History

Whether it's pumping oil, mining resources or shipping commodities across oceans, the global economy runs on extraction. Promises of frictionless trade and lucrative speculation are the hallmarks of our era,...

Half of all 7,000-plus human languages may disappear over the next century and - because many have never been recorded - when they're gone, it will be forever. Ross Perlin,...

'Illuminating, thoughtful and scholarly' FINANCIAL TIMES'Does a fascinating job of exploring the history of women's bodies' GREG JENNER'Mind-blowing, fascinating stuff' BBC WOMAN'S HOUR'Authoritative, rich and wide-ranging, this is an immensely...

'Remarkable . . . grippingly and humanely recounted.' PHILIPPE SANDS, author of The Last Colony WINNER OF THE 2023 RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD The story of leprosy is the...

An electrifying re-examination of one of the twentieth century's greatest unsung power players, from the bestselling author of A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE 'Supremely enjoyable . . . With a...

Kathleen Lonsdale was a groundbreaking chemist who was instrumental in developing the science of crystallography. She was also a midlife convert to Quakerism who campaigned for peace and prison reform....

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023WINNER OF THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023 A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF...

Big, bold and beautiful, this is the enthralling celestial follow-up to Mythologica: Amazon's No. 1 Children's Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2019.How did the moon influence mighty emperors in Ancient...

'A total joy to read.' SARAH BAKEWELL 'Thrillingly intelligent and original . . . A breakthrough in biographical form.' EDMUND GORDON 'A discerning literary biography and a page-turning whodunit.' LISA...

John Julius Norwich's France: A History From Gaul To De Gaulle chronicles the sweeping narrative of a nation that shaped Western civilization. This authoritative work presents a comprehensive account, tracing...

A Holocaust historian, archivist, and history blogger adds a new dimension to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II, shining a long overdue spotlight on five...

The No1 Sunday Times Bestseller A Waterstones Best Politics Book 2024 A Mail on Sunday 'Best Holiday Read 2024' 'A searing expose' Glamour 'A timely reminder of the dangers posed...

One of the government's former behavioural scientists reveals how you can do what you want, whilst everybody tries to influence you into doing what they want. Influence makes you think...

Big Tech has sold us the illusion that artificial intelligence is a frictionless technology that will bring wealth and prosperity to humanity. But hidden beneath this smooth surface lies the...

'Fascinating...a great historical military account and essential reading' John Volanthen, author of Thirteen Lives . 'Fascinating...a great historical military account and essential reading' John Volanthen, author of Thirteen Lives ....

The charismatic Fulvia amassed a degree of military and political power that was unprecedented for a woman in Ancient Rome. Married three times to men who moved in powerful circles,...

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...

27th November 1918, London. Just 16 days after the end of the Great War, with the nation on its knees, Billie Carleton takes to the stage for the last time....

FOREWORD BY SIR NICK CARTER, FORMER UK CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF How have the character and technology of war changed in recent times? Why does battlefield victory often fail to...

'A masterly engagement with the most delicate and important of subjects - filled with gentle empathy, learning and rare balance' Rory Stewart'Rogerson is an original - eloquent and always fascinating'...

"A superb biographical portrait and work of historical analysis Let us hope that it will serve if not as a manual then at least as an inspiration-good statesmanship is needed...

A rebellious new history of female friendship and timely reclamation of the 'bad friend'. Move over idealised BFFs, glossy gal pals and indestructible work wives. Meet the bad friends. The...

A revelatory history of the women who brought Victorian criminals to account-and how they became a cultural sensation Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize 2025 From Wilkie Collins to the...

The first global history of the epic early days of the iron railway Railways, in simple wooden or stone form, have existed since prehistory. But from the 1750s onward the...

A vital guide to poetry from ancient times to the present "[A] fizzing, exhilarating book."-Sebastian Faulks, Sunday Times, London "Delightful.'"- New York Times Book Review Poetry is language made special,...

A vibrant guide to the world of literature, from dramatic plays to engrossing novels Literature has inspired every civilisation, from Greek myth to today's graphic novels. John Sutherland, who has...

The thrilling story of archaeological adventure, and astonishing discoveries around the globe Archaeology tells the story of our ancestors: how they lived, what they believed in and how their cultures...

A lucid guide to humankind's greatest thinkers, from Aristotle to Peter Singer "A primer in human existence: philosophy has rarely seemed so lucid, so important, so worth doing and so...

The internationally bestselling guide to the extraordinary human story, for the curious of all ages The World has existed for over 4 billion years, but humanity arrived much more recently....

An accessible account of the history of economics through the ideas of great thinkers "A whistle-stop introduction to the great works and thinkers of each age, this is a clear...

An acclaimed economist's observations on four years of events that have shaped the world In this new volume drawn from his columns for the French newspaper Le Monde , renowned...

A rich and engaging guide to psychology, the science devoted to understanding human nature Psychology is the science devoted to understanding human nature. Its practitioners have long sought to understand...

What happened when Jane Austen's heroines and heroes were finally wed? Marriage is at the centre of Jane Austen's novels. The pursuit of husbands and wives, advantageous matches, and, of...

A superbly engaging guide to music around the world, from prehistory to the present Music excites and moves us perhaps more than any other art form. From a Neanderthal's bone...

An enjoyable, accessible exploration of the legacy of ancient Greece today, across our daily lives and all forms of popular culture Our contemporary world is inescapably Greek. Whether in a...

An incisive account of modern Spain, from the death of Franco to the Catalan referendum and beyond "Comprehensive and engaging."-Gideon Rachman, Financial Times Spain's transition to democracy after Franco's long...

A thrilling journey through 100,000 years of art, from the first artworks ever made to art's central role in culture today "This lively volume is ideal for the precocious high-schooler,...

A vivid new history of how medieval people around the world perceived the moon When they gazed at the moon, medieval people around the globe saw an object that was...

"A fascinating catalogue of the conditions and agency of ignorance"-Jeffrey Collins, Times Literary Supplement "A declaration of love for education"-Stefan Bauer, History Today "Dazzling . . . a deliciously knowledgeable...

The first history of childhood in Tudor England " Tudor Children is social history at its best. . . . By connecting with our own history as children, Orme invites...

How, for just over a century, Britain ensured it would not face another Napoleon Bonaparte-manipulating European powers while building a global maritime empire At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars,...

A lively reimagining of how the distant medieval world of war functioned, drawing on the objects used and made by crusaders Throughout the Middle Ages crusading was justified by religious...

A compelling, authoritative account of the brilliant, conflicted, visionary world of Tudor England When Henry VII landed in a secluded bay in a far corner of Wales, it seemed inconceivable...

Historian Sarah E. Bond retells the traditional story of Ancient Rome, revealing how groups of ancient workers unified, connected, and protested as they helped build an empire From plebeians refusing...

The first international history of the emergence of economic sanctions during the interwar period and the legacy of this development "Valuable . . . offers many lessons for Western policy...

The true history of tattoo as both art and profession in the West There is a pervasive stereotype of tattoo culture as relating to an underworld of scoundrels, sailors, and...

A major study of the collapse of the Soviet Union-showing how Gorbachev's misguided reforms led to its demise "A deeply informed account of how the Soviet Union fell apart."-Rodric Braithwaite,...

An eloquent call to draw on the lessons of the past to address current threats to international order The ancient Greeks hard-wired a tragic sensibility into their culture. By looking...