Geschiedenis

Ontdek het onbekende Amsterdam voorbij de grachten en pleinen. Dit boek onthult vergeten plekken en verborgen verhalen die de ware geschiedenis van de stad blootleggen.

Ontdek het onbekende Eindhoven door stille getuigenissen, vergeten hoeken en verhalen buiten de officiële geschiedenis.

Hét referentiewerk over het beruchte SS-kamp in Breendonk

Een huiveringwekkende reconstructie die laat zien hoe een gekozen leider een democratie kan gebruiken om een democratie te vernietigen in minder dan acht weken

'Honest and extraordinary' GUARDIAN

'A remarkable book - and an original, beautiful mind' EVENING STANDARD

Here I am, a fucked, crazy, anorexic-alcoholic-childless, beautiful woman. I never dreamed it would be like this.

Welcome to Strangeland.

The incandescent world of Tracey Emin.

Encompassing the Margate of her childhood, the Turkey of her forefathers and the art-filled chaos of her thirty-something life in London.

Intimate and original, these confessions are deeply moving. In spite of the challenges she faces, Tracey remains profoundly romantic and uncompromisingly honest. Here is her life on the page.

This twentieth-anniversary edition, with a new introduction from Emin herself, celebrates the formative memories of one of Britain's greatest contemporary artists.

'Beautiful . . . unguarded, open-hearted, shocking' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Painfully honest' JEANETTE WINTERSON, THE TIMES

An essential overview of great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts. From the ancient Nile Valley to the savannas of medieval West Africa, the highlands of Ethiopia and on to the forests, lakes and grasslands to the south, African civilizations have given rise to some of the world’s most impressive kingdoms. Yet Africa’s history is often little known beyond the devastation wrought by the slave trade and European colonial rule. In this groundbreaking book, nine leading historians of Africa take a fresh look at these great kingdoms and empires over five thousand years of recorded history. How was kingship forged in Africa and how did it operate? Was dynastic power maintained by consent or by coercion? Did kings – and queens – display and project that power for all to see, or did they hide it away, as beneath the fringed crowns that concealed the faces of sacred Yoruba rulers? In what ways have African peoples themselves recorded, celebrated and critiqued the deeds of their kings? Great Kingdoms of Africa explores some of the most important questions in the continent’s deep past.

A compelling maritime story of shipwreck and plunder that breathes new life into one of the greatest quests in the history of exploration: the search for the legendary City of Gold

A night on the town

Two activists: one Palestinian, one Israeli. A unique friendship and a life-changing journey across the holy land

Ontdek de unieke cultuur en poldergeest van Flevoland, gevormd door pioniers uit heel Nederland.

Dit boek onthult hoe Drenthe door de eeuwen heen zijn unieke identiteit heeft gevormd en behouden in het landschap.

'Wee de overwonnenen' van Alexander van de Bunt gaat over de vroege bewoners van de Lage Landen en laat zien dat mobiliteit van alle tijden is.

‘Everitt vertelt het allemaal fraai, met veel inlevingsvermogen.’ – Fik Meijer in NRC Handelsblad

In Ondanks de zwaartekracht toont Suzanna Jansen hoe dwarsdenkers van een eeuw geleden onze tijd hebben vormgegeven. Van de auteur van de bestseller Het pauperparadijs.

Anthony Everitt geeft in deze biografie naast het verhaal van Cicero ook een helder beeld van de roerigste en meest belangwekkende periode uit de Romeinse geschiedenis.

A riveting investigation into creative genius from the Talking Heads co-founder and author of How Music Works

An adorable introduction for very young children to the world of Impressionist painting. In what has to be the cutest introduction to Impressionism, Miffy discovers the work of iconic artists including Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Mary Cassatt, among others. The book uses clever pairings of Dick Bruna’s Miffy illustrations with iconic artworks to neatly captures the essence of each artwork. Combining a simple statement about each artist with questions that encourage children to look more closely at the artwork on the page, Miffy and the Impressionists is a warm welcome into the world of art for young children and their families.

In this intimate memoir, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai recounts her path through adulthood, exploring first love, self-doubt, and reclaiming her story beyond the spotlight.
 

Ontdek hoe Nederlanders eeuwenlang het water bedwongen met slimme technieken; deze strijd vormde de samenleving en blijft een indrukwekkende prestatie.

