Smoke and ashesWhen Amitav Ghosh began the research for his monumental cycle of novels, 'The Ibis Trilogy', ten years ago, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote of were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean, but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on those currents: opium. Most surprising at all, however, was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up

Has Elizabeth been a good mother

Carol Ann Duffy

Having stuff -the latest

Jimmy was bored

Young people are being drawn towards the promise of fast money whilst the generation above them tries to push back the tide of an enemy none of them can touch

and a young man named Sebastian are pulled into the friends' orbit

Andrew Blum takes us on a global journey to explain this awe-inspiring feat - from satellites circling the Earth

As mother and daughter pull apart

an even greater game began

energy and enthusiasm

financial markets have become unstable

Counting down through the top ten activities which people find most restful