'Fascinating' TOM HOLLAND | 'A delight from start to finish' MIRANDA SAWYER'A novel and fascinating perspective on world history' BILL BRYSON'By turns surprising, funny, bleak, ridiculous, or all four of those at once' GIDEON DEFOE'Elledge writes with wry humour and infectious enthusiasm' OBSERVERPeople have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does - and about the scale of human folly.From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.More endorsements for 47 BORDERS: 'Fascinating and hugely entertaining' MARINA HYDE 'You'll never look at a map the same way again' STEPHEN BUSH '[A] clever, confounding history' PATRICK MAGUIRE'A witty grand tour' DORIAN LYNSKEY 'Warm, funny and sharply political' PHIL TINLINEIn the press:'[A] sprightly telling' New Statesman'Open and inviting' History Today'Wonderfully nerdy - and at times shocking' Byline Times'A diverting and informative read' theartsdesk.com Read more

NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERDouglas Murray, international bestselling author and renowned cultural commentator confronts what he views as the most pressing issue of our time: why Western support of the Palestinian cause is ultimately playing into the hands of a much more dangerous force.Drawing from intensive on-the-ground reporting in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, Murray presents a compelling case that places the latest violence in its historical context. He takes readers on a harrowing journey through the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 massacre, piecing together exclusive accounts from victims, survivors and even the terrorists responsible for the atrocities.On Democracies and Death Cults argues that Israel’s commitment to fundamental Western values – capitalism, individual rights, democracy and reason – has made it a beacon of progress in a region dominated by authoritarianism and extremism. Murray contrasts Israel’s principles with the ideology of Hamas, which openly proclaims its love of death over life. If left unchecked, Murray argues, this misplaced Western sympathy could embolden forces that seek to undermine democratic values and perpetuate a culture of violence.Clear-eyed and deeply reasoned, On Democracies and Death Cults is a gripping and essential read for all who seek to understand the complexities of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and its implications for the future of democracy – and for the world itself.Douglas Murray's book 'On Democracies and Death Cults' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2025-04-07. Read more

“Sunrise on the Reaping is a propulsive, heart-wrenching addition to The Hunger Games, adding welcome texture to the cruel world of Panem ... This is the project of dystopian fiction: to shine a light in tyranny's greasiest corners and show how people — ordinary, determined human beings — might take it apart” - New York Times“Collins is an excellent writer, and there are moments of surprising lyricism ... Sunrise on the Reaping contains enough both to snare new readers and to satisfy the most bloodthirsty fan” - Guardian When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for? As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.Four books, five films and one worldwide phenomenon, The Hunger Games original trilogy changed the face of global YA and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was an instant number one bestseller (Nielsen Bookscan, May 2020).All four of the Hunger Games novels have been made into major feature films, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth and Peter Dinklage.A feature film for Sunrise On the Reaping -  the fifth book in the Hunger Games series  - is slated for November 2026 OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIESThe Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games illustrated edition released in October 2024Catching FireMockingjayThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes  Read more

Winner of the RSL Ondaatje PrizeShortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award‘A striding, glorious book . . . A flat-out masterpiece’ The New York Times Book ReviewCaught between hostile nations, warring factions and competing ideologies, Afghanistan was in turmoil following the US invasion. Travelling entirely on foot and following the inaccessible mountainous route once taken by the Mughal emperor Babur the Great, Rory Stewart was nearly defeated by the extreme, hostile conditions.Only with the help of an unexpected companion, and the generosity of the people he met on the way, did he survive to report back on his journey with unique insight on a region closed to the world by twenty-four years of war.‘This evocative book feels like a long-lost relic of the great age of exploration’ The Guardian Read more

A magisterial, single-volume history of the greatest conflict the world has ever known by our foremost military historian.*****The Second World War began in August 1939 on the edge of Manchuria and ended there exactly six years later with the Soviet invasion of northern China. The war in Europe appeared completely divorced from the war in the Pacific and China, and yet events on opposite sides of the world had profound effects. Using the most up-to-date scholarship and research, Beevor assembles the whole picture in a gripping narrative that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific and from the snowbound steppe to the North African Desert.Although filling the broadest canvas on a heroic scale, Beevor's The Second World War never loses sight of the fate of the ordinary soldiers and civilians whose lives were crushed by the titanic forces unleashed in the most terrible war in history. Read more

