Popular science is a category that is still selling very
well; as are books celebrating women’s achievements – so a title that I think
has real potential this autumn is Ada’s Algorithm:
How Lord Byron’s Daughter Launched the Digital Age through the Poetry of
Numbers by James Essinger (£8.99, pb, 978
1783340712) This is the real-life story of a woman's struggle (she was a
contemporary of Darwin) to have her revolutionary ideas heard in male-dominated
19th century Britain. The Independent on Sunday called this: “the
story that might have kick-started the computer age a century sooner” when
it was published in hardback last year; and Engineering and Technology
Magazine said “Anyone who thinks Lovelace's famous contribution to
computer science is overrated, should read James Essinger's new biography...
This concise and readable account gives Lovelace's work the respect it
deserves.” Ada Lovelace was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the
dangerous romantic poet whose name was a byword for scandal. Over the past
decades, she has become a surprise underground star for digital pioneers all
over the world, starting with Alan Turing, but also for female scientists in
general. Ada’s Algorithm tells the story
of Ada Lovelace’s turbulent private life as the poet's daughter and her exceptional
achievement. It traces how her scientific peers failed to recognise the
extraordinary breakthrough she had made in the middle of the 19th century and
suggests that if they had, the computer age could have started almost two
centuries ago. Today her fame continues to grow and may soon rival her
father's, a tribute to her singular determination and inspiring personality. James Essinger's previous book was chosen as one
of the top 5 popular science books of the year by the Economist and the
film rights for Ada’s Algorithm have already been optioned by Monumental Pictures who
made Suffragette. Ada’s Algorithm is published on 3 September by Gibson Square.
There is an annual Ada
Lovelace Day – this year’s is on Tuesday 11 October – which
is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science,
technology, engineering and maths It aims to increase the profile of women
these disciplines, and, in doing so, create new role models who will
encourage more girls into scientific careers. There are numerous events across
the UK to mark the day, and you can find out more about that here. There is also an evening event to
celebrate Ada, which bills itself as an “an entertaining evening of
geekery, comedy and music” with some very high profile speakers from the
scientific world – if you like to see a 3 minute video showing some of
the highlights of last year’s event, then go to YouTube here.
Talking of inspirational women who struggled to have their
revolutionary ideas heard in a male dominated Britain; don’t forget to stock
the Margaret Thatcher Colouring Book (pb, £8.99, 978 1785900990) which has just been
published by Biteback. This is for anyone who's ever wanted to express
their feelings for Lady Thatcher through the medium of colouring in, offering
our proud do-it-yourself nation the chance to decorate the Iron Lady in the
technicolour magnificence she deserves. As it says on the cover; in order to
protect your freedom of choice, crayons are not included. Featuring a cast of
luminaries including Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan, General Pinochet and
Jeremy Corbyn, this brief, beautiful and completely inaccurate illustrated
biography of Britain's first female Prime Minister promises hours of creative
gratification.
And if Margaret Thatcher is your heroine – then
you’ll probably enjoy this
mash-up of some of her best lines from The Daily Beast!
Love it, or loathe it; the footie season is now upon us.
One footie title that has done extremely well for you – and us – is Pep Confidential by
Martí Perarnau which
has sold over 20,000 copies in the UK and is regarded as a modern classic on
football management and team strategy. So you’ll be very pleased to hear that a
follow up is coming from Arena Sport in November: Pep Guardiola: The Evolution. Certain to get
masses of media coverage, as the UK’s fascination with its latest European
super-manager shows no sign of abating; this new book covers Pep’s second and
third seasons with Bayern Munich, as well as his decision to move to the UK and
manage Manchester City. For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Martí Perarnau was
given total access around the German super club – to its players, its backroom
staff, its board members and, above all, to its manager, Pep Guardiola. This book takes the reader on a
journey through three action packed seasons as Bayern smashed domestic records
yet struggled to emulate that dominance in Europe, analysing Guardiola’s
management style through key moments on and off the field. Perarnau reveals how
Guardiola improved as a manager at Bayern despite failing to land the ultimate
prize in European football, examines his decision to leave Germany to take up
the challenge at Manchester City and how his managerial style will continue to
evolve in the Premier League. This is more than the story of three seasons with
one of the biggest clubs in the game. It is a portrait and analysis of a
manager and the footballing philosophies that have beguiled the world. It
delivers a portrait of some of football’s most spellbinding individuals that is
as enthralling as it is utterly unique. Pep
Guardiola: The Evolution by Martí Perarnau (pb,
£14,00, 16 pages of colour photos, 978 1909715493) is published on 3 November.
