European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

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

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Book SynopsisSUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLERThe most important book of the year' Daily MailThe brilliant and provocative new book from one of the world's foremost political writersThe anti-Western revisionists have been out in force in recent years. It is high time that we revise them in turn'In The War on the West, international bestselling author Douglas Murray asks: if the history of humankind is one of slavery, conquest, prejudice, genocide and exploitation, why are only Western nations taking the blame for it? It's become perfectly acceptable to celebrate the contributions of non-Western cultures, but discussing their flaws and crimes is called hate speech. What's more it has become acceptable to discuss the flaws and crimes of Western culture, but celebrating their contributions is also called hate speech. Some of this is a much-needed reckoning; however, some is part of a larger international attack on reason, democracy, science, progress and the citizens of the West by dishonest scholarsTrade Review‘Murray shows not just how every aspect of western society has come under the iconoclasts’ gaze – from mathematics to music, Kew Gardens to Jane Austen – but how flimsy their case often is.’ – The Sunday Times ‘Murray writes with wonderful lucidity about the many fronts on which the West is waging war against itself. And he writes with a sense of urgency.’ – Real Clear Politics ‘Well executed… a spirited defence against the Left's assault on the Western tradition.’ – The Daily Telegraph ‘The War on the West is a monumental book leading to several pivotal realisations.’ – Lotus Eaters ‘Meticulous, measured… The War on the West is Douglas Murray’s latest blast against loony left wokery.’ – The Spectator Praise for Douglas Murray and The Madness of Crowds ‘Whether one agrees with him or not, Douglas Murray is one of the most important public intellectuals today.’ – Bernard-Henry Levy ‘This is an author who specialises in expressing what everyone sort of knows already and is afraid to say…Well argued, well supported, and well observed.’ – Lionel Shriver ‘Simply brilliant. Reading it to the end, I felt as though I’d just drawn my first full breath in years. At a moment of collective madness, there is nothing more refreshing – or indeed, provocative – than sanity.’ – Sam Harris ‘His latest book is beyond brilliant and should be read, must be read, by everyone. He mercilessly exposes the hypocrisy and embarrassingly blatant contradictions that run rife through the current ‘woke’ vouge.’ – Richard Dawkins ‘Douglas Murray fights the good fight for freedom of speech… A truthful look at today’s most divisive issues.’ – Jordan B. Peterson ‘Extraordinary. Magnificent. Searing. Necessary. I salute il miglior fabbro. ‘And whether they listen or fail to listen… they will know that the prophet has been among them’ (Ezekiel 2:5)’ – Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

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Book SynopsisAn international bestseller, this is a German soldier''s first-hand account of life on Russian front during the second half of the Second World War.When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue and constant deprivation. Posted to the crack Grosse Deutschland division, with its sadistic instructors who shoot down those who fail to make the grade, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive. As the biting cold of the Russian winter sets in, and the tide begins to turn against the Germans, life becomes an endless round of pounding artillery attacks and vicious combat against a relentless and merciless Red Army. A book of stunning force, this is an unforgettable reminder of the horrors of war.

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BEST FOOD AND DRINK BOOK OF 2024A Financial Times Book of the Year 2024'A perfect balance of history, food, anecdotes and recommendations' Michel Roux Jr'Wondrous, witty, delicious and fun. Every page made me hungry' Raymond Blanc'The perfect Christmas gift for any Francophile' Fiona Beckett'A richly researched and highly readable wander round the regions of France' The TimesWhat makes a real salade niçoise?What type of cheese is officially France's stinkiest?Why does the sandy carrot have such a superior flavour?And who exactly are the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Giant Omelette?Leading expert on French food and culture Carolyn Boyd shares the stories behind the country's most fascinating foods and ingredients. Spanning every region of France and divided into 200 separate vignettes, each entry blends history and travel, personal anecdote and recipes. Amuse Bouche is a book to be devoured: a beautifully illustrated, joyous celebration of French food, and a charming, practical guide to inspire your own travels - whether you're a proud Francophile or don't know your ficelle from your flûte.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize and the Wolfson History PrizeIn March of 1933, a disused factory surrounded by barbed wire held 223 prisoners in the town of Dachau. By the end of 1945, the SS concentration camp system had become an overwhelming landscape of terror. Twenty-two large camps and over one thousand satellite camps throughout Germany and Europe were at the heart of the Nazi campaign of repression and intimidation. The importance of the camps in terms of Nazi history and our modern world cannot be questioned.Dr Nikolaus Wachsmann is the first historian to write a complete history of the camps. Combining the political and the personal, Wachsmann will examine the organisation of such an immense genocidal machine, whilst drawing a vivid picture of life inside the camps for the individual prisoner. The book gives voice to those typically forgotten in Nazi history: the ''social deviants'', criminals and unwanted ethnicities that all faced the terror of the camps. Wachsmann explores the practice of institutionalised murder and inmate collaboration with the SS selectively ignored by many historians. Pulling together a wealth of in-depth research, official documents, contemporary studies and the evidence of survivors themselves, KL is a complete but accessible narrative.Trade ReviewIt is hard to imagine that Nik Wachsmann's superb book, surely to become the standard work on Nazi concentration camps, will ever be surpassed. Based on a huge array of widely scattered sources, it is a gripping as well as comprehensive and authoritative study of this grim but highly important topic -- Ian Kershaw, author of The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1944–1945This is the fullest and most comprehensive history of the Nazi concentration camps in any language: a magnificent feat of research, full of arresting detail and cogent analysis, readable as well as authoritative: an extraordinary achievement that will immediately take its place as the standard work on the subject -- Sir Richard J Evans, author of the Third Reich trilogyThis book is a remarkable achievement. Nikolaus Wachsmann has written the first integrated history of Nazi concentration camps, unifying in a single narrative the policies and measures governing the inception and growth of the system, the context in which the monstrous KL developed and how each of its stages and facets was recorded and remembered by its victims. The study is essential for a further understanding of the Third Reich -- Saul Friedlander, author of The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 (winner of the Pulitzer Prize)Nikolaus Wachsmann has written an admirable historical overview of the Nazi concentration camps, effectively combining decades of recent scholarship with his own original research. He captures both the trajectory of dynamic change through which the camp system evolved as well as the experiences and agency - however limited - of the prisoner community. This is an impressive and valuable book -- Christopher R. Browning, author of Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in PolandTelling the story of the KL means facing up to a formidable challenge: how to make the camps relatable, as places where real people lived, worked and died, rather than transcendental symbols of evil? . . . [Wachsmann] proves himself equal to this challenge . . . thanks to Wachsmann's skill as a writer, it manages to be much more than a doleful trudge through a universe of ever-increasing death and terror * Independent *Monumentally impressive . . . seems certain to become the definitive history of the Nazi concentration camps . . . his scholarship brings new life to a familiar subject -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Profoundly important . . . exceptional . . . will surely become the standard work on the subject -- Laurence Rees * Mail on Sunday *Wachsmann has in effect united the best of the German and the British schools of grand World War II history: hugely but humbly exhaustive research with attention to character and to detailed narrative * Wall Street Journal *Wachsmann's meticulous research and unwavering eye for detail is never permitted to detract from the individual human tragedies . . . so much more than another academic record of the holocaust * Good Book Guide *Hugely impressive . . . Wachsmann has produced the standard historical work on the Nazi camps . . . KL represents the acme of what the historical disciple can achieve * BBC History magazine *[A] magnificent work of scholarship . . . every page of Nikolaus Wachsmann's magisterial account is suffused with humanity * Literary Review *Gripping, humane, and beautifully written * New York Review of Books *A work of prodigious scholarship * New York Times *Every page is suffused with humanity and anyone who wants to understand the Nazis should read it * Jewish Chronicle *Hugely impressive . . . Wachsmann pulls off a remarkable feat: he not only provides an account of Konzentrationslager, or KL of the books title, he does so in a readable, accessible way. KL represents an acme of what the historical discipline can achieve -- Dan Stone * BBC History magazine *It is difficult to do justice to the brilliance of Wachsmann's comprehensive history . . . engrossing as well as illuminating -- Joanna Bourke * New Statesman *Wachsmann's book is a world-making history * London Review of Books *In devastating and undeniable detail, KL sets out the full story of the camps -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Telegraph *A staggeringly well-informed and enormously moving record of suffering and evil . . .the terrifying lesson of Wachsmann's account is not that any of us might have been an inmate. It is that any of us might have been a guard -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *A truly excellent book on one of history's darkest moments * History Today *This is both a panoptic and an intimate history of the camps: we get the big picture as well as the telling detail(the SS officer who opened doors with his elbow rather than his hand because he was worried about germs). It is a huge and very necessary contribution to our understanding of this obscene subject. It makes us think anew: about how the camps worked, what it was like in them and how they fitted into the machinery of the state -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZEDrowned. Buried by sand. Decimated by plague. Plunged off a cliff.This is the forgotten history of Britain''s lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages: our shadowlands.''Brilliant.'' TOM HOLLAND''A beautiful book, truly original . . . It is a marvellous achievement.''IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval England''Well researched, beautifully written and packed with interesting detail.''CLAIRE TOMALIN''An exquisitely written, moving and elegiac exploration.''SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB''Consistently interesting . . . Green's passion and historical vision bursts from the page, summoning up the past in surround sound and sensual prose.''CAL FLYN, THE TIMES, author of Islands of AbandonmentHistorian Matthew Green traTrade Review'A miraculous work of resurrection, stinging in a perpetual present'. - IAIN SINCLAIR, author of The Gold Machine'Beautifully written.' - SUNDAY TIMES'Startling.' - FINANCIAL TIMES'Splendid.' -THE HERALD'Compelling.' - HISTORY TODAY'Excellent.' - THE SPECTATOR'Fascinating.' -DAILY MAIL'Accomplished.' - CAUGHT BY THE RIVER'Outstanding.' - MIRROR

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Book SynopsisReaders accustomed to the precision and elegance of Edward Said's analytical prowess will not be disappointed . . . Those discovering Said for the first time will be profoundly impressed' Toni MorrisonFollowing his profoundly influential study Orientalism, Edward W. Said turned his attention to the Western world, tracing the connections between imperialism and European art, literature and music. From Jane Austen to Salman Rushdie, from Yeats to media coverage of the Gulf War, Culture and Imperialism initiates a dialogue between culture and the political and economic fabric of its time. Vast in its scope and stunning in its erudition, this collection of essays remains as urgent today as it was on first publication. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR

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Book SynopsisWritten by a noted authority, this fully illustrated study describes and depicts the machine guns equipping Soviet and Russian troops after 1945. Following the USSR's victory in World War II, the Soviet armed forces adopted a succession of new or improved machine guns. At squad level, the 7.62mm RPD and RP-46 light machine guns replaced the DPM, themselves being supplanted by the RPK from 1961. Firing the lighter 5.45×39mm cartridge, the RPK-74 was issued from 1974 and remains in use today. The 5.45mm RPK-16 entered Russian service in 2018. Having served alongside the 7.62mm PM M1910 Maxim during World War II, the 7.62mm SG-43 medium machine gun was updated as the SGM before being supplanted by the 7.62mm PK general-purpose machine gun, issued from 1961. The improved PKM made its debut in 1969 and still equips Russian troops today, being joined by the PKP in 2001 and the AEK-999 in 2008. First issued in 1938, the formidable 12.7mm DShK heavy machine gun remains in Russian service today as the DShkM. It was joined by the 14.5mm KPV from 1949, the 12.7mm NSV from 1971 and the 12.7mm Kord from 1998. In this illustrated survey, Leroy Thompson investigates the origins, development, combat use and legacy of all of these machine guns since 1945, from the start of the Cold War to the 2020s, casting light on their battlefield effectiveness and tactical influence.

