A journey into the glittering, surreal heart of 21st century Russia: into the lives of Hells Angels convinced they are messiahs, professional killers with the souls of artists, bohemian theatre directors turned Kremlin puppet-masters, supermodel sects, post-modern dictators and oligarch revolutionaries. This is a world erupting with new money and new power, changing so fast it breaks all sense of reality, where life is seen as a whirling, glamorous masquerade where identities can be switched and all values are changeable. It is home to a new form of authoritarianism, far subtler than 20th century strains, and which is rapidly expanding to challenge the global order. An extraordinary book - one which is as powerful and entertaining as it is troubling - Nothing is True and Everything is Possible offers a wild ride into this political and ethical vacuum.
Delivered in Stockholm on 7 December 2017, My Twentieth Century Evening and Other Small Breakthroughs is the lecture of the Nobel Laureate in Literature, Kazuo Ishiguro. A generous and hugely insightful biographical sketch, it explores his relationship with Japan, reflections on his own novels and an insight into some of his inspirations, from the worlds of writing, music and film. Ending with a rallying call for the ongoing importance of literature in the world, it is a characteristically thoughtful and moving piece.
Pour la première fois est présentée, ici, une méthode de construction de la Grande Pyramide, qui n'est pas une énième « théorie ». L'auteur invite le lecteur à « faire un tour » sur le chantier de la pyramide de Khéops, pour découvrir, en sa compagnie, les secrets des architectes égyptiens.
Les différentes phases de la construction de l'édifice le plus étudié et le plus célèbre de l'Histoire, sont révélées progressivement et accessibles à tous.
Un voyage enthousiasmant dans le temps, à des milliers d'années, un saut dans l'étonnante technologie d'un peuple génial.
Une aventure difficile à oublier...
« Peremherou - sortir à la lumière du jour » est le nom que les anciens Égyptiens utilisaient pour définir le texte funéraire que nous appelons aujourd'hui « Livre des Morts ». À travers une brève analyse nous en étudierons les origines, la structure et les contenus, cherchant à en comprendre le sens souvent obscur. Dans ce voyage virtuel, nous serons accompagnés d'un personnage appelé « Hor », dont le papyrus est conservé au Musée égyptologique de Turin depuis 1824. Le thème central sera la fameuse scène de la psychostasie ou de la « pesée du coeur » avec la confession négative du défunt (chapitre CXXV), peu connue mais étonnamment riche de références à la tradition judéo-chrétienne. La traduction intégrale du papyrus est suivie d'un dictionnaire des termes hiéroglyphiques, adressé à celui qui, par simple curiosité ou pour un approfondissement personnel, désire enrichir ses connaissances ou s'essayer à la traduction d'un texte en hiéroglyphes, écrit il y a plus de 2600 ans.
1st November 2006: Alexander Litvinenko is brazenly poisoned in central London. Twenty-two days later he dies, killed from the inside by Polonium - a rare, lethal and highly radioactive substance. His crime? He had made some powerful enemies in Russia. This is the inside story of the life and death of Litvinenko and of Russia's new cold war with the west. Harding traces the journey of the nuclear poison across London, from hotel room to nightclub, assassin to victim. It's a deadly trail that leads back to Vladimir Putin, and to a regime exposed by the Panama Papers. Luke Harding's investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, A Very Expensive Poison, may also help us shed light on the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. From the author of the No.1 New York Times bestseller Collusion .
The outbreak of the Iraq war and its aftermath, plus the bombings in London, have stimulated Hanif Kureishi to write about the great divide between the East and the West - the gulf between fundamentalist Islam and Western values. This book is a collection of his controversial writings.
In 1942, Lieutenant-Commander Ian Fleming was personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence - the dynamic figure behind James Bond's fictional chief, 'M'. Here, Fleming had a brilliant idea: why not set up a unit of authorised looters, men who would go in hard with the front-line troops and steal enemy intelligence?
