European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

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Book Synopsis''A rare gift . . . The story he has to tell may be a thrilling one but not every historian could tell it so thrillingly.'' Financial Times''Magnificently rip-roaring history . . . Bursting with colour and excitement.'' Dominic SandbrookAs remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions, the history of Portuguese exploration is now almost forgotten. But Portugal''s navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire. In an astonishing blitz of thirty years, a handful of visionary and utterly ruthless empire builders, with few resources but breathtaking ambition, attempted to seize the Indian Ocean, destroy Islam and take control of world trade.Conquerors is narrative history at its most vivid - an epic tale of navigation, trade and technology, money and religious zealotry

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Book SynopsisUPDATED EDITIONA rousing and full-blooded account of the Spanish Civil War and the rise to prominence of General Franco.No modern conflict has inflamed the passions of both civilians and intellectuals as much as the Spanish Civil War of 193639. Burned into our collective historical consciousness, it not only prefigured the imminent Second World War but also ushered in a new and horrific form of warfare that would come to define the twentieth century. At the same time it echoed the revolutionary aspirations of millions of Europeans and Americans after the painful years of the Great Depression.In this authoritative history, Paul Preston vividly recounts the political ideals and military horrors of the Spanish Civil War including the controversial bombing of Guernica and tracks the emergence of General Franco's brutal but extraordinarily durable fascist dictatorship.Trade Review‘[Preston’s] economical style, together with a telling choice of quotes and mordant use of irony, serve his purpose admirably…it is founded upon a vast knowledge and will not easily be refuted.’ History Today ‘Not just a detailed description of events but a real interpretation of the causes and course of the war. By allowing the actors of the great Spanish drama to speak, he captures the dynamics of the civil war.’ La Stampa ‘Paul Preston’s book throws new, definitive light on the conflict.’ L’Unità

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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 SynopsisFareed Zakaria first warned of the threat of illiberal democracy two decades ago. Now comes Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present. A decade in the making, the book is based on deep research and conversations with world leaders from Emmanuel Macron to Lee Kuan Yew. In it Zakaria sets our era of populist chaos into the sweep of history. Age of Revolutions tells the story of progress and backlash, of the rise of classical liberalism and of the many periods of rage and counter-revolution that followed seismic change. It begins with the upstart Dutch Republic, the first modern republic and techno-superpower where refugees and rebels flocked for individual liberty. That haven for liberalism was almost snuffed out by force until Dutch ideas leapt across the English Channel in the so-called Glorious Revolution. Not all revolutions were so glorious, however. The French Revolution shows us the dangers of radical change that is imposed top-down. Lasting change comes bottom-up, like the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the United States, which fuelled the rise of the world's modern superpowers and gave birth to the political divides we know today. Even as Britain and America boomed, technology unsettled society and caused backlash from machine-smashing Luddites and others who felt threatened by this new world. In the second half of the book, Zakaria details the revolutions that have convulsed our times: globalization in overdrive, digital transformation, the rise of identity politics, and the return of great power politics with a vengeful Russia and an ascendant China. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingping see a world upended by liberalism and want to turn back the clock on democracy, women's rights, and open societies. Even more dangerous than aggression abroad is democratic decay at home. This populist and cultural backlash that has infected the West threatens the very foundations of the world that the Enlightenment built and that we all take too easily for granted. The book warns us that liberalism's great strength has been freeing people from arbitrary constraintsbut its great weakness has been leaving individuals isolated, to figure out for themselves what makes for a good life. This void the hole in the heart can all too easily be filled by tribalism, populism, and identity politics. Today's revolutions in technology and culture can even leave people so adrift that they turn against modernity itself.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022WINNER OF THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE Eleven years when Britain had no king.In 1649 Britain was engulfed by revolution.On a raw January afternoon, the Stuart king, Charles I, was executed for treason. Within weeks the English monarchy had been abolished and the useless and dangerous' House of Lords discarded. The people, it was announced, were now the sovereign force in the land. What this meant, and where it would lead, no one knew.The Restless Republic is the story of the extraordinary decade that followed. It takes as its guides the people who lived through those years. Among them is Anna Trapnel, the daughter of a Deptford shipwright whose visions transfixed the nation. John Bradshaw, the Cheshire lawyer who found himself trying the King. Marchamont Nedham, the irrepressible newspaper man and puppet master of propaganda. Gerrard Winstanley, who strove for a Utopia of common owTrade Review‘Her narrative brims with life, colour, humour and humanity … A dazzling achievement, and I loved every page’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times ‘In this ceaselessly fascinating account of one of the most epochal events in the country’s history, the deserved winner of the Pol Roger Duff Cooper prize, Anna Keay skilfully delves beneath the well-worn cliches about the Commonwealth and brings a time of quiet, uncertain and ultimately fruitless revolution to vivid life. It is hard to imagine a better examination of the Protectorat’ Alexander Larman, Observer ‘This is an exceptional book about an exceptional time … meticulously researched and deftly drawn character studies … A triumph’ John Adamson, author of The Noble Revolt ‘An exceptional feat of imaginative engagement. Never have the kingless years been made so vivid, and never has vividness contributed so much to the understanding of them. Keay has brought off an ingenious literary experiment… An entrancing achievement’ Blair Worden, TLS ‘Wonderful…. Tells the story of how the British and Irish people came to be who they are’ Clive Myrie ‘Deft, confident, deeply learned and provocative’ Rory Stewart ‘[A] vivid panorama … Keay conjures up with nuance and panache the single most fascinating decade in the history of Britain and Ireland, revealing it to be at once weirdly ancient and strangely modern’ Paul Lay, The Times ‘Keay offers us a world turned upside down; but also a world made real. That’s a remarkable achievement’ Adrian Tinniswood, Sunday Telegraph ***** ‘Readers both expert and casual will revel in seeing this period brought to noisy, brash, colourful [life] by the skilled pen of a natural storyteller’ Aspects of History

