1848 Christopher Clark
A new look at this seminal year in European history by the excellent Christopher Clark
The Windsors at War Alexander Larman
From King Edward VIII's relations with Nazism to the story of the family during the Second World War
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad Daniel Finkelstein
The author's mother and father suffered at the hands of both the Nazis and the Soviets during The Second World War. The father in the story later became one of the most respected Governors at my own college, The City Lit.
Aung San Sui Kyi Wendy Law-Yone
An Oxford contemporary of mine, she passed from hero to villain in the complex politics of Myanmar. This new biography is of great interest, although the story has not ended yet.
Colonialism Nigel Biggar
This attempt to counteract modern so-called 'woke' views on British Imperialism is a useful antidote to extreme views on the opposite side of the argument. However, Professor Biggar's book is polemical in style, with a number of jarring factual inaccuracies which renders it necessary for the reader to approach it with caution.
The Survivor Josef Lewkowicz
This account of Jewish containment in various concentration camps across Nazi Europe is harrowing in its attention to detail. There are many such autobiographical writings, but this is one of the very best. It is all too easy to say 'difficult to put down' but in this case the phrase can be correctly applied.
The Soviet Century Karl Schlogel
This is a sort of dictionary/encyclopaedia of a now disappeared world. An unusual book in the range and depths of topics discussed'