What’s On

The Ben Shephard Memorial Lecture An Infantry Battalion at War, 1939 The only way to truly understand what it was like to fight in the Second World War is to listen to the experiences of those men who were there. And often, there was nowhere more dangerous than on the ground. In Footsloggers, Peter Hart ... Peter Hart – Footsloggers

Million-copy bestselling author Damien Lewis has established himself as one of the most popular WWII historians, and this book builds on the success of SAS Great Escapes which has sold more than 40,000 copies in just over a year. SAS Great Escapes II reveals how SAS men crossed deserts, evaded hunter forces and escaped through ... Damien Lewis – SAS Great Escapes II

When we go for a walk, whether in the countryside or city, we pass through landscapes full of natural beauty and curiosities both visible and invisible – but though we might admire the view, or wonder idly about the name of a flower, we rarely have the knowledge to fully engage with what we see. ... John Wright – The Observant Walker

In Encounters with Artists, Richard Cork turns his impeccable skills as a critic and writer to tell the story of his encounters with some of the world’s most influential artists. From a serendipitous meeting with Pablo Picasso in Cannes in 1965 through his early days as a writer on the Evening Standard and his later role as chief ... Richard Cork – Encounters with Artists

Space: the new frontier, a wild and lawless place. It is already central to communication, military strategy and international relations on Earth. Now, it is the latest arena for human exploration, exploitation – and, possibly, conquest. China, the USA and Russia are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global ... Tim Marshall – The Future of Geography

A RIGOROUS EXAMINATION OF THE WEST’S COLONIAL RECORD WHICH SEEKS TO BRING BALANCE TO OUR PERSPECTIVE OF COLONIALISM’S IMPACT In the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the ‘End of History’ – that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever. Now ... Nigel Biggar – Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning

The lives of 40 men and women behind some of the world’s most exciting gardens. Throughout history great gardeners have risen from all walks of life. Some have been aristocratic amateur gardeners, others professional designers with an international practice. Some have come to garden-making from sister arts such as sculpture or painting; others have been ... Stephen Anderton – The Lives of the Great Gardeners

Justine Picardie spent years puzzling over the truth about Coco Chanel, peeling away the accretions of romance and lies. Since its publication in 2010, hers has become the definitive Chanel biography. To coincide with a major exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum her new edition delves even deeper into the life and legacy of ... Justine Picardie – Chanel The Legend and the Life

How They Rise and How They Fall: From Julius Caesar to Boris Johnson Who said that dictatorship was dead? The world today is full of Strong Men and their imitators. Caesarism is alive and well. Yet in modern times it's become a strangely neglected subject. Ferdinand Mount opens up a fascinating exploration of how and ... Ferdinand Mount – Big Caesars and Little Caesars

The definitive biography of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century from the award-winning writer and critic, D.J. Taylor. Over seventy years since his premature death, George Orwell (1903-50) has become one of the most significant figures in western literature. His two dystopian masterpieces, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) have together ... D J Taylor – George Orwell

Follow Alan into Chatsworth's irresistible world of visionaries, pioneers, heroes, villains and English eccentrics, and celebrate the men and women who have shaped the history of the estate over five centuries. With his passionate knowledge of both the house and gardens, as well as his long-established relationship with the Cavendish family, Alan is the perfect ... Alan Titchmarsh – Chatsworth