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Book Synopsis A BEHIND THE SCENES GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF HENRY VIII, ANNE BOLEYN, ELIZBAETH I AND MORE, FROM BESTSELLING HISTORIAN TRACY BORMAN Readers LOVE The Private Lives of the Tudors:''A truly informative and thoroughly enjoyable read.'' ?????''It was an absolutely delight, and I read it in record time'' ?????''I found this book riveting and took it on holiday!'' ????? ----''I do not live in a corner. A thousand eyes see all I do.'' Elizabeth IThe Tudor monarchs were constantly surrounded by an army of attendants, courtiers and ministers. Even in their most private moments, they were accompanied by a servant specifically appointed for the task. A groom of the stool would stand patiently by as Henry VIII performed his daily purges, and when Elizabeth I retired for the evening, one of her female servants would sleep at the end of her bed.These attendants knew the truth behind the glamorous exterTrade ReviewBorman approaches her topic with huge enthusiasm and a keen eye for entertaining...this is a very human story of a remarkable family, full of vignettes that sit long in the mind. -- Dan Jones * The Sunday Times *Tracy Borman's eye for detail is impressive; the book is packed with fascinating courtly minutiae... this is a wonderful book. * The Times *Borman is an authoritative and engaging writer, good at prising out those humanising details that make the past alive to us. * The Observer *A riveting behind-the-scenes re-creation of court life. * The Bookseller *A rich and intimate portrait. * Stylist *The glittering, jewel-encrusted private world of Britain's five Tudor monarchs is gloriously brought to life here. * The Scotsman *Fascinating, detailed account of the everyday reality of the royals... This is a book of rich scholarship. Tracy Borman is a chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces and she knows her Tudor history inside out. * Daily Mail *Tracy Borman's passion for the Tudor period shines forth from the pages of this fascinatingly detailed book, which vividly illuminates what went on behind the scenes at the Tudor court. Reading it is as good as looking through a keyhole, because it keeps its focus on the personal and private lives of the ever-intriguing Tudors, revealing their most intimate moments and even their poignant vulnerability - a far cry from the public images we have of them. * Alison Weir *For Borman, the intimate particulars of everyday life are what help the past come bracingly, stirringly alive. Her full-quivered social history of the Tudor monarchs furnishes readers with a 'Hey, did you know...?' on almost every page...Social history lives and dies in the integrity of its details, and this authoritative work teems with well-sourced material. * New York Times *Borman's book is a winner. * The Express *

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A triumph' Guardian 'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook 'A brilliant book' Mail on Sunday Just like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different to our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule. In this richly-illustrated and unusual history, Jack Hartnell uncovers the fascinating ways in which people thought about, explored and experienced their physical selves in the Middle Ages, from Constantinople to Cairo and Canterbury. Unfolding like a medieval pageant, and filled with saints, soldiers, caliphs, queens, monks and monstrous beasts, it throws light on the medieval body from head to toe - revealing the surprisingly sophisticated medical knowledge of the time in the process. Bringing together medicine, art, music, politics, philosophy and social history, there is no better guide to what life was really like for the men and women who lived and died in the Middle Ages. Medieval Bodies is published in association with Wellcome Collection.Trade ReviewA brilliant book ... beautifully illustrated ... A triumphant piece of historical writing -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *An extraordinary story and a wonderfully rich study of the Middle Ages ... Hartnell's idea of approaching the medieval worldview through the body is inspired ... This beautifully illustrated book succeeds brilliantly in bringing this much maligned period to life ... A triumph of scholarship. -- PD Smith * Guardian *One of the achievements of this splendid book is to make our world view seem more narrow and fragmented than that of the extensive period we place somewhere between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance ... at every point you'll encounter wit, learning and riveting stories. A wonderful read. -- Melanie McDonagh * Evening Standard *An erudite, wide-ranging, thoughtfully illustrated book -- Laura Freeman * The Times *'Glorious ... makes the past at once familiar, exotic and thrilling.' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *A thick, spicy plum pudding of a book * London Review of Books *

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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 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 story of Spain''s rise to greatness from its humble beginnings as one of the poorest and most marginal of European countries is a remarkable and dramatic one. With the marriage of Ferdinand & Isabella, the final expulsion of the Moslems and the discovery of America, Spain took on a seemingly unstoppable dynamism that made it into the world''s first global power. This amazing success however created many powerful enemies and Elliott''s famous book charts the dramatic fall of Habsburg Spain with the same elan as it charts the rise.Trade ReviewA major work on Spanish history (The Economist)"Table of ContentsImperial Spain 1469-1716AcknowledgmentsForewordPrologue1. The Union of the Crowns1. Origins of the union2. The two Crowns3. The decline of the Crown of Aragon4. Unequal partners2. Reconquest and Conquest1. The Reconquista completed2. The advance into Africa3. Medieval antecedents4. Conquest5. Settlement3. The Ordering of Spain1. The "new monarchy"2. The assertion of royal authority in Castile3. The Church and the Faith4. The economic and social foundations of the New Spain5. The open society4. The Imperial Destiny1. The foreign policy of Ferdinand2. The Habsburg succession3. Nationalism and revolt4. The imperial destiny5. The Government and the Economy in the Reign of Charles V1. The theory and practice of empire2. The organization of empire3. The Castilian economy4. The problems of imperial finance5. The liquidation of Charles's imperialism6. Race and Religion1. The advance of heresy2. The imposition of orthodoxy3. The Spain of the Counter-Reformation4. The crisis of the 1560s5. The second rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568-70)6. The Faith militant and the Faith triumphant7. "One Monarch, One Empire, and One Sword"1. King and Court2. The faction struggles3. The annexation of Portugal4. The revolt of Aragon (1591-2)8. Splendour and Misery1. The crisis of the 1590s2. The failure of leadership3. The pattern of society9. Revival and Disaster1. The reform programme2. The strain of war3. 16404. Defeat and survival10. Epitaph on an Empire1. The centre and the periphery2. The change of dynasty3. The failure4. The achievementNotes on Further ReadingIndexMapsIberian Expansion in the 16th and 17th Centuries1. The Iberian Peninsula. Physical Features2. Habsburg Spain3. The Conquest of Grenada4. The Four Inheritances of Charles V5. The Collapse of Spanish PowerTables1. The Union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon2. The Spanish Habsburgs3. The Conciliat System4. Imports of Treasure5. The Portuguese Succession

