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The British Transport Commission Group: Former Thomas Tilling Companies in the 1960s
This fascinating and informative book looks at the Tilling Group of bus companies during the 1960s. These operated approximately half of the inter-urban and rural bus services in England and Wales, and were nationalised by Clement Attlee’s Labour Government in 1948 under the control of the British Transport Commission. Ownership passed to the Transport Holding Company Ltd in 1963, though the fleets remained under Tilling Group control. During the period covered by this book, the operators within the group had very standardised fleets, with the vast majority of their buses and coaches having Bristol chassis and Eastern Coachworks (ECW) bodywork. This was a result of these manufacturers also having been nationalised and controlled by the BTC and THC. However, some Tilling Group operators still had earlier vehicles with, for instance, AEC or Leyland chassis, which were acquired prior to the requirement for them to buy only Bristol products, whilst some also had coaches with Bedford or Ford Thames chassis built in the 1950s and 1960s. Unlike the BET fleets throughout England and Wales, most Tilling fleets also had highly standardised liveries, either of red with cream relief, or green with cream relief for their stage carriage buses, or the reverse of this for their coaches. There were some exceptions, though. The most obvious ones were Midland General and Notts & Derby, whose livery was an attractive dark blue and cream; as well as the Royal Blue coaches of Southern and Western National and the maroon and cream coaches of Thames Valley subsidiary South Midland. All Tilling Group companies became part of the National Bus Company in early 1969, and before long their traditional liveries became just a memory when the NBC imposed standard red or green liveries. Throughout most of the 1960s, Jim Blake travelled to these operators and photographed their vehicles, and spent many summer Saturdays at London’s Victoria Coach Station, where their service buses as well as express coaches could be seen. He was fortunate to capture much of this changing transport scene on film, and presents some of these photographs in this volume. Many have never been published before.Read more
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World Religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam (KS3 Knowing Religion)
Provide students with a strong understanding of religion with high quality, engaging and content-rich resources building a firm foundation for the new GCSE 9-1 Religious Studies.
Deliver a rich, coherent RE course at KS3 and equip pupils with a deep understanding of religion with ready-made, flexible and high quality KS3 lessons.
‘Knowing Religion’ is written by an author team of experienced RE teachers and led by series editor Robert Orme of West London Free School.
- Discover the history and beliefs of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as well as these religions in the modern world
- Start teaching straight away with Teacher Guide resources available on Collins Connect, including teaching ideas and support along with answers to questions in the student books
- Give pupils the grounding they need to excel at GCSE RS
- Ignite an interest in religion through a compelling narrative, fascinating facts and extraordinary people
- Aid pupil memory with a ‘knowledge organiser’ at the end of each unit covering key vocabulary, people, places, and dates
- Spark discussion and assess understanding with questions for each lesson including longer-form discursive questions to provide extended writing and essay practice
- 16 lessons on each religion to offer flexibility and map onto the school timetable with ease
- The ‘Knowing Religion’ series also includes resources on Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Biblical Literacy
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Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind
‘If great books encourage you to look at the world in an entirely new way, then Dominion is a very great book indeed . . . Written with terrific learning, enthusiasm and good humour, Holland’s book is not just supremely provocative, but often very funny’ Sunday Times History Book of the Year
Christianity is the most enduring and influential legacy of the ancient world, and its emergence the single most transformative development in Western history. Even the increasing number in the West today who have abandoned the faith of their forebears, and dismiss all religion as pointless superstition, remain recognisably its heirs. Seen close-up, the division between a sceptic and a believer may seem unbridgeable. Widen the focus, though, and Christianity’s enduring impact upon the West can be seen in the emergence of much that has traditionally been cast as its nemesis: in science, in secularism, and yes, even in atheism.
That is why Dominion will place the story of how we came to be what we are, and how we think the way that we do, in the broadest historical context. Ranging in time from the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC to the on-going migration crisis in Europe today, and from Nebuchadnezzar to the Beatles, it will explore just what it was that made Christianity so revolutionary and disruptive; how completely it came to saturate the mind-set of Latin Christendom; and why, in a West that has become increasingly doubtful of religion’s claims, so many of its instincts remain irredeemably Christian. The aim is twofold: to make the reader appreciate just how novel and uncanny were Christian teachings when they first appeared in the world; and to make ourselves, and all that we take for granted, appear similarly strange in consequence. We stand at the end-point of an extraordinary transformation in the understanding of what it is to be human: one that can only be fully appreciated by tracing the arc of its parabola over millennia.
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£6.20£12.30Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind
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The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm
Winston Churchill’s six-volume history of the Second World War.Read more
£16.60£18.00The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm
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The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
‘A dream! I learnt something new and fascinating on every page’ Lucy Mangan
‘If you love words, the weird and the wild, I guarantee you’ll crouch over this book like a dragon over gold’ Meg Clothier
‘Endlessly fascinating’ – the Spectator
Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from the creatures in our fields to those in our fantasies, have remained the same since medieval times – but the words we use, and the ways we describe them, have often changed beyond recognition…
Old English was spoken over a thousand years ago, when every animal was a deor. In this glittering Old English bestiary we find deors big and small, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the good, the bad and the downright baffling. From walker-weavers (spiders) and grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to moon-heads and teeth-tyrants (historians still don’t know!), we discover a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friend, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants and where whales were as sneaky as wolves.
From the author of The Wordhord comes another delightful dive into the realm of Old English – words and creatures that will change the way you see the world.
