The Top 10 commodities that affect the household budget – from Kevin Morrison, author of Living in a Material World

1) Oil – the cost of filling up the car has increased. Wholesale oil prices, which is what the refiner pays for the oil before it processes the oil into products such as petrol and diesel, are rising. However, the price of petrol has only increased by about 25%. This is because so much of the petrol price is tax, going straight back to the government. At the moment about  50 pence of the price of a litre of petrol is fuel; on top of that is the VAT, which is charged on the final retail price – so if the retail price £1.25 a litre another 17.5% (21.8 pence) is paid to the government through the VAT.

So if the government cuts its VAT or fuel excise on petrol – so that people with cars can drive more cheaply - it means that it has less revenues to spend on education or hospitals.

Living in a Material World: The Commodity Connection by Kevin Morrison

To be published by Wiley, July 08

At a time when the world is grappling with rising food and energy prices and climate change, Living in a Material World, the forthcoming book by Kevin Morrison, provides an insight into some of the contributing factors behind these challenges. Since the commodity boom has unfolded, commodities have gone from the back page of the newspaper to the front; with more and more headlines about record food and oil prices, dire climate change warnings, energy security and China’s demand for more raw materials.

Caroline Tilston, author of the Garden Style Guides, gives her five top tips to make a dark corner or dingy patio brighter...

   

A Thousand Hills by Stephen Kinzer

Published by Wiley, June 2008

In 1994, the world stood idly by as Rwanda was devastated by the most horrifying genocide since the Holocaust. Now this tiny, land-locked nation stands poised to stun the world again—but in a very different way. Killers and survivors have embarked on a breathtaking path toward reconciliation, and Rwanda has become one of the most promising countries in the developing world. How did this happen?

In A Thousand Hills, bestselling author Stephen Kinzer tells the dramatic story of Paul Kagame, whose rebel army stopped the genocide and whose government has turned Rwanda into a new star of Africa. Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee, shaped one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine warfare, and then emerged as a visionary leader with radical ideas about how poor countries can climb out of their misery. Whether his experiment can succeed is a question that has begun to fascinate people across Africa and beyond.

Modernism in China: Architectural Visions and Revolutions by Edward Denison & Guang Yu Ren

Published by Wiley, June 2008

Modernism in China is a unique look at China's transformation in the early Twentieth Century and its expression through a revolution in architecture and design.

With nearly five millennia of architectural heritage, China boasts the longest continuous architectural development in human history. A hundred years after the dawn of the 20th century and the urban landscape of the world’s most populous country, along with some of the world’s oldest architectural methods, had been transformed completely. Linking unrivalled ancient tradition with the giddy rhetoric exuded by the high-rise, glass-clad, lust-for-wealth that characterises China’s 21st century architectural aspirations, is a period of modernisation that revolutionised its architectural language and urban fabric.

Enhancing Me: The hope and the hype of human enhancement

By Pete Moore

To be published by Wiley - May 2008

Should we insert chips into our children, so we can track where they are?
If you could live forever, would you want to?
If you could download your mind onto a computer, would it “become” you?
Should we force violent criminals to have mood-controlling brain implants?
Would you want technology to improve your memory… or help you forget?

I Hate Presentations! ...Transform the way you present with a fresh and powerful approach

By James Caplin
Published by Capstone, May 08

The aim of a new book by James Caplin, I Hate Presentations, is to help readers become better at preparing and doing presentations. However, there is a secondary aim - to be part of the process of ridding the world of poor presentations, so that we all have to suffer through fewer of them. The author's belief is that, once readers start doing really good presentations – ones that deliver – people will notice. They will benefit, personally and professionally, and others will begin to improve the way they do presentations too. That will help make us happier and speed the flow of information
in the business world.

Surf U.K.: The Definitive Guide to Surfing in Britain by Alf Alderson

Published by Wiley Nautical, May 2008

Ride the wave with this definitive guide to Surfing, Written by accomplished surfer and freelance outdoor journalist, Alf Alderson - Surf U.K is the ultimate companion to surfing Britain’s best waves.  With contributions from top surfers, this guide really is the surfer’s bible.  Readers will be given a heads up on a surfer’s paradise without ever having to leave the UK.

