History Books

Book SynopsisBrick Lane today is a place of extremes a street that''s constantly reinventing itself. Blending history and reportage with personal testimony and urban myths, and interspersing these with maps and photography, On Brick Lane is a one-of-a-kind chronicle of one of London''s most remarkable streets.Bringing to life the memories and realities of Brick Lane''s many communities, Rachel Lichtenstein harnesses the voices of the famous, the infamous and the obscure, merging memoir, reportage, poetry, photography and local history. The result is as vibrant and fascinating as the neighbourhood it so movingly celebrates.Trade ReviewA collage of beady-eyed topographical study, family history and oral testimony… an intriguing, vivid memorial * Seven/ Telegraph *…a comprehensive, deeply researched portrait of the street… affectionate, absorbing * New Statesman *…a comprehensive, deeply researched portrait of the street… affectionate, absorbing * New Statesman *

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

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2018 ''This is stupendous. The British nineteenth century, in all its complexity, all its horror, all its energy, all its hopes is laid bare. This is the definitive history, and will remain so for generations'' A.N. WilsonTo live in nineteenth-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent in the human experience. There were revolutions in transport, communication, work; cities grew vast; scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognizable. This was an exhilarating time, but also a horrifying one.In his dazzling new book David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British nineteenth century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice. This was a country which saw itself at the summit of the world. And yet it was a society also convulsed by doubt, fear and introspection. Victorious Century rTrade ReviewA book such as this is a work of heroic summary. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Magnificent... a thumping great book, and it is probably destined to become a classic. Cannadine succeeds triumphantly. -- Jane Ridley * Spectator *A sparkling history, immensely readable * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisC.J. (Christopher John) Chivers is a senior writer for the New York Times and its former Moscow Bureau Chief. He was an infantry officer in the US Marines from 1988 to 1994 and served in the First Gulf War. He is the recipient of numerous prizes including a shared Pulitzer for International Reporting in 2009 for coverage of the war in Afghanistan. He has reported from many of the major war-torn areas of the world. He lives with his family in Rhode Island.Trade ReviewWith impelling force, C. J. Chivers tells a remarkable story of how this one, superbly reliable firearm became the most abundant ever produced, and was to exceed the consequences even of Soviet nuclear know-how in the Cold War, and beyond -- Alistair Horne, author of 'The Price of Glory' and 'A Savage War of Peace'Dazzling ... startling ... The Gun does exactly what the best art history or music writing does - it opens our eyes to see anew the familiar -- Doug Stanton, author of 'Horse Soldiers'The Gun is for those who wonder how we fight today and why we fight that way. C. J. Chivers has given us a seminal work -- James Bradley, author of 'Flags of Our Fathers'Absorbing and beautifully written ... The story of this particular weapon becomes in an important sense the story of the violence and threat at the heart of the more than sixty years since the gun was first introduced -- Richard OveryChivers is a first-rate war correspondent and a prodigious researcher ... The Gun is likely to become the standard account of the world's standard assault rifle -- Max Boot * New York Times Book Review *Chivers's mastery of history and engineering is matched by his mastery of language ... The Gun is a riveting read -- Raymond Bonner * Guardian *Chivers tells the story well ... [he is] superb on the technical history of the AK-47 and its predecessors, but he also strikingly underlines its human cost as well as weaving adeptly through the propaganda -- Tim Newark * Financial Times *A formidable feat of research and writing ... he has produced surely the final word on one of the most iconic weapons of our times -- Roger Moorhouse * Independent on Sunday *Chivers is admirably meticulous in his research -- Justin Marozzi * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe destruction of the French army at Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite.The young Edward III''s triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crécy anything seemed possible - Edward''s claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any event, enormous rewards of land, treasure and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible. It was to enshrine this moment that Edward created one of the most famous of all knightly orders, the Company of the Garter.Barber writes about both the great campaigns and the individuals who formed the original membership of thTrade ReviewBarber [has an] infectious passion for and deep knowledge of his subject matter . . . elegant prose and rigorous historical analysis . . . a valuable and thorough addition to the body of work on this most impressive of English monarchs * Sunday Times *In Edward III and the Triumph of England [Barber] has written the kind of book that the king would have enjoyed: full of battles, glitter and ceremony . . . he has an original eye and an elegant pen -- Jonathan Sumption * Literary Review *Barber shares his hero's love of chivalry . . . The book sparkles with some of Edward's own glitz * Telegraph *This absorbing book is layered rather than linear, sifting with uncommon sensitivity through challenging sources to test the boundaries of what we can and cannot know . . . We discover the complexity of the world in which Edward and his commanders lived -- Helen Castor * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFINANCIAL TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR and DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEARShortlisted for the 2012 DUKE OF WESTMINSTER MEDAL FOR MILITARY LITERATUREAt the end of 1917 Britain and France faced a strategic nightmare. Their great offensives against Germany had been calamitous, leaving hundreds of thousands of young men dead and wounded for negligible territorial gains. Despite America''s entry into the war the US army remained tiny, the Italian army had been routed, and Russia had dropped out of the conflict. The Central Powers now dominated Central and Eastern Europe, and Germany could move over forty divisions to the Western Front. Yet only one year later, on 11 November 1918, the fighting ended in a decisive Allied victory. Stevenson''s rich and compelling book retells the story of 1918, and with penetrating original research goes to the very roots of this instrumental turning point in modern history.Trade ReviewIt is impossible ... to exaggerate how impressive this book is -- David Crane * The Spectator *Brilliant and comprehensive ... a major contribution -- A. W. Purdue * The Times Higher Education Supplement *This is, as one would expect from a historian of Stevenson's great learning and analytical power, a masterly study * The Sunday Telegraph *An immensely useful study, emphasising the crucial importance of morale, political stability and trust -- Max Egremont * Literary Review *Stevenson brings to his study a formidable authority and mastery of the sources, and judgments that seem admirably measured and nuanced -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *A fascinating military narrative ... masterly -- William Anthony Hay * Wall Street Journal *A magnificent and exhaustive account of the war's final year ... Stevenson has a deserved reputation as one of the world's leading authorities on the war -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *A magisterial single volume synthesis of all the themes to deliver a punchy, incisive reboot of WW1 history that is never a dull read * Warships International Fleet Review *An outstanding contribution -- Frank Ellis * Quarterly Review *A monumental study deserving of a wide readership by scholars and generalists alike * Library Journal *Stevenson's grand scope, his international perspective, and his reliable judgements, combined with crystal-clear writing, have produced an exemplary book, a formidable contribution to our understanding of the Great War and the twentieth century * English Historical Review *The strength of the book lies in his ability to weave together astute analysis of the antagonists' abilities and weaknesses ... Told with verve and analytical vigour, Stevenson's book is a compelling and authoritative study of one of the most significant turning points in 20th-century military history -- Robert Gerwath * The Irish Times *Stevenson's detailed, lucid description of the development and maturation of that ability reflects encyclopedic mastery of published and archival sources while synergizing military, economic, political, and social-cultural factors. It is a professor's page-turner. It is also a door-opener to any reader seeking to understand the Great War's last stage * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisChosen 16 times as a ''Book of the Year'' - the top non-fiction pick of 2012''The best work of modern history I have ever read'' A. N. Wilson, Financial TimesAt the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union unexpectedly found itself in control of a huge swathe of territory in Eastern Europe. Stalin and his secret police set out to convert a dozen radically different countries to a completely new political and moral system: Communism. Anne Applebaum''s landmark history of this brutal time shows how societies were ruthlessly eviscerated by Communist regimes, how opposition was destroyed and what life was like for ordinary people who had to choose whether to fight, to flee or to collaborate.A haunting reminder of how fragile freedom can be, Iron Curtain is an exceptional work of historical and moral reckoning.ANNE APPLEBAUM is a historian and journalist, a regular columnist for the Washington Post and Slate, and the au