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£12.30£15.20The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
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Nursing Through the Years: Care and Compassion at the Royal London Hospital
Nursing has always been a challenging but rewarding profession. As part of the core healthcare team, nurses take responsibility for the care they provide to patients, displaying both compassion and discipline in their daily work. Demanding professions require rigorous training, and nursing is no exception. As the real story to Call the Midwife , Nursing Through the Years is a unique book that spans eight decades to reveal the fascinating lives of nurses who trained and worked at The Royal London Hospital, serving the community of the East End of London. Having interviewed over 85 nurses, whose experiences span from the 1940s to the 2000s, this important account captures the memories of their time at The Royal London. Exploring each decade, the extent to which nursing has developed and changed, and the highs and lows of training to be a nurse in a renowned teaching hospital are recalled in detail. It is a treasure chest of recollections which are informative, entertaining, inspiring, enlightening and also controversial, often challenging the myths and misconceptions that continue to surround nursing today.Read more
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My Revision Notes: AQA AS/A-level History: The Cold War, c1945-1991
Exam Board: AQA
Level: AS/A-level
Subject: History
First Teaching: September 2015
First Exam: June 2016Target success in AQA AS/A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.
– Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner
– Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks
– Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities
– Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels
– Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers
– Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline
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If You Survive (Ivy Books World War II/Nonfiction): From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer’s Riveting True Story
“If you survive your first day, I’ll promote you.”So promised George Wilson’s World War II commanding officer in the hedgerows of Normandy — and it was to be a promise dramatically fulfilled. From July, 1944, to the closing days of the war, from the first penetration of the Siegfried Line to the Nazis’ last desperate charge in the Battle of the Bulge, Wilson fought in the thickest of the action, helping take the small towns of northern France and Belgium building by building.
Of all the men and officers who started out in Company F of the 4th Infantry Division with him, Wilson was the only one who finished. In the end, he felt not like a conqueror or a victor, but an exhausted survivor, left with nothing but his life — and his emotions.
If You Survive
One of the great first-person accounts of the making of a combat veteran, in the last, most violent months of World War II.
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£6.50£7.10 -
1945: Victory in the West
‘Magisterial . . . [a] fine, balanced and superb account. It deserves to be read for many years to come.’ TELEGRAPH
March 1945. Allied troops are poised to cross the Rhine and sweep on into Germany. Victory is at last within their grasp. But if they believe this victory can be easily won, they face swift disillusionment. The final I00 days of the Second World War will prove to be bitterly and bloodily fought, village by village, town by town.
This is the extraordinary and gripping story of those final I00 days.
_________________________________________________‘Superbly written and full of wisdom and deep understanding, this will stand as a defining work on these darkest months of the conflict.’ JAMES HOLLAND
‘This is the most vivid and detailed narrative of the subject that we are likely to see.’ MILITARY HISTORY MAGAZINE
‘An impressive work. Lively, informative and comprehensively researched.’ CAROLINE MOOREHEAD, SPECTATOR
‘An important contribution to military history. A great read and powerful reminder of how the Second World War in Europe was definitely not over until the final surrender.’ BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE
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£11.10£12.301945: Victory in the West
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This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2015
In the summer of 2009, the leader of the dreaded Tamil Tiger guerrillas was killed, bringing to a bloody end the stubborn and complicated civil war in Sri Lanka. For nearly thirty years, the war’s fingers had reached everywhere: into the bustle of Colombo, the Buddhist monasteries scattered across the island, the soft hills of central Sri Lanka, the curves of the eastern coast near Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and the stark, hot north. With its genius for brutality, the war left few places, and fewer people, untouched.
What happens to the texture of life in a country that endures such bitter conflict? What happens to the country’s soul? Samanth Subramanian gives us an extraordinary account of the Sri Lankan war and the lives it changed. Taking us to the ghosts of summers past, and to other battles from other times, he draws out the story of Sri Lanka today – an exhausted, disturbed society, still hot from the embers of the war. Through travels and conversations, he examines how people reconcile themselves to violence, how religion and state conspire, how the powerful become cruel, and how victory can be put to the task of reshaping memory and burying histories.
This Divided Island is a harrowing and humane investigation of a country still inflamed.
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The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge
UPDATED EDITION
A rousing and full-blooded account of the Spanish Civil War and the rise to prominence of General Franco.No modern conflict has inflamed the passions of both civilians and intellectuals as much as the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. Burned into our collective historical consciousness, it not only prefigured the imminent Second World War but also ushered in a new and horrific form of warfare that would come to define the twentieth century. At the same time it echoed the revolutionary aspirations of millions of Europeans and Americans after the painful years of the Great Depression.
In this authoritative history, Paul Preston vividly recounts the political ideals and military horrors of the Spanish Civil War – including the controversial bombing of Guernica – and tracks the emergence of General Franco’s brutal but extraordinarily durable fascist dictatorship.
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D-Day Through German Eyes: How the Wehrmacht Lost France
Everyone is familiar with the story of D-Day and the triumphal liberation of France by the Allies: a barbaric enemy was defeated by Allied ingenuity, courage and overwhelming military force, helped by dreadful German command errors and the terrible state of Wehrmacht forces in the West – but is this all true? The Wehrmacht was hugely experienced, equipped with some of the best weaponry of the war and was holding its own in Italy and Russia at the time. Berlin knew the invasion was coming and had had years to prepare for it. So how did the Germans view the impending invasion and campaign, did they feel ready, what forces did they have and could they have done better? Previous histories have focused on the ‘clash of the generals’; the battle between von Runstedt and Eisenhower, Montgomery and Rommel, but on the German side in particular this was a battle that would be fought by divisional and regimental commanders; the ‘German D-Day colonels’ upon whom the real business of trying to defeat the invasion fell – it was they and their men, outnumbered and outgunned, who somehow held Normandy for ten whole weeks against the greatest seaborne invasion force ever assembled, and occasionally even came close to defeating it. In the end they lost, and the majority of these unsung leaders ended up killed, wounded or captured in the fighting. As for their men, they ranged from élite Waffen-SS stormtroopers through to bewildered teenagers, old men, ‘recycled’ invalids and even anti-communist Eastern legions. Written from the ‘other side’ and told through the words of the veterans, this book is a revelation.Read more
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The Battle of the Beams: The secret science of radar that turned the tide of the Second World War
‘Deeply researched and engagingly written’ The Times
‘Has the pace and style of a well-crafted thriller’ Mail on Sunday
‘Chock full of memorable characters and written with all the drama and pace of a Robert Harris thriller’ Rowland White, author of Harrier 809The radio war of 1939-45 is one of the great scientific battles in history.
This is the story of that war.Relying on first-hand accounts as well as papers recently released by the Admiralty, The Battle of the Beams fills a huge missing piece in the canon of WW2 literature.
It combines history, science, derring do and dogged determination and will appeal as much to fans of WW2 history as to those fascinated by the science behind the beams that changed our lives.
The British believed that, through ingenuity and scientific prowess, they alone have a war-winning weapon: radar. They are wrong. The Germans have it too.
They believe that their unique maritime history means their pilots have no need of navigational aids. Flying above the clouds they, like the seafarers of old, had the stars to guide them, and that is all that is required. They are wrong. Most of the bombs the RAF will drop in the first years of the war land miles from their target.
They also believe that the Germans, without the same naval tradition, will never be able to find targets at night. They are, again, wrong. In 1939 the Germans don’t just have radar to spot planes entering their airspace, they have radio beams to guide their own planes into enemy airspace.
Luckily there was one young engineer, Reginald Jones, helping the British government with their own scientific developments. In June 1940, when Jones quietly explained the beams the Germans had devised to a room full of disbelieving sceptics, Churchill later described the moment as like sitting in the parlour while Sherlock Holmes finally reveals the killer. Churchill immediately supported Jones’s efforts to develop radar technology that went on to help the Allies win the war.
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Victorian Farm
No electricity, no gas, no flushing toilet … and no tractor! Could you survive a year on a Victorian farm? In this fascinating time-travelling experiment Lion Television, with the BBC, follow a team of historians who will spend a year recreating farm life in 1885. Accompanying the series, this book follows the team as they try to run a farm using only materials and resources that would have been available to them in the Victorian era.This was a crucial period in the history of Britain – rapid industrialization had radically changed life in the cites but rural communities used a mixture of centuries-old and pioneering modern practices. Packed with informative text and photographs from the farm year, this book reveals exactly what the Victorians, ate, wore, how they managed their animals, farmed the land and organised their lives. In-depth features describe revolutionary advances in more detail, including new inventions, new breeding methods and advances in agricultural science. Practical projects allow you to join the historians in rediscovering Victorian crafts, cookery and homecare.
Providing a real insight into life on a Victorian farm, this series is also a fascinating reminder of how history comes full circle. The organic diet of 1885, use of natural products for cleaning and healthcare and interests in crafts and gardening are of increasing relevance today as we look for a more responsible way of living over 120 years later.
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£3.60Victorian Farm
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Death, Disease & Dissection: The Life of a Surgeon-Apothecary 1750–1850
“A deep dive into the education and lives of a medical professional’s life over the span of 100 years . . . A good addition to any medical historian’s library” (The Lazy Historian).
Imagine performing surgery on a patient without anesthetic or administering medicine that could kill or cure. Welcome to the world of the surgeon-apothecary.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, significant changes occurred in medicine. New treatments were developed and medical training improved. Yet, with doctors’ fees out of the reach of ordinary people, most relied on the advice of their local apothecary, among them, the poet John Keats, who worked at Guy’s Hospital in London. These men were the general practitioners of their time, making up pills and potions for everything from toothache to childbirth.
Death, Disease & Dissection examines the vital role these men played within their communities, their training, the treatments they offered, the quacks, and the shocking sights and sounds in hospitals and operating theaters of the time. Suzie Grogan transports readers through 100 years of medical history, exploring the impact of illness and death and bringing the experiences of the surgeon-apothecary vividly to life.
“I think the author has done a wonderful job of researching the topic and presenting the history of the profession, and biographical information on some of the most influential Surgeon-Apothecaries of the period. . . . This book is well organized and full of fascinating information on the topic.” —A Line from a BookRead more
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A Brief History of the Dynasties of China (Brief History) (Brief Histories)
Although China’s great empire lasted for longer than any other, no country has suffered so great an imbalance between the fame of its art and obscurity of its history. The names of the great dynasties are familiar, yet who can actually locate a T’ang horse or a Ming vase in its social or cultural context?
By focusing on the key colourful characters of the eight major dynasties, Bamber Gascoigne brings to life 3500 years of Chinese civilization. His bird’s-eye view starts on the borders of myth. It moves swiftly on to the greatest achievements of language and thought, the cultural treasures and imperial palaces, wars won and lands lost to the Mongols, finally to arrive at the 1912 Revolution, which contained within it the seeds of Communism that ensured the overthrow of the last emperor. Via this portrait of an empire and its peoples he has opened the door to a world for too long inaccessible to the West.
