Which battle was fought 'For England, Harry and St George'? Who demanded to be painted 'warts and all'? What - and when - was the Battle of the Bulge?

In A Short History of England, bestselling author Simon Jenkins answers all these questions - and many more - as he tells the tumultuous story of a fascinating nation. From the invaders of the dark ages to today's coalition, via the Tudors, the Stuarts and two world wars, Jenkins weaves together a gripping narrative with all the most important and interesting dates in his own inimitable style.

Until now there has been no short history of England covering all significant events, themes and individuals: this bestselling book, published in association with the National Trust, will be the standard work for years to come.

The acclaimed best-selling author and popular historian explores the history of Europe via its cathedrals. Beautifully illustrated with color photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of the history of Western civilization showcases the cathedral's central role in the European imagination. A masterful writer, Jenkins tells the stories behind these stone wonders: the architects that made them possible, the triumphs of engineering, the artists who enriched their decor, and the inevitable human follies of those who were involved in their building, from the artisans and workers to the wealthy donors and the faithful who worshipped beneath their soaring spires and majestic domes. Simon Jenkins is the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of best-selling works that make history accessible. Blending insight and authority with personal reflections and experiences, he deftly reveals the history, design, and significance of each of these enduring monuments to the human spirit from popular favorites like St. Paul's and the Duomo in Florence to less well-known masterpieces well worth a trip. Europe's cathedrals are treasure troves of art and repositories of history that attract hundreds or thousands of visitors every year.

A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2022 'Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight' Times 'One of the liveliest commentators in Britain, always worth reading and pleasingly contrarian' Jeremy Paxman, Guardian Who were the Celts? Were they a people, a civilisation, an empire, or a fiction of historical imagination? They flit as ghosts through Europe's ancient past, purported ancestors of the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Cornish and Bretons. Yet they have never been identified with any one land, or with any one history or language. Simon Jenkins argues compellingly that the 'Celts' is a misleading concept, bundling together quite distinct peoples. The word keltoi first appears in Greek, applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the British Isles to this day. Fascinating and increasingly relevant, who the Celts were - or weren't - goes to the heart of the ongoing argument over the future of a dis-United Kingdom.

As well as descriptions of the beers, the pubs, and some of his adventures along the way, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl also features articles on local history and the history of brewing in the city. It suggests plenty of alternative routes which will keep even the thirstiest pub crawler satisfied. If you keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you, you might also spot the answers to some of the clues in his devilishly tricky treasure hunt too -

New Media Language brings leading media figures and scholars together to debate the shifting relations between today's media and contemporary language.
From newspapers and television to email, the internet and text messaging, there are ever increasing media conduits for the news. This book investigates how developments in world media have affected, and been affected by, language. Exploring a wide range of topics, from the globalization of communication to the vocabulary of terrorism and the language used in the wake of September 11, New Media Language looks at the important and wide-ranging implications of these changes. From Malcolm Gluck on wine writing to Naomi Baron on email, the authors provide authoritative and engaging insights into the ways in which language is changing, and in turn, changes us.
With a foreword by Simon Jenkins, New Media Language is essential reading for anyone with an interest in today's complex and expanding media.

New Media Language brings leading media figures and scholars together to debate the shifting relations between today's media and contemporary language.
From newspapers and television to email, the internet and text messaging, there are ever increasing media conduits for the news. This book investigates how developments in world media have affected, and been affected by, language. Exploring a wide range of topics, from the globalization of communication to the vocabulary of terrorism and the language used in the wake of September 11, New Media Language looks at the important and wide-ranging implications of these changes. From Malcolm Gluck on wine writing to Naomi Baron on email, the authors provide authoritative and engaging insights into the ways in which language is changing, and in turn, changes us.
With a foreword by Simon Jenkins, New Media Language is essential reading for anyone with an interest in today's complex and expanding media.

Landlords to London was originally published in 1975, the first book by Simon Jenkins, later to be editor of the London "Evening Standard" and the "Times," and in 2008 the Chairman on the National Trust. The book is a collective biography of the men who mapped out the metropolis of London as we see it today - also the story of the people of London, who have never sat idly by any argument over 'their' city.

