We’ve independently chosen our favourite titles to sell in our bookshops and online. And remember – we offer Free Postage in ROI on orders over €30 – just choose the Free Postage option at checkout.
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The world is so much more complex than young minds can fathom, from molten-hot rock and smouldering volcanoes to icy glaciers and bubbling springs. This book about the Earth unlocks all the mysteries of our living, breathing planet. An Anthology of Our Extraordinary Earth looks at our constantly changing planet, with striking images and scientific ideas that are easy for children to understand. Starting at the centre of the Earth, the book examines each layer in forensic detail: from Earth's metallic core, drilling through Earth's tough crust until emerging out onto the planet's surface, with its lush green rainforests, sparkling oceans, and snow-capped mountains, before sailing up into Earth's airy atmosphere. This detailed planet earth book for kids offers: - More than 100 stories about planet Earth, from snowflakes to cave pearls, each one accompanied by a photograph and delightful illustration. - Creative photography that presents planet Earth in surprising and remarkable ways, capturing nature in action or showing intriguing features up close. - Beautiful gold foil, gilded edges, and a ribbon for keeping your place. - In-depth feature pages that examine each layer of Earth. This striking book won't fail to excite budding geologists, geographers, environmentalists, and all-round planet Earth enthusiasts everywhere. With foil on the cover, gilded edges, and a ribbon for keeping your place, this earth book makes an attractive gift for any child who is fascinated by our planet. With engaging information and absorbing images, this anthology is great for children to explore by themselves or for bedtime stories. Great for Ages 7-12. Published 5th October 2023 - Order Now. -
Enjoy more than 100 extraordinary stories of unusual species, behaviours, and objects all told by author Ben Hoare. Why do Mexican jumping beans jump? How do sea cucumbers defend themselves? What causes the northern lights? This book is filled with facts about the most surprising and curious plants, animals, rocks, and phenomena in nature. Children can read stories of more than one hundred unique animals, plants and phenomena and learn about the weird and wonderful side of the natural world. This fascinating nature book for kids offers: Facts from a range of topics, from animals to plants and rocks to natural phenomena, that are guaranteed to wow adults and children alike - Large photographs that show each species or item in incredible detail, with diagrams help to support understanding - A gold foil cover and beautiful illustrations, making this book an ideal gift for young nature lovers. In Weird and Wonderful Nature, Ben Hoare's friendly, informative explanations are paired with photographs and charming illustrations to make sure every page captivates the imagination, while a glossary and index help to navigate the chapters. Great for Ages 7-12. -
628 people in human history have left the Earth. In 'Space: The Human Story' astronaut Tim Peake traces the lives of these remarkable men and women who have forged the way, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson. Full of exclusive new stories, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book conveys what space exploration is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the newfound perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry. The book also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronauts back on Earth, whose lives are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma. Publication of the book comes on the eve of NASA's plans to return to the moon, fifty years after an astronaut last walked on the lunar surface. In 2024 the Artemis II mission will send four astronauts to orbit the moon. In 2025 Artemis III will send the first woman and the first person of colour to step on the lunar surface. What will separate these upcoming moonwalkers from the legendary Apollo crews? Does it still take a daring-do attitude, super-human fitness, intelligence, plus the 'Right-stuff' - a fabled grace under pressure? And how will astronauts travel even further - to Mars and beyond? Space: The Human Story reveals all. Published 26th October 2023 - Order Now. -
Obvious questions do not always have obvious answers. John Gribbin is known for giving us simple explanations of big concepts in science. But there is another way to probe the mysteries of the Universe and our place in it. Faced with persistent enquiries from his grandchildren, Gribbin realised that simple questions, such as 'Why is the sky blue?', sometimes require big answers, understandable in straightforward language. In answering those simple questions, he discovered that he was telling the story of our place in the Universe, from the Big Bang to the evolutionary reasons why men are, on average, bigger than women. The questions may be obvious, but the answers are sometimes surprising and highlight one of the main joys of science - discovering the unexpected. In this book, Gribbin invites the reader to join him on this voyage of discovery, where you may think you already know the answers but should be prepared to be surprised - or at least, tantalised by the truth. Published 26th October 2023 - Order Now. -
