Society & Politics

Sitting can wreak havoc on your health. Recent studies show that too much sitting contributes to a host of diseases - from obesity (read more)

Sitting can wreak havoc on your health. Recent studies show that too much sitting contributes to a host of diseases - from obesity and diabetes to cancer and depression - and literally shortens your life. In Deskbound, Dr Kelly Starrett - author of Becoming a Supple Leopard (Victory Belt, 2015) - unveils how your sedentary lifestyle is killing you and, more important, what you can do to change it.

Provides creative solutions to reduce the amount of time you spend perched on your backside, as well as strategies for the workplace that will improve your overall health. (hide)

What is it like to be a wife of a politician in modern-day Britain? Sasha Swire finally lifts the lid. For more than twenty years (read more)

What is it like to be a wife of a politician in modern-day Britain? Sasha Swire finally lifts the lid. For more than twenty years she has kept a secret diary detailing the trials and tribulations of being a political plus-one, and gives us a ringside seat at the seismic political events of the last decade. A professional partner and loyal spouse, Swire has strong political opinions herself - sometimes more 'No, Minister' than 'Yes'.

She detonates the stereotype of the dutiful wife. From shenanigans in Budleigh Salterton to state banquets at Buckingham Palace, gun-toting terrorist busters in pizza restaurants to dinners in Downing Street sitting next to Boris Johnson, Devon hedges to partying with City hedgies, she observes the great and the not-so-great at the closest of quarters. The results are painfully revealing and often hilariously funny. (hide)

New from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography; We feel more divided than ever.; This riveting analysis (read more)

New from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography; We feel more divided than ever.; This riveting analysis tells you why.; Walls are going up. Nationalism and identity politics are on the rise once more. Thousands of miles of fences and barriers have been erected in the past ten years, and they are redefining our political landscape.

There are many reasons why we erect walls, because we are divided in many ways: wealth, race, religion, politics. In Europe the ruptures of the past decade threaten not only European unity, but in some countries liberal democracy itself. In China, the Party's need to contain the divisions wrought by capitalism will define the nation's future.
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The inside story of the campaign that rocked the United Kingdom to its foundations, and the implications of the Scottish independence (read more)

The inside story of the campaign that rocked the United Kingdom to its foundations, and the implications of the Scottish independence movement for the future of British politics. Alex Salmond has been a passionate supporter of Scottish independence his whole life. In September 2014, he came close to realising that dream.

In a riveting daily diary, written with his trademark wit and charm, Salmond takes us into the heart of the YES campaign, revealing what was said and done behind the scenes as the referendum reached its dramatic climax. He explains how the YES campaign energised the entire Scottish nation and rewrote the rulebook for grassroots political campaigning, not just in the UK but throughout the world. He also looks ahead to the critical role of the 'national question' in the future of British politics, making clear that the referendum was not the end of a process, but the beginning of one.

The dream of Scottish independence is very much alive. (hide)

Economics is all around us, essential to every aspect of our lives. But just how much does the average person understand about what (read more)

Economics is all around us, essential to every aspect of our lives. But just how much does the average person understand about what Economics is for, how it underpins crucial decisions taken every day and how it continues to evolve? Step forward the Economist's guide to Economics, written with the clarity and wit for which the newspaper is renowned and featuring bite-sized overviews of the most important economic ideas, concepts and terms. If you need to understand why a country's balance of payments is such a big deal, whether deflation is always a bad thing, or exactly why John Maynard Keynes or Milton Friedman were so influential, then dipping into this A-Z Guide will provide the answers.

Primer, glossary, dictionary and reference, this book offers everything you always wanted to know about Economics, but perhaps were afraid to ask. An Economist Book, published in association with the Economist. (hide)

Democratic transitions in the early 1990s introduced a sea change in Sub-Saharan African politics. Between 1990 and 2015, several (read more)

Democratic transitions in the early 1990s introduced a sea change in Sub-Saharan African politics. Between 1990 and 2015, several hundred competitive legislative and presidential elections were held in all but a handful of the region's countries. This book is the first comprehensive comparative analysis of the key issues, actors, and trends in these elections over the last quarter century.
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Empathy is the power of understanding others, imaginatively entering into their feelings. It is a fundamental human attribute, without (read more)

Empathy is the power of understanding others, imaginatively entering into their feelings. It is a fundamental human attribute, without which mutually co-operative societies cannot function. In a revolutionary development, we now know who has it, who lacks it and why.

Via the MRI scanner we are mapping the human brain. This is a new frontier that reveals a host of beneficial ideas for childcare, teens challenged by the internet, the justice system, decent healthcare, tackling racism and resolving conflicts. In this wide-ranging and accessible book full of entertaining stories that are underlined by the latest scientific research, Peter Bazalgette also mounts a passionate defence of arts and popular culture as a means of bridging the empathy gap.

Pub Date:26/01/2017 (hide)

"My story starts at the very end of the journey to equal marriage rights. I stand on the shoulders of giants..."In the future, people (read more)

"My story starts at the very end of the journey to equal marriage rights. I stand on the shoulders of giants..."In the future, people will find it difficult to believe that until 2014, somewhere between 5 and 10 per cent of Britain's population were excluded from marriage.As Equalities Minister during the coalition government, Lynne Featherstone played a fundamental role in rectifying this. From setting the wheels in motion within government, to her experiences of the abuse with which the gay community is regularly confronted, through her rebuttals against the noise and fury of her opponents, and finally to the making of history, Lynne details the surprising twists and turns of the fight.

Filled with astonishing revelations about finding allies in unexpected places and encountering resistance from unforeseen foes, Equal Ever After is an honest account of one woman's pivotal efforts during the turbulent final mile.This is real, lived history - recent history. Many of us celebrated on the day the dream became reality; many of us know people whose lives were changed by the events described here.In this inside story, Lynne reveals the emotional lows and the exhilarating highs involved in turning hard-won social acceptance into tangible legal equality. (hide)

Essential Public Affairs for Journalists is the definitive handbook for journalism students and practising journalists. It guides (read more)

Essential Public Affairs for Journalists is the definitive handbook for journalism students and practising journalists. It guides readers through the constitutional framework and the governing institutions of the United Kingdom before considering the electoral system and the principal political parties. A number of key topics are discussed in turn including the National Health Service, education, utilities and industry, and social security.

The author examines both how these services operate and how they can generate a wealth of reports for the student and professional journalist alike. The text is supported by an Online Resource Centre featuring: - Web links - Additional topical feature ideas - Tables to accompany the text - News feeds
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This book comparatively examines the preferences of four key arms-producing states towards European joint armaments programmes. The (read more)

This book comparatively examines the preferences of four key arms-producing states towards European joint armaments programmes. The European defence market is characterised by a mixture of inter-state competition and European cooperation, and this work assesses why countries sometimes decide to cooperate with their partners, while in other instances they refrain from doing so. In order to shed light on this empirical puzzle, the book focuses on state-defence industry relations in the four major European arms producers: France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Published:27 Mar 2020 (hide)