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A Waterstones and BBC History Magazine Best Book of the Year The Aspects of History Book of the Year 2025 'Terrific – full of drama … it has profoundly altered my understanding of the Second World War' PATRICK BISHOP FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SBS COMES AN EPIC HISTORY OF THE ALLIED VICTORY IN NORTH AFRICA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. On 8 November 1942, British and American troops invaded French North Africa as part of Operation Torch, the largest amphibious operation of the war to date. The Germans responded by flooding troops into Tunisia and the stage was set for one of the most decisive clashes of the war. For months the outcome hung in the balance. The Allies failed to capture Tunis before Christmas, and early in the New Year the legendary German commander Erwin Rommel ( the ‘ Desert Fox ’) inflicted a series of crushing defeats on inexperienced American troops in the mountain passes of central Tunisia. But once the two Allied armies – the First and the Eighth – had joined hands in southern Tunisia in early April, the defeat of Axis forces was inevitable. The end came on 13 May when the remnants of the First Italian Army surrendered to British troops in northern Tunisia, leaving the Allies ‘ masters of the North African shores ’. It was, with Guadalcanal in the Pacific and Stalingrad in Russia, one of three Axis defeats in early 1943 that changed the course of the war. Historians have recognized the significance of the others, but not Tunisia which they have either ignored or characterized ( as the Americans did at the time ) as a sideshow. Yet it ended Axis sea power in the Mediterranean, destroyed more than 2,400 Axis aircraft ( 40 per cent of the Luftwaffe ’ s strength ), and resulted in the surrender of over 250,000 German and Italian troops, more than were captured at Stalingrad. Such was the scale of their defeat that the German public wryly dubbed it ‘ Tunisgrad ’. It was the first campaign fought by the Anglo-American alliance, and would determine how and where the Allies would fight for the rest of the war. It was where America first brought to bear the full weight of its industrial strength, and where the Allies learned, after early setbacks, how to defeat the Germans with a combination of air, land and sea power. It featured many of the great commanders of the Second World War, including ‘ Ike ’ Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr, Omar N. Bradley, Harold Alexander, Bernard Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. But the campaign ’ s chief significance is that it extinguished any lingering hopes in Italy that the war could be won and led, inexorably, to the dissolution of the Axis in Europe. By destroying the Axis it marked, for Hitler, the beginning of the end. Tunisgrad is the first comprehensive 360-degree history, told from the perspective of all the combatants, and ranging in focus from politicians and senior commanders to ordinary servicemen fighting in and over the mountains of Tunisia, and across the Mediterranean. Using a variety of first-hand sources, it restores the campaign to its rightful place as a defining moment of the war

''Full of dignity, courage and humour, and as fresh and insightful as the day it was written, FENWOMEN is a vital portrait of rural women''s lives - not only as they were lived in the 1970s in one Cambridgeshire village, but in the generations before it, all over the country, and reaching forward into today''s world, too'' MELISSA HARRISON Mary Chamberlain''s vivid social and oral history of an isolated village in the Cambridgeshire Fens was the first book ever published by Virago. Told through the voices and lives of women, whose memories span over one hundred years, it provides a unique portrait of a working-class, rural community where intermarriage was common, most inhabitants lived all their lives in the village, and until the middle of the twentieth century a single family owned almost all the land. 50th anniversary edition - now a Virago Modern Classic with a new introduction by Alexandra Harris

A new edition of this fascinating and unusual journey through the world of maps and mapmakers, drawing on 700 years'' worth of maps from the National Archives.A map is a snapshot of a place, a city, a nation or even the world at a given point in time - fascinating for what they tell us about the way our ancestors saw themselves, their neighbours and their place in the world. This magnificent collection, drawn from seven centuries of maps held in the National Archives at Kew, looks at a variety of maps, from those found in 14th-century manuscripts, through to early estate maps, to maps used in 20th-century military campaigns.Great images are accompanied by compelling stories. Featured is a woodcut map of 16th Century London, a map of where the bombs fell during the Second World War, and a map the first American settlers drew when they were attempting to establish a new empire on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. This new edition has been revised throughout, with many new maps added, including newly discovered and digitised maps from North America. A whole new chapter, Mapping Buildings, has also been added.

