Icon Books catalogue July - December 2012

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170 x 240 tps. cmyk artwork. 3mm bleed. 36pp + front & back cover

The new title from Mark Forsyth, author of the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller The Etymologicon

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The Gold Mine Effect, from ‘high performance anthropologist’ and bestselling Danish author Rasmus Ankersen

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July–December 2012

USA Icon publish under the name Totem Books in the USA Consortium Book Sales & Distribution 34 13th Avenue NE, Suite 101, Minneapolis MN 55413 info@cbsd.com 612-746-2600 Orders: 1-800-283-3572

Stalin’s General, ’S LIN the first new GSTEANERAL biography in a generation of Soviet general Georgy Zhukov Y FRE OF S GE BERT RO

00 P 1 ES TO ORS H CE LL RA F A O E TIM

The Top 100 Racehorses of all Time, as chosen by Robin Oakley OBE BIN E RO Y OB KLE OA

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INSIDE FRONT COVER

Welcome to Icon and C catalogue for autumn

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We launch our autumn list at a very special time for Icon Books. 2011 was an outstanding year for us, with our books and their authors reaching a wider audience than ever before. First among equals was Mark Forsyth’s The Etymologicon, an idiosyncratic ‘circular stroll’ through the English language that verily sprinted into the gilded halls of the bestseller lists, becoming the number one seller in the UK’s independent bookshops AND with the nation’s biggest online retailer in the week before Christmas. The book can now add ‘Sunday Times Number One Bestseller’ to its accolades. Mark’s eagerly awaited sequel is therefore a highlight of this list – the The Horologicon coyly unveils itself for the first time on page 16. We continue to champion in this 20th anniversary year the very best in engaging, intelligent, quality non-fiction. Rasmus Ankersen’s The Gold Mine Effect sees this young writer – already a massive name in his native Denmark – travel the world in search of the secrets of high performance for individuals and organisations alike. Icon publishes its second Pultizer Prize-winner – Slavery by Another Name – in October, during Black History Month. Geoffrey Roberts’ Stalin’s General, a superlative biography of Marshal Zhukov – perhaps the individual with the greatest claim to have

Our sports list, C Manchester City Luca Caioli. Rob experts, present

And these highl which are our b the 30-Second… series, celebrati brand-new title

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Icon and Corinthian’s catalogue for autumn 2012. won the Second World War, and yet shunned soon afterwards by his master – arrives in August, on the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Stalingrad.

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Our sports list, Corinthian, continues to excel itself with a new biography of Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, from acclaimed football writer Luca Caioli. Robin Oakley OBE, one of the UK’s most prominent horse racing experts, presents The Top 100 Racehorses of All Time.

he Horologicon

And these highlights are of course the icing on the cake, the soft sponge of which are our brilliant series – the Introducing Graphic and Practical Guides; the 30-Second… list, and the inimitable, original-and-best Fighting Fantasy series, celebrating its 30th anniversary in August with the publication of a brand-new title by co-creator Ian Livingstone CBE.

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Our books and authors are nothing however without our readers, and it’s to you – along with the dedicated booksellers, sales agents, journalists and co-publishers who keep independent publishing and thinking alive and flourishing – that this list is dedicated. Keep in touch!

@iconbooks

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NEW TITLE Business/Personal Development

Icon 9781848313996 July £12.99 Demy PBK with flaps · 2 Occasional b/w photos i TERRITORY: UK & Com ex. Canada and India US RIGHTS: Diane Banks Associates TRANSLATION RIGHTS Diane Banks Associates 9781848314238 (eBook

We all want to talents and ma them. But how

‘The business world owes Rasmus much gratitude for his facts-based, in-depth studies of what it truly takes to have, identify and build talent’ 2

LEGO Group CEO

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NEW TITLE Business/Personal Development

Icon 9781848313996 July £12.99 Demy PBK with flaps · 288pp · Occasional b/w photos in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada and India US RIGHTS: Diane Banks Associates TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Diane Banks Associates 9781848314238 (eBook)

‘High Performance Anthropologist’ and bestselling Danish author Rasmus Ankersen brings his first-hand study of success to a mass audience.

