The Best Illustrated History Books

In this fresh look at events surrounding the 11th-century Norman Conquest of England, Michael Livingston and Kelly DeVries utilize the latest modern investigative research techniques to provide an unrivalled insight into how the Battle of Hastings was won and lost. The two renowned medieval historians also provide a detailed examination of the validity of William the Conqueror’s claim to the English throne. 

Alongside the main text, they also give details for five suggested tours of key locations. These make an ideal guide for anyone planning to visit the sites in person, whilst at the same time providing plenty of pleasing additional information for the armchair tourist. Extensively illustrated throughout, 1066 makes the perfect reference guide to this game-changing moment in British history. 

Perfect for anyone interested in entertainment history, Old Time Variety recalls the heyday of British variety theater from the 1920s to the early 1960s. In the days before television sets became an everyday feature in people’s homes, variety shows used to attract huge live audiences to theaters across the land. This fascinating illustrated history features brief biographies of all the leading British stars of the day like Gracie Fields, George Formby and even the early career of Bruce Forsyth. Equally interesting, though, are the stories relating to the often forgotten ventriloquists, acrobats, jugglers and magicians who performed as support acts to the main stars.

Featuring over 200 photographs, The Lost World of Bletchley Park is the first comprehensive illustrated history of the Buckinghamshire manor house whose name has become indelibly associated with the mission to crack the German Enigma code during World War II. Formerly home to wealthy Liberal politician Sir Herbert Leon, Bletchley Park was requisitioned by the Government for wartime use by the British Secret Service. Here a team of the country’s finest brains, led by Alan Turing, worked tirelessly as codebreakers to unlock the key to top-level encrypted messages sent by their German counterparts. 

Accompanied by text from Sinclair McKay, The Lost World of Bletchley Park makes extensive use of previously unpublished pictures from the archives, including vintage black-and-white images as well as color photography, to bring this remarkable story to life. 

Fashion historian Lucy Adlington has drawn on the personal recollections of those who lived through the wartime years, and delved deep into her own extensive archive, to produce this unique look at World War II history through the perspective of the clothes that women wore. Packed full of images relating to 1940s fashion, including plenty of previously unpublished period photographs, this rich illustrated history covers all manner of clothing, from female military uniforms to glamorous wedding outfits resourcefully designed in the face of restrictive wartime rationing. Lucy Adlington’s book will appeal to anyone interested in fashion history, but it also has a more general appeal as it provides an insight into the wartime experiences of a fascinating cross-section of women from across the globe. 

Award-winning aviation artist Keith Burns was specially commissioned to provide over 280 full-color illustrations for this “groundbreaking collaboration” (History of War) with renowned military historian James Holland. The two men have skillfully come together to produce this compelling and vivid illustrated history, ideal for anyone looking for a general overview of the key events and battles that defined the course of World War II. 

Holland interweaves personal accounts of the conflict with an insightful analysis of the strategic and operational tactics employed by both sides in all the main theaters of war, from Europe to East Asia. Meanwhile Burns’ vividly drawn illustrations excel in capturing the power and drama of war, acting as the perfect complement to Holland’s gripping narrative.

Christopher Tyerman takes a fresh look at the world of the medieval crusaders and their 200-year-long battle for control of holy sites in the Middle East in this “copiously and beautifully illustrated” history (New York Review of Books). Approaching his subject from a human level, the author considers the objects made and used by the crusaders during their campaigns, as well as the spoils of war they amassed and the ways in which they were commemorated through sculptures, architecture and manuscripts. Including topics like food and drink, weapons, medicine and even the overlooked role played by women in the Crusades, Booklist praises The World of the Crusades as “an authoritative and beautiful browsing reference”.

Comprehensively illustrated throughout with many beautiful full-color reproductions of antique maps, The Phantom Atlas provides an informative and amusing guide to the greatest cartographic blunders in history. Edward Brooke-Hitching reveals how, whether by accident or design, these errors were often responsible for the spread of misinformation on a grand scale, as he takes his reader alphabetically through a world of non-existent places that were once commonly held to be real, simply because they appeared on a map.

Dee Brown needs little introduction as one of the 20th century’s finest authors on frontier history, and this book brings together some of his best writing on the subject to produce a “riveting and definitive history of the West by the man who transformed our understanding of it” (The Guardian). The author vividly describes the bitter struggle between settlers, cattle ranchers and Native Americans for control of land in the West during the period from around 1840 to 1900. Brown’s gripping narrative is accompanied by an extraordinary selection of vintage photographs, maps and ephemera from the era.