'One of the best books ever written by one painter about another' John Russell, The New York Times Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was exceptional among 20th-century artists. His vigorous and innovative paintings are works of consistent richness and force, often disturbing and haunting. This book, in which Freud took a large part, is exceptional in itself: he chose, grouped and presented the large selection of paintings and drawings. The text is by Sir Lawrence Gowing, who was a painter himself and was a long-standing friend of Freud's.

Extensively illustrated, this is the first accessible publication on the history of tapestry in over two decades.

Woven with dazzling images from history, mythology and the natural world, and breath-taking in their craftsmanship, tapestries were among the most valuable and high-status works of art available in Europe from the medieval period to the end of the eighteenth century. Over 600 historic examples hang in National Trust properties in England and Wales – the largest collection in the UK.

This beautifully illustrated study by tapestry expert Helen Wyld, in association with the National Trust, offers new insights into these works, from the complex themes embedded in their imagery, to long-forgotten practices of sacred significance and ritual use. The range of historical, mythological and pastoral themes that recur across the centuries is explored, while the importance of the ‘revival’ of tapestry from the late nineteenth century is considered in detail for the first time. Although focussed on the National Trust’s collection, this book offers a fresh perspective on the history of tapestry across Europe.

Both the tapestry specialist and the keen art-history enthusiast can find a wealth of information here about woven wall hangings and furnishings, including methods of production, purchase and distribution, evolving techniques and technologies, the changing trends of subject matter across time, and how tapestries have been collected, used and displayed in British country houses across the centuries.

Pilgrim Fathers van Frans Verhagen is het historische verhaal van de reis met de Mayflower en de Leidse periode van deze ‘eerste kolonisten’ van Amerika.

Een meeslepende geschiedenis van zeven Habsburgse zussen. Hoe de uiteenlopende levens van de zeven prinsessen het moderne Europa vormden.

Hoe een verzetsman de regie over zijn leven verloor

Unseen photographs and private diary entries from Marilyn Monroe’s closest photographer reveal the woman behind the icon.

A lavishly produced tribute, this gift-ready visual biography features a lenticular cover that brings an iconic moment to life.

Published to commemorate what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday, The Marilyn Monroe Century features rare photographs by Bruno Bernard, also known as Bernard of Hollywood, that have never been publicly released. It traces the emotional and artistic evolution of Norma Jeane Mortenson into Marilyn Monroe.

More than a collection of photographs, The Marilyn Monroe Century unfolds as a cinematic narrative. Bernard was the only photographer who witnessed and helped shape the full arc of Norma Jeane’s metamorphosis into Marilyn Monroe.

Personal writings from Bernard, commentary from contemporary Hollywood voices, including Academy Award–winning director Sean Baker, and a foreword by actress, activist, and filmmaker Rose McGowan bring new emotional depth to Monroe’s life and legacy.

Authors Joshua John Miller, Bernard’s grandson, and Mark A. Fortin open Bernard’s archive for the first time to reveal the story of a lost friendship, of the appeal of fame and the drive to create the everlasting image of this American Dream.

In 1999, The Museum of Modern Art declared Bernard's legendary photograph Marilyn in White―capturing Monroe on the Twentieth Century Fox backlot as her white dress billowed above a subway grate―the symbol of the century. This single image defined 1950s Hollywood glamour and continues to echo across pop culture in songs, films, artwork, and more today.

Appearing inset on this book's beautiful clothbound cover, a lenticular print re-creates this famous moment―the sudden lift of Monroe's skirt, which shifts as the book is tilted up and down.

Bernard was not simply the creator of this iconic image; his role in Marilyn’s life was far more profound. A bond forged early in her career sparked an intimate dialogue between a young woman discovering herself and the photographer who recognized her potential long before the world did. His photographs and diary entries reveal a Marilyn rarely seen: playful, thoughtful, ambitious, and fully aware of the persona she was creating for herself.

Joshua John Miller and Mark A. Fortin tell the family story behind the myth of Marilyn, through Bernard’s personal diaries and previously unpublished correspondence, as well as memories and personal perspectives. They chronicle the complex friendship between two outsiders who found solace in one another.

In zes kleurrijke portretten van pioniers beschrijft Jacqueline Oskamp op een aanstekelijke wijze de ontwikkelingen in de elektronische muziek in de tweede helft van de twintigste eeuw.

