Penguin Books Australia

Berlin, 1933. William E. Dodd, a mild-mannered academic from Chicago, becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany, where he is about to witness a turning point in history.

THROUGHOUT WORLD WAR II, Lisbon was at the centre of world attention.  The only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis powers openly operated, it was also a temporary home to much of Europe's exiled royalty; over one million refugees seeking passage to America; and a host of spies, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, writers and artists, escaped POWs, and...

A fresh, gripping look at one of Western history's defining moments

the inspiration for our modern-day marathon comes form the legend of Philippides, who is said to have run 26 miles form Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of the Greeks' victory over the Persians.  Yet the battle of Marathon has had a far greater impact; it can even be seen as the most significant moment in our collective...

In 1835 an illegal squatter camp was established on the banks of the Yarra River. In defiance of authorities in London and Sydney, Tasmanian speculators began sending men and sheep across Bass Strait – and so changed the shape of Australian history. Before the founding of Melbourne, British settlement on the mainland amounted to a few pinpoints on a map. Ten years later, it had become a sea of...

Almost half of the convicts who came to Australia came to Van Diemen's Land. There they found a land of bounty and a penal society, a kangaroo economy and a new way of life. In this book, James Boyce shows how the convicts were changed by the natural world they encountered. Escaping authority, they soon settled away from the towns, dressing in kangaroo skin and living off the land. Behind the official...

Chinese civilisation was for a long period more advanced than European. From China, Europe acquired printing, paper-making, the compass, gunpowder and locks for canals. Yet it was in Europe that steady economic growth first occurred and then the Industrial Revolution. And it was in Europe that representative government and individual rights, those other hallmarks of modernity, first developed. What...

For the first time in two hundred years, here is a full and authentic account of the beginnings of modern Australia.

We all know the conventional story.  Established as a dumping ground for Britain's criminals, Australia owes its existence simply to over-crowded jails and a daunting remoteness from everywhere else.

WITH THE FOUNDING OF MELBOURNE IN 1835, a flood of settlers began spreading out across the Australian continent.  In three years more land – and more people – were conquered than in the preceding fifty.

FROM ALEXANDRIA TO YORK, THIS UNIQUE ATLAS ALLOWS US TO SEE THE GREAT CENTRES OF CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION AFRESH.

The key feature of Cities of the Classical World is 120 specially drawn maps tracing each city's thoroughfares and defences, monuments and places of worship. Every map is to the same scale, allowing readers for the first time to appreciate visually the relative sizes of Babylon and Paris...

Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These are questions that have sporadically interested people since the dawn of time, but whose answers have continually eluded us. Now in their new book, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff (who include the team behind The Onion) tackle them and many more with their trademark wit, irreverence and intelligence. They will take us on an...

'HE WERE A DARK PRINCE, AND INFINITELY SUSPICIOUS, AND HIS TIMES FULL OF SECRET CONSPIRACIES AND TROUBLES' FRANCIS BACON

It was 1501.  England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and counter-coups.  Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII had clambered to the top of the heap - a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's crown.  For many he remained...

The creation of the Christian Church is one of the most important stories in the development of the world's history, but also one of the most enigmatic and little understood, shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.  

History as you've never seen it before - an amazing visual guide to the 20th century

From global wars to the digital revolution, explore the world-changing events of the 20th century decade-by-decade with 20th Century . This is history as you've never seen it before - the events, the people and the political and cultural milestones that have shaped our world using a fresh new approach.

5,000 years of maritime adventure in a new compact format.

From the earliest dugout canoes and the boats of the Ancient Egyptians to the most technologically advanced battleships and cruise-liners, this is the ultimate guide to every aspect of the ship, and those who have sailed them.

In Towards Aotearoa, award-winning reviewer David Eggleton offers a highly readable and entertaining introduction to twentieth-century New Zealand art. Focusing on key artists, he discusses their background, their work, the materials and techniques they use, and ways they have shaped the story of New Zealand art. The book is illustrated with 101 of the best artworks - many of them classics.

This bestselling history of Scotland traces the epic story of a nation from the Union with England to today's debates on the possibilities of Scottish independence in the future. Ranging from high politics to everyday life, The Scottish Nation is the most read modern history of Scotland at home and abroad: vital to understanding an ancient nation at a crucial time.

'Outstanding . . . if you are after...

'They ran through the streets with their drawn swords, cutting and slashing those men they met with, whether soldiers or not.'

This is the story of the bloodiest conflict in British history, told through the accounts of those who were there.

'AN EXCELLENT POLITICAL OVERVIEW'
GUARDIAN

Over the centuries the Middle East has confounded the dreams of conquerors and peacemakers alike. This now-classic book, fully updated to 2009, follows the historic struggles of the region over the last two hundred years, from Napoleon's assault on Egypt, through the slow decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire, to the painful emergence of modern nations, the...

Decade provides an extraordinary insight into our recent history ­– dramatic, nostalgic, intimate and educational by turns. Arranged in chronological order, 500 beautiful, engaging and often startling photographic images depict the people and events, both famous and unknown, that have shaped our history since 2000. Accompanied and contextualized by extended historical captions...