A startling and eye-opening look into America’s First Family, Never Caught is the powerful story about a daring woman of “extraordinary grit” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).When George Washington was elected president, he reluctantly left behind his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in Philadelphia, the temporary seat of...

The international bestselling author returns with an exploration of one of the grandest obsessions of the twentieth century'The Bomber Mafia is a case study in how dreams go awry. When some shiny new idea drops from the heavens, it does not land softly in...

Cook's great voyages marked the end of an era in world history. As he sailed into Hawaii in January 1778 he made contact with the last of the human civilizations to grow up independently of the rest of the world. But equally for the...

This series wil tell the amazing stories of inspiring people who have made a difference and changed the world, despite the odds stacked against them. They will detail the characters' humble origins, the obstacles standing in their way that had to be overcome, and...

Otherworldly, provocative, and strange, Audrey Niffenegger’s art is a vital a part of her vision as her bestselling novels The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry.  Awake in the Dream World is a mid-career retrospective of Nifffenegger’s work, reflecting her talent for cultivating a captivating narrative exclusively...

'This is a funny, pointed love letter to Texas, at once elegiac and clear-eyed' Ben Macintyre, The Times From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower, God Save Texas is a journey through the most controversial state in America. Texas is a Republican...

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZEONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALISTA major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful...

'Williams has chosen an engaging cast of characters; his collection is full of well-lived lives and grisly endings ... Consume it as a whole or dip in and out. Either way, he leaves you a lot wiser.' - Philip Aldrick, TimesOpinions vary about who really...

What was history's biggest empire? Or the tallest building in the ancient world? What was the average life expectancy in medieval Byzantium? The average wage in Old Kingdom Egypt? Where did scientific writing first emerge? What was the bloodiest ritual human sacrifice ever? We...

A scintillating history of one of Europe's most alluring cities. Granada is a deceptive city, concealing a layered past and a complex character. The last Muslim capital in Western Europe, over the centuries it has captured hearts and imaginations, inspiring countless myths and legends....

A Sunday Times top ten bestsellerShortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2023Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize for Non-Fiction 2023Shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed First Biography Prize 2023 ‘Masterly.’ Observer‘Wonderful, joyous.’ Maggie O’Farrell‘Frankly brilliant.’ Sunday Times‘Unmissable.’ Simon Jenkins‘Every page sparkles.’ Claire Tomalin‘A triumph.’ Matt Haig‘Stylish, scholarly and gripping.’ Rose Tremain John Donne...

In this new offering from Stanley Wells, the pre-eminent Shakespearian scholar, comes a Very Short Introduction to the life and writings of the world's greatest and best-known dramatists: William Shakespeare.Looking at his early life and education, Wells explores Shakespeare's social and intellectual background and the literary...

John Blair's Very Short Introduction to the Anglo-Saxon Age covers the emergence of the earliest English settlements to the Norman victory in 1066. This book is a brief introduction to the political, social, religious, and cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England and it is the most comprehensive...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN & NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERBLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023'Extraordinary ... a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries' TelegraphWhat was it really like to rule and be ruled in the...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROne of the 'Five Best Books to understand the Israel-Palestine Conflict', as chosen by the GuardianShortlisted for the 2020 Cundill History PrizeA Granta Book of the Year 2023'This cogent and compelling Palestinian perspective is long overdue' Guardian'Riveting and original ... a work enriched by solid scholarship,...

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ ChoiceA Public Books Best Book of the Year“A profound and optimistic call to action and reflection. For Piketty, the arc of history is long, but it does bend toward equality. There is nothing automatic about it, however: as citizens, we must...

Ancient Rome matters.Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship,...

The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more – or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering,...

FROM THE ORWELL PRIZE-WINNER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024'Palestine's greatest prose writer' Observer'A valuable read. As well as talking through the history, Shehadeh is reaching out to Israelis and searching for some kind of dialogue' Armando IannucciWhen the state of Israel...

A FINALIST FOR THE US NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2023 FOR NONFICTION'Profoundly personal as well as historically significant ... In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi' Hisham Matar, New York TimesAziz Shehadeh was many...

A Sunday Times must read book of 2019 'An out-of-this-world read ... brilliant and compelling. Morton is a high-octane British science journalist, and every chapter is littered with material that strikes, amazes or haunts ... this is a book filled not just with a...

With his well-known idiosyncrasies and aphoristic style, Friedrich Nietzsche is always bracing and provocative, and temptingly easy to dip into. Michael Tanner's introduction to the philosopher's life and work examines the numerous ambiguities inherent in his writings and explodes many of the misconceptions that...

Throughout history, there has been one quality that great leaders, makers, artists and fighters have shared. The Zen Buddhists described it as inner peace, the Stoics called it ataraxia and Ryan Holiday calls it stillness: the ability to be steady, focused and calm in a...

The classic personal account of Watson and Crick’s groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA, now with an introduction by Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind.By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won...

