European history Books

Book SynopsisAn extraordinary exploration of the ancestry of Britain through seven burial sites. By using new advances in genetics and taking us through important archaeological discoveries, Professor Alice Roberts helps us better understand life today.‘This is a terrific, timely and transporting book - taking us heart, body and mind beyond history, to the fascinating truth of the prehistoric past and the present’ Bettany Hughes We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA. Told through seven fascinating burial sites, this groundbreaking prehistory of Britain teaches us more about ourselves and our history: how people came and went and how we came to be on this island. It expTrade Review'This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.' -- Dr Janina Ramirez‘While the rest of us read words, Alice reads bones - and what stories they have to tell. In her hands they seem slick with life, bearing messages from ancient worlds. I was captivated.' -- Neil Oliver'Another classic from Alice Roberts. She writes as a scholar with the intensity and flair of a novelist.' -- Dan Snow‘Roberts is a prolific TV presenter, and Ancestors skilfully deploys the arts of screen storytelling: narrative pace, a sense of mysteries being unfolded. […] [It] is above all a tribute to the archaeological profession.’ -- Dan Hitchens * The Times *

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Book Synopsis''Brilliant and disturbing'' Stephen Spender, New York Review of BooksThe classic work on ''the banality of evil'', and a journalistic masterpieceHannah Arendt''s stunning and unnverving report on the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared as a series of articles in the New Yorker in 1963. This edition includes material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt''s postscript directly addressing the controversy that arose over her account. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, this classic portrayal of the banality of evil is as shocking as it is informative - an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling issues of the twentieth century.''Deals with the greatest problem of our time ... the problem of the human being within a modern totalitarian system'' Bruno BettelheimTrade ReviewA touchstone in the 20th century's thinking about morality and politics * The New York Times *Quite astonishing . . . her indictment of Eichmann reached beyond the man to the historical world in which true thinking was vanishing -- Judith ButlerDeals with the greatest problem of our time . . . the problem of the human being within a modern totalitarian system * The New Republic *

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Book SynopsisA biography of one of the most remarkable women of the Tudor era - next to Queen Elizabeth the most powerful woman in EnglandBess of Hardwick, born into the most brutal and turbulent period of England''s history, did not have an auspicious start in life. Widowed for the first time at sixteen, she nonetheless outlived four monarchs, married three more times, and died one of the wealthiest and most powerful women the country has ever seen. The Tudor age was a hazardous time for an ambitious woman: by the time Frances, Bess''s first child, was six, three of her illustrious godparents had been beheaded. Plague regularly wiped out entire families, conspiracies and feuds were rife. But through all this Bess Hardwick bore eight children and built an empire of her own: the great houses of Chatsworth and Hardwick. ''The best account yet of this shrewd, enigmatic and remarkable woman'' Sunday Times''Lovell has excelled at bringing the Tudor age to exuberant life. A phenomenal story'' Mail on Sunday''Utterly absorbing... one of those biographies in which the reader really doesn''t want the subject to die'' Independent on SundayTrade ReviewLovell rehabilitates Bess's reputation, showing that she was shrewd rather than shrewish, kind rather than cold THE TIMES This wonderfully researched book is an intimate portrait of [Bess's] life and a vivid insight into life in Tudor society SUNDAY EXPRESS Lovell has excelled at bringing the Tudor Age to exuberant life... altogether this is a rattling good read Hugh Massingberd, MAIL ON SUNDAY The best account yet available of this shrewd, enigmatic and remarkable woman SUNDAY TIMES

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Book SynopsisToday's Ireland has never lost the link with its pagan past, never forgotten the old ways. This book reveals the hidden world of pagan Ireland, showing it still exists among the people and in the landscape where it belongs.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP THREE BESTSELLER; Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History 2018; One of the Daily Telegraph's Best Books of 2017; A Guardian 'Readers' Choice' Best Book of 2017; Without the benefit of hindsight, how do you interpret what's right in front of your eyes?; The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt - of hope. How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by the propaganda or predict the Holocaust?; Travellers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating first-hand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including students, politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, journalists, fascists, artists, tourists, even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler - one so palpable that the reader will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.; These are the accidental eyewitnesses to history. Disturbing, absurd, moving, and ranging from the deeply trivial to the deeply tragic, their tales give a fresh insight into the complexities of the Third Reich, its paradoxes and its ultimate destruction.Trade Review"A compelling historical narrative ... both flatters and challenges our hindsight. [Boyd] lets her voices, skilfully orchestrated, speak for themselves, which they do with great eloquence" - The Daily Telegraph; "Fascinating ... surreal scenes pepper Boyd's deep trawl of travellers' tales from the scores of visitors who were drawn to the `new Germany' in the 1930s" - The Spectator; "Contains many amazing anecdotes ... It warns us that we, with our all-seeing hindsight, might ourselves have been fooled or beguiled or inclined to make excuses, had we been there at the time. I can thoroughly recommend it as a contribution to knowledge and an absorbing and stimulating book in itself" - Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday; "A fascinating book" -- Robert Elms, BBC Radio London; "To a younger generation it seems incomprehensible that after the tragic Great War people and political leaders allowed themselves to march into the abyss again. Julia Boyd's book, drawing on wide experience and forensic research, seeks to answer some of these questions." -- Randolph Churchill; "With an almost novelistic touch, [Boyd] presents a range of stories of human interest ... The uncomfortable moral of Travellers in the Third Reich is that people see and hear only what they already want to see and hear" -- David Pryce-Jones, Standpoint; "Fascinating ... This absorbing and beautifully organised book is full of small encounters that jolt the reader into a historical past that seems still very near" - Lucy Lethbridge, The Tablet; "In the 1930s the most cultured and technologically advanced country in Europe tumbled into the abyss. In this deeply researched book Julia Boyd lets us view Germany's astonishing fall through foreign eyes. Her vivid tapestry of human stories is a delightful, often moving read. It also offers sobering lessons for our own day when strong leaders are again all the rage" -- Professor David Reynolds, author of The Long Shadow: The Great War and the 20th Century; "Drawing on the unpublished experiences of outsiders inside the Third Reich, Julia Boyd provides dazzling new perspectives on the Germany that Hitler built. Her book is a tour de force of historical research" - Dr Piers Brendon, author of The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s"What was Nazi Germany really like in the run up to the Second World War? Julia Boyd's painstakingly researched and deeply nuanced book shows how this troubled country appeared to travellers of the 1930s who did not have the benefit of hindsight. A truly fascinating read" -- Keith Lowe, Sunday Times bestselling author of Savage Continent and Inferno; "Engrossing ... skilfully woven together to create a three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler that has many resonances for today" -- Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller; "A revealing and original account. Some of Adolf Hitler's fellow travellers, lulled by self-deception, gulled by propaganda, deluded themselves about Nazi Germany as they deceived others" - Sir John Tusa; "Julia Boyd has conducted a vast range and volume of research. The numerous witnesses of Germany under Hitler whom she quotes have different ages, nationalities, backgrounds and opinions. Out of the multitude of first-hand accounts she spins a tapestry which is full of vivid detail and gradually creates a coherent whole. The horrors of the Hitler regime and how it came to power, and the suffering of ordinary people, are brought to life. The book is comprehensive, informative and full of life. I wish I could have read it before I first worked in post-war Germany. I would have understood better the Germans whom I knew and admired even more what West Germans achieved after 1945. A glorious read for anyone with an interest in the history of the twentieth century" - Sir Christopher Mallaby, former ambassador to Germany and France; "Unique, original and engagingly written. This account of visitors and tourists to Germany brings to life these difficult decades in a most refreshing way [and] should attract a wide circle of readers" - Dr Zare Steiner, author of The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919-1933 and Triumph of the Dark: 1933-193; "An entertaining popular history ... a fascinating book. Boyd lets the voices from the past speak to us ... opinions that are sometimes shocking and often thought provoking. Traveller attitudes give an insight into the feelings before the war, often at odds with or in more depth than many standard histories ... very readable" - Paul Burke, nudge-book.comTable of ContentsContents; Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1; Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11; 1 Open Wounds.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13; 2 Deepening Pain.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29; 3 Sex and Sun.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47; 4 `The Seething Brew'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67; 5 The Noose Tightens.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85; 6 Monster or Marvel?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103; 7 Summer Holidays.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123; 8 Festivals and Fanfares.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141; 9 Heiling Hitler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161; 10 Old Soldiers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183; 11 Literary `Tourists'.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205; 12 Snow and Swastikas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231; 13 Hitler's Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247; 14 Academic Wasteland.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263; 15 Dubious Overtures.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285; 16 Travel Album.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305; 17 Anschluss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323; 18 `Peace' and Shattered Glass.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337; 19 Countdown to War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355; 20 War.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375; 21 Journey's End.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389; Afterword.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411; Acknowledgements.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417; Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421; Archives Consulted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429; The Travellers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431; Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449; Index.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

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Book Synopsis''The bloodstained drama of the last decades of the Roman republic... is told afresh with tremendous wit, narrative verve and insight''''I owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Holland not just for reminding me of the great figures who bestrode the Roman world - Pompey and Crassus, Cato, Cicero and Caesar - but for explaining what it was that made Rome the greatest superpower the world has known, why it lasted so long and what caused its eventual fall'' Daily Mail''Gripping and hugely entertaining. It is a story crammed with drama and spectacle... but the real attraction of Holland''s book is the wit and contemporary sensibility that he brings to his often bloody tale'' Books of the Year, Sunday Times''This is narrative history at its best... it really held me, in fact, obsessed me'' Ian McEwan, Books of the Year, GuardianTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERTrade ReviewTom Holland's excellent new study of the fall of the Republic... re-evaluating Rome for a new generation -- Robert Harris * Sunday Times *This is the best one-volume narrative history of the Rome between King Tarquin and Emperor Augustus I have ever read. The story of Rome's experiment with republicanism - peopled by such giants as Caesar, Pompey, Cato and Cicero - is told with perfect freshness, fine wit and true scholarship. * Andrew Roberts *Holland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. A brilliant and completely absorbing study * A.N Wilson, author of The Victorians *The only way to kindle the interest of a new generation in the Greek and Roman world... Holland paints a vivid social portrait of the Roman World -- Max Hastings * Sunday Telegraph *A modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs. * Observer *Explosive stuff...a seriously intelligent history... [written] with elan and gusto... It is a history for our times... Wickedly enjoyable. * Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine *Holland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. A brilliant and completely absorbing study * A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians *This is the best one-volume narrative history of the Rome between King Tarquin and Emperor Augustus I have ever read. The story of Rome's experiment with republicanism - peopled by such giants as Caesar, Pompey, Cato and Cicero - is told with perfect fre * Andrew Roberts *A modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs * OBSERVER *Explosive stuff ... a seriously intelligent history ... [written] with élan and gusto ... It is a history for our times ... Wickedly enjoyable * Peter Jones, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *

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Book SynopsisFascism was the major political invention of the twentieth century and the source of much of its pain. How can we try to comprehend its allure and its horror? Is it a philosophy, a movement, an aesthetic experience? What makes states and nations become fascist?Acclaimed historian Robert O. Paxton shows that in order to understand fascism we must look at it in action - at what it did, as much as what it said it was about. He explores its falsehoods and common threads; the social and political base that allowed it to prosper; its leaders and internal struggles; how it manifested itself differently in each country - France, Britain, the low countries, Eastern Europe, even Latin America as well as Italy and Germany; how fascists viewed the Holocaust; and, finally, whether fascism is still possible in today''s world.Offering a bold new interpretation of the fascist phenomenon, this groundbreaking book will overturn our understanding of twentieth-century history.

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Book SynopsisFrom the invaders of the dark ages to the aftermath of the coalition, one of Britain's most respected journalists, Simon Jenkins, weaves together a strong narrative with all the most important and interesting dates in a book that characteristically is as stylish as it is authoritative. A Short History of England sheds light on all the key individuals and events, bringing them together in an enlightening and engaging account of the country's birth, rise to global prominence and then partial eclipse.There have been long synoptic histories of England but until now there has been no standard short work covering all significant events, themes and individuals. Now updated to take in the rapid progress of recent events and beautifully illustrated, this magisterial history will be the standard work for years to come.Trade ReviewA lucid and handsomely illustrated narrative, from the Saxon dawn of England to the Cameron Government * The Times *Full of stand-out facts ... Absolutely fascinating ... I've learnt an awful lot -- Richard Bacon, BBC Radio 2Let Jenkins sweep you through England's history, painting a vivid picture of this country's green and pleasant land * City AM *Where Jenkins excels is in his very journalistic approach ... The historical events are joined up, and work as narrative * Time Out *Immediately accessible * Prospect *This is traditional, kings-and-things, great-men history with all its dates and famous quotations in place ... it's jolly good ... Jenkins has a newspaper columnist's aphoristic verve ... judgements are crisp * Spectator *Entertaining * Sunday Times *Full of good writing and lively anecdotes ... worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought * New Statesman *A characteristically bold, wry, fluent, combative gallop through English history -- Max Hastings

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, ECONOMIST, DAILY TELEGRAPH, EVENING STANDARD, OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR''Undoubtedly the best single-volume life of Churchill ever written'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA magnificently fresh and unexpected biography of Churchill, by one of Britain''s most acclaimed historiansWinston Churchill towers over every other figure in twentieth-century British history. By the time of his death at the age of 90 in 1965, many thought him to be the greatest man in the world.There have been over a thousand previous biographies of Churchill. Andrew Roberts now draws on over forty new sources, including the private diaries of King George VI, used in no previous Churchill biography to depict him more intimately and persuasively than any of its predecessors. The book in no way conceals Churchill''s faults and it allows the reader to appreciate his virtues and character in full: his titanic capacity for work (and drink), his ability see the big picture, his willingness to take risks and insistence on being where the action was, his good humour even in the most desperate circumstances, the breadth and strength of his friendships and his extraordinary propensity to burst into tears at unexpected moments. Above all, it shows us the wellsprings of his personality - his lifelong desire to please his father (even long after his father''s death) but aristocratic disdain for the opinions of almost everyone else, his love of the British Empire, his sense of history and its connection to the present.During the Second World War, Churchill summoned a particular scientist to see him several times for technical advice. ''It was the same whenever we met'', wrote the young man, ''I had a feeling of being recharged by a source of living power.'' Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt''s emissary, wrote ''Wherever he was, there was a battlefront.'' Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Churchill''s essential partner in strategy and most severe critic in private, wrote in his diary, ''I thank God I was given such an opportunity of working alongside such a man, and of having my eyes opened to the fact that occasionally such supermen exist on this earth.''Trade ReviewThis terrific book, which bursts with character, humour and incident on almost every page ... is undoubtedly the best single-volume life of Churchill ever written -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The best single-volume life imaginable -- Simon Heffer * Sunday Telegraph *It's the sort of biography that, one feels, Churchill himself would have wanted. Colossal, energetic, deeply knowledgeable, properly critical, but also sympathetic and, in places, deliciously funny -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *An original portrait of an all-too-familiar figure ... He enriches the saga with wonderful examples of Churchill's aristocratic eccentricity, glittering oratory and wit -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *Roberts has produced a more complete picture of his subject than any previous biography. His certainly knocks into a cocked hat Boris Johnson's boisterously self-referential effort of a few years ago * Economist *A stupendous achievement: lucid, erudite, intelligent, but also inspiring. Roberts catches the imperishable grandeur of Churchill's life as no other historian has done -- Daniel Johnson * Standpoint *As Andrew Roberts reminds us in this epic biography ... Churchill's career provides ample proof that fact can be far more extraordinary than fiction -- Nick Rennison * Daily Mail *A work of unequalled scholarship. Read it and you will not have to bother with the previous 1,000 biographies -- Paul Routledge * Tablet *A heroic biography, appropriately matched to the ambition, egotism and undoubted achievement of the life it describes -- John Campbell * Finest Hour *Brilliant, breathtaking, unputdownable ... All Roberts's past life has been but a preparation for this hour and this work, and this brilliant book is a fitting crown to his own career -- Michael Gove * Evening Standard *In a single volume, Andrew Roberts has captured the essence of one of the world's most impactful, most memorable statesmen. It is the crowning achievement of his career - and will become the definitive biography of its subject. -- Henry Kissinger

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Book SynopsisAn entertaining and eye-opening look at the French Revolution, by Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and A Year in the Merde. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks back at the French Revolution and how it’s surrounded in a myth. In 1789, almost no one in France wanted to oust the king, let alone guillotine him. But things quickly escalated until there was no turning back. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks at what went wrong and why France would be better off if they had kept their monarchy.

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Book SynopsisCeltic Ireland was a land of tribes and warriors; but a sophisticated & enlightened legal system was widely accepted. The brehons were the keepers of these laws, which dealt with every aspect of life: land disputes; theft or violence; marriage & divorce; the care of trees & animals.

