History

Join Stephen Fry as he delves in to the secrets of one of the most extraordinary monarchs in one of our most extraordinary eras in English history. A woman in a man’s world. And not just any woman – but Elizabeth I, one of the greatest and most secretive monarchs of all time. This queen realised that her sex, far from being a weakness, could be deployed as a strength. It’s not an overstatement to say that England’s politics, religion, and culture have all been shaped by what she did and said. And what she kept secret. This wasn’t just a time of poets, playwrights and poachers.

This radical reappraisal of human history will change the way you look at the past. In this expansive yet abridged volume, academic pariah and pseudo-historian Fin Taylor re-writes the human story, from the Big Bang to the Second Plane (minus all the stuff we can skip in between). Reader, you...

From a Nottingham alleyway to a global empire, Threads is the story of a truly unique British fashion icon. Read by Bill Nighy, this audiobook includes an exclusive interview between the actor and Sir Paul Smith. ‘I always say that you can find inspiration in everything. And if you can't, look...

The thrilling and moving classic memoir of a spitfire pilot in World War Two. This is the true story of Richard Hillary, immortalised in Sebastian Faulks' bestselling triple biography, The Fatal Englishman. In The Last Enemy, Richard Hillary tells his extraordinary story in his own words. Shot...

The Roman Empire looms large in the history of the Western world. Despite its collapse in the 5th century CE, its legacy continues to influence everything from architecture and politics to literature and religion. Much of this impact was shaped by the rulers who transformed the Roman Republic into one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen. In the 10 lectures of The Best and Worst of the Roman Emperors, you will meet 10 of the most notable—and notorious—rulers of Rome and assess their legacies.

Spanning a million years of history, the mysteries in this book include fabled relics, legendary cities, mythical species, and undeciphered languages that have bedeviled seekers for centuries.

Bloomsbury presents… Reds: A Global History of Communism Written and read by Paul Mason Reds tells the global history of communism, going beyond the turmoil of the 20th century, and exploring communist ideas, movements, and regimes. It starts in antiquity, not in 1917. It centres not just on...

From the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor comes the ultimate true-life Cold War thriller: a “page-turning masterpiece” (The Guardian) about a Russian double agent with a desperate secret—and the key to stopping a nuclear apocalypse. “Ben Macintyre has a rare ability to turn...

From two leading economists comes a groundbreaking new portrait of the hidden fortunes of Main Street business owners—ordinary Americans who built extraordinary wealth and are quietly rewriting the rules of money and power. Most people think the path to great wealth runs through Wall Street or...

The gripping and heroic firsthand account—like American Sniper mixed with a real-life version of Die Hard—by an off-duty special forces soldier who battled against a terrorist attack for twenty-two hours, and saved scores of American, Kenyan, and European lives. After an otherwise ordinary...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A narrative masterwork. Bird vividly creates the sinister web of charm and deceit that Cohn was able to spin through his decades at the very center of power.” —Marie Brenner, award-winning writer-at-large for Vanity Fair and coproducer of the...

THE FASCINATING AND UNEXPECTED STORY OF THE ICONIC HARRIER JUMP JET, AND THE BRITISH ENGINEER WHO BUILT IT Victory in the Falklands War made the Harrier’s name as a world-beating British icon, as capable of giving the enemy a bloody nose as it was of thrilling the crowds at airshows with its...

An ancient Greek in a traveling cloak stood on the plain at Giza, in the shadow of the pyramids, and had many questions. He wanted to know how the great stones had been raised, how many men had labored on them and for how long, what the workers had eaten, and what the marks carved into the casing recorded. Egyptian priests gave him answers, an interpreter turned their words into Greek, and the traveler wrote everything down, the plausible and the fantastic side by side, because he had come a very long way to learn it. He had no intention of leaving anything out.

From the author of the New York Times best-selling The Case for Trump, the story of Trump’s triumphant comeback and what his second term means for the future of our country. When Donald Trump left office in January 2021, most observers thought his political career was over. Silenced on social...

"A smart, endlessly interesting exercise in connecting cultural dots to learn how we got here."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review From the New York Times best-selling author of Jesus and John Wayne, a revelatory history of white Christian womanhood in the United States. In her...

Beginning with Donald Trump’s return to power and culminating in the White House’s bombastic claim of a historic ‘peace deal’, Drury exposes how Western governments, fully aware of Israel’s methods, deepened their political, military, and moral investment in a project of ethnic...

Bloomsbury presents Tyrants and Traders: Tintagel, Arthur and the Lost Kings by Ken Dark, read by Edward Rowe. Discover exciting new research illuminating the most mysterious centuries of British history. How Roman Britain ended is one of the most controversial questions in British history...

"This dazzling book is full of brilliant detail, behind-the-scenes wit and humor, and a great tenderness for her subjects. All seen through the lens of Lucy Worsley's career working as Chief Curator at Hampton Court, her scholarship, passion for her subject and deep knowledge is lightly worn...

This program is read by Audie Award–winning actor Robert Petkoff. "[What stands out is] Petkoff's bravura performance, the fine sound quality, and the exceptional direction and editing. Indeed, this is an impressive audiobook" —Kirkus Reviews on Hitler's Last Days What has to change in...

In the shadowed cells of Nuremberg Prison, twenty-two men awaited judgement for history's greatest crimes. Stripped of their uniforms, power, and myth, the architects of the Third Reich faced something more intimate than the tribunal: the searching gaze of American psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley, M.D. What he discovered was not the comforting legend of pure madness or demonic uniqueness.

Bloomsbury presents Fanzine: The story of football's alternative press, written and read by Daniel Gray ‘A love letter to an era that needed its story told' – Josh Widdicombe ‘This is an absolutely fabulous book' – Duncan Hamilton The vivid story of the fanzine movement that gave...

Heirs of the Great Migration is a narrative biography grounded in Dr. James “Manny” Wright’s family journey from Jim Crow-era sharecropping in North Carolina to the promise of manufacturing jobs and greater opportunity in the industrial Northeast. Wright frames his generation—Generation X—as heirs to the aspirations and sacrifices of the Great Migration and among the first generations of Black Americans to come of age with the full rights of citizenship formally guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. Yet the America they inherited was undergoing another profound transformation.

A drowned prehistoric land, a flying monk, a Roman admiral who crowned himself emperor of Britain. The true, forgotten stories that never made it into the history books. What if the most fascinating stories in English history were the ones nobody ever told? Everyone knows about William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, and the Black Death. But England's past is filled with remarkable people and extraordinary events that rarely make it into the history books. Did you know Britain was once connected to Europe by a vast land now hidden beneath the North Sea?

Unlock the epic legacy of the Viking Age —where myth and history collide, and warriors become legends. Step into the heart of Norse history and myth with Legends of the Blade, a gripping exploration of the fiercest Viking warriors who shaped the medieval world with blood, steel, and cunning. From the unstoppable force of berserkers to the heroic shieldmaidens who defied all odds, this compelling historical account brings to life the valor, tactics, and culture of the Norse people.

"A graphic but powerful reminder of the horrors of that day—and the horrors that the first responders have faced ever since." —Booklist The untold story of an American hero who proved that one person can turn trauma into heroic action—from the wounded construction worker who became a...