Collection: Adult

"A fascinating must-read for baseball history buffs."--Publishers Weekly

He threw the first fastball. The first curveball. He was baseball's first star--and its first tragedy.

In Death in the Strike Zone, acclaimed historian Thomas W. Gilbert uncovers the forgotten life of James Creighton, the first American ballplayer to become a national sensation. On the eve of the Civil War, Creighton invented something utterly new in baseball - modern pitching. Creighton was so dominant, so mesmerizing, that the game had to rewrite the rulebook to catch up with him. He is the reason we have a strike zone. Then, in one fateful game he collapsed--and four days later, he was dead at the age of twenty-one.

Was it a freak injury or was baseball somehow to blame? Was there a cover-up? Why has Creighton been denied the credit he deserves? Death in the Strike Zone is part biography, part detective story, and part time machine. With vivid storytelling and groundbreaking research, Gilbert revives a vanished era of barehanded fielders, heroes and gamblers, and the strange, thrilling beginnings of America's pastime and sports stardom itself.

Death in the Strike Zone is a remarkable journey into the past that will keep you on the edge of your seat and profoundly change how you see the game of baseball.

A heartwarming novel from a South Korean author about the healing power of books, perfect for readers of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

With good books, good food and companionship, the Book Kitchen fills people's tired souls. Yoojin, who grew up in Seoul, opened the Book Kitchen by chance in Soyangri, a village two hours from Seoul by car. The Book Kitchen functions as a bookshop and cafe. The second function of the Book Kitchen is a Book Stay, where one can stay overnight in one of the building's four complexes.

Over the course of one year, multiple characters each find comfort and hope at Yoojin's Book Kitchen. From a music idol facing an identity crisis, to a promising lawyer beset by an unsettling medical diagnosis, to a young, failed music director who has had to rein in his dreams, they happen upon Soyangri at pivotal moments in their lives.

A provocative, authoritative reckoning with the past and future of marriage, explaining why it's become more rewarding as well as riskier

Marriage rates have fallen dramatically since the 1970s. Yet far from devaluing marriage, people still overwhelmingly describe marriage as the highest commitment they can imagine. Most Americans say they want to marry eventually, and couples who do marry have a lower chance of divorce than at any time since the 1970s. Increasingly, though, people tell pollsters they "have no idea" if they actually will end up married. And unlike in the past, young women are more uncertain than young men.

In For Better and Worse, Stephanie Coontz--author of the "rich, provocative, and entertaining" book Marriage, A History--unravels the roots of such paradoxical trends. Examining five critical periods of historical transformation, she reveals how shifting romantic ideals, gender expectations, sexual mores, and cultural myths have bequeathed us a welter of contradictory beliefs, dysfunctional habits, and emotional earworms that make it hard to adjust our family relationships to the social and economic challenges of twenty-first-century life.

Coontz demonstrates that today's widespread nostalgia for a seemingly more stable past is an understandable reaction to heightened economic insecurity and eroding social solidarities. But trying to reproduce a largely imaginary golden age of marriage from the past simply locks us into a restricted future.

Current public debates about marriage are dominated by two diametrically opposed groups. One argues that marriage is the only sure route to personal happiness and social stability; the other, that marriage is inherently oppressive. Coontz puts forward a radical middle ground, pointing to surprising new research on the personal changes and the policy innovations that can help people create successful relationships, in or out of marriage.

Step into the magical realm of Narnia with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This deluxe hardbound edition elevates C.S. Lewis's cherished classic with stunning craftsmanship and timeless charm. Follow the unforgettable journey of four siblings as they uncover a world of wonder, bravery, and destiny; where talking animals, mythical creatures, and an evil White Witch shape their fate.This collector's edition is a must-have for fans of fantasy, adventure, and unforgettable storytelling. Unlock the wardrobe and rediscover the magic within.

All shall be done, but it may be harder than you think.

Uncover the deeper themes of sacrifice, friendship, and hope woven into this timeless classic. Rediscover the power of imagination through a story that transcends generations. Relive the battle between good and evil in a narrative that inspires and uplifts. Delve into a world where magic, myth, and adventure collide. Immerse yourself in the unforgettable journey of four siblings destined to change a kingdom's fate.

Dad Can You Not? is a tongue-in-cheek field guide for the modern father--complete with hundreds of real examples of embarrassing dad behavior and dozens of brutally honest texts sent to dads by their own kids.

With charts and graphs, quizzes graded using Leighton's "DadMeter," and plenty of roasts from Leighton's own kids, Dad Can You Not? makes the perfect gift for the dad in your life or for anyone who likes to laugh.

The continuing adventures of the original X-Men, reunited as new team X-Factor!