« Ce livre regroupe des clichés, professionnels et amateurs, véritables témoignages d'une situation parfois dramatique, souvent touchante, et des actions que nous mettons en oeuvre chaque jour, grâce au courage de nos membres et à l'engagement de nos donateurs et partenaires, pour intervenir auprès de ceux qui souffrent au-delà des frontières de la Principauté. » S.A.S. le Prince Albert II, Président de la Croix-Rouge monégasque «This book gathers together images, professional and amateur, true witnesses of a situation sometimes dramatic, often touching, and of the action we undertake every day, thanks to the courage of our members and to the commitment of our donors and partners, to help those who are suffering far beyond the borders of the Principality.» H.S.H. The Prince Albert II, President of the Monaco Red Cross «Questo libro raccoglie una serie di scatti, professionali e amatoriali, vere testimonianze di una situazione talvolta drammatica, spesso commovente, e di azioni che mettiamo in pratica ogni giorno, grazie al coraggio dei nostri membri e all'impegno dei nostri donatori e partners, per intervenire presso chi soffre oltre le frontiere del Principato.» S.A.S. il Principe Alberto II, Presidente della Croce Rossa monegasca
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE, THE JHALAK PRIZE, THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION AND THE BREAD AND ROSES AWARD Saturday, 23rd November 2013. It was just another day in America. And as befits an unremarkable day, ten children and teens were killed by gunfire. Far from being considered newsworthy, these everyday fatalities are simply a banal fact. The youngest was nine; the oldest nineteen. None made the news. There was no outrage at their passing. It was simply a day like any other day. Gary Younge picked it at random, searched for the families of these children and here, tells their stories. Another Day in the Death of America explores the way these children lived and lost their short lives, offering a searing portrait of the vulnerability of youth in contemporary America.
Quelques voiles de tissu posés sur des ombres ressuscitées, et voilà l'histoire d'une spiritualité, mais aussi celle d'une petite ville toute entière qui vibra, à sa façon, à l'introduction d'autres coutumes et moeurs ; à d'autres apparences aussi. Quelques lignes inscrites au hasard de documents, et voilà l'histoire d'une ténacité et d'une constance arrachées aux aléas de la vie. Mais, quelle était la prise du temps humain sur l'intangible et l'irréel ?
L'Ordre de la Visitation de Monaco élut domicile à Monaco-Ville en 1663, et il s'épanouit en principauté pendant 130 longues années, accueillant des religieuses qui venaient tant de Monaco que d'autres horizons. De par sa longévité et sa coloration sociale, il est dès lors impossible qu'il n'ait laissé aucune trace dans la pierre comme dans les coeurs et les âmes. Ainsi, son histoire est une invite à relire la société du Rocher des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, à travers son propre prisme. Qui étaient les religieuses ? Comment, pourquoi sont-elles arrivées à Monaco, et dans quel(s) endroits(s) furent-elles logées ? Quel accueil leur réservèrent, au fil du temps, les princes mais aussi les habitants du Rocher qui vivaient dès lors dans un environnement bouleversé et transformé par une grande et austère bâtisse close. Leurs repères étaient brouillés car les éléments architecturaux auxquels ils étaient confrontés depuis des générations (le palais princier, le cimetière, les chapelles et les maisons des pénitents) avaient dès lors une « concurrence » impressionnante. Leur en tinrent-ils rigueur ? Et enfin, où situer le monastère de Monaco par rapport aux autres couvents de l'Ordre ? Quel rôle joua-t-il (financier, humain) dans la société civile qui les accueillait ?
Toutes ces interrogations plaident en faveur d'une entité d'importance. Et pourtant, elle ne fut jamais étudiée en elle-même. Certes, après la Révolution Française, les transformations successives du couvent (en caserne, puis en lycée), firent oublier progressivement mais inéluctablement que d'autres respirations et d'autres inspirations aussi, avaient modelé l'espace. Et pourtant...
Pourtant, l'histoire n'est pas faite que de dates et les âmes sont tout aussi importantes pour la mieux comprendre.
Tel est le but de cet ouvrage : compléter le tableau d'une certaine société en prenant en compte les soupirs et les prières trop souvent masqués par les chiffres et les mots.
A revelatory history of cybernetics that pulls together disparate threads in the history of technology: from the invention of radar in WWII to todays age of CCTV, cryptocurrencies and Oculus Rift. Rise of the Machines makes a singular and significant contribution to the advancement of our clearer understanding of that future and of the past that has generated it.
"Il 16 febbraio 1906, dopo giorni trascorsi a scavare tra enormi cumuli di detriti e tra tombe depredate da secoli, il prof. Ernesto Schiaparelli ed i suoi collaboratori individuarono a Deir el Medina l'ingresso di un sepolcro che risultò incredibilmente ancora inviolato. Era la tomba del «Capo dei lavori» o architetto Kha e di sua moglie Merit, rimasta occultata per più di 3300 anni. Agli occhi di coloro che entrarono nella camera sepolcrale apparve, ordinatamente disposto, un ricco corredo funerario, comprendente anche due enormi sarcofagi lignei. All'interno del più grande, delicatamente ripiegato fu rinvenuto un papiro funerario lungo quasi 14 metri. Era il cosiddetto «Per-em-heru» o «Libro per uscire al giorno», più conosciuto come «Libro dei Morti»; questo documento papiraceo rappresentava uno dei più antichi esemplari allora conosciuti.
A 110 anni dalla sua scoperta vogliamo quindi ricordare la figura di Ernesto Schiaparelli, comprendere il significato ed il ruolo che ebbe il sito di Deir el Medina, ma soprattutto offrire la traduzione integrale di questo importante papiro della XVIII Dinastia. Cercheremo di scoprire chi fu effettivamente quell'uomo di nome Kha, che visse ed ebbe una prestigiosa carriera sotto i più grandi Faraoni del suo tempo; leggeremo in particolare ciò che conteneva quel papiro funerario che egli volle portare con sé nella tomba e che avrebbe rappresentato il suo sicuro «lasciapassare» per l'aldilà, per la vita eterna."
Nel 1906 Ernesto Schiaparelli trovò nella necropoli di Deir el Medina la tomba intatta del «capo dei lavori» Kha e della moglie Merit. Tra i reperti più importanti rinvenuti nella camera funeraria vi era un Libro dei Morti lungo quasi 14 metri... ora custodito al Museo Egizio di Torino. Molti anni dopo, nel 1927, egli scrisse: «Come era consuetudine nei monumenti funerari di quella necropoli, anche questa cappella di Cha aveva un suo proprio recinto o piazzale... dal quale dovette provenire un papiro funerario posseduto fin dal secolo passato dalla Biblioteca Nazionale di Parigi, che porta amendue i nomi di Cha e Merit.» Esisteva dunque un secondo Libro dei Morti, ricollegabile agli stessi personaggi... un papiro che non fu trovato all'interno della tomba e di cui si conosceva solo il nome del collezionista che, nel 1862, lo donò alla Biblioteca nazionale di Francia: Honoré-Théodoric-Paul-Joseph d'Albert, duca di Luynes... Numerosi interrogativi sono dunque ancora legati a questo papiro. Cercheremo di ricomporre, come in un puzzle, la sua storia e il suo significato: tassello dopo tassello conosceremo la vita di colui che per primo ne entrò in possesso (il duca di Luynes), ricostruiremo virtualmente il presunto luogo di provenienza (l'antico villaggio di Deir el Medina), la vita, la carriera di Kha, l'improvvisa morte di Merit, con le sue impreviste conseguenze... Fulcro di questo libro sarà però lo studio del papiro catalogato come «papyrus funéraire de la Dame Merit» di cui verrà tradotto integralmente il testo, comparandolo con il papiro di Kha custodito a Torino. Dalla lettura di questo Libro dei Morti cercheremo quindi di risolvere gli interrogativi lasciati aperti da questo papiro tra cui il più importante: fu veramente il papiro di Merit?
Il volume contiene una riproduzione del papiro di Merit in facsimile, su carta avorio, in scala 1:3.
