Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, THE MOST REVEALING POLITICAL MEMOIR OF THE YEAR.'Refreshingly honest' The Telegraph'Shows us how power really works at the commanding heights of British politics ... essential' The TimesDavid Cameron. Theresa May. Boris Johnson. Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak. Five prime ministers, one explosive memoir. Kingmaker lifts the lid on the leadership battles that have defined British politics for a decade and a half.The last fifteen years have seen turbulence at the centre of politics that is perhaps unique in British history. From coalition to Brexit, Covid to Partygate, Trussonomics to this year's election, our government has never felt so fractured. And as Prime Ministers have come and gone, one man has been at the heart of every leadership challenge, seeing all, but saying nothing. Until now.Elected to Parliament in 1997 as the youngest Conservative MP in the house, Brady comes from a lower middle-class background and fell into politics age 16 when he joined a campaign to save his grammar school. Sir Graham Brady was the Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010. As the leader of the group with the power to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party, it was his hand that held the executioner's axe over five consecutive Prime Ministers' heads.With unique access to every key decision-maker of the past fourteen years, it offers insights into the character and choices of successive Prime Ministers and the administrations they led. Ultimately, it reveals where our most recent leadership failures originate, and asks hard questions about who will be fit to lead us tomorrow.

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Book SynopsisA detailed and fascinating journey to the roots of The Lord of the Rings, by award-winning Tolkien expert Professor Tom Shippey.The Road to Middle-Earth is a fascinating and accessible exploration of J.R.R.Tolkien's creativity and the sources of his inspiration. Tom Shippey shows in detail how Tolkien's professional background led him to write The Hobbit and how he created a work of timeless charm for millions of readers. He discusses the contribution of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales to Tolkien's great myth-cycle, showing how Tolkien's more complex' works can be read enjoyably and seriously by readers of his earlier books, and goes on to examine the remarkable 12-volume History of Middle-earth by Tolkien's son and literary heir Christopher Tolkien, which traces the creative and technical processes through which Middle-earth evolved. The core of the book, however, concentrates on The Lord of the Rings as a linguistic and cultural map, as a twisted web of a story, and as a response to the inner meaning of myth and poetry.By following the routes of Tolkien's own obsessions the poetry of languages and myth The Road to Middle-earth shows how Beowulf, The Lord of the Rings, Grimm's Fairy Tales, the Elder Edda and many other works form part of a live and continuing tradition of literature. It takes issue with many basic premises of orthodox criticism and offers a new approach to Tolkien, to fantasy, and to the importance of language in literature.This new edition is revised and expanded, and includes a previously unpublished lengthy analysis of Peter Jackson's film adaptations and their effect on Tolkien's work.Trade Review“Shippey’s exploration of Tolkien’s themes, especially the nature of evil, is superb” Independent “Shippey’s research seems limitless. He writes with unusual clarity and presents his arguments well” Sunday Times “Shippey deepens your understanding of the work without making you forget your initial, purely instinctive response to Middle-earth and hobbits” Houston Chronicle

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Book SynopsisThe exhilarating true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and inspire a “wave of confidence and emancipation” for women in sports (Parade).By age twenty, at the height of the Jazz Age, Trudy Ederle was the most accomplished swimmer in the world.Trade Review“Great storytelling. . .Stout’s moving book recovers the exhilarating story of a young girl who found her true self out in the water and paved the way for women in sports today." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Glenn Stout brings the women’s sports pioneer back to life with an engaging, deeply researched account.” — Sports Illustrated "A great summer read." — New Yorker “Stout adeptly traces the history of swimming and Ederle’s significance in it. Whether recounting the origins of modern strokes or the geological formation of the English Channel, the author is comprehensive in his research. His blow-by-blow accounts of Ederle’s two attempts to cross from Cape Gris-Nez, France to Dover, England, demonstrate his engaging style… saturated with thrills and melodrama. A compelling account of a woman who, though long forgotten, changed the way the world viewed swimming.” — Kirkus Reviews "Young Woman and the Sea is the story of Gertrude Ederle’s epic swim across the English Channel interwoven with a sweeping and glimmering history of swimming. These were the good old days when open water swimmers were sex symbols, pioneers of the sport, and leaders of social change. For anyone who loves the water, or has a big dream—this is the book to read!" — Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antarctica and Grayson "Too often, looking at America through its sports, and vice versa, results in a distorted view of both of them. In Glenn Stout's account of Trudy Ederle and the English Channel, we have a clear and honest mirror. Young Woman and the Sea is a first-rate piece of social history, and a tale told, well, swimmingly." — Charles P. Pierce, author of Idiot America and Moving the Chains

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Book SynopsisHave you ever wondered what it would be like to be given your own remote islands? Thirty years ago it happened to Adam Nicolson.Aged 21, Nicolson inherited the Shiants, three lonely Hebridean islands set in a dangerous sea off the Isle of Lewis. With only a stone bothy for accommodation and half a million puffins for company, he found himself in charge of one of the most beautiful places on earth.The story of the Shiants is a story of birds and boats, hermits and fishermen, witchcraft and catastrophe, and Nicolson expertly weaves these elements into his own tale of seclusion on the Shiants to create a stirring celebration of island life.Trade Review'Exceptionally well done, beautifully written, personal yet panoramic.' Observer 'An extraordinarily outward-looking book…a truly passionate attention to detail…. A love-letter no one else could hope to write so well.' Sunday Telegraph 'A passionate evocation, a compression of observation and anecdote which catches you up in its intelligence as well as its enthusiasm, and fill you with homesickness for a place you've never been to.' Daily Telegraph 'Generous, exuberant and a vividly written narrative…. history, travel-writing and memoir of the best sort.' Spectator 'Sharply observed, a finely written work, one to be savoured, turned over and over like a good whisky.' Sunday Times

