Vivid and rather brilliant.

The Peterloo Massacre is an absorbing analysis of one of the blackest days for civil liberties which this country has ever known. It is a story of heroes and villains, of suffering and carnage and of incompetence, betrayal and brutality, told with the skill of a master craftsman who makes history leap from the page fresh as the morning’s newspapers . . . Mr Reid’s definitive account of Peterloo is splendidly written.

There are many accounts of the Peterloo Massacre but none as thoroughly researched as this one. The characters . . . come alive in his easy to read style . . . there is much to be learned from Rober Reid’s description and analysis of the role and effects of technology, and I hope his book will be widely read. It should be in every school library and discussed by all those involved in the continuing search for civilised solutions to the social and political problems currently facing our people.

[A] magnificent volume of dramatic history.

From an awe-inspiring range of sources Dr Reid has constructed a narrative that reads like a political thriller in which numerous threads are drawn together in the bloody climax. Each character is fleshed out with his ambitions, abilities and achievements . . . [A] devastatingly comprehensive epic . . . The book will inform and invigorate anyone with an interest in history, drawing intriguing parallels with contemporary ideology.

[A] fascinating account of Peterloo.

Robert Reid’s narrative style in describing the people, background and motivation behind all this cannot be faulted. He writes sympathetically and readably, but always retains a sense of perspective. A well-researched book on one of English social history’s unhappiest days.

[A] careful and lucid account of Peterloo.

A stirring account of the “massacre” and its background . . . He strips away the myths and endeavours to show what actually happened and why.

Dr Robert Reid is an accomplished author in whose hands history comes alive in a remarkable way . . . A valuable addition to the history of a turbulent period in English history.

Within this often-pulsating commentary there is a perceptive narrative on the influence of technology on social and political life.

Dark and beautiful and brilliant

We must be grateful to the Penguin European Writers series, a precious venture in these dark times

This is destined to be a World War II military history classic . . . Beevor's superb latest offering, in keeping with his established record of excellence, is a must-read

Arnhem brings a wealth of new detail to a major World War II disaster . . . Beevor brings to the familiar story a vast amount of research in German, British, American, Polish, and Dutch archives. As usual, his narrative bristles with specifics, including countless observations gleaned from eyewitnesses to every stage of Market Garden. Devoted readers of military history will enjoy the wealth of details

With devastating command of his subject, Antony Beevor shows how one commander's hubris destroyed an army . . . No one beats Beevor at recreating the bewildering cacophony of war

Arnhem was one of the most epic engagements of WW2 and Antony Beevor gives it his usual excellent and fascinating big battle treatment, which makes for a gripping read

A superb work of history. Shakespeare has assumed nothing and allowed himself to be guided only by what a patient re-examination of the evidence-some of it new, much of it still surprisingly ill-digested until now- actually reveals. That is being an historian. The fact that he is also a novelist just means that it is very well written too, a thriller, in fact.

Shakespeare is better known as a novelist than as a historian. This may change after his superb account of the under-examined Norwegian campaign, for which alone his book deserves to be read… Shakespeare is excellent in tracing the intricate manoeuvres ahead of the debate between groups of parliamentarians… Enthralling

One of the very best history books I have ever read.

An eloquent study in how quickly the political landscape can change—and history with it.

An absorbing account of how events 1,300 miles away across the North Sea let to the most drastic cabinet reshuffle in modern British history... Shakespeare's book grips the attention from beginning to end. He conjures the characters and personalities of the senior commanders in the Norwegian campaign with a novelist's flair and eye for detail.

The most prescient book of the year

In A Spy Named Orphan Roland Philipps’s description of Donald Maclean’s psychological make-up chimes with what I have always felt about the Cambridge spies (Philby excepted) – namely, that their romance with the Soviet Union partook of patriotism as much as it did of espionage… Philipps makes the story and the slow uncovering of his treachery a gripping narrative and an overwhelmingly sad one

A highly intelligent, fair and sympathetic biography.

[ An] absorbing biography of Charles I

This is a striking insight into both developing contemporary thought and religious controversies

White King is a lively attempt to make him [Charles I] flesh and blood