We all want to discover our unique talents and make an impact with them. But how?

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Rasmus Ankersen, a 26 year-old ex-professional footballer and performance specialist, quit his job, spent his last pennies booking flight tickets and for six intense months travelled the world to train and live with the world’s best athletes in an attempt to answer this very question. Rasmus Ankersen – born in 1983 – is a bestselling author in Denmark, a motivational speaker on performance development and a trusted advisor for businesses around the world.

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Why have the world’s best middle distance runners grown up in the same Ethiopian village? Why are 137 of the world’s 500 best female golfers from South Korea? How did one athletic club in Kingston, Jamaica, succeed to produce most of the world’s best sprinters? What is the secret behind Brazil’s mass production of football superstars? In The Gold Mine Effect Ankersen presents his surprising conclusions in seven lessons on how anyone – or any business, organisation or team – can defy the many misconceptions of high performance and learn to build their own gold mine of real talent. 3


Icon 9781848314429 9781848314474 (Expor August £25.00 / £14.99 (Expor Royal hardback · 400pp 16-page b/w photo sect TERRITORY: UK & Com ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Random H TRANSLATION RIGHTS Random House USA 9781848314436 (eBook

Marshal Georg military history He played a de battles of Mosc Kursk that brou regime. He was Allied generals took the Germ the huge victor Square, riding dangerously pr

‘Will provoke lively debate and is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Stalin and his times.’ BBC History Magazine on Roberts’ Stalin’s Wars. 4

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Icon 9781848314429 9781848314474 (Export TPB) August £25.00 / £14.99 (Export) Royal hardback · 400pp · 16-page b/w photo section TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Random House USA TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Random House USA 9781848314436 (eBook)

The first major biography in a generation of the Soviet general who many believe ‘won World War Two’ NEW

TITLE Biography / History

Marshal Georgy Zhukov is one of military history’s legendary names. He played a decisive role in the battles of Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk that brought down the Nazi regime. He was the first of the Allied generals to enter Berlin and took the German surrender. He led the huge victory parade through Red Square, riding a white horse and dangerously provoking Stalin’s envy.

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Geoffrey Roberts is professor of history at the University College Cork, Ireland. He is a frequent contributor to British, Irish and American newspapers.

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Zhukov had an equally eventful post-war career, sacked and banished twice, and wrongfully accused of treason. Since his death in 1974 Zhukov has increasingly been seen as the indispensable military leader of WWII, surpassing Eisenhower, Patton, Monty, and MacArthur in his military brilliance and ferocity. Drawing on rich new sources from the recently-opened Soviet archives, Geoffrey Roberts has fashioned the definitive, first full-scale biography of this seminal 20th-century figure.

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Three former An uplifting CIA officers – the tale of cricket – world’s but notforemost as you authorities on know it – making recognizing deceptive a difference in behaviour – share far-flung parts their techniques of the world. for spotting a lie

Icon 9781848314047 August £12.99 / £10.99 (Export) Demy PBK with flaps · 256pp · Occasional b/w photos in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: St. Martin’s Press TRANSLATION RIGHTS: St. Martin’s Press 9781848314269 (eBook)

NEW TITLE

Personal Development

Imagine how different your life would be if you knew when someone was lying or telling you the truth. Whether hiring a new employee, investing money, knowing when your boss is being completely up-front, finding out whether your child is being totally honest, or even dating someone new, having the ability to unmask a lie can have far-reaching and even life-altering consequences. As former CIA agents, Philip Houston, Mike Floyd and Susan Carnicero are among the world’s best at recognizing deceptive behaviour. Through thrilling anecdotes from their careers in counter-intelligence, they chronicle the fascinating 6

story of how they worked to detect deception in counter-terrorism and criminal investigation, and how these techniques can be applied in our daily lives. Much more than just a self-help book to tell when someone is lying, it’s a truly fun read that may make you see those around you in a whole new light...

Philip Houston worked for 25 years with the CIA as an investigator and polygraph examiner, along with agents Mike Floyd and Susan Carnicero.

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Follow What sol imp

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Icon 9781848314047 August 12.99 / £10.99 (Export) PBK with flaps · 256pp · onal b/w photos in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: St. Martin’s Press TRANSLATION RIGHTS: St. Martin’s Press 781848314269 (eBook)

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Following in the footsteps of Joe Navarro’s What Every Body is Saying (40,000 copies sold in the UK), Spy the Lie is useful, important – but most of all, lots of fun. icon books

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Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian LIVINGSTONE brings the world’s original gamebook series – 30 years old this month – to the world of the zombie… NEW TITLE

Wizard 9781848314054 August £7.99 B format paperback · 240 pages with frequent b/w illustrations TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Ian Livingstone & Steve Jackson TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Ian Livingstone & Steve Jackson / Marsh Agency

Fig Fanta zombies – to fans Higson’ by and by Jonathan Maberr

Fantasy

YOU are kidnapped and wake up in chains in an underground cell of a castle in a remote part of Romania. You discover the castle is owned by a megalomaniac who is running a secret scientific programme – injecting hundreds of prisoners with Zombie blood! You are next in line and don’t have much time to escape. Armed with a machete and a machine gun, only YOU stand between a Zombie army and the end of the world. Can you kill all the Zombies or will you become one of them too? Narrative-driven, and with simplified combat and gameplay, this is a Fighting Fantasy gamebook for the 21st century. 8

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Ian Li Ian Livingstone CBE is, with Steve Jackson, the originator of the Fighting Fantasy series. He is a major figure in the world of computer games, and is now Life President of Eidos, the name behind Tomb Raider

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Wizard 9781848314054 August £7.99 paperback · 240 pages equent b/w illustrations TERRITORY: mmonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: gstone & Steve Jackson TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Ian Livingstone & Jackson / Marsh Agency

Fighting Fantasy meets zombies – will appeal to fans of Charlie Higson’s The Enemy by and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

BLOOD OF THE ZOMBIES Ian Livingstone

a major es,

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the AnFrom uplifting of taleauthor of cricket – the bestselling but not as you Messi and RONALDO, it – making aknow revealing and very a difference in readable biography far-flung parts of the Manchester of the world. City manager

Corinthian 9781906850449 September £18.99 Royal hardback · 288pp · 8-page colour photo section TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Consortium TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Acer Literary Agency 9781906850456 (eBook)

NEW TITLE Football

When Roberto Mancini was appointed to Manchester City in late 2009, he came from his native Italy with an almost peerless cupwinning pedigree at both Lazio and Inter Milan. In his first full season at City, Mancini guided the club to Champions League football and the FA Cup, shaping the squad into one of the most successful teams in the Premier League. Luca Caioli gives Mancini’s inside story – from his early days as an international player to his emergence as a charismatic, if controversial, pitch-side leader. The book contains exclusive personal interviews with Roberto himself, alongside recollections 10

from star players and colleagues like Javier Zannetti, Sergio Aguero and Arrigo Sacchi, unveiling the life of one of the modern game’s great managers. Also available:

9781906850111

9781906850296

Luca Caioli is a renowned Italian sports journalist who crafted his reputation at L’Unita, Il Manifesto, La Repubblica, La Gazzetta dello Sporti and Rai 3 in Italy and ITV in Britain.

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Corinthian 9781906850449 September £18.99 oyal hardback · 288pp · ge colour photo section TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: con Books / Consortium TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Acer Literary Agency 781906850456 (eBook)

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A unique look at one of the Premier League’s most charismatic managers icon books

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In this ‘precise and eloquent work’ – as described in its Pulitzer Prize citation – Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history – an ‘Age of Neo-slavery’ that thrived in the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, and by turns moving, sobering and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals these stories, the companies that profited the most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.

