History Books

Book SynopsisThe fascinating true story behind HBO's Catherine the Great starring Dame Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Robert K. Massie brings an eternally fascinating woman together with her family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers and enemies – vividly and triumphantly to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great.Trade ReviewA biographer with the instincts of a novelist * New York Times *A masterful portrait of a majestic monarch * Publishers Weekly *A sensitive and compelling portrait not just of a Russian titan, but also of a flesh-and-blood woman * Newsweek *

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

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSuperbly translated... Alexievich's choice of truth as hero is the right one for the age of Putin and Trump -- Giles Whittell * The Times *As shattering and addictive as Chernobyl Prayer, this is a polyphonic tour de force that shines a light on war, the plight of heroes, and why post-Soviet Russia is as it is -- Kapka Kassabova * Herald Scotland *A masterpiece of reportage * New York Review of Books *Alexievich is like a doctor probing the scar tissue of a traumatised nation -- Guy Chazan * Financial Times *What Alexievich is doing is giving voice to the voiceless, exposing not only stories we wouldn't otherwise hear but individuals as well -- David Ulin * Los Angeles Times *The least well-known wonderful writer I've ever come across -- Jenni Murray * BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour *Alexievich serves no ideology, only an ideal: to listen closely enough to the ordinary voices of her time to orchestrate them into extraordinary books -- Philip Gourevitch * New Yorker *Alexievich has become one of my heroes -- Atul GawandeThe Belarusian writer has spent decades in listening mode. Alexievich put in thousands of hours with her tape recorder across the lands of the former Soviet Union, collecting and collating stories from ordinary people. She wove those tales into elegant books of such power and insight, that in 2015 she received the Nobel prize for literature -- Shaun Walker * Guardian *Alexievich's "documentary novels" are crafted and edited with a reporter's cool eye for detail and a poet's ear for the intricate rhythms of human speech. Reading them is like eavesdropping on a confessional. This is history at its rawest and most uncomfortably intimate -- Andrew Dickson * Evening Standard *Alexievich's artistry has raised oral history to a totally different dimension -- Antony Beevor

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Book Synopsis''A thrilling blow-by-blow account'' The Times''A first-rate popular history of a fascinating and neglected battle... a veritable page-turner'' BBC HistoryIn February 1944, a rag-tag collection of clerks, drivers, doctors, muleteers, and other base troops, stiffened by a few dogged Yorkshiremen and a handful of tank crews managed to hold out against some of the finest infantry in the Japanese Army, and then defeat them in what was one of the most astonishing battles of the Second World War.What became know as The Defence of the Admin Box, fought amongst the paddy fields and jungle of Northern Arakan over a fifteen-day period, turned the battle for Burma. Not only was it the first decisive victory for British troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. The lessons learned in this tiny and otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East, set up the campaign in Burma that would folloTrade ReviewHolland is good on the mechanics of warfare and gives a thrilling blow-by-blow account of the fighting, which will please military buffs. There are also crisp vignettes of the commanders . . . But it is the voices of the fighting men that lift this book above the level of a simple battle narrative. Holland has a good ear. * The Times *Up there with Rorke’s Drift . . . in rescuing the Battle of the Admin Box from oblivion, Holland has performed a signal service for all the men who fought – and died – in its defence * Telegraph *In this superb account of an obscure but decisive battle fought in almost indescribably difficult jungle terrain, the always excellent James Holland tells a tale of heroism and grit to match any in the annals of war * The Mail on Sunday *Vivid . . . military historian James Holland conjures the heroism and horror of this gallant stand by a motley force of doctors, clerks and other base troops against highly trained Japanese infantry. * Daily Mail *A gripping account of one of the war’s lesser-known episodes * Soldier *

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Book SynopsisA remarkable, eyewitness-based, narrative on what actually occurred in the first year of the Great War around the globe.

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Book Synopsis***By the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of THE FIVE***'A fascinating expose of the seamy side of eighteenth century life' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Rubenhold's pages practically reek with smelly, pox-ridden Georgian Soho' GUARDIAN-------------------------------------------------------In 1757, a down-and-out Irish poet, the head waiter at the Shakespear's Head Tavern in Covent Garden, and a celebrated London courtesan became bound together by the publication of a little book: Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies. This salacious work - detailing the names and 'specialities' of the capital's sex-workers- became one of the eighteenth century's most scandalous bestsellers.Yet beyond its titillating passages lies a glimpse into the lives of those who lived and died by its profits - a tragicomic opera of the Georgian era, motivated by poverty, passionate love, aspiration and shame. In this modern and visceral narrative, historian Hallie Rubenhold reveals the story behind Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies, and the legion of ordinary women whose lives in the sex trade history has chosen to ignore. 'Scrupulously researched' DAILY TELEGRAPH'Crackles with drama and tension' GUARDIAN'Compelling and ingenious' INDEPENDENTWHAT READERS ARE SAYING:'This book is an absolute 'must'-read for any person interested in English social history' 5 ****'Fascinating' 5 ****'Brilliant. Full of intelligent insight which brings this period to vibrant life' 5 ****

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Book Synopsis'A thrilling read' Tom Holland 'History-writing at its best' Barry Strauss By the end of his short life, Alexander the Great had redrawn the map of the ancient world to create an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indian subcontinent. But his success was not just the product of his own genius and restless energy, it was built on decades of effort by his father. History has portrayed Philip II of Macedon as a one-eyed old man whose assassination allowed Alexander to accede to power. But there was far more to him than this. Through decades of hard fighting and clever diplomacy, Philip unified his country and conquered Greece. His son inherited all of this at the perfect moment for him to win yet greater glory. The work of a master historian, Philip and Alexander describes how Philip and Alexander of Macedon transformed a weak kingdom in northern Greece into a globe-spanning empire and – in so doing – changed the course of history.Trade ReviewAs successful in meeting its ambitions as Philip's kingship, as sweeping as Alexander's conquests -- Tom HollandBelongs on the (sturdy) shelf of any reader interested in military, political, or social history * Minerva Magazine *By pairing the two giants of Macedonia, Goldsworthy helps the reader understand Alexander's life all the better, and sheds light on the achievements and character of Philip * Aspects of History *Sterling scholarship, engaging prose, insightful analysis, and unbiased assessment -- Victor Davis HansonA gripping history that combined deep scholarship with readability... This is an epic history. Very much in the vein of the Tom Holland histories of empire, enjoyable and informative but also gripping' * NB Magazine *Contributes significantly to making these scholarly developments accessible to a very wide audience, through engaging narratives which capture the political complexity of the Greek world both before and after Alexander. The major innovation of Goldsworthy's vivid Philip and Alexander is to pair Alexander's biography with that of his father, Philip II * TLS *Adrian Goldsworthy takes a fresh approach to the well-worn tale, dealing with the gaps in our knowledge with candour and resisting the urge to fill them with speculation * Military History Monthly *

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Book SynopsisThis book examines key cases of terrorist violence to show that the invention of terrorism was linked to the birth of modernity in Europe, Russia and the United States, rather than to Tsarist despotism in 19th century Russia or to Islam sects in Medieval Persia. Combining a highly readable historical narrative with analysis of larger issues in social and political history, the author argues that the dissemination of news about terrorist violence was at the core of a strategy that aimed for political impact on rulers as well as the general public. Dietze's lucid account also reveals how the spread of knowledge about terrorist acts was, from the outset, a transatlantic process. Two incidents form the book's centerpiece. The first is the failed attempt to assassinate French Emperor Napoléon III by Felice Orsini in 1858, in an act intended to achieve Italian unity and democracy. The second case study offers a new reading of John Brown's raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, as a decisive moment in the abolitionist struggle and occurrences leading to the American Civil War. Three further examples from Germany, Russia, and the US are scrutinized to trace the development of the tactic by first imitators. With their acts of violence, the "invention" of terrorism was completed. Terrorism has existed as a tactic since then and has essentially only been adapted through the use of new technologies and methods.Trade Review"The book builds an extraordinarily careful argument about the specificities of context in the 1850s and 60s necessary to an understanding of how terrorism as a distinctive body of political thinking and practice arrived in the modern world, focusing on the field of understanding that coalesced around "freedom, nation and violence" in the epoch framed by the French Revolution and Revolutions of 1848. It does not fall into common trap of the available literatures, viz. to approach the 'genealogies' from an excessively presentist point of view. Instead, Dietze approaches the 1850s and 60s as a generative crucible for the conjunction of ideas and influences that need to be very carefully historicized as such if we're to have any chance of understanding the subsequent intellectual and political histories concerned. In its willingness to engage explicitly and at length with the literatures in political science as well as the writing theoretically about terrorism in general, Dietze's book has unusual strength for a historian."The book is impressively "transnational" in the terms that have become aspiringly normative for so many theoretically self-aware and ambitious historians during the past decade.""Dietze brilliantly makes these familiar and well-established histories and perceptions strange.""Another vital and original aspect of the study is its emphasis on media history and the particular characteristics of the mid 19th century public sphere -- BOTH in terms of the circulatory conditions needed for the transnational quality of the history she's trying to reconstruct AND for the key argument she's making about impact and reception. In other words, this is partly an argument about mechanics and the particular means of transmission and circulation. But it's also about the ontological grounds of political thought and political agency created out of this remarkable transnational circuitry." -- Geoff Eley, Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History at the University of MichiganThis book may well revolutionize our understanding of the origins of terrorism in the 19th century. In highly original fashion, it closely links together the actions of terrorists in France, Russia, and the United States and shows how between 1858 and 1866 two key terrorists influenced three copycats who altogether ignited the explosion of modern terrorism. The depth of Dietze's research, drawing upon archives not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Russia, is staggering. A must read for anyone interested in the history of terrorism. -- Richard Bach Jensen, Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University, author of The Battle against Anarchist Terrorism

