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Greed Is Dead: Politics After Individualism
by Paul Collier John KayTwo of the UK's leading economists call for an end to extreme individualism as the engine of prosperity 'provocative but thought-provoking and nuanced' TelegraphThroughout history, successful societies have created institutions which channel both competition and co-operation to achieve complex goals of general benefit. These institutions make the difference between societies that thrive and those paralyzed by discord, the difference between prosperous and poor economies. Such societies are pluralist but their pluralism is disciplined.Successful societies are also rare and fragile. We could not have built modernity without the exceptional competitive and co-operative instincts of humans, but in recent decades the balance between these instincts has become dangerously skewed: mutuality has been undermined by an extreme individualism which has weakened co-operation and polarized our politics.Collier and Kay show how a reaffirmation of the values of mutuality could refresh and restore politics, business and the environments in which people live. Politics could reverse the moves to extremism and tribalism; businesses could replace the greed that has degraded corporate culture; the communities and decaying places that are home to many could overcome despondency and again be prosperous and purposeful. As the world emerges from an unprecedented crisis we have the chance to examine society afresh and build a politics beyond individualism.
Crossing Continents: A History of Standard Chartered Bank
by Duncan Campbell-SmithFor almost a hundred years from the 1860s, the City of London's overseas banks financed the global trade that lay at the core of the British Empire. Foremost among them from the beginning were two start-up ventures: the Standard Bank of South Africa, which soon developed a powerful domestic franchise at the Cape, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. This book traces their stories in the nineteenth century, their glory days before 1914 - and their remarkable survival in the face of global wars and the collapse of world trade in the first half of the twentieth century.The unravelling of the Empire after 1945 eventually forced Britain's overseas banks to confront a different future. The Standard and the Chartered, alarmed at the expansion of American banking, determined in 1969 on a merger as a way of sustaining the best of the City's overseas traditions. But from the start, Standard Chartered had to grapple with the fading fortunes of its own inherited franchise - badly dented in both Asia and Africa - and with radical changes in the nature of banking. Its British managers, steeped in the past, proved ill-suited to the challenge. By the late 1980s, efforts to expand in Europe and the USA had brought the merged Group to the brink of collapse.Yet it survived - and then pulled off a dramatic recovery. Standard Chartered realigned itself, just in time, with the phenomenal growth of Asia's 'emerging markets', many of them in countries where the Chartered had flourished a century earlier. In the process, the Group was transformed. Trebling its workforce, it brushed aside the global financial crisis of 2008 and by 2012 could look back on a decade of astonishing growth. Recent times have added an eventful postscript to a long and absorbing history.Crossing Continents recounts Standard Chartered's story with a wealth of detail from one of the richest archives available to any commercial bank. The book also affords a rare and compelling perspective on the evolution of international trade and finance, showing how Britain's commercial influence has actually worked in practice around the world over one hundred and fifty years.
Accomplishment: How to Achieve Ambitious and Challenging Things
by Michael Barber'Excellent . . . reveals that high accomplishment has a signature pattern that reoccurs from sport to politics to business to government' Matthew SyedThere is no secret formula for success, especially when tackling a new challenge. But what if there were a pattern you could follow? A way of mapping the route and navigating the obstacles that arise?Michael Barber has spent many years advising governments, businesses and major sporting teams around the world on how to achieve ambitious goals on time. Drawing on stories of historic visionaries and modern heroes - from Mary Fischer and Rosa Parks to Paula Radcliffe and Gareth Southgate - Barber presents a unique combination of personal anecdote, historical evidence and interviews from inspirational figures to unpack the route to success.
The War Against the BBC: How an Unprecedented Combination of Hostile Forces Is Destroying Britain's Greatest Cultural Institution... And Why You Should Care
by Patrick Barwise Peter YorkThere's a war on against the BBC. It is under threat as never before. And if we lose it, we won't get it back.The BBC is our most important cultural institution, our best-value entertainment provider, and the global face of Britain. It's our most trusted news source in a world of divisive disinformation. But it is facing relentless attacks by powerful commercial and political enemies, including deep funding cuts - much deeper than most people realise - with imminent further cuts threatened. This book busts the myths about the BBC and shows us how we can save it, before it's too late.
