The Herd Book

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER STYLIST MAGAZINE'S 'FICTION BOOKS YOU CAN'T MISS IN 2022' COSMOPOLITAN'S 'BEST BOOKS OF 2022' WOMAN & HOME 'BEST BOOKS OF 2022' 'It is hard to imagine a more timely novel. A fascinating exploration of all sides of a particularly knotty, politicized issue.' Jodi Picoult 'A knock-out twist' Gillian McAllister 'Will have book clubs across the country in hot debate! Brilliant.' Clare Mackintosh **** Two best friends Elizabeth and Bryony are polar opposites but their unexpected friendship has always worked. They're the best of friends, and godmothers to each other's daughters - because they both trust that the safety of their children is their top priority. One little secret Little do they know that they differ radically over one very important issue. And when Bryony, afraid of being judged, tells what is supposed to be a harmless white lie before a child's birthday party, the consequences are more catastrophic than either of them could ever have imagined. Every parent's worst nightmare . . . **** 'Compelling and nuanced. A hugely impressive page-turner' Ashley Audrain 'Really beautifully written, compassionately told and incredibly thought provoking. A truly immersive telling of both sides of a story' Susan Lewis 'Insightful, compassionate and nuanced. The Herd is so good.' Louise O'Neill 'A genuine rollercoaster that asks big moral questions with beautifully drawn characters.' Sharon Horgan, co-creator of CATASTROPHE Here's what early readers are saying about The Herd: 'A timely and dramatic novel showing both sides of an ongoing debate. Loved this read!' ***** 'Such a genuine tale with such high stakes emotion and sensitivity' ***** 'A fantastic, thought-provoking and gripping book which would make a cracking book club read' ***** 'A complex, layered, wholly character-driven look at a complicated and controversial subject' *****

Why did the founder of a glamorous coworking space for women disappear? Her best friends will risk everything to uncover the truth in this “propulsive thriller” (Marie Claire) from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here. “Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies.”—The Washington Post NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Real Simple • Marie Claire • Good Housekeeping • CrimeReads As CEO of the Herd, an elite women-only coworking space, Eleanor Walsh seems to have it all: close friends, a sweet husband, and the most glamorous and successful female-empowerment-based company in New York City. Then she vanishes on the night of a glitzy press conference—and the police suspect foul play. For Hana, the head of PR for the Herd and Eleanor’s best friend, this is a nightmare. For Hana’s sister, Katie, a journalist, this is the story that will make her career. But when the sisters launch their own investigation and begin to learn what Eleanor was hiding, they must also face the secrets they’ve been keeping from each other—and confront just how dangerous it can be when women’s perfect veneers start to crack.

What really happened the night Edie died? Years later, her best friend Lindsay will learn how unprepared she is for the truth in this “impressive debut” (People) from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BuzzFeed • Glamour • Real Simple • Marie Claire • Library Journal • Booklist • CrimeReads In 2009, Edie had New York’s social world in her thrall. Mercurial and beguiling, she was the shining star of a group of recent graduates living in a Brooklyn loft and treating New York like their playground. When Edie’s body was found near a suicide note at the end of a long, drunken night, no one could believe it. Grief, shock, and resentment scattered the group and brought the era to an abrupt end. A decade later, Lindsay has come a long way from the drug-addled world of Calhoun Lofts. She has devoted best friends, a cozy apartment, and a thriving career as a magazine’s head fact-checker. But when a chance reunion leads Lindsay to discover an unsettling video from that hazy night, she starts to wonder if Edie was actually murdered—and, worse, if she herself was involved. As she rifles through those months in 2009—combing through case files, old technology, and her fractured memories—Lindsay is forced to confront the demons of her own violent history to bring the truth to light.