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Book SynopsisThis is the extraordinary story of Siegmund Warburg: the refugee from Nazi Germany who restored the Blitz-shattered City of London as the world''s preeminent international financial centre. In recounting how this brilliant, scholarly man brought wit, passion and, above all, high ethical standards to the world of finance, Niall Ferguson shows how his meticulous methods were the antithesis of the debt-fuelled, speculative banking of our times. ''A fascinating portrait ... Beautifully paced, dramatically subtle and psychologically shrewd ... Warburg is an emblem of money as it ought to be, and now isn''t'' Bryan Appleyard, New Statesman''Extensively researched and beautifully written'' Peter Stormonth Darling, Spectator''Ferguson''s account of Warburg''s life not only reveals a prophet of European unification and, later, globalization, but a banker from a more responsible (and civilised) era'' Peter Mandelson, Daily Telegraph,Trade ReviewBeautifully paced, dramatically subtle and psychologically shrewd, this is Ferguson at his finest -- Peter Stormonth Darling * Spectator *Ferguson is a talented writer, capable of grace and insight, but it is his ability as a historian that shows most strongly in High Financier -- T. J. Stiles * The Washington Post Sunday *Its many finance lessons aside, High Financier is a pleasure to read simply as a work of literary skill. It is not only prodigiously researched but also splendidly written-clear and vivid and precise, perhaps even of enough merit to satisfy a word-stickler like Siegmund Warburg * Wall Street Journal *A timely, original and engaging biography of Siegmund Warburg -- Sathnam Sanghera * The Times *This book is both a notable contribution to economic history and a fascinating portrait -- Geoffrey Owen * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe Penguin Dictionary of British Surnames is a useful and fascinating guide to the surnames that offer a unique insight into the place of origin, the occupations - and even the personality traits - of our ancestors. Detailed and informative, this dictionary covers the widest range of British surnames and is essential reading for anyone intrigued by the story of their name and by the history of their family. This edition replaces our out of date (and out of print) 1967 edition.

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Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Inspired by the trial of a bureaucrat who helped cause the Holocaust, this radical work on the banality of evil stunned the world with its exploration of a regime''s moral blindness and one man''s insistence that he be absolved all guilt because he was ''only following orders''.

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Book SynopsisMartin Davidson, who has two degrees from Oxford University, is an award-winning filmmaker and author specializing in historical and cultural subjects. His many director credits include: Simon Schama's A History of Britain, Albert Speer: The Nazi Who Said Sorry (A&E); Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Lie (BBC); and The Nazis and 'Degenerate Art' (BBC). He is the author of five previous non-fiction books. At present he is the commissioning editor for history and business at the BBC.

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Book SynopsisSir Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana and heir apparent to the kingship of the Bangwato people, brought independence and great prosperity to his nation after colonial rule. But for six long years from 1950, Seretse had been forced into exile in England, banned from his own country. His crime? To fall in love and marry a young, white English girl, Ruth Williams. Delving into newly released records, Susan Williams tells Seretse and Ruth''s story - a shocking account of how the British Government conspired with apartheid South Africa to prevent the mixed-race royal couple returning home. But it is also an inspiring, triumphant tale of hope, courage and true love as with tenacity and great dignity Seretse and Ruth and the Bangwato people ovecome prejudice in their fight for justice.

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Book Synopsis''An energetic, ambitious, provocative work by a young historian of notable gifts, which deserves a wide readership'' Max Hastings, The Sunday Times''Bold and breathtaking... I have never read a more daringly panoramic survey of the period'' Jonathan Wright, Herald ScotlandThe most terrible emergency in Britain''s history, the Second World War required an unprecedented national effort. An exhausted country had to fight an unexpectedly long war and found itself much diminished amongst the victors. Yet the outcome of the war was nonetheless a triumph, not least for a political system that proved well adapted to the demands of a total conflict and for a population who had to make many sacrifices but who were spared most of the horrors experienced in the rest of Europe.Britain''s War is a narrative of these epic events, an analysis of the myriad factors that shaped military success and failure, and an explanation of what Trade ReviewThis is an energetic, ambitious, provocative work by a young historian of notable gifts, which deserves a wide readership -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *A gifted historian...he tells the big story well but also illustrates his themes with many small stories and appealing anecdotes. -- Peter Clarke * Financial Times *Todman explores every aspect of the British experience of the war...rich in telling detail and reliant on the records kept by a host of ordinary Britons as they came to terms with the events going on around them...what ordinary people thought about the time they were living through provides a texture and depth that older wartime narratives have often lacked. -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *[Dan Todman] has succeeded in creating something that adds to our perception of what happened during this critical period...It is a compliment to Todman that time and again in reading his book I found myself thinking that I wanted to know more about this or that aspect. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *The first volume of Dan Todman's new history of Britain and the Second World War is a tour de force. Taking the story up to the end of 1941, Todman provides us with a judicious guide to the road to war and its catastrophic first phase, offering in addition a shrewd portrait of Churchill which is worth the price of the book alone. Total history at its best. -- Jay Winter, Yale UniversityBold and breathtaking... I have never read a more daringly panoramic survey of the period...Todman has taken on a mammoth task but, at half-time, he shows every sign of completing it triumphantly. -- Jonathan Wright * Herald Scotland *

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Book SynopsisAs we approach the bicentenary of the abolition of the Atlantic trade, Walvin has selected the historical texts that recreate the mindset that made such a savage institution possible - morally acceptable even. Setting these historical documents against Walvin''s own incisive historical narrative, the two layers of this extraordinary, definitive account of the Atlantic slave trade enable us to understand the rise and fall of one of the most shameful chapters in British history, the repercussions of which the modern world is still living with.

