Simon Garfield Books

The real story of the Mini, published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this design classic.

More than a decade on from the publication of the Sunday Times bestselling JUST MY TYPE, Simon Garfield presents a new series of beautifully designed pocket biographies of iconic typefaces

The encyclopaedia once shaped our understanding of the world, created by countless scholars and meticulous editors. A good set conveyed absolute wisdom, with contributions from figures like Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and Marie Curie, aiding millions in their studies. Adults believed they had access to all explainable knowledge within their homes. However, these once-revered volumes now gather dust and sell for little online, as we increasingly rely on our devices for information. What have we lost in this shift? This work celebrates the groundbreaking publishing phenomenon of encyclopaedias, tracing their evolution from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, and examining the transition from single volumes to massive collections. It details how Encyclopaedia Britannica dominated the market, inspired numerous competitors, and how door-to-door salesmen marketed these resources to parents. The text explores how encyclopaedias mirrored societal attitudes towards sexuality, race, and technology, while also revealing the errors and biases that plagued these trusted sources. With his engaging style, Simon Garfield highlights this significant aspect of our history and questions whether the quest for complete knowledge—a deeply human aspiration—will ever be fully realized.

'A remarkable journalistic achievement.' Time Out'Powerful . Including interviews with key figures in the fight against the virus as well as those facing personal devastation and prejudice, The End of Innocence is an important and powerful story, compellingly told.

More than a decade on from the publication of the Sunday Times bestselling JUST MY TYPE, Simon Garfield presents a new series of beautifully designed pocket biographies of iconic typefaces

More than a decade on from the publication of the Sunday Times bestselling JUST MY TYPE, Simon Garfield presents a new series of beautifully designed pocket biographies of iconic typefaces

Includes portions of the diaries of: Pam Ashford, Christopher Tomlin, Tilly Rice, Eileen Potter, and Maggie Joy Blunt.

Originally published: London: Profile Books, 2010.

The wartime correspondence which first warmed people's hearts in Simon Garfield's To the Letter, now available in a single volume for readers to follow their wonderful and life-changing journey.

One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend we'll have. An animal so much part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its wellbeing and wardrobe. Dogs and humans: in the last 200 years no inter-species relationship has developed so fast nor come so far. Dogs accompany us in every walk of life, usually three times a day. How and why did this relationship begin? How has it changed over the centuries? And who's getting the upper hand? Dog's Best Friend investigates this unique bond by revisiting some of the most important milestones in our shared journey. It begins with the earliest visual evidence on ancient rock art, and ends at the laboratory that sequenced the first dog genome. En route we encounter the first Labradoodle in Australia, a misguidedly loyal Akita in Japan, an ill-fated Poodle trainer in the United States, and a hilariously disobedient Romanian rescue dog named Kratu at the Birmingham NEC. We will also meet Corgis and Dorgis at the Palace, the weightless mutniks of the Soviet space programme, a Dalmatian who impersonates Hitler, and an owner who claims his Border Collie can remember the names of more than a thousand soft toys