Non-Fiction

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the powerful memoir of an American slave, published with photographic portraits and a new introduction exclusive to the Folio edition.

Byzantium is Judith Herrin’s masterful and often surprising history of a 1,000-year empire, in a Folio Society edition sumptuously illustrated with imperial treasures, plus a new introduction by the author.

Pole to Pole is Michael Palin’s account of his epic journey from the Arctic to Antarctic, via the USSR, Africa and South America: a classic adventure in a beautiful Folio Society edition, with superb original photography.

Parallel Worlds is Michio Kaku’s astonishing journey into the mysteries of our universe – and the tantalising possibility that many others may exist. Awe-inspiring images of the cosmos complete this Folio edition.

Robert Hooke’s science classic Micrographia changed the way we view the natural world. This beautifully crafted Folio Society edition of the complete text includes all Hooke’s original illustrations and an introduction by historian Ruth Scurr.

The first-ever illustrated edition of Susan Sontag’s groundbreaking work, On Photography, is newly introduced by Metropolitan Museum of Art curator of photography Mia Fineman and includes 21 beautifully reproduced archive photographs.

Published in a richly illustrated Folio Society edition, Max Hastings’ All Hell Let Loose is a people’s history of the Second World War from one of its greatest historians: the complete story of the conflict.

Syria: The Desert and The Sown is a masterpiece of travel writing by Gertrude Bell, a pioneering Victorian explorer of Arabia, now available in a stunning Folio edition featuring her original photography.

Spanning 5,000 years from the Bronze Age to the present, India: A History is John Keay’s masterful story of the subcontinent; revised and updated for the Folio Society in this fully illustrated edition.

Full of sweat, tears and side-splitting humour, Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is a page-turning travelogue and this Folio Society edition is the ultimate companion for fans of the author’s inimitable wit.

Hunter S. Thompson’s acid-laced counterculture classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is given the ultimate collector’s makeover in this 50th anniversary Folio Society edition featuring Ralph Steadman’s original illustrations and an exclusive introduction by David Mamet.

Simon Ball’s Alamein joins the Folio Society’s fully illustrated Great Battles series: a masterful analysis of Montgomery’s famous Second World War victory against Rommel’s North African forces, and its controversial legacy.

In The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, top palaeontologist Steve Brusatte brings prehistoric Earth brilliantly to life in an illustrated Folio edition with stunning art from Davide Bonadonna.

In The Tudor Age, historian Susan Brigden brings to life the world of Henry VIII, Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I in a Folio edition superbly illustrated with colour portraiture.

Published by Folio in its first-ever illustrated edition, Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism is a ground-breaking study of how the Nazi and Soviet regimes came to power, which speaks directly to our own age.

The Folio Society’s three-volume set of the journals of Captain Cook from 1768–1779 is accompanied by a chart of the voyages bound in cloth.

Commemorating the centenary of Ernest Shackleton’s death, The Folio Society brings together The Heart of the Antarctic and South – thrilling accounts of his greatest polar expeditions in his own words.

A Bright Shining Lie is Neil Sheehan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Vietnam War told through lieutenant colonel John Paul Vann, with a new introduction by George Packer for The Folio Society.

With a fully revised introduction by Robert Macfarlane and paintings by landscape artist Rose Strang, this Folio edition of Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain celebrates her timeless ode to nature.  

Richly illustrated and newly revised for The Folio Society, In Search of the Dark Ages is Michael Wood’s thrilling account of the age of Beowulf, Sutton Hoo and the Vikings.

The book that launched the environmental movement, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring arrives in a beautiful new illustrated Folio Society edition with pertinent essays by Margaret Atwood and Edward O. Wilson, and stunning photography from the Documerica archive.

Covering 3,000 years, John Keay’s China: A History chronicles one of the world’s great civilisations, from Confucius to Mao, in an exclusively updated Folio Society edition with lavish colour illustrations and a new introduction by the author.

A story of tremendous courage and endurance, related first-hand by Frank Worsley, this stunning Folio Society edition of Shackleton's Boat Journey includes photographs by Frank Hurley, maps and introduction by explorer Ranulph Fiennes. 

Stephen Hawking’s landmark scientific work, A Brief History of Time, is presented as a striking Folio Society illustrated edition, exclusively introduced by Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees.

Howard Carter’s thrilling account of discovering Tutankhamun’s Tomb, in a superb two-volume Folio edition including a book of colour photographs by Sandro Vannini and the original text and exploration photographs.

Spanning 700 years, Creators, Conquerors & Citizens is classical scholar Robin Waterfield’s complete, commanding history of Ancient Greece, augmented with vibrant colour illustrations in this large-format Folio Society edition.

Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year depicts London in a deadly pandemic. This Folio Society edition, with beautiful woodcuts by Chris Wormell, is introduced by editor-in-chief of The Lancet, Richard Horton.

Andrew Chaikin selects stunning new photography for The Folio Society edition of A Man on the Moon – his commanding history of the Apollo missions, with an introduction by Tom Hanks. 

When you’d love to buy someone special a book but you’re not sure which one … choose the Folio e-Gift Card and they can pick their perfect edition. We’ll email it directly to their inbox on the date you choose, so they can start browsing straight as soon as they get it.

In Dynasty, classical historian Tom Holland chronicles the murderous, decadent reigns of the first five emperors of Rome – a sensational narrative presented in a lavishly illustrated Folio edition.