The seventeenth-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza (a.k.a. Bento) spent the most intense years of his short life writing. He also carried with him a sketchbook. After his sudden death, his friends rescued letters, manuscripts, notes-but no drawings.For years, without knowing what its pages might hold, John Berger has imagined finding Bento's sketchbook, wanting to see the drawings alongside his surviving words. When one day a friend gave him a beautiful virgin sketchbook, Berger sa...

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Berger's biographer, Tom Overton.'Instant readability . . . [Berger] makes one see [paintings] as statements or questions in a living language.' New Statesman'One of the most influential intellectuals of our time' Observer'Berger is a writer one demands to know more about . . . an intriguing and powerful mind and talent'

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Anne Michaels.'A triumph . . . Sad, reflective and peppered with unforgettable images' GuardianNo one appreciates the detail of being alive more than the dead. In Lisbon, a man encounters his mother sitting on a park bench who laughs with the impudence of a schoolgirl. She has been dead for fifteen years. In Krakow market he recognises Ken, his passeur, the m...

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Jo Hamya.'Fascinating . . . an extraordinary mixture of historical detail and sexual meditation . . . G. belongs in the tradition of George Eliot, Tolstoy, D. H. Lawrence and Norman Mailer.' New York TimesIn this luminous novel about a modern Don Juan, Berger relates the story of G., a young man forging an energetic sexual career in Europe during the early ye...

When the Japanese Empire went to war with the Allies in December 1941, it had already been fighting in China for 10 years. During that time it had conquered huge areas of China, and subjugated millions of people. The Japanese needed to control the Chinese population in these occupied territories, and for this reason they set up governments from amongst the leaders of the Chinese who were willing to co-operate with them. These so-called ‘puppet’ governments were designed to rule on behalf o...

The first of a three-volume series examining the history of Chinese "puppet" soldiers fighting for the Japanese before and during World War II.When the Japanese Empire went to war with the Allies in December 1941. it had already been fighting in China for 10 years. During that time, it had conquered huge areas of China, and subjugated millions of people. The Japanese needed to control the Chinese population in these occupied territories, and for this reason they set...

John Berger, one of the world's most celebrated storytellers and writers on art, tells a personal history of art from the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet caves to 21st century conceptual artists. Berger presents entirely new ways of thinking about artists both canonized and obscure, from Rembrandt to Henry Moore, Jackson Pollock to Picasso. Throughout, Berger maintains the essential connection between politics, art and the wider study of culture. The result is an illuminating walk thr...

What happens when an art critic loses some of his sight to cataracts? What wonders are glimpsed once vision is restored? In this impressionistic essay written in the spirit of Montaigne, John Berger, whose treatises on seeing have shaped cultural and media studies for four decades, records the effects of cataract removal operations on each of his eyes. With beautiful illustrations by Turkish artist Selçuk Demirel that complement the text, Cataract is a collaborative collectors' piece that ...

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Simon McBurney.'Those who read or listen to our stories see everything as though through a lens. This lens is the secret of narration, and it is ground anew in every story, ground between the temporal and the timeless ... In our brief mortal lives, we are grinders of these lenses'.When John Berger wrote this apparently unclassifiable book, it was to become a sensation, translated into...

A new edition to celebrate John Berger's centenary, selected and introduced by Teju Cole.Polemical, reflective, radically original, Berger's wide-ranging essays emphasise the continuities that underpinned more than 40 years of tireless intellectual inquiry and political engagement.To mark Berger's centenary, the essayist, novelist and art historian Teju Cole has selected a personal and wide-ranging selection of Berger's work, spanning non-fiction, fiction a...

In July 2011, Israel passed legislation outlawing the public support of boycott activities against the state, corporations, and settlements, adding a crackdown on free speech to its continuing blockade of Gaza and the expansion of illegal settlements. Nonetheless, the campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) continues to grow in strength within Israel and Palestine, as well as in Europe and the US.This essential intervention considers all sides of the movement-including...

John Berger, art critic, novelist and long-time smoker, joins forces again with Turkish illustrator Selcuk Demirel. This charming pictorial essay reflects on the cultural implications of smoking and suggests, through a series of brilliantly inventive illustrations, that society's attitudes to smoking are paradoxical.