The Great Estates of London were carved out of the fields surrounding the medieval City and made their owners fabulously rich, but led also to a remarkable flowering of urban design in the squares, crescents and terraces of Bloomsbury, Belgravia, Islington, Kensington et al. These wealthy families are shadowy figures in London's history, but Simon Jenkins brings their tastes and endeavours to light, while also recording the popular protests and petitions that have led to the ceaseless reform, revision, conservation and regeneration of London's landscape and skyline.

'Extremely informative and witty.' Roy Porter, "London: A Social History"

The Battle for the Falklands is a thoughtful and informed analysis of an astonishing chapter in modern British history from journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings and political editor Simon Jenkins. Ten weeks. 28,000 soldiers. 8,000 miles from home. The Falklands War in 1982 was one of the strangest in British history. At the time, many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity - thousands of men sent overseas for a tiny relic of empire - but the British victory over the Argentinians not only confirmed the quality of British arms but also boosted the political fortunes of Thatcher's Conservative government. However, it left a chequered aftermath and was later overshadowed by the two Gulf wars. Max Hastings' and Simon Jenkins' account of the conflict is a modern classic of war reportage and the definitive book on the conflict.

'Inspired . . . encourages us to take a fresh look at the familiar' - The Times England's cathedrals are the nation's glory. They tower over its landscape, outranking palaces, castles and mansions. They attract roughly half the nation's population each year. For a millennium they have been objects of pilgrimage for those seeking faith, consolation and beauty. Still at the start of the twenty-first century, they remain unequalled in their size and splendour. More than any other English institution, cathedrals reflect the vicissitudes of history and should be treasured as such. They are custodians of culture and of the rituals of civic life. They offer welfare and relieve suffering. They uplift spirits with their beauty. In a real sense they are still what they were when first built a millennium ago, a glimpse of the sublime. Gloriously illustrated throughout, England's Cathedrals not only offers us a companion to England's Thousand Best Churches, it takes us on an enthralling tour of the nation and its history, through some of our most astonishing buildings.

The first short narrative history of the continent, from the author of the bestselling A Short History of England Europe is an astonishingly successful place. In this dazzling new history, bestselling author Simon Jenkins grippingly tells the story of its evolution from warring peoples to peace, wealth and freedom - a story that twists and turns from Greece and Rome, through the Dark Ages, the Reformation and the French Revolution, to the Second World War and up to the present day. Jenkins takes in leaders from Julius Caesar and Joan of Arc, to Wellington and Angela Merkel, as well as cultural figures from Aristotle to Shakespeare and Picasso. He brings together the transformative forces and dominant eras into one chronological tale - all with his usual insight, colour and authority. Despite the importance of Europe's politics, economy and culture, there has not been - until now - a concise book to tell this story. Covering the key events, themes and individuals, Jenkins' portrait of the continent could not be more timely - or masterful. 'Full of stand-out facts ... absolutely fascinating' - Richard Bacon, BBC Radio 2, on 'A Short History of England' 'Masterly, perhaps a masterpiece' - Independent, Books of the Year on England's Thousand Best Churches 'Jenkins is, like all good guides, more than simply informative: he can be courteous and rude, nostalgic and funny, elegant, convincing and relaxed' - Adam Nicolson on 'England's Thousand Best Houses', Evening Standard 'Full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought' - Michael Wood on 'A Short History of England', New Statesman 'Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book' - Max Hastings on 'England's Thousand Best Houses', Sunday Telegraph

Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of England to select his thousand best churches. Organised by county, each church is described - often with delightful asides - and given a star-rating from one to five. All of the county sections are prefaced by a map locating each church, and lavishly illustrated with colour photos from the Country Life archive. Jenkins contends that these churches house a gallery of vernacular art without equal in the world. Here, he brings that museum to public attention.