Is the Grass Always Greener on the Other Side? Author of the new Garden Style Guides, Caroline Tilston, gives her Pros and Cons For Owning a Lawn...

April is the month to....bring out the lawnmower…if you have a lawn. There’s something called a spring growth spurt that grass goes through and, especially if the nights are mild, you can almost see the grass growing up and up.

But do you really need that grass? How liberating would it be to throw that mower away? Here’s a quick guide to the pros and cons of losing the lawn…

Computers For Seniors For Dummies® by Nancy Muir - Foreword by Sir Stirling Moss

Published by Wiley, April 2008

A first computer can be confusing and intimidating at any age. Computers For Seniors For Dummies helps over-50 users overcome the uncertainty and fear with clear-cut, easy-to-read-and-understand steps on how to get the most out of your computer. In no time, you'll be designing documents, simplifying finances, exchanging e-mail and photos with friends and family, shopping for the best prices, and finding new communities online!

Stop Smoking For Dummies® by Sally Lewis & David Brizer

Published by Wiley, April 2008

An estimated 7 out of 10 smokers in the UK want to quit - and with smoking claiming over 300 deaths a day, it's easy to understand why. For many people however, smoking is seen as an addiction that they just can’t overcome, and for this reason and many others, the decision to quit is far from a casual one. Stop Smoking For Dummies will help smokers choose and stick to a quitting plan, whilst curbing weight gain, dealing with relapse and finding support. Incorporating the latest self-help techniques such as CBT and hypnotherapy, this is the easiest way to stop smoking – and stay stopped! 

New Directions in Contemporary Architecture: Evolutions and Revolutions in Building Design Since 1988 by Luigi Puglisi

Published by Wiley, April 2008

Through its story-telling dimension, New Directions in Contemporary Architecture traces the last 20 years of Western architecture focusing attention on the current situation that includes designers’ eclecticism and style, the star system, urban and landscape design as well as the influence on architecture exerted by the so-called ‘digital revolution’. A number of historical events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, September 11th and the energy crisis underline the narrative flow of the book, as the urgency of these events pose critical questions of architecture.

The Alzheimer's Answer by Marwan Sabbagh

Published by Wiley, March 08

There are an estimated 417,000 people in the UK living with Alzheimer’s* – many, as novelist, OBE winner - and Alzheimer’s sufferer - Tony Pratchett pointed out in the newspapers last week, suffering in silence. The Alzheimer’s Answer by Marwan Sabbagh features ways of assessing and then reducing your risk of developing Alzheimer’s, including tips and exercises designed to help keep your brain healthy. The book also addresses the treatment and therapies currently available as well as taking a close look at promising new developments.

Spring is in the air...! So why not start enjoying 'the good life' and grow your own veg with the help of gardening expert Caroline Tilston, author of the new Garden Style Guides

March is the month to...Grow some easy vegetables.

It’s worth trying to grow some vegetables even if you have a tiny space. The sheer satisfaction of eating what you’ve raised is amazing and they taste really good too.   

Now there’s the right way to do vegetables and there’s the quick way. Sticklers will say that you won’t get as good a yield if you take shortcuts, but I say, leave that until you’re serious about raising vegetables. For now, to get you started, here’s the quick and dirty way to do it…

Blood of the Caesars by Stephen Dando-Collins

Published by Wiley, March 08

Blood of the Caesars unravels a murder mystery that changed history...

Could the killing of a single great leader while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire's collapse more than four centuries later? Perhaps, but only if that leader were the grandson of Mark Antony, the adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, handpicked by Augustus to become the third emperor, as well as the father of Caligula and the grandfather of Nero.

Germanicus Julius Caesar was all of the above...

New Year’s Resolutions forgotten already? Get back on track with Alyssa Abbey’s excuse busters and make this summer your most energized yet. Here are the top pitfalls of those trying to create new energy habits...

