‘A beautifully written book about life and death: busts myths, explores the stories of science and history, and ultimately is rich and uplifting.’ Dr Adam Rutherford

With over 17,000 known diseases affecting humans, and countless poisons, carcinogens and toxins in our environment, it’s a miracle that our bodies manage to keep us alive. And that is, of course, if they don’t betray us themselves, whether through cancers or autoimmune conditions.

Biomedical researcher Professor John Tregoning tells the unlikely story of how, against all odds, we manage to stay alive. Taking an organ-by-organ tour of the human body, Tregoning embarks on his own experimental quest, testing ‘life-extending’ diets and exercise regimes to separate fact from fad. Exploring the multitude of ways our bodies can kill us, from inherited genetic conditions, through heart attacks, arrythmias and angina, onto the delicate workings of the brain, Live Forever?  offers compelling insight into how our bodies work, how we can best look after them – and ultimately live longer, healthier lives.

***

‘I heartily recommend this deep dive into wellness… It turns out that none of us are getting out of here alive, but John has bravely put his mind and body on the line to discover the secrets of staying healthy and happy as we get older. A funny, fascinating and educative book.’ Ben Willbond, co-creator of Ghosts

‘The idea that a book about death and dying could be a delightful read seems ridiculous, and yet John Tregoning has pulled off this trick with humour, flair and elegance.’ Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution

‘An enjoyable and entertaining mixture of scientific facts about ageing and completely unscientific self-experimentation… recognizing that although none of us will live forever, there are ways we can improve our chances of living well while we are still around.’ Dame Sarah Gilbert

“Another brilliant work from one of the very best science writers, Air-Borne will leave you agog at the incredible world that floats unseen around us” Ed Yong, New York Times bestselling author of An Immense World

————————————–

Every day we draw in two thousand gallons of air – and thousands of living things. From the ground to the stratosphere, the air teems with invisible life.

In Air-Borne, award-winning New York Times columnist and Baillie Gifford-shortlisted author Carl Zimmer leads us on an odyssey through the living atmosphere and through the history of its discovery. We follow Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh above the clouds, where they conducted groundbreaking experiments, and meet NASA scientists who send balloons even higher, to search for life in the stratosphere.

Zimmer chronicles the dark side of aerobiology with gripping accounts of how the United States and the Soviet Union clandestinely built arsenals of biological weapons designed to spread anthrax and smallpox. Air-Borne prompts us to look at the world with new eyes – as a place where the oceans and forests loft trillions of cells into the air, where microbes eat clouds, and where life soars thousands of miles on the wind.

Weaving together spellbinding history with the latest reporting on airborne threats to global health, this masterwork makes visible an invisible world.

‘Compulsive . . . A wonderful display of how modern archaeology can bring hidden histories to life’ Daily  Telegraph  
‘Gripping . . . I found it hard to put down’ Evening  Standard
‘Fascinating’  Guardian

The history of the Middle Ages is typically the story of the rich and powerful, but archaeology represents another way of interrogating our history. By using cutting-edge science to examine human remains and burials, it is possible to gain a new understanding of the past – one that is more intimate and inclusive than ever before.

The seven stories in Crypt are not comforting tales. We meet the patients at one of the earliest hospitals in England and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre. We see a society struggling to make sense of disease, disability and death, as incurable epidemics sweep through medieval Europe. We learn of a protracted battle between Church and State, and come face to face with the archers who went down with the Mary Rose.

Beautifully written and expertly researched by Professor Alice Roberts, Crypt is packed with thrilling scientific discoveries that challenge what we thought we knew about history.

‘An addictive picture of medieval Britain from a cutting edge perspective’Evening Standard

‘A beautifully written book about life and death: busts myths, explores the stories of science and history, and ultimately is rich and uplifting.’ Dr Adam Rutherford

With over 17,000 known diseases affecting humans, and countless poisons, carcinogens and toxins in our environment, it’s a miracle that our bodies manage to keep us alive. And that is, of course, if they don’t betray us themselves, whether through cancers or autoimmune conditions.

Biomedical researcher Professor John Tregoning tells the unlikely story of how, against all odds, we manage to stay alive. Taking an organ-by-organ tour of the human body, Tregoning embarks on his own experimental quest, testing ‘life-extending’ diets and exercise regimes to separate fact from fad. Exploring the multitude of ways our bodies can kill us, from inherited genetic conditions, through heart attacks, arrythmias and angina, onto the delicate workings of the brain, Live Forever?  offers compelling insight into how our bodies work, how we can best look after them – and ultimately live longer, healthier lives.