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Book Synopsis''Extraordinary. A fabulous read'' SIMON SCHAMA''Wonderful. He writes with eloquence and wit'' NICHOLAS HYTNER''Fascinating'' EIMEAR McBRIDESimon Russell Beale is one of Britain''s most recognisable and well-loved actors. He has played many roles on stage, film, television and radio - ranging from Winston Churchill to Stalin, George Smiley to King Arthur. But ever since his appearance at school as a glamorous Desdemona, complete with false eyelashes that rendered him half-blind, he has been captivated by Shakespeare.In A Piece of Work, Russell Beale tries to get under the skin of the playwright and find out what interested him. Was Shakespeare an instinctive ''conservative'' or, rather, gently subversive? How collaborative was he? Did he add a line to Hamlet in order to accommodate his ageing and increasingly chubby principal actor, Richard Burbage? Did he suffer from insomnia and experience sexual jealousy? Russell Beale describes what it is to approach and live with some of Shakespeare''s most famous characters. Some of the actor''s inspiration comes from surprising sources. Watching Coronation Street gave him an idea for how Richard III might react on hearing of the death of the two Princes in the Tower; a visit to elderly patients in a local hospital gave him insights into King Lear''s descent into madness; and the memory of childhood family holidays led him to a spectacular plunge into an ornamental pool in Much Ado About Nothing.Funny and touching about his family, Russell Beale also writes fascinatingly about some of the supremely creative people he counts as his friends - including Sam Mendes, Nick Hytner, Stephen Sondheim and Lauren Bacall. A Piece of Work is a brilliant account of an actor''s life and work - and his relationship with our foremost dramatist.Shortlisted for the 2025 Theatre Book Award

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Book SynopsisHalf of Joseph Conrad's body of work is set in late 19th-century Southeast Asia and his favourite destinations were Singapore and the remote ports of the Dutch East Indies. Burnet connects the fictional and real worlds in this fascinating introduction to Conrad's life in the Malay archipelago.

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Book SynopsisA masterful new translation of Suetonius'' renowned biography of the twelve Caesars, bringing to life a portrait of the first Roman emperors in stunning detailThe ancient Roman empire was the supreme arena, where emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle. To rule as a Caesar was to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world. No biography invites us into the lives of the Caesars more vividly or intimately than that by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, written from the centre of Rome and power, in AD 121.Placing each Caesar in the context of the generations that had gone before, and connecting personality with policy, Suetonius injected flesh and blood into their stories, which continue to inform how we understand the drama of power today. Their shortfalls, foreign policy crises and sex scandals are laid bare; we are shown their tastes, their foibles, their eccentricities; and we sit at their tables and enter their bedrooms, resulting in a series of biographies mediated through the lives of the Caesars themselves.That Rome lives more vividly in people''s imagination than any other ancient empire owes an inordinate amount to Suetonius, and now award-winning author and translator Tom Holland brings us even closer in a new, spellbinding translation. Giving a deeper understanding of the personal lives of the Caesars and of how they inevitably informed what happened across the vast expanse of empire, The Lives of the Caesars is an astonishing, immersive experience of a time and culture at once familiar and utterly alien to our own.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Elizabeth Longford prize for Historical Biography ''Engrossing'' Claire Tomalin / ''Superb'' Sunday Times / ''A triumph'' Daily Mail Whether honoured and admired or criticized and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in our national consciousness. But the awesome scale of her achievements over the course of her 90 years is infinitely more troubling - and inspiring - than this mythical simplification. From her tireless campaigning and staggering intellectual abilities to her tortured relationship with her sister and her distressing medical condition, this vivid and immensely readable biography draws on a wealth of unpublished material and previously unseen family papers, disentangling the myth from the reality and reinv

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Book Synopsis''The narrative is compelling and deeply moving, blending the suspense of a wartime espionage thriller with the profound depth of spiritual discourse. Corrie''s account of her and her family''s efforts to hide Jews, their subsequent arrest by the Gestapo, and the harrowing experiences in concentration camps, including Ravensbrück, are recounted with honesty and emotional depth. The story is not just about the darkness of humanity during war but also about hope, forgiveness, and the indomitable strength of faith.'' Reader review є є є є є As the Nazis sweep across Europe, a quiet watchmaker''s family in Holland risk everything for the sake of others, and for the love of Christ. Despite the danger and threat of discovery, the ten Boom family courageously offer shelter to persecuted Jews during the Nazi occupation of Holland. When a trap brings about the family''s arrest, they are tested to the limit. Can God''s love shine through, even afteTrade ReviewThis book, will be a revelation, and bring a new heartening Christian message of great importance to new readers. * The Irish Catholic *This classic of inspirational faith in the toughest of circumstances deserves to reach a new audience. * Ministry Today *The Hiding Place is one of the most inspirational books that you can read, the true story of Corrie ten Boom a Dutch Christian who somehow survived the Second World War. This is a story about faith and the power that can give a person, the courage that it gives believers to forsake safety for the hope of saving others...This is a book that people should read that will give you hope in mankind and faith in Christ. * Various online *In this 70th year since the end of the Second World War this is a most timely reminder of the triumph of the human spirit in conditions that today's generation can barely imagine. * The Methodist Recorder *I was really pleased to have the opportunity to read this new edition. It's a gripping story, I couldn't put it down. * Families First *

