A engrossing account of the history of black people in Britain that is at once a great achievement in literature, a scholarly document of a highly important period of history and, crucially, readable.

A magical book that takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the genesis and demise of a fictional South American town.

Recently voted the best Booker winner ever, this is essential, intelligent and truly multilayered. A big book in every sense.

Indisputably of the finest novels ever written in the English language and a poetic and comic masterpiece that may never be bettered.

Any collection of short stories from Raymond Carver is worth reading, and this is a definitive collection. Simply masterful.

Authoritative volume that collects all of Ginsberg's poetry, an achievement that is reflected in many of his contemporaries and literary and cultural successors.

Oft-neglected tale of a doomed crew making their way up-river through the jungles of Guyana.

An important and accessible look at attitudes growing up with repression and prejudice in Mississippi in the 1930s that should be read by people of all ages and from all backgrounds.

A wonderful novel that ranks with the best of nineteenth century prose literature. Precocious, funny and tragic, this is a modern masterpiece from a gifted writer.