Flaubert's Parrot, Julian Barnes's breakthrough book - shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984 - is the story of Geoffrey Braithwaite, a retired doctor who is obsessed with the French author and with tracking down a stuffed parrot that once inspired him. Barnes playfully combines a literary detective story with a character study of its detective, embedded in a brilliant riff on literary genius. A History of the World in 10 1 2 Chapters is a mix of fictional and historical narratives of voyage and discovery - ranging from a woodworm's perspective on Noah's ark to a survivor from the sinking of the Titanic - that question our ideas of history.