History & Classics
Magritte
Alex Danchev
The first major biography for our time, from the celebrated biographer of Cézanne
The Rule of Laws
Fernanda Pirie
From ancient Mesopotamia to today, the epic story of how humans have used laws to forge civilizations
Fabric
Victoria Finlay
A magnificent work of original research, unwinding history through cloth – how we make it, use it and what it means to us
The Wordhord
Hana Videen
An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful and downright baffling words from the origins of English
The Library
Arthur der Weduwen
Princes, collectors, bookworms and thieves: the extraordinary story of the library, from Alexandria to the age of Google
War
Margaret MacMillan
How the human history of conflict has transformed the world we live in – for good and evil.
Art of the Extreme 1905-1914
Philip Hook
The ten most revolutionary years in art ever, covered by former Sotheby's director Philip Hook.
Confronting Leviathan
David Runciman
A primer on political theory from bestselling author and host of Talking Politics David Runciman
Between Two Hells
Diarmaid Ferriter
The history of the war that shaped the Irish political landscape across the twentieth century and up to the present day, by Ireland's most promin…
The Handshake
Ella Al-Shamahi
This quirky and engaging history reveals the secrets of one of our most ancient social gestures
Something Out of Place
Eimear McBride
A blistering, galvanising essay from Eimear McBride, award-winning author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing
Active Measures
Thomas Rid
This startling history of secret psychological operations traces the century-long rise of organized deception from the Russian Revolution to contempor…
Great State
Timothy Brook
The last eight centuries of China's relationship with the world told through the eyes of traders, invaders, civil servants, visionaries, and trai…
Imperial Tragedy
Michael Kulikowski
Two hundred years of Roman imperial politics and power brought to life in an action-packed narrative