Edward Snowden, a young computer genius working for America's National Security Agency, blew the whistle on the way this frighteningly powerful organisation uses new technology to spy on the entire planet. The consequences have shaken the leaders of nations worldwide. This is the inside story of Snowden's deeds and the journalists who faced down pressure from the US and UK governments to break a remarkable scoop. From the day he left his glamorous girlfriend in Hawaii, carrying a hard drive full of secrets, to the weeks of secret-spilling in Hong Kong and his battle for asylum, Snowden's story reads like a globe-trotting thriller.
From the European buzz of modern-day Constantinople to the Arabic-speaking towns of the south-east, this book investigates mass migration, urbanisation and economics in a country moving swiftly towards a new position on the world stage.
Europe is facing a wave of migration unmatched since the end of World War II - and no one has reported on this crisis in more depth or breadth than the Guardian 's migration correspondent, Patrick Kingsley. Throughout 2015, Kingsley travelled to 17 countries along the migrant trail, meeting hundreds of refugees making epic odysseys across deserts, seas and mountains to reach the holy grail of Europe. This is Kingsley's unparalleled account of who these voyagers are. It's about why they keep coming, and how they do it. It's about the smugglers who help them on their way, and the coastguards who rescue them at the other end. The volunteers that feed them, the hoteliers that house them, and the border guards trying to keep them out. And the politicians looking the other way. The New Odyssey is a work of original, bold reporting written with a perfect mix of compassion and authority by the journalist who knows the subject better than any other.
Connects the killing of the Kennedys or the murder that sparked the First World War with less well-known stories, such as the Berlin shooting of an instigator of the Armenian genocide or the attack on an American 'robber baron'. This title traces the process that turned thought into action and murder into an icon.
Offers an account of life at the heart of the fashion industry, from photo shoots and celebrity interviews to the ugly truth behind the glamour - infighting, back-stabbing and the dangerous pursuit of beauty. This title tells the story of an illustrious career in fashion, from receptionist to the editor's chair.
Edward Snowden, a young computer genius working for America's National Security Agency, blew the whistle on the way this powerful organisation uses new technology to spy on the entire planet. The spies call it "mastering the internet". This title tells the story of Snowden's deeds and the journalists who faced down the pressure.
Born in London to a Turkish mother and British father, Alev Scott moved to Istanbul to discover what it means to be Turkish in a country going through rapid change, a country with an extraordinary past and an ever more surprising present.From the European buzz of modern-day Constantinople to the Arabic-speaking towns of the south-east, Turkish Awakening investigates a country moving swiftly towards a new position on the world stage. Relating wide-ranging interviews and colourful personal experience, the author charts the evolving course of a country bursting with surprises - none more dramatic than the unexpected political protests of 2013, which have brought to light the emerging demands of a newly awakened Turkish people. The 2013 protests were just one indication of the changes afoot in today's Turkey.Encompassing topics as varied as Aegean camel wrestling, transgender prostitution, politicised soap operas and riot tourism, this is a revelatory, at times humorous, at times moving, portrait of a country which is coming of age.
The Messenger tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two men looking to change the world - a repentant jihadist and an idealistic journalist. This troubling real-life thriller takes us from their first meeting in a spartan flat in the rough suburbs of Manchester, to a bombing in Pakistan, a dramatic arrest and Malik's reporting career on the brink of ruin. Ten years later, Malik returns to this extraordinary tale. He asks where we can place our trust - in reams of evidence, in a government we believe is on our side, in a terrorist who swears he's changed, in a friend who has no one else to turn to. Malik explores the uncomfortable questions about why he, as well as the wider media and the nation, surrendered to fear so easily. And he reveals how the age of terror laid the groundwork for an era of fake news and demagogues. This is investigative journalism and storytelling of the highest order.
From the Fall of France in June 1940 to Hitler's suicide in April 1945, the swastika flew from the peaks of the High Savoy in the western Alps to the passes above Ljubljana in the east. This title tells the story of how the war was conceived and directed from the Fuhrer's mountain retreat, and how all the Alps bar Switzerland fell to Fascism.