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Book Synopsis''The First World War from a refreshingly unfamiliar angle . . . masterly'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times ''Compelling . . . The Eastern Front is essential reading'' Margaret Macmillan, Financial TimesA masterwork . . . This is the history of the Eastern Front I've waited all my life to read' Simon Sebag MontefioreThe definitive history of the Eastern Front in the First World War, from the acclaimed military historian and author of Passchendaele and The Western Front***********In the second volume of his landmark First World War trilogy, Professor Nick Lloyd tells the story for the first time of what Winston Churchill once called the ''unknown war'': the vast conflict in Eastern Europe and the Balkans that brought about the collapse of three empires.Much has been written about the fighting in France and Belgium, yet the Eastern Front was no less bloody. Between 1914 and 1917, huge numbers of people - perhaps as many as 16 million soldiers and two million civilians - were killed, wounded or maimed in enormous battles that sometimes ranged across a front of 100 km in length. Through intimate eyewitness reports, diary entries and memoirs - many of which have never been translated into English before - Lloyd reconstructs the full story of a war that began in the Balkans as a local struggle between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and which sucked in Russia, Germany and Italy, right through to the final collapse of the Habsburg Empire in 1918.The Eastern Front paints a vivid and authoritative picture of a conflict that shook the world, and that remains central to understanding the tragic, blood-soaked trajectory of the twentieth century, and the current war in Ukraine.

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Book SynopsisA DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEKA SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEARA DAILY TELEGRAPH BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023ASPECTS OF HISTORY BOOKS OF THE YEARA GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023A DAILY MAIL BEST CHRISTMAS BOOK OF 2023The prequel to Frank McDonough's bestselling Hitler Years series, covering the dramatic era of German history that culminated in the rise to power of Adolf Hitler in 1933.Established in the wake of German defeat in the First World War, the Weimar Republic held out the hope that democracy, stability and prosperity would take root in Germany. From the start, however, it was beset by political and economic upheaval and spasms of violence between left and right. Year by year, from 1918 to 1933, Frank McDonough describes the major events in both domestic and foreign policy and the personalities who shaped them, together with developments in Weimar's flourishing cultural sphere. McDonough place

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Book SynopsisIn rich and telling detail, Alistair Moffat relates the remarkable story of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The north is being renewed, the land is coming alive once more and this unique story ends on an upbeat note as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland look forward to a future of possibilities.

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Book SynopsisA magisterial history of the greatest and most terrible event in history, from one of the finest historians of the Second World War. A book which shows the impact of war upon hundreds of millions of people around the world- soldiers, sailors and airmen; housewives, farm workers and children..Reflecting Max Hastings's thirty-five years of research on World War II, All Hell Let Loose describes the course of events, but focuses chiefly upon human experience, which varied immensely from campaign to campaign, continent to continent.The author emphasises the Russian front, where more than 90% of all German soldiers who perished met their fate. He argues that, while Hitler's army often fought its battles brilliantly well, the Nazis conducted their war effort with stunning incompetence'. He suggests that the Royal Navy and US Navy were their countries' outstanding fighting services, while the industrial contribution of the United States was much more important to allied victory than that of thTrade Review“This is the book he was born to write: a work of staggering scope and erudition, narrated with supreme fluency and insight, it is unquestionably the best single-volume history of the war ever written….. he writes with a wonderfully clear, unsentimental eye……and has a terrific grasp of the grand sweep and military strategy……But what makes his book a compelling read are the human stories……at the end of this gruesome, chilling but quite magnificent book, you never doubt that the war was worth fighting”. Sunday Times “No other general history of the war amalgamates so successfully the gut-wrenching personal details and the essential strategic arguments. Melding the worm’s eye view and the big picture is a difficult trick to pull of – but Hastings has triumphed”. The Times “majestic…it is impossible to emerge without a sense of the sheer scale of human tragedy…..To gather all these anecdotes together is a task in itself, but to assemble them in a way that makes sense is something entirely different….Hastings shapes all these stories, almost miraculously, into a single coherent narrative”. Daily Telegraph “In this massive work, the crowning volume of the 10 impressive books he has written about the Second World War, Sir Max Hastings spares us nothing in portraying the sheer bloody savagery of the worst war that the world has yet seen….this magnificent book….is hypnotically readable from the first page to the last”. Sunday Telegraph “A fast-moving, highly readable survey of the entire war…Hastings combines a mastery of the military events with invariably sound judgment and a sharp eye for unusual telling detail….this is military history at its most gripping. Of all Max Hastings’s valuable books, this is possibly his best – a veritable tour de force”. Evening Standard

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Book SynopsisThe enormous hoard of beautiful gold military objects found in a field in Staffordshire has focused huge attention on the mysterious world of 7th and 8th century Britain. Clearly the product of a sophisticated, wealthy, highly militarized society, the objects beg innumerable questions about how we are to understand the people who once walked across the same landscape we inhabit, who are our ancestors and yet left such a slight record of their presence. Britain after Rome brings together a wealth of research and imaginative engagement to bring us as close as we can hope to get to the tumultuous centuries between the departure of the Roman legions and the arrival of Norman invaders nearly seven centuries later. As towns fell into total decay, Christianity disappeared and wave upon wave of invaders swept across the island, it can be too easily assumed that life in Britain became intolerable - and yet this is the world in which modern languages and political arrangements were forged, a number of fascinating cultures rose and fell and tantalizing glimpses, principally through the study of buildings and burials, can be had of a surprising and resilient place. The result of a lifetime of work, Robin Fleming''s major new addition to the Penguin History of Britain could not be more opportune. A richly enjoyable, varied and surprising book, Britain after Rome allows its readers to see Britain''s history in a quite new light.Trade ReviewThis is a very human and humane treatment of the forgotten people of early Britain... an exciting, often brilliant and always thought-provoking synthesis * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisA visceral account of the white-knuckled bombing mission carried out on Hitler's hometown.In April 1945, Linz was one of Nazi Germany's most vital assets: a crucial transportation hub and communications centre, its railyards brimming with war materiel destined for the front lines. Linz was also the town Hitler claimed as home. Inevitably, it was one of the most heavily defended targets remaining in Europe.In their unheated, unpressurized B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, the young men of the US Fifteenth Air Force battled elements as dangerous as anything the Germans could throw at them. When batteries of German anti-aircraft guns did open fire, the men flew into a man-made hell of exploding shrapnel.Drawing on interviews with dozens of surviving World War II veterans and residents of Linz, as well as previously unpublished sources, Mike Croissant compellingly relates one of the war's last truly untold stories a gripping chronicle of warfare and a timeless tale of courage and terror, loss and redemption.With a foreword by Richard Overy, author of The Bombers and the Bombed

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Book SynopsisSince the inception of the Secret Service Bureau back in 1909, women have worked at the very heart of British secret intelligence - yet their contributions have been all but written out of history. Now, drawing on private and previously-classified documents, leading historian Claire Hubbard-Hall brings their gripping true stories to life.From encoding orders and decrypting enemy messages to penning propaganda and infiltrating organisations, the women of British intelligence played a pivotal role in both the First and Second World Wars. Prepare to meet the true custodians of Britain''s military secrets, from Kathleen Pettigrew, personal assistant to the Chief of MI6 Stewart Menzies, who late in life declared ''I was Miss Moneypenny, but with more power'', to Jane Archer, the very first female MI5 officer who raised suspicions about the Soviet spy Kim Philby long before he was officially unmasked and Winifred Spink, the first female officer ever sent to Russia in 1916. In H

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLERA WATERSTONES POLITICS PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR, 2018The Strange Death of Europe is a highly personal account of a continent and culture caught in the act of suicide. Declining birth-rates, mass immigration and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive change as a society.This book is not only an analysis of demographic and political realities, but also an eyewitness account of a continent in self-destruct mode. It includes reporting from across the entire continent, from the places where migrants land to the places they end up, from the people who appear to welcome them in to the places which cannot accept them. Told from this first-hand perspective, and backed with impressive research and evidence, the book addresses the disappointing failure of multiculturalism, Angela MerkeTrade ReviewBy far the most compelling political book of the year was Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe … fearless, truth-telling, and masterfully organised … Don’t hold an opinion about this book if you have not read it. * Evening Standard, Books of the Year 2017 *This is a brilliant, important and profoundly depressing book. That it is written with Douglas Murray’s usual literary elegance and waspish humour does not make it any less depressing. That Murray will be vilified for it by the liberals who have created the appalling mess he describes does not make it any less brilliant and important … Read it. -- Rod Liddle * Sunday Times *His overall thesis, that a guilt-driven and exhausted Europe is playing fast and loose with its precious modern values by embracing migration on such a scale, is hard to refute. -- Juliet Samuel * Telegraph *Every so often, something is published which slices through the fog of confusion, obfuscation and the sheer dishonesty of public debate to illuminate one key fact about the world. Such a work is Douglas Murray’s tremendous and shattering book, The Strange Death of Europe. -- Melanie Phillips * The Times *Breathtakingly gripping -- Michael Gove * Standpoint *A cogent summary of how, over three decades or more, elites across western Europe turned a blind eye to the failures of integration and the rise of Islamism … Persuasive * The Times *This is a vitally important book, the contents of which should be known to everyone who can influence the course of events, at this critical time in the history of Europe. -- Sir Roger ScrutonDouglas Murray glitters in the gloom. His pessimism about multiculturalism is so well constructed and written it is almost uplifting. Liberals will want to rebut him. I should warn them that they will need to argue harder than they have ever argued before. -- Nick CohenDouglas Murray’s introduction to this already destructive subject of Islamist hegemony is a distinguished attempt to clarify the origins of a storm. I found myself continually wishing that he wasn’t making himself quite so clear. -- Clive JamesDouglas Murray writes so well that when he is wrong he is dangerous -- Matthew Parris * Spectator *Whether one agrees with him or not Murray has made a valuable contribution to the global battle of ideas -- Amir Taheri * Asharq al-Awsat *Powerful and engaging ... Murray is at his strongest when lampooning the neurotic guilt of Western liberal elites ... Disagree passionately if you will, but you won’t regret reading it. * Literary Review *A compelling, insightful and persuasively argued narrative ... a deeply humane book that touches on individual tragedy ... It may even prove to be the start of a conversation, and for such a dangerously politicised and neglected subject, that would be most welcome. The combination of fascinating subject matter and superb writing make The Strange Death of Europe a title that stays in the mind throughout the reading process and beyond. * Entertainment Focus *Powerfully argued -- Roland White * Sunday Times Political Books of the Year, 2017 *This is the most disturbing political book I’ve read this year. Based on travels through key European centres, Murray weaves a tale of uncontrolled immigration, failed multiculturalism, systemic self-doubt, cultural suicide and disingenuous political leadership. Accurate, insightful and devastating, with applicable lessons for countries on both sides of the Atlantic. -- Rabbi Lord Jonathan SacksPlease read Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe * Morrissey *Table of ContentsIntroduction The beginning How we got hooked on immigration The excuses we told ourselves ‘Welcome to Europe’ ‘We have seen everything’ Multiculturalism They are here Prophets without honour Early-warning sirens The tyranny of guilt The pretence of repatriation Learning to live with it Tiredness We’re stuck with this Controlling the backlash The feeling that the story has run out The end What might have been What will be Afterword Notes Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisA TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARA diligent historian and a superb writer'THE TIMESA gripping new history of the making of England as a nation.In December 1642, during the Civil War, Parliamentarian troops stormed Winchester Cathedral and smashed ten beautifully decorated wooden chests to the ground, using the bones inside as missiles to shatter the cathedral's stained glass windows. Afterwards, the clergy scrambled to collect the scattered remains: the bones of ancient kings, bishops and one formidable queen.Bestselling historian Cat Jarman builds on the ground-breaking work of forensic archaeologists to lead us through more than a millennium of history. Alongside the cutting-edge investigation to unlock the bones'' secrets, this is a thrilling and sometimes tragic tale. It tells the story of both the seekers and the sought, of those who protected the bones and those who spurned them.