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Book SynopsisFrank Trentmann is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, and directed the 5 million Cultures of Consumption research programme. His last book, Free Trade Nation, won the Whitfield Prize for outstanding historical scholarship and achievement from the Royal Historical Society. He was educated at Hamburg University, the LSE and at Harvard, where he received his PhD. In 2014 he was Moore Distinguished Fellow at Caltech.Trade Reviewa monumental work that deserves a wide audience. It is both a highly engaging global history of consumer culture and a masterful synthesis of a vast body of literature ... There are few truly global histories of consumer culture, and no study is as meticulous or comprehensive. ... In sum, Frank Trentmann's Empire of Things is a masterpiece of historical analysis that offers a wealth of insights into material desire, changing social norms, state policies, transnational connectivity, and other themes in the history of consumption. Indeed, Empire of Things is a field-defining work that will surely be the standard by which global histories of consumption are measured. -- Professor Jeremy Prestholdt * American Historical Review *Utterly fascinating ... What makes Trentmann's book such a pleasure to read is not just the wealth of detail or the staggering international range, but the refreshing absence of moaning or moralising about our supposed addiction to owning more stuff -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *You can't not learn something new here ... [An] epic tale -- Marcus Tanner * Independent *A history not merely of consumption (and attitudes toward consumption) but also of the very idea of goods as a thing to be produced and consumed. Every page fascinates -- Stephen L. Carter, 'Great History Books of 2016' * Bloomberg *I read Empire Of Things with unflagging fascination ... [Trentmann] is not only an elegant, adventurous and colourful writer, he also manages the tricky balancing act of being eminently sensible and gleefully provocative -- John Preston * Daily Mail *Laden with fascinating insights and accounts, the result no doubt of extensive research, this study spans not only six centuries and numerous civilisations, cultures and individuals but also finds time to comment on the beginnings, direction and outcomes of consumerism itself. This is a hugely impressive undertaking and an ambitious narrative -- James Sheridan * Irish Times *A monumental book on a monumental subject ... Rich and illuminating ... No-one who reads it will think about consumer society in the same way * Revista de Libros *[Empire of Things] is wider in scope geographically, historically and socially than anything preceding it ... The epilogue to this story of consumption is salutary: history is essential to our understanding of the continuing rise in material consumption far beyond a sustainable level * Ethical Consumer *Jam-packed with telling facts and counterintuitive provocations ... Empire of Things is that rare tour d'horizon that expands your sense of what should count as the subject ... A bracing argument * New York Review of Books *

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

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

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WOLFSON PRIZE 2013HERALD BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014The extraordinary story of the Kremlin - from prize-winning author and historian Catherine MerridaleBoth beautiful and profoundly menacing, the Kremlin has dominated Moscow for many centuries. Behind its great red walls and towers many of the most startling events in Russia''s history have been acted out. It is both a real place and an imaginative idea; a shorthand for a certain kind of secretive power, but also the heart of a specific Russian authenticity. Catherine Merridale''s exceptional book revels in both the drama of the Kremlin and its sheer unexpectedness: an impregnable fortress which has repeatedly been devastated, a symbol of all that is Russian substantially created by Italians. The many inhabitants of the Kremlin have continually reshaped it to accord with shifting ideological needs, with buildings conjured up or demolished to conform with the current ruler'Trade ReviewMagnificent ... [a] a superbly written book ... Merridale's idea was to use the Kremlin like a backdrop to an opera - a screen on which to project scenes from Russia's violent and dramatic history. That way she tells the fortress's story without lapsing into architectural didacticism or guidebook prose, and it works wonderfully -- George Walden * Telegraph *This simply superb chronicle of the Kremlin is really a brilliant and unputdownable history of Russia itself from the early Tsars via Lenin and Stalin to Putin; anyone who wants to understand Russia today will not only learn a lot but will enjoy every page ... wonderful -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Telegraph *[Merridale] combines impeccable scholarship with a deep feeling for the humanity of the people she writes about. Her style is accurate, spare, direct and warm-hearted, about as far from the academy as you can get ... [Red Fortress] is a brilliant meditation on Russian history and the myths with which the Russians have sought to console themselves -- Rodric Braithwaite * Guardian *Addictively clever history ... Merridale whisks us through a series of terrific melodramas -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR *A zingy, razor-keen history of the Kremlin -- Ian Thomson * Spectator BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Merridale captures very well the suffocating atmosphere of those overheated corridors, where every room was bugged and mere proximity to power was often a death sentence ... she writes superbly. She has a gift for the tart insight ... and an eye for the telling anecdote -- Tony Brenton * The Times *Exhilarating ... Both in its modernist sense of "time in flux" and in its style, Red Fortress is at the furthest possible remove from Soviet schoolroom sermons about "the period of feudal atomization" and the rise of the centralizing state ... This is a book of detail and imagination ... a neohistorical account of the Russian past ... Red Fortress made me remember the open-mouthed delight I took when, hardly old enough to know where Russia was, I studied the émigré artist Boris Artsybashev's elegant, aetiolated portraits of medieval Russian princes -- Catriona Kelly * Guardian *Red Fortress is a tour de force, as readable as it is extensively researched ... It never flags through nearly 10 centuries of Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet history ... [Merridale] is both mythbuster and pilgrim, captivated by her subject even while turning an eye of scholarly detachment to it -- Virginia Rounding * Financial Times *One of the best popular histories of Russia in any language * Times Literary Supplement *Immensely readable ... Merridale recounts [the Kremlin's] eventful history with great skill and tremendous narrative verve -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *Merridale is a historian by training, but she has a detective's nose and a novelist's way with words * Economist *As with many important books, the reader will wonder why nothing like Catherine Merridale's work ... has been written before ... Merridale has succeeded in stripping off the veneer... She has the skills to get guardians of secret places talking and to negotiate access with Russian archivists, and thus penetrate the inner workings of the Kremlin. At the same time, she has a feeling for the site that brings dry archaeological and architectural facts to life: few writers can write the biography of a city or a citadel ... The Kremlin's history is likely to be frozen for decades to come. This unique and stunningly well-illustrated book is going to be a definitive study for just as long -- Donald Rayfield * Literary Review *Catherine Merridale's sparkling new book shows that it is people who dominate architecture * BBC History Magazine *As usual, [Merridale's] engaging writing style combines a keen eye for detail with a human touch * Times Higher Education *[A] superb history of the Kremlin ... pages of lucid prose * Irish Times *

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

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Book SynopsisAvi Shlaim''s The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World is the outstanding book on Israeli foreign policy, now thoroughly updated with a new preface and chapters on Israel''s most recent leadersIn the 1920s, hard-line Zionists developed the doctrine of the ''Iron Wall'': negotiations with the Arabs must always be from a position of military strength, and only when sufficiently strong Israel would be able to make peace with her Arab neighbours.This doctrine, argues Avi Shlaim, became central to Israeli policy; dissenters were marginalized and many opportunities to reconcile with Palestinian Arabs were lost. Drawing on a great deal of new material and interviews with many key participants, Shlaim places Israel''s political and military actions under and uncompromising lens.His analysis will bring scant comfort to partisans on both sides, but it will be required reading for anyone interested in this fascinating and troubled region of the world.''The Iron Wall is strikingly fair-minded, scholarly, cogently reasoned and makes enthralling ... reading'' Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph''Anyone wanting to understand the modern Middle East should start by reading this elegantly written and scrupulously researched book'' Trevor Royle, Sunday Herald''A milestone in modern scholarship of the Middle East'' Edward Said''Fascinating ... Shlaim presents compelling evidence for a revaluation of traditional Israeli history'' Ethan Bronner, The New York Times Book ReviewAvi Shlaim is Professor of International Relations at St. Antony''s College, Oxford. His previous books include Collusion Across the Jordan (1988) and War and Peace in the Middle East (1995).