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Book SynopsisA decade of rapid change caught by two of Ireland’s premier photographers, The Lensmen. Covers everything from the visits of President Kennedy and The Beatles, to lifestyle, fashion and sport as well as the start of unrest in Northern Ireland. Will evoke memories of a bygone age.Trade Review'a wonderful collection of images ... the perfect stocking filler ... While all the big moments are here ... it is perhaps the everyday images of ordinary people and daily life which prove the most revealing and charming.' -- The Sunday Times Culture Magazine'the wondrous and unexpected can be found in The 1960’s: Ireland in Pictures' -- RTE Guide'this is an interesting insight into Irish society in this decade' -- Books Ireland'a unique tribute to a vital decade in Ireland’s history ... a stunning collection' -- Evening Echo'these photos bring back a flood of good memories' -- Irish American News'a brilliant addition to our archives of memories' -- Books Ireland'the 1960s collection from the Lensmen archive preserves the hipster decade in all its rakish splendour' -- Books Ireland'It is such a different Ireland; the black-and-white photographs show a country of slim people with relaxed smiles, mostly dressed in their best for the press events covered.' -- Books Ireland

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Book SynopsisBestselling author Giles Tremlett traverses the rich and varied history of Spain, from prehistoric times to today, in a brief, accessible primer for visitors, curious readers and hispanophiles. 'Tremlett is a fascinating socio-cultural guide, as happy to discuss Spain's World Cup win as its Moorish rule' Guardian 'Negotiates Spain's chaotic history with admirable clarity and style' The Times Spain's position on Europe's south-western corner has exposed it to cultural, political and actual winds blowing from all quadrants. Africa lies a mere nine miles to the south. The Mediterranean connects it to the civilizational currents of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, and Byzantines as well as the Arabic lands of the near east. Bronze Age migrants from the Russian steppe were amongst the first to arrive. They would be followed by Visigoths, Arabs, Napoleonic armies and many more invaders and immigrants. Circular winds and currents linked it to the American continent, allowing Spain to conquer and colonize much of it. As a result, Spain has developed a sort of hybrid vigour. Whenever it has tried to deny this inevitable heterogeneity, it has required superhuman effort to fashion a 'pure' national identity – which has proved impossible to maintain. In España, Giles Tremlett argues that, in fact, that lack of a homogenous identity is Spain's defining trait.Trade ReviewTremlett is a fascinating socio-cultural guide, as happy to discuss Spain's World Cup win as its Moorish rule * Guardian *Negotiates Spain's chaotic history with admirable clarity and style * The Times *Provides an excellent whistle-stop tour through the history that explains it all... Brisk and readable telling * New Statesman *Aimed at curious visitors and hispanophiles alike, this accessible trot through the country's history covers everything from Spain's connections to the ancient empires of Rome and Byzantium, to its colonisation of swathes of the Americas * BBC History Magazine *España is well researched, beautifully produced and, as far as generic primers go, an exemplar of its kind * TLS *Giles Tremlett is adept at grabbing the reader's attention, opening his brief history with a revealing vignette... Tremlett's book with appeal to anyone interested in Spain's past, present, or future * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisThe Falklands War, which may prove to be the last ‘colonial’ war that Britain ever fights, took place in 1982. Fought 8,000 miles from home soil, it cost the lives of 255 British military personnel, with many more wounded, some seriously. The war also witnessed many acts of outstanding courage by the UK Armed Forces after a strong Task Force was sent to regain the islands from the Argentine invaders. Soldiers, sailors and airmen risked, and in some cases gave, their lives for the freedom of 1,820 islanders. Lord Ashcroft, who has been fascinated by bravery since he was a young boy, has amassed several medal collections over the past four decades, including the world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses, Britain and the Commonwealth’s most prestigious gallantry award. Falklands War Heroes tells the stories behind his collection of valour and service medals awarded for the Falklands War. The collection, almost certainly the largest of its kind in the world, spans all the major events of the war. This book, which contains nearly forty individual write-ups, has been written to mark the fortieth anniversary of the war. It is Lord Ashcroft’s attempt to champion the outstanding bravery of our Armed Forces during an undeclared war that was fought and won over ten weeks in the most challenging conditions.

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Book SynopsisOur ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were deeply connected to the land. They used this connection to the cycles of the natural world from which we are increasingly dissociated as an animating force in their lives.In this illuminating new book, Manchán Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor's footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia from ice ages through to famines and floods.Here, the River Shannon is a goddess, and trees and their life-sustaining root systems are hallowed. See the world in a new light in this magical exploration into the life-sustaining wisdom of what lies beneath us.We could do with a lot more characters like [Manchán] dotted about this world.' Irish IndependentManchán creates a gorgeous tapestry that lingers in the mind's eye.' Kerri Ní DochartaighManchán['s] got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off an incredible storyteller.'' Blindboy BoatclubManchán's passion for Ireland's ecological and poetic heritage is more urgently relevant than ever.' Darach Ó Séaghdha

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Book SynopsisIn the summer of 1942 one of the main issues in the balance was the fate of Malta. The island was still a bastion of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and a constant threat to the supply route for the enemy land forces in North Africa. It bravely resisted every onslaught of the Axis powers, but by the middle of 1942, food supplies were desperately short and fuel oil was running low. In August of that year Operation Pedestal was launched, a last attempt to relieve Malta. Fourteen merchant ships were allocated to it and the Royal Navy provided the most powerful force ever to escort a convoy including four aircraft carriers. Operating from bases in Sardinia and Sicily, the Germans and Italians let fly with their shore-based aircraft on an unprecedented scale. The losses on the British side were sever with more than 500 Merchant and Royal Navy sailors and airmen killed. Whilst only five of the fourteen merchant ships reached the sanctuary of Malta''s Grand Harbour, these included the oi

