European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book SynopsisAn award-winning critical biography of Finland's towering leader, charting his statecraft, his political journey and his strategic bravado, carving out independence between Stalin and Hitler.

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Book SynopsisTold for the first time in English, Paul Preston's new book tells the story of a preventable tragedy that cost many thousands of lives and ruined tens of thousands more at the end of the Spanish Civil War.This is the story of an avoidable humanitarian tragedy that cost many thousands of lives and ruined tens of thousands more.On 5 March 1939, the eternally malcontent Colonel Segismundo Casado launched a military coup against the government of Juan Negrín. To fulfil his ambition to go down in history as the man who ended the Spanish Civil War, he claimed that Negrín was the puppet of Moscow and that a coup was imminent to establish a Communist dictatorship. Instead his action ensured the Republic ended in catastrophe and shame.Paul Preston, the leading historian of twentieth-century Spain, tells this shocking story for the first time in English. It is a harrowing tale of how the flawed decisions of politicans can lead to tragedy.Trade ReviewA Daily Telegraph Book of the Year ‘Preston's mission in life is to bring clarity to the confusing tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. This is his twelfth book on the war and its legacy … [it] is written with the same sober lucidity that distinguishes the previous eleven’ The Times ‘Compelling and convincingly argued ….the story of the final, tragic days of the Spanish Republic has never been told so clearly before. With a keen eye for historical detail and a painful sense of the human lives at stake, Preston paints a vivid portrait of those involved’ Spectator ‘Masterly and intensely moving … in Preston, author of several award-winning books on the conflict, the reader could not hope for a more sure-footed guide … Britons today know far less than they should about the Spanish Civil War … our knowledge would be poorer still but for Preston's indefatigable scholarship, elegant prose and impeccable judgement’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Scholarly and authoritative’ Literary Review

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Book SynopsisTV presenter and all-round car nut Ant Anstead takes the reader on a journey that mirrors the development of the motor car itself from a stuttering 20mph annoyance that scared everyone's horses to 150mph pursuits with aerial support and sophisticated electronic tracking.The British Police Force's relationship with the car started by chasing after pioneer speeding motorists on bicycles. As speed restrictions eased in the early twentieth century and car ownership increased, the police embraced the car. Criminals were stealing cars to sell on or to use as getaway vehicles and the police needed to stay ahead, or at least only one step behind. The arms race for speed, which culminated in the police acquiring high-speed pursuit vehicles such as Subaru Impreza Turbos, had begun.Since then the car has become essential to everyday life. Deep down everyone loves a police car. Countless enthusiasts collect models in different liveries and legendary police cars become part of the nation's shared cTrade ReviewPraise for Cops & Robbers ‘As a petrol-head and former bobby, TV presenter Ant Anstead was the perfect person to write a new history of the police car’Daily Express ‘Delightfully metal-focused’ Classic Car Weekly

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Book SynopsisImportant, comprehensive, and superbly researched. All the more urgent at the present time' BART VAN ES''A terrific, clear-eyed and balanced history that cuts through today's toxic debates'' DAILY TELEGRAPHHow have those who arrived on Britain's shores shaped its history?Refugees seeking to reach Britain today often face perilous journeys, impossible bureaucracy and acidic public opinion. But this hasn't always been the way. For most of our history, Great Britain cherished its outward image as a safe haven for those displaced by religious persecution, political violence or economic crisis an island of stability in the midst of a violent world.In This Land of Promise, migration scholar Matthew Lockwood overturns many popular modern-day misconceptions about Britain's history of immigration. Exiles and refugees have been not only a constant presence in Britain across the centuries but also intrinsic to shaping Britain as it is today. This is a profoundly moving and illuminating history,

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Book SynopsisGrimly fascinating engrossing' Daily Mail NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION.In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but desperate confessions and the grandest, most righteous human drama. Bookshops saw grisly stories of crime and death sell like hot cakes.This history unfolds the true stories of murder, criminal investigation, early forensic techniques, high court trials and so much more.In thrilling narrative, we follow a fugitive killer through the streets of London, citizen detectives clamouring to help officials close the net. We untangle the mystery of a suspected staged suicide through the newly emerging science of forensic pathology. We see a mother trying to clear her dead daughter's name while other women faced the accusations sometimes true and sometimes not of murdering their own children.These stories are pieceTrade Review Praise for Great and Horrible News: ‘Grimly fascinating…vivid detail… The early moderns were obsessed by stories of death, crime and justice,’ Adams states in her introduction. Her book, which covers the two centuries between 1500 and 1700, proves her point with a succession of grisly but engrossing cases’ Daily Mail ‘A true crime treat from former police officer Blessin Adams. Great and Horrible News looks at what we can learn from early modern Britain when it comes to justice and criminality’ Janice Hallett ‘Bleakly fascinating . . . police investigator turned academic Blessin Adams explores nine historic crimes . . . stimulating non-fiction’ Independent, BEST BOOKS OF MARCH ‘This gory history of crime shows that our obsession with lurid podcasts is nothing new . . . Adams, a police officer turned historian, has poured over coroners’ inquest records, court documents, pamphlets, newspaper articles, parish archives, ballads, wills, letters and diaries to restage nine grim stories of crime in England between 1500 and 1700. As an ex-copper, Adams is greatly interested in developments in forensic pathology in this period, which are superbly reconstructed from the sources’ The Times ‘Perfect for fans of true-crime, this is a bone-chilling and brilliantly researched account of murder, cruelty, and scandal in Tudor and Stuart Britain. I couldn’t put it down, but I sincerely regret reading it alone in the countryside. A fantastic debut’ Gareth Russell, author of Young and Damned and Fair ‘At once an intriguing true crime examination of historical crime and a sociological dive into Britain’s history, Adams does a stellar job of introducing a nonet of little-known crimes, running the gamut from suicide to child abuse to murder, that while not for the faint of heart, quickly become engrossing to read’ Set the Tape

