Summer Reads 2026

Summer Reads 2026

This week, it's a special episode as three of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] gang – Antonia Senior⁠⁠ [https://twitter.com/Tonisenior], Richard Foreman⁠⁠ [https://twitter.com/RForemanAuthor] and Jane Thynne [https://x.com/janethynne?lang=en] – join Zeb Baker-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/zeb-baker-smith/] in person to talk through their recommendations for your holiday reading list. Plenty of picks, with links below, to accompany you in your hand luggage this summer! Books The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet Union and the Making of New Russia, 1985-1991 [https://amzn.to/4aHlxaS], by Robert Service [https://amzn.to/4oFg5uN] Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire [https://amzn.to/4fX8G8a], by Antonia Senior [https://amzn.to/4vZBEbY] The Writers' Castle: Reporting History at Nuremberg [https://amzn.to/4oAjUS0], by Uwe Neumahr [https://amzn.to/4uL5jVm] Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches [https://amzn.to/4eExM9n], by Tony Shaw [https://amzn.to/4vliPQx] and Alan McDougall [https://amzn.to/4uLdNfi] White River Crossing [https://amzn.to/3SC1pRg], by Ian McGuire [https://amzn.to/4enB4PC] The Black Death: A Global History [https://amzn.to/4oJJg06], by Thomas Asbridge [https://amzn.to/43LS388] Nonesuch [https://amzn.to/4uNhK34], by Francis Spufford [https://amzn.to/4a9WPQh] Conquest: A History of Roman Britain [https://amzn.to/4abgDmr], by Ferdinand Addis [https://amzn.to/3QVt3Iu] https://amzn.to/4abgDmr Guests ⁠⁠Antonia Senior - Author and Historical Fiction Reviewer for The Times⁠ [https://twitter.com/Tonisenior] ⁠⁠Richard Foreman - Author and Publisher⁠ [https://twitter.com/RForemanAuthor] Jane Thynne - Author [https://x.com/janethynne?lang=en] Aspects of History Links AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/AspectsHistory]⁠ AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Zeb Links Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/aohistoryeditor] Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Relative Failures with Matthew Sturgis

What if you had a sibling as brilliant as Oscar Wilde…?  This week’s episode offers a vivid window through which to view the artistic, literary and theatrical world of late Victorian London, a period of remarkable creativity, dramatic falls and cultural change. But, instead of viewing this fin de siècle moment through the brightest lights, why should we not focus on the forgotten characters? Joining ⁠Zeb Baker-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/zeb-baker-smith/], Editor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/], on the podcast is acclaimed biographer Matthew Sturgis [https://georginacapel.com/authors/matthew-sturgis] to discuss Relative Failures [https://amzn.to/4ulAmXP], his exploration of three overlooked figures who lived in the shadow of their more famous siblings: Willie Wilde, brother of Oscar Wilde; Mabel Beardsley, sister of Aubrey Beardsley; and Howard Sturgis, younger brother of the novelist Julian Sturgis. Episode Links Relative Failures: The Lives of Willie Wilde, Mabel Beardsley and Howard Sturgis [https://amzn.to/4ulAmXP] Matthew Sturgis Links Matthew ⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://georginacapel.com/authors/matthew-sturgis] Matthew on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/oscarwildelife/] Aspects of History Links AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/AspectsHistory]⁠ AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Zeb Links Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/aohistoryeditor] Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe with Katja Hoyer

The Weimar Republic, synonymous with German culture, idealism, and artistic brilliance, has become a common trope in the 21st century, as everyday politics becomes more polarised across Europe. Is Germany’s journey from fragile optimism to fascist collapse a warning we ought to be heeding today? Joining Phil Craig [https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/phil-craig/] on the ⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] podcast is historian Katja Hoyer [https://www.katjahoyer.online/], whose latest title, Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe [https://amzn.to/4nBCeJW], offers an astute depiction of that period between 1919 and 1939 through the perspective of the small town and its residents. She explains the optimism of post-war democracy and the trajectory to economic despair, political radicalisation, and life lived in the shadow of Buchenwald concentration camp, all the while keeping an eye on the uncomfortable moral ambiguities that would come to shape daily life under Nazism. Episode Links Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe [https://amzn.to/4nBCeJW] Katja Hoyer Links Katja online [https://www.katjahoyer.online/] Katja on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/hoyer_kat] Katja on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack [https://www.katjahoyer.uk/] Phil Links Phil on ⁠⁠The Scandal Mongers [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-scandal-mongers-podcast/id1653614176] Phil on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/philmcraig] Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/craig_phil] Aspects of History Links AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/AspectsHistory]⁠ AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Stealing Hitler's Rocket with Guy Walters

This week’s helping of the podcast recounts the terror of the world’s first ballistic missile and the heroic efforts of the Polish resistance, all contained in this tale of innovation and daring that reads like a wartime thriller – except it’s true… Pairing up with ⁠Phil Craig [https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/phil-craig/] for this episode of the Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] podcast, author and historian, Guy Walters [https://guywalters.substack.com/] gives a blow-by-blow account of the remarkable true story of the race to uncover the secrets of Nazi Germany’s V-2 missile programme. His book, Stealing Hitler's Rocket [https://amzn.to/3RyWpfZ], poses the question of whether said rocket could have changed the course of the war, observes at close quarters the intelligence battle to understand Hitler’s fatal technology, and why this little-known operation deserves a place among the greatest secret missions of the conflict. Episode Links Stealing Hitler's Rocket [https://amzn.to/49ypWfV] Guy Walters Links Guy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X [https://x.com/guywalters]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Guy on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/guyebwalters] Guy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠ [https://guywalters.substack.com/] Phil Links Phil on ⁠⁠⁠The Scandal Mongers⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-scandal-mongers-podcast/id1653614176] Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/philmcraig] Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/craig_phil] Aspects of History Links AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/AspectsHistory]⁠ AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches with Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall

In just a few days time, the 2026 Fifa World Cup will begin, a vast 48-team affair across North America, the geopolitical backdrop to the tournament as fractious as it has ever been in recent times. It goes without saying, however, that ideology, propaganda and diplomacy have always been at the forefront of the beautiful game throughout the tournament’s history. Joining Zeb Baker-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/zeb-baker-smith/], Editor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/], for this week’s episode are Tony Shaw [https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/tony-shaw/] and Alan McDougall [https://www.alanmcdougall.com/], their collaborative efforts in Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches [https://amzn.to/4uLvY5v] making for a fascinating dive into the sport on both sides of the Iron Curtain and beyond. From Dynamo Moscow’s infamous 1945 clash with Arsenal to the revolutionary style of Hungary’s Magical Magyars, North Korea’s bond with Middlesbrough in 1966, and the charged meeting of East and West Germany in 1974, our conversation reveals how the game both reflected and transcended global tensions, breaking and building connections on either side of the Cold War’s cultural divide. Episode Links Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches [https://amzn.to/4uLvY5v] Tony Shaw Links Tony ⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠ [https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/tony-shaw/] Alan McDougall Links Alan ⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.alanmcdougall.com/] Aspects of History Links AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://aspectsofhistory.com/] AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/AspectsHistory]⁠ AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Zeb Links Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://x.com/aohistoryeditor] Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠ [https://substack.com/@zebbakersmith] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]