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Book SynopsisIt was Thomas Jefferson who envisioned the United States as a great ''empire of liberty.'' In the first new one-volume history in two decades, David Reynolds takes Jefferson''s phrase as a key to the saga of America - helping unlock both its grandeur and its paradoxes. He examines how the anti-empire of 1776 became the greatest superpower the world has seen, how the country that offered liberty and opportunity on a scale unmatched in Europe nevertheless founded its prosperity on the labour of black slaves and the dispossession of the Native Americans. He explains how these tensions between empire and liberty have often been resolved by faith - both the evangelical Protestantism that has energized U.S. politics since the foundation of the nation and the larger faith in American righteousness that has impelled the country''s expansion. Reynolds'' account is driven by a compelling argument which illuminates our contemporary world.

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Book Synopsis20 November 1979: as morning prayers began, hundreds of hardline Islamist gunmen, armed with rifles smuggled in coffins, stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With thousands of terrified worshippers trapped inside, the result was a bloody siege that lasted two weeks, caused hundreds of deaths, prompted an international diplomatic crisis and unleashed forces that would eventually lead to the rise of al Qaeda.Journalist Yaroslav Trofimov takes us day-by-day through one of the most momentous and heavily censored events in recent history, interviewing many direct participants in the siege and drawing on secret documents to reveal the truth about the first operation of modern global jihad.Trade ReviewRiveting * Sunday Times *A thriller-like account of an event largely hushed up * The Times *A gripping, highly informed narrative * Financial Times *The first detailed account of the event … brilliantly researched and eye-opening … this is undoubtedly a book of international significance * Herald *A gripping and revealing account of this brutal uprising … The Siege of Mecca is a marvel of investigative journalism … Trofimov's viciously gory account unfolds with a sharp eye for detail and accuracy -- Ziauddin Sardar * New Statesman *Trofimov tells this tale with considerable verve and authority. He has interviewed many of the surviving witnesses and participants in a country suffused with fear and paranoia, and sets the siege within a wider historical context -- Michael Burleigh * Literary Review *A thriller-like account of an event largely hushed up * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom award-winning historian Hugh Thomas, Cuba: A History is the essential work for understanding one of the most fascinating and controversial countries in the world. Hugh Thomas''s acclaimed book explores the whole sweep of Cuban history from the British capture of Havana in 1762 through the years of Spanish and United States domination, down to the twentieth century and the extraordinary revolution of Fidel Castro. Throughout this period of over two hundred years, Hugh Thomas analyses the political, economic and social events that have shaped Cuban history with extraordinary insight and panache, covering subjects ranging from sugar, tobacco and education to slavery, war and occupation. Encyclopaedic in range and breathtaking in execution, Cuba is surely one of the seminal works of world history. ''An astonishing feat ... the author does more to explain the phenomenon of Fidel''s rise to power than anybody else has done so

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Book SynopsisKeith Lowe''s Savage Continent is an awe-inspiring portrait of how Europe emerged from the ashes of WWII.The end of the Second World War saw a terrible explosion of violence across Europe. Prisoners murdered jailers. Soldiers visited atrocities on civilians. Resistance fighters killed and pilloried collaborators. Ethnic cleansing, civil war, rape and murder were rife in the days, months and years after hostilities ended. Exploring a Europe consumed by vengeance, Savage Continent is a shocking portrait of an until-now unacknowledged time of lawlessness and terror.Praise for Savage Continent:''Deeply harrowing, distinctly troubling. Moving, measured and provocative. A compelling and plausible picture of a continent physically and morally brutalized by slaughter'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times''Excellent'', Independent ''Unbearable but essential. A serious account of things we never knew and our fathers would rather forget. Lowe''s transparent prose makes it difficult to look away from a whole catalogue of horrors...you won''t sleep afterwards. Such good history it keeps all the questions boiling in your mind'', ScotsmanKeith Lowe is widely recognized as an authority on the Second World War, and has often spoken on TV and radio, both in Britain and the United States. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943 (Penguin). He lives in north London with his wife and two children.Trade ReviewGrimly absorbing, conveys the pity of war and its sorry aftermath with integrity and proper sympathy -- Ian Thomson * Sunday Telegraph *Moving, measured and provocative -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Extraordinary...exceptional...reveals a continent where moral values were often missing and basically lawlessness prevailed for several years -- Trevor James * The Historian *Savage Continent is a powerful and disturbing book, painstakingly researched and written with both authority and an impressive historical sweep -- James HollandA major new historical talent has arrived... a brilliantly organised and scrupulously objective survey of a continent on the floor * BBC History Magazine *An excellent account...Lowe's vivid descriptions of Europeans scrambling for scraps of food, rampant theft and 'destruction of morals' are a timely reminder that a certain humility is in order when we look at less fortunate continents today. -- Brendan Simms * The Independent *Impressive and heart-rendering study...Lowe marshals all the elements of the story with cool even-handedness, especially where statistics are concerned, and explains how subsequent generations have manipulated the historical record to suit their own purposes, either to diminish their guilt or demonise others. -- Christopher Silvester * Daily Express *Extraordinary, disturbing and powerful ... it is to Lowe's great credit that he resists the temptation to sit in moral judgment ... it is time we acknowledged the hidden realities of perhaps the darkest chapter in all human history * Daily Mail *Graphic and chilling. This excellent book paints a little-known and frightening picture of a continent in the embrace of lawlessness and chaos -- Ian Kershaw

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Book SynopsisIreland in its own words: a dazzling compendiumOver the past hundred years, Ireland has undergone profound political, social and cultural changes. But one thing that has not changed is the Irish genius for observation and storytelling, invective and self-scrutiny. Ireland: The Autobiography draws upon this genius to create a portrait of a century of Irish life through the words of the people who lived it.Broadcaster and historian John Bowman has mined archives, diaries and memoirs to create a remarkably varied and delightfully readable mosaic of voices and perspectives. Ireland: The Autobiography is a brilliantly selected, wide-ranging and engrossing take on the last century of Irish life. It gives us a portrait of Ireland unlike anything we''ve read before.''Absorbing and illuminating ... John Bowman has selected a range of accounts of Irish life that do justice to what happened, what it felt like, and the personal and societal experiences alongside the official version.'' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times''A treasure'' Irish Examiner''A whistle-stop tour of the seismic, seminal and explosive events which shaped the nation as we know it'' Irish Independent''Entertaining and informative'' Sunday Business Post''A remarkably varied and delightfully readable mosaic of voices and perspectives'' Women''s Way''A thoughtful and eclectic collection'' Irish Mail on SundayTrade ReviewAbsorbing and illuminating ... John Bowman has selected a range of accounts of Irish life that do justice to what happened, what it felt like, and the personal and societal experiences alongside the "official" version. -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times *Entertaining and informative * Sunday Business Post *A thoughtful and eclectic collection * Irish Mail on Sunday *A remarkably varied and delightfully readable mosaic of voices and perspectives * Woman's Way *A treasure * Irish Examiner *A whistle-stop tour of the seismic, seminal and explosive events that shaped the nation * Irish Independent *