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No More Secrets: My part in codebreaking at Bletchley Park and the Pentagon
‘Engaging’ Daily Telegraph
The true and extraordinary story of one of the last surviving women to have worked in codebreaking at both Bletchley Park and the Pentagon.
Born one hundred years ago, Betty Webb MBE, LOH (Legion of Honour) has had a ringside seat to history. After graduating from school, she faced the usual limited opportunities for employment on offer to women at the time. However, with the war in full swing, fate intervened and in 1941, wanting to play her part in the war effort, Betty joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (Women’s Army).
After being interviewed by an intelligence officer, she found herself at Euston station with her kit-bag, a travel warrant in her pocket and instructions to get off the train at Bletchley Park.
Between 1941 and 1945 Betty played a vital role in the top-secret efforts being made to decipher the secret communications of the Germans and later the Japanese. In 1945, as other members of the forces returned home from the war in Europe, she was sent to the Pentagon and was in Washington DC when the atomic bombs fell and when Eisenhower announced the end of the war.
Betty was unable to reveal the true nature of her work, even to her parents, until years later. In this fascinating book, she revisits the key moments of her life and recounts the incredible stories from her time at Bletchley Park.
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£4.80£9.50 -
The Ritz London: The Cookbook
AS SEEN ON TV
As featured on ITV’s ‘Inside the Ritz’ series
‘When you look at the dishes in this book, the photographs – it’s beyond beautiful. You wouldn’t need to cook a thing. You could just flick through these pages – it is a proper feast for the eyes.’ - Graham Norton
‘As sumptuous as Williams’s exquisite cooking, this is a magnificent volume. And a fitting tribute to one of the world’s great restaurants. The recipes aren’t simple but this is one of those books to immerse yourself in. Five-star brilliance.’ – Tom Parker Bowles, Mail on Sunday
‘Less a classic cookbook than a contemporary guide to gracious living… Subdividing its contents into four seasons, each is introed with a classic cocktail, and there are contributions from The Ritz’s stellar staff. But really this is Williams’s show, a masterclass in munificence…’ – British GQ
‘A real tour de force … Definitely the stand-out recipe book of the year for me.’ – The Caterer
‘John Williams’s food at the Piccadilly institution is revered. Now it has brought out the cookbook so you can recreate the magic at home.’ – ES Magazine
‘Part technical recipe book, part memoir. There are Williams’s memories of growing up in South Shields, the son of a trawlerman, who accompanied his mother on shopping trips to the butcher and developed a precocious taste for tripe and Jersey Royals. As for the recipes, certain classics are within the range of the dinner-party cook (salt-baked celeriac, for instance, or venison Wellington).’ – Telegraph
‘A work of art, full of recipes exactly as they are made in the Ritz kitchen, beautifully photographed by John Carey. Marvel at the sheer amount of work and skill that goes into each dish, the processes and the perfectionism – and maybe start with the recipe for scones on page 112.’ – hot-dinners.com
‘… As an exemplar of classic and timeless dishes, it is an invaluable book that lets the reader peer behind the screen of one of the capital’s most enduring institutions. For Williams’ anecdote on the eating habits of the late Margaret Thatcher, it is worth the cover price alone.’ – Big Hospitality
‘Distinctive cookbook… This upscale offering is wholly in keeping with its subject: elegant, carefully studied, and more aspirational than practical.’ – Publishers Weekly
The Ritz: The Quintessential Cookbook is the first book to celebrate recipes of the dishes served today, at lunch and at dinner. The book features 100 delicious recipes, such as Roast scallops bergamot & avocado, Saddle of lamb belle époque and Grand Marnier Soufflé, and is divided into the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
The recipes reflect the glorious opulence and celebratory ambience of The Ritz; seasonal dishes of fish, shellfish, meat, poultry and game. Desserts include pastries, mousses, ice creams and spectacular, perfectly-risen soufflés. There are recipes that are simple and others for the more ambitious cook, plus helpful tips to guide you at home.
Along the way, John Williams shares his culinary philosophy and expertise. For any cook who has wondered how they do it at The Ritz, this book will provide the answers. There will be plenty of entertaining tales about the hotel and unique glimpses of London’s finest kitchen beneath ground.
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£28.50£38.00The Ritz London: The Cookbook
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Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
Now in paperback, the #1 New York Times bestselling chronicle of the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty, from CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper and historian and novelist Katherine Howe.
One of the Washington Post’s Notable Works of Nonfiction
When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers—the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius’s grandson and namesake had built—the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all.
Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family’s empire, basked in the Commodore’s wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other.
Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.
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£11.40£12.30Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
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Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI
WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FACT CRIME
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION
**SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE STARRING LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND ROBERT DE NIRO**‘A riveting true story of greed, serial murder and racial injustice’ JON KRAKAUER
‘A fiercely entertaining mystery story and a wrenching exploration of evil’ KATE ATKINSON
‘A fascinating account of a tragic and forgotten chapter in the history of the American West’ JOHN GRISHAMFrom the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, now a major film starring Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller and Robert Pattison, and the Number One international bestseller The Wager, comes a true-life murder story which became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations.
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions and sent their children to study in Europe.
Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. But the bureau badly bungled the investigation. In desperation, its young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. Together with the Osage he and his undercover team began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
‘David Grann has a razor-keen instinct for suspense’ LOUISE ERDRICHRead more
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Mosquito: The RAF’s Legendary Wooden Wonder and its Most Extraordinary Mission
‘No dry history, Mosquito reads like a thriller… this outstanding book is hard to put down… Unreservedly recommended’ Aviation Historian
‘White immerses the reader in the action from the first page. A must read choice for total aviation people everywhere’ Flight International
‘A captivating history… Rowland White uses the history of these operations to weave stories of courage and fortitude into the story of a great machine’ Daily Telegraph
_________________________________Built of lightweight wood, powered by two growling Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, impossibly aerodynamic, headspinningly fast and armed to the teeth, the de Havilland Mosquito was the war-winning wonder that should never have existed: the aircraft the RAF didn’t think it wanted then couldn’t do without.
Flying on operations barely eighteen months after a single prototype was ordered off the drawing board, it was the answer to its pilots’ prayers: a stunningly versatile warplane capable of leaving the Luftwaffe in its wake to attack when and where the enemy was least expecting it.
Excelling as a spyplane, night-fighter and pathfinder for Bomber Command’s heavies the Mossie’s reputation was cemented by a series of daredevil bombing raids across occupied Europe, including on Berlin itself, where only surprise, speed and precision could ensure success.
So when Churchill’s top secret Special Operations Executive needed to destroy the Gestapo HQ in the centre of downtown Copenhagen to prevent a devastating Nazi last stand that might prolong the war for many months, there was only one machine for the job – the Mosquito.
This is the story of that legendary aircraft told through that one impossible mission.
Like Rowland White’s previous books, Mosquito is an unputdownable mix of utterly compelling storytelling, incredible human stories and fascinating technological detail, which sheds never-before-told light on a pivotal mission that helped bring the war to its bloody and brutal close.
_________________________________Praise for Mosquito
‘Wonderful detail, intricate research and most importantly, powerful & moving human testimony, ensure the reader is gripped from the first page to the last by this incredible story’ John Nichol
‘Stunning… This is history as it should be written: adrenaline-charged, exciting, impeccably and painstakingly researched with a cast of vividly-drawn characters. Riding through it is among the greatest, most extraordinarily brilliant aircraft of them all: the Mosquito. One of the most gripping works of history I’ve ever read’ James Holland
‘Weaving together the story of its evolution with vivid accounts of the crews that flew it and the Special Operations Executive on the ground, Mosquito is both a tribute to the finest aircraft Britain produced during the war and a page-turning thriller about its use as the world’s first precision aerial weapon’ Tom Petch, author of Speed Aggression Surprise: The Secret Origins of the SAS
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Jews Don’t Count: Sunday Times Paperbacks of the Year 2022
How identity politics failed one particular identity.
‘a must read and if you think YOU don’t need to read it, that’s just the clue to know you do.’ SARAH SILVERMAN
‘a masterpiece.’
STEPHEN FRYJews Don’t Count is a book for people on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. People, possibly, like you.
It is the comedian and writer David Baddiel’s contention that one type of racism has been left out of this fight. In his unique combination of reasoning, polemic, personal experience and jokes, Baddiel argues that those who think of themselves as on the right side of history have often ignored the history of anti-Semitism. He outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don’t count as a real minority.David Baddiel’s book ‘The God Desire’ was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 17-04-2023.
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The Very British Problems Quiz Book
What does ‘custard and jelly’ mean in cockney rhyming slang?
Which biscuit has half of its name on top of the cooker and the other half on the door?
And 25 million of what drink are served by British Airways each year?
We Brits can’t get enough of a quiz. Stumped for office party chit-chat? Quiz. Midweek visit to the pub? Quiz. Stuck inside in pyjamas on a rainy night and in the mood to cause a big family argument? You got it – quiz.
This book is correspondingly filled with questions on all things wonderfully and unequivocally British – you’ll find all sorts of tickly teasers, complex conundrums, worrisome word searches and much more on topics ranging from our iconic weather to types of cake. Best enjoyed with a cup of tea and your favourite biscuit(s).
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ANSWERS: Telly, Hobnob, buy the book and find out!
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Praise for Very British Problems
‘Had us guffawing into our Earl Grey tea’ Bella
‘My favourite twitter account at the moment is Very British Problems (@soverybritish) . . . it makes me laugh out loud’ Tom Hiddleston
‘Hilarious’ Daily Express
‘Temple pays affectionate and comic homage to the sheer quirkiness of being British’ Good Book GuideRead more
£8.70£9.50The Very British Problems Quiz Book
£8.70£9.50 -
Philip Larkin: Collected Poems
Since its publication in 1988, Philip Larkin’s Collected Poems has become essential reading on any poetry bookshelf. This new edition returns to Larkin’s own deliberate ordering of his poems, presenting, in their original sequence, his four published books: The North Ship, The Less Deceived, The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows. It also includes an appendix of poems that Larkin published in other places, from his juvenilia to his final years – some of which might have appeared in a late book, if he had lived.
Preserving everything that he published in his lifetime, this new Collected Poems returns the reader to the book Larkin might have intended: it is, for the first time, Larkin’s ‘own’ collected poems.
