one of the most photographed people on the planet, david beckham is a constant source of fascination for celebrity watchers and sports fans all over the world, his ever-changing array of clothes, hairstyles, and companions Js never missed by the waiting photographers whenever he comes or goes.

Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs BusinessBook of the Year Prize 2008 The Snowball is the first and will bethe only biography of the world's richest man, Warren Buffett,written with his full cooperation and collaboration. Combining aunique blend of "The Sage of Omaha's" business savvy, life storyand philosophy, The Snowball is essential reading for anyonewishing to discover and replicate the secrets of his business andlife success. Warren Buffett is arguably the world's greatestinvestor. Even as a child he was fascinated by the concept of riskand probability, setting up his first business at the age of six.In 1964 he bought struggling Massachusetts textile firm BerkshireHathaway and grew it to be the 12th largest corporation in the USpurely through the exercise of sound investing principles - a featnever equalled in the annals of business. Despite an estimated networth of around US$62 billion, Buffett leads an intriguingly frugallife taking home a salary of only GBP50,000 a year. Hi

Most 31-year olds can't boast of being the instigator of a revolution. But then again, the world's leading promoter of open source software and creator of the operating system Linux does humbly call himself an accidental revolutionary--accidental being the operative word here. Just for Fun is the quirky story of how Linus Torvalds went from being a penniless, introverted code writer in Helsinki in the early 1990s to being the unwitting (and rather less than penniless) leader of a radical shift in computer programming by the end of the decade. OK, perhaps "story" in the traditional sense of the term is stretching it a bit. This whole book is more like a series of e-mails, an exercise in textual communication for someone more used to code language than conversation: choppy sentences packed into short paragraphs, and sometimes just one-liners. The pace is fast, but the quippy tone can get somewhat tiring, though it definitely suits the portrayal of a computer-dominated life. And like an e-mail conversation

The most remarkable thing that happened to the world economy after 9/11 was ...nothing. What would have once meant a crippling shock to the system was absorbed astonishingly quickly, partly due to the efforts of the then Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan. The post 9/11 global economy is a new and turbulent system - vastly more flexible, resilient, open, self-directing, and fast-changing than it was even twenty years ago. "The Age of Turbulence" is an incomparable reckoning with the nature of this new world - how we got here, what we're living through, and what lies over the horizon, for good or ill, channelled through Greenspan's own experiences working in the command room of the global economy for longer and with greater effect than any other single living figure.

Modern views of Columbus are overshadowed by guilt about pastconquests. Credit for discovering the New World, we are told,belongs to its original inhabitants rather than any European, andColumbus gave those inhabitants nothing apart from death, diseaseand destruction. Yet for the Old World of Europe the four voyagesof Columbus brought revelation where before there had been onlymyths and guesswork. People had thought it was only the greatdistance that made it impossible to reach Asia sailing west fromSpain. No one had predicted that a vast continent stood in the way.And indeed, for Columbus himself, the revolution of understandingwas too much to comprehend. He had counted on a new route to Asiathat would bring him glory, riches and titles, and the thought ofan unknown and undeveloped continent held no attractions. Thetrials and disappointments of the great explorer are graphicallydetailed in this biography first published in 1828, when WashingtonIrving was America's most famous writer.

Warren Buffett is the most successful investor of all time. His ability to consistently find undervalued companies has made him one of the world's richest men. Yet while his track record is hard to argue with, the Buffett way isn't the only way, nor is it always the best way, to invest. Even Buffett Isn't Perfect dispels many myths about Buffett and his "solid as a rock" style. It shows readers how to learn from the master's best moves while avoiding strategies that don't apply to small investors -- and avoiding Buffett's mistakes, such as sometimes riding his winners too long.

