The best books on The French Resistance, recommended by Jonathan Fenby
The historian and author chooses five books on de Gaulle and the Resistance. He says the British tried to veto de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech from London calling on the French to stand up to German occupation
The best books on Chaos in the 17th-Century Mediterranean, recommended by Molly Greene
Princeton professor of Hellenic studies says the 17th-century Mediterranean is fascinating because it was a time when nobody was in charge. And yet, it was possible to have “order without law”
The best books on The Other France, recommended by Carmen Callil
Author and founder of Virago Press decries the absolute silence of the church during the Holocaust, and discusses five books on the “dark and murky side” the French have now “faced up to”
The best books on Spain, recommended by Jason Webster
From the book Robinson Crusoe was based on to surrealist filmmakers, Jason Webster chooses five books that illustrate the power of the Spanish imagination.
A Poet Soldier’s View of Bosnia, recommended by Arnold Jansen
The Dutch army captain whose unit secured Tuzla airbase for the incoming UN aid in 1994 talks about the books he kept with him in Bosnia, and the inspiration for his Yugoslav novel, King of Tuzla
The best books on The English Countryside, recommended by Paul Brassley
The English countryside on a sunny summer's day is one of the most beguiling places in the world to be. But how has it changed since the Black Death? Is there still a meaningful difference between urban and rural society? Rural historian Paul Brassley talks us through the best books to get a fuller understanding of England's green and pleasant land.
The best books on Pilots of the Second World War, recommended by Steve Darlow
Steve Darlow, author of nine books on military aviation, discusses his favourite books on pilots during the Second World War – a time when 800 Allied airmen were lynched