Fourth Estate imprint: 163 books

The dual biography of the great British comedy double-act and the rise and fall of mass audience television by the respected biographer of Cary Grant . Following the success of Cary Grant – A Class Apart, Graham McCann has now created an intricate portrait of Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise, possibly...

The incredible story of Gyles Mackrell and his Burmese, elephant-assisted wartime rescue mission. In the summer of 1942, Gyles Mackrell – a decorated First World War pilot and tea plantation overseer, performed a series of heroic rescues in the hellish jungles of Japanese-occupied Burma – with...

The biography of Jane Digby, an ‘enthralling tale of a nineteenth-century beauty whose heart – and hormones – ruled her head.’ Harpers and Queen A celebrated aristocratic beauty, Jane Digby married Lord Ellenborough at seventeen. Their divorce a few years later was one of England s most scandalous...

This moving and timely book explores the way the First World War has been thought about and commemorated, and how it has affected its own, and later, generations. On 11 November 1920, huge crowds lined the streets of London for the funeral of the Unknown Warrior. As the coffin was drawn on a gun carriage...

A frank and beautiful story of damage, survival and restoration from an exhilarating literary voice. As Charles Redfern lies motionless in hospital, his wife Anne and daughter Charlotte are forced to confront their relationships with him – and with each other. Anne, once beautiful and clever, has...

Arrested for snorting cocaine off a car bonnet, award-winning author and quintessential dilettante Frederic Beigbeder reflects on his troubled childhood, while spending a night in the cells. In his most autobiographical book to date, the author of the award-winning ‘Windows on the World’ recounts...

An invigorating book about the debates raging within China. We all know about the fast pace of change in this country. This book brings us the ideas being fought over in the country itself – from democracy to the idea of a ‘peaceful rise’. It challenges all of our assumptions about China. We...

A major biography of the man who, more than any other, made the twentieth century. Written by an author of great repute. The history of the 20th century is Marx's legacy. Not since Jesus Christ has an obscure pauper inspired such global devotion – or been so calamitously misinterpreted. The end...

‘My mother-in-law Annie lived with us for 17 years and was picture-book perfect.’ It took a while before the family realised that Annie was increasingly (as she would put it) 'Mutt and Jeff'. So Phyllida began to write out the day's gossip at the kitchen table, putting her notes by Annie's bed...

A selection of Robert Fisk's finest 'Comment' pieces from the Saturday ‘Independent’. Robert Fisk has amassed a devoted readership over the years, with his insightful, witty and always outspoken articles on international politics and mankind’s war-torn recent history. He is best known for his...

Those who believe Europe to be weak and ineffectual are wrong. Turning conventional wisdom on its head Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century sets out a vision for a century in which Europe will dominate, not America. This is the book that will make your mind up about Europe. Those who believe Europe...

How long do humans have left on Earth? Using cutting-edge science that revolutionises our understanding of evolution, Michael Boulter explains how we may be closer to our own extinction than we imagined. Sixty-five million years ago the dinosaurs were destroyed in a mass extinction event that could...

This is a book for the sports lover. Some of us spend too much time in the shed listening to sport on the radio and hogging the television. The thing about sports lovers is that we hate so much about it, we shout at the radio and the television; we love sport so much that if any of it makes us cross,...

A witty, wise and truthful beauty handbook for real women on what works in real life from Sali Hughes, beloved journalist and broadcaster. ‘Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together’ Elizabeth Taylor Beauty books. Exquisite coffee-table affairs featuring improbably...