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Book Synopsis''This book is just about my favourite book of all time ... I''m not entirely convinced I could like somebody who didn''t like this book ... it''s funny and moving and gives you an insight into this extraordinary moment as the war is about to begin ... it''s so vivid, and what''s more, it''s incredibly current'' Robert Rinder, BBC Radio 4''Wonderfully funny and very poignant'' Philip Toynbee''More than an extremely amusing autobiography ... she has evoked a whole generation. Her book is full of the music of time'' SUNDAY TIMES''Whenever I read the words Peer''s Daughter in a headline,'' Lady Redesdale once sadly remarked, ''I know it''s going to be something about one of you children.'' The Mitford family is one of the century''s most enigmatic, made notorious by Nancy''s novels, Diana''s marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, Unity''s infatuation with Hitler, Debo''s marriage to a duke and Jessica''s passionate commitment to communism. Hons and Trade ReviewMore than an extremely amusing autobiography ... she has evoked a whole generation. Her book is full of the music of time * SUNDAY TIMES *[An] uproarious yet deadly portrait of family life and family politics ... It evokes the atmosphere of the 1930s with more feeling than almost any other book of the period -- Christopher Hitchens * THE ATLANTIC *Wonderfully funny and very poignant -- Philip ToynbeeStunning. Reads like an extravagantly mannered fiction, except that it is all fabulously true ... Miss Mitford is at once touching and wildly funny, and there is not one of highly coloured characters that is not violently alive and uncomfortably kicking -- Siriol Hugh-Jones * TATLER *This book is just about my favourite book of all time ... I'm not entirely convinced I could like somebody who didn't like this book ... it's funny and moving and gives you an insight into this extraordinary moment as the war is about to begin ... it's so vivid, and what's more, it's incredibly current -- Robert Rinder * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *Her awareness of where she's from and what she had is astonishing ... to maintain that kind of awareness is astonishing, and she is very funny, but she also writes very well ... she mixes the hugely political, the very sweeping things, with intensely personal moments -- Stella Duffy * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *What is really quite amazing about this book, which I have read many, many times, and love ... [is] she's not La Pasionaria, she's not some really left-wing heroine, but she is amazing to have got from where she started to where she ended up -- Harriett Gilbert * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the daring life story and astonishing adventures of Captain Eric ''Winkle'' Brown - Britain''s greatest-ever pilot ''Winkle Brown''s astonishing adventures make for fascinating reading'' SUNDAY TIMES''[A] thumping great biography by Britain''s leading aviation historian'' DAILY MAIL, ''BOOK OF THE WEEK''*MARITIME MEDIA AWARDS BEST BOOK NOMINEE*--Small in stature but immense in reputation and talent, there was more to Eric ''Winkle'' Brown than met the eye.From shooting down Luftwaffe bombers from the deck of a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic and narrowly escaping death when his ship was torpedoed, to accumulating a never-to-be repeated litany of world records and firsts as a test pilot, his unparalleled flying career saw him take the controls of over four hundred different kinds of aircraft - more than any other pilot in history.A rival to Chuck Yeager and hero to Neil Armstrong, by the time of his appearance on Desert Island Discs'' 1000th episode Winkle had become a legend in his own lifetime, and by his death, a national treasure.But despite his enormous fame, there have always been mysteries at the heart of Winkle''s story.Now, drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle''s own personal archive, Paul Beaver uncovers the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain''s greatest pilot.A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . .----------''Compelling, fascinating and frequently jaw-dropping. A brilliant and revelatory biography'' JAMES HOLLAND''Beaver recounts the story of a man he regarded as a mentor in unshowy but fascinating detail, and restores a British hero to his rightful place'' OBSERVER''An excellent biography'' PATRICK BISHOP, DAILY TELEGRAPH''The extraordinary story [of] a fearless pilot and decorated war hero. Epic'' THE HERALD''A thrilling new biography'' DAILY EXPRESS''A thumping great biography of the flying ace who made Top Gun look tame ... enthralling'' DAILY MAIL''Riveting ... one of those must-read books, compelling and full of incidents that leave you gasping with surprise ... an incredible story'' FLYER''An incredible life ... Brown took a secret to the grave that makes his story all the more remarkable'' THE SUN

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Book SynopsisThe author draws on Rockefeller''s own papers to provide a biography of the legendary oilman, capitalist, and philanthropist

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Book SynopsisIn December 1977, David Holden, chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, arrived at Cairo Airport to report on the crucial peace talks between Egypt and Israel. A few hours later, he was dead: killed by a single bullet through the heart.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHighly readable and deeply researched -- Andrew Roberts * Mail on Sunday *Tim Blanning's masterly biography guides the reader through all these wars and chicaneries with great skill and dry-eyed objectivity -- Noel Malcolm * Telegraph (5*) *It is sure to be the standard English-language account for many years. It instructs; it entertains; and it surprises -- Philip Mansel * The Spectator *Tim Blanning is that rarest of scholars, as deft in his command of government and grand strategy as he is in his handling of philosophy and opera, and is rightly regarded as one of Britain's (indeed Europe's) finest historians. This biography finds him at the height of his powers and offers major reassessments of almost every aspect of Frederick's career -- John Adamson * Literary Review *Potsdam, where the founding father of Prussian autocracy built the prettiest of palaces and picked the loftiest of guardsmen, [is] freshly and fascinatingly described by Tim Blanning -- Nicky Haslam * Spectator *A similar mastery of topic is evident from the first lines of Tim Blanning's Frederick the Great: King of Prussia (Allen Lane), a virtuoso study of an exceptionally complex man who, through force of personality, helped to shape an equally complex moment in European history. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman *A superbly wise and accomplished biographer -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Tim Blanning's Frederick the Great, is as enthralling on its subject's horribly abusive upbringing as on his bold, sometimes foolhardy military campaigns. Blanning is particularly acute in inquiring, without, prurience, into the notorious question of Frederick's sexuality. -- Ritchie Robertson * TLS *

