days at the till in a large department store, night classes in Brooklyn College and Friday evenings on the dance floor of the parish hall — until she realizes that she has found a sort of happiness. But when tragic news summons her back to Ireland, and the constrictions of her old life unexpectedly give way to new possibilities, she finds herself facing a terrible choice: between love and happiness in the land where she belongs and the promises she must keep on the far side of the ocean. «Brooklyn» is a tender story of great love and loss, and of the heartbreaking choice between personal freedom and duty. In the character of Eilis Lacey Colm Toibin has created a remarkable heroine and in «Brooklyn» a novel of devastating emotional power. Подробнее

The Canterbury Tales

Peter Ackroyd, 2010

The Canterbury Tales is a major part of England's literary heritage. From the exuberant Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend to the Miller's worldly, ribald farce, these tales can be taken as a mirror of fourteenth-century London. Incorporating every style of medieval narrative — bawdy anecdote, allegorical fable and courtly romance — the tales encompass a blend of universal human themes. Ackroyd's retelling is a highly readable, prose version in modern English, using expletive and avoiding euphemism, making the Tales much more accessible to a new generation of readers. The edition also includes an introduction by Ackroyd, detailing some of the historical background to Chaucer and the Tales, and why he has been inspired to translate them for a new generation of readers. Подробнее

The Cat's Pyjamas

Julia Cresswell, 2007

This is a fascinating, thematic exploration of cliches from as the actress said to the bishop to zero hour, explaining what they are and where they've come from. Julia Cresswell has taken her best-selling dictionary of cliches ('Sumptuous...A mine of information.' — Guardian) back to the drawing board and has created a book, packed with famous (and infamous) quotations and memorable information, that will change the way you see English. Подробнее

The Catcher in the Rye

Salinger J.D., 2010

»The Catcher in Rye» is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues (in conventional terms, there is hardly any plot at all). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation, it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally, as though you too have seen through the pretences of the American Dream and are growing up unable to see the point of living in, or contributing to, the society around you. Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood, it deals with society, love, loss, and expectations without ever falling into the clutch of a cliche. Подробнее

Chasing the Dead

Tim Weaver, 2010

One year ago, Alex Towne's body was found. One month ago, his mother saw him on the street. One week ago, David Raker agreed to look for him. Now he wishes he hadn't. Mary Towne's son, Alex, went missing six years ago. Five years later he finally turned up — as a corpse in a car wreck. Missing persons investigator David Raker doesn't want the work: it's clearly a sad but hopeless case of mistaken identity brought to him by a woman unable to let go of her son. But haunted by a loss of his own, Raker reluctantly agrees. Big mistake. For as he digs deeper, he discovers that Alex's life was not the innocent one his mother believed. Buried in his past are secrets that were never meant to be found — and dark, dangerous men willing to kill to protect them. Soon Raker will discover that there are things far worse than death... Подробнее

Churchill: A Study in Greatness

Geoffrey Best, 2002

Winston Churchill's inspiring leadership in the Second World War once put him above criticism. In recent years his record has come under attack. This book makes sense of this extraordinary man and his controversial and heroic career. Best brings out Churchill's strengths and weaknesses, looking past the many received versions of Churchill in a biography that balances the private and the public man and offers a fresh insight into his character. Подробнее

Deaf Sentence

David Lodge, 2010

Retired Professor of Linguistics Desmond Bates is going deaf. It's a bother for his wife who has an enviably successful new career and is too busy to be endlessly repeating herself. Roles are reversed with his aging father, who resents his son's attempts to help him. And then there's Alex, a student whom Desmond has agreed to help after a typical misunderstanding at a party. But her increasingly bizarre requests cannot all be blamed on his defective hearing. So much for growing old gracefully... Подробнее

The Decay of Lying

Oscar Wilde, 2010

In The Decay of Lying, Oscar Wilde uses his decadent ideology in an attempt to reverse and therefore reject his audiences' 'normal' conceptualizations of nature, art and morality. Wilde's views of life and art are illustrated through the use of Platonic dialogue where the character Vivian takes on the persona of Wilde. Wilde's goal is to subvert the norm by reversing its values. Wilde suggests to us that society is wrong, not him. Calling on diverse examples — from Ancient Greek sculpture to contemporary paintings — Oscar Wilde's brilliant essay creates a witty, paradoxical world in which the only art worth loving is that built on complete untruths. Подробнее

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