The Econocracy: On the Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts
by Joe Earle Cahal Moran Zach Ward-PerkinsA century ago, the idea of 'the economy' didn't exist. Now economics is the supreme ideology of our time, with its own rules and language. The trouble is, most of us can't speak it. This is damaging democracy. Dangerous agendas are hidden inside mathematical wrappers; controversial policies are presented as 'proven' by the models of economic 'science'. Government is being turned over to a publicly unaccountable technocratic elite. The Econocracy reveals that economics is too important to be left to the economists - and shows us how we can begin to participate more fully in the decisions which affect all our futures.
Nothing but a Circus: Misadventures among the Powerful
by Daniel Levin'Brilliant observations on the anthropology of power. You will laugh aloud and you won't put it down' Daniel KahnemanIn this eye-opening exploration of the human weaknesses for power, Daniel Levin takes us on a hilarious journey through the absurd world of our global elites, drawing unforgettable sketches of some of the puppets who stand guard, and the jugglers and conjurers employed within. Most spectacular of all, however, are the astonishing contortions performed by those closest to the top in order to maintain the illusion of integrity, decency, and public service. Based on the author's first hand experiences of dealing with governments and political institutions around the world, Nothing but a Circus offers a rare glimpse of the conversations that happen behind closed doors, observing the appalling lengths that people go to in order to justify their unscrupulous choices, from Dubai to Luanda, Moscow to Beijing, and at the heart of the UN and the US government.
What We Really Do All Day: Insights from the Centre for Time Use Research (Pelican Books)
by Jonathan Gershuny Oriel SullivanHow has the way we spend our time changed over the last fifty years?Are we really working more, sleeping less and addicted to our phones?What does this mean for our health, wealth and happiness?Everything we do happens in time and it feels like our lives are busier than ever before. Yet a detailed look at our daily activities reveals some surprising truths about the social and economic structure of the world we live in. This book delves into the unrivalled data collection and expertise of the Centre for Time Use Research to explore fifty-five years of change and what it means for us today.
Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy's 'Last Frontier' Can Prosper and Matter
by Kingsley Chiedu MoghaluA rare and timely intervention from Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on development in Africa.To many, Africa is the new frontier. As the West lies battered by financial crisis, Africa is seen as offering limitless opportunities for wealth creation in the march of globalization. But what is Africa to today's Africans? Are its economies truly on the rise? And what is its likely future?In this pioneering book, leading international strategist Kingsley Moghalu challenges conventional wisdoms about Africa's quest for growth. Drawing on philosophy, economics and strategy, he ranges from capitalism to technological innovation, finance to foreign investment, and from human capital to world trade to offer a new vision of transformation. Ultimately he demonstrates how Africa's progress in the twenty-first century will require nothing short of the reinvention of the African mindset. 'Africans seriously analyzing Africa's opportunities are all too rare. Kingsley Moghalu writes with insight and authority' Paul Collier'Savvy . . . distinguished' Mark Malloch-Brown 'Unique in the depth of its insight, the ambition of its scope, and the clarity of its argument. Kingsley Moghalu brings a remarkable intellect and his vast experience to this tour de force on Africa's economic transformation. This is a truly weighty contribution to understanding Africa's developmental dilemma and its quest for a more prosperous future' Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala'Insightful and analytical . . . sheds instructive light on Africa's position in the world. It is a testament to the palpable optimism that encompasses Africa while frankly addressing the myriad challenges that lie ahead for its economic transformation' Shashi TharoorKingsley Chiedu Moghalu is Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He was the Founder and CEO of Sogato Strategies S.A., a global strategy and risk management consulting firm in Geneva, Switzerland. He has previously worked for the United Nations for 17 years in strategic planning, legal, development finance and executive management. His previous books include Global Justice and Rwanda's Genocide.
Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations
by Nandan Nilekani Viral ShahA timely call to reshape government through technology, from Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah, two leading experts in the field.For many aspects of how our countries are run - from social security and fair elections to communication, infrastructure and the rule of law - technology can play an increasingly positive, revolutionary role. In India, for example, where many underprivileged citizens are invisible to the state, a unique national identity system is being implemented for the first time, which will help strengthen social security. And throughout the world, technology is essential in the transition to clean energy.This book, based on the authors' collective experiences working with government, argues that technology can reshape our lives, in both the developing and developed world, and shows how this can be achieved.Praise for Nandan Nilekani:'A pioneer . . . one of India's most celebrated technology entrepreneurs' Financial Times'There is a bracing optimism about Nilekani's analysis . . . which can only be welcome in this age of doom and gloom' Telegraph'The Bill Gates of Bangalore . . . Nilekani achieves an impressive breadth' TimeNandan Nilekani is a software entrepreneur, Co-founder of Infosys Technologies, and the head of the Government of India's Technology Committee. He was named one of the '100 Most Influential People in the World' by TIME magazine and Forbes' 'Business Leader of the Year', and he is a member of the World Economic Forum Board.Viral B. Shah is a software expert who has created various systems for governments and businesses worldwide.
