Bridgwater, a Somerset market town, has a history dating back to " Domesday Book", & this long-awaited book traces the fascinating story of the settlement's development from those distant days to the Millennium. In 1200, a medieval feudal lord realised the value of Bridgwater's navigable river & bridge, & obtained licence to build a castle & a royal charter to create a borough. The compelling & entertaining narrative relates the histories of both castle & borough, along with that of the two religious houses, & the town's parish church. The growth & trade of the port, & use & maintenance of the bridge, are also detailed. By Tudor times Bridgwater had further charters, including one granting the town a mayor & corporation. The High Cross & Burgess Hall were also built at this time. Bridgwater was involved in many historic English conflicts: it was besieged during the Civil War, & both the Monmouth rebellion & the battle of Sedgemoor occurred just outside its boundaries. After 1685 the quays were rebuilt & enlarged, a new almshouse & assize hall were erected, & the Duke of Chandos built 'the finest Georgian street outside Bath'. The Victorian era was one of progress: brick & tile manufacture replaced the wool & cloth trade, the railway arrived, a new town hall was built, the turnpikes were abolished & a floating harbour was created. However, the town was also beset by several scandals: a major cholera outbreak, criticism of the Dickensian care of workhouse inmates, & corrupt electoral practices, which led to Bridgwater being disfranchised. The last century, which saw advances in the public sector, ambitious house-building programmes implemented after both world wars, & continued advances in road transport, is covered in detail. The rapid decline of shipping & brick & tile manufacture after 1945 led to the local government changes of 1974 that resulted in Bridgwater becoming part of the Sedgemoor district & thereby losing some of its identity. This remarkably detailed book, enhanced by over 100 splendid illustrations, will appeal both to residents of Bridgwater, & local historians in general. ...

This highly illustrated, information-packed volume explores British history from Neolithic times right up to New Labour. Every double-page spread focuses on a different topic, making it a pleasure to dip into & easy to look up any subject that interests you, be it Boudicca's Rebellion, the wars against Napoleon or the Troubles in Northern Irel&. Find out how centuries of invasions & migrations shaped British society & culture; how four proud & fiercely independent territories finally came together to form the United Kingdom; how a small island nation rose to become a global power, controlling the largest empire the world had ever seen; & how that empire was lost & today's modern, multicultural Britain emerged. ...

Expanded & updated, this is the definitive history of British serial killing 1888-2020
- by the UK's leading criminologist,

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Once the preserve of the English, now, for nations the world over, summertime means cricket bats to be oiled, rain forecasts analysed & tea in the pavilion. Cricket has enthralled us since the seventeenth century. But what is it about the game that provokes such fervour? Award-winning sports author Gavin Mortimer calls together a cast of salt-of-the-earth Yorkshiremen, American billionaires & dashing Indian princes to tell the strange & remarkable tale of crickets journey from medieval village sport of club-ball to the global media circus graced by superstars from Denis Compton to Sachin Tendulkar. If youve ever wanted to know what a hoop skirt has to do with overarm bowling, why England fight Australia over a burnt bail, or how to avoid tickling a jaffa in the corridor of uncertainty, Mortimer chalks up a stunning century of tales in the first truly accessible global history of cricket. ...

A fascinating look into the treasure trove of football history & the games greatest stars. Premier League Classic Matches
- Since
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The ancient Egyptians would have known it as the sixth day of Pachon. The Mayans named it 4 Ahau 3 Kankin. To us it is 21 December, 2012. On this day, it is said, the world will come to an end. This is not the first time we've been told that our time is up. &
- touch wood
- it probably won't be the last. Religious & secular, past & present
- Apocalypse covers each & every one of our prophesized dooms: featuring asteroids, Antichrists, solar flares, Singularities, Utopias, UFOs, Zoroastrians & Zapotecs, to mention but a small few. The result is a thorough history of one the most fascinating threads of our cultural existence: spanning from the first warnings of our ancient ancestors, to the contemporary (yet equally glum) forecasts for our future. This book has 229 pages & is 19.7cm x 12.9cm x 1.1cm


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Winston Churchill's History of the English-Speaking Peoples ended in 1900. Andrew Roberts, Wolfson History prizewinner has been inspired by Churchill's example to write the story of the 20th century. Churchill wrote: ' Every nation or group of nations has its own tale to tell. Knowledge of the trials & struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, & opportunities which confront us today It is in the hope that contemplation of the trials & tribulations of our forefathers may not only fortify the English-speaking peoples of today, but also play some small part in uniting the whole world, that I present this account.' As the greatest of all the trials & tribulations of the English-speaking peoples took place in the twentieth century, Roberts' book covers the four world-historical struggles in which the English-speaking peoples have been engaged
- the wars against German Nationalism, Axis Fascism, Soviet Communism & now the War against Terror. But just as Churchill did in his four volumes, Roberts also deals with the cultural, social & political history of the English global diaspora.
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From the earliest civilizations to the twenty-first century, this is a global journey through human history, tieing-in with a major BBC television series. Andrew Marr, author of two best-selling histories of Great Britain now turns his attention to the world as a whole. "A Short History of the World" takes readers from the Mayans to Mongolia, from the kingdom of Benin to the court of the Jagiellonian kings of Pol&. Traditional histories of this kind have tended to be Euro-centric, telling mankind's story through tales of Greece & Rome & the crowned heads of Europe's oldest monarchies. Here, Marr widens the lens, concentrating as much, if not more on the Americas, Africa & Asia. Instead of focusing on one episode of history taking place in one place, he draws surprising parallels & makes fascinating connections, focusing on a key incident or episode to tell a larger story: for instance, the liberation of the serfs in Russia, which took place at the same time as the American Civil War, which resulted in the abolition of slavery in the US. But he begins the account with an episode in the life of Tolstoy, who racked up huge gambling debts & had to sell land & slaves as a result. Fresh & exciting, this is popular history at its very best. ...

A History of the World in 100 Weapons tells the stories of the hundred definitive weapons whose effects have been the most revolutionary, changing the way war is waged & the very world we live in. From the gladius of ancient Rome to the AK-47, all one hundred are revealed in an array of sumptuous colour photographs & contemporary images. Compiled with the assistance of some of the leading military historians, this volume reveals not only the weapon itself but who wielded it & where, clearly explaining the blow-by-blow advance of military technology & expertise across the ages. ...

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Stretching from the Ice Ages to the present day, this masterful account traces the political, social

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