Books by Justin Marozzi
“This is a history of slavery and the slave trade in the Islamic world. It goes back to the time of the Prophet and some of his more contentious teachings, which are still used to justify slavery today. It’s book-ended with reports of modern slavery in Mali. It’s a great, epic, sweeping history that takes us through 1500 years. The story is told with real panache. Marozzi will take us inside an Ottoman sultan’s harem. If you have many concubines, you also need to have many slaves to guard them, including eunuchs. One of the reasons why we, the judges, all liked it was that it took a certain amount of courage to write it. It’s obviously a tricky subject.” Read more...
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2025: The Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist
Robbie Millen, Journalist
Interviews where books by Justin Marozzi were recommended
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1
The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s
by Jason Burke -
2
How to End a Story: Collected Diaries
by Helen Garner -
3
The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief
by Richard Holmes -
4
Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World
by Justin Marozzi -
5
Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe
by Adam Weymouth -
6
Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark
by Frances Wilson
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2025: The Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Robbie Millen
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2025: The Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Robbie Millen
From the terrorists who came up with the idea of hijacking planes to get attention to a biography of the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, the books in the running for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize, as always, display a wonderful breadth. Robbie Millen, literary editor of the Times and chair of the 2025 judging panel, talks us through the shortlist of the UK’s most prestigious nonfiction book prize.
