Over a long career, John Hardman has specialised to great effect in teasing out, from speeches, decrees, minutes, memoranda, letters, diaries and unsent drafts, the varied moods of French political de

Review of reviews: Books

When General Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975 – 39 years after the start of the brutal civil war that brought him to power – the prospect of a bloodless transition to democracy in Spain appea

In the 21st century, we have moved into an era of performative covert action. Leaders such as Vladimir Putin have used the shadow of death to coerce their enemies overseas and to reinforce their warri

When I last spoke with the historian Sudhir Hazareesingh we were talking about Black Spartacus, his prize-winning biography of the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. Now, we’re meeting again

A History of England in 25 Poems: Treasures ...