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Book SynopsisThis title is suitable for any student studying: Exam Board: AQA Level: A Level Subject: History First teaching: September 2015 First exams: June 2017 The Tudors has been approved by AQA and matched to the 2015 specifications. With a strong focus on skills building and exam practice, this book covers in breadth issues of change, continuity, and cause and consequence in this period of English history through key questions such as how effectively did the Tudors develop the powers of the monarchy, and how did English society and economy change. Its aim is to enable students to understand and make connections between the six key themes covered in the specification. Students can further develop vital skills such as historical interpretations and source analyses via specially selected sources and extracts. Practice questions and study tips provide additional support to help familiarize students with the new exam style questions, and help them achieve their best in the exam.Trade Review"This is a great textbook for my Year 10 students, as it is just at their level. There is the right amount of content and source work with a good range of activities." * Amazon review, Sept 2015 *"In my opinion a stronger book than others!" * 5* Amazon review, Oct 2015 *"This is a great textbook for my Year 10 students as it is just at their level. There is the right amount of content and source work with a good range of activities." * 5* Amazon review *"Excellent book, clear explanations and a super aid for revision - recommended." * 5* Amazon review *Table of ContentsTimeline Introduction to this book PART ONE: AS AND A LEVEL CONSOLIDATION OF THE TUDOR DYNASTY: ENGLAND, 1485-1547 SECTION 1 Henry VII, 1485-1509 SECTION 2 Henry VIII, 1509-47 PART TWO: A LEVEL ENGLAND: TURMOIL AND TRIUMPH, 1547-1603 SECTION 3 Instability and consolidation: 'the mid-Tudor crisis', 1547-63 SECTION 4 The triumph of Elizabeth, 1563-1603 Conclusion: Restoring and developing the powers of the monarchy Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

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Book Synopsis'A necessary book and I can think of no writer better qualified to write it' Cal Flyn What if Chernobyl was just the beginning?The acclaimed winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize returns to Chernobyl to tell the gripping story of thirty-five days of warOn 24 February 2022, the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, armoured vehicles approached the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. It was the most direct way for them to reach the capital - and an extraordinarily reckless plan after the disaster that had taken place there three decades earlier. Russian occupation of the plant had begun. It would last thirty-five days. Closely reported and narrated from multiple perspectives, this is the story of the Ukrainians who were held hostage and worked shifts for weeks instead of days to spare the world a new nuclear accident. We meet Valentyn Heiko, the foreman who had also been there for the clean-up of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and turned sixty during the occupation; plant workers who found a way to celebrate International Women's Day despite all odds; Russian officers who had no knowledge of nuclear reactors; and four stalkers who were caught in the middle and stood in for the overworked cook. Gripping and unforgettable, Chernobyl Roulette sounds the alarm about the dangers of nuclear sites in an unprecedented time, when plant workers are left to fight on their own while the world holds its breath. In a book that reads like a thriller, Serhii Plokhy tells a remarkable story about human nature, uncertainty and courage.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NON FICTION BESTSELLER WHSmith NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018'The best book you will ever read about Britain's greatest warplane' Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Fighter Boys‘A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine’ Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607 'As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes' Mail on Sunday magazine  The iconic Spitfire found fame during the darkest early days of World War II. But what happened to the redoubtable fighter and its crews beyond the Battle of Britain, and why is it still so loved today? In late spring 1940, Nazi Germany’s domination of Europe had looked unstoppable. With the British Isles in easy reach since the fall of France, Adolf Hitler Trade Review‘A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine. By focussing on the men (and women) who flew the Spitfire, John Nichol has brought a fresh and powerful perspective to the story. And by recording their bravery, humility, camaraderie, tragedy and sheer joy in flying their beloved Spits he has done them - and us - a valuable service’ -- Rowland White - author of Vulcan 607'The best book you will ever read about Britain's greatest warplane.' -- Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Fighter Boys'As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes.' -- Jon Dennis * Mail on Sunday magazine *'A stirring portrait of a piece of aviation art in motion flown by the bravest of the brave. Nichol's Spitfire is still a sky-borne prima ballerina that kicks like Bruce Lee.' * RAF News *'A superb and compelling book. Brilliantly written with some incredible and astonishing stories; it is gripping, moving, emotional and sometimes humorous – just perfect' -- Squadron Leader (Ret) Clive Rowley, former Officer Commanding RAF Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight'A superb journey through the remarkable tale of that British icon, the Spitfire. Brilliantly and engagingly written, this is the most readable story of the aircraft and her pilots that I have ever had the pleasure to read in a period spanning some forty-odd years of personal study and research. Truly stunning.' -- Andy Saunders, Editor * Britain at War Magazine *‘It packs such an emotional punch. If you don't believe an object can bring you to tears and instil such passion - read this book, it will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.’ -- Stephen McEntee, WHSmith non-fiction buyer'A rich tribute to Britain's greatest warplane' * Sunday Times Culture *

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Book SynopsisIn the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the Pulitzer Prize?winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington?s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution?which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton?was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world?s most formidable fighting force.Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king?s task is now far more complicated: fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans?even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson?s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

