'Language, Power, and Alexander Graham Bell's Quest to End Deafness' is the sub-title of this revelatory and revisionist biography of the renowned inventor of the telephone, and powerful enemy of the deaf community. 'Deaf people who couldn't speak were often referred to as monkeys, or prehuman. I didn't know that the chief person behind the campaign to keep deaf children from learning ASL (American Sign Language) was the man who most people thought of differently, pleasantly, as the inventor of the telephone. Or that the movement he led would change forever what was expected of the deaf.' When Alexander Graham Bell first unveiled his telephone to the world, it was considered miraculous, but few people know that it was inspired by another supposed miracle - his work teaching deaf people to speak. He was the son of one deaf woman and husband to another, motivated by a desire to empower deaf people by integrating them into the hearing world. But he ended up becoming their most powerful enemy, waging a war against sign language and deaf culture that still rages today. The book tells the dual stories of Bell's remarkable, world-changing invention and his dangerous ethnocide of deaf culture and language. It also charts the rise of deaf activism and tells the triumphant tale of a community reclaiming a once-forbidden language. In 1863 at the age of 16, Bell first started work on his speaking machine, with a mechanical body like an organ with keys to depress different portions and exhale full words. His father Alexander Melville Bell was an elocutionist who was designing a universal phonetic alphabet, one that would be able to document any sound in any language. Melville called his alphabet Visible Speech, because it acted as an instructional guide on how to shape the mouth into different sounds. Each symbol was part of a code of where to put the tongue in the mouth, how to breath, how open the lips should be. Well researched, it is a timely reminder of the flawed humanity that lies behind so much of our technological innovation. 402pp.

In ancient Egypt, the manufacture of beauty products often took place within Royal palaces or at sites of great religious importance. Cosmetic production was strictly regulated and there was an air of mystery around the exact method of manufacture and composition. Such was the value of those ingredients in those cosmetic pastes, perfumes and ointment that those people employed to work with the valuable aromatic resin frankincense were even searched on leaving their place of work. We will here see Egyptians, both men and women, wear lapis lazuli alongside kohl on their eyes and eyelids. They applied ground alabaster as a facial scrub and cleanser and beeswax was all over the body as a moisturiser; facial hair was removed and Egyptian society, at all levels, strived to control unpleasant body odour and bad breath. All make up matters from the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the classical revival and the printing press, witches, counterfeit cosmetics during the French Revolution, 19th-century ladies' magazines, the movies, make up and the war effort, mass media advertising through to compacts and bags, Cutex manicure sets and ice cream lip pomades of the 1970s to 21st century trends are covered. Includes a glossary of cosmetic ingredients too in a book which is a bewildering, fascinating and complex story of beauty trends and a colourful journey through the human obsession with improving how we look. 288 pages, 16 pages of colour and mono photos.

Lose weight and feel better from the inside, the book includes 80 recipes and an easy-to-follow 28 day plan to get a healthier gut by eating well and eating differently. Many modern Brits are struggling not only with their weight but also with a sensitive gut, food intolerances, and digestive problems which are all on the rise. This innovative book explains how our modern diet and reliance on processed foods has decimated the good bacteria in our gut. Not a science book, it is a dedicated and simple 28 day plan which explains good versus bad bacteria, includes a weight-loss tracker and tailored recipes. It includes an assessment quiz, the five big triggers, not just food and drink but lifestyle, and a close look at milk, red meat and nightshade, gassy vegetables, wheat and gluten and more adventurous recipes combining foods - traditional Lamb Stew, Spicy Bean Burgers, Pran Biryani and Beef Bourguignon among them. Nice clear layout, 242pp, paperback.

'The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid' introduces a secret key to losing weight, controlling blood sugar, and achieving extraordinary heath. The book features the LUV Diet and 40 delicious recipes, self-assessment quizzes, and a 21-day programme for dropping uric acid levels. The bestselling author Dr David Perlmutter offers dietary and lifestyle tweaks to help you lose weight, prevent and reverse disease, and live a long, healthy life. What do obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, hypertension, fatty liver disease, stroke, neurological disorders and premature death have in common? All can be stoked by high uric acid levels and even slight elevations are still within the 'normal' range. The book offers simple dietary edits focussed on managing common ingredients, natural hacks that lower levels such as consuming tart cherries, quercetin and coffee, information on over-the-counter and prescription drugs that threaten to increase uric acid, and lifestyle interventions such as restorative sleep, meal timing and exercise. From diabetes to dementia the book explains the fallacy of fructose and how uric acid amplifies brain decline and triggers fat production, from thickening your waistline to filling your liver with dangerous fat, even if you're not overweight. The book involves a little history, science and physiology and goes on to describe how managing healthy levels is not nearly as hard as you may think. The pay off will be well worth the time and effort. 325pp, large paperback with clear layout.

Sub-titled 'Sex, Hysteria and the Riddle of Mental Illness', the book asks where should neurology and psychiatry converge to explore not just the brain, but the nature of the human psyche? In 1882, Jean-Martin Charcot was the premier physician in Paris where many of his patients had neurosyphilis - the advanced form of syphilis which was causing an overflow of patients in Europe's asylums. A sexually transmitted disease, it was known as the 'great imitator' since its symptoms resembled those of almost any biological disease or mental illness. Charcot brought mesmerism or hypnotism into his clinic in favour of the far sexier and theatrical treatment of female 'hysterics'. The disease of mad poets, musicians and artists swept through the highest and lowest rungs of European society like a plague, demonstrated in an outbreak of bizarre behaviours resembling epilepsy, but with no identifiable source in the body and it strained the diagnostic skills of the great neurologists. Today we know that syphilitic madness was a destructive disease of the brain, but what is the difference between the brain and the mind? What does it mean to have an illness that affects one and not the other? Is madness physical or intangible? The book asks the deepest questions about the very nature of who we are. A rollicking ride, patient by patient, through the two conditions of neurosyphilis and hysteria. 242pp, paperback.

CBD. You may have heard of it. Maybe you've tried it. Maybe you already use it daily and love it. The potential health and wellness benefits, coupled with the legalisation of domestic hemp production, have propelled CBD into the public sphere way faster than science can test and confirm the health benefits made about it. Here is a book giving the straight dope on living with CBD, improving your day to day routines in every room of your home - for wellness, sleep, sex, cooking, entertaining and with your pets. Bring CBD into your bathroom skincare and beauty rituals, to help you relax or rev up your sex life, infuse food and drink. There are more than 25 recipes and DIY projects and helpful tips on sourcing, storing and using CBD in all its forms. One of the most impressive general health benefits is that CBD is an antioxidant, against free radicals and oxidative stress in the body. There is advice on a balanced diet, the hot truth on CBD and caffeine, its impacts on the metabolic function and 'fat browning' or turning the white fat associated with obesity into the brown fat cells our body uses for energy. Preliminary research shows that CBD might be useful for treating insomnia, REM sleep disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness. CBD massages are becoming mainstream in spas, helping boost the immune system by increasing white blood cells and acting as a natural pain killer. Recipes include Roasted Radicchio and Walnut Toast, and Crab Salad in Endive. The recipes are printed on beautiful golden pages in one section of this incredibly well designed book. Packed with colour illus., 208pp for everyone who is curious minded.

A third of the population sleep badly but this revolutionary five-week plan means you don't have to be one of them. Using a blend of mindfulness and ACT therapy (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) techniques, Dr Guy shares his plan to cure your sleep problem whether it?s a few restless nights or a lifetime of insomnia. Most people who have trouble sleeping invest a huge amount of time, effort and money into fixing the problem, but Dr Guy has discovered the secret lies not in what you do, but what you learn not to do and that the more frustrated you become only serves to push sleep further away. These pioneering methods have an unprecedented success and we hope you will find your remedy here as some readers have said it is a book which has 'changed my life' and that the book has a useful, kind and gentle approach. The surprise bonus is it endows the user with the power to get over jetlag. The five-week remedy was pioneered at the Sleep School and now by popular demand appears in this reissued paperback. 211pp.

