Profile Books

For decades we've been told there's something out there. Jim Al-Khalili, host of Radio 4's The Life Scientific and an inaugural winner of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, has been gathering the latest word from within the science community about those little green folks (if that's what they'll look like) and their potential existence. An enthusiastic speaker, Al-Khalili brings us his new book, Aliens.

Join us for an evening with Federico Varese, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford, in conversation with journalist Luke Harding; into the strange and bizarre world of Mafia Life. We see mafias as vast, powerful organisations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping their tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth? Travelling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caught up in mafia life, showing their loves and fears, ambitions and disappointments, as well as their crimes. Mafia Life takes us into the real world of organised crime, where henchmen worry about their bad managers and have high blood pressure, assassinations are bungled as often as they come off, and increasing pressure from law enforcement means that a life of crime is no longer lived in the lap of luxury. As our world changes, so must mafias. Globalisation, migration and technology are disrupting traditions and threatening their revenue streams, and the Mafiosi must evolve or die. Mafia Life is an intense and totally compelling look at these organisations and the daily life of their members, as they get to grips with the modern world.

Professor David Crystal makes a welcome return to the festival to champion the cause of English grammar. A leading expert in the field of language, David works as a writer, editor, lecturer and broadcaster, and has had over 100 books published. His new book, Making Sense, is the glamorous story of English grammar. How can this be? Come and see how grammar can be made to come alive and become intriguing and relevant to everyone, including young children. The Times described David's depiction of child development as 'only one of the attractions of this engaging account of the history and structure of language.'