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It is only from studying the past that we can learn about the present and so great history books are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the modern world. From the traditions of the ancient world, expertly recounted by Mary Beard and Tom Holland, to reflections on the twentieth-century by the likes of Andrew Marr and David Kynaston – not to mention pioneering works by David Olusoga on Black British history – here are books that illuminate previous centuries and help us to understand our shared past.

British History
Military History
European History
World History
See All 

Our Bestselling History Books

The Wager
Added to basket
The Wager
David Grann
£10.99   £8.99
Paperback
American Prometheus
Added to basket
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Beyond the Wall
Added to basket
Beyond the Wall
Katja Hoyer
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Unruly
Added to basket
Unruly
David Mitchell
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Killing Thatcher
Added to basket
Killing Thatcher
Rory Carroll
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
The Earth Transformed
Added to basket
The Earth Transformed
Peter Frankopan
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Crypt
Added to basket
Crypt
Alice Roberts
£22.00   £16.99
Hardback
Killers of the Flower Moon
Added to basket
Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann
£9.99
Paperback
Prisoners of Geography
Added to basket
Prisoners of Geography
Tim Marshall
£9.99
Paperback
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
Added to basket
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
Rashid I. Khalidi
£11.99
Paperback
UPROAR!
Added to basket
UPROAR!
Alice Loxton
£11.99   £9.99
Paperback
The Making of the Modern Middle East
Added to basket
The Making of the Modern Middle East
Jeremy Bowen
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Emperor of Rome
Added to basket
Emperor of Rome
Mary Beard
£30.00
Hardback
Masters of the Air
Added to basket
Masters of the Air
Donald L. Miller
£8.99   £7.49
Paperback
The Lost Rainforests of Britain
Added to basket
The Lost Rainforests of Britain
Guy Shrubsole
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Normal Women
Added to basket
Normal Women
Philippa Gregory
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
The Escape Artist
Added to basket
The Escape Artist
Jonathan Freedland
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Added to basket
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Bettany Hughes
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Another England | Shop Now
An African History of Africa | Shop Now
Fall of Civilizations | Shop Now

Our Best New History Hardbacks

An African History of Africa
Added to basket
An African History of Africa
Zeinab Badawi
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Fall of Civilizations
Added to basket
Fall of Civilizations
Paul Cooper
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
A History of the World in 47 Borders
Added to basket
A History of the World in 47 Borders
Jonn Elledge
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Another England
Added to basket
Another England
Caroline Lucas
£22.00
Hardback
Impossible City
Added to basket
Impossible City
Simon Kuper
£18.99   £15.99
Hardback
Revolutionary Spring
Added to basket
Revolutionary Spring
Christopher Clark
£18.99   £15.99
Paperback
The Shortest History of Italy
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The Shortest History of Italy
Ross King
£14.99
Hardback
Arise, England
Added to basket
Arise, England
Caroline Burt
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
The Lost Paths
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The Lost Paths
Jack Cornish
£20.00   £15.99
Hardback
The Book-Makers
Added to basket
The Book-Makers
Adam Smyth
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
House of Lilies
Added to basket
House of Lilies
Justine Firnhaber-Baker
£30.00   £26.99
Hardback
Populus
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Populus
Guy de la Bédoyère
£25.00
Hardback
England
Added to basket
England
Tom Baldwin
£22.00   £17.99
Hardback
Tripped
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Tripped
Norman Ohler
£18.99   £15.99
Hardback
Storm’s Edge
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Storm’s Edge
Peter Marshall
£25.00
Hardback
Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers
Added to basket
Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers
Anne Somerset
£30.00
Hardback
Cypria
Added to basket
Cypria
Alex Christofi
£20.00   £17.99
Hardback
Moederland
Added to basket
Moederland
Cato Pedder
£22.00   £17.99
Hardback

