‘This book is a revelation ? both original and important’ MISHAL HUSAIN

A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it.

As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait – were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the ‘Indian Empire’, or more simply as the Raj.

It was the British Empire’s crown jewel, a vast dominion stretching from the Red Sea to the jungles of Southeast Asia, home to a quarter of the world’s population and encompassing the largest Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian communities on the planet. Its people used the Indian rupee, were issued passports stamped ‘Indian Empire’, and were guarded by armies garrisoned in forts from the Bab el-Mandeb to the Himalayas

And then, in the space of just fifty years, the Indian Empire shattered. Five partitions tore it apart, carving out new nations, redrawing maps, and leaving behind a legacy of war, exile and division.

Shattered Lands, for the first time, presents the whole story of how the Indian Empire was unmade. How a single, sprawling dominion became twelve modern nations. How maps were redrawn in boardrooms and on battlefields, by politicians in London and revolutionaries in Delhi, by kings in remote palaces and soldiers in trenches.

Its legacies include civil war in Burma and ongoing insurgencies in Kashmir, Baluchistan and Northeast India, and the Rohingya genocide. It is a history of ambition and betrayal, of forgotten wars and unlikely alliances, of borders carved with ink and fire. And, above all, it is the story of how the map of modern Asia was made.

Sam Dalrymple’s stunning history is based on deep archival research, previously untranslated private memoirs, and interviews in English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Konyak, Arabic and Burmese. From portraits of the key political players to accounts of those swept up in these wars and mass migrations, Shattered Lands is vivid, compelling, thought-provoking history at its best.

‘A stunning achievement. Shattered Lands reframes the story of South Asia with rare empathy and elegance, breathing life into the legacies of the partitions that shape a quarter of our world today’ THANT MYINT-U

‘This richly researched, vividly written book tells the story of how a colossal and powerful Empire was broken up into many distinct nation-states?An impressive debut by a gifted and very energetic young writer’ RAMACHANDRA GUHA

‘Excellent . . . persuasive . . . convincing’ – The Times
‘Funny, whipsmart and devastating. Sanity on steroids’ – Emily Maitlis
‘Fantastic. An exquisite analysis’ – The Secret Barrister

Why does nothing work in Britain?

It’s harder than ever to get a GP appointment. Burglaries go unpunished. Rivers are overrun with sewage. Real wages have been stagnant for years, even as the cost of housing rises inexorably. Why is everything going wrong at the same time?

It’s easy to blame dysfunctional politicians who are out for themselves. But, in reality, it’s more complicated. Politicians can make things better or worse, but all work within our state institutions. And ours are utterly broken.

In Failed State, Sam Freedman, one of Britain’s leading policy experts, offers a devastating analysis of where we’ve gone wrong. With historical depth and plenty of infuriating examples, he explains why British governance has fallen so far behind. Speaking to politicians of all stripes, civil servants and workers on the frontline, this book bursts with insight on the real problems that are so often hidden from the front pages. The result is a witty, landmark book that paves the way for a fairer and more prosperous Britain.

‘We can only hope that every member of the new government will read and digest this book’ – David Aaronovitch, BBC Radio 4 Presenter
‘Brilliantly timed and frighteningly true’ – Sir Anthony Seldon, bestselling author of Johnson at 10

Widely regarded as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, Sir Winston Churchill was a central figure in shaping British and global politics throughout his momentous career and more than six decades in the public eye.

Published to commemorate what would have been his 150th birthday, this volume draws on a wealth of archive material from The Times and Imperial War Museums, and features previously unpublished material, including:

• Private letters and correspondence
• Rarely seen photographs
• Historic articles from The Times archive
• Original artwork, posters and wartime imagery from Imperial War Museums

This superbly illustrated edition offers a unique and nuanced perspective on the tireless statesman and victorious wartime leader.

In 2016, Marvin Rees was elected as Mayor of Bristol, the first time a major European city had elected a mayor of Black African heritage. Re-elected in 2021, his eight-year tenure has taken the city through everything from Brexit to Covid, the cost of living crisis to the fall of the Colston statue. With the eyes of the world on Bristol, Rees navigated a high-stakes balancing act to keep the city together – all the while dealing with racist abuse and personal threats.

His rise to political leadership was anything but straightforward. The mixed-race son of a Jamaican father and white single mother, he grew up in a household where money was tight and opportunity lacking. He first found purpose in the boxing ring, then, while at university studying history and politics, he passed the interview board for the Royal Marines, but failed the medical. Instead of the armed forces, he joined an international development agency, before becoming a broadcast journalist at the BBC. However, politics beckoned and, after winning a place at Yale’s prestigious World Fellows Program for rising global leaders, he was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Bristol’s first mayoral election in 2012. And lost.

Let’s See What Happens chronicles Marvin Rees’s fall and rise to political success – and how the failures along the way ultimately proved a blessing in what he learned about life. He describes both the challenges and opportunities he faced as a man and as mayor, helping his home city grow to national and international prominence.

Thoughtful, straight-talking, passionate, this is the fascinating memoir of one of the most charismatic leaders in British politics today.

‘Excellent… persuasive… convincing’ – THE TIMES
‘Funny, whipsmart and devastating. Sanity on steroids’ – EMILY MAITLIS
‘Fantastic. An exquisite analysis’ – THE SECRET BARRISTER

Why does nothing work in Britain?

It’s harder than ever to get a GP appointment. Burglaries go unpunished. Rivers are overrun with sewage. Real wages have been stagnant for years, even as the cost of housing rises inexorably. Why is everything going wrong at the same time?

It’s easy to blame dysfunctional politicians who are out for themselves. But, in reality, it’s more complicated. Politicians can make things better or worse, but all work within our state institutions. And ours are utterly broken.

In Failed State, Sam Freedman, one of Britain’s leading policy experts, offers a devastating analysis of where we’ve gone wrong. With historical depth and plenty of infuriating examples, he explains why British governance has fallen so far behind. Speaking to politicians of all stripes, civil servants and workers on the frontline, this book bursts with insight on the real problems that are so often hidden from the front pages. The result is a witty, landmark book that paves the way for a fairer and more prosperous Britain.

‘We can only hope that every member of the new government will read and digest this book’ – DAVID AARONOVITCH
‘Brilliantly timed and frighteningly true’ – SIR ANTHONY SELDON

Having flourished as an MP during the reign of Boris and clung on through to Rishi Sunak’s government, via a short and turbulent detour through the brief fever dream of Liz Truss, Rosie – everyone’s favourite MP – will have you cheering and desperate to ensure the Tories rule for another 14 years. Let’s make Britain great again. (Again.)

‘The most exceptional political memoir I’ve ever read’
ALAN JOHNSON

‘An instant classic’
MARINA HYDE

‘At last a politician who can write’
SEBASTIAN FAULKS

Over the course of a decade, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.

Uncompromising, honest and darkly humorous, this is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life. Instantly praised as a new classic, it is an astonishing portrait of our turbulent times.

‘Genuinely eye-opening?always riveting, often horrifying’
iNEWS

‘Beautifully written’
GUARDIAN

‘Hugely entertaining’
EVENING STANDARD

BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

* A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FT, GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, TIMES, OBSERVER, i NEWSPAPER, NEW STATESMAN, PROSPECT, CHURCH TIMES AND SCOTSMAN *

Politics on the Edge was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller from 09.09.23-16.09.23, 09.12.23-16.12.23, 30.12.23-06.01.24 and 11.06.24-25.06.24.

‘An instant classic’ MARINA HYDE
‘At last a politician who can write’ SEBASTIAN FAULKS
‘Candid, angry, funny, and self-revelatory’ JONATHAN DIMBLEBY
‘Exceptional’ RAFAEL BEHR

The Times pick for *The Biggest Books of the Autumn*

Over the course of a decade from 2010, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.

Tackling ministerial briefs on flood response and prison violence, engaging with conflict and poverty abroad as a foreign minister, and Brexit as a Cabinet minister, Stewart learned first-hand how profoundly hollow our democracy and government had become.

Cronyism, ignorance and sheer incompetence ran rampant. Around him, individual politicians laid the foundations for the political and economic chaos of today. Stewart emerged battered but with a profound affection for his constituency of Penrith and the Border, and a deep direct insight into the era of populism and global conflict.

Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous, Politics On the Edge is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life and a remarkable portrait of our age.

Queen Of Our Times is the definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth II by one of Britain’s leading royal authorities, Robert Hardman. This commemorative edition includes an epilogue reflecting upon Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, her passing and her funeral.

‘Sensational’ – Kirsty Young, The Platinum Pageant (BBC)

With fascinating revelations from those who knew her best and special access to unseen royal papers granted by Elizabeth II herself, author and royal expert Robert Hardman explores the full, astonishing life of our longest reigning monarch in this authoritative yet intimate biography.

The book also charts the way in which the Queen raised the future King Charles III as both son and heir.

Elizabeth was not born to be queen, being third in line to the throne. Yet from her accession as a young mother of two in 1952 to the age of Covid-19, she proved an astute and quietly determined figure, leading her family and her people through more than seventy years of unprecedented social change. She faced constitutional crises, confronted threats against her life, unified the Commonwealth, saw fifteen British prime ministers come and go, charmed world leaders, and steered her family through a lifetime in the public eye. Her Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in June 2022 and her death mourned months later, both events a reminder of the huge impact she had made.

Queen of Our Times is a must-read study of dynastic survival and renewal, spanning abdication, war, romance, danger and tragedy. It is a compelling portrait of a leader whose legacy of steadfast service lives on.