‘The book’s elegant premise is that the Rhine, the Rhône and the Po gave rise to the three great national cultures – and in doing so helped unify Europe’ Financial Times

A fascinating exploration of the rich and varied cultural worlds shaped by the Rhine, the Rhone and the Po

Three of Europe’s greatest rivers share the same geological cradle: one fertile patch of Alpine ice in the jagged heights of central Switzerland. Coursing down through the peaks, the Rhine, the Rhone and the Po gave birth to three different European cultures – German, French and Italian – as they flowed across the continent.

From this shared geological cradle, these waterways have shaped the landscape, influenced the pattern of towns and cities, laid the foundation for economies and created an intricate network of transport, trade and agriculture. From the Romanesque buttresses and vines of Provence to the Wagnerian music of the Rhine and the artistic miracles of Lombardy, the heart of Western Europe – its languages, religion, philosophy, science, politics and art – has been nourished by these waters.

Setting off in the dramatic mountain landscape where this story begins, acclaimed historian Robert Winder traces the rivers’ journeys from their increasingly fragile glacial sources, revealing in shimmering detail their impact on Europe’s rich history as they flow towards the sea.

‘Revelatory and inspirational,  a passionate love-letter to Western Europe’s great trinity of waterways.’ James Hawes, author of The Shortest History of Germany

‘Enthralling . . . gives intriguing insight into the ebb and flow of Western Europe’s culture, history and geography.’  Jasper Winn, author of Water Ways

‘In this love letter to the Continent, Robert Winder takes a meandering and always entertaining journey down Western Europe’s three great rivers. His affection for his subject shines through on every page  . . . and his daring digressive style gives him latitude for quirky erudition and the chance to deliver unexpected delights.’ Stephen O’Shea, author of The Alps

‘Insightful, elegant, and deeply researched to the  very last drop, this book will change the way you see rivers – and the continent they have shaped – forever.’ Matt Gaw, author of In All Weathers

‘Three Rivers  is wonderful excursion into history, travel and stories about some of the most fascinating rivers of Europe – do yourself a favour and take a holiday with this book.‘ Robert Twigger, author of Red Nile

The renowned author returns with a timely book about his journeys to three sites of conflict – Dakar, South Carolina, and Palestine – exploring how the stories we tell, and the ones we don’t, shape our realities.

‘An earnest and intimate exploration of locations of extreme injustice’ Oprah Daily

***

Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, but soon found himself grappling with deeper questions about the destructive myths that shape our world.

First we join Coates on his inaugural trip to Africa – a journey to Dakar, where he finds himself in two places at once: a modern city in Senegal and the ghost-haunted country of his imagination.

He then takes readers to Columbia, South Carolina, where he reports on the banning of his own work and the deep roots of a false and fiercely protected American mythology – visibly on display in its segregationist statues.

Finally in Palestine, Coates sees with devastating clarity the tragedy that grows in the clash between the stories we tell and reality on the ground.

Written at a dramatic moment in American and global history, this work from one of our most important writers is about the urgent need to embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths.

***

‘Coates exhorts readers, including students, parents, educators, and journalists, to challenge conventional narratives that can be used to justify ethnic cleansing or camouflage racist policing’ Booklist

‘Coats always writes with purpose . . . These pilgrimages for him, ground his powerful writing about race’ Associated Press

Journalist Rachel Spence has watched visual arts become a flashpoint for today’s social divisions. She interviews artists, activists, directors and donors, revealing elitism and injustice. Business and finance launder their reputations through  patronage, while governments exert authority by weaponising or attacking the arts-and gallery-goers and workers mobilise to demand better. How did we get here, and what awaits these institutions?

From China and Russia to Helsinki and Brooklyn, from the British Museum to the Louvre and Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi,  Battle for the Museum  uncovers a dark nexus of capital, art and power-and radical resistance movements fighting fiercely for exhibition spaces that serve today’s public.

‘An ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly’Sunday Times

From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes-here is award-winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.

With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things – no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation – are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?

Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion – from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundaneum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.

Studded with strange and fascinating details, Knowing What We Know is a deep dive into learning and the human mind. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom? Does René Descartes’ ‘Cogito, ergo sum‘-‘I think, therefore I am’, the foundation for human knowledge widely accepted since the Enlightenment-still hold?

And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?

A unique cocktail of personal memoir, cultural criticism and Hollywood history by the one and only Quentin Tarantino.

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the number one New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino.

In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films.

Now, with CINEMA SPECULATION, the time has come, and the results are everything his passionate fans – and all movie lovers – could have hoped for.

Organized around key American films from the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time, this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining.

At once film criticism, film theory, a feat of reporting, and wonderful personal history, it is all written in the singular voice recognizable immediately as QT’s and with the rare perspective about cinema possible only from one of the greatest practitioners of the artform ever.