Our Best New History Paperbacks

Beyond the Wall
Added to basket
Beyond the Wall
Katja Hoyer
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Killing Thatcher
Added to basket
Killing Thatcher
Rory Carroll
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
The Earth Transformed
Added to basket
The Earth Transformed
Peter Frankopan
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
The Blazing World
Added to basket
The Blazing World
Jonathan Healey
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
The Road
Added to basket
The Road
Christopher Hadley
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Colonialism
Added to basket
Colonialism
Nigel Biggar
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Medieval Horizons
Added to basket
Medieval Horizons
Ian Mortimer
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Hands of Time
Added to basket
Hands of Time
Rebecca Struthers
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
The Hong Kong Diaries
Added to basket
The Hong Kong Diaries
Chris Patten
£14.99   £12.99
Paperback
The Palace
Added to basket
The Palace
Gareth Russell
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Foreign Bodies
Added to basket
Foreign Bodies
Simon Schama
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
The Angel Makers
Added to basket
The Angel Makers
Patti McCracken
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Twilight Cities
Added to basket
Twilight Cities
Katherine Pangonis
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Young Queens
Added to basket
Young Queens
Leah Redmond Chang
£12.99
Paperback
Heaven on Earth
Added to basket
Heaven on Earth
Emma J. Wells
£14.99   £11.99
Paperback
Courting India
Added to basket
Courting India
Nandini Das
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Winnie & Nelson
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Winnie & Nelson
Jonny Steinberg
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
Knowing What We Know
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Knowing What We Know
Simon Winchester
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Private Revolutions
Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China (Hardback)
Yuan Yang
£22.00 £18.99
Hardback
Coming soon - 09/05/2024
Awaiting publication
Through the eyes of a quartet of women who were born in China in the 1980s and 1990s, Yang provides a fascinating portrait of womanhood and society in a rapidly evolving - and increasingly repressive - global superpower.
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Coming Soon

Divine Might
Added to basket
Divine Might
Natalie Haynes
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Sky Warriors
Added to basket
Sky Warriors
Saul David
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
The Golden Road
Added to basket
The Golden Road
William Dalrymple
£30.00
Hardback
Operation Biting
Added to basket
Operation Biting
Max Hastings
£25.00
Hardback
Henry V
Added to basket
Henry V
Dan Jones
£30.00   £25.00
Hardback
Our Island Stories
Added to basket
Our Island Stories
Corinne Fowler
£25.00   £21.99
Hardback
The Liberation Line
Added to basket
The Liberation Line
Christian Wolmar
£25.00   £21.99
Hardback
Great-Uncle Harry
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Great-Uncle Harry
Michael Palin
£10.99
Paperback
Fallen
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Fallen
Mick Conefrey
£22.00
Hardback
Cunning Folk
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Cunning Folk
Tabitha Stanmore
£20.00
Hardback
The Cleopatras
Added to basket
The Cleopatras
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
£25.00
Hardback
Eject! Eject!
Added to basket
Eject! Eject!
John Nichol
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
Private Revolutions
Added to basket
Private Revolutions
Yuan Yang
£22.00   £18.99
Hardback
Endgame 1944
Added to basket
Endgame 1944
Jonathan Dimbleby
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
The Searchers
Added to basket
The Searchers
Andy Beckett
£30.00
Hardback
Borderlines
Added to basket
Borderlines
Lewis Baston
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Nexus
Added to basket
Nexus
Yuval Noah Harari
£28.00   £23.99
Hardback
Eighteen
Added to basket
Eighteen
Alice Loxton
£22.00
Hardback