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Book SynopsisThe Imperial War Museum holds a vast archive of interviews with soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians of most nationalities who saw action during WW2.Trade ReviewThese stories are so harrowing, their witness so precise and devastating * The Times *With the rawness and immediacy that only this kind of oral history can provide * Sunday Times *An extraordinary and immensely moving book -- Stephen FryA unique collection of personal testimonies ... a timely reminder of the sacrifices and horrors of war * Sunday Express *The sound of real human voices: bewildered, sad, often angry, sometimes bitter, but for the most part remarkable ... a shattered relay-race of narrative gives the book a ghostly, choric poetry * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisDivorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survivedCATHERINE OF ARAGON: the pious Spanish Catholic who suffered years of miscarriages and failed to produce a male heir... ANNE BOLEYN: the pretty, clever, French-educated Protestant whose marriage to Henry changed England forever...JANE SEYMOUR: the demure and submissive contrast to Anne Boleyn''s radical and vampish style... ANNE OF CLEVES: ''the mare of Flanders'' whose short marriage to the overweight Henry followed a farcical ''beauty contest''...CATHERINE HOWARD: the flirtatious teenager whose adulteries made a fool of the ageing king... CATHERINE PARR: the shrewd, religiously radical bluestocking who outlived him...In this dazzling study, David Starkey gives us a richly textured picture of daily life at the Tudor Court from the woman''s point of view. Above all, he establishes the interaction of the private and the public, and demonstrates how the Queens of Henry VIII were central in deTrade ReviewA tribute to Starkey's narrative drive, his puckish wit and sharp discrimination * Sunday Times *Relentlessly scholarly...Starkey's is the best study of Henry's wives ever published... A masterly and persuasive narrative which never loses its grip over the story or the reader * Evening Standard *High-powered history pithily expressed... This study of Henry VIII's women shows David Starkey at his best * Sunday Telegraph *So gripping that one finishes it wishing it were even longer... The punchy style adopted by Starkey is perfectly suited to the story he has to tell * Mail on Sunday *Starkey keeps the narrative alive with a combination of sound chronology, peppery opinion and startling detail... Six Wives provides an intriguing new perspective on this key period in English history * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIn his explosive new book, Mark Curtis reveals a new picture of Britain''s role in the world since 1945 and in the ''war against terrorism'' by offering a comprehensive critique of the Blair government''s foreign policy. Curtis argues that Britain is an ''outlaw state'', often a violator of international law and ally of many repressive regimes. He reasons not only that Britain''s foreign policies are generally unethical but that they are also making the world more dangerous and unequal. The Web of Deceit describes the staggering gulf that has arisen between New Labour''s professed commitment to upholding ethical values and the reality of current policies. It outlines the new phase in global intervention, the immorality of British policy in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq and Indonesia and support for repressive governments in Israel, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Curtis also reveals Britain''s acquiescence in the Rwanda genocide and economic policies in the World Trade OTrade ReviewScrupulously, relentlessly...rescues the historical and documentary record from a web of distortion and self-serving illusion -- Noam ChomskyThe picture of British policies that Curtis reveals should serve as a call to action for those who hope to understand the world that has been shaped by Western power, and to overcome the injustice and suffering that is, in no small measure, its cruel legacy -- Noam ChomskyA searing indictment of British Foreign policy -- C. R. Sridhar * Blogcritics.org Politics *

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Book SynopsisGyles Brandreth's is a varied career, from his role as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major's government to Children's publisher with Andre Deutsch. Brandreth's Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries has been described as 'by far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clarke's' Times. His last book, Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage, published by Century, was a Sunday Times bestseller. He lives with his family in London.Trade ReviewBOOK OF THE YEAR ... Riveting, gossipy and touching * Mail on Sunday *Could this be the best book ever written about the Royal Family? ... A masterpiece. * Sunday Express *Utterly fascinating * Andrew Marr, Start the Week *Highly accomplished ... there is much here to entertain and inform * Sunday Telegraph *Completely fascinating - written by the man who really knows * Richard and Judy *

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Book SynopsisMohandas Gandhi and Winston Churchill: India''s moral leader and Great Britain''s greatest Prime Minister. Born five years and seven thousand miles apart, they became embodiments of the nations they led. Both became living icons, idolized and admired around the world. Today, they remain enduring models of leadership in a democratic society.Yet the truth was Churchill and Gandhi were bitter enemies throughout their lives. This book reveals, for the first time, how that rivalry shaped the twentieth century and beyond. For more than forty years, from 1906 to 1948, Gandhi and Churchill were locked in a tense struggle for the hearts and minds of the British public, and of world opinion. Although they met only once, their titanic contest of wills would decide the fate of nations, continents, peoples, and ultimately an Empire.Here is a sweeping epic with a fascinating supporting cast, and a brilliant narrative parable of two men whose great successes were always haunted by personal failure - and whose final moments of triumph were overshadowed by the loss of what they held most dear.Trade ReviewYou finish Gandhi & Churchill knowing that you can evaluate the world today, particularly modern India, with more knowledge and insight * USA Today *Exquisitely detailed ... replete with stories underscoring the gulf between Churchill's robust realism and Gandhi's ascetic utopianism * Washington Times *The rivalry between Winston Churchill and Mohandas Gandhi could hardly have been played for higher stakes. The future of British India hung upon the outcome of their 20-year struggle ... Herman has researched Gandhi & Churchill meticulously and written it fluently * Wall Street Journal *An insightful and engaging interpretation of a common history * Time Out *Herman's dual biography artfully depicts the personalities of the two men ... [and] takes careful account of the constellation of modern and antimodern currents of late Victorian thought in situating these vastly influential figures in a fascinating narrative of their times * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFrank McLynn is a highly regarded historian, who specializes in biographies and military history. He has written over 20 books, including critically acclaimed biographies of Napoleon and Richard the Lionheart. Other books include 1066, Stanley, Marcus Aurelius and The Road Not Taken. He is a graduate of Wadham College, Oxford, and London University, where he obtained his doctorate.Trade ReviewA marvellous book: elegantly written, convincingly argued and packed with fascinating detail... it will do much to restore 1759 to its rightful place among the great years of British history -- Saul David * Sunday Times *An erudite and delightful literary and philosophical romp * Herald *McLynn's feisty and highly personal take on the pivot point of the Seven Years War adds fresh perspectives to the old story -- Stephen Brumwell * Times Literary Supplement *A stylish and fascinating account of the first global struggle * New Statesman *Splendid * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIstanbul''s Galata Bridge has spanned the Golden Horn since the sixth century AD, connecting the old city with the more Western districts to the north. But the bridge is a city in itself, peopled by merchants and petty thieves, tourists and fishermen, and at the same time a microcosmic reflection of Turkey as the link between Asia and Europe. Geert Mak introduces us to the cigarette vendors and the best pickpockets in Europe, to the pride of the cobbler and the tea-seller''s homesickness, and interweaves their stories with vignettes illuminating the extraordinary history of Istanbul and Turkey. Charming and learned, The Bridge is a delightful book from the author of the acclaimed international bestseller In Europe.Trade ReviewThis gem of a history book is slim enough to squeeze into the smallest piece of carry-on luggage but contains a wealth of stories about Istanbul's famous Galata bridge...Weaving the long history of the bridge with those who populate it today, the sensitive Mak shines a light on contemporary Turkey and its changing relationship with the rest of Europe * Sunday Telegraph *Geert Mak introduces us to the city's denizen and history, stressing the symbolic importance of the bridge to a nation that sees itself as the meeting place between Europe and Asia * London Review of Books *Geert Mak's thoughtful travelogue sketches out Istanbul's past, and provides a touching portrait of its present inhabitants... his thoughtful, beautifully written book is suffused with respect for the richness of the individual life * Independent *Stories from the heart of a travelogue written with sympathy and acute observation * Financial Times *Part history lesson, part cultural essay, The Bridge's slender size does not diminish it's riches -- Viola Fort * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisNothing experienced in human history, before or since, eclipses the terror, tragedy and scale of the Black Death, the disease which killed millions of people in Medieval Europe. The Scourging Angel tells the story of Britain immediately before, during and after this catastrophe. Against a backdrop of empty homes, half-built cathedrals and pestilence-saturated cities, we see communities gripped by unimaginable fear, shock and paranoia. By the time it completed its pestilential journey through the British Isles in 1350, the Black Death had left half the population dead. Despite the startling toll of life, physical devastation and sheer human chaos it inflicted, Britain showed an impressive resilience. Amid disaster many found opportunity, and the story of the Black Death is ultimately one of survival.Trade ReviewThis remarkable, ambitious book by a new, young historian is positive about the new society that survived disaster * The Times *Benedict Gummer's highly impressive book charts the subsequent spread of the disease in meticulous and terrible detail * Sunday Telegraph *A rich, thoughtful and utterly riveting historical narrative... A treasure chest of detail * Daily Telegraph *A fearsomely ambitious book from an exciting new writer... A compelling and sobering picture of a world - peopled with kings, soldiers, bishops, peasants - that is both remote and familiar -- Simon Russel BealeThe enormous value of Gummer's book, for all its apparent narrowness of focus, is that it concentrates attention on the plague as an episode in the Hundred Years War and the new mercantilism that was opening up northern seas and nations to world trade - (a) fine book * Herald *

