Ian Robertson

Born into a middle class family and considered poor compared to her wealthy classmates, typical teenager Tsukushi Makino deals with life, love, and new classmates after she is accepted into the prestigious Eitoku academy.

Boys Over Flowers

What makes a winner?Why do some succeed both in life and in business, and others fail? The 'winner effect' is a term used in biology to describe how an animal that has won a few fights against weak opponents is much more likely to win later bouts against stronger contenders. As Ian Robertson reveals, it applies to humans, too. Success changes the chemistry of the brain, making you more focused, smarter, more confident and more aggressive. And the more you win, the more you will go on to win. But the downside is that winning can become physically addictive.By understanding what the mental and physical changes are that take place in the brain of a 'winner', how they happen, and why they affect some people more than others, Robertson explains what makes a winner or a loser - and how we can use the answers to these questions to understand better the behaviour of our business colleagues, employees, family and friends.

The Science of Success and How to Use It

The Winner Effect

Why is it that some people react to seemingly trivial emotional upsets--like failing an unimportant exam or tackling a difficult project at work--with distress, while others power through life-changing tragedies showing barely any emotional upset whatsoever? How do some people shine brilliantly at public speaking while others stumble with their words and seem on the verge of an anxiety attack? Why do some people sink into all-consuming depression when life has dealt them a poor hand, while in others it merely increases their resilience? The difference between too much pressure and too little can result in either debilitating stress or lack of motivation in extreme situations. However, the right level of challenge and stress can help people flourish and achieve more than they ever thought possible. In THE STRESS TEST, clinical psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist Ian Robertson, armed with over four decades of research, reveals how we can shape our brain's response to pressure and how stress actually can be a good thing. THE STRESS TEST is a revelatory study of how and why we react to pressure as we do, and how we can change our response to stress to our benefit.

How Pressure Can Make You Stronger and Sharper

The Stress Test

The New Science of Self-Belief, Why Some People Learn It and Others Don't

How Confidence Works

'Brilliant ... it will change how you think about confidence.' Johann Hari 'Important for everyone but crucial for women.' Mary Robinson 'Interesting and important.' Steven Pinker __________ Why do boys instinctively bullshit more than girls? How do economic recessions shape a generation's confidence? Can we have too much confidence and, if so, what are the consequences? Imagine we could discover something that could make us richer, healthier, longer-living, smarter, kinder, happier, more motivated and more innovative. Ridiculous, you might say... What is this elixir? Confidence. If you have it, it can empower you to reach heights you never thought possible. But if you don't, it can have a devastating effect on your future. Confidence lies at the core of what makes things happen. Exploring the science and neuroscience behind confidence that has emerged over the last decade, clinical psychologist and neuroscientist Professor Ian Robertson tells us how confidence plays out in our minds, our brains and indeed our bodies. He explains where it comes from and how it spreads - with extraordinary economic and political consequences. And why it's not necessarily something you are born with, but something that can be learned. __________ 'Rich stories and change-inspiring examples for every kind of performer.' Pippa Grange 'Appealing... ranges from neuroscience to politics.' Nature

The new science of self-belief, why some people learn it and others don't

Ian Robertson is 52 years old and works successfully as a chef at the seventeenth century manor house, Llancaiach Fawr in the Taff Bargoed valley. He is a native of the Welsh valleys and this immersion feeds his creativity and obsession with its culture and people. His work although based in reality has a surreal, carnival quality. This selection of lyrical fiction is dark, witty and original. It puts small town valleys life under the microscope and paints vivid portraits of the human condition in 1950/60's Wales. Ian Robertson explores difficult and sometimes taboo themes and comes out as a champion of 'the other'.

The Pantomime Valley

It was not until the twelfth century that Portugal became a country in its own right, having been a Roman colony and then having suffered both Barbarian and Islamic invasions. Illustrated with maps and line drawings, this book contains a Historical Gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text which concentrates on the historic sites in a country.

Travellers History of Portugal

John Hoste

A definitive concise history of Portugal, from its earliest beginnings right up to the politics and life of the present day.It was not until the twelfth century that Portugal became a country in its own right, having been a Roman colony and then having suffered both Barbarian and Islamic invasions.The golden age of discoveries, the reign and foresight of Henry the Navigator, and great seamen such as Vasco da Gama led to the founding of Portugal's empire and wealth. Troubled times followed: in 1755 Lisbon was virtually leveled by the "Great Earthquake," and the country had hardly recovered its former prosperity when it was overrun by Napoleon's troops at the start of the Peninsular War, to be followed not long after by the Miguelite civil war. The middle decades of the nineteenth century saw the Port Wine trade flourishing, and further expansion into Africa.During the last quarter of the twentieth century, ever since the bloodless revolution of 1974 overthrew the rightwing dictatorship of Salazar, the country has regained its stability, and now takes its rightful place in the European Community.Illustrated with maps and line drawings, the book has a full Historical Gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text that concentrates on the historic sites in a country that has retained its individuality and thus its appeal to the individual traveler.

