Penguin Classics: History & Military

Eusebius is regarded as the historian of Christian antiquity. Eusebius's account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius, a learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, broke new ground in writing the The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine and provided a model...

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin is a hugely significant Marxist text that fully explains the inevitable flaws and destructive power of Capitalism. Lenin argues that Capitalism would unavoidably lead to imperialism, monopolies, and colonialism. He prophesied that third-world countries, used merely as capitalist labour, would have no choice but to join the Communist revolution in Russia....

One of the greatest and most controversial feats of twentieth-century journalism. Hannah Arendt's authoritative and stunning report on the trial of German Nazi SS leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared as a series of articles in the New Yorker in 1963. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, Eichmann in Jerusalem is as shocking as it is informative...

The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich is a hauntingly powerful oral history that delves into the seldom-heard experiences of Soviet women during the Second World War. Through meticulous storytelling and unwavering commitment to truth, Alexievich illuminates the profound and often heart-wrenching realities faced by these women, transcending the boundaries of conventional war narratives. This extraordinary book presents the...

One of the great books in Western history and the very first work of non-fiction, in Tom Holland's compelling new translation. The Histories of Herodotus, completed in the second half of the 5th century BC, is generally regarded as the first work of history and the first great masterpiece of non-fiction writing. Joined here are the sheer drama of Herodotus'...

The Art of War is the ultimate guide to winning. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war, and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked, and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of...

The Twelve Caesars, written by Suetonius and masterfully translated by Robert Graves, offers an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of the Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian. This revised edition (9780140449211) retains the classic translation that has long been celebrated for its vividness and precision, but comes with entirely new editorial material, providing fresh insights into these historical figures....

Writing at the time of Napoleon's greatest campaigns, Prussian soldier and writer Carl von Clausewitz created this treatise on the art of warfare, which presented war as part of a coherent system of political thought. He is best remembered for his pronouncement that war is a continuation of politics by other means and for his observations on total war. Clausewitz...

Hiroshima by John Hersey is a monumental work of journalism that captures the profound and harrowing experiences of six survivors in the aftermath of the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. As the bomb decimated the city and claimed over 100,000 lives, Hersey artfully recounts the personal stories of these individuals, unveiling not only their survival but...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics. "The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion." The Christian and Muslim empires of the Middle East had fought each other for centuries, two ancient, powerful civilisations, in some ways very familiar to one another. In 1095, something extraordinary happened. The Pope issued an...

Annals is presented in a compelling new translation by Cynthia Damon. Tacitus' Annals recounts the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vivid intensity, Tacitus describes the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero,...

The most celebrated historical work in the English language Spanning thirteen centuries from the age of Trajan to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the greatest narratives in European Literature. David Womersley's masterly selection and bridging commentary enables the reader to acquire a general sense...

Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich is a profound and haunting exploration of the catastrophic nuclear disaster that took place on 26 April 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukraine. On that fateful day, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred, releasing vast quantities of radioactive materials and contaminating up to three-quarters of Europe. Drawing upon meticulous research and poignant interviews, Alexievich pieces...

In writing his account of the relentless growth of the Roman Empire, the Greek statesman Polybius set out to help his fellow-countrymen understand how their world came to be dominated by Rome. Opening with the Punic War in 264 BC, he records the critical stages of Roman expansion - its campaigns throughout the Mediterranean, the temporary setbacks inflicted by Hannibal,...

This is a lightly revised edition of Mattingly's original translation, plus a new introduction, new notes, a chronology, and further reading by James Rives. The Agricola is both a portrait of Julius Agricola—the most famous governor of Roman Britain and Tacitus' well-loved and respected father-in-law—and the first detailed account of Britain that has come down to us. It offers fascinating...

Vivid biographies of famous characters from the Ancient Greek world, in a revised edition of Ian Scott-Kilvert's seminal translation. The Parallel Lives of Plutarch are cornerstones of Western literature, and have exerted a profound influence on writers and statesmen since the Renaissance, most notably Shakespeare. This selection of ten biographies spans the period from the start of the fourth century...

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides offers an in-depth, incisive chronicle of the momentous clash between the two Greek powerhouse city-states, Athens and Sparta. Set during the fifth century B.C., this profound historical text delves into the complex political, diplomatic, and military maneuvers that led to and sustained this protracted conflict. As the reader traverses the events meticulously detailed...

Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt is a profound and thought-provoking examination of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking Nazi official responsible for orchestrating the logistics of the Holocaust. Tasked with ensuring the efficient deportation of millions of Jews to extermination camps, Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem became a pivotal moment in the global understanding of one of history's darkest...

Although written over 400 years after Alexander's death, Arrian's The Campaigns of Alexander is our best source of knowledge of the man and his deeds. Arrian had himself been a military commander, and his record of the exploits of the world's greatest conqueror reveals sympathy for his subject, without the adulation or contempt which so often mar other histories of...

An inventive translation of a great historical epic, recounting the turbulent life and times of Chinggis Khan. 'By the Power of Eternal Heaven; By the Protection of the Majestic Imperial Fortune.' Born a poor nomad in an unforgiving world, Chinggis (or Genghis) Khan transformed the thirteenth century, ultimately ruling an empire that would stretch from Korea to Crimea and Syria...

Penguin Classics relaunch The Jewish War by Josephus is a superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70, marked by treachery and atrocity. Originally a rebel leader, Josephus changed sides after he was captured, becoming a Rome-appointed negotiator. This unique position allowed him to observe these turbulent events firsthand, from the siege...

A new translation of Simone Weil's best-known work—a political, philosophical, and spiritual treatise on what human life could be. An icon of twentieth-century French philosophy, Simone Weil was described by Andre Gide as 'the patron saint of all outsiders' and by Albert Camus as 'the only great spirit of our time'. In this, one of her last and best-known works,...

For more than two thousand years, The Art of War by Sun Tzu has provided military leaders with essential advice on battlefield tactics, managing troops and terrain, and employing cunning and deception. An elemental part of Chinese culture, it has also become a touchstone for the Western struggle for survival and success, whether in battle, in business, or in relationships....

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. He needed to hear Africa speak for itself after a lifetime of hearing Africa spoken about by others. Africa's Tarnished Name features electrifying essays on the history, complexity, and diversity of a continent, from the father...

Mesmerising, haunting stories from the Soviet-Afghan War collected by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. From 1979 to 1989, Soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in Afghanistan that claimed thousands of casualties on both sides. While the Soviet Union talked about a 'peace-keeping' mission, the dead were shipped back in sealed zinc coffins. Boys in Zinc presents...

The iconic study of the Haitian revolution by one of the founding fathers of Caribbean scholarship, now in Modern Classics for the first time. In 1791, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the slaves of San Domingo rose in revolt. Despite invasion by a series of British, Spanish and Napoleonic armies, their twelve-year struggle led to the creation...

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is an ancient Chinese military treatise that has transcended time to become a universal guide for those seeking wisdom in strategy, leadership, and decision-making. Written over two millennia ago, this seminal work offers profound insights into warfare tactics, psychological warfare, use of spies, and the significance of adaptability and resourcefulness. The book is...

The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth is a narrative that blurs the lines between history and legend, chronicling the earliest kings of Britain. Completed in 1136, The History of the Kings of Britain traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years...

Livy (c. 59 BC – AD 17) dedicated most of his life to writing some 142 volumes of history, the first five of which comprise The Early History of Rome. With stylistic brilliance, he chronicles nearly 400 years of history, from the founding of Rome (traditionally dated to 757 BC) to the Gallic invasion in 386 BC—an era which witnessed...

Xenophon's account of the Greek war with Persia through the eyes of a young Athenian searching for his destiny abroad. In The Persian Expedition, Xenophon, a young Athenian noble who sought his destiny abroad, provides an enthralling eyewitness account of the attempt by a Greek mercenary army—the Ten Thousand—to help Prince Cyrus overthrow his brother and take the Persian throne....

The defeat of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes and his small band of adventurers is one of the most startling military feats in history. Fifty years after the event, Bernal Diaz (c. 1498-1580), who served under Cortes, wrote this account of the march from the coast, Montezuma's death, the massacre of the Spaniards, and the eventual capture of the capital...

The Making of the English Working Class is the revolutionary account of working-class culture and ideals, reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic to mark the 50th anniversary of its publication. This brilliant account of working-class society in its formative years, 1780 to 1832, revolutionised our understanding of English social history. E. P. Thompson shows how the working class took part...

The revolutionary Che Guevara's guide to guerrilla war. First published in 1961, following the successful Cuban Revolution, this is Che Guevara's handbook for guerrilla war. Che considered that the Cuban Revolution taught would-be insurrectionists three fundamental lessons: (1) Popular forces can win a war against the army. (2) It is not necessary to wait until all conditions for making revolution...

Real-life accounts of the world's most notorious pirates—both men and women, from the Golden Age of Piracy and beyond—compiled by the New York Times bestselling author of A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself. A Penguin Classic Spanning three centuries and eight thousand nautical miles, and compiled by a direct descendant of a sailor who...

History of the Russian Revolution by Leon Trotsky stands as an epic, captivating, and monumental account of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Spanning a wide array of historical, political, and social contexts, Trotsky's narrative delves into the intricate details and dramatic moments that led to the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government and the establishment of Bolshevik power. Through his...