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER An exciting Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians and the ultimate gift for anyone who loves a good spy thriller!'The best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carré________________On a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.The man was a spy. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying.Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever . . .________________'The world's most important spy since the Second World War. Mercilessly gripping' Sunday Times'Extraordinary. His best book yet' John Preston, Evening Standard'A remarkable story of one man's courage' The Times, Book of the WeekBen Macintyre, Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023 Read more

'The fascinating story of ancient words … new revelations await' The Guardian'A magisterial feat' New Scientist________________________________One ancient language transformed our world. This is its story.Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see.Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanity’s past. All three of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient ancestor.Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen?In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.________________________________'Lively and fascinating. I loved it' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in your Ear?'A truly extraordinary detective story' Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything Read more

A Sunday Times Paperback of the Year 2024The Sunday Times Bestseller and Waterstones Paperback of the Year 2024A Sunday Times History Book of the Year A Spectator Book of the Year The Irish Times No.1 Bestseller‘As taut as a fictional thriller’ Mail on Sunday‘Gripping, detailed and richly layered’ GuardianKILLING THATCHER is the gripping account of how the IRA came astonishingly close to killing Margaret Thatcher and to wiping out the British Cabinet – an extraordinary assassination attempt linked to the Northern Ireland Troubles and the most daring conspiracy against the Crown since the Gunpowder Plot.In this fascinating and compelling book, veteran journalist Rory Carroll retraces the road to the infamous Brighton bombing in 1984 – an incident that shaped the political landscape in the UK for decades to come. He begins with the infamous execution of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 – for which the IRA took full responsibility – before tracing the rise of Margaret Thatcher, her response to the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland and the chain of events that culminated in the hunger strikes of 1981 and the death of 10 republican prisoners, including Bobby Sands. From that moment on Thatcher became an enemy of the IRA – and the organisation swore revenge.Opening with a brilliantly-paced prologue that introduces bomber Patrick Magee in the build up to the incident, Carroll sets out to deftly explore the intrigue before and after the assassination attempt – with the story spanning three continents, from pubs and palaces, safe houses and interrogation rooms, hotels and barracks. On one side, an elite IRA team aided by a renegade priest, US-raised funds and Libya’s Qaddafi and on the other, intelligence officers, police detectives, informers and bomb disposal officers. An exciting narrative that blends true crime with political history, this is the first major book to investigate the Brighton attack.Rory Carroll's book 'Killing Thatcher' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-04-01. Read more

From the author of Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were trying to hide.'A brilliant book.' James O'BrienWas Che Guevara really a revolutionary hero?Should Mother Teresa be honoured as a saint?Is Henry V actually England's greatest king?And why does JFK's legend continue to grow?Having exposed some of the greatest lies ever told in Fake History, journalist Otto English turns his attention to some of history's biggest (and most beloved) figures.Whether it's virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?Exploring everything from Captain Scott's reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol's flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel's murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.Fake Heroes exposes the truth of the past and helps us understand why that matters today. Read more

THE CAPTIVATING TRUE STORY OF THE MAN WHO INSPIRED WOLF HALL, MASTERFULLY TOLD: NOW REVISED WITH A NEW CHAPTER Readers LOVE Thomas Cromwell:'Very well written and engaging; I found it hard to put it down . . . Great book and one I will read again.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This is one of the most fascinating biographies I've read.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'There have been many biographies of Cromwell, but Tracy Borman's book must rank among the very best.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ------------Known widely as Henry VIII's 'right-hand man', Cromwell has captured imaginations throughout the centuries: but who was he really? In this major new biography, leading historian Tracy Borman examines the life, loves and legacy of the man who changed the shape of England forever.Born a lowly tavern keeper's son, Cromwell rose swiftly through the ranks to become Henry VIII's right hand man, and one of the most powerful figures in Tudor history. The architect of England's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the dissolution of the monasteries, he oversaw seismic changes in England's history. Influential in securing Henry's controversial divorce from Catherine of Aragon, many believe he was also the ruthless force behind Anne Boleyn's downfall and subsequent execution.Although for years he has been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power, Thomas Cromwell was also a loving husband, father and guardian, a witty and generous host, and a loyal and devoted servant. With fresh research and new insights into Cromwell's family life, his household and his close relationships, Tracy Borman tells the true story of Henry VIII's most faithful servant. -----------Critical acclaim for Thomas Cromwell:'Dr Tracy Borman has crafted an exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor age's most complex and controversial figures. With expert insights based on a wealth of research, and riveting detail, she has brought Thomas Cromwell to life as never before.' ― Alison Weir'This deeply researched and grippingly written biography brings Cromwell to life and exposes the Henrician court in all its brutal, glittering splendour.' -- Kate Williams ― Independent'Tracy Borman tells us succinctly in 400 pages what we need to know about the man who rose to be the king's highest adviser ... a very good book.' ― The Times'Tracy Borman's study makes clear his achievements, both admirable and despicable ... Borman has read an impressively wide range of modern historical literature on Cromwell.' ― Guardian'Borman's is a highly readable account, and will add to the debate surrounding this ultimately elusive character.' ― Financial Times'Elegant ... her prose, as ever, glides beautifully along.' ― Sunday Times'An engaging biography.' ― Evening Standard Read more

The story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of SapiensStories brought us together.Books spread our ideas – and our mythologies.The internet promised infinite knowledge.The algorithm learned our secrets – and then turned us against each other.What will AI do?NEXUS is the thrilling account of how we arrived at this moment, and the urgent choices we must now make to survive – and to thrive.PRAISE FOR NEXUS'One of the most remarkable intellects of our generation' RORY STEWART‘Tremendous, thought-provoking and so very well-reasoned . . . If there is one book that I would urge everyone to read – it is Nexus’ STEPHEN FRY'A wake-up call in the gentlest, most urgent way' YOTAM OTTOLENGHI'This deeply important book comes at a critical time as we all think through the implications of AI’ MUSTAFA SULEYMAN'A super narrative writer' GUARDIAN‘[Harari] sticks the world together in a gleaming shape that inspires and excites' TELEGRAPHPRAISE FOR YUVAL NOAH HARARI‘The great thinker of our age’ The Times‘Interesting and provocative’ Barack Obama‘One of my favourite writers and thinkers’ Natalie Portman**Instant Sunday Times bestseller, September 2024** Read more

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.‘Highly enjoyable’ Simon Heffer‘Brilliant’ Dan Jones‘Fascinating’ Tom BowerThe #2 Sunday Times bestseller on Sunday 18 June 2021Charles Spencer's book 'A Very Private School' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-03-18. Read more

'Outstanding' TIMES'Gripping' ECONOMISTSHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE PUSHKIN HOUSE BOOK PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAREmotionally scarred after witnessing the bloody climax of the Beslan school siege in Russia's North Caucasus, in which 314 hostages died, Tom Parfitt set out on a journey. In High Caucasus, he shares his remarkable thousand-mile quest in search of personal peace - and a greater understanding of the roots of violence in a region whose fate has tragic parallels with the Ukraine of today.Starting in Sochi on the Black Sea and walking the mountains to Derbent, the ancient fortress city on the Caspian, Parfitt traverses the political, religious and ethnic fault-lines of seven Russian republics, including Chechnya and Dagestan. Through bear-haunted forests, across high altitude pastures and over the shoulders of Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain, he finds companionship and respite in the homes of proud, little-known peoples. This is a stunning story of confronting trauma through connection with history, people and place. Read more

