Military History

This emotive history constructs an absorbing narrative from the eyewitness testimonies of those who experienced the war. Contemporary photographs illuminate their words.

In his engrossing account, Martin Gilbert traces each step of the war’s progression, from the tensions and alliances leading up to it and the first skirmishes on the French and Belgian borders, to the final peacemaking and remembrance. His geographical scope is equally broad, from Mesopotamia and East Africa to the ‘forgotten war’ waged in the Atlantic.

The Folio Society edition of The Longest Day commemorates the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Cornelius Ryan’s riveting text is complemented by 42 integrated photographs, and a binding image by Robert Capa.

The First World War is brought to life with first-hand accounts and comprehensive research in this compelling two-volume set.

Max Hastings’ history of Bomber Command, now in a new Folio edition, illuminates this controversial aspect of the Second World War through contemporary photographs and first-hand interviews.

One hundred years on, the enduring impact of the First World War is explored in Paul Fussell’s acclaimed literary and cultural history.

An unforgettable account of the ‘Forgotten War’ in Burma, written by the British general who transformed catastrophic defeat into resounding victory.

The Folio Society edition of The Mark of Command superbly presents celebrated military historian John Keegan's appraisal of four famous generals: Alexander the Great, Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant and Hitler.

Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell’s brutally honest account of his experience as a militiaman during the Spanish Civil War. The Folio Society edition is illustrated with 35 black and white photographs sourced from Magnum and Catalan archives.

Night is one of the first and one of the greatest Holocaust memoirs. The new Folio Society edition is illustrated with art by survivors and witnesses and is published alongside Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

This lavishly illustrated edition of Mayflower meets you on board a storm-lashed ship filled with resolute Pilgrims and leaves you a generation later in the blood-soaked new American nation.

Hand-drawn maps and a new image selection illustrate the Folio Society edition of Persian Fire – the bloodthirsty clash of civilisations by the master of classical history, Tom Holland.

The first illustrated edition of Steinbeck's absorbing dispatches for the New York Herald Tribune.

The Folio Society edition of Empire features a new preface specially written by its author, acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson.

An enthralling account of the French capital’s transition from German occupation to post-war liberty, with a new introduction by the authors.

The gripping life-story of Douglas Bader, double amputee and Second World War fighter ace.

A magnificent, spirited portrait of life as a secret agent in occupied France.

The chilling account of the Nazi conference to finalise the plans for genocide, with a new preface by author Mark Roseman.

A lavishly illustrated 20th anniversary edition of Guns, Germs and Steel – Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration of how and why Eurasians developed the weapons, diseases and technologies that enabled them to dominate the rest of the world.

Compelling analysis and vivid everyday observations are combined in the writings of this much-admired journalist. With more than 50 contemporary images.

The infamous battle examined from all angles by one of Britain’s most acclaimed historians.

Illness and intrigue both proved deadly to the last Russian royal family. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Robert K. Massie reveals the tragic circumstances behind their infamous downfall.

John Reed’s immersive eyewitness account of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

The highly acclaimed history of the Belgian Congo and the exploitation that led to the murder of 10 million – the background to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Antony Beevor’s critically acclaimed historical masterpiece is a gripping and frequently harrowing account of the Red Army’s capture of the German capital in World War II’s final stages. Berlin: The Downfall 1945 was the Non-Fiction winner of the Folio Readers’ Choice 2017.

Celebrated writer and historian Cecil Woodham-Smith turns her acerbic eye on the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade.

The definitive account of a tragic conflict, with more than 100 carefully selected images.

A hundred years of military blunders accompanied by a fascinating psychological analysis.

Eric Newby’s story of escape and evasion, dedicated to the ordinary Italian people who saved his life, remains funny, vivid and deeply moving.