Douglas Blackmon was the Atlanta Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal until 2009 and then became the Journal’s Senior National Correspondent. slaverybyanothername.com

NEW TITLE History

Icon 9781848314122 October £12.99 / £9.99 (Export) B-format paperback original · 496pp · Occasional b/w photos in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Doubleday TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Abner Stein 9781848314139 (eBook) 12

‘Urgent, definitive, powerful. The most important work of history published in a very long time.’ Bill Cosby

A Pulitzer Prizewinning history of the mistreatment of black Americans – published as Black History Month begins.

Icon 9781848314146 October £25.00 Crown Quarto hardback with b/w illustrations a two-colour text through TERRITORY: UK & Com ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Norton TRANSLATION RIGHTS 9781848314290 (eBoo

In this striking a two-colour editi BBC Samuel Joh Quantum is won over 200 photos diagrams.

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Icon 9781848314146 October £25.00 Crown Quarto hardback · 432 pages with b/w illustrations and photos and two-colour text throughout TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Norton TRANSLATION RIGHTS: The Science Factory 9781848314290 (eBook)

Manjit Kumar’s superlative history of science’s most fundamental revolution – in a BRILLIANT, NEW illustrated EDITION edition Science

In this striking and sumptuous two-colour edition, Manjit Kumar’s BBC Samuel Johnson Prize-shortlisted Quantum is wonderfully enriched by over 200 photos, artwork, maps and diagrams.

Manjit Kumar is a science journalist and author who has written and reviewed for most major British newspapers. He lives in north London.

It includes photos, some intimate and often little-seen before, of all the key protagonists; reproductions of key documents such as revealing letters and correspondence; detailed diagrams explaining the science and bringing to life classic thought experiments; and evocative portraits of the period, particularly of Cambridge, Copenhagen and Germany of the 1920s and 30s.

‘A super-collider of a book … probably the most lucid and detailed intellectual history [of this subject] ever written.’ INDEPENDENT

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An uplifting

Former FT Racing tale of cricket – Correspondent butSpectator not as you and Turf know it – making columnist Robin a difference in Oakley OBE presents his top 100 British far-flung parts racehorses of of the world. all time. NEW

Corinthian 9781906850425 October £16.99 Demy hardback · 320 pages · 100 b/w photos TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Icon Books / Marsh Agency 9781906850470 (eBook)

TITLE Horseracing

Robin Oakley is the author of numerous books on horseracing and has been the Spectator’s turf correspondent for almost 20 years. This book is the product of a lifetime’s passion following the sport. In it, Oakley takes on the daunting task of assessing the truly great horses to have run in Britain and Ireland in both National Hunt and on the Flat. Based on his huge knowledge of the sport, he elegantly makes his case for which animals stand out as the best there have ever been. The book is sure to create debate among racing fans everywhere. 14

Praise for Robin Oakley’s last book:

‘A highly readable history’ Independent on Sunday

‘A very good read … full of memories which have made the Cheltenham Festival uniquely special’ Scotland on Sunday

Robin Oakley OBE is European Political Editor at CNN International and was BBC Political Editor. His most recent book was The Cheltenham Festival: A Centenary History (Aurum, 2011).

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Corinthian 9781906850425 October £16.99 hardback · 320 pages · 100 b/w photos TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: ks / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: n Books / Marsh Agency 781906850470 (eBook)

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Kauto Star, Desert Orchid, Red Rum, Nijinsky, Arkle ... and many more. Will you agree with Robin Oakley’s selection? 20 Years of Independent Thinking

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The An uplifting characteristically tale of cricket – witty, erudite and but not as you much-anticipated know it sequel – making brilliant to a difference in – The Etymologicon far-flung the Sunday parts Times of the world. Number One