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Book SynopsisDr Ian Mortimer is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England, as well as four critically acclaimed medieval biographies, and numerous scholarly articles on subjects ranging in date from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1998. His work on the social history of medicine won the Alexander Prize (2004) and was published by the Royal Historical Society in 2009. He lives with his wife and three children in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor.Trade ReviewMortimer's book roars, races and sings... with a sense of passion and drama and an unrelenting pace * Daily Telegraph *Ian Mortimer's exacting standards of scholarship mean that this book will undoubtedly remain the standard authority on its subject * Independent on Sunday *A compelling page-turner -- Alison Weir * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisEd Vulliamy is a journalist and writes for the Guardian and Observer. For his work in Bosnia, Italy, the US and Iraq he has won a James Cameron Award and an Amnesty International Media Award and has been named International Reporter of the Year (twice) and runner-up at the Foreign Press Association Awards. In 1996 he became the first journalist to testify at an international crimes court, at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Twitter: @edvulliamyTrade ReviewThe camps and their corrosive legacy are Vulliamy's subject in this searing book, in which he writes with controlled and righteous anger about the absence of any "reckoning" * Daily Telegraph *Impassioned ... riveting and chilling * Financial Times *Haunting * Sunday Times *A beautifully written and deeply heartfelt study in survival * Sunday Business Post *A stark and brilliant testimony about a massive human atrocity * Sunday Business Post *

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Book SynopsisSimon Heffer was born in 1960. He read English at Cambridge and took a PhD in modern history at that university. His previous books include: Moral Desperado: A Life of Thomas Carlyle, Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell, Power and Place: The Political Consequences of King Edward VII, Nor Shall My Sword: The Reinvention of England, Vaughan Williams, Strictly English, A Short History of Power, Simply English and High Minds: The Victorians and the Birth of Modern Britain. In a thirty-year career in Fleet Street, he has held senior editorial positions on The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, and is now a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.Trade ReviewA riveting account of the pre-First World War years . . . A gloriously rich history . . . Balanced and judicious . . . The Age of Decadence is an enormously impressive and enjoyable read. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Heffer has given us a magnificent account of a less than magnificent epoch . . . Vital and energetic. -- Jonathan Meades * Literary Review *Magisterial. -- Sam Leith * Spectator *The Age of Decadence is an impressively well-constructed book . . . Heffer weaves his wonderfully diverse strands of inquiry into a devastating critique of prewar Britain . . . Heffer’s criticism of unbridled traditionalism is devastating and convincing. It’s also disturbingly relevant to the world in which we live. * The Times *Mr Heffer combines a scholar’s command of the primary literature with a journalist’s eye for detail. He writes with admirable sensitivity about both music and literature: a better account of Elgar or Arnold Bennett would be hard to find. He does a brilliant job of exposing the rot beneath the glittering surface of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain . . . He writes with such exuberance – indeed with such Edwardian swagger – that he leaves the reader looking forward to his next volume. * The Economist *

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Book Synopsis''This extraordinary book brings to life an astonishing place. Beautiful prose renders brutality vivid'' The Times - BOOK OF THE WEEK From Peter the Great to Putin, this is the unforgettable story of St Petersburg one of the most magical, menacing and influential cities in the world. St Petersburg has always felt like an impossible metropolis, risen from the freezing mists and flooded marshland of the River Neva on the western edge of Russia. It was a new capital in an old country. Established in 1703 by the sheer will of its charismatic founder, the homicidal megalomaniac Peter-the-Great, its dazzling yet unhinged reputation was quickly fashioned by the sadistic dominion of its early rulers.This city, in its successive incarnations St Petersburg; Petrograd; Leningrad and, once again, St Petersburg has always been a place of perpetual contradiction. It was a window on to Europe and the Enlightenment, but so much of the glory of Russia Trade Review'This extraordinary book brings to life an astonishing place. Beautiful prose renders brutality vivid.' -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times - BOOK OF THE WEEK *So fluent, so textured is Jonathan Miles’s ease with prose and argument that his vivid dissection of 300 years of St Petersburg’s history should be devoured in captive sittings... Investigating the artistic life of St Petersburg, he also explores the melodrama and blood on the streets and the effects of continuing political disarray and corruption on ordinary people. This is a storyteller entranced with his subject, who makes its brilliant portrayal look deliriously easy. -- Susan Sheahan * Guardian *[A] lively and entertaining biography... full of sparkling storytelling and well drawn characters... a delight. -- Victor Sebestyen * The Sunday Times *Jonathan Miles’s cinematic telling of the 300-year history of ... St Petersburg shows how the drama, the absurdity, the splendour and the squalor of the imperial capital all found their way into Russia’s finest s, operas and paintings... Miles peels back the layers of myth in which the city is swaddled, while never losing sight of its haunting grace. -- Daniel Beer * Observer *Recently there has been a plethora of new books on Russian history in all its guises, … so why more? Jonathan Miles’ narrative is a lot of more, … His history has a substantial foundation, but what makes it special is the sheer inescapable momentum of Miles’s prose, powered by the captivating intensity of his attachment to his subject. This is a story told by a writer enthralled – and disillusioned, as he sees no redemption in sight... A dazzling history of a dazzling city. -- Marina Vaizey * The Arts Desk *

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Book SynopsisFor Londoners of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, debt was a part of everyday life. But when your creditors lost their patience, you might be thrown into one of the capital's most notorious jails: the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison.In Mansions of Misery, acclaimed chronicler of the capital Jerry White introduces us to the Marshalsea's unfortunate prisoners rich and poor; men and women; spongers, fraudsters and innocents. We get to know the trumpeter John Grano who wined and dined with the prison governor and continued to compose music whilst other prisoners were tortured and starved to death. We meet the bare-knuckle fighter known as the Bold Smuggler, who fell on hard times after being beaten by the Chelsea Snob. And then there's Joshua Reeve Lowe, who saved Queen Victoria from assassination in Hyde Park in 1820, but whose heroism couldn't save him from the Marshalsea. Told through these extraordinary lives, Mansions of Misery gives us a fascinatinTrade ReviewThis colourful, exuberant, brilliantly detailed account by Jerry White is the latest in a long list of irreplaceable books about London. -- Simon Callow * Guardian *[It] is searching and brimful of intriguing characters. -- John Carey * Sunday Times *[A] marvellous history of the Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison… In vivid prose White conjures a murky underworld of jailbird chancers and scufflers of one stripe or another. -- Ian Thomson * Evening Standard - London Books of the Year *[An] excellent, detailed book. -- Hermione Eyre * Spectator *A factual portrait of desperate and roughish Londoners that is as startling as anything in Dickens. Its wealth of anecdote and sympathetic style, spiced with witty observations makes this the very opposite of a miserable read. -- George Goodwin * BBC History Magazine, Book of the Year *

