Win New Second World War Books

A new competition has just gone live on our competitions page!

Win copies of Andrew Roberts' and Richard Overy's latest books The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War and 1939: Countdown to War.

What was the name of the commander-in-chief of the Polish army at the time of Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939?

Who is the author of Origins of the Second World War first published in 1961?

If you know the answers, visit our competitions page.

The Latest Wednesday Paperbacks

Whatever Happened to Tanganyika? The Place Names that History Left Behind, Harry Campbell (Portico)
From Rutland to Rangoon and Halicarnassus to Henpeck, this study of how and why the names of countries, cities and counties have changed over time tells the fascinating stories behind place names of the past.

Military Orientalism: Eastern War Through Western Eyes, Patrick Porter (Hurst & Co)
A study of the Western fascination with oriental warfare, which explains why the ‘Oriental’ warrior has inspired fear and wonder and how it has shaped the way Western armies fight.

We Are At War, Simon Garfield (Ebury)
Based on their diaries, the stories and personal experiences of five ordinary people, Pam Ashford, Christopher Tomlin, Eileen Potter, Tilly Rice and Maggie Joy Blunt, during the Second World War.

Jonathan Wild, John Van der Kiste (Amberley)
A biography of Jonathan Wild, probably Britain’s most well-known criminal of the 18th century and known as the director of a corporation of ‘thieves’, who was eventually arrested and hanged at Tyburn in May 1725.

This Monday's Books

In the Footsteps of Mallory and Irvine, Mark MacKenzie (John Murray)
The story of Conrad Anker and Leo Holding’s expedition to the Everest, seventy-five years after George Mallory’s attempt in 1924, to find out whether or not Mallory was the first man to reach the summit of the peak.



The Making of Wales, John Davies (The History Press)
A revised edition of The Making of Wales, illustrated with over 300 photographs, maps and line drawings, which traces the evolution of the Welsh landscape from prehistory to the present day.



Fire Over the Rock: The Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783, James Falkner (Pen & Sword)
A study of the siege of Gibraltar between 1779 and 1783, the longest recorded siege in the annals of the British army, when a small British force with their Hanoverian allies defended Gibraltar against the Spanish and the French.



Discovering London’s Buildings: With Twelve Walks, John Bold and Tanis Hinchcliffe (Frances Lincoln Limited)
This illustrated book celebrates London’s architectural heritage through a selection of themes including houses, pubs, churches and railway stations, and concludes with 12 suggestions of architectural walks.

New Wednesday Paperbacks

Imperial Island: A History of Britain and Its Empire, 1660-1837, Paul Kleber Monod (Wiley-Blackwell)
An account of Britain’s imperial path from the Stuart Restoration of 1660 to its emergence in the 19th century as a dominant global superpower, which addresses international political events as well as England and Scotland’s political, social and economic history.

Reminiscences of Manchester, Louis M Hayes (Empire Publications)
A new edition of the author’s memoirs of Manchester life, first published in 1905, which record the city’s formative years and transformation between 1840 and 1905, from an industrial new town to an international trading centre.

Escape from Germany: True stories of POW escapes in WW2, ed. Graham Pitchfork (The National Archives)
Published to mark the 65th anniversary of the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944, a series of first-hand accounts of the greatest PoW escapes of the Second World War based on unique records held at the National Archives.

The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia, Philip L. Kohl (Cambridge University Press)
Based on the study of archaeological records, this overview of Bronze Age societies of Western Eurasia outlines the long term processes and patterns of interaction that link these groups together in a shared historical trajectory of development.

This week's new books

The Pharaohs, Joyce Tyldesley (Quercus)
An illustrated history of the kings who ruled over ancient Egypt, which covers 30 dynasties from approximately 3100BC when the first pharaoh, Menes, unified Upper and Lower Egypt, to the conquest of Egypt in 332BC by Alexander the Great.



Culloden: The History and Archaeology of the Last Clan Battle, ed. Tony Pollard (Pen & Sword)
Examining the latest historical and archaeological evidence, leading historians rewrite the story of the campaign and reconsider every aspect of the battle in this study of the Battle of Culloden on April 16th 1746, which crushed the Jacobite rebellion.



Soldiers of the Queen: Victorian Colonial Conflict in the Words of those who Fought, Stephen Manning (The History Press)
Told through the letters and diaries of those who served, this account of Queen Victoria’s colonial campaigns covers all aspects of colonial service, from the time the soldiers left their barracks to go on campaign, to the journey at sea aboard transport ships, and the conflict itself.



