Fiction

A man, dispirited by ageing, endeavours to steal a younger man's face; a doctor yearns for a virus that might eliminate his discomfort by turning everyone else into doubles of...

New to Penguin Modern Classics, Calvino's first novel Pin is a bawdy, adolescent cobbler's assistant, both arrogant and insecure who - while the Second World War rages - sings songs...

Introduction by Amit Chaudhuri; translated by J.A. Underwood Walter Benjamin - philosopher, essayist, literary and cultural theorist - was one of the most original writers and thinkers of the twentieth...

This collection captures the essence of a remarkable woman, one of the foremost thinkers of our century Simone Weil was one of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century- a...

The book that redefined our understanding of the legacy of European colonialism and empire, now reissued with a new PMC jacket 'Stimulating, elegant and pugnacious' Observer In this highly acclaimed...

Gandhi's non-violent struggles against racism, violence, and colonialism in South Africa and India had brought him to such a level of notoriety, adulation that when asked to write an autobiography...

In her memoirs, Simone de Beavoir created a remarkable portrait of a twentieth-century woman's struggle for independence A superb autobiography by one of the great literary figures of the twentieth...

"The Adventures of Augie March is the Great American Novel. Search no further" - Martin Amis Augie March is a penniless and parentless Chicago boy growing up during the Great...

Primo Levi was among the greatest witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In this gripping novel, based on a true story, he reveals the extraordinary lives of the Russian, Polish and Jewish...

The autobiography of one of the world's most talented and intriguing writers, reissuing in Penguin Modern Classics 'Speak, memory', said Vladimir Nabokov. And immediately there came flooding back to him...

This volume contains several other essays, including lyrical evocations of the sunlit cities of Algiers and Oran. In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the fundamental question- Is...

Nabokov's 'other' great love story, following an extraordinary relationship across decades and continents Written in mischievous and magically flowing prose, Ada or Ardor is a romance that follows Ada from...

In one of the wittiest novels of them all, Nancy Mitford casts a finely gauged net to capture perfectly the foibles and fancies of the English upper class. Set in...

'A masterful debunking of some of the myths of capitalism ... Witty, iconoclastic and uncommonly commonsensical ... this book will be invaluable' Observer In 23 Things They Don't Tell You...

The first history for a general audience of one of Asia's most fascinating and complex countries As more and more visitors come to Vietnam, there has been for some years...

Malcolm Gladwell asks the questions you never even thought to ask (and will change the way you think) in a series of intellectual adventure stories In this brilliant and provocative...

'A whirlwind tour of technological possibility' New Scientist 'A whirlwind tour of technological possibility' New Scientist Welcome to the future, where you'll be able to take an elevator hundreds of...

The Guardian's Michael Sandel spearheads a pre-election campaign to inject ethical debate into politics Considering the role of justice in our society and our lives, Michael Sandel reveals how an...

A fresh new look for Bill Bryson's indispensable word companion What is the difference between mean and median, blatant and flagrant, flout and flaunt? Is it whodunnit or whodunit? Do...

A fresh new look for Bill Bryson's two exceptional classics on the English language 'More than 300 million people in the world speak English and the rest, it sometimes seems,...

Published on the 80th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning author's birth Born into a Jewish ghetto in Hungary, as a child, Elie Wiesel was sent to the Nazi concentration...

Malcolm Gladwell shows why the story of success is far more surprising, and more fascinating, than we could ever imagine Why do some people achieve so much more than others?...

In Engineers of VictoryPaul Kennedy reveals the role of the problem-solvers and middle-men who made it happen - such as Major-General Perry Hobart, who invented the 'funny tanks' which flattened...

Based on the BBC television series, John Berger's Ways of Seeing is a unique look at the way we view art, published as part of the Penguin on Design series...

A magical book which explores how the world was seen at twelve points in history, through twelve extraordinary maps and the minds of those who made them Throughout history, maps...

'Brilliant, mind-altering...Everyone should read this astonishing book' David Runciman, Guardian Contrary to popular belief, humankind has become progressively less violent, over millenia and decades. Can violence really have declined? The...

A condensed guide to life from the bestselling author of The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Bed of Procrustes is an invaluable collection of aphorisms navigate the modern world...

The international mega-bestseller that redefined military history, reissued for the 75th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles in history In October 1942, a Panzer officer wrote 'Stalingrad is no...

A classic work from the international mega-seller, Antony Beevor, on the terrifying end to the Second World War The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the...

The international bestseller on memory and how to master it Can anyone get a perfect memory? Joshua Foer used to be like most of us, forgetting phone numbers and mislaying...

A passionate expose that serves up the truth about the meat on our plate - and where it's come from 'I simply wanted to know - for myself and my...

'One of the smartest books of all time' Fortune 'One of the smartest books of all time' Fortune Everyone wants to succeed in life. But what causes some of us...

The Sunday Times bestselling tour-de-force from the author of The Lost Words and The Old Ways - an unmissable journey into the hidden worlds beneath our feet 'Into the underland...

The little book with a very big idea that has everyone talking Quiet, the Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller by Susan Cain, will permanently change how we see...

'This might just be the most important book on evolution since Darwin' John Gribbin in The Good Book Guide Acclaimed as the most influential work on evolution written in the...

The juicy, funny story of the three dysfunctional rulers of Germany, Russia and Great Britain at the turn of the last century, combined with a study of the larger forces...

Selected for the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction longlist Getting a grip on the creation and ultimate fate of the universe is one of the great scientific stories...

One of a handful of great film books. Born into a theatrical family, Chaplin's father died of drink while his mother, unable to bear the poverty, suffered from bouts of...

A new translation by Alan H. Sommerstein of four of Aeschylus' most celebrated plays Aeschylus (525-456 BC) brought a new grandeur and epic sweep to the drama of classical Athens,...

New translation of Dante's masterpiece by acclaimed Robin Kirkpatrick In Purgatorio Dante, having described his journey into Hell, narrates his ascent of Mount Purgatory with Virgil, as he encounters penitents...

Penguin Classics relaunch A new selection of Vincent Van Gough's letters, based on an entirely new translation, revealing his religious struggles, his fascination with the French Revolution, his search for...

A selection of Baudelaire's explicit and unsettling poems The poems of Charles Baudelaire are filled with explicit and unsettling imagery, depicting with intensity every day subjects ignored by French literary...

John Carter's modern translation conveys the compelling style of the original. His extensive introduction provides an in-depth assessment of Appian as historian and places the work in context Taken from...

Lives of the Artists made Vasari one of the most influential art historians of all time, fusing literary and artistic ability In his Lives of the Artists of the Italian...

The historical account of the end of the Roman Empire Ammianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. The Later...

Ovid's poems on the experience of sexual desire This collection of Ovid's poems deals with the whole spectrum of sexual desire, ranging from deeply emotional declarations of eternal devotion to...

Stendhal's intensely personal and yet universal work on Love In 1818, when he was in his mid-thirties, Stendhal met and fell passionately in love with the beautiful Mathilde Dembowski. She,...

A collection of political speeches from the greatest orator of Rome Amid the corruption and power struggles of the collapse of the Roman Republic, Cicero (106-43BC) produced some of the...