History Books in general

'Hidden Treasure Houses' by James Miller has been one of the best books I have recently bought. I found this book while browsing the gift shop at Rufford visitor centre, Nottingham. It cost me £7.00 and was published in 2006, so I am sure that you will probably be able to pick this book up a little bit cheaper than what I paid for it! James Miller has written various publications on country houses, but this is the first one I have read. 'Hidden Treasure Houses' was shown on Five, but to be honest, I never saw the programme and I couldn't tell you when it was on! 'Hidden Treasure Houses' describes to you 11 properties around the British ...  Read the complete review

This opinion is about " Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, sister of Nicholas II " written by John Van der Kiste and Coryne Hall It has been placed in this general category and will be moved when a specific category can be created. I developed a fascination for Russian history when I had to prepare a detailed study of the Russian revolution and the ensuing communism, for my history A level. When I discovered that there was a new book looking at the downfall of the Russian royal family and following their story afterwards, I just had to buy it. The book is written by John Van der Kiste ( well known to most on ...  Read the complete review

The brave attempt to synthesise existiing historical perspectives, as well as put forward a new method of historical study, lie behind J. A. Sharpe's recent second edition of "Early Modern England: A Social History; 1550-1760". Whether this is entirely convincing is a matter of conjecture, as Sharpe himself says more research has yet to be done and the data, by nature of it's patchy source, is necessarily short. Nevertheless the book offers an introduction to an interesting view of what has, only recently, become an area of serious academic study. Sharpe's argument being that interpretations coloured by prejudice, such as Whig or Marxist, ...  Read the complete review

My medieval history lecturer doesn't agree with R L Storey. So when I was set the title, 'Do you agree with R L Storey that "the Wars of the Roses were the outcome of an escalation of private feuds"?', and decided to read the whole book, he wasn't very impressed. As he should have been. Because it isn't often that I get the urge to read a whole history book from beginning to end. Three times. And this is what I want to tell you about - an important but very readable history book, covering a vital period in the mid-fifteenth century. 'The End of the House of Lancaster' was written in the 1960s and is famous mainly for ...  Read the complete review

Regicide and republic, England 1603-1660, By Graham E. Seel. This Cambridge Press book, on the Stuart period stretching from the death of Elizabeth the first to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, collates a work of skill and effort. The period from 1603 to 1660 is characterised by complex religious and political developments, and dramatic events such as the exectution of Charles I, civil war and the introduction of a republican form of government. In this clearly agued account Graham E. Seel identifies the main political, religious and economic factors that help explain the events of leading personalities such as James I, Charles I, Buckingham ...  Read the complete review