• The best books on Henri IV of France - Henri IV by Jean-Pierre Babelon
  • The best books on Henri IV of France - Henry IV: King of France by David Buisseret
  • The best books on Henri IV of France - France in the Age of Henri IV: The Struggle for Stability by Mark Greengrass
  • The best books on Henri IV of France - The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629 by Mack Holt
  • The best books on Henri IV of France - Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe by Stuart Carroll

The best books on Henri IV of France, recommended by Vincent Pitts

At a time of bitter division, Henri IV succeeded to the French throne and managed to bring the country together after decades of civil war. He converted to Catholicism but brought in toleration for Protestants with the Edict of Nantes. In 1610 he was assassinated by a religious fanatic with a carving knife. Historian Vincent Pitts, author of a great introduction to Henri IV, talks us through the life and times of one of France’s most impressive monarchs.

  • The best books on The History of Science and Religion - The Warfare Between Science and Religion: The Idea That Wouldn't Die Edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L Numbers, and Ronald A Binzley
  • The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives by John Hedley Brooke
  • The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Science, Technology & Society in Seventeenth Century England by Robert K Merton
  • The best books on The History of Science and Religion - Theology and the Scientific Imagination by Amos Funkenstein
  • The best books on The History of Science and Religion - The Empirical Stance by Bas van Fraassen

The best books on The History of Science and Religion, recommended by Peter Harrison

Have science and religion been fundamentally at war throughout history? Are they incompatible? Has religion always held back scientific progress? These views may seem intuitive but few historians would defend them. Professor Peter Harrison looks at the complexity of science-religion interactions, including the cases of Galileo and Darwin, and considers how we frame the debate.

  • The best books on Jerusalem - The Storyteller of Jerusalem: The Life and Times of Wasif Jawhariyyeh, 1904-1948 by Wasif Jawhariyyeh
  • The best books on Jerusalem - A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz
  • The best books on Jerusalem - The Jewish War by Josephus Flavius
  • The best books on Jerusalem - The Bible The New Oxford Annotated Bible
  • The best books on Jerusalem - Jerusalem by Sami Tamimi & Yotam Ottolenghi

The best books on Jerusalem, recommended by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Jerusalem is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a place of longing for three faiths—and yet we know it mostly as a place of strife and conflict. British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: the Biography, recommends books that capture the historical ups and downs of this ever-changing city, but also its vitality, including its irresistible cuisine.

  • The best books on The Reformation - Christianity In The West 1400-1700 by John Bossy
  • The best books on The Reformation - Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe by Brad Gregory
  • The best books on The Reformation - Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper
  • The best books on The Reformation - The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village by Eamon Duffy
  • The best books on The Reformation - For The Sake Of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation by R W Scribner

The best books on The Reformation, recommended by Peter Marshall

On October 31st 1517, Martin Luther, an unknown friar in an obscure town in eastern Germany may or may not have posted a list of complaints to the door of his local church. His actions would lead to what was later called ‘the Reformation’ — a grisly period in European history that nonetheless paved the way for a more tolerant and pluralistic society. Peter Marshall, one of the period’s leading scholars, talks us through the best books on the Reformation.

  • The Best Thomas Cromwell Books - Thomas Cromwell: A Life by Diarmaid MacCulloch
  • The Best Thomas Cromwell Books - The Tudor Constitution: Documents and Commentary by G R Elton
  • The Best Thomas Cromwell Books - The Reformation Parliament 1529-1536 by Stanford E Lehmberg
  • The Best Thomas Cromwell Books - Henry VIII: The Quest for Fame by John Guy
  • The Best Thomas Cromwell Books - London and the Reformation by Susan Brigden

The Best Thomas Cromwell Books, recommended by Benedict King

The Mirror and the Light—the final instalment of Hilary Mantel’s epic trilogy covering the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and architect of the English Reformation—was published to great acclaim this month. Here, Five Books contributing editor Benedict King chooses five of the best books to help you get to grips with the real Thomas Cromwell and the political and religious environment in which he operated. You can watch Benedict talking about his Thomas Cromwell book choices here.