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The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the "effectual" truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It is also notable for being in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time, particularly those concerning politics and ethics.

In the autumn of 1982, a single stone fell from high on the south face of Annapurna and struck Alex MacIntyre on the head, killing him instantly and robbing the climbing world of one of its greatest talents. Although only 28 years old, Alex was already one of the leading figures of British mountaineering's most successful era. His ascents included hard new routes on Himalayan giants like Dhaulagiri and Changabang and a glittering record of firsts in the Alps and Andes.

DI George Wiley is calling in a favor. As head of a new unit tackling cold and unusual cases, he presents Gill McArdle with a bag of human teeth. His evaluation – a serial killer has been operating undetected in Scotland for decades. With no leads in the case, Wiley wants Gill to leverage his contacts. But Gill McArdle feels under no obligation as he has a puzzle of his own to solve. Roadworks in the Scottish Highlands have uncovered an old battlefield site, and now the race is on to complete an archaeological dig before the site is buried under tarmac.

Get the main key insights from this summary of David R. Hawkins’ Letting Go in just a short listen.

St Nazaire, 1.22 a.m. 28th March 1942. HMS Cambeltown, supported by seventeen wooden motor launches, approached the German-held port intending to smash into the lock gates of the largest dock in the world; the Normandie Dock-Operation Chariot was in full swing. Against vicious Nazi gunfire, the commandos stormed the docks, and within half an hour, succeeded in their chief demolition objectives, but in the heat of battle, the Royal Navy had lost nearly all of its small vessels intended to carry them back to England.

When you’re the editor of a successful investigative journal, you don’t dash around Scotland chasing after loch monsters. But Gill McArdle didn’t believe in unicorns either, and speaking honestly, he was fortunate to walk away from that one. He’s a scientist, and not one of the wild-eyed optimists spending their days, scanning the loch for a creature. And here’s his problem. With every passing hour, evidence mounts that something is stirring.

Structured Chaos is Victor Saunders’ follow-up to Elusive Summits (winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize in 1990), No Place to Fall and Himalaya: The Tribulations of Vic & Mick. He reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram.

The prophet Al Mustafa has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship that will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

As sleepy as Buffalo Peak's been, legendary marshal, Elwood "Firestick" McQueen, and his deputies "Beartooth" Skinner and "Moosejaw" Hendricks never expected a couple of drifters to wake it up—by kidnapping two lovely ladies in town. Hardly the sharpest quills on a cactus, these dim drifters call it courtin'. Firestick doesn't see it that way. Now the woman snatchers are heading for West Texas with their reluctant brides-to-be—and unwittingly plunging trackers Firestick and Moosejaw headlong into a rescue.

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world and a notoriously difficult and dangerous mountain to climb. First climbed from the west in 1955 by a British team comprising Joe Brown, George Band, Tony Streather and Norman Hardie, it waited over 20 years for a second ascent. The third ascent, from the north, followed in 1979 by a four-man team including the visionary British alpinist Doug Scott.

Being British isn’t easy. Especially if you live abroad, where your countrymen aren’t exactly famous for, well, blending in. As his beloved homeland goes Brexit bananas, best-selling humourist Paul Hawkins takes on Britishness - how it looks from the outside, how to be British abroad and what you only learn about home once you leave it. In this self-deprecating audiobook, he reveals the awkward secrets, cultural blind-spots and private oddness of the people with whom he once shared an island.

After nine years of servitude to the enemy, Toran Binn is eager to come home - only for poverty to pummel him in the gut. Before he can recall why he escaped home in the first place, royalty is murdered. Toran must find the true killer by the end of summer or watch his best friend’s execution.

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They provide a portrait of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. Each of the stories offers glimpses into the lives of ordinary Dubliners, and together they paint a portrait of a nation. Ireland was at a crossroads of history and culture at that time, pursuing a search for national identity and purpose.

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans’ voodoo queen just keeps on giving—leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

A video hits the Internet and quickly goes viral. A video showing a woman, attacked, bitten and dying...before rising again. Experts confirm the video as a fake. A prank. But all the expert denials count for nothing when the virus reaches the UK. Chloe finds herself left behind, abandoned by Steve who rejoins the army to fight the new enemy. She'll be forced to survive on her own. Whatever it takes. They must all make sacrifices to do what is right. To do what is right for the greater good.

In the deepest Himalaya, a story is spreading like wildfire. The story of an Everest expedition unlike any other. An expedition that ended with mysterious disappearances...and death. This is the mystery that 18-year-old Ryan Hart sets out to solve. Ryan is on a gap year adventure, working for a medical charity in Nepal. When a local girl begs him to investigate why her 16-year-old friend Kami never came back from Everest, Ryan cannot resist the challenge.

Fourteen-year-old Jaime Pappas expects to live the remainder of his life on the chilly Alps of the Air Kingdom. But he doesn't expect the king's men to arrive to his farmstead - or burn his brother for treason. Forced to run, Jaime's world upends when he discovers a chilling prophecy that will call him to exchange his farmer’s cowl for a crown.

Our politics are broken; our world is melting; the next catastrophe looms. Enter James Parker, who for years now has been writing odes of appreciation on subjects from the seemingly minor ("Ode to Naps") to the unexpected ("Ode to Giving People Money") to the seemingly minor, unexpected, and hyperspecific ("Ode to Running in Movies"). Finally collecting Parker's beloved and much-lauded odes in one place, this volume demonstrates the profound power of the form.

In It for the Long Run is ultrarunner Damian Hall’s story of running a first marathon aged 36, dressed as a toilet, and representing Great Britain four years later. His midlife-crisis running problem escalated to 100-mile ultramarathons and record-breaking bimbles, culminating in his 261-mile Pennine Way run in July 2020.

The Ultimate James Joyce Collection comprises his works Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Dubliners, a collection of 15 short stories first published in 1914.