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Book SynopsisA FINALIST FOR THE US NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2023 FOR NONFICTION 'Profoundly personal as well as historically significant ... In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi' Hisham Matar, New York Times Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship. A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognise his father's courage and, in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja's own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably. This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians, but a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.Trade ReviewPowerful ... It's a mark of Shehadeh's brilliance that this latest revisiting is full of surprises: it's even in tone, but jet-fuelled by implicit emotion; there's no conventional suspense, but it is absolutely gripping ... masterly -- Rachel Aspden * Guardian *A striking story of loss, heartbreak and political perfidy ... This is a tragedy within a tragedy, of a father and son who, despite their similarities, failed to understand one another, against the backdrop of dispossession of the Palestinian people -- Lara Marlowe * Irish Times *Highly readable ... thought-provoking * Observer *Slim but powerful - rich in recent historical detail with a poignant personal trauma threading in and out of it. This is a Palestinian memoir that will endure -- Gerald Butt * Church Times *Praise for the author: 'Palestine's greatest prose writer * Observer *Going Home cements the author's reputation as the best-known Palestinian writing in English * Guardian *Luminously clear-sighted ... By turns lyrical, witty and shrewd, Shehadeh is an excellent walking companion * Prospect *Shehadeh is a great inquiring spirit with a tone that is vivid, ironic, melancholy and wise -- Colm TóibínRaja Shehadeh is a buoy in a sea of bleakness -- Rachel Kushner

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Book Synopsis‘Women have won their political independence. Now is the time for them to achieve their economic freedom too.’This was the great rallying cry of the pioneers who, in 1919, created the Women’s Engineering Society. Spearheaded by Katharine and Rachel Parsons, a powerful mother and daughter duo, and Caroline Haslett, whose mission was to liberate women from domestic drudgery, it was the world’s first professional organisation dedicated to the campaign for women's rights.Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines tells the stories of the women at the heart of this group – from their success in fanning the flames of a social revolution to their significant achievements in engineering and technology. It centres on the parallel but contrasting lives of the two main protagonists, Rachel Parsons and Caroline Haslett – one born to privilege and riches whose life ended in dramatic tragedy; the other who rose from humble roots to become the leading professional woman of her age and mistress of the thrilling new power of the twentieth century: electricity.In this fascinating book, acclaimed biographer Henrietta Heald also illuminates the era in which the society was founded. From the moment when women in Britain were allowed to vote for the first time, and to stand for Parliament, she charts the changing attitudes to women’s rights both in society and in the workplace.Trade Review 'A fascinating social history' Times Literary Supplement 'Well-written, vigorous... shows how Britain's female engineers were key figures in modernisation' BBC History Magazine 'At its heart, this is a group biography of the Women's Engineering Society... Yet Henrietta Heald also spins her story outward, taking in the ways in which the society's members became pioneers not just in engineering and technology but also politics, suffrage and social reform' History Revealed 'Meticulously researched... provides a fascinating account of a century of change for women' Journal of SMEE

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

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Book SynopsisForgotten is a search for hidden or neglected memorials and places in historic Palestine - now Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories - and what they might tell us about the land and the people who live on our small slip of earth between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.From ancient city ruins to the Nabi ''Ukkasha mosque and tomb, acclaimed writers and researchers Raja Shehadeh and Penny Johnson ask: what has been memorialised, and what lies unseen, abandoned or erased - and why? Whether standing on a high cliff overlooking Lebanon or at the lowest land-based elevation on earth at the Dead Sea, they explore lost connections in a fragmented land.In elegiac, elegant prose, Shehadeh and Johnson grapple not only with questions of Israeli resistance to acknowledging the Nakba - the 1948 catastrophe for Palestinians - but also with the complicated history of Palestinian commemoration today.

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

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

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Book Synopsis'I love this city, and always shall. I write about it. I dream about it. I walk its streets and see something new each day - traces of faded lettering on the stone, still legible, but just; some facade that I have walked past before and not noticed; an unregarded doorway with the names, in brass, of those who lived there sixty years ago, the bell-pulls sometimes still in place, as if one might summon long-departed residents from their slumbers.' Edinburgh is a city of stories - a place that has witnessed everything from great historical upheavals, to the individual lives of a remarkable cast of characters. Every spire, cobblestone, bridge, close and avenue has a tale to tell. In this sumptuous new book, Alexander McCall Smith curates his own, distinctive story of Edinburgh - combining his affectionate, incisive wit with a wealth of stunning imagery drawn from Scotland's national collection of architecture and archaeology. Through a series of photographs, maps, drawings and paintings - many never before published - he takes the reader on a unique tour. Just like the city's architecture, the book can move in an instant from sweeping views to secret, hidden vignettes. This is a story of famous landmarks and lost buildings; the people who made them; the people who lived in them. A Work of Beauty is an intimate portrait of a city by one of Scotland's greatest storytellers.Trade Review'Sandy McCall Smith amazes fellow scribblers with his freshness and sheer verve. Having lived in Edinburgh for 20 years, I loved A Work of Beauty, his beautifully written evocation of the most beautiful city in the world.' * The Scotsman Books of the Year 2014 *'Alexander McCall Smith has penned a love letter to Scotland’s capital … A Work of Beauty lays bare the changing face of Auld Reekie, capturing forever the eternal beauty of its historic skyline and the qualities that have earned it the title 'the Athens of the North'.' * The Sunday Post *

