World history gifts

First to Fight by Roger Moorhouse provides a compelling and definitive account of the German invasion of Poland that set off the chain of events leading to the Second World War. Moorhouse, a historian at the apex of his career, meticulously details this often-overlooked chapter of history, blending rigorous research with captivating prose. The book brings to light the harrowing...

The paradigm-shifting classic that connected the dots between transatlantic slavery, capitalism and racism. “If one criterion of a classic is its ability to reorient our most basic way of viewing an object or a concept, Eric Williams's study supremely passes that test” – Seymour Drescher Arguing that the slave trade was at the heart of Britain's economic progress, Eric Williams's...

Three Tigers, One Mountain by Michael Booth delves deep into the complex web of relationships among three of East Asia's most influential nations: Japan, South Korea, and China. This vibrant and captivating travelogue seeks to uncover the historical tensions, cultural rivalries, and political grievances that keep these powerful neighbours at odds. Through his keen observations and in-depth interviews, Booth embarks...

The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts is an extraordinary journey through the vast and unforgiving landscape of Siberia, revealing a hidden history of music, culture, and human resilience. This captivating narrative takes readers on a quest to uncover the story of pianos scattered across Siberia, once the prized possessions of Russian nobility and now relics of an era...

Origins by Lewis Dartnell is a riveting exploration that uncovers how Earth's geological and environmental forces have profoundly shaped the course of human history and civilisation. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, this Sunday Times bestseller delves into the deep past to tell the grand story of humanity's development through the lens of our planet's dynamic history. Professor Lewis Dartnell takes...

George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is a riveting first-person account of his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. This gripping narrative immerses readers in the complexities of the war that raged through Spain from 1936 to 1939. Orwell, who volunteered to fight against Francisco Franco's fascist forces, recounts his time on the front lines with the militia of the Workers'...

When our ancestors came down from the trees, they brought the trees with them and remade the world. ‘A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes wood…’ John Carey, The Sunday Times How did the descendants of small arboreal primates manage to stand on our own two feet, become top predators and take over the world? In The Wood...

The Immortal Irishman is a gripping narrative by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Timothy Egan that vividly brings to life the epic journey of Thomas Francis Meagher, a dashing orator and leader during Ireland's Great Hunger of the 1840s. Meagher's story begins with his valiant but doomed attempt to ignite a revolution against British rule, an effort that leads to his exile...

In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz by Michela Wrong offers a spellbinding journey into the chaotic and corrupt world of Congo during the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko. With an acute sense of history and deep insight, Wrong draws stark parallels between Joseph Conrad’s fictional Mr Kurtz from Heart of Darkness and the real-life dictator Mobutu, who wielded power with...

Upheaval by Jared Diamond is a transformative exploration into how nations face and overcome extreme crises. This gripping narrative draws from seven modern nations that have faced significant upheavals, revealing the processes by which they adapted and survived. From the dramatic forced opening of Japan to the Soviet invasion of Finland and the harrowing experiences under the Pinochet regime in...

Hitler: Volume I by Volker Ullrich is a landmark biography that delves deep into the uncharted territories of Adolf Hitler's early years, shedding light on the man behind one of the most infamous figures in history. This compelling first volume meticulously chronicles Hitler's life from his humble beginnings to the precipice of the Second World War, presenting readers with a...

After Tamerlane by John Darwin presents a sweeping analysis of the forces that have shaped world history through the rise and fall of empires. Beginning with the death of Tamerlane in 1405, Darwin charts the course of world empires from the last of the 'world conquerors' through to the modern-day resurgence of India and China. In this scholarly yet accessible...

Berlin, 1938 It's no longer safe here. When the Jewish families of Berlin start disappearing in nightly raids, 21-year-old Jacob Kagan knows it's only a matter of time before the trucks come for him. Along with his family and best friend, he flees the country he's always called home to find shelter in a Dutch refugee camp. Before long, the...

Illuminating -- Elizabeth Beller 'A meticulous feat of research and reporting' -- Kate Storey The story of two iconic dynasties—the Kennedys and the Windsors—whose glamour and ambition defined an era. Reveals never-before examined stories about Queen Elizabeth, King Charles, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Diana, Prince Harry, JFK, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., and many others. For fans of...

Built in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, in 1853, the Edwin Fox is the only remaining vessel of her kind and has made a unique and unmatched contribution to world maritime history. The ship's importance is acknowledged by Heritage New Zealand, which has designated it as Category 1—the highest level of protection. Built in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, in 1853, the ship is...

