Robert McCrum Boeken

E. F. Fritz Schumacher was a profound, influential thinker and economist, and this fascinating biography traces his life: from his early years in Germany and his move to England and internment during World War II, through to his later years, with the publication of "Small Is Beautiful" and the worldwide fame that resulted. Schumacher, at a time of unlimited economic growth, challenged this ideology and proposed an approach that recognized the impossibility of continuous growth in a finite world, and warned against the world's increasing dependence on oil. He was a key figure in the development of the environmental movement and was adamantly opposed to what he saw as violent solutions to economic problems, arguing against nuclear energy and advocating human-scale technology and organic cultivation. Schumacher's particular genius was to bring together the theoretical and the practical. He set up the Intermediate Technology Development Group (now Practical Action) to provide small-scale technology for developing countries, and his people-centered approach to development has now been adopted throughout the world. "Alias Papa," written by his eldest daughter, shows how his thinking and beliefs changed and evolved as his rigorous and questioning search for truth caused him to reflect on the events of his life and embark on a spiritual journey which was to change him as an economist and as a person."

LITERARY STUDIES: FICTION, NOVELISTS & PROSE WRITERS. Robert McCrum chooses what he considers to be the 100 best novels chosen from the last 300 years of English language writing. First published in the Observer over a period of 2 years.

The Story of English is the extraordinary tale of the origins and development of the English language. Two thousand years ago English was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the shores of north-west Europe; today, in one form or another, it is spoken by a billion people around the world. More widely scattered, written and spoken than any other language in history, English has become a global phenomenon. Exploring its amazing success, The Story of English is an essential companion for student and general reader alike.

The author's choice of the 100 best nonfiction books in English spanning 400 years. Each entry has a two page critique of the book in question.

Go anywhere in the world today and you'll see or hear English in some form. It may not be the Queen's English that you're hearing, but it is a form of universally recognised English. This title explores the history of English and ponders why, while British and American empires have waxed and waned, the English language, has taken over the world.

An uplifting and moving investigation into how we think about death, Every Third Thought is both guide and companion, always 'wise and humane' (Andrew Marr).

This is a list of major ambition: namely, to select the best 100 novels in the English language, published from the late 17th century to the present day. This list has been built up week by week in the Observer since September 2013. The novelist, critic and literary editor of the Observer, Robert McCrum is uniquely well-placed to make this selection and more importantly to write a short critique on each book. The result, as Observer readers over the past two years will know, is a complete delight. This collection takes the full text of each individual piece (the published versions in the Observer had been cut by about half) and also adds a graphic of the original jacket.

A deeply personal journey into Shakespeare's work that explores how it remains relevant and always has something to say about the times we are living in.

The narrative explores the remarkable transformation of a small North Atlantic island, once colonized by Rome and ravaged by invaders, into a dominant world power in the nineteenth century. It also traces the evolution of its colony across the Atlantic into a formidable military and cultural force in the twentieth century. This journey of power is attributed not only to warfare and industrial innovation but intriguingly, to the unifying strength of their shared language.