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Book SynopsisAn explosive exposé of the man who devoted his career to shackling democracy — and succeeded. Libertarian billionaires are using their wealth and power to drastically curtail the US democratic process, disempowering ordinary citizens whilst entrenching the influence of corporations as never before. In Democracy in Chains, award-winning historian Nancy MacLean reveals how the ideas of Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan have been used to undermine the power of voters in a country whose Constitution is founded on the principle ‘We the people’. Now, with Mike Pence as Vice President, this chilling movement has a loyalist in the White House, as well as supporters in the House, the Senate, a majority of state governments, and the courts. Democracy in Chains is a timely, important book, which should be read by anybody interested in the future of democracy.Trade Review‘It’s the missing chapter: a key to understanding the politics of the past half century. To read Nancy MacLean’s new book, Democracy in Chains is to see what was previously invisible.’ -- George Monbiot * The Guardian *'It’s happening: the subversion of our democratic system from within. How did the political right do it? Nancy MacLean tells the long-overlooked story of the political economist who developed the playbook for the Koch brothers. James McGill Buchanan merged states rights’ thinking with free market principles and helped to fashion the inherently elitist ideology of today’s Republican Party. Professor MacLean’s meticulous research and shrewd insights make this a must-read for all who believe in government ‘by the people.' -- Nancy Isenberg, author of White Trash: the 400-year untold history of class in America'This book is mesmerising. Rarely have I encountered a work that speaks to such significant issues, with evidence rooted in conclusive new sources. In clear prose, MacLean reveals how a public once committed to social responsibility and egalitarian values became persuaded that only an unregulated free market could protect ‘liberty’ and ‘choice.’ Because of this, our once cherished democracy is now subject to attack. Everyone who wants to understand today’s confrontational politics should read this important book, now.' -- Alice Kessler-Harris, author of In Pursuit of Equity: women, men, and the quest for economic citizenship in twentieth-century America‘How did we get to where we are today? How did corporations come to possess ‘rights?’ How did democracy come to be defined as selfish individualism? Or money as free speech? Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains provides the answers. It is essential reading in order to understand the ideas that billionaires use to justify their control of our political institutions. I can’t imagine a more timely or urgent book.’ -- Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) and The Empire of Necessity (winner of the Bancroft Prize)‘[MacLean] creates a chilling portrait of an arrogant, uncompromising, and unforgiving man … [she] offers a cogent yet disturbing analysis of libertarians' current efforts to rewrite the social contract and manipulate citizens' beliefs … An unsettling exposé of the depth and breadth of the libertarian agenda.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘MacLean constructs an erudite, searing portrait of how the late political economist James McGill Buchanan (1919 - 2013) and his deep-pocketed conservative allies have reshaped — and undermined — American democracy … A thoroughly researched and gripping narrative, she exposes how Buchanan’s strategies shaped trends in government in favour of ‘corporate dominance’ and against the welfare state … She has delivered another deeply important book … Her work here is a feat of American intellectual and political history.’ STARRED REVIEW * Publisher's Weekly *‘For those who think the Tea Party, Freedom Caucus, and the alt-right are recent constructs, MacLean provides an extensive history lesson that traces the genesis of the right wing back to post-WWII doctrines … A worthy companion to Jane Mayer’s Dark Money, MacLean’s intense and extensive examination of the right-wing’s rise to power is perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government.’ STARRED REVIEW * Booklist *‘A remarkable new book which argues that the radical right revolution engineered by Charles and his brother David is not just about accruing political and economic power, but about restricting democracy itself.’ * The New Republic *‘[A] vibrant intellectual history of the radical right … [MacLean] has dug deep into her material — not just Buchanan’s voluminous, unsorted papers, but other archives, too — and she has made powerful and disturbing use of it all … The behind-the-scenes days and works of Buchanan show how much deliberation and persistence — in the face of formidable opposition — underlie the anti-governing politics ascendant today. What we think of as dysfunction is the result of years of strategic effort.’ * The Atlantic *‘This sixty-year campaign to make libertarianism mainstream and eventually take the government itself is at the heart of Democracy in Chains … [MacLean] takes the time to meticulously trace how we got here … If you're worried about what all this means for America's future, you should be … And if someone you know isn't convinced, you have just the book to hand them.’ * NPR *‘[A] riveting, unsettling account of 'Tennessee country boy' James McGill Buchanan, key architect of today's radical right.’ * O, The Oprah Magazine *‘Clear and compelling … timely.’ * The Sunday Post *‘A remarkable book … Democracy in Chains is a revelation, as politics and as history.’ * Jacobin *‘Democracy in Chains should be read by every thinking person in the United States. It is disturbing, revealing, and vitally important.’ * new york journal of books *‘Nancy MacLean has done us a true and timely service.’ * New Internationalist *‘This book’s importance cannot be underestimated … powerful and disturbing.’ -- Antony Loewenstein * Weekend Australian *‘Explosive and controversial.’ * Canberra Times *‘Democracy in Chains leaves me with hope: Perhaps as books like MacLean’s continue to shine a light on important truths, Americans will begin to realise they need to pay more attention and not succumb to the cynical view that known liars make the best leaders.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘[T]his book is a superb contribution to our understanding of the rise of libertarian notion and right-wing political power in the US.’ -- Bill McKibbern * TLS *‘Nancy MacLean’s Democracy In Chains is a work of the utmost importance and makes a unique and outstanding contribution in understanding America, in both historic and contemporary terms. It forces us to engage with and think deeply about the use and abuse of power.’ * Economic and Labour Relations Review *

