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Year of Wonders
Geraldine Brooks
Fourth Estate, 2002
Beware the Black Death!
"Year of Wonders" is a fantastic book by Geraldine Brooks that chronicles a severe outbreak of the Bubonic plague in an isolated English village during the year 1666. The story revolves around Anna Frith, a housemaid who loses her two young children to the plague and ...
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The Final Solution: A Story of Detection
Michael Chabon
Fourth Estate, 2004
The Grey is Afoot!
I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I spotted this book. It not only revolves around an African grey parrot, but it is about the "world's first consulting detective" - none other than Sherlock Holmes (I love stories about Holmes almost as much as I love my ...
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Nigel Slater's Real Food
Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate, 2000
Epitomy of Simple Comfort Food which Tastes Good. Buy It!
`Nigel Slater's Real Food' and `Real Cooking' by Nigel Slater (name above the title, of course) are two great expositions on the real joy of cooking. Slater characterizes his point of view in the motto to `Real Cooking' as `There is too much talk of cooking being an ...
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The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa
Shawn Levy
Fourth Estate, 2005
Can't Put it Down Good....
Shawn Levy could write about a sack of potatos and make it interesting. I knew very little of Rubi but after reading this book I feel like went through a week by week breifing of the events of his life. Some of the details in the book are of astounding accuracy; I ...
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Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe
Simon Singh
Fourth Estate, 2005
fascinating
Akin to the Edison/Tesla fued over DC vs AC current for power distribution, this book describes in detail the two biggest waring factions in cosmology - Steady State theorists vs Big Bang theorists. Singh presents all the researchers and their discoveries over the ...
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Bel Canto
Ann Patchett
Fourth Estate, 2002
Beautiful Book
This book is about a hostage situation in a third world country. Random but important guests are held at the vice president's house by terrorists. The author manages to put so much beauty into this seemingly horrifying scenario. The reader can not help but feel ...
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Genome
Matt Ridley
Fourth Estate Ltd, 2000
Great Read, Interesting Primer on Our Genes
This is a wonderful read as: science, non-fiction generally, and as a primer on our genes, what they do, and how they work. I find Ridley to be one of the best science writers for the general public and this book is no exception.
Ridley leads us on an interesting ...
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A Scandalous Life: The Biography of Jane Digby
Mary S. Lovell
Fourth Estate, 2003
Scanals to last a life time
Lady Jane Digby was born in the early 1800's to two very wealthy families. She was the apple of her fathers eye and at the age of 17 married to a nobleman and was just expected to live the life of a country woman for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately she did not ...
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The Instant Cook
Donna Hay
Fourth Estate, 2005
Glad I found Donna Hay!
I first saw this cookbook while browsing in a bookstore. It was a beautiful book. Once I opened it, I knew I liked it visually due to so many color photographs and it's beautiful design.
This book is not only visually beautiful and thoughtfully designed, but ...
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Miracles of Life: Shanghai to Shepperton: An Autobiography
J. G. Ballard
Fourth Estate, 2008
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So I Have Thought of You: The Letters of Penelope Fitzgerald. by Penelope Fitzgerald
Penelope Fitzgerald
Fourth Estate, 2008
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When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management
Roger Lowenstein
Fourth Estate, 2002
Short Term Capital Irrationality
Roger Lowenstein details how the partners of "Long Term Capital Management" let greed and ego overwhelm them.
LTCM was a hedge fund that was supposed to use arbitage to make money at low risk. It worked for a while, but then lots of people started getting in on the ...
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The Northern Clemency. by Philip Hensher
Philip Hensher
Fourth Estate, 2008
A phenomenal novel
A fascinating and absolutely rivetting novel.
I finished The Northern Clemency 4 weeks ago and have been letting it sink in. It is a wonderfully resonant novel, and the people and places still live within my head. It is, for want of a better word, a 'family saga', ...
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Edgar Sawtelle
David Wroblewski
Fourth Estate, 2008
Animal lovers will like it
I was nervous to buy this, but all the talk about dogs made me do it and boy am i glad i did. Normally not my type of book, but it kept me very intrested and deeply involved in the story line. The dogs in this story are amazing. Definitly a good read.
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Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment
James R. Gaines
Fourth Estate, 2005
read this asap
i have read numerous books on j. s. bach and own all the standard biographies yet i was beguiled with this book as the author is supremely adept at placing the information in the right perspective and is such a good writer that you cannot put it down. i read it through ...
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