NF: History, Geography and Politics

Swansea has a rich, absorbing past, which is uniquely reflected in this delightful, full-colour compilation. Contrasting a selection of forty-five archive images alongside modern photographs taken from the same location, this new book reveals the changing faces, buildings and streets of Swansea during the...

Bridges are among the most inspiring of all human endeavours. Boldly arching across space, they push the boundaries of the possible to connect and define the places in which we live. Lavishly illustrated in colour and black and white, this passionate and erudite book...

Clustered together in azure-blue waters are a collection of little islands whose culture, history and people have touched every corner of the world. From the moment Columbus gazed out at what he mistook for India, and wrote in his journal of 'the most beautiful...

Did you know… William IV was wont to speak his mind and could sometimes lack tact, which is said to have inspired the nickname ‘Silly Billy’? Edward III banned all sports, including football, on Sundays, so that his subjects could be free to concentrate solely on their archery? Coronation chicken was invented for...

The last 150 years have seen great changes in Grantham and the neighbouring villages of Belton, Barrowby, Bottesford, Denton and Harlaxton, with the loss of buildings, landscapes and institutions that had previously endured for hundreds of years. With them has gone something less tangible,...

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite or is it something less easily defined? Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Coopers Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of...

  Why have Western societies that were once overwhelmingly Christian become so secular? Looking to the feelings and faith of ordinary people, the award-winning author of Protestants Alec Ryrie offers a bold new history of atheism. We think we know the history of faith: how the...

Whitehaven in the Great War covers Whitehaven's immense contribution to the Great War effort; it is thought that 625 Whitehaven men - from a town that, in 1901, had a population of around 21,000 - lost their lives fighting in the war. Meanwhile, on...

Ingrid Betancourt's story - her exemplary courage, spirit and resilience - has captured the world's imagination. A politician and presidential candidate celebrated for her determination to combat the corruption and climate of fear endemic in Colombia, in 2002 she was taken hostage by FARC,...

Mansfield was the largest town near the Duke of Portland's home at Welbeck Abbey. The duke and duchess often held house parties for their friends who included the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Lord Kitchener - one whose death triggered the war and the other...

When news of the war broke out in 1914, nothing could prepare the citizens of Bath for the changes that would envelop their city over the next four years. The story of Bath in the Great War is both an interesting and intriguing one....

The 20th century began with a sense of great optimism after centuries of oppression. It was to be one of the most violent and tumultuous in world history, and paved the way for many people to seize opportunities and make a difference. It has...

'Mandatory reading' Steven PinkerDo you eat too much sugar? What proportion of your country are immigrants? What does it cost to raise a child? How much tax do the rich pay? Are we more ignorant than we used to be?Take a minute to answer...

Grays (Thurrock) in the Great War tells the story of Grays and the wider Thurrock area from the outbreak of the Great War until the peace of 1918. The Docks at nearby Tilbury were the source of much employment in the area for both...

Kim Darroch was British Ambassador to the US as the age of Trump dawned and Brexit unfolded. One of the UK’s most experienced and respected diplomats, to Darroch was given the task of explaining Trump to the British and Brexit to the Americans. Choosing...

The surprise bestseller The King's Speech told the unknown story of the bond between George VI and Lionel Logue, the brilliant, eccentric speech therapist who helped the young king face up to the unimaginable challenge of leading his nation into war. But their story did not...

  In 2020, the world faced its biggest crisis in a generation: a global pandemic. In the UK, it exposed deep divisions within society and laid bare a toxic culture war that had been raging beneath the surface. From the outset, Piers Morgan urged...

Let these pages be a constant reminder that you are absolutely spectacular, just the way you are - every part of you, inside and out. Pull up a comfy seat in my brain and let's unravel all the delightfully complex layers that make us...

'Hello, I'm Stephen Fry. Now time for the first outing of a brand, spanking new feature here on The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music... putting some unsuspecting figure in music under the spotlight.' In his Incomplete & Utter History of Classical Music as told...

After Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, he was sent into exile on St Helena, arriving in October 1815. For the six years until his death, he was an 'eagle in a cage', reduced from the most powerful figure in Europe to...