Dit boek verbindt persoonlijke observaties met harde feiten en cultuurfilosofische bespiegelingen en beschrijft welke factoren hebben bijgedragen aan de dreigende teloorgang van de muziekarchieven.

Uitgebreide en rijk geïllustreerde editie van het succesvolle Maand van de Geschiedenis-essay 2025 met als thema thema ‘natuurlijk’.

De geschiedenis van de Nederlandse zeemacht in beeld

Bookbindings: An Illustrated History' is full of beautiful images of bookbindings from the beginnings of the codex right up to the present day. The volume's beauty is matched by David Pearson's encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. - Sara J Charles, Literary ReviewBindings have been an essential – and often beautiful – component of books since the codex form was invented 2,000 years ago. They make books work, but they also provide an opportunity for binders to display their skills. Until book trade processes were industrialised in the nineteenth century, every binding was a unique handcrafted object, no matter how simple or elaborate it now looks from the outside. Bindings have been made of all kinds of materials – calfskin, parchment, vellum, ivory, even silver – and embellished using many different techniques, to satisfy the wishes of owners from students to kings. The ways in which they were produced and decorated have evolved steadily over time, and many countries have their own distinctive traditions. Bindings may testify to the taste and social status of wealthy connoisseurs, or to the economic necessities of ordinary households. Because they can often be dated and localised, they also give us information about the histories of individual volumes. This lavishly illustrated book provides a fascinating history of the development of bookbindings from Roman times to the present day. Almost all the examples are chosen from the shelves of the Bodleian Library, showcasing the outstanding collection of historic bindings to be found there.

‘De Kruisvaarders’ van historicus Dan Jones is een kleurrijke geschiedenis over een bloedige tijd, verteld door de ogen van bekende en onbekende personen: ridders, Vikingen, vrouwen en moslims.

Dust off that classic console, untangle those audio/visual chords, and step back into the good old days with this nostalgic journey through the most iconic objects in video game history!

Commandant van de Poolse Parachutistenbrigade

‘De koning van Brugge en Breda’ onthult een vergeten hoofdstuk uit de Europese zeventiende-eeuwse geschiedenis: de jarenlange ballingschap van de Britse koning Charles II in de Lage Landen.

Arco Gnocchi vertelt op zijn karakteristieke wijze 30 jaar aan bijzondere verhalen, bizarre anekdotes en mooie herinneringen die van deze bespotte betonbak, de ArenA, een geliefd thuis maakten.

Plaatsen van herinnering, beschreven door historicus Ad van Liempt en in beeld gebracht door fotograaf Rolf Baas

Stappen in het donker brengt rotskunst op unieke wijze tot leven, van de betoverende eerste tekeningen van mammoeten en grottenleeuwen van tienduizenden jaren geleden tot de graffitikunst van nu.

Philip Dröge pakt zijn koffers en neemt je mee op een fantastische reis om onze meest ongrijpbare realiteit te achtervolgen: tijd. Ontdek de bijzonderste verhalen achter dit mysterieuze concept.

Beeldend overzicht van meer dan zestig jaar boerenleven in Nederland

Een uiterst actueel verhaal omdat de verworvenheden weer onder druk staan

The cultural and scientific significance of animal magnetism as performance.

The Achilles Trap masterfully untangles the people, ploys of power and geopolitics that led to America's disastrous war with Iraq and, for the first time, details America's fundamental miscalculations during its ruinous, decades-long relationship with Saddam Hussein.

Beginning with Saddam's rise to power in 1979 and the birth of Iraq's secret nuclear weapons programme, Steve Coll traces Saddam's motives through understanding his inner circle. He brings to life the diplomats, scientists, family members and generals who had no choice but to defer to their leader - a leader directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as the torture or imprisonment of many more. This was a man whose reasoning was impossible to reduce to a simple explanation, and the CIA and successive presidential administrations failed to grasp critical nuances in his paranoia, resentments and inconsistencies - even when the stakes were incredibly high.

Using unpublished and underreported sources, interviews with surviving participants, and Saddam's own transcripts and audio files, The Achilles Trap is a remarkable picture of a dictator who was convinced the world was out to get him and acted accordingly. A work of great historical significance, it is the definitive account of how corruptions of power, lies of diplomacy and vanity - on both sides - led to avoidable errors of statecraft: ones that would enact immeasurable human suffering and forever change our political landscape.

