Despite his struggle with a crippling shyness and sense of inadequacy, exacerbated by the stammer that was the focus of the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech , George VI rose to challenges before him. His marriage to the self-assured and supportive Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons and his unexpected accession to the throne in 1936 changed the direction of the young prince's life for good. Once on the throne, it was he who bore the weighty responsibility for restoring the nation's confidence in their monarchy following his elder brother's abdication and for maintaining morale during the darkest...

The British Empire changed the face of the modern world. At its zenith it governed more than a quarter of the world's population, and spanned at least a fifth of its surface. Through these sovereign acquisitions, the British people derived wealth, influence, and prestige. Empire also became a defining aspect of British identity, affording the nation a sense of international purpose and political and social unity. Yet, for many of those that it controlled, the Empire often represented something darker: an arbitrary power which disrupted local customs, social structures and government.In this...

The Boer War of 1899-1902 was an epic of heroism and bungling, cunning and barbarism, with an extraordinary cast of characters - including Churchill, Rhodes, Conan Doyle, Smuts, Kipling, Gandhi, Kruger and Kitchener. The war revealed the ineptitude of the British military and unexpectedly exposed the corrupt underside of imperialism in the establishment of the first concentration camps, the shooting of Boer prisoners-of-war and the embezzlement of military supplies by British officers. This acclaimed book provides a complete history of the Boer War - from the first signs of unrest to the...