The story of contemporary Ireland is inseparable from the story of the official republican movement, a story told here for the first time - from the clash between Catholic nationalist and socialist republicanism in the 1960s and '70s through the Workers' Party's eventual rejection of irredentism. A roll-call of influential personalities in the fields of politics, trade unionism and media - many still operating at the highest levels of Irish public life - passed though the ranks of this sec...

Surprising myself I sprang quickly to Christianitys defence by countering, Look, Hon, lets face it, in most of recorded history, religion has given men and women universal direction, promises of forgiveness of sins and an afterlife. Those are huge inducements to believe, lets face it.Whose side was I on, I wondered. So did Mark.Hey, hang on, sweetheart, Mark frowned at me in surprise, but isnt that direction, as you put it, innate now in humans anyway?...

'Fascinating and timely. Required reading for every developer, planner or councillor who holds London in trust today' Griff Rhys Jones'Accessible, clear and readable' Rowan Moore, The Observer________________________LONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans.This unremarkable place - not even included in the Dom...

'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' Pam Ayres'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard OsmanWelcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent, lexicographer, logophile, and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner.From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder, from tartle (forgetting someone...

Discover the history of Europe - from the Dark Ages to present day - by the author of the bestselling A Short History of EnglandEurope is an astonishingly successful place. But it would take volumes to tell its story, right? Wrong. From warring peoples to peace, wealth and freedom, Andrew Jenkins distils its evolution into this short, single-volume history.From Greece and Rome, through the French Revolution to the Second World War and modern times....

If you want to discover the captivating history of the French Revolution, this is the book for you . . .Concise, convincing and exciting, this is Christopher Hibbert's brilliant account of the events that shook eighteenth-century Europe to its foundation. With a mixture of lucid storytelling and fascinating detail, he charts the French Revolution from its beginnings at an impromptu meeting on an indoor tennis court at Versailles in 1789, right through to the 'coup ...

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there...Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague?In The Time Traveller's Guide... Ian Mortimer's radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be stud...

The impressively versatile Joanne Harris in her psychological thriller mode, at her darkest and most unsettling. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid.'A magnificently plotted and twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime...darkly humorous...constantly wrongfoots and misdirects...up to a satisfyingly eccentric conclusio...

'One of the comic masterpieces' Daily Telegraph______________________________________Henderson Dores is an Englishman in New York - and completely out of his depth.He should be concentrating on his job as an art assessor, but his complicated personal life keeps intruding. And that's before we even get to his sense of alienation, of being a fish out of water. For Henderson is a shy man lost in a country of extraverts and weirdos. Sub...

The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . .From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned o...

UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTER ON THE 2024 ELECTIONA GUARDIAN AND DAILY TELEGRAPH POLITICS BOOK OF THE YEAR'BRILLIANT' ANDREW MARR'MAJESTIC' GUARDIAN'ESSENTIAL' JON SOPEL'A CRACKING READ' FINANCIAL TIMES'A SHARP INSIDER ACCOUNT' NEW STATESMANThe full inside story of fourtee...

An extraordinary exploration of the ancestry of Britain through seven burial sites. By using new advances in genetics and taking us through important archaeological discoveries, Professor Alice Roberts helps us better understand life today.‘This is a terrific, timely and transporting book - taking us heart, body and mind beyond history, to the fascinating truth of the prehistoric past and the present’ Bettany HughesWe often think o...