Een uniek kijkje achter de schermen van de iconische Verkade-albums, verteld door kleinzoon Peter Voerman.

Indringend beeld van politiewerk in een tijd van grote sociale en criminele uitdagingen.

*A GUARDIAN, NEW STATESMAN, PROSPECT AND WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2025* 'The fascinating story of ancient words … new revelations await' The Guardian 'A magisterial feat' New Scientist ________________________________ One ancient language transformed our world. This is its story. Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see. Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanity’s past. All three of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient ancestor. Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen? In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again. Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.

Ontdek de volledige geschiedenis van Egypte, van de farao's tot het hedendaagse leven. Dit boek belicht de ontwikkeling van taal, religie en hoe het oude Egypte nog zichtbaar is.

Ontdek hoe de Inca's in korte tijd een machtig rijk in de Andes opbouwden en hoe dit imperium ten onder ging.

Ontdek hoe Cyrus de Grote een wereldmacht creëerde met een revolutionair bestuur. Dit boek belicht de bloei en ondergang van het Perzische Rijk.

'Fascinating' – The New Yorker
'Delightfully readable' – The Wall Street Journal
'Intricate and layered' – Financial Times
'Engaging . . . Pearsall's book does so much to illuminate' – The New York Times
'She casts her net wide . . . fluent and engaging . . . offers a decentered, kaleidoscopic view' – New Statesman
'Fantastic . . . a triumph' – Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring
'Extraordinary . . . thrilling narrative and sharp analysis' – Tiya Miles, author of All That She Carried

A fresh and surprising history that reckons with a defining global moment on its 250th anniversary: The American Revolution.

In this authoritative revisionist history, prize-winning historian Sarah M. S. Pearsall restores the shock, drama and world-altering flux of 1776, revealing how the fires of change that sparked the American Revolution were igniting all around the world. From St. Kitts to Kolkata, Ghana to Guangzhou, all kinds of people, not just the men declaring independence in Philadelphia, asserted their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Freedom Round the Globe tells a story the world needs to hear, of the fraught origins of a nation that by turns perplexes, fascinates and horrifies us. It is a story of global transformation and revolutionary fervour, of triumph as well as tragedy, and of the insurgents, lovers, and dreamers who dared to imagine better societies.

‘A syncopated dance of ideas delivered with a poetic touch. Global in scope and local in depth, it is chock full of unexpected insights’ – Jefferson Cowie, author of Freedom’s Dominion

Ontdek de vormende geschiedenis en de unieke, rijke verscheidenheid aan culturen, religies en landschappen van dit eilandrijk.

The ultimate guide to the magic and mystery of photography, featuring the landmark photographs, inventions, innovations, exhibitions and publications that changed the way we see the world. Photography has not simply changed how we capture the world: it has changed how we view it, structuring our very ways of seeing. This ambitious publication, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the first-ever photograph, brings together photographs from leading image-makers – including Zanele Muholi, Andreas Gursky, Man Ray, Sebastião Salgado, Hannah Höch, Barbara Kruger and Edward Steichen – alongside unexpected selections. From the earliest 19th-century experiments in fixing light on paper, photography has blossomed and proliferated to a point where some 1.9 trillion photographs are snapped annually. Photographs are now at the core of our image-dominated culture. This is Photography: The First 200 Years carves a cohesive, compelling path through this dizzying mass of information. Presented chronologically, the book showcases key photographs and objects year by year, each one accompanied by a short text entry offering historical, technical or critical context. Interleaved throughout are longer thematic texts by contributing writers, as well as extracts from the writings of photographers and major thinkers on the subject, bringing a depth of understanding to the principal genres and developments in photography. Alongside pivotal and instantly recognizable photographic works – from Eadweard Muybridge’s motion studies to Rosalind Franklin’s DNA imaging, and from the documentary work of Robert Frank to Cindy Sherman – This is Photography records the objects, cameras, technical developments, exhibitions and publications that have shaped the medium, making this an essential resource for anyone interested in photography.

Ontdek achter de grenzen van Ethiopië een duizenden jaren oude, unieke beschaving, cultuur en rijke biodiversiteit.

