Send us your review and win one of the latest history books

Every month, we offer our readers the opportunity to review some of the latest history publications and to have their review published on the History Today Books Blog. Here is this month's selection.

To submit a review, please send an email to Kathryn Hadley (k.hadley[at]historytoday.com) specifying your choice of book. We will then send you the book with a one-month deadline to send us your review. Books will be sent on a first come first served basis. (Unfortunately, we are unable to send out books to the USA).


Battle for the Castle, Andrea Orzoff (Oxford University Press)
An account of how the founding myth of Czechoslovakia as an ideal democracy became enshrined in Czechoslovak and European history. The myth was forged by Masaryk and Benes, the creators of the informal political organisation known as the Hrad or ‘castle’ that fought to set the country’s political agenda and advance this myth.

Five to Rule Them All, David L. Bosco (Oxford University Press)
Drawing on extensive research including interviews with serving and former ambassadors on the council, this story of the creation UN Security Council provides an insight into the political battles and personality clashes amongst its five permanent members and its role in the postwar world.

The Pyramids: Their Archaeology and History, Miroslav Verner (Atlantic Books)
An introduction to the science and history of the pyramids set in the context of ancient Egyptian culture and politics.

Inside the Kingdom, Robert Lacey (Hutchinson)
A portrait of the Saudi state and society, which recounts, for example, how Bin Laden and his Arab fighters in Afghanistan were fostered by both the US and Saudi governments, the background to the seizure of Mecca’s Grand Mosque and the tragedy of the ‘Qateef Girl’, in the voices of the Saudis themselves.

How Terrorism Ends, Audrey Kurth Cronin (Princeton University Press)
Based on a wide range of historical examples, including the anti-tsarist Narodnaya Volya, Peru’s Shining Path and the Provisional IRA, this study of the demise of terrorist groups over the past two centuries, outlines how we might strategically approach today’s terrorist groups and the fight against al-Qaeda.

A Cultural History of Climate, Wolfgang Behringer (Polity Press)
An introduction to the latest historical research on the development of the earth’s climate, which focuses on cultural reactions to climate change through the ages and reveals how even minor changes in the climate sometimes resulted in major social, political and religious upheavals.

God and the Founders: Madison, Washington and Jefferson, Vincent Philip Muñoz (Cambridge University Press)
Through an analysis of Madison’s, Washington’s and Jefferson’s public documents, private writings and political actions, God and the Founders explains the Founders’ competing church-state political philosophies and provides an insight into how they may have dealt with current church-state issues, such as prayer in public schools and government support of religion.