A vivid history of how the marks left on maps by travellers tell the story of the modern world

A magnificent work of original research, unwinding history through cloth - how we make it, use it and what it means to us.

This is the story of Palestine told from the inside.

If we are to understand the politics that we now take for granted, we need to understand its origins. This book examines the paths that different societies have taken to reach their current forms of political order. It starts with the very beginning of mankind and comes right up to the eve of the French and American revolutions.

Offers an understanding of Vermeer's paintings and of the era they portray.

The riveting history of the strange science of the 'Normal', and the origins of an anxiety-ridden modern obsession

An entertaining collection of strange, delightful and unexpectedly apt words from the origins of English.

A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors by 'the world's most famous classicist' (Guardian)

Princes, collectors, bookworms and thieves: the extraordinary story of the library, from Alexandria to the age of Google.

Diaries, sketchbooks, common-places, notebooks, ledgers and ships' logs: how the blank book changed the way we think, and helped us change the world.