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

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Book SynopsisTom Holland''s bestselling account of the world''s very first clash of civilisations between the Persians and the Greeks in 480BC''Magisterial... told with great authority and a novelistic colour and verve'' Books of the Year, Independent''Holland has a rare eye for detail, drama and the telling anecdote''Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph''An unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history'' Observer''Holland brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life'' William Napier, Independent on SundayIn 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 toTrade ReviewIt is a testament to Holland's superlative powers as a narrative historian that he brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life -- William Napier * Independent on Sunday *Holland has a rare eye for the detail, drama and the telling anecdote... A vibrant, bloodthirsty popular history, told with a rich sense of irony and irresistible narrative timing * Daily Telegraph *Magisterial... told with great authority and a novelistic colour and verve * Independent on Sunday *A 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 a terrific book, combining impeccable scholarship with the narrative drive of a fine novel -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *This book is an unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history... Holland never strains for modern references; they are implicit in the stories he tells with such scholarship and flair * Observer *Excellent... 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 *Ambitious... a sweeping popular account that seems destined to become a classic * Seattle Times *A welcome popularization of ancient history, with a nicely vengeful cliffhanger of an ending that begs for a sequel * Kirkus *In the sweep and vividness of his prose Tom Holland does the subject proud, 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 *Holland 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 Holland's graceful, modern voice will captivate those intimidated by Herodotus * Publishers Weekly *Thrilling... a fascinating insight into Europe's development * Guardian *Gripping and authoritative ... An awe-inspiring story of the struggle for freedom * Express *Confident, fluent and accessible, and with salutary lessons for our own times, this is history at its best * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFeaturing an array of fascinating illustrations from the British Library's rich medieval collection, Cats in Medieval Manuscripts includes anecdotes about cats - both real and imaginary - to provide a fascinating picture of the life of the cat and its relationship with humans in the medieval world.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED for the Baillie Gifford Prize's 25th Anniversary Winner of Winners awardWINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020A Spectator Book of the Year A Times Book of the Year A Telegraph Book of the Year A Sunday Times Book of the YearFrom the award-winning author of Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret comes a fascinating, hilarious, kaleidoscopic biography of the Fab Four.John Updike compared them to the sun coming out on an Easter morning'. Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. The Duchess of Windsor adored them. Noel Coward despised them. JRR Tolkien snubbed them. The Rolling Stones copied them. Loenard Bernstein admired them. Muhammad Ali called them little sissies'. Successive Prime Ministers sucked up to them. No one has remained unaffected by the music of The Beatles. As Queen Elizabeth II observed on her golden wedding anniversary, Think what we would have missed if we had never heard The Beatles.'One Two Three Four traces the chance fusion of the four key elemeTrade Review‘A ridiculously enjoyable treat . . . Brown is such an infectiously jolly writer that you don’t even need to like the Beatles to enjoy his book . . . brilliant . . . hilarious . . . And at a time when, like everybody else, I was feeling not entirely thrilled about the news, I loved every word of it.’ Sunday Times ‘A celestial combination of writer and subject . . . One Two Three Four is a critical appreciation, a personal history, a miscellany, a work of scholarship and speculation, and a tribute as passionate and worshipful as any fan letter.’ Esquire ‘The perfect antidote to these times.’ Julian Barnes, Guardian ‘Kaleidoscopic … It’s like a compilation of mobile phone footage in a modern editing style as you piece together this extraordinary journey. I think it’s the most exhilarating way of reading a biography; a masterpiece’ Alexander Armstrong ‘It’s ingenious, wholly original (not a given, what with the subject matter), absolutely gripping, funny, sad and moving. A complete treat.’ India Knight 'I have never been very interested in the Beatles. In fact I wouldn’t cross the road to see them . . . even Abbey Road. Yet I can’t put this wonderful book down.' Barry Humphries, Telegraph ‘A brilliantly executed study of cultural time, social space and the madness of fame . . . One Two Three Four, by putting The Beatles in their place as well as their time, is by far the best book anyone has written about them and the closest we can get to the truth.’ Literary Review ‘Brown seems to have invented a wholly new biographical form. In a polychromatic cavalcade of chapters of varying length, the man with kaleidoscope eyes conveys what it was like to live through those extraordinary Beatles years . . . If you want to know what it was like to live those extraordinary Beatles years in real time, read this book.’ Alan Johnson, Spectator

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

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

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Book Synopsis*A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR*WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE GOVERNMENT IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY EUROPE, AND THE RISE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING?In the 1930s, Germany was at a turning point, with many looking to the Nazi phenomenon as part of widespread resentment towards cosmopolitan liberal democracy and capitalism. This was a global situation that pushed Germany to embrace authoritarianism, nationalism and economic self-sufficiency, kick-starting a revolution founded on new media technologies, and the formidable political and self-promotional skills of its leader.Based on award-winning research and recently discovered archival material, The Death of Democracy is a panoramic new survey of one of the most important periods in modern history, and a book with a resounding message for the world today.'Extremely fine... with careful prose and scholarship, he brings these events close to us.' Timothy Snyder, The New York Times'Intelligent, well-informed... intriguing.' The Times'With the injection of fresh contemporary voices, The Death of Democracy is also a thoughtful reflection of how our time more resembles the Thirties than the Noughties.' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewExtremely fine... with careful prose and scholarship, with fine thumbnail sketches of individuals and concise discussions of institutions and economics, he brings these events close to us. Hett... sensitively describes a moral crisis that preceded a moral catastrophe. -- Timothy Snyder * The New York Times *Intelligent, well-informed... intriguing. Hett provides a lesson about the fragility of democracy and the danger of that complacent belief that liberal institutions will always protect us. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Readable and well-researched, with the injection of fresh contemporary voices, The Death of Democracy is also a thoughtful reflection of how our time more resembles the Thirties than the Noughties. * Daily Telegraph *Benjamin Carter Hett deftly summarises this dismal period... Hett refrains from poking the reader with too many obvious contemporary parallels, but he knew what he was doing when he left "German" out of his title. On the book's final page, he lays his cards on the table... "Suddenly, the whole thing looks close and familiar." Yes, it does. -- Alex Ross * New Yorker *A superb explanation of how democracy died in Weimar Germany. Too much of this story seems painfully familiar today. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times, 'Books of the Year' *