The definitive book on Sandy Irvine and the mystery of his and Mallory's disappearance on Everest in June 1924. The fate of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine, who were last seen disappearing into the clouds as they headed for the summit of Mount Everest on 8 June 1924, still grips the imagination over 100 years later. Mallory's body was found...

Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, with an extraordinary cast and globe-spanning action, this is the gripping, era-defining origin story for today's conflicts. Immersive, globe-spanning and full of detail and drama, The Revolutionists is an unprecedented account of a seismic decade that transformed the modern world. In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned...

From the bestselling author of Guns, Germs and Steel, an exploration of the influence of leaders in politics, business, sport and religion. We often read history as the biographies of 'great men' who shaped the world. But are leaders, whichever field they are in, really that influential? Should CEOs be given large bonuses when a company performs well? Why, when...

A vital account of fifteen speeches and orators—from Benjamin Franklin to Barack Obama—that tells the story of the United States as a battle over what it means to be an American, from a New York Times bestselling author and former presidential speechwriter. What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? This sweeping history of the United States...

A totally unprecedented, behind the scenes portrait of Putin's Russia at war. Astonishing. A major work — Antony Beevor Putin's Russia silences its citizens, targets foreign journalists and invaded a neighbouring country — while declaring it illegal to say the country is at war. This is what we know from the outside: but what does it feel like on the...

‘Deeply researched and fascinating’ The Guardian ‘[Rory Carroll is] an exceptionally gifted storyteller’ Max Hastings ‘A gripping read’ The i Paper ‘A thrilling account of one of the most unpredictable, memorable and poignant figures in our history’ Irish Times The Irish Times No.1 Bestseller From the master storyteller behind 2023’s critically acclaimed Killing Thatcher A Rebel and a Traitor is...

Turn the pages of this thought-provoking book and discover maps that challenge conventional wisdom, confront social and political norms, and offer fresh perspectives on familiar landscapes. This meticulously curated selection of 40 maps spans the ages, from ancient parchment scrolls to cutting-edge digital creations. Each map is a window into a different facet of our world, shedding light on the...

Our Maps & Charts puzzle collection is an illustrative introduction to the relaxing world of puzzling for those with an eye for detail and an appreciation of the history of maps. Decorate your favourite room with your finished puzzles preserved forever using our famous puzzle conserver. Ravensburger 2000 piece puzzles are suitable for teenagers, adults, and all puzzle fans worldwide....

The third volume of Somerset Maugham's Collected Short Stories, introduced by the author, contains the celebrated series about Ashenden, a secret service agent in World War I. Based on Maugham's own experiences with the British Intelligence service in Switzerland, the stories are vignettes in which he dramatises both the romance and absurdity of espionage as well as its ruthlessness and...

Kiwi Paint By Numbers - The Endeavour offers beginner kits so everyone can enjoy paint by numbers. Feel a sense of joy and relaxation with each brushstroke as your painting comes to life. Creating beautiful art has never been easier with paint by numbers, no previous painting experience required! Features: 50cm x 40cm Painting Canvas Three Paint Brushes: small, medium...

A 2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, i Paper 'Making Francisco Franco’s long life and 38 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON 'An excellent biography – compelling, authoritative, even entertaining – of this highly dislikable creature’ SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A magisterial, groundbreaking new portrait...

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a fellow East Slav state with much shared history. Russia's War Against Ukraine by Mark Edele, a world authority on the history of the Soviet Union, explains why and how this conflict came about. Edele considers competing historical claims and arguments with authority and lucidity. His primary focus, however, is...

Through tight dialogue and absurd settings Franz Kafka creates a maze-like prose to mimic the bureaucracy of early twentieth-century Germany, trapping his protagonist in an unlawful conviction that alters the path of his life. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or...

A brilliant global narrative that unravels the defining story of the past thousand years. A Financial Times Book of the Year No other phenomenon has shaped human history as decisively as capitalism. It structures how we live and work, how we think about ourselves and others, how we organise our politics. Sven Beckert situates the story of capitalism within the...

Map of a Nation tells the story of the creation of the Ordnance Survey map—the first complete, accurate, affordable map of the British Isles. The Ordnance Survey is a much beloved British institution, and Map of a Nation is, amazingly, the first popular history to tell the story of the map and the men who dreamt and delivered it. The...

A masterful history of how war and insecurity, both real and perceived, have driven Russia’s destiny for centuries, including the disastrous invasion of Ukraine. Putin retains his stranglehold on his position in Russia despite an almost ruinous invasion of Ukraine. The answer as to how and why can be found in Russian history. With no naturally defensible borders, and environmental...

