Host of The Rest Is History, guest on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
24 books recommended · 27 episodes
Books they recommend that someone else wrote.
“and the tactic which is so common across eastern europe and appenbaum describes it brilliantly in her book iron curtain is you pretend to be moderate…”
Why: It brilliantly describes the communist tactic of pretending to be moderate to take power by stealth.
Iron Curtain by Anne Applebaum
Host on The Rest Is HistoryRevolution in the Soviet Empire: The Hungarian Uprising (Part 1)
“So there's a great book on this by my friend Simon Hall about 1956, which basically does it kind of month by month.”
Why: It gives you a real sense of the narrative momentum and how the two stories appeared on the same front pages.
1956 by Simon Hall
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Suez Crisis: Anarchy in the Middle East (Part 1)
“he wrote an entire book called the age of arthur which i adored yeah brilliant book…”
The Age of Arthur by John Morris
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend (Part 4)
“So that was Sir Winston Churchill, and he was writing in The Birth of Britain, which was the first volume of his mighty history of the English-speaking peoples.”
The Birth of Britain by Winston S. Churchill
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend (Part 4)
“That's the sort of Bernard Cornwell, the Winter King. Rosemary Sutcliffe's great book, Sword at Sunset.”
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend (Part 4)
“the most celebrated explication of this is Jesse Weston who wrote a book called From Ritual to Romance which cast the quest for the Holy Grail as a story that encodes deeply buried memories of ancient fertility cults…”
From Ritual to Romance by Jesse L. Weston
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend (Part 4)
“And there's a brilliant book on this, on just how historical Merlin was believed to have been in the Middle Ages by Anne Lawrence Mathers, The True History of Merlin, the Magician.”
Why: It explores how Merlin's feats of magic were believed to be real historical events.
The True History of Merlin the Magician by Anne Lawrence-Mathers
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Mysteries of Merlin (Part 3)
“comes at the end of the Mort d'Arthur, the great prose epic that was written by Sir Thomas Mallory during the Wars of the Roses.”
Why: It fixes for the English-speaking world the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: The Once & Future King (Part 1)
“A great historian, Colin Jones, wrote a book a couple of years ago called The Fall of Robespierre, based on all these reports reconstructing almost minute by minute the events of those two days.”
Why: It makes a familiar story exciting and unexpected through present-tense immediacy.
The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6)
“And the author we've talked about a lot, R.R. Palmer, in his book, 12 Who Ruled, is very good on the optics of this.”
Why: The speaker praises the book for being very good on the optics of Robespierre's actions.
Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: The Fall of Robespierre (Part 6)
“I mentioned in the last episode, Kevin Myers, the RTE journalist, his memoir, Watching the Door. There's a moment in that, a very sort of evocative passage.”
Why: Offers an evocative and underrated perspective on the forbearance of British troops.
Watching the Door by Kevin Myers
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: Bloody Sunday (Part 4)
“so there's um in peter taylor's book brits about the experience of the army he talks about this young officer who flew into belfast for the first time in august 1971…”
Why: Provides insight into the perspective and psychological experience of the British army on the ground.
Brits by Peter Taylor
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: Bloody Sunday (Part 4)
“So there's a wonderful book actually about Northern Ireland in the 70s called Watching the Door by an Irish columnist, quite controversial Irish columnist actually, Kevin Myers…”
Why: Described as a wonderful book.
Watching the Door by Kevin Myers
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: Return of the IRA (Part 3)
“There's a soldier in Peter Taylor's book about the army in Northern Ireland, Brits, it's called. Brilliant book.”
Why: Described as a brilliant book.
Brits by Peter Taylor
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: Return of the IRA (Part 3)
“In his book, Loyalists, Peter Taylor gives the example of one man called Martin Snodden.”
Loyalists by Peter Taylor
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: Return of the IRA (Part 3)
“Now, as the Irish historian Tim Pat Coogan, not everybody's cup of tea, quite nationalist history, but as he rightly says in his book, The Troubles, he says, it was as though Hamas were to parade through Jerusalem's holy places…”
The Troubles by Tim Pat Coogan
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: The Brink of Civil War (Part 2)
“i mean this isn't just me making this up there's a brilliant book on all this by richard english is probably the definitive history of the ira called armed struggle right richard english…”
Why: Described as the definitive history of the IRA.
Armed Struggle by Richard English
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: The Brink of Civil War (Part 2)
“so there's a great book called loyalists by peter taylor peter taylor bbc journalist did three books called provost brits loyalists basically oral histories…”
Why: Full of interviews looking at the conflict through oral histories.
Loyalists by Peter Taylor
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: The Brink of Civil War (Part 2)
“have you read Madeline Miller's novel about Circe yes brilliant isn't it it gives you the whole episode from her perspective anyway Odysseus and co they go off to…”
Why: It gives you the whole episode from her perspective and is brilliant.
Circe by Madeline Miller
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1)
“So that was the opening of Homer's great epic, The Odyssey, brilliantly translated by a friend of the show, Daniel Mendelsohn.”
Why: It is one of the great foundational products in all Western culture and civilization.
The Odyssey by Homer
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1)
“So Simon Sharma in his brilliant book on this, The Embarrassment of Riches, if the Dutch finally espoused independence, they did so with the lowest possible profile.”
Why: Described as a brilliant book that captures the low-profile, understated nature of Dutch independence.
The Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Netherlands: The Revolt that Made The Modern World (Part 4)
“So as Philip Marsden says in his book, The Barefoot Emperor, from Liverpool to Woolwich, Chatham to Bombay.”