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018 A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England… They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.Trade Review‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Splendid…that rare thing – a work of history about the Tudors that actually says something fresh and new…a cracking contribution to the field.’ * Dan Jones, Sunday Times *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Enlightening and constantly surprising… Far too many popular studies of the Tudors return the same faces. To its great credit, Black Tudors presents fresh figures and challenges the way we look at them.’ * Jessie Childs, Financial Times *‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable…the narrative is pacy, the research sympathetically thorough.. Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again'. * Daily Mail *‘[The] audience will find itself in the hands of a historian of excellent investigative skills, who shows attention to detail, uses evidence with appropriate caution, and has the sensibility of a scholar.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘The industry and skill with which Miranda Kaufmann has hunted for these sources and teased out their meanings are exemplary… Kaufmann’s greatest skill is her ability to fill in the background on every topic that arises, from piracy to silk-weaving to brothels to Anglo-Moroccan diplomacy…In the hands of a lesser writer this would be mere padding with secondary material, but she investigates every subject in the same depth… a fascinating book, which brings a sadly neglected part of our history to life, and grinds no ideological axes in the process’. * Daily Telegraph *‘Both an eye-opener and a good read.’ * Sorted *‘Miranda Kaufmann writes engagingly as she reveals the untold stories of Africans who lived free, worked for wages, married and died in 16th and 17th century England.’ * CHOICE *‘Fascinating.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Meticulous research draws on sources from letters to legal papers…The detail [Kaufmann] unearths brings to life those absent from the pages of history.’ * Observer *‘A thought-provoking account of 10 remarkable people, and a valuable corrective to some unthinking assumptions about both Tudor society and the role of racial minorities in English history.’ * Times Higher Education *‘A powerful and perceptive reassessment of a time that has too long been sidelined by popular historical storytelling.’ * Press Association *‘Impressively detailed and persuasively argued.’ * Diplomat *‘Thought-provoking… [Kaufmann] takes readers on fascinating excursions through Moroccan history, the European exploration of South America, and the seedier side of London.’ * Christian Science Monitor *‘An absolute joy.’ * Leanda de Lisle, The Times *‘Black Tudors demonstrates the way understanding of history is constantly changing based on changing contemporary values and perspectives. For someone dedicated to an awareness of oppression throughout history, Black Tudors is an important but difficult read, inspiring a desire for more information.’ -- The Riveter Magazine‘In a work of brilliant sleuthing, engagingly written, Kaufmann reclaims long-forgotten lives and fundamentally challenges our preconceptions of Tudor and Jacobean attitudes to race and slavery.’ -- John Guy, bestselling author of Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years‘Miranda Kaufmann has written a superb antidote both to the cliches of Tudor history and to the assumption that Black migration to Britain began with the Windrush. Her vivid portrait of Black Tudor lives sweeps readers around the world in the company of Diego, manservant to Sir Francis Drake, and back to the life of single woman Cattelena in the Gloucestershire countryside. Grounded in precise and detailed historical research, Black Tudors promises to change perceptions of a period at the heart of Britain’s national identity.’ -- Catherine Fletcher, author of The Black Prince of Florence‘The book is based on impeccable research in a rich array of sources. But Dr Kaufmann wears her learning lightly and she tells a series of fascinating stories with an elegance and wit that should appeal to many readers.’ -- Clive Holmes, Emeritus Fellow and Lecturer in History, University of Oxford‘A brilliant example of how to use the most detailed kind of archival data to present a broadly accessible picture of the past, and one which has enormous relevance to the present controversies about immigration and diversity.’ -- Paul Kaplan, Professor of Art History, State University of New York, Purchase‘The very concept of black Tudors may sound unlikely, but in this highly readable yet intensively researched book, Kaufmann…makes clear that people of African descent were residing in England centuries before the postwar Windrush generation and were not necessarily enslaved. By examining in detail the lives of 10 previously obscure men and women, Kaufmann depicts the great diversity of their experiences in 16th- and early-17th-century England… Kaufmann also persuasively argues that the enslavement of Africans emerged as a response to the socioeconomic conditions of England’s Caribbean and North American colonies, rather than as an inevitable result of a supposedly inherent racism within early modern English culture. Kaufmann’s crucial contention, in conjunction with her lively prose and fascinating microhistories, should draw some well-deserved attention.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘An eminently readable book that offers contemporary readers valuable insights into racial relations of centuries past.’ * Kirkus *‘Tudor England’s legendary history is a rich locus in the popular imagination. Full of pageantry and larger-than-life personalities, the period is a favorite of the Anglophilic world. But what if that seemingly monolithic world was also black?… For a modern audience acculturated to thinking of Africans in the West as either enslaved or altogether absent, the picture that emerges challenges the centrality of whiteness and slavery in the Tudor period. Kaufmann takes pains to situate Great Britain on the national stage as a minor nation emerging from civil war and fighting to be acknowledged at the international level… Black Tudors concentrates on individuals who are enmeshed in the historical narrative and effectively places them right back where they’ve always belonged.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘Who knew that a diver from West Africa worked to salvage Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose? Based on a wealth of original research, Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors restores the black presence to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England in all its lively detail. Africans lived and worked not as slaves but as independent agents, from mariners to silk weavers, women and men, prince and prostitute. Black Tudors challenges assumptions about ethnic identity and racism in Tudor England. It will be required reading for anyone interested in new directions in Tudor history.’ -- Dr John Cooper, Senior Lecturer in History, University of York, and author of The Queen’s Agent‘This meticulously researched book… it’s remarkable that she’s created a book that so vividly paints a broad picture of Tudor life, making it both entirely readable and utterly fascinating.’ -- Dorset Magazine

