'We English men have wits,' wrote the clergyman Ralph Lever in 1573, and, 'we have also framed unto ourselves a language.' The book is a fresh and brilliant study of how philosophy became established in England, challenging what Rée calls the 'condescending smugness' of traditional histories of philosophy. He sees it as a mass of individual stories showing endurance, inventiveness, bewilderment, anxiety, impatience and good humour from men and women from many walks of life, engaged with the debates and cultures of their age. He includes celebrated British and American philosophers such as Hume, Emerson, Mill and James and also literary authors such as William Hazlitt and George Eliot and an overlooked past of priests and poets, teachers, servants and crofters, thinking for themselves about religion, politics, art and everything else. The book adopts a novel structure examining its subjects at 50 year intervals from the 16th century to the 20th - puritans, comedians, politicians, libertarians, and a collection of nonsense and folly, ethics in wartime and the prophets of the death of metaphysics. Wide ranging, fascinating. 746pp in heavyweight illustrated softback.

A beautifully illustrated collection of some of the finest examples of liturgical art and the culture that produced it, this medieval church treasury assesses the artistic techniques and methods, and places objects in the context of their practice and piety. Fliegel explores the origins from late antiquity and their ultimate disappearance as a result of the Reformation, French Revolution, and political upheavals of the early modern period. Reliquaries, censers, monstrances, chalices, patens and vestments, liturgical objects were usually crafted from precious metals such as silver, gilt-silver and gold to which costly gemstones, enamels, carved ivory plaques were often applied. They were often displayed only in a church sacristy, or a 'treasury', and important objects were displayed openly on or near the altar for all to see. The many books produced during the Middle Ages to celebrate the Mass were handmade and often costly to produce, decorated or illuminated with silver and gold leaf and colourful paint, these illuminated manuscripts were among the most prized possessions of any cathedral, parish church or monastery. Sometimes they were bound between bejewelled covers, befitting their function on the altar. Some of these great medieval treasuries have survived in situ in cities such as Venice, Hildesheim, Aachen, Trier and elsewhere. The medieval churchgoer would be overwhelmed by the sensory richness of the setting, the coloured light emanating from stained glass windows, the flickering lights from candles and the smell of incense and of course the crosses and chalices which dazzled and inspired the faithful in a world embellished with sculpture, icons and frescoes of God, the angels and saints. This is a rich treasury in a rare import of 108pp, 22.5 x 28.5cm.

The church steeple is the glory of the English landscape and for over a thousand years has evolved a grandeur and a beauty unrivalled in Europe. It is the icon of every parish. These exquisite line drawings celebrate some of the finest medieval buildings to survive, each parish church tower and spire a testament to the architectural and artistic achievements of England in the Middle Ages. The 16 distinctive individual cards are blank for every occasion and printed on quality card and include St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, Ludlow Shropshire, Southwold Suffolk, Chipping Camden Gloucestershire and St Michael Coventry among them. Elegant, simple, 16 white envelopes and in a lidded box for safe keeping.

Sub-titled 'A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation', it is still possible to find stillness of mind even amidst our everyday activities. Beloved Zen master John Daido Loori shares the way of Zen meditation with easy-to-understand instructions, practical lessons and short but sweet titbits of useful information: 'One thing, all things, move among and intermingle without distinction...' The key is continuity and consistency, meditating for just ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes at night, and making an agreement with yourself to sit each day for a set period of time. This is when Zazen is best practiced, and if you wish, set up a little altar and hold your hands in the cosmic mudra with the active hand held palm up holding the inactive hand, mid knuckles overlapping and thumb tips touching lightly forming an oval frame. With every detail about positioning and centring the body, the head and hands, breathing and relaxation exercises and even walking meditation, it's a perfect guide to home practice. 80 page illustrated paperback from Shambhala.

With a focus on practical Buddhism, this commentary goes to the heart of what it means to be a Buddhist. Tsong-kha-pa's classic treatise on the stages to enlightenment is one of the key texts of Buddhism and was finally translated into English in 2008. This book is a commentary on the text from the Dalai Lama himself, who took the treatise with him in his undercover flight from Tibet in 1959. Focusing on the interdependence of the whole of creation, he emphasizes that one of the ways in which Buddhism differs from other world religions is that Buddhists do not believe in a divine uncaused creator. A later section of the book explains how reality can never be objectively established. Existence arises from our interdependence, but at the same time we live in a moral universe where our choices have a karmic cause and effect. The first chapter, entitled "Deep Connections", focuses on inclusivity, describing the Dalai Lama's reaching out to Muslims, joining their Rajasthan pilgrimage, and incorporating a plea to Tibetans to create friendship groups with Han Chinese members of their communities. Enlightenment involves an understanding that "reality is neither Buddhist nor Christian". The originator of the treatise under discussion was the 11th century monk Atisha, and Tsong-kha-pa's development of his ideas foregrounds the importance of integrating different strands of belief and practice. Grasping at self-existence lies at the root of suffering, and the peace of nirvana involves recognising this and combating it through the four seals of the Dharma. 214pp, paperback.

