History Books

New scholarship is opening up different ways of looking at the Renaissance. The historian explains what we should read to gain a wider appreciation of this key period in European history

The 1930s are hugely underrated as a decade, says the historian. She tells us about the social and design revolutions that made the thirties much more than just a prelude to war

He was the Machiavelli of English kings – a chancer and usurper with a highly dubious claim to the throne. But Henry VII ruled for 25 years and founded a dynasty. His biographer, Thomas Penn, tells us how he did it

The US has repeatedly misdiagnosed the war in Afghanistan. Former soldier, Andrew Exum, tells us about flawed policy, unhappy outcomes and what could and should have been different.

The Middle East scholar tells us what to read if we’re to understand where upheaval in the Arab world came from, and where it’s going.

India’s first-ever consul general to Karachi says Pakistan is not a failed state. He is convinced that its middle class will save it from the Taliban, and that it can engage with India and set aside historic hostilities.

The professor of history at Cambridge asks why Oliver Cromwell remains Britain's most controversial ruler, and what the morbid story of Cromwell's head after his death has to say about British history.

Hugo Vickers talks about what makes a good royal biography, and how he helped Helena Bonham Carter prepare for her film role as the Queen Mother

Bestselling novelist and historian Stella Tillyard says the 19th century Regency era was, apart from the duels and empire-line dresses, much like our own – a time of war and economic uncertainty.

Fear is a great examiner of one's character, argues the World War II veteran and eminent historian of war, Sir Michael Howard. He recommends the best books on war—two on strategy and three on what it's actually like for soldiers and commanding officers.