Previously published as The Hard Sell. Now a major film streaming on NETFLIX. John Kapoor had already made a small fortune in pharmaceuticals when he developed a highly potent fentanyl-based painkiller that was as addictive as it was effective. Desperate to make the most of his new drug, he brought together an ambitious, persuasive and relentless group of young recruits who were willing to do anything to profit from this seemingly life-chanigng medicine. This is the inside story of hustlers turned millionaires and a shocking expose of how opioids entered the national bloodstream. 'A fast-paced and maddening account' - The New York Times Book Review 'I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. A tour de force.' - Patrick Radden Keefe, award-winning author of Empire of Pain 'Everyone should read this book' - Sheelagh Kolhatkar, author of Black Edge Published 12th October 2023 - Order Now. -
In her late-twenties, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the pace of modern city life, Rosie Steer found solace in the traditions she had been brought up with, influenced by her Scottish roots, that celebrated nature and observed the small steady shifts in the seasons. The Celtic Wheel of the year is an ancient seasonal cycle that aligns with solar events - the solstices, equinoxes and their midpoints. For each mini-season, Rosie shares nature notes for what we can look out for as the days get warmer or cooler, the nights longer or shorter, alongside activities, things to make, flowers or fruit to forage, seasonal recipes to enjoy and a modern take on the traditional celebrations. As the Wheel turns towards Mabon on 23rd September, we can look forward to making Autumn Wreaths as the leaves start to turn golden, and celebrate the abundance of the hedgerows with Elderberry tonic and Apple and star anise cake. By slowing down and paying attention to the ebbs and flows of nature, we can find moments of calm whenever we need them. Published 12th October 2023 - Order Now. -
It's now cheaper to save the world than destroy it. Our age will be defined by the climate emergency. But contrary to the doomist narrative that's taken hold, the world has already begun deploying the solutions needed to deal with it. On a journey across five continents, Climate Capitalism tracks the unlikely heroes driving the fight against climate change. From the Chinese bureaucrat who did more to make electric cars a reality than Elon Musk, to the Danish students who helped to build the world's longest-operating wind turbine, or the American oil executive building the technology that can reverse climate damages, we meet the people working to scale technologies that are finally able to bend the emissions curve. Through stories that bring people, policy and technology together, Akshat Rathi reveals how the green economy is not only possible, but profitable. This inspiring blend of business, science, and history provides the framework for ensuring that future generations can live in prosperity and that the wheels of progress don't falter. 'Dazzling and deeply reported' David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth. -
How did wet nurses drive civilization? Are women always the weaker sex? Is sexism useful for evolution? And are our bodies at war with our babies? In Eve, Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, she covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it's an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Bohannon's findings, including everything from the way C-sections in the industrialized world are rearranging women's pelvic shape to the surprising similarities between pus and breast milk, will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens have become such a successful and dominant species, from tool use to city building to the development of language. Published 12th October 2023 - Order Now. -
From the renowned naturalist Stephen Moss, bestselling author of The Robin, The Wren and The Swan comes a new instalment in his beloved bird biography series. Uncover the secret life of owls through this beautiful guide to these secretive and charismatic birds. Owls are among the most mysterious birds in the world. Their hauntingly beautiful calls and mostly nocturnal habits have long captured our collective imagination, inspiring more superstitions, folktales and myths than any other group of birds. Seven species of owl - the tawny, little, barn, long-eared, short-eared, snowy and eagle owl - can be found in the British Isles (out of sixteen different kinds across Europe). They have lived alongside people for thousands of years, yet we still know so little about their day-to-day lives. Discover their fascinating lives, from the moment they first hatch, to the way they hunt their prey and how they raise the next generation. Explore the rich folklore they've inspired around the world and learn how, with a bit of luck, you can catch a glimpse of them yourself. With beautiful illustrations throughout, and expert birdwatching tips, this eye-opening biography reveals the hidden secrets of one of the world's most famous and beloved birds. Published 5th October 2023 - Order Now. -
