Shrouded in myth and conspiracy, the history of the Knights Templar is little understood. Geordie Torr pulls fact from fiction, revealing the astonishing tale of this military-religious order that dominated the politics of the medieval Middle East. 

Initially created to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land in the wake of the First Crusade, the...

All is fair in love and war. At least the Nazis thought so. They deployed sex like any other weapon in the service of the Third Reich. Al Camino examines many shocking cases, where brothels were hotbeds of bugging and blackmail, and pillow talk could topple nations. 

Cases include: 

• The bugging of Salon Kitty, a high-class brothel in Berlin which was taken...

The year 2020 witnesses the 400th anniversary of the voyage made by the Pilgrim Fathers, who sailed from England to America on board the Mayflower.

This epic excursion signalled one of the most significant episodes in Christian history, making as it did an enormous impact on the trajectory of Christianity in the USA.

Through the Year with the Pilgrim Fathers...

A vital exploration of openness and why we must defend it at all costs.

Humanity's embrace of openness is the key to our success. The freedom to explore and exchange - whether it's goods, ideas or people - has led to stunning achievements in science, technology and culture. As a result, we live at a time of unprecedented wealth and opportunity. So why are we...

L. M. Montgomery's beautiful Island scrapbooks, covering a period from 1893 to mid-1910, are finally back in print. Reflecting Montgomery's youth and optimism, these full-colour pages are filled with meaningful insight into the life of a young writer's inspiration during the period when she would create the beloved character of Anne Shirley, who would win...

Ten thousand Allied troops landed in the Netherlands in September 1944.

This was the largest airborne invasion ever undertaken and it ended in utter disaster.

Eight thousand men were killed, wounded, or captured during the Battle of Arnhem.

Yet, what of those who escaped?

And how did they manage it when surrounded by German troops?

Leo Heaps’...

When World War I began, war reporting was a thoroughly masculine bastion of journalism. But that did not stop dozens of women reporters from stepping into the breach, defying gender norms and official restrictions to establish roles for themselves—and to write new kinds of narratives about women and war.

Chris Dubbs tells the fascinating stories of Edith...

Gladiators and Beasthunts is a comprehensive survey of arena sports in ancient Rome, focusing upon gladiatorial combat and the beast-hunts (venationes). Whilst numerous books have already been written on arena spectacles in ancient Rome, they generally neglect the venationes, despite the fact that the beast-hunts, in which men were pitted in mortal combat...

History has recorded that the first ever powered flight took place at Kitty Hawk in America, on 17 December 1903 and was carried out by the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, who were aircraft designers and manufacturers. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War, aviation was only eleven years old. The daddy of battlefield warfare until that...

"The enemy bomber grew larger in my sights and the rear gunner was sprayed by my guns just as he opened fire. The rest was merely a matter of seconds. The bomber fell like a stone out of the sky and exploded on the ground. The nightmare came to an end."

In this enthralling memoir, the author recounts his experiences of the war years and traces the story...

If ever there was a real pilot's aeroplane it was the Hunter; an outstanding multi-purpose aircraft which excelled in the roles of interceptor fighter, ground attack, reconnaissance, research vehicle and two-seater trainer, not forgetting its dramatic formation aerobatic performances.

The Hunter is one of the world's greatest aircraft. For three decades...

The origin of the names of many English towns, hamlets and villages date as far back as Saxon times, when kings like Alfred the Great established fortified borough towns to defend against the Danes. A number of settlements were established and named by French Normans following the Conquest. Many are even older and are derived from Roman placenames. Some...

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
WINNER OF THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARD FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK THAT PROMOTES DIVERSITY

'Nuanced, human and engaging' Nikesh Shukla, Observer
'Full of life, characters, gossip and all the richness of the local community' Sir David Jason
'A delightful story of growing up "above the shop"' Nigel Slater, Observer
'Cleverly links her own...

From the author of the global phenomenon Utopia for Realists comes ‘a declaration of faith in the innate goodness and natural decency of human beings’ (Stephen Fry), at a time when this message could not be more necessary.

'Humankind challenged me and made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens

It's a belief...

Growing up in the hardship of a South Wales mining community, Aneurin Bevan developed a passionate conviction in the need for collective action by his class. In 1929 he began his long career as the Member for Ebbw Vale, shining as one of the most brilliant debaters in Parliament.

In 1945 he entered the Labour Cabinet as Minister for Health and Housing and...