A Traveller's History of Portugal

Phil Davies

Nick Heather

Crucial Issues in Dependence, Treatment & Prevention

The Misuse of Alcohol

In Six Thousand Years up the Garden Path, a seasoned horticulturalist takes others on a light-hearted and magical journey through the history of gardens. Ian Robertson has spent a lifetime working in the world of plants and design and relies on his experience as an international garden designer to narrate a fascinating history of gardening. Beginning with Sumerians learning to garden between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Robertson transports others through the Fertile Crescent to western Europe, forward to the British Isles, and onward to the New World all while describing the beauty of the gardens of Andrew Jackson Downing, Wolfgang Oehme, Frederick Law Olmstead, and many others. Included in his story of the foliage and blossoms that surrounded kings, princes, queens, and mistresses, Robertson shares a timeline, glossary, and roadside stopovers that make the journey up the garden path even more delightful. Tailored for the enjoyment of either experienced or novice gardeners immersed in the second fastest growing hobby in America, Robertson provides insights into the people, events, and plants that have vibrantly colored the landscape of the world for thousands of years.

Six Thousand Years Up the Garden Path

Problem Drinking aims to bridge the gap that exists between the popular understanding of the subject and the modern, scientific account of the nature of alcohol problems.

Problem Drinking

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. Yet our world, our civilisation has grown up on a foundation of words - laws, constitutions, treaties, charters, creeds - words that have tamed and liberated in equal measure. Our education, from earliest childhood, emphasises the importance of words. We take the world before our eyes and define it in a verbal language, and in so doing we capture it, understand it, celebrate it. But there are costs. In our reliance on the cold efficency of language we have neglected the wordless ways of the brain. The uniquely complex human mind is capable of the most exquisite images and visions. But visualisation is not merely about sight and the imagined, it is about the way we interact with the world through our five senses. In THE MIND'S EYE Ian Robertson demonstrates how we are underutilising our brain's powers of visualisation. Taking the lessons of hard science, he explains how the brain works and how important visualisation can be. But more importantly, how we can all unleash the awesome power of our brains. Following simple exercises Ian Robertson describes how visualisation can: improve memory and learning power be the key to creative thinking and problem solving offer powerful ways of combating stress fight physical illness and pain enrich musical and artistic experience enhance sporting skill and strength In his trademark accessible and imaginative style, Ian Robertson brings to life the hidden workings of the brain, and teaches us all how we can best capitalise on our inate abilities. A must read for anyone interested in how the brain works, or unlocking our mind's full potential.

The Mind's Eye

Ian Robertson joined the BBC during the golden age of radio broadcasting and was given a crash course in the art of sports commentary from some of the greatest names ever to sit behind a microphone: Cliff Morgan and Peter Bromley, Bryon Butler and John Arlott. Almost half a century after being introduced to the rugby airwaves by his inspiring mentor Bill McLaren, the former Scotland fly-half looks back on the most eventful of careers, during which he covered nine British and Irish Lions tours and eight World Cups, including the 2003 tournament that saw England life the Webb Ellis Trophy and "Robbo" pick up awards for his spine-tingling description of Jonny Wilkinson's decisive drop goal. He reflects on his playing days, his role in guiding Cambridge University to a long spell of Varsity Match supremacy and his relationships with some of the union code's most celebrated figures, including Sir Clive Woodward and Jonah Lomu. He also writes vividly and hilariously of his experiences as a horse racing enthusiast, his meetings with some of the world's legendary golfers and his dealings with a stellar cast of sporting outsiders, from Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to Nelson Mandela. It is a hugely entertaining story that begins in a bygone rugby age, yet has much to say about the game in the here and now.

47 Years of Fun with the BBC

Rugby: Talking a Good Game

Listen. Can you hear an aircraft passing overhead? A dog barking? The twittering of birds? In straining to listen, you have just sent a surge of electrical activity through millions of brain cells. In choosing to do this with your mind, you have changed your brain - you have made brain cells fire, at the side of your head, above the right eye. By the time you've read this far, you will have changed your brain permanently. These words will leave a faint trace in the woven electricity of you. For 'you' exists in the trembling web of connected brain cells. This web is in flux, continually remoulded, sculpted by the restless energy of the world. That energy is transformed at your senses into the utterly unique weave of brain connections that is YOU. New research has demonstrated the way in which the brain is shaped by experience and sculpted by our interactions with the world around us. As one of the world's leading authorities on brain rehabilitation, Ian Robertson is uniquely placed to explore these ground-breaking discoveries, that free us from the currently fashionable genetically determinist view. Mind Sculpture is a singularly accessible and imaginative book which communicates the excitement and challenge of the most recent research, its consequences for how we understand the brain and how we perceive ourselves.

Your Brain's Untapped Potential

Mind Sculpture

The former tour manager for the British rock group Oasis provides the inside story of the band

Ian Robertson

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