20th Century History

Ian Smith, former president of Rhodesia, spares few of his opponents as he gives a forthright account of one of Africa's most controversial political careers. Smith details his boyhood in...

The Holocaust - the murder of approximately six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators in World War Two - is the gravest crime in recorded history, committed on...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Daily Mail Music Book of the Year, 2024 An Observer Book of the Week 'I can think of no one better placed to tell...

Ever since its invention, aviation has embodied the dream of perpetual peace between nations, yet the other side of this is the nightmare of an unprecedented deadly power. A power...

Discover a treasure trove of enchanting dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa, in this beautiful new edition of the original gem at the heart of bestselling food...

Air Vice-Marshal 'Johnnie' Johnson was a character literally from the pages of "Boys' Own": an individual who became the RAF's top-scoring fighter pilot and wing leader par excellence of the...

In 1939 there were ten million Jews in Europe. After Hitler there were four million. Today in 1996 there are under two million. On current projections the Jews will become...

'A salve for our current reactionary times.' ANDREW HARTMAN From the streets of Petrograd during the heady autumn of 1917, to Mao's stunning victory in October 1949, and Fidel's triumphant...

Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America's Most Important Newspaper is an in-depth look at how The New York Times failed in its coverage of the fate of European...

Theodore Hamm uses the 1960 execution of Caryl Chessman as a lens for examining how politics and debates about criminal justice became a volatile mix that ignited postwar California. The...

The Joseph Roth revival has finally gone mainstream with the thunderous reception for What I Saw, a book that has become a classic with five hardcover printings. Glowingly reviewed, What...

Petain's Crime investigates the role of Marechal Philippe Petain in the persecution and mass murder of Jews under the Vichy government. It remains the definitive account of this 'hero' and...

James Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans--including FDR's grandfather, Warren Delano--who in the 1800s made their fortunes in the China opium trade. Meanwhile, American missionaries sought a myth: noble...

The most damaging spy network of the Cold War - the infamous Cambridge Spy Ring - was comprised of several powerful and influential British citizens, and one American, Michael Straight....

An incisive, authoritative account of the West's failures in Afghanistan, from 9/11 to the fall of Kabul In 1958, Richard Nixon described Afghanistan as "unconquerable." On 15 August 2021, he...

Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on...

After the Second World War, new international rules heralded an age of human rights and self-determination. Supported by Britain, these unprecedented changes sought to end the scourge of colonialism. But...

"I am a work in progress. There are times when I feel in control and like I know what I'm doing...and there are times (quite a few)(actually lots) when I've...

*The Irish Times No. 1 bestseller* *A Sunday Times best crime fiction of the year selection* *Winner of the Good Housekeeping Good Books Autumn Collection* 'One of the greatest twists...

'A METICULOUS HISTORY THAT READS LIKE A THRILLER' BEN MACINTYRE, TEN BEST BOOKS TO READ ABOUT WORLD WAR II An astounding story of heroism, spycraft, resistance and personal triumph over...

Bulgaria is arguably the historically most underrated Axis ally that actually fought the Allies during World War 2. Despite remaining outside the main battleground of the war, the Eastern Front,...

An important reckoning with Australia's unspoken history of slave trade. From the author of the bestselling books The Ballad of Abdul Wade and The Bravest Scout at Gallipoli As Australia...

The resources race is on. Powering our digital lives and green technologies are some of the Earth's most precious metals - but they are running out. And what will happen...

Aimee McHardy and William Bond enjoyed a racy and passionate life together long before they were married in January 1917. In her book she speaks of their pre-war vagabond existence,...

As one of the few decorative arts about which little has been written, japanning is today fraught with misunderstandings. And yet, in its heyday, the japanning industry attracted important commissions...

FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2025 'A brilliant personal account of China's borderlands and peoples' Francis Fukuyama 'Edward Wong is about as knowledgeable a guide to China as a reader...

The U.S. ruling class sold out America to China. Can Donald Trump destroy the alliance before it's too late? For half a century, America's establishment has forged an alliance with...

Cairo, 1942: If you had asked a British officer who Colonel Clarke was, they would have been able to point him out: always ready with a drink and a story,...

'Sensory and visceral from page one . . . M. L. Rio is a force to be reckoned with' JENNIFER EGAN 'The sleaze of the Stooges, the energy of the...

Children of Marx and Coca-Cola affords a deep study of Chinese avant-garde art and independent cinema from the mid-1990s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Informed by the author's...

In a series of legal battles starting in 1882, South Asian Muslims made up of modernists, traditionalists, reformists, Shias and Sunnis attempted to modify the laws relating to their places...

WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS WINNER OF THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD - BARBARA GITTINGS LITERATURE AWARD FINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES FICTION AWARD 'Stirring,...

*Shortlisted for the 2026 GORDON BURN PRIZE** 'Compelling, funny, intelligent . . . Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line is a remarkable piece of work.' Kerry Hudson, Observer 'Utterly...

From the bestselling author of Public Enemies and The Big Rich, an explosive account of the decade-long battle between the FBI and the homegrown revolutionary terrorists of the 1970s "A...

Hadley Freeman brings us her personalised guide to American movies from the 1980s - why they are brilliant, what they meant to her, and how they influenced movie-making forever. For...

In the eighteenth century, Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams greatly admired the Persian Empire, while Iranians regarded America as an ideal their own government might emulate. Beginning there, how...

A compelling novel about the requirement to be perfect, without losing sight of yourself - by the greatest feminist of the twentieth-century, Simone de Beauvoir. Laurence is a woman who...

Can music make the world a better place? Can it really 'belong' to anyone? Can the magic, mystery and incertitude of music - of the human brain meeting or making...

As a spokesman for a country, a continent and the developing world, Thabo Mbeki plays a crucial role in world politics, but to many people he is an enigma. Is...

How the determination of young pilots transformed the Corsair from an aircraft considered too dangerous to fly from carriers into a successful carrier fighter. "Despite everything I felt very lucky...

A brief walk through just about any bike shop or a quick perusal of today's popular auction Web sites reveals that one of the hottest trends among modern bicycle enthusiasts...

At the close of World War II, the Soviet Union controlled all of eastern Germany with the exception of the American, British, and French sectors of Berlin. In June 1948,...

Set on the eve of the financial crash of 2008, Barcelona Dreaming is made up of three stories that are linked by time and place, and also by the moving,...

First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear is revolutionary fashion designer Claire McCardell's collection of fashion wisdom and philosophy and a vivacious guide to looking effortlessly stylishClaire McCardell, the...

'As an exploration of the social fabric of Afghan life, this book takes some beating' Daily Telegraph 'A valuable addition to the canon of literature on Afghanistan ... [Seierstad] manages...

The Short Story of Contemporary Art is a must-read introduction to this exciting and important period, from bestselling author and art historian Susie Hodge. This fascinating pocket guide explains the...

Clear blue skies laced white with vapour trails of fighting aircraft... petrol-filled beer bottles in the garden shed to repel the panzers... streets deserted when the Prime Minister was on...

As Press Secretary to Mikhail Gorbachev, Andrei Grachev witnessed and recorded many events unobserved by the general public. In this book he recounts some of these episodes in detail, interpreting...