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Book SynopsisWinner of the British Book Awards History Book of the YearLonglisted for the Samuel Johnson PrizeThis thrilling biography of Stalin and his entourage during the terrifying decades of his supreme power transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader and Russian tsar. Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals in captivating detail the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous cruelty of this secret world. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, this magnificent feat of scholarly research has become a classic of modern history writing. Showing how Stalin''s triumphs and crimes were the product of his fanatical Marxism and his gifted but flawed character, this is an intimate portrait of a man as complicated and human as he was brutal and chilling.Trade ReviewOne of the two outstanding books of the year ... the most civilised and elegant chronicle of brutality and ruthlessness I have ever read, its prose cool and clear but never indifferent * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Horrific, revelatory and sobering ... triumph of research and should be required reading in Russia. Book of the Year -- John Le Carre * OBSERVER *This grim masterpiece, shot through with lashes of black humour ... The personal details are riveting -- Antonia Fraser * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Fascinating ... [Montefiore] concentrates, as any good historian should, on pushing forward the boundaries of our knowledge of the subject ... [He] provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out ... scrupulously fair in the way he describes Stalin's qualities - including his ability to charm, his uncanny grasp of geopolitical issues, his brilliant handling of foreign statesmen and his genuine passion for literature -- Antony Beevor * SUNDAY TIMES *Masterful and terrifying account of Stalin ... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths * THE TIMES *This magnificent portrait ... Montefiore has mined the rich veins of recent Russian writing on the Stalin age and of newly opened archives to give us an intimate history ... The stifling, contiguous life of the Soviet elite in and around the Kremlin is wonderfully conveyed, in some of the most striking and literary passages in the book ... A wonderfully rich and vibrant portrait of the Stalinist elite who lived in the shadow of a remarkable and dangerous colossus * LITERARY REVIEW *Read it or face social Siberia ... a cross-over success. Academically and intellectually rigorous, it's also a riveting read ... it takes a great writer to make it seem fresh. And Sebag Montefiore certainly does that ... his greatest achievement has been to "humanise" Stalin. Uncle Joe was a mass murderer and a paranoid sociopath. But he was also charming, friendly and flirtatious -- 100 Best Things in the World Right Now * GQ *Grimly brilliant -- Andrew Marr * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Excellent ... This book is like a vast Russian novel full of characters, colour, terror, passion and treachery ... love affairs, marriages, divorces, imprisonments and killings -- Susannah Tarbush * AL-HAYAT *Montefiore has managed to get inside the mind of the 20th century's worst mass murderer. What he has found there will affect your view of human nature ... a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as a transfixing narrative ... vividly recreated by Montefiore's caustically witty prose -- Andrew Roberts * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questions about the Stalinist regime -- Orlando Figes * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Montefiore drives his story forward with breathless enthusiasm ... in a work of great importance. Scholars will read it for the valuable new evidence it assembles. Others will enjoy it as a fascinating page-turner and an everyday saga of extraordinary Kremlin folk * FINANCIAL TIMES *Gripping and timely ... [Montefiore] had the bright idea of examining the letters, telegrams and diaries of [Stalin's] intimate associates. As a result, this is a book based on extraordinary primary research ... one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come. The devil is in the detail * GUARDIAN *An extraordinary book... he has managed to persuade a whole generation of little old ladies and elderly men - the wives, granddaughters, servants, nieces and nephews of Stalin's henchmen - to give him a series of extraordinary interviews and, in some cases, lend him their hand-written memoirs... For anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page -- Anne Applebaum * EVENING STANDARD *Montefiore's STALIN, I should imagine, will be the standard work on this twentieth-century monster for years to come -- Jeremy Paxman * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *The most revealing account of the inner circles of tyranny since Albert Speer's inside story of Hitler's bunker. Book of the Year * EVENING STANDARD *Enlivened by sharp pen portraits and grisly anecdotes, Montefiore's study ... was admired for its elegant prose as well as its grotesque cavalcade of monsters -- Books of the Year * THE WEEK *Brings alive that many-sided monster ... the first book that has given me grounds for thinking it might be possible to understand how Stalin got away with his enormities * SPECTATOR *Montefiore's masterful study of Stalin and his entourage provides the best personal portrait to date of the man and his group * JEWISH CHRONICLE *Enormously readable and even grimly amusing ... the details of the cruelty and depravity ... are incredible -- Miriam Gross * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *One of the two outstanding books of the year ... the most civilised and elegant chronicle of brutality and ruthlessness I have ever read, its prose cool and clear but never indifferent -- Ruth Rendell * Daily Telegraph *Horrific, revelatory and sobering ... triumph of research and should be required reading in Russia. Book of the Year -- John Le Carré * Observer *This grim masterpiece, shot through with lashes of black humour ... The personal details are riveting -- Antonia Fraser * Mail on Sunday *Fascinating ... [Montefiore] concentrates, as any good historian should, on pushing forward the boundaries of our knowledge of the subject ... [He] provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out ... scrupulously fair in the way he describes Stalin's qualities - including his ability to charm, his uncanny grasp of geopolitical issues, his brilliant handling of foreign statesmen and his genuine passion for literature -- Antony Beevor * Sunday Times *Masterful and terrifying account of Stalin ... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths -- Alistair Horne * The Times *This magnificent portrait ... Montefiore has mined the rich veins of recent Russian writing on the Stalin age and of newly opened archives to give us an intimate history ... The stifling, contiguous life of the Soviet elite in and around the Kremlin is wonderfully conveyed, in some of the most striking and literary passages in the book ... A wonderfully rich and vibrant portrait of the Stalinist elite who lived in the shadow of a remarkable and dangerous colossus -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *Read it or face social Siberia ... a cross-over success. Academically and intellectually rigorous, it's also a riveting read ... it takes a great writer to make it seem fresh. And Sebag Montefiore certainly does that ... his greatest achievement has been to "humanise" Stalin. Uncle Joe was a mass murderer and a paranoid sociopath. But he was also charming, friendly and flirtatious -- 100 Best Things in the World Right Now * GQ Magazine *Grimly brilliant -- Andrew Marr * Daily Telegraph *Excellent ... This book is like a vast Russian novel full of characters, colour, terror, passion and treachery ... love affairs, marriages, divorces, imprisonments and killings -- Susannah Tarbush * Al-Hayat *Montefiore has managed to get inside the mind of the 20th century's worst mass murderer. What he has found there will affect your view of human nature ... a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as a transfixing narrative ... vividly recreated by Montefiore's caustically witty prose -- Andrew Roberts * Daily Telegraph *Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questions about the Stalinist regime -- Orlando Figes * Sunday Telegraph *Montefiore drives his story forward with breathless enthusiasm ... in a work of great importance. Scholars will read it for the valuable new evidence it assembles. Others will enjoy it as a fascinating page-turner and an everyday saga of extraordinary Kremlin folk -- Rodric Braithwaite * Financial Times *Gripping and timely ... [Montefiore] had the bright idea of examining the letters, telegrams and diaries of [Stalin's] intimate associates. As a result, this is a book based on extraordinary primary research ... one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come. The devil is in the detail -- Robert Service * Guardian *An extraordinary book... he has managed to persuade a whole generation of little old ladies and elderly men - the wives, granddaughters, servants, nieces and nephews of Stalin's henchmen - to give him a series of extraordinary interviews and, in some cases, lend him their hand-written memoirs... For anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page -- Anne Applebaum * Evening Standard *Montefiore's STALIN, I should imagine, will be the standard work on this twentieth-century monster for years to come -- Jeremy Paxman * Sunday Telegraph *The most revealing account of the inner circles of tyranny since Albert Speer's inside story of Hitler's bunker. Book of the Year -- Norman Lebrecht * Evening Standard *Enlivened by sharp pen portraits and grisly anecdotes, Montefiore's study ... was admired for its elegant prose as well as its grotesque cavalcade of monsters -- Books of the Year * The Week *Brings alive that many-sided monster ... the first book that has given me grounds for thinking it might be possible to understand how Stalin got away with his enormities -- David Pryce-Jones * Spectator *Montefiore's masterful study of Stalin and his entourage provides the best personal portrait to date of the man and his group -- Daniel Beer * Jewish Chronicle *Enormously readable and even grimly amusing ... the details of the cruelty and depravity ... are incredible -- Miriam Gross * Sunday Telegraph *I'm currently reading Simon Sebag-Montefiore's excellent biography of the Soviet monster [Stalin] 'the Court of the Red Czar' which I heartily recommend -- Matthew Gwyther * MANAGEMENT TODAY *

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Book SynopsisWritten four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling the author's ambitious claim that the work was done to last forever. The conflicts between the two empires over shipping, trade, and colonial expansion came to a head in 431 b.c. in Northern Greece, and the entire Greek world was plunged into 27 years of war. Thucydides applied a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance in compiling this exhaustively factual record of the disastrous conflict that eventually ended the Athenian empire.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and nTable of ContentsTranslated by Rex Warner with an Introduction and Notes by M. I. FinleyIntroductionTranslator's NoteBook IIntroductionThe Dispute over EpidamnusThe Dispute over CorcyraThe Dispute over PotidaeaThe Debate at Sparta and Declaration of WarThe PentecontaetiaThe Allied Congress at SpartaThe Stories of Pausanias and ThemistoclesThe Spartan Ultimatum and Pericles' ReplyBook IIOutbreak of WarThe First Year of the WarPericles' Funeral OrationThe PlagueThe Policy of PericlesThe Fall of PotidaeaThe Siege of PlataeaVictories of PhormioThrace and MacedoniaBook IIIRevolt of MytileneThe Mytilenian DebateThe End of PlataeaCivil War in CorcyraOperations in Sicily and GreeceEnd of Sixth Year of WarBook IVAthenian Success at PylosFinal Victory at PylosFurther Athenian SuccessesPeace in SicilyFighting at MegaraBrasidas in ThraceAthenian Defeat at DeliumBrasidas Captures AmphipolisArmistice between Athens and SpartaEnd of Ninth Year of WarBook VBattle of AmphipolisPeace of NiciasNegotiations with ArgosAlliance between Athens and ArgosCampaigns in the PeloponneseBattle of MantineaThe Melian DialogueBook VISicilian AntiquitiesLaunching of the Sicilian ExpeditionThe Debate at SyracuseThe Athenians Arrive in SicilyThe Story of Harmodius and AristogitonRecall of AlcibiadesAthenian Victory before SyracuseThe Debate at CamarinaAlcibiades in SpartaMore Athenian Successes at SyracuseBook VIIGylippus Arrives in SyracuseLetter of NiciasFortification of DeceleaAthenian Defeat in the Great HarbourAthenian Defeat at EpipolaeSyracusan Victory at SeaDestruction of the Athenian ExpeditionBook VIIIAlarm at AthensBeginning of Persian InterventionThe Oligarchic CoupAthenian Victory at CynossemaAppendicesBibliographyMapsIndex

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Book SynopsisThe first and only book that covers the whole range of British ex-servicemen’s experiences in the interwar period in a single volumeTrade ReviewAdam Powell’s Soldiering On is a significant addition to a subject area that has received too little scholarly work in the past. Not only is this book a rich and accessible resource for the history of British veterans in the interwar years, the book’s themes will resonate today as we continue to send young men and women to war and deal with personal traumas and stress of its aftermath. Powell provides a wider and broader context – from the pre-war world of Edwardian England to the worldwide impact of the twentieth century’s first global conflict – within which to examine the reality of returning veterans. From individuals’ stories to government policies (or lack thereof), Soldiering On bears powerful witness to the human cost of war. -- Susan Werbe“This meticulously researched and well-written book offers a glimpse into the problems faced by our ancestors as they returned home from war.” -- Mark Simner * Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWho since Weber, or perhaps even Hobbes, has done as much to show why power is such a profound, elusive and treacherous presence throughout our experience? * The Times Higher Education *

