a book that is valuable to us all…definitely for everyone

one of the 15 best music books of 2017

Accurately offers itself as a successor to [Bertrand] Russell's classic survey . . . No other popular survey possesses this range . . . The History of Philosophy isn't just worth buying; it's worth scribbling in and dog-earing. For a work of scholarship, there can be no higher praise.

He's more historically-minded than Russell, less dogmatic than Dawkins and less in thrall to the charms of his own fluency than Hitchens

Undeniably thought-provoking

Grayling is particularly good at illuminating the knottiness of moral discourse

Lucid, informative and admirably accessible

Grayling writes with clarity, elegance and the occasional aphoristic twist

Five minutes with any passage will have you contemplating all day

I find the clarity of his thinking so refreshing

If there is any such person in Britain as The Thinking Man, it is A. C. Grayling

The History of Philosophy is an excellent overview of great philosophical thought by an insightful practitioner of the field. It is a credit to Grayling's abilities that he has penned such a perspicuous book on some very difficult subjects-giving the a reader a clear overview of the complexities of Scholastic logic, Analytic philosophies of language and mind, and much else besides is no easy feat, but Grayling has achieved it. This is a book to be treasured, both as a guide to the subject and as a beautiful piece of writing in itself, containing great insight and wisdom. It is a testament to the continuing importance and value of philosophy.

Peter Moore’s elegant and entertaining new book offers us a fascinating biography of the Endeavour, using it as a window onto the broader world of the mid-18th-century English Enlightenment...a deeply satisfying book. It represents an intelligent, diverse, fresh and challenging approach to writing the history of exploration

This narrative of the ship commanded by Captain Cook is illuminated by imagination and creativity. Particularly brilliant is the depiction of its context in 18th-century Britain, where the culture of intellectual enquiry we know as the Enlightenment prompted the Admiralty to support Cook, and he was accompanied by botanists, astrologers, artists and cartographers

What a truly remarkable book this is…entirely fresh and original…shows how this stalwart, unpretentious, little coal bark came to embody the Age of Exploration, of Enlightenment, of Empire, and of Revolution

[An] extraordinary story… [and] a fascinating period of history

Endeavour’s… story… [will] rarely be more engagingly recorded than here

Engrossing detail… written in an engaging literary style… [a] fine book

Publisher's description. A biography of the comic writer Anthony Powell, author of the million-word masterpiece A Dance to the Music of Time, from renowned British biographer Hilary Spurling. An insightful and surprising look into what drove the writer widely regarded as the English Proust.

The adaptation by Ari Folman is refreshing, well researched and innovative. The art by David Polonsky is stunning, vivid, and rich. Altogether, it's a graphic novel that is more than essential reading

The illustrations in Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Novel have... [a] polished, often luminous effect.

Impressive. . . In an afterword, Ari Folman discusses some of the challenges of "editing" such an "iconic text." Their goal, he says, was "to honor and preserve the spirit of Anne Frank in each and every frame." This they have done to engaging effect.

As lively and vivid a novel as even the most demanding reader could wish for: epic in scope, deliciously meaty with its wide array of characters and milieux, and utterly convincing in its treatment of Cold War espionage and intrigue. This marvelous novel reads like the work of a mid-career master; what a wonderful surprise, then, to realize it's the opening salvo from a supremely gifted debut novelist. Lara Prescott is the real deal, and the evidence is right here on every page.

I was riveted by Lara Prescott’s new novel. I barely stirred from my chair for two days. How does one even begin to talk about this book? It’s all here—the KGB versus the CIA, the sexual office politics of Mad Men, a horrifying new look at the gulag, the tragic love affair between Boris Pasternak and his mistress, a brilliantly-drawn portrait of a time when a single book had the power to change history. I predict that The Secrets We Kept will be one of the most important books of the year.

