“Nothing short of a masterpiece.” —NPR Books A New York Times Bestseller and a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation. Widely hailed for its “sweeping, sobering account of the American past” (New York Times Book Review), Jill Lepore’s one-volume history of America places truth itself—a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence—at the center of the nation’s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas—“these truths,” Jefferson called them—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise? These Truths tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation’s truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore wrestles with the state of American politics, the legacy of slavery, the persistence of inequality, and the nature of technological change. “A nation born in contradiction… will fight, forever, over the meaning of its history,” Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. With These Truths, Lepore has produced a book that will shape our view of American history for decades to come.

When French troops occupy the Italian port city of Ancona, freeing the city’s Jews from their repressive ghetto, it unleashes a whirlwind of progressivism and brutal backlash as two very different cultures collide. Mirelle, a young Jewish maiden, must choose between her duty—an arranged marriage to a wealthy Jewish merchant—and her love for a dashing French Catholic soldier. Meanwhile, Francesca, a devout Catholic, must decide if she will honor her marriage vows to an abusive and murderous husband when he enmeshes their family in the theft of a miracle portrait of the Madonna. Set during the turbulent days of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Italian campaign (1796–97), Beyond the Ghetto Gates is both a cautionary tale for our present moment, with its rising tide of anti-Semitism, and a story of hope—a reminder of a time in history when men and women of conflicting faiths were able to reconcile their prejudices in the face of a rapidly changing world.

The desert world of Dray's Planet is inhabited by the Children of the Second Revelation, who fear that unbelieving outsiders may contaminate their religion. But when a strange creature is discovered, only an unbeliever named Cecil Robinson has the necessary expertise that will allow him to study it. Permitted on Dray's surface, he is soon joined by his ruthless rival and suddenly the journey to discover the truth behind this mysterious creature turns deadly. And Cecil soon learns that there is more at stake for the populace of Dray's Planet than just a scientific exploration...

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

'Wow! What a heartbreaking, breathtaking true story... oh my heart... Read it with tissues but an open heart' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I'm not sure how many times I had to set this book down because my crying eyes were useless for reading, but it was a lot... Ten very emotional stars! All the stars!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'There are no words! I had a hard time putting this book down. I am blown away by this true story... Soooooooo wonderful!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1939. Seventeen-year-old Nora Jennings has spent her life secure in the certainty of a bright, happy future - until one night of passion has more catastrophic consequences than she ever could have anticipated. Labelled a moral defective and sectioned under the Mental Deficiency Act, she is forced to endure years of unspeakable cruelty at the hands of those who are supposed to care for her. 1981. When psychiatrist Janet Humphreys comes across Nora, heavily institutionalised and still living in the hospital more than forty years after her incarceration, she knows that she must be the one to help Nora rediscover what it is to live. But as she works to help Nora overcome her past, Janet realises she must finally face her own. Based on a true story, this is a powerful novel of the strength of the human spirit, that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Perfect for fans of The Girl in the Letter and Philomena. Readers love The Girl Behind The Gates: 'I have never been so emotionally touched by a book before and Nora you will stay in my heart long after finishing this story' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow is all I can say. This book is a tearjerker for sure. To know that it is based on a true story is even more heartbreaking... This is a beautiful story of healing... The characters are wonderful' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'It's been a very long time since I read a book that I couldn't put down. This was that book... I was hooked from the off... Would I recommend this book? A hundred times over' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A heartbreakingly emotional story with characters that grip you all through this book. I really felt for Nora and her life... Brilliant' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Beautifully and emotionally written it engages you from beginning to end. This is one if the best books I have read... The book everyone must read. It will stay with you forever' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This book was SO good... This was a beautiful, heartwarming story of a woman who was once lost, but found again' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'What an amazing story based in truth. I can't believe things like this actually happened. This is the incredible story of how a woman overcame the most astonishing obstacles' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Praise for The Girl Behind The Gates: 'Compelling. Poignant... Heart wrenching. Just beautiful. Everyone needs to read this wonderful book' Renita D'Silva 'A haunting, heart-wrenching but ultimately heart-warming novel' Gill Thompson 'A powerful, emotional novel. I was moved to tears by the ending and will certainly not hesitate to recommend it' Jill Childs 'A powerful story of trust, compassion, healing - and the transforming power of love, that can give new life to a broken spirit' Sharon Maas

Wickfields was the name of an institution that housed children deemed too dangerous to live in regular society. Beyond the Spiral Gates is a raw coming-of-age odyssey, a first-hand account of one boy's experiences at the archaic Wickfields School for Criminal Children. From the idyllic sun-drenched fields of Hayvern to the shadowy hallways of Wickfields, the story delves deep into the epicentre of the human psyche. Starting in the present day with the protagonist as an elderly man and chronic insomniac who struggles to come to terms with his own mortality as he confronts the demons of his youth spent at Wickfields, the story spins us back through the years to where it all began. It's a tale of self-exploration, a redemptive narrative as well as a harrowing love story that does not spare raw emotion as the protagonist grapples with the trauma of the events that shaped that period of his adolescent life. Beyond The Spiral Gates is a gut-wrenching account of one boy's journey of self-discovery, told in an unflinching and engaging voice.