In this comprehensive and newly-updated guide to Yorkshire brewing, renowned beer writer Simon Jenkins trawls the length and breadth of Britain’s biggest (and best) county seeking out the brewers old and new, large and small, which between them have created an astonishing beer scene. From fiercely traditional brewers producing time-honoured beers in slate Yorkshire squares, to the new-wave craft brewers embracing a dizzying variety of imported hops; from the ancient brewer hemmed in by a tight knot of cobbled streets to the brewery founded in a garden shed as a lockdown project – Simon found them all. This entertaining journey around the county lists every brewery Simon could find – more than 180 – and chronicles the resilience which these businesses showed when faced with the pandemic and the closure of the hospitality industry. We learn about some of the very best beers the county has to offer, meet lots of the brewers, and discover the extraordinary measures which many took to survive the challenges of Covid-19 and some of the best places to drink them.

Simon Jenkins is a celebrated Christian satirist, cartoonist and broadcaster: founder of the Ship of Fools online community (www.ship-of-fools.com), and author of the bestselling The Bible from Scratch

Why do politicians send troops to foreign soil, to fight battles they rarely win? Is it old-fashioned imperialism tainted with a crusader complex? Or is the West a partisan for the helpless? The fall of the Soviet Union left the West aimless. With no conflicting dogma to reinforce its sense of justice the West assumed the role of global policeman - aid graduated from charitable to economic and, finally, military. Ideological struggle was replaced by a vague and confused concept of international justice, shrouded in real-politik. Yet scepticism now pervades the interventionist debate. Simon Jenkins traces the rise of 'liberal interventionism' from Kosovo and the 'war on terror' to present day conflicts in Libya, Syria and Ukraine, asking: what can we learn from the miscalculations, mistakes, and mendacity of 'the age of intervention'? As ISIS sweeps through Middle-East, calls for a military solution are increasing. By exposing interventionist rhetoric and highlighting past mistakes, Jenkins gives us an invaluable contribution to the active and essential debate on the West's role in global conflicts.

Sir John Betjeman was born at the start of the twentieth century, and lived to become Poet Laureate, an accomplished writer and campaigner, and something of a national treasure. All his life he loved churches, which are woven into his poetic output. He wrote extensively about churches and architecture, telling a journalist in 1955 'If I have a mission, it is to show people things which are beautiful so that they will very soon realise what is ugly. When you look at things, instead of just looking through them, life starts absolutely crackling with interest and excitement.' Now, Betjeman's particular way of looking at churches is in danger of being lost in the face of a more academically driven and forensic art-historical approach. This book picks out some of the buildings, especially churches, which Betjeman was particularly fond of. It highlights and celebrates Betjeman's more poetic, parochial and personal response to the built environment, and his evocation of the English parish church through the ordinary and the charm of hassocks, old incense and oil lamps. Highlighting his religious, aesthetic and social pre-occupations, this book is both gazetteer and commentary on his own particular vision of England and architecture, which deserves to be celebrated afresh.

From the invaders of the dark ages to today's coalition, one of Britain's most respected journalists, Simon Jenkins, weaves together a strong narrative with all the most important and interesting dates in a book that is as stylish as it is authoritative. There have been long synoptic histories of England but until now there has been no standard short work covering all significant events, themes and individuals.

READERS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY WILL LOVE THIS GIFT! "Simon Jenkins has provided a feast for both eyes and mind in this sumptuously illustrated guide to Europe's greatest cathedrals" John Barton, author of A History of the Bible "As ever, Simon Jenkins is here the best sort of guide to some of Europe's greatest buildings and their settings: well-informed, elegantly opinionated and passionate" Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years __________________________ Europe's cathedrals are magnificent. They outstrip palaces and castles. They are the most sensational group of structures anywhere in the world - which everyone should 'see before they die'. They are also hugely popular, most of them absolutely packed. They are humankind's greatest creations. In Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals, Simon Jenkins has travelled the continent - from Chartres to York, Cologne to Florence, Toledo to Moscow and Stockholm to Seville - to illuminate old favourites and highlight new discoveries. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of Europe's history tells the stories behind these wonders, showing the cathedral's central role in the European imagination. Readers will be inspired to make their own pilgrimage to all one hundred of them.

