{"title":"History Books","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-levelling-sea-9780007174546","title":"The Levelling Sea","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story of Britain's colourful maritime past seen through the changing fortunes of the Cornish port of Falmouth.Within the space of few years, during the 1560s and 1570s, a maritime revolution took place in England that would contribute more than anything to the transformation of the country from a small rebel state on the fringes of Europe into a world power. Until then, it was said, there was only one Englishman capable of sailing across the Atlantic. Yet within ten years an English ship with an English crew was circumnavigating the world.At the same time in Cornwall, in the Fal estuary, just a single building  a lime kiln  existed where the port of Falmouth would emerge. Yet by the end of the eighteenth century, Falmouth would be one of the busiest harbours in the world.The Levelling Sea' uses the story of Falmouth's spectacular rise and fall to explore wider questions about the sea and its place in history and imagination. Drawing on his own deep connection with Cornwall, award-w\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is a simply splendid book… Marsden’s writing is delightfully honed as well as being profoundly well-researched. The Levelling Sea is a microcosm of British history, contained within its covers like a ship in a bottle… Marsden takes a spyglass to the past and shows us it in vivid colour. Convincing in its detail and exciting in its sweep, this portrait of a port and its people sails deep into the reader’s imagination.\" Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e\"A swashbuckling, but not unserious exploration of bravery, politics and 'fortunes…as liquid as the sea that yielded them.'’ Financial Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e\"Outstanding…his pitch-perfect feel for a phrase, plus a gift as sublime as James Hamilton-Paterson or Jonathan Raban’s for describing water, lifts The Levelling Sea far above ordinary history towards a state closer to poetry. This is the best of our island’s liquid tale, told the way it should be.\" Bella Bathurst, Sunday Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Wonderfully poetic’ Sunday Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e\"…Had Philip Marsden simply used his travel-writing skills to create a hymn to our surrounding seas, and had he decorated it with magical vocabulary alone, the book would have surely been a flawless triumph. But Mr Marsden has done a great deal more than that.\" Simon Winchester, We Love This Book\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e\"The outstanding read of the season… This is a strange, absorbing story, brilliantly told… The best non-fiction expands the particular to the general, and perpetually discovers the marvellous in the ordinary. Marsden pulls this off every time… Read for a good story and beautiful, unpretentious writing. Read it for its introduction, a brilliant essay on seagoing, or for no particular reason. But read it.\" Marine Quarterly\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘[The growth of Falmouth is] a way of exploring our relationship with the sea, and its place in history and imagination.’ The Countryman\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832362582359,"sku":"9780007174546","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007174546.jpg?v=1710331395"},{"product_id":"half-of-a-yellow-sun-9780007200283","title":"Half of a Yellow Sun","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWINNER OF THE BAILEYS PRIZE BEST OF THE BEST              Winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007, this is a heartbreaking, exquisitely written literary masterpiece\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Heartbreaking, funny, exquisitely written and, without doubt, \u003cstrong\u003ea literary masterpiece and a classic\u003c\/strong\u003e’ \u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eStunning\u003c\/strong\u003e. This novel is an immense achievement’ \u003cem\u003eObserver\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eA landmark novel.\u003c\/strong\u003e Adichie brings to history a lucid intelligence and compassion, and a heartfelt plea for memory’ \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Vividly written, thrumming with life … \u003cstrong\u003ea remarkable novel\u003c\/strong\u003e. In its compassionate intelligence as in its capacity for intimate portraiture,\u003cstrong\u003e this novel is a worthy successor to such twentieth-century classics as Chinua Achebe's \u003cem\u003eThings Fall Apart\u003c\/em\u003e and V. S. Naipaul's \u003cem\u003eA Bend in the River\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e' Joyce Carol Oates\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Here is \u003cstrong\u003ea new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Chinua Achebe\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘The character burrow into your marrow and mind\u003c\/strong\u003e, and you come to care for them deeply – something that is all too rare’ \u003cem\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e             \u003cstrong\u003e‘A sane and compassionate new voice in an often strident world’\u003c\/strong\u003e             \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e           \u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Adichie uses language with relish. \u003cstrong\u003eShe infuses her English with a robust poetry\u003c\/strong\u003e’ Helen Dunmore, \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A powerful account of the Biafran War, \u003cstrong\u003ehorrific and tender in equal measure\u003c\/strong\u003e’ \u003cem\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Absolutely awesome. \u003cstrong\u003eOne of the best books I've ever read\u003c\/strong\u003e' Judy Finnigan\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘\u003cstrong\u003eI wasted the last fifty pages, reading them far too greedily and fast, because I couldn’t bear to let go\u003c\/strong\u003e … magnificent’ Margaret Forster\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832371888471,"sku":"9780007200283","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007200283.jpg?v=1710331470"},{"product_id":"gristwood-s-blood-sisters-9780007309306","title":"Gristwood S Blood Sisters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe true story of the White Queen and more, this is a thrilling history of the extraordinary noblewomen who lived through the Wars of the Roses.The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved: Richard Duke of York, Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. But these years were also packed with women's drama and  in the tales of conflicted maternity and monstrous births  alive with female energy.In this completely original book, Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. She examines, among others, Cecily Neville, who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield; Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner who married Edward IV in secret; Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose love and ambition for her son knew no bounds.Until now, the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public. Sarah Gristwood tells their \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘For viewers who plan to settle in with ‘The White Queen’, one recent work of history will guide them through the distaff maze of the Wars of the Roses: ‘Blood Sisters’ by Sarah Gristwood’ Boyd Tonkin, Independent\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘In this gem of a book, she effortlessly weaves the dramatic, often tragic, lives of seven royal women…If you treat yourself to one history book this Christmas, make it this one. It’s the book that I wish I had written’ Alison Weir, Books of the Year, BBC History Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Entertaining and vividly drawn … A different way of looking at this complex period and Gristwood weaves the story with considerable skill … highly readable’ Literary Review\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Gristwood successfully evokes the lives of all these women, and in doing so brings a new and welcome perspective on the Wars of the Roses… [a] very agreeable narrative’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Gristwood’s sensitive approach marks out Blood Sisters as much more than the narrative of an age. It is an exploration of what it was to be a medieval queen… A compelling portrait of this bloody age, complete with the heartbreak and triumphs that went with it… Like a delicately woven tapestry, threads of evidence have to be gathered and pulled together with care. Gristwood does an excellent job of examining in sensory detail the impact of ermines, cloths of gold, Spanish leather and purple velvet’ Spectator\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832379031895,"sku":"9780007309306","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007309306.jpg?v=1710331638"},{"product_id":"judith-kerrs-creatures-a-stunning-biography-of-the-classic-bestselling-childrens-author-judith-kerr-creator-of-the-tiger-who-came-to-tea-the-perfect-illustrated-gift-book-9780007513215","title":"Judith Kerrs Creatures A stunning biography of","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA lavishly illustrated retrospective in celebration of 100 years since Judith Kerr's birth, author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and many other iconic books.Judith Kerr was one of the best-loved authors and illustrators to ever put pencil to paper. The books she created, including The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Mog the Forgetful Cat, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and many many more, have become classics of children's literature, loved by generations of readers.But what of the life behind the iconic characters? Judith's own story is riveting, from her early childhood in Berlin, dramatically cut short by the family having to flee the rising Nazi Party, to her time at the BBC in the 1950s and her long and happy marriage to the celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale, creator of British television's first major hit, The Quatermass Experiment.The joy of this very special book is in hearing this story from Judith herself, accompanied by a treasure trove of illustrations and memorabilia. All combine \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“… captures the colourful innocence of the 1950s and 1960s, with its harlequin tights, squat stoves and fathers in hats…Kerr’s world is one in which the small and lost come to be treasured.” – The Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e“176 large, beautiful pages of nostalgia for anyone who has been a child in the past half century.” – The Independent\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832392794455,"sku":"9780007513215","price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007513215.jpg?v=1710331981"},{"product_id":"sextant-a-voyage-guided-by-the-stars-and-the-men-who-mapped-the-worlds-oceans-9780007516582","title":"Sextant A Voyage Guided by the Stars and the Men","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the tradition of Dava Sobel''s Longitude' comes sailing expert David Barrie''s compelling and dramatic tale of invention and discovery  an eloquent elegy to one of the most important navigational instruments ever created, and the daring mariners who used it to explore, conquer, and map the world.This is the dramatic story of an instrument that changed history. Built around David Barrie's own transatlantic passage using the very same navigational tools as Captain Cook, Sextant tells how one of the most vital navigational instruments was invented and used  and why the golden age of celestial navigation has now come to an end. From Cook, Bligh and Vancouver to Bougainville, La Pérouse, Flinders and FitzRoy, Barrie recounts the fortunes of the explorers who risked their lives in charting the Pacific, as well as the intrepid adventures of Slocum, Shackleton and Worsley. A heady mix of history, science and adventure, this elegy to a lost technology is infused with the wonder of discovery \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘As lovingly and painstakingly constructed as the navigators’ one irreplaceable talisman, this exquisite book is a hymn to a now-vanishing feature of maritime life, a finely-chased reminder of just how much we all owe to that one small piece of apparatus, its verniers and lenses kept secure in a mahogany box, closed by a hasp of brass’ Simon Winchester\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Barrie’s writing is exhilarating and suffused with a sense of adventure. A fascinating read’ Financial Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘What gives Sextant its special colour is Barrie’s own experience as a sailor … His book is an elegy for the days before GPS made simultaneous geniuses and idiots of us all … He invites anyone near the sea, and above all on a boat, to turn away from their screens and look around’ Daily Express\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A bracing historical tale’ The Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘An excellent present for anyone even vaguely interested in the\u003cbr\u003estars, or the history of exploration, or sailing small boats over\u003cbr\u003ebig oceans, or come to think of it anyone at all. And buy a copy\u003cbr\u003efor yourself while you’re about it’ Marine Quarterly\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A joy to read … one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I’ve read in years’ Flying Fish, magazine of the Ocean Cruising Club\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832392925527,"sku":"9780007516582","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780007516582.jpg?v=1710331987"},{"product_id":"invasive-aliens-the-plants-and-animals-from-over-there-that-are-over-here-the-sunday-times-telegraph-and-waterstones-book-of-the-year-9780008262785","title":"Invasive Aliens The Plants and Animals From Over","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story of invasive species is really the story of human history, and Eatherley tells it with great verve  Fascinating' Daily TelegraphA unique history of plant and animal invaders of the British isles spanning thousands of years of arrivals and escapes, as well as defences mounted and a look to the future.As Brits we pride ourselves as stoic defenders, boasting a record of resistance dating back to 1066.Yet, even a cursory examination of the natural world reveals that while interlopers of the human variety may have been kept at bay, our islands have been invaded, conquered and settled by an endless succession of animals, plants, fungi and other alien lifeforms that apparently belong elsewhere. Indeed it's often hard to work out what actually is native, and what is foreign.From early settlement of our islands, through the Roman and mediaeval period, to the age of exploration and globalisation, today's complement of alien species tells a story about our past.