Europe

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling....

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell....

From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day....

Here are the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths, stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. The legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes life into ancient tales, from Pandora's box to Prometheus's fire, and transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians....

Winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1961, this worldwide bestselling classic chronicles the most infamous era of our times.

On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away....

In The War on the West, Douglas Murray shows how many well-meaning people have been fooled by hypocritical and inconsistent anti-West rhetoric....

The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400....

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own....

From the award-winning historian, war reporter, and author Damien Lewis (Zero Six Bravo, Judy) comes the incredible true story of the top-secret "butcher-and-bolt" black ops units Prime Minister Winston Churchill tasked with stopping the unstoppable German war machine....

Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible....

Erik Larson has been widely acclaimed as a master of narrative non-fiction, and in his new book, turns his hand to a remarkable story set during Hitler’s rise to power....

In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman, and leader can finally be fully understood - by the best-selling, award-winning author of Napoleon and The Storm of War....

The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the New York Times best-selling author of The Storm of War....

The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages....

The #1 New York Times bestselling historical novelist delivers her magnum opus—a landmark work of feminist nonfiction that radically redefines our understanding of the extraordinary roles ordinary women played throughout British history....

A never-before-told story of Virginia Hall, the American spy who changed the course of World War II, from the author of Clementine....

In the newest installment of the best-selling series Mythos, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry moves from the exploits of the Olympian gods to the deeds of mortal heroes....

Poisoner, despot, necromancer - the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds....

A "marvelous" (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination....

In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits....

In this brilliant conclusion to his best-selling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War....

Philippa Langley reveals the findings of a remarkable new research initiative: ‘The Missing Princes Project' and sheds light upon one of history's greatest miscarriages of justice, revealing a phenomenal untold story....

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I....

The sensational biography of Princess Diana, now revised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death....

When dark smoke rises from stone temples, the followers of the cult of Dionysus pour each other deep red wine, ancient philosophers passionately discuss in the Athenian agora, and cheering shouts of victory ring out from Olympia in the distance - then you, dear readers, are nowhere else than in the multifaceted world of Greek antiquity. We hear a lot about ancient Greece; be it the huge world of gods that rules over the celestial sphere, strange myths that we still read and love today, or even personalities like that of Alexander the Great that trigger fascination and curiosity in us.

One of the great epics of Europe's history, the story of the rise and rise of the Capetian dynasty, dominates the Middle Ages. Starting in the tenth century from an insecure foothold around Paris, the Capetians built a nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from the Rhône to the Pyrenees. They founded practices and institutions that endured until the Revolution, transformed Paris from a muddy backwater to a splendid metropole, and popularized the fleur-de-lys, the lily, as the emblem of France.

This is the incredible story of Elzbieta Zawacka, the WW2 female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo, told here for the very first time. Agent Zo was the only woman to reach London from Warsaw during the Second World War as an emissary of the Polish Home Army command, and then in Britain she became the only woman to join the Polish elite Special Forces, known as the 'Silent Unseen'. She was secretly trained in the British countryside, and then the only female member of these SOE affiliated forces to be parachuted back behind enemy lines to Nazi-occupied Poland.

The strength of the Marcher lords would come to the fore at numerous times in the nation's history in the shape of notorious figures such as Simon de Montfort and Roger Mortimer. The civil war of King Stephen's reign, the baronial resistance to King John, the overthrow of Edward II and Richard II; all of these crises turned upon the involvement of the lords of the Marches. Timothy Venning explores their mentality and reveals the dramatic careers both of those who prospered from their loyalty to the king and those whose power was gained by treachery.

David Stahel's groundbreaking new account of Operation Typhoon captures the perspectives of both the German high command and individual soldiers, revealing that despite success on the battlefield the wider German war effort was in far greater trouble than is often acknowledged.

Nick Hewitt draws on fascinating new material to describe the violent sea battle which mirrored the fighting on land, and the complex campaign at sea which enabled the Allied assault. Aboard ships ranging from frail plywood landing craft to sleek destroyers, sailors were active combatants in the operation of June 1944, and had worked tirelessly to secure the Seine Bay in the months preceding it. They fought battles against German submarines, aircraft, and warships, and maintained careful watch to keep control of the English Channel.

Monitoring communication, profiling suspicious persons, doxxing one's opponents long before the arrival of the internet, Europe's kings were already devising sophisticated systems for spying on their subjects. Letters, in particular, were systematically opened and read. A fascinating excursion into the Secret Cipher Chancellery of the Habsburgs, Louis XIV's Black Chamber, and the first era of total surveillance.

Extend your stay and make Portugal your new home with this definitive guide on relocating to this beautiful country. Home to colorful metropolitan cities, picturesque villages, lush forests, and the world’s leading beaches, Portugal is one of the most rewarding travel destinations in Europe. But have you ever wondered if it’s also perfect for relocating?

The Mystery of the Casement Ship recounts one of the most extraordinary and explosive episodes of the Irish Easter Rising. In 1916, working with the Irish revolutionary Sir Roger Casement, Germany sent a captured British merchant ship disguised as a Norwegian tramp steamer named the Aud to Ireland to deliver guns and ammunition to rebels planning the Easter uprising.

From the wrought ironwork of the Eiffel Tower to the flourishing art nouveau movement, the Belle Époque is remembered as a golden age for Parisian culture. Beneath the veneer of elegance, however, fin de siècle Paris was a city at war with itself. In City of Light, City of Shadows, Mike Rapport uncovers a Paris riven by social anxieties and plagued by overlapping epidemics of poverty, political extremism, and anti-Semitism.

Delve into the captivating world of Roman Britain with this concise exploration of one of history's most intriguing eras. In this meticulously researched book, uncover the remarkable story of Roman occupation in Britain, spanning from the invasions of Julius Caesar to the eventual decline of Roman influence.

1217 charts the nascent sense of national identity that began to swell. Three key battles would determine England’s destiny. The fortress of Dover was besieged, the city of Lincoln was attacked, and a great invasion force set sail and, unusually for the time, was intercepted at sea. Catherine Hanley expertly navigates medieval siege warfare, royal politics, and fighting at sea to bring this remarkable period of English history to life.

In this remarkable history, we discover each of the individuals whose actions determined the outcome of the battle for Hill 107, the key event that decided the campaign to capture the vitally strategic island of Crete in May 1941. Drawing upon original combat reports, diary entries, letters and interviews, the battle is brought vividly to life. The narrative feels like a Shakespearean tragedy, the soldiers revealing their stories in and around the shadows of Hill 107.

In Cypria, named after a lost Cypriot epic which was the prequel to The Odyssey, British Cypriot writer Alex Christofi writes a deeply personal, lyrical history of the island of Cyprus, from the era of goddesses and mythical beasts to the present day. This sprawling, evocative and poetic book begins with the legend of the cyclops and the storytelling at the heart of the Mediterranean culture. Christofi travels to salt lakes, crusader castles, mosques and the eerie town deserted at the start of the 1974 war.

Though David Hume (1711-1776) is now best known for his role as a prominent philosopher of the Enlightenment rather than an historian, it was his momentous six-volume The History of England that really brought him national attention during his lifetime. Not surprisingly, this volume covers the greatest number of years; the increasing availability of historical record allows for far greater detail. But Hume is still fascinating as he discusses the passage of time from Julius Caesar, through the advent of William the Conqueror and the Normans, to the death of King John in 1216.