The Day of the Locust and Miss Lonelyhearts

Nathanael West

"A sun-blazed Polaroid of its moment". (Jonathan Letham). In "The Day of the Locust" a young artist, Tod Hackett, arrives in LA full of dreams. But celebrity and artifice rule and he soon joins the ranks of the disenchanted that drift around the fringes of Hollywood. When he meets Faye Greener, an aspir...

Beauty and the Beast Classic Tales about Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World

Maria Tatar

The "tale as old as time," in versions from across the centuries and around the world--published to coincide with Disney's live-action 3D musical film starring Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, Audra McDonald, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, Dan Stevens, and Emma Thompson   Nearly every culture te...

Personality and Power: Builders and Destroyers of Modern Europe

Ian Kershaw

The acclaimed historian explores how far individual leaders can alter the course of historyThe modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless conte...