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It's Mine

Steven Boykey Sidley

‘Crypto’, a loose term that means many things to different people, only entered the public consciousness within the last five years or so, now evident by the volume of public discussion, commentary and analysis spread across every conceivable media outlet.

Cryptography has been around for millennia, but Bitcoin only arose in 2009, and it was the spark that has taken crypto from a small group of enthusiasts into a many-tentacled creature, now attaching itself to an astonishing number of projects across all manner of applications, challenging both public and private power centres and long-established norms as it spreads. Starting with the emergence of cryptocurrencies, a whole new host of life-forms have emerged – NFTs, the metaverse, Defi, Web3 and DAOs – all of them changing the very notion of ownership.

It’s Mine digs into the history and concept of ‘ownership’, which ecosystems nurture it, and where we are now. Filled with anecdotes, observations and interviews, the book takes an entertaining and accessible look at how Bitcoin made its mark, how its technology is being re-purposed to enable a revolution, and (in non-technical terms) how it all works. It explores how these new crypto ‘life-forms’ will interact with the rest of the virtual and physical world, while making some very rich and some very poor.

Your Brain Is Playing Tricks on You

Albert Moukheiber

Why are we often convinced that we’re right even when we’re wrong?
Why are we jealous, or paranoid, even when we have absolutely no reason to be?
Why is it so easy for fake news to spread around the globe and fool us?

It’s because we don’t see the world as it is, rather we reconstruct it in our mind. Reality is way too complex and multiple to be apprehended by our capacities of attention, which are quite limited, as well as our brain abilities. That is why our perception of the world is subjective and various elements influence the way we acquire knowledge and form opinions. Our brain is recreating the world in its own way – most of the time for our own good: how hard would it be if, before making a choice, we had to know about all the options available in a given situation? It would take us forever to choose an item of clothing in a store, or a meal in a restaurant! Luckily, our brain can estimate: even if it makes us imperfect and subject to illusion, delusion and error, it allows us to reconstruct the world as we know it, and live in it.

However, these very useful mechanisms can sometimes mislead us and have a rather negative impact on our actions, beliefs and opinions: when our brain behaves that way, we say it is biased. Albert Moukheiber gives us tips and tricks to fight against these cognitive biases – the first one being not to trust ourselves too much and to always doubt our thinking processes, especially in this era where social networks spread information like an epidemic. In this book, filled with multiple examples from our daily lives and psychosocial experiments, Moukheiber explores the building blocks of our perception, cognition and behaviour, which are involved in acquiring knowledge or forming opinions.

D Is for Death

Sophie Duffy

Explore the mysteries of mortality in D is for Death as Sophie Duffy takes you on an unforgettable alphabetical journey through life's ultimate enigma.

From accidents and bodies to contagion and ghosts, each letter unveils a new facet of our shared human experience with death. Delve into the peculiar choices for the disposal of your corpse, uncover the power of elegies and epitaphs, and venture into the realm of the paranormal. Reflect on the impact of climate change, explore the significance of war and ponder the mysteries that defy explanation. Learn the secrets of the ancient yew tree and celebrate death's place in cultures around the world.

D is for Death is not just a book: it's a captivating and thought-provoking adventure that challenges perceptions and leaves you with a profound appreciation for the one certainty that binds us all – the journey from A to Z, where death becomes a quirky guide through life's mysteries.

Food Sanity

David Friedman

During his 25 years as a holistic practitioner and health expert on syndicated TV and radio, Dr. David Friedman has interviewed hundreds of world-renowned doctors and best-selling authors. From proponents of a Vegan, Paleo, Mediterranean Diet, Keto, to a Gluten Free and Low Carb Diet, the opinions are as different as night and day.

After becoming frustrated with all the conflicting research and opinions, Dr. Friedman wrote Food Sanity, which explores all the fads, facts and fiction. Using a common science meets common sense approach, this groundbreaking book finally answers the question, what should we be eating?

In this International award-winning, #1 best-selling book, Food Sanity shares never-before-heard nutritional and dieting advice that will ensure they get the maximum benefits from their food and dietary supplements. Unfortunately, people can’t solely rely on scientific studies because those can change, sometimes weekly. Plus, many of them are bought and paid for. Dr. Friedman breaks through the culinary conundrum and offers an easy to follow blueprint to getting healthy, losing weight and preventing disease.

