'A masterpiece of history'DAILY TELEGRAPHBetween 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. Many regard this savage civil war as the most influential event of the modern era. An incompatible White alliance of moderate socialists and reactionary monarchists stood little chance against Trotsky's Red Army and Lenin's single-minded Communist dictatorship. Terror begat terror, which in ...

Rasputin: visionary, fraud or victim of history?THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'THE GOLD STANDARD OF NARRATIVE HISTORY' DAN SNOW'ONE OF THE GREAT STORIES OF HISTORY, TOLD BY ONE OF OUR GREATEST HISTORIANS' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE'THIS EXTRAORDINARY STORY HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER TOLD' ANTHONY HOROWITZ'A STUNNING BANQUET OF A BOOK' ROSE TREMAIN

A fascinating account of Russia's famous dissident and the politics he embodies.Who is Alexei Navalny? Poisoned in August 2020 and transported to Germany for treatment, the politician returned to Russia in January 2021 in the full glare of the world media. His immediate detention at passport control set the stage for an explosive showdown with Vladimir Putin.But Navalny means very different things to different people. To some, he is a democratic hero. To ot...

A thrilling memoir from one of the last living WW2 pilots, published to mark his 105th birthday'Colin Bell DFC is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met' JAMES HOLLAND'A terrific read, combining laugh-out-loud reminiscences with jaw-dropping accounts of aerial warfare' JOHN NICHOL'Stirring' The Times'Brimming with quiet courage and patriotism' Daily Mail

Brought to you by Penguin.The author of The Ruin of All Witches returns with a gripping, vividly told journey of rediscovery, uncovering his uncle’s past as a soldier, prisoner, fugitive and partisan in World War Two ItalyMalcolm Gaskill knew two things about his great-uncle Ralph’s wartime adventures: he’d been a prisoner in Italy, and he’d cut his way out of a train with a knife and fork. Apart from that, he’d faded into family fo...

**Brought to you by Penguin.A sweeping, original history of the Cold War, from an acclaimed historian of the USSR**Why did the Cold War erupt so soon after the Second World War? How did it escalate so rapidly, spanning five continents over six decades? And what led to the spectacular collapse of the Soviet Union?In this comprehensive guide to the most widespread conflict in contemporary history, Vladislav Zubok traces the origins of the Cold War in post-war...

Fasten your seatbelts, darlings, it's been one helluva ride. 'If there's a more enthralling celebrity memoir out this year, I'll eat my bowler hat.' The Times '[A] high-kicking hoofer of a book.' Telegraph 'A heady brew of gossip, glamour and defiance.' Guardian 'Brilliant and bonkers' The MirrorLiza Minnelli is one of the m...

THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025A CAPX AND ENGELSBERG IDEAS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025The late 17th century saw the rise of a new phenomenon that would transform Britain forever: party politics.Beginning with a furious dispute over whether to allow a Roman Catholic - James II - to become king, the division between Whig and Tory marked the chief political battlelines of a ferociously polarised country for ...

Brought to you by Penguin.From the Italian Alps to northern Germany, to London, New York, Washington and Tokyo, Victory ’45 tells the story of the extraordinary summer when the greatest conflagration the world had ever known finally came to an end after six surrenders that heralded the Allied victory.Comprised of eight chapters based around each of those surrenders and the victory celebrations which followed, it will be rich in character and human drama wit...

Brought to you by Penguin.‘We shall be forgotten.’ he said. ‘We shall be lost. They will scrub us away like a set of dirty fingerprints on a plastic kettle.’The crumbling Gothic mansion of Thornwalk, long-term home of the Gilbert family, is being handed over to a chain of luxury ‘historic’ hotels. Millions will be spent in its restoration. But for every ‘improvement’, what will be lost? What value can there possibly be in a threadbare carpet, a tar...

**Brought to you by Penguin.You’ve heard of the men who kill, but what about the women who loved them?**It’s a baking hot summer in 1960s California and three women have formed an unlikely friendship. From the outside, Beverley, Elsie and Margot lead idyllic lives, but behind the false smiles and glittering pools lies the truth: their husbands are some of the country’s most notorious convicted killers.Amidst neighbourhood gossip and pointed fingers, the women are fig...

**Brought to you by Penguin.What do you do when your country becomes a repressive authoritarian state?**2014: Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics. Russia invades Crimea. Putin is re-elected president. Several political prisoners are amnestied and released early from prison.Maria Alyokhina is among them. She had spent two years in a penal colony after performing the punk prayer ‘Virgin Mary, Banish Putin’ with her friends in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour....