A whistle-stop tour, from Ivan to Putin, by one of the world's foremost Russia-watchers.
NB Publication of this book has been delayed until February 2021. Publishing schedules have been... read more
The Bulgarian/Scottish writer explores the mountainous fringe of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece along the via Egnatia (which, astonishingly, joined the via Appia to link Rome with Byzan... read more
Kneale knows the city like few others (viz his Rome: A History in Seven Sackings, pbk £10.99). His writing is also a delight, so his account of lockdown is worth reading.
Not so much a sequel to 'The Hare with Amber Eyes', this short, superb and immensely powerful book is nevertheless complementary to his earlier book. Read it, give it, think about it; read i... read more
A fascinating account of the gradual triumph of one method of sorting data, from the Great Library of Alexandria to the present decline in our digital age.
AM's last book was 'Night Trains' , in which we could luxuriate in dreams of the Blue Train, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-lits and lamp-lit dining cars... Now, post-Brexit, the au... read more
Of the 50,000 Jews who were sent to concentration camps from Salonika, only 2,000 returned. The author is one of them. This manuscript from 1948 is presented by his grandson.
CC is the distinguished Australian publisher who founded Virago. Her forebear was transported for seven years for stealing a piece of hemp, but managed to prosper in Australia. He returned t... read more
The 'special relationship' was dreamt up by Churchill to keep Britain afloat geopolitically when faced with the loss of empire. Buruma takes a shrewd look at Churchill and FDR, JFK and Macm... read more
A vibrant blend of social history and memoir: argues that this three-month period of nation-wide, wintry shutdown gave rise to unprecedented cultural renewal. Fingers crossed for 2021 and 2... read more
FSS is an excellent and varied writer. In this new book, she looks at her father's life through the papers in a suitcase revealing how he was exiled from Romania during the war, to Turkey th... read more
An exploration of the art, personalities and politics of Baroque Rome seen through the lens of Bernini's elephant carrying an obelisk. Lively, anecdotal and well illustrated.
The marvellous Attlee takes us on the journey, through space and time, of one violin, whose voice "was powerful enough to unbuckle joints". Cremona, Russia, Venice, Alpine forests... (Her la... read more
SOE sent more than 400 agents into France of whom 39 were women. Vigurs traces them all here, not just the well known ones, and sets them in their context.
A clever and curious mind is behind this engaging work. Fidler, who first visited Prague during the Velvet Revolution, moves from the medieval origins to the uncertainties of the present day... read more
The clandestine manoeuvres of one branch of military intelligence, responsible for saving thousands of lives. Airey Neave, Jimmy Langley, Sam Derry and Mary Lindell emerge as central figures... read more
JR wrote a superb novel ('Kozlowski') about the Katyn massacre. This book uses the testimonies of survivors and investigators to understand how the effects of the massacre rippled on for de... read more
In 1849 Garibaldi gave up the defence of Rome to the besieging French troops and made his way northwards with a few thousand volunteers; this is an earlier phase of the attempt at Italian li... read more
Rossmore's photographs of fading historic buildings, taken over a decade from the early 1960s, are now lodged in the Irish Architectural Archive. Here seventy images from the length and brea... read more