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Book SynopsisIn Fighting Churchill, Appeasing Hitler Adrian Phillips presents a radical new view of the British policy of appeasement in the late 1930s. No one doubts that appeasement failed, but Phillips shows that it caused active harm - even sabotaging Britain's preparations for war. He goes far further than previous historians in identifying the individuals responsible for a catalogue of miscalculations, deviousness and moral surrender that made the Second World War inevitable, and highlights the alternative policies that might have prevented it. Phillips outlines how Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his chief advisor, Sir Horace Wilson, formed a fatally inept two-man foreign-policy machine that was immune to any objective examination, criticism or assessment - ruthlessly manipulating the media to support appeasement while batting aside policies advocated by Winston Churchill, the most vocal opponent of appeasement. Churchill understood that Hitler was the implacable enemy of peace - and Britain - but Chamberlain and Wilson were terrified that any display of firmness would provoke him. For the first time, Phillips brings to light how Wilson and Churchill had been enemies since an incident early in their careers, and how, eventually, opposing Churchill became an end in itself. Featuring new revelations about the personalities involved and the shameful manipulations and betrayals that went into appeasement, including an attempt to buy Hitler off with a ruthless colonialist deal in Africa, Fighting Churchill, Appeasing Hitler shines a compelling and original light on one of the darkest hours in British diplomatic history.Trade Review"This fascinating study is a model of historical sleuthing. Vigorously researched, it should appeal widely to history buffs." - Library Journal "Phillips deepens the common understanding of such well-known events as Chamberlain's September 1938 Munich visit by focusing on the role played by Sir Horace Wilson, a senior civil servant with no foreign policy background who served as the prime minister's aide and confidante."- Publisher's Weekly

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Book Synopsis'A great achievement' Timothy Garton Ash Bloodshed. Invasions. Nationalist fervor. In this classic and celebrated history of the Balkans, Misha Glenny shows how the countries on the South-Eastern edge of Europe are seen by the rest of the world, and how the real story of the last 200 years is much more surprising. There are groups we think of as implacable enemies, who have, over the centuries, formed unlikely alliances, disrupting the idea that conflict in the Balkans is the inevitable product of ancient grudges. And there is the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the rest of Europe, a dark history that raises profound questions about Western intervention. From the region's turbulent nineteenth century to the recent brutal conflicts in Kosovo and Macedonia, the surge of organised crime, the rise of Turkey and the rocky road to EU membership, The Balkans remains the essential and peerless study of Europe's most complex and least understood region. 'An endeavour which deserves extraordinary admiration and as yet has no rival' Guardian 'Glenny is the wisest and most reflective of all the Western journalists who have covered this part of Europe in the past two decades... This was an enormously ambitious book to undertake, but it is the book which Europe and America need' ObserverTrade ReviewAn endeavour which deserves extraordinary admiration and as yet has no rival * Guardian *A great achievement -- Timothy Garton AshMisha Glenny is the wisest and most reflective of all the Western journalists who have covered this part of Europe in the past two decades... This was an enormously ambitious book to undertake, but it is the book which Europe and America need * Observer *Sweeping, fair-minded and authoritative...admirably full of uncomfortable messages for nationalist historians * Economist *His engaging passion never clouds his objective eye...Above all the book is justified by the insights which add up to a convincing picture of the problems * Sunday Times *Compelling reading...Glenny's book should be required reading for all those wishing to know what has gone wrong in the region * Irish Times *Its great strengths are evocation, fascinating detail and narrative sweep...a great achievement * The Mail on Sunday *His achievement is immense, a mix of great intellect, real humanity and intense passion. His mission is to explain, and his book will surely become an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the Balkans rather then just have an opinion about the region * The Scotsman *It is the merit of Misha Glenny's book, and its usefulness for dispelling our ignorance, that patronising distortions of the region's history are swept away * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisIn Dreams of Leaving and Remaining, award winning journalist Meek explores a nation uneasy with itself. In the decades since the twilight of empire, Britain has struggled to find its place, and identity, in the world. This has come to the point of crisis since the 2008 financial crash. Meek meets the farmers and fishermen who wish Britain to turn its back on the world and restore its former glory, and are willing to lose the very support that their industry depends on. He reports on a Cadbury's factory that is to be shut down and moved to Poland in the name of free market economics, exploring the impact on the local community left behind. He charts how the NHS is coping with the twin burdens of austerity and an ageing population. Through his journey he asks what we can recover from the debris of an old nation as we head towards new horizons, and what we must leave behind. There are no easy answers, and what he creates instead is a masterly portrait of an anxious, troubled nation. Instead, he demands that we reconsider the power of the stories that we tell ourselves about who we are, a nation's alienated from itself.Trade ReviewMeek listens hard . His reportage . demonstrate[s] a sensibility and empathy that are his wont. * Financial Times *Provocative and persuasive. * the Herald *A beautiful collection by a renowned essayist. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe OS Historical Map series comprises of Ancient Britain and Roman Britain. Each archaeological period is identified using different symbols and colours to show sites from the Stone Age through to the early Middle Ages against a modern map base, double-sided to cover the whole country. The Ancient Britain map and guide is complemented by a timeline that shows British events in relation to wider history. Key sites of significant historical interest are highlighted using photographs, text and thumbnail mapping from the OS Landranger map series. Additional information, such as a list of archaeological terms, suggested reading and museums to visit, is also included.

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Book SynopsisThis Britain: Migration, Empires and the People c790-Present Day Revision Guide is part of the popular Oxford AQA GCSE 9-1 History series. Written by our original author team to match the new AQA 9-1 GCSE specification, this guide covers exactly what your students require to succeed in the Paper 2 Migration Thematic Study exams. - Recap key events with clear visual diagrams and brief points- Apply knowledge with targeted revision activities that tests basic comprehension, then apply understanding towards exam-style questions- Review and track revision with progress checklists, suggested activity answers and Exam Practice sections- Step-by-step exam guidance based on the popular ''How to...'' student book feature- Examiner Tip features most up-to-date expert advice and identifies common exam mistakes - Boost student confidence on all AQA GCSE Migration question types with revision activities such Source analysis and SignificancePerfect for use alongside the Student Book or as a stand-