Luxury Editions & Gift Books

The Rest is History
Added to basket
The Rest is History
Goalhanger Podcasts
£18.99   £14.99
Hardback
Britain’s Landmarks and Legends
Added to basket
Britain’s Landmarks and Legends
Jo Woolf
£12.99
Hardback
Why Women Grow
Added to basket
Why Women Grow
Alice Vincent
£17.99
Hardback
The Dictionary People
Added to basket
The Dictionary People
Sarah Ogilvie
£25.00
Hardback
Ancient Magic in Greece and Rome
Added to basket
Ancient Magic in Greece and Rome
Philip Matyszak
£14.99
Hardback
Love; A Curious History
Added to basket
Love; A Curious History
Edward Brooke-Hitching
£30.00
Hardback
Gods, Heroes and Monsters
Added to basket
Gods, Heroes and Monsters
Mark Daniels
£12.99
Hardback
Sapiens
Added to basket
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
£25.00
Hardback
Gimson’s Kings and Queens
Added to basket
Gimson’s Kings and Queens
Andrew Gimson
£14.99
Hardback
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies
Added to basket
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies
Natasha Tidd
£12.99
Hardback
The Power of Art
Added to basket
The Power of Art
Caroline Campbell
£30.00
Hardback
Underworlds
Added to basket
Underworlds
Stephen Ellcock
£25.00
Hardback
STRATA
Added to basket
STRATA
Robert Macfarlane
£50.00
Hardback
The Pirates’ Code
Added to basket
The Pirates’ Code
Rebecca Simon
£15.99
Hardback
The Phantom Atlas
Added to basket
The Phantom Atlas
Edward Brooke-Hitching
£25.00
Hardback

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Spiritualists
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Fashion Lovers
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Green Living
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SEE MORE 

Our Bestselling Military History Books

American Prometheus
Added to basket
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
£12.99   £10.99
Paperback
The Making of the Modern Middle East
Added to basket
The Making of the Modern Middle East
Jeremy Bowen
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Masters of the Air
Added to basket
Masters of the Air
Donald L. Miller
£8.99   £7.49
Paperback
The Escape Artist
Added to basket
The Escape Artist
Jonathan Freedland
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
SAS Great Escapes Two
Added to basket
SAS Great Escapes Two
Damien Lewis
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
Mosquito
Added to basket
Mosquito
Rowland White
£20.00
Hardback
The Art of War
Added to basket
The Art of War
Sun-tzu
£6.99
Paperback
Abyss
Added to basket
Abyss
Max Hastings
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
The Survivor
Added to basket
The Survivor
Josef Lewkowicz
£8.99   £7.49
Paperback
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad
Added to basket
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad
Daniel Finkelstein
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
The Russo-Ukrainian War
Added to basket
The Russo-Ukrainian War
Serhii Plokhy
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
SAS: Rogue Heroes
Added to basket
SAS: Rogue Heroes
Ben Macintyre
£9.99
Paperback
How to Win an Information War
Added to basket
How to Win an Information War
Peter Pomerantsev
£20.00   £17.99
Hardback
The Spy and the Traitor
Added to basket
The Spy and the Traitor
Ben Macintyre
£10.99
Paperback
The Red Arrows
Added to basket
The Red Arrows
David Montenegro
£10.99
Paperback
Women in Intelligence
Added to basket
Women in Intelligence
Helen Fry
£25.00   £21.99
Hardback
Mosquito Men
Added to basket
Mosquito Men
David Price
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Operation Mincemeat
Added to basket
Operation Mincemeat
Ben Macintyre
£10.99
Paperback
See More 

Our Bestselling British History Books

Politics On the Edge
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Politics On the Edge
Rory Stewart
£22.00   £18.99
Hardback
Unruly
Added to basket
Unruly
David Mitchell
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Normal Women
Added to basket
Normal Women
Philippa Gregory
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Buried
Added to basket
Buried
Alice Roberts
£9.99
Paperback
Lost Realms
Added to basket
Lost Realms
Thomas Williams
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Shadowlands
Added to basket
Shadowlands
Matthew Green
£10.99   £8.99
Paperback
The Anglo-Saxons
Added to basket
The Anglo-Saxons
Marc Morris
£10.99
Paperback
Ancestors
Added to basket
Ancestors
Alice Roberts
£10.99
Paperback
The The Princes in the Tower
Added to basket
The The Princes in the Tower
Philippa Langley
£25.00
Hardback
A Northern Wind
Added to basket
A Northern Wind
David Kynaston
£30.00
Hardback
A Short History of England
Added to basket
A Short History of England
Simon Jenkins
£10.99
Paperback
The Bone Chests
Added to basket
The Bone Chests
Cat Jarman
£25.00
Hardback
Endgame
Added to basket
Endgame
Omid Scobie
£22.00   £17.99
Hardback
Legacy of Violence
Added to basket
Legacy of Violence
Caroline Elkins
£16.99
Paperback
The Facemaker
Added to basket
The Facemaker
Lindsey Fitzharris
£10.99
Paperback
Courtiers
Added to basket
Courtiers
Valentine Low
£10.99
Paperback
Hauntings
Added to basket
Hauntings
Neil Oliver
£25.00
Hardback
The Palace
Added to basket
The Palace
Gareth Russell
£25.00
Hardback

You May Be Looking For...

