In the second novel of James’s celebrated late period, American Lambert Strether is sent to Paris on behalf of Mrs Newsome, his fiancée, to collect her son, Chad. When Strether finds Chad, he discovers an altered man and becomes introduced to a free and unconventional style of life that soon intoxicates him. His views begin to change; the morality of Woollett, his hometown, becomes foreign, and the ‘ambassador’ loses sight of his mission… Part tragedy, part comedy, The Ambassadors is a rew...

The tree, the fireside, the candles, the presents and the festive food may be the main features of the traditional Christmas, but so were the stories, the poems, and the traditional tales. Here, is a delightful confection of Christmas texts: the story of The Nutcracker told with Tchaikovsky’s immortal music, Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, as well as nineteenth and twentieth century poems and the always affecting tale of The Little Match Girl. An enchanting collection for those...

The life and career of a producer who sought to bring jazz to the massesCreed Taylor was one of the most successful jazz producers of all time—and one of the most controversial. His career spanned five decades, in which he produced albums with legends such as John Coltrane, Ray Charles, George Benson, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Stan Getz, and Nina Simone. In 1960, he famously founded Impulse! Records and signed John Coltrane, and in later years he produced at Verv...

Bloomsbury presents The Love of Analog: Meditations on Value by Darren Hudson Hick read by John ChancerVinyl records. Board games. Paperback books. Film. A philosopher dives into the analog world to show what it offers us and what it says about our values.Packed with first-person anecdotes, hand-drawn illustrations, and extensive scholarship, Darren Hudson Hick takes us through the pleasure of board games and jigsaw puzzles and ins...

Bloomsbury presents The Girl Who Would be Marilyn Monroe by Tony Castro, read by John Chancer.A thoughtful glimpse into the childhood of Norma Jeane Mortenson and how it shaped her into the iconic Marilyn Monroe for the 100th anniversary of her birth.At the fragile intersection of myth and memory stands a girl—often eclipsed by the legend she became. The Girl Who Would Be Marilyn Monroe dares to strip away the satin, the spotlight, the stu...

For the four fraught, mysterious days of her doomed maiden voyage in 1912, the Titanic sails towards New York, glittering with luxury, freighted with millionaires and hopefuls. In her labyrinthine passageways the last, secret hours of a small group of passengers are played out, their fate sealed in prose of startling, sublime beauty, as Beryl Bainbridge's haunting masterpiece moves inexorably to its known and terrible end.

Bloomsbury presents The Biggest Lie by Joseph Kelly, read byJohn Chancer."Kelly tells this story with vivid immediacy."—ADAM HOCHSCHILD"A sweeping and much needed work of history."—GREG GRANDINAn eye-opening work of narrative history tracing the roots of American fascism back to the Antebellum South.Named a "Best of July" by Publishers Lunch, Lit Hub, Book Culture, and the Orange...

For decades, the manufacturing industry has employed the Toyota Production System — the most powerful production method in the world — to reduce waste, improve quality, reduce defects and increase worker productivity. In 2001, Virginia Mason Medical Center, an integrated healthcare delivery system in Seattle, Washington set out to achieve its compelling vision to become The Quality Leader and to fulfill that vision, adopted the Toyota Production System as its management method.Tran...

In this classic text, Taiichi Ohno--inventor of the Toyota Production System and Lean manufacturing--shares the genius that sets him apart as one of the most disciplined and creative thinkers of our time. Combining his candid insights with a rigorous analysis of Toyota's attempts at Lean production, Ohno's book explains how Lean principles can improve any production endeavor. A historical and philosophical description of just-in-time and Lean manufacturing, this work is a must read for all...

Bloomsbury presents American Alt by Chris Lockhart, read by Todd Kramer and John ChancerAmerican Alt is a powerful memoir of crisis and redemption — a glimpse into the mind of an American conspiracy theorist, the schizophrenia, trauma, and misinformation that drove him to the brink, and the friendship that brought him back."A mesmerizing, compassionate, and deeply meaningful exploration of a perilo...

AI is inescapable, from its mundane uses online to its increasingly consequential decision-making in courtrooms, job interviews, and wars.As Maximilian Kasy shows, artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions—choices made to date by the ownership class that steers its development and deployment. Kasy shows that the technology of AI is ultimately not that complex. It is insidious, however, in its capacity to steer results to ...

Bloomsbury presents Being Thomas Jefferson by Andrew Burstein, read by John ChancerThe deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon.Perhaps no founding father is as mysterious as Thomas Jefferson. The author of the Declaration of Independence was both a gifted wordsmith and a bundle of nerves. His superior knowledge of the human heart...