Stop Making Excuses and Start Living With Energy by Alyssa Abbey

Published by Wiley, May 08

Fed up with falling asleep on the sofa every night, too exhausted to have even dragged yourself to bed? Want to wake up every morning full of the joys of Spring - even when it's the middle of Winter?! Well then it's time to Stop Making Excuses and Start Living With Energy! In her new book the “Queen of Vitality”, Alyssa Abbey, shares her secrets for getting past our excuses and our resistance to change and shows how to create a realistic, practical, & permanent plan for vitality and happiness.

David Andelman, author of A Shattered Peace: Versaille 1919 and The Price We Pay Today, will be available for interviews in the UK March 15th-20th

To arrange an interview or to recieve a review copy of the book please contact Alicia Barker via the following form: Media Request Form

For more information about A Shattered Peace and David Andelman please click here

Buy the book

For US enquiries please contact Lori Sayde-Mehrtens

Don't Wait For Your Ship to Come In...Swim Out to Meet It By Dr Gary Wood

Published by Capstone, April 08

For those of you fed up with self-help books that promise everything and deliver nothing, Dr Gary Wood has answers that actually work. In Don't Wait for Your Ship to Come In…Swim Out to Meet It, he presents a complete step-by-step program for personal development, based on the life-coaching techniques and evidence-based psychology that have made him immensely popular on British TV and radio.

Performance Coaching For Dummies® by Gladeana McMahon and Averil Leimon

Published by Wiley, March 08

Expert advice to help you unlock potential and achieve your goals...

Performance Coaching uses a wide range of practical tools and techniques to facilitate development, learning, and ultimately personal and professional success. Whether you want to motivate a team at work or boost your own individual performance, Perfomance Coaching For Dummies walks you step-by-step through the basics of Performance Coaching and shows you how to use it effectively to unlock potential, overcome challenges, maximise performance, and succeed in all areas of life.

Welcome to Wiley’s Consumer E-Newsletter – February 2008

In this newsletter you will find details of our exciting consumer titles publishing in March and April. All of the books listed below are available as review copies, and you need only get in touch via the following form to request any of them: Media Request Form

Titles highlighted in this newsletter...

Has Your Garden Got the Winter Blues? Then Check Out Caroline Tilston's New Monthly Top Gardening Tips Feature - Fresh Ideas Every Month to Get Your Garden Looking Great

February is the month to...

Get hold of seed catalogues and think about having a go at sowing seeds this spring. You may notice I’m avoiding any mention of actually going outside until it warms up a bit more.

Sowing seeds doesn’t have to be difficult. You don’t need a greenhouse or any ‘pricking out’ - if you want to take the easy route make sure you go for things that say – ‘throw and grow’ or ‘sow in flowering position’. This means that all you do is sprinkle them on some nice soil, keep them watered if it doesn’t rain and bingo, a really colourful summer.

My favourites are....

Neuro-Linguistic Programming Workbook For Dummies®

By Romilla Ready and Kate Burton

Published by Wiley, February 08

If you are one of the millions of people who have already discovered the power of NLP, Neuro-linguistic Programming Workbook For Dummies will allow you to perfect its lessons on how to think more positively and communicate more effectively with others.

Web Sites Do-It-Yourself For Dummies®

By Janine Warner

Published by Wiley, March 08

A hands-on guide that delivers the illustrated step-by-step directions that Web design newcomers need to create their first site...

Illustrated with hundreds of screen shots, including 16 pages in full color, Web Sites Do-Iy-Yourself For Dummies offers self-motivated do-it-yourselfers a structured, project-based approach to creating a basic Web site. Like the other books in the new Dummies Do-It-Yourself series, it provides readers with a detailed road map for getting the job done, with each chapter taking them one step closer toward the final goal. Readers move from setting priorities, establishing a budget, visualizing the site, registering a domain name, and choosing a Web hosting service to creating Web pages, editing images for the Web, adding multimedia, and testing and publishing the site.