The Penguin Careers Guide: Fourteenth Edition
by Philip GrayThe Penguin Careers Guide is the indispensable and practical source for anyone seeking careers information. Now fully revised and updated for its fourteenth edition, it contains in-depth discussions of hundreds of possible careers, with invaluable advice on education, training and employment issues. Whether you’re just starting out after college or returning to work, looking for a full or part-time position, wondering how to set up your own business or finance your studies, this is the essential guide to point you in the right direction.
The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas
by John HowkinsCreativity is the fastest growing business in the world.Companies are hungry for people with ideas - and more and more of us want to make, buy, sell and share creative products. But how do you turn creativity into money? In this newly rewritten edition of his acclaimed book, leading creative expert John Howkins shows what creativity is, how it thrives and how it is changing in the digital age. His key rules for success include:Invent yourself. Be unique.Own your ideas. Understand copyright, patents and IP laws. Treat the virtual as real, and vice versa.Learn endlessly: borrow, reinvent and recycle.Know when to break the rules.Whether in film or fashion, software or stories, by turning ideas into assets anyone can make creativity pay.
All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times, and What We Can Do About It
by Danny DorlingHousing was at the heart of the financial collapse, and our economy is now precariously reliant on the housing market. In this groundbreaking new book, Danny Dorling argues that housing is the defining issue of our times. Tracing how we got to our current crisis and how housing has come to reflect class and wealth in Britain, All That Is Solid radically shows that the solution to our problems - rising homelessness, a generation priced out of home ownership - is not, as is widely assumed, building more homes. Inequality, he argues, is what we really need to overcome.
Masters of the Post: The Authorized History of the Royal Mail
by Duncan Campbell-SmithThe origins of the Post Office go back to the early years of the Tudor monarchy: Brian Tuke, a former King's Bailiff in Sandwich, was acknowledged as the first 'Master of the Posts' by Cardinal Wolsey in 1512, and went on to build up a network of 'postmasters' across England for Henry VIII. Over the following five hundred years the Royal Mail expanded to an unimaginable degree to become the largest employer in the country, and the face of the British state for most people in their everyday lives. But it also faced the demands of an increasingly commercial marketplace. With the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the possibility of privatising the Royal Mail has prompted passionate arguments - and has added immeasurably to the difficulties of running it. In charting the whole of this extraordinary story, Duncan Campbell-Smith recounts a series of remarkable tales, including how postal engineers built the first programmable computer for the wartime code-breakers of Bletchley Park and how the Royal Mail managed to successfully continue delivering post to the front lines during two world wars, but also how they failed to avert the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He brings to life many of the dominant personalities in the Royal Mail's history - from Rowland Hill, who imposed a uniform penny post and set the great Victorian expansion on its way, to Tony Benn who championed the modernisation of the service in the 1960s and Tom Jackson who led the postal workers' biggest union through fifteen frequently stormy years up to 1982. This is the first complete history of the Royal Mail up to the present day, based on its comprehensive archives, and including the first detailed account of the past half-century of Britain's postal history, made possible by privileged access to confidential records. Today's debate over the future of the Royal Mail is shown to be just the ;atest chapter in a centuries-old conflict between its roles raising revenue and serving the public. Will its employees remain, like Brian Tuke's postmasters, servants of the Crown? This book could hardly appear at a more timely moment.