'It had happened again. Dad had shouted and yelled, thrown things and smashed things up. And then he had quietly cleaned everything away'. Leo's dad has changed. Since Mum died, his drinking is worse and now he's a different person, someone Leo doesn't recognize. The truth is that Leo is covering up for him and when things get bad Leo escapes into his own head, pretending everything's OK. Things need to change, but what can Leo do? No one understands, except maybe his friend Flora. Leo wants his old dad back so they can be happy again - because Dad is all he has left...

From October to December of 1888, Paul Gauguin shared a yellowhouse in the south of France with Vincent van Gogh. They were theodd couple of the art world -- one calm, the other volatile -- andthe denouement of their living arrangement was explosive. Makinguse of new evidence and Van Goghs voluminous correspondence, MartinGayford describes not only how these two hallowed artists paintedand exchanged ideas, but also the texture of their everyday lives.Gayford also makes a persuasive analysis of Van Goghs mentalillness -- the probable bipolar affliction that led him to commitsuicide at the age of thirty-seven. The Yellow House is a singularbiographical work, as dramatic and vibrant as the work of thesebrilliant artists.

American businesses today are obsessed with the price of their stock, and no wonder. The consequences of even a modest decrease can be so dire that some executives would rather damage their corporation's long-term health than allow quarterly returns to fall below projections. But how did this situation come about? When did the stock market become the driver of the American economy? Lawrence E. Mitchell identifies the moment in American history when finance triumphed over industry. He shows how the birth of the giant modern corporation spurred the rise of the stock market and how, by the dawn of the 1920s, the stock market left behind its business origins to become the very reason for the creation of business itself.

"Moonwalk" is the only book about his life that Michael Jackson ever wrote. It chronicles his humble beginnings in the Midwest, his early days with the Jackson 5, and his unprecedented solo success. Giving absolutely unrivalled insight into the King of Pop's life, it details his songwriting process for hits like "Beat It, Rock With You", "Billie Jean", and "We Are the World"; and describes how he developed his signature dance style, including the "Moon Walk". It also opens the door to his very private personal relationships with his family, including sister Janet, and stars like Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Marlon Brando, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, and Brooke Shields. At the time of its original publication in 1988, "Moonwalk" broke the fiercely guarded barrier of silence that surrounded Michael Jackson. Candidly and courageously, Jackson talks openly about his wholly exceptional career and the crushing isolation of his fame, as well as the unfair rumors that have surrounded it. "Moonwalk" is illustrated with

Told by the band themselves and manager Paul McGuinness, withpictures from their own archives, this story of U2 allows accessinto the inner life of one of the greatest rock bands. It presentsworse hangovers, prayer meetings and wild parties, encounters withPresidents and Popes, and intimate accounts of the creation oftheir classic songs.

"Franklin''s is one of the greatest autobiographies inliterature, and towers over other autobiographies as Franklintowered over other men." -William Dean Howells

As news of the 50-year-old pop superstar's demise spread around the world, there were tears, shock and surprise: a hero was dead. One of the greatest pop music icons the world has ever seen, Michael Jackson had millions of fans all around the world and had an undeniable influence upon fashion, music and popular culture. It contains: never-before-published photographs from the set of "Thriller" by hugely famous celebrity photographer Douglas Kirkland. It features photos by some of the greatest music photographers in the business, including Lynn Goldsmith, Kevin Mazur, Neal Preston, Laura Levine and Steve Schapiro. It includes family photographs of Michael, Debbie Rowe and their two children that have never before been published in book form.

Internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander always considered himself a man of science. His unwavering belief in evidence-based medicine fuelled a career in the top medical institutions of the world. But all this was set to change. One morning in 2008 he fell into a coma after suffering a rare form of bacterial meningitis. Scans of his brain revealed massive damage. Death was deemed the most likely outcome. As his family prepared themselves for the worst, something miraculous happened. Dr Alexander's brain went from near total inactivity to awakening. He made a full recovery but he was never the same. He woke certain of the infinite reach of the soul, he was certain of a life beyond death. In this astonishing book, Dr Alexander shares his experience, pieced together from the notes he made as soon as he was able to write again. Unlike other accounts of near-death experiences, he is able to explain in depth why his brain was incapable of fabricating the journey he experienced.