Icon 9781848314153 November £12.99 / £10.99 (Export) B-format hardback · 256 pages TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Icon Books / Marsh Agency 9781848314306 (eBook)

bestseller

Also published in November:a beautiful box set containing both The Etymologicon and The Horologicon 9781848314283 £25.00 / £21.00 (export)

The Horologicon is a day in the life of unusual, beautiful and forgotten English words. From the moment you wake to the second your head hits the pillow, there’s a cornucopia of hidden words ready for every aspect of your day. Do you tend to lie in bed before dawn worrying? Then you have the Old English ailment of uhtceare. Uhtceare can lead on to dysania (inability to get out of bed) and other zwoddery problems, which many have suffered but few can name. From encounters with office ultracrepidarians, lunchtime scamblers and six o’clock sturmovschinas to the post-work 16

joys of thelyphthoric grinagogs and nimtopsical nympholepsy, Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, unearths words that you didn’t even know you needed. From antejentacular to bedward by way of nuncheon, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.

Publication of The Etymologicon in late 2011 shot Mark Forsyth to huge acclaim, appearing on Channel 4, BBC 2 and countless Christmas bestseller lists. Follow Mark @inkyfool

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Icon 9781848314153 November 12.99 / £10.99 (Export) at hardback · 256 pages Y: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: ks / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: n Books / Marsh Agency 781848314306 (eBook)

NEW TITLE Language

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o bedward t last you uracy, n. Praise for The Etymologicon:

‘The stocking filler of the season’ Robert McCrum, Observer

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‘I’m hooked on Forsyth’s book … Crikey, but this is addictive’ Mathew Parris, The Times icon books

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Icon 9781848314160 November £12.99 / £10.99 (Expor B format hardback · 22 occasional illustrations TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Man TRANSLATION RIGHTS Icon Books / Marsh Age 9781848314313 (eBook

Science, huma intellectual ach equally of delig as much as lea advancement o

The Science Ma a hugely divers common and u across science Read in full Ga recantation of heliocentric so

Follow @science_ magpie on Twitter for exclusive snippets, comment from the author and debate both pre-publication and afterwards. 18

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Icon 9781848314160 November £12.99 / £10.99 (Export) B format hardback · 224 pages with occasional illustrations TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Icon Books / Marsh Agency 9781848314313 (eBook)

Fascinating lists, facts, stories, poems, drawings, diagrams – and even jokes – across scientific disciplines and from science’s bejewelled NEW history TITLE Science

Science, humankind’s greatest intellectual achievement, is capable equally of delight and amusement as much as learning and the advancement of knowledge. The Science Magpie brings together a hugely diverse collection of classic, common and unusual titbits from across science and its history. Read in full Galileo’s infamous recantation of his view of a heliocentric solar system;

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sample questions from the University of Oxford’s first public examination in 1858; and marvel at Sir Ronald Ross’s poem describing his discovery of the life-cycle of the malaria parasite. Meet the full family of subatomic particles, view a geological clock, learn pi to 500 decimal places, discover the animals that have become extinct since 1900, see what a spiral periodic table looks like – and much, much more.

Simon Flynn was a publisher and is now training as a science teacher. He has degrees in Chemistry and Philosophy and lives near Alexandra Palace, north London.

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Corinthian 9781906850432 November £16.99 Demy hardback · 352 p with a 16-page colour photo section TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Man TRANSLATION RIGHTS Icon Books / Marsh Age 9781906850487 (eBook

For 34 years fro was BBC produ popular Test M during that tim matches from

‘The joy of Baxter’s book is that it communicates a love of cricket and shows why, whatever its flaws, we still need TMS.’

This funny and us behind the s his much-loved do battle with l and sometime bring back hom England’s prog on the field.

first w and

Michael Billington, Wisden Cricketer, ON THE BEST VIEWS FROM THE BOUNDARY 20

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Corinthian 9781906850432 November £16.99 Demy hardback · 352 pages with a 16-page colour photo section TERRITORY: World US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Icon Books / Marsh Agency 9781906850487 (eBook)

Test Match Special producer Peter Baxter presents tales of COMMENTATING capers from The Gabba to EDEN Park in Jamaica

NEW TITLE Cricket

For 34 years from 1973 Peter Baxter was BBC producer of the hugely popular Test Match Special, and during that time he reported on Test matches from around the world.

municates atever

It should have been straightforward, but somehow it rarely was...

