Showing titles in Europe

The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought, or the hygiene of the baths that must have been hotbeds of germs, or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, or the massive death count, maybe less than 10 per cent of the population.

For the past two decades, you could cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic half a dozen times without noticing or, indeed, without turning off the road you were travelling. It cuts through fields, winds back and forth across roads and wends from the mouth of the Newry River to the mouth of the Foyle. It's frictionless - a feat sealed by the Good Friday Agreement. Before that, watchtowers loomed over border communities, military checkpoints dotted the roads and bridges had been demolished to prevent crossings.

One of the classic volumes of autobiography, My Early Life is a lively and colourful account of a young man's quest for action, adventure and danger. Churchill's schooldays are undistinguished, but he is admitted to Sandhurst and embarks on a career as a soldier and a war correspondent, seeing action in Cuba, in India, in the Sudan - where he took part in the battle of Omdurman, of which he gives us a stirring account - and finally in South Africa.

Bringing together ground-breaking forensic discoveries – including vital DNA evidence – and gripping historical detective work, Naming Jack the Ripper constructs the first truly convincing case for identifying the world's most notorious serial killer. In 2007, Russell Edwards, fuelled by...

To live in 19th-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent. There were revolutions in transport, communication and work; cities grew vast; and scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognisable. This was an exhilarating time but also a horrifying one. In his new book, David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British 19th century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice.

Beginning on the night in November 1963 when his mum took him to see the Beatles live at Manchester’s ABC Cinema, Mike Pickering takes the listener through sixty years of clubs, clothes, gigs, record labels, football matches and politics. Pickering has lived through decades of rapid change in popular music. As an influential DJ he introduced house music into the legendary Haçienda. He signed Happy Mondays and James to Factory Records before working with Kasabian, Gossip and Calvin Harris at Sony.

What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium The Year 1000 is a vivid and surprising portrait of life in England a thousand years ago – no spinach, no sugar, but a world which already knew brain surgeons and property developers, and yes, even the occasional gossip columnist...

Here is the tragic, stormy life of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Her story is a chronicle of courage and faith, betrayal and treachery - set amidst the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of 16th-century Europe. The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumph, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion - and Ms. Erickson recounts it all against the turbulent background of European politics, war, and religious strife of the mid-1500s.

In 1945, the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong, 5,000 nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward, the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the 20th century.

Al Murray's passion for military history and the Second World War in particular has always been a duel passion with his comedy and was brought to the fore with several acclaimed and award winning television shows and the recent huge success of his podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, which he hosts fellow best-selling military author James Holland. Command showcases Al Murray's passion for this pivotal period in the 20th century, as he writes an engaging, entertaining and sharp analysis of the key allied military leaders in the conflict.  

Brought to you by Penguin. The incredible, Sunday Times bestselling follow-up to one of the most talked about books of the decade, The Salt Path. Nature holds the answers for Raynor and her husband Moth. After walking 630 miles homeless along The Salt Path, the windswept and wild English...

'I recommend our diplomats and ministers read this book: it will provide them with an intellectual backbone. On the big calls [Bootle] has a spectacularly good record.' - The Sunday Times 'Bootle is right on every count.' - The Guardian The Extensively Revised 5th Edition of this Highly...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Life-filled and life-affirming history, steeped in romance and written with verve' GUARDIAN 'Richly entertaining and impeccably researched' Peter Frankopan Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent...

THE SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 WINNER OF THE POL ROGER DUFF COOPER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE Eleven years when Britain had no king. In 1649 Britain was engulfed by revolution. On a raw January afternoon, the Stuart king, Charles I, was...

Funerary rituals show us what people thought about mortality; how they felt about loss; what they believed came next. From Roman cremations and graveside feasts, to deviant burials with heads rearranged, from richly furnished Anglo Saxon graves to the first Christian burial grounds in Wales...

Bloomsbury presents Lion Hearts by Dan Jones, read by Ben Miles including a bonus interview with author Dan Jones and actor Genevieve Gaunt. THE GREATEST FIGHTERS HAVE EVERYTHING TO LOSE 1350 Three years on from the Siege of Calais: The Black Death has wreaked havoc in Europe. The Castilians are...

Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in 2003, the SAS launched one of the most intense and secretive operations in its history: Task Force Black. BBC journalist Mark Urban uncovers the sensational story of this operation and the extraordinary men who carried it out.

All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The 20th Century. Christopher Lee’s vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5.

Fintan O'Toole was born in 1958. His life covers Ireland's journey out of underdevelopment and domination by the Church, to the country's transformation into the relatively prosperous and tolerant society that it is today. But, along the way, there was a sectarian civil war in the North, which cast a dark shadow over the whole island, and bitter struggles for intellectual, civil and sexual freedoms. This is a very personal history by a writer who is considered by many to be the country's leading public intellectual.

No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller Best-selling author Tom Bower reveals the making of a monarch – King Charles III King Charles faces many challenges as he succeeds his mother to the throne. Despite his hard work and genuine concern for the disadvantaged, King Charles III has struggled in the past...

THE MUST-READ BOOK ON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FLASHPOINT A BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE, THE SPECTATOR AND DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Magnificent ... As exciting to read as it is important' Peter Frankopan 'Fascinating ... essential reading' Helen Thompson 'Alarming and uplifting' John Kampfner The...

'First-class. I read it with great interest and fascination.' – Jean Ritchie What drives seemingly ordinary individuals to commit unimaginable acts of evil? In the case of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, this question has haunted Britain for decades. Known as the Moors Murderers, this notorious...

FNH Audio presents a slightly abridged reading of this second volume of Charles Oman's military history classic. In this second volume, a detailed examination is made of the months January to September of 1809. The Talavera campaign is examined from both sides using reference materials from British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese sources. This book covers the entire Talavera campaign, from its inception right through to the near starved retreat of the victors from the field.

Brought to you by Penguin. Told for the very first time is the true story of the secret royal family. Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side - or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of...

At the end of the fifteenth century, Burgundy was extinguished as an independent state. It had been a fabulously wealthy, turbulent region situated between France and Germany, with close links to the English kingdom. Torn apart by the dynastic struggles of early modern Europe, this extraordinary realm vanished from the map. But it became the cradle of what we now know as the Low Countries, modern Belgium and the Netherlands. This is the story of a thousand years, a must-listen narrative history of ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury, and madness.

‘Grimly fascinating … engrossing’ Daily Mail NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION. In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but...

Bloomsbury presents Bagration 1944: The Great Soviet Offensive by Prit Buttar, read by Leighton Pugh. A fascinating history of the great summer offensive launched by the Red Army in 1944 which turned the tide of the war. Throughout the war on the Eastern Front, there were two consistent trends...

'Moore is wickedly charming - the naughty uncle you want to be sat beside at the dinner table' - Daily Telegraph Too often history focuses on the tales of kings, or those (often men) who were given the credit for shaping our stories. Yet, what fascinates most are the figures who have passed...

This audiobook includes archived recordings from interviews taken with Second World War soldiers, as well as an Introduction and Epilogue read by the author. 'Enthralling and enlightening . . . A wonderful look into the personal experiences, that heart and soul, of the fighting soldier towards...

Was the Battle of Hastings a French victory? Non! William the Conqueror was Norman and hated the French. Were the Brits really responsible for the death of Joan of Arc? Non! The French sentenced her to death for wearing trousers. Was the guillotine a French invention? Non! It was invented in Yorkshire. Ten centuries' worth of French historical 'facts' bite the dust as Stephen Clarke looks at what has really been going on since 1066....