The Name Of The Rose

Umberto Eco

Read the enthralling medieval murder mystery behind the BBC TV Series The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William t...

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer: Popular Penguins

Patrick Suskind

Patrick Süskind's Perfume follows the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, abandoned at birth in the slums of eighteenth-century Paris, but blessed with an outstanding sense of smell. This gift enables Jean-Baptiste to master the art of perfume making, but one scent evades him- that of a virgin, whom he mu...

What's the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics

Andrew Leigh

Why catastrophic risks are more dangerous than you think, and how populism is making them worse.   Did you know that you're more likely to die from a catastrophe than in a car crash? The odds that a typical US resident will die from a catastrophic event--for example, nuclear war, bioterrorism, or out-...