Sub-titled 'The Power, Fragility and Future of Our Extraordinary Lungs', intimately written with the authority of a pulmonologist and the lyricism of a captivating narrator, here is the story of our extraordinary lungs. Lungs are the organ that both explain our origins and hold the key to our future as a species. Although we take an average of 7.5 million breaths a year and some 600 million in our lifetime, we take our lungs for granted until we are incapacitated. Michael Stephen relates the history of oxygen on earth and the evolutionary origins of breathing, the links between our lungs and our immune systems, and poignant human stories of resilience and recovery. From asthma, rising stress and COVID 19, our lungs are ever more threatened, but the book offers inspiration and hope to millions whose lungs are affected and a vital perspective to us all. He mixes evolution, medical history, autobiography and vivid stories of patients with a skilful account of how lungs operate and how we might take better care of them. Photos include x-rays of mild COVID 19 pneumonia at the bases and an x-ray one day later with dramatic progression. Includes diagrams, photos. 311pp in paperback.

A lovely young Australian couple Cameron and Sam Bloom were holidaying with their three little boys in Thailand when Sam leant against a safety fence, riddled with dry rot. The barrier collapsed beneath her and Sam stood poised on the edge for a seemingly infinite slither of time - 'Leaning back over the void at an impossible angle, her slim arms waving wildly, fingers extended as if to find purchase in the air and take flight. And then she was gone. She didn't scream. I never heard her hit the ground.' With frightful head injuries causing constant migraine, her spine was shattered at T6 and T7 and in Cameron's absence, a callous doctor brusquely told Sam that it was obvious she would never walk again. 'My brave wife was devastated.' In the darkest days of her struggle towards some sort of recovery, the pain and depression was constant. Suddenly a new and unexpected member of the family came into their lives - an injured magpie chick abandoned after she fell from her nest in a car park near Grandma's house. She became their little girl, and known as Penguin Bloom. In many ways the penguin saved them and as the little chick grew into a strong and beautiful bird, Sam found she could talk to her and they became inseparable, one always looking after the other. The three little boys fed and petted her and the bird was free to come and go from the house. The story is told with the photographer-author's own beautiful images about a crazy little bird who helped make the family whole again. The number one international bestseller. B/w photos. Paperback, 272pp.

Everyday ways to find and lose yourself in 'nature', this is a beautiful book brim-full with accessible and inventive ideas and a practical guide to fostering calm. Expand and retreat. Grow and disappear. Find and lose yourself in nature. We have all heard the advice that to improve our wellbeing we need to reconnect with nature and tune in to the natural world. But how do we find it? The book is an invitation to journey into nature, no matter how urban your environment or green your neighbourhood is. It has projects, wisdom and ideas to set new inventions and discover new paths 'with plenty of planning and pauses to let the magic take effect.' Make new rituals, learn new skills through creative projects, seeing things differently because new knowledge is key to positive change, push yourself and try two or three different suggestions each week or month and celebrate your victories, even the tiny ones. There is plenty on gardening, microgreens, saving sickly houseplants, befriending an elderly tree; have a mindful adventure in your neighbourhood and embrace getting lost, dissolve in water and experience a silky, cool water seeping into every nook and crease of your skin; create an imaginary landscape, discover urban birding, recipes for soaks and sprays, aromatherapy cleanses, a conversation with silence, conjuring mood with scent, bundle dyeing with food waste like avocados or onion skin, dry marigold flowers, carrot tops, rosemary or hibiscus tea or collecting fresh petals, leaves, or berries and stems to add colour and shapes to your dyed fabric. Beautifully designed and illustrated and packed with information to dip into. 188pp.

How did a former newspaper proprietor who had no medical or psychological knowledge or training manage to successfully establish the charitable foundation now known as Blind Veterans UK, or St Dunstan's? Men from Britain and around the Commonwealth - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Rhodesia and South Africa - had been shelled, bombed, mined, shot at, and gassed on the insatiable killing fields of the Western Front and on other fronts and had emerged bleeding, broken and - all of them - sightless. The book attempts to pay adequate tribute to the St Dunstaners and the myriad of doctors, nurses, VADs, volunteers, family and friends through the soldiers' journey to 'Victory Over Blindness'. Here are true and heartwarming stories of great courage, comradeship and dedication on the part of Sir Arthur Pearson and his staff, and of the astonishing feats achieved by those who prove that to be blind does not necessarily preclude gainful employment, romance, love, marriage and a happy family life. The book recounts Pearson's personal journey from his school years and early adulthood where signs of his charitable nature first started to emerge with social projects such as the Fresh Air Fund and founding publications such as Pearson's Weekly and the Daily Express. 191pp, large well illustrated softback.

Err, I think you mean Downward Cat. How can you tell whether your cat is purrfecting its Sphinx pose or just being, well, a cat? You may think your cat is just a naturally bendy weirdo, but the truth is, they're probably one of the growing number of Zen Yogi Cats, and this book is here to expose what happens when yoga and cats collide. Whether they're paws-ing to enjoy their morning Sun Salutations, working on their flexibility, searching for the divine (laser) light or exhaling hairballs, these cats are getting their om-meow on in the world of Cat Yoga. 96 pages.