Wolfram Wars: Exposing The Secret Battle in Portugal

Rod Ashley

Wolfram – also known as Tungsten – is about more than electric light bulbs. Its more deadly claim-to-fame rests in its armour-piercing qualities.

During WWII, Wolfram was in great demand with both the Allies and Axis powers who scoured the globe for the precious material; indeed, they deployed huge resources to secure supplies whilst simultaneously doing their best to sabotage and undermine one another.

The greatest beneficiary from these shadowy dealings was Portugal, a neutral country, under the control of the mercurial António de Oliveira Salazar. The sudden surge in demand created great wealth and bustling ‘gold rush towns’ deep in Portugal’s remote mountainous interior, but threatened to undermine Salazar’s grand vision for his country.

Wolfram Wars examines the role of Portugal in the Wolfram trade, alongside the exploits of its British, American and German customers. It takes in the glitz and glamour of wartime Lisbon, the mischievous dealings of intelligence services, and includes some of WWII’s most interesting spies – spies with code names such as Garbo, Tricycle, and Treasure. A certain young intelligence officer and creator of James Bond – Ian Fleming – also has a role to play.

Appealing to connoisseurs of WWII history, Wolfram Wars is a story that offers adventure, intrigue and espionage, and a fascinating insight into this little-known but hugely important aspect to the war.

Louie, Take a Look at This!

Luis A. Fuerte, David Duron

“We fans want a breezy, informative, intimate book about Huell, and Luis Fuerte delivers with Louie, Take a Look at This!” ―John Rabe, Off-Ramp, KPCC/NPR

“Fuerte’s narrative is measured, almost diplomatic at times, protective of both his late friend’s legacy and his own, giving proper due to Howser’s perfectionism, his good-heartedness and his eccentricities…. Fuerte comes off just as generous of spirit as his friend, and you can sense his indulgent amusement when he writes about some of Howser’s zany quirks.” ―L.A. Weekly

Huell Howser, the exuberant, hugely popular host of California’s Gold and other California public-television shows, was always exclaiming to the camera, "Louie, take a look at this!" Now, three years after Howser's death, Louie—aka Luis Fuerte, a five-time Emmy-winning cameraman—shares the stories of their adventures exploring California, making great television, and showcasing Howser's infectious love for the Golden State.

The Wolf's Shadow

G J Williams

1558: The body of Thomas Seymour is found hanging naked in an oak tree at Hatfield House, the home of Elizabeth Tudor, the Queen’s sister. But Thomas Seymour was supposedly beheaded nine years to the day on Tower Hill. How did he return from the dead, only to die again?

Doctor John Dee and Margaretta, assisted by his pupil Christopher, are charged with unravelling the mystery. But then there is a kidnapping, a ransom threat and more bodies appear.

Amongst secrets and rumours, the scandal of the Seymour Affair threatens to resurface. Elizabeth’s road to the throne could be ruined and with that comes the fall of the Tudor Dynasty.

Can John Dee keep Elizabeth’s secret before it casts a shadow over them all?

Our Next Reality

Alvin W. Graylin, Louis Rosenberg

“Our Next Reality does a fantastic job of giving a balanced and insightful analysis to some of the most pressing questions our society will face in the near future. The material is data driven, digestible, and very actionable.” RAY KURZWEIL, Author/Entrepreneur/Futurist

“A wide-reaching exploration of the intersections between AI, VR and AR: it’s a mind-opener, and a source of reflection on how transformative and still unknown the future of communication, personal technology and even personal privacy might become.” SCOTT STEIN, Editor at Large, CNET

Over the last 100 years, technology has changed our world. Over the next decade it will transform our reality.

We are entering a new technological age in which artificial intelligence and immersive media will transform society at all levels, mediating our lives by altering what we see, hear, and experience. Powered by immersive eyewear and driven by interactive AI agents, this new age of computing has the potential to make our world a magical place where the boundaries between the real and the virtual, the human and the artificial, rapidly fade away. If managed well, this could unleash a new age of abundance. If managed poorly, this technological revolution could easily go astray, deeply compromising our privacy, autonomy, agency, and even our humanity.

In Our Next Reality, two industry veterans provide a data-driven debate on whether the new world we’re creating will be a technological utopia or an AI-powered dystopia and give guidance on how to aim for the best future we can. With a Foreword by renowned author Neal Stephenson and section contributions from industry thought-leaders such as Peter H. Diamandis, Tom Furness, Phillip Rosedale, Tony Parisi, Avi Bar Zeev and Walter Parkes, this book answers over a dozen of the most pressing questions we face as artificial intelligence and spatial computing accelerates the digitization of our world. Find out why our actions in the next decade could determine the trajectory of our species for countless millennia.

“For anyone who wants to use AI and XR to help build the future, read this book to help you skillfully navigate a future of unprecedented danger and promise.” JASON HINER, Editor in Chief, ZDNet

“Our Next Reality really is a must-read for anyone who wants to prepare for the massive AI and XR driven disruption coming our way.” CHARLIE FINK, Author | Adjunct | Forbes Tech Columnist

Palace Rogue

William Coles

Kim is not your average member of Her Majesty’s palace staff – but then he shouldn’t be on the staff at all. He’s in fact a Sun staff reporter who’s wormed his way into Buckingham Palace to pick up every bit of dirt and gossip that he can lay his hands on.

Along the way, Kim is faced with many surprising aspects of Palace life that even he didn’t see coming.

Based on the true story of the tabloid hack who became a Queen’s footman, Palace Rogue is a charming, uplifting and utterly outrageous story of love and secrets – all of it set in the heart of one of the world’s most famous houses. 

​'A plump and cheerful romp through royal corridors and bedrooms' Tunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal

Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar

Olga Wojtas

Never underestimate a librarian.

Intelligent cosy crime series with razor-sharp wit and an unlikely hero, for fans of P.G. Wodehouse and Muriel Spark

"The crème de la crème of crime debuts.” Al Guthrie

"Delightful." Guardian

Fifty-something Shona McMonagle is a proud former pupil of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls, but has a deep loathing for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which she thinks gives her alma mater a bad name.

Impeccably educated and an accomplished martial artist, linguist and musician, Shona is thrilled when selected by Marcia Blaine herself to travel back in time for a one-week mission in 19th-century Russia: to pair up the beautiful, shy, orphaned heiress Lidia Ivanovna with Sasha, a handsome young man of unexplained origins — and all in a gorgeously Tolstoyan setting.

But, despite all her accomplishments and good intentions, Shona might well have got the wrong end of the stick about her mission. As the body count rises, will she discover in time just who the real villain is?

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace

Olga Wojtas

Never underestimate a librarian.

"Audacious, witty and fun." Herald

Intelligent cosy crime series with razor-sharp wit and an unlikely hero, for fans of P.G. Wodehouse and Muriel Spark

Intrepid, fifty-something librarian Shona McMonagle, erstwhile Marcia Blaine Academy prefect, finds herself in an isolated French mountain village, where she must solve a mystery involving the mayor, the cheesemonger, the soprano Mary Garden, and even Count Dracula himself.

Shona has been personally selected by school founder Marcia Blaine to travel back in time for this important mission in fin-de-siècle France – a curiously Gothic setting. But she finds it all very confusing. Why, for example, have so many people been torn to death by wild animals, what are Maman and the mayor up to, and is the reclusive aristocrat really suffering from toothache?

It’s a race against time to solve the mystery. It is also a very tall order – but as Shona is wont to remind herself: Never underestimate a librarian!

Revelation

K.J. Gillenwater

* The explosive conclusion in The Genesis Machine saga. *

The last piece of the puzzle is about to fall into place – and the truth is more terrifying than anyone imagined.

Time is running out for Charlie and the NCIS. After another pod survivor lands in the desert outside Las Vegas, a surprise encounter drives a wedge through the tight-knit group and sends the team spiralling into chaos.

When Special Agent Demarco goes rogue on a revenge-fueled vendetta, Charlie and the remains of her team are catapulted on a collision course with a final explosive confrontation. Struggling to assemble the last pieces of the puzzle, she discovers an alarming secret partnership... along with a malevolent plan that must be stopped at all costs.

And after she unearths a secret lab with a discovery that threatens the entire human race, Charlie realizes that the truth behind the pods is far more horrifying than she ever could have guessed... and that not everyone is getting out of this alive.