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New history books in August 2024

by Anthony Webb, 1 September 2024

A good line up this month - I'm always happy to see geographical and temporal spread in the selection!

For the first time since I have been keeping track there is a popular history book on the history of Iraq which is great to see. Also Big Hitter Richard J Evans has published a book on Nazi Germany. Alongside this we have two books on medieval manuscripts, a book on nobodies and mangos.

I've highlighted a few more books below the covers that I hope to read soon.

Click the book covers to see a zoomed in image and links to Amazon if you like to buy your books there.

The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments
Tracks on the Ocean: A History of Trailblazing, Maps and Maritime Travel
Flint Tools Field Guide: Identifying Stone Age Tools
Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich
Eighteen: The Young Lives of 18 Leading Britons
Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief
How to Fit All of Ancient Greece in an Elevator
To Catch a Spy: How the Spycatcher Affair Brought MI5 in from the Cold
The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages
Green Ages: Medieval Innovations in Sustainability
History in Flames: The Destruction and Survival of Medieval Manuscripts
This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World
Land Between the Rivers: A 5000-Year History of Iraq
Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age
Mango: A Global History
cover image

book cover

[title]

[by author]

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Those that I will be reading, or intending to read:

  • The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments, by Adrian Bliss. I like the concept of this one, which hopefully should be entertaining in a semi-serious sort of way.

  • Tracks on the Ocean: A History of Trailblazing, Maps and Maritime Travel, by Sara Caputo. Definitely serious, this book looks at how drawing lines on maps came to define and create reality in the modern world. At least that what I think it is about. I have a copy on my shelf so will find out for sure soon.

  • Flint Tools Field Guide: Identifying Stone Age Tools, by Robert Turner. You could argue that this isn't really a popular history book, but I saw it and liked it so decided to stick it in. I also ordered a copy and am hoping to use it to help me find a prehistoric flint this weekend... I will report back.

  • To Catch a Spy: How the Spycatcher Affair Brought MI5 in from the Cold, by Tim Tate. I tend to read less contemporary history these days, but this one will be an exception. The title is very Carre-esque - we will see if real life is just as bleak.

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