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Book SynopsisDr Marc Morris is a historian who specializes in the Middle Ages. He studied and taught at the universities of London and Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His other books include a bestselling history of the Norman Conquest and highly acclaimed biographies of King John and Edward I (A Great and Terrible King). He also presented the TV series Castle and wrote its accompanying book. He contributes regularly to other history programmes on radio and television and writes for numerous journals and magazines.Trade ReviewAlmost everything you know about 1066 is wrong. And there’s no better historian to put you right than the wonderful Marc Morris. His new book grips not only as a work of narrative history but also as a sleuthing exercise . . . Morris has captured the triumph and the tragedy of this tumultuous era with verve, insight and a rollicking narrative. * Mail on Sunday *Morris gives a compelling account of the invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066 ... Confidently, he opens with the Bayeux Tapestry as a powerful contemporary depiction of a famous battle ... Morris sorts embroidery from evidence and provides a much-needed, modern account of the Normans in England that respects past events more than present ideologies. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *Marc Morris’s lively new book retells the story of the Norman invasion with vim, vigour and narrative urgency * Evening Standard *As every schoolboy knows, or used to, 1066 is the most important date in English history. But as Marc Morris points out in this enormously enjoyable book, the Norman conquest was much more violent, complicated and ambiguous then we usually think. Carefully steering the reader through the partisan and often contradictory sources, he paints a vivid picture of the collapse of the sophisticated Anglo-Saxon realm, and shows how William the Conqueror relied on sheer terror to establish his reign. Even a Norman chronicler admitted that William had “mercilessly slaughtered” the English, “like the scourge of God smiting them for their sins. -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Sunday Times, Books of the Year *I loved it – a suitably epic account of one of the most seismic and far-reaching events in British history. -- Dan Snow

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Book SynopsisTRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH THE BBC''S RUTH GOODMANWe know what life was like for Victoria and Albert. But what was it like for a commoner - like you or me?How did it feel to cook with coal and wash with tea leaves? Drink beer for breakfast and clean your teeth with cuttlefish? Catch the omnibus to work and do the laundry in your corset?How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman is a radical new approach to history; a journey back in time more personal than anything before. Moving through the rhythm of the day, this astonishing guide illuminates the overlapping worlds of health, sex, fashion, food, school, work and play. Surviving everyday life came down to the gritty details, the small necessities and tricks of living and Ruth will show you how.If you liked A Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval England or 1000 Years of Annoying the French, you will love this book.*****''Goodman skilfully creates a portrait of daily Victorian life with accessible, compelling, and deeply sensory prose'' Erin Entrada Kelly''We''re lucky to have such a knowledgeable cicerone as Ruth Goodman . . . Revelatory'' Alexandra Kimball''Goodman''s research is impeccable . . . taking the reader through an average day and presenting the oddities of life without condescension'' Patricia HagenTrade ReviewWritten with such passion that one cannot help but be carried along . . . Will fascinate and inform anyone who is in any way interested in Victorian ways of life -- Dr Ian Mortimer, author of 'The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England'A delightful read . . . allows us to see how the Victorians lived from day to day. A triumph -- Judith Flanders, author of 'The Victorian City'Shocking, exciting, wonderful -- Clive Anderson * BBC Radio 4 *Written with such passion that one cannot help but be carried along . . . Will fascinate and inform anyone who is in any way interested in Victorian ways of life -- Dr Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval EnglandA delightful read . . . allows us to see how the Victorians lived from day to day. A triumph -- Judith Flanders, author of The Victorian CityShocking, exciting, wonderful -- Clive Anderson * BBC Radio 4 *I absolutely love this book. Exuberant, absorbing ... there's scarcely a detail of Victorian life Ruth has not tried -- A N Wilson * Mail on Sunday *Ruth - a woman who possesses so much elbow grease that she could probably can the overflow to sell on the side * Independent *Goodman's enthusiasm for history is as palpable as her contempt for misty-eyed interpretations of it * Telegraph *Beetonian, compendious * Guardian *Highly readable, often amusing and sometimes shocking, this is popular history at its best * BBC Who Do You Think You Are magazine *

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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 SynopsisThe most successful political party in history?The Tory Party has been in power for eighty-five of the past 135 years. In 2019 they won their largest parliamentary majority in more than three decades. They have had a long way to fall since, and they’ve done it at incredible speed.As Geoffrey Wheatcroft shows, we have witnessed not simply the collapse of the party but the shattering of its very foundations. Bloody Panico! opens the sorry tale with the Tories’ return to power in 2010, with ‘Call Me Dave’Cameron at the helm. The turmoil of the referendum followed, as Boris championed a Leave campaign he didn’t believe in for supporters with no clear idea what they were demanding.Beyond the pantomime of Boris, Truss’s kamikazee premiership, and the squirming managerial tedium of Sunak, the party is riven by resentment and confusion. It is a maelstrom of petty and shameless in-fighting. The Tories’ ancient i