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Book Synopsis'Difficult to put down ... irresistible' Daily TelegraphTrade Review'Recounted with great skill . . . opens a window onto a fascinating world' * Financial Times *'Highly readable and elegant' * Times Literary Supplement *

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisBill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and is the biggest selling non-fiction book of the 21st century. The Body: A Guide for Occupants was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and is an international bestseller.Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005-2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.Trade ReviewBill Bryson is a true master of popular narrative. Over the course of his career, he has bestowed a beautiful clarity on even the most recondite of subjects...Has history ever been so enjoyable? -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *A fascinating snapshot of a season during which America, for better or worse, ushered in the modern world. * Sunday Times *A gifted raconteur...The book is filled with eccentric, flamboyant characters and memorable stories...highly amusing. * Guardian *A great new form of literature: biography of a few months in one country. -- Matt Ridley * The Times (Books of the Year) *Few writers of nonfiction, and,let's be honest,few enough writers of novels, can crack the narrative whip like Bryson. One Summer fairly whirls along...full of exhilarating, fact-filled fun...surely the most sublime distraction published this year. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe first book to recount the remarkable story of the hunt for HMS Laurentic’s gold

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Book SynopsisRoman Krznaric is a social philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to create change. His internationally bestselling books, including The Good Ancestor, Empathy, and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than twenty-five languages. He is Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University's Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing and founder of the world's first Empathy Museum.After growing up in Sydney and Hong Kong, Roman studied at the universities of Oxford, London and Essex, where he gained his PhD in political science. His writings have been widely influential amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. An acclaimed public speaker, his talks and workshops have taken him from a London prison to the TED global stage.Roman is a member of the Club of Rome and a Research Fellow of the Long Now Foundation. He previously worked as an academic, a gardener and a human rights campaigner. He is also a fanatical player of the medieval sport of real tennis.

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

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Book Synopsis''Delivered with flamboyance, it features a sparkling cast of chancers'' KATJA HOYER, Daily Telegraph 5* review''Page-turning . . . a sizzling high-stakes tale'' JAMES HOLLAND''This book might read like the screenplay of a gripping movie, yet every word is accurate and verified'' ANDREW ROBERTS''Giles Milton is a phenomenon'' DAN SNOW''Another rollercoaster ride from Giles Milton. Endlessly surprising'' ANTHONY HOROWITZFrom internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the Allies'' secret mission to wartime Moscow.In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin''s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies'' liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilized an elite team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.Into to the heart of Stalin''s Moscow Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth richest man in America and his brilliant young daughter Kathy. Churchill dispatched the reckless but brilliant bon vivant Archie Clark Kerr - and occasionally himself - to negotiate with the Kremlin''s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with the ingenious, mercurial Stalin to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world.Based on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.*Giles Milton''s The Stalin Affair was a Radio 4 Book of the Week in the week of 17th June 2024.*

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Book SynopsisReturn to Fukushimacaptures the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, chronicling the resilience of displaced communities navigating life amidst radioactivity. Thomas Bass explores the transformative journey from desolation to revitalization, offering a survival guide to our atomic future.Fukushima is an ongoing nuclear disaster. The four reactors that melted down and exploded in 2011 are still deadly, even to the robots that get burned up trying to explore them. Over a hundred thousand people remain displaced, their homes frozen in time, eerie ghost towns where slippers sit undisturbed at doorsteps and tables are set for absent guests. Wild animals have moved into the houses. Vines overgrow buildings surrendering to entropy. Visiting these places, we stare at the vacant world remaining after we have ended our brief tenure as overlords of the Anthropocene.The world is dotted with nuclear exclusion zones. Atolls blown to smithereens. Test sites in the Mojave Desert. Disasters at Soviet bomb-making factories. The red forest around Chernobyl. These zones are growing in number and melding one into another. What if our future demands that we learn how to live in nuclear exclusion zones? Learn how to master the risks and develop resistant crops and other survival skills?Nowhere is this future more evident than in Fukushima, where the Japanese government is pushing people to resettle in towns that are supposedly decontaminated. These attempts have largely failed. But what has not failed are the grassroots efforts at reviving Fukushima. This is propelled by the ingenuity of local farmers and entrepreneurs, citizen scientists, artists, and immigrants from around the world who are intrigued by starting new lives in the red zone.In 2018 and again four and a half years later, Thomas Bass travelled to Fukushima. The difference was dramatic The place had been cleaned up and reopened, not fully, but little-by-little people are learning to live with radioactivity, decontaminate their fields, monitor their food, and prepare for the next wave set to wash over this seismically precarious part of the world. After six years of research, including travels to Chernobyl, Bass gives us a remarkable account of how Fukushima's argonauts of the anthropocene are guiding us into our atomic future.