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003ePraise for Invasive Aliens\u003cbr\u003e‘Fascinating … Eatherley has the unflagging curiosity of a Victorian explorer. The man seems to be indefatigable as he hacks away at Himalayan balsam (the pink, flowery weed that lines almost every riverbank in Britain) or goes on patrol for invasive signal crayfish in the River Barle. He’s not afraid to get wet, dirty or tired on his mission to get up close and personal with intruders of all shapes and sizes. It feels as if we are on the front line with him.’ The Times\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘[Eatherley’s] approach to his complex subject is open-minded, nuanced, and free-ranging to the point of wildness’ Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Fascinating … the story of “invasive species” is really the story of human history, and [Eatherley] tells it with great verve’ Daily Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Eatherley has an impressive grasp of history – both human and natural … [and] Invasive Aliens provides a well-researched overview of this complex and controversial topic. There is plenty here to surprise as well as enlighten’ Literary Review\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘A fascinating, comprehensive and thoughtful compendium of the flora and fauna that have reached our shores over the years … Invasive Aliens is full of extraordinary and often complex stories.’ Country Life\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Eatherley’s thorough digest of a complex subject is engaging, informative and balanced. It is the first of these which most explains why Invasive Aliens has garnered such a sheaf of book awards. If the journalistic style puts off a few readers, it will please many more because the subject has been presented with verve and panache; I did not expect to be drawn in so comprehensively or to learn so much’ James Robertson, British Wildlife\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘[Dan Eatherley,] a talented naturalist writing with a genuine passion for the subject, has tackled the daunting task of charting the history of alien species in Britain with gusto. 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It is fascinating and impressive to have her prose bring these images to life, as she plausibly recaptures the moments they depict … She show[s] that history in the making is not only experienced but felt, poignantly and painfully.' Stephanie Barczewski,\u003cem\u003e TLS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Combining historical research, including access to family archives, with a vivid storytelling style, author Katherine MacInnes presents … the public and private fallout of the tragedy, which reveals much about society at the time. 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They landed on the beaches of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in 1942  the first US ground offensive of the war  and were present when Okinawa, Japan's most southerly prefecture, finally fell to American troops after a bitter struggle in June 1945. 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Generation after generation of British naval captains had been dreaming ever since of a ''new'' Trafalgar - a cataclysmic encounter which would decisively change a war''s outcome.  At last, in the summer of 1916, they thought their moment had come...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAndrew Gordon''s extraordinary, gripping book brilliantly recreates the atmosphere of the British navy in the years leading up to Jutland and gives a superb account of the battle itself and its bitterly acrimonious aftermath.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832685019479,"sku":"9780141980324","price":17.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141980324.jpg?v=1710336710"},{"product_id":"the-knowledge-machine-9780141981260","title":"The Knowledge Machine","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRich with tales of discovery from Galileo to general relativity, a stimulating and timely analysis of how science works and why we need it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''The \u003cb\u003ebest introduction to the scientific enterprise\u003c\/b\u003e that I know. A wonderful and important book'' \u003cb\u003eDavid Wootton\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Invention of Science\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is only in the last three centuries that the formidable knowledge-making machine we call modern science has transformed our way of life and our vision of the universe - two thousand years after the invention of law, philosophy, drama and mathematics. Why did we take so long to invent science? And how has it proved to be so powerful?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Knowledge Machine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e gives a radical answer, exploring how science calls on its practitioners to do something apparently irrational: strip away all previous knowledge - such as theological, metaphysical or political beliefs - and channel unprecedented energy into observation and experiment. \u003cb\u003eIn times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003cb\u003ebest introduction to the scientific enterprise\u003c\/b\u003e that I know. Its brevity and simplicity cannot conceal the boldness of its conception, the extraordinary scope of its ambition. A \u003cb\u003ewonderful and important\u003c\/b\u003e book. -- David Wootton, author of The Invention of Science\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003estylish and accessible\u003c\/b\u003e investigation into the nature of the scientific method. -- Nigel Warburton * Philosophy Bites *\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003eelegant\u003c\/b\u003e book takes us to the heart of the scientific enterprise. -- David Papineau, King's College London, author of Knowing the Score\u003cbr\u003eThis book is \u003cb\u003ea delight to read\u003c\/b\u003e, richly illustrated with wonderfully told incidents from the history of natural science. -- Nancy Cartwright, University of California San Diego\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePowerful, bracingly argued and important\u003c\/b\u003e. 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Not only profoundly insightful but rollicking good fun. -- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex\u003cbr\u003eAs thrilling to read as it is important. \u003cb\u003eCaptivating.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nathan Heller, New Yorker staff writer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832685510999,"sku":"9780141981260","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141981260.jpg?v=1710336715"},{"product_id":"all-things-made-new-9780141983011","title":"All Things Made New","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Reformation which engulfed England and Europe in the sixteenth  century was one of the most highly-charged, bloody and transformative  periods in their history, and has remained one of the most contested. In  this dazzling book, Diarmaid MacCulloch explores a turbulent and  endlessly fascinating era. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A masterly take on the Reformation ... absorbing and compelling, full of insights'' Linda Hogan, \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''One  of our very best public historians ... as this collection triumphantly  confirms, MacCulloch writes authoritatively and engagingly on a  remarkably diverse range of topics in the history of Christian culture''  Peter Marshall, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Written with elegance and sometimes donnish wit ... he wears his learning lightly'' Robert Tombs, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Dazzling ... prodigiously learned ... MacCulloch has a gift for explaining complicated things simply'' Jack Scarisbrick, \u003ci\u003eCatholic Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMacCulloch not only brings a lifetime's learning to bear on his subject, but writes with vigour, empathy and wit ... about identity and memory, about the importance of myths and why historians need to challenge them. -- Malcolm Gaskill * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAll Things Made New\u003c\/i\u003e is a serious book on a serious subject. It is written with elegance and sometimes donnish wit -- Robert Tombs * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eMacCulloch is ... able to write authoritatively and engagingly on a remarkably diverse range of topics in the history of Christian culture and thought. -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832686494039,"sku":"9780141983011","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141983011.jpg?v=1710336732"},{"product_id":"the-ruin-of-all-witches-9780141991481","title":"The Ruin of All Witches","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*THE \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER*\u003cbr\u003e*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*A \u003ci\u003eTIMES\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eAND\u003ci\u003e BBC HISTORY\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A bona fide historical classic'' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Simply one of the best history books I have ever read'' \u003ci\u003eBBC History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the frontier town of Springfield in 1651, peculiar things begin to happen. Precious food spoils, livestock ails and property vanishes. People suffer fits and are plagued by strange visions and dreams. Children sicken and die. As tensions rise, rumours spread of witches and heretics, and the community becomes tangled in a web of spite, distrust and denunciation. The finger of suspicion falls on a young couple struggling to make a home and feed their children: Hugh Parsons the irascible brickmaker and his troubled wife, Mary. It will be their downfall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ruin of All Witches\u003c\/i\u003e tells the dark, real-life folktale of witch-hunting i\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA bona fide historical classic ... Historical writing of the very highest class, impeccably researched and written with supreme imagination and wisdom. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eUnforgettable ... Whether you read \u003ci\u003eThe Ruin of All Witches \u003c\/i\u003efor a startling insight into another age, or see its portrait of mob hysteria and witch-hunts as darkly analogous to our own uneasy times, this is one of those rare history books that stays with you and haunts you long after you have turned the last page. Superb. -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe genius of Gaskill's book lies in his meticulous piecing together of daily life in New England ...  Gaskill tells this deeply tragic story with immense empathy and compassion, as well as historical depth. A compelling study that offers a chilling insight into human nature in an age of superstition. -- PD Smith * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eBreathtaking ... a great story, exquisitely told. I had to reread certain sentences aloud, just to savour their insight and cadence ... This book is history at its illuminative best. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe narrative is as compelling as a campfire story ... This is deeply atmospheric writing, carefully sourced ... As with the best history, the lessons of Springfield's past may serve to inform the citizens of a still-divided and conflicted nation. -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eEvocative right from the start, the reader is drawn in and excited in both body and mind ... It's a feast ... a valuable gift to every reader of history. -- Marion Gibson * BBC History Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA portrait of a community during one of the first Puritan witch panics in the New World - and a timeless study of how paranoia, superstition and social unrest fuel fantasies ... Mr Gaskill's immersive approach brings the fate of his subjects movingly to life. * The Economist *\u003cbr\u003eSimply one of the best history books I have ever read ... His deeply imaginative, empathetic and yet empirical exploration of a past moment of crisis is history at its finest. -- Suzannah Lipscomb * BBC History *\u003cbr\u003eA rich and beautifully written microhistory ... a work of remarkable historical reconstruction. -- Edward Vallance * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eMalcolm Gaskill shows us with filmic vividness the daily life of the riven, marginal community of Springfield, where settlers from a far country dwell on the edge of the unknown. The clarity of his thought and his writing, his insight, and the immediacy of the telling, combine to make this the best and most enjoyable kind of history writing. Malcolm Gaskill goes to meet the past on its own terms and in its own place, and the result is thought-provoking and absorbing. -- Hilary Mantel\u003cbr\u003eA surefooted and gripping narrative ... Gaskill's Springfield joins Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's Montaillou, Tony Wrigley's Colyton and other places of little intrinsic importance which for one reason or another have been immortalised by modern historiography...  There is currently no memorial for Hugh and Mary Parsons in Springfield like those which have been erected in other places where witches were hunted. Perhaps they will get one now. -- Keith Thomas * London Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eReads with the fluency of a novel ... Crucially, Gaskill writes to make us see the world as those early Puritans saw it; how their own psychological fears, of financial ruin, of neighbours, of Native Americans and the hostile elements, could seed the first accusations of witchcraft. -- Samira Ahmend * The New Humanist *\u003cbr\u003eAn impressively researched account, bringing to life the fears and preoccupations of obscure and humble people, and setting them in the context of their time and place. -- Richard Francis * The Spectator *\u003cbr\u003ePowerfully evocative, a grimly compelling morality tale with more than one unexpected twist ... an outstanding achievement, haunting, revelatory and superbly written - a strong contender for the best history book of 2021. -- Andrew Lynch * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA pulsating history of sorcery and superstition ... an academic feat but reads like a Stephen King thriller - and it's just right for our conspiracy-laden times. -- Robert Epstein * The i *\u003cbr\u003eA riveting micro-history, brilliantly set within the broader social and cultural history of witchcraft. Drawing on previously neglected source material, this book is elegantly written and full of intelligent analysis. * Wolfson History Prize 2022 *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832687935831,"sku":"9780141991481","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141991481.jpg?v=1710336766"},{"product_id":"this-sovereign-isle-9780141995021","title":"This Sovereign Isle","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eTOP TEN \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeography comes before history. Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European country, but not the same kind of European country as Germany, Poland or Hungary. For most of the 150 centuries during which Britain has been inhabited it has been on the edge, culturally and literally, of mainland Europe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this succinct book, Tombs shows that the decision to leave the EU is historically explicable - though not made historically inevitable - by Britain''s very different historical experience, especially in the twentieth century, and because of our more extensive and deeper ties outside Europe. He challenges the orthodox view that Brexit was due solely to British or English exceptionalism: in choosing to leave the EU, the British, he argues, were in many ways voting as typical Europeans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003econfident ... surprising and original ... and humble ... Tombs's opening chapter, putting Britain's relationship with Europe into a wider historical context, offers more insights than entire shelves of rival Brexit books\u003c\/b\u003e. \"Geography comes before history,\" he begins. \"Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European country, but not the same kind of European country as Germany, Poland or Hungary.\" ... Like all good historians, Tombs can be entertainingly bitchy [yet] all the time, \u003cb\u003ewith elegant wit, he punctures myth after myth\u003c\/b\u003e -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe time has finally come for the whole issue [of Brexit] to pass from the hands of journalists into those of historians. Robert Tombs, emeritus professor of French history at Cambridge, has started the process of objective historical analysis with \u003cb\u003ea profoundly thoughtful explanation of how Brexit happened, and why\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eTombs has a witty turn of phrase and agreeably ironic style that means that he never descends into polemic ... If journalism is the first draft of history, then \u003ci\u003eThis Sovereign Isle \u003c\/i\u003eis its penultimate draft, and the best we will have for many years. \u003c\/b\u003e -- Andrew Roberts * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA short, punchy, eloquent statement from such a distinguished historian -- Fintan O'Toole * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eCambridge professor Tombs offers a fine first draft of history in this objective explanation of how and why Brexit happened. Tombs takes a witty, engagingly ironic approach to the false claims of Project Fear. -- Summer reading * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA rare intellectual proponent of Brexit, Robert Tombs infuriates pro-Europeans-even more so because of his undeniable calibre as a historian ... \u003ci\u003eThis Sovereign Isle\u003c\/i\u003e argued that the Leave vote was inevitable as well as rational: the UK never fitted the European project. He understands this as a reaction to the traumas of the continent's story - traumas that Britain's distinctive journey has sometimes ducked ... His theme - national identity in a fracturing world - has contemporary significance far beyond these shores. -- The world’s top 50 thinkers, 2021 * Prospect *\u003cbr\u003eadmirably independent-minded and well argued ... should indeed be made compulsory reading for all Brexiteers -- Richard Evans * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eTo Remainers interested in reading a civilised \u0026amp; learned defence of Brexit, I highly recommend it -- Tom Holland","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832688984407,"sku":"9780141995021","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141995021.jpg?v=1710336794"},{"product_id":"wild-grass-9780141996233","title":"Wild Grass","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Illuminating ... Johnson has not only lifted a corner of the curtain which covers China''s reality beyond its glittering eastern cities; he has drawn the whole curtain'' \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eWild Grass,\u003c\/i\u003e Pulitzer Prize-winning Ian Johnson describes a China caught between the desire for change percolating up from below and the ossified political structure above. He recounts the stories of three ordinary people who find themselves finding oppression and government corruption, risking imprisonment and even death. A young architecture student, a bereaved daughter, and a peasant legal clerk are the unlikely heroes of these stories, private citizens cast by unexpected circumstances into surprising roles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIlluminating ... Johnson has not only lifted a corner of the curtain which covers China's reality beyond its glittering eastern cities; he has drawn the whole curtain. * The Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eA gripping tale. * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eA captivating and an important study of what is happening on the ground in China today. * The News Tribune *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832690262359,"sku":"9780141996233","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141996233.jpg?v=1710336805"},{"product_id":"titanic-first-accounts-penguin-classics-deluxe-edition-9780143106623","title":"Titanic First Accounts Penguin Classics Deluxe","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFascinating firsthand accounts of the \u003ci\u003eTitanic—\u003c\/i\u003ein a deluxe package with gorgeous graphic cover art\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eTitanic, First Accounts \u003c\/i\u003egraphic deluxe edition compiles first hand accounts, testimonies, and letters by notable Titanic survivors, including Archibald Gracie, Lawrence Beesley, Elizabeth W. Shutes, and the unsinkable Molly Brown. Full of historically accurate details and an afterword by the grandson of Lawrence Beesley, Titanic Survivors and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Loss of the S.S. Titanic\u003c\/i\u003e, it will be the gift to give die-hard Titanic buffs. Authoritative, commemorative and in a striking, luxurious package with and introduction by Titanic enthusiast and expert, Tim Maltin, this will be the authoritative work on the disaster.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works t\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"With its detailed stories from survivors of the disaster, \u003ci\u003eTitanic, First Accounts\u003c\/i\u003e is hugely engaging and adroitly debunks some of the event's great myths. 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These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument * Observer *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832780931415,"sku":"9780241465073","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241465073.jpg?v=1710338105"},{"product_id":"spy-story-penguin-modern-classics-9780241505519","title":"Spy Story Penguin Modern Classics","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Len Deighton''s spy novels are so good they make me sad the Cold War is over'' Malcolm Gladwell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter six weeks in a nuclear submarine gathering computer data on Soviet activity, the mysterious, bespectacled spy known as Patrick Armstrong is desperate to return home. But when he arrives at his London flat, it appears to be occupied by someone who looks just like him - and he finds himself propelled into the heart of a conspiracy stretching from the remote Scottish highlands to the Arctic ice. 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Oskar Schindler was a heavy-drinking, womanising industrialist who defied and outwitted the SS to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other single person during World War II.