Explores the life and military career of Lucian Truscott, one of the greatest, yet least celebrated, US combat commanders of World War II. Born in Texas to a drug-addicted father, Truscott would become one of the United States’ greatest ever combat generals. Expert in mechanised warfare and amphibious operations during World War II, he was a plain-speaking, determined fighter. The book traces Truscott’s rise as a senior American commander in various theaters of war, including the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and southern France. It examines Truscott’s relationship with other senior American commanders such as George Patton (who once threatened to sack him), Mark Clark (who didn’t like him), Eisenhower and George Marshall. Truscott made a significant contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany, improving his command skills with each new experience. Being placed in command of the Anzio beachhead was his finest hour, where his vital contribution ultimately led to the capture of Rome. Truscott garnered a unique record during World War II as the only American officer to command military formations from regiment up to a full army, with over 200,000 soldiers under his command. He also took part in five amphibious landings during the war, becoming the United States’ foremost expert in such operations. General Lucian K. Truscott: ‘Quite a talent for fighting’ is for military enthusiasts looking to expand their knowledge beyond the well-known names of World War II canon.

Immerse yourself in the dark and complex mythology of Ancient Egypt. Alongside the mummies and the great treasure-filled burial chambers of the Pyramids are the many gods, heroes, monsters and legends that defined their universe. Atum, the first being -- who then begat Nut, the sky goddess and Geb, the god of the land -- and their union in turn producing Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys. Explore Ancient Egypt''s creation myths, including the Book of the Dead, and the evolution of pictograms and hieroglyphs, which documented many aspects of Egyptian life. Read how, across the long duration of the Ancient Egyptian age, animals such as cats, falcons, baboons and scarab beetles became sacred, and how species like the jackal, lion and the Nile crocodile became intertwined with the gods. Death and the afterlife occupied a central place in the Ancient Egyptian belief system, and this well-illustrated book explores the extraordinary lengths and care given to funerary practices, including the Weighing of the Heart and the elaborate rituals to ensure the successful passage of the deceased pharaohs into the afterlife -- to live in Paradise with Osiris. Fully illustrated with photographs of shrines and statuary, this book is the definitive guide to the dark, complex and extraordinary mythology of Ancient Egypt.

A critical first-hand appraisal of the activities, achievements, and importance of the Jewish Brigade by IDF Major-General Shlomo Shamir (Rabinowicz), its Covert Internal Commander on behalf of the Haganah and the Jewish national institutions in Palestine. Some myths surrounding the Brigade’s activities are also dealt with in this appraisal. The Jewish Brigade, a unit of the British Army during WW2, played a crucial role on behalf of world Jewry in the fight against Nazi Germany. Comprised mainly of Jewish volunteers from Palestine, the Brigade was formed in 1944 after four years of struggle for deployment as a fighting force. The Brigade participated in the Italian campaign, distinguishing itself in the battles along the Senio River and proving that Jewish soldiers could fight as a unified force against a well-trained enemy and prevail. Beyond combat and under Shamir’s guidance, the Brigade was the first to search for, meet, and care for survivors of the Holocaust. Despite British disapproval, its members worked at numerous Displaced Persons camps in Germany, particularly at Bergen-Belsen, and facilitated the illegal journeys of many survivors to Palestine. The story of the Brigade therefore, exemplified a dedicated pursuit of both military goals and Jewish national aspirations. With many Brigade members subsequently becoming leading figures in the fledgling Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the book shines a light on how the experience of these Jewish volunteers in the British Army was irreplaceable in shaping both the military and political landscape of the nascent State of Israel.

''Europe is a garden... It is the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity, and social cohesion that the humankind has been able to build... Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.'' This is how Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, characterized the situation in 2022, several months after Russia''s invasion of Ukraine and one year before Israel''s war against Gaza. Europe has a singular image of itself and of the world. It persists in thinking of itself as the cradle of civilization, the incarnation of good and justice, threatened by a global environment where savagery, darkness, and evil reign. Clinging to this fantasy inherited from a colonial past, it is lost and misguided, turning its back on the values of humanism and equality to which it nevertheless claims to adhere. As long as Europe and, with it, the political West, have not renounced their desire for power, there will unite against them the resentment of all the peoples who have had the bitter experience of their domination over the last five centuries. Because the ''jungle'' is Europe''s own creation, produced by the blindness of conquest and exploitation. This powerful essay is an invitation to rebuild a Europe that is truly concerned about the fragility of the world and of life, with an acute awareness of the perils that threaten humanity.

The Secret Sacred explores the hidden religious practices of the classical world. These cults, shrouded in secrecy, promised initiates a transformative afterlife. While many rituals remain mysterious, artworks and historical texts provide glimpses of their underlying beliefs. The book examines Greco-Roman religious traditions and their divergence into mystery cults, including Bacchic ceremonies depicted in frescoes, Orphic gold tablets guiding souls in the underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries celebrating Demeter and Persephone’s cycle of rebirth. Eastern deities like Mithras, Isis and Cybele also feature in the cults discussed. The possible influence of mystery religions on early Christianity is also explored, drawing parallels with modern-day beliefs. Featuring the most recent archaeological discoveries and stunning museum artefacts, this is a lively account of the concealed faiths of the ancient world.