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

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Book SynopsisWilliam D. Cohan''s The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. is the astonishing story of the world''s most elite and legendary investment bank - and the men who reigned over it all. For over 150 years Lazard Frères had stood apart from other Wall Street firms by offering ultra-wealthy clients the wisdom of its ''Great Men'': from Felix Rohatyn, the escapee from Nazi-occupied France turned financial genius, to Michel David-Weill, the inscrutable French billionaire ''Sun King''; from Steve Rattner, the boy wonder from Long Island who clashed violently with the old guard, to larger-than-life CEO Bruce Wasserstein, ''Bid-Em-Up-Bruce'', who broke with the bank''s traditions and made himself billions in the process. They amassed unimaginable fortunes and would stop at nothing to make a deal, until their titanic egos started to jeopardize everything. In The Last Tycoons William Cohan, himself a former high-level Wall Street banker, Trade ReviewRiveting … a genuine page-turner * Will Hutton *Spellbinding * Financial Times *A definitive account … it lives up to the billing * The Times *Has sent a jolt through Lazard and the rest of Wall Street * Wall Street Journal *An epic * The New York Times *Spellbinding * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisBrendan Simms''s formidable, game-changing history of EuropeIn this marvelously ambitious and exciting book, Brendan Simms tells the story of Europe''s constantly shifting geopolitics and the peculiar circumstances that have made it both so impossible to dominate, but also so dynamic and ferocious. It is the story of a group of highly competitive and mutually suspicious dynasties, but also of a continent uniquely prone to interference from ''semi-detached'' elements, such as Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain and (just as centrally to Simms''s argument) the United States.Trade ReviewBrendan Simms is a historian of unusual range and ability ... this book is driven by two great master-ideas, and there is hardly a page in it where their presence is not felt ... the reader always has the exhilarating sense of moving swiftly onwards, in a kind of turbocharged Rolls-Royce of historical argumentation ... truly powerful and original -- Noel Malcolm * Telegraph *Ought to sit on the desk of every politician, pundit and policy wonk ... [Simms] marshals the great events ... with a breath-stopping assurance. Panoramic, multi-faceted ... sweeping, well-paced narrative ... awesome command. This is top-down European history, diplomatic and political, seen from the soaring eagle's eye. But what an eagle; and what an eye -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Europe is a superb, sure-footed analysis of how this center of world civilization, technology, and warfare evolved since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is unabashedly political history, and the better for being so. Simms's acumen and sharp opinions are a joy to read. This book will be appreciated both by the general reader, and by history teachers everywhere -- Paul KennedyBrendan Simms's new history [is] especially timely. He has, in effect, dropped a big stone into the European pond and stood back to watch the ripples spread ... Compelling and provocative ... This is sweeping history, told with verve and panache, and it is all the more refreshing for that * Economist *This is a brilliant and beautifully written history. From the Holy Roman Empire to the Euro, Brendan Simms shows that one of the constant preoccupations of Europeans has always been the geography, the power and the needs of Germany. Europe is a work of extraordinary scholarship delivered with the lightest of touches. It will be essential, absorbing reading for anyone trying to understand both the past and the present of one of the most productive and most dangerous continents on earth -- William ShawcrossA stimulating, impressive history that starts with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and extends to the present day ... perspicacious and flexible ... an excellent read and its insights into the grand themes of European history are penetrating and lucidly argued -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Unrepentantly old-fashioned, lively and erudite ... The book is centrally concerned, rightly, with Germany, which Simms knows at first hand. Its great strength is that you are always reminded that European countries did not grow autonomously ... Europe is very ambitious in scope ... The references are prodigious, multilingual and extremely useful ... Simms knows what he is talking about -- Norman Stone * New Statesman *How do you write a history of Europe ... without making it seem like a list of dates? The answer of Brendan Simms in his new book is both simple and brilliantly successful: take a strong thesis and argue it through from start to finish ... Simms has the breadth of knowledge and clarity of vision to make his case compelling. His book is also immensely entertaining as well as instructive. There are few pages not enlivened by sharp insight, telling vignette or memorable turn of phrase. In short, this is a great book and everyone interested in European history will want to read it -- Tim Blanning * BBC History Magazine *There is nothing in the recent literature to match it ... Not only has Simms bitten off a huge chunk of history, he has mastered it with style and an awe-inspiring command of the literature ... [a] Herculean feat of synthesis -- Josef Joffe * Prospect *Exciting ... In [Simms's] survey of European power politics through six centuries and more, he dissects the economic, social, administrative and religious aspects of the "domestic" life of the states involved ... Simms's eye for the telling detail is shown ... [his] majestic prose flows impressively ... lucid and perceptive * Times Higher Education *[An] encyclopaedic, ambitious and fluent history of Europe ... [like] a great game of chess, except that as well as black and white pieces there are green, blue, orange and purple ones all moving around a multidimensional board. Place names swirl, battles are won and lost, and the pieces are reordered ... Inevitably readers will be drawn to Simms's fascinating picture of the origins of the European Union ... thoughtful and stimulating -- David Abulafia * Standpoint *A tour de force ... With phenomenal surefootedness, [Simms] picks out the patterns in what might otherwise appear a trackless waste of victories, defeats, treaties and coalitions, extracting from them provocative lessons for Europe's present and future. Big ideas animate the book ... This fascinating book deserves a wide readership. Even those who do not share Simms's fears and hopes for the European Union will be enthralled by the brilliance of his analysis and the dizzying breadth of his vision -- Christopher Clark * Mail on Sunday *Prodigious ... in its pages whole empires rise and fall ... Europe draws the reader forward with its grand epic of shifting alliances, clashing armies and ambitious statecraft. Mr. Simms ... is a skilled writer with a rare gift for compressed analysis. His focus on the military and diplomatic arc of European history lends his book a strong narrative line and thematic coherence -- Jeffrey Collins * Wall Street Journal *European history comes in many guises, but Brendan Simms's strategic and geopolitical approach provides a strong and lucid framework within which everything else fits into place. His emphasis on the centrality of Germany offsets more western-orientated accounts while also giving due prominence to Eastern Europe. Covering the whole of the modern period, this book is more than an excellent introduction; it's a major interpretational achievement -- Norman DaviesWorld history is German history, and German history is world history. This is the powerful case made by this gifted historian of Europe, whose expansive erudition revives the proud tradition of the history of geopolitics, and whose immanent moral sensibility reminds us that human choices made in Berlin (and London) today about the future of Europe might be decisive for the future of the world -- Timothy Snyder (author of Bloodlands)A tremendous feat ... Simms's pages teem with some of the greatest characters in European history -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Remarkably, such a large and complex book ... offers a very straightforward argument and thesis ... The more familiar the story, the more arresting is Simms's repositioning of it ... This isn't simply academic history but an account of how we came to be, albeit ambivalently and conflictedly, involved in a continental narrative that is still unfolding * Sunday Herald *