The Good Room: Why we ended up in a debtors' prison – and how we can break free
by David McWilliamsA forensic, entertaining polemic from the author of The Pope's Children.Ireland is deeply in debt, beholden to the IMF, the EU and the bond markets. Its economy is frozen, and years of austerity are ahead.It didn't have to be this way - and it doesn't have to be this way. In The Good Room, David McWilliams, who spotted the dangers of the Irish property bubble and imbalances within the eurozone at a time when other commentators were cheerleading the boom, explains the bizarre economics behind Ireland's current predicament, and illuminates a different path for the country. He illustrates the consequences of debt and austerity for ordinary Irish people and explains why austerity can't work. And he shows that history offers numerous useful models for Irish recovery - provided we open our eyes to them. Economics is about people like you. The Pope's Children was the book that connected the dots between economics and daily life in Ireland during the boom years. The Good Room does the same for the Ireland of the bust, and is - in its call for a completely different approach - an even more urgent and necessary work.'McWilliams has a great knack for bringing a complex economics story to life. He is also funny. In economics, that's a rare and persuasive combination.' Stephanie Flanders, Irish Times'A gifted and often courageous polemicist who has done more to popularize the debate about economics in Ireland than anyone else' Irish Independent'McWilliams makes a compelling argument for the need for a different approach to Irish and European economic management ... [A] realistic, pragmatic call for innovative policies that take account of proven economic theory' Sunday Business PostDavid McWilliams is Ireland's leading popular economist, and a columnist for the Irish Independent and the Sunday Business Post. He is the author of the bestsellers The Pope's Children, The Generation Game, and Follow the Money.
How Ireland Really Went Bust: The Definitive Account Of The Tumultous Events That Led To Ireland Going Broke And Changed All Our Lives For Ever
by Matt CooperThe definitive account of the tumultuous events that led to Ireland going broke in 2010From the night the Irish government guaranteed the debts of Irish banks in September 2008 Ireland was on a one-way road to ruin.In How Ireland Really Went Bust Matt Cooper, journalist, broadcaster and No 1 bestselling author of Who Really Runs Ireland?, describes the events that climaxed with the arrival of the heavy hitters from the IMF and the ECB in Government Buildings in November 2010 - and he assesses the fall-out of that fateful period in Ireland's recent history.Drilling deep into the human dramas, the business catastrophes, the economic collapse and the unprecedented political upheaval that characterised the time after the bank bailout, Cooper gets to the heart of what really happened. And he investigates the background of the key decisions and reveals why they were taken, and by whom, to throw new light on a period that changed Ireland forever.'A considerable piece of work ... read it and weep' Irish Times'Cooper's previous bestseller Who Really Runs Ireland? was an authoritative and hugely readable account that told you everything you needed to know about who's who in Ireland and the golden circles that linked business and politics for generations. How Ireland Really Went Bust is equally impressive' Irish Independent'A lively commentary with nuggets galore ... not just readable, but full of surprises' Sunday Independent '[A] brilliant achievement that should be read by anyone interested in the state of the nation' Evening Herald'Up-to-the-minute and exhaustive ... [Cooper] knows the players and they talk to him' Sunday Business Post
Start Your Business in 7 Days: Turn Your Idea Into a Life-Changing Success
by James CaanWork for yourself in just one week with Britain's most dynamic entrepreneur'Everybody wants to be an entrepreneur. Every single day of my life I am bombarded by people with pitches. But 90% of new businesses fail, because their founders failed to ask themselves the simplest of questions. I can save you years of wasted time and thousands of pounds of wasted money by giving you the ammunition to ask the right questions, and helping you make the decision that is right for you.I will show you how to spend a maximum of seven days deciding if your idea is workable and bankable. How to say 'I'm in', but equally importantly, to have the courage to say 'I'm out'. How to become your own Dragon.Each piece of advice in this book is based on my thirty years of starting businesses. You will find all the fundamental ingredients for any new company, whatever sector you want to be in, whatever size of business you have in mind, along with the tools to make it work.Answer all the tough questions I am going to get you to ask yourself and you will have a business that genuinely has a chance of success. You can be one of the 10% of businesses that do make it.'- James Caan.James Caan is one of the UK's most successful and dynamic entrepreneurs, having built and sold businesses since 1985. After dropping out of school at sixteen and starting his first business in a Pall Mall broom cupboard - armed with little more than charm and his father's advice - Caan went on to make his fortune in the recruitment industry, founding the Alexander Mann Group, a company with a turnover of £130m. A 2003 graduate of Harvard Business School, Caan's most recent endeavour has been to set up private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw. Caan hit our screens when he joined the panel of the BBC's Dragons' Den in 2007. He is a regular in the national and business press, advises on various Government programmes, and initiates numerous philanthropic projects via the James Caan Foundation.
