‘A gripping story full of glorious gems’ Fergus Henderson

‘Wild, funny, well researched, and full of flavour’ René Redzepi, founder of Noma

‘Clever, clear and insightful, this book is an indispensable guide to the new scientific and gastronomic frontier of fermentation’ Heston Blumenthal

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Embark on a tantalising journey into the weird and wonderful world of fermentation.

Dr Johnny Drain has spent his career exploring how fermentation has shaped the bodies we inhabit, the foods we eat and the world we live in. From making live yoghurt in his grandma’s kitchen, to fermenting butter at the world’s best restaurant, Noma, Dr Drain’s fascination with the magic of fermentation has led him around the globe. Adventures in Fermentation charts his culinary escapades and his scientific discoveries to create an unprecedented depiction of the power of the microbial world.

With irresistible wit and verve, chef and scientist Dr Drain illuminates the vast and unsung possibilities that fermentation brings to the table – from sweet enzyme syrups made from red mangos in Brazil to perfecting the fine art of fuzzy koji and umami-rich miso in Japan – and shares recipes for his culinary delights along the way.

Whether you are an aspiring fermenter, interested in how fermented food can improve your gut health, or simply curious about the wonders of microbial life, this book will transform the way you see – and taste – the world.

‘A compelling narrative of the human story’ TIM MARSHALL, author of Prisoners of Geography

‘Lively, rich and exciting… full of surprises’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
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Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.

These are the six most crucial substances in human history. They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They power our computers and phones, build our homes and offices, and create life-saving medicines. But most of us take them completely for granted.

In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe – from the sweltering depths of the deepest mine in Europe, to spotless silicon chip factories in Taiwan, to the eerie green pools where lithium originates – to uncover a secret world we rarely see. Revealing the true marvel of these substances, he follows the mind-boggling journeys, miraculous processes and little-known companies that turn the raw materials we all need into products of astonishing complexity.

As we wrestle with climate change, energy crises and the threat of new global conflict, Conway shows why these substances matter more than ever before, and how the hidden battle to control them will shape our geopolitical future. This is the story of civilisation – our ambitions and glory, innovations and appetites – from a new perspective: literally from the ground up.

‘You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.’  Kit Yates, author of  The Maths of Life and Death

Ka-boom! probes extremes of size and speed, depth and density, and reveals the stickiest, sweetest, smelliest and nastiest substances known to science.

In an unabashed celebration of the exceptional, David Darling takes an enlightening journey through the universe’s weirdest and most wonderful extremes.

• Travel to far-flung galaxies in pursuit of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life.
• Journey to the rainforests of South America and discover the top-speed of the notoriously sluggish sloth.
• Find out how Earth’s hardiest creatures – tardigrades or ‘water bears’ – ended up living on the moon.
• And meet the scientists and engineers using these quirks of nature to design faster computers, produce greener energy and revolutionise space travel.

‘Lively, rich and exciting… full of surprises’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
_____________

Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.

These are the six most crucial substances in human history. They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They power our computers and phones, build our homes and offices, and create life-saving medicines. But most of us take them completely for granted.

In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe – from the sweltering depths of the deepest mine in Europe, to spotless silicon chip factories in Taiwan, to the eerie green pools where lithium originates – to uncover a secret world we rarely see. Revealing the true marvel of these substances, he follows the mind-boggling journeys, miraculous processes and little-known companies that turn the raw materials we all need into products of astonishing complexity.

As we wrestle with climate change, energy crises and the threat of new global conflict, Conway shows why these substances matter more than ever before, and how the hidden battle to control them will shape our geopolitical future. This is the story of civilisation – our ambitions and glory, innovations and appetites – from a new perspective: literally from the ground up.

Is flying dangerous? How much do the world’s cows weigh? And what makes people happy?

From Earth’s nations and inhabitants, through the fuels and foods that energize them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world – and how all of this affects the planet itself – in Numbers Don’t Lie, Professor Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking. Smil is on a mission to make facts matter, because after all, numbers may not lie, but which truth do they convey?

‘Smil’s title says it all: to understand the world, you need to follow the trendlines, not the headlines. This is a compelling, fascinating, and most important, realistic portrait of the world and where it’s going’ Steven Pinker

‘The best book to read to better understand our world. It should be on every bookshelf!’ Linda Yueh

‘There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil’ Guardian

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment and public policy. No other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. This is his first book for a more general readership.