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Book Synopsis''A fascinating, informative, revelatory book'' William Boyd, GuardianParks are such a familiar part of everyday life, you might be forgiven for thinking they have always been there. In fact, public parks are an invention. From their medieval inception as private hunting grounds through to their modern incarnation as public spaces of rest and relaxation, parks have been fought over by land-grabbing monarchs, reforming Victorian industrialists, hippies, punks, and somewhere along the way, the common folk trying to savour their single day of rest.In A Walk in the Park, Travis Elborough excavates the history of parks in all their colour and complexity. Loving, funny and impassioned, this is a timely celebration of a small wonder that in an age of swingeing cuts we should not take for granted.Trade ReviewThis is a fascinating, informative, revelatory book … The vast array of knowledge that Elborough disperses in this book will make you look at parks differently … Parks seem an immutable, strangely paradisiacal element of our fraught and complicated urban lives, but the fact that we actually have them, as Elborough demonstrates in this wonderful book is something to be marvelled at. -- William Boyd * Guardian *Travis Elborough is becoming a latter-day Alan Bennett. Let loose in an array of reference libraries, he summons many a curious fact…from the shelves, which makes for a rich narrative… Alluring detail fills every page. -- Christopher Hawtree * Spectator *Amiable new history of the public park… Turns up lots of interesting, joyful stuff… A Walk in the Park is an enjoyable stroll. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *His writing combines subtle drollery with a fantastical, Monty Python-ish strain… We can count this captivating book among the boons they [parks] have granted us. -- Andrew Martin * Financial Times *Charming blend of the patriotic, popular and whimsical… Beautifully written. -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *Breezy but fact-filled prose… A worthy paean to the importance of parks to British life. His book is impassioned, informative. -- Daisy Dunn * The Times *Quirky and delightful. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *Travis is a joyful cultural celebrant offering tantalizing nuggets of social history. -- Justine Crow * Families South East *Quirky, lively history, full of unexpected detail. * Simple Things *Amiable new history of the public park… He turns up lots of interesting, joyful stuff along the way. He’s particularly good on our forebears’ taste for the ersatz… A Walk in the Park is an enjoyable stroll. -- Rachel Cooke * Guardian *Fast-paced and richly peopled… Ebullient and enamored of his heroes is Elborough. -- Gillian Darley * Literary Review *Highly enjoyable. * Sunday Times *Elborough's quietly effervescent style manages to transform the reader from being someone with a passing interest in whatever topic he happens to be writing about into a fully-fledged Routemaster/LP/London loon. * Travel Guide *Elborough writes in an aptly meandering style with an appetite for the eccentric marginalia of history -- Ben Felsenburg * Mail on Sunday *[It is] quirky and original. * Times Literary Supplement *[A Walk in the Park is] wittily written and wide-ranging. * French Property News, Book of the Year *

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Book Synopsis___________''This excellent book demands the attention of anyone concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom'' Guardian1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry''s Bogside led to the deployment of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The British army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years. In this enthralling and controversial book, Martin Dillon, author of the bestselling The Shankill Butchers, examines the roles played by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government and the British Army during this troubled period. He unravels the mystery of war in which informers, agents and double agents operate, revealing disturbing facts about the way in which the terrorists and the Intelligence Agencies target, undermine and penetrate each other''s ranks. The Trade ReviewThis excellent book demands the attention of anyone concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom * Guardian *Grippingly written with the pace of a thriller * Financial Times *Makes Cold War duplicity a la Deighton and Le Carre seem positively endearing * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIf you want to discover the captivating history of the French Revolution, this is the book for you . . .Concise, convincing and exciting, this is Christopher Hibbert''s brilliant account of the events that shook eighteenth-century Europe to its foundation. With a mixture of lucid storytelling and fascinating detail, he charts the French Revolution from its beginnings at an impromptu meeting on an indoor tennis court at Versailles in 1789, right through to the ''coup d''etat'' that brought Napoleon to power ten years later.In the process he explains the drama and complexities of this epoch-making era in the compelling and accessible manner he has made his trademark.''A spectacular replay of epic action'' Richard Holmes, The Times''Unquestionably the best popular history of the French Revolution'' The Good Book GuideTable of ContentsPrologue - court and country; the day of the tennis-court oath, 20 June 1789; the day of the Vainquers de la Bastille, 14 July 1789; the day of the market-women, 5-6 October 1789; the days of the federes and the flight to Varennes, 14-17 July 1790 and 19-26 June 1791; the days of the tuileries, 20 June and 10 August 1792; the days of the September massacres and the execution of the king, 2-7 September 1792 and 21 January 1793; the days of the enrages and the hebertists, 28 May-2 June and 4-5 September 1793; the days of the terror, October-December 1793 and March-July 1794; the days of Thermidor, 22-28 July 1794; the days of Germinal, Prairal and Vendemiaire, 1 April, 20 May and 4-6 October 1795; epilogue - the advent of Bonaparte; appendices.

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Book SynopsisIn this long-awaited book (already a major bestseller in Italy) Ginsborg has created a fascinating, sophisticated and definitive account of how Italy has coped, or failed to cope, with the past two decades. Contemporary Italy strongly mirrors Britain - the countries have roughly the same extent, population size and GNP - and yet they are fantastically different. Ginsborg sees this difference as most fundamentally clear in the role of the family and it is the family which is at the heart of Italian politics and business. Anyone wishing to understand contemporary Italy will find it essential to have this enormously attractive and intelligent book.

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Book Synopsis“The best introduction I have ever read to Ancient Greece. The author’s liveliness of mind and style has enabled him to make a mass of information appetizing and digestible” –Ray Mortimer in the Sunday Times The Greeks were extraordinary not least because they evolved a totally new conception of what human life was for. Justifying and elaborating on that claim, H.D.F. Kitto explores the life, culture and history of classical Greece, bringing to his subject the passion, wit and insight that have made this brief introduction a world-famous classic. “Professor Kitto is a model historian – lively, accurate, and fully acquainted with the latest developments in the subject . . . never vague . . . often witty and always full of vigour.”—The Times Educational SupplementTable of Contents1 INTRODUCTION2 THE FORMATION OF THE GREEK PEOPLE3 THE COUNTRY4 HOMER5 THE POLIS6 CLASSICAL GREECE: THE EARLY PERIOD7 CLASSICAL GREECE: THE FIFTH CENTURY8 THE GREEKS AT WAR9 THE DECLINE OF THE POLIS10 THE GREEK MIND11 MYTH AND RELIGION12 LIFE AND CHARACTERINDEX

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Book SynopsisIstanbul's history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as court ceremonial and intrigue. The book also includes a comprehensive gazetteer of all major monuments and museums. An in-depth study of this legendary city through its many different ages from its earliest foundation to the present day - the perfect traveller's companion and guide.

