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Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Telegraph readers' favourite history books
All intelligent people need to understand our past – and Telegraph readers agree. Simon Heffer, our expert historian and columnist, picked a shelf's work of history books everybody ought to read, from the stink of medieval England to the savagery of Nazi Germany. Readers commented in their hundreds and highlighted the books that should have been included. Here are their top recommendations, plus some from colleagues around the newsroom. Uncrowned Queen (2019) By Nicola Tallis 'Her biography of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, is brilliant.' Tudor Lady Buy the book America and the Imperialism of Ignorance (2012) By Andrew Alexander 'I recommend this book by a former parliamentary sketch writer for The Telegraph and Daily Mail. His thesis is that the Cold War was based on US ignorance and corruption of the truth.' Leo Thomas Buy the book Irish Freedom. The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2007) By Richard English 'It's a recent book on Irish nationalism: This book debunks, with sound evidence, many beliefs about Irish history. For example. The Irish are not Celts.' Vincent Cooper Buy the book History of the Peloponnesian War (431 BC) By Thucydides 'A classic and still relevant today on the unpredictability of war.' Me We Buy the book The Last Days of Hitler (1947) By Hugh Trevor-Roper 'A real account showing his madness and how he hated Germany as much as the allies near the end. It breaks any notion he was a genius of any kind.' Me We Buy the book A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603-1714 (1966) By Mark Kishlansky 'I love history, have a degree in it and read histories. This book is a good broad sweep of the Stuarts, far more digestible than a multi-volume epic in my humble opinion.' Katy Cletheroe Buy the book Napoleon the Great (2014) By Andrew Robert 'Covers the period sufficiently and, being a biography, is definitely not dry as dust. The conversational literary style does not suit books on history.' Dermod Hill Buy the book The Mediterranean (1949) By Fernand Braudel 'Marc Bloch was a remarkable historian. Shot for being a member of the French Resistance. With Fernand Braudel he founded the French 'annales' school of history which produced some remarkably detailed historical works which sought to recreate the 'texture' of life in the past rather than just being an account of kings and statesmen. An amazing generation of engaged historians. Braudel wrote his masterpiece, The Mediterranean, whilst a prisoner of war.' David Eden Buy the book Reformation Europe (1963) By GR Elton 'The best and most readable account of the upheavals, intellectual and political, caused by the European Reformation.' David Eden Buy the book The Guns of August (1962) By Barbara Tuchman 'A better book than The Sleepwalkers, in my opinion.' Iain Allan Buy the book Smoke and Ashes (2023) By Amitav Ghosh 'Just the one volume but it will help explain why China and India will not be doing the UK any favours in the next century.' Marion Grindrod Buy the book Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole in Many Lands (1857) By Mary Seacole 'Often, it is biographies that illuminate an era.' James Anderson Buy the book Europe: A History (1996) By Norman Davies 'A thought-provoking introduction and some very interesting and pertinent perspectives on Eastern Europe.' Can Dide Buy the book The Flashman Papers (1969) By George MacDonald Fraser 'All you need to know about the Victorian period; and quite a lot you should not.' Pete Nossined Buy the book The March of Folly (1984) By Barbara Tuchman 'This should be compulsory reading for every world leader. It covers the utter futility of war from Troy to Vietnam. Sadly, she died before Iraq/Afghanistan/Ukraine/Gaza etc., etc. I sometimes wonder what she would have made of it all.' Judith Roberts Buy the book The King's War (1958) By C. V. Wedgwood 'Readable enough to have a 15-year-old science student engrossed.' Martin Moss Byzantium: The Early Centuries (1988) By John Julius Norwich 'He manages to bring a bit of character into some of the players, which can't be easy to do, given the paucity of material to work with. And you get genuinely frustrated reading it shrink as it had yet another pointless civil war, and the Turks, Bulgarians and Venetians slowly ate it into nothing, whilst they were putting each other's eyes out and slitting their noses.' Ryan Brighton The Most Dangerous Enemy (2000) By Stephen Bungay 'Best overall single volume I've ever read. A really brilliant look at the Battle of Britain, with stunning conclusions. Gives great credit due to Dowding and Park (and Churchill, and seven other visionaries). Well worth a read.' Simon Davey Buy the book All the Shah's Men (2003) By Stephen Kinzer 'Tells the story of how the CIA and the British secret service overthrew the elected Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Without a doubt things would be very different today had they not done so.' Ian Brown Buy the book A New World Begins (2019) By Jeremy Popkin 'An outstanding history of the French Revolution. I'd suggest pairing it with Roberts's excellent Napoleon biography.' Matthew Andrews Buy the book The Spanish Civil War (1961) By Hugh Thomas 'A case study in how a country turns on itself. Coming to a town near you soon…' Richard Freer Buy the book Female author recommendations ' Mary Beard: A renowned classicist and historian, known for her expertise in ancient Rome and her engaging writing style. Gerda Lerner: A pioneering historian of women and a leading figure in the development of women's history as an academic field.' Emma Pearson
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Looking back at WH Smith as we say goodbye to the famous name
With the sad news that the name WH Smith is to disappear from the high street, we're looking back at the iconic stationery shop and what it has meant to us. Four-year-old Joshua Dent with the WH Smith vouchers he received for winning a writing competition (Image: Richard English) The move comes after the firm agreed to sell its shops to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital. The new owner has said it will keep the Post Office outlets that operate in many branches, but will rebrand the chain as TGJones. Christopher Cooper won a £20 voucher for WH Smith after coming runner up in a national painting competition run by the Knights of St Columba (Image: Newsquest) The WH Smith name is not being sold and will still be used at the airport, railway station and hospital outlets that are not for sale. WH Smith Barrow store manager Marc Williams visits Alfred Barrow School to help launch a three-year reward initiative worth £12,000 (Image: Newsquest) Modella Capital will take over 480 stores in retail parks, shopping centres and on high streets including 5,000 staff. James Prescott, 15, from Parkview School was on work experience at WH Smith (Image: Newsquest) The new owner said it would be 'business as usual' while it worked on making changes , including adding new ranges, while keeping the Toys 'R' Us concessions and the 195 Post Office counters. Allanah Smith won £30 to spend at WH Smith and £100 to spend for her school at Ottakar's in an Evening Mail centenary Christmas card competition (Image: Newsquest) It said it had chosen the same TGJones because it carried 'the same sense of family' as WH Smith, which it described as an 'iconic' retail business. Launch of the Rugby League Annual 2008 at WH Smith in Whitehaven (Image: Newsquest) The company was formed by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Local businesses joined in the campaign to stop Joe Skelly, the manager of WH Smith (back centre) leaving his position for pastures new (Image: Newsquest) Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, it began to focus on its core retail business. It was responsible for the creation of the ISBN book identifier. In recent years, the chain has been challenged by budget high street shops and supermarkets as well as online retailers. sThe WH Smith & Son shop on English Street near the Lowther Arcade, Carlisle, dated 1907 (Image: Newsquest) It developed a reputation for being rundown and shabby, culminating in a popular social media account WHS_Carpet, which mocked the poor state of its floor coverings. WH Smith group chief executive Carl Cowling said the £76m sale was 'a pivotal moment' for the company, which would now focus exclusively on the travel-related side of the business. 'High street is a good business; it is profitable and cash generative with an experienced and high-performing management team,' he said. 'However, given our rapid international growth, now is the right time for a new owner to take the high street business forward.' The travel division operates more than 1,200 stores in 32 countries.