Why: Marston's book is brilliant on this and goes into incredible detail about the campaign's logistics.
The Barefoot Emperor by Philip Marsden
Host on The Rest Is HistoryQueen Victoria’s Revenge: Storming the Citadel (Part 2)
“Now, as R.R. Palmer says in his great book, 12 Who Ruled, the thing about this is basically it's kind of a recipe for permanent terror.”
Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: Death at the Guillotine (Part 4)
“so in simon charmer's book citizens he quotes one example let marat's head fall and the republic is saved…”
Citizens by Simon Schama
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: How The French Revolution Collapsed Into Chaos (Part 1)
“And so to quote Jesse Childs in her wonderful prize-winning book, God's Traitors, which is all about the recusants in Elizabethan England, from the government's viewpoint, it looked very much…”
Why: Described as a wonderful prize-winning book about recusants.
God's Traitors by Jessie Childs
Host on The Rest Is HistoryElizabeth I vs The Catholics: A Massacre in Paris (Part 2)
“Frederick Morton in his book, Inerva Splendous, says the reason is that Rudolf is postponing this because Rudolf believed that climax meant end, meaning death.”
Why: It provides valuable historical details on day-by-day events and psychological insights into Rudolf.
A Nervous Splendor by Frederic Morton
Host on The Rest Is HistoryA Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2)
“So there's a recent biography of Washington, one of loads of prizes, great acclaim by Ron Chernow. And Chernow calls Washington the most elusive figure in American history…”
Why: It shows Washington as human behind the marble facade.
Washington by Ron Chernow
Host on The Rest Is HistoryWashington: Hero of the Revolution (Part 1)
“There's a brilliant history, basically the only real, really good English language history of Brazil, by Lila Schwartz and Eloisa Starling, which I think I mentioned in the Dom Pedro second episode four years ago.”
Why: It is highlighted as the only really good English-language history of Brazil.
Brazil : A Biography by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz
Host on The Rest Is HistoryBrazil: The Emperor’s Anthem (Part 5)
Their own books, or books they discussed with the author. Not counted as recommendations.
“that was from rubicon by our very own Tom Holland, describing an ominous moment…”
Rubicon by Tom Holland
Host on The Rest Is HistoryRoman Civil War: Master of the Republic (Part 4)
“well dear listeners it was our very own tom holland in his book rubicon the book that catapulted him to greatness so tom rome 105 bc biggest city in the mediterranean…”
Rubicon by Tom Holland
Host on The Rest Is HistoryRoman Civil War: The Barbarian Invasion (Part 2)
Named without an opinion attached.
“he actually is a massive reader and he loved churchill's book my early life so all the stuff about churchill escaping from the burrs and all of that…”
My Early Life by Winston S. Churchill
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Suez Crisis: Anarchy in the Middle East (Part 1)
“So Dickens in A Tale of two cities or Hilary Mantel in a place of greater safety.”
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: How The French Revolution Collapsed Into Chaos (Part 1)
“So Dickens in A Tale of two cities or Hilary Mantel in a place of greater safety.”
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: How The French Revolution Collapsed Into Chaos (Part 1)
“on our sister show, The Book Club, my co-presenter Tabby and I have just released an episode on perhaps the emblematic novel of the Spanish Civil War, which is Ernest Hemingway's book, For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Troubles: The Brink of Civil War (Part 2)
“It ranks alongside Homer's other great poem, the Iliad, composed in the 8th or the 7th century BC, and of course the Bible as an absolute building block of the culture that we now are so familiar with Tom.”
The Iliad by Homer
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1)
“Kenneth Clark in Civilization, the landmark BBC series, in the episode on the Revolutionary Era. He described Jefferson as the emblematic genius of the age.”
Civilization by Kenneth Clark
Host on The Rest Is HistoryJefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4)
“there are two books by Tacitus in particular that influence him and the first of these is called Germania it's a portrait of ancient Germany which of course hadn't been conquered by the Romans…”
Germania by P. Cornelius Tacitus
Host on The Rest Is HistoryJefferson: The Betrayal of Liberty (Part 4)
“is the book called 1066 and All That, a comic book by Sellers and Yateman at the beginning of the 20th century.”
1066 and All That by Walter Carruthers Sellar
Guest on Dan Carlin's Hardcore HistoryHollandansandbrook
“what launches Arthurmania is this mad supposed history written by a cleric called Geoffrey of Monmouth. And this is the history of the kings of Britain.”
The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Host on The Rest Is HistoryKing Arthur: Lancelot and the Round Table (Part 2)
“Robert Palmer, in his classic book on the Committee of Public Safety 12, who ruled, gives a fabulous character sketch of him.”
Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer
Host on The Rest Is HistoryThe Terror: The Execution of Marie Antoinette (Part 3)
“he's published a book called wanderings among the falashers which is very caustic about abyssinia he said of the people of abyssinia they were a false treacherous and insolent race…”
Wanderings Among the Falashas in Abyssinia by Henry Aaron Stern
Host on The Rest Is HistoryQueen Victoria’s Revenge: The Mad Emperor of Abyssinia (Part 1)
“He has books in his cabin. So he's got the Bible, of course. He's got Fox's Book of Martyrs, that great compendium of Protestant martyrs.”
Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
Host on The Rest Is HistoryElizabeth I vs The Catholics: England’s Greatest Hero (Part 3)
“some people might be reminded of, especially people who've read Wolf Hall and the successor books, might be reminded of Thomas Cromwell…”
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Host on The Rest Is HistoryElizabeth I vs The Catholics: The Queen’s Spymaster (Part 1)