The people of Central Europe cannot be separated from European history; they cannot exist outside it; but they represent the wrong side of this history; they are its victims and outsiders.'In a moment of historic threat and uncertainty in mainland Europe, this collection, makes...

'This is a miracle of a book' George Lamming'Compelling. Stuart Hall's story is the story of an age' Owen Jones 'Sometimes I feel I was the last colonial'This is the story, in his own words, of the extraordinary life of Stuart Hall: writer, thinker...

Europe is facing its greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War, yet the institutions responding to it remain virtually unchanged from those created in the post-war era. Going beyond the scenes of desperation which have become all-too-familiar in the past few years, Alexander...

Why must we believe that God is dead? Can we accept that traditional morality is just a 'useful mistake'? Did the principle of 'the will to power' lead to the Holocaust? What are the limitations of scientific knowledge? Is human evolution complete or only...

*A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*AN INSTANT #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Humanity has transformed the Earth: Frankopan transforms our understanding of history' Financial Times'Vast, learned and timely work' Sunday Times_______________From the international bestselling author of The Silk Roads comes a major history of how a changing climate has dramatically...

'Spellbinding ... a pitch-perfect treasure' LoveReading4KidsSet your sails east with this stunningly original new history of the world.Peter Frankopan, number one bestselling author and historian, explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science and technology in this extraordinary book about how...

Is white privilege real? Does American history begin in 1619 or 1776? Why has left-wing antisemitism grown? How racist is the working class? Who benefits most, when anti-racists speak in racial terms?These very different questions have all emerged from today's heated debates around race,...

You should go to a street corner and get down on your knees and tell the whole world: "I have sinned."Raskolnikov is a poor student living in St Petersburg. Desperate to escape his poverty, he murders his pawnbroker and her sister, and flees with...

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. During his time as a lawyer in South Africa he developed his strategy of non-violence: the idea of opposing unjust...

Expert science writer Giles Sparrow guides you through 21 stars you can see in the night sky and what they can teach us about our universe. On a clear evening, if you look up you can see thousands of stars shining in the dark...

A pocket-sized guide to nearly 140 of Scotland's most dramatic castles and strongholds, all of which are open to the public.Historical background and architectural details for each of the castles, accompanied by a beautiful colour photograph. Includes the major sites of Edinburgh and Stirling,...

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER In twenty-one bite-sized lessons, Yuval Noah Harari explores what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment. '21 Lessons is, simply put, a crucial book' Adam Kay How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and...

From popular histories through to reworkings of classical subject matter by contemporary poets, dramatists, and novelists, the classical world and the masterpieces of its literature continue to fascinate readers and audiences in a huge variety of media. In this Very Short Introduction, William Allan...

Botticelli, Holbein, Leonardo, Durer, Michelangelo: the names are familiar, as are the works, such as the Last Supper fresco, or the monumental marble statue of David. But who were these artists, why did they produce such memorable images, and how would their original beholders...

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55), one of the most original thinkers of the nineteenth century, wrote widely on religious, psychological, and literary themes. This book shows how Kierkegaard developed his views in emphatic opposition to prevailing opinions. It describes his reaction to the ethical and religious...

Millions of Africans, Asians, and other peoples were the subjects of colonial rule by overseas empires through the mid-twentieth century. By the end of the century, however, nearly all of these peoples had become citizens of independent nation-states. The United Nations grew from 51...

Contemporary art has never been so popular - but what is 'contemporary' about contemporary art? What is its role today, and who is controlling its future? Bloody toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and embroidered tents. Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of...

Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner traces...

The ancient Near East is known as the "cradle of civilization" - and for good reason. Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia were home to an extraordinarily rich and successful culture. Indeed, it was a time and place of earth-shaking changes for humankind: the beginnings of...

Art history encompasses the study of the history and development of painting, sculpture and the other visual arts. In this Very Short Introduction, Dana Arnold presents an introduction to the issues, debates, and artefacts that make up art history. Beginning with a consideration of...

Postcolonialism explores the political, social, and cultural effects of decolonization, continuing the anti-colonial deconstruction of western dominance. This Very Short Introduction discusses both the history and key debates of postcolonialism, and considers its importance as a means of changing the way we think about...

From the beginning of time, humans have been driven by both a fear of the unknown and a curiosity to know. We have always yearned to know what lies ahead, whether threat or safety, scarcity or abundance. Throughout human history, our forebears tried to...

Spanning the divide between Europe and Asia, Russia is a multi-ethnic empire with a huge territory, strategically placed and abundantly provided with natural resources. But Russia's territory has a harsh climate, is cut off from most maritime contact with the outside world, and has...

A landmark of journalism and the art form of comics. Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s, this is a major work of political and historical nonfiction. Prior to Safe Area...

This second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution—when humans fell into a trap we’ve yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns. What if humanity’s major woes—war,...

The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. It had a population of sixty million people spread across lands encircling the Mediterranean and stretching from drizzle-soaked northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates in Syria, and from the Rhine to the North African...