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Book SynopsisThe instant Sunday Times bestseller A Times, New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year 'Simply the best popular history of the Middle Ages there is' Sunday Times 'A great achievement, pulling together many strands with aplomb' Peter Frankopan, Spectator, Books of the Year 'It's so delightful to encounter a skilled historian of such enormous energy who's never afraid of being entertaining' The Times, Books of the Year 'An amazing masterly gripping panorama' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'A badass history writer... to put it mildly' Duff McKagan 'A triumph' Charles Spencer Dan Jones's epic new history tells nothing less than the story of how the world we know today came to be built. It is a thousand-year adventure that moves from the ruins of the once-mighty city of Rome, sacked by barbarians in AD 410, to the first contacts between the old and new worlds in the sixteenth century. It shows how, from a state of crisis and collapse, the West was rebuilt and came to dominate the entire globe. The book identifies three key themes that underpinned the success of the West: commerce, conquest and Christianity. Across 16 chapters, blending Dan Jones's trademark gripping narrative style with authoritative analysis, Powers and Thrones shows how, at each stage in this story, successive western powers thrived by attracting – or stealing – the most valuable resources, ideas and people from the rest of the world. It casts new light on iconic locations – Rome, Paris, Venice, Constantinople – and it features some of history's most famous and notorious men and women. This is a book written about – and for – an age of profound change, and it asks the biggest questions about the West both then and now. Where did we come from? What made us? Where do we go from here? Also available in audio, read by the author.Trade ReviewA terrifically colourful and compelling narrative history... A hugely impressive achievement, bustling and sizzling with life on every page... This is now simply the best popular history of the Middle Ages there is' * Sunday Times *Excellent... Combines [Jones's] usual narrative exuberance and playfulness with the authority and span to bring together an amazing masterly gripping panorama' -- Simon Sebag MontefioreEmpires come and go, religions form and break up, ideas clash and mingle – 1,100 years, 16 sweeping chapters, 700 pacey pages... Masterly, muscular and direct' -- Ed Smith, New Statesman, Books of the YearA badass history writer... to put it mildly -- Duff McKaganA great achievement, pulling together many strands with aplomb -- Peter Frankopan, Spectator, Books of the YearAn audacious, entertaining page-turner. Dan Jones covers a thousand years of history with elegance and panache -- Dan Carlin, Hardcore HistoryDan Jones is in a class of his own... Read this book to wrap your head around 1,000 years of history with as much ease and enjoyment as relaxing into a good novel' -- Professor Suzannah LipscombJones is careful to entertain, as well as enlighten... Flashes of humour exist on the same page as academic rigour... Copious colour plates turn Powers and Thrones into a great gift, as well as a great read' * Aspects of History *An epic new history of the Middle Ages, which grippingly chronicles the forces that defined the period – and which would go on to shape ours * Huffington Post *This gripping history manages to bring novelty to a well-trod subject, spanning the Dark Ages and the globe. Traversing crises and empires and shedding new light on famous subjects, this archive of a fascinating time enthralls till the final page * Newsweek Magazine *I've never read such a comprehensive and storming history of the Middle Ages, nor am I ever likely to again. Crusaders swept me away, but this? This is electric: pumping energy into an era glossed over... Literally, I was in tears at the end; I didn't want the storytelling to end' -- David Learner (Toppings Booksellers, Ely)A rip-roaring read and exhilarating to the very end * International Times *Casts a new light on places such as Rome, Paris, Venice and Constantinople; and it features some of history's most notorious and famous men and women * Bexhill-on-Sea Observer *Despite the sweeping subject matter, Jones's reading feels relaxed as he delights in peculiar details and revels in witty asides... [darting] through the middle ages, from the Romans to the rise of Islamic empires' * Guardian *With his trademark narrative style, Dan Jones packs the thousand years between the fall of the Roman Empire [...] and the protestant Reformation into 16 chapters * Choice *From Rome to Paris, Venice to Constantinople, this gripping historical narrative touches on some of history's most famous and notorious men and women, while asking exactly how the West came to be the way it is. And you thought the perfect dad gift didn't exist * Stylist *Tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style * New York Times *Ambitious but brilliant * Catholic Herald *It's so delightful to encounter a skilled historian of such enormous energy who's never afraid of being entertaining * The Times, 21 best history books of 2021 *Mr Jones has a way of keeping things real -- Tessa Dunlop, Aspects of HistoryDan Jones is a brilliant storyteller. He keeps his hand on the tiller on this marathon voyage, guiding the reader with matchless dexterity. A triumph -- Charles Spencer, Aspects of HistoryIt is as gripping as all his books -- Barney White-Spunner, Aspects of HistoryJones is that rarity, a scholar with a novelist's feel for pace and drama, and this reads more like a thriller than a sober historical account * Tablet *In an age when medieval culture is easily and explicitly repurposed for ill, we are lucky to have a book that insists on portraying Europe's deep connections with other parts of the world and that wants to rehydrate the Middle Ages back from the flat, racist version. We are luckier still to have a book that narrates the past so thoroughly, vividly and joyfully * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe Amazon History Book of the Year 2013 is a magisterial chronicle of the calamity that befell Europe in 1914 as the continent shifted from the glamour of the Edwardian era to the tragedy of total war.In 1914, Europe plunged into the 20th century's first terrible act of self-immolation what was then called The Great War. On the eve of its centenary, Max Hastings seeks to explain both how the conflict came about and what befell millions of men and women during the first months of strife.He finds the evidence overwhelming, that Austria and Germany must accept principal blame for the outbreak. While what followed was a vast tragedy, he argues passionately against the poets' view', that the war was not worth winning. It was vital to the freedom of Europe, he says, that the Kaiser's Germany should be defeated.His narrative of the early battles will astonish those whose images of the war are simply of mud, wire, trenches and steel helmets. Hastings describes how the French Army marched intTrade ReviewBOOK OF THE YEAR – AS CHOSEN BY THE INDEPENDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES, OBSERVER, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT AND SPECTATOR. ‘Like one of Field Marshal Haig’s family whiskies, Max Hastings is a dram that steadily improves with age … His position as Britain’s leading military historian is now unassailable … In this enormously impressive new book, Hastings effortlessly masters the complex lead-up to and opening weeks of the First World War … [He] is as magisterial as we would expect … This is a magnificent and deeply moving book, and with Max Hastings as our guide we are in the hands of a master’ Nigel Jones, Telegraph ‘Hastings is the author of consistently good histories of WWII. But with ‘Catastrophe’ he has reached a new level of excellence’ The Times ‘Magnificent … Hastings writes with an enviable grasp of pace and balance, as well as an acute eye for human detail. Even for readers who care nothing for the difference between a battalion and a division, his book is at once moving, provocative and utterly engrossing’ Sunday Times ‘Masterly … Hastings is a brilliant guide to that strange, febrile twilight before Europe plunged into darkness. Writing in pungent prose suffused with irony and underpinned by a strong sense of moral outrage … this is history-writing at its best, scholarly and fluent … for anyone wanting to understand how that ghastly, much-misunderstood conflict came about, there could be no better place to start than this fine book’ The Times ‘One could scarcely ask for a better guide to these horrors than Max Hastings … he is a superb writer with a rare gift for evoking the rhythm, mood and raw physical terror of battle … If you are looking for a humane and compelling interpretive chronicle of the formative months of this horrific conflict, you will find none better’ Mail on Sunday ‘Very readable. Character, pace, sense of landscape, battlefield detail – all are superbly done … it's a splendid read’ Observer

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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 epic history of the birth of news in EuropeNews moves. It is a battle, a scandal, a disaster. It is a letter, a newspaper, a proclamation. News is a material thing, but also something between us, something we take into us and feel. This book tells the story of news from the sunset of the Middle Ages to the rise of mass media in modern times. It begins in Renaissance Italy, with the envoys and merchants who drew in and disseminated news across Europe, establishing its channels and conventions. Following the beat of news around the continent, it uncovers a vast, invisible network traversing the boundaries of geography and politics, religion and language. Joad Raymond Wren allows the reader to see news of the battle of Lepanto, the siege of Vienna spreading around this network in real time. Dispelling the tenacious myth that news was until the printing press scarce and unreliable, and until the telegraph slow and provincial, he opens up windows onto a world buzzing with news from