Anglo Republic: Inside the bank that broke Ireland
by Simon CarswellAs late as 2007, Anglo Irish Bank was a darling of the markets, internationally recognized as one of the fastest growing financial institutions in the world. By 2008, it was bust. The Irish government's hopeless attempts to save Anglo have led the state to ruin - culminating in a punitive IMF bailout in late 2010 and threatening the future of the euro.Now, for the first time, the full story of the Anglo disaster is being told - by the journalist who has led the way in coverage of the bank and its many secrets. Drawing on his unmatched sources in and around Anglo, Simon Carswell of the Irish Times shows how the business model that brought Anglo twenty years of spectacular growth was also at the heart of its - and Ireland's - downfall. He paints a vivid and disturbing picture of life inside Anglo - the credit committee meetings, the lightning-quick negotiations with property developers, the culture of lavish entertainment for politicians and regulators - and of the men who presided over its dizzying rise and fall: Sean FitzPatrick, David Drumm, Willie McAteer and many others. This is not only the first full account of the Anglo disaster; it will also be the definitive one.
Management Worldwide: Distinctive Styles Among Globalization
by David J. Hickson Derek S. PughBusinesses today need employees who can operate on a global stage, whether as international managers, technical specialists, expatriates or 'parachutists' who make occasional troubleshooting trips abroad. Yet cultural misunderstandings in the workplace can complicate even the simplest tasks. Something that sounds like a 'Yes' to a foreigner may actually be a polite way of saying 'No'. Fully updated and expanded for this second edition, Management Worldwide is essential for managers, students ofmanagement and organizations who want to know how managers operate and business is conducted in different societies. It is essential reading in a global economy where cultural differences can still mean make or break.
The FitzPatrick Tapes: The Rise and Fall of One Man, One Bank, and One Country
by Tom Lyons Brian CareyThe FitzPatrick Tapes: The sensational story of the man and the bank that brought Ireland lowOne day in May 2009, Sean FitzPatrick - the disgraced former chief executive and chairman of Anglo Irish Bank - sat down to lunch in a Holiday Inn in Dublin. Across the table sat Tom Lyons, a business reporter with the Sunday Times. Seven months later, the two met for the first of what would be seventeen formal, tape-recorded interviews over the course of 2010: a year when Ireland, its public finances ruined in large part by the cost of covering Anglo's losses, went bust itself. In these interviews, FitzPatrick talked at length and in detail about his banking experiences and philosophy, his colleagues and clients, his investments, his public disgrace, his arrest and his bankruptcy.Lyons and his colleague Brian Carey draw on the FitzPatrick tapes and on their many sources within Anglo, the state and the business community to tell the story of that crisis - and of the man who became the face of it. This is a tale of toothless regulators, hopeless accountants, politicians and civil servants out of their depth, and businessmen in denial about the crash. Above all, though, it is the story of FitzPatrick: the man who built that bank that has been at the centre of Ireland's economic meltdown.'A sensational document' Eamon Dunphy, Newstalk'It is a journalistic scoop; the story of a bank that got too big; a snapshot of an economic era; and, already, a piece - or at least a version - of history' Sunday Business Post
A Pocketful of Holes and Dreams
by Jeff PearceThe poor boy who made his fortune . . . not just once but twice.Little Jeff Pearce grew up in a post-war Liverpool slum. His father lived the life of an affluent gentleman whilst his mother was forced to steal bread to feed her starving children. Life was tough and from the moment Jeff could walk he learned to go door to door, begging rags from the rich, which he sold down the markets. Leaving school at the age of fourteen, he embarked on an extraordinary journey, and found himself, before the age of thirty, a millionaire.Then, after a cruel twist of fate left him penniless, he, his wife and children were forced out of their beautiful home . . .With nothing but holes in his pockets, Jeff had no alternative but to go back down the markets and start all over again. Did he still have what it took? Could he really get back everything he had lost?A Pocketful of Holes and Dreams is the heartwarming true story of a little boy who had nothing but gained everything and proof that, sometimes, rags can be turned into riches . . .______________'An inspirational tale of hard work and determination' 5* Reader review 'I just loved this book from the first chapter - I was gripped' 5* Reader review
Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business is Easier Than You Think
by Luke JohnsonLuke Johnson is the man behind the growth of PizzaExpress and as a host of other leading brands; one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs with an estimated personal fortune of £120 million. In Start It Up he compresses two decades of success to reveal the realities of running your own business and bust some key myths along the way. Learn how to find the right idea or buy someone else's; source capital from all sorts of places you never expected; get the best from everyone you meet on the way - chiefly yourself; and stay sane while you do it.Start It Up is that all-too-rare thing: a how-to book by someone who actually has.
