History

The History Files series presents the people, events and ideas that have shaped our world, through the lens of recent research. Each title covers a single topic and is illustrated...

'This pioneering and judicious history of foreign intervention in elections should be read by everyone who wants to defend democracy now.' Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny The definitive account...

'My son Jacques is telling my story. I always wanted to tell it myself but never could. Maybe my English wasn't good enough. I never had the courage. I never...

Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign seemed, at first, like a harmless joke: an eccentric billionaire's entertaining grab at free publicity. Since then, Trump has resisted every attempt to compartmentalise or...

The instant Sunday Times and Amazon charts bestseller"I found myself in the Auschwitz stables, and I felt an ember of hope. If I could make myself useful, helping these horses,...

Although China's great empire lasted for longer than any other, no country has suffered so great an imbalance between the fame of its art and obscurity of its history. The...

In July, 2009 amateur metal detectorist Terry Herbert made an incredible discovery. He was searching a field in Staffordshire with his metal detector when he stumbled upon the single greatest...

Secret Societies in one form or another have existed throughout the history of human culture. But what is their appeal? What is it that makes so-called respectable people indulge in...

This is the story of the friendships that defined one of America's most beloved Presidents. Chris Matthews, who has been following and studying the Kennedys most of his life, has...

Widely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Antony Sampson's remarkable book has been updated with an afterword by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby. Long after...

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly re-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny....

The first comprehensive political history of the communist party Vanguard of the Revolution is a sweeping history of one of the most significant political institutions of the modern world. The...

One thing you cannot deny about Donald Trump is that he speaks his mind... and the results are fascinating!Get to know how that mind works by reading his words. This...

Discover the stories of 100 women and men whose activities in the 19th century laid the foundations of modern China. Through telling the lives of one hundred significant individuals, this...

A revised edition of a compelling photographic history of Queen Elizabeth II's life and reign This book is a photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, from her first official photograph...

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL BIBLIOMANIACSA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND DAILY MAILA WATERSTONES BEST POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK Plunge into this rich and thought-provoking...

'A revolutionary book' Sunday Times'A pulsating account' Peter Frankopan*A SPECTATOR AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR*How did the People's Republic of China transform from a backwater economy in the...

'An extraordinary account of heroism and sacrifice. An unexpected and important story, rivetingly told. Rip roaring stuff. Get this into the paws of the sea dog in your life.' -...

*FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH*'I really can't recommend this enough - especially if you are going on holiday' Tom Holland'Delightful ... Lucy Lethbridge has written a glorious romp of...

**A Financial Times Best Book of 2023**'A moving love letter to Europe' Lea Ypi, author of FreeDrawing from the people who lived it, Homelands explores how Europe slowly recovered and...

When Operation Banner was launched in 1969 civil war threatened to break out in Northern Ireland and spread over the Irish Sea. Uncivil War reveals the full story of how...

In 1965 the white minority government of Rhodesia (known after 1980 as Zimbabwe) issued a unilateral declaration of independence from Britain, rather than negotiate a transition to majority rule. In...

**A Telegraph Best History Book of 2023**The inspirational story of the ordinary people who forged the documents that saved thousands of Jewish lives in World War Two.'Powerful ... gripping ......

A WATERSTONES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEARA major new history of England's turbulent seventeenth century and how it marked the birth of a new world'This is a wonderful book,...

This is the absorbing story of the handguns credited to Nambu Kijiro, the principal personal-defence weapons of the Imperial forces.Featuring full-color artwork and carefully chosen photographs, this book charts the...

Using first-hand accounts and rare and unpublished images, this highly illustrated title tells the full story of the German reconnaissance troops in World War II. When the Wehrmacht was first...

After the destructive decades following the fall of the Safavid Empire, the Qajar dynasty inherited a weakened state and the growing threat of European imperial powers, culminating in two wars...

'An illuminating glimpse of the chain reactions of human and physical geography.' Financial Times'A truly original adventure into new ways of exploring what we mean by a sense of place.'...

WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: HISTORYA groundbreaking examination of how the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn sent shockwaves across a continent and changed England forever.'In many places,...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUSI DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2022'This is a superb book.' - James HollandIn 1941 and 1942 the British and Indian Armies were brutally defeated...

Second Lieutenant Wilfred Owen was twenty-four years old when he was admitted to the newly established Craiglockhart War Hospital for treatment of shell shock. A nascent poet, trying to make...

'A gripping account. Essential reading to understand the roots of the 2011 Arab Spring and the conflicts that have devastated so much of the region' EUGENE ROGAN, author of The...

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...

Politics Home: Parliamentarians' Top Books for Christmas 2021'A must read for political geeks' - Saqib BhattiThere was a huge upsurge of global interest in US politics during the Trump presidency,...

An intimate history of the most important month of World War II, as experienced by the people who lived through it, completely based on their diaries, letters and memoirs.At the...

'[An] insightful analysis of 19th-century futurism ... Morus's account is as much a cautionary tale as a flag-waving celebration.' - DUNCAN BELL, NEW STATESMAN'[How the Victorians Took Us to the...

A humorous and informative guide to surviving history's most challenging threats, from outrunning dinosaurs to making it off the Titanic alive.History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs...

'A terrific book about a terrifying subject by the best historian of Russia working today' - Michael Burleigh, author of The Third ReichIn Blood on the Snow, Robert Service returns...

The first one-volume, complete history of Europe, as told by Europeans themselves, from Homo Erectus to the Celts, to Greek wisdom and Roman grandeur, all of the way to the...