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Book Synopsis AN INTIMATE ACCOUNT OF ONE OF BRITAIN''S LONGEST-REIGNING - AND MOST EXTRAORDINARY - MONARCHS FROM BESTSELLING HISTORIAN LUCY WORSLEY Readers LOVE Queen Victoria:''This book changed my whole perception of Queen Victoria'' ?????''Fascinating. Lucy has really brought her to life'' ?????''An insightful, interesting and readable account'' ?????******************************* Who was Queen Victoria? A little old lady, potato-like in appearance, dressed in everlasting black? She was also a passionate young princess who loved dancing. And there is also a third Victoria, the brilliant queen, one who invented a new role for the monarchy.Victoria found a way of ruling when people were deeply uncomfortable with having a woman on the throne.Her image as a conventional daughter, wife and widow concealed the reality of a talented, instinctive politician. Her actions, if not her words, reTrade ReviewSuch a brilliant idea! Drilling down into Victoria's diaries Worsley gives us Victoria in all her infinite variety - queen and mother, matriarch and minx...I loved it. * Daisy Goodwin, author, and creator of ITV's Victoria *A wonderfully fresh, vivid and engaging portrait of Victoria. * Jane Ridley, author of Bertie: A Life of Edward VII *The glory of this book is in the details, and the specific moments, that Worsley chooses to single out for mention, and in her cheerful voice as she leads us by the hand to the next window of Victoria's life calendar. * The Times *Queen Victoria has much of the abundant charm of its author -- A.N. Wilson * Spectator *In this lively, light-footed biography, just out in paperback, the popular TV historian Lucy Worsley looks at just 24 days of Victoria's 81-year long life to reveal unexpected sides to the monarch. * BBC History Magazine *The latest from historian Worsley is an insightful, sympathetic, and vividly written examination of the "good woman" who ruled England for 64 years... Worsley's command of the material and elegant writing style make this a must-read for anyone interested in the British monarchy. * Publishers Weekly *An intimate glimpse * Daily Mail *Lucy Worsley brings our most iconic of monarchs to life with this intimate and sympathetic portrayal... Even if you know Victoria's story, there's more to discover in this insightful biography. * Woman's Weekly *An engaging portrait of the monarch * i paper *Praise for Jane Austen at Home:This is my kind of history: carefully researched but so vivid that you are convinced Lucy Worsley was actually there at the party - or the parsonage. * Antonia Fraser *Jane Austen at Home offers a fascinating look at Jane Austen's world through the lens of the homes in which she lived and worked throughout her life. The result is a refreshingly unique perspective on Austen and her work and a beautifully nuanced exploration of gender, creativity, and domesticity. * Amanda Foreman *A vivid portrait of Jane Austen. A must for any Austenite. * Red Magazine *Brilliant and very moving, this book is a fascinating and original exploration of Jane Austen with lots of new material - Worsley brings Austen to life superbly, through her pages she is a flesh and blood woman, intelligent, powerful, contradictory, loving, loved. A magnificent book. * Kate Williams *Rarely, if ever, will you encounter a historian so in command of their material. Truly, this is a dazzling exercise in persuasion, written with sense and sensibility. * Saturday Express *A deep, prolifically researched dive into the houses, vacation homes, and schools where the author spent her life. * Vogue Magazine *Worsley offers us much that Austen's admirers wish to know... [she] is entirely convincing. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisSunday Times bestsellerGrowing up on the Wirral, Hannah Jackson had no idea she wanted to work on a farm until a life-changing family visit to the Lake District in her late teens. It was there where she first saw a lamb being born, giving her the drive to defy her urban roots and become a professional shepherd. She never looked back.In this uplifting and inspirational memoir, Hannah shares how she broke the stereotypes of her ''townie'' beginnings, took risks and faced up to the challenges of being a young woman in a male-dominated industry, and followed her heart to become the Red Shepherdess. But behind the beautiful landscape, talented sheepdogs and eye-catching red hair was a steep learning curve. The physically and mentally demanding conditions she faced as she chased her dreams to build her own Cumbrian farm taught Hannah the values the holds true, including community, leadership, patience and resilience. In Call Me Red, Hannah gives a

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Book SynopsisTony Lee Moral is an established writer and documentary filmmaker whose work has ranged from the award-winning Shape of Life TV series to studies of Alfred Hitchcock to mystery novels. His books include Alfred Hitchcock's Storyboards (2024), The Two Masks of Vendetta (2024) and Gold: The Metal that Rules the World (2025).

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR TWO IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021''Something they don''t tell you about getting older is that you fall. Oh, you hear about it in passing, of course, She had a fall, poor thing. Falling is not something you ever think about as a younger woman. You think about falling in love . . .''At 20 Londoner Ann Ingle fell madly in love with an Irish fellow she met on holiday in Cornwall. At the church to arrange their shotgun wedding she discovered that he hadn''t even told her his real name.Sixty-odd years later Ann looks back on that first glorious fall and in a series of essays considers what she has learned from the life that followed - bringing eight children into the world, their father''s years of mental illness and tragic death at 40, being a cash-strapped single mother in 1980s Dublin, coming into her own in her middle years - going to college, working and writing, and continuing to evolve and learn into her ninth decade, even as she accepts

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Book SynopsisNot to be missed, Philippa Langley and her international team untangle a 500-year-old mystery to reveal the fate of the Princes of the Tower.

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Book SynopsisA Waterstones Best History Book of 2024 Pick 'Kuper is a shrewd observer [in] this entertaining mix of memoir and anthropology' The Sunday TimesFrom the bestselling author of Chums comes an explorer's tale of a naïf getting to understand a complex, glittering, beautiful and often cruel city. Simon Kuper has experienced Paris both as a human being and as a journalist. He has grown middle-aged there, eaten the croissants, taken his children to countless football matches on freezing Saturday mornings in the city's notorious banlieues, and in 2015 lived through two terrorist attacks on his family's neighbourhood. Over two decades of becoming something of a cantankerous Parisian himself, Kuper has watched the city change. This century, Paris has globalised, gentrified, and been shocked into realising its role as the crucible of civilisational conflict. Sometimes it's a multicultural paradise, and sometimes it isn't. This decade, Parisians have lived through a sequence of shocks: terrorist attacks, record floods and heatwaves, the burning of Notre Dame, the storming of the city by gilets jaunes, and the pandemic. Now, as the Olympics come to town, France is busy executing the 'Grand Paris' project: the most serious attempt yet to knit together the bejewelled city with its neglected suburbs. This is a captivating memoir of today's Paris without the clichés.