This funny and revealing book takes us behind the scenes as Baxter and his much-loved TMS colleagues do battle with local conditions and sometimes bizarre red tape to bring back home the latest news of England’s progress (or otherwise) on the field. Peter Baxter first worked on Test Match Special in 1966, and was the producer of the programme from 1973–2007.

Also available: The Best Views from the Boundary by Peter Baxter 9781848312425

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From An uplifting Great Composers tale of cricket author Michael– but not you Steen – a as unique know it – making multi-platform project offering a royala difference in box view into one far-flung parts ofthe mankind’s of world. greatest art NEW TITLE forms.

Icon 9781848314573 November £20.00 Royal hardback · 480 pages with frequent b/w illustrations in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: Icon Books / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Icon Books / Marsh Agency

Published from individual eBo operas ever wr titles to follow

Music

From the soaring heights of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle to the tear-jerking emotion of Mozart’s breathtakingly beautiful Don Giovanni, opera is one of the most powerful artistic forms mankind has ever created. It should also be the most enjoyable! Michael Steen – whose The Lives and Times of the Great Composers was described as ‘hugely informative and deliciously gossipy’ by the Spectator – presents Great Operas, his accessible and entertaining user’s manual to making the best of an opera – whether at home or at a live performance, interspersing the key facts with erudite commentary from a man for whom opera is a lifetime’s passion. 22

Aimed a opera-g underst it is enjo that live heart of Steen’s

Great Operas will be published initially as short ebooks focusing on individual operas and then published as a physical compendium in November, covering twenty five stand-out operatic masterpieces. Steen gives everything the opera goers needs to know and look out for, making these masterpieces at last accessible to everyone.

Michael Steen studied at the Royal College of Music, was organ scholar at Oriel College, Oxford and is currently Royal College of Music Society chairman.

9781848314580 £1.99 eBook only

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Icon 9781848314573 November £20.00 al hardback · 480 pages equent b/w illustrations in text TERRITORY: UK & Commonwealth ex. Canada US RIGHTS: ks / Carol Mann Agency TRANSLATION RIGHTS: n Books / Marsh Agency

Aimed at the opera-goer keen to understand more, it is enjoyment that lives at the heart of Michael Steen’s project.

Also availa

Published from May 2012 onwards, individual eBook guides to very best operas ever written, with many more titles to follow . . .

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ICON BOOKS IS In 1992 the company launched with the objective of bringing a series of brilliantly accessible graphic guides to clever subjects – the series now known across the world as Introducing – to a mass audience. Two decades on, that impulse is as strong as ever.

£9.99 · 9781848311541

£8.99 · 9781906850180 The 200-mph autobiography of eighties F1 driver Tommy Byrne, which won the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year.

‘Fine sets out to demons the human brain is vain and stubborn. She succe brilliantly.’ Mail on Sund

Greg Grandin’s National Book Award-winning (and Pulitzer shortlisted) history of Henry Ford’s most hubristic misadventure, at the heart of the Brazilian rainforest.

Described as ‘a rollickin by the New Scientist and by the Observer, Patricia book is also ‘a delectable scientific and imperial h (BBC History Magazine)

£10.99 · 9781848312470

£9.99 · 9781848311503

Jim Baggott’s superlative history of the atomic bomb – from the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939 to the test of Joe-1 (the first Soviet nuclear weapon) ten years later.

£14.99 · 9781848311350

£10.99 · 9781848310827

To toast 2012, our birthday year, we re-present paperback editions of twelve of Icon’s very best books – our anniversary list of Iconic non-fiction – as well as some brilliant box sets of the Introducing series that started it all.

