In January 2014 the author was informed that he had cancer. This book is not about death, but about what it means to be human. It is about love and jealousy, courage and fear, about what it is like to live with a fatal illness. It is also about why the cave painters 40,000 years ago chose the very darkest places for their fascinating pictures.

Pyle is a young idealistic American sent to promote democracy through a mysterious 'Third Force'. As his naive optimism starts to cause bloodshed, his friend Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, finds it hard to stand aside and watch. But even as he intervenes he wonders why: for the sake of politics, or for love?

Four years old when World War II began, the author grew to maturity through decades of great social and cultural change - giving him plenty to write about. This title illuminates a period of transition in British society, and charts the evolution of a writer whose works have become classics in his own lifetime.

VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. Also in the Vintage Minis series: Language by Xiaolu Guo Death by Julian Barnes Love by Jeanette Winterson Home by Salman Rushdie

After their father's sudden disappearance, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis must leave their London suburban home, with its servants and toys, for a life in the country. They are soon enraptured by the nearby railway, with its trains like dragons flying past and all the bustle of the station.

During the Second World War Eric Lomax was forced to work on the notorious Burma-Siam Railway and was tortured by the Japanese for making a crude radio. Left emotionally scarred and unable to form normal relationships, Lomax suffered for years until, with the help of his wife, Patti Lomax.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RACHEL CUSK Set between the 1840s and the early years of the twentieth century The Rainbow tells the story of three generations of the Brangwen family, ancient occupiers of Marsh Farm, Nottinghamshire. Through courting, pregnancy, marriage and defiance Lawrence explores love and the conflicts it brings.