History Books

A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION. Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, the...

Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Baillie Gifford 'Winner of Winners' award in 2023How did Shakespeare go from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating year we follow what...

This beautifully illustrated book tells the stories behind 60 remarkable buildings chosen from the many thousands at National Trust properties across England, Wales and Northern Ireland Spanning 900 years of history, this selection of 60 remarkable buildings in the care of the National Trust...

Winner of the Royal Society Science Book. 'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer' - The TimesFor billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place - covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape through...

Delve into a captivating exploration of human genetics, a brilliant and authoritative introduction that will leave you spellbound. This book unveils the remarkable stories etched within our genes, chronicling the extraordinary journey of our species. It is a narrative uniquely yours, yet intricately woven...

The untold story of rural Britain revealed through its artefacts ?'A really lovely, fascinating book. I dived straight into this clever, joyous, celebration of nature, history, and - of course - the countryside.' Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship For most of human...

Immerse yourself in the tumultuous tapestry of 14th century Europe, where chivalry and catastrophe danced a delicate waltz. In "A Distant Mirror," Barbara W. Tuchman masterfully weaves a narrative that contrasts the grandeur of crusades and soaring cathedrals with the grim realities of plague,...

Toby Green's groundbreaking book, 'A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution,' offers a transformative perspective on the history of West and West-Central Africa. By the late 19th century's 'Scramble for Africa,' the region...

Delve into the remarkable life of King Edward I, the indomitable monarch who left an indelible mark on British history. In "A Great and Terrible King," Marc Morris masterfully unveils the complex tapestry of Edward's reign, weaving together the threads of his unwavering character,...

A stunning, clear-sighted history of ancient Egypt' Sunday TimesThe extraordinary history of Ancient Egyptian civilization - from its earliest origins to the creation of its greatest monument - from specialist John RomerThis exceptional book draws on a lifetime of research and thought to recreate...

In a bestselling work of profound and lasting importance, the late Albert Hourani told the definitive history of the Arab peoples from the seventh century, when the new religion of Islam began to spread from the Arabian peninsula westwards, to the present day. It...

WINNER OF THE 2019 DUFF COOPER PRIZEA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'With emotional and psychological insight, Barton unlocks this sleeping giant of our culture. In the process, he has produced a masterpiece.' Sunday TimesThe Bible is the central book of Western culture. For the two faiths...

Throughout history, maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. But far from being purely scientific objects, maps of the world are unavoidably ideological and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority...

Charming - a love-letter to home, history, and nature.'LEAH BROAD, Author of Quartet'A tender and illuminating history of an overlooked world.'HORATIO CLARE'Truly a revelation on every page.'PETROC TRELAWNY'A richly textured book, replete with illuminating discoveries and observations.' COUNTRY LIFE'A wide-ranging meditation on place and...

FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AND MAN BOOKER-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR'Sparkles with brilliant observations on art and architecture, friendship and loss' Guardian'Everybody should get to spend a month with Mr. Matar, looking at paintings' Zadie Smith, Wall Street Journal, Books of the Year_______________________________________________Matar was nineteen years old...

Unrivalled in scope and brimming with human drama, A People's Tragedy is the most vivid, moving and comprehensive history of the Russian Revolution available today. 'A modern masterpiece' Andrew MarrOpening with a panorama of Russian society, from the cloistered world of the Tsar to...

This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari's Sapiens. It's every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful' Julian Norton From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have...

From the French Abbey of St Wandrille to the abandoned and awesome Rock Monasteries of Cappadocia in Turkey, the celebrated travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor studies the rigorous contemplative lives of the monks and the timeless beauty of their monastic surroundings. In his occasional...

**WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021****A FINANCIAL TIMES, I PAPER AND STYLIST BOOK OF THE YEAR**'In his absorbing book about the lost and the gone, Peter Ross takes us from Flanders Fields to Milltown to Kensal Green, to melancholy...

by Julia Boyd (Author) & Angelika Patel (Author)Format: Paperback / softback 464 pagesPublisher: Elliott & Thompson LimitedImprint: Elliott & Thompson LimitedISBN: 9781783966639Published: 6 Oct 2022Classifications: HistoryReadership: General (US: Trade)Weight: 444gDimensions: 129 x 199 x 37 (mm) Hidden deep in the Bavarian mountains lies the...

In the twilight of the 9th century, the kingdoms of Britain faced a grave threat from Norse invaders. Aelfred's Britain transports you to this pivotal era, where a young Wessex prince named Alfred fought tenaciously to defend his realm against the fearsome Vikings. Max...

A spectacular collection of aerial photographs of Britain's most extraordinary prehistoric sites. This breathtaking collection of aerial images reveals ancient monuments from all around the British Isles, as they have never been seen before: Neolithic enclosures, cairns and stone circles; Bronze Age villages, farmsteads,...

Alford triumphs. in recreating the historical moment. By immersing himself in Cecil's vast archive, he draws the reader deep into his working environment, capturing the closeness of his study and the chaos of the court. this is turn-of-century England as it really was -...

Woven into the fabric of a simple cotton sack is a powerful story of resilience, love, and the unbreakable bonds of family. In "All That She Carried," Tiya Miles masterfully traces the journey of this humble keepsake across three generations of Black women, beginning...

Dive into the captivating history of Amsterdam, a city that defied conventions and embraced liberalism like no other. Russell Shorto's "Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City" takes you on a riveting journey through the evolution of this watery metropolis, from its...

Riveting; as fresh and relevant today as it was almost 50 years ago. The words fire off the page with humour, anger and eloquence' GuardianA powerful and commanding account of the life of trailblazing political activist Angela DavisEdited by Toni Morrison and first published...

This profoundly intimate book delves into the solitary and disorienting experience. In 1975, Kapuscinski's employers dispatched him to Angola to report on the civil war that erupted in the wake of independence. For months, he bore witness as Luanda and subsequently the entire nation...

Step into the ancient heart of Japan with Another Kyoto, an intimate exploration of the hidden wonders of Kyoto, the country's former imperial capital. Through vivid conversations between authors Alex Kerr and Kathy Arlyn Sokol, readers are granted an insider's view into the city's...

A groundbreaking history of architecture told through the relationship between buildings and energyThe story of architecture is the story of humanity. The buildings we live in, from the humblest pre-historic huts to today's skyscrapers, reveal our priorities and ambitions, our family structures and power...

Caroline Burt's 'Arise, England' offers a captivating and insightful exploration of the pivotal role played by the Plantagenet kings in shaping the English state. Spanning the tumultuous period from 1199 to 1399, this engrossing account delves into the high-stakes political dramas that unfolded, including...

Immerse yourself in the thrilling era of artistic revolution that swept across Europe from 1905 to 1914. "Art of the Extreme 1905-1914" by Philip Hook takes you on an exhilarating journey through the birth of groundbreaking modern art movements like Cubism, Futurism, and German...

Shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman PrizeParis, near the turn of 1932-3. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a...

One of the Financial Times' 'Best Summer Books of 2024''Probably the most delightful and evocative book ever produced on the English pub.' Slightly Foxed'Wonderful . . . a detailed study of life in London pubs.' Islington Tribune'Both a historical document and a time capsule...

Jonathan Raban's enthralling journey into the history of the Great Plains of Montana - the least populated, most uncharted region of the United States - to uncover the heart and soul of the country. Bringing to life the extraordinary landscape of the prairie and...

Barbara Hepworth is one of the most important artists of the 20th century, yet she has been the subject of relatively few monographs in comparison to her male counterparts. This biography moves beyond the traditional narratives of modernism, truth to materials, and the landscape...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATIONA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES, WATERSTONES AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE A NEX BIG IDEA CLUB MUST READIn a Polish forest a young woman befriends a boar. An Englishman sets up home with two beavers...

In the aftermath of World War II, Europe witnessed a surge of grassroots activism and protest movements that challenged the status quo on both sides of the Iron Curtain. From the bustling streets of Paris to the historic squares of Prague, from the industrial...

The Sunday Times-bestselling author of Dresden returns with a monumental biography of the city that defined the twentieth century - BerlinThroughout the twentieth century, Berlin stood at the centre of a convulsing world. This history is often viewed as separate acts: the suffering of...

The definitive modern biography of the great slave leader, military genius and revolutionary hero Toussaint LouvertureThe Haitian Revolution began in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue with a slave revolt in August 1791, and culminated a dozen years later in the proclamation of the...

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE'An incredible work of scholarship' Sathnam SangheraThrough the story of his own family's history as slave and plantation owners, Alex Renton looks at how we owe it to the present to understand the legacy of the past. When British...

Embark on a perilous yet captivating adventure through the heart of Africa in Tim Butcher's "Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart." This gripping travel memoir recounts Butcher's audacious attempt to retrace the footsteps of the legendary 19th-century explorer H.M. Stanley, traversing the...

A powerful and revelatory history book about the bloodlands - the lands that lie between Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany - where 14 million people were killed during the years 1933 - 1944. In the middle of Europe, in the middle of the twentieth...

By: Helen CzerskiBinding: HardbackAll of the Earth's ocean, from the equator to the poles, is a single engine powered by sunlight - a blue machine. Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told - that of our ocean. Not the fish...

Dive into the mesmerizing depths of the ocean's power with "Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World" by Helen Czerski. This captivating book unravels the mysteries of our planet's defining feature, revealing how the ocean is a colossal engine fueled by the sun's...

Beautiful. A true gem... [his] unique take on human nature through the history and heritage of the borderlands ends up being deeply moving.' - IRISH INDEPENDENT'Thrillingly unique, knowledgeable, perceptive and profound' IAN DUNT'A light-footed journey along the fault lines of history.' KATJA HOYERThe history...

Discover the architectural gems that are Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations in this Sunday Times top 10 bestseller'This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book' Chris EvansIt is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences...

Compelling... fascinating' Spectator'Abounding with excellent little stories' Financial TimesThis is the story of one of the most magnificent achievements of the Italian Renaissance, and the architect behind it. Even in an age of soaring skyscrapers and cavernous sports stadiums, the cathedral of Santa Maria...

Nestled at the crossroads of East and West, Budapest has long been a city of contrasts, a vibrant melting pot where cultures collide and histories intertwine. In "Budapest: Portrait of a City Between East and West", Victor Sebestyen takes readers on a captivating journey...

An ambitious history of Britain told through the stories of twenty-five notable structures, from the Iron Age fortification of Maiden Castle in Dorset to the Gherkin. Building Britannia is a chronicle of social, political and economic change seen through the prism of the country's...

Delve into the captivating story of Britain's greatest civic renaissance during the Victorian era with Tristram Hunt's "Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City." This meticulously researched historical account unveils the controversies, visions, and ambitions that shaped the rise of great...