In the wake of Apocalypse's attack, X-Factor battle the Avengers, the bouncing Beast becomes blue and furry once more and the team goes public! But when Cyclops and Marvel Girl begin a search for Scott's missing son, bizarre mysteries are uncovered -- and the flames of an Inferno begin to flicker! As Madelyne Pryor -- now the Goblin Queen -- targets infant Nathan, can X-Factor survive an onslaught of demons and keep the boy safe? What happens when the crisis reunites them with the X-Men, whom they thought were dead? And will any of them be ready when Mister Sinister strikes?

COLLECTING: X-Factor (1986) 27-50, X-Factor Annual (1986) 3-4, X-Terminators (1988) 1-4, Uncanny X-Men (1981) 240-243, New Mutants (1983) 76, Fantastic Four (1961) 342; material from New Mutants Annual (1984) 5; Marvel Comics Presents (1988) 15, 17-24

George Orwell has never been more quoted and misquoted. Can he be rescued from the soundbites?

George Orwell remains a work in progress. He is, or has become, a meme, a global writer, a national treasure, a London statue, a scholarly society, a Prize and a Journal, a trope and a show, various movies and murals, too many misquotations, two adjectives, at least half a dozen fictions, and most recently 'a dead metaphor' with plenty more accolades to come.

George Orwell: Life and Legacy is an intellectual biography which offers an authentic account of Orwell's life and work from his birth in the high noon of British imperialism in 1903, to his death on the eve of the Cold War in 1950--a life played out against a background of two world wars, the rise of communism, and the war-time pre-eminence of the United States. Yet no matter how alert he was to the world order, and no matter how guarded he was in his personal life, Orwell never shied away from the question of who he was, and the contradictions that entailed.

His two great modern masterpieces Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) arrived to define the age he lived in. Interest in him has never abated since; no writer is more quoted or misquoted. Orwell is in danger of being lost to soundbites. Colls reveals the author once again.
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The SIPRI Yearbook is an authoritative and independent source of data and analysis on armaments, disarmament and international security. It provides an overview of developments in military expenditure, arms production and the arms trade, weapons and technology, and armed conflict and conflict management, along with efforts to control conventional, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

This 56th edition of the SIPRI Yearbook covers developments during 2024, including:

-Armed conflict and conflict management, with an overview of global and regional developments in armed conflicts and peace processes
-Military expenditure, international arms transfers and developments in arms production, including the consequences of the expanded wars in Europe and the Middle East and ongoing geopolitical tensions
-The proliferation of missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles, with a focus on their use in the Russia-Ukraine war
-World nuclear forces, highlighting the nuclear modernization trends within the nine nuclear-armed states, as well as shifting nuclear doctrines and developments in nuclear sharing
-Nuclear arms control, featuring discussions involving China, Russia and the United States and within multilateral treaties, as well as regional challenges to disarmament and non-proliferation, and attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants
-Chemical and biological security threats, including the investigation of allegations of chemical and biological weapon use and developments in the international legal instruments against chemical and biological warfare
-Conventional arms control and the regulation of inhumane weapons, including cluster munitions, explosive weapons in populated areas, landmines and small arms and light weapons
-International governance of artificial intelligence, cyberspace and space security, with a focus on autonomous weapon systems
-Dual use and arms trade controls, including developments in the Arms Trade Treaty, multilateral arms embargoes and export control regimes, and the legal framework of the European Union for such controls

It also contains updated annexes listing arms control and disarmament agreements, international security cooperation bodies and key events in 2024.

Evil books, shadowy corporations, and interdimensional monster collide in this dark, masterful tribute to Robert Chamber's cult classic, The King in Yellow.

In 1984, exiled author Salvatore Archimboldi accepts the help of a psychotherapist to write his new book. He hopes to transform his traumatic memories into literary genius. But the resulting book, The Truth of Carcosa, is pure evil. Horrified, Archimboldi suppresses the book and wills all traces of it, his correspondence, and any copies to be destroyed.

Long after Archimboldi's death, in a chaotic age of resurgent nationalism and violence, one of the only havens for his work is the ALI, the Archive for Literary Investment, where a biographer and his protégée search through Archimboldi's correspondence for clues on the evil manuscript as they attempt to stop unscrupulous firms with their own plans for the manuscript.

Told from the perspective of a madman obsessed with The Truth of Carcosa and a ragtag group of friends, it becomes clear that this book is more than a book--and that it might be the answer to a bewildering set of questions:

Why is the Archive so desperate to preserve Archimboldi's work?

Why do so many corporations seem hellbent on seizing any scrap of this mysterious manuscript--and at whatever cost?

What are the strange, dancing monsters that appear wherever Archimboldi's work is discovered?

And who--or what--is the Yellow King?

See, Touch, Feel: First Words is specially designed to stimulate babies' senses and encourage the development of motor skills as they learn lots of new first words.

Babies and toddlers can turn the chunky pages and reach out to touch and feel a variety of different textures on every spread. There are lots of first words featured within the sensory pages, and the colorful finger paint artwork and photos of smiling happy babies will engage young children as they learn.

As well as tons of new words to expand their vocabulary, there are fun questions and interactive text to make this the perfect book for little ones and parents to read together.