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Book SynopsisChronicling the other Norman invasion', The Normans in the South is the epic story of the House of Hauteville, and in particular Robert Guiscard, perhaps the most extraordinary European adventurer between the times of Caesar and Napoleon. In one year, 1084, he had both the Eastern and Western Emperors retreating before him and one of the most formidable of medieval Popes in his power. His brother, Roger, helped him to conquer Sicily from the Saracens, and his nephew Roger II went on to create the cosmopolitan kingdom whose remaining monuments still dazzle us today. The Normans in the South is the first of two volumes that recount an extraordinary chapter in Italian history.

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Book SynopsisOrdinary Men has been admired all over the world and is now published in the UK for the first time. It takes as its basis the detailed records of one squad from the Nazis'' extermination groups and explores in detail its composition, its actions, andthe methods by which it was trained to perform acts of genocide on an industrial scale. He introduces us to cheerful, friendly, ordinary men who killed without hesitation or apparent remorse for years on end, in docile obedience to an authority theyhappily accepted as legitimate. It is a valuable corrective to the idea of German uniqueness and offers a much more chilling picture of human beings as avidly suggestible and desperate for an organising purpose in their lives, however disgusting.Table of ContentsOne morning in Jozefow; the Order Police; the Order Police and the Final Solution - Russia 1941; the Order Police and the Final Solution - deportation; reserve police battalion 101; arrival in Poland; initiation to mass murder - the Josefow massacre; reflections on a massacre; Lomazy - the descent of second company; the August deprotations to Treblinka; late-September shootings; the deportations resume; the strange health of Captain Hoffmann; the "Jew hunt"; the last massacre - "harvest festival"; aftermath; Germans, Poles and Jews; ordinary men; appendix - shootings and deportations by reserve police battalion 101.

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF CHERNOBYL: HISTORY OF A TRAGEDY''An indispensable guide to the tragic history of a great European nation'' Sunday Telegraph''This is present-minded history at its most urgent. Anyone wanting to understand why Russia and the West confront each other over the future of Ukraine will want to read Serhii Plokhy''s reasoned, measured yet passionate account'' Michael IgnatieffLocated at the western edge of the Eurasian steppe, Ukraine has long been the meeting place of empires - Roman to Ottoman, Habsburg to Russian - and they all left their imprint on the landscape, the language and the people living within these shifting borders. In this authoritative book, Harvard Professor and acclaimed author of Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy traces the history of Ukraine from the arrival of the Vikings in the tenth century to the current Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. Fascinating and multilayered, The Gates of Europe is the essential guide to understanding not just Ukraine''s past but also its future.Trade ReviewThe most distinguished historian of Ukraine writing in English. . . Mr Plokhy shows how Ukrainian language, culture and identity flourished in adversity -- which helps explain why, though they have only recently achieved a state of their own, Ukrainians are fighting heroically to defend it * Economist *The world's foremost historian of Ukraine. . . the chronicler of a country on the front lines of a seismic European war * Financial Times *Before my first reporting trip to Ukraine, one of my seasoned war correspondent colleagues had two pieces of advice. First, not to miss the delicious coffee and pastries you can find in Kyiv. Second, that it was absolutely necessary to read Serhii Plokhy's The Gates of Europe. I did, and it unwound 2,500 years of complex, fascinating and often tragic events, all the way from Herodotus's accounts of the ancient Scythians to the Maidan protests in Kyiv a decade ago -- Charlotte Higgins * Guardian *A great place to start reading up on the background to the crisis. . . learned and considered, but lightly written and leavened by anecdotes -- Oliver Bullough * Guardian *Clear and elegant... an indispensable guide to the tragic history of a great European nation -- David Blair * Sunday Telegraph *A fast-moving history, full of prompts and nuggets... a strong rebuttal of the arrogant assumptions of the Putin court -- Roger Boyes * The Times *Admirable... In his elegant and careful exposition of Ukraine's past, Mr Plokhy has also provided some signposts to the future * Economist *An assured and authoritative survey that spans ancient Greek times to the present day -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Plokhy's careful, engaging history is a series of stories about a spectral nation, one that has appeared and disappeared down the ages... If sense ever prevails, Plokhy's fine book should find its way to Vladimir Putin's desk, if only to show the imperialist that Ukraine itself is far from done, and will not be extinguished -- Ian Bell * Herald Scotland *Readers can find no better place to turn than Plokhy's book... He navigates the subject with grace and aplomb * Foreign Affairs *A concise, highly readable history of Ukraine... a lively narrative peopled with a colorful cast of Norse and Mongol marauders, free-booting Cossacks, kings, conquerors and dictators, and conflicted 19th century intellectuals who believed fervently in a Ukrainian cultural identity but were fatally divided as to how that cultural identity could evolve into national entity * Washington Times *An exemplary account of Europe's least-known large country... one of the joys of reading it is that what might seem a dense account of distant events involving unfamiliar places and people is leavened by aphorism and anecdote * Wall Street Journal *Complex and nuanced, refreshingly revisionist and lucid, this is a compelling and outstanding short history of the blood-soaked land that has so often been the battlefield and breadbasket of Europe -- Simon Sebag MontefioreThis is present-minded history at its most urgent. Anyone wanting to understand why Russia and the West confront each other over the future of Ukraine will want to read Serhii Plokhy's reasoned, measured yet passionate account of Ukraine's historic role at the gates of Europe -- Michael IgnatieffFor a comprehensive, engaging, and up-to-date history of Ukraine one could do no better than Serhii Plokhy's aptly titled The Gates of Europe. Plokhy's authoritative study will be of great value to scholars, students, policy-makers, and the informed public alike in making sense of the contemporary Ukrainian imbroglio -- Norman M. Naimark

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Book Synopsis''A masterpiece of history''DAILY TELEGRAPHBetween 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. Many regard this savage civil war as the most influential event of the modern era. An incompatible White alliance of moderate socialists and reactionary monarchists stood little chance against Trotsky''s Red Army and Lenin''s single-minded Communist dictatorship. Terror begat terror, which in turn led to even greater cruelty with man''s inhumanity to man, woman and child. The struggle became a world war by proxy as Churchill deployed weaponry and troops from the British empire, while armed forces from the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Poland and Czechoslovakia played rival parts. Using the most up to date scholarship and archival research, Antony Beevor, author of the acclaimed international bestseller Stalingrad, assembles the complete picture in a gripping narrative that conveys the conflict through the eyes of everyone from the worker on the streets of Petrograd to the cavalry officer on the battlefield and the woman doctor in an improvised hospital.Trade ReviewA magnificent piece of work - as superbly researched and original as Stalingrad, and compellingly told by a historian at the top of his powers. So much of the tragic story of Russia and the bloodlands of Eastern Europe over the past century make sense after reading Antony Beevor's epic and often shocking tale of revolution, civil war, oppression, starvation, brutality and shifting borders; if anyone needs to know why history matters, this book has the answers. Stunning. * James Holland *Brilliant and utterly readable. * Antonia Fraser *In this brilliant marshalling of a notoriously complex history, Antony Beevor opens up a magisterial canvas of terror and tragedy. * Colin Thubron *Beevor, best known for his formidable book Stalingrad, commands authority as a historian because his research is comprehensive and his conclusions free of political agenda. He's a skilled writer, but his prose is not what makes his books special. Rather, it's the confidence that his authority conveys - one senses that he knows his subject as well as anyone. He allows his mountain of evidence to speak for itself, simply charting the course of this horrible war, exposing its boundless cruelty. This is easily the most horrifying war story I've ever read. One wonders how Russia could ever contain so much suffering. -- Gerard DeGroot * THE TIMES, Book of the Week *Antony Beevor's Russia is a masterpiece of history - and a harrowing lesson for today... This is a hugely complex story, and Beevor tells it supremely well. The book is groundbreaking in its use of original evidence from many archives; it adds new facts, tests old claims and demolishes myths on both sides. It is impressively objective.. -- Noel Malcolm * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH *Beevor has provided an illuminating account of one of the darkest, and most misunderstood, periods of 20th-century history. It should be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the origins of Soviet Russia. -- Jonathan Eaton * MILITARY HISTORY MATTERS *A gripping narrative history of one of the most complex episodes in modern Russian history... An impressive aspect of Beevor's latest book lies in the variety of its sources, from accounts of ill-tempered debates inside Lenin's Bolshevik Party to cocaine-snorting officers in the White resistance army... This combination of clarity with vividness is Beevor's defining strength as a historian. But he also never shies from the most difficult subject - violence. -- Misha Glenny * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE *The book is a masterpiece. -- Sara Wheeler * THE SPECTATOR, lead review *Antony Beevor's Russia - Revolution and Civil War makes compelling use of witness testimony including from Russian archives. . . Beevor hits his stride with the formation of the Volunteer Army and rising military opposition to the Bolsheviks. . . As an account of internecine rivalry the book has panoramic sweep. -- Catriona Kelly * FINANCIAL TIMES *A wonderfully lucid writer who marshals the extensive material with great verve and understanding. . . Beevor has captured the tragedy in mesmerising detail. -- Andrew Anthony * OBSERVER *A mass of chilling contemporary testimony in a new history of the 1917-21 Russian experience, written by British historian Antony Beevor, who is winning plaudits around the world. -- Max Hastings * BLOOMBERG.COM *Beevor weaves his way through the enormous complexities of these years with intelligence, wit, and a talent for describing individuals and events. As one might expect he is in his element when describing battles, campaigns, and the down-to-earth realities of war. He conveys well the appalling savagery, casual violence and suffering brought on by the Civil War. -- Dominic Lieven * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Beevor is a fine historian - diligent, conscientious and knowledgeable, with a long list of excellent books behind him. This volume is well researched and full of telling detail. -- Peter Hitchens * MAIL ON SUNDAY *A compelling account of one of the most dramatic episodes in Russian history... Antony Beevor [is] a master chronicler of diplomatic as well as military history. * Bruce Clark, The Tablet *This grimly magnificent book... is a mind-bogglingly complex story, but Beevor tells it extremely well, demolishing myths on all sides. * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Best Holiday Reads *Antony Beevor's highly readable Russia - Revolution and Civil War should be required for anyone (which should be everyone) interested in that complex tortured land. -- Ben MacIntyre * THE TIMES, Writers’ Favourite Books of the Year *Superb... what he does so well is mix the big strategic picture with the everyday lives of people at that time. * Clive Myrie in the DAILY MAIL *A completely riveting account of how the Russian Revolution, which started with such high hopes and idealism, degenerated into a tangle of civil conflicts marked by hideous cruelty on all sides. * Margaret MacMillan *This is a great book, whose depiction of savage inhumanity speaks powerfully to our present condition. * John Gray *

