Focusing on the lives and achievements of the Sultans themselves, this history mixes court intrigue, wars and plotting against a backdrop of growing power and wealth. Jem Duducu charts the rise and fall of the dynasty, from the forgotten Sultan Murad IV who led soldiers into battle, captured Baghdad and banned alcohol but died young from drink, to the most famous rulers such as Suleiman the Magnificent. The account includes world-changing events such as the fall of Constantinople. It describes the strong trade alliances the empire had with Elizabeth I, and demystifies the Sultan's harem. In modern times it traces the outbreak of war in 1914 as the Ottoman hold on power fractured, and describes the bloody fighting with Allied troops at Gallipoli. The Sultans explains how the Republic of Turkey is not the same thing as the Ottoman Empire, but remains in its historical shadow, as part of an Islamic world torn by religious conflict and power struggles.

Not all history is recorded in school textbooks or cast into towering monuments that shape city skylines. Quite often the most intriguing (and most bizarre) bits are forgotten and fall away into obscurity. In this fascinating book, Jem Duducu shines light on the almost forgotten, wonderfully strange, and often hilarious moments of history that would otherwise be lost forever. Forgotten History tells in delightful detail the stories of hard-to-believe events, people and inventions. Spanning the breadth of human history, this light-hearted and easy-to-read book is full to bursting with the bits from history that even a history enthusiast may otherwise have never known. Covering a wide variety of topics, from the time a Pope put his dead predecessor on trial to the awkward moment when the US Air Force accidentally dropped nuclear bombs on Spain, Forgotten History provides a journey through time to discover the weird and wonderful history that you didn't learn about in school.

Discover the history behind the facts. The British Empire had a rich, varied and controversial history, commonly perceived to have spanned 500 years from the era of Columbus and his voyages of discovery to the aftermath of the Second World War. Many statements are made about this era that shaped our nation, but what are the stories behind these facts? Which are true and which are merely beliefs that have grown into fact? Jem Duducu takes us on a whirlwind tour of the Empire and its history, condensing the gigantic story into easy-to-read, bitesize sections. He examines some of the most important aspects of the Empire, from exploration and discovery in the era of Elizabeth I, to the Slave Trade, to the eventual decline after the Second World War.

'Deus Vult' - or 'God wills it' - were the words allegedly uttered by the crowd of people present when Pope Urban II's rousing speech caused the start of the First Crusade. Prior to 9/11 the Crusades had been seen as a somewhat obscure backwater of history; if they were mentioned it was usually as a background to Robin Hood stories. However, post the terror attacks against New York and later Madrid and London, the Crusades have increasingly been referred to in the media, usually by politicians and, more rarely, by medieval historians. To extremists of both sides they are shown to be proof positive of an inevitable clash of civilisations between Islam and Christianity. The real story of the Crusades, however, is also the story of Europe. It is the story of great bravery, sheer folly and, surprisingly, diplomacy between East and West. The conflict takes place in the giant and ancient cities of the Near East, the mist-filled forests of the Baltic, the baking deserts of North Africa and the Christian epicentre of Europe - France. The story charts the origins of holy war to the fading away of one of the most prevalent movements in European history. Deus Vult takes you on an exotic journey where politics and dynastic squabbles often take precedence over the will of God.

"The Busy Person's Guide to British History" is the perfect light history read. In less than 350 pages you are whisked from the distant stone age all the way up to 1945. It is serious but tinted with a sense of humour with each chapter opening with a great illustration. It also dwells on the eras that don't get a lot of love. Everyone knows who Henry VIII is but how much do you know about King Stephen? This is a chance to highlight the importance of Henry I or Henry III and point out the Vikings had a longer and greater impact on the country than the Restoration. This book fills in the gaps, enhancing your understanding rather than just going for the easy targets of the Romans, the Tudors and the Victorians.

Did you know about the church in Ethiopia that claims to have the Lost Ark? How about the time it rained for two million years? Or the engineer working with the US Navy who developed the Slinky toy? We've all been taught about Tutankhamun and Henry VIII, but that's not all there is to the history of our wonderful planet. Indeed, with the passage of time a lot of the best bits have fallen into obscurity. In this fascinating book, Jem Duducu digs into our past and returns with some of the most interesting, funny and downright strange facts you never knew. There are unusual artefacts and unique locations, obscure wars, and many heroes, villains and remarkable individuals who haven't received the coverage they deserve - until now!

There is no shortage of Hollywood films about historical events, but what do the movies actually get right, and why do they get so much wrong? Hollywood loves a story: good guys versus bad guys, heroes winning the day, and the guy gets the girl. But we all know real life isn't exactly like that, and this is even more true when we look at history. Rarely do the just prevail and the three-act story cannot exist over continents and decades of human interaction. So, when Hollywood decides to exploit history for profit, we end up with a wide array of films. Some are comedies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, others are little more than action films playing dress up like Gladiator, and many are Oscar contenders burdened with an enormous sense of self-importance. But very few are historically accurate. From Cleopatra to Da 5 Bloods, the reality is no matter what Hollywood's intentions are, almost all historical films are an exaggeration or distortion of what really happened. Sometimes the alterations are for the sake of brevity, as watching a movie in real time about the Hundred Years War would literally kill you. Other additions may be out of necessity, since nobody thought to write down the everyday conversations between King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, for The Other Boleyn Girl. And some projects twist the facts to suit a more sinister purpose. In Hollywood and History, Jem Duducu takes readers through thousands of years of global history as immortalized and ultimately fictionalized by Hollywood, exploring many facets of the representation of history in movies from the medieval times to the wild west and both World Wars. Along the way, readers will also better understand Hollywood's own history, as it evolved from black and white silent shorts to the multiplex CGI epics of today. As studios and audiences have matured through the years, so too have their representations of history. Armies will clash, leaders will be slain, empires will fall, and a few historical inaccuracies will be pointed out along the way. A must-read for film and history fans alike.