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£11.30£14.20Philip Larkin: Collected Poems
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On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War (Cambridge Military Histories)
Was the outcome of the First World War on a knife edge? In this major new account of German wartime politics and strategy Holger Afflerbach argues that the outcome of the war was actually in the balance until relatively late in the war. Using new evidence from diaries, letters and memoirs, he fundamentally revises our understanding of German strategy from the decision to go to war and the failure of the western offensive to the radicalisation of Germany’s war effort under Hindenburg and Ludendorff and the ultimate collapse of the Central Powers. He uncovers the struggles in wartime Germany between supporters of peace and hardliners who wanted to fight to the finish. He suggests that Germany was not nearly as committed to all-out conquest as previous accounts argue. Numerous German peace advances could have offered the opportunity to end the war before it dragged Europe into the abyss.Read more
£19.00£23.80 -
Raiders from the Sea: The Story of the Special Boat Service in WWII
The Special Boat Service was a small force during World War II, never more than about 300 men. But that did not stop it from inflicting great damage on the enemy. In the Mediterranean arena and in the Aegean, which the Germans controlled after the fall of Greece and Crete, this small commando force kept up a constant campaign of harassment, thus pinning down enemy forces and preventing their joining other fronts. They travelled by night to their targets, using submarines, small surface vessels or canoes, with the commanders of the vessels often putting themselves in danger in order to help the men carry out their dangerous and secret missions. They were reliant on the co-operation of the fiercely independent Greeks and in particular the Cretans, all working together in their common objective against the German invaders. John Lodwick took part in the SBS Mediterranean campaign and writes from personal experience with the panache and verve of the squadron itself. For it is more than the story of the remarkable men who made up the force: men such as Anders Lassen, ‘the Dreadful Dane’ who was awarded a posthumous VC, Fitzroy Maclean, Eric Newby, Jock Lapraik, and Lord Jellicoe, who commanded the squadron for almost two years and who contributed a memorable foreword to this memoir. Strong, determined individuals, together the men of the Special Boat Service formed a deadly, cohesive fighting force which contributed much to the war in the Mediterranean and to whom John Lodwick’s book is an excitingly readable tribute.Read more
£11.60£14.20 -
Landmark Thucydides
Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta “a possession for all time,” and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition.Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom.
However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography, Thucydides’ narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted—such as brief biographies of the story’s main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions of ancient Greece.
Robert Strassler’s new edition amends these omissions, and not only provides a new coherence to the narrative overall but effectively reconstructs the lost cultural context that Thucydides shared with his original audience. Based on the venerable Richard Crawley translation, updated and revised for modern readers, The Landmark Thucydides includes a vast array of superbly designed and presented maps, brief informative appendices by outstanding classical scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory marginal notes on each page, an index of unprecedented subtlety and depth, and numerous other useful features. Readers will find that with this edition they can dip into the text at any point and be immediately oriented with regard to the geography, season, date, and stage of the conflict.
In any list of the Great Books of Western Civilization, The Peloponnesian War stands near the top. This handsome, elegant, and authoritative new edition will ensure that its greatness is appreciated by future generations.
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£26.30£33.30Landmark Thucydides
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Cold War: For Forty-five Years the World Held its Breath
Cold War is the story of the half-century since the end of the Second World War – the story of our lives. Its framework is the confrontation, military and ideological, between two great powers that dominated the world during these years. It is a story of crises and conflict on a global scale: from the Berlin Blockade and the Cuban Missile Crisis, to the tanks in the streets of Warsaw, Budapest and Prague, to spies, student riots and encounters in space.
In Cold War, Jeremy Isaacs and Taylor Downing record epic history through the detail of individual human experience: the recollections not only of statesmen whose decisions led to these momentous events, but also of the ordinary men and women whose lives were bound up in these years of conflict. Cold War is the first comprehensive history for the general reader to benefit from the recent opening of Soviet, East European and Chinese archives as well as formerly classified American documents. In a driving narrative that it both gripping and informative, the true story of the Cold War can at last be told.Read more
£12.90£14.20 -
The Peloponnesian War (Oxford World’s Classics)
‘The greatest historian that ever lived’Such was Macaulay’s verdict on Thucydides (c.460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War, the momentous struggle between Athens and Sparta as rival powers and political systems that lasted for twenty-seven years from 431 to 404 BC, involved virtually the whole of the Greek world, and ended in the fall of Athens. Thucydides himself was a participant in the war; to his history he brings an awesome intellect, brilliant narrative, and penetrating analysis of the nature of power, as it affects both states and individuals.
Of his own work Thucydides wrote: ‘I shall be content if [my history] is judged useful by those who will want to have a clear understanding of what happened – and, such is the human condition, will happen again … It was composed as a permanent legacy, not a showpiece for a single hearing.’ So it has proved. Of the prose writers of Greece and Rome Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. This new edition combines a masterly translation with comprehensive supporting material.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Read more
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The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram: A Compelling Story of Courage and Endurance in the Second World War
A genuinely new Second World War story, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram by David M. Guss is a riveting account of the wartime exploits of the Scotsman. It is a tale of courage in the face of extraordinary odds and a testament to one man’s dogged determination never to give up.
‘The greatest serial escaper of the Second World War’ – The Times
‘Endlessly fascinating. Cram’s story sizzles with adventure’ – Giles Milton, Sunday Times
In November 1941 Lt Alastair Cram was taken prisoner in North Africa as a devastating tank battle unfolded as Operation Crusader struggled to relieve Tobruk. His capture began a four year-long odyssey as he passed through twelve different POW camps, three Gestapo prisons and one asylum. Determined to regain his freedom, he became a serial escapee fleeing his captors no fewer than twenty-one times.
The most dramatic of these attempts was from Gavi, the ‘Italian Colditz’. This maximum-security prison built inside a thousand year old stone fortress was for the pericolosi, those classified as the ‘most dangerous’ prisoners due to their unrelenting desire to escape. It was here that Alastair met David Stirling, the legendary founder of the SAS, and cooked up the plan for the ‘Cistern Tunnel’, one of the most audacious but little-known mass escape attempts of the entire war.