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Book Synopsis'Sicily is the key to everything' Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The author of the classic book on Venice turns his sights to Sicily in this beautiful book full of maps and colour photographs.'I discovered Sicily almost by mistake . . .We drove as far as Naples, then put the car on the night ferry to Palermo. There was a degree of excitement in the early hours when we passed Stromboli, emitting a rich glow every half-minute or so like an ogre puffing on an immense cigar; and a few hours later, in the early morning sunshine, we sailed into the Conca d'Oro, the Golden Shell, in which the city lies. Apart from the beauty of the setting, I remember being instantly struck by a change in atmosphere. The Strait of Messina is only a couple of miles across and the island is politically part of Italy; yet somehow one feels that one has entered a different world . . . This book is, among other things, an attempt to analyse why this should be.' The stepping stone between Europe and Africa, the gateway between the East and the West, at once a stronghold, clearing-house and observation post, Sicily has been invaded and fought over by Phoenicians and Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, Spaniards and the French for thousands of years. It has belonged to them all - and yet has properly been part of none. John Julius Norwich was inspired to become a writer by his first visit in 1961 and this book is the result of a fascination that has lasted over half a century. In tracing its dark story, he attempts to explain the enigma that lies at the heart of the Mediterranean's largest island. This vivid short history covers everything from erupting volcanoes to the assassination of Byzantine emperors, from Nelson's affair with Emma Hamilton to Garibaldi and the rise of the Mafia. Taking in the key buildings and towns, and packed with fascinating stories and unforgettable characters, Sicily is the book he was born to write.Trade ReviewThe most amiable and freewheeling of guides, Norwich will always find room for the amusing anecdote . . . Written Sicilian history dates back 2,500 years, so compressing it into one book means a swift and exhilarating gallop . . . Norwich renders it entertaining on every page * Sunday Times *Norwich tells the long, sad but fascinating story with sympathy and brio * Literary Review *Norwich is an authoritative historian, but his writing is charmingly personal . . . Sicily's political history is full of some much turbulence it's sometimes hard to keep track of the battles, murders and successions, but Norwich sketches personalities vividly . . . Norwich calls this book his 'valediction' to Sicily: he does the island and the reader a generous service in providing such an amiable introduction * Sunday Telegraph *John Julius Norwich, as he explains, began his writing career with a focus on Sicily during its Norman era, and now he has returned to produce this riotous, thoughtful journey through the island's rich and varied history . . . Norwich has produced an entertaining narrative * BBC History Magazine *Norwich is a perfectly informed guide * Week *Norwich combines authority with charmingly personal flair * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis'This is a devastating book. It is matter-of-fact, makes no attempt to score political points, does not attempt to solicit sympathy for its protagonist and yet is among the most chilling indictments of war I have ever read. Everybody, in particular every woman ought to read it' ARUNDHATI ROY 'One of the most important personal accounts ever written about the effects of war and defeat' ANTONY BEEVOR Between April 20th and June 22nd 1945 the anonymous author of A Woman in Berlin wrote about life within the falling city as it was sacked by the Russian Army. Fending off the boredom and deprivation of hiding, the author records her experiences, observations and meditations in this stark and vivid diary. Accounts of the bombing, the rapes, the rationing of food and the overwhelming terror of death are rendered in the dispassionate, though determinedly optimistic prose of a woman fighting for survival amidst the horror and inhumanity of war. This diary was first published in America in 1954 in an English translation and in Britain in 1955. A German language edition was published five years later in Geneva and was met with tremendous controversy. In 2003, over forty years later, it was republished in Germany to critical acclaim - and more controversy. This diary has been unavailable since the 1960s and this is a new English translation. A Woman in Berlin is an astonishing and deeply affecting account.Trade ReviewThis is a devastating book. It is matter-of-fact, makes no attempt to score political points, does not attempt to solicit sympathy for its protagonist and yet is among the most chilling indictments of war I have ever read. Everybody, in particular every woman ought to read it -- Arundhati RoyOne of the most important personal accounts ever written about the effects of war and defeat -- Antony BeevorThis is not an hysterical woman ... you simply cannot dismiss it ... profoundly, acutely embarrassing ... an insight into the resilience of people in an unknowable situation -- Robert SandhillComplex, closely observed diary by a woman living in conquered Berlin at the end of WWII * Kirkus Reviews *Let Anonymous stand witness as she wished to: as an undistorted voice for all women in war and its aftermath, whatever their names or nation or ethnicity. Anywhere * Los Angeles Times *An astonishing record of survival . . . the voice of Anonymous emerges as both shrewd and funny . . . a fresh contribution to the literature of war * Entertainment Weekly *A stunning account of a German woman's battle to survive repeated rape at the hands of the victors among the ruins of Berlin . . . While leaders plot their dreams of glory and victory, the lives of ordinary people--on all sides--are trampled and destroyed. A most salutary work -- David Hare * Guardian *The author has a fierce, uncompromising voice, and her book should become a classic of war literature * Publishers Weekly *Marvelous . . . As it is a human instinct to survive, this book, which could have been horrifying, is instead exhilarating: a rare tribute to the human spirit * Daily Mail *Coolly written, tearingly honest . . . This is a classic not only of war literature but also of writing at the very extreme of human suffering * Daily Telegraph *This is a devastating book. It is matter-of-fact, makes no attempt to score political points, does not attempt to solicit sympathy for its protagonist and yet is among the most chilling indictments of war I have ever read. Everybody, in particular every woman ought to read it. * Arundhati Roy, author of The Good of Small Things *Complex, closely observed diary by a woman living in conquered Berlin at the end of WWII. * Kirkus Reviews *Let Anonymous stand witness as she wished to: as an undistorted voice for all women in war and its aftermath, whatever their names or nation or ethnicity. Anywhere. * Los Angeles Times *An astonishing record of survival . . . the voice of Anonymous emerges as both shrewd and funny . . . a fresh contribution to the literature of war. * Entertainment Weekly *A riveting account of a military atrocity . . . The author doesn't try to explain or moralize the horror. She simply records it as perhaps no one else has, in all of its devastating essence. * The New York Observer *A stunning account of a German woman's battle to survive repeated rape at the hands of the victors among the ruins of Berlin . . . While leaders plot their dreams of glory and victory, the lives of ordinary people--on all sides--are trampled and destroyed. A most salutary work. -- David Hare * The Guardian *The author has a fierce, uncompromising voice, and her book should become a classic of war literature. * Publishers Weekly *Marvelous . . . As it is a human instinct to survive, this book, which could have been horrifying, is instead exhilarating: a rare tribute to the human spirit. * Daily Mail *Coolly written, tearingly honest . . . This is a classic not only of war literature but also of writing at the very extreme of human suffering. * The Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis*RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK* SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE THE JHALAK PRIZE THE BREAD AND ROSES AWARD & LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING ''This is the book I''ve been waiting for - for years. It''s personal, historical, political, and it speaks to where we are now'' Benjamin Zephaniah''I recommend Natives to everyone'' Candice Carty-WilliamsFrom the first time he was stopped and searched as a child, to the day he realised his mum was white, to his first encounters with racist teachers - race and class have shaped Akala''s life and outlook. In this unique book he takes his own experiences and widens them out to look at the social, historical and political factors that have left us where we are today.Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Natives speaks directly to British deTrade ReviewMy book of the year. It's personal, historical, political, and it speaks to where we are now. This is the book I've been waiting for - for years * Benjamin Zephaniah *I recommend Natives to everyone * Candice Carty-Williams, author of QUEENIE *Part biography, part polemic, this powerful, wide-ranging study picks apart the British myth of meritocracy -- David Olusoga * Guardian *Akala is at his best destroying the comfortable myths that are invoked by white fragility to downplay attempts to correct the historical record ... Akala makes it clear that he is not brimming with optimism. But reading Natives - witnessing the kind of disruptive, aggressive intellect that a new generation is closely watching - I can't help but be just that -- Afua Hirsch * Observer *What I love about this book is it's kind of like a testimony, a story of contemporary London. He is like one of the Baldwins or Hooks of our generation, who walks among us, you know? When he theorises, it's from a place of knowing rather than some distant place up above . . . He is very good at remembering and honouring the experiences that have shaped him, and he applies it in a very real way -- Madani Younis * Guardian *He is acute on how ideas of race served British global power over centuries, and on the violence at the heart of the imperial project * Guardian *Bracing, illuminating and often discomfiting, an urgent (for many, necessary) polemic - as its near 100% review rating attests * Sunday Times *In his lucid, wide-ranging Natives the rapper Akala shows how race, class and the legacies of empire shape life in Britain today . . . Akala's study interweaves sociological analysis with memoir. Half-Scottish and half-Jamaican by heritage, he challenges cultural assumptions and highlights their consequences, is trenchant about structures of disadvantage, and is discouraging, in the end, about the future * TLS *A potent combination of autobiography and political history which holds up a mirror to contemporary Britain * Independent *One of the most thoughtful books of the past year * Evening Standard *A history lesson of the kind you should get in school but don't ... This is a searing, thought-provoking book * Stylist *Walking us through his childhood experiences, from racist teachers to being stopped and searched by the police, Akala eloquently explains how Britain is in denial about its own history and the legacy of its empire. This phenomenal book guides us through police brutality, the education system and the rise of the far-right in a country that refuses to accept its own reality -- Diyora Shadijanova * The Independent *Akala argues with gripping clarity . . . He's trenchant and highly persuasive * Metro *He is an extremely articulate and intelligent human being, with a great command of the English language . . . I don't think he has any formal degrees but his knowledge is knowledge that he has gone out and sought, he has gone across the country and he lectures and speaks at the top universities. What I like about him is that he is eloquent and knowledgeable about a lot of the issues I am interested in - so racism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, class structure in society, imperialism, post-imperialism and all those kind of things that he is so sharp on. His most recent book, Natives, takes in a lot of those issues and he uses his life as an example of how these different -isms interact. * Maro Itoje, THE SUNDAY TIMES *Akala's singular voice speaks to us with deep wisdom about the past, righteous anger about the present, and stubborn hope about the future. He is a radical for our times. A book bristling with intelligence and insight * Irish Times *An urgent, profound and accessible book. Akala weaves the elements of this wide-ranging book into an engaging, angry, and often funny account that should be pressed into everyone's hands: a personal story, compellingly told, and a devastating analysis of race and class prejudice in our society. Akala is an incredible writer, and this is an important book.Natives is ideal for anyone who is unaware of how institutions like the police and education consistently fail young black people, particularly from working class backgrounds * Evening Standard *In personalised chapters covering the police, education and identity, politics, sexual objectification and the far right, he confronts the issues of race and class at the heart of the legacy of Britain's racialised empire in this fierce and articulate polemic. * The Bookseller *There are lucid, well-cited and sharply argued passages ... which should probably be extracts on the national curriculum * Vice *An essential voice in Britain's debate on race, class and identity * New Humanist *Fantastic * Novaramedia *Blistering * Lacuna *In many ways, Natives is as thorough a dissection of British racial relations as any you're likely to find . . . But it's also a vivid memoir on his own experiences of racism * The Skinny *Akala makes us quietly aware of how much we have left to learn about the world . . . He doesn't shy away from uncomfortable truths backed up with hard facts, which make you sit up and pay attention * Oxford Times *An eminently readable account of what it means to be mixed race in Britain today, and the long-lasting legacies of colonialism. If that all sounds a little heavy for summer, Akala's sardonically droll writing leavens the subject without diminishing its impact * OX Magazine *a book that fulfils the mantra of 'the personal is political' to illuminate both the challenges of, and oppositions to, racism . . . a series of essays, some personal, others political, yet one never divorced from the other * Philosophy Football *A fiercely honest appraisal of growing up poor and mixed race in broken Britain. This heartfelt polemic fights every excuse of racial ignorance * DJ Mag *An engaged and nuanced exploration of the complex interplay between race and class * Morning Star *Vital * Blouin Art Info *Even the guy behind the uni coffee shop counter can't help tiptoeing over to say how much he loves Akala's "outlook on life", now immortalised in print as Natives * Q Magazine *Powerful ... impressive in its historical sweep, mapping the construction of racial identity onto the growth of empire and capitalism [and] full of nuanced cultural critique * The List *A thoughtful history of racism and British views of empire . . . relevant and useful. * Stuff NZ *Akala approaches issues of race and culture with a rare clarity * Otago Daily Times *Breaks down centuries of colonisation, classism, racism and almost every aspect of British society in a disarmingly accessible way. His language is clear and concise, and like the best writers, he challenges assumptions while building comprehension. * The Spinoff *An astounding and brilliant book about black identity * Herald *Engages with students on their level and should be an essential part of rebalanced courses...it's important that there is a text out there that promises light at the end of the tunnel. * The Guardian *Akala draws back the curtain on parts of the empire that it would rather not see, with insights that throw our current position into sharp relief. Illuminating. * The Observer **Number 5/92 of the best books to read right now*. Natives is a book everyone needs to read... It is both personal and political and absolutely necessary reading. * GQ Magazine *A recent book I've loved. He has an ability to understand, convey and articulate big ideas and be respected. He's really making a difference. * The Observer *