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Book SynopsisChannel 4''s The Mill captivated viewers with the tales of the lives of the young girls and boys in a northern mill. Focusing on the lives of the apprentices at Quarry Bank Mill, David Hanson''s book uses a wealth of first-person source material including letters, diaries, mill records, to tell the stories of the children who lived and worked at Quarry Bank throughout the nineteenth century.This book perfectly accompanies the television series, satisfying viewers'' curiosity about the history of the children of Quarry Bank. It reveals the real lives of the television series'' main characters: Esther, Daniel, Lucy and Susannah, showing how shockingly close to the truth the dramatisation is.But the book also goes far beyond this to create a full and vivid picture of factory life in the industrial revolution. David Hanson has written an accessible narrative history of Victorian working children and the conditions in which they worked.

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Book SynopsisThrough a selection of detailed expert essays and some 40 spotlight studies, Medieval Womenreveals a rich and complex picture of their world, full of colourful characters and intriguing stories. This title accompanies the British Library Exhibition and showcases incredible items from the Library's archive and major European collections.

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Book SynopsisDan Jones narrates in his inimitably vivid and authoritative fashion the remarkable story of the Knights Templar. 'Exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history' TLS 'Jones is certainly an entertainer, but also a fine historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into accessible prose' The Times 'Another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist' Observer ‘When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject' Sunday Times The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful – and most secretive – of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story – encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall – has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists.Trade ReviewExhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history... A skilful storyteller [...] he enlivens the narrative with bloodcurdling details and arresting turns of phrase... There is also fine scholarly intuition' * TLS *Told with all Jones's usual verve and panache, this is a dramatic and gripping tale of courage and stupidity, faith and betrayal * Mail on Sunday *Jones is certainly an entertainer, but also a fine historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into accessible prose * The Times *Another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist * Observer *When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject * Sunday Times *A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger, featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword-swingers spattering Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The BiographyThe story of the Templars, the ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of fanaticism, bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they have a worthy chronicler. The Templars is a wonderful book! -- Bernard Cornwall, author of The Last KingdomSnappy, well-paced... The author's ambition, he says, is to tell the story of the Templars in a straightforward way and "to write a book that will entertain as well as inform". He has done precisely that' * Daily Telegraph *Full of tales of bloodshed, bravery and betrayal, this is a passionate guide to the unstoppable rise and spectacular fall of the poster boys of the Middle Ages * The Tablet, Books of the Year *[The Templars'] colourful story is grippingly told by the excellent Dan Jones * Mail on Sunday *

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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 SynopsisAfter the fall of France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler''s inevitable invasion attempt.For the German army to be landed across the Channel, Hitler needed mastery of the skies - the RAF would have to be broken. So every day, throughout the summer, German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day and civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires and Me-109s. Britain''s very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer''s battle.Britain''s air defences were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds ''The Few'', as they came to be known, bought Britain''s freedom - many with their lives.These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. We will not see their like again.

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Book Synopsis''Both pioneering and fundamental. This is the essential history of Ukraine, from one of the greatest Ukrainian thinkers and scholars.'' Timothy Snyder #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of On Tyranny ''Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak''s vivid, sweeping book lays bare the enduring pride that persuaded his countrymen to resist Russian aggression and offers grounds for hope.'' Luke Harding, Observer ''People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity.'' John Adams UKRAINE The Forging of a Nation delves into the events that led to the creation of Ukraine, examining crucial moments of Ukrainian and world history and how connected they have been, and continue to be, to this day.When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the world witnessed the ''creative, freewheeling, darkly humorous, and deeply resilient soc