Lara Prescott’s The Secrets We Kept is trenchant, timely, and compulsively readable. The book thrillingly recalls the period detail of Mad Men, the complex characters of Patricia Highsmith, and the satisfying plots of John le Carre, but ultimately it’s Prescott’s distinctive voice and vision that feel most stirring and relevant. This is a first-rate novel, and it signals the arrival of a major new writer.

The whirl of trench coats and cocktails and midnight meetings on park benches has the heady whiff of classic old-fashioned spy storytelling, brilliantly filtered through Prescott’s thoroughly modern lens.

Sweeping between Russia and Washington, this captivating novel is so assured it’s hard to believe it’s a debut. And it is very easy to see why there’s such a huge buzz about it.

Wholly original and brilliantly realised, The Secrets We Kept hymns the subversive power of great prose whilst ratcheting up the tension with masterly technique.

This is a fascinating story... What is entirely Prescott's own is the story of Irina, and her fellow, more experience, spy Sally Forrester. Sally is a particularly affecting character, and, since this is a book about spies, there is the usual complement of lies and double crossings. Woven into the narrative intrigue are a number of touching love stories, including one which allows Prescott to explore how the McCarthyite "Red Scare" found echoes in a widespread paranoia about gays and lesbians in the US government.

A fascinating fictionalisation.

In this stylish and confident debut novel, we delve into the story behind the story, which is just as enthralling.

It draws the reader into the emotional lives of the characters and their ever-changing roles and personas.

All the pre-publication hype is fully justifiedas American author Prescott’s debut novel turns out to be a truly wonderful blend of historical romance, spy thriller and insights into the myriad aspects of love in troubled times… Loved it.

It transported me back in time and kept me utterly gripped from beginning to end.

An astonishingly accomplished debut: original, fiercely intelligent, pointedly witty, utterly thrilling and gripping. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is an epic novel worthy of its topic – Dr. Zhivago and the CIA plot to publish the supposed subversive work in the USSR. The Secrets We Kept is an engrossing drama that works on so many levels. Part thriller, part love story, this reimagining of historical events is very convincing, fact and fictional creativity coalesce perfectly. The result is a beguiling read; the tragedy and iniquity of the story will drain you, but there are moments of joy and triumph too… Block out a couple of days and treat yourself to a wonderful read.

No mere spy thriller, it is, as the typists say of Dr Zhivago, both “a war story and a love story... but it was the love story we remembered most".

What a book!... riveting…This unusual story is both beautifully written and deeply compelling in equal measure…I was utterly swept away by Prescott’s vivid style of writing together with her cast of strong and wonderfully convincing characters. It is rich in historical detail and covers (for me) a fascinating period in history with astonishing lucidity. This really isn’t quite the run-of-the-mill, fast-paced, heart-in-the-mouth thriller I had expected; instead it is SO much more! It is thrilling, and it is pacy, yet it is also deeply emotional and full of zest.

The Secrets We Kept is a brilliantly told story, about a piece of relatively unknown history. It is tense, enthralling and has brilliant female characters. You’ll not be able to put it down and you will think about the characters long after you finish the book. This is one of my books of the year, for sure!

If you’ve read Doctor Zhivago, you’ll get a kick out of this.

Intriguing debut novel

The plot is complicated and the narrative even more so, owing to Prescott’s decision to use multiple first-person narrators in addition to the gossipy first-person-plural voice of the C.I.A.’s pool of female typists (which, incidentally, is highly effective). And Prescott pulls all this off… Prescott’s portrait of Sally Forrester, in particular, and Sally’s love for her colleague, Irina, is emotionally sincere and Prescott acutely captures the isolation inherent in Sally’s professional, social and sexual identity.

Engaging …This is a highly readable novel about the power of literature … The pen really is mightier than the sword

Lara Prescott has managed to summon a vanished world where novels mattered and women didn’t.

Lara Prescott's dazzling debut novel is a sweeping page turner, and now a global literary sensation.

Lara Prescott's absorbing take on the Cold War spy thriller ... doesn't disappoint … Sweeping and ambitious ... It is a tautly written masterclass in blending fiction and fact.

An entertaining read