Signed & Special Editions | Shop Now
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Perfect Paperbacks Up to 20% Off | Shop Now
See More 

Our Bestselling European History Books

The Escape Artist
Added to basket
The Escape Artist
Jonathan Freedland
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
Russia
Added to basket
Russia
Antony Beevor
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Say Nothing
Added to basket
Say Nothing
Patrick Radden Keefe
£10.99
Paperback
Stasiland
Added to basket
Stasiland
Anna Funder
£10.99
Paperback
Free
Added to basket
Free
Lea Ypi
£10.99
Paperback
River Kings
Added to basket
River Kings
Cat Jarman
£9.99
Paperback
In Search Of Berlin
Added to basket
In Search Of Berlin
John Kampfner
£22.00   £18.99
Hardback
A Village in the Third Reich
Added to basket
A Village in the Third Reich
Julia Boyd
£10.99
Paperback
The Savage Storm
Added to basket
The Savage Storm
James Holland
£25.00
Hardback
Putin's People
Added to basket
Putin's People
Catherine Belton
£10.99
Paperback
Venice
Added to basket
Venice
Martin Gayford
£30.00
Hardback
France on Trial
Added to basket
France on Trial
Julian Jackson
£25.00
Hardback
Beyond the Wall
Added to basket
Beyond the Wall
Katja Hoyer
£25.00
Hardback
The Story of Scandinavia
Added to basket
The Story of Scandinavia
Stein Ringen
£25.00
Hardback
The Hundred Years War Vol 5
Added to basket
The Hundred Years War Vol 5
Jonathan Sumption
£40.00
Hardback
Colonialism
Added to basket
Colonialism
Nigel Biggar
£25.00
Hardback
Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I
Added to basket
Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I
Tracy Borman
£25.00
Hardback
See More 

Our Bestselling American History Books

Killers of the Flower Moon
Added to basket
Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann
£9.99
Paperback
Abyss
Added to basket
Abyss
Max Hastings
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Added to basket
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Dee Brown
£10.99
Paperback
The Witches
Added to basket
The Witches
Stacy Schiff
£10.99
Paperback
Black Spartacus
Added to basket
Black Spartacus
Sudhir Hazareesingh
£10.99
Paperback
The American Civil War
Added to basket
The American Civil War
John Keegan
£14.99
Paperback
One Summer
Added to basket
One Summer
Bill Bryson
£10.99
Paperback
Alexander Hamilton
Added to basket
Alexander Hamilton
Ron Chernow
£15.99
Paperback
The American West
Added to basket
The American West
Dee Brown
£9.99
Paperback
The Earth is Weeping
Added to basket
The Earth is Weeping
Peter Cozzens
£14.99
Paperback
Nuclear Folly
Added to basket
Nuclear Folly
Serhii Plokhy
£14.99
Paperback
The Penguin History Of Latin America
Added to basket
The Penguin History Of Latin America
Edwin Williamson
£16.99
Paperback
JFK
Added to basket
JFK
Fredrik Logevall
£16.99
Paperback
How to Hide an Empire
Added to basket
How to Hide an Empire
Daniel Immerwahr
£12.99
Paperback
The British Are Coming
Added to basket
The British Are Coming
Rick Atkinson
£18.99
Paperback
Gimson's Presidents
Added to basket
Gimson's Presidents
Andrew Gimson
£10.99
Hardback
Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11
Added to basket
Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11
Mitchell Zuckoff
£12.99
Paperback
See More 

