One by one she takes on hoary old myths, explodes them with panache, and leaves us instead with a richer, fuller understanding of epochs, worldviews and fascinating individuals from the past... Lots of people will enjoy this clever and thought-provoking account

A forceful, well-written book, in which Mac Sweeney shows her command of a vast sweep of history

A bold, sweeping bird's-eye view of thousands of years of history that provides a truly global perspective of the past. A fantastic achievement

Bright, expansive, and iconoclastic, this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of "Western Civilisation" itself ... A magnificent achievement

Awe-inspiring... Deeply researched, wonderfully well written and immensely thought-provoking, this is an important book which reshapes our understanding of the past

A bracing addition to the ongoing deconstruction of the historiographical pillars of western cultural supremacy

A book to savour ... challenges us to rethink what it means to be of the West. The writing is as accessible as the argument is pointed

Sets the record straight on the modern myth of Western Civilisation. Authoritative and impassioned, this glorious book takes us beyond prejudice and preconception to a new story about the world in which we live

Incredibly successful and impressive... An honest, painstaking and thrilling story that upends almost everything we think we know about the world... I cannot recommend this book more

Fluent and accessible... Mac Sweeney skillfully blends analysis, erudition and anecdote

Fascinating... Mac Sweeney's breadth of knowledge and elegant style keep the book highly engaging

A highly readable, vigorous repudiation of the Western-centric school of history

History at its best; blending compelling evidence with deep insight, this is an invitation to enter worlds within worlds in the company of a master storyteller. ... [South Asia], as never before, is alive to me

A brilliant, magisterial, and wonderfully nuanced work that makes a huge contribution to our understanding of the last century ... Every line holds some gem, triggers some memory, or gives new insight. This work sparkles

One of the best books I've read in years. Chatterji's magnum opus

A charismatic, dazzling piece of work that has the feel of a future classic. Shadows at Noon is remarkably rich and full of life, packed with insights conveyed through beautifully moving storytelling. A unique and vital book, it is at once incredibly informative, profound and very readable - a genuine page-turner

Both erudite and intimate, Chatterji narrates how South Asia in the twentieth century produced democracy and authoritarianism, inclusion and violent exclusion, all at the same time, explaining our present as well as giving us an account of the past

A tour de force of contemporary history of the Indian subcontinent. Its masterly analysis of the big picture - nationalisms, citizenship and the State - sets the stage for its innovative focus on ordinary people and their lives. A brilliant, wonderful read

This book's promise to deliver a 'people-centred history' of South Asia over the twentieth century is no small task. Chatterji's epic work meanders across this huge terrain, taking a series of imaginative angles such as the histories of the household, music, film and food, as well as many others. Combining scholarly rigour with a spontaneous tone and autobiographical style, this is a courageous and captivating work

A historical epic in prose - masterly, original, provocative - and, yes, compellingly readable

[A] bold, innovative and personal work rallies against standard narratives of ‘inherent’ differences between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and reveals the many things its people have in common

This extraordinary book exposes how various sides in the Petain debate have manipulated the historical record in a desperate attempt to make the past palatable.

Julian Jackson’s France on Trial grapples with the life and (mis)deeds of Philippe Pétain—the French general who led the Vichy regime during the Second World War—and the country’s dark feelings of hatred and guilt after the war.

Superb, totally fascinating and compelling, Katja Hoyer's first full history of East Germany's rise and fall is a work of revelatory original research - and a gripping read with a brilliant cast of characters. Essential reading

A beyond-brilliant new picture of the rise and fall of the East German state. Katja Hoyer gives us not only pin-sharp historical analysis, but an up-close and personal view of both key characters and ordinary citizens whose lives charted some of the darkest hours of the Cold War. If you thought you knew the history of East Germany, think again. An utterly riveting read

A fantastic, sparkling book, filled with insights not only about East Germany but about the Cold War, Europe and the forging of the 20th and 21st centuries

The joke has it that the duty of the last East German to escape from the country was to turn off the lights. In Beyond the Wall Katja Hoyer turns the light back on and gives us the best kind of history: frank, vivid, nuanced and filled with interesting people

A refreshing and eye-opening book on a country that is routinely reduced to cartoonish cliché. Beyond the Wall is a tribute to the ordinary East Germans who built themselves a society that - for a time - worked for them, a society carved out of a state founded in the horrors of Nazism and Stalinism

A colourful and often revelatory re-appraisal of one of modern history's most fascinating political curiosities. Katja Hoyer skilfully weaves diverse political and private lives together, from the communist elite to ordinary East Germans

Katja Hoyer is becoming the authoritative voice in the English speaking world for all things German. Thanks to her, German history has the prominence in the Anglosphere it certainly deserves.

Katja Hoyer brilliantly shows that the history of East Germany was a significant chapter of German history, not just a footnote to it or a copy of the Soviet Union. To understand Germany today we have to grapple with the history and legacy of its all but dismissed East

Katja Hoyer's return to discover what happened to her homeland - the old East Germany - is an excellent counterpoint to Stasiland by Anna Funder