From the acclaimed author of Michelangelo, God’s Architect, a dual biography of two towering artists of the Renaissance, whose decades-long rivalry spurred both to greater heightsIn 1529, Michelangelo was in Venice when he first met Titian, Venice’s famed painter of princes, gods, and goddesses. Coming face-to-face with Titian’s drama-infused, richly colored works, the creator of David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling realized he had met a worthy op...

The untold story of Michelangelo's final decades—and his transformation into one of the greatest architects of the Italian RenaissanceAs he entered his seventies, the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were past. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme painter and sculptor began carving his own tomb. It was at this unlikely moment that fate intervene...

In this audiobook, acclaimed actor Simon Callow narrates the gripping untold story of Michelangelo's final decades—and his transformation into one of the greatest architects of the Italian RenaissanceAs he entered his seventies, the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were past. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme painter and sculptor began carving...

This audiobook narrated by Mack Sanderson paints an unforgettable portrait of two towering artists of the Renaissance whose decades-long rivalry spurred both to greater heightsIn 1529, Michelangelo was in Venice when he first met Titian, Venice's famed painter of princes, gods, and goddesses. Coming face-to-face with Titian's drama-infused, richly colored works, the creator of David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling realized he had met a worthy opponent. Twent...

The digital era is beset by distraction, and it feels like things are only getting worse. At times like these, the distant past beckons as a golden age of attention. We dream of recapturing the quiet of a world with less noise. We imagine retreating into solitude and singlemindedness, almost like latter-day monks.But although we think of early monks as master concentrators, a life of mindfulness did not, in fact, come to them easily. As historian Jamie Kreiner demonstrates in T...

In Profit and Punishment, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist exposes the tragedy of modern-day debtors prisons, and how they destroy the lives of poor Americans swept up in a system designed to penalize the most impoverished.“Intimate, raw, and utterly scathing” — Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water“Crucial evidence that the justice system is broken and has to be fixed. Please read thi...

In this guide-that’s-not-a-guide, metal detectorist cousins Ellie and Lucie explore their local landscape, getting to grips with the hobby, history and themselves along the way.‘Enchanting and visceral’ DR MADELEINE PELLING‘Brilliantly witty and magnificently down to earth’ DR REBECCA STRUTHERS**‘A joyful account of unearthing history, one discovery at a time’ SALLY COULTHARD'An upl...

‘Extraordinary’ SOPHIE ELMHIRST, author of Maurice and Maralyn‘Sparkles with passion, greed and mystery’ OLIVER BULLOUGH, author of Butler to the World‘Spellbinding’ LAURA MILLER, Slate‘A jewel of a thriller’ CAROL WOOLTON, author of If Jewels Could TalkWhen she was ten years old, Serena Kutchinsky’s father Paul was consumed by a wild dream. Heir to the legen...

This momentous biography tells the story of the Huxleys: the Victorian natural historian T. H. Huxley ("Darwin's Bulldog") and his grandson, the scientist, conservationist, and zoologist Julian Huxley. Between them, they communicated to the world the great modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In The Huxleys, celebrated historian Alison Bashford writes about these omnivorous intellects together, almost as if they were a single man whose long, vital life boo...

An epic, revelatory account of the Battle of Gettysburg, where George Meade, Lincoln's unexpected choice to lead the Union army, defeated Robert E. Lee and changed the course of the Civil War, from the award-winning author of James Monroe: A LifeBy mid-1863, the Civil War, with Northern victories in the West and Southern triumphs in the East, seemed unwinnable for Abraham Lincoln. Robert E. Lee’s bold thrust into Pennsylvania, if successful, could mean Sou...

Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine are two of the most recognizable figures of the Middle Ages, and almost certainly the best-known couple. The lives of their sons have been examined in detail many times, but their daughters are barely known despite the influence they exerted on the world around them. Joanna, the youngest daughter, led an extraordinary life full of travel, adventure, danger, and controversy. Her story is told here in full for the first time.

Political historian and commentator David Rothkopf shows how Trump will be judged by history (Spoiler alert: not well) in Traitor.Donald Trump is unfit in almost every respect for the high office he holds. But what distinguishes him from every other bad leader the U.S. has had is that he has repeatedly, egregiously, betrayed his country. Regardless of how Senate Republicans have let him off the hook, the facts available to the public show that Trump has me...