Welcome to my library.
Dog-eared paperbacks falling to pieces.
Second-hand books from the stores and barrows of four continents.
Modern first editions, some inscribed ...

In My Reading Life, a personal investigation into the nature of democracy, dictatorship, decency and the hardwired human condition, Bob Carr shares his profound love of books and reading - books you've never heard of, books you've always wanted to read, books you will rediscover afresh. Here are the essential clues to devouring Tolstoy, Proust, Flaubert, Solzhenitsyn and the Epic of Gilgamesh. From the social comedies of Anthony Powell and Patrick White and the tragedies of Sophocles and Shakespeare, to the twentieth century's darkest moment - Auschwitz - powerfully recounted by Primo Levi in If This Is a Man, Carr invites us to discover the most important testaments to the highs and lows of human nature. He discovers, through his great love of the written word, that decency can survive the greatest tests, giving us all cause for hope.

Shatter
Michael Robotham

A naked woman in red high-heeled shoes is perched on the edge of Clifton Suspension Bridge with her back pressed to the safety fence, weeping into a mobile phone. Clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin is only feet away, desperately trying to talk her down. She whispers, 'you don't understand,' and jumps. Later, Joe has a visitor - the woman's teenage daughter, a runaway from boarding school. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge - not only would she not commit suicide, she is terrified of heights. Joe wants to believe her, but what would drive a woman to such a desperate act? Whose voice? What evil?

A Family History of Smoking
Andrew Riemer

A Family History of Smoking is a wonderfully compelling memoir about two European Jewish families living through the last gasps of the Austro-Humgarian Empire. Andrew Riemer begins his memoir with the story of his great-grandfather David, an inveterate cigar smoker, and his family's journey to becoming cosmopolitan Europeans thanks to the multicultural ideals of the Austro-Hungarian world. It follows the cruel disappointment of those dreams and ideals when a sense of Jewishness was forced on them and turned into the source of their persecution in the first half of the twentieth century.A Family History of Smoking is a humorous, engrossing account of family life. It is also a moving, beautifully written portrait of a world that literally went up in smoke.

The End of Charity
Nic Frances

Nic Frances is a social entrepreneur. He once worked for charity. This is the story of how he came to understand that charity can never deliver a just and sustainable world. It is only through a value-centred market economy that we will ever see real social change.Breaking new ground and drawing on his encounters with business and social leaders around the world as well as his own richly-lived experiences, Nic Frances leads us through his principles of social entrepreneurship. He introduces us to the powerful idea that the market can be a tool for delivering a range of values besides profit. He explains the growing recognition that corporate social responsibility benefits businesses as well as the community and that welfare organisations will only be really effective when they start exploring social enterprise and corporate partnerships.

Fateful Choices
Ian Kershaw

In 1940 the world was on a knife-edge. The hurricane of events that marked the opening of the Second World War meant that anything could happen. For the aggressors there was no limit to their ambitions; for their victims a new Dark Age beckoned. Over the next few months their fates would be determined. In Fateful Choices Ian Kershaw re-creates the ten critical decisions taken between May 1940, when Britain chose not to surrender, and December 1941, when Hitler decided to destroy Europe's Jews, showing how these choices would recast the entire course of history.

Gun Shy
Ben Rehder

It's just days before the National Weapons Alliance rally in Blanco County, and things couldn't be off to a worse start. First, an illegal immigrant is killed in a questionable hunting accident. Then, when local game warden John Marlin starts poking around for clues, he uncovers an astonishing secret - one that threatens to bring down the NWA. Turns out the host of this year's rally, heartthrob country superstar Mitch Campbell, is not the Stetson-wearing, gun-toting, bull-riding man he appears to be...and someone's planning to out him for the pill-popping, snowboarding, former rock-and-roller from Vermont he really is. Soon the entire town of Blanco finds itself in the dead centre of a national scandal...and heading straight into the line of fire.

Evidence and Evolution
Elliott Sober

How should the concept of evidence be understood? And how does the concept of evidence apply to the controversy about creationism as well as to work in evolutionary biology about natural selection and common ancestry? In this rich and wide-ranging book, Elliott Sober investigates general questions about probability and evidence and shows how the answers he develops to those questions apply to the specifics of evolutionary biology. Drawing on a set of fascinating examples, he analyzes whether claims about intelligent design are untestable; whether they are discredited by the fact that many adaptations are imperfect; how evidence bears on whether present species trace back to common ancestors; how hypotheses about natural selection can be tested, and many other issues. His book will interest all readers who want to understand philosophical questions about evidence and evolution, as they arise both in Darwin's work and in contemporary biological research.

1080 Recipes
Simone Ortega

"1080 Recetas De Cocina" is a comprehensive collection of traditional and authentic Spanish recipes, covering everything from tortilla to bacalao. This title has been a bestseller in Spain since it was first published, and with over 2 million copies sold it can be found in most kitchens across the country. The book's author is considered to be the doyenne of cooking in Spain and has written about food for numerous years, including for magazines and in books. Since its first publication, over 35 years ago, "1080" has undergone several updates to keep it relevant to modern living while still preserving the integrity of the original book.
Usually $69.95 - now $49.95 (while stock lasts)

The Australian People
James Jupp

Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse societies in the world today. From its ancient indigenous origins to British colonisation followed by waves of European then international migration in the 20th century, the island continent is home to people from all over the globe. Each new wave of settlers has had a profound impact on Australian society and culture. The Australian People documents the dramatic history of Australian settlement and describes the rich ethnic and cultural inheritance of the nation through the contributions of its people. It is one of the largest reference works of its kind, with approximately 250 expert contributors and almost one million words.
Usually $150 - now $49.95 (while stock lasts)

The 2008 Springer Yellow Sale is now on.
Big savings on outstanding mathematics titles!