Social History

'A fascinating journey through the game's history [as] a vehicle of change' Shaka Hislop 'Correia takes us around the world to examine how football has produced the kind of political energy that can change minds and even topple governments' Dave Zirin...

The first authorized copy of this mysterious, much-speculated-upon, one-of-a-kind, centuries-old puzzle"For the first time, a complete reproduction [of] The Voynich Manuscript, has been published, featuring essays exploring what is known about the book...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, a dazzling, globe-spanning history of humankind's greatest invention: the city.'Brilliant...enchanting' Evening Standard 'Exhilarating' New York TimesThe story of the city is the story of civilisation. From Uruk...

Native Americans make up less than one per cent of the total US population but represent half the nation's languages and cultures. Here, in one grand sweep, is the full story of Native American society, culture and religion. Here is everything from the...

The perfect stocking filler for anyone who imagines themselves flying a spitfire . . . Drop your visiting cards, put aside your beer-lever, stop being a half-pint hero and discover the gloriously funny slang which was part of everyday life in two world...

An engaging, richly illustrated account of parish churches and churchgoers in England, from the Anglo-Saxons to the mid-sixteenth century Parish churches were at the heart of English religious and social life in the Middle Ages and the sixteenth century...

A beautifully illustrated history of Britain's most revered and valued institution: the NHS. In March 2020 the UK went into lockdown to help contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect the NHS from one of the greatest threats that it has faced in its...

The past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook.If you could travel back in time, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. It is the age of Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and...

A fast-paced, character-filled history that brings the unique American saga to life for readers of all ages "This is a little history with a big heart, meant to be savored more than studied, read out loud like poetry, or perhaps sung like a hymn...

'I read the book with enormous appreciation. Tessa Boase brings all these long-ago housekeepers so movingly to life and her excitement in the research is palpable.' Fay Weldon: Novelist, playwright - and housekeeper's daughter Revelatory, gripping and...

A SPECTATOR and PROSPECT Book of the Year'Ceaselessly interesting, knowledgeable and evocative' Spectator'A fresh way to write history' Alan Johnson'A quirky, amused, erudite homage to France . . . ambitious and original' The Times_____France: An...

Paris Review contributor Katy Kelleher explores our obsession with gorgeous things, unveiling the fraught histories of makeup, flowers, perfume, silk, and other beautiful objects. April recommended reading by the New York Times Book Review, Vanity Fair,...

The extraordinary true story of the Stasi's poetry club: Stasiland and The Lives of Others crossed with Dead Poets Society.'Engrossing.' Observer'Remarkable.' The Times'Magnificent.' Phillipe Sands'Gripping.' Literary Review'A history so outlandish and...

A fascinating slice of social history - Jennifer Worth's tales of being a midwife in 1950s London, now a major BBC TV series.Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which...

'It's rare for a book to make you see the world differently, but this ... does exactly that on almost every page' Guardian Standard histories of technology give tired accounts of the usual inventions, inventors, and dates, framing technology as the...

'The finest book ever written about England and the English' Stuart Maconie 'J. B. Priestley is one of our literary icons of the 20th Century and it is time that we all became re-acquainted with his...

For most of western history, all sex outside marriage was illegal, with the church and state punishing any dissent. Between 1600 and 1800, this entire world-view was shattered by revolutionary new ideas - that consenting adults have the freedom to do...

The appeal of the Beatles is everlasting. Millions of fans from all over the world continue to revel in the band's eternal hits and their music stands out as one of Britain's greatest cultural successes. This book takes the reader on a journey to the Fab...

Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize, Cundill History Prize, Fage and Oliver Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award Winner of the Historical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown 2020Winner of the American...

A celebration of Ukraine's rich cultural heritage, drawing on over 100 of the country's most important works of art and architectural monuments from prehistory to the present. Showcasing more than one hundred objects and buildings - from Byzantine icons...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780593296707Author W. David MarxFormat HardbackPage Count 368Imprint Viking Press IncPublisher Penguin Putnam Inc

'An absorbing and eye-opening account of what the Plantagenets did for us.' - HELEN CASTOR'Burt and Partington show precisely and engagingly why the Middle Ages matter.' - DAN JONESBetween 1199 and 1399, English politics was high drama. These two...

Philosopher, dramatist, rhetorician, Stoic and pragmatist, Seneca was one of the most contradictory figures in ancient Rome, embracing a stern ascetic morality while amassing a fortune under Nero and eventually committing suicide. This definitive...

The Passion of the Western Mind is a complete guide to Western civilisation and the philosophical ideas that have shaped our world view. From Plato to Hegel, from Augustine to Nietzsche, from Copernicus to Freud, Richard Tarnas described profound...

For the first time ever, the recipes for pintxos-the small savory and sweet dishes found in bars in Basque Country-are gathered to present the definitive bible on this significant food of Basque culture, along with the history and people who created...

This classic bestseller - the inspiration for the PBS series - is an "illuminating and even inspiring" portrait of medieval Spain that explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance (Los Angeles...

A lively, subversive history of the new UK jazz wave, encapsulating its revolutionary spirit and tracing its foundations to birth of the genre itself.'Not solely a book about jazz, or even a nascent cultural shift; it's a record of a pivotal moment in UK...

The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life told through her unique scrapbook.In 1838, Anne Sykes was given a diary on her wedding day. Using it to collect snippets of fabric, she created a record of her life and times. Nearly two hundred years later,...

'A spectacular, elegant, brilliant portrait of skulduggery, murder and sex in Renaissance Florence' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard, Books of the Year 1531 - after years of brutal war and political intrigue, the bastard son of a Medici Duke and...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781913083441Author Ian GoldinFormat HardbackPage Count 288Imprint Old Street PublishingPublisher Old Street PublishingDimensions(mm) 216mm * 135mm * 22mm

Cunning Folk transports us to a time when magic was used to solve life's day-to-day problems - as well as some of deadly importance.'A brilliant book, written with wit and vigour' MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin of All Witches'Absolutely fascinating'...

The Essential Hirschman brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. Albert O. Hirschman was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATIONA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES, WATERSTONES AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE A NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB MUST READBeastly is the 40,000-year story of our changing kinship with the animal world - from the...

Vaughan renews perspectives on the changes brought about by Irish migrant communities in terms of identity, politics and religion. The book examines on the experience of generations of Irish migrants in the West of Scotland from the aftermath of the...

A landmark study of the history of male-male sex in early modern Europe, including the European colonies and the Ottoman world. Until quite recently, the history of male-male sexual relations was a taboo topic. But when historians eventually explored...

A Notting Hill Carnival city. A rock city. A rave city. A reggae city. A city of deep soul and funky jazz. A city where, from the Rolling Stones to Stormzy, cutting-edge music has constantly been created ... London rules the game.London's Record Shops...

A Waterstones Travel Book of the Year 2023 A funny, warm and timely meditation on identity and belonging, following the scenic route along the England-Wales border: Britain's deepest faultline. There is a...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781612199337Author David GraeberFormat HardbackPage Count 560Imprint Melville House PublishingPublisher Melville House Publishing

When her mother Celia Paget died, Ariane Bankes inherited a battered trunk stuffed with letters and diaries belonging to Celia and her twin Mamaine. This correspondence charted the remarkable lives of the Paget sisters and their friends and lovers,...

This book brings together Dorothy Thompson's most important essays on English social history, written over the last 25 years, many previously unpublished. Thompson analyzes the Chartist movement, not simply as a political programme, however significant,...