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on a true story, \u003ci\u003eSchindler''s Ark\u003c\/i\u003e is an astonishing tale of huge risks and great courage in the face of unspeakable evil.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR THOMAS KENEALLY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A superb storyteller'' \u003cb\u003eAlan Sillitoe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''One of the historical novel''s most expert practitioners'' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A gr\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary achievement\u003c\/b\u003e -- Graham Greene, author of BRIGHTON ROCK\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliantly detailed, moving, powerful and gripping\u003c\/b\u003e * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eThomas Keneally has done marvellous justice to a marvellous story * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003eremarkable \u003c\/b\u003ebook has the immediacy and the almost unbearable detail of a thousand eye witnesses who forgot nothing * New York Times Book Review *\u003cbr\u003eKeneally is a superb storyteller. With \u003ci\u003eSchindler's Ark\u003c\/i\u003e he has given us his best book yet, a \u003cb\u003emagnificent \u003c\/b\u003enovel which held me from the first page to the last -- Alan Sillitoe, author of SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eextraordinary \u003c\/b\u003etale . . .no summary can adequately convey the stratagems and reverses and sudden twists of fortune . . . A notable achievement * New York Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003emagnificent \u003c\/b\u003ebook, powerful, harrowing and beautifully written * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eA fine and moving story * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eFascinating, expertly told and impossible to put down * Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eMagnificent . . . \u003cb\u003eBeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003emasterful \u003c\/b\u003eaccount of the growth of the human soul * Los Angeles Times *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eastounding \u003c\/b\u003estory . . . in this case the truth is far more powerful than anything the imagination could invent * Newsweek *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833023021399,"sku":"9780340936290","price":10.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780340936290.jpg?v=1710340712"},{"product_id":"give-us-freedom-the-women-who-revolutionised-the-modern-world-9780349006086","title":"Give Us Freedom The Women who Revolutionised the","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e''They will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death''\u003cbr\u003eSo said,in 1913 ,the brilliant orator and suffragette ,Emmeline Pankhurst, just one of the inspiring women who won the vote for women.  \u003cbr\u003eShe remains a heroine for those determined to go to any lengths to change our world and one of those inspirational souls who feature in Rosalind Miles'' gallery of famous, infamous and little-know rebels.    \u003cbr\u003eWe begin with the French Revolution when women took on the\u003ci\u003e fraternite \u003c\/i\u003eof man, then it''s off to America to round up the rebels fighting side by side for freedom with their men, before heading back to Britain to witness the courage of the suffragettes. From Australia to Iceland, from India to China and from many other countries, we track women who - often at a very high cost to themselves - have stood up to age-old cruelties and injustices. Recording the important milestones in the long march of women towards equality through a colourful pageant of astonis\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833028723031,"sku":"9780349006086","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349006086.jpg?v=1710340853"},{"product_id":"climbing-the-bookshelves-9780349016313","title":"Climbing The Bookshelves","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''That politics was the most exciting of all the exciting things in the world I never doubted''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShirley Williams was born to politics. As well as being influenced by her mother, Vera Brittan, her father George Catlin, a leading political scientist, encouraged his daughter to have high ambitions for herself - including daring to climb the bookshelves in his library. Elected as MP for Hitchin in 1964, she was a member of the Wilson and Callaghan governments and was also the Secretary of State for Education.  As one of the ''Gang of Four'' Shirley Williams famously broke away from the Labour Party to found the SDP in 1981 and later supported its merger with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats.  This is her story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eClimbing the Bookshelves\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Very few politicians are loved, but Shirley Williams was one'' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''She speaks human, which is a surprisingly rare political talent'' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e''\u003c\/i\u003eDecent,\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833037341015,"sku":"9780349016313","price":8.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349016313.jpg?v=1710341047"},{"product_id":"the-age-of-revolution-9780349104843","title":"The Age Of Revolution","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEric Hobsbawm traces with brilliant anlytical clarity the transformation brought about in evry sphere of European life by the Dual revolution - the 1789 French revolution and the Industrial Revolution that originated in Britain.  This enthralling and original account highlights the significant sixty years when industrial capitalism established itself in Western Europe and when Europe established the domination over the rest of the world it was to hold for half a century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe work is challenging, learned, brilliant in its analytical power, wide-ranging in its lucid exposition of literary, aesthetic and scientific achievments and packed with novel insight. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant. * TLS *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833039602007,"sku":"9780349104843","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349104843.jpg?v=1710341091"},{"product_id":"rubicon-9780349115634","title":"Rubicon","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003e''The bloodstained drama of the last decades of the Roman republic... is told afresh with tremendous wit, narrative verve and insight''\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''I owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Holland not just for reminding me of the great figures who bestrode the Roman world - Pompey and Crassus, Cato, Cicero and Caesar - but for explaining what it was that made Rome the greatest superpower the world has known, why it lasted so long and what caused its eventual fall'' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Gripping and hugely entertaining. It is a story crammed with drama and spectacle... but the real attraction of Holland''s book is the wit and contemporary sensibility that he brings to his often bloody tale'' Books of the Year, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''This is narrative history at its best... it really held me, in fact, obsessed me'' Ian McEwan, Books of the Year, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTom Holland's excellent new study of the fall of the Republic... re-evaluating Rome for a new generation -- Robert Harris * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is the best one-volume narrative history of the Rome between King Tarquin and Emperor Augustus I have ever read\u003c\/b\u003e. The story of Rome's experiment with republicanism - peopled by such giants as Caesar, Pompey, Cato and Cicero - is told with perfect freshness, fine wit and true scholarship. * Andrew Roberts *\u003cbr\u003eHolland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. \u003cb\u003eA brilliant and completely absorbing study\u003c\/b\u003e * A.N Wilson, author of The Victorians *\u003cbr\u003eThe only way to kindle the interest of a new generation in the Greek and Roman world... Holland paints a vivid social portrait of the Roman World -- Max Hastings * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs. * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eExplosive stuff...a seriously intelligent history... [written] with elan and gusto... It is a history for our times... Wickedly enjoyable. * Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eHolland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. A brilliant and completely absorbing study * A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians *\u003cbr\u003eThis is the best one-volume narrative history of the Rome between King Tarquin and Emperor Augustus I have ever read. The story of Rome's experiment with republicanism - peopled by such giants as Caesar, Pompey, Cato and Cicero - is told with perfect fre * Andrew Roberts *\u003cbr\u003eA modern, well-paced and finely observed history which entertains as it informs * OBSERVER *\u003cbr\u003eExplosive stuff ... a seriously intelligent history ... [written] with élan and gusto ... It is a history for our times ... Wickedly enjoyable * Peter Jones, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833041240407,"sku":"9780349115634","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349115634.jpg?v=1710341118"},{"product_id":"persian-fire-9780349117171","title":"Persian Fire","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003eTom Holland''s bestselling account of the world''s very first clash of civilisations between the Persians and the Greeks in 480BC\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Magisterial... told with great authority and a novelistic colour and verve'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBooks of the Year, \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Holland has a rare eye for detail, drama and the telling anecdote''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDominic Sandbrook, \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''An unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Holland brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Napier, \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens to\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is a testament to Holland's superlative powers as a narrative historian that he\u003cb\u003e brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life\u003c\/b\u003e -- William Napier * Independent on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eHolland has a rare eye for the detail, drama and the telling anecdote... \u003cb\u003eA vibrant, bloodthirsty popular history\u003c\/b\u003e, told with a rich sense of irony and irresistible narrative timing * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMagisterial\u003c\/b\u003e... told with great authority and a novelistic colour and verve * Independent on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eA page-turning account of a conflict that genuinely was one of the pivots on which world history has turned... His descriptions of the great confrontations of the war provide miniature masterclasses in the art of exciting historical writing... This is \u003cb\u003ea terrific book, combining impeccable scholarship with the narrative drive of a fine novel\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThis book is \u003cb\u003ean unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history\u003c\/b\u003e... Holland never strains for modern references; they are implicit in the stories he tells with such scholarship and flair * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eExcellent... Holland is a cool-headed historian who writes no less authoritatively and engagingly on classical Greece than he did on ancient Rome -- Mary Beard * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eAmbitious... a sweeping popular account that seems \u003cb\u003edestined to become a classic\u003c\/b\u003e * Seattle Times *\u003cbr\u003eA welcome popularization of ancient history, with a nicely vengeful cliffhanger of an ending that begs for a sequel * Kirkus *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the sweep and vividness of his prose Tom Holland does the subject proud\u003c\/b\u003e, and he is also good at trying to look at the conflict as much through Persian eyes as Greek, and at getting inside the psyche of Darius and Xerxes * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eHolland doesn't impose a modern sensibility on the ancient civilizations he describes, and he delves into the background histories of both sides with equally fascinating detail... the story of the Persian empire should be fresh and surprising to many readers, while \u003cb\u003eHolland's graceful, modern voice will captivate those intimidated by Herodotus\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThrilling\u003c\/b\u003e... a fascinating insight into Europe's development * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eGripping and authoritative ... An awe-inspiring story of the struggle for freedom * Express *\u003cbr\u003eConfident, fluent and accessible, and with salutary lessons for our own times, this is history at its best * The Times *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833043304791,"sku":"9780349117171","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349117171.jpg?v=1710341157"},{"product_id":"millennium-9780349119724","title":"Millennium","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBestselling historian and broadcaster Tom Holland gives a thrilling panoramic account of the birth of the new Western Europe in the year 1000\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''An exhilarating sweep across European history either side of the year 1000; riveting'' \u003c\/b\u003eALLAN MASSIE, \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''I relished the blood and thunder narrative - the work of a great storyteller at his best'' \u003c\/b\u003eDOMINIC SANDBROOK, \u003ci\u003eEVENING STANDARD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A splendid, highly coloured canvas'' \u003c\/b\u003eNORMAN STONE, \u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn AD 900, few would have guessed that the splintering kingdoms of Europe were candidates for future greatness. Hemmed in by implacable enemies and an ocean, there were many who feared that they were nearing the time when the Antichrist would appear, heralding the world''s end. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInstead there emerged a new civilisation. It was the age of Otto the Great and William the Conqueror, of Viking sea-kings, of hermits, monks and serfs. It witnessed the spread of\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e** Fast and lively . . . another blockbuster * Jenny Diski, SUNDAY TIMES *\u003cbr\u003e** A mighty narrative of kings and popes, battles and massacres . . . A tremendously good read * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003e'At last, a book that sheds much-needed light on those 1,000 years between Roman Britain and the Norman conquest that we call the dark ages * Sue Arnold GUARDIAN *\u003cbr\u003e'Holland tells a cracking tale, vividly bringing this neglected era of monks, popes, knights and serfs back to life * David Sinclair, TRIBUNE *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833046483287,"sku":"9780349119724","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349119724.jpg?v=1710341197"},{"product_id":"in-the-shadow-of-the-sword-9780349122359","title":"In The Shadow Of The Sword","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eTOP TEN BESTSELLER\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A stunning blockbuster''\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Fisk\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A brilliant tour de force of revisionist scholarship and thrilling storytelling'' \u003c\/b\u003eSimon Sebag Montefiore\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A compelling detective story of the highest order''\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Tom Holland has an enviable gift for summoning up the colour, the individuals and animation of the past''\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword \u003c\/i\u003eexplores how this came about. Spanning from Constantinople to the Arabian desert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, h\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt takes courage and intellect to confront such complexity and sensitivity. Written with flamboyant elegance and energetic intensity, Holland delivers\u003cb\u003e a brilliant tour de force of revisionist scholarship and thrilling storytelling\u003c\/b\u003e with a blood-spattered cast of swashbuckling tyrants, nymphomanaical empresses and visionary prophets... \u003cb\u003eUnputdownable\u003c\/b\u003e * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA great achievement... A compelling detective story of the highest order, \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e is also a dazzlingly colourful journey into the world of late antiquity. \u003cb\u003eEvery bit as thrilling a narrative history as Holland's previous works, \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e is also a profoundly important book\u003c\/b\u003e. It makes public and popular what scholarship has been discovering for several decades now; and those discoveries suggest a wholesale revision of where Islam came from and what it is\u003c\/p\u003e * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Holland is a writer of clarity and expertise, who talks us through this unfamiliar and crowded territory with energy and some dry wit...\u003c\/b\u003e The emergence of Islam is a notoriously risky subject, so a confident historian who is able to explain where this great religion came from without illusion or dissimulation has us greatly in his debt * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a book of extraordinary richness... \u003cb\u003eTom Holland has an enviable gift for summoning up the colour, the individuals and animation of the past\u003c\/b\u003e, without sacrificing factual integrity... He is also a divertingly inventive writer with a wicked wit... This is a history of history as it were... wonderfully hard-hitting analysis, elegantly tied into the unfolding narrative of events, with each religious establishment exposed in all its glory and treacherous realpolitik... \u003cb\u003ea spell-bindingly brilliant multiple portrait of the triumph of monotheism in the ancient world\u003c\/b\u003e * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eHolland's new book traces the process by which the world of the first millennium came to be dominated by one God, three religions and an innumerable succession of emperors -- Dan Jones * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eIt is difficult not to be bedazzled by a cast that includes ulcerated Christian holy men, Zoroastrian priests obsessed with dental hygiene, demonic emperors, barbarians with self-inflicted cranial deformities and Arab ambassadors stinking of camel -- Richard Miles * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSweeping and perceptive\u003c\/b\u003e. His major achievement is to set out just how uncertain is our grasp on the immediate setting of Muhammad's life, and on the formation of the Koran. At this moment in world history above all, it should be required reading * Professor Sir Fergus Millar *\u003cbr\u003eHolland is a restless wanderer across the ancient world, both geographically and intellectually... A dazzling range of characters... Holland is a skilful and energetic narrator, and while he guides us along the more intricate twists and turns of the period, he also keeps our eyes on the bigger story -- Anthony Sattin * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eHolland leaves almost no aspect of the traditional story of Islam intact as he charts its rise to global power from the ashes of the Roman and Persian empires -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eA work of history, trying to tell the truth, as modern historians understand that fraught concept... \u003cb\u003eA gripping, colourful book\u003c\/b\u003e -- Charles Moore * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA handsome volume, tackling an important question from a novel perspective, backed by useful notes and written in an accessible and fluid style -- Michael Scott * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eA brave and valuable attempt to train the lens of popular history upon an exceptionally contentious field of study... elegant and entertaining... \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a useful, and sometimes provocative, starting point for anyone interested in approaching the birth of Islam from a historical, rather than devotional, perspective -- Thomas Ashbridge * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eElegantly written and refreshingly free from specialist jargon... marshalling its resources with dexterity, it is a veritable tour de force -- Malise Ruthven * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eThose unwilling to struggle through academic texts have long needed a guide to the story of Islam as it's understood by those with the fullest access to the latest linguistic and archaeological evidence. Now at last in Tom Holland's \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e, they finally have it -- David Frum * Daily Beast *\u003cbr\u003eA stunning blockbuster -- Robert Fisk * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA compelling detective story of the highest order, \u003ci\u003eIn the Shadow of the Sword \u003c\/i\u003eis also a dazzlingly colourful journey into the world of late antiquity. Every bit as thrilling a narrative history as Holland's previous works, [it] is also a profoundly important book -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eWritten with flamboyant elegance and energetic intensity, Holland delivers a brilliant \u003ci\u003etour de force\u003c\/i\u003e of revisionist scholarship and thrilling storytelling with a bloodspattered cast of swashbuckling tyrants, nymphomaniacal empresses and visionary prophets . . . Unputdownable -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * The Times *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833047499095,"sku":"9780349122359","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349122359.jpg?v=1710341212"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/collections\/history.oembed?page=392","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}