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Book SynopsisEnglish translation of one of the most significant medieval texts on fighting with swords. Completed in 1482, Johannes Lecküchner's Art of Combat with the "Langes Messer" (Messerfechtkunst) is among the most important documents on the combat arts of the Middle Ages. The Messer was a single-edged, one-handed utility sword peculiar to central Europe, but Lecküchner's techniques apply to cut-and-thrust swords in general: not only is this treatise the single most substantial work on the use of one-handed swords to survive from this period, but it is the most detailed explanation of the two-handed sword techniques of the German "Liechtenauer" school dating back to the 1300s. Lecküchner's lavish manuscript consists of over four hundred illustrations with explanatory text, in which the author, a parish priest, rings the changes on bladework, deceits, and grappling, with techniques ranging from life-or-death escapes from an armed assailant to slapstick moves designed to please the crowd in public fencing matches. This translation, complete with all illustrations from the manuscript, makes the treatise accessible for the first time since the author's untimely death less than a year after its completion left his major work to be lost for generations. An extensive introduction, notes, and glossary analyze and contextualize the work and clarify its technical content. JEFFREY L. FORGENG is curator of Arms and Armor and Medieval Art at the Worcester Art Museum, and teaches as Adjunct Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.Trade ReviewIt is clear that Jeffrey Forgeng is not only a technical expert on the weapon illustrated in this manual, but also a scholar deeply versed in the manuscript tradition of which this volume is a part as well as in the accumulated historiography that treats it. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *A fantastic attempt to make the fecht-bücher increasingly accessible to a wider audience.... What sets this book apart is the contextualisation of the source and the excellent translations. * MEDIEVAL WARFARE *For anyone really interested in fighting styles and techniques, this is a must-read. * SLINGSHOT *Forgeng's translation is clear and accessible. His experience not only as a scholar of early swordsmanship, but as a practitioner, is readily apparent. . . . [Forgeng makes] a vital text more widely available for practitioners not only looking to better understand the use of single-handed swords of all types, but also to how those techniques complement other medieval martial practices. * DE RE MILITARI *

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Book SynopsisFew cities in the world are as famous as Liverpool, the home of the modern world's most celebrated rock group and of a legendary football team.The city is equally notorious for its poverty, its ethnic and racial divides and, above all, its decline. For Liverpool was once a great port, growing rich on slavery, on trade with the Americas and the British Empire's outposts in Africa and Asia. In the 1980s, it was described as obsolete', yet the city stubbornly refuses to die.This is a brilliant, elegantly written history of Liverpool since the Second World War. It is a story of vast docklands shrinking and eventually vanishing when corporations discovered they should shift goods in containers and dispense with human workers, of industries like car manufacturing mushrooming and disappearing, of huge new suburbs being built and neglected. It is a moving and horrifying narrative of casual racism Chinese sailors deported en masse in the aftermath of the war, systematic discrimination against the city's Black population and of resistance, culminating in the Toxteth riots of 1981. The de-industrialisation of the city under Margaret Thatcher's government, the various attempts to renew and gentrify the devastated waterfront, and the bizarre interlude of Militant control of the local council are all described unforgettably by Wetherell. Liverpool becomes a prism through which recent British history is brought into a new focus. Sam Wetherell sharply criticises the obscenity of accepting human and urban obsolescence'. In his words, his book is also the history of the former shipbuilding economies of the north-east of England and the west of Scotland, the former coal-mining communities of South Wales, Yorkshire and the Midlands and the former car-making towns of Coventry and Luton. It is the story of Rotterdam, Marseille, Detroit, Baltimore and West Virginia'.This is an epic history of a single, iconic city. It is also a warning of what the future may hold for many more communities.

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Book Synopsis''A wonderful little book of recipes and stories'' - NIGELLA LAWSON''History, stories, recipes and beautiful illustrations'' - OLIA HERCULES''Christmas brings the indestructibility of hope in times of the greatest hopelessness. As long as we celebrate this holiday, we can neither be defeated nor destroyed. This is the message that Ukraine is trying to convey to the world. And this is what our book is about.''From Christmas music to gifts and food, as well as a look back through the country''s rich and troubled history through the perspective of the festive season, this beautifully illustrated and powerful book introduces readers to Ukraine''s unique Christmas traditions. In a country where East and West meet, this is a fascinating and unmissable guide to capturing the spirit of one of the most important times of year and a powerful reminder of the strength of holding on to your culture and beliefs, even as others try to take everything from y

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Templars. 'Voyages, battles, sieges and slaughter: Dan Jones's tumultuous and thrilling history of the crusades is one of the best' SUNDAY TIMES. 'A powerful story brilliantly told. Dan Jones writes with pace, wit and insight' HELEN CASTOR. 'A fresh and vibrant account of a conflict that raged across medieval centuries' JONATHAN PHILLIPS. Dan Jones, best-selling chronicler of the Middle Ages, turns his attention to the history of the Crusades – the sequence of religious wars fought between the late eleventh century and late medieval periods, in which armies from European Christian states attempted to wrest the Holy Land from Islamic rule, and which have left an enduring imprint on relations between the Muslim world and the West. From the preaching of the First Crusade by Pope Urban II in 1095 to the loss of the last crusader outpost in the Levant in 1302-03, and from the taking of Jerusalem from the Fatimids in 1099 to the fall of Acre to the Mamluks in 1291, Crusaders tells a tale soaked in Islamic, Christian and Jewish blood, peopled by extraordinary characters, and characterised by both low ambition and high principle. Dan Jones is a master of popular narrative history, with the priceless ability to write page-turning narrative history underpinned by authoritative scholarship. Never before has the era of the Crusades been depicted in such bright and striking colours, or their story told with such gusto. PRAISE FOR THE TEMPLARS: 'A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE. 'Dan Jones has created a gripping page-turner out of the dramatic history of the Templars' PHILIPPA GREGORY. 'The 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 CORNWELL. '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. 'This is another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist' OBSERVER. 'The Templars is exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history' TLS. 'Jones carries the Templars through the crusades with clarity and verve. This is unabashed narrative history, fast-paced and full of incident... Jones tells their story extremely well' SUNDAY TIMES.Trade ReviewVoyages, battles, sieges and slaughter: Dan Jones's tumultuous and thrilling history of the crusades is one of the best... Jones is exceptionally good at giving evocative snapshots of medieval life, sometimes poignant, sometimes pure Monty Python' * Sunday Times *This is rollercoaster history... Dan Jones has a nose for the dramatic, disgusting and bizarre... Every page of his extraordinary book provides vivid evidence of the Crusades' continuing ability to mesmerise' * The Times *A powerful story brilliantly told. Dan Jones writes with pace, wit and insight -- Helen CastorA fresh and vibrant account of a conflict that raged across medieval centuries -- Jonathan PhillipsCompelling... Jones is adept at teasing out the array of motivations that propelled the crusaders on an arduous, often harrowing, journey to an uncertain, violent destination... An avowedly pluralist account in which equal weight is given to the experiences of Christians and Muslims... Jones has written an epic of his own here, as complex as it is compelling' * Prospect *Dan Jones has the priceless ability to write page-turning narrative history underpinned by authoritative scholarship. Never before has the era of the Crusades been depicted in such bright and striking colours, or their story told with such gusto * Edinburgh Reporter *The master of the Middle Ages turns his attention to the compelling saga of religious conflict * Radio Times *Crusaders excels not only in narrating this complex history in such a readable and immersive manner, but also in setting events in their wider contexts... Narratives of medieval knights in combat and conquest can run the risk of romanticising their actions through efforts to spark further interest from the reader, but Jones's treatement of the source material is measured under the engaging prose. Jones has drawn together a compelling work that is weighty in pages but always highly readable' * All About History *Dan Jones writes every history book as through it were a Netflix drama * Yorkshire Post. *His tale is steeped in scholarly research and lively writing. Were it not for the violence inherent to his subject matter, you might call it divine * Christian Science Monitor. *A distinct new perspective... A fantastic, scholarly book... Masterfully told and makes for a gripping read. A must for anyone with an interest in the period' * Pennant *[Jones] offers a 'tableau history' – a series of stories with wonderfully bizarre characters on both sides. It's impossible to be cynical about Jones the historian; he's enormously prolific, yet each book is impressively researched and beautifully written. He's a passionate writer, a rumbustious knight who loves his own literary crusade * The Times *Bloody battles and epic sieges abound in this energetic history of the Crusades, a series of adventures that still has ramifications today * Mail on Sunday *Typically breezy and well-paced... Jones sets out to entertain as well as inform, covering a great deal of ground' * Financial Times *The Crusades is a challenging era for the novice but it is brought thrillingly to life in this imaginative history from the broadcaster and best-selling author... Jones concludes with a timely reminder of the effect the period still has on our world' * Choice Magazine *Voyages, battles, sieges and slaughter: a dramatic history of the wars for the Holy Lands that brings the Crusades to fresh and compelling life * Sunday Times *A balanced view... Jones sticks to a strict academic approach. He mixes recitations of key events and personages with storytelling' * Catholic Universe *Skilfully balancing information and entertainment * The Week *Jones has assembled a panoramic, detailed and readable account of a vast sweep of history that must have taken a staggering amount of work * BookBrunch *

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Book SynopsisA pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffat's gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age which was instrumental in shaping Scotland's magnificent landscape through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understTrade Review'Vivid and compelling' - The Sunday Herald'As fresh and warm as a dram of uisge beatha' - Focus'There’s a timelessness about people and landscape which is brought out quite brilliantly here. This book deserves to be very, very widely read' - Professor Barry Cunliffe, Oxford University'Lively and entertaining' - Scottish FieldTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Painted Islands 2. The Ice Domes 3. The Wildwood 4. The Kindred Ground 5. Homely Geometry 6. The Iron Warlords 7. Caledonia 8. The Last of the British