The Highlands by Paul Murton takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the breathtakingly beautiful Scottish Highlands. Alongside the well-trodden paths of popular destinations like Glencoe, Ben Nevis, Loch Ness, and the Cairngorms, Paul explores remote and lesser-known locales hidden away from mainstream travelers. As he travels, Paul encounters a diverse array of modern Highlanders, including caber tossers, gamekeepers, lairds,...

'A stunning book, a powerful investigation, utterly compelling,' James Holland, The Daily Telegraph, Five stars Ponar, Lithuania. 1944. The Nazis have enslaved Jewish men to exhume and incinerate the bodies of more than 70,000 Jews previously shot to death in the forest. Trapped in almost unimaginable horror, a group develop an audacious escape plan. Despite being guarded day and night,...

Miles of shelf space in contemporary Japanese bookstores and libraries are devoted to travel guides, walking maps, and topical atlases. Young Japanese children are taught how to properly map their classrooms and schoolgrounds. Elderly retirees pore over old castle plans and village cadasters. Pioneering surveyors are featured in popular television shows, and avid collectors covet exquisite scrolls depicting sea and...

A unique look at Orkney through a poet's eye, An Orkney Tapestry is a celebration of its people, language, and place. It is not written as a continuous historical narrative but as a pattern of history, legend, and folklore. Beautifully illustrated throughout by Sylvia Wishart, a fellow Orcadian, the illustrations show what has been won and lost in Orkney over...

Now in its 30th printing, this classic presents historical, archaeological, and anthropological evidence to support the theory that ancient Egypt was a black civilization.

PLUTARCH AWARD FOR THE BEST BIOGRAPHY OF 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE ‘SUBLIME’ A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 ‘STUNNINGLY GOOD’ THE TIMES BEST HISTORY BOOKS 2024 ‘COMPULSIVE’ A PROSPECT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 ‘BRILLIANT’ A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 From the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize, an extraordinary story of the...

A picture-packed guide to one of the most brutal conflicts of the 20th century In collaboration with the Imperial War Museum, go back in time and experience history with this picture-led guide to the First World War. From disaster to victory, Eyewitness World War I captivates readers and gives an insight into life in the muddy trenches, and what it...

Tag along with the Timekeepers and discover amazing events that shaped our world in these history-themed adventure stories The Timekeepers are a secret organisation of kids who keep the course of history on track - and history needs them - a villain called DeLay is set on causing chaos! When the hands on their special watches start to spin backwards,...

Press the buttons to hear the music in this time-travelling journey around the world, as young readers embark on a magical adventure through the history of music! Stopping off at 12 key chronologically organised moments in history, in different places around the world, readers meet a great musician in each, and can press their instruments to hear a clip of...

A landmark contribution to understanding the real man behind the heroic legend inspired by the triumph at Waterloo The Duke of Wellington was not just Britain’s greatest soldier, although his seismic struggles as leader of the Allied forces against Napoleon in the Peninsular War deservedly became the stuff of British national legend. Wellington was much more: a man of vision...

An extensively researched, comprehensive biography of Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, one of the twentieth century’s most powerful and controversial figures. Victorious in Defeat explores the life of Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), who led the Republic of China for almost fifty years, starting in 1926. He was the architect of a new, republican China, a hero of the Second World War,...

The definitive biography of Soviet Jewish dissident writer Vasily Grossman, called “gripping" and "fascinating" by William Taubman in the New York Times “[Popoff] tells Grossman’s story with sensitivity and a keen understanding of his world, drawing on little-known archival collections to produce what must be considered the definitive biography.”—Douglas Smith, Wall Street Journal Longlisted for the 2019 Cundill History Prize...

Simone Veil, the former French lawyer and politician who became the first President of the European Union, was born Simone Jacob in 1927. In A Life, she describes in vivid detail a childhood of happiness and innocence spent in Nice that came to an abrupt end in 1944 when, at the age of 17, she was deported with her family...

The history of the United States has been characterised by fervent idealism, intense struggle, and radical change. For every critical, defining moment in American history, there were those whose impassioned voices rang out, clear and true, and whose words compelled the minds and hearts of all who heard them. When Patrick Henry declared, "Give me liberty, or give me death!",...

The Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever deployed. With it, the French scored a streak of historic victories that gave them an unprecedented grip on power over the European continent. At its peak, it was made up of 680,000 men, a huge multinational force of officers, infantry and cavalry,...

An award-winning journalist tells her haunting family story. Diana Wichtel was born in Vancouver. Her mother was a New Zealander, her father a Polish Jew who had jumped off a train to the Treblinka death camp and hidden from the Nazis until the end of the war. When Diana was 13, she moved to New Zealand with her mother, sister...

The Year of Chaos by Malachi O'Doherty is a frank and incisive exploration of the most tumultuous period of the Troubles, a time defined by unprecedented violence and political turmoil in Northern Ireland. In the eleven months between August 1971 and July 1972, Northern Ireland experienced its worst year of violence. No future year of the Troubles saw such death...

Sixsmith has found another way of telling the story of the Cold War, one that laces history with the mind games that were played by both sides' - The Times More than any other conflict, the Cold War was fought on the battlefield of the human mind. And, nearly thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its legacy...

James Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans—including FDR's grandfather, Warren Delano—who in the 1800s made their fortunes in the China opium trade. Meanwhile, American missionaries sought a myth: noble Chinese peasants eager to Westernise. The media propagated this mirage, and FDR believed that supporting Chiang Kai-shek would make China America's best friend in Asia. But Chiang was on his...

It is estimated up to 100,000 people died in the frontier wars that raged across Australia for more than 150 years. This is equivalent to the combined total of all Australians killed in foreign battles to date. However, there are few memorials marking these first, domestic wars. The Australian Wars was conceived by Rachel Perkins following her award-winning documentary series...

A beautifully presented gift for anyone with an intrigue for geographical curiosities. This beautifully designed book presents unusual borders, enclaves and exclaves, divided or non-existent cities and islands. Numerous conflicts have left countries divided and often shattered. Remnants of countries may by design or accident be left behind as a legal anomaly in this complex world. Most people believe that...

Rise and Fall opens with the Akkadian Empire, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our western and eastern roots. Next, Strathern describes how a great deal of Western classical culture was developed in the Abbasid and Umayyid Caliphates. Then, while Europe was beginning...

Past and Present brings together almost two dozen newly collected essays by the distinguished American historian and cultural critic, Gertrude Himmelfarb. Their common theme is the intriguing, often unexpected ways in which the past illuminates the present. The novelist William Faulkner wrote that "The past is never dead. It's not even past." In these essays, Himmelfarb shows the truth of...

In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In...

The Islamic State stunned the world with its savagery, destructiveness, and military and recruiting successes. However, its most striking and distinctive characteristic was its capacity to build governing institutions and a theologically grounded national identity. What explains the rise of ISIS and the caliphate, and what does it portend for the future of the Middle East? In this book, one...

Award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins brings his renowned expertise to Constantine at the Bridge, where he unveils how the Battle of the Milvian Bridge marked the point of no return for Rome and shaped the Western world as we know it. The AD 312 Battle of the Milvian Bridge, just outside Rome, marked the start of a monumental change for Rome...

The British Library's map collection is the national cartographic collection of Britain and numbers around four million maps dating from 15 CE to 2017 CE. These include road maps drawn for 13th-century pilgrims and sea charts for 17th-century pirates. They include the first printed map to show the Americas and the last to show English-controlled Calais. They include the world's...

In fifty years … nobody will then know anything about our troubles. 1939: Paul Kurz – engineer, refugee from Vienna and Dunera Boy – is separated from his wife, Paula, and his mother at the outbreak of World War II and interned in Australia. Late 1960s: An Australian student from an Irish Catholic family, railing against his father, struggling with...

Shard engineer Roma Agrawal deconstructs our most complex inventions into seven fundamental objects: the nail, spring, wheel, lens, magnet, string and pump. _____________ 'Delightful' – TIM HARFORD, FINANCIAL TIMES 'Appeals to the nerdy side of just about all of us... a great book to give' – JANE GARVEY 'Splendid. Clearly written, elegantly structured full of facts you are unlikely to...

Few filmmakers, if any, make the kind of impact that Martin Scorsese has made on American cinema. The winner of every prestigious film award, including the Oscar, Scorsese is a living legend. Bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly's groundbreaking biography reveals how this working-class boy from Manhattan's Little Italy became one of our most acclaimed, celebrated, and influential...

Heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is a Palestinian doctor's inspiring account of his extraordinary life, growing up in poverty but determined to treat his patients in Gaza and Israel regardless of their ethnic origin. A London University- and Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and ‘who...