Brilliantly simple slow cooker recipes to produce vibrant, comforting and budget-friendly vegan meals with little to no effort. The 70 delicious recipes for breakfasts, mains and sweet treats teach simple guidelines for successful slow cooking - less is more and liquid reduction, layering flavours like toasting spices, marinating vegetables or sautéing onions and garlic, keeping greens fresh by adding at the last minute and resisting the urge to open the lid because each time you do take a peep, that will add 15 minutes to the cooking time. Make a delicious Salted Maple Granola, Fancy Baked Beans, Kimchi Noodle Soup, Corn Chowder, Minestrone with hot vegan bouillon stock, Tear and Share Marinara Bread, Thai Green Curry, Miso Aubergine Noodles, Beetroot and Sweet Potato Gratin with the vegetable slices arranged in concentric circles to create a swirling two-tone effect, Vegan Bolognese, Carrot Dahl, a festive Nut Roast, Slow-Cooked Jacket Potatoes, Pulled Jack Fruit Burgers and in sweet treats a Syrup Sponge, Rhubarb, Apple and Ginger Crumble, Pineapple Upside Down Cake and other favourites and ending with a delicious Salted Caramel Sauce. Revolutionise your meal planning and eat well following these easy instructions, tricks and tips. 128 page large softback, colour photos.

A lovely young Australian couple Cameron and Sam Bloom were holidaying with their three little boys in Thailand when Sam leant against a safety fence, riddled with dry rot. The barrier collapsed beneath her and Sam stood poised on the edge for a seemingly infinite slither of time - 'Leaning back over the void at an impossible angle, her slim arms waving wildly, fingers extended as if to find purchase in the air and take flight. And then she was gone. She didn't scream. I never heard her hit the ground.' With frightful head injuries causing constant migraine, her spine was shattered at T6 and T7 and in Cameron's absence, a callous doctor brusquely told Sam that it was obvious she would never walk again. 'My brave wife was devastated.' In the darkest days of her struggle towards some sort of recovery, the pain and depression was constant. Suddenly a new and unexpected member of the family came into their lives - an injured magpie chick abandoned after she fell from her nest in a car park near Grandma's house. She became their little girl, and known as Penguin Bloom. In many ways the penguin saved them and as the little chick grew into a strong and beautiful bird, Sam found she could talk to her and they became inseparable, one always looking after the other. The three little boys fed and petted her and the bird was free to come and go from the house. The story is told with the photographer-author's own beautiful images about a crazy little bird who helped make the family whole again. The number one international bestseller. B/w photos. Paperback, 272pp.

Everyday ways to find and lose yourself in 'nature', this is a beautiful book brim-full with accessible and inventive ideas and a practical guide to fostering calm. Expand and retreat. Grow and disappear. Find and lose yourself in nature. We have all heard the advice that to improve our wellbeing we need to reconnect with nature and tune in to the natural world. But how do we find it? The book is an invitation to journey into nature, no matter how urban your environment or green your neighbourhood is. It has projects, wisdom and ideas to set new inventions and discover new paths 'with plenty of planning and pauses to let the magic take effect.' Make new rituals, learn new skills through creative projects, seeing things differently because new knowledge is key to positive change, push yourself and try two or three different suggestions each week or month and celebrate your victories, even the tiny ones. There is plenty on gardening, microgreens, saving sickly houseplants, befriending an elderly tree; have a mindful adventure in your neighbourhood and embrace getting lost, dissolve in water and experience a silky, cool water seeping into every nook and crease of your skin; create an imaginary landscape, discover urban birding, recipes for soaks and sprays, aromatherapy cleanses, a conversation with silence, conjuring mood with scent, bundle dyeing with food waste like avocados or onion skin, dry marigold flowers, carrot tops, rosemary or hibiscus tea or collecting fresh petals, leaves, or berries and stems to add colour and shapes to your dyed fabric. Beautifully designed and illustrated and packed with information to dip into. 188pp.