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Book Synopsis'Fascinating... One of the most astute political commentators on Putin and modern Russia' Financial Times'An amazing achievement' Peter FrankopanCan anyone truly understand Russia?Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethos, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it is everyone's 'other'. And yet it is one of the most powerful nations on earth, a master game-player on the global stage with a rich history of war and peace, poets and revolutionaries. In this essential whistle-stop tour of the world's most complex nation, Mark Galeotti takes us behind the myths to the heart of the Russian story: from the formation of a nation to its early legends - including Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Great - to the rise and fall of the Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, the Cold War, Chernobyl and the end of the Soviet Union - plus the rise of a politician named Vladimir Putin, and the events leading to the Ukrainian war.Trade ReviewThis is terrific - and an amazing achievement to cover so much ground in such a short and wonderfully readable book. * Peter Frankopan *An informative, perceptive and exhilarating canter through 1,000 tumultuous years * Spectator *Fascinating... One of the most astute political commentators on Putin and modern Russia * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisIn 1997, Tony Blair won the biggest Labour victory in history to sweep the party to power and end eighteen years of Conservative government. He remains the only living Labour leader to have won a general election.He has been one of the most dynamic leaders of modern times; few British prime ministers have shaped the nation''s course as profoundly as Blair during his ten years in power, and his achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come.His memoirs reveal in intimate detail this unique political and personal journey, providing an insight into the man, the politician and the statesman, and charting successes, controversies and disappointments with an extraordinary candour.A Journey will prove essential and compulsive reading for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of our global world. As an account of the nature and uses of power, it will also have a readership that extends well beyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challenges of leadership today.Trade ReviewWritten in a congenial style peppered with slang and gossipy asides. At one moment he is the bloke in the pub. The next, he is Churchill -- Ben MacIntyre * The Times *This is a more honest political memoir than most and more open in many respects than I had anticipated. He is compellingly candid about how scared he was when he first became prime minister . . . He is unusually direct about his calculations, even when they don't reflect well on him . . . He admits to stretching the truth beyond `breaking point' to secure a settlement in Northern Ireland. Even when the lies are told in a noble cause, few politicians are honest enough to admit that they sometimes feel compelled to be deceivers -- Andrew Rawnsley * The Observer *He is by turns outspoken, provocative, unrepentant, often serious, sometimes funny -- David Frost * Al Jazeera *Tony Blair's memoir is part psychodrama, part treatise on the frustrations of leadership in a modern democracy . . . The book's broader purpose is to preserve his legacy, settling scores, justifying the war against Iraq, and mounting a defiant plea to his party to keep faith with New Labour . . . Blair comes across as likable, if manipulative; capable of dissembling while wonderfully fluent; in short, a brilliant modern politician -- Lionel Barber * Financial Times *Will certainly become a bestseller -- Robert McCrum * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe first history of all the English cathedrals, from Birmingham and Bury St Edmunds to Worcester and York MinsterTrade Review“A fascinating and detailed description of the historical development of the English cathedral from the arrival of Christianity in A.D. 314 until the present day.”—Joan Greatrex, Catholic Historical Review“Delightful. . . . A history of English cathedrals as living institutions as well as architectural monuments.”—Peter Atkinson, Journal of Ecclesiastical History“Magisterial. . . . Charts the remarkable voyage of cathedrals during their 1700-year history.”—Michael Tavinor, Church Times“A masterful narrator of the Cathedral story. . . . Cathedrals stand as shrines to the beauty of human creation, beauty as yet unsurpassed. To their survival we should all be dedicated.”—Simon Jenkins, Country Life“The Cathedrals of England are institutions older than the realm itself, and are perhaps more cherished and flourishing now than they have ever been, as this richly enjoyable volume makes clear. There can be no-one better qualified than Nicholas Orme to present the full range of their long history.”—Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of A History of Christianity“Clear, accessible, and superbly illustrated, this book should be essential reading for visitors to English cathedrals. The book has no rival in serious and accessible literature. Anyone interested in cathedrals should have it on their shelves.”—David Rollason, author of The Power of Place

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'[A] clever, lively ... splendid new book'DAN JONES, SUNDAY TIMES'A big gold bar of delight'SPECTATORSixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. In this sweeping and original history, renowned historian Marc Morris separates the truth from the legend and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid.'Marc Morris is a genius of medieval narrative'IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England'Brilliant ... Beautifully written, incredibly accessible and deeply researched'JAMES O'BRIEN'A much-needed book ... A gripping story, beautifully told'BERNARD CORNWELL, author of The Last Kingdom'Highly informative and hugely enjoyable'IAN HISLOP'A vivid, sharply drawn story of seven centuries of profound political change'THOMAS PENN, author of The Winter KingTrade ReviewThe historian Marc Morris masterfully picks out key themes and characters, from King Offa to Alfred the Great, to produce a coherent and compelling narrative of this turbulent time. * Pippa Bailey, New Statesman *A vivid, sharply drawn story of seven centuries of profound political change, told with wit, authority and shrewd historical judgement. The Anglo-Saxons is a superbly clear and evocative journey through England's beginnings, and Marc Morris is a wonderful guide. * Thomas Penn *This is a much-needed book - an accessible, eminently readable account of the peoples who first made England. It's a gripping story, beautifully told! * Bernard Cornwell, author of The Last Kingdom *

