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new books

New history books in July 2024

by Anthony Webb, 1 August 2024

I'm off on holiday for a couple of weeks now so posting this round-up a few days before month end - but don't worry I will add on any July history book stragglers into the August post!

With that said, it's an attractive looking set of ten books covering a wide range of subjects: from Elizabethan spies, Mughal royalty, and Crusading delinquents... a few more notes on the books that I was most intrigued by below.

Click the book covers to see a zoomed in image and links to Amazon if you like to buy your books there.

The Great Reversal: Britain, China and the 400-Year Contest for Power
Nelson's Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power
Travellers in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India Connected England to the World
Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great
Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor
Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land
The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution
All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil
Empire's Son, Empire's Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah
The Busy Narrow Sea: A Social History of the English Channel
cover image

book cover

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A few that I have my eye on:

  • Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land, by Steve Tibble. At first glance I thought this was one of those auto-generated books that flood the Amazon catalogue and give themselves away by their cookie-cut covers. At second glance I realised this was an interesting new take on the crusader story focusing on the idea that the crusades were from one perspective (i.e. the receiving end) a swarm of violent bigoted young men decamping to the Eastern Mediterranean.

  • The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution, by David Runciman. Runciman is a big hitter in the academic and literary world, with plenty of experience explaining stuff to students and the public, so this book should be decent!

  • Empire's Son, Empire's Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah, Nile Green. This book has already attracted some ire in its Amazon reviews so clearly people still care a lot about the subject and the people involved. Recounting the tale of two people who (I think) had roots in Afghanistan, and who may or may not have hoodwinked a lot of people in the West.

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