THE TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEKNamed one of The Telegraph's 'Best Biographies of the Year 2024'Queen Victoria had forty-two grandchildren but the four Princesses of Hesse were held in her particular favour. After the sudden death of her daughter Alice, Queen Victoria took an obsessive interest in the marriage prospects of the four girls their mother had left behind, hoping this might secure for them a happy future. And each of the young women did indeed marry into a European dynasty: the Romanovs and the Hohenzollerns of Germany. However no one could have foreseen how the maelstrom of the twentieth century would bring tragedy and heartache to each one of them in turn. Drawing on hundreds of previously unseen letters from the sisters as well as from their grandmother Queen Victoria, The Princesses of Hesse takes us on a sweeping journey across the tumultuous landscape of the turn of the century - from the dramas of the Russian Court to the Russian Revolution, and through both World Wars in which the sisters often found themselves on opposing sides.Both intimate and epic in scope, Frances Welch's biography sheds new light on the four sisters' lives, illuminating a remarkable period of history in the process.'full of passions, royal peculiarities and misspelt letters...compellingly told' Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph'Welch does a wonderful job of marshalling the different strands of this story, drawing on the sisters' chatty, gossipy correspondence, some of which has never been published. It grips you until the very last page' The Mail on Sunday 'Frances Welch's elegant and intimate group biography returns us to the start of the 20th century, when Queen Victoria's favourite grand-daughters were scattered between Germany, England and Russia' Frances Wilson, The Daily Telegraph'eye-opening' and 'harrowing' The Daily Mail'Welch brings the four princesses vividly to life' and 'will delight those who enjoy reading about the lives of royals' The Times 'brings them vividly to life...a tonic...a gripping read' Hugo Vickers, The Oldie'Frances Welch has a gift for bringing royal figures to life, making us care about them and showing us how their stories interweave...this is both a deeply affecting story of four sisters and an informative bit of history' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Spectator'splendid', 'a fascinating family portrait', 'Welch creates a tenderly intimate portrait of the last, doomed Tsarina and her three German-born sisters' Miranda Seymour, Literary Review Read more

Rome as you’ve never seen it before – brazenly unconventional, badly behaved and ever so feminine. ‘Hugely entertaining and illuminating’ —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes… We kick off with Romulus murdering his brother, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. After ‘Et tu, Brute?’, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally nodding to a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women won’t do as they’re told, until Constantine invents Christianity only for Attila the Hun to come and ruin everything. Let’s tear up this script. The history of Rome and its empire is so much more than these ‘Important Things’. In this alternative history, Emma Southon tells another story about the Romans, one that lives through Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, empresses and saints. Discover how entrepreneurial sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovered a conspiracy of treason, human sacrifice and Bacchic orgies so wild they would make Donna Tartt blush, becoming one of Rome’s unlikeliest heroes.Book yourself a table at the House of Julia Felix and get to know Pompeii’s savviest businesswoman and restauranteur. Indulge in an array of locally sourced delicacies as you take in the wonderful view of Mount Vesuvius… what could possibly go wrong?Join the inimitable Septimia Zenobia, who – after watching a series of incompetent, psychopathic and incompetently psychopathic emperors almost destroy the Empire – did what any of us would do. She declared herself Empress, took over half the Roman Empire and ran it herself. Read more

Longlisted for the National Book Award 2024'Passionate and absorbing'SUNDAY TIMES'I learned more about the Moon by reading this book than after a lifetime of study'CHRIS HADFIELD, author of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth'Superb: as much a feat of imagination as it is a work of globe-trotting scholarship'TELEGRAPH'Boyle's writing shines, shifting through time and space, science and sentiment; a luminous read'REBECCA WRAGG SYKES, author of Kindred'You will never look at the Moon the same way again . . . fascinating'NEW STATESMAN'A riveting feat of science writing'ED YONG, author of An Immense World'Engrossing'INDEPENDENTEvery living being throughout history, across time and geography, has gazed up at the same moon.From the first prehistoric life that crawled onto land guided by the power of the tides, to the division of time into months and seasons for the first humans, the moon has driven the expansion and development of our world.It has inspired scientific discovery and culture from the ancient astronomers to the scientific revolution of Copernicus and Galileo, from the 1969 Apollo landings to writers and artists, and stirred an inexhaustible desire to know where we come from and how we got here.And as astronauts around the world prepare to return to the Moon - opening up new frontiers of discovery, profit and politics - Our Moon tells the dazzling story of how the Moon has shaped life as we know it, fuelled dramatic change across the globe and could be the key to humanity's future. Read more