The paradigm-shifting classic that connected the dots between transatlantic slavery, capitalism and racism. “If one criterion of a classic is its ability to reorient our most basic way of viewing an object or a concept, Eric Williams's study supremely passes that test” – Seymour Drescher Arguing that the slave trade was at the heart of Britain's economic progress, Eric Williams's...

This edition contains a revision of the existing translation, revision of chronology and genealogy, and a new introduction of 4-6000 words, new notes, and a new selection of further reading. A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire's official chronicler, and his History of the Wars of Justinian proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor's reign....

The Civil War is Caesar's own account of his struggle with Pompey over the leadership of Republican Rome. A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a great writer, recording the events of his life with incomparable immediacy and power. The Civil War offers a tense and gripping depiction of his conflict with Pompey, which spanned the entire Roman...

A fascinating description of the beginning of the modern world. For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Italian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of the modern world—a world in which flourishing individualism and the competition for fame radically transformed science, the arts, and politics. In this landmark work, he depicts the Italian city-states of Florence, Venice and Rome...

New to Penguin Classics For more than two thousand years, Sun-tzu's The Art of War has provided leaders with essential advice on battlefield tactics and management strategies. An elemental part of Chinese culture, it has also become a touchstone for the Western struggle for survival and success, whether in battle, in business, or in relationships. Now, in this crisp, accessible...

The first-person chronicle of a legendary journalist at the flashpoint of the Russian Revolution. Ten Days That Shook the World is John Reed's eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution. A contemporary journalist writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm, he provides a gripping record of the events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized...

A vivid and richly anecdotal portrait of Spartan society. On Sparta by Plutarch provides vivid and engaging portraits of the Spartans and their customs, offering a major source of our knowledge about the rise and fall of this remarkable Greek city-state between the sixth and third centuries BC. Through his Lives of Sparta's leaders and his recording of memorable Spartan...

A new edition of these two French accounts written by soldiers who took part in the Crusades. The Conquest of Constantinople by Geoffrey of Villehardouin and The Life of Saint Louis by John of Joinville are eye-witness accounts of going to war in the service of God. In the first years of the thirteenth century, Villehardouin served as an envoy...

A new translation of this classic text The Ancien Regime and the Revolution is a comparison of revolutionary France and the despotic rule it toppled. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) is an objective observer of both periods—providing a merciless critique of the ancien regime, with its venality, oppression and inequality, yet acknowledging the reforms introduced under Louis XVI, and claiming that...

A History of My Times is a fascinating historical account of Greece at a point of crisis. Xenophon's history recounts nearly fifty turbulent years of warfare in Greece between 411 and 362 BC. Continuing the story of the Peloponnesian War at the point where Thucydides finished his magisterial history, this is a captivating chronicle of the conflicts that ultimately led...

Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for...

This definitive three-volume Penguin Classics edition provides a complete and unmodernised text, presenting the History as it appeared to its early readers. Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilisations over...

In his introduction, John Keegan discusses Churchill's historical methods and the extraordinary achievement of The Second World War. This volume also includes appendices, an index, maps, and diagrams. Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the Second World War.

With a new introduction by Christopher de Bellaigue Shah of Shahs depicts the final years of the Shah in Iran and is a compelling meditation on the nature of revolution and the devastating results of fear. Here, Kapuscinski describes the tyrannical monarch who, despite his cruel oppression of the Iranian people, sees himself as the father of a nation, capable...

A myth-busting, page-turning history of the Battle of Britain History is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards...

The Rise And Fall of Athens by Plutarch traces the fortunes of Athens through nine lives - from Theseus, its founder, to Lysander, its Spartan conqueror - in this seminal work. What makes a leader? How does their character affect the fate of their people? Plutarch illustrates the rise and fall of Athens through nine lives, from the legendary days...

Last Witnesses by Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich is a profoundly moving narrative that delves into the harrowing experiences of Soviet children during the Second World War. Through their recollections, Alexievich paints a vivid and heart-wrenching picture of what it meant to grow up amidst the chaos, destruction, and despair that engulfed the Soviet Union in those dark years. Their stories...

The definitive translation of our history's founding legal document - translated with a new commentary by David Carpenter. Magna Carta is probably the most famous declaration in western legal history. Wrested by rebellious barons from a very reluctant King John, it set out a series of rights and duties which have been appealed to, ignored, suppressed and argued about ever...

Sallust (86-c. 35 BC) is the earliest Roman historian of whom complete works survive. A senator of the Roman Republic, he was a younger contemporary of Cicero, Pompey, and Julius Caesar. His Catiline's War tells of the conspiracy in 63 BC led by L. Sergius Catilina, who plotted to assassinate numerous senators and take control of the government but was...

The essential writings of ancient Egypt, from songs to stories, newly translated. 'Man perishes; his corpse turns to dust; all his relatives pass away. But writings make him remembered.' The fascination Ancient Egypt holds in our minds has many sources, but at the heart of it lie hieroglyphics. This extraordinary writing system was for many years seen as the ultimate...