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Book SynopsisWhitney Straight is a gripping tale of speed, heroism, romance, determination and tragedy

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Book SynopsisTHE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEREvery time Churchill took to the airwaves it was as if he were injecting adrenaline-soaked courage directly into the British people Larson tells the story of how that feat was accomplished Fresh, fast and deeply moving.' New York TimesA STARTLING, GRIPPING PORTRAIT OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE ALIVE IN BRITAIN DURING THE BLITZ, AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE AROUND CHURCHILL.On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, the Nazis would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons and destroying two million homes.In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson gives a new and brilliantly cinematic account of how Britain's most iconic leader set about unifying the nation at its most vulnerable moment, and teaching the art of being fearless.'Drawing on once-secret intelligence reports and Trade Review THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER PICKED BY BARACK OBAMA AND BILL GATES AS A BEST BOOK OF 2020 ‘If you want to look back at a really important part of history with fresh eyes, this is the book for you … Gripping and wonderful’Alan Carr ‘An enthralling page-turner’O: The Oprah Magazine ‘Fresh, fast and deeply moving … Larson’s deft portraits show the essential connection that words created between the powerful and the powerless, capturing the moments that defined life for millions struggling to survive the decisions of a few’New York Times Book Review ‘There are countless books about World War II, but there’s only one Erik Larson … There are many things to admire about The Splendid and the Vile, but chief among them is Larson’s electric writing. The book reads like a novel, and even though everyone (hopefully) knows how the war ultimately ended, he keeps the reader turning the pages with his gripping prose.’NPR ‘A particularly gripping read, written with bounce and brio. Larson pulls together vivid vignettes – some moving, some amusing, a few grim … A fine writer of narrative nonfiction history.’Robbie Millen, Times ‘This book is peppered with eye-popping details … A deeply compelling work of history … Without resorting to heroism, it makes one long powerfully for real leadership’Lit Hub ‘I have an early copy of this book on my desk and idly began reading the first pages—and suddenly time disappeared.’Seattle Times ‘Larson’s skill at integrating vast research and talent for capturing compelling human dramas culminate in an inspirational portrait of one of history’s finest, most fearless leaders’Booklist (starred review) ‘A captivating history of Churchill’s heroic year, with more than the usual emphasis on his intimates.’Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER''Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book'' Nigel Slater''Triumphant, a pastoral for the 21st century'' Helen Davies, Sunday Times, Books of the Year''The nature publishing sensation of the year, unsentimental yet luminous'' Melissa Harrison, The Times, Books of the YearSome people''s lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks'' isn''t. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.Trade ReviewTwo pages into The Shepherd's Life, I was gripped. Twenty pages in, I was amazed. By its end, I knew I'd read an extraordinary book, at once political and beautiful - a major addition to the modern British literature of landscape, that can stand alongside Ronald Blythe's classic Akenfield as a portrait of a place and its people as seen from within -- Robert MacfarlaneA very good book -- Alan BennettAffectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book -- Nigel Slater, author of Toast and The Kitchen DiariesBloody marvellous -- Helen Macdonald, author of H is for HawkA powerful - and quietly electrifying - meditation... Page by page, he builds what amounts to a 21st-century pastoral manifesto. The book is an unsentimental education, part history of farming in the Lake District, part personal memoir. And yet it still soars... Rebanks's prose is beautifully sure-footed -- Helen Davies * Sunday Times *A remarkable achievement... Utterly unsentimental, The Shepherd's Life is, nevertheless, profoundly moving... The human values that imbue The Shepherd's Life are, perhaps, ones that Britain, disillusioned and scandal weary, could do with being reminded of right now -- Melissa Harrison * Financial Times *Rebanks's enthusiasm and talent for poetic writing is infectious... [His] words create not only a gorgeous landscape painting of the Lake District and its inhabitants, human, animal, bird and fish, but also a useful social document... What is most striking about this book is its authenticity; this is the real thing -- Carol Midgley * The Times *A wonderfully detailed and candid account of a life that is both individual and typical of this role in rural society... told with perfect pitch, in prose that flows as easily as speech, cleaves hungrily to the particular, and shifts without strain between the workaday and the imaginative -- David Craig * Guardian *Absorbing, often funny, and beautifully written... a testament to the importance of maintaining a connection to the land * Observer *Captivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Exceptional... Rebanks's way with words is akin to that of that of an expert shearer with the clippers - swift, deft, skilled - and the resulting prose is lean, vivid, tough and handsome. I loved his book. It is one to restore faith in writing and the business of publishing - a story not like any other, told from the inside by someone whose passion for his subject lights up almost every sentence -- Tom Fort * Literary Review *An unforgettable survivor's book that raises important questions, not least about education... one of the most truthful depictions of contemporary rural life that I have read -- Richard Benson * Independent *More than a tribute to a rare and doughty tribe. If hills could speak, this is surely a tale the fells would tell -- Horatio Clare * Telegraph *An enlightening, exquisitely written account... I was beguiled by this book, an eloquent love-letter to a cherished way of life -- Brian Viner * Daily Mail *May well do for sheep what Helen Macdonald did for hawks -- Stephen Moss * Guardian *Punchy, well-read and occasionally lyrical... a glorious book, alive with the author's voice, which is strong and individual, as befits a man who makes a living in this ancient but precarious way. Most striking is its honesty * Herald Scotland *Rebanks offers a fascinating account of his life in farming that is in equal parts memoir, social commentary and procedural. Even for the most committed urbanite, it's a brilliant read -- Alexander Larman * Observer *James Rebanks's unsentimental, sharply detailed memoir about his life as a shepherd gripped me from the first page -- Moira Hodgson * Wall Street Journal *A timely and important book, with flashes of beauty in its spare and honest prose -- Sadie Jones, author of The OutcastIn James Rebanks we hear a new voice from the fells. The toil and the beauty in The Shepherd's Life are utterly compelling -- Nicholas Crane, author of CoastA vivid, honest, unforgettably written account not just of one shepherd's year, but of an ancient way of life -- Lucy Dillon, author of A Hundred Pieces of MeThe Shepherd's Life is a reader's delight. No tourist wandering the iconic Lake District is Rebanks; coming from centuries of farmers he is as 'hefted' to the fells as the Herdwick sheep he keeps. He lives, breathes and works his landscape - which gives him an inside edge as sharp as shears over most of the flock of current countryside-writers. Rebanks has written a marvellous autobiography - of himself, his family, and the hills themselves. For they are indivisible -- John Lewis-Stempel, author of MeadowlandWhat came through was the stolid humility, gentle stubbornness and genuine care you need to live this life. Many books are written about a thing but this book is of a thing and is valuable for it -- Cynan Jones, author of The DigThe Shepherd's Life is that rare thing, a well-written book about the life of the land by a man who gets his living from the land. It's a paean for a peopled landscape, and a powerful counterblast to the doleful environmentalism that would empty our land of its people -- Philip Walling, author of Counting SheepBeautifully written -- Alan Cumming, actor and author of Not My Father's SonIrreverent, honest, achingly beautiful and totally authentic. Rebanks challenges us to understand what would be lost if no one remembers the seasons of a shepherd's life or the culture of sheep farming. His joy is as contagious as his writing -- Linda Lear, author of Beatrix Potter: The extraordinary life of a Victorian geniusTruly extraordinary... written with a mastery of vivid, concrete detail that makes you gasp * WI Life *A wonderful book which will surely become a Lake District classic. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, it provides a vivid insight into the realities of hill farming life -- Angus J L Winchester, Professor of Local & Landscape History, Lancaster UniversityA gorgeous book, unsentimental but exultant, vivid and profound, and a fierce defense of small-scale farming -- Maryn McKenna * National Geographic *A beautifully told tale suffused by a profound sense of belonging and a clear-eyed love of the land and its people. * Sunday Morning Herald *His prose is earthed and conversational; it feels as if you're leaning over a gate, listening to his ruminations. The book exudes tough passion, and a sense of belonging and love that holds you rapt to the very last line * Intelligent Life *

