History - Page 1

Jerry White's long-awaited finale to his acclaimed history of London over 300 years, London in the Eighteenth Century describes how, after rising from the ashes of the Great Fire, England's capital city was very much a new city. The 18th century was one of expansion, scientific genius, blossoming reason, civility, elegance and manners and was also an age of starving poverty and exquisite fashion, of joy and despair and of sentiment and cruelty. Everything was complicated by class and this tremendous portrait introduces us to the men and women, shopkeepers and prostitutes, street-robbers and thief-takers as they play out the drama of the times.

A look into the unusual, unseen and downright extraordinary history of life at sea, Breverton’s Nautical Curiosities is a fascinating maritime miscellany. Terry Breverton includes interesting information on some naval admirals and inventors who shaped history, as well as providing a brilliant breakdown of naval slang and analysing how many old nautical terms have now become commonplace in everyday language. There are also sections on famous naval battles, amazing creatures of the deep and an analysis of how the oceans affect our weather.

Whether you're an armchair traveller or you're looking for inspiration for a great day out, Suzannah Lipscomb's A Visitor's Companion to Tudor England is a practical guide that will take you to palaces, castles, theatres and abbeys that uncover the true stories behind Tudor England. From Hampton Court to Hever Castle, this lively and engaging guide reveals the rich history of the era and invites you to visit the many places in which Tudors once lived, worked and played. A must for anyone interested in this fascinating period in history.

Accompanying his fascinating BBC TV show, Coast presenter Neil Oliver's A History of Ancient Britain shows how what archaeologists call prehistory accounts, in fact, for more than 99% of the story of humankind on the British Isles. The glorious hardback is a detailed and informative exploration of how our land and people came to be. Encouraging us all to look at and see old familiar landscapes in a completely new way, this is an astonishingly fresh and lively look at history that will appeal to fans of the TV show and anyone interested in Britain's background as well as those who enjoyed Oliver's A History of Scotland.

The Great Commanders Set brings together four books that cover the military giants of the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern world. The books describe the tactics Julius Caeser employed to defeat Pompey at Pharsalus, the qualities that made Atilla the Hun a strategist of genius and how the farmer Oliver Cromwell created an army that overthrew the king and changed the course of British history. The brilliant analysis in all four books also answers many other questions about the world's greatest military commanders.

A fascinating and deeply personal account of the Eternal City, told with great historical insight, Robert Hughes' Rome is a dazzling biography. An exhilarating and hugely informative journey, this engaging hardback traces the history of the Italian capital from its mythic foundation with Romulus and Remus to Fascism, Fellini and beyond. Wise and thought-provoking, this analysis of the city's culture and creative history is not to be missed.

Written by Francis Spufford, the award-winning author of I May Be Some Time and Red Plenty, Unapologetic is a brief, witty, personal and sharp-tongued defence of the Christian belief. A riposte to the bestsellers focused on New Atheism, the book sets out to argue that Christianity is a recognisable belief. A book for believers who are fed up with being patronised or for non-believers who are curious about how faith works in the 21st century, Spufford aims to show how Christianity can still make emotional sense to many.

The second volume in his masterful reference guides, Peter Ackroyd's The History of England: Tudors is both rich in detail and atmosphere and told in vivid prose. It tells the story of the transformation of England from a settled Catholic country into a Protestant superpower. The extensively researched book also tells of Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome and his pursuit of both the perfect wife and the perfect heir as well as how the brief reign of Edward VI gave way to the violent reimposition of Catholicsm and the stench of bonfires under 'Bloody Mary'. Readers will also find out about how the reign of Elizabeth I finally brought stability to the nation.