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Book SynopsisOliver Bullough was born in 1977 and grew up on a sheep farm in mid-Wales. He studied modern history at Oxford University and moved to Russia in 1999. He lived in St Petersburg, Bishkek and Moscow over the next seven years, working as a journalist first for local magazines and newspapers, and then for Reuters news agency. He reported from all over Russia and the former Soviet Union, but liked nothing more than to work among the peoples and mountains of the North Caucasus.He moved back to Britain in 2006, and has spent the following years travelling for and writing this book.He now lives in east London. He likes to travel, to take photographs, to watch Welsh rugby, to cook and to read.Trade ReviewThis wonderful, moving book flashes backwards and forwards over a terrain almost impossible to survey, and manages the feat * Norman Stone *Lively and impassioned ... a tragically neglected corner of our world * Orlando Figes *Oliver Bullough's book is a painstaking, sensitively reported effort to knit together their [the people of the Caucasus] lost history -- Wendell Steavenson * Sunday Times *A book that effortlessly mixes on-the-spot reportage and a wide-ranging history . . . Let its fame be great * The Scotsman *Bullough brings us exciting news, presented as short, gripping stories that ... The history of their resistance and resilience has been largely unknown for two centuries. Now their stories are sung by a champion and will resound beyond their boundaries -- Ian Finlayson * The Times *An impressive debut ... heartfelt and compelling ... With this impassioned volume he has struck a blow for the glory of the Caucasus and helped to give voice to the voiceless -- Justin Marozzi * Financial Times *Bullough should be congratulated on his brave and tireless investigations into an under-reported region of the world -- George Walden * New Statesman *Let Our Fame Be Great is a treat ... Finely bound, with excellent maps, Bullough draws you irresistibly into his narrative, fusing reportage, history and travelogue in colourful, absorbing prose ... The book is a pleasure, and most importantly, it is critical to understanding modern Russia with its worrying collective amnesia -- Daniel Metcalfe * Spectator *Fascinating and ground-breaking ... Bullough has got plenty of dust, snow and mud on his boots from his travels recording the forgotten tragedies of the North Caucasus ... In the process he [has] unearthed many priceless nuggets of historic truth -- Thomas de Waal * OpenDemocracy *

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Book SynopsisIn Millions Like Us Virginia Nicholson tells the story of the women''s Second World War, through a host of individual women''s experiences. We tend to see the Second World War as a man''s war, featuring Spitfire crews and brave deeds on the Normandy beaches. But in conditions of Total War millions of women - in the Services and on the Home Front - demonstrated that they were cleverer, more broad-minded and altogether more complex than anyone had ever guessed. Millions Like Us tells the story of how these women loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared; how they re-made their world in peacetime. And how they would never be the same again ...''Vividly entertaining, uplifting and humbling, Millions Like Us deserves to be a bestseller'' Bel Mooney, The Daily Mail''Passionate, fascinating, profoundly sympathetic'' Artemis Cooper, Evening Standard Virginia Nicholson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and grew up in

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Book Synopsis''No two nations have ever existed on the face of the earth which could do each other so much good or so much harm''President Buchanan, State of the Nation Address, 1859A World on Fire tells, with extraordinary sweep, one of the least known great stories of British and American history. As America descended into Civil War, British loyalties were torn between support for the North, which was against slavery, and defending the South, which portrayed itself as bravely fighting for its independence. Rallying to their respective causes, thousands of Britons went to America as soldiers - fighting for both Union and Confederacy - racing ships through the Northern blockades, and as observers, nurses, adventurers, guerillas and spies. At the heart of this international conflict lay a complicated and at times tortuous relationship between four individuals: Lord Lyons, the painfully shy British Ambassador in Washington; William Seward, the blustering US Secretary of State; Charles Francis Adams, the dry but fiercely patriotic U.S. ambassador in London; and the restless and abrasive Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell. Despite their efforts, and sometimes as a result of them, America and Britain came within a whisker of declaring war on each other twice in four years. The diplomatic story is only one element in this gloriously multifaceted book. Using a wealth of previously unpublished letters and journals, Amanda Foreman gives fresh accounts of Civil War battles by seeing them through the eyes of British journalists and myriad soldiers on both sides, from flamboyant cavalry commanders to forcibly conscripted private soldiers. She also shows how the War took place in England, from the Confederacy''s secret ship-building programme in Liverpool to the desperate efforts of its propagandists and emissaries - male and female - to influence British public opinion. She even shows how one of the most famous set-piece naval encounters of the War was fought, remarkably, in the English Channel. Foreman tells this epic yet intimate story of enormous personalities, tense diplomacy and torn loyalties as history in the round, captivating her readers with the experience of total immersion in this titanic conflict.Trade ReviewAmanda Foreman's magnificent book provides a completely fresh perspective on the first great modern conflict. Weaving together a vast panoply of people and events, it dramatically brings alive this extraordinary period on British and American history -- Antony BeevorAmbitiously conceived, impressively researched and gracefully written, Amanda Foreman has crafted a narrative rich in detail, anecdote, insight and personalities. It puts a human face - many human faces - on a brutal conflict remorselessly descending into an inhuman total war -- Brian JenkinsA tour de force, a work of extreme virtuosity both in the research and the telling * Bloomberg News *

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Book SynopsisFrom our suburban streets which still trace the boundaries of long vanished farms to the Norfolk Broads, formed when medieval peat pits flooded - evidence of man''s effect on Britain is everywhere. Packed with over 250 maps and photographs, compellingly written and argued, this highly acclaimed book will permanently change the way you see your surroundings.Trade ReviewPryor is that rare combination of a first-rate working archaeologist and a good writer, with the priceless ability of being able to explain complex ideas clearly. This is popular archaeology at its best. * Times Higher Educational Supplement *Under his gaze, the land starts to fill with tribes and clans wandering this way and that, leaving traces that can still be seen today... Pryor feels the land rather than simply knowing it -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *I guarantee you'll enjoy it * British Archaeology *Compelling, deeply rewarding and hugely impressive ... pull on your boots and coat, go out into the open -- Philip Marsden * Sunday Times *A rollercoaster across a hundred centuries ... Pryor clearly loves this country in the marrow of his bones -- Adam Nicholson * Scotsman *

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

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Book SynopsisPatrick French''s India: A Portrait tells the story of how India emerged from a turbulent struggle for independence to become a vibrant democracy with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. India is the biggest democracy on earth, a country of dynamic change, huge divisions and countless identities. Is there any way to discover the ''real'' India? In this intimate biography of 1.2 billion people, Patrick French travels all over the country talking to everyone from political leaders to mafia dons, from chained quarry workers to self-made billionaire entrepreneurs, to tell the story of post-independence India as never before. ''Patrick French brings one of the globe''s most dynamic nations springing to life ... he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the country, sensitivity to its subtler nuances and a wealth of research''  Sunday Times ''It''s gripping ... If you''re Indian, reading the book is Trade ReviewFrench combines his lifelong passion, India, with his scholarly interest ... a fascinating anaylsis, revealing a deeper truth. -- Salil Tripathi * The Independent *It is a funny, witty book; also dense, gripping, thrilling. What blazes through from each page is French's absolute and uncondescending engagement with India -- Neel Mukherjee * The Times *Wide-ranging, clear-sighted, warm-hearted and immensely readable -- Nirpal Dhaliwal * Evening Standard *French is a fine reporter, with an appealing fascination for all things Indian ... an accomplished portrait of momentous times in a remarkable country * Economist *Admirable ... There are many Indias, and Patrick French sets out, with enthusiasm and empathy, to encounter as many as he can find -- David Gilmour * Spectator *Mr. French compresses 63 years of post-independence history into 450-odd pages fizzing with wit, insight and infectious curiosity ... a riveting read, and one suspects that Mr. French could not pen a boring passage if he tried. -- Sadanand Dhume * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisWhen the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, killing 100,000 men, women and children, it was the beginning of a terrifying new episode in human history. Written only a year after the disaster, John Hersey brought the event vividly alive with this heart-rending account of six men and women who survived despite all the odds. He added a further chapter when, forty years later, he returned to Hiroshima to discover how the same six people had struggled to cope with catastrophe and with often crippling disease. The result is a devastating picture of the long-term effects of one very small bomb.Trade Review'To this day nothing tells better the horror of Hiroshima ... One of the most powerful writers of modern times' Washington Post 'A vision of hell ... its terrible images are reminiscent of Dante's Inferno' The Times

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Book SynopsisAndre Hue was a daredevil. By the age of twenty the Anglo-Frenchman had survived shipwreck and years undercover in France, sabotaging German supply lines. Returning to Britain, he was recruited by SOE to parachute behind enemy lines on 5 June 1944, to unite resistance forces in Brittany and paralyse local German troops during the Allied invasion. Though Hue''s mission was fraught with difficulty - he missed his landing site, his secret base camp became the site of a pitch battle and a band of Cossacks tried to hunt him down - he knew that thousands of lives depended on his success or failure . . .