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Book Synopsis''Engrossing'' Daniel Beer, Guardian''A beautiful book... incisive, radiant'' Olivia Laing''Illuminating, dramatic... majestic writing'' Spectator''Enthralling... a triumph'' Andrew SolomonAlex Halberstadt returns to Russia, the troubled, enigmatic land of his birth, where decades of Soviet totalitarianism shaped and fractured three generations of his family, in this haunting work of memoir and history.In Ukraine, Halberstadt tracks down his paternal grandfather - most likely the last living bodyguard of Joseph Stalin. He revisits Lithuania, his Jewish mother''s home, to examine the legacy of the Holocaust and the pernicious anti-Semitism that remains largely unaccounted for. And he returns to his birthplace, Moscow, where his grandmother designed homespun couture for Soviet ministers'' wives, his mother consoled dissidents at a psychiatric hospital, and his father made a dangerous living by selTrade ReviewAn act of literary archaeology... [in] finely wrought prose... melding the genres of biography, history and memoir. The book is more than just an account of one family's ordeals: it is an engrossing account of dictatorship, war and genocide, and how the toxic legacy they left behind has etched itself into successive generations of Soviet citizens. -- Daniel Beer * The Guardian *A loving and mournful account that's also skeptical, surprising and often very funny... Lush and moving. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *Illuminating, dramatic... It's as if [Halbertstadt's] feelings about Russia were frozen in time when he emigrated, leaving shards of perception that are peculiarly incisive... Majestic writing. -- Matthew Janney * Spectator *Alex Halberstadt is a magnificent writer. Young Heroes of the Soviet Union is a beautiful book about trauma and its impact on one extraordinary family, and an incisive, radiant look at the long legacy of suffering and war.This terrific, gripping book, part family memoir, part history...[is] a superb evocation of the Soviet Union in the 1960s and '70s. -- David Herman * Jewish Chronicle *Enthralling... Alex Halberstadt describes the disjunction between his Soviet childhood and his American adolescence with incandescent wit, a sometimes bitter but always compelling nostalgia, and great literary flair. This book is a triumph. -- Andrew SolomonSurprising, sad, funny, and engrossing... This is history as memoir, and vice versa. -- John Jeremiah Sullivan[An] elegant testimony to the subordination of human life to the will of an overmighty state. -- Robert Leigh-Pemberton * Daily Telegraph *Fascinating. -- Julia Llewellyn Smith * Mail on Sunday *This truly excellent book will transform your understanding of what memoir can do. -- Wells Tower

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA superb autobiography by one of the great literary figures of the twentieth century, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter offers an intimate picture of growing up in a bourgeois French family, rebelling as an adolescent against the conventional expectations of her class, and striking out on her own with an intellectual and existential ambition exceedingly rare in a young woman in the 1920s. Simone de Beavoir describes her early life, from her birth in Paris in 1908 to her student days at the Sorbonne, where she met Jean-Paul sartre - ''the dream-companion I had longed for since I was fifteen''.