Get The Job You Really Want
by James Caan"It is possible to have the job of your dreams. Together we are going to set about getting you there.Before I joined the BBC's Dragons' Den, I spent thirty years setting up and running recruitment companies, placing hundreds of thousands of candidates in the jobs they really wanted.I will take you through the process step by step. How to stay positive in a difficult economic climate and find the right opportunities. How to package yourself to make sure you secure an interview. The vital importance of preparation, so that you are relaxed and give a great performance at interview. How to show your passion, and ask the perfect questions. And finally, how to use your power by closing the best deal on a job offer.At every stage I will help you rethink the traditional, formulaic approach to job hunting. It's the detail that makes the difference.This book is not about hoping you get lucky. It is about creating your own luck."James Caan
Breakfast with Anglo
by Simon KellySimon Kelly's involvement in property development began when, as a computer-mad child in the 1980s, he started making spreadsheets for his father, the developer Paddy Kelly. By 2008, when the Irish property market crashed, Simon and Paddy owed their creditors nearly a billion euro. In 2009, they were the first big developers to admit they were bust - and they encouraged their fellow developers to face reality in the same way. In 2010, in the pages of a national newspaper, Simon Kelly apologized for his part in the long-term damage created by the property bubble.Until now, the story of Ireland's property boom and bust has been told only by people on the outside. The bankers and the developers have kept quiet. Now, Simon Kelly breaks the silence with this vivid and unsparing account of how it all worked and why it went sour. He brings us to the muddy fields, humble cafés and grand dining rooms where the deals were made; he explains how it was that debt always begat more debt; and he takes us through the hitherto opaque portals of Anglo Irish Bank, the Kellys' main lender. In an account packed with telling and indiscreet detail, Simon Kelly makes no excuses for ending up bust. He simply shows how it happened - to him, to other developers, to the banks, and to the country. In doing so, he courageously breaks ranks with the insiders who created this disaster, and who would prefer to blame 'international forces', bad luck, or one another. Breakfast with Anglo is a landmark in our national accounting of the present crisis, an essential read for anyone who wants to know how we got into this mess and how we might begin to think about getting out of it.
Conspicuous Consumption (Penguin Great Ideas)
by Thorstein VeblenWith its wry portrayal of a shallow, materialistic 'leisure class' obsessed by clothes, cars, consumer goods and climbing the social ladder, this withering satire on modern capitalism is as pertinent today as when it was written over a century ago.
A Diary of The Lady: My First Year As Editor
by Rachel JohnsonRachel Johnson takes on the challenge of saving The Lady, Britain's oldest women's weekly, in her hilarious diary, A Diary of The Lady: My First Year and a Half as Editor.'The whole place seemed completely bonkers: dusty, tatty, disorganized and impossibly old-fashioned, set in an age of doilies and flag-waving patriotism and jam still for tea, some sunny day.'Appointed editor of The Lady - the oldest women's weekly in the world - Rachel Johnson faced the challenge of a lifetime. For a start, how do you become an editor when you've never, well, edited? How do you turn a venerable title, full of ads for walk-in baths, during the worst recession ever? And forget doubling the circulation in a year - what on earth do you wear to work when you've spent the last fifteen years at home in sweatpants?Will Rachel save The Lady - or sink it?'Action-packed, entertaining, marvellously indiscreet. Johnson is everything you want in a diarist and has a compulsive habit of saying the wrong thing' Sunday Times'She's a loose cannon. All she thinks of is sex. You can't get her away from a penis' Mrs Julia Budworth, co-owner, The Lady'A total romp, wonderfully readable, unflinchingly described' Guardian'HYSTERICAL. For the first time, everyone is talking about The Lady for reasons other than nannies' Piers MorganRachel Johnson is a journalist who has written two previous novels and two volumes of diaries. The Mummy Diaries, Notting Hell, Shire Hell and A Diary of The Lady are all available now from Penguin.