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Book Synopsis“For anyone who wants an insight into the nature of Russian society before the revolution, there is no doubt that Professor Pipes has written the book.”—Lionel Kochan, Jewish Chronicle This highly acclaimed study from Richard Pipes analyzes the evolution of the Russian state from the ninth century to the 1880s and its unique role in managing Russian society. The harsh geographical conditions and sheer size of the country prevented the creation of participatory government, and a “patrimonial” state emerged in which Russia was transformed into a gigantic royal domain. Richard Pipes traces these developments and goes on to analyze the political behavior of the principal social groupings—peasantry, nobility, middle-class, and clergy—and their failure to stand up to the increasing absolutism of the tsar. In order to strengthen his powers, legal and institutional bases were set up that led to the creation of a bureaucratic police stateTable of ContentsChapter 1 The environment and its consequences: The geographic setting - vegetation, soils, climate, precipitation and waterways; The influence of Russia's northern location on her economy - short farming season, poor yields, lack of markets, unprofitability of farming, industrial side-occupations (promysly); Influence on population movement; Influence on social organization - joint family, peasant commune (obshchina); Influence on political organization - incompatibility of means and ends, the "patrimonial" system as solution. PART 1 THE STATE: Chapter 2 The genesis of the patrimonial state in Russia: Slav colonization of Russian territory; The Norman (Kievan) state - the commercial nature of the state, succession pattern, assimilation of Normans, origins of the name Rus'-Rossiia, the Norman legacy; The dissolution of the Kievan state - centrifugal forces, north-west - Novgorod, Lithuania and Poland; The appanage (patrimonial) principality of the north-east: the colonization of the Volga-Oka region, new political attitudes, the appanage principality as property, the prince's domain, the princely administration within and without, Boyars and boyar land, "Black land"; The problem of feudalism in appanage Russia - political decentralization, vassalage, conditional land tenure, the political consequences of the absence in Russia of feudal tradition; Mongol conquest and domination - the invasion, character of rule and its influence on Russian politics. Chapter 3 The Triumph of patrimonialism: The rise of Moscow - "monocracy" and "autocracy", the great principality of Vladimir and the Nevsky clan, Ivan I. Kalita, succession by primogeniture; The patrimonial principality - confusion of dominium and imperium, domainial origin of Russia's administration, failure to distinguish crown and state properties; The politicization of Moscow's patrimonial rulers - dissolution of the Golden Horde and collapse of Byzantium, the Mongol-Tatar sources of the Russian idea of kingship, Gosudar' as sovereign; The expansion of Moscow - its psychological effects, the conquest of Novgorod by Ivan III, subsequent acquisitions. Chapter 4 The anatomy of the patrimonial regime: Servitors and commoners; The service estate - Boyars lose-right of free departure, Mestnichestvo as last Boyar weapon, the rise of dvoriane, the oprichnina, terms and forms of service; Commoners - Tiaglo, serfdom - its rise and spread; The administration - Duma, Sobor, bureaucracy; Mechanism of control and repression - denunciation as civic duty, closed frontiers. Chapter 5 The partial dismantling of the patrimonial state: The crisis of the patrimonial system; The military reforms of Peter I - shortcomings of the old army, creation of a standing army, effect on commoners - soul tax and conscription, effect on servitors - compulsory schooling and table of ranks; Construction of St Petersburg; The idea of "public good" and its implications; Creation of a political police under Peter I. (Part contents).

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Book SynopsisThis highly original, extremely enjoyable book tells the story of Britain's extraordinary scramble to world power in the 18th century and how, through hubris and incompetence, it lost almost everything it had gained. Whilst Britain was an important European power, few would have expected her global preeminence by 1760, but as Brendan Simms shows with great flair and originality, Britain had a crucial card to play. It was the joining of the British crown to Hanover that gave Britain two empires: one scattered around the world and another the more important of the two - firmly locked into Germany. Having created a new empire Britain then spectacularly lost it, this time because of its chaotic failure to maintain its European alliances. This is an epic and often unexpected story, and Simms tells it brilliantly.

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Book SynopsisThe cradle of Western civilisation, Ancient Greece was a land of contradictions and conflict. Intensely quarrelsome and competitive, the Greek city-states consistently proved unwilling and unable to unite. Yet, in spite of or even because of this internal discord, no ancient civilization proved so dynamic or productive. The Greeks not only colonized the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas but set standards of figurative art that endured for nearly 2500 years. Charting topics as diverse as Minoan civilization, The Persian Wars, the Athenian Golden Age and the conquests of Alexander the Great, the book traces the development of this creative and restless people and assesses their impact not only on the ancient world but also on our own attitudes and environment. The authoritative narrative, illustrated with over sixty full colour maps and over seventy plates, makes this an indispensable handbook for history students and enthusiasts alike.Table of ContentsPart 1 Crete, Mycenae and the heroic age: origins; King Minos and Knossos; the Mycenaean world; bronze age trade; the seas people controversy; the collaspe of the Mycenae; the Trojan wars; Minoan and Mycenaean art. Part 2 Dark age to Athenian ascendancy: dark age Greece; rise of the city-states; migration and colonization; Egypt and Kyrenaica; the Greeks in Italy; rise of the tyrants; Athens ascendant; the classical myths. Part 3 The Persian rival: Persia and the west; kingdom of Macedonia; Persian campaigns I and II; the continuing rivalry; the rise of Sparta; ancient explorers; Greek literature and thought. Part 4 Perikles to Phillip: Perikles and the Athens empire; Peloponnesian War - the Aegean, Sicily; Sparta and Thebes; Kingdoms of Northern Greece; decline of Athens; Philip and Macedonian expansion; Greek warfare. Part 5 Alexander and after: campaigns of Alexander; Alexander the general; Alexander's spoils; consolidation of the kingdoms; new kingdoms, new rivalries; kingdoms in crises; Roman conquest; architecture of Ancient Greece.

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Book SynopsisThe Penguin Atlas of Ancient History illustrates in a chronological series of maps, the evolution and flux of races in Europe, the Mediterranean area and the Near East. From 50,000 B.C. to the fourth century A.D., it is one of the most successful of the bestselling historical atlas series.Table of ContentsThe New Penguin Atlas of Ancient HistoryLiteracy 2250 BC1275 BC670 BC415 BCTowns and trade routes 2250 BC1275 BC670 BC415 BC192 BCAD 14AD 362Population 415 BCAD 362Christendom AD 362Appendices 1. Roman provinces2. Notes on the construction of the mapsIndex Index Map AIndex Map B

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Book SynopsisAt a villa on the shore of the Wannsee, a lake in suburban Berlin, on 20th January 1942 one of the most terrible meetings in human history convened. Chaired by Reinhard Heydrich and organised and minuted by Adolf Eichmann, it brought together representatives of all the principal Nazi agencies in eastern Europe. Pooling the expertise of those present, Heydrich created the plan that would let Europe ''be combed through from west to east'' for Jews and which would put the Final Solution on a rational and industrial footing.Table of Contents"Perhaps the most shameful document"; "Mein Kampf" to mass murder, 1919-41; mass murder to genocide; the villa, the lake, the meeting; a largely successful day. Appendix: the protocol.

