Simon Prebble

Art imitates life in this brilliant psychological study of a compulsive gambler, modeled on Dostoevsky's own tendencies. Like so many characters in Dostoevsky's novels, Alexei, a young tutor working in the household of an imperious Russian general, is trying to break through the wall of the established order and the human condition itself, but instead he is drawn into the vortex of the roulette wheel. His intense addiction is accentuated by his

After six months in wild Germania, imperial gumshoe Marcus Didius Falco is back in Rome sweet Rome—but his apartment has been ransacked. And although he desperately needs 400,000 sesterces in order to marry his aristocratic love, Helena, his only client is his mother, who insists that he find out whether the scandalous claims against his dead brother, Festus, are true.

Then the chief tarnisher of Festus' good name is murdered, and Marcus

Everest and K2, two of the most feared and respected peaks in the world. High offers a unique perspective on climbing these two peaks, from early exploration disasters, to the modern tragedies. With writing from Matt Dickinson, Chris Bonington, David Roberts and others, these stories remind us, in vivid written accounts, why Everest and K2 are among the world's most dangerous places, yet why the world's best climbers can't stay away from them.

Hear the stories of men and women battling the elements, and sometimes each other, to stay alive, confronting savage storms, rogue waves, icebergs, sharks, starvation and their own fear and suffering. From Sebastian Junger's The Whale Hunter to Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny to Lawrence Beesley's The Loss of The S.S. Titanic, Rough Water is a unique collection of the finest writing on why men and women go to sea, and