Profile Books

Sir Rodric Braithwaite brings to life the tale of nuclear escalation between the great powers after 1945. It is, he suggests, a story with few villains. Instead politicians, scientists and military men were driven by a toxic combination of duty and paranoia, a situation which still offers lessons today. The speaker was British Ambassador in Moscow. He is author of the bestselling Afgantsy. Sponsored by XtraStep Ltd.

Engaging, humane, sharp, funny and unforgettable, Alan Bennett opens this year's Festival with Keeping On Keeping On, his inimitable record of life from his peerless 2005 to 2015 diaries. In the footsteps of the phenomenally successful Writing Home and Untold Stories, this is a decade that saw four premieres at the National Theatre and films of The History Boys and The Lady in the Van, read aloud as only Bennett can.

Is teleportation really possible? Will bionics make us into superheroes? Every day, scientists come up with ingenious solutions and surprising discoveries that define our future. Jim Al-Khalili, author, broadcaster, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey and host of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific, bins the crystal ball and uses cutting-edge science to get a glimpse of what's in store for the human race.