Great American Railroad Journeys sees the famous brand of social-history-cum-travelogue venture to the New World. Across multiple programmes and using Appleton's General Guide To The United States & Canada as reference, Michael Portillo now undertakes an epic trip by train from New York and Boston on the East Coast down to the Deep South of Atlanta and New Orleans, then on to Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico and ultimately finishing in San Francisco. This lavishly illustrate...

It is now over a decade since the much-loved Great British Railway Journeys series set off on its incredible run discovering the cultural, social and engineering landscape of the United Kingdom through the prism of George Bradshaw's Handbook to rail travel. Veteran politician and ex cabinet minister Michael Portillo has since presented eleven seasons of this ever-popular show on BBC Two, covering every part of the existing train network in Britain, as well as others that ...

Great Continental Railway Journeysis now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's1913 Continental Railway Guide. Now coming up for its fourth instalment this autumn, Portillo guides the train-travelling fan across Europe arriving at a myriad of magical and his...

Discover the hidden history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned places and buildings.Portillo’s Secret History of Britain presents a compelling and wonderfully evocative history of Britain through the stories of its ‘lost’ or abandoned places and buildings. The chapters cover a variety of historical themes: Crime and Punishment, Health and Medicine, D...

Michael Portillo uncovers the forgotten events concealed by famous moments in historyHistory is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history's best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten...

Michael Portillo presents these specially selected shows exploring the history of democracy and the modern political systemIn a parliamentary career spanning over 20 years, Michael Portillo served as a Conservative MP and held numerous Cabinet posts. Few people are better placed to comment on politics than him, and in these thought-provoking programmes, he gives us his take on the development of democracy and contemporary political theory.In the three-part ...

Specially selected history series presented by Michael Portillo, exploring the most significant events before, during and after the First and Second World WarsJournalist and broadcaster Michael Portillo has always been fascinated by the past. A former politician and history graduate, he has presented several TV documentaries, including Portillo's Empire Journey and Great British Railway Journeys. Now, in these fascinating radio programmes, he turn...

Discover the hidden history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned places and buildings.Portillo’s Secret History of Britain presents a compelling and wonderfully evocative history of Britain through the stories of its ‘lost’ or abandoned places and buildings. The chapters cover a variety of historical themes: Crime and Punishment, Health and Medicine, D...

Great Continental Railway Journeys is now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor – Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide. Now coming up for its fourth instalment this autumn, Portillo guides the train-travelling fan across Europe arriving at a myriad of magical and h...

From the exploits of railwaymen at the Front to the secrets of railway spies who worked behind enemy lines; the manufacture of munitions in railway workshops to the role of railways in post-war remembrance – this book explores some of the remarkable stories of the railway war. Individually, each illuminates a different aspect of the conflict. Taken together, they provide us with a fresh perspective on the First World War as a whole.The Great War was the quintessential rail...

Major public figures go back to their beginnings and uncover where they really startedJohn Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers, and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten ...

TEXT ONLY EBThe Sunday Times BestsellerA glorious insight into Britain over the last 150 years – its history, landscape and people – from the window of Britain’s many and magnificent railway journeys.Inspired by George Bradshaw, a 19th-century cartographer who mapped Britain’s railways as they sprung up around him, Charlie Bunce and Michael Portillo take a journey along nine classic British railway routes and surround themselves with the history, the charm and the p...