Has Your Garden got the Winter Blues? Brighten it up with Caroline Tilston's Top 5 Gardening Tips for January

Read on for some great ideas to cheer up your garden this winter with the first part of our monthly gardening tips feature by Caroline Tilston, author of the new Garden Design Series...

Knowledge for Generations: Wiley and the Global Publishing Industry

A distinguished team of authors and editors brings Wiley’s rich history to life in a book that marks the culmination of an extraordinary bicentennial year. KNOWLEDGE FOR GENERATIONS: Wiley and the Global Publishing Industry, 1807-2007 by The Winthrop Group, Inc., Timothy Curtis Jacobson, George David Smith, and Robert E. Wright; and edited by Peter Booth Wiley, Susan Brophy Spilka, and Barbara L. Heaney, depicts Wiley’s pivotal role in the evolution of publishing against a social, cultural, and economic backdrop.

The Vitamin D Cure

By James Dowd and Diane Stafford

Published by Wiley, February 08

Based on the latest scientific research, the breakthrough way to lose weight, stop pain, and prevent disease…

We've long known that healthy Vitamin D levels are related to strong bones, but several recent studies have clearly shown that Vitamin D also decreases our risk of getting overweight and developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and other health problems. The Vitamin D Cure introduces a simple plan to increase Vitamin D levels in the body through simple, individualized supplementation with Vitamin D, carefully increased sun exposure, and exercise. Through its clear and down-to-earth five-step plan, The Vitamin D Cure shows how variations in our diet and activity levels can have a profound impact on our health and well-being...

All The Shah's Men

By Stephen Kinzer

Published by Wiley, January 08

The national bestseller about America and Iran - now with new material on the coming showdown...

This new edition of All The Shah's Men - the bestseller chosen as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and the Economist - begins with a powerful new essay that warns against an American attack on Iran. As the drumbeat of threats against Iran intensifies in Washington, Kinzer argues that they are based on fantasies that are as dangerous as they are delusional. Any attack, he warns, would usher in another era of upheaval in Iran and the surrounding region, this time with the overlay of nuclear-tinged terror...

IBS For Dummies®

By Dr Patricia Macnair and Dr Carolyn Dean

Published by Wiley, February 08

Understand Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and take control with IBS For Dummies...

This reassuring guide to all aspects of IBS explains how to recognise and manage a wide range of symptoms, and understand the physical and emotional triggers of this frustrating condition. Inside you'll find expert guidance on the latest conventional and alternative treatment methods alongside information on nutrition, diet, and exercise, helping you to tailor your treatment to suit your needs, take your mind off your IBS, and live life to the full...

The First Samurai

By Karl Friday

Published by Wiley, January 08

A portrait of Japan's first significant samurai leader and his world.

Was samurai warrior Taira Masakado a quixotic megalomaniac or a hero swept up by events beyond his control? Did he really declare himself to be the "New Emperor"? Did he suffer divine retribution for his ego and ambition? The First Samurai is filled with insurrections, tribal uprisings, pirate disturbances, and natural disasters...

Wiley's Manga Editions bring Shakspeare to life for a new generation of readers

Published by Wiley, March 08

By Adam Sexton

From its origins in Japan, the highly graphic manga style of storytelling has become a worldwide phenomenom - and now Wiley introduces the first faithful Manga Editions of Shakespeare's most popular plays. Our manga series, written by Adam Sexton, includes: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet - all of which combine the stunning effects of manga whilst remaining true to the original context of Shakespeare's plays...

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook For Dummies®

By Rhena Branch and Rob Willson

Published by Wiley, December 07

Once a term only used by psychologists and counsellors, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is now in common use. CBT is a proven and effective approach people can use to improve their outlook on life, and here, the authors of best-selling Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies® show readers step by step how to put the lessons of their book into practice with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook For Dummies®...

