A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week covering 40,000 years of our relationship with time condensed into 288 pages. It is a finely-tuned meditation by a watchmaker and historian who welcomes us into the hidden world of watchmaking, and to a history of time that spans centuries and continents. The invention of timepieces was more significant for human culture than the printing press or even the wheel. They have travelled the world with us, from the depths of the oceans to the summit of Everest, and even to the Moon. They regulate our daily lives and have sculpted the social and economic development of society in surprising and dramatic ways. From her workshop bench, Rebecca explores the ways in which timekeeping has indelibly shaped our attitudes to work, leisure, trade, politics, exploration and mortality. She introduces us to some of the extraordinary devices, each with their own story to tell, in this intricate exploration of the history, science, philosophy, and craft of timekeeping. 'Watches don't create time, they measure our cultural perception of time.' She takes us from the earliest lunar calendar (a notched baboon fibula found in the Lebombo mountains) to today's quartz watches together with the sights, smells and sounds of a watchmaker's workshop in Birmingham's jewellery quarter. 260pp in illustrated paperback with eight pages of colour photos.

Seven small inventions that changed the world in a big way here are smartphones, skyscrapers, spacecraft and modern technology which seems mind-bogglingly complex, but beneath the surface can be beautifully simple. Award winning Shard engineer and broadcaster Roma Agrawal deconstructs our most complex feats of engineering into seven fundamental inventions - the nail, spring, wheel, lens, magnet, string and pump. Each is a wonder of design, the result of many iterations and refinements, and together they have enabled humanity to see the invisible, build the spectacular, communicate across vast distances, and even escape our planet. Roma shares the stories of the remarkable and often unknown scientists and engineers who made them possible in this masterclass in storytelling. Shortlisted for The Royal Society Science Book Prize in 2023 and which 'appeals to the nerdy side of just about all of us' as Jane Garvey said on Radio 4. 302pp, illustrated paperback.

'Go back to nature with the Japanese way of shinrin-yoku' or 'Forest bathing'. The term was coined in Japan in the 1980s and means to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the forest. Trees hold a place in so many people's hearts. We instinctively know that we feel better in nature. Japanese Professor Miyazaki offers a guide to the practice of forest bathing and the science behind it which reveals the healing power of trees and the benefits of going for a gentle walk in the woods, from strengthening the immune system, to immeasurably reducing stress levels and improving mood. Today we are over stimulated and stressed by our man-made world which makes our bodies more susceptible to disease. It is not surprising that attention is turning to shinrin-yoku as an example of a natural and low cost way to alleviate this problem and provide preventative medical effects that makes falling ill less likely. The author says 'I also remember wondering why my body felt so relaxed when I came into contact with soil, flowers and trees' and William Blake said 'The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way... But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.' Here is a practice that involves all the senses as you gently walk and breathe deeply, the essential oils of the trees absorbed by the body having an extraordinary effect on positive feelings, stress hormone levels, parasympathetic nervous activity, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity. A wonderful book by the leading expert in the field where science meets nature. 192 page illustrated paperback.