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARAn absolute joy to read and an early contender for every list of History Books of the Year' Sunday TelegraphOn nearly every page a random passage takes one's breath away' The TimesHave you ever heard the march of legions on a lonely country road? For two thousand years, the roads the Romans built have determined the flow of ideas and folktales, where battles were fought and where pilgrims trod. Almost everyone in Britain lives close to a Roman road, if only we knew where to look.In the beginning was Watling Street, the first road scored on the land when the invading Romans arrived on a cold and alien Kentish shore in 43 CE. Campaign roads rolled out to all points of the compass, forcing their way inland and as the Britons fell back, the roads pursued them relentlessly, carrying troops, supplies and military despatches. In the years of fighting that followed, as the legions pushed onwards across what is now England, into Wales and north into Scotland in search ofTrade Review A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘There’s something beguilingly mysterious about these ancient roads . . . When searching for his road, Hadley makes full use of his senses. . . the breadth of his knowledge . . . the beauty of his prose. This book deserves to be read at least twice, first to appreciate what it reveals and then to luxuriate in its effervescent voice. On nearly every page a random passage takes one’s breath away’ The Times, Gerard DeGroot ‘Magnificent . . . exciting . . . This is no dry and prosaic history, but a work of imagination and a deeply literary book… wonderful prose . . . striking images and lapidary sentences… enthralling. It’s an absolute joy to read and an early contender for every list of History Books of the Year’ Sunday Telegraph, Harry Sidebottom ‘In this magnificent book. . . Hadley takes us down a different way, looking through a gentler window on that road's long lost days. He reveals The Road's own intimate knowledge of the land it knew and the folk it's known, turning the tables on what we think we're reading; because The Road is not really about it, it's about us’ Mythical Britain, Michael Smith author of King Arthur's Death ‘Loving The Road, [it’s] about a Roman road but also a rumination on the past and our relationship with it. [An] excellent companion piece to his previous book about a dragon slayer’s tomb. The pair offer a whole new and very exciting model for how to do local history. Highly recommend’ Dr Kelcey Wilson-Lee author of Daughters of Chivalry ‘Ingeniously constructed…scholarly…wears its learning lightly… is engagingly written…and always a pleasure to read’ Country Life ‘The book offers a wealth of historical knowledge in a fashion which is entertaining and readable… combines scholarly depth with wonderfully lyrical depictions of the English landscape’Literary Review

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Book SynopsisSpanning thirteen centuries from the age of Trajan to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, DECLINE & FALL is one of the greatest narratives in European Literature. David Womersley''s masterly selection and bridging commentary enables the readerto acquire a general sense of the progress and argument of the whole work and displays the full variety of Gibbon''s achievement.Table of ContentsAbridged with a New Introduction and Notes by David WomersleyAbbreviationsIntroductionSelected Further ReadingA Note on the TextChronologyGibbon's PrefacesChapter IChapter IIChapter III[Chapters IV-VI]Chapter VII[Chapters VIII-XIV]Chapter XV[Chapters XVI-XXI]Chapter XXIIChapter XXIIIChapter XXIV[Chapters XXV-XXVII]Chapter XXVIII[Chapters XXIX-XXXIII]Chapter XXXIVChapter XXXV[Chapters XXXVI-XXXVIII]General Observations on the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West[Chapter XXXIX]Chapter XLChapter XLI[Chapters XLII-XLIX]Chapter L[Chapters LI-LIII]Chapter LIV[Chapters LV-LXVII]Chapter LXVIII[Chapters LXIX-LXX]Chapter LXXIBiographica

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Nobel Prize in Literature''Desperately important and impossible to put down. It is timeless. . . what shines clear from the testimonies is love - love which can make you do the most spectacular things '' Sheena Patel, Observer''- A new translation of Voices from Chernobyl based on the revised version -In April 1986 a series of explosions shook the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Flames lit up the sky and radiation escaped to contaminate the land and poison the people for years to come. While officials tried to hush up the accident, Svetlana Alexievich spent years collecting testimonies from survivors - clean-up workers, residents, firefighters, resettlers, widows, orphans - crafting their voices into a haunting oral history of fear, anger and uncertainty, but also dark humour and love. A chronicle of the past and a warning for our nuclear future, Chernobyl Prayer shows what it is like to bear witness, and remember in a world that wants you to forget.''Beautifully written. . . heart-breaking'' - Arundhati Roy, Elle ''One of the most humane and terrifying books I''ve ever read'' - Helen Simpson, ObserverTrade ReviewAbsolutely essential and heartbreaking reading. There's a reason Ms. Alexievich won a Nobel Prize -- Craig Mazin, creator of the HBO series ChernobylDesperately important and impossible to put down. It is timeless and has sparked so much thought about infinity, sacrifice, love and unspeakable grief. . . what shines clear from the testimonies is love - love which can make you do the most spectacular things -- Sheena Patel * Observer *A beautifully written book, it's been years since I had to look away from a page because it was just too heart-breaking to go on. Give me beautiful prose and I'll follow you anywhere -- Arundhati Roy * Elle *A collage of oral testimony that turns into the psycho­biography of a nation not shown on any map... The book leaves radiation burns on the brain -- Julian Barnes * Guardian *Absolutely fantastic -- Karl Ove KnausgaardA searing mix of eloquence and wordlessness... From her interviewees' monologues she creates history that the reader, at whatever distance from the events, can actually touch -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *One of the most humane and terrifying books I've ever read -- Helen Simpson * Observer *Alexievich's documentary approach makes the experiences vivid, sometimes almost unbearably so - but it's a remarkably democratic way of constructing a book... When you consider the extent to which she has been traversing the irradiated landscape, you realise she has put herself on the line in a way very few authors ever do -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *A moving piece of polyphony, skilfully assembled from what must have been a huge mass of material... We are living in Alexievich's 'age of disasters'. This haunting book offers us at least some ways of thinking about that predicament -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *This masterly new translation by Anna Gunin and Arch Tait retains the nerve and pulse of the Russian * TLS *Alexievich assembles the previously silenced or unsung heroes into a chorus that has the power to move, stun and inspire awe. The result is a remarkable oral history, an essential read -- Malcolm Forbes * Herald Scotland *Not merely a work of documentation but of excavation, of revealed meaning. It is hard to imagine how anyone in the West will read these cantos of loss and not feel a sense of communion, of a shared humanity -- Andrew Meier * The Nation *Alexievich serves no ideology, only an ideal: to listen closely enough to the ordinary voices of her time to orchestrate them into extraordinary books -- Philip Gourevitch * New Yorker *Alexievich has become one of my heroes -- Atul GawandeAwarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to Svetlana Alexievich is a brilliant choice that recalibrates the status of "non-fiction" in the literary canon -- Arifa Akbar * Independent *Through her books and her life itself, Alexievich has gained probably the world's deepest, most eloquent understanding of the post-Soviet condition -- Masha Gessen * New Yorker *Alexievich retreats into the wings to let her subjects speak. But this is the art that conceals art. Her editor's flair for selection, contrast and emphasis, her almost cinematic touch with cuts, pans and close-ups, make her a documentary virtuoso -- Boyd Tonkin * Spectator *Her interviews go on for hours. She goes back for more. She transcribes. She discards three-quarters of her material. She polishes. She takes pains to convey the cadence of a person's words. It shows. The distilled work goes deep into the subject. She is after the ephemeral; the emotion behind written history; the "history of the soul." Here, she believes, is where the truth lies -- Vanora Bennett * Prospect *This masterly new translation by Anna Gunin and Arch Tait retains the nerve and pulse of the Russian, conveying the angst and confusion of the narrators -- Serguei Alex. Oushakine * Times Literary Supplement *The last book that made me cry... incredible -- Joe Dunthorne * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPersonal, provocative and powerfully persuasive - an essential guide to what white feminism is, why it matters, and how we can put an end to it''Thoughtful and provocative... It is a must-read'' Roxane Gay''A book to make you stop and think'' Mishal Husain''This book is going to light fires everywhere, so if you are prone to combust, get right the hell out of the way'' Lit HubMost of us believe that feminism is a force for good. In the past 200 years, it has paved the way for women to advance economically, increasing their safety and their power in society, and advocating for their needs and experiences. But not for all women.If you are poor, if you are an immigrant to the West or (even worse) don''t live here at all, and above all if your skin is not white, the door to mainstream feminism has been shut against you from day one. This is not oversight or an accident. It is an active and sustained strategy to advance white women at the expense of everyone else. And what makes this strategy especially dangerous - and especially effective - is that most white people have no idea they are participating in it.Attorney and activist Rafia Zakaria shines a spotlight on this urgent issue, revealing the fingerprints of white supremacy all over the feminist movement: from early suffragette campaigns right up to the divided and profoundly unequal world we inherit today. And she issues a powerful call to every reader to join her in building a new kind of feminism, lighting the path to emancipation for all.Trade ReviewBracing and compassionate... Make room beside Audre Lorde and Angela Davis on your shelves * Chicago Review of Books *A thoughtful and provocative collection calling for a sharper feminism... It is a must-read -- Roxane GayAgainst White Feminism is the book I have been waiting for. This landmark work will forever change how we view the feminist movement and our place in it -- Sonia Faleiro, author of 'The Good Girls'What does feminism look like when it centers on Black and Brown women? And when it doesn't hold hands with colonialism? Rafia Zakaria makes a clear case for intersectional feminism that puts power in a different place * Washington Post *Zakaria is a warm-hearted and sharp-eyed writer who brings compassion, intelligence and a steady drumbeat of change to redefining feminism... This book is going to light fires everywhere, so if you are prone to combust, get right the hell out of the way * Lit Hub - Most Anticipated Books of 2021 *A brilliant, bracing, and deeply necessary text. Showing how feminism had systematically centred white women's voices, and excluded others', this is a polemic that couldn't be more urgent in improving feminism as a movement -- Kate Manne, author of 'Down Girl'Lucid and persuasive... Tackling complex philosophical ideas with clarity and insight, Zakaria builds an impeccable case for the need to rebuild feminism from the ground up. Readers will want to heed this clarion call for change * Publishers Weekly *In this searing takedown, Rafia Zakaria expertly puts into words what so many women of colour feel and endure. An exhilarating and brilliantly researched read that doubles up as a long overdue call to action. Unputdownable, required reading for people of all genders, generations and races -- Zahra Hankir, editor of 'Our Women on the Ground'Complacent, well-intentioned feminism isn't good enough... The heart of what this book demands - a feminism that is less self-satisfied and secure in its power, more curious about the differences in women's experiences, and more generous and expansive in its reach - is worth fighting for * Mythili G. Rao, Washington Post *Zakaria eloquently reveals the smug assumptions behind white western feminism [and] demonstrates quite brilliantly the hypocrisy of middle and upper class white feminists who conveniently ignore and exploit the power advantages traceable to centuries of imperialism. This book is a wake-up call for white feminists -- Remi Adekoya, author of 'Biracial Britain'An exploration of the divisive effects of whiteness on feminism and a strong argument for transforming long-standing power structures... Demanding anti-capitalist empowerment, political solidarity, and intersectional redistributive change, the author eviscerates white-centred feminism, the tokenization of women of colour, the aid industrial complex, and more... A worthy contribution to feminist and activist studies * Kirkus *A total reconstruction of feminism... Her powerful exploration of the movement's past, which has traditionally been shaped by white women, aims to inform readers, while also illustrating why it is past time to centre Black and brown voices as feminism moves forward * Pop Sugar *Razor-sharp [and] detailed analysis... A true feminist will remain engaged in the feminist agenda while also rejecting white feminism * Litro Magazine *Zakaria lays out the case for the harm caused by the movement escaping acknowledgment of its privilege and how it monopolizes networks and opportunities, shutting out women of colour and nonbinary individuals... A reckoning and a wake-up call * Boston.com *Against White Feminism is full of harsh, painful truths about how one kind of feminism can dominate and silence woman outside of its focus. Strong and powerfully persuasive, it accords with much that I have experienced. It's a fantastic book -- Nadifa Mohamed, author of 'The Fortune Men'Ambitious, elegant and brilliantly argued... My head never stopped nodding in agreement. Zakaria doesn't just tell us that white supremacy must be excised from feminism: she shows us how it harms Black and brown women and offers a different politics and system of relations in its place. I am grateful to Zakaria for her inventory of white feminism's many problems, including hypocrisy, condescension and cowardice. I am grateful to her for this book -- Myriam Gurba, author of 'Mean'[A] necessary read for anyone interested in gender equality * Book Riot *[A] societal paradigm-buster... * Daily Kos *Glued to the pages, I read the book in one sitting. Want to think seriously about the exquisite power of "personal is political"? Want to think carefully about privilege - and White privilege? This is your book... [Against White Feminism is] a call to address our complicity in structures of power -- Ruby Lal, 'Arts ATL'Zakaria effectively shows that white feminists often focus on bringing feminism and enlightenment to marginalized people instead of examining the ways in which these marginalized people already practice feminism within their own lives and experiences... Her examination of current examples from politics and pop culture furnishes crucial evidence of the continued colonization of feminism by white women * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisBestselling author Philip Matyszak explores how the Greeks and Romans used magic, who performed it and why. Magic was everywhere in the ancient world. The supernatural abounded, turning flowers into fruit and caterpillars into butterflies. Magic packed a cloud of water vapour with energy enough to destroy a house with one well-aimed thunderbolt. It was everyday magic, but it was still magical. Philip Matyszak takes readers into that world. He shows us how to make a love potion or cast a curse, how to talk to the dead and how to identify and protect oneself from evil spirits. He takes us to a world where gods, like humans, were creatures of space and time; where people could not just talk to spirits and deities, but could even themselves become divine; and where divine beings could fall from or be promoted to full godhood. Ancient Magic offers us a new way of understanding the role of magic, looking at its history in all of its classical forms. Drawing on a wide array of sources, from Greek dramas to curse tablets, lavishly illustrated throughout, and packed with information, surprises, lore and learning, this book offers an engaging and accessible way into the supernatural for all.Trade Review'It’s funny, it’s interesting and it’s informative. The author’s borderline cynical humour, ironic take in parts of the book, and his powers of comparison are thoroughly entertaining' - The Secret LibraryTable of ContentsIntroduction: Discovering Ancient Magic 1. Talking to the Dead 2. Makers of Magic 3. Magic of Love and Hate 4. Magical Creatures 5. Protection against the Arts of Darkness 6. Looking to the Future

