Showing results by narrator "Elliot Fitzpatrick" in All Categories

How do vaccines work? What is special about stem cells? How did we evolve from bacteria? The science of life can be dauntingly complex, and it can be hard to separate "good" science from "bad", fundamental truths from the much-hyped breakthroughs reported in the media. Packed with fascinating facts, How Biology Works demystifies both the core biology that may have eluded us at school, and the cutting-edge life science that makes the news, answering the questions that spark our curiosity.

Agents of Influence reveals the secret history of an intelligence agency gone out of control, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western politics on a near-inconceivable scale. In 1985, 1,300 KGB officers were stationed in the USA. The FBI only had 350 counter-intelligence officers. Since the early days of the Cold War, the KGB seduced parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest echelons of the Civil Service, and planted fake news in papers across the world.

For more than 5,000 years, the seas have challenged, rewarded and punished the brave sailors who set forth to explore it. This history of the seas and sailing tells the remarkable story of those individuals—whether they lived to tell the tale themselves or not. From the early Polynesian seafarers and the first full circumnavigations of the globe, to explorers picking their way through the coral reefs of the West Indies, this audiobook tells the compelling story of life at sea that lies behind man's search for new lands, new trade, conquest and uncharted waters.

Influence makes you think what you think and do as you do. You use it to change the thoughts and behaviours of others – just as others use it change yours. But more than ever, influence has become the crucial currency for commercial and political gain: If you don’t understand it, you will likely become its victim. Influence is a groundbreaking guide to the chaotic and murky world we live in. Through examining five key factors we are taken on a tour from the past to our real-world present, to build a picture of the major role influence plays in everyday life.

Author and singer John Potter tells the European story of song. The form has captivated audiences and excited performers for centuries, from the music of the troubadours and the Christian liturgy through classical composers such as Bach and Schumann up to Britten, Berio, and the rise of popular music. Choosing twelve key works, Potter offers a personal tour through this vital tradition, from John Dowland's "Flow My Tears" to George Gershwin's "Summertime." Throughout, he reveals who wrote and sang these joyful masterpieces—and what they mean to singers and audiences today.

Have you heard about the couple on Maple Drive? Isla barely leaves the house after her brutal mugging. Her boyfriend, Zach, moved in with her after the attack. To look after her. But something else has happened now. Right on their doorstep. I don’t want to say that someone’s out to get her. I just hope they find out the truth before it’s too late. Or at least before the secrets they’re hiding from each other surface. Because those could be even deadlier.

On her 47th birthday, Sydney Smith stands on a rooftop and prepares to jump.... Sydney is a cartoonist and freerunner. Feet constantly twitching, always teetering on the edge of life, she's never come to terms with the event that ripped her family apart when she was 10 years old. And so, on a birthday that she doesn't want to celebrate, she returns alone to St Ives to face up to her guilt and grief. It's a trip that turns out to be life-changing - and not only for herself.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821, to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background. In this tale a man buys a down-and-out a drink and so begins a tale of friendship, of manipulation and ultimately of the truth.

In a luxury villa set high in the hills above the glamorous town of Sorrento, southern Italy, three couples gather for the perfect 40th birthday celebration. Before the week is out, one of them is dead. Their perfect reunion quickly becomes the holiday from hell when one of the group starts receiving anonymous messages, threatening to expose a dark secret from their university days. As old friendships are tested to the limit, it's clear that what happens in the dark past won't stay buried.

Written on the eve of the Second World War, this memoir tells the remarkable story of how 21-year-old Thomas Firbank decided on impulse to purchase a 2,400-acre hill farm in the rugged, inhospitable mountains of Snowdonia, and how he and his wife struggled to build it back into prosperity.

Ted Hastings, the show's head of anti-corruption, has emerged as the beating heart of the series. This book reveals how the compelling drama reflects real crimes, events and figures, most notably that of Robert Mark and his battle against Met corruption. Starting with a bang – ‘I’ll put you all back in uniform’ were his first words to his team. New Met Commissioner Robert Mark – the inspiration for Ted Hastings – took on his entire corruption-riddled detective branch in his first brutal speech. The scale of the problem facing Robert Mark was institutionalised corruption in CID.

Adultery, alcoholism, drugs and murder on the suburban streets of Bournemouth. The Rattenbury case of 1935 was one of the great tabloid sensations of the interwar period. The glamorous femme fatale at the heart of the story dominated the front pages for months, somewhere between the rise of Hitler and the launch of the Queen Mary.

Meet Jez. Adulterous husband to Maxine, devoted father to Jamie. Promiscuous lover, university professor, pro-vice-chancellor for research - and a serial killer aiming to get to the top by any means necessary. His passion for murder parallels his love of music, and he matches each kill with its own special theme song to enhance the experience as he works towards assembling his very own top forty greatest hits. So when the vice-chancellor of lowly ranked Francis Drake University begins to sexually pester Jez's mistress Bella, it accelerates his plans for domination.

The History of Britain and Ireland is an invaluable resource for families, students, and anyone seeking to learn more about the fascinating story of the England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Spanning six distinct periods of British and Irish history, this book is the best way to find out how Britain transformed with the Norman rule, fought two world wars in the 20th century, and faced new economic challenges in the 21st century.

Commander Mariucci and his hand-picked research team know they will have to muster all of their expertise, creativity and teamwork to survive the very harshest of conditions in orbit around the king of planets. But when they intercept a peculiar radio transmission, they have to investigate. Nothing should work in these impossible conditions, so what is sending the signal...and why? With a degrading ship and crew at breaking point, there's every chance they will tear themselves apart before they ever find the answer to the ultimate question.

When Romilly says goodbye to her new baby daughter, abandoning her at the hospital hours after giving birth, no one can understand why she would leave - and where she has gone. In those first few hours, she had been the image of a doting mother and would have done anything to protect her baby. Something has clearly gone wrong. Could it be that Romilly is suffering from postpartum psychosis, just as her mother did? Or is something even worse at hand? A danger so grave that she would leave her longed-for daughter to escape it.

In 1999, after publishing three cult novels, famous author Nathan Fawles announces the end of his writing career and withdraws to Beaumont, a wild and beautiful island off the Mediterranean coast. Autumn 2018. Over the past 20 years, Fawles has not given a single interview. As his novels continue to captivate readers, Mathilde Monney, a young Swiss journalist, arrives on the island, determined to unlock his secrets. That same day, a woman's body is discovered on the beach and the island is cordoned off by the authorities. 

In a future where humankind has spread across the solar system, twenty years of war have taken their toll on the United States of America as it steadily loses ground and stands on the brink of defeat. Jenna Plural, a genetically modified US Marine, has not aged a day since she turned 24. When Jenna learns of the United States' surrender, bringing an end to the war, she refuses to accept it. Jenna begins to rally the allied forces across the solar system to band together in a new guerrilla force to continue the fight…or die trying.

Beginning with the origins of the concept of mania—and the term maniac—in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, renowned psychiatrist David Healy examines how concepts of mental afflictions evolved as scientific breakthroughs established connections between brain function and mental illness. Healy recounts the changing definitions of mania through the centuries, explores the effects of new terminology and growing public awareness of the disease on culture and society, and examines the rise of psychotropic treatments and pharmacological marketing over the past four decades.

The European Union is the most ambitious, and one of the most contentious, international organizations ever created. Decisions made in Brussels shape the lives of over 500 million Europeans, and its laws and policies resonate around the world. But how has the European Union endured over three turbulent decades marred by crises at home and abroad? In this major account, Dermot Hodson traces the development of the European Union from its establishment in 1993 through to Brexit, COVID-19, and the invasion of Ukraine.