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New history books in June 2026

by Anthony Webb, 2 July 2026

Ok here's what we've got from last month (published in the UK in hardback). With the World Cup in full swing and England not yet out of it, I'm pleased to see at least one football history book on the list! Here are the three that appeal to me at first glance:

  • Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches, by Tony Shaw, Alan McDougall. Possibly ashameless cash-in on the World Cup but I am still pulled in by the premise. As the legendary Golden Leg reminds us in the cult film Shaolin Soccer: "Football is war".

  • Lords of the Salt Road: The Norse Earls of Orkney and the Viking World, by Angus Konstam. Having visited Orkney for the day last year, arriving by Magnus Lounge, I am a fan of the islands. And although it is Orkney's Neolithic history that really appeals I would like to find out more about the Viking connection too.

  • Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults: More Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans, by Garrett Ryan. Looks like fun summer reading, perhaps similar to the Randall Munroe 'What if?' books that my son enjoys except with an ancient history slant.

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

Alexander: God, King, Man
The Traveller: George Forster's Search for Humanity
The Twitnam Summer: Friendship, Satire and the Writing of Gulliver’s Travels
The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet Union and the Making of New Russia 1985-1991
Regina: A New History of Women and Power
Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches
Lords of the Salt Road: The Norse Earls of Orkney and the Viking World
The Long Revolution: Creating a United States After 1776
A Golden World: How the Americas Transformed Renaissance England
Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults: More Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans
China's Aristocratic Age: Politics and Power in the Springs-and-Autumns Period
Entangled Empires: Four Centuries of China - Russia Relations
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The full list:

  1. 📕 Alexander: God, King, Man
  2. 📘 The Traveller: George Forster's Search for Humanity
  3. 📔 The Twitnam Summer: Friendship, Satire and the Writing of Gulliver’s Travels
  4. 📗 The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet Union and the Making of New Russia 1985-1991
  5. 📙 Regina: A New History of Women and Power
  6. 📓 Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches
  7. 📒 Lords of the Salt Road: The Norse Earls of Orkney and the Viking World
  8. 📙 The Long Revolution: Creating a United States After 1776
  9. 📘 A Golden World: How the Americas Transformed Renaissance England
  10. 📔 Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults: More Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans
  11. 📗 China's Aristocratic Age: Politics and Power in the Springs-and-Autumns Period
  12. 📕 Entangled Empires: Four Centuries of China - Russia Relations

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