A new study into those pivotal moments around the striking of the iceberg, during which the fate of Titanic, and the 2,208 souls aboard, was realised At 11:40pm on 14 April 1912, Titanic collided wit..
Taking us from the beginning of our story to the present day, A Cold Spell examines how ice has shaped our thoughts, actions and societies - and what it means for us that it is rapidly disappearing fr..
'Fascinating and compassionate' Horatio Clare
The King of France - thinking he was made of glass - was terrified he might shatter...and he wasn't alone.
After the Emperor met his..
In the history of European revolutions, the barricade stands as a glorious emblem. Its symbolic importance arises principally from the barricades of Eric Hazan's native Paris, where they were instrume..
People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very di..
'Masterful and entrancing - this is big history at its best.' Professor Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors
'A real-life Indiana Jones takes readers on a dive through these underwater museum..
The way we remember the past today remains dishearteningly patriarchal: a place where women have always been oppressed by men, from ancient times to the present day. A History of Women in 101 Objects ..
The origin story of our modern oil age
Petroleum has always been used by humans- as an adhesive by Neanderthals, as a waterproofing agent in Noah's Ark and as a weapon during the Crusades. Its ex..
Taking readers on a global journey through human history, Natasha Tidd examines how lies can change the world around us, from Julius Caesar's deceptive PR machine to the cover-ups that caused Chernoby..
" An elegantly layered exploration of Europe's past and future . . . a multifaceted masterpiece."-The Wall Street Journal
"A lovely, personal journey around the Adriatic, in which Robert Kaplan ..
Agents of Influence reveals the secret history of an intelligence agency gone out of control, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western politics on a near-inconceivable scale. ..
A SUNDAY TIMES BEST FILM AND THEATRE BOOK OF 2022
'Anyone in love with the arts will fall in love with this beautifully written and fascinating book' - Kathy Burke
Astonish Me! is an adrenal..
This book explores how, far from being limited to deviation from known pathways or desirable plans of action, wandering is an abundant source of meaning - a force as intimately involved in the history..
The definitive biography of the world's most important body of water - the Atlantic.
One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world's tectonic plates led to the creation..
Too many popular histories seek to establish heroes, pioneers and martyrs but as Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller argue, the past is filled with queer people whose sexualities and/or dastardly deeds have bee..
A compelling illustrated account of history's most famous banned written works
Discover the stories behind the most shocking and infamous books ever published.
Censorship of one form or anot..
A revelatory historical indictment of the long afterlife of slavery in the Atlantic world
To fully understand why the shadow of slavery haunts us today, we must confront the flawed way that it en..
The definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster by New York Times-bestselling author Adam Higginbotham, based on fascinating new archival research and in..
We live in an age of class war. Rising inequality and the ever-increasing stakes of our brutal economic divide serve as constant reminders of this conflict. But this is no modern phenomena. Class war ..
Human-made climate change may have begun in the last two hundred years, but our species has witnessed many eras of climate instability. The results have not always been pretty. From Ancient Egypt to R..
Two leading authorities - a bestselling historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time - collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945.
Conflict is both a ..
Can anyone really own a culture? This magnificent account argues that the story of global civilisations is one of mixing, sharing, and borrowing.
It shows how art forms have crisscrossed continents ..
It shows how art forms have crisscrossed continents over centuries to produce masterpieces. From Nefertiti's lost city and the Islamic Golden Age to twentieth century Nigerian theatre and Modernist po..
The Darkening Age is the largely unknown story of how a militant religion comprehensively and deliberately extinguished the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in centuries of unquestioning adh..
'If great books encourage you to look at the world in an entirely new way, then Dominion is a very great book indeed . . . Written with terrific learning, enthusiasm and good humour, Holland's book is..
Economists in the Cold War is an account of the economic drivers and outcomes of the Cold War, told through the stories of seven international economists, who were all closely involved in theory and p..
Set amidst the unforgettable sights and smells of 18th and 19th Century Paris, Elixir tells the story of Edouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent, the son of a perfumer and a fellow aspiring chemist, who m..
An epic history of how the so-called 'barbarians of the steppes' shaped the modern world.
'This is a history of epic scope that brings together the empires of the steppe land with the caravan ci..
The barbarian nomads of the Eurasian steppes have played a decisive role in world history, but their achievements have gone largely unnoticed. These nomadic tribes have produced some of the world's gr..
Four writers. Four dictators. One world, changed out of all recognition. ENGINEERS OF HUMAN SOULS is an intimate and shocking shadow history of creative vanity in a time that turned writers - once the..
A journey through the great mass-extinction events that have shaped our Earth.
Drawing on the latest research, this timely and original book lays out the current scientific understanding of mass..
'Subtle, compendious and rich' - James McConnachie, The Sunday Times
'Dazzling ... Finlay's adventures, vividly recounted, make enthralling reading ... This book is equally an inspiration and an edu..
From the author of Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were..
A funny, revealing, myth-busting guide to all the history you thought happened but never actually did, from historical expert Jo Teeuwisse, better known online as The Fake History Hunter.
Fake ne..
It's been said that, after 9/11, the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic, we're a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces -..
A bestselling, groundbreaking reappraisal of medieval femininity, revealing why women have been written out of history, and why it matters, by Oxford historian Janina Ramirez.
THE INSTANT SUNDAY ..
"A beautiful, beguiling journey to the ultimate queer utopia" - Olivia Laing
"Clued-up but insatiably thirsty, poignant, packed with literary intrigue, Fire Island is a beaming beach read" - Jere..
A gripping account of 200 years of archaeological research, excavation and thought, told through the life stories of 70 of the world's greatest pioneers and practitioners.
Brian Fagan has assem..
Michael Palin recreates the extraordinary life and tragic death of a First World War soldier - his great-uncle Harry.
'An important historical record and a well-paced story in its own right, Grea..
Michael Palin recreates the extraordinary life and tragic death of a First World War soldier - his great-uncle Harry.
From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandf..
BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK: An intricate and personal history of watches and time from an extraordinary watchmaker and historian
'An exquisite book, as beautifully put together as one of ..
A glorious illustrated history of sixteen of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.
'An impeccable guide to the golden age of eccle..
A kaleidoscopic journey tracing the methods and means of visual communication from the cave paintings of the earliest humans to the 'photograph' of a black hole in deep space.
Since the beginni..
'In the beginning was the Word,' says the Gospel of John. This sentence - and the words of all four gospels - is central to the teachings of the Christian church and has shaped Western art, literature..
What is heritage? When was it invented? What is its place in the world today? What is its place tomorrow?
Heritage is all around us: millions belong to its organisations, tens of thousands volun..
Develops the tradition of heroization in women's history and challenges and develops from it using historical examples in an archetype framework - this is something students will find engaging
Wome..
We all know what was written in the history books. There are some stories we've heard a hundred times-but often our understanding of these events and people is narrow. Have you ever wondered about the..
Did you know that the history of the beard is connected to the Crimean War; that the history ofpaperclips is all about the Stasi; and that the history of bubbles is all about the FrenchRevolution? And..
A uniquely illustrated guide to the history of our world
Witness our incredible human story unfold - from the very first people in Africa to the collapse of Communism and beyond - exquisitely cha..
A concise and detailed chronological survey of world events from early human ancestors to the present day
Discover the world's most significant events through a detailed, dynamic, book-long timel..
From prehistoric times to the 21st century, the compelling story of world history may both surprise and inspire
This lavishly illustrated visual encyclopedia tells the story of our world in depth..