‘A proper page-turner …. A fascinating tangle of witches and mermaids, drowned fishers and dead warriors, ghostly planes and spectral horses .’ – Christopher Somerville, author of Ships of Heaven

‘One of the most enjoyable books on the paranormal I’ve read. Neil Oliver creates a bucket list of places to visit, perfect for both paranormal investigators and history buffs alike.’ – Nick Tyler, author of Haunted Yorkshire
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For longer than recorded history there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold.

Bestselling historian Neil Oliver travels the British Isles on a deliciously spine-chilling tour that spans several centuries and explores more than 20 sites – castles, vicarages and towers, lonely shorelines and forgotten battlefields – to unpick their stories..

Oliver invokes his family’s history alongside that of kings and queens past as he probes why our emotions and senses are heightened in certain locations where the separation between dimensions seems gossamer thin. Our landscape is riven with these places, creaking from the weight of the secrets they hold, the echoes of tragedy and dark deeds . From Inverness to Devon, Co Dublin to Norfolk, Hauntings casts an enjoyably eerie glow with stories that, told generation after generation, are inextricable from place – and considers why they matter.
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‘Oliver is an evocative storyteller, vividly bringing his tales to life’ BBC History Magazine

‘A proper page-turner …. A fascinating tangle of witches and mermaids, drowned fishers and dead warriors, ghostly planes and spectral horses .’ – Christopher Somerville, author of Ships of Heaven

‘One of the most enjoyable books on the paranormal I’ve read. Neil Oliver creates a bucket list of places to visit, perfect for both paranormal investigators and history buffs alike.’ – Nick Tyler, author of Haunted Yorkshire
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

For longer than recorded history there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold.

Bestselling historian Neil Oliver travels the British Isles on a deliciously spine-chilling tour that spans several centuries and explores more than 20 sites – castles, vicarages and towers, lonely shorelines and forgotten battlefields – to unpick their stories..

Oliver invokes his family’s history alongside that of kings and queens past as he probes why our emotions and senses are heightened in certain locations where the separation between dimensions seems gossamer thin. Our landscape is riven with these places, creaking from the weight of the secrets they hold, the echoes of tragedy and dark deeds . From Inverness to Devon, Co Dublin to Norfolk, Hauntings casts an enjoyably eerie glow with stories that, told generation after generation, are inextricable from place – and considers why they matter.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

‘Oliver is an evocative storyteller, vividly bringing his tales to life’ BBC History Magazine

From Genghis Khan’s domination on earth to Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, discover the 100 moments that defined humanity and shaped our world forever.

Neil Oliver takes us on a whistle-stop tour around the world and through a million years to give us this unique and invaluable grasp of how human history pieces together.

From the east to the west, north to south, these 100 moments act like stepping stones allowing us to make sense of how these pivotal events have shaped the world we know today.

Including many moments readers will expect – from the advent of the printing press to the birth of the internet – there are also surprises, and with them, some remarkable, unforgettable stories that give a whole new insight on our past.

From the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places, this is outstanding new history of how our world was made from 5000 BC to the present.

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Praise for Neil Oliver

‘Neil Oliver writes beautifully – bringing the past to life and letting us see ourselves in a new light.’ – Professor Alice Roberts
‘Brilliantly demonstrates Neil’s mastery of the broad sweep of British history and landscape.’ – Dan Snow
‘Highly-crafted…a vivid, pungent history.’ – TLS
‘Compelling’ – Daily Mail

From the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places comes this inspiring and beautifully written meditation on the wisdom inherited from our ancestors.

For all we have gained in the modern world, simple peace of mind is hard to find. In a time that is increasingly fraught with complexity and conflict, we are told that our wellbeing relies on remaining as present as possible. But what if the key to being present lies in the past?

In Wisdom of the Ancients, Neil Oliver takes us back in time, to grab hold of the ideas buried in forgotten cultures and early civilizations. From Laetoli footprints in Tanzania to Keralan rituals, stone circles and cave paintings, Oliver takes us on a global journey through antiquity. A master storyteller, drawing on immense knowledge of our ancient past, he distils this wisdom into twelve messages that have endured the test of time, and invites us to consider how these might apply to our lives today. The result is powerful and inspirational, moving and profound.

From Genghis Khan’s domination on earth to Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, discover the 100 moments that defined humanity and shaped our world forever.

Neil Oliver takes us on a whistle-stop tour around the world and through a million years to give us this unique and invaluable grasp of how human history pieces together.

From the east to the west, north to south, these 100 moments act like stepping stones allowing us to make sense of how these pivotal events have shaped the world we know today.

Including many moments readers will expect – from the advent of the printing press to the birth of the internet – there are also surprises, and with them, some remarkable, unforgettable stories that give a whole new insight on our past.

From the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places, this is outstanding new history of how our world was made from 5000 BC to the present.

*********************
Praise for Neil Oliver

‘Neil Oliver writes beautifully – bringing the past to life and letting us see ourselves in a new light.’ – Professor Alice Roberts
‘Brilliantly demonstrates Neil’s mastery of the broad sweep of British history and landscape.’ – Dan Snow
‘Highly-crafted…a vivid, pungent history.’ – TLS
‘Compelling’ – Daily Mail

In A History of Ancient Britain, much-loved historian Neil Oliver turns a spotlight on the very beginnings of the story of Britain; on the first people to occupy these islands and their battle for survival.

There has been human habitation in Britain, regularly interrupted by Ice Ages, for the best part of a million years. The last retreat of the glaciers 12,000 years ago brought a new and warmer age and with it, one of the greatest tsunamis recorded on Earth which struck the north-east of Britain, devastating the population and flooding the low-lying plains of what is now the North Sea. The resulting island became, in time, home to a diverse range of cultures and peoples who have left behind them some of the most extraordinary and enigmatic monuments in the world.

Through what is revealed by the artefacts of the past, Neil Oliver weaves the epic story – half a million years of human history up to the departure of the Roman Empire in the Fifth Century AD. It was a period which accounts for more than ninety-nine per cent of humankind’s presence on these islands.

It is the real story of Britain and of her people.