A Brief History of Intelligence bridges the gap between AI and neuroscience by telling the evolutionary story of how the brain came to be. The entirety of the human brain's 4-billion-year story can be summarised as the culmination of five evolutionary breakthroughs, starting from the very first brains, all the way to the modern human brains. Each breakthrough emerged from new sets of brain modifications, and equipped animals with a new suite of intellectual faculties. These five breakthroughs are the organising map to this book, and they make up our itinerary for our adventure back in time. Each breakthrough also has fascinating corollaries to breakthroughs in AI. Indeed, there will be plenty of such surprises along the way. For instance: the innovation that enabled AI to beat humans in the game of Go - temporal difference reinforcement learning - was an innovation discovered by our fish ancestors over 500 million years ago. The solutions to many of the current mysteries in AI - such as 'common sense' - can be found in the tiny brain of a mouse. Where do emotions come from? Research suggests that they may have arisen simply as a solution to navigation in ancient worm brains. Unravelling this evolutionary story will reveal the hidden features of human intelligence and with them, just how your mind came to be. Published 24th October 2023 - Order Now. -
The late Michael Viney was an Irish Times contributor, broadcaster, film-maker and natural-history author. In 1977 he abandoned a busy and successful media career in Dublin for 'Another Life' with his wife, Ethna, in Thallabawn, Co Mayo. His chronicles of that life became classics of Irish journalism. Foreword by Michael Longley. Published 10th October 2023 - Order Now. -
The official tie-in to the third instalment in the legendary Planet Earth franchise. Few places on Earth remain untouched by humans, creating challenges for the wildlife we share it with. We have entered a new age, and we must look at the splendour of the natural world through a different lens. From the depths of our oceans, to scorching deserts and the darkest jungles, Planet Earth III features spectacular places and surprising animal behaviours from all corners of our world. And for the first time, a human element is introduced to each landscape, highlighting how, in the age of the Anthropocene, today's planet has been forever changed by humanity and that wildlife now faces new challenges in our crowded, modern world. Featuring over 250 beautiful full-colour photographs, Planet Earth III reveals the wonders and trials of life on an increasingly fragile planet, bringing you closer than ever before to our world's most intriguing species, unseen landscapes and natural phenomena. Published 19th October 2023 - Order Now. -
Today there are 20 million species on our planet. Yet what we see is just a snapshot in time. 99% of Earth's inhabitants are lost to our deep past. The story of what happened to these lineages - their rise and their fall - is truly remarkable. Accompanying the ground-breaking series, Life on Our Planet tells the story of life's epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth, showing in a new light what's been lost to us, and how life's future is now being written by us. From ancient ocean worlds and plant life's first forays onto land, to the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and the devastation of the last Ice Age, this is a sweeping view of evolution, through five extinctions and, with the arrival of humans on earth, the beginning of the sixth... With over 200 photos and images from the groundbreaking Netflix series, Life on Our Planet is an unforgettable journey to our ancient past, containing powerful lessons to learn about our future. Published 19th October 2023 - Order Now. -
One of the world's greatest scientists of human behaviour shows that free will does not exist - and challenges us to rethink the very notion of choice, identity, responsibility, justice, morality and how we live together. Behind every thought, action and experience there lies a chain of biological and environmental causes, stretching back from the moment a neuron fires to the dawn of our species and beyond. Nowhere in this infinite sequence is there a place where free will could play a role. Without free will, it makes no more sense to punish people for antisocial behaviour than it does to scold a car for breaking down. It is no one's fault they are poor or overweight or unsuccessful, nor do people deserve praise for their talent or hard work; 'grit' is a myth. This mechanistic view of human behaviour challenges our most powerful instincts, but history suggests that we have already made great strides toward it: where once we saw demonic possession or cowardice, for example, now we diagnose illness or trauma and offer help. Determined confronts us with our true nature: who and what we are is biology and nothing more. Disturbing and liberating in equal measure, it explores the far-reaching implications for society of accepting this reality. Monumentally difficult as it may be, the reward will be a far more just and humane world. Published 19th October 2023 - Order Now. -