'Racily enjoyable' Daily Telegraph 'De Courcy brilliantly recreates the heady spirit of Cunard's Paris . . . You feel she really might have been there' Laura Freeman, The Times Dazzlingly beautiful, highly intelligent, and an extraordinary force of energy, Nancy Cunard was an icon of the Jazz Age, said to have inspired half the poets and novelists of the twenties....

Young Joe is living in pre-World War II Berlin, with his British father and NZ mother, attending school and witnessing the excitement of his friends who are enthusiastically joining the Hitler Youth Movement. Joe feels uncomfortable with the growing mistreatment of local Jews, and after the arrest of his father as a spy, he is forced to escape from Berlin...

How can one European capital be responsible for most of the West's intellectual and cultural achievements in the twentieth century? Viennese ideas saturate the modern world. From California architecture to Hollywood Westerns, modern advertising to shopping malls, orgasms to gender confirmation surgery, nuclear fission to fitted kitchens—every aspect of our history, science, and culture is in some way shaped by...

Moscow, 1934. Moscow's glittering new subway is under construction at last. The first line will run through the centre of the city, cutting deep through Moscow soil. But futures cannot be created without digging up the past. Though Russia's leaders want to build a glorious Soviet capital, what holds them in a fatal grip is history: old mud and bones....

A concise history of an uprising that took down a three-hundred-year-old dynasty and united the great powers. The year is 1900, and Western empires are locked in entanglements across the globe. The British are losing a bitter war against the Boers while the German kaiser is busy building a vast new navy. The United States is struggling to put down...

Michael Sheridan is one of the best informed and wisest writers on China - Chris Patten, last governor of Hong Kong The Red Emperor presents an eye-opening portrait of Xi Jinping, the man who presides over 1.4 billion people and the second largest economy on earth. Born a 'princeling' to one of Communist China's ruling families, the young Xi was...

THE TOP 10 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'One of the finest contemporary novels I've read ... A moral masterpiece' ANN PATCHETT 'Her writing has a luminous kind of clarity, a grace and scope that fills me with wonder' RACHEL JOYCE 'Damning and dazzling ... The story of a Vietnam we never got in history class' OPRAH DAILY You have no...

The first book to be published from the BBC's archive of forgotten voices and untold stories from the six years of World War Two. There was a German bomber flying right towards us - a Dornier, one of their biggest. It was so low we could see the pilot flying it and the gunner in the nose of the bomber...

The authors of The Bright Ages return with a real-life Game of Thrones—the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe. By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The...

A WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 A century ago, a Labour government took power for the first time. Meet the "Wild Men" who led the way... 'Superb' -- New Statesman 'Fascinating' -- The Sunday Times. In 1923, the passing of the Act which gave all men the vote opened the door for a radically different sort of government: men...

Ed Moloney's A Secret History of the IRA is the best-informed account yet written of the IRA's evolution from ruthless guerrilla army into governmental party, ruling Northern Ireland alongside its most intransigent former enemies. But reconciliation between political figures who until very recently wished each other dead or in jail has not been accompanied by very much truth-telling about the...

"Within the harrowing landscape of both the Spanish Civil War and World War II, Escobar shines a light on hope and humanity. Descriptions and prose, both startling and lyrical, bring you into the scene and into the lives of both Elisabeth and Isabel as they strive to survive, thrive, and care for others in this gripping tale of destruction, war,...

A stirring novel of idealist loyalty and sibling love, by one of East Germany's most important writers. 1960. The border between East and West Germany has closed. For Elisabeth, a young painter, the GDR is her generation's chance to build an egalitarian socialist future. For her brother Uli, it is a place of stricture and oppression. Separating them is the...

Zeinab Badawi, award-winning broadcaster and President of SOAS, tells an epic story of the oldest inhabited continent in the world from an African perspective. Perfect for fans of William Dalrymple, David Olusoga and Peter Frankopan. SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2024 An instant Sunday Times bestseller, Radio 4 Book of the Week and Guardian Best Summer Read Selected as...

Is the destruction of Gaza only a consequence of the October 7, 2023 attack, or is it also the outcome of a long process of dispossession and eradication? Do Palestinians have the right to resist the occupation? Is talking about genocide anti-Semitism? Enzo Traverso goes to the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by calling history into question and offers a...

Million Copy Bestselling Author A captivating saga of four lifelong friends navigating the waves of change in Western Australia's transformative decades, from the idyllic 1950s to the dynamic 90s. Perth's Golden Era The prosperous 1950s when childhood is idyllic in the small city of Perth... The turbulent 60s of free love and war... The avaricious 70s when WA's mineral boom...