______________‘Fascinating’ – Daily Express
‘An enthralling portrait of true courage’ Sunday Express S Magazine
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£8.70£9.50 -
The Times Second World War: The history of the global conflict from 1939 to 1945
The perfect gift for history fans.
Follow the conflict of World War 2 from 1939 to 1945 through a unique collection of historical maps, expert commentary and photographs. Published in association and including material from the archives of the Imperial War Museum, London.
Over 200 photographs and maps from the archives of The Imperial War Museum tell the story of how this global war was fought.
Descriptions of key historical events accompany the illustrations, giving a fascinating history of the war from an expert historian.
Key topics covered include
• 1939: Invasion of Poland
• 1940: German invasion of Low Countries & France
• 1940: Battle of Britain & German invasion threat
• Dec 1941: Pearl Harbor
• 1942: Turning points: Midway, Alamein, Stalingrad
• 1941-45: Barbarossa and the Eastern Front
• The War at Sea
• The advances to Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad
• The War in the Air
• 1944: Neptune & Overlord; D-Day & liberation of FranceRead more
£19.00£23.80 -
GCSE History Edexcel Topic Guide – Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-1991: for the 2024 and 2025 exams (CGP Edexcel GCSE History)
Perfect for achieving the best grades in 2024 and 2025. From CGP ― the GCSE experts!
For Edexcel 9-1 GCSE History exam success don’t miss CGP’s brilliant Topic Guide covering Superpower relations and the Cold War (1941-91). It’s packed with crystal-clear revision notes, heaps of activities and exam-style questions (with answers) for students to test their understanding of the topic and the skills they’ll need for the Period Study section of the exam. Our handy worked answers and advice mean students can walk into the exam feeling confident they know what good answers look like. Plus there are exam tips throughout the book.
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£6.20 -
Burma ’44: The Battle That Turned Britain’s War in the East
‘A thrilling blow-by-blow account’ The Times
‘A first-rate popular history of a fascinating and neglected battle… a veritable page-turner’ BBC HistoryIn February 1944, a rag-tag collection of clerks, drivers, doctors, muleteers, and other base troops, stiffened by a few dogged Yorkshiremen and a handful of tank crews managed to hold out against some of the finest infantry in the Japanese Army, and then defeat them in what was one of the most astonishing battles of the Second World War.
What became know as The Defence of the Admin Box, fought amongst the paddy fields and jungle of Northern Arakan over a fifteen-day period, turned the battle for Burma. Not only was it the first decisive victory for British troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. The lessons learned in this tiny and otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East, set up the campaign in Burma that would follow, as General Slim’s Fourteenth Army finally turned defeat into victory.
Burma ’44 is a tale of incredible drama. As gripping as the story of Rorke’s drift, as momentous as the battle for the Ardennes, the Admin Box was a triumph of human grit and heroism and remains one of the most significant yet undervalued conflicts of World War Two.
The new, sweeping World War II book from James Holland, THE SAVAGE STORM, is available for pre-order now.
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£7.30£10.40 -
Spitfire The History Of A Legend
THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN The Supermarine Spitfire was developed by R.J. Mitchell and his team for just one reason to intercept and shoot down enemy bombers from British skies. Lauded by the Chairman of Vickers as a real killer fighter , the Spitfire was so advanced that it proved a huge challenge to the British aviation industry. The project ran so late that it only began to arrive in significant numbers even as the Battle of Britain was beginning. It was during the Battle of Britain in 1940 that the Spitfire became an enduring legend and a symbol of the British fighting spirit, partnering with the Hawker Hurricane to defeat the might of Hitler s Luftwaffe and prevent invasion. From 1942-3 onwards, it would range and fight around the world, from Malta and North Africa to Soviet Russia and Burma, often taking on new roles like ground attack and bomber escort for which it had never been designed. Profusely illustrated with the pick of historic photographs, Spitfire The History of a Legend covers all the significant Marks developed during the Spitfire s operational service, explaining how the aircraft evolved to meet the challenges presented by the war s changing requirements and by the threat of new generations of Luftwaffe fighters. It also includes coverage of fascinating Spitfire variants including the Seafire, Seafang and Spiteful.Read more
£10.80£19.00Spitfire The History Of A Legend
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The Future of War: A History
For as long as there have been wars there have been fears about the next war. Where are the new dangers? What is the best defence? How might peace come about? This is the history of how over the last 150 years we have tried – rightly and wrongly – to predict war’s future.
‘Britain’s leading academic strategist … read this book’ Economist
‘Insightful and opinionated … expertly covers centuries of evolving mayhem’ Gary J. Bass, The New York Times
‘A bonfire of predictions … Freedman’s purpose in this wise book is to discern patterns in the way we have thought about war’s future’ Shashank Joshi, Financial Times
‘It reflects the author’s immense knowledge and wisdom. It should feed our humility, because it reminds us of mankind’s unlimited capacity for folly’ Max Hastings, The Times
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£9.60£10.40The Future of War: A History
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The Palace Papers: The Sunday Times bestseller
WITH AN EXCLUSIVE NEW CHAPTER FOR THE PAPERBACK EDITION
The Amazon No.1 Bestseller
The Sunday Times BestsellerTHE ROYAL BOOK OF THE YEAR
_________________________________‘Eye-poppingly revealing. . . impeccable sources, historical heft and canny insights served up with a zingy wit. There are many royal biographers, but few as good as this. She turns gossip into the first draft of history.’ TELEGRAPH
From the Queen’s stoic resolve to the crisis of Meghan and Harry. From the ascendance of Camilla and Kate to the downfall of Andrew. Full of remarkable inside access, The Palace Papers by Sunday Times bestselling author Tina Brown will change how you understand the Royal Family.