Published in Introducing the ideal gift Shortlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books, James Hannam’s myth-busting history of the genesis of science in the socalled Dark Ages.

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Michael Steen’s magisterial survey of 350 years of musical genius is the authoritative work in its area. It’s also ‘hugely informative and deliciously gossipy’, according to the Spectator.

Two literary critics’ labour of love – 365 stories from the history of writing by John Sutherland and Stephen Fender.

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UK £14.99 / US $21.95 / C

20 Years of Indepen


Described as ‘a rollicking read’ by the New Scientist and ‘enticing’ by the Observer, Patricia Fara’s book is also ‘a delectable morsel of scientific and imperial history.’ (BBC History Magazine)

The brilliantly-realised story of Victorian workhouse boy Robert Blincoe: ‘A compelling history of the lives of workhouse children in the industrial revolution.’ Guardian

£10.99 · 9781848310353 Manjit Kumar’s ‘super-collider of a book’ (Independent) was shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction and is now one of the key books on the quantum’s incredible story

The incredible true story of a wild dancing epidemic that brought death and fear to a 16th-century city. ‘A startling, chilling and utterly compelling account.’ Good Book Guide

£10.99 · 9781848312470

Grandin’s National Book -winning (and Pulitzer sted) history of Henry Ford’s hubristic misadventure, at the of the Brazilian rainforest.

How did our brains first learn to read? ‘A beautifully balanced piece of popular-science writing.’ Boyd Tonkin, Independent

£9.99 · 9781840465730

£9.99 · 9781848311541

‘Fine sets out to demonstrate that the human brain is vainglorious and stubborn. She succeeds brilliantly.’ Mail on Sunday

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ns of twelve on – as well all.

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eries of s now

Published in September, three brilliant Introducing Graphic Guide boxsets – the ideal gift for the thinker in your life:

erary critics’ labour of love tories from the history of g by John Sutherland and en Fender.

icon books

9781848314542 9781848314559 9781848314566

Introducing set 1 - Know Thyself Introducing set 2 - Great Theories of Science Introducing set 3 - Think For Yourself

UK £14.99 / US $21.95 / Canada $29.95 20 Years of Independent Thinking

25


Icon presents two brand-new Graphic Guide titles this season, along with six further classic titles – including books on Marx and Einstein – republished in the compact format. And don’t forget the Graphic Guide apps – search on the Apple or Android App stores or visit apps.introducingbooks.com September... The Ancient Greeks were so horrified by the implications of an endless number that they drowned the man who gave away the secret. A German mathematician was driven mad by the repercussions of his discovery of transfinite numbers. How will you fare?

9781848314061

Brian Clegg and Oliver Pugh’s brilliant graphic introduction to Infinity is the unique, endlessly fascinating guide…

26

NEW TITLE Science

icon books

November..

What makes ph continent of Eu and exciting? A such a reputati

Covering the g the modern an – Nietzsche, He Deleuze, right Zizek – and ph from German i Christopher Ku brilliantly eluc most thrilling i have been disc

New editions...

The Introducing Graphic Guide series – first published by Icon 20 years ago – is more vibrant, popular and relevant than ever.

20 Years of Indepen


What makes philosophy on the continent of Europe so different and exciting? And why does it have such a reputation for being ‘difficult’?

icon books

20 Years of Independent Thinking

848314092 September 9781 8314184

September 9781848314085 September 9781848314115

8314078 September 978184

New editions...

Pugh’s brilliant o Infinity is the nating guide…

Philosophy

November 9781 84

NEW TITLE

– es

ere so horrified an endless wned the man ret. A German iven mad by is discovery of How will you

9781848314177

Covering the great philosophers of the modern and postmodern eras – Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze, right up to Agamben and Zizek – and philosophical movements from German idealism to feminism, Christopher Kul-Want and Piero brilliantly elucidate some of the most thrilling ideas ever to have been discussed.

848314108

uide lassic stein –

November...