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Book SynopsisAn unforgettable journey through the former Soviet Republics, by a prizewinning author of international reportageTrade Review[A] mesmerising trip across central Asia . . . All credit to Erika Fatland, who may have titled her central Asian travelogue Sovietistan, but who treats each with care and attention. Part diary, part sociopolitical analysis . . . A fascinating travelogue -- Henry Foy * Financial Times *This talented narrator has compiled a book of timeless stories. Social anthropologist Erika Fatland has intertwined her encounters with well-researched digressions in history, politics and geography. -- Renate Nimtz-Köster * Süddeutsche Zeitung *Engaging . . . The reader learns a lot about all kinds of subjects. -- Sara Wheeler * Spectator *With her acute journalistic eye, clarity of style and not least a solid background in social anthropology, Erika Fatland has given us a number of astute books on complicated subjects. When this ability is combined with courage and a sense of adventure, the result is impressive * Aftenposten *Now to be numbered among the best travel writers, the brilliant and intrepid Norwegian Erika Fatland has observed deserts, villages, metropolises and mountains to bring back a jewel of a story of adventure, intermingled histories, geography, geology, culture and politics. * Figaro *Even if you're not currently planning a trip to Central Asia, this book will change your mind * Klassekampen *A road trip dotted with curious incidents, thought-provoking observations and absurd stories, from culinary disasters to snapshots of everyday life under a dictatorship. A fine mingling of facts and the observations of a true travel writer * Reiselyst Magazine *Fatland really knows her subject and writes with conviction. After her thoughtful writing on Beslan and the massacre on Utøya, there was every reason to have huge expectations. They have been more than fulfilled. * Dagbladet *In Sovietistan, Erika Fatland has created a dense, polyphonic mosaic that shows five young states at the crossroads * Deutschland Radiokultur *This is another Asia visited by the Norwegian Erika Fatland . . . countries of contrasts, of extreme wealth and the madness of dictators who build white marble cities in the desert * Culture France *Reminiscent of Ryszard Kapuscinski's The Shadow of the Sun, Sovietistan blends complex history with Fatland's own clear-eyed reporting, the devastation of the Soviet era always in the background (and sometimes the foreground) * Star Tribune *An introduction to a deeply misunderstood part of the world...the complexity and beauty of this region are best represented when she goes back in time. Fatland has a level of access most outsiders would never have. -- Sebastian Modak * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisOver 1700 entries cover mythology and religion of heathen Germanic tribes: Scandinavians, Goths, Angles and Saxons, 1500 BC-1000 AD.For two and a half thousand years, from 1500 BC to AD 1000, a culture as significant as the classical civilisation of the Mediterranean world settled an immense area in northern Europe that stretched from Iceland to the Black Sea.But the sources of our knowledge about these societies are relatively few, leaving the gods of the North shrouded in mystery. In compiling this dictionary Rudolf Simek has made the fullest possible use of the information available -Christian accounts, Eddic lays, the Elder Edda, runic inscriptions, Roman authors (especially Tacitus), votive stones, place names and archaeological discoveries. He has adhered throughout to a broad definition of mythology which presents the beliefs of the heathen Germanic tribes in their entirety: not only tales of the gods, but beings from lower levels of belief: elves, dwarfs and giants; the beginning and end of the world; the creation of man,death and the afterlife; cult, burial customs and magic - an entire history of Germanic religion. RUDOLF SIMEK is Professor of Medieval German and Scandinavian literature at the University of Bonn in Germany.Trade ReviewThere is not a page that does not inform and enthuse. * RUNA *Scholarly and precise - should be established as the standard work on its subject - belongs in any major reference collection. * REFERENCE REVIEWS *Table of ContentsList of abbreviations; glossary of specialized terms; spelling and pronunciation of Icelandic names; dictionary.