Cats are natural-born yogis - they know this - and when you're practising your poses, be it downward dog, cobra, cow or crow, you'd better be ready for your kitty to upstage you. With 45 charming colour illustrations and easy-to-follow yoga poses, this delightful guide will help you perfect the 'cat stretch' and maybe even impress your flexible feline friend. 96 pages.

Ditch the gym! It costs too much anyway and Paul Mumford is a highly experienced fitness and nutrition coach. These workouts get tougher as you get fitter in this new workout plan that combines body-weight movements with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to get you fit and fabulous in just one month. Designed to build strength and endurance day by day, the workout steps up the pace as you learn new skills and increase your fitness. Day one starts with a single exercise that takes just one minute to complete and each day a new exercise is introduced, culminating in a challenging workout in under 30 minutes to help increase your metabolism and burn fat. Each is clearly explained with photos and alternative exercises plus healthy eating habits and suggestions to improve your diet. We love that there are rest days built into the workout plan - time to get over your soreness! For all levels of fitness with suggestions to keep a diary, walking barefoot, and diagrams showing each muscle named from the front and back so you exactly what's working where. 192pp, large softback, colour photos.

TV doctor Michael Mosley writes the Foreword about this special book, a companion to the number one bestselling Clever Guts Diet. Building on that book, busy GP Clare Bailey is now using food to improve her patients' gut health as well as their gut size and the recipes in this book are the product of the latest science. Tasty, flavoursome and simple, they are written with a busy person in mind and the ingredients easy to access and inexpensive. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has laid waste to the modern microbiome that live in our guts and are essential to our health and without them we gain weight and possibly depression. Another link is an addiction to junk food which has also helped devastate our Old Friends and seen dramatic increases in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, allergic diseases and food intolerances. If you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or feel your gut is in need of a reboot, try a breakfast fry up with green bananas, Blueberry Chia Pots, and for lunch Healing Chicken Bone Broth, Chargrilled Red Pepper Dip, Aubergine Parmigiana Mediterranean Style Bake, and dinner Baked Coconut Chicken Curry, or Prawns with Pasta and Seaweed, Cauliflower Rice with Coriander, and delicious ferments like Kombucha. Plus breads, preserved lemons, pickles, no-knead sourdough, healthy nutrient bars and cakes and meal planners to help phase in your new regime. 224pp, very large softback packed with colour photos.

By the bestselling author of 'Reasons to Stay Alive', here is a guide to living and finding hope in these disjointed times. It is a collection of aphorisms and inspirational stories of survival, maxims, memoir and meditation celebrating the ever-changing wonder of living. 'Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn't give up.' 'You were born worthy of love and you remain worthy of love. Be kind to yourself.' 'Once upon a time, my father and I got lost in a forest in France...At school, I had just been told the Bible story of the Israelites who had died in the wilderness and I found it easy to imagine that that would be our fate too.' 'If we keep going in a straight line we'll get out of here,' my Dad said. And he was right.' If you are in need of a boost of positivity, and calm, this is profound witty and uplifting with stories a few lines long to a few pages long. 260pp.

Camden town tube station escalator was built through a burial pit! "A fabulous boxed collection of maps and informative brochures in addition to the text I had expected to receive. A real surprise - packed full of interesting info on History of Medicine & much more. Makes me want to get down to London and seek out the Physick Garden and other sites." "The book is written in an engaging style, with glimpses into London's diseased past with themed chapters. The gazetteer is a handy guide to all of the medical institutions (apart from hospitals) such as fraternities, historic spots, museums, etc. The self-guided walks are beautifully printed and designed, but the walks only take you in the general area of the sites of interest, rather than pointing you directly to them, which had I known would have brought along the gazetteer." A unique, stunningly-presented guide to London's past and a treasure trove of information for historians, residents, medical professionals and tourists, Medical London charts the many roles that diseases, treatments and cures have played in the city's sprawling story and charts the rise of asylum and the care of the mentally ill. It also reveals how London, in turn, has shaped the professions and practices of modern medicine. The set comprises a 216 page illustrated history paperback. The hardback Anatomy of the City leads you to points of interest like the British Red Cross Museum and Archives in Moorfields, the British Optical Association Museum and Library, the Florence Nightingale Museum, the Alfred Dunhill Collection, Hogarth's house, the Galton collection, the Wellcome Library, the Ragged School Museum, Royal London Hospital archives and museum, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The six fold out walking guides to pop in your pocket begin with along the medieval Thames from Westminster (duration 3 hours and 3 miles), the East End and the city (5 miles) with Daniel Defoe immortalising the sufferings of the Great Plague, a day in the life of an 18th century medical student, the British Empire in Greenwich in a circular walk from the Cutty Sark, Soho by Night and the slums of St. Giles, a famous bone setter, the lodgings of a notorious Regency junkie and a Crimean nurse from the Caribbean among them; and the last walk bohemian medicine in Chelsea with the Royal Hospital, the houses of Oscar Wilde, hospitals for cancer, tuberculosis and women. Two books, line art and photo illus, burgundy blood red cloth bound slipcase.