'White Holes edifies, excites, and even transforms me' Maggie Nelson. A mesmerizing trip to the strange new world of white holes, from Carlo Rovelli, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. Let us journey into the heart of a black hole. Let us slip beyond its boundary, the horizon, and tumble - on and on - down this crack in the universe. As we plunge, we'll see geometry fold, we'll feel the equations draw tight around us. Eventually, we'll pass it: the remains of a star, deep and dense and falling further far. And then - the bottom. Where time and space end, and the white hole is born... With lightness and magic, here Carlo Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we've not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole. Published 26th October 2023. Order Now. -
The Sea Area Forecast is broadcast daily on RTE radio at 6 a.m. and midnight. Foretelling fair days or fierce storms coming in across our seas, it has become a national institution - its hypnotic, rhythmic language as reassuring as the Angelus. Acting as a gentle morning wake-up call and a soothing bedtime lullaby, it transports us to faraway places and describes weather patterns we can't comprehend. From Mizen Head to Malin, Valentia to Loop Head, and Carlingford Lough to Hook Head - rising or falling slowly, backing south-east to north-east or veering south-to-south-west - it has a unique language all of its own, but what does it all mean? Here, meteorologist Joanna Donnelly takes readers on a journey around Ireland's Sea Area Forecast, visiting the places that are a familiar part of the daily broadcast and explaining its unique history, language and science. Published 5th October 2023 - Order Now. -
Let national treasure Professor Noel Fitzpatrick - the Supervet - break your heart and put it back together again in this beautiful new Christmas story. 'With you by my side, just doing my best was the best thing to do.' Keira is an extraordinary dog. She held the key to Noel's heart from the moment he first met her. That's because Keira doesn't judge. When Noel struggles, Keira is there to remind him he need only do his best. When he sees only darkness, Keira is ready to lift him back into the light. Keira & Me is the real-life story of Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick, his companion Keira and their life together. It captures the incredible bond of unconditional love between us and our canine friends. Inspiring and healing in equal measure, this beautifully illustrated and deeply heartfelt story of Noel and Keira's journey together teaches us all how to embrace the ups with the downs, the joy and the sorrow, the darkness and the light, that make up a life. For animal lovers everywhere, or anyone who needs a little comfort this Christmas, Keira & Me promises to break your heart and put it back together again - even better than it was before. Published 26th October 2023 - Order Now. -
A powerful reframing of mental health, grounded in cutting-edge neuroscientific research. There are many routes to mental wellbeing and award-winning neuroscientist Camilla Nord is at the forefront of finding them. In this ground-breaking book, she offers a revelatory tour of the scientific and technological developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events - and treatments - can affect people in such different ways. In The Balanced Brain, Nord reframes mental health as an intricate, self-regulating process, one which is different for all of us. She examines a huge diversity of treatments, from therapy and medication to recreational drugs and electrical brain stimulation, to show how they work, and why they sometimes don't. In doing so, she reveals how the small things we do to lift our mood during the course of a day - a piece of chocolate, a coffee, chatting to a friend - often work on the same pathways in our brain as the latest pharmacological treatments for mental health disorders. Whether they help us to manage pain, learn from experience or expend energy on the things that are important for our survival, these conscious actions are part of a complex process that is unique to each individual and the constant backdrop to our everyday lives. Nord shows that, with so many factors at play, there are more possibilities for recovery and resilience than we might think. Whether you're suffering or simply doing your best to stay afloat, this book is an invitation to discover what makes each of us feel better, and why. 'Simply brilliant. This is science writing at its best. If you want to understand mental health - really understand it - read this book' Nichola Raihani