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE 2020A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019A revelatory new biography of Adolf Hitler from the acclaimed historian Brendan SimmsAdolf Hitler is one of the most studied men in history, and yet the most important things we think we know about him are wrong. As Brendan Simms''s major new biography shows, Hitler''s main preoccupation was not, as widely believed, the threat of Bolshevism, but that of international capitalism and Anglo-America. These two fears drove both his anti-semitism and his determination to secure the ''living space'' necessary to survive in a world dominated by the British Empire and the United States. Drawing on new sources, Brendan Simms traces the way in which Hitler''s ideology emerged after the First World War. The United States and the British Empire were, in his view, models for Germany''s own empire, similarly founded on appropriation of land, racism anTrade Review[Hitler] challenges some of our longstanding ideas about the man who ruled Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 ... Highly provocative. -- Robert Gerwarth * Financial Times *If many Hitler books are scarcely worth reading, this one commands attention through its originality and sheer intelligence ... A thoroughly thought-provoking, stimulating biography which all historians of the Third Reich will have to take seriously. -- Richard Overy * Irish Times *Casts new light on the dictator ... Crisp, well-written, extensively researched ... A valuable contribution. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *[Simms] builds on previous scholarship to make a bold thesis - that Hitler's principal obsession was not communism but rather 'Anglo-America' and global capitalism ... A vigorous, original study that adds to the ongoing scholarship. * Kirkus *A radically new assessment of the Fuhrer's world view and the motivation for his plunging the world into a terminal struggle for survival. * Daily Mail *Impressive and intriguing ... By drawing our attention to the centrality of historical emigration to Hitler's racial vision of a Great Germany, Simms adds a new dimension to our understanding of the thinking that drove history's most notorious figure. Crisply written and well-researched, there is much in this book that enlightens and stimulates. * The Interpreter *Compelling and original. -- Christopher Clark * London Review of Books *Essential reading. -- Christopher Bray * The Tablet *Simms ... challeng[es] much recent scholarship ... A preoccupation with Anglo-American capitalism, he contends, drove the Third Reich's ideology in its formative years, more than the oft-cited obsession with Bolshevism ... He has made sound use of the Bavarian archives. * The Observer *Hitler: Only The World Was Enough is modern political history at its very best: thorough, impeccably well researched, and opinionated without descending into histrionics. The Dublin-Cambridge historian writes with authority, flare, style and convincing conviction - consistently favouring thematic analysis over the simple retelling of facts. -- JP O'Malley * Irish Independent *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER''The best new narrative of the battle thus far, reflecting his gifts for fluent prose and moving quotations.'' Max Hastings, Sunday Times No conflict better encapsulates all that went wrong on the Western Front during World War I than the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tragic loss of life and stoic endurance by troops who walked towards their death is an iconic image - but this critically-acclaimed bestseller, on the four months of battle, shows the extent to which the Allied armies were in fact able to break through the German front lines again and again. In eight years of research, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore -- the author of Dunkirk -- has found extraordinary new material from Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, and the British - from heartbreaking diaries and letters to hitherto unseen Red Cross files - recounting their experiences amid the horror of war. It has been hailed as the best Trade ReviewMagisterial, exemplary, heartbreaking. So original is the material, and so inventive is Sebag-Montefiore's approach . . . that this well-known tale is rendered strange again. Written with great style and sensitivity, superbly illustrated with many original plates and beautifully drawn maps, Sebag-Montefiore's brilliant new study will set the benchmark for a generation -- Saul David * David Telegraph *Sebag-Montefiore tells it with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail . . . The sense of confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, and intrepid courage which characterized this disastrous campaign is captured more successfully than any other existing account -- Richard Overy * Daily Telegraph *A beautifully crafted, blow-by-blow account with deep insight into the lives of these diverse young men * Kirkus Reviews *In his previous book, Dunkirk, one of Sebag-Montefiore's talents as a historian is never to lose sight of the variety of individual experience. It is impossible to read this book without being stuck afresh by the ripples of mourning and anxiety spreading out from the battlefield in France -- Daniel Todman * The Financial Times *Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's heroes are the junior officers and the ordinary soldiers. Their voices emerge loud and clear in his pages . . . The best historians of the war have always made good use of the words written by the participants themselves, but few have done so as effectively as here -- Nick Rennison * Daily Mail *The author's combination of thoughtful analysis with first-hand testimony from army soldiers, cameramen and diarists lends a gritty immediacy -- Ian Thomson * Observer *Comprehensive, authoritative and meticulously researched... [Of recent publications] it is the weightiest and best written -- Simon Humphrey * Mail on Sunday *Having read almost everything that has been written on this battle, I can vouch this is the best account yet. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Comprehensive, authoritative and meticulously researched... [Of recent publications] it is the weightiest and best written. -- Simon Humphrey * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThis is a book for everyone who has ever wondered why pubs should be called The Cross Keys, The Dew Drop Inn or The Hope and Anchor. You''ll be glad to know that there are very good - strange and memorable - reasons behind them all.After much research about (and in) pubs, Albert Jack brings together the stories behind pub names to reveal how they offer fascinating and subversive insights on our history, customs, attitudes and jokes in just the same way that nursery rhymes do. The Royal Oak, for instance, commemorates the tree that hid Charles II from Cromwell''s forces after his defeat at Worcester; The Bag of Nails is a corruption of the Bacchanals, the crazed followers of Bacchus, the god of wine and drunkenness; The Cat and the Fiddle a mangling of Catherine La Fidele and a guarded gesture of support for Henry VIII''s first, Catholic, wife Catherine of Aragon; plus many, many more. Here too are even more facts about everything from ghosts to drinking songs to the rules of cribbage and shove ha''penny, showing that, ultimately, the story of pub history is really the story of our own popular history.

