This moment is surely imbued with the most global symbolism. It was when, according to the Old Norse-Icelandic sagas, adventurers sailed across the north Atlantic from settlements on the west coast of

Review of reviews: Books

Best books… Roy Foster The emeritus professor of ...

Collecting fields often have holy grails, and in medieval illuminated manuscripts one is the Roman d’Alexandre or Romance of Alexander. The 20cm-tall book, written in Old French and illustrated with 1

Once known for its lacemaking factories, Nottingham has reinvented itself as a centre of role-playing games. Games Workshop – maker of Warhammer 40,000 – is a multibillion-pound behemoth, and it sustains a whole ecosystem.

Although I realise that it is a favourite pastime among historians, particularly the British, to demonstrate that our idols have feet of clay, I must protest at the inclusion of Winston Churchill in t