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Book SynopsisA moving and powerful account of the problems faced by a new generation, from crime to poverty to an increasingly divided society, from an extraordinarily accomplished young activist and entrepreneur.My name is Jeremiah Emmanuel. I''m twenty years old. I''m an activist, an entrepreneur, a former deputy young mayor of Lambeth and member of the UK Youth Parliament. I wanted to change the world, but the world I was born into changed me first.Raised in south London, I lived in an area where crime and poverty were everywhere and opportunities to escape were rare. Violence was accepted, prison was expected. Your best friend might vanish overnight, never to be seen again. That was the world I knew; the only one I thought was possible for people like me.But somehow, as I got older, I found my way to a different world: a place where people listened to you, where opinions were heard, where doors were opened, where there were opportunities around every corner. Every

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Book Synopsis*** A GARDENS ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR***''A beautiful book about nature...I recommend it'' Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)A powerful work of memoir and storytelling that will change the way we think about the natural world.Unearthed is the story of how Claire Ratinon found belonging through falling in love with growing plants and reconnecting with nature.Like many diasporic people of colour, Claire grew up feeling cut off from the natural world. She lived in cities, reluctant to be outdoors and stuck with the belief that success and status could fill the space where belonging was absent. Through learning the practice of growing food, she unpicked her beliefs about who she ought to be. Over her first year living in the English countryside and with the first vegetable patch of her own, she finds a pathway back to nature''s embrace. And through growing the food of Mauritius, recording her parents'' stories and exp

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Book SynopsisPublished on the 12thanniversary of Margaret Thatcher's death, and in the 100thanniversary of her birth, this new, completely updated edition of Memories ofMargaret Thatcher is a fitting tribute to a global political legend.

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Book SynopsisFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NAZI MIND ''You have to read it'' Volodymyr Zelensky''Laurence Rees brilliantly combines powerful eye-witness testimony, vivid narrative and compelling analysis in this superb account'' Professor Sir Ian Kershaw''In this fascinating study of two monsters, Rees is extraordinarily perceptive and original'' Antony BeevorTwo tyrants. Each responsible for the death of millions. This compelling book on Hitler and Stalin - the culmination of thirty years'' work - examines the two leaders during the Second World War, when Germany and the Soviet Union fought the biggest and bloodiest war in history.Hitler''s charismatic leadership may contrast with Stalin''s regimented rule by fear; and his intransigence later in the war may contrast with Stalin''s change in behaviour in response to events. But as bestselling historian Laurence Rees shows, at a macro level, both were prepared to create undreamt-of suffering - in Hitler''s case, most infamously the Holocaust - in order to build the utopias they wanted.Using previously unpublished, startling eyewitness testimony from soldiers, civilians and those who knew both men personally, Laurence Rees - probably the only person alive who has met Germans who worked for Hitler and Russians who worked for Stalin - challenges long-held popular misconceptions about two of the most important figures in history. This is a master work from one of our finest historians.Trade ReviewIn this fascinating study of two monsters, Rees is extraordinarily perceptive and original -- Antony BeevorComing from one of the world's experts on the Second World War, this is an important and original - and devastating - account of Hitler and Stalin as dictators. A must read -- Professor Robert Service, author of Stalin: A Biography.Laurence Rees brilliantly combines powerful eye-witness testimony, vivid narrative and compelling analysis in this superb account of how two terrible dictators led their countries in the most destructive and inhumane war in history -- Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler – Hubris and Hitler – NemesisA brave and remarkable work. Revelatory, gripping and hugely relevant, it shows Hitler and Stalin as you've never known them. Truly a story of our time, with so many lessons for the troubled world we inhabit today, it will revolutionise your understanding of these two foremost tyrants -- Damien Lewis, author of The Nazi HuntersLaurence Rees's 'Hitler and Stalin' is an excellent addition to a subject that fascinates and horrifies in equal measure. Presenting this complex history with his usual clarity, his latest study is an enthralling read. By weaving many fresh eyewitness accounts into the narrative, offering new insights and commanding his reader's attention despite the huge scope of his task, Rees has written a book that will appeal to readers of biography and history alike -- Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third ReichLaurence Rees has produced a vivid and terrifying portrait of the twentieth century's two most brutal tyrants. His mastery of the subject shines through on every page. Provocative, gripping and full of fresh insights, Hitler and Stalin is narrative history at its very best. -- Henry Hemming, author of Churchill's IcemanA fascinating history... always compelling -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Impressive . . . well paced and well informed with an eye for telling anecdotes and colourful character sketches . . . Rees' decision to add personal stories to his narrative adds an important layer to our understanding of both the dictators themselves and their victims -- Robert Gerwarth * The Daily Telegraph *[There are] many gems in this impressive book -- Tony Rennell * Daily Mail *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAn electrifying re-examination of one of the twentieth century''s greatest unsung power players, from the bestselling author of A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCENAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH, ECONOMIST, FINANCIAL TIMES, MAIL ON SUNDAY, DAILY EXPRESS, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, SPECTATOR, IRISH EXAMINER, LONDON STANDARD, NEW YORKER, POLITICO, APPLE BOOKS, TOWN & COUNTRY and OLDIE''Supremely enjoyable ... With a historian''s eye for rigour, a journalist''s for detail and a storyteller''s for drama'' FINANCIAL TIMES''Rich and riveting'' GUARDIAN, BEST BIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS OF 2024 ''I''ve been gobbling up Kingmaker ... For years, Pamela''s achievements were overshadowed by gossipy whispers about her past. Finally, she has a book that is worthy of her'' ELIZABETH DAY''Exhilarating'' MAIL ON SUNDAY, BOOKS OF THE YEAR ''Anna Karenina meets West Wing'' IRISH EXAMINER, BOOKS OF THE YEARWhen Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, the obituaries that followed were scathing - and often downright sexist. Written off as a social climber, her glamorous social life and infamous erotic adventures overshadowed her true legacy. Much of what she did behind the scenes to shape the twentieth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, remained invisible. That is, until now: with a wealth of fresh research, Sonia Purnell unveils for the first time the full, spectacular story of how Harriman left an indelible mark on the world today.There is practically no-one in twentieth-century politics, culture and fashion whose lives she did not touch. Her influence began at age twenty, when her father-in-law, Winston Churchill, engaged her as a secret weapon during World War II, wining, dining and seducing Americans over to the British cause against Hitler. It continued later in the US, where she hand-picked Bill Clinton from obscurity and vaulted him to the presidency. It extended further, over five decades and two continents, influencing figures like the Kennedys, Nelson Mandela, Truman Capote, Gianni Agnelli, Kay Graham, Gloria Steinem and Frank Sinatra.Written with the novelistic richness and investigative rigour that only Sonia Purnell could bring to this story full of sex, power, yachts, palaces and fabulous clothes, Kingmaker sets out Harriman''s rightful place at the heart of recent history.****''Rigorous but rollicking'' NEW YORK TIMES''Everyone I know on both sides of the Atlantic seems to be devouring Kingmaker'' TINA BROWN''An incredible story, beautifully told, of a remarkable woman whose political influence spanned Churchill to Clinton. Quite a woman, quite a read'' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL''Superb and fascinating. I can''t recommend it more'' LADY ANNE GLENCONNER, bestselling author of Lady in Waiting''Fascinating and revelatory, written with great aplomb, insight and shrewd analysis. A triumph'' WILLIAM BOYD''As compelling as its subject'' TLS'' Riveting and revelatory'' THE NEW YORKER''An alluring new biography'' THE ECONOMIST''Purnell''s research is impeccable'' SPECTATOR''Kingmaker is on to something important. Successful women are judged differently than men'' AMANDA FOREMAN, GUARDIAN''Sympathetic, well-researched, busily peopled'' OBSERVER BOOK OF THE DAY''Vivid'' NEW STATESMAN

