The brilliantly compelling new biography of the treacherous and tyrannical King John, published to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. King John is familiar to everyone as the villain from the tales of Robin Hood — greedy, cowardly, despicable and cruel.

Could we ever see Vladimir Putin in the dock for his crimes? What about a Western ally like Benjamin Netanyahu? Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unthinkable. But as journalist and human rights advocate Steve Crawshaw describes in Prosecuting the Powerful - a blend of vivid reportage and gripping history - a series of remarkable changes in recent years means that, despite many challenges, both scenarios are now a possibility.

Drawing on his on-the-ground reporting from ...

'Lively and fascinating. I loved it' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in your Ear?'A history of the world in microcosm ... I highly recommend' Douglas Preston, author of The Lost City of the Monkey God'A real detective story ... a tour de force' David Crystal, author of A Date with Language

A History of the Modern Middle East examines the profound and often dramatic transformations of the region in the past two centuries, from the Ottoman and Egyptian reforms, through the challenge of Western imperialism, to the impact of US foreign policies.

The definitive account of the extraordinary people of Sparta, from the world's leading expert.