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The personal and the political collide in this masterful account of the death of a dictator. When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, he had been the unchallenged leader of the...

This descriptive gazetter looks, town by town, at all surviving theatres built between 1750 and 1950. It makes assesments of their quality, architecturally and theatrically and also assesses the potential...

Adam Hart-Davis, one of the nations favourite TV presenters, returns to our screens with a tour through the Top Ten developments of each of the great civilisations of the past....

Clothing was hardly a practical necessity in North Africa and what is today the Middle East. Often a luxury item in these warm, humid climates, it became more essential as...

From acclaimed playwright and writer Barry Dickins, Last Words is the story of Ronald Ryan, the last man hanged in Australia. Fifty years after his death, questions remain unanswered. Ryan...

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 'I read it in a fever, swept up in the kind of rapture you fall into when your...

This richly illustrated book chronicles lighter-than-air flight from Archimedes' discovery of the principle of buoyancy to the latest in sport balloons and plans for future airships. Far more than a...

Now available in an affordable paperback format, "The Story of Opera" celebrates the 400-year history of opera. With separate chapters devoted to the great national schools of opera - Italian,...

World-renowned gemmologist, Helen Molesworth traces the journey of gems, showing how their remarkable stories are a sparkling new way of exploring the history of humanity. 'A gem of a book'...

A history of interest rates and the first book of the next financial crisis, shortlisted for the 2023 Hayek Book Prize All economic and financial activities take place across time....

The essential guide to the finest soaps in the world: how to choose them and how to use them. Features a comprehensive history of soap. Offers advice from spa experts...

Based on the author's series of 12 programmes broadcast on BBC Radio 3, this book fills a large gap in the literature of 20th-century music, being an account of the...

Authoritative and wide-ranging, this absorbing account of the history of theatre draws on the latest scholarly research to describe and celebrate theatre's greatest achievemenst over 4,500 years, from festival performances...

A nostalgic and humorous evocation of the days of local rep through the memories of those who worked in it. Many of today's best known actors pay tribute to rep...

Is death really the end? Do we each have a soul or spiritual essence that will journey on once the body has turned to dust? Will death appear as an...

From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the Watergate burglary, the most infamous crimes continue to hold public attention long after they were committed. History's Worst Crimes takes you...

The book also features contributions by Elizabeth Bartman, Brigitte Bourgeois, Jane Fejfer, Angela Gallottini, Sascha Kansteiner, Giovanna Martellotti, Orietta Rossi Pinelli, Peter Rockwell, Edmund Southworth, Samantha Sportun and Markus Trunk....

The only comprehensive history of the world's top football tournament, fully updated to include the 1998 competition in France. As well as vivid accounts of individual games (from the first...

A Centenary of Rugby League tells the complete, season-by-season story of rugby league's first 100 years in Australia. Rich in detail, anecdote, history, scandal and triumph, and illustrated by hundreds...

Acting the Right Part is a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. Xiaomei Chen situates her study both in the context of Chinese literary and...

The first human history of space travel - from the Apollo missions to our journey to Mars - by Britain's beloved astronaut From bestselling author and British astronaut Tim Peake,...

A powerful and urgent explanation and vindication of our human rights and freedoms Our human rights are endangered. After the devastation of World War Two the international community united to...

Setting Sail tells the 10,000-year story of mankind's quest to cross the world's oceans. It is a remarkable saga that moves from island to island, between nations, and eventually across...

An A-Z guide to warfare from the classical period to the present day, including the social, political, technological, and economic background of major conflicts. Entries cover people (military leaders, theorists,...

Special operational forces have been used since war began, and great reliance is laid upon them in the modern era. This is an illustrated account of the evolution and modern...

Inspiration for the major film starring Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal and Huma Qureshi and directed by Gurinder Chadha. Seventy years ago, at midnight on 14 August 1947, the...

A panoramic history of the Muslim world from the age of the Prophet Muammad to the birth of the modern era. This book describes and explains the major events, personalities,...

All but destroyed by over 100 years of waste dumped from the Mt Lyell copper mine into it, the King River is being remediated with the hope that following the...

Whether you are a stadium spectator or an armchair enthusiast, keep up with the action and drama at the 2004 Games. Packed with breathtaking sports photography, commentary and trivia-busting lists...

Oliver Rackham's book tells the many-layered story of the British landscape using landscape photography and a series of photographic essays, describing eight of the author's walks within areas of natural...

An evocative and richly illustrated exploration of flowers and how, over the centuries, they have given us so much sustenance, meaning, and pleasure "From the meaning of carnations in Sex...

DISCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE HEADLINES, THE REVELATORY ROYAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR From the Sunday Times bestselling author and Royal correspondent, Robert Jobson - with his extensive connections within...

This sweeping business history shows the dramatic movement of power from East to West, providing an expansive global view of choice moguls across various industries, including finance, transportation, communication, and...

Golf is a sport with a long history (reputedly starting in Scotland in the 13th century), outstanding figures, colourful characters, and many inspiring and humorous incidents. This serves both as...

This story of madness reveals the radically different perceptions of madness and approaches to its treatment, from antiquity to the beginning of the 21st century. Roy Porter explores what we...

Published in collaboration with the National Churches Trust, this fascinating book is a sumptuous and authoritative photographic history of churches in England, as told through the objects inside them. Arranged...

The story of the early athletes and Olympic bureaucrats who lit the flame for today's culture wars. In December 1935, Zdenek Koubek, one of the most famous sprinters in European...

The definitive account of Barack Obama's life before he became the 44th president of the United States - the formative years, confluence of forces, and influential figures who helped shaped...

Published in collaboration with the National Churches Trust, this fascinating book is a sumptuous and authoritative photographic history of churches in England, as told through the objects inside them. Arranged...