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Book SynopsisDiscover which prehistoric mammals would once have lived by the River Thames. Take a detailed look at the crystal palace of the Great Exhibition and an early map of the underground. This title offers a perspective on one of the world's most exciting cities.Trade ReviewStunning ... an irresistible page-turner ... Whisks us in fifteen chapters from prehistory to near future, each chapter broken down into themed sections that explore the lives of ordinary Londoners, from priests to prostitutes, bakers to burglars, cavemen to international financiers * Eastend Life *

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Book SynopsisPeter Clarke brilliantly challenges the commonly held view of Britain in the twentieth century as a nation in decline. Adopting a wide perspective, he examines the political. social and economic changes that transformed Britain. He looks at how jobs and prices, food and shelter, and education and welfare, shaped society and explores such areas as architecture, sport and popular culture. Embracing a century of national experience, Hope and Glory superbly conveys the diverse aspects of three generations who lived through unparalleled change.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Duff Cooper PrizeWinner of the NCR Award for Non-Fiction From the high politics of Court and Cabinet room to the kitchen or the queue, Peter Hennessy''s Never Again: Britain 1945-51, the first part of his Post-War Trilogy, recreates life in early post-war Britain.''Hennessy conjures up the Attlee years more vividly than any previous writer'' Ben Pimlott, Guardian At the end of the Second World War Britain was in flux. It was an age of rationing and rebuilding; when hope for a better future contrasted with the horror of war. Fresh ideals emerged during the common experience of the conflict and the new, widespread belief that everyone should be treated equally led to the creation of the ''welfare state'' and the NHS, despite tough economic circumstances. Internationally, Britain was finding a place in a world increasingly overshadowed by Cold War with the Soviet Union. ''A joy to read'' Sund

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Book SynopsisR.F. Foster''s Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change, 1970-2000 examines how the country has weathered thirty years of rapid transformation, and what these changes may mean in the long run. From 1970, things were changing in Ireland - the Celtic Tiger had finally woken, and the rules for everything from gender roles and religion to international relations were being entirely rewritten. By the end of the twentieth century, Ireland had become a global brand, and the almost completely unexpected wave of prosperity had brought with it upheavals in economics, sexual mores and culture, as well as a shift in North-South attitudes. Roy Foster also looks at how characters as diverse as Gerry Adams, Mary Robinson, Charles Haughey and Bob Geldof have contributed to Ireland''s altered psyche, and uncovers some of the scandals, corruption and marketing masterminds that have transformed Ireland - and its luck. ''Examines our society with fierce intTrade ReviewThe brilliance of the writing places him as a historian in a league of his own ... A balanced work offering his own distinctive, original and elegant insights -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Times Literary Supplement *Occasionally angry, sometimes whimsical and frequently hilarious ... Appeals both to those who know nothing and those who think they know everything -- Conor Gearty * Financial Times *Examines our society with fierce intelligence and insight -- Colm Tóibín * Irish Times *[Foster is] the great demythologizer of Ireland -- Terry Eagleton * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017A hauntingly beautiful social history of the Thames Estuary, from the author of On Brick LaneOut at the eastern edge of England, between land and ocean, you will find beautiful, haunted salt marshes, coastal shallows and wide-open skies: the Thames Estuary. The estuary is an ancient gateway to England, a passage for numberless travellers in and out of London. And for generations, the people of Kent and Essex have lived and worked on the Estuary, learning its waters, losing loved ones to its deeps. Their heritage is a proud but never an easy one. In the face of a world changing around them, they endure.Rachel Lichtenstein spent five years exploring this unique community and recording its extraordinary chorus of voices, present and past. From mud larkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, from buried princesses to unexploded bombs, Estuary is a celebration of a haunting & profTrade ReviewPublisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, capturing the incredibly diverse community of people who live and work in this ancient, wild and mesmerising place. * Penguin *Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary * Spectator *The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done. * Irish Times *Immersive, engrossing, evocative * The Lady *

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Book SynopsisA gripping narrative of the most critical years in modern Ireland''s history - from Charles Townshend, author of Easter 1916TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014The protracted, terrible fight for independence pitted the Irish against the British and the Irish against other Irish. It was both a physical battle of shocking violence against a regime increasingly seen as alien and unacceptable and an intellectual battle for a new sort of country. The damage done, the betrayals and grim compromises put the new nation into a state of trauma for at least a generation, but at a nearly unacceptable cost the struggle ended: a new republic was born.Charles Townshend''s Easter 1916 opened up the astonishing events around the Rising for a new generation and in The Republic he deals, with the same unflinchingly wish to get to the truth behind the legend, with the most critical years in Ireland''s history. There has been a great temptation to view these years through the prisms of martyrology and good-and-evil. The picture painted by Townshend is far more nuanced and sceptical - but also never loses sight of the ordinary forms of heroism performed by Irish men and women trapped in extraordinary times.''The author has devoted his life to the study of Irish history and this huge work is the pinnacle of his labours'' John Banville on Easter 1916Trade ReviewElectric ... [a] magisterial and essential book -- Roy Foster * Irish Times *[A] tour de force ... wonderful ... brilliantly written history ... Townshend's book can only inspire admiration -- John Lee * Irish Mail on Sunday *Highly detailed and rich ... [a] magisterial and judicious narrative ... this must surely be one of the definitive texts on this period of Anglo-Irish history -- Mary Kenny * Literary Review *Charles Townshend's monumental work [is] bold in ambition, scope and execution ... a work of broad and confident understanding, characterised by a uniform care in its approach to complex and controversial material ... An intensely compelling and often discomfiting narrative, which candidly explores four years of personal and intimate violence * Tablet *Magisterial ... intensely gruelling but hugely impressive ... for people who prefer to know the facts ... [a] fine achievement of breathing new life into a subject that some historians might assume had already been done to death * Sunday Business Post *For those interested in a reliable and empathetic introduction to the topic, this is now the best place to start * BBC History Magazine *A great read ... it has certainly set a very high standard for others to measure up to -- Marianne Elliott * Times Higher Education *A well-sourced, severely objective account of the origins and courses of the wars that followed the Easter Rising * Irish Catholic *Charles Townshend's The Republic . . . nails the Irish revolutionary events of 1918-23 with his inimitable kind of forensic panache -- Roy Foster * Times Literary Supplement BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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Book SynopsisTo Lose a Battle: France 1940 is the final book of Alistair Horne''s trilogy, which includes The Fall of Paris and The Price of Glory and tells the story of the great crises of the rivalry between France and Germany. In 1940 Hitler sent his troops to execute the Fall of France. A six-week battle with lightning ''blitzkrieg'' warfare and combined operations techniques, the offensive ended the Phony War and sent the French forces reeling as their government fled from occupied Paris. For the Axis, it was a dramatic victory. But how was this spectacular result possible? In To Lose a Battle Alistair Horne tells the day-by-day, moment-by-moment story of the battle, sifted from the vast Nazi archives and the fragmentary records of the beaten Allies. Using eye-witness accounts of battle operations and personal memoirs of leading figures on both sides, this book steps far beyond the confines of military accounts to form a major contribution to our understanding of this important period in European history. ''Alistair Horne really brings home the pathos and human folly of war, and he writes brilliantly''The Times ''Horne follows his line unfalteringly. All the details are there: the small, fleeting triumphs, the greater disasters, the bravery, the cowardice, the stupidity and the intelligence ... that make war so fascinating and so terrible''Economist ''Horne completes his masterly trilogy ... the definitive account of one of the most efficient and astonishing campaigns of all time''The Times Literary Supplement One of Britain''s greatest historians, Sir Alistair Horne, CBE, is the author of a trilogy on the rivalry between France and Germany, The Price of Glory, The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle, as well as a two-volume life of Harold Macmillan.