The Dalai Lama escaped from the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, and from his base in India has achieved a worldwide following for his lectures on Tibetan Buddhism. Between 1979 and 1981 he gave 67 lectures in the US. This selection from those talks focuses on compassion and includes the cause and effect of karma, the four noble truths, the luminous nature of the mind, the common goals of the world's major religions, meditative concentration, emptiness and selflessness. The book concludes with a synthesis of all the various strands of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama advocates nonviolence and compassion in the political arena, yet the Chinese authorities have been reluctant to engage with him. Compassion is based on cultivating a sense of the reality of the other person and a recognition that his or her needs might conflict with your own. Nirvana can come later and is impossible without being rooted in daily practice. A key question often asked is whether the Dalai Lama proselytises, encouraging others to join his faith, or whether he waits for people to come to him. The response is that he works alongside Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Jews, but at the same time he is not interested in forming a world religion. The secret is to look outward, to ask what you can give. The question of inherent existence is complex philosophically, and the Dalai Lama engages with it here in a deep and scholarly way. A clear exposition of complex ideas. 230pp, paperback.

Officially entitled 'Manifesto of a Communist Party', an 1848 political manifesto by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this originally laid out the programme of the Communist League. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and present) and the problems of capitalism and the capitalist mode of production, rather than a prediction of Communism's potential future forms. It contains their theories about the nature of society and politics, and briefly features ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then finally Communism. A bestselling classic that belongs in everyone's library, this beautifully designed illustrated edition includes an Introduction describing the pamphlet's enduring relevance to the tumultuous landscape of modern politics. English translation, with hundreds of colourful images. 160pp, 10.5 x 17.15cm.

A wonderful mix of songs and singers and hymns with an Arabic or Eastern voice accompanying it, this is a truly relaxing and beautiful selection of 14 tracks as seen on TV's Songs of Praise with Aled singing with a Muslim singer. The first track is How Can I Keep from Singing? with Dame Judi Dench, and includes Ave Maria, Anfonaf Angel, Loving Kindness and If I Can Help Somebody with Harry Billinge MBE. It ends with Silent Night sung with Brian Blessed. Bargain price CD.

Great Britain and Ireland are particularly well endowed with cathedrals and abbeys and it is estimated that there were almost 1,000 built during the Middle Ages. When Cromwell closed the majority of them during the dissolution of the monasteries, many were left in ruins, plundered or survived because their local communities adopted them as parish churches. The outstanding example is St Albans which begins this beautifully illustrated collection. We go to Bath Abbey, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Chester, Chichester, Coventry, St Davids, Durham, Ely, Exeter, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glastonbury, Gloucester, Hereford, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Oxford, St Patrick's Dublin, St Paul's, Peterborough, Rochester, Salisbury, Southwark, Southwell Minster, Tewkesbury Abbey, Truro, Wells, Westminster Abbey, Winchester, Worcester to York Minster with a bolt of lightning and walls of glass and it rebellious Yorkshireman. Discover tales of an English pope, a martyred archbishop, secrets and troublesome spies, stained glass wonders and castle-cathedrals, famous memorials and spectacular architectural feats in a rich heritage and fascinating collection. New full price, 144 well illustrated pages.

'Incredible True Stories of Heavenly Encounters and the Afterlife', the book is co-written with the medium Claire Broad. Together they share fascinating true stories of ordinary people who have experienced direct communication from the spirit world, and those who have received proof of survival through a reading with Claire. As well as examining the ways in which messages can come to us from the other side, the book outlines the latest scientific research on the afterlife and mediumship and answers important questions about what happens after we die. It shares practical steps we can all take to become more attuned to the medium that lies within us and recognise the signs that heaven is calling. The book outlines the many different ways that heaven may answer our prayers, offer us comfort and provide proof of survival. It includes the top ten afterlife signs, what near-death experiences can tell us, the meaning of visions and dreams, the importance of intuition and coincidence and advice on visiting a medium. 331pp with an appendix of interesting podcasts and YouTube videos. Paperback.