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Book SynopsisThe pacy, sensitive and formidably argued history of the causes of the First World War, from acclaimed historian and author Christopher ClarkFINANCIAL TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014SUNDAY TIMES and INDEPENDENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2012Winner of the Los Angeles Times History Book Prize 2014The moments that it took Gavrilo Princip to step forward to the stalled car and shoot dead Franz Ferdinand and his wife were perhaps the most fateful of the modern era. An act of terrorism of staggering efficiency, it fulfilled its every aim: it would liberate Bosnia from Habsburg rule and it created a powerful new Serbia, but it also brought down four great empires, killed millions of men and destroyed a civilization. What made a seemingly prosperous and complacent Europe so vulnerable to the impact of this assassination? In The Sleepwalkers Christopher Clark retells the story of the outbreak of the First World War Trade ReviewFormidable ... one of the most impressive and stimulating studies of the period ever published -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Easily the best book ever written on the subject ... A work of rare beauty that combines meticulous research with sensitive analysis and elegant prose. The enormous weight of its quality inspires amazement and awe ... Academics should take note: Good history can still be a good story * Washington Post *A lovingly researched work of the highest scholarship. It is hard to believe we will ever see a better narrative of what was perhaps the biggest collective blunder in the history of international relations -- Niall Ferguson[Reading The Sleepwalkers], it is as if a light had been turned on a half-darkened stage of shadowy characters cursing among themselves without reason ... [Clark] demolishes the standard view ... The brilliance of Clark's far-reaching history is that we are able to discern how the past was genuinely prologue ... In conception, steely scholarship and piercing insights, his book is a masterpiece -- Harold Evans * New York Times Book Review *Impeccably researched, provocatively argued and elegantly written ... a model of scholarship * Sunday Times Books of the Year *Superb ... effectively consigns the old historical consensus to the bin ... It's not often that one has the privilege of reading a book that reforges our understanding of one of the seminal events of world history * Mail Online *A monumental new volume ... Revelatory, even revolutionary ... Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable * Boston Globe *Superb ... One of the great mysteries of history is how Europe's great powers could have stumbled into World War I ... This is the single best book I have read on this important topic -- Fareed ZakariaA meticulously researched, superbly organized, and handsomely written account * Military History *Clark is a masterly historian ... His account vividly reconstructs key decision points while deftly sketching the context driving them ... A magisterial work * Wall Street Journal *This compelling examination of the causes of World War I deserves to become the new standard one-volume account of that contentious subject * Foreign Affairs *A brilliant contribution * Times Higher Education *Clark is fully alive to the challenges of the subject ... He provides vivid portraits of leading figures ... [He] also gives a rich sense of what contemporaries believed was at stake in the crises leading up to the war * Irish Times *In recent decades, many analysts had tended to put most blame for the disaster [of the First World War] on Germany. Clark strongly renews an older interpretation which sees the statesmen of many countries as blundering blindly together into war -- Stephen Howe * Independent BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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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 SynopsisFor a thousand years an extraordinary empire made possible Europe's transition to the modern world: Byzantium. An audacious and resilient but now little known society, it combined orthodox Christianity with paganism, classical Greek learning with Roman power, to produce a great and creative civilization which for centuries held in check the armies of Islam. Judith Herrin's concise and compelling book replaces the standard chronological approach of most histories of Byzantium. Instead, each short chapter is focused on a theme, such as a building (the great church of Hagia Sophia), a clash over religion (iconoclasm), sex and power (the role of eunuchs), an outstanding Byzantine individual (the historian Anna Komnene), a symbol of civilization (the fork), a battle for territory (the crusades). In this way she makes accessible and understandable the grand sweeps of Byzantine history, from the founding of its magnificent capital Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 330, to its fal

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Book SynopsisFrom Hitler''s invasion of Russia, America''s entry into the conflict and the devastating Thousand Bomber Raids over Germany, to the long grinding struggle in the deserts of North Africa and the crucial Battle of the Atlantic, the middle passage of the Second World War was all about turning back the Nazi tide.These catalytic moments would come to define the course of the war and its outcome. They encompass the most vicious fighting, the most hair-raising strategy and the most breathtaking bravery. Across the battlefronts on land, sea and air, to the streets, fields and factories of Britain, America, Africa and Europe, Holland shows, in his own dramatic and compelling style, how the fortunes of war were changed and what happened when the Allies were finally able to fight back . . .''Impeccably researched and superbly written... Holland''s fascinating sage offers a mixture of captivating new research and well-considered revisionism'' Observer''ExcTrade ReviewJames Holland has established himself as one of the premier World War II Historians * History of War *Holland shoots down the myth of German invincibility . . . All the great turning points of 1941-43 are here. A triumph * Sunday Express *Makes us eager for the third and final part of what now ranks as a towering work of historical research and writing * BBC History Magazine *Holland brings a fresh eye to the ebb and flow of the conflict . . . [A] majestic saga * Literary Review *This second volume easily reaches the benchmark set by it’s predecessor . . . the style is crisp, engaging, absorbing, it really does have the feel of a fresh and revisionist perspective on the momentous events that occurred between 1941 and 1943 * Soldier *

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Book SynopsisAn enthralling account of paganism in Britain, from the Paleolithic Age to the arrival of ChristianityTrade ReviewShortlisted for the 2015 Hessell-Tilman Prize'At last, a balanced, well-written and original review of Britain's pre-Christian religions that treats the complex and enduring legacy of prehistory with due respect. It is also full of unexpected insights. A delight.' - Francis Pryor, author of Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans"A well-written and thoroughly researched study of a most important subject. The book is informed, fair minded and extremely readable. Nothing like this has been done before.'"—Richard Bradley, author of The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland

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Book SynopsisJacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most prominent and controversial figures in contemporary British politics. He is a man who divides opinion in his own party, in Parliament and across the country. An arch-Brexiteer with significant business interests and a large personal fortune, he has long been a vocal critic of the European Union and of Prime Minister Theresa May’s attempts to negotiate a Brexit deal. As chairman of the powerful anti-EU organisation the European Research Group, he has also been a thorn in the side of those seeking to dilute Brexit. While many people mock him for his impeccable manners and traditional attitudes – he has been dubbed `the Honourable Member for the eighteenth century’ – an equally great number applaud him for his apparent conviction politics. Undoubtedly, Rees-Mogg stands out among the current crop of MPs and his growing influence cannot be ignored. In this wide-ranging unauthorised biography of the Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Somerset, Michael Ashcroft, bestselling author of Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron, turns his attention to one of the most intriguing politicians of our time.

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Book SynopsisThis richly illustrated guide to 650 places will appeal to those who want to explore Britain's lost animist landscape of fairies, folklore, myth and paganism. Discover pre-Christian healing shrines and Norse mythology. Learn where rock, water and hill spirits come alive, and their meaning for our ancestors, and for us today. > Where to find sites associated with fairies, mermaids, dragons, giants and other mythological beings > Places featured in the stories of King Arthur, Merlin and the Celtic Saints > Creation stories, spirits in the stone and entrances to the Otherworld > Places of healing, divination and wish-making > Secret shrines, sacred sites and ancient rituals > The Goddess in the land > Norse gods and mythology

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Book SynopsisA unique collection of traditional stories about faeries, elves and goblins. Faeries, elves, goblins, leprechauns, brownies, spriggans and many other supernatural beings leap vividly off the page in this collection of haunting stories. Included are 25 stories drawing on folklore from the rich narrative heritage of Britain and Ireland. Marvel over ancient spells to summon faeries to your house, tremble at the shapeshifting powers of dangerous faery queens, lose yourself amongst the illusions of Faeryland and learn how to protect family members from the terrors of faery abduction. Interspersed with facts on faery folklore, these tales cover faery morals, elvish misdemeanours, the spells cast by goblins and the sightings of the creatures, as well as their dealings with mortals. With charming illustrations from favourite illustrators throughout, including Arthur Rackham, this book reminds us of the enduring appeal of folklore and mystery for all generations.

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Book Synopsis''A soaring account of the months that transformed a messy feudal squabble into Magna Carta...his crisp storytelling, based around short chapters and rolling rhetoric, is extremely entertaining.'' Dan Jones, Mail on Sunday''I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good history is descriptive, narrative and analytical. This is good history.'' Gerard DeGroot, The TimesAt Runnymede, on the banks of the River Thames, on 15 June 1215, the seal of King John was attached to the Magna Carta, and peace descended upon the land. Or that''s what successive generations have believed. But is it true? And have we been persuaded (or persuaded ourselves) that the events of 15 June 1215 not only ended a civil war between the king and the barons but - as if by magic - established a British constitution beloved and copied throughout the world?Often viewed as a victory for the people over the monarchy and a cornerstone of democracy, the true significance of Magna Carta is miTrade ReviewThis is a soaring account of the months that transformed a messy feudal squabble into Magna Carta, a document of transcendent historical importance in the English-speaking world. It is a reminder that, when Starkey flexes his historical muscles, he is a mighty impressive scholar. And his crisp storytelling, based around short chapters and rolling rhetoric, is extremely entertaining. -- Dan Jones * Mail on Sunday *A perceptive historian with a populist's ability to communicate... admirable for its lucidity and brevity; this book is all that most people will need to know about the epochal charter and its legacy. Starkey also has the courage and imagination to interpret Magna Carta in a manner that has profound meaning for the world of today. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *

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