Historical

The visionary chemist Sidney Gottlieb was the CIA's master magician and gentle hearted torturer - the agency's "poisoner in chief." As head of the MK-ULTRA mind control project, he directed brutal experiments at secret prisons on three continents. He...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of Lukas Prize Project (Nonfiction) 2001.Book InformationISBN 9780618154463Author Professor of History David NasawFormat PaperbackPage Count 736Imprint Mariner...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of Pulitzer Prize (History) 2001.Book InformationISBN 9780375705243Author Joseph J. EllisFormat PaperbackPage Count 304Imprint Vintage BooksPublisher Random House...

The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the heir-providing Jane Seymour or the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine, she was an auburn-haired beauty in her twenties with a passion she had...

This book is a rare first-hand account by a ruthlessly efficient German sniper of life and death during the bitter conflict that followed the Nazi invasion of Russia. Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger was an Austrian conscript who qualified as a Wehrmacht...

Sir Edward 'Eddie' Marsh was an ornament of early twentieth-century society; a respected civil servant, polymath and scholar who led a remarkable life. Always at the heart of the establishment, he was Winston Churchill's longest serving Private Secretary...

In his own inimitable style, Boris Johnson, the new Mayor of London, turns his attention to the culture, manners and morals of British society, giving us a humorous, at times furious, but always entertaining read. A witty anthology of pieces...

Sir Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana and heir apparent to the kingship of the Bangwato people, brought independence and great prosperity to his nation after colonial rule. But for six long years from 1950, Seretse had been forced into...

'They were not just reporters; they were also pioneers, and Judith Mackrell has done them proud.' -SpectatorGoing with the Boys follows six intrepid women as their lives and careers intertwined on the front lines of the Second World War.Martha Gellhorn...

Timely reissue of the second volume of Holmes's classic biographies of one of the greatest Romantic poets. Richard Holmes's biography of Coleridge transforms our view of the poet of 'Kubla Khan' forever. Holmes's Coleridge leaps out of these...

William Wallace has always been one of the great heroes of Scottish history. By no means prepared by birth, education or training for leadership, Wallace nevertheless rose to prominence during the Wars of Independence, leading forces which broke the...

'Adam Gopnik has taken a coincidence and turned it into a theory of everything, or at least of everything important ... Outstanding' - Andrew MarrOn February 12th, 1809, two men were born an ocean apart: Abraham Lincoln in a one-room Kentucky log cabin;...

The Sword of Albion concludes the most comprehensive and intimate life of Nelson ever written, one that teems with a glittering array of sailors and civilians, heroes and villains, husbands, wives and lovers. Here are Nelson's famous victories at the...

In Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee, Michael Korda, the New York Times bestselling biographer of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, and T. E. Lawrence, has written the first major biography of Lee in nearly twenty years,...

The enormous popular appeal of Philip Larkin's poetry has long been established; but oddly little is known to his admiring public about the personality behind the work.The Selected Letters will change this, throwing light on a more complex, and in many...

The product of a lifetimes reflection, The Last Escaper is Peter Tunstall's unforgettable memoir of his days in the RAF and as one of the most celebrated of all British POWs. Tunstall was an infamous tormentor of his German captors dubbed the cooler king...

For most of human history, sudden and unexpected deaths of a suspicious nature, when they were investigated at all, were examined by lay persons without any formal training. People often got away with murder. That is, until Frances Glessner Lee.Frances...

‘A highly imaginative and thought-provoking way of exploring the personality of a man who, like him or loathe him, left an indelible mark on our age’ ADAM ZAMOYSKI Winston Churchill followed his own star. He yearned to be ‘great’, to gain historical...

'Never less than compelling ... She consistently succeeds in bringing what might otherwise seem dusty and remote to vivid life' Tom Holland, Literary Review 'Starts with an erupting volcano - and then...

Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, mother of Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower, and grandmother of Henry VIII, has been vilified and defended in turn. Was she a cunning enchantress, an ambitious advancer of her family's fortunes, or a...

Colm Toibin's Lady Gregory's Toothbrush is a beautiful insight into the life of outspoken Irishwoman, Augusta Gregory.A remarkable figure in Celtic history, she was married to an MP and land-owner, yet retained an unprecedented independence of both...

An insightful new biography of the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair, focused on the man himself and based on newly accessible documents On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus's cries of innocence were drowned out by a mob shouting "Death to...

The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston includes Sherston's Progress and both Memoirs,About the AuthorSiegfried Sassoon was born in 1886 and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. He served in the trenches during the First World War, where he began to...

Violet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and...

Told for the very first time, this is the true story of the adventure that shaped the world . . .'A thrilling story of courage, survival and science. It's an extraordinary, visceral and vivid read' Geographical Magazine________Three hundred years ago no...

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA. 'Miss du Maurier creates on the grand scale . . . observation, sympathy, courage, a sense of the romantic, are here' OBSERVER 'It is my pick of the Spring biographical material for sheer entertainment value . . . a...

'Thick with rolls of gleaming new wire, the obstacle was designed to prevent a suicide bomber driving into the compound's thick mud walls. Today, however, it had only succeeded in stopping a terrified-looking small white dog. I knew that the Taliban...

'Thick with rolls of gleaming new wire, the obstacle was designed to prevent a suicide bomber driving into the compound's thick mud walls. Today, however, it had only succeeded in stopping a terrified-looking small white dog. I knew that the Taliban...

General Sir Mike Jackson's illustrious career in the British Army has spanned almost 45 years and all that time he has shown loyalty, courage and commitment to the British army whilst also being an undeniable media attraction.A man of substance where...

General Sir Mike Jackson's illustrious career in the British Army has spanned almost 45 years and all that time he has shown loyalty, courage and commitment to the British army whilst also being an undeniable media attraction.A man of substance where...

Although very little is known for certain about Pontius Pilate, the man who crucified Christ, this has not stopped writers in every age from imagining his life. In this extraordinary book, Ann Wroe recounts the lives of all our Pilates; among them the...

The gripping account of one historian's hunt for answers as he delves into the surprising life of an ordinary Nazi officer.'Totally exhilarating' Philippe SandsIt began with an armchair. It began with the surprise discovery of a stash of personal...

A short illustrated life of one of Britain's most revered people of all time, covering all periods of his life but always returning to his literal and spiritual home, Chartwell. Winston Churchill is one of the best-known and most revered...

MacArthur, the public figure, the private man, the soldier-hero whose mystery and appeal created a uniquely American legend, portrayed in a brilliant biography that will challenge the cherished myths of admirers and critics alike.Book InformationISBN...

Unruly Times is a superlative portrait of the relationship between Wordsworth and Coleridge, and a fascinating exploration of the Romantic Movement and the dramatic events that shaped it. With a novelist's insight and eye for detail, A. S. Byatt brings...

The first biography of Henry VIII’s court fool William Somer, a legendary entertainer and one of the most intriguing figures of the Tudor ageIn some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another, striking figure—a gaunt and morose-looking man with a...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Award (Nonfiction) 2006. Commended for L.A. Times Book Prize (Biography) 2005. Short-listed for National Book...

Tony Benn was one of the twentieth century's most charismatic politicians. The Best of Benn showcases his powers of original thinking and communication over seven decades.From 'the baby of the house' to a retired widower, he was a consistently radical...

A powerful account of the life of Tamerlane the Great (1336-1405), the last master nomadic power, one of history's most extreme tyrants, and the subject of Marlowe's famous play. Marozzi travelled in the footsteps of the great Mogul Emperor of Samarkland...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781948924887Author Ernst HanfstaenglFormat PaperbackPage Count 312Imprint Arcade PublishingPublisher Arcade PublishingWeight(grams) 318gDimensions(mm) 203mm...