The Years of the Wizard by Rachel Morris* – The Strange, True History and Home-life of Renaissance Magicians – is a book published yesterday, which, very fortunately, I was asked to review. It’s been a while since I read Tudor history and the topic was…
Unseen Formby by Gillian Morgan and Adam Jones is a short book published by the local library which I picked up from the shelf while I was getting my reserved books. It’s a very short book, available only locally, so I will not write a…
From russia With Blood by Heidi Blake – The kremlin’s Ruthless Assassination Program and vladimir putin’s Secret War on the West – is a book I was recommended. It is a must read book for anyone living in UK and US, at least. The book…
The Mary Rose by Margaret Rule – The Excavation and Raising of Henry VIII’s Flagship – is a book I wanted to read for my trip to Portsmouth where I went to see the ship. This is an old book, the second one that I…
A History Of Lancaster Golf Club by J.H. Shennan is a short book, just over 100 pages. This was a complimentary book I received on a weekend stay at the Ashton Hall. This book is mainly about the Lancaster Golf Club, but considering that it…
I was so disappointed by Normal women by Philippa Gregory. This is the last book I read by her. I was looking forward to this book, despite its considerable size. The idea behind it seemed great, a non-fiction book on normal women. The book failed…
Boardroom Scandal by James Taylor – The Criminalization of Company Fraud in Nineteenth-Century Britain – is one of 5 books I received as part of a donation to Oxford made by a lecturer who studied at Oxford and died prematurely. He had thousands of books…
Storehouses of Empire by Colum Giles – Liverpool’s historic warehouses – is a short book, filled with pictures. It tells a fascinating story of the warehouses built in Liverpool. After the end of the British involvement in the Transatlantic slavery in 1807, the port of…
Tea, Coffee & Chocolate by Melanie King – How We Fell in Love with Caffeine – is a book I bought from the Bodleian gift shop. It is a small book, but really great. It covers tea, coffee, and chocolate in their own chapters, although…
The College Graces of Oxford and Cambridge by Reginald H. Adams is a book usually bought by tourists and, most likely, finalists like me. I got this from the Bodleian library gift shop last time I went to the library. I wanted to get one…
The Historic Heart of Oxford University by Geoffrey Tyack is a fascinating book on the most important buildings at the heart of Oxford. The focus of the book is on architecture and there are plans, archival prints, and all sort of illustrations included in the…
The voices of Morebath by Eamon Duffy – Reformation and rebellion in an English village – is the second book I read by this author, with Fires of faith being reviewed in 2019. I enjoyed the book. It is about a small village in England…
Liverpool Pubs by Ken Pye is a lovely short book on pubs in Liverpool. I knew the history of a couple of them, but not all. I am going to visit all the pubs in the book. He talks about a small number of pubs,…
Spies by Calder Walton – The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West – is a timely book, well worth reading. It shows an incredible history of spying, between US, UK, russia, and more recently, China. While the history covers about 100 years, the cold…
Oxford University by Alice Blackford Millea is fascinating. It has 52 stories from the archives of Oxford, which spans over 800 years. Even though the archives were established at the same time with the Bodleian, in 1634, there area documents that precede this period and…
Liverpool by Peter Aughton – A People’s History – was a book I borrowed for an essay and ended up keeping it so I could read it cover to cover. It is a very good book and I think it would appeal to a wider…