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Book SynopsisThe Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world''s surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world''s greatest empire? And how did they lose it all?This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore''s gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling chronicle of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.Trade Review'Simon Sebag Montefiore's The Romanovs is epic history on the grandest scale . . . A story of conspiracy, drunken coups, assassination, torture, impaling, breaking on the wheel, lethal floggings with the knout, sexual and alcoholic excess, charlatans and pretenders, flamboyant wealth based on a grinding serfdom, and, not surprisingly, a vicious cycle of repression and revolt. Game of Thrones seems like the proverbial vicar's tea party in comparison . . . Reading Montefiore's excellent account, it is hard to imagine how the monarchy could ever have survived under their catastrophic leadership' -- Antony Beevor * FINANCIAL TIMES *'Captivating . . . The story of the Romanovs has been told countless times but never with such a compelling combination of literary flair, narrative drive, solid research and psychological insight. The Romanovs covers it all, from war and diplomacy to institution building and court intrigue, but it is chiefly an intimate portrait that brings to life the twenty sovereigns of Russia in vivid fashion . . . Montefiore writes with subtlety and sophistication about the nature of court life, the dynamics of power and the shifting configurations of the various players' -- Douglas Smith * LITERARY REVIEW *'Don't let its size fool you:There's never been a more inviting 700-plus-page historical tome. That's because the author, who matches rigorous scholarship with a novelist's eye for delicious details, is clearly having so much fun. And why not? In three centuries, the Romanovs produced titans and weaklings, war and peace, and enough salacious behavior to make us say, "Turn off thy Kardashians! Pick up thy Montefiore!"' -- Oprah Winfrey * O MAGAZINE *'Montefiore has an eye for the telling detail which lifts an unfamiliar narrative. His mammoth history of Russia's royal dynasty features many such vivid, amusing and surprising particulars. Indeed it is startlingly lubricious and gory . . . Gore and sex aside, the author's pen produces reams of fluent, sometimes sparkling prose. Many of his reflections on the Romanov era apply well to Vladimir Putin's domains now . . . The Russian court was an entrepot of power: its role as a broker allowed participants to amass wealth and bonded them in shared loyalty. But it also allowed them to compete without resorting to civil war or revolution. That sounds pretty much like the modern Kremlin' * THE ECONOMIST *'Charts the rise and fall of Russia's Romanov dynasty, which began in 1613 and ended with the whole royal family being shot dead in a basement in 1918. It has been painstakingly researched and the attention to historical detail is breathtaking. The lives of 20 tsars and tsarinas are recorded in exquisite detail through words and pictures. Although some of their escapades are not for the faint-hearted (the Russians were barbaric in their punishments) the rich and vibrant history is utterly compelling. It grabs you by the hand and thrusts you into the world of Imperial Russia with all its decadence and finery. Montefiore has become a popular presenter of BBC history programmes on subjects ranging from Jerusalem to Spain, and here his clear, concise narration and wonderful tone make this a delight to read. Ideal for students of history or for those just seduced by the BBC's version of War and Peace and wanting to brush up on their history' -- Tania Findlay * THE SUN *'With its sordid power struggles, violence and brutality, its cast of magnificent monsters, tragic victims and grotesque 'holy men', this is an extraordinary and gripping tale . . . By turns horrific, hilarious and moving, but ultimately tragic, this is essential reading for anyone interested in Russia' -- Adam Zamoyski * THE SPECTATOR *'Wonderfully compelling and insightful . . . Sebag Montefiore provides fabulously revealing pen-portraits of the 20 Romanov tsars, as well as their spouses, mistresses and senior advisers . . . The author has already written excellent books on Catherine the Great and Stalin. This one is even better, combining as it does his expert knowledge of Russian history with the narrative wizardry displayed in his previous bestseller, Jerusalem. The Romanovs is the gripping and scarcely credible tale of the most successful royal dynasty since the Caesars, and Sebag Montefiore tells it brilliantly' -- Saul David * EVENING STANDARD *'An impressive book that combines rigorous research with exquisite prose' -- Gerard de Groot * THE TIMES *'Montefiore's journey through 300 years of the Romanov dynasty is a study of brutality, sex and power . . . riveting . . . the research is meticulous and the style captivating' -- John Kampfner * THE OBSERVER *'This magnificent and magisterial history . . . is a wonderfully ambitious account of 300 years of Russian history . . . an authoritative and gripping account of the Romanovs. This is a superb book and it will surely become the definitive work' -- Jane Ridley * THE OLDIE *'This splendidly colourful and energetic book . . . is structured simply, as a helter-skelter chronological narrative of 300 years. Sebag Montefiore expertly selects the best (most shocking, bizarre, sensationally theatrical) bits from that long history . . . Sebag Montefiore rises to the gaudy, gruesome subject matter, pulling all the stops out . . . Sebag Montefiore is alive to the way his story resonates across time, from Genghis Khan to Gorbachev, but he doesn't allow his erudition to hold up the narrative's gallop . . . with great gifts for encapsulating a character and storytelling con brio' -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * NEW STATESMAN *'A new book from Simon Sebag Montefiore is something of a literary event these days . . . His latest project is in some ways his most ambitious yet . . . However it's one that [he] pulls off with aplomb. As much a riveting read as a prodigious work of scholarship . . . he could not have picked a better time to publish this epic and enthralling history of a dynasty that rose up drenched in blood and died out in exactly the same manner' -- Dominic Midgley * DAILY EXPRESS *'The entire Romanov dynasty is a marvellously rich bag of deshabille, despotism and occasional diplomacy, as Simon Sebag Montefiore's feisty history brilliantly displays . . . Countless illuminating details, gleaned through arduous dedication to scarcely used archives, stud the pages of The Romanovs . . . immensely enjoyable . . . full-blooded and totally enthralling' -- Judith Armstrong * THE AUSTRALIAN *'An obvious work of great scholarship and research' * HERALD SUN (Australia) *'A comprehensive overview of the Romanov dynasty . . . which skilfully interweaves the personal with the political . . . Montefiore is the perfect author for a book of the ambition and scope of The Romanovs . . . The Romanovs is old-fashioned narrative history at its colourful and unpretentious best. Montefiore is a wonderful guide . . . the writing sparkles . . . The Romanovs deserves the best praise any book can get: it never bores . . . Montefiore has much to say about political machinations as he does about personal friendships and love which lifts his work far above drily academic history' -- Andre van Loon * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD *'Simon Sebag Montefiore has written a magisterial account of unlimited power and sexual decadence based on a remarkable correspondence' * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *'From dramatic rise to revolutionary fall, 20 autocratic Romanov tsars and tsarinas ruled over three centuries of blood-soaked war and brutal peace, breathtaking riches and absolute power, passionate love and ruthless ambition, madness and decadence. With ease and expertise, Simon Sebag Montefiore brazenly presents the Romanov royal history as a mesmerising family saga, always spectacular and finally in 1918, tragic' -- Iain Finlayson * SAGA magazine *'It's like reading 20 riveting, plot-thickening novels in the space of one volume. And the packaging looks equally scintillating' -- Caroline Sanderson * THE BOOKSELLER *'As Simon Sebag Montefiore demonstrates in this magnificent, sweeping history, the Russian royal family was a remarkable dynasty, turning a vast but backward country into a mighty empire capable of defeating Napoleon at the zenith of its power. Despite the extraordinary depth and range of his research, the author avoids the dryness of more academic volumes. Instead he embarks on a rollicking, racy narrative across more than three centuries of Romanov rule, weaving a tale that is packed with salacious gossip and gruesome details' -- Leo McKinstry * S MAGAZINE, SUNDAY EXPRESS *'As Simon Sebag Montefiore shows in this superlative account of the last royal dynasty that attempted the task, Russia is not an easy place to rule . . . In part, the book is a vivid family chronicle of court life full of extraordinary stories . . . a sparkling narrative of 300 years of glittering opulence and majesty, as well as thoughtless waste and frivolity . . . He is a shrewd analyst of high politics - and the low cunning needed by successful leaders . . . I read much of this book grateful that the dynasty was about to fall - until I remembered the worse horrors that followed after the Revolution' -- Victor Sebestyen * MAIL ON SUNDAY *'Panoramic . . . Montefiore tells it compellingly' -- Roger Lewis * DAILY MAIL *'In a brilliant introductory essay, Sebag Montefiore discusses the principle of tsarist autocracy, the limits of imperial power, the challenges of succession and the operation of government . . . Sebag Montefiore's book is an immensely entertaining read . . . it features some of the most outrageous characters you are likely to find in a history book . . . The story of the last Romanovs has been told a thousand times, yet it is a tribute to Sebag Montefiore's skill as a narrator that you turn the pages with horrified fascination' -- Dominic Sandbrook * SUNDAY TIMES *'A glorious history of the Romanov dynasty bursting with blood, sex and tears' -- Peter Frankopan * DAILY TELEGRAPH *'Simon Sebag Montefiore's blockbuster history of the Romanov dynasty arrives with exquisite timing . . . The historian's account of the last months, days and hours of the Romanovs will not disappoint ... [and] show Sebag Montefiore's narrative bravado at its scintillating best. There is unlikely to have been a racier account of how the last Romanovs met their end . . . Masterly' -- Mary Dejevsky * THE INDEPENDENT *'A very lively story. This retelling could hardly be more timely . . . To make the most of the dramatic nature of his story, Simon Sebag Montefiore has hit upon the ingenious idea of dividing the history of the Romanovs into three acts, with numerous scenes in each - more like a play than a 700-word series of biographies . . . Dr Sebag Montefiore has proved himself a chronicler worthy of their achievements and, for his readers, revealed a fascinating, if doomed, imperial cavalcade' -- John Ure * COUNTRY LIFE *'This history of Russia's famous (and infamous) dynasty is compelling, accessible stuff, covering its huge timespan and vast cast of characters in typically vibrant fashion. It's insightful about the continuing legacy of the Romanovs in Russia today, too' -- Matt Elton * HISTORYEXTRA.COM *'In another great work of history, Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem, tells the bloody and decadent stories of the 20 tsars and tsarinas of Russia's last imperial dynasty. The Romanovs is like 20 gripping novels in one' * SUNDAY EXPRESS *'Hugely entertaining history that takes savage delight in its tales of human pleasure and suffering' * THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Must Reads' *'Power, sex and death - you certainly can't say that the Romanovs, who ruled Russia for over three centuries, led quiet lives . . . Drawing on new evidence it paints a vivid portrait of a remarkable, and ultimately doomed, dynasty' * HISTORY REVEALED *'Russian history is as colourful and dramatic as any novel and anyone who has enjoyed the excellent recent TV adaptation of War and Peace should be directed towards Simon Sebag Montefiore's lively The Romanovs which details the madness, cruelty, excess and deceit that would prove the undoing of the dynasty that ruled Russia for more than 300 years' * CHOICE magazine *'Anecdotal, gossipy, irreverent . . . this sumptuous, old-fashioned narrative history is wonderful entertainment. From its earliest days in the seventeenth century to its brutal downfall during the First World War, Simon Sebag Montefiore is an observant, fluent and knowledgeable guide to the Romanov dynasty' -- André Van Loon * THE TABLET *'Dazzlingly definitive' * AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY *'Simon Sebag Montefiore's 700-plus page account of the gory, greedy, gut-wrenching and occasionally glorious antics of the Romanov tsars uses previously untapped archives to make Game of Thrones seem like Milly-Molly-Mandy' -- Christiana Hardyment * THE TIMES *'Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore dives enticingly into the world of the Russian Romanov family, the most successful dynasty of modern times, who once ruled a sixth of the world's surface. This richly multi-layered and gripping family chronicle covers the lives of 20 tsars and tsarinas, revealing a secret world of unlimited power and ruthless ambition' * FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE *'[Montefiore] reveals in marvellous detail and meticulous documentation the 300 years of Romanov dynastic survival . . . he writes so well, sometimes with a thrilling impulsion' -- Mary Leland * IRISH EXAMINER *'A sparkling narrative full of tantrums, tsars and tiaras' -- Sebastian Shakespeare * TATLER *'This enthralling and gruesome book mixes sexual exploits, torture, war, betrayal and diplomacy. It partly describes how Russia morphed from miserable weakling into mighty empire. But it is mainly the story of the personalities: the cruelty of Ivan the Terrible, the unstoppable willpower of Peter the Great, and then Catherine, perhaps more deservedly "the Great" for her brains, charm, vision and sex drive. Sebag Montefiore's thesis, broadly, is that Russia's vastness leads to outsize politics: autocracy tempered by strangulation" as Madame de Stael puts it' -- Edward Lucas * 1843 (The Economist) *'It takes true historical daring to tackle such an immense subject . . . Montefiore's novelistic gift of drawing vivid characters with a few choice words never fails him . . . The main portraits are invariably memorable . . . spellbinding . . . This monumental work is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in Russian history and the doomed dynasty of Romanovs' -- Olga Grushin * NEW YORK TIMES (USA) *'Sebag Montefiore paints an unforgettable portrait of characters fascinating and charismatic, odd and odious. Magnificent palaces, elaborate balls, and a culture that produced Pushkin, Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy existed alongside pogroms, torture and murder . . . Erudite and entertaining' -- Greg King * THE WASHINGTON POST (USA) *'Wonderfully written and fascinating down to the last footnote . . . [Montefiore's] style is polished, lively, informed . . . Montefiore is an accomplished storyteller, and what might have been a plodding succession of reigns reads instead like a novel - specifically, in its interplay of themes and motifs, and especially its pairing of opposites, like Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude . . . Like a novel, too, this is a hard book to put down. As historical reconstruction and as storytelling, The Romanovs is an achievement of the first rank' -- David Walton * THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS (USA) *'A fascinating psychological study of this succession of megalomaniacs, madmen and mediocrities . . . He writes with knowledge and gusto' -- Jack Carrigan * CATHOLIC HERALD *'A rollicking look at one of the most successful - and violent - regimes in history' * THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Summer Books' *'The ill-starred Romanovs are revealed in their full pomp and perversity' -- Robbie Millen * THE TIMES 'Summer Books' *'[A] joyful romp through 300 years of the dynasty's epic follies' * DAILY TELEGRAPH *'A superlative history of the last royal dynasty to govern Russia, brimming with extraordinary stories of murder and torture, sex and excess, featuring madmen, monsters megalomaniacs and fanatics. This is an epic story of 300 years of high politics and low cunning - War and Peace meets Game of Thrones' * MAIL ON SUNDAY - Summer Reads *'This was a world of sibling rivalry, ruthless ambition, lurid excess and sadistic depravity; a world of impostors, false prophets, giants, freaks, wizards and nymphomaniacs. More than just a story about a dysfunctional royal family, this book is an examination of the Russian addiction to autocracy. Historians, embarrassed by Romanov excesses, often censor the truth. Not Montefiore' -- Gerard de Groot * THE TIMES Books of the Year 2016 *'Simon Sebag Montefiore's superb The Romanovs covers the whole extraordinary three-century saga of those often ruthless libidinous and expansionist tsars in gruesome, eye-popping detail' -- Saul David * EVENING STANDARD Books of the Year 2016 *[Montefiore's] vivid descriptions of the savage ways of old Russia belie an immense scholarship -- Simon Heffer * DAILY TELEGRAPH History Books of the Year 2016 *An absorbing history of the dynasty that ruled Russia for 300 years. Along the way we meet the great, the good, the not so good and the downright appalling, who took a vast wilderness, far beyond the horizon, and turned it into a world power, until the world turned on them. Unputdownable. -- Rev Richard Coles * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *A cruel history of hereditary power, by a master storyteller who lifts this unfamiliar narrative with vivid, amusing and surprising details * THE ECONOMIST Books of the Year 2016 *This meticulously researched account of Russian history from the 17th to the 20th century makesGame Of Thrones seem staid by comparison. Beneath the astonishing wealth of historical detailruns the constant theme of the impossible challenge, even for a dynasty of autocrats, of ruling the'ever-expanding, multi-faith, multi-ethnic empire' that was Russia -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL *A bravura history of the Russian imperial dynasty that does not blanch at the tales of excess that surround this often savage imperial household * THE SUNDAY TIMES - Summer Reading 2017 *It is very violent and gruesome. It made me realise that our world is a much better place than I thought -- Kirstie AllsoppWonderfully written and fascinating down to the last footnote ...[Montefiore's] style is polished, lively, informed ... Montefiore is an accomplished storyteller, and what might have been a plodding succession of reigns reads instead like a novel ... Like a novel, too, this is a hard book to put down. As historical reconstruction and as storytelling, The Romanovs is an achievement of the first rank -- David Walton * THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS *

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Book SynopsisLONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This changeful place became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be chequered with grand estates of Georgian splendour. It swelled with industry and became the centre of the largest empire in history. And having risen from the rubble of the Blitz, it is now one of the greatest cities in the world.From the prehistoric occupants of the Thames Valley to the preoccupied commuters of today, Simon Jenkins brings together the key events, individuals and trends in London''s history to create a matchless portrait of the capital. He masterfully explains the battles that determined how London was conceived and built - and especially the perennial conflict between money and power.Based in part on his experiences of and involvement in the events that shaped the post-war city, and with his trademark colour and authority, Jenkins shows above all how London has taken shape over more than two thousand years. Fascinating for locals and visitors alike, this is narrative history at its finest, from the most ardent protector of our heritage.''A handsome book ... full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought'' Michael Wood, New Statesman on A Short History of England''Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book for Christmas...I can imagine no better companion on a voyage across England'' Max Hastings, Daily Telegraph on England''s Thousand Best HousesTrade ReviewFascinating and timely. Truly the story of the fabric we see before us. Required reading for every developer, planner or councillor who holds London in trust today -- Griff Rhys JonesJenkins's handling of the preceding two millennia is clear and informative . . . there are also nuggets and insights . . . accessible, clear and readable -- Rowan Moore * The Observer *Simon Jenkins has written a vivid and deeply well-informed account of London's history which is throughout much enlivened by his knowledge of London's planning, buildings and topography, his admiration for terrace housing and London squares, his interest in how London has been depicted and described, and his detestation of so much insensitive modern developmentExtremely informative and witty'He [Jenkins] brings much knowledge and experience to his defence of those streets, in this study of the battle for "London's appearance - why it looks as it does today, more variegated and visually anarchic than any comparable city" -- Christopher Howse * The Telegraph *A handsome book ... full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought * Michael Wood, New Statesman on A Short History of England *Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book for Christmas...I can imagine no better companion on a voyage across England * Max Hastings, Daily Telegraph on England’s Thousand Best Houses *A short, invigorating gallop over two and a half thousand years * Scotsman on A Short History of Europe *Simon Jenkins has written a remarkably brisk, vivid and deeply well-informed account of London's history which is throughout much enlivened by his knowledge of London's planning, buildings and topography, his admiration for terrace housing and London squares, his interest in how London has been depicted and described, and his detestation of so much insensitive modern development'I decided I'd reduce the height of a pile of recommended books by actually reading some of them. Thus I sampled the delights of Simon Jenkins's A Short History of London -- Sue MacGregor, broadcaster

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Book SynopsisThe definitive history of the druids in Britain, from their ancient origins to the present dayTrade ReviewShortlisted for the 2009 Katherine Briggs Folklore Award"A magisterial and eminently readable account of the druids and how they have been continually reinvented over the last three hundred years by visionaries, political radicals, angry academics and downright fraudsters. Recommended reading for anyone who has driven down the A303 late at night, slowed down as they approached Stonehenge and wondered for a moment if the original druids really did process round those gigantic stones wreathed in mistletoe and clutching blood-stained knives!" - Tony Robinson"Lucid, open-minded, encyclopaedic and yet still fascinating - almost perfect history if such a thing were possible." - Terry Jones"Everything that is known about the druids plus everything that is known about knowing about them! Ronald Hutton uses the quest for the druids as a mirror of how Europeans have seen themselves through the last thousand years. It's an enormous undertaking performed with even-handedness and a sense of joy in history." - Terry Jones

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Book SynopsisThucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War combines brilliant narrative and penetrating analysis; his writing has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. This masterly new translation is the most comprehensive single-volume edition currently available.Trade ReviewThe most accurate and readable translation we now have... the only choice for a serious reading of Thucydides. * Steven J. Willet, Arion *This book deserves to be the standard translation of Thucydides that everyone will use and enjoy. * Greece and RomeAutumn 2010 *The book is excellent value for money and the obvious choice for any reader of Thucydides. * John Taylor, The Anglo-Hellenic Review *H.'s new translation of Thucydides is a triumph. Fluent yet sinewy...It is both accurate and lucid. * James Morwood, Journal of Classical Teaching *Totally indispensable....it is stimulating as well as informative. * James Morwood, Journal of Classical Teaching *An excellent new translation, with superb notes and introduction. This will become the standard translation for this important author * Timothy Duff, Reading University *

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Book Synopsis''This is probably the best book ever written on the Habsburgs in any language, certainly the best I have ever read ... Students, scholars and the general reader will never find a better guide to Habsburg history'' Alan Sked, Times Literary SupplementIn The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built - and then lost - over nearly a millennium.From modest origins, the Habsburgs grew in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe stretching from Hungary to Spain, and from the Far East to the New World. The family continued to dominate Central Europe until the catastrophe of the First World War.With its seemingly disorganized mass of large and small territories, its tangle of laws and privileges and its medley of languages, the Habsburg Empire has always appeared haphazard and incomplete. But here Martyn Rady shows the reasons for the family''s incredible endurance, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace and patrons of learning. The Habsburg emperors were themselves absurdly varied in their characters - from warlords to contemplatives, from clever to stupid, from idle to frenzied - but all driven by the same sense of family mission. Scattered around the world, countless buildings, institutions and works of art continue to bear witness to their overwhelming impact.The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that, for better or worse, shaped Europe and the world.Trade ReviewThis is probably the best book ever written on the Habsburgs in any language, certainly the best I have ever read ... a brilliant achievement. Students, scholars and the general reader will never find a better guide to Habsburg history. No one will ever again know as much about the subject as Rady. -- Alan Sked * Times Literary Supplement *Riveting ... It is impossible to imagine a more erudite and incisive history of this fascinating, flawed and ultimately tragic dynasty. -- Paul Lay * The Times *In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady has produced a Rolls-Royce of a narrative that motors through ten centuries of history with an effortlessness that belies the intellectual horsepower beneath the bonnet ... The vast cast of characters is depicted with a mix of insight, sympathy and astringent Gibbonian wit that makes them instantly memorable ... [Rady's] book sheds light on the present almost as brightly as it illuminates the past. -- John Adamson * Literary Review *Magnificent ... Rady maintains unerring poise as he steers through the depths and complexities of his material. His erudition seems effortless, he never gets bogged down in detail, his prose is pellucid, and he spices the narrative with delightfully dry asides and telling anecdotes. -- Rupert Christiansen * Daily Telegraph *Rady restores the Habsburgs to the heart of European history ... An enjoyable, clever and colourful introduction to the subject, with plenty of memorable details. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The Habsburgs are a writer's gift, offering a regal cast of mad, colourful and deeply flawed characters ... Rady's sparkling study is certainly a good place to start. -- Mark Mazower * Financial Times *This volume takes it all in. That Mr. Rady can, in under 350 pages, cover everything from the division of the family's lands in the Swiss Argau in 990 to the surrender of power in 1918 by Charles, the last Habsburg monarch, without sacrificing essential details or losing the reader's attention, is a feat of both scholarship and storytelling. -- A. Wess Mitchell * Wall Street Journal *An ambitious, wide-ranging, briskly written narrative that crams a vast amount of often surprising information into twenty-nine dense but very readable chapters. -- Ritchie Robertson * Times Literary Supplement *Lucid and entertaining ... Rady is as good on the Habsburgs' artistic and cultural legacy as he is on the politics. -- David Crane * The Spectator *This panoramic account manages to make more sense of the European dynasty than its rulers often did. -- John Gallagher * The Guardian *The Habsburgs is gripping, colorful, and dramatic but also concise, scholarly, and magisterial ... Revealing a key player in world history for almost a thousand years, The Habsburgs is a chronicle of high politics and family intimacy involving religion, murder, incest, madness, suicide, assassination. History on an epic scale! -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of THE ROMANOVS and JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHYIt's staggering how much of the continent we recognise today is the result of the machinations of one family, much of it inbred and with really weird chins, and Rady manages to condense the story into one pacy and highly readable account of generations of chancers, liars, political masterminds, battlefield heroes and ruthless schemers who shaped Europe for centuries. -- Charlie Connelly * New European *The Habsburgs were once Europe's foremost royal family. Rady tells their story with verve and authority, casting a curious eye over their eccentricities and peccadilloes while all the time revealing their extraordinary influence and global vision. A fascinating read! -- Alexander Watson, author of THE FORTRESS and RING OF STEELA tour de force. Thorough, accessible, and resolutely erudite, this is the volume that this vitally important subject so desperately needed. Martyn Rady should be congratulated. -- Roger Moorhouse, author of POLAND 1939: THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR IIMartyn Rady has written a splendid account of the grandest old dynasty of Europe: the Habsburgs. With wit and firm opinion, he takes the reader on something akin to a tour of the Wunderkammer of the dynasty's many-centuries-long career. Including vampires, an empress's waist size, and cocaine-laced health drinks, Rady's narrative glitters with apt quotes and telling, often ironic details. -- Steven Beller, author of THE HABSBURG MONARCHY 1815-1918This profile of the Habsburgs is concerned as much with the personal as it is the political. It is a tale of survival, from modest origins to control of an empire and, finally, twentieth-century catastrophe. * History Revealed *This is a first global history of Europe's most famous and durable dynasty, chronicling its exploits with great panache over nearly a millennium of rule across wide swathes of the continent and beyond. His text is accessible and entertaining, his ready wit providing a delectable counterpoint to the notorious humourlessness of so many of the dynasts he examines. -- Robert Evans, Regius Professor of History Emeritus at the University of OxfordAn engaging combination of fast-flowing narrative and insightful analysis. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisExam Board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst Teaching: September 2015First Exam: June 2016This is an OCR endorsed resource.Build strong subject knowledge and skills in A Level History using the in-depth analysis and structured support in this tailor-made series for OCR''s British period studies and enquiries.- Develops the analytical skills required to succeed in the period study by organising the narrative content around the key issues for students to explore- Enhances understanding of the chosen historical period, supplying a wealth of extracts and sources that offer opportunities to practise the evaluative skills needed for the enquiry- Progressively improves study skills through developmental activities and advice on answering practice exam questions- Helps students to review, revise and reflect on the course material through chapter summaries and revision activTable of Contents Enquiry Topic: Churchill 1929–1951 Chapter 1: Churchill’s view of events, 1929–1934 Chapter 2: Churchill as wartime Prime Minister Chapter 3: Churchill and international diplomacy 1939–1951 Revise, Review, Reflect: Churchill 1929–1951 British Period Study: Britain 1951–1997 Chapter 4: Conservative domination, 1951–1964 Chapter 5: Labour and Conservative governments 1964–1979 Chapter 6: Thatcher and the end of consensus 1979–1997 Chapter 7: Britain’s position in the world, 1951–1997 Revise, Review, Reflect: Britain 1951–97

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Book SynopsisThis is the poignant account of twenty-five years spent in Orkney. After her marriage to an islander, Christine Muir went to live on the tiny island of North Ronaldsay, where she and her husband brought up their four children and ran a small croft. Her story is abeautifully observed record of life on one of Britain's northernmost islands.

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