Discover the hidden history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned places and buildings.

Portillo's Secret History of Britain presents a compelling and wonderfully evocative history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned places and buildings. The chapters cover a variety of historical themes: Crime and Punishment, Health and Medicine, Defence and Warfare, and Entertainment and Leisure. Using a combination of his own investigations and archive research, plus memories and quotations from the contributors he interviewed for the series, Michael Portillo explains what the buildings were used for and by whom, why they were abandoned, and what they can tell us about our past. For example:

* Learn what the ruins of London Road Fire and Police Station in Manchester reveal about the history of the emergency services in the last 100 years

* How Bradford's art deco Odeon cinema encapsulates a century of film-making and movie-going

With evocative text that brings each location vividly to life, Michael Portillo describes the building and its activities in its heyday and compares this past life with its faded grandeur or melancholic abandonment seen today. Filled with fascinating insights and observations, his narrative provides a compelling and original perspective on Britain's social and military history.

Portillo's Hidden History of Britain features deserted villages, abandoned prisons, closed-down cinemas, empty hospitals, derelict military bases, sewers and much more. Complementing the text are 16 pages of atmospheric and informative photographs.

It is now over a decade since the much-loved Great British Railway Journeys series set off on its incredible run discovering the cultural, social and engineering landscape of the United Kingdom through the prism of George Bradshaw's Handbook to rail travel. Veteran politician and ex cabinet minister Michael Portillo has since presented eleven seasons of this ever-popular show on BBC Two, covering every part of the existing train network in Britain, as well as others that were closed as a result of the Beeching Report in 1963. Across a decade of these journeys, Portillo has celebrated how every corner of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was opened up by the railway line as a result of the Industrial Revolution, thus giving fans a unique insight into our shared past of train travel since the Victorian era. With the anniversary, this new collection will celebrate Michael's top fifty journeys from the hundreds he has covered, adding more insight and analysis to some of the greatest railway lines, stations, bridges, viaducts and tunnels the Victorians built to create the world we now live in. From Paddington Station to the Clifton Suspension Bridge; the Southend Pier line to the milk wagons departing from Blake Hall Station. An unrivalled narrative to be treasured. Greatest British Railway Journeys is both a celebratory and charming ride through our country's beloved history - all from the unique position of a train seat.

Great American Railroad Journeys sees the famous brand of social-history-cum-travelogue venture to the New World. Across multiple programmes and using Appleton's General Guide To The United States & Canada as reference, Michael Portillo now undertakes an epic trip by train from New York and Boston on the East Coast down to the Deep South of Atlanta and New Orleans, then on to Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico and ultimately finishing in San Francisco. This lavishly illustrated official tie-in covers each journey Portillo makes across North America and captures the colour, beauty, history and exhilaration experienced when journeying through this incredible continent.    Packed with new maps, as well as originals from Appleton's General Guide, this book explores the construction of rail routes across the continent in the 1800s, as a new nation was built by the immigrant masses. Truly this is a colourful and exciting enterprise, with vignettes of revealing social history displaying the rich tapestry of the peoples who established themselves in this vast new world. Great American Railroad Journeys is a must-have purchase for any fan of this unique and award-winning travel series.