Linda Kohanov is beloved for her groundbreaking articulation of “the way of the horse,” an experiential wisdom known to riders for centuries but little studied or adapted to off-horse use. Now Kohanov takes those horse-inspired insights on the nonverbal elements of exceptional communication and leadership into the realms of our workplaces and relationships. Here we explore the benefits of “nonpredatory power” in developing assertiveness, fostering creativity, dealing with conflict, and heightening mind-body awareness. In “A Brief History of Power,” the first part of this far-reaching book, Kohanov profiles cultural innovators who employed extraordinary nonverbal leadership skills to change history, usually on horseback: Winston Churchill, George Washington, Alexander the Great, and Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), among others. She also draws on the behavior of mature horse herds, as well as the herding cultures of Africa and Mongolia, to debunk theories of dominance hierarchies, challenge ingrained notions of “survival of the fittest,” and demonstrate the power of a consensual leadership in which governing roles are fluid. Kohanov then adapts these lessons into twelve powerful guiding principles we can all incorporate into our work and personal lives. Eloquent and provocative, this is horse sense for everyone who seeks to thrive in the herds we all run in — our communities, careers, families, and friendships.

What if working like crazy to beat the competition did exactly the opposite, making you mediocre and more like the competition? In today’s world of overabundant consumer choices and superfluous apps, upgrades, add-ons, and features, brands have become nearly identical, as their efforts to outdo one another have pushed them into a dizzying herd of indistinct options. Youngme Moon identifies the outliers, the mavericks, the iconoclasts—the players who have thoughtfully rejected orthodoxy in favor of an approach that is more adventurous. Some are even “hostile,” almost daring you to buy what they are selling. Using her original research on companies such as IKEA and Google, Moon will inspire you to be counterintuitive and meaningfully different—to rethink your business strategy, to stop conforming and start deviating, to stop emulating and start innovating. Because to stand out you must become the exception, not the rule.

"...fascinating. Like Malcolm Gladwell on speed." —THE GUARDIAN "HERD is a rare thing: a book that transforms the reader's perception of how the world works". —Matthew D'Ancona, THE SPECTATOR "This book is a must. Once you have read it you will understand why Mark Earls is regarded as a marketing guru." —Daniel Finkelstein, THE TIMES This paperback version of Mark Earls' groundbreaking and award winning book comes updated with new stats and figures and provides two completely revised chapters that deal with the rise of social networking. Since the Enlightenment there has been a very simple but widely held assumption that we are a species of thinking individuals and human behaviour is best understood by examining the psychology of individuals. It appears, however, that this insight is plain wrong. The evidence from a number of leading behavioural and neuroscientists suggests that our species is designed as a herd or group animal. Mark Earls applies this evidence to the traditional mechanisms of marketing and consumer behaviour, with a result that necessitates a complete rethink about these subjects. HERD provides a host of unusual examples and anecdotes to open the mind of the business reader, from Peter Kay to Desmond Tutu, Apple to UK Sexual Health programmes, George Bush to Castle Lager, from autism to depression to the real explanation for the placebo effect in pharmaceutical testing.

In the spring of 2020, as a new and deadly virus rapidly spread across the globe, the world shut down. But a small country in Northern Europe remained open. The Swedish COVID-19 strategy has been alternately lauded and held up as a cautionary tale by international governments and journalists alike -- with all eyes on what has been dubbed 'The Swedish Experiment'. But what made Sweden take such a deviating path? In The Herd, journalist Johan Anderberg narrates the improbable story of a nation that took a startlingly different approach to fighting the greatest global pandemic in over one hundred years. First, it was no restrictions. Then, it was no face masks. While the rest of the world looked on with incredulity, condemnation, admiration, or even envy, Sweden stood alone. But The Herdis more than just a look at the evolution of the Swedish COVID-19 strategy. With ease, Anderberg guides the reader through the history of epidemiology, R0-rates, inoculation, and international organisations and strategies. He also presents a colourful cast of characters and the ticking-clock decisions they were faced with on a daily basis. Weaving past and present with effortless buoyancy, Anderberg has written an everyman's guide to everything you want to know about the pandemic that reads like a thriller.