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Book SynopsisIn The English Jeremy Paxman sets out to find about the English. Not the British overall, not the Scots, not the Irish or Welsh, but the English. Why do they seem so unsure of who they are?Jeremy Paxman is to many the embodiment of Englishness yet even he is sometimes forced to ask: who or what exactly are the English? And in setting about addressing this most vexing of questions, Paxman discovers answers to a few others. Like: Why do the English actually enjoy feeling persecuted?What is behind the English obsession with games?How did they acquire their odd attitudes to sex and to food?Where did they get their extraordinary capacity for hypocrisy?Covering history, attitudes to foreigners, sport, stereotypyes, language and much, much more, The English brims over with stories and anecdotes that provide a fascinating portrait of a nation and its people.''Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny...A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments'' Andrew Marr, Observer ''Bursting with good things'' Daily Telegraph Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Empire, On Royalty, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire.Trade ReviewIntelligent, well-written, informative and funny…A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments -- Andrew Marr * Observer *Bursting with good things * Daily Telegraph *Bursting with good things * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisFollowing Never Again and Having It So Good, the third part of Peter Hennessy''s celebrated Post-War Trilogy''By far the best study of early Sixties Britain ... so much fun, yet still shrewd and important'' The Times, Books of the Year Harold Macmillan famously said in 1960 that the wind of change was blowing over Africa and the remaining British Empire. But it was blowing over Britain too - its society; its relationship with Europe; its nuclear and defence policy. And where it was not blowing hard enough - the United Kingdom''s economy - great efforts were made to sweep away the cobwebs of old industrial practices and poor labour relations. Life was lived in the knowledge that it could end in a single afternoon of thermonuclear exchange if the uneasy, armed peace of the Cold War tipped into a Third World War.In Winds of Change we see Macmillan gradually working out his ''grand design'' - how to be part of both a tigTrade ReviewPeter Hennessy writes like he talks, which produces a delightfully wandering narrative, peppered with quirky anecdotes, that surreptitiously delivers powerful insights. This is by far the best study of early Sixties Britain; one to please the masses and wow the scholars. ... Hennessy, unique among contemporary historians, understands politics from the inside out. The book is so much fun, yet still shrewd and important -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times Books of the Year *Professor Peter Hennessy is a fine historian of late-twentieth-century Britain. He is a master of all the published sources, and his generous personality, academic distinction and unquestioned integrity have meant that he adds to them a lifetime of the confidences and insights of most of those who have actually made our history. ... So, a standing ovation for Peter Hennessy, a good man who writes very good books. -- Chris Patten * Tablet *Hennessy is a national treasure. He is driven by a romantic, almost sensual, fascination with British history, culture, and the quirky intricacies of British democracy and the government machine. His curiosity is insatiable, his memory infinitely capacious. -- Rodric Braithwaite * Spectator *[G]enially narrated... what makes him such a deft public historian is the way he stitches these patches of rich local colour into a narrative with the widest possible reach. ... Hennessy has such a keen associative eye and such a generous heart for the sheer oddness of everything that the narrative spins along like a comfortable chat. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *splendid history of postwar Britain... Hennessy's writing is characterised by a wonderful mixture of wit and erudition. -- Piers Brandon * Literary Review *a deeply-informed book that has, nearly 60 years later, powerful resonance. The foremost chronicler of the era, Hennessy combines the intricate detail with stylistic verve. -- Philip Stephens * Financial Times *This is the third in Hennessy's wonderfully insightful series of books that make up a portrait of a nation coming to terms with victory in a ravaging war and the loss of empire. Like the others - Never Again and Having It So Good - it performs a singular balancing act between social history and cabinet-room politics. No current historian is as versed as Hennessy in the internal cogs and springs of the British state, but he also has a keen eye for the luminous face of passing time. -- Tim Adams * Observer *a masterful survey of Britain as the decade began ... For those who know him only from the radio, Hennessy is as good a writer as he is a talker. ... I am afraid that he is now a treasure. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *flavoursome, but authoritative, account ... This history is none the worse - quite the opposite - for being such a personal one; but it is the intense erudition underpinning Hennessy's intimate reflections that makes it so utterly indispensable. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *fascinating ... dominated by the author's personal enthusiasms, researches and memories -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''A gripping analysis of the final days of peace ... indispensable'' M. R. D. Foot, The TimesRichard Overy''s 1939: Countdown to War re-creates hour-by-hour the last desperate attempts to salvage peace before the outbreak of World War Two.24 August 1939: The fate of the world is hanging in the balance. Hitler has ambitions to invade Poland and hopes Stalin will now help him. The West must try to stop him. Nothing was predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. And both sides acted knowing that they risked being plunged into a war that might spell the end the end of European civilization.Trade ReviewOvery is one of the great historians of the second world war -- Bryan Appleyard Sunday Times This country's most distinguished historian of the Second World War ... Overy's book is easily the best account of Europe's descent into the death and destruction that were Hitler's element -- Michael Burleigh Evening Standard Nail-biting ... with rare narrative verve, he documents the ultimatums, emissaries, letters and increasingly desperate proposals that shuttled across Europe in the countdown to war -- Ian Thomson Independent Even those who think they know it all about how war broke out will learn something from Richard Overy's book -- Simon Heffer Literary Review One of the great historians of this conflict -- Simon Garfield Observer

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Book SynopsisDuring the Second World War the Royal Navy was the most powerful of Britain''s armed forces. Its sailors fought across the globe in vast battleships and claustrophobic corvettes, makeshift minesweepers and silent submarines. They endured nerve-wracking convoys, fought epic gun battles, carried out deadly secret missions, rescued armies and landed the largest invasion force in history. Naval power was the foundation of Britain''s war effort, and sailors shaped the nation''s destiny. Drawing on hundreds of contemporary diaries and letters, Glyn Prysor''s original and gripping narrative evokes the triumph and tragedy, horror and humanity of the war at sea, bringing to life the sailor''s war as never before.Trade ReviewMarvellous...a fine addition to the literature on the Second World War * Sunday Telegraph *Prysor does for the sailors of the Royal Navy what Patrick Bishop did for the RAF in Fighter Boys...He reminds us of their extraordinary contribution to our survival. * Daily Express *A moving and evocative story of the war at sea -- Professor N.A.M. Rodger, author of 'The Command of the Ocean'This impressive human history of the Royal Navy begins the long overdue process of putting it back at the heart of the war effort -- Book of the Week * Independent *Full of terrific stories * Sunday Times *An absorbing read...a fine memorial * Literary Review *Excellent. Captures the soul of the men who were there...their humanity and, occassionally, inhumanity * Navy News *Skillfully weaves together a coherent 'people's history of the sailors' war'...Fresh and compelling * Times Literary Supplement *Breathtaking skill...freshness and force...Prysor makes the Navy of the Second World War intensely personal, vivid and vital * Military Times *Reads extremely well, with a gripping narrative that explains the unfolding of the war whilst weaving in moving and vivid personal accounts...This is a book that manages to fuse the strategic with the human and the social with consummate skill, and in so doing it delivers a multifaceted understanding of the war at sea as well as a poignant reminder of the way in which society has lost its 'sea vision' * Nautilus International Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisAstolphe Louis Leonor, Marquis de Custine, was born in 1790. Both his grandfather and father were executed during the Terror. Raised by his remarkable mother, Custine became a diplomat and attended the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Custine's homosexuality became the subject of a public scandal in 1824 and ended his career. He devoted the rest of his life to travel and literature. In 1839 he made the journey that resulted in his masterpiece, Letters from Russia. Custine died in 1857.