The Book of English Magic, Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate (John Murray)
A survey of England’s little-known but rich history of magical lore and practice, which combines historical explorations and biographies of leading figures with suggestions for sites to visit and experiments to perform.

New Wednesday Paperbacks

Owain Glyndwr: The Story of the Last Prince of Wales, Terry Breverton (Amberley)
A biography of Owain Glyndwr, the last native Prince of Wales who led a 13-year war against English rule and threw back six invading armies in an effort to maintain an independent Wales.


The Seven Lives of John Murray, Humphrey Carpenter (John Murray)
The story of the John Murray publishing house from its birth in 1768, when the first John Murray of Edinburgh came down to London, to the 21st century.


My Ancestor Was in Service, Pamela Horn (Society of Genealogists)
By the end of the Victorian era almost a third of all women and also many men in England and Wales had been a domestic worker at some time in their lives. This is a guide for researchers wishing to find out about relatives who were in service or had themselves employed domestic staff.


The Rough Guide to St. Petersburg, Dan Richardson (Rough Guides)
The sixth edition of the guide, which includes specific sections about Russian history, literature and cultural life.

This Monday's New Releases

Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Kritzler (JR Books)
An account of a hidden chapter of Jewish history when, forced to flee Spain as a result of the Spanish Inquisition at the end of the 15th century, some Jews took to the seas, attacked and plundered the Spanish fleet, and carved out an empire in the New World.

Men of Empire, Monique O’Connell (The Johns Hopkins University Press)
An institutional and administrative history of Venice from 1380 to 1540, which describes the structures, processes, practices and laws by which the city-state dominated a fragmented empire at the boundary between East and West, between Latin Christian, Greek Orthodox and Muslim worlds, and maintained its vast overseas holdings.

Napoleon 1814: The Defence of France, Andrew Uffindell (Pen & Sword)
A study of Napoleon’s military campaign following the Allied invasion of France in 1814, which records the successive clashes leading up to the final battle outside Paris and Napoleon’s abdication, as well the impact of the campaign on the civilian population.

The Battle of Kosovo 1389: An Albanian Epic, Anna Di Lellio (I.B. Tauris)
More often presented from the Serb perspective, this new translation of the Albanian account of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo between the Ottoman Sultan Murat I and a coalition of Balkan forces provides a deeper understanding of the Albanian debate on national and cultural belonging.

New Paperbacks for August

Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific, Larry Smith (Norton)
Based on 22 veterans’ accounts, a history of the battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945, which lasted 53 days and during which approximately 28,000 soldiers died.


Mavericks, Robert Harvey (Constable)
Based on twelve individual portraits, an insight into the minds and actions of military mavericks, such as Clive of India, George Washington, Horatio Nelson, and George Patton, who helped change the course of military history.


A History of Western Astrology Volume I, Nicholas Campion (Continuum)
A study of the origins and development of Western astrology from the first Palaeolithic lunar counters around 30,000BC to the 5th century, which explores the relationship between astrology and religion, magic and science, and its use in politics and the arts.


A History of Western Astrology Volume II, Nicholas Campion (Continuum)
This second volume examines the foundation of modern astrology in the medieval and Renaissance worlds, challenging the historical convention that astrology flourished only between the 12th and 17th centuries.

New books for August

Bullets, Bombs and Cups of Tea, Ken Wharton (Helion & Company)
The author’s second oral history of the Northern Ireland troubles told from the perspective of the ordinary British soldiers who were involved in the conflict from 1969 to 1998. It also recalls, for the first time, the stories of the ‘unseen victims’, those who were left at home dreading news of the death of their loved ones.

Civilisations of Ancient Iraq, Benjamin R. Foster & Karen Polinger Foster (Princeton University Press)
The story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements 10,000 years ago to the Arab conquest in the 7th century, which traces the rise and fall of successive civilisations in Iraq over the course of millennia, from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the Persians, Seleucids, Parthians and Sassanians.

Iraq: A Political History from Independence to Occupation, Adeed Dawisha (Princeton University Press)
A history of the Iraqi state from its founding in 1921 following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to the present day, which reveals how, from the very beginning, Iraq’s ruling elite sought to unify an ethnically diverse and politically explosive society by developing state governance, fostering democratic institutions and forging a national identity.

History of the Mafia, Salvatore Lupo (Columbia University Press)
An account of the Sicilian Mafia from 1860 to the present, which reveals an organisation and mindset dedicated to the preservation of tradition that functions as an alternative to the state, providing its own social and political justice.