Siena's medieval golden age was brought to a grisly end by an appalling visitation of the plague in 1348. Nevertheless, the republic of Siena lasted for four hundred years, from the C12th un... read more
The author of Europe's Tragedy, the definitive book on the Thirty Years War, has written a powerful narrative of five centuries of political, military, technological and economic change in G... read more
What exactly is it that we preserve - and pay for - so carefully? Stourton looks at various parks, buildings and collections and charts two particular periods of conservation - the 1880s and... read more
Reframes the Silk Road as a diplomatic route, not simply a commercial thoroughfare, especially during the late Tang and Five Dynasties period. Draws on documents from Dunhuang.
The final vol of the history that he began in 1990. A staggering achievement for anyone, but for someone with a pretty demanding day job (he was Justice of the Supreme Court), it seems stagg... read more
A labour of love and scholarship, this is a study of the extraordinary Royal Library of Dom Joao V (1706-1750) of Portugal that was destroyed in 1755 in the Lisbon earthquake. The library co... read more