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Book SynopsisDid you know that the Cornish pasty was invented to protect tin miners from arsenic poisoning, or that the word ''salary'' comes from Roman soldiers being paid their wages in salt? Why do we eat goose (or turkey) at Christmas? Is the Scotch egg actually from Scotland and what did some retired crusaders have to do with French toast? Who was the original Earl Grey and what sauce was inspired by Parliament? What dish was invented by Greek bandits on the run? Why were hot cross buns seen as magical and what''s so rebellious about a haggis or medicinal about a gin and tonic? Did you know what the romantic history is behind the Bakewell Pudding?Albert Jack tells the strange tales behind our favourite dishes and drinks and where they come from (not to mention their unusual creators). In the colourful, wonderful vein of Schott''s Food and Drink Miscellany, Albert Jack''s What Caesar Did For My Salad is bursting with fascinating insights, characters and enough sTrade ReviewAlbert Jack is the man with the answers * Daily Express *Exploding sausages, life-saving Cornish pasties and Caesar's connection with salads ... the fascinating origins of our favourite dishes * Daily Mail *A slice of history to really get your teeth into * The Sun *

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

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Book SynopsisNew 25th Anniversary Edition__________''I am still haunted by Mah''s memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure'' Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club1940s, Shanghai. As the civil war rages on and China falls under communist rule, young Adeline lives in constant fear. Not of the war, but of her family: blamed for the death of her mother, she is rejected by her father and abused by her cruel stepmother.With the help of her aunt, Adeline escapes to the United States where she finds love, happiness and success. But will that be enough to quell a lifelong yearning for acceptance, or will she return to the family that rejected her years agoFalling Leaves Return to their Roots is both the enthralling story of a Chinese family in a time of political upheaval, and a moving account of one girl''s unrelenting will to survive.__________''Falling Leaves isTrade ReviewCharged with emotion . . . a vivid portrait of the human capacity for meanness, malice - and love'Falling Leaves is a terrible and riveting family history . . . It is also a story about endurance and the cost it can exact . . . gripping' * Daily Telegraph *An illuminating account of the destructive nature of family relationships set against a backdrop of China in change * Mail on Sunday *A light burns in the book that is never extinguished . . . [it is] an act, not of vengeance or bitterness, but of catharsis * Sunday Telegraph *The pain of so much emotional abuse leaps from every page . . . the most amazing aspect of this story is that Adeline managed to survive . . . and emerge triumphant . . . compelling' * Val Hennessy *I am still haunted by Mah's memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHill is a magnificent historian and ... Time's Witness is a book to change the way you think about history. -- John Carey * Sunday Times *in this rich and absorbing study ... Hill has succeeded splendidly in her mission to rescue these often strange, eccentric but fascinating figures from "oblivion and the condescension of posterity". -- Paul Lay * The Times *Long meditated and meticulously researched, this book ... [is] presented in prose of unassertive grace and quiet wit ... what it offers is a rich feast, best consumed slowly and savoured, and Hill has assembled each course with magnificent erudition. -- Rupert Christiansen * Sunday Telegraph *immensely engaging... exceptional ... Antiquarianism was about making the past live again, and Hill makes the past of the antiquarians live again ... we can discern an innovative, sly and wry new form of non-fiction ... a beautifully written and very clever book which is psychologically astute -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Not many writers could control this wide-ranging narrative with such clarity or assurance as here. Nor has Dr Hill succumbed to the temptation to tell in a long book what could be presented in a relatively short one. The result is outstanding: an engaging, incisive and thought-provoking exploration of the history of history in Romantic Britain. -- John Goodall * Country Life *She has accumulated a vast amount of detailed material and organized it impeccably into a witty and intelligent narrative which is both erudite and readable. If only all history was written this well. -- Clare Pettitt * Times Literary Supplement *impressive and stimulating ... At its heart, Time's Witness is a social and intellectual history that pays tribute to the role of antiquaries in recasting the way that British people understood and came to respect their distant national past. Hill seeks to rescue the antiquaries from "the condescension of posterity", and in that she succeeds admirably -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Time's Witness retraces the antiquarians' journey into the past through the revolutions of the present ... Hill is an elegant stylist and vivid storyteller, and her account brims with anecdotes gathered from the little-known papers of her protagonists ... few could resist this sensitive, learned and amusing plunge into the historical imagination. -- Tom Stammers * Apollo *In this engaging survey ... by marrying scholarship and sensibility ... she achieves her stated aim of restoring history to the antiquaries and the antiquaries to history. -- Andrew Lycett * Spectator *"The history we have," Rosemary Hill writes in her preface to Time's Witness "is the history we want. It is the picture we choose to see in the clouds." Hill's book accordingly recreates, in magnificent detail, the cloud pictures conjured into being by the historians, writers, architects and artists and, above all, antiquaries who, between 1789 and 1851, reimagined the relationship between past and present in both Britain and France. -- Daisy Hay * BBC History Magazine *Time's Witness, which records with such verve the steady extension of subjects deemed fit for scholarly investigation two hundred years ago, is published at a moment when much of the curiosity and many of the pursuits it documents are endangered. -- Nicholas Penny * London Review of Books *Not everything that was false was fake, a theme that runs through Time's Witness, pushing us to think differently about the past, challenging our expectations of how that past should be recorded and interpreted and, above all, placing the Romantic sensibility and its embracing of subjectivity and imaginative reconstruction at the heart of historical enquiry. -- Adrian Tinniswood * History Today *in the best Romantic antiquarian tradition, the book is an engaging and densely detailed scholarly tome that reads a bit like a love letter, or at least an expression of infectious intellectual enthusiasm. Throughout Time's Witness, 'history' becomes visible as a succession of ideas and theories about the past that are continuously overlaid and revised in an ongoing process of exchange and accumulation. -- Sarah Watling * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisOver thirteen centuries, Baghdad has enjoyed both cultural and commercial pre-eminence, boasting artistic and intellectual sophistication and an economy once the envy of the world. It was here, in the time of the Caliphs, that the Thousand and One Nights were set. Yet it has also been a city of great hardships, beset by epidemics, famines, floods, and numerous foreign invasions which have brought terrible bloodshed. This is the history of its storytellers and its tyrants, of its philosophers and conquerors.Here, in the first new history of Baghdad in nearly 80 years, Justin Marozzi brings to life the whole tumultuous history of what was once the greatest capital on earth.

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Book SynopsisHRH King Abdullah was schooled in America and at Sandhurst and was heading for a life as a career soldier, when his father fell ill and he unexpectedly inherited the throne of Jordan. Fiercely loyal to his country but possessing an outsider''s perspective on the political difficulties of the region, King Abdullah has since spent every effort to better Jordan - improving their economy, education and rights for women - and find security for his people and their neighbours. In this seminal work, he puts forward what may be our best chance yet for the most important issue in the region - Israeli-Palestinian peace.Trade ReviewA book that avowedly mixes the personal with the political * Spectator *Abdullah's quest for peace with Israel deserves praise as diligent and honourable * Independent *Abdullah's voice is reasoned and often humorous, didactic rather than dictatorial ... he is a spokesman for his country * Walll Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisGandhi''s non-violent struggles against racism, violence, and colonialism in South Africa and India had brought him to such a level of notoriety, adulation that when asked to write an autobiography midway through his career, he took it as an opportunity to explain himself. He feared the enthusiasm for his ideas tended to exceed a deeper understanding of his quest for truth rooted in devotion to God. His attempts to get closer to this divine power led him to seek purity through simple living, dietary practices, celibacy, and a life without violence. This is not a straightforward narrative biography, in The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Gandhi offers his life story as a reference for those who would follow in his footsteps.

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