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We're entering a new space race - and it could revolutionise life on Earth. Space - the new frontier, a wild and lawless place. It is already central to communication, economics, military strategy and international relations on Earth. Now, it is the latest arena for human exploration, exploitation - and, possibly, conquest. We're heading up and out, and we're taking our power struggles with us. China, the USA and Russia are leading the way. From physical...

In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the 'Women in Space' programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, her scores beating many of the male candidates', including those of John Glenn, the first American in orbit. But just one week before she was due to enter the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combination of politics and prejudice...

Russia's access to detailed information on the United States and its allies may not seem so shocking in this day of data clouds and leaks, but long before we had satellite imagery of any neighborhood at a finger's reach, the amount the Soviet government knew about your family's city, street and even your home would astonish you. Revealing how this was possible, 'The Red Atlas' is the never-before-told story of the most comprehensive mapping endeavor...

Climate change is the greatest single problem we face as a planet. This important introduction skilfully guides us through the complex mix of scientific, political, social and environmental issues to examine the manifold threats it poses and explore the possible futures for our world. Focusing on the fact that the ?point of no return? may in fact have already been passed, Boyd and Tompkins highlight the urgent need to start actively adapting to our...

A story about race, identity, belonging and displacement, 'Kill the Black One First' is the memoir from Michael Fuller - Britain's first ever black Chief Constable, whose life and career is not only a stark representation of race relations in the UK, but also a unique morality tale of how humanity deals with life's injustices. Michael Fuller was born to Windrush-generation Jamaican immigrants in 1959, and experienced a meteoric career in policing,...

In February 2014, Reni Eddo-Lodge posted an impassioned argument on her blog about her deep-seated frustration with the way discussions of race and racism in Britain were constantly being shut down by those who weren't affected by it. She gave the post the title 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Her sharp, fiercely intelligent words hit a nerve, and the post went viral, spawning a huge number of comments from people desperate...

The signs of climate change are unmistakable even today, but the real transformations have hardly begun. We've been taught that warming would be slow - but, barring very dramatic action, each of these impacts is likely to arrive within the length of a new mortgage signed this year. What will it be like to live on a pummelled planet? What will it do to our politics, our economy, our culture and sense of history? And what explains the fact we have done...