The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. But the history of God is also the history of human struggle. While Judaism, Islam and Christianity proclaim the goodness of God, organised religion has too often been the catalyst for violence and ineradicable prejudice. In this fascinating, extensive and original account of the evolution of belief, Karen Armstrong examines Western societys unerring fidelity to this idea of One God and the many conflicting convictions it engenders. A controversial, extraordinary story of worship and war, A History of God confronts the most fundamental fact - or fiction - of our lives.

The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. But the history of God is also the history of human struggle. While Judaism, Islam and Christianity proclaim the goodness of God, organised religion has too often been the catalyst for violence and ineradicable prejudice. In this fascinating, extensive and original account of the evolution of belief, Karen Armstrong examines Western societys unerring fidelity to this idea of One God and the many conflicting convictions it engenders. A controversial, extraordinary story of worship and war, A History of God confronts the most fundamental fact - or fiction - of our lives.

The idea of a single devine being - God, Yahweh, Allah - has existed for over 4,000 years. But the history of God is also the history of human struggle. While Judaism, Islam and Christianity proclaim the goodness of God, organised religion has too often been the catalyst for violence and ineradicable prejudice. In this fascinating, extensive and original account of the evolution of belief, Karen Armstrong examines Western society's unerring fidelity to this idea of One God and the many conflicting convictions it engenders. A controversial, extraordinary story of worship and war, A History of God confronts the most fundamental fact - or fiction - of our lives.

'Because "God" is infinite, nobody can have the last word' What is this thing, religion, supposedly the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? What is 'God' and do we need 'Him' in our modern world? Karen Armstrong looks again at these questions in a refreshing and startling way. God is not to be 'believed in' as a child believes in Santa Claus; religion is not a story to be proven true or false, but a discipline akin to music or art that answers a deeply human need, and can teach us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture

Because "God" is infinite, nobody can have the last word What is this thing, religion, supposedly the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? What is God and do we need Him in our modern world? Karen Armstrong looks again at these questions in a refreshing and startling way. God is not to be believed in as a child believes in Santa Claus; religion is not a story to be proven true or false, but a discipline akin to music or art that answers a deeply human need, and can teach us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

Because "God" is infinite, nobody can have the last word What is this thing, religion, supposedly the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? What is God and do we need Him in our modern world? Karen Armstrong looks again at these questions in a refreshing and startling way. God is not to be believed in as a child believes in Santa Claus; religion is not a story to be proven true or false, but a discipline akin to music or art that answers a deeply human need, and can teach us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

In this remarkable and groundbreaking book, Kenan Malik explores the history of moral thought as it has developed over three millennia, from Homer’s Greece to Mao’s China, from ancient India to modern America. It tells the stories of the great philosophers, and breathes life into their ideas, while also challenging many of our most cherished moral beliefs. Engaging and provocative, The Quest for a Moral Compass confronts some of humanity’s deepest questions. Where do values come from? Is God necessary for moral guidance? Are there absolute moral truths? It also brings morality down to earth, showing how, throughout history, social needs and political desires have shaped moral thinking. It is a history of the world told through the history of moral thought, and a history of moral thought that casts new light on global history. At a time of great social turbulence and moral uncertainty, there will be few histories more important than this.

From the internationally bestselling author of Zealot comes a fascinating, provocative and meticulously researched history of humanity's relationship with the divine. The New York Times Bestseller In God, Reza Aslan sheds new light on mankind's relationship with the divine and challenges our perspective on the history of faith and the birth of religion. From the origins of spiritual thought to the concept of an active, engaged, divine presence that underlies all creation, Aslan examines how the idea of god arose in human evolution, was gradually personalized, endowed with human traits and emotions, and eventually transformed into a single Divine Personality: the God known today by such names as Yahweh, Father, and Allah. Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, God challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of religious belief, and with it our relationship with life and death, with the natural and spiritual worlds, and our understanding of the very essence of human existence.

Three thousand years ago, in the Southwest Asian lands we now call Israel and Palestine, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god called El. El had seventy children, who were gods in their own right. One of them was a minor storm deity, known as Yahweh. Yahweh had a body, a wife, offspring and colleagues. He fought monsters and mortals. He gorged on food and wine, wrote books, and took walks and naps. But he would become something far larger and far more abstract: the God of the great monotheistic religions. But as Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou reveals, God's cultural DNA stretches back centuries before the Bible was written, and persists in the tics and twitches of our own society, whether we are believers or not. The Bible has shaped our ideas about God and religion, but also our cultural preferences about human existence and experience; our concept of life and death; our attitude to sex and gender; our habits of eating and drinking; our understanding of history. Examining God's body, from his head to his hands, feet and genitals, she shows how the Western idea of God developed. She explores the places and artefacts that shaped our view of this singular God and the ancient religions and societies of the biblical world. And in doing so she analyses not only the origins of our oldest monotheistic religions, but also the origins of Western culture. Beautifully written, passionately argued and frequently controversial, God: An Anatomy is cultural history on a grand scale.

Penguin Island (1908) is a satirical fictional history, beginning with Christian missionary monk landing on the island. Mostly blind and deaf monk have mistaken auks for humans and baptized them. The God, who only allows human to be baptized, converted the birds into humans. Thus begins the history of Penguinia.

Penguin Island (1908) is a satirical fictional history, beginning with Christian missionary monk landing on the island. Mostly blind and deaf monk have mistaken auks for humans and baptized them. The God, who only allows human to be baptized, converted the birds into humans. Thus begins the history of Penguinia.

Winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, Kraken is a darkly comic, wildly absurd adventure by author of Perdido Street Station, China Mieville. Deep in the research wing of the Natural History Museum is a prize specimen, something that comes along much less often than once in a lifetime: a perfect, and perfectly preserved, giant squid. But what does it mean when the creature suddenly and impossibly disappears? For curator Billy Harrow it's the start of a headlong pitch into a London of warring cults, surreal magic, apostates and assassins. It might just be that the creature he's been preserving is more than a biological rarity: there are those who are sure it's a god. A god that someone is hoping will end the world.

A fly-on-the-wall account of the greatest drama in modern sporting history by the New York Times cycling correspondent. As Lance Armstrong’s precipitous fall from grace continues, New York Times sports reporter Juliet Macur takes the reader behind the scenes to bring to life the astonishing twists and turns of the scandal that has rocked the world of cycling. With unprecedented access to the key players in the drama – from Armstrong’s fellow cyclists and top cycling officials to doctors, trainers and wives – Cycle of Lies reveals how Armstrong built a fortress of people around him to protect his image and upend the lives of anybody who stood in his way. As America’s fallen idol faces potential perjury charges, Cycle of Lies widens the focus to expose corruption at all levels of the sport in a thrilling, page-turning work of contemporary narrative history.

In Etape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore will take readers on a virtual Tour de France, with each chapter focusing on a single rider in a single stage that came to define the Tour’s history. In Etape, critically acclaimed author Richard Moore tells the stories behind some of the defining stages in the Tour de France’s history through the eyes of the protagonists: the heroes and villains, stars and journeymen. Featuring exclusive new interviews with Mark Cavendish, Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, David Millar, Chris Boardman and many other Tour riders past and present, Etape spans six decades in conveying the mystery, beauty and madness of the world’s greatest bike race. The book includes Boardman’s famous debut in 1994, Cavendish’s best and worst stages, an emotionally charged win for Armstrong in Limoges in 1995 and his dramatic, drug-fuelled victory eight years later at Luz Ardiden, as well as iconic stages featuring giants of the sport: Merckx’s toughest Tour, Hinault’s journey through hell, LeMond’s return from near-death, and the tragic Marco Pantani’s domination of the most controversial race in Tour history, among others. From the Alps to the Pyrenees, the sun-soaked plains of the midi to the rain-lashed cobbles of the north, Etape takes the reader on a virtual Tour. Along the way, in shedding new light on familiar events, unravelling mysteries and exploring untold stories, it confirms the Tour de France as unrivalled in its creation of myths and legends, and as a stage for courage, scandal, skill, and drama.

1-1 Louis Armstrong– Yours And Mine 2:411-2 Louis Armstrong– Red Cap 3:081-3 Louis Armstrong– She's The Daughter Of A Planter From Havana 3:151-4 Louis Armstrong– Alexander's Ragtime Band 2:341-5 Louis Armstrong– Cuban Pete 3:081-6 Louis Armstrong– I've Got A Heart Ful Of Rhythm 3:091-7 Louis Armstrong– Sun Showers 2:401-8 Louis Armstrong– Once In A While 3:101-9 Louis Armstrong– On The Sunny Side Of The Street 2:541-10 Louis Armstrong– Satchel Mouth Swing 2:341-11 Louis Armstrong– Jubilee 2:371-12 Louis Armstrong– Struttin' With Some Barbecue 2:581-13 Louis Armstrong– The Trumpet Player's Lament 2:591-14 Louis Armstrong– I Double Dare You 3:001-15 Louis Armstrong– True Confession 3:061-16 Louis Armstrong– Let That Be A Lesson To You 2:361-17 Louis Armstrong– Sweet As A Song 3:061-18 Louis Armstrong– So Little Time 2:421-19 Louis Armstrong– Mexican Swing 2:381-20 Louis Armstrong– As Long As You Live 2:122-1 Kenny Baker– Yours And Mine 2:412-2 Kenny Baker– Red Cap 3:082-3 Kenny Baker– She' The Daughter Of A Planter From Havana 3:152-4 Kenny Baker– Alexander's Ragtime Band 2:342-5 Kenny Baker– Cuban Pete 3:082-6 Kenny Baker– I've Got A Heart Ful Of Rhythm 3:032-7 Kenny Baker– Sun Showers 2:402-8 Kenny Baker– Once In A While 3:102-9 Kenny Baker– On The Sunny Side Of The Street 2:542-10 Kenny Baker– Satchel Mouth Swing 2:342-11 Kenny Baker– Jubilee 2:372-12 Kenny Baker– Struttin' With Some Barbecue 3:092-13 Kenny Baker– The Trumpet Player's Lament 2:592-14 Kenny Baker– I Double Dare You 3:002-15 Kenny Baker– True Confession 3:122-16 Kenny Baker– Let That Be A Lesson To You 2:362-17 Kenny Baker– Sweet As A Song 3:062-18 Kenny Baker– So Little Time 2:422-19 Kenny Baker– So Little Time 2:292-20 Kenny Baker– As Long As You Live 2:12

Pillar of society and stern upholder of Victorian values, god-fearing Norfolk merchant John Barnard presides over a large and largely unhappy family. This is their story - his brandy-swilling wife, their hapless offspring and their changing fortunes - over the decades. Sylvia Townsend Warner's last novel, The Flint Anchor gloriously overturns our ideas of history, family and storytelling itself.