Our Bestselling Asian History Books

The Hong Kong Diaries
Added to basket
The Hong Kong Diaries
Chris Patten
£14.99   £12.99
Paperback
Red Memory
Added to basket
Red Memory
Tania Branigan
£9.99   £8.49
Paperback
The Anarchy
Added to basket
The Anarchy
William Dalrymple
£12.99
Paperback
The Shortest History of India
Added to basket
The Shortest History of India
John Zubrzycki
£9.99
Paperback
The Japanese Myths
Added to basket
The Japanese Myths
Joshua Frydman
£14.99
Hardback
The Shortest History of China
Added to basket
The Shortest History of China
Linda Jaivin
£8.99
Paperback
Vietnam
Added to basket
Vietnam
Max Hastings
£12.99
Paperback
Wild Swans
Added to basket
Wild Swans
Jung Chang
£12.99
Paperback
The Story of China
Added to basket
The Story of China
Michael Wood
£12.99
Paperback
Japan
Added to basket
Japan
Mikiso Hane
£10.99
Paperback
Dispatches
Added to basket
Dispatches
Michael Herr
£10.99
Paperback
India
Added to basket
India
John Keay
£14.99
Paperback
Inglorious Empire
Added to basket
Inglorious Empire
Shashi Tharoor
£10.99
Paperback
Genghis Khan
Added to basket
Genghis Khan
Frank McLynn
£16.99
Paperback
The Opium War
Added to basket
The Opium War
Julia Lovell
£12.99
Paperback
The Great Empires of Asia
Added to basket
The Great Empires of Asia
Jim Masselos
£12.99
Paperback
Return of a King
Added to basket
Return of a King
William Dalrymple
£12.99
Paperback
The Patient Assassin
Added to basket
The Patient Assassin
Anita Anand
£9.99
Paperback
See More 

Our Bestselling Ancient History Books

SPQR
Added to basket
SPQR
Mary Beard
£10.99   £11.99
Paperback
Lost Realms
Added to basket
Lost Realms
Thomas Williams
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Pax
Added to basket
Pax
Tom Holland
£30.00
Hardback
Divine Might
Added to basket
Divine Might
Natalie Haynes
£20.00
Hardback
Rubicon
Added to basket
Rubicon
Tom Holland
£12.99
Paperback
Alexandria
Added to basket
Alexandria
Islam Issa
£30.00   £24.99
Hardback
Papyrus
Added to basket
Papyrus
Irene Vallejo
£12.99
Paperback
The Egyptian Myths
Added to basket
The Egyptian Myths
Garry J. Shaw
£14.99
Hardback
Celts, The - Search for a Civilisation
Added to basket
Celts, The - Search for a Civilisation
Alice Roberts
£10.99
Paperback
A History of the Middle East
Added to basket
A History of the Middle East
Peter Mansfield
£14.99
Paperback
Venus and Aphrodite
Added to basket
Venus and Aphrodite
Bettany Hughes
£9.99
Paperback
The Spartans
Added to basket
The Spartans
Paul Cartledge
£12.99
Paperback
A History of Ancient Britain
Added to basket
A History of Ancient Britain
Neil Oliver
£10.99
Paperback
Ancient Magic in Greece and Rome
Added to basket
Ancient Magic in Greece and Rome
Philip Matyszak
£14.99
Hardback
Babylon
Added to basket
Babylon
Paul Kriwaczek
£12.99
Paperback
The Histories
Added to basket
The Histories
Herodotus
£10.99
Paperback
The Histories
Added to basket
The Histories
Herodotus
£12.99
Paperback
The Non-Fiction You Need to Read in 2024

The Non-Fiction You Need to Read in 2024

Ranging across biography, history, cookery and more, discover the non-fiction books we are most excited about in 2024.

The Waterstones Round Up: April's Best Books

The Waterstones Round Up: April's Best Books

With plenty of eagerly-awaited titles finally arriving this month, April is simply bursting with brilliant books.

Zeinab Badawi on

Zeinab Badawi on

The author of An African History of Africa writes about one of her heroes, the ruler of the ancient kingdom of Kush.

Bettany Hughes on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and Women

Bettany Hughes on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and Women

The beloved historian and broadcaster talks about her new book.

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