As German Jews, Regina Steinig and her daughter Lucia are forced into hiding during the Second World War. Finding refuge in the workshop of a local beltmaker, they hold on to each other as they live i
Named "Man of the Millennium" in 1999, Johannes Gutenberg was the creator of one of the most influential and revolutionary inventions in Europe's history: a printing press with mechanical movable type
Travel was a way of life for the Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke, and it was integral to his work. Between 1897 and 1920 he visited Venice ten times. The city has inspired countless writ
Ninety years ago the League of Nations convened for the first time hoping to settle disputes by diplomacy not war. This book looks at how the League was shaped and the multifaceted body that emerged,
Fronted by one of the world's most iconic doors, 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the British Prime Minister and the heart of British politics. This is the story of the intimately entwined
Accompanying the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 program, Reflections features interviews with twelve of Britain's most influential political figures from the last twenty years. Presented by Peter Hennessy, one
Known by the Greeks as `Megalonisos', the `Great Island', Crete has been of paramount strategic importance for thousands of years thanks to its location close to the junction of three continents and t
Though once a source of violent conflict, the border dividing the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland has been relatively stable in recent years. The border’s creation in 1921 exacerbated
We live in a profoundly challenging era for journalists. While the profession has historically taken on the mantle of providing clear, sound information to the public, journalists now face competition
To the vast majority of the English public, the role of the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court has often been distant and incomprehensible, its judges a caste apart from society. The Power of Judges
From the famed Atlantis to the remote Rupes Nigra, islands have long held our fascination: they are locales isolated from ordinary life, lurking in unexplored corners of the globe and thus full of und
Though both men have become twentieth-century icons, at first glance, Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin couldn't be more different. One, the grand statesman whose resolve led a nation in the strug
“Will someone pay for the spilled blood? No. Nobody.” When Mikhail Bulgakov composed this dark and prophetic phrase in Kiev amid the turmoil of the Russian civil war, the political trouble
With almost 13 million residents, Tokyo is now as much an icon of modernity as it is a city, with its neon-lit billboards, futuristic technology, and avant-garde fashion scene. But the long and f
From his earliest childhood, Giles Radice has held Europe close to his heart. Ten years after the end of World War II, at the age of 18, he set off to cycle across the continent. Meeting his European
Throughout Britain, Civil Servants are exposed to public scrutiny today in unprecedented ways. What does it mean that the political neutrality of the Civil Service has only been enshrined in la
The Versailles Settlement, at the time of its creation a vital part of the Paris Peace Conference, suffers today from a poor reputation: despite its lofty aim to settle the world’s affairs at a
The great British dilemma is this: Britain is a country forever wrestling with two moral sides—whether to be viewed as a lion that roars and conquers, or a gentle lamb that gambols happily. In t
The Power of Politicians takes readers inside the workings of Parliament via an autobiographical account of Tessa Jowell’s own experience of entering politics as an MP. Jowell offers fascin
The Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia are remote and largely neglected by outsiders. Will Buckingham went there, as an anthropologist in training, with a mission. He hoped to meet three remarkable sc
Following Brexit and the earlier referendum on Scottish independence, the debate about British identity has been given recent new prominence. Historically conceived to integrate conflicting nationalis
Max has been married to Tina for twenty-five years. She is the love of his life, but now he must come to terms with the fact that she is to spend a year away on a work assignment—away, for the f
For forty years, Barnaby Rogerson has travelled across North Africa, making sense of the region’s complex and fascinating history as both a writer and a guide. Throughout that time there have al
In May 1940, the British War Cabinet debated over the course of nine meetings a simple question: Should Britain fight on in the face of overwhelming odds, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives, o
‘”From the very first moment they realize that the Hajj—the pilgrimage to Mecca—is among the duties of each and every Muslim, the faithful long to go.” This book prsents
The German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is often seen as the quintessential eighteenth-century tourist, though with the exception of a trip to Italy he hardly left his homeland. Compared to sev
In his famous report of 1942, the economist and social reformer William Beveridge wrote that World War II was a “revolutionary moment in the world’s history” and so a time “for
In 2015, an unprecedented number of people from Africa and the Near East took flight and sought refuge in Europe. By the end of that year, some 1.8 million migrants had arrived in the EU, the vast maj
Simone Veil, the former French lawyer and politician who became the first President of the European Union, was born Simone Jacob in 1927. In A Life, she describes in vivid detail a childhood of happin
Palermo’s heart lies hidden under its many outer layers. In this unusual guide to the beautiful Sicilian capital, Roberto Alajmo uncovers each stratum to reveal its true character. Although disg
Part dark fairy tale, part mystery, Yiza is the story of three homeless street children on the run. One evening, not long after her arrival in Germany, six-year-old Yiza is abandoned at the market whe
One of the greatest cities of the Himalaya, Kathmandu, Nepal, is a unique blend of thousand-year-old cultural practices and accelerated urban development. In this book, Thomas Bell recounts his experi
The Silk Road is not a place, but a journey, a route from the edges of the Mediterranean to the central plains of China, through high mountains and inhospitable deserts. For thousands of years its his
When Patricia Clough, a former foreign correspondent, bought a house in Umbria, she knew that buying her dream home did not mean that life would become a dream. By the end of this book, in which she d
Whatever the eventual outcome of Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, the critical questions remain: what does the Referendum vote tell us about British society? As with the election of
When Alejandro Luque receives a book of photographs of the Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, in Sicily he decides to trace the writer’s journey, setting off with a group of friends on his o
Ernest Hemingway is most often associated with Spain, Cuba, and Florida, but Italy was equally important in his life and work. This book, the first on the subject, explores Hemingway’s visits througho
Haile Selassie I, the last emperor of Ethiopia, was as brilliant as he was formidable. An early proponent of African unity and independence, Haile Selassie, who claimed to be a descendant of King Solo
With its varied and glorious history, Istanbul remains one of the world’s perennially fascinating cities. Richard Tillinghast, who first visited Istanbul in the early 1960s and has watched it transfor