A new edition of a classic Batsford title from the 1930s. London is brought to life through its people, buildings and history in this classic book, first published in 1935. The Spirit of London presents a wonderful snapshot of our capital before World War II and a charming insight into urban life in the 1930s. Paul Cohen-Portheim was an Austrian traveller and writer who was interned in the UK during World War I. His enforced stay made him fall in love with England and in particular, London. This is his take on the irrepressible city. Chapters include: Towns Within, Town Streets and their Life, Green London, London Amusements and Night Life, Traditional London, London and the British and London and the Foreigner (surprisingly liberal). The book features Brian Cook's iconic illustration of Ludgate Circus and St Paul's on the cover. Add in the charm of the authentic voice of a 1930s Londoner, this book should be enjoyed by all Londoners and London enthusiasts.

Join the Yorkshire Evening Post's award-winning beer writer Simon Jenkins on a criss-cross pub crawl through Leeds, calling in at dozens of popular watering holes.Along with descriptions of the beers, pubs and adventures the author encounters along the way, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl also contains fascinating asides about local history, the story of brewing in the city, and it suggests plenty of alternative routes to keep even the thirstiest pub-crawler satisfied.Comprehensively revised and updated, with even more magnificent colour photos, this is a book that no visitor to - or resident of - West Yorkshire's largest city can afford to be without. An ale trail with a difference, it looks at no less than 63 pubs in detail and many more in passing. This is an entertaining, informative and at times surprising tour of one of Britain's most vibrant metropolises.Whether you are after a quiet pint, a lively night out, a chat with friendly locals, the odd cocktail or a quality bite to eat, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl is the guide for you.

"Must be read by all our military people and anyone who wants to find out what really happened on the Falkland Islands." —James M. Gavin

"A small gem of military and naval history reminiscent in many ways of Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August. The authors have two stories to tell. The first is a brilliant narration of a short, violent clash in the freezing fogs and mountainous seas of the South Atlantic. The other is an informed analysis of the political decision-making that led to the conflict, raising those larger questions of war and peace which modern man approaches on bended knee." —Washington Post Book World

"Will probably endure as the standard history of the campaign." —New York Times

"Authoritative and very readable." —Newsweek

"Stirring, impressively detailed." —Time

LONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This changeful place became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be chequered with grand estates of Georgian splendour. It swelled with industry and became the centre of the largest empire in history. And having risen from the rubble of the Blitz, it is now one of the greatest cities in the world. From the prehistoric occupants of the Thames Valley to the preoccupied commuters of today, Simon Jenkins brings together the key events, individuals and trends in London's history to create a matchless portrait of the capital. He masterfully explains the battles that determined how London was conceived and built - and especially the perennial conflict between money and power. Based in part on his experiences of and involvement in the events that shaped the post-war city, and with his trademark colour and authority, Jenkins shows above all how London has taken shape over more than two thousand years. Fascinating for locals and visitors alike, this is narrative history at its finest, from the most ardent protector of our heritage. 'A handsome book ... full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought' Michael Wood, New Statesman on A Short History of England 'Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book for Christmas...I can imagine no better companion on a voyage across England' Max Hastings, Daily Telegraph on England's Thousand Best Houses

A reissue of a truly classic title on the Batsford backlist. First published in 1935, it is a wonderful snapshot of our capital before the Second World War, and a charming insight into our attitudes to urban life back in the Thirties. Our posh guide Cohen-Portheim offers us his interpretation of life in London through her people, her buildings and her history.The chapters include:Towns withinTown Streets and their LifeGreen LondonLondon and the ArtsLondon Amusements and Night LifeHotels and RestaurantsTraditional LondonLondon and the BritishLondon and the Foreigner (surprisingly liberal!)It includes the iconic Brian Cook cover illustration of Ludgate Circus and St Pauls, and should be sought after for that alone. Add in the charm of the authentic voice of a 1930s Londoner, it should be enjoyed by all Londoners.