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique of maladaptively irrational altruism that has gripped our culture. This mind parasite hijacked the empathy module of our progressive elite, leading to a catastrophic miscalibration of moral priorities. The results are everywhere: from coddling violent criminals to protecting rapists to branding self-defense as toxic behavior. We are witnessing a civilization in rapid decline. Lunatic policies are instituted because we prioritize the feelings of ostensibly marginalized groups over The Truth, criminals over victims, and squatters over homeowners. This is not humane; it’s an active dismantling of the pillars that keep us safe and free. This crisis of empathy creates a horrifying system of inverse morality where the strong and successful are demonized, and the destructive are celebrated. Just look at the insane inversions we tolerate daily: we prefer illegal migrants over our own legal citizens and veterans, permit drug addicts to threaten children’s safety in parks, and elevate transgender 'women' above biological women in sports and safe spaces. Common sense is dying in a deluge of misguided compassion. Suicidal Empathy is your wake-up call. Stop ignoring your survival instincts in the name of political correctness. This isn't just misguided policy; it is the ultimate expression of a culture actively choosing its own demise.

He was the most sought-after painter in the prosperous trading city of Amsterdam yet died completely impoverished. Though he never left his homeland, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn's (1606–1669) work extends far beyond the confines of his personal experience, constituting some of the most effective and multifaceted works in art history, forever engraved on the collective memory – The Night Watch, epitomizing the flowering of Dutch urban culture in the 17th century, or Self-Portrait as Zeuxis, which remains enigmatic to this day.

As an artist of the Dutch Golden Age, Rembrandt's interest was in human passions. Bible scenes such as Bathsheba with King David’s Letter (1654) also highlight the subjects’ vulnerability, going far beyond what had previously been depicted in painting. Rembrandt also left behind a large number of self-portraits – no other artist of the time portrayed himself so frequently, thus documenting his own development from youth to old age.

Following our XXL bestseller, TASCHEN is now releasing this abridged, more compact edition featuring Rembrandt's paintings in stunning reproductions – from Belshazzar's Feast (c. 1635) to his furious late work, this is a chance to experience Rembrandt's painterly oeuvre in a whole new way.

Ontdek de ware Vikingen voorbij het gehelmde krijgersbeeld; zij waren moedige ontdekkingsreizigers, slimme kooplieden en bekwame bouwers.

Dit boek onthult een veelzijdig Polen, van historische grootmacht tot moderne natie, rijk aan cultuur en unieke levenswijzen.

Ontdek de fascinerende geheimen van het oude Egypte, van farao's tot gewone Egyptenaren. Dit boek onthult hoe zij leefden, geloofden en bouwden.

Dit boek belicht de volledige geschiedenis van Taiwan, van kolonisatie tot moderne democratie. Ontdek de Taiwanese cultuur en de complexe verhouding met China.

Ontdek de Renaissance, een periode van ongekende ideeën, uitvindingen en meesterwerken.

Ontdek het verhaal van Botswana, een land dat transformeerde van armoede naar stabiliteit dankzij diamanten, vee en gemeenschapszin.

Ontdek de ziel van Ierland door de turbulente geschiedenis, rijke Keltische cultuur en gedenkwaardige identiteit.

Cuba is een fascinerende wereld waar revolutie, architectuur en natuur samenkomen. Ontdek de bewogen geschiedenis en de rijke culturele invloeden van het eiland.

Ontdek hoe diepgewortelde spanningen leidden tot de onvermijdelijke Franse Revolutie. Dit boek ontrafelt deze omwenteling en toont hoe idealen en terreur samengingen.

From the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited for political, nation-building ends. From Joan of Arc to Lady Godiva, Isabella of Castile to Catherine of Siena, famous medieval women have become national icons, their legends burnished and celebrated. But over the centuries their lives have been exploited, their stories twisted and weaponised. Searching for the real women behind the legends, bestselling historian Janina Ramirez reveals how history is often hijacked to serve the ideological and political agendas of the present. Praise for LEGENDA:'Fearless, stunning and shockingly relevant' Alice Roberts, author of Domination'A history like no other. Fabulous, invigorating and beguiling' Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth'Sensational! Janina Ramirez is writing women back into history one by one' Lauren Laverne'A brilliant concept, conveyed with that dynamo mix: academic authority and storytelling pizzazz!' Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen

Ontdek de ware geschiedenis, rituelen en invloed van machtige geheime genootschappen door de eeuwen heen. Dit boek scheidt feit van fictie.

'At last, a history of the Roman state as it has always been crying out to be told, and never has been!' RODERICK BEATON

The greatest empire in Western history - told as never been told before.

