Books published by Granta Books

A newly updated edition (with foreword from Jimmy Cobb) of the behind-the-scenes story of how Miles Davis' legendary "Kind Of Blue" came into being.

An essential new collection of essays from the bestselling phenomenon Rebecca Solnit calling for reflection and context, activism and hope.

Britain's most prestigious literary magazine brings you prize-winning fiction, memoir, reportage, poetry and photography from around the world.From Nobel laureates to debut novelists, international translations to investigative journalism, each issue of Granta turns the attention of the world's best writers on to one aspect of the way we live now.

What is happening on the continent of Africa? What are its images? This book addresses these questions in a range of essays that span the continent. The contributors include William Boyd, Paul Theroux, Sousa Jamba, Nelson Mandela, Ahdaf Soueif, Mark Doyle and Gilles Peress.

A memoir about sharing domestic life with wild birds. It combines natural and cultural history with a personal story told with wit, lyricism and affection.

Elif Batuman's comical treatise on reading Russian literature introduces an exciting and original new talent.

David Seabrook takes the reader on an exploration of the coast towns of Thanet and the Medway. He fuses his observation of these depressing landscapes with literary and historical associations that seem through his eyes more like bad dreams than heritage advertisements for the local tourist board.

Janet Malcolm's investigation into the personalities who clash over Freud's legacy endeavours to untangle the causes of their rivalry and soured friendships, while the flaws and mysteries of Freud's early work tower in the background.

A fascinating exploration of psychoanlysis, its patients, practitioners and critics, from one of America's most respected and most controversial journalists.

In this volume, English historian Richard Evans offers a defence of his craft. At a time of deep scepticism about our ability to learn anything from the past, even to recapture any serious sense of past cultures and ways of life, Evans shows us why history is possible and necessary.

From our CD collections to iPods bursting with MP3s to the hallowed vinyl of DJs, recordings are the most common way we experience music. This book tells the story of recorded music, introducing us to the innovators, musicians and producers who have affected the way we hear our favorite songs, ranging from Thomas Edison to Phil Spector.