Allen Lane

How ownership came to control us - and what we can do about itOur love affair with our possessions seems to be all-consuming, even as our planet reaches breaking point. Despite the constant warnings about our future, we are reluctant to change our ways when it comes to accumulating more and more things. Why is this?The answer is our need for...

From an acclaimed military historian, the definitive account of Italy's experience of the Second World WarWhile staying closely aligned with Hitler, Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940. Then, with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies, Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of...

Coffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug. The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet. Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be, tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday...

From an award-winning medic and scientist, the game-changing case that genetic females have greater resilience, immunity, endurance and more, compared with males'A powerful antidote to the myth of a "weaker sex"' Gina Rippon, author of The Gendered BrainFrom birth, genetic females are better at fighting viruses, infections and cancer. They do...

The profoundly moving story of how love, courage and determination brought Greta Thunberg's family back from the brink'Urgent, lucid, courageous ... a must-read message of hope ... It is a glimpse of a saner world' David Mitchell, GuardianThis is the story of a happy family whose life suddenly fell apart, never to be the same again. Of two devoted...

'Excellent, authoritative and illuminating' Peter Frankopan, Sunday TimesIslamic civilization was once the envy of the world. From a succession of glittering, cosmopolitan capitals, Islamic empires lorded it over the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and swathes of the Indian subcontinent, while Europe cowered feebly at the margins. For...