Histories of the Unexpected: How Everything Has a History

Description

In this fascinating and original new book, Sam Willis and James Daybell lead us on a journey of historical discovery that tackles some of the greatest historical themes - from the Tudors to the Second World War, from the Roman Empire to the Victorians - but via entirely unexpected subjects. You will find out here how the history of the beard is connected to the Crimean War; how the history of paperclips is all about the Stasi; how the history of bubbles is all about the French Revolution. And who knew that Heinrich Himmler, Tutankhamun and the history of needlework are linked to napalm and Victorian orphans? Taking the reader on an enthralling and extraordinary journey through thirty different topics that are ingeniously linked together, Histories of the Unexpected not only presents a new way of thinking about the past, but also reveals the everyday world around us as never before.

Dr Sam Willis is the author of ten books, including In the Hour of Victory and The Struggle for Sea Power, and has presented eight television series for the BBC and National Geographic. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. James Daybell is Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Plymouth, where he is Director of the Arts and Humanities Research Institute, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has written eight books and has appeared in a number of historical BBC TV documentaries.

History as you've never seen it before. -- Dan Snow Irreverent, witty and fabulously well-informed, Histories of the Unexpected is a blast of historical treats and full to the gunwales of extraordinary connections and trivia from the past. -- James Holland History isn't straightforward. It's a complex web of twists and turns. This book will show you how surprising, exciting and downright unexpected history can be. -- Janina Ramirez This is a wonderful, eclectic and entertaining history of everything, full of fascinating, surprising stories. -- Suzannah Lipscomb