Most people know Ed West for his journalism and in particular for his substack The Wrong Side of History. If you haven't found that yet then check it out - it is one of the best things of its kind out there. But Ed also writes book and in particular a series of short introductions to various periods of English history. If (like me) you sometimes find you need a good overview of something before diving into the detail these books are an absolute godsend. We talked about the period from when the Romans left Britain in the early 400's to the time of Alfred the Great. It was thoroughly entertaining to listen to Ed though it sounds as if the people living through these times had a lot less fun.
His book is called Saxons vs Vikings: Alfred the Great and England in the Dark Ages. It is a great introduction to the period. (And ideal for fans of Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom!)
Laurence Bergreen on Magellan
With one leap he was free! - stories from Peter Henderson's life
A history of astronomy - from the Babylonians to Galileo
Clocks, Civilization, Power . . . all About Time with David Rooney
Talking movies with Freddie deBoer and Abe Callard (Mad Max, OUTIH, Ghostbusters etc)
Julian Sancton on the ill fated voyage of the Belgica to the Antarctic in 1898
When the Shogun's Sumo met Commodore Perry's minstrel show
Amazon the behemoth
Memories of wartime Japan and reflections on the kamikaze
Conquerors - how Portugal built its empire in India
Mike Dash on Batavia's Graveyard
Abulafia and Devereaux - the ancient Mediterranean
Peter Pomerantsev has stories to tell (and they are all true)
Bean on battleships (and much else besides)
David Goodhart on Head, Hand and Heart and the Road to Somewhere
The Siege of Gondor - Bret Devereaux rates the Witch King - A Bad Man, a Good General
The Knights of St John against the Turks (and the sheer bloody horror of Lepanto)
Bret Devereaux cancels Saruman. (Helms Deep as ancient military history)
Tom Holland scores 300
The Fate of Rome with Kyle Harper
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