A unique lens through which to view the modern world: 28 insider accounts of national histories, now available in B-format paperback.

The untold story of how British-French rivalry drew the battle-lines of the modern Middle East

‘An exemplary work of investigative journalism that is also a wonderfully colourful book of history and travel’ Observer, Book of the Year ‘A piece of postmodern historiography of quite extraordinary sophistication and ingenuity… [written with] exceptional delicacy and restraint’ TLS

They gave us democracy, philosophy, poetry, rational science, the joke. They built the Parthenon and the Library of Alexandria. But who were the ancient Greeks? And what was it that enabled them to achieve so much? This title offers a revelatory way of viewing this geographically scattered people, and more.

The extraordinary adventure-filled story of how England came to own Manhattan in the seventeenth century

'James Holland is a master' BBC HistoryIt was to be the battle to end the air war once and for all. During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces launched their first-ever round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany.