Penguin Books Australia

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER THAT TAKES YOU ON A JOURNEY THROUGH YOUR MIND AND GIVES YOU THE ANSWERS TO THE BIG PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS

There are many books about philosophy, but Who Am I? And If So How Many? is different from the rest. Never before has anyone introduced readers so expertly and, at the same time, so light-heartedly and elegantly to the big philosophical questions.

'What if I told you that you can save a life, even many lives?  Do you have a bottle of water or a can of soda on the table beside you as you read this book?  If you are paying for something to drink when safe drinking water comes out of the tap, you have money to spend on things you don't really need.  Around the world, a billion people struggle to live each day on less than you paid...

'It's impossible not to warm to Gordon Smith.  He is one of the country's most successful mediums.' The Daily Express

The Reason Why is a groundbreaking and provocative new book that explains the importance of planet Earth and its place in our Cosmos.

Does one planet really matter among the immensity of the Cosmos? John Gribbin is here to persuade us that it does. He argues that we owe our existence to the impact of a 'supercomet' with Venus 600 million years ago. But this is only part of the story, just one of the...

' The Wisdom to Know the Difference is about being able to change. . . . What is important is that we can make a change and transform ourselves into better, happier people.' (His Holiness the Dalai Lama)

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can change; and wisdom to know the difference.

Who needs philosophy?  Ayn Rand's answer: Everyone.

If you've ever thought, 'There must be more to life than this,' The Art of Non-Conformity is for you.

Based on Chris Guillebeau's popular online manifesto 'A Brief Guide to World Domination,' The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You'll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment...

When celebrity journalist Anna Hunt takes a break from her glamorous, high-powered and fast-paced job to live in Peru for three months, none of her friends take her seriously. A burn-the-candle-at-both-ends 29-year-old with a love of stilettos, chocolate, fast cars and Sauvignon Blanc, she seems to have it all, including a wealthy boyfriend and a comfortable pad in Marylebone. How will she manage in...

'Happily provocative . . . blistering . . . very quotable'
The New York Times

'A master philosopher'
The Times

Why are we so often unwilling to accept that life is unpredictable? In this brilliant book Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the bestselling phenomenon Black Swan, distils his idiosyncratic wisdom to show us how we humans, facing the limits of our knowledge, try to squeeze life into reductive...

'Unorthodox, devastatingly straightforward and more provocative of actual thought than 99% of books said to be 'thought-provoking'' 
ANDREW MARR

ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?

Today most of us are richer, healthier, have better homes, cars, food and holidays than ever before. But are we any happier than we were fifty years ago? It seems that as incomes rise, the urge to compare ourselves to others constantly...

WHAT IF RELIGIONS ARE NEITHER ALL TRUE NOR ALL NONSENSE?

The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false - and yet that religions still have some very important things to teach the secular world.

What is civilization?
Why do we need it?
And what can civilization offer us in an age of irony?