Rome is often remembered for its spectacular collapse. But for over two thousand years - through civil wars, plagues, invasions, and religious upheaval - the Roman state survived, adapted, and reinvented itself. From a muddy settlement on the banks of the Tiber to the glittering court of Constantinople, this is the untold story of a civilisation that endured.

In The Romans, acclaimed historian Edward J. Watts tells the first truly complete history of Rome in all its epic sweep: the Punic Wars, the fall of the republic, the coming of Christianity, Alaric's sack of Rome, the rise of Islam and the onslaught of the Crusaders who would bring about the empire's end. This is the Rome of Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, and Constantine. But it is also the Rome of Charlemagne, Justinian, and Manuel Comnenus, and countless diverse men and women who shaped the empire: African emperors, Byzantine intellectuals and ordinary citizens whose loyalty together made it the most resilient state the world has ever seen.

An expansive, eye-opening portrait, this the definitive history of Rome and its citizens.

An indispensable guide to Greenland—why it matters, who covets it and why this wilderness of 56,000 inhabitants could become the next global flashpoint.

Dit boek ontleedt in tien heldere stappen hoe dictators aan de macht komen door herkenbare patronen te volgen. U leert waarschuwingssignalen herkennen.

'Absorbing' The Times'Gripping' Sam Leith'There are few bits of history more mythologised, sensitive and political than Sparta, but luckily we have Bayliss' Dan Snow, creator of History HitSparta - its legendary warriors and steadfast resilience are famous throughout the world as a model for toughness, justice and masculinity. The Spartans' reputation as fighters is matched only by their mythic code of honour. Their torch has been carried by footballers and politicians, video games and philosophers alike.But who really were the Spartans? And what was the driving force behind the rise - and dramatic fall - of Sparta?Sparta traces the story of Ancient Greece's most iconic city-state, from its humble beginnings as a hamlet in the Peloponnese to its meteoric rise as the foremost military superpower of the Classical world. Andrew Bayliss uncovers the eclectic quirks that set Sparta above its rivals: its famous double monarchy, the harsh methods for raising children as soldiers and the unique role of women in Spartan life.Sparta was an ancient superpower, and its legacy is still shaping popular culture and politics today. This is the story of its rise and fall.

A thrilling true story of courage, resistance and ultimately betrayal in the Third Reich captured by internationally bestselling author and prize-winning journalist Jonathan Freedland.

The Traitors Circle tells the true, but scarcely known, story of a group of secret rebels against Hitler. Drawn from Berlin high society, they include army officers, government officials, two countesses, an ambassador's widow and a former model - meeting in the shadows, whether hiding and rescuing Jews or plotting for a Germany freed from Nazi rule. One day in September 1943 they gather for a tea party - unaware that one among them is about to betray them all to the Gestapo. But who is the betrayer of a circle themselves branded 'traitors' by the cruellest regime in history?

In another page-turning work of nonfiction that reads like a thriller, Jonathan Freedland, acclaimed author of The Escape Artist, sheds light on one of the most dramatic episodes of the second world war, telling a story of courage, resistance and ultimate betrayal that has deep moral resonance for our own time, and asks what kind of person it takes to risk everything and stand up to tyranny.

PRAISE FOR THE ESCAPE ARTIST:

'Thrilling' Daily Mail
'Gripping' Guardian
'Heartwrenching' Yuval Noah Harari
'Magnificent' Philip Pullman
'Excellent' Sunday Times
'Inspiring' Daily Mail
'An immediate classic' Antony Beevor
'Awe inspiring' Simon Sebag Montefiore
'Shattering' Simon Schama
'Utterly compelling' Philippe Sands
'A must-read' Emily Maitlis
'Indispensable' Howard Jacobson

The definitive story of the slackers and shoegazers who reinvented rock.

Twenty years after his acclaimed postpunk best-seller, Rip It Up and Start Again, Simon Reynolds tells the tale of what happened next: the underground explosion of noisepop, shoegaze, slacker rock and grunge that reverberated through the late Eighties into the early Nineties.

Capturing the musical exhilaration of the era along with the alienation of youth during a period of ascendant conservative politics and glitzy mainstream pop, Still in a Dream celebrates a golden age of guitar reinvention, a second psychedelia of mind-blowing sounds pioneered by bands like My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. In Britain, groups like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive escaped into shimmering dreamworlds while American underground rockers like Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement blended apathy and urgency into thrilling noise.

