Simon Prebble

It is Christmastime, 1914, and World War I rages. A young French soldier named Pierre who had quietly left his regiment to visit his family for two days is imprisoned when he returns. Now he faces execution for desertion, and as he waits in isolation, he meditates on big questions: the nature of patriotism, the horrors of war, the joys of friendship, the love of family, and how, even in times of danger, there is a whole world inside every one of us-and...

First published in 1898, "The War of the Worlds" terri¬fied and entertained many generations of readers. The audacious portrayal of aliens landing on Earth alongside the themes of interplanetary imperialism, technological holocaust, and, finally, chaos itself provoked a collective hysteria when it was adapted for radio show by Orson Welles in 1938 and it is now an indispensable book for any science fiction fan. Brilliantly imagined, visionary, and...

This time, Alex is up against a con man who wants to create the biggest catastrophe he can muster to profit through a disaster-relief charity. If Alex is going to stop a genetically engineered virus from sweeping across the country, he'll have to brave gunfire, explosions, and dangerous mercenaries-then come face to face with the deadly mastermind.

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. But historian Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What's more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind...

Retold with stunning modern illustration by the studio team Ale + Ale, The Time Machine is a masterpiece of invention and storytelling from the father of science fiction, H. G. Wells. In this unabridged classic, the time-traveling protagonist is propelled by his machine to the distant year of 802,701 AD. To his horror, he finds only a decaying Earth that is being gradually swallowed by the Sun, and where two strange species-the delicate Eloi and...

"The immense talent, passion and literary brilliance that Conan Doyle brought to his work gives him a unique place in English letters."-Stephen Fry "Doyle's modesty of language conceals a profound tolerance of the human complexity"-John Le Carré "Holmes has a timeless talent, passion and literary brilliance that puts him heads, shoulders and deerstalker above all other detectives."- Alexander McCall Smith Arthur Conan Doyle's The Memoirs...

The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899) is a children's novel by English writer Edith Nesbit. The first book in Nesbit's beloved Bastable trilogy-which also includes The Wouldbegoods (1901) and The New Treasure Seekers (1904)-The Story of the Treasure Seekers is a story of family, adventure, and mystery for children and adults alike. The Bastable siblings-Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius-are clever and curious children who...

In the ruins of Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey lies the body of a man wrapped in a cloak, the face covered by a gas mask. Next to him is a book on alchemy, which belongs to the schoolmaster, a conscientious objector in the Great War. Who is this man, and is the investigation into his death being manipulated by a thirst for revenge? Meanwhile, the British War Office is searching for a missing man of their own, someone whose war work was so secret that...

My Man Jeeves by P.G Wodehouse is a collection of comedic work featuring three of Wodehouse's famous characters. Bertie is an idle rich man, who is always ready to help his friends. However, he would never be able to do so without the help of his odd but intelligent valet, Jeeves. Said to be the prototype for Bertie, Reggie Pepper is also rich Englishman dedicated to assisting his friends, however, unlike Bertie, he often has to act as the brains...

The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies...