‘This remarkable book reads like a novel . . . The narrative style is gripping; the morality searing. This is how the best history books will be written in the future’
ANDREW ROBERTS

‘Excellent . . . both history and parable, perfect reading for this moment‘
ANNE APPLEBAUM

‘Thrilling, humane, and deeply moving . . . the best sort of history, one whose rich characters breathe life and perspective into our present circumstance. Haunting, and not to be missed’
DAVID McCLOSKEY

‘The Traitors Circle rivals Freedland’s superb The Escape Artist. Totally gripping and timely‘
JONATHAN DIMBLEBY

‘Haunting and heart-poundingly suspenseful . . . Freedland’s powerful story-telling has intense resonance in today’s darkening world’
SINCLAIR MCKAY

‘As tense as a thriller yet perceptive, thoughtful and thoroughly researched’
KATJA HOYER

When the whole world is lying, someone must tell the truth.

Berlin, 1943. A group of high-society anti-Nazi dissenters meet for a tea party one late summer afternoon. They do not know that, sitting around the table, is someone poised to betray them all to the Gestapo – revealing their secret to the Nazis’ most ruthless detective.

They form a circle of unlikely rebels, drawn from the German elite: two countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer, an ambassador’s widow and a pioneering headmistress. Meeting in the shadows, rescuing Jews or plotting for a future Germany freed from the Führer’s rule, what unites them is a shared loathing of the Nazis, a refusal to bow to Hitler and the courage to perform perilous acts of resistance. Or so they believe.

How did a group of brave, principled rebels, who had successfully defied Adolf Hitler for more than a decade, come to fall into such a lethal trap? And who betrayed them?

Undone from within and pursued to near-destruction by one of the Reich’s cruellest men, they showed a heroism that raises a question with new urgency for our time: what kind of person does it take to risk everything and stand up to tyranny?

Summer 1941, Hitler and his allies rule Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. But inside Germany, there is a notable voice of dissent, Der Chef, whose radio broadcasts skilfully question Nazi doctrine. What listeners don’t know is that Der Chef is a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer.

As Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer’s fascinating lost story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the summer of 1941, Hitler and his allies ruled Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Britain was struggling to combat the powerful Nazi propaganda machine, which crowed victory and smeared its enemies.

However, inside Germany, there was one notable voice of dissent from the very heart of the military machine – Der Chef, a German whose radio broadcasts skilfully questioned Nazi doctrine. He had access to high-ranking military secrets and spoke of internal rebellion. His listeners included German soldiers and citizens. But what these audiences didn’t know was that Der Chef was a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer, just one player in his vast counter-propaganda cabaret, a unique weapon in the war.

As author Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer’s story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This book is the story of Delmer and his modern-day investigator, as they each embark on their own quest to seduce and inspire the passions of supporters and enemies, and to turn the tide of information wars.

Written in association with The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the authors’ approach is one of respect, restraint and repair rather than ‘restoration’, which can so easily and permanently destroy the special qualities of an old building.

From the foundations to the roof, from the need for modern services to traditional paintwork and finishes, from windows and doors to breathability and damp in walls and floors, this handbook provides informed practical guidance. It is essential reading on maintenance and repair for all those with an old house.
 

The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders whose personalities had somehow given them the ability to do whatever they wished.

Ian Kershaw’s new book is a compelling, lucid and challenging attempt to understand these rulers, whether operating on the widest stage (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini) or with a more national impact (Tito, Franco). What was it about these leaders and the times they lived in that allowed them such untrammelled and murderous power? And what brought that era to an end? In a contrasting group of profiles, from Churchill to de Gaulle, Adenauer to Gorbachev, and Thatcher to Kohl, Kershaw uses his exceptional skills to think through how other, strikingly different figures wielded power.

The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders whose personalities had somehow given them the ability to do whatever they wished.

Ian Kershaw’s new book is a compelling, lucid and challenging attempt to understand these rulers, whether operating on the widest stage (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini) or with a more national impact (Tito, Franco). What was it about these leaders and the times they lived in that allowed them such untrammelled and murderous power? And what brought that era to an end? In a contrasting group of profiles, from Churchill to de Gaulle, Adenauer to Gorbachev, and Thatcher to Kohl, Kershaw uses his exceptional skills to think through how other, strikingly different figures wielded power.

‘An amazing story’ Jeremy Vine

‘This rollicking story of adventure and scientific exploration is as gripping as any novel . . . a book that sparkles with intelligence and wit’ Alex Preston, author and journalist

‘Crane has a rare knack for showing people things they really ought to see across space and time without them having to get out of their chair’ Joe Smith, director of The Royal Geographic society
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The year is 1735.
Twelve unruly men board ships bound for South America.
Their mission? To discover the true shape of the earth.
They will be exposed to a wilderness of dangers none can imagine.
The survivors won’t return for ten years.
_______

They knew the world wasn’t a sphere. Either it stretched at the poles or it bulged at the equator. But which?

They needed to know because accurate maps saved lives at sea and made money on land. But measuring the earth was so difficult that most thought it impossible.

The world’s first international team of scientists was sent to a continent of unmapped rainforests and ice-shrouded volcanoes where they attempted to measure the length on the ground of one degree of latitude.

Beset by egos and disease, storms and earthquakes, mutiny and murder, they struggled for ten years to reach the single figure they sought.

Latitude is an epic story of survival and science set in mountain camps and remote observatories.

A breathtaking tale of courage in adversity, it is celebrated today as the first modern exploring expedition.
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‘Latitude is a thrilling story of courage, survival and science. It’s an extraordinary, visceral and vivid read’ Geographical Magazine