BOOKS


History, politics and current affairs


John Ashdown-Hill The Mythology of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ Amberley Publishing, 15th, £10.99, 9781445699134 A look at the truth behind the story of the Princes in the Tower, the suppos- edly murdered boy King Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, sons of Edward IV.


Matthieu Auzanneau Oil, Power and War Chelsea Green Publish- ing UK, 19th, £19.99, 9781603589789 A history of how oil became a national and then global addiction, and the consequences this has had.


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How the author, posted to RAF Gatow in Berlin, was locked up without trial in solitary confinement in a Stasi prison.


David Chariandy I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You Bloomsbury Publishing, 19th, £8.99, 9781526602909 Writing to his daughter, the novelist meditates on the politics of race today. Bloomsbury is comparing this to Ta-Nehisi Coates and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “There is, as you pick it up, nothing to prepare you for its power, unless you already know Chariandy’s fiction,” said the Observer.


Emma Dabiri Don’t Touch My Hair Penguin, 5th, £9.99, 9780141986289 A cultural history of black hair, from the personal to the political. “Sensational,” according to Women’s Health.


A J Baime The Accidental President Bantam, 19th, £9.99, 9780857503275 The story of Harry S Truman’s first four months in office, during which he had to take on Nazi Germany, Japan, Stalin and the atom bomb when Roosevelt died suddenly. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Truman becoming president.


John Barton A History of The Bible Penguin, 26th, £12.99, 9780141978505 A study of the creation of the Bible which has sold over 20,000 hardbacks to date, says Penguin. “An extraordinary tour de force,” said the Sunday Times.


Tim Bouverie Appeasing Hitler Vintage, 19th, £9.99, 9781784705749 A Sunday Times bestseller about the years before the Second World War that enabled Nazi domination of Europe. Antony Beevor, no less, called this an “astonishingly accom- plished début”.


Douglas Boyd The Solitary Spy Te History Press, 2nd, £12.99, 9780750993913


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Alain Demurger The Persecution of the Templars Profile Books, 5th, £10.99, 9781781257869 An account of the trial of the Knights Templar, who were accused of heresy by the King of France in the early 14th century, making shocking confessions under interrogation and torture.


Jem Duducu The Sultans Amberley Publishing, 15th, £9.99, 9781445699141 A history of the Ottoman dynasty spanning 600 years.


Yale, 24th, £11.99, 9780300253382 A history of the develop- ment of nationalist and separatist movements in contemporary Catalonia and Scotland.


Patrick G Eriksson Alarmstart East Amberley Publishing, 15th, £10.99, 9781445699127 A collection of the recollections and views of German fighter pilots on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945.


Matt Farwell & Michael Ames American Cipher Wildfire, 10th, £10.99, 9781472238801 The story of Bowe Bergdahl, the longest- held prisoner of war since Vietnam who was released after almost five years in captivity to be denounced by his former platoon mates. Bergdahl is also the subject of season two of the hit podcast “Serial”.


Clare Hunter Threads of Life Sceptre, 5th, £9.99, 9781473687936 This is a Sunday Times bestseller with 15,000 copies sold to date, says Hodder—it tells of the men and women through history who have used sewing as a form of protest, from Mary, Queen of Scots to the mothers of the disappeared in 1970s Argentina. “A richly textured and moving record of a history that has largely being lost,” said the Sunday Times.


Michael H Kater Culture in Nazi Germany Yale, 24th, £11.99, 9780300253375 A survey of culture in Nazi Germany, and how the arts scene was trans- formed when the Nazis came to power.


9780241972748 A history of maternity in Britain and America, from the 18th century until today. “Heartfelt and original,” said the Sunday Times.


Marek Kohn Four Words for Friend Yale, 10th, £11.99, 9780300251517 An argument that plural language use is more important than ever in our divided world.


Heath Hardage Lee The League of Wives Constable, 19th, £8.99, 9781472131805 A history of the women who battled to bring their husbands, American servicemen, home from prisons in Vietnam. Fox 2000 have bought film rights with Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine to produce.


£9.99, 9781471163135 Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Prize, this looks at how the violent business of boxing became a haven of peace and hope across the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.


James Meek Dreams of Leaving and Remaining Verso, 10th, £9.99, 9781788737753 The hardback of this exploration of Britain on the edge of Brexit by the Orwell Prize-winning jour- nalist sold 3,000 copies in hardback, says Verso.


James Miller Can Democracy Work? Oneworld, 5th, £9.99, 9781786076274 A timely history of democracy over the last 2,000 years, asking if it can work.


Richard Fidler Ghost Empire


ABC Books, 5th, £12.99, 9780733338557 An ode to the Byzantine Empire written after the author and his son travelled to Istanbul.


Terry Eagleton Radical Sacrifice Yale, 10th, £10.99, 9780300251500 An analysis of sacrifice as the foundation of the modern, as well as the ancient, social order, arguing that the idea of sacrifice has long been misunderstood.


J H Elliott Scots and Catalans: Union and Disunion


Carrie Gracie Equal Virago, 5th, £9.99, 9780349012254 The former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie, who challenged the broadcaster over equal pay, makes a call to arms for equality in the work- place. “Major” publicity campaign planned.


Anabel Hernández A Massacre in Mexico Verso, 3rd, £11.99, 9781788731492 A history of the disappearance of 43 Mexican students and how the government tried to cover it up. “Makes for jaw-dropping reading,” said the Independent.


Joseph Kelly Marooned Bloomsbury Publishing, 5th, £10.99, 9781632867780 A re-examination of the history of Jamestown, arguing that far from being rescued by the English, America’s first colonists invented the idea of government by the people.


Eric Klinenberg Palaces for the People Vintage, 19th, £9.99, 9781784707514 The sociologist explains how we can heal our divided, unequal society.


Julia Lovell Maoism Vintage, 12th, £12.99, 9780099581857 Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize, this is the first global history of Maoism and is “revelatory and instructive” according to the Times.


Lara Maiklem Mudlarking Bloomsbury Publishing, 5th, £9.99, 9781408889237 A Sunday Times number two and Radio 4 Book of the Week, this look at the items the author has found washed up on the banks of the Thames is a “huge” lead for Bloomsbury, with a “major” campaign planned. “Quirky and delightful,” said the Mail.


Adam Makos Spearhead Atlantic, 5th, £9.99, 9781782395812 Makos, whose A Higher Call reached number three on the Sunday Times best- seller list, tells of American gunner Clarence Smoyer’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich.


Sarah Knott Mother Viking, 5th, £9.99,


Donald McRae


In Sunshine or in Shadow S&S Adult Non-Fiction, 5th,


Ashoka Mody EuroTragedy Oxford University Press, 5th, £16.99, 9780190056322 A history of the Eurozone from its post-Second World War origins until today. Listed by both Foreign Affairs and the Financial Times as one of the best books of 2018.


Violet Moller The Map of Knowledge Picador, 19th, £9.99, 9781509829620 Moller follows the ideas of three of antiquity’s greatest scientists—Euclid, Galen and Ptolemy— through seven cities and over 1,000 years.


Oli Mould Against Creativity Verso, 24th, £9.99, 9781786636508 A radical redefinition of creativity arguing that the contemporary doctrine of creativity and innovation is dangerous.


Cathy Newman Bloody Brilliant Women William Collins, 3rd, £8.99, 9780008368869 This “grown-up version of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” looks at the lesser known women who have changed Britain.


Virginia Nicholson How Was it For You? Viking, 5th, £9.99, 9780241975183 A social history of women in the 1960s. Fab cover.


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