A propulsive and personal account from a journalist who covered this music in real time from the frontlines, Still in a Dream vividly recreates a period that was the last blast for the analogue culture of vinyl records and music papers, before the Internet changed everything.

Ye olde wasteman getting on your last nerve? Your new man is more interested in scrolling on OnlyWenches than spending time with you? Or your last date spent the whole-time mansplaining? Hark, fear not, for I have some trusted solution to end a man's antics . . . permanently.

In today's world, if you don't want a man anymore, you have the option to walk away. Get the ick? End it. He's won't ever text back? Block him. He listens to those types of podcasts? Dump him.

But women haven't always had it this easy. Transport yourself back to medieval times, when divorce wasn't exactly an option. Maybe you had to get a little creative.

In Off With His Head, explore 100 hilarious ways to get rid of a man, taking inspiration from the unusual and whacky methods throughout medieval history. Featuring advice on how best to dispose someone inconspicuously, this book depicts the funniest and outrageous deaths that are a product of the time.

In the face of limited options, women have always found ways to persevere. This is no different. Buy it for your bestie whose boyfriend you hate or buy it for yourself for a laugh. Either way, you've got 100 options to choose from. Ladies, time to silence men . . . for good.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

On the 250th anniversary of America's founding - a landmark history of the US Constitution for a troubling new era.

The US Constitution is among the oldest constitutions in the world - and one of the most difficult to amend. Although nearly twelve thousand amendments have been proposed since 1789, only twenty-seven have ever been ratified. Tellingly, the Constitution has not been meaningfully amended since 1971. Without amendment, the risk of political violence rises. So does the risk of constitutional change by presidential power.

Leading Harvard historian Jill Lepore captures the stories of generations of ordinary people who have attempted everything from abolishing the Electoral College to guaranteeing environmental rights, hoping to mend their nation. Recounting the history of America through centuries of efforts to realize the promise of the Constitution, we witness how nearly all those bids have failed.

We the People is the sweeping account of a struggle, arguing that the Constitution was never intended to be preserved, but was expected to be gradually altered. At a time when the risk of political violence is all too real, it hints at the prospects for a better, amended America.

Ontdek het fascinerende en veelzijdige Duitsland met zijn rijke geschiedenis, cultuur en diverse landschap.

Poor boy. Dark star. Spy. Transgressor. Genius. This is the extraordinary story of Christopher Marlowe – Shakespeare’s greatest inspiration and rival. In brutally repressive Elizabethan London, artists are frightened; foreigners are suspect; crowds revel in animal fights and public executions. Into this crude world comes an ambitious boy whose uncanny ear for poetry and radical streak would change England forever. Enter Christopher Marlowe. A cobbler’s son from Canterbury, by the time of his murder in 1593 Marlowe is the most celebrated playwright of his time, setting the stage for an explosion of artistic creativity. Written by one of our greatest writers on the Elizabethan era, Dark Renaissance tells Marlowe’s story: a thrilling tale of daring, scandal and tragedy which reveals Marlowe to be a blazing talent who helped break England out of the cultural darkness and into the light.

A cultured, engaging collection of historical vignettes ranging from prehistoric times to the early 20th century - all focused on the ancient roads, tracks and pathways of Europe

For a million years people have been traveling throughout Europe. From the mysterious homo antecessor which left its footprints on the coast of England to the traveller on the motorways of today. Under every footstep lies an older one, under every paved road a donkey trail or wagon rut, under every footpath the prints of a hunter or prey.

And yet the long through roads of Europe don't hold a special place in the imaginations and identities of its residents. Why does the European have such an ambivalent relationship with the long roads of his or her continent?

Why have no classics been written about the E30, such as the Americans have written about Route 66? Are Europeans too attached to their own home patch? Or have they too often seen armies marching towards them along those roads?

In search of the answer to that question, Mathijs Deen follows the refugees, bandits, pilgrims, fortune seekers, conquerors and racers who found their way along the coasts and via the rivers and roads of Europe. From Boekelo to Smolensk, and from the first Europeans to the barons who raced the open roads of Europe circa 1900: Down the Old Roads is a journey through Europe and a trip through time.

Translated from the Dutch by Jane Hedley-Prole and Jonathan Reeder