(Paperback, Main)

Matthew Parris, presenter of Great Lives on BBC Radio 4, explores the surprising connection between trauma and greatness through vivid case histories.

(Paperback)

With a First from Cambridge and the possibility of working for the Foreign Office, the author decided instead to apply to be an apprentice diesel-fitter with London Transport. He was rejected and so turned to a life in politics. This title offers an account of a young life already well lived.

(Paperback, Main)

A totally up-to-date compendium of the sharpest, wittiest and downright rudest insults in human history.

(Paperback)

A tale of travel and adventure.

(Paperback)

Combining gems from the archives with despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, this title is a treasure trove of wit, venom and serious analysis. It sheds light on Britain's place in the world, and reveal the curious cocktail of privilege and privation which make up the life of an ambassador.

(Paperback)

Heard the one about the Spanish Ambassador who arrived in the scorching Saharan desert fully suited and with a mysteriously enormous suitcase Or the horse they gave Prime Minister John Major in Turkmenistan - which hapless embassy officials had to rescue from the clutches of the Moscow railway This title deals with these questions.