September 9781

Guide Icon rant, n ever.

27


BACKLIST

9781848311671

9781848311688

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Joyce

9781848311145

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All books: UK 拢6.99 / Canada $12.50 / USA $9.95 路 168 x 118mm paperback 路 176 pages with b/w illustrations throughout 28

icon books

www.

20 Years of Indepen


9781848312043

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ations throughout icon books

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www.facebook.com/introducingbooks 29


PRACTICAL GUIDES

November..

PRACTICAL GUIDES take big ideas and get them working for you – they offer straightforward, useful advice to tackle the challenges life throws at us all. Compact and affordable – the same format and price as the Graphic Guides – this is the essential list of self-help books for busy people. Our new titles this season are particularly business-focused, bringing the benefits of the series to an even larger audience.

S B I G I ODREA F R EAL LI FE

30

9781848314016

9781848314009

July...

icon books

20 Years of Indepen


GUIDES

November...

DES

9781848314191

9781848314207 9781848314221

9781848314016

G I D EAS FO R EAL LI FE

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for you – vice to s all.

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20 Years of Independent Thinking

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32

9781848312593

9781848312548

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9781848312586

9781848313569

9781848313590

9781848313804

BACKLIST

icon books

All 168 x 118mm

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9781848313620

9781848313651

9781848312548 9781848313804

9781848312555

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S B I G I ODREA F E F I L L A E R

All books: UK 拢6.99 / Canada $12.50 / USA $9.95 路 168 x 118mm 路 Paperback 路 224 pages with occasional b/w illustrations www.introducingbooks.com www.facebook.com/introducingbooks

icon books

20 Years of Independent Thinking

33


Icon 9781848314030 July £12.99 237mm x 187mm HBK – 160 pages with full-colour illustrations throughout TERRITORY: UK & Eire US RIGHTS: Ivy Press TRANSLATION RIGHTS: Ivy Press 9781848314276 (eBook)

Political theories that have rocked the world – from Socrates to Marx to Thatcher – each explained in NEW half a minute TITLE

30-S clever to enli mindbusting

Politics

The latest in Icon’s hugely popular and successful 30-Second … series

Dr. Richard J. Brown is Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department of Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University.

978184

You may know all about Conservatism and Democracy, but do you really know what Patrimonialism is? And what about Oligarchy? Anarcho-syndicalism? 30-Second Politics challenges political theorists of all colours to come up with no-frill, no-spin, tell-it-like-it-is explanations of the 50 most important political -isms, -archies, and -ocracies that have pertained since the time of Periclean Athens. At no public expense, the book explains each political theory in nothing more than two pages, 300 words, and some propaganda-style imagery. 34

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have orld ocrates to hatcher plained in minute

30-Second‌ books are like a clever best friend, always keen to enliven any dinner party with mind-blowing facts and brainbusting thought experiments

ector of Department University.

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Icon backlist highlights...

36

9781840466751

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9781848311541

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9781840467987 37


Corinthian backlist highlights . . .

9781906850265

9781906850036

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For Fighting Fantasy backlist . . .

38

9781906850180

face

9781848312340

icon books

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9781840467741

For updates, news, enquiries and more ‌

9781906850104

Fighting Fantasy backlist . . .

9781848311121

iconbooks.co.uk @iconbooks facebook.com/iconbooks

9781848311237

9781848312340

icon books

20 Years of Independent Thinking


BACK COVER

170 x 240 tps. cmyk artw

Icon Books 39–41 North Road, London, N7 9DP info@iconbooks.co.uk • www.iconbooks.co.uk • Tel: 0207 697 9695 • F: 0207 697 9501 www.twitter.com/iconbooks • www.facebook.com/iconbooks

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Henry Lord Publicity Manager

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TRADE SALES Please direct specific UK sales enquiries to your Independent Alliance rep or the Faber sales office: sales@faber.co.uk 020 7927 3800 For all European export enquiries please contact export@faber.co.uk

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