National Network for Equitable Library Service

The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation.

From the bestselling author of 1788. The remarkable story of the fledgling settlement that survived against the odds. Bestselling historian David Hill tells the story of the first three decades of Britain's earliest colony in Australia in a fresh and compelling way. The British plan to settle Australia was a high-risk venture. We now take it for granted that the first colony was the basis of one of the most successful nations in the world today. But in truth, the New World of the 18th century was dotted with failed colonies, and New South Wales nearly joined them.

This is the captivating account of the magnificent but doomed quest, led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William Wills, to be the first Europeans to cross the harsh Australian continent in 1860. Plagued with disputes and food shortages they battled the extremes - the searing desert heat, the boggy mangroves, the flooding rains... Only one man survived the expedition's dash to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria. Yet despite their tragic fates, the names Burke and Wills remain synonymous with perseverance and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

A fierce, mordantly funny and perceptive book, from the author of Ship of Fools, about the act of national self-harm known as Brexit.

The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.

'An ambitious, riveting and essential book that has much to teach us about the recent history of this region, and about the human impulse towards populism that continues to shape the world' Ben Rhodes, bestselling author of The World As It Is 'A Revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.' Fidel Castro. For more than six decades, Fidel Castro's words have echoed through the politics of Latin America. His towering political influence still looms over the region today.

From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Principles , who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history's most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we've experienced in our lifetimes-but similar to those that have happened many times before. A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn't encountered before.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Prisoners of Geography , the highly anticipated follow-up that uses ten maps of crucial regions around the globe to explain the geopolitical strategies of today's world powers and what it means for our future. Tim Marshall's global bestseller Prisoners of Geography offered us a "fresh way of looking at maps" (The New York Times Book Review), showing how every nation's choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Since then, the geography hasn't changed, but the world has.

The life story of an aristocratic Scottish trans man-whose secret 1968 legal case had a profound impact on trans rights for decades. Ewan Forbes was born to a wealthy, landowning family, holders of a baronetcy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1912. Assigned female at birth, his true identity was nevertheless clear even in childhood-and so, with the support of his mother, he was taken to European specialists and eventually treated with early preparations of synthetic testosterone.

An illustrated, illuminating insight into the world of illusion from the world's greatest and most successful magician, capturing its audacious and inventive practitioners, and showcasing the art form's most famous artifacts housed at David Copperfield's secret museum. In this personal journey through a unique performing art, David Copperfield profiles some of the world's most groundbreaking magicians.