***

‘I heartily recommend this deep dive into wellness… It turns out that none of us are getting out of here alive, but John has bravely put his mind and body on the line to discover the secrets of staying healthy and happy as we get older. A funny, fascinating and educative book.’ Ben Willbond, co-creator of Ghosts

‘The idea that a book about death and dying could be a delightful read seems ridiculous, and yet John Tregoning has pulled off this trick with humour, flair and elegance.’ Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution

‘An enjoyable and entertaining mixture of scientific facts about ageing and completely unscientific self-experimentation… recognizing that although none of us will live forever, there are ways we can improve our chances of living well while we are still around.’ Dame Sarah Gilbert

‘Powerfully argued… Fascinating and pacy’ Sunday Times, Book of the Week
‘Superbly written… sure to please readers of Yuval Noah Harari or Rutger Bregman’ The Times
‘Full of amazing facts’ Observer

In this revelatory book, Dr Jonathan Kennedy argues that germs have shaped humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam.

How did an Indonesian volcano help cause the Black Death, setting Europe on the road to capitalism? How could 168 men extract the largest ransom in history from an opposing army of eighty thousand? And why did the Industrial Revolution lead to the birth of the modern welfare state?

The latest science reveals that infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a fundamental part of who we are. Indeed, the only reason humans don’t lay eggs is that a virus long ago inserted itself into our DNA, and there are as many bacteria in your body as there are human cells. We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong: evolution is not simply about human strength and intelligence, but about how we live and thrive in a world dominated by microbes.

By exploring the startling intimacy of our relationship with infectious diseases, Kennedy shows how they have been responsible for some of the seismic revolutions of the past 50,000 years. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story.

Challenges some of the greatest cliches about colonialism… A revelation’ SATHNAM SANGHERA
‘Thrilling and eye-opening‘ LEWIS DARTNELL
‘Science and history at its best’ MARK HONIGSBAUM
‘Unpicks everything we thought we knew… Mind blowing’ CAL FLYN

A TIMES SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
A SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

‘Compulsive . . . A wonderful display of how modern archaeology can bring hidden histories to life’ Daily  Telegraph  

‘Gripping . . . I found it hard to put down’ Evening  Standard

‘Gripping? Fascinating? While bodily remains tell excellent tales, they require an equally vivid historical context if they are to come fully alive’  Guardian

‘Another really good book from archaeologist Alice Roberts . . . Helps you understand the facts on a technical level, but also makes you feel them in your bones’ New Scientist  

The new book by  Sunday Times  bestselling author of  Ancestors  and  Buried  – the final instalment in Professor Alice Roberts’ acclaimed trilogy.

We can unlock secrets from bones preserved for centuries in tombs, graves and crypts.

The history of the Middle Ages is typically the story of the rich and powerful, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives. Archaeology represents another way of interrogating our history. By using cutting-edge science to examine human remains and burials, it is possible to unearth details about how individuals lived and died that give us a new understanding of the past – one that is more intimate and inclusive than ever before.
 
The seven stories in Crypt are not comforting tales. We meet the patients at one of the earliest hospitals in England and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre. We see a society struggling to make sense of disease, disability and death, as incurable epidemics sweep through medieval Europe. We learn of a protracted battle between Church and State that led to the murder of Thomas Becket and the destruction of the most famous tomb in England. And we come face to face with the archers who went down with Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose.
 
Beautifully written and expertly researched by Professor Alice Roberts, Crypt is packed with thrilling discoveries that will make you see the history of Britain afresh.

Bill Gates believes the answer is yes, and in this book he lays out clearly and convincingly what the world should have learned from COVID-19 and what all of us can do to ward off another disaster like it. Relying on the shared knowledge of the world’s foremost experts and on his own experience of combating fatal diseases through the Gates Foundation, he first makes us understand the science of corona diseases. Then he helps us understand how the nations of the world, working in conjunction with one another and with the private sector, can not only ward off another COVID-like catastrophe but also go far to eliminate all respiratory diseases, including the flu.

Here is a clarion call – strong, comprehensive, and of the gravest importance – from one of our greatest and most effective thinkers and activists.

Challenges some of the greatest cliches about colonialism… A revelation’ SATHNAM SANGHERA
‘Thrilling and eye-opening‘ LEWIS DARTNELL
‘Science and history at its best’ MARK HONIGSBAUM
‘Unpicks everything we thought we knew… Mind blowing’ CAL FLYN

In this revelatory book, Dr Jonathan Kennedy argues that germs have shaped humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam.

How did an Indonesian volcano help cause the Black Death, setting Europe on the road to capitalism? How could 168 men extract the largest ransom in history from an opposing army of eighty thousand? And why did the Industrial Revolution lead to the birth of the modern welfare state?

The latest science reveals that infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a fundamental part of who we are. Indeed, the only reason humans don’t lay eggs is that a virus long ago inserted itself into our DNA, and there are as many bacteria in your body as there are human cells. We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong: evolution is not simply about human strength and intelligence, but about how we live and thrive in a world dominated by microbes.

By exploring the startling intimacy of our relationship with infectious diseases, Kennedy shows how they have been responsible for some of the seismic revolutions of the past 50,000 years. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story, revealing how the crisis of a pandemic can offer vital opportunities for change.