The history of the world is, in many ways, a history of revolutions. Not only those that succeeded, though a great many did, but those that failed and those that were averted.What if they weren't? What if Canada had won its independence in 1837? What if the Taiping rebels had formed their own country in China? What if Trinidad revolted against the British in the 1930s? What if a Socialist Commune arose in East Sussex?In this collection of 13 short stories, the authors of Se...

Ireland is a country that is, in many ways, still defined by the British occupation and the nature of its partition and independence and so there is much room to explore how it could have evolved differently in different circumstances.What would home rule have looked like in practice? What struggles would an Ireland that won independence in the late 18th century have faced? How would Ireland have positioned itself if the Nazis had won the Second World War?In this collection, thirteen talen...

**From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower“A dazzling history of Western ideas.”—The Economist“Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Journal“[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston Globe**Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenome...

THE ONLY BOOK ON IRISH HISTORY YOU'LL EVER NEED!From invasions to rebellions, heroic martyrs to pragmatic politicians, industrial development to mass emigration, A History of Ireland in 250 Episodes by renowned Irish historian Jonathan Bardon will take you on a sweeping journey through Irish history, getting behind the historical headlines to reveal the lived experience of Irish people.Written in easy-to-read bitesize episodes, Bardon's original and engaging style will make you feel as tho...

**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A magisterial world history unlike any other that tells the story of humanity through the one thing we all have in common: families • From the author of The RomanovsA Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, Smithsonian****“Succession meets Game of Thrones.” —The Spectator • “The author brings his cast of dynastic titans, rogues and psychopaths to life...An epic that both entertains and inform...

A moving account of how war is remembered – and by whom'Impressive. A hundred individual histories, skillfully assembled, built into a poignant meditation on why they still matter' David Olusoga'Brilliant' Piers MorganShortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award 2026Bestselling historian Tessa Dunlop travels the length and breadth of the United Kingdom on a quest to uncover a ...

A funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated, and timely history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist—"Perfect for fans of Atlas Obscura " ( Publishers Weekly )."Defoe writes in revv-edup prose a bit like Hunter S. Thompson's, but more jokey and with an English accent. . . . I enjoy it immensely." —Michael Dirda,

A globetrotting, laugh-out-loud funny history for grown-ups from the multi-million copy bestselling author.It is a truth universally acknowledged that the rich and powerful always look after their own and the working people are always revolting.But every now and again, a new group actually manages to seize power, and it changes history.In his new book, Revolting, bestselling Horrible Histories author Terry Deary ta...

Readers can discover all the foul facts about ROTTEN RULERS, including who gave the job of high priest to a donkey, who choked to death while eating a crow and who celebrated victory by eating his enemy's head.

Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in the world – with one of the darkest histories on record. Sweeping through the centuries in a blood-soaked catalogue of assaults, assassinations and all-out attempts at annihilation, this volume reveals the hideous tapestry of death, disease and disaster that lies beneath Edinburgh's stunning façade. You'll never see the city in the same way again…

As fitting for the twenty-first century as von Clausewitz’s On War was in its own time, Invisible Armies is a complete global history of guerrilla uprisings through the ages.Beginning with the first insurgencies in the ancient world—when Alexander the Great discovered that fleet nomads were harder to defeat than massive conventional armies—Max Boot, best-selling author and military advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan, masterfully guides us from the Jewish rebellion ag...

"A really informative book . . . It whets the appetite to learn more" of the medieval warriors, their training, armor, weapons, and chivalry ( Army Rumour Service).Originally warriors mounted on horseback, knights became associated with the concept of chivalry as it was popularized in medieval European literature. Knights were expected to fight bravely and honorably and be loyal to their lord until deat...