'A masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman Empire' Sunday Times'Holland does not just tell the story of the reign of the Julio-Claudian family. He knits the history of ancient Rome into his narrative - its founding myths, the fall of the republic, the religious superstitions - with a skill so dextrous you don't notice the stitching. Dynasty is both a formidable effort to compile what we can know about the ancient world and a sensational story' Observer'A witty and skilful storyteller... He recounts with pleasure his racy tales of psychopathic cruelty, incest, paedophilia, matricide, fratricide, assassination and depravity' William Dalrymple, New Statesman'A wonderful, surging narrative... [for] anyone interested in history, politics or human nature - and it has never been better told' Mail on SundayTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Read more

‘A thrilling narrative that creates an extraordinary picture of female resistance’ The Lady‘Fascinating’ Kavita Puri, BBC History Magazine‘A fierce, intense picture of this aspect of the war . . . it will stay with me’ Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome On the evening of 31 March 1916, a 23-year-old woman was led from her prison cell in occupied Brussels. She wore a long blue coat and walked ‘like a soldier’. The chaplain asked if she would like a blindfold before her execution. ‘I am not afraid of looking into the rifles,’ she replied. ‘I have been expecting this for a long time.’   This is not a traditional history of the First World War. It is the untold story of the women of the resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict.     Rick Stroud describes how the actions of eight exceptionally brave women affected the course of the war. Before the Germans invaded, they were ordinary people: some, like Gabrielle Petit, were working-class; some, like Edith Cavell, were from the bourgeoisie; and some. like the Princess de Croÿ, were from the upper echelons of society. The youngest was only twenty-one. The women took enormous risks and produced extraordinary results: they established underground networks, transmitted coded information, carried out sabotage attacks and helped to repatriate Allied soldiers. What they did was dangerous and exhausting and the penalties were severe: three faced the firing squad.  Recounting their heroism and their inevitable tragedies, I Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles is an enthralling story, beautifully told. In revealing the inspiring work of these remarkable women, Rick Stroud will introduce you to an entirely new version of the ‘war to end all wars’. Read more

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westwards on its axis, it now turns to the east. For centuries, fame and fortune was to be found in the west in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China and India, is taking centre stage in international politics, commerce and culture and is shaping the modern world. This region, the true centre of the earth, is obscure to many in the English-speaking world. Yet this is where civilization itself began, where the world's great religions were born and took root. The Silk Roads were no exotic series of connections, but networks that linked continents and oceans together. Along them flowed ideas, goods, disease and death. This was where empires were won and where they were lost. As a new era emerges, the patterns of exchange are mirroring those that have criss-crossed Asia for millennia. The Silk Roads are rising again. A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is an important account of the forces that have shaped the global economy and the political renaissance in the re-emerging east. Read more

THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA TIMES Top Ten Best True Crime book: 'Groundbreaking. Extraordinary''Terrific' Ian Rankin'Gripping' NEW YORK TIMES'At last, the Ripper's victims get a voice... An eloquent, stirring challenge to reject the prevailing Ripper myth' MAIL ON SUNDAYWINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION____________Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met.They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888.Their murderer was never identified, but the name created for him by the press has become far more famous than any of these five women.Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, and gives these women back their stories.____________PRAISE FOR THE FIVE'Devastatingly good. The Five will leave you in tears, of pity and of rage.' LUCY WORSLEY'Fascinating, compelling, moving.' BRIDGET COLLINS, author of The Binding'An angry and important work of historical detection, calling time on the misogyny that has fed the Ripper myth. Powerful and shaming.' GUARDIAN'Haunting' SUNDAY TIMES'What a brilliant and necessary book' JO BAKER, author of Longbourn'Beautifully written and with the grip of a thriller, it will open your eyes and break your heart.' ERIN KELLY'An outstanding work of history-from-below ... magnificent' SPECTATOR'Deeply researched' THE NEW YORKER**NOW BUY THE BRAND NEW WORK BY HALLIE RUBENHOLD: STORY OF A MURDER Read more