A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's 73 recently discovered notebooks, including illustrations, deleted extracts, and two unpublished Poirot stories. When Agatha Christie died in 1976, aged 85, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide in more than 100 countries, she had achieved the impossible - more than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller. So prolific was Agatha Christie's output - 66 crime novels, 20 plays, 6 romance books under a pseudonym and over 150 short stories - it was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those 55 years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes? Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable secret was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, 73 handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining

A PRESIDENTIAL DYNASTY. AN ARAB TERRORIST ATTACK. DEMOCRACYUNDER SIEGE. Mario Puzo envisioned it all in his eerily prescient1991 novel, The Fourth K. President Francis Xavier Kennedy is elected to office, in largepart, thanks to the legacy of his forebears–good looks, privilege,wealth–and is the very embodiment of youthful optimism. Too soon,however, he is beaten down by the political process and, disabusedof his ideals, he becomes a leader totally unlike what he has beenbefore. When his daughter becomes a pawn in a brutal terrorist plot,Kennedy, who has obsessively kept alive the memory of his uncles’assassinations, activates all his power to retaliate in a series ofviolent measures. As the explosive events unfold, the world andthose closest to him look on with both awe and horror.

The Story of My Life is Helen Keller's own account of how she miraculously triumphed over blindness and deafness-and became one of the most inspiring and intriguing figures of our time. "I recall my surprise on discovering that a mysterious hand had stripped the trees and bushes, leaving only here and there a wrinkled leaf. The birds had flown, and their empty nests in the bare trees were filled with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed benumbed by his icy touch, and the very spirits of the trees had withdrawn to their roots, and there, curled up in the dark, lay fast asleep. All life seemed to have ebbed away, and even when the sun shone the day was. "

In 1997, Tony Blair won the biggest Labour victory in history tosweep the party to power and end eighteen years of Conservativegovernment. He has been one of the most dynamic leaders of moderntimes; few British prime ministers have shaped the nation's courseas profoundly as Blair during his ten years in power, and hisachievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Nowhis memoirs reveal in intimate detail this unique political andpersonal journey, providing an insight into the man, the politicianand the statesman, and charting successes, controversies anddisappointments with an extraordinary candour. A Journey will proveessential and compulsive reading for anyone who wants to understandthe complexities of our global world. As an account of the natureand uses of power, it will also have a readership that extends wellbeyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challengesof leadership today.

From a hard childhood lived largely in foster homes, she ascended to the highest of Hollywood heights-a screen icon beyond compare. And then she died young under mysterious circumstances, tragically cementing her legend. The life story of Norma Jeane Baker, the girl who would become Marilyn Monroe, is as thrilling, glamorous and dramatic as anything seen on the big screen, and the camera was there to capture every chapter. With intimate, rarely seen photographs of a pretty little child growing up in California during the 1930s right through to the classic imagery of the movie star in the 1950

The outrageous exploits of one of this century's greatestscientific minds and a legendary American original. In thisphenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prize-winning physicistRichard P. Feynman recounts in his inimitable voice his adventurestrading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas ongambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador,accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums and much else of aneyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. A New York Times bestseller; more than 500,000 copies sold.

Michael Jackson was the undisputed King of Pop and his untimely death has provoked tributes from around the world. With a colourful life spanning from 1968 when Michael was a member of the Jackson 5 to his recent announcement of a final comeback tour at the O2 in London, nobody can dispute the achievements of the man who was arguably the greatest artist of the millenium. This fully illustrated book offers an insightful tribute to the man behind Thriller, the world's best selling album of all time. Including sections on Michael's early life and the Jackson 5, the making of Off the Wall and Thriller, and the troubled years leading right up to his announcement of a comeback tour, this will be a comprehensive and fitting tribute to a legendary pop star, the likes of which the world will never be seen again.