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Book SynopsisA masterful history of the great dynasty of the Netherlands' Middle Ages. 'A sumptuous feast of a book' The Times, Books of the Year 'Thrillingly colourful and entertaining' Sunday Times 'A thrilling narrative of the brutal dazzlingly rich wildly ambitious duchy' Simon Sebag Montefiore 5 stars! Daily Telegraph 'A masterpiece' De Morgen 'A history book that reads like a thriller' Le Soir At the end of the fifteenth century, Burgundy was extinguished as an independent state. It had been a fabulously wealthy, turbulent region situated between France and Germany, with close links to the English kingdom. Torn apart by the dynastic struggles of early modern Europe, this extraordinary realm vanished from the map. But it became the cradle of what we now know as the Low Countries, modern Belgium and the Netherlands. This is the story of a thousand years, a compulsively readable narrative history of ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury and madness. It is about the decline of knightly ideals and the awakening of individualism and of cities, the struggle for dominance in the heart of northern Europe, bloody military campaigns and fatally bad marriages. It is also a remarkable cultural history, of great art and architecture and music emerging despite the violence and the chaos of the tension between rival dynasties.Trade ReviewBart Van Loo does something extremely difficult; he brings to life an illusion of a state in an unfamiliar world. And he does this with such verve and energy that you very nearly believe it * Literary Review *A thrilling narrative of the brutal dazzlingly rich wildly ambitious duchy that was the most advanced and sophisticated economy and the most extravagant flashy court of its time. Filled with flamboyant murderous and debauched dukes, courtesans, courtiers and maniacs, it is a total pleasure to read -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, Aspects of History, Books of the YearIn this perky popular history, a bestseller on mainland Europe, Bart Van Loo traces the steady rise and sudden end of the Burgundians, sprinkling his narrative with many entertaining asides * The Times *Bart van Loo is in top form. The Burgundians reads like a train and hits you like a sledgehammer. A masterpiece... He does not try to be a wise man or a moralist. What he does make clear is that that the history of early Dutch unification is one that came about both through excessive bloodshed and praiseworthy magnanimity. Mission accomplished' * De Morgen *History told – and well told, too – for those who value narrative at least as much as the finicky details of economics or treaty-making * Daily Telegraph *To narrate the legendary story of the dukes of Burgundy, you need a learned and visionary guide like Bart Van Loo... A masterful work' * Le Figaro *Suitably epic * BBC History Magazine *A sparkling history of the origins of the Low Countries... Van Loo arouses interest in the past among thousands of readers, spectators and listeners in an inimitable way' * The Low Countries *A pleasure to read from start to finish. How fortunate that Van Loo is not just a historian but also a writer. Truly spectacular! * Neue Züricher Zeitung *The political and the personal, economics and culture, belief and violence, success and failure, major developments and spicy details – it's all there. The Burgundians expertly draws on the latest scientific insights, but is also told with lightness and elegance' -- Frits van OostromThe formidable saga of our Burgundian origins. Over 650 pages that read like a great political adventure novel, a Game of Thrones soap opera where everything is true * La Libre Belgique *Full of cliff hangers and moving passages. Irresistible -- Herman PleijBart van Loo is back and emerges once again as a true storyteller. Van Loo is the perfect guide through the past. It is as if we are there * De Standaard *A history book that reads like a thriller * Le Soir *Colourful and multidimensional: a Belgian master storyteller * Kulturradio, SWR2 *Narrative history of the highest level... The author conjures the tastes, smells, colours and feelings of the past' * Kulturradio, WDR 3 *Thrillingly colourful and entertaining * Sunday Times *Most of us think of wine when we hear the word 'Burgundy', but Bart Van Loo uncovers a lost empire of mad dukes, strange delicacies and great wealth * The Times, Books of the Year *A worthwhile and satisfying read * Sunday Independent *A sumptuous feast of a book... Van Loo recreates the world of Ghent and Bruges in loving detail, a bustling, blood-soaked landscape of quays, merchants and money changers' * The Times, '21 best history books of 2021' *Lively, anecdotal unpicking of this fascinating but nebulous entity * New Statesman *Belgian historian Bart Van Loo tells its story in 'rollicking' style * The Week *Stuffed with elaborate feasts and bloody battles, Van Loo's thrillingly colourful and entertaining book has been an enormous success in his native Belgium and it's easy to see why * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisArsenal is special. Its multicultural fandom reflects a changing city and a unique relationship with Black British popular culture. Thanks to its decades of fielding iconic Black players on the pitch and the storied and diverse histories of its terraces, Arsenal has emerged as a powerful symbol of what an organic and convivial multiculture can be.From the earliest hints in the late 1960s that something remarkable was happening, up to Arsenal''s ascendence as a global organisation, Black Arsenal is the first dedicated exploration of the club''s relationship to contemporary Black identity and culture. It sees the club''s affinity with Black identity transcend football and spread across cultures: in the media, music, fashion, politics and everyday social experiences. Explored through a combination of stunning photography and rare archival images, Black Arsenal examines how a new Black iconography emerged at Arsenal at key moments in British history that became cru

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR''As brilliant a history of the Vikings as one could possibly hope to read'' Tom HollandThe ''Viking Age'' is traditionally held to begin in June 793 when Scandinavian raiders attacked the monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, and to end in September 1066, when King Harald Hardrada of Norway died leading the charge against the English line at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This book, the most wide-ranging and comprehensive assessment of the current state of our knowledge, takes a refreshingly different view. It shows that the Viking expansion began generations before the Lindisfarne raid, and traces Scandinavian history back centuries further to see how these people came to be who they were.The narrative ranges across the whole of the Viking diaspora, from Vinland on the eastern American seaboard to Constantinople and Uzbekistan, with contacts as far away as China. Based on the latest archaeology, it explores the complex origins of the Viking phenomenon and traces the seismic shifts in Scandinavian society that resulted from an economy geared to maritime war. Some of its most striking discoveries include the central role of slavery in Viking life and trade, and the previously unsuspected pirate communities and family migrations that were part of the Viking ''armies'' - not least in England.Especially, Neil Price takes us inside the Norse mind and spirit-world, and across their borders of identity and gender, to reveal startlingly different Vikings to the barbarian marauders of stereotype. He cuts through centuries of received wisdom to try to see the Vikings as they saw themselves - descendants of the first human couple, the Children of Ash and Elm. Healso reminds us of the simultaneous familiarity and strangeness of the past, of how much we cannot know, alongside the discoveries that change the landscape of our understanding. This is an eye-opening and surprisingly moving book.Trade ReviewEverybody thinks they know the Vikings, but Neil Price's magical book casts them in an entirely new light ... Scholarly, colourful and often remarkably funny, this is history at its very best, a richly decorated window on to a very strange world. -- Dominic Sandbrook and Gerard De Groot * The Times Books of the Year *This history takes us deep into the lives - and deaths - of the Vikings ... What surprised me about The Children of Ash and Elm is the extent to which recent archaeological discovery is transforming our picture of the Vikings from the inside. Price, who has spent several decades in ancient cesspits and the remains of Norse workshops, is superbly qualified to understand the significance of what is being unearthed, analysed and dated, and conveys a sense of excitement about just how much is being learnt -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *a book that offers delight after delight ... lyrical, unnerving, specific, and passionately uncertain, all at once ... Throughout this book are glorious collections of Viking facts that are technically known yet still resist our best attempts at interpretation ... Price has a talent for evoking the Vikings' physical surroundings as they might have been - a gift for recreation that's probably natural for an archaeologist accustomed to eking significance from the smallest bit of disturbed dirt ... To convey such a deep sense of scholarly indeterminacy, all while dazzling the reader with cinematic detail-this is, truly, a feat. -- Rebecca Onion * Slate Magazine *This is a comprehensive, lyrically told and personal account of the Viking Age, the product of more than thirty years of experience as a leading archaeologist and researcher. Many books assess the "Viking achievement". The Children of Ash and Elm examines instead who the Vikings were, how they saw themselves and why they did what they did ... no other history of the Vikings is as vibrant or expands the scope of the Viking world to encompass not just landscapes, but mindscapes. -- Jane Kershaw * Times Literary Supplement *It is full of meticulous accounts of the specifics of early medieval Scandinavian daily life ... beautifully evocative, engaging and thought-provoking ... It is impossible not to admire the breadth and range of this book's discussion of Viking material culture. -- Eleanor Parker * History Today *Neil Price's The Children of Ash and Elm is an illuminating and insightful tour of the Viking era; his narrative is composed from his obvious expertise, and his utter passion. He loves this subject and he wants to invite the reader to share his enthusiasm ... Compelling, engaging, insightful and informative ... we couldn't hope for a more entertaining or enlightening guide - Neil Price has given us an exceptional book, and it is one to be treasured. -- Caroline Spalding * Yorkshire Times *Price is adept at bringing this cosmopolitan and brutal world to life, interweaving many complicated strands of history with his own experience in the field along with poetic meditations on a people and time long since passed. -- Rhian Sasseen * The Paris Review *fascinating -- Paul Muldoon * TLS Books of the Year *a very human history of the period, one that is by turns illuminating, surprising and even moving ... much of the beauty of Price work is in its qualitative, sometimes subjective nature, even while it remains a meticulously researched, rigorous piece of scholarship. -- Eleanor Barraclough * Literary Review *This book is the closest thing I have found to a time machine. It brilliantly clears the fog of the past from the Viking era. Extremely well written...if you are seeking an accessible, yet definitive and up-to-date book on the Vikings, this is the one you want. -- Terje Birkedal * The Norwegian American *a thrilling read ... His clear, engaging style introduces us to the Scandinavian communities of the eighth and ninth centuries, centered around the farmstead, before catapulting us overseas and outward into an expanding world where raiding and trading quickly boosted the wealth of individuals and the ambitions of the elites. ... The stereotype of the Viking that we know from history books and popular media is here dismantled and presented anew by Mr. Price in all its wonderful, terrifying complexity and ambiguity. -- Karin Altenberg * Wall Street Journal *The question that this dark, brilliantly written and absorbing book asks is: who were these people and where did this violence come from?...The powerful and unsettling message of this book is that they never went home. These strange, vicious people are our forebears. They never went home. -- Jay Elwes * Spectator *as Neil Price shows in his colourful, revelatory new book, we are almost always looking at the Vikings the wrong way around. Price is one of the world's foremost experts on the Vikings and holds the chair of archaeology at Uppsala University ... He may know more about medieval Scandinavia than anyone else alive, and he aims to show us these fascinating people as they saw themselves, not as they were perceived by those on the sharp end of their robbery ... Thousands of books have been published about the Vikings - this is one of the very best. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis“Immensely rich and exciting . . . Christopher Hill has that supreme gift of being able to show us the seventeenth-century world from the inside.”—Arthur Marwick in New Society Within the English revolution of the mid-seventeenth century which resulted in the triumph of the protestant ethic—the ideology of the propertied class—there threatened another, quite different, revolution. Its success “might have established communal property, a far wider democracy in political and legal institutions, might have disestablished the state church and rejected the protestant ethic.” In The World Turned Upside Down Christopher Hill studies the beliefs of such radical groups as the Diggers, the Ranters, the Levellers, and others, and the social and emotional impulses that gave rise to them. The relations between rich and poor classes, the part played by wandering “master-less” men, the outbursts of sexual freedom