‘Clever, well-informed and disgustingly entertaining’ THE TIMES
‘There are royal books, and there are royal books. But The Palace Papers is in a genre of its own’ RADIO TIMES
‘Jaw dropping! What a book . . . if you ever want to feel like a fly on the wall of any of the palaces, this is it.’
LORRAINE KELLY‘Brown’s prose has the swoosh of an enjoyably OTT ballgown’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘The world’s sharpish and best-informed royal expert’ PIERS MORGAN
‘Riveting and rigorous’ PANDORA SYKES
‘A witty, rip-roaring read . . . full off perceptive and witty observations’ i Newspaper
‘A rollicking ride through recent royal family history . . . Tina Brown’s sparkling prose and eye for detail enliven an entertaining exposé’ OBSERVER
‘The most explosive royal book of the year’ THE SUN
‘Gloriously irreverent, racily written and often very funny. The early chapters on the long affair between Prince Charles and Camilla read like a non-fiction version of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles’ NEW STATESMAN
‘A motherlode of delectable gossip . . . Brown has produced a work both scholarly and scandalous that makes us think about what the post-Elizabethan world may bring, alternately amusing and horrifying us along the way . . . vivid and richly-embroidered’ INDEPENDENT
‘The devil is in the delicious detail . . . Brown tackles her subjects with the same brio she brought to her years as a highly regarded magazine editor . . . Her access to those who flit around the royals gives her writing an edgy authenticity’ DAILY MAIL
‘Brown thrashes her way through absolutely everything that has happened to the family since the end of the last book in 1997 . . . Charles and Camilla are vividly brought to life in a series of well-researched stories and anecdotes’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘The Palace Papers is a sharp-nibbed observation of a generation of tumult for the House of Windsor, bookended by the deaths of Princess Diana and Prince Philip. It’s a story about media as much as monarchy, and it draws from almost every chapter in Brown’s career in journalism’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘It’s hard to look away as Tina Brown delves into decades’ worth of royal scandals’ GUARDIAN
‘Utter brilliance . . . a rip-roaring read’ SCOTSMAN
‘A brilliant book. Tina Brown has inside knowledge and writes so well’ LADY ANNE GLENCONNER (author of Lady in Waiting)
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‘Never again’, became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Diana’s death. More specifically, there could never be ‘another Diana’ – a member of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone, and posed an existential threat to the British monarchy. Picking up where The Diana Chronicles left off, The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet.
Tina Brown takes readers on a tour de force journey that shows the Queen’s stoic resolve as she coped with the passing of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother and her partner for seven decades, Prince Philip, and triumphed in her Jubilee years even as the family dramas raged around her. She explores Prince Charles’s determination to make Camilla his queen, the tension between William and Harry who are on ‘different paths’, the ascendance Kate Middleton, the disturbing allegations surrounding Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, and Harry and Meghan’s stunning decision to ‘step back’ as senior royals. Despite the fragile monarchy’s best efforts, ‘never again’ seems fast approaching.
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£5.70£10.40The Palace Papers: The Sunday Times bestseller
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The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered: The First Complete Translation And Interpretation of 50 Key Documents Withheld For Over 35 Years
Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, previously withheld from the public due to their controversial nature. This work contains documents relating to early Christianity, the fall of the Temple in Jerusalem, the history of the zealots with interpretations alongside the original Hebrew transliterations.Read more
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Fred Dibnah’s Victorian Heroes
Fred Dibnah was a man born out of his time. His era should have been the ‘magnificent age of British engineering’ – the nineteenth century – and his heroes were the great industrial engineers of the period whose prolific innovations and dedicated work ethic inspired a national mood of optimism and captured the hearts of the British public.
Fred Dibnah’s Victorian Heroes tells the stories of some of these men – including George and Robert Stephenson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Joseph Whitworth – and what it was that made them such inspirational figures to Fred. What were their backgrounds? Where did their drive and vision come from? What sort of people were they at work and at home? And what was their contribution to the history of industry and engineering?
Most of them – like Fred – were colourful, larger-than-life characters for whom no challenge was too great. Taking these fascinating characters as inspiration, Fred Dibnah’s Victorian Heroes gets to the very heart of what allowed nineteenth-century Britannia to rule the waves . . .
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£5.70 -
The Sale of the Late King’s Goods: Charles I and his Art Collection
`So wonderful and glorious a collection, that the like will never again be met with.’ This is how one awed and wistful observer described King Charles’ artworks. As an acquirer of paintings by Europe’s great masters and patron of Rubens and Van Dyck, Charles’s extravagance in amassing his collection only exacerbated the parliamentary disapproval that led to civil war and the King’s own execution. After his death, one of the Commonwealth’s first decrees was to sell off his treasures to raise money for the new regime. After the Restoration, one of Charles II’s first resolutions was to get the collection back.
Jerry Brotton tells the remarkable story of the king and his pictures: their acquisition, dispersal and eventual recovery. He reveals a world in which diplomats doubled as art dealers, and in which the king’s plumber could be temporary owner of Bassano’s The Flood. This is a vivid portrait of a tragic king and his decadent court, set against the backdrop of political conflict and civil war, which also offers a new and compelling perspective on art and the evolution of collecting in England.
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£3.20