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEKNamed one of The Telegraph''s ''Best Biographies of the Year 2024''Queen Victoria had forty-two grandchildren but the four Princesses of Hesse were held in her particular favour. After the sudden death of her daughter Alice, Queen Victoria took an obsessive interest in the marriage prospects of the four girls their mother had left behind, hoping this might secure for them a happy future. And each of the young women did indeed marry into a European dynasty: the Romanovs and the Hohenzollerns of Germany. However no one could have foreseen how the maelstrom of the twentieth century would bring tragedy and heartache to each one of them in turn. Drawing on hundreds of previously unseen letters from the sisters as well as from their grandmother Queen Victoria, The Princesses of Hesse takes us on a sweeping journey across the tumultuous landscape of the turn of the century - from the dramas of the Russian Court to the Russian Revolution, and through both World Wars in which the sisters often found themselves on opposing sides.Both intimate and epic in scope, Frances Welch''s biography sheds new light on the four sisters'' lives, illuminating a remarkable period of history in the process.''full of passions, royal peculiarities and misspelt letters...compellingly told'' Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph''Welch does a wonderful job of marshalling the different strands of this story, drawing on the sisters'' chatty, gossipy correspondence, some of which has never been published. It grips you until the very last page'' The Mail on Sunday ''Frances Welch''s elegant and intimate group biography returns us to the start of the 20th century, when Queen Victoria''s favourite grand-daughters were scattered between Germany, England and Russia'' Frances Wilson, The Daily Telegraph''eye-opening'' and ''harrowing'' The Daily Mail''Welch brings the four princesses vividly to life'' and ''will delight those who enjoy reading about the lives of royals'' The Times ''brings them vividly to life...a tonic...a gripping read'' Hugo Vickers, The Oldie''Frances Welch has a gift for bringing royal figures to life, making us care about them and showing us how their stories interweave...this is both a deeply affecting story of four sisters and an informative bit of history'' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Spectator''splendid'', ''a fascinating family portrait'', ''Welch creates a tenderly intimate portrait of the last, doomed Tsarina and her three German-born sisters'' Miranda Seymour, Literary Review

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

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Book Synopsis**THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER**In twenty-one bite-sized lessons, Yuval Noah Harari explores what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment.How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and technological disruptions? What can we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? What should we teach our children?The world-renowned historian and intellectual Yuval Noah Harari takes us on a thrilling journey through today's most urgent issues. The golden thread running through his exhilarating new book is the challenge of maintaining our collective and individual focus in the face of constant and disorienting change.Faced with a litany of existential and real crises, are we still capable of understanding the world we have created?'[Harari] has teed up a crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the 21st century' Bill Gates, New York Times'21 Lessons is, simply put, a crucial book' Adam Kay, author of UndoctoredTrade ReviewTruly mind-expanding… Ultra-topical… Harari’s big selling point [is] the ambition and breadth of his work, smashing together unexpected ideas into dazzling observations. * Guardian *There is surely no one alive who is better at explaining our world than Yuval Noah Harari - he is the lecturer we all wish we’d had at university. Reading this book, I must have interrupted my partner a hundred times to pass on fascinating things I’d just read. Harari has done it again - 21 Lessons is, simply put, a crucial book. -- Adam KayErudite, illuminating, vivid. [Harari’s] lessons suggest new ways of thinking about current problems… a splendid, sobering, stirring call to arms. * Sunday Times *Fascinating… compelling… [Harari] has teed up a crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the 21st century. -- Bill Gates * New York Times *The great thinker of our age. * The Times *Harari… is a rare voice of calm reassurance, slicing through the chaos and uncertainty of the modern age. -- Allan Hunter * Sunday Express *Harari thrills his readers because he addresses the biggest possible topics with confidence and brio. Compared with the subjects he tackles, anything else we might read looks piffling and parochial. * Evening Standard *Harari’s genius at weaving together insights from different disciplines, ranging from ancient history to neuroscience to philosophy to artificial intelligence, has enabled him to respond to the clamour to understand where we have come from and where we might be heading… 21 Lessons is lit up by flashes of intellectual adventure and literary verve. * Financial Times *Modern life can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, Yuval Noah Harari's new book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, is on hand to guide us through it. Poolside reading with purpose. * Elle *[Harari’s] purpose is to reveal the hard-learned lessons we have all already encountered this century… the persuasiveness of Harari’s philosophical analysis, and the engaging quality of his writing, is hard to deny. * Esquire *

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