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

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Book SynopsisIt should become a standard work on this campaign' Telegraph'James Holland is now our foremost authority on the Italian campaign' John C. McManus'A heart-pounding narrative of the brutal Allied fight to take Rome... This is history at its finest' James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize finalist'Holland writes with eloquence and power about the harsh realities of a brutal battle that grabbed the world's attention and helped to decide the future of Italy' Professor Michael S. Neiberg___________There are no such thing as an easy victory in war but after triumph in Tunisia, the sweeping success of the Sicilian invasion, and with the Italian surrender, the Allies were confident that they would be in Rome before Christmas 1943. And yet it didn't happen. Hitler ordered his forces to dig in and fight for every yard, thus setting the stage for one of the grimmest and most attritional campaigns of the Second World War. By the start of 1944, the Allies found themselves coming up against the Gustav Line: a formidable barrier of wire, minefields, bunkers and booby traps, woven into a giant chain of mountains and river valleys that stretched the width of Italy where at its strongest point perched the Abbey of Monte Cassino. It would take five long bitter winter months and the onset of summer before the Allies could finally bludgeon their way north and capture Rome. By then, more than 75,000 troops and civilians had been killed and the historic abbey and entire towns and villages had been laid waste. Following a rich cast of characters from both sides - from frontline infantry to aircrew, from clerks to battlefield commanders, and from politicians and civilians caught up in the middle of the maelstrom - James Holland has drawn widely on diaries, letters and contemporary sources to write the definitive account of this brutal battle. The result is a compelling and often heart-breaking narrative, told in the moment, as the events played out, and from the perspective of those who lived, fought and died there.

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary drama of Malta''s WWII victory against impossible odds told through the eyes of the people who were there.In March and April 1942, more explosives were dropped on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta - smaller than the Isle of Wight - than on the whole of Britain during the first year of the Blitz. Malta had become one of the most strategically important places in the world. From there, the Allies could attack Axis supply lines to North Africa; without it, Rommel would be able to march unchecked into Egypt, Suez and the Middle East. For the Allies this would have been catastrophic. As Churchill said, Malta had to be held ''at all costs''.FORTRESS MALTA follows the story through the eyes of those who were there: young men such as twenty-year-old fighter pilot Raoul Daddo-Langlois, anti-aircraft gunner Ken Griffiths, American Art Roscoe and submariner Tubby Crawford - who served on the most successful Allied submarine of the Second World WaTrade Review'Holland's stirring account pays fitting tribute to the heroism of the island's defenders and its civil population ... the book teems with memorable characters.' MAIL ON SUNDAY

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Book SynopsisWhat has changed for the better or worse during fourteen years of Conservative government? Anthony Seldon and his team explore the 'Conservative Effect', analysing the ultimate impact of their leadership on the UK. This intriguing read offers powerful insights and fresh perspectives on the full scope of the Conservative government's influence.

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Book SynopsisA walking tour of the border region where England and Scotland meet by the award-winning writer, meditating on a complicated, storied relationship through history

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Book Synopsis

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