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Book SynopsisKing John ruled England for seventeen and a half years, yet his entire reign is usually reduced to one image: of the villainous monarch outmanoeuvred by rebellious barons into agreeing to Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. Ever since, John has come to be seen as an archetypal tyrant. But how evil was he?In this perceptive short account, Nicholas Vincent unpicks John''s life through his deeds and his personality. The youngest of four brothers, overlooked and given a distinctly unroyal name, John seemed doomed to failure. As king, he was reputedly cruel and treacherous, pursuing his own interests at the expense of his country, losing the continental empire bequeathed to him by his father Henry and his brother Richard and eventually plunging England into civil war. Only his lordship of Ireland showed some success. Yet, as this fascinating biography asks, were his crimes necessarily greater than those of his ancestors - or was he judged more harshly because, ultimately, he failed as a warlord?Trade ReviewSwashbuckling stuff, and there is only one answer to the question posed by the subtitle. -- George Garnett, Professor of Medieval History at Oxford University

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Book Synopsis''Consistently illuminating ... Like all the best stories, it is about the timeless tides of power and influence ... trade deals can sometimes be sexy, thrilling and epic'' Sinclair McKay, SpectatorLife in Europe was fundamentally changed in the 16th century by the astonishing discoveries of the New World and of direct sea routes to Asia. To start with England was hardly involved and London remained a gloomy, introverted medieval city. But as the century progressed something extraordinary happened.Stephen Alford''s evocative, original and fascinating new book uses the same skills that made his widely praised The Watchers so successful, bringing to life the network of merchants, visionaries, crooks and sailors who changed London forever. In a sudden explosion of energy English ships were suddenly found all over the world - trading with Russia and the Levant, exploring Virginia and the Arctic, and fanning out across the Indian Ocean. Trade ReviewExceptionally rich and variegated...This might be a book for ministers to take on holiday in the summer. -- Jessie Childs * Guardian *Vivid and informative... somehow one can't help wondering whether there might be a lesson [here] for British commerce today. -- Noel Malcolm * Telegraph *The book is crammed with unexpected sidelights of 16th century London * Times *A city contending with immigration, religious difference and the threat of violence... the unspoken comparisons that haunt this story are unavoidably poignant * Times Higher Education Supplement *Like all the best stories, it is about the timeless tides of power and influence... consistently illuminating and filled with pleasing resonance -- Sinclair McKay * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE HISTORICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION CROWNAS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4''Fabulous, timely, a marvellous achievement'' Spectator''A richly resonant work which recasts our understanding of the Elizabethan era'' Daily TelegraphIn 1570, after plots and assassination attempts against her, Elizabeth I was excommunicated by the Pope. It was the beginning of cultural, economic and political exchanges with the Islamic world of a depth not again experienced until the modern age. England signed treaties with the Ottoman Porte, received ambassadors from Morocco and shipped munitions to Marrakech in the hope of establishing an accord which would keep the common enemy of Catholic Spain at bay. This awareness of the Islamic world found its way into many of the great English cultural productions of the day - especially, of course, Shakespeare''s Othello and The Merchant of Venice. This Orient Isle Trade ReviewI adored this book, it resonated deeply with me. -- Elif Shafak * Radio 3 (Free Thinking) *A little-known story that Brotton chronicles with scholarship, assurance, and not a little charm. -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Jerry Brotton's sparkling new book sets out just how extensive and complex England's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world once was, and tentatively connects the threads of that engagement to our own times. -- David Shariatmadari * Guardian *A vivid, significant work of scholarship. -- Kate Maltby * The Times *There is much in these pages to delight and provoke... This Orient Isle is a richly resonant work which not only recasts our understanding of the Elizabethan era but also reveals Islam, crucially, as "part of the national story of England". -- Jeremy Seal * Telegraph *Jerry Brotton's fabulous new book [reveals] just how deep and entangled the roots of the Islamic and Christian faiths were in the early modern period. ... a timely intervention and a marvellous achievement. -- Marcus Nevitt * Spectator *

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Book Synopsis''Deserves to be read by everyone interested in the future of the United Kingdom'' Andrew Marr, The Sunday TimesThere can be no relationship in Europe''s history more creative, significant, vexed and uneasy than that between Scotland and England. From the Middle Ages onwards the island of Britain has been shaped by the unique dynamic between Edinburgh and London, exchanging inhabitants, monarchs, money and ideas, sometimes in a spirit of friendship and at others in a spirit of murderous dislike.Tom Devine''s seminal new book explores this extraordinary history in all its ambiguity, from the seventeenth century to the present. When not undermining each other with invading armies, both Scotland and England have broadly benefitted from each other''s presence - indeed for long periods of time nobody questioned the union which joined them. But as Devine makes clear, it has for the most part been a relationship based on consent, not force, on mutual advantageTrade ReviewDeserves to be read by everyone interested in the future of the United Kingdom... this is analytical, synthetic, argumentative history at its best; it slays lazy myths and tells us the "why" of a momentous story every intelligent Briton ought to understand...cracking. -- Andrew Marr * The Sunday Times *Brilliant. Easily surpasses any of the glut of books surrounding our constitutional upheaval of the last five years or so. -- Kevin McKenna * The Observer *Never less than compelling ...Independence or Union is his best book to date, is required reading and a perfect example of why history matters. -- Alan Taylor * The Herald *Surefooted, balanced and reliable in analysis throughout. -- Colin Kidd * London Review of Books *The book offers a crisp and well-paced assessment of the Union... a thoroughly reasoned assessment -- Donald MacRaild * Times Higher Education *Briskly, clearly and fairly he sketches a complex and detailed history, bringing new life and fresh perspectives to old stories... if he hadn't already been knighted for services to Scottish history, Devine would have been high on the list for preferment after this new work. -- John McTernan * Prospect Magazine *Devine brings his usual acute historical critique to the question in hand. -- Keith M. Brown * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThe best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit' Felipe Fernández-Armesto, TLSA revelatory new history of Spain, from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first''Spain is different,'' proclaimed the Franco regime in the 1940s, keen to attract foreign tourists. For the most part, the world has agreed. From the end of its ''glorious empire'' in 1898 to the dazzling World Cup victory in 2010, the prevailing narrative of modern Spain has emphasized the country''s peculiarity. Generations of historians and readers have been transfixed by its implosion into civil war in the 1930s, seduced by the valiant struggle of the republicans, horrified by the barbarity of the dictatorship which followed. Franco''s Spain was seen as an anomaly in the midst of prosperous and permissive post-war Western Europe. But, as Nigel Townso

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