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£25.00
For over 10,000 years, we humans have been busy altering our environment and embracing ‘progress’, evolving seamlessly from hunter gatherers to the modern urban sophisticates we see ourselves as today. But what are the ideas and inventions that enabled humanity to become, by the early 21st century, a majority urban species for the first time? How did the essential infrastructure of modern life – the innovations that we barely even notice, but without which our world would fall apart – actually come to be? With his characteristic wit and boundless curiosity, Jonn Elledge invites us to join him on a fascinating and often surprising tour of the ideas and technologies that made modernity possible. From elevators to electric lighting, parks to pedestrian crossings, he guides us through the history of civilisation itself.
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£25.00
The Middle East has forever been the source of religions, prize of empires, spark-wheel of conflicts, well of radicalism and epicentre of our tumultuous world. No other region has such a hold on our imagination nor such a propensity to unleash mayhem. Yet few know its real history; fewer still understand its variety and cosmopolitanism, its complexity and interconnectedness. In ‘The Cauldron’, Simon Sebag Montefiore delivers a fresh and unique history of the entire region in all its diversity, from 1900 up to the present day. Taking the reader on a spectacular journey from the Ottoman sultanate to the Trump presidency, from Morocco to Iran, this is a dazzling panorama of faith and fanaticism, creativity and tolerance, dictatorship and democracy brought to life by an extraordinary cast of kings, warriors, poets, terrorists and peacemakers.
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The story of how English country houses were repurposed during the Second World War, told through the lives of those who lived and worked in themIn the Second World War, country houses across England were requisitioned by the government for the war effort. These homes opened their doors to evacuated children, were transformed into hospitals, and played host to training camps for the armed forces. The care of the estates was often left to young women and the elderly, who had to completely change the running of their homes to accommodate essential wartime activities.In this fascinating history, Judith S. Lewis explores the lives of country houses during the Second World War. Some homes were requisitioned for intelligence operations, like Audley End, which was used as the headquarters of the Polish Section of SOE, whereas others, like West Wycombe, were used to house artefacts of national importance. Examining the long legacy of the war, L
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The French have always loved to protest, to strike, to take to the streets in rebellion against the state or the status quo. But in the last few years, the level of anger and violence has taken many by surprise and the atmosphere has changed. The voices of hostility are not only from the extreme far-right, but from the ordinary French who feel excluded from the closed circle of wealth and privilege within the prospering cities. In this work, Andrew Hussey uncovers the past and present of the culture of the working class in France, a culture invisible to most tourists and ignored by the metropolitan classes.
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£14.99
In this revelatory and beautifully illustrated guide to a living tradition of rites and rituals, we journey through some of the gatherings that shape our year, challenge our understanding of the past, and give pattern and meaning to communities across Britain today.
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£12.99
A gripping account of East Germany in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and of one man’s fated struggle for freedom.
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An authoritative life of Harold II, the king who died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066Harold Godwinson is renowned as the king who lost England to the invading William the Conqueror in 1066. Infamous legends, invented by the Victorians, surround his life, corrupting our idea of him. But who was the real Harold II?In this major new biography, Tom Licence reveals the truth behind the nineteenth-century myths. Moving from Harold’s childhood and his adventures as an earl in Edward the Confessor’s court, to his nine-month reign and the bloody battles at its end, Licence rewrites the story of his life at every turn. We see Harold’s rupture with his family, his cultivation of alliances, and his political interventions at home and overseas. He seized the throne as a skilled political leader who was the prime candidate to unite a realm divided by rebellion. And, when war came to English shores, Harold managed the conflict as well as any command
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Bestselling historian and social media sensation Alice Loxton embarks on an epic walk, retracing the funeral route of England's most forgotten Queen and uncovering historical secrets along the way.
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A collection of the most personal aspects of Samuel Pepys’ diaries, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of their publication.
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** THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER **
ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING FINALIST 2026
A Best Book of the Year in the Financial Times, The Week, Spectator, BBC History Magazine, NPR, History Today, Waterstones and Daunts
‘A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian’ PETER FRANKOPAN
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£30.00
For thousands of years, humans have looked to the sky to make sense of the world. Long before astronomy became a formal discipline, observations of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars shaped calendars, navigation and systems of belief across many cultures. This book traces this global history, examining how societies developed the concepts and methods that allowed humanity to interpret the cosmos. It book uses infographics and maps to show how people throughout history have understood the universe and to consider what the future of space exploration might hold.
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Between 1931 and 1949, a series of crises broke out that threatened collective security, world order and the internal cohesion of states across the globe. At the heart of these crises was a world war that shook the foundations of global power, a watershed moment in the history of the 20th Century. ‘Collapse’ is the first volume of an authoritative trilogy that tells the story of the Second World War through this international lens, covering theatres of war in multiple continents and analysing worldwide trends. Through new sources in 14 languages and from over 50 archives across the world, Professor Jonathan Fennell examines the first part of this ‘long war’, from 1931-1942, and explores what it really meant to live through this violent time. Using an innovative approach which explores the personal alongside the political, the global alongside the local, he shows how a world that many considered civilised collapsed into barbarity.
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An epic, visceral history of the Romans in Britain, from Caesar's first invasion attempt in 55 BC to the fall of the Roman empire
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£22.00
We are in a cold war, but one unlike anything we’ve seen before. Influence, ignorance and ideology have been weaponised, with USA and China fighting on the global battleground to push their rival visions of the future. The world is splintering into two competing spheres of influence and it’s no exaggeration to say that we are potentially looking down the barrel of a gun towards global armageddon. Western leaders can no longer be complacent or passive, allowing foreign actors chip away at our political infrastructure and national security. The stakes could not be higher, but there is a path towards a brighter future. ‘Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three’ draws on a blend of big ideas, personal narrative, lessons from history and geopolitical insights to uncover the mindset and strategies that can build a peaceful global future.
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£25.00
In 1217, the crusader states were in a highly fragile condition. The Fourth Crusade had failed, and Jerusalem had not been recovered. The crusaders now set their sights on Egypt. If the breadbasket of the Mediterranean could be conquered, long-term Christian control of the Holy Land could be ensured. Led by the rulers of Hungary and Austria, and backed by the Knights Templar and Hospitaller, the Fifth Crusade was launched. Thomas Smith tells the gripping story of the crusade for Egypt. Looking at a wide range of Christian and Muslim sources, Smith sheds new light on the brutal reality of medieval combat on land and water.
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£12.99
America used to pride itself on ambition. Today, it looks stuck. Meanwhile, China has been busy building the future. Over the past six years, technology analyst Dan Wang lived through China’s astonishing, messy progress and the dissolution of its relationship to the West. In ‘Breakneck’, Wang offers a new framework for understanding China – which helps us to see global geopolitics more clearly too.
A History of the Sky in 300 Infographics 