What is history and how should it be written? This important new anthology contains all the seminal texts that relate to the writing of history in the ancient world. The study of history was invented in the ancient world. Treading uncharted waters, writers such as Plutarch and Lucian grappled with big questions such as how history should be written, how...

The Later Roman Empire is a historical account of the end of the Roman Empire, penned by Ammianus Marcellinus, the last great Roman historian. His writings hold a prestigious place alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. This chronicle spans a period of twenty-five years during Marcellinus' lifetime, covering the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I, and Valens. It provides...

John Carter's modern translation conveys the compelling style of the original. His extensive introduction provides an in-depth assessment of Appian as a historian and places the work in context. Taken from Appian's Roman History, the five books collected here form the sole surviving continuous historical narrative of the era between 133-35 BC — a time of anarchy and instability for...

Books VI-X of Livy's monumental History of Rome Books VI-X of Livy's monumental work trace Rome's fortunes from its near collapse after defeat by the Gauls in 386 BC to its emergence, in a matter of decades, as the premier power in Italy, having conquered the city-state of Samnium in 293 BC. In this fascinating history, events are described not...

Moving from the Modern Classics into the successful Wells series in the Penguin Classics. Spanning the origins of the Earth to the outcome of the First World War, this is a brilliantly compelling account of the evolution of life and the development of the human race. Along the way, Wells considers such diverse subjects as the Neolithic era, the rise...

I am a woman's rights. I have ploughed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I am as strong as any man that is now A former slave and one of the most powerful orators of her time, Sojourner Truth fought for the equal rights of black women throughout her life....

Their Finest Hour is part of Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world, which remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid and dramatic, this work is remarkable both for its breadth and sweep, and for its sense of personal involvement. It is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling...

This definitive three-volume Penguin Classics edition provides a complete and unmodernised text, presenting the History as it appeared to its early readers. Edward Gibbon's six-volume The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilisations...

The Hinge of Fate by Winston Churchill is part of his six-volume series detailing the monumental events of the Second World War. This series remains the definitive history of the conflict that swept the globe, noted for its lucid and dramatic narrative. The work is remarkable not only for its breadth and sweep but also for its vivid sense of...

Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, and remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize...

Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for...

The incredible eyewitness account of wartime resistance, now in paperback. Insistently asks the question—What would you do? Would you fight, or acquiesce, or collaborate? ... Karski was deeply patriotic and ludicrously brave ... an astonishing testament of survival - Ben Macintyre, author of Operation Mincemeat It is 1939. Jan Karski, a brilliant young Polish student, enjoys a life of parties...

A magisterial history of the Second World War by best-selling novelist and former RAF pilot Len Deighton. This unflinching history of the darkest days of the Second World War covers the entire world stage, from the Battle of the Atlantic to Pearl Harbor. Rooted in the personal accounts of the soldiers themselves, Blood, Tears and Folly is a sweeping, moving...

A riveting history of the Nazi conquest of Western Europe This is the story of the Nazi conquest of western Europe, from Hitler's rise to power and 'lightning-fast war', to his fatal mistake in halting the German advance on Dunkirk in 1940. Drawing on technical mastery and interviews with both Allied and German participants, Blitzkrieg sets out the technical thinking...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion' The triumph of the First Crusade transformed the eastern Mediterranean, creating a series of European-ruled states along the coast and in Armenia. But the region's Muslim rulers were far from defeated, and the major cities of...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion.' In 1187, the catastrophic Battle of Hattin resulted in Saladin's destruction of the crusaders' main army. In an atmosphere of total crisis, the three principal leaders of Europe, Philip Augustus, Richard the Lionheart, and Frederick Barbarossa,...

One of the greatest historical records of fourteenth-century England and France. The Chronicles of Froissart (1337-1410) are one of the greatest contemporary records of fourteenth-century England and France. Depicting the great age of Anglo-French rivalry from the deposition of Edward II to the downfall of Richard II, Froissart powerfully portrays the deeds of knights in battle at Sluys, Crecy, Calais...

A magnificent account of Occupied France in both the First and Second World Wars. The most difficult and often savage relationship in 20th century western Europe was between the French and the Germans. Twice, cataclysmic wars were fought out on their borders, successfully by the French in 1914-18 and unsuccessfully in 1940. Both wars led to military occupation—for the large...

Little Black Classics - the new series to celebrate Penguin's 80th anniversary 'Do you see your son, standing over there, in the antechamber? Well, I am going to shoot him.' The story of the great and mad Cambyses, King of Persia, told by part-historian, part-mythmaker Herodotus of Halicarnassus. Introducing Little Black Classics - 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little...