Books published by publisher Atlantic

1260 AD: Josseran Sarrazini is a man divided in his soul. A Christian Knight Templar haunted by a shameful past, he hopes to find redemption in a dangerous crusade: a journey from Palestine to Xanadu, to form a crucial allegiance against the Saracens at the legendary court of Kubilai Khan - the seat of the Mongol Empire. Instead he finds the solace he seeks in a warrior-princess from a heathen tribe. Beautiful and ferocious, Khutelun is a Tartar, a nomadic rider of the Mongolian steppe. Although their union is utterly impossible, she will find in Josseran what she cannot find in one of her own. Parched by desert winds, pursued by Saracen hordes, and now tormented by a passion he cannot control, Josseran must abandon Khutelun if he is to complete his journey and save his soul. Worse, he must travel with William, a Dominican friar of fearsome zeal who longs for matyrdom, but whose life Josseran is sworn to protect. And worse yet, he will arrive in Xanadu just as the greatest empire in human history plunges into civil war. Winding through the plains of Palestine and over the high mountains of the Hindu Kush, from the empty wastes of the Taklimakan desert to the golden palaces of China, Silk Road weaves a spellbinding story of sin, desire, conflict and human frailty onto the vast tapestry of the medieval orient.

How much more do Brits drink than they should? Why do immigrants go there? How have house prices changed in the past decade? What do they spend their money on? Britain by Numbers answers all these questions and more, vividly bringing the nation to life in new and unexpected ways by showing who lives here, where they work, who they marry, what crimes they commit, and much else besides. Beautifully designed and illustrated throughout, it takes the reader on a fascinating journey up and down the land, enriching their understanding of a complex—and contradictory—country.

A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the U.S.-led covert sixteen-month manhunt. With unprecedented access to important players—including Colombian president Cisar Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez-as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar's intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.

WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2008Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. His family is too poor for him to afford for him to finish school and he has to work in a teashop, breaking coals and wiping tables. But Balram gets his break when a rich man hires him as a chauffeur, and takes him to live in Delhi. The city is a revelation. As he drives his master to shopping malls and call centres, Balram becomes increasingly aware of immense wealth and opportunity all around him, while knowing that he will never be able to gain access to that world. As Balram broods over his situation, he realizes that there is only one way he can become part of this glamorous new India - by murdering his master. The White Tiger presents a raw and unromanticised India, both thrilling and shocking - from the desperate, almost lawless villages along the Ganges, to the booming Wild South of Bangalore and its technology and outsourcing centres. The first-person confession of a murderer, The White Tiger is as compelling for its subject matter as for the voice of its narrator - amoral, cynical, unrepentant, yet deeply endearing.

A New York Times Book of the Year, 2018A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICKA dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries.After moving to Los Angeles, Susan Orlean became fascinated by a mysterious local crime that has gone unsolved since it was carried out on the morning of 29 April 1986: who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately destroying more than 400,000 books, and perhaps even more perplexing, why? With her characteristic humour, insight and compassion, Orlean uses this terrible event as a lens through which to tell the story of all libraries - their history, their meaning and their uncertain future as they adapt and redefine themselves in a digital world. Filled with heart, passion and extraordinary characters, The Library Book discusses the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives.

The New York Times Bestseller'Brilliant... Gripping' Wall Street JournalFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner's journey into the heart of the Third Reich. At first, gunner Clarence Smoyer and his fellow crewmen in the legendary 3rd Armored Division - 'Spearhead' - thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: the lead tank always gets hit.After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art 'super tank', one of twenty in the European theatre.But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: now they will spearhead every attack. That's how Clarence finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the 'Fortress City' of Germany.Battling through the ruins, Clarence will engage the fearsome Panther in a duel immortalized by an army cameraman. And he will square off with Gustav Schaefer, a teenager behind the trigger in a Panzer IV tank, whose crew has been sent on a suicide mission to stop the Americans.As Clarence and Gustav trade fire down a long boulevard, they are confronted by a tragic mistake of war. What happens next will haunt Clarence to the modern day, drawing him back to Cologne to do the unthinkable: to face his enemy, one last time.

The best oils are made by authentic artist-craftsmen, who marry centuries-old agricultural wisdom with cutting-edge extraction technology, and now produce the finest oils in history. However, these producers are being steadily driven from the market: extra-virgin olive oil is difficult and expensive to make, yet alarmingly easy to adulterate. Skilled oil criminals are flooding the market with low-cost, faux extra-virgins, reaping rich profits and undercutting honest producers, whilst authorities in Italy, the US and elsewhere turn a blind eye.From the feisty pugliese woman of sixty struggling to keep the family business afloat to her industrialist neighbour who has allegedly grown wealthy on counterfeit oil, to Benedictine monks in Western Australia and poker-playing agriculture barons in northern California who make this ancient foodstuff in New World ways, Mueller distils the passions and life stories of oil producers, and explores the conflict, culinary vitality and cultural importance of great olive oil.

In the early 1900s, as the oppression of Russia's imperial rule takes its toll on Finland, the three Koski siblings - Ilmari, Matti and the politicized young Aino - are forced to flee to the western edges of the United States. The brothers face the excitement and danger of pioneering this frontier wilderness. But while they are tearing down ancient, colossal trees, Aino is striving to build up the country's first radical union movements. In lucid, luminous prose, Marlantes masterfully depicts the tyranny of nascent America, the limits of human survival and the enduring might of family love.

Britain's foremost astrobiologist offers an accessible and game-changing account of why life is like it is.The puzzles of life astound and confuse us like no other mystery. But in this revolutionary new book, Charles Cockell reveals how nature is far more understandable and predictable than we think. Refining Darwin's theory of natural selection, Cockell puts forward a remarkable and elegant account of why evolution has taken the paths it has. From animals to atoms, he shows that is it not biology, but physics, which is the true touchstone for understanding life in all its extraordinary forms._______________An intriguing and enthralling adventure into the physics of life that is all around us and inside us. Cockell provides a reminder of the seeming rarity of all this beauty but also an invitation to look up to the skies and ask 'where else might something like this be?' - Robin Ince - Presenter of BBC Radio 4's Infinite Monkey CageRiveting... Cockell is not only a fine scientist but a fine writer too. - Sir Martin Rees - Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society