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for The Baillie Gifford Prize 2024Prospect Magazine Books of the Year 2024: LivesGuardian Best Biographies & Memoirs 2024Frantz Fanon was born in Martinique, a French colony, in 1925. As a young man, he volunteered to fight in de Gaulle's army for the liberation of France, and trained to become a doctor and psychiatrist. His experiences as a Black man under French colonial rule had a profound effect on him. In 1952, he wrote Black Skin, White Masks, a vital analysis of the effects of racism on the human psyche.He was later re-assigned to a hospital in French Algeria. It was here that he became involved in the rebellion of the National Liberation Front (FLN), who fought to break free from colonial power. Fanon's work for the FLN as a propagandist and psychiatrist became highly contentious. His final work, The Wretched of the Earth, was published in 1961 just before he died at the age of 36. It has proved to be one of the most controversial yet influential books of our time.The Rebel''s Clinic is a searing biography of the short and harrowing life of Frantz Fanon, and a brilliant, nuanced exploration of his ideas, whose legacy is still so powerful. In an age when debates about race and the effects of colonialism are ever more urgent, The Rebel's Clinic is a profoundly relevant book.

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Book Synopsis** Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award **''Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best'' Fergal KeaneThe first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism.The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from sixty-one countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini.Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, these disparate groups of idealistic young men and women formed a volunteer army of a size and type unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?In this magisterial history, Giles Tremlett tells for the first time the story of the Spanish CTrade ReviewA narrative of astonishing scope … This latest study is a remarkable act of scholarship, as well as being captivatingly readable. The first overarching history of the brigades in English, it is alive with the testimonies of those who fought, and so much richer for stretching far beyond the obvious and famous Anglophone accounts of men of letters … Tremlett is a worthy custodian of their stories. He has created a dazzling mosaic of vignettes and sources, of lives lived and lost, of acts of heroism, solidarity, betrayal and futility, that builds to a grand picture of a conflict that drew idealists from across the world. The war left many of them in despair, injured or dead – but also hardened many more in their determination to defeat fascism. This book is as close to a definitive history as we are likely to get -- Dan Hancox * Guardian *Tremlett’s book marks a heroic episode in the history of the left. At a time when real fascists with real guns are patrolling the streets of American cities, and when far-right violence is on the rise in Spain, the sacrifice of the International Brigaders deserves to be remembered. In doing so, Tremlett reminds us that even just wars are dirty and chaotic, breeding grounds of sadism and injustice, and that the selfless often die first -- Paul Mason * Observer *This evocative study is the first comprehensive history in English of all the 35,000 international volunteers who fought the combined forces of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco in Spain … Far more than a civil war, it was Europe’s war against Fascism. Giles Tremlett encapsulates its huge stakes perfectly … There’s no feeling of a heavy read here, such is Tremlett’s deft handling of the material and page-turning prose. The story races along, replete with memorable stories and poignant vignettes … [A] gripping book … Through it, the 1930s come hurtling into our twenty-first century present -- Helen Graham * Literary Review *The bravery and sacrifices of the volunteers from all over the world who fought fascism in Spain keep alive interest in the civil war. Many of the tens of thousands of books about the conflict are about the International Brigades but there has never been one like Giles Tremlett’s deeply moving and endlessly informative account. Bursting with memorable quotes and anecdotes, it provides, in lucid and compelling prose, the overall history of the Brigades that has been lacking -- Paul PrestonMagnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best -- Fergal KeaneMore than eighty years after the civil war ended on April 1, 1939, the story of what inspired left-wing sympathisers from all over the world to fight, and what became of them, still fascinates and impassions … It is an epic tale and Giles Tremlett’s The International Brigades nails it with the decisiveness of a political commissar’s bullet to the back of a deserter’s head. Using widely trawled research, he has created an electrifying narrative that brings to life the idealism, suffering, chaos and paranoia of what a journalist at the time called the “most truly international army the world has seen since the Crusades” … A powerful portrayal of an episode underpinned by what Nehru, after visiting a British unit, called “so much human courage, so much of what was worthwhile in life" -- Isambard Wilkinson * The Times *Tremlett deftly interweaves this rich archival material with colourful first-hand accounts from numerous participants … A highly engaging read, helped considerably by the author’s fluid prose style and journalist’s eye for a good story ... A well-researched and comprehensive work of scholarship -- Richard Baxell * Spectator *

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