America's Founding Fathers feared that a standing army would be a permanent political danger, yet the U.S. military has in the 250 years since become a bulwark of democracy. Kori Schake explains why in this compelling history of civil-military relations from independence to the challenges of the present. The book begins with General Washington's vital foundational example of subordination to elected leaders during the Revolutionary War. Schake recounts numerous instances in the following century when charismatic military leaders tried to challenge political leaders and explains the emergence of restrictions on uses of the military for domestic law enforcement. She explores the crucial struggle between President Andrew Johnson and Congress after Lincoln's assassination, when Ulysses Grant had to choose whether to obey the Commander-in-Chief or the law – and chose to obey the law. And she shows how the professionalization of the military in the twentieth century inculcated norms of civilian control. The U.S. military is historically anomalous for maintaining its strength and popularity while never becoming a threat to democracy. Schake concludes by asking if its admirable record can be sustained when the public is pulling the military into the political divisions of our time.

Whose international matters, and why? How are geographic regions constructed? What are the channels of engagement between a place, its people, its institutions, and the world? How do we understand the non-West’s influence in contemporary global interactions? From humanitarianism and activism to diplomacy and institutional networks, South Asia has been a crucial place for the elaboration of international politics, even before the twentieth century. South Asia Unbound gathers an interdisciplinary group of scholars from across the world to inves­tigate South Asian global engagement at the local, regional, national, and supra-national levels, spanning the time before and after indepen­dence.

The Adriatic is ‘the small Mediterranean’ – a sea within a sea, part of the Mediterranean and at the same time detached from it, a largely enclosed sea with stunning coastlines and a long history of commercial, political and cultural exchange. Silent witness to the flow of civilizations, the Adriatic is the meeting point of East and West where many empires had their frontiers and some overlapped.  With Italy on one side and the Balkans on the other, the Adriatic is the area where the Latin West became intertwined with the Greek and Ottoman East. This book tells the history of the Adriatic from the first cultures of the Neolithic Age through to the present day. All of the great civilizations and cultures that bordered and crossed the Adriatic are discussed: Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire, Venice and the Ottomans, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Byzantium was replaced by Venice, queen of the Adriatic, which reached its zenith at the beginning of the sixteenth century and maintained commercial and military hegemony in its Gulf, sharing the sea with the Turks, the Habsburgs, the Pope and the Spanish vice-kingdom of Naples. It was Napoleon who ended Venice’s reign in 1797. In the nineteenth century, the Austrian Empire prevailed, and Central Europe reached the Mediterranean through the Adriatic. United Italy placed its most symbolic frontier in the eastern Adriatic, clashing with Austria-Hungary in the First World War. The twentieth century was marked by the prolonged conflicts and eventually peace between Yugoslavia, Albania and Italy. Today the Adriatic is a region increasingly integrated into the European Union, experiencing a new era of cooperation following the dramatic collapse of Yugoslavia. Across centuries, this book illustrates the rich cultural and artistic heritage of diverse civilizations as they left their mark on the cities, shores and states of the Adriatic.

Witches – whether broomstick-riding spell-casters or Wiccan earth-worshippers – have been culturally relevant for centuries. For centuries, too, belief in the potency of witchcraft has been debated, accused witches have been hunted and punished, and film and TV productions have brought the witch and the witch-hunter to big and small screens.But where did our perception of witches – good and bad – come from? What motivated wide-scale panics about witchcraft during certain periods? How were alleged witches identified, accused, and variously tortured and punishe? teven Veerapen traces witches, witchcraft, and witch-hunters from the explosion of mass-trials under King James VI and I in the late sixteenth century to the death of the witch-hunting phenomenon in the early eighteenth century. Based on documents and the latest historical research, he explores what motivated widespread belief in demonic witchcraft throughout Britain as well as in continental Europe, what caused mass panics about alleged witches, and what led, ultimately, to the relegation of the witch – and the witch-hunter – to the realm of fantasy and the fringes of society.

Longlisted for the 2025 BSHS Hughes Prize ''Enthralling'' Philip Ball''Ingenious'' Sujit SivasundaramIn Tracks on the Ocean, Sara Caputo tells how our journeys around the globe became fixed lines on maps - and how journey lines themselves reshaped maps and the way that we view the world. From Captain Cook''s route across the South Seas to the disorientating power of digital technology, the tracks we''ve left on the oceans - trading, exploring and conquering - are a hidden record of humanity''s impact on the planet. Revealing their histories, Caputo uncovers a fascinating new history of maritime travel and modernity.Weaving human history, cartography, literature and climate science, Tracks on the Ocean reveals how, on the path to discovery, we have changed the world.

THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025A CAPX AND ENGELSBERG IDEAS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 The late 17th century saw the rise of a new phenomenon that would transform Britain forever: party politics. Beginning with a furious dispute over whether to allow a Roman Catholic - James II - to become king, the division between Whig and Tory marked the chief political battlelines of a ferociously polarised country for several tumultuous generations. The Rage of Party traces the thrilling story of how these two parties - one representing the established social forces of squire, church and monarchy; the other the rising forces of financial power and Protestant Dissent - settled the defining debates of the age, culminating in a dramatic fight to the death over peace, piety and the Protestant Succession in the age of Queen Anne. Their bitter disputes over religion, economics and the constitution profoundly influenced many of the forces and institutions that shaped the modern world, ranging from the City of London and the Bank of England to the Union between England and Scotland and the British Empire. From vicious pamphlet wars and some of history's most corrupt and riotous elections through a revolution, multiple assassination attempts and enough scandals to make even the most louche modern politician blush, this brilliantly researched book shows how a motley crew of rakes, hypocrites, cunning tricksters and scheming clergymen engaged in not only a political confrontation that threatened a second civil war, but a culture war that still finds echoes in 21st-century Britain. 'This is a lucid and exciting account of high and low politics in the crucial years of Whig and Tory battles following the Glorious Revolution, when Great Britain was created, and a new world of money, war and empire dawned. George Owers grippingly recounts the culture wars, paranoia, self-seeking and skulduggery that are "both recognisable and strange". Recognizable because "we are all still, in our heart of hearts, either Whig or Tory", and we are still grappling with their legacy' - Robert Tombs, author of The English and their History'This book is a delight. Written with vivacity and veracity it sheds light on the miracle of English party politics' - Maurice Glasman'We tend to think of our current age as uniquely fractious but as George Owers shows in his engrossing new book, it is a kindergarten compared to the "Rage of Party'' this country experienced in the late seventeen and early eighteenth centuries. The story he tells so vividly has it all: political divisions, religious strife, immigration controversies, fake news, arguments over foreign policy, Anglo-Scottish tensions - polarisation all round!' - Brendan Simms, author of Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the Present'A highly readable account of the beginnings of the party system in Britain, with insights that are relevant for understanding of politics in any era. George Owers's vivid recreation of the conflict of Whigs and Tories illuminates what was a crucial period in the rise of Britain as a major European and global power' - David Hayton, editor of The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1690-1715'Today's party politics absorbs us. When did British party politics begin and how? George Owers's book provides a compelling analysis, brilliantly interweaving vivid vignettes into a masterly narrative' - Mark Goldie, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Cambridge

"A fascinating family and social history and a savage indictment of the role of child slavery in the growth of the Industrial Revolution," Catherine Taylor, author of The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern TimeWe all think we know the tale. As a child, Charles Dickens was forced to work in a mouldering Thames-side blacking factory, an event that scarred him for life and inspired Oliver Twist. Except that''s only part of the story. In reality, Dickens appropriated the stories of foundlings and orphans - including Robert Blincoe, whose memoir supplied the source material for his great novel of childhood. In Oliver Twist & Me, novelist Nicholas Blincoe presents a dual biography of Dickens and his great-great-great-grandfather Robert, showing how the story of an orphan took off in different directions, helping Dickens project himself as an inimitable literary one-off, just as Robert''s memoir of a workhouse boy gave a voice to the masses.From London and Kent to the factories of Manchester, Blincoe retraces the steps of both men, along the way discovering the Camden workhouse that inspired Dickens and revisiting the great stage musical. His journeys with his family and his dog Fredo lead him to an affectionate reassessment of a beloved classic, while also revealing how Dickens shaped the story of his lonely childhood to suppress his debt to his family, hide his affairs and, as his career ignited, abandon the people who had helped him. By playing off the lives of a working-class hero and a classic author, Oliver Twist & Me reveals Dickens - and his world - as they have never been seen before.

*‘A triumph of historical narrative.’ JAMES HOLLAND, author of Victory '45The gripping story of the pioneer behind the Spitfire told in a major new biography  ‘Britain's leading aviation historian' Daily Mail Reginald Mitchell is one of the greatest names in aviation history. A visionary engineer with a passion for speed, his legacy is the most iconic fighter aircraft of all time: the Spitfire.  During the uneasy peace of the 1920s, he was a trailblazing innovator working at the cutting edge of technology. As Europe’s politics darkened in the 1930s, the work of Mitchell and his team at Supermarine became crucial to a nation preparing for war. Though he did not live to see the Spitfire in action, his work led to triumph at the Battle of Britain – and to a legendary aircraft that still inspires awe to this day. In this exhilarating biography, Paul Beaver takes us behind the scenes, exploring the creative genius of a man devoted to pushing the boundaries of technology. We see his flair for leadership and collaboration with Rolls-Royce, the pinnacle of British engineering; we learn of Mitchell’s other innovative designs that could have changed the course of the war, had he not died in 1937; and, at last, we hear the real story behind the Spitfire. Drawing on new interviews, private archives and previously unpublished material, this is the story of a man who helped change the course of history – one of the great design leaders of the twentieth century.  Praise for Winkle:'[A] thumping great biography by Britain's leading aviation historian' Daily Mail, ‘Book of the Week’'Winkle Brown's astonishing adventures make for fascinating reading' Sunday Times'Beaver recounts the story of a man he regarded as a mentor in unshowy but fascinating detail, and restores a British hero to his rightful place' Observer 'The extraordinary story [of] a fearless pilot and decorated war hero. Epic' The Herald'An incredible life ... Brown took a secret to the grave that makes his story all the more remarkable' The Sun

Early twentieth-century Persia and the Persian Gulf presented a largely blank slate to the British, best known only as a vital conduit to India and a site of contest ? the ''great game'' ? with the Russian Empire. As oil discoveries and increasing trade brought new attention, the expanding telegraph and river shipping industries attracted resourceful men into junior positions in remote outposts. Love, Class and Empire explores the experiences of two of these men and their families. Drawing on a wealth of personal letters and diaries, A. James Hammerton examines the complexities of expatriate life in Iran and Iraq, in particular the impact of rapid social mobility on ordinary Britons and their families in the late imperial era. Uniquely, the study blends histories of empire with histories of marriage and family, closely exploring the nature of expatriate love and sexuality. In the process, Hammerton discloses a tender expatriate love story and offers a moving account of transient life in a corner of the informal empire.

Trails to Freedom is the story of a solo hike across the Alps that brings to life the fascinating, largely unknown history of the Anzac POWs who escaped Fascist Italy to find safety in neutral Switzerland during WWII. In October 1943, four Australian soldiers left Biella in the foothills of the Alps in northern Turin, fleeing Italy's Nazi–Fascist regime. They spoke no Italian, and they had scant clothing and no food. With the help of local partisans, who offered support at great risk to themselves and their families, the soldiers crossed into neutral Switzerland eight days later. They were four of more than 500 Anzac POWs who followed the sentieri della libertá, the trails to freedom. Decades later, author Simon Tancred embarks on a modern-day pilgrimage along the same route. With every step he takes, history rises to meet him: the stories of the four escapees, the Italian anti-fascists who helped them and the Anzac soldiers who didn't make it. He remembers, too, his uncle John, a POW who perished in the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Along the way, he passes through some of the most spectacular and challenging terrain in Europe.

<p><i>The Defector </i>is the untold account of how, in 1971, the defection of a KGB saboteur in London led to the expulsion of more than a hundred Soviet 'diplomats' from the UK.<br><br>Drawing on newly declassified intelligence documents and dozens of interviews with spymasters,<i> The Defector</i> tells a startling story of a Soviet mission to plant fake Kremlin agents within British and American intelligence services, the paranoia that ensued, and how the actions of a genuine turncoat, the former KGB officer Oleg Lyalin, and the secrets he revealed resulted to one of the most dramatic and pivotal moments in the Cold War. <br><br>Lyalin led MI5 to rethink its relationship with the CIA. And his defection discredited a previous KGB defector, Anatoly Golitsyn, the darling of the CIA, and ultimately destroyed the reputation of the US agency's head of counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton. <br><br><br>As Richard Kerbaj writes: 'There was a poetic irony in Golitsyn's loss of credibility. It came, as he had previously feared, at the hands of a KGB defector. Except Oleg Lyalin had not been sent by the KGB - he was running away from it.'<br><br>At the heart of Lyalin's story is a narrative entwined with lies, disinformation, Kremlin deception campaigns, intelligence failures by the CIA and MI5, and a tangled love life. Told in full here, for the first time, by one of this country's leading commentators on national security, it reveals how during the darkest moments of the Cold War one of the West's greatest achievements transpired as a result of MI5's break with the CIA.<br><br>The disclosure of the inside story of this historic event also comes at a time when there is a renewed interest in the relationship between transatlantic spy services - from the intelligence they share or hold back, to the way they respond to their political masters and stand up to threats from Russia.</p>