Other sensory learning books in this series include: See, Touch, Feel, See, Touch, Feel: ABC, See, Touch, Feel: 123, and See, Touch, Feel: Colors.

Men's Health Most Anticipated Sci-Fi - BookBub Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of Spring - The intense dystopian world-building of John Twelve Hawks (The Traveler) returns with a masterful journey through the near future of Artificial Intelligence, in which a wise, orphaned ten-year-old girl goes on the run with only her trusty "Interactive Toy" to guide her toward New York City, where a dark landscape, and perhaps a hidden hero, await her.

In a post-pandemic future where AI has infiltrated daily life, the line between what is real and what is digital has eroded to nothing. As Manhattan is overrun by wireheads who spend their days literally plugged into virtual reality, algorithms and robots have replaced everything from the criminal justice system to individual loved ones.

As long as she can remember, ten-year-old Kate has felt like someone was watching her. She has been orphaned since the pandemic, her foster parents find her eccentric and off-putting, and her legal guardian is nowhere to be seen. Now, an algorithm has predicted the very worst--​within thirty days, Kate will either be killed, or become a killer. When two police officers arrive at her home in Maine intending to implant her with a tracking device, Kate is urged by her trusted AI Interactive Toy (a talking stuffed seal named Zeno) to make an immediate escape. Confused and looking for answers, the girl sets a course for New York City and begins an Orwellian journey into the unknown.

Gripping, intricately plotted, and delightfully imaginative, Certainty is a profound and eerily prescient novel about the ever-blurring line between man and machine. Amid the murder investigation of a gifted AI robot-maker, a missing-person being tracked down in the darkest corners of virtual reality, and Kate's harrowing journey to New York, John Twelve Hawks's novel explores the spectacular humanity to be found in a world where humans are themselves endangered.

'Gen Z's new favourite chef' - the Times

Dive into a world of easy comfort food with the latest cookbook from Sunday Times bestselling author Hari Beavis.

Renowned for her down-to-earth approach and irresistible flavours, Hari brings you a collection of heart-warming meals that require just one pan, pot, tray or tin.

Each dish comes with handy alternative ingredient suggestions, allowing you to adapt to what's already in your store cupboard and tailor your meals to any craving or dietary preference. From speedy suppers to slow-cooked comfort classics, you'll find inspiration for every mood and occasion.

Recipes include:

• Green Goddess Winter Pie - a nourishing, flaky-crusted delight
• Rosé Wine Prawn Pasta - effortless elegance in one pan
• Chorizo and Manchego Red Pepper Traybake - bold flavours with zero fuss
• Slow Cooker Birria Tacos - tender, melt-in-the-mouth goodness
• Garlic Butter, Lemon Chicken Orzo - creamy and comforting in a single pot
• Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon and Walnut Crunch - seasonal indulgence at its best
• Creamy Salmon Salad with Dill and Chive Dressing - a light yet satisfying bowl
• Mozzarella, Peach and Prosciutto Salad - sweet, salty perfection
• Lemon, Olive Oil and Thyme Cake - tangy and aromatic, all in one tin

With 90 soul-soothing recipes that champion simplicity and flavour, this cookbook invites you to relax, dig in, and discover how easy it is to whip up truly comforting meals. Let Hari Beavis guide you to your new favourite dish - one pot at a time.

A transformative way of understanding addiction--and an invitation to find connection in the pleasures of life we know are bad for us

Elizabeth Roberts has experienced the suffering wrought by addiction: her sister's destructive alcoholism and dependency on prescription drugs, her mother's hoarding, and her own struggles with binge eating. As for so many of us, addiction brought about self-loathing, reflecting her individual failure to exercise self-control, to keep it together. But during her fieldwork studying chemical exposure in Mexico City, her sense of addiction got turned upside down. She witnessed her neighbors, both young and old, defiantly celebrate their compulsive dependencies on alcohol, drugs, and junk food instead of hiding them in shame. Roberts began to wonder if everything she thought she knew about addiction was wrong.

In Praise of Addiction shares the unexpected journey that led Roberts to a new understanding of addiction. Taking lessons from her years in Mexico City as well as from addiction researchers, harm reduction activists, and scholars of religion, philosophy, and anthropology, Roberts pays close attention to the external forces that so often fuel the damage of addiction. As her neighbors in Mexico City suggest, the adverse health effects brought on by their dependencies on Coca-Cola, processed foods, drugs, and alcohol have more to do with the ongoing effects of the drug war and NAFTA than any personal failings. Taking up this ecological framework, Roberts draws a line between vice that isolates and addiction that connects, a distinction she movingly integrates into her own life and family, making a case for sharing in the pleasures--and suffering--of dependency.

Provocative and deeply humane, In Praise of Addiction invites readers to cast aside the shame, self-hatred, and judgment associated with addiction and discover how dependency can serve as a binding force worthy of our most profound devotion.