Der berüchtigte Rennfahrer Giles Langford ist überrascht von der Tatsache, dass sein Schmied ein Mädchen ist, schockiert, als er erkennt, dass sie die Schwester eines Herzogs ist, die nicht in seiner Liga spielt, und entsetzt, dass er sich in die für ihn unerreichbare Frau verliebt hat. Ohne Geld und ohne Titel hat Giles nichts zu bieten, außer seinem...

This enlightening study teaches history as it relates not only to the state of Alabama but to the United States as a whole. Studying this text will provide a basic and expanded knowledge of Alabama history, while also encouraging readers to embark on further historical research. Its design features tools to retain comprehension and to create a quest...

*Technological progress is carrying us to inevitable disaster. …
*Only the collapse of modern technological civilization can avert disaster. …
*What is needed is a new revolutionary movement, dedicated to the elimination of technological society. …
—from the Preface

Logical, lucid, and direct, Technological Slavery is more than an expansion on the...

In this extraordinary book, the soldiers who served in the Durham Light Infantry recount their personal experiences of serving in World War II.

Following the remarkable story of a ‘band of brothers’ who fought in every major land campaign, the soldiers tell their versions of what it was like to march across France and Belgium, to battle both the enemy...

The history of unemployment and many concepts surrounding it remain a mystery to many Americans. Frank Stricker believes we need to understand this essential thread in our shared past. American Unemployment is an introduction for everyone that takes aim at misinformation, willful deceptions, and popular myths to set the record straight:

-Workers do not...

Parting and Enduring is a dialectical effort to understand some consequences of the principle of evolution that threaten the survival of mankind very clearly and directly.

Although it has become commonplace to say and hear that humanity faces global perils, we try to explain how true this actually is by identifying these dangers.

For instance, we believe that...

What does the future hold for the Midwest? A vast stretch of fertile farmland bordering one of the largest concentrations of fresh water in the world, the Midwestern US seems ideally situated for the coming challenges of climate change. But it also sits at the epicenter of a massive economic collapse that many of its citizens are still struggling to...

This is a travelogue about the North-East of England and all the history a visitor can see in a very short time.

Places vary from the large city of Newcastle with its iconic bridges across the River Tyne to smaller gems such as Durham with its magnificent Norman cathedral.

Tourists can find Roman ruins in abundance and large, modern sculptures along with...

Discover the story of the disease that devastated the Victorian population, and brought about major changes in sanitation. Drawing on the latest scientific research and a wealth of archival material, Amanda Thomas uses first-hand accounts, blending personal stories with an overview of the history of the disease and its devastating after-effects on British...

Marie Antoinette has always fascinated readers worldwide. Yet perhaps no one knew her better than one of her closest confidantes, Marie Thrse, the Princess de Lamballe. The Princess became superintendent of the Queens household in 1774, and through her relationship with Marie Antoinette, a unique perspective of the lavishness and daily intrigue at...

Food is always a hot topic - Food waste, food banks, food miles, local versus imported. As we all need food, we can't ignore it.

But as some families struggle without enough food to live on, others are challenged to consider how much they throw away, or how to make the food they have go further.

Which is why Claud Fullwood set herself the challenge of living...

Anna Komnene is one of the most curious figures in the history of an intriguing empire. A woman of extraordinary education and intellect, she was the only Byzantine female historian and one of the first and foremost historians in medieval Europe. Yet few people know of her and her extraordinary story. Subsequent historians and scholars have skewed the...

During the 1930s, the British Intelligence agencies became increasingly concerned about Communist influence in the country. They reacted by spying on thousands of ordinary British citizens. Amongst them were many artists and writers who, in tune with ‘the spirit of the times’, had become sympathetic to left-wing causes, most notably the Spanish Civil War...

In 1827 the Duke of Wellington – former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army and British Prime Minister – ordered the withdrawal of British soldiers from the island of Ceylon after years of bloody conflict there. English cargo vessels, including the unarmed English Quaker ship Morning Star, were despatched to sail to Colombo to repatriate wounded British...

A masterful account of a vital five months in the bloody battle for the Pacific, giving fresh insights into the Guadalcanal and Solomons campaign, a key turning point in both the Pacific Theater and World War II as a whole.

From popular Pacific Theater expert Jeffrey R. Cox comes this insightful new history of the critical Guadalcanal and Solomons campaign...

This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive.

In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly...