Non-fiction
Music as Alchemy
Tom Service
How are conductors’ silent gestures magicked into sound by a group of more than a hundred brilliant but belligerent musicians? The mute choreography of great conductors has fascinated and frustrated m…
Seize the Day
Marie de Hennezel
In this remarkable book, psychologist Marie de Hennezel draws upon her personal experience of working with the terminally ill in a palliative care unit in Paris. Her encounters with people at the end…
Freedom Against Democracy
Tzvetan Todorov
If the twentieth century marked the rise and establishment of democracy against totalitarian regimes, and symbolically ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, today many argue that the enemy has shift…
Facing the Torturer
François Bizot
The author of the acclaimed memoir The Gate now gives us a mesmerizing account of his personal relationship with one of the most infamous torturers of the twentieth century, and of his transformative…
The Last Soldiers of the Cold War
Fernando Morais
The 1962 Missile Crisis may represent the height of the conflict between Cuba and the US, but the two countries have never ceased their heated battle across the small strait of water that separates th…
Not the Last Goodbye
David Servan-Schreiber
I knew the prognosis. Sooner or later, it would come back. I could slow down the inevitable; I could gain a few years. But there was nothing I could do to make this cancer disappear forever. So this w…
Paris Revealed: The Secret Life of a City
Stephen Clarke
Where to see fantastic art away from all the crowds? Why Parisian men feel compelled to pee in the street? How to choose a hotel room where you might actually get a good night’s sleep? Which is the mo…
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Marie de Hennezel
The inevitable ageing process does not have to condemn us to solitude, suffering, degradation or dependency. In this eloquent meditation on ageing, Marie de Hennezel guides us through a true “art of g…
The Power of Consciousness
Philippe Presles
There are many experiences we don’t remember, especially from our early childhood. But around age five, we undergo a transition wherein we become aware of ourselves, of our memories, and of the passag…
Rebirth
Guy Corneau
In June 2007, renowned Canadian psychoanalyst Guy Corneau was diagnosed with phase 4 terminal cancer. Two years later, to the surprise and joy of his physicians, not only was he thriving, but the canc…