Channel 5’s The Gadget Show finally has its own Shiny New Book. Here, the presenters of the show bring you their complete guide to gadgets, punishing and pushing every conceivable type of technology to the limit – scouring the globe for the latest and most breath-taking new tech.
Read all about the firsts, the worsts and the downright most ridiculous inventions in gadget history. Discover the best ever gadgets in our top ten lists, reviews and head-to-head gadget face-offs; find out all you want to know about Jason, Rachel, Polly and Jon and even learn how to make your own mobile phone charging trousers or leaf blowing hoverboard.
Get your geek on with Polly’s top Techy Thrills, Jon’s G Ratings and revealing interviews with visionary inventors and celebrity gadget testers, and uncover the secrets behind the tech they really don’t want you to know about.
This is the book The Gadget Show fans have been waiting for, complete with puzzles, quizzes and a look behind the scenes – what goes on in the studio and on the road, and what happens to all the gadgets after the show?
A must have techfest for gadget fans everywhere.
A brave and elegant reflection on the role of a sudden accident, with insight into the power of modern medicine
—— Caroline Daniel , Financial TimesI adore this book. Medical facts come alive… full of medical fun. Brilliant.
—— Steve WrightI am truly amazed by what my body does day in day out without me ever giving it permission.
—— Lorraine KellyA Day in Your Life is absolutely fascinating. Dr Hilary shows exactly why you need to look after your brain EVERY day of your life. There is no computer that can match it.
—— Carol VordermanA fascinating insight into the mind and some of the more extreme forms of psychopathology
—— Linda PapadopoulosWhat physically causes our bodies and minds to age? And what happens in those critical moments before we die? Now I get it...
—— Andrea McLeanWow. After reading A Day In Your Life I'm going to look after myself a little better.
—— Aled JonesIncredible. Apparently there are more friendly bacteria inside my intestine than cells in my own body.
—— Penny SmithAn informative and entertaining introduction to the human body for all the family.
—— Good Book GuideBirds and People is primarily a way of looking at our own complex history, through the prism of nature. It is also a beautiful volume, not least because of David Tipling’s excellent photographs… The results are stunning.
—— Stephen Moss , Sunday TelegraphPacked with beauty, curiosity, fascination and wonder on every page, Birds and People is probably best not wolfed down but savoured bit by bit. It is a truly exceptional work, soaring in its scope, boundless in its interest, with an ambition matched only by its achievement… Strikes me as the sort of masterpiece that only comes along once or twice a decade.
—— Craig Brown , Mail on SundayA tapestry that is by turns fascinating, delightful, surprising and grim. Birds and People rewards the idle browser and will be an important addition to the shelves of anyone who cares about how we interact with the non-human world or what sort of creatures we are becoming… David Tipling’s photographs…are gorgeous.
—— Caspar Henderson , Literary ReviewA vast, ambitious and surprisingly personal overview of what birds mean to human beings... Birds and People is a dense, weighty delight, to be dipped into again and again as curiosity commands. Written with grace, conscientious stewardship and unfettered love, the book is a transformative look at the feathered dinosaurs that, despite all we have done to them, still grace our fields, forests and skies. Birds and People is an encyclopedia with a heart.
—— Julie Zickefoose , Wall Street JournalA fascinating examination of the relationship between the human and avian worlds… This important book is a clarion call to treasure our birds – or risk losing them forever.
—— Daily MailSumptuous and richly informative.
—— John Carey , Sunday TimesA monumental new account of the role birds play in human life.
—— Patrick Barkham , GuardianThe greatest joy of this great book is that it is unfinishable as well as unputdownable.
—— Brian Morton , HeraldA delightful duet between nature writer Mark Cocker and wildlife photographer David Tipling.
—— Nicky Clayton , NatureBirds and People isn’t just a book for bird enthusiasts, but a thoughtful look at how one seemingly common creature can influence and enrich so much of our lives.
—— UK Regional PressIt’s a project with the ‘wow’ factor – and one that has you reaching for the superlatives.
—— Trevor Heaton , UK Regional Press SyndicationEncyclopedic in content, sumptuous in production and has the gripping, intensive quality of a classic potboiler. This wonderful book should never be confined to a dusty life on a shelf but regarded as a trusty, companion ready to give wise knowledge, faithful service and boundless enjoyment at every opportunity.
—— Stuart Winter , Sunday Express[Cocker’s] magnificent new book is a work of encyclopedic proportion, a labour of love and, in unusual ways, a collaboration – and not just with the photographer David Tipling, whose images are as original and brilliantly distinguished as their feathered subjects.
—— Andrew McNellie , Country LifeSeven years in the making, Birds and People is a doorstep of a book that becomes a lifetime’s investment once owned, revealing many layers of both human and animal nature in the most absorbing of ways. It is as much a work of anthropology as ornithology, and all the better for it. Quite possibly Mark Cocker’s masterpiece.
—— David Callahan , BirdwatchMagnificent… 600 stunningly illustrated and gorgeously produced pages.
—— James Bradley , Nothern TimesVisually rich, historically fascinating and vast in both scope and scale, this is a wonderful addition to any bookcase.
—— Mary Lussiana , Country & Town HouseCocker has collected hundreds of anecdotes that illustrate the relationship between humans and birds… He writes movingly about the part that birds play in our culture.
—— Molly Guinness , SpectatorFor the unashamed bird-lover… A meticulous and caring study of how humans think about, imagine, use, misuse and abuse the most miraculous of our fellow creatures.
—— John Burnside , New StatesmanA magnificently compendious account of the connections (and lack of them) between the human and avian world… a marvellous object too.
—— Andrew Motion , Times Literary SupplementMagisterial.
—— Jim Crace , GuardianBirds and People by Mark Cocker and David Tipling is almost too wonderful a book to give away.
—— John Burnside , ScotsmanMark Cocker’s Birds and People, is 535 pages of text and David Tipling’s luminous photographs: a true magnum opus, revealing the whole ghastly story of man’s long exploitation of our feathered friends.
—— John Lister-Kaye , ScotsmanA remarkable work, taking in every family of birds on earth and the way humans have interacted them.
—— Simon Barnes , The TimesWell laid out and designed and fluidly written, the book seems the best yet on its complex subject.
—— Henry T. Armistead , ScienceThe intricate research of Mark Cocker and the award-winning photography of David Tipling make this incredible feat of research one of the year’s finest examples of outdoor literature. Humanity’s bond with these feathered beasts is explored with such depth that it boggles the mind as to how the author pulled this overwhelming project together with such success.
—— James Reader , The Great Outdoors MagazineThe bird book I never knew I needed until I had it. Far from a reference book, it is full of stories – mythology, folklore, personal tales – and that is what makes it so beguiling.
—— Diane Setterfield , Big IssueMark Cocker has done it again.
—— John Wilkins , TabletAuthoritative yet readable… The definitive book on the subject.
—— Mark Whitley , CountrymanStunning.
—— Gill Lewis , GuardianA sumptuous book full of beautiful photos… It gives you hope that birds will be conserved.
—— Caroline Rees , Daily Express