Create an outside haven and add value to your property this Spring with Caroline Tilston's new Garden Style Series

Published by Wiley, Spring 2008

Summer may feel a long while off yet but why not make it an extra special one this year by entertaining friends or relaxing in the sun in a beautifully designed garden. Caroline Tilston, author of Small Family Gardens and Modern Family Gardens, has a fabulous new series coming out in the Spring to help even the most amateur gardener create an outside haven. The practical but stunning magazine-style guides which feature fantastic colour photography include: Rooftop & Terrace Gardens, Design Your Garden, Garden Makeovers, and Low-Maintenance Gardens...

TechKnow - an exciting series from Wiley, the Science Museum and the Dana Centre

Curious about technology?  Want to join the discussion on how it will affect our futures?

Then watch out for the TechKnow series, launching in April 2008, in conjunction with the Dana Centre. The books will get you up to speed with the most-thought provoking issues of the day.  And leave you wanting more....  Each book brings to life a particular area of technology and takes an informal, sometimes controversial yet always challenging look at where we are now, where future developments will take us - and how they'll affect as individuals and as a society.  Peppered with real-life stories from across the globe and interviews with those at the cutting edge, these books will fuel your mind and get you thinking beyond the technology headlines!

Discover.   Question.   Provoke.

A Shattered Peace: Versaille 1919 and The Price We Pay Today by David Andelman

Published by Wiley

A revealing look at the powerful lessons the Treaty of Versailles has for us today...

Veteran correspondent David Andelman offers a compelling new perspective on the origin of many of today’s most critical international issues in A Shattered Peace: Versaille 1919 and The Price We Pay Today. He turns the spotlight on the many errors committed by World War I peacemakers that ultimately led to crises from Iraq to Kosovo and wars from the Middle East to Vietnam. He focuses, too, on the small nations and minor players at Versailles, including figures such as Ho Chi Minh and Charles de Gaulle, who would later become boldfaced names. With a cautionary message for us today, he shows how world leaders dismissed repeated warnings from their experts and laid the groundwork for a host of catastrophic events.

The Five Front War: The Better Way to Fight Global Jihad

By Daniel Byman

Published by Wiley, December 07

In The Five Front War, Daniel Byman presents the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and fresh way to look at the war on terror.  No book yet has painted the big picture like this one will, defining the terms of the debate, and giving average citizens a true understanding of everything that the war on terror encompasses. Byman charts the efforts we’ve made, the challenges we’ve faced, and the best way toward a safer future...

Gluten-Free Girl

By Shauna James Ahern

Published by Wiley, November 07

Gluten-Free Girl is a smart and indispensable book written by award-winning blogger Shauna James Ahern, a reformed processed-food eater who had to transform her diet when she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Living gluten-free means having to give up traditional bread, beer, pasta, as well as the foods where gluten likes to hide—such as store-bought ice cream, chocolate bars, even nuts that might have been dusted with flour. However, Gluten-Free Girl shows readers how to say yes to the foods they can eat and seeks to bring a love of eating back to our diets...

The Shopaholic’s Guide to buying Gorgeous Gifts Online

By Patricia Davidson

Published by Capstone , October 2007

In the run up to Christmas 2006 consumers spent a record-breaking £7bn on internet purchases, while high street ‘footfall’ was down 9%. As online retailers predict another festive bonanza, what better way to get ahead of the crowd than by doing all your preparations online?  With chapters on Pampering presents, Gift stores for men, Sport Mad and Hampers and Food Gifts plus an indispensable guide to the Top 20 Emergency Gift Retailers, now you can do all your Christmas shopping in less time than it takes to prepare the Christmas lunch. 

The Shopaholic’s Guide to Buying Online 2008 by Patricia Davidson

By Patricia Davidson

Published by Capstone, October 2007

Shopping is one of life’s great pleasures – yet the combination of crowds, queues and overzealous assistants can make it a misery. As more and more people turn to shopping online as a way to avoid these problems, an endless high street has opened up on the internet offering everything from organic food hampers to designer handbags. But trying to buy online can be both time-consuming and overwhelming – which is why shopping guru Patricia Davidson has revised and updated her bestselling Shopaholic’s Guide to Buying Online for 2008.