A Carpet Ride to Khiva is a unique, beautiful, often amusing and regularly moving account of seven years living in the remote Uzbek desert.

Christopher Aslan Alexander originally travelled to Khiva, a remote walled city in Uzbekistan on the route of the ancient Silk Road, to write a guidebook. But, mesmerised by this little-known part of central Asia, he stayed, absorbing himself in a world of silk and forgotten 15th-century carpet designs  discovering indigo blue, madder red, pomegranate gold and the subtle shades of life in a desert oasis.

Alexander tells an unforgettable true story of a journey to the heart of the unknown  and the unexpected friendship he found there.

Daniel Blythe, author of X MARKS THE BOX: HOW TO MAKE POLITICS WORK FOR YOU will be giving away the EBOOK version of his book absolutely FREE in the run-up to the 2010 General Election and in advance of the publication of the printed edition.

The free ebook will be exactly the same text as the printed edition and will be free from any restrictions on its usage. It will be given away from the authors site, www.xmarksthebox.co.uk from 11 FEBRUARY 2010.

The free giveaway will last for three weeks and Icon Books will publish the print edition as a Paperback Original on 4 MARCH 2010. Sign up for your free ebook on the author's site here!

Can history stop the next war? How would you measure the weight of your own head? If I could fold a piece of paper an infinite number of times, how many times must I fold it to reach the moon?

Every year the Oxford and Cambridges learnèd professors pose such curious conundrums to potential students to separate the wheat from the chaff, and the clever from both of them.

Deftly exploring the twisting paths your mind can take when youre really made to think, Do You Think Youre Clever?,/i> provides dazzling answers to 60 of these infamously perplexing problems.

Find out more here.

'[A] spirited jaunt through centuries of scientific development ... captures the wonder of the medieval world: its inspirational curiosity and its engaging strangeness.' Sunday Times

T'This book contains much valuable material summarised with commendable no-nonsense clarity& James Hannam has done a fine job of knocking down an old caricature.' Sunday Telegraph

'A very useful general survey of a difficult topic, and a robust defence of an unfairly maligned age.' Spectator

From the medicine we take to the cars we drive, the clothes we wear or even the beer we drink, statistics have given shape to the world we inhabit.

In this brilliant new Introducing Graphic Guide Eileen Magnello and Borin van Loon trace the rise of statistics from the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Chinese, to the censuses of Romans and the Greeks, and the modern emergence of the term itself in Europe

It is hugely enjoyable, surprise-filled tour through a subject that is both fascinating, and crucial to understanding our world.

This is the story of a boy who dreamt of rock stardom but grew up to be a football God.

Fernando Torres is revered by players, coaches and managers, adored in his homeland and idolised by 42 million Liverpool fans across the world.

Using often exclusive material from interviews with Rafa Benítez, Vicente Del Bosque, Andres Iniesta, Kenny Dalglish, Fabio Capello, Torres father and Torres himself, Caioli paints a dazzling personal portrait of one of the worlds most exciting young footballers.