If you’re interested in the latest update on the Pep/Joe
Hart bust up you can read all about that here
in the Mail, or have a watch here at four minutes of
pure Peptastic perfection!
If you’d like to find out whether or not you are “an
accomplished woman” – according to the rules of Pride and Prejudice –
then why not take this
amusing quiz over on BuzzFeed!
Most of us remember reading with horror about the tragic
case of “Baby P” – Peter Connelly – in 2007 at the hands of his mother, Tracy
Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen. It led to
a media furore, a major political crisis and the sacking of Sharon Shoesmith, Director of Children's Services
for Haringey live on TV by Ed Balls. Now in Learning
from Baby P: The Politics of Blame, Fear and Denial, Sharon Shoesmith puts
her side of the story. She carries out a dispassionate analysis of the events
which followed Peter Connelly's death, documenting the responses of the media,
politicians and the public. She explores the psychological and emotional
responses we share when faced with such horrifying cases of familial child
homicide, and how a climate of fear and blame which follows such tragedies can
lead to negative consequences for other children at risk of harm, and for the
social workers striving to protect them. Learning
from Baby P is a thought-provoking
book which aims to deepen understanding and shed light on the difficult
relationship between politics, the media and child protection. The Guardian
described it as “a forensic account of a modern-day political witch-hunt”
and has just run an excellent article about it which you can read here
which asks whether Sharon Shoesmith was made a scapegoat by the media and attempts to
understand why and how she became public enemy No 1. It would be understandable
if Shoesmith were consumed by bitterness, but she claims one of the first
things she did as part of her recovery was “work out the anger”. She is
sad that she will never work again, but philosophical. The tabloid media, she
believes, will never leave her alone, and will see the publication of the book
as a provocation in itself. This week, the Sun and the Mail
pounced, accusing her of “profiting” from Peter’s death by publishing
the book, but she says she did not receive an advance, and any royalties will
be spent on funding her work in raising awareness about child homicides. Learning from Baby P by
Sharon Shoesmith (pb,
978 1785920035, £15.99) has just been published by Jessica Kingsley and
you can order it now.
The autumn tern begins next week, and a whole new
generation of keenie beanie students set off to university to discover the joys
of great English literature and poetry. Glyn Maxwell (who has long been
regarded himself as one of Britain’s major poets) wrote On Poetry (pb,
£12.99, 978 1849430852) in 2012 which The Spectator called “a modern
classic” and the Guardian described as “the best book about
poetry I’ve ever read.” His new title published next week, expands on some
of the ideas in On Poetry but Drinks with
Dead Poets is not exactly criticism –
it’s part comic novel, part dream-memoir and part autobiography; in fact it’s
unlikely to be quite like anything you’ve read before! It starts when poet Glyn
Maxwell wakes up in a mysterious village one autumn day. He has no idea how he
got there but he has a strange feeling there’s a class to teach. And isn’t that
the poet Keats wandering down the lane? Why not ask him to give a reading, do a
Q & A? Perhaps hit the pub with the students afterwards? The term stretches
languidly ahead, and soon Byron, the Brontës, Emily Dickinson, Yeats, the War
Poets and more, are all on their way to give readings in the humble village
hall. When they’re there, every word they speak is drawn from their
letters, diaries, journals or essays. These are words put into new contexts as
Q and A, as pub-chat, as passing conversation. Maxwell and his students meet
THE poets; they talk, they drink, they fall in and out of love. Drinks with Dead Poets is
a gorgeous gem of a book, which I think will strike a chord with many readers
and poetry lovers – it is truly written from the heart from the author who
Simon Armitage called “compelling, original, charismatic and poetic”.
You can order Drinks with Dead Poets (hb, £12.99, 978 1783197415) from Oberon Books
now.
And who better to champion to the work of dead poets – and
to make the argument for reading poetry in general – than the late great Robin
Williams – in this
iconic scene from one of my all-time favourite films.
The Great British Bake Off is
back – hurrah! To finish with; how about these
hilarious top 20 Bake Off innuendos brought to us by Cosmopolitan
– ooh er missus – we LOVE them!
That’s all for now folks! More
next week!
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