Library Books > Non-Fiction > Adult Non-Fiction

In his bestselling book 1421:The Year China Discovered the World, Gavin Menzies revealed that it was the Chinese that discovered America, not Columbus. Now he presents further astonishing evidence that it was also Chinese advances in science, art, and technology that formed the basis of the European Renaissance and our modern world. In his bestselling book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, Gavin Menzies presented controversial and compelling evidence that Chinese fleets beat Columbus, Cook and Magellan to the New World. B... read more

The superb novelist of men at war moves into the twentieth century and World War Two, telling the story of the eleven days in the sands of North Africa that would change history forever There are some battles that, had the other side won, would have totally altered the course of history. This is one of those battles...October 1942, and Britain and its allies were in trouble. Germany and its Axis partners seemed to be triumphant everywhere, and were already almost within reach of the Suez Canal. America had not yet decided to join... read more

"Amazing Grace" tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament. At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, as well as efforts to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833. Metaxa... read more

The Hodder Reading Project Level 4-5 identifies blocks to progression and takes pupils from National Curriculum Level 4 to Level 5. It comprises the Teacher's Resource, Pupil's Book and 6 Readers. Reader 3, "Animal Rights" is written by Barbara James. "Animal Rights" looks at the many moral issues surrounding the relationship between ourselves and the animals which share our planet. By examining worldwide attitudes and beliefs, the book discusses how far we are responsible for protecting animal welfare. Do animals have a right to b... read more

A comprehensive guide to the biological mysteries that lie behind teenage behaviour. Contrary to popular (parental) opinion, teenagers are not the lazy, unpleasant - frankly, spotty - louts they occasionally appear to be. During the teenage years the brain is undergoing its most radical and fundamental change since the age of two. Nicola Morgan's carefully researched, accessible and humorous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain has chapters dealing with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take r... read more

What was it about Bob Marley that made him so popular in a world dominated by rock'n'roll? How is that he has not only remained the single most successful reggae artist ever, but has also become a shining beacon of radicalism and peace to generation after generation of fans across the globe? On May 11, 1981, a little after 11.30 in the morning, Bob Marley died. The man who introduced reggae to a worldwide audience, in his own lifetime he had already become a hero figure in the classic mythological sense. From immensely humble begi... read more

Not many people can claim to have invented a new science, but the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle invented two - zoology and logic. More than two millennia after his death, we are still influenced by Aristotelian thought. When we use words such as "potential" and "actual", "theory" and "practice", we are speaking Aristotle's language. Here, over coffee, he talks with refreshing and illuminating simplicity about everything from causation and deduction to the role of women and the wonders of the natural world in a pre-scientific ... read more

Charles Dickens is an undisputed genius whose novels have remained enduringly popular all around the world, amusing and moving his readers in equal measure. A quiet chat with his ghost in the inn beloved by Mr Pickwick brings you all his vigour, warmth and humanity - and a scintillating tour through the life, career, eccentricities and trenchant opinions of one of the superstars of the Victorian world. Dickens cultivated a genial intimacy with his readers, and after he died many of his admirers felt that they had lost a personal fr... read more

Nobel prize winner Albert Einstein is one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. By power of thought alone, he gave us a fresh conception of the universe. He showed us that space and time are elastic - shrinking or expanding, speeding up or slowing down, depending on your movement. Join him for a coffee and he'll tell you all about his revolutionary work on relativity, his quest for a grand unifying theory of the cosmos, and personal matters too - from the pleasures of sailing and music to his anxieties about the nuclear bomb h... read more

A conversation over coffee with Sir Isaac Newton takes us on a mind-expanding tour of the principles of modern science in the illuminating company of the man who defined them...and you can even ask questions! Newton's influence on our world is immense. He formulated the theory of gravity, devised a radically new theory of light and created a calculus that would revolutionize mathematics. His theory of matter in motion sparked the Industrial Revolution. But there was far more to Newton even than these great discoveries. He'll also t... read more

A chat with William Shakespeare turns into an evocative journey into the personal and professional worlds of the greatest writer in the English language. Over the past four centuries his iconic status as a poet and dramatist has come to represent what it means to be a genius, and his words have given us a means of expressing every human emotion. But what kind of a man was he? Here we are able to follow his steps from a small town in Warwickshire to centre stage in Elizabethan London. We hear about his favourite actors, his methods ... read more

Mark Twain has shaped our view of childhood, the frontier spirit, slavery ...and the follies and pretensions of humankind. His novel "Huckleberry Finn" has delighted readers of all ages. Revel now in his caustic wit, tall tales, descriptive powers and colourfully expressed opinions. A relaxed chat with him turns into a roller-coaster ride through the adventures and misadventures of the "father of American literature" (as William Faulkner described him). A true American icon, he set the gold standard for verbal wit and unflinching w... read more

Setting up a new trial for Jesus, this book asks pupils to be the jury. A defence and prosecution council introduce them to the

Against the backdrop of Darwin - that small, tropical hothouse of a port, half-outback, half-oriental, lying at the tip of North Australia - a young and newly arrived southerner encounters the 'maestro', a Viennese refugee with a shadowed past. The occasion is a piano lesson, the first of many ...

Never before has film-maker Peter Jackson revealed so much about himself and his work. In this authorised biography, the boy from Wellington's Pukerua Bay reveals how he beat Hollywood at its own game. It is a story of passion, single-minded determination, and, above all, an artistic vision and a sense of dramatic scale. Through Jackson's eyes and own words, as well as re-tellings and memories of friends, family and associates, we are shown how the director's early life - with its obsessively pursued hobbies and first childhood att... read more

An evocative, whimsical, stunningly-illustrated exploration of the relationships between children and the world around them.

This short biography of William Shakespeare by world famous writer Bill Bryson brims with the author's inimitable wit and intelligence. Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard -- from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died. Following his international bestsellers 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' and... read more

Steve McQueen, the self confessed 'King of Cool' is as popular today as in the 50s and 60s when he became famous in films such as "The Great Escape" and "The Magnificent Seven", "The Thomas Crown Affair" and later "The Towering Inferno". McQueen began his career in television and moved into film in the mid 1950s when he became a true cinema icon, and classic images of him are reproduced today.In many of his films his real-life passion for fast cars and motor racing was evident, and he was always keen to do his own stunts.This beaut... read more

The original book, published in 1988, immediately became a classic. It was the first proper history of New Zealand rock and roll, told as a series of inter-linking, anecdotal stories. To buy an original on Amazon.com now costs at least $US150.00. The year 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the first proper rock and roll recording made in New Zealand, a seminal moment immortalised in the book. Now the author has gone back to the original manuscript and revised it with the benefit of hindsight