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New history books in December 2022

by Anthony Webb, 1 January 2023

Fewer history books published in December but some fascinating titles amongst them - more thoughts on this below the cover pictures.

Click the book covers to see a zoomed in image and links to Amazon for those who like to buy their books there.

Homeward Bound: Return Migration from Ireland and India at the End of the British Empire
The Witches of St Osyth: Persecution, Betrayal and Murder in Elizabethan England
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East
Armada: The Spanish Enterprise and England's Deliverance In 1588
Ideological Fixation: From the Stone Age to Today's Culture Wars
Caesar Rules: The Emperor in the Changing Roman World (c. 50 BC – AD 565)
Enslaved: The Sunken History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Mary Magdalene: A Cultural History
The Vanishing Past: Making the Case for the Future of History
cover image

book cover

[title]

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I think that there are a higher percentage of “would like to read” books than for any other month I can remember. Hopefully the percentage I actually read of the “would like to read” list will be respectable! Some in particular:

  • Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East by Amanda H. Podany - this looks like a fascinating and ambitious attempt to make the emergence and development of “civilisation” over thousands of years relatable on a human scale.
  • Enslaved: The Sunken History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by Sean Kingsley and Simcha Jacobovici - looking at the tangible evidence of the slave trade through the authors' exploration of underwater sites.
  • The Vanishing Past: Making the Case for the Future of History by Trilby Kent - looking at the evidence of ahistorical attitudes in our societies and putting the case for (I think) continuing support for academic history.
  • Armada: The Spanish Enterprise and Englands Deliverance In 1588 by Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker - for some light historical escapism 😉

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