Quirky Reads

An inquiry into the wealth and poverty of regions, with one company at its core.

An unprecedented, essential field guide to more than a century of fascinating product and industrial design

What makes a house truly beautiful? Why are many new houses so ugly? Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved? This book explores one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings.

Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.

Art Deco by the Sea is a major new book and exhibition examining British coastal culture between the First and Second World Wars. Beautifully illustrated, the book will trace how the British seaside changed during a new age of mass tourism.

States that throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. This book presents works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.