Christopher de Bellaigue's book The Lion House is a brilliant history of the first part of Suleiman the Magnificent's reign. I love history and I can't remember loving a history book more that this one. As I say in the podcast, I think it is an unabashed masterpiece and such a pleasure to read. Christopher tells the story in particular of two men at the court of Suleiman and their struggle to rise and prosper in extraordinarily difficult times. And it is the story also of Suleiman's love for his concubine (and later wife) Hurrem. Christopher is not only a great writer, he is also a superb conversationalist and I think this is an episode that everyone will enjoy.
Clive of India with Dr Zareer Masani
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
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