Sutton Bookshare

Sutton Borough Council has just announced an interesting new scheme to encourage people to share their books with each other. People who sign up can search for books they find interesting, and then make contact with the owner to borrow the book for a convenient length of time. The council considers this to be a "world first" and hopes it will encourage a greater sense of community and interest in books. Others, as shown in this Guardian article, are concerned that this could be used as an excuse to make cuts to library services - the Council has already stated its intention to make savings, mainly in reduction of opening hours rather than closing the libraries themselves.

You can access the scheme here. Let us know if you find any interesting books!

Summer reading

On the subject of summer reading... here is an interview with Peter Hennessy about the recent release of his updated version of 'The Secret State: Preparing for the Worst 1945-2010'. It is a great interview with Hennessy who gives a glimpse of his thorough research and analysis together with some great anecdotes. The book is well worth considering for a summer read particularly if you are looking for an issue to mention in your personal statement and you are interested in the Cold War.
Add any books you have found that might be worth a read...

Summer Reading

NOTE: This has been adapted and updated from an article that was first published last year and gives you a few ideas to get started on what books to read if you are considering history at university.

For people with UCAS and university interviews on their mind, Summer is a good time to find inspiration by reading some history books.

David Aaronovitch of The Times has helpfully made some recommendations, which include "The Ascent of Money" by Niall Ferguson, which looks at the global history of finance and "The Birth of the Modern World 1788-1800" by Jay Winik, which considers the connections between the momentous political events of the late 18th Century. Both books would obviously provide helpful parallels with our current political and economic problems.

Tudor Historians may find "Mary Tudor:England's First Queen" of interest as it takes quite a sympathetic view of her and David Starkey's "Henry-The Virtuous Prince" looks closely at the often neglected early years of Henry VIII's life. Here is a further selection of Tudor History books and here is a guide from tudorhistory.org to useful authors.



EH Carr's "What is History" is the classic introduction to the nature of the subject and some ideas of historiography. Although it was published 48 years ago, it still contains many stimulating ideas to get the historian thinking. Other books that follow similar ideas, often written in response to Carr, include Geoffrey Elton's "The Practice of History, Richard Evans' "In Defence of History" and John Tosh's "The Pursuit of History". More information about these ideas can be seen at the Institute of History's special section on "What is History" here and in the Open University's website here.

If you are looking for further inspiration on what to read, check the "History Reviews" sections of the newspapers. Here is a links to the The Guardian'sand The Telegraph's history books secions. The Institute of Historical Research also has an extensive Reviews Section

The Amazon.com history section of course has a vast range of books and is worth checking for the latest to be published.

Please pass on any recommendations for books you have enjoyed, and happy reading!

PS: Here is a list of books and articles recommended for old AEA course (for A Level Students who wanted to stretch themselves further) which are worth considering.

Google Books

You can now embed Google Books into blog posts, which may be really helpful for interesting articles and quotes that people find. Have a play around and please let us know your comments, or any books that you would recommend posting here.

PS: They also do magazines, such as this American edition of Popular Mechanics from November 1939. War may have been declared in Europe but this magazine at least seems very optimistic about the future...

Christmas History Reading

If you are thinking of doing some wider reading over Christmas, or have been asked what you want in your stocking, you may find inspiration at these websites. The Guardian and Telegraph History books sections have excellent reviews, often by historians, and give you a good idea of what is currently being published. Amazon.com of course has a vast range of books and you can see a few of them here.

Here is a specific selection of Tudor History books and here is a guide from tudorhistory.org to useful authors.

PS: On a similar subject, please note our new link to the Nonsuch English Blog on the right hand side of this page.

Elizabeth FAQ

Here is a useful set of FAQs on Elizabeth I, including a list of all the errors (and there are many!) made in the Cate Blanchett film. The website also contains a useful Tudor reading list alongside lots of other Elizabeth info.

Summer reading for politicians

The reading list given to the Shadow Foreign Affairs team is listed here along with suggestions from other politicians and features History and Politics strongly. A predictable list perhaps, with Churchill, Macmillan and Alan Clark featuring but also some less expected such as Keynes: The Return of the Master. Vernon Bogdanor's book should be well worth a read as should Douglas Alexander's choice of Timothy Garton Ash's Facts are subversive.

Politics and Literature

Can politics and literature go together? Can political issues be explored through fiction? This article from The Guardian explores these issues further, considering authors as diverse as Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway and David Hare.

Summer History Reading

For people with UCAS and university interviews on their mind, Summer is a good time to find inspiration by reading some history books.

David Aaronovitch of The Times has helpfully made some recommendations, which include "The Ascent of Money" by Niall Ferguson, which looks at the global history of finance and "The Birth of the Modern World 1788-1800" by Jay Winik, which considers the connections between the momentous political events of the late 18th Century. Both books would obviously provide helpful parallels with our current political and economic problems.

Tudor Historians may find "Mary Tudor:England's First Queen" of interest as it takes quite a sympathetic view of her and David Starkey's "Henry-The Virtuous Prince" looks closely at the often neglected early years of Henry VIII's life.



EH Carr's "What is History" is the classic introduction to the nature of the subject and some ideas of historiography. Although it was published 48 years ago, it still contains many stimulating ideas to get the historian thinking. Other books that follow similar ideas, often written in response to Carr, include Geoffrey Elton's "The Practice of History, Richard Evans' "In Defence of History" and John Tosh's "The Pursuit of History". More information about these ideas can be seen at the Institute of History's special section on "What is History" here and in the Open University's website here.

If you are looking for further inspiration on what to read, check the "History Reviews" sections of the newspapers. Here is a links to the The Guardian'sand The Telegraph's history books secions. The Institute of Historical Research also has an extensive Reviews Section

Please pass on any recommendations for books you have enjoyed, and happy reading!

What are you reading?

The summer holidays are fast approaching, which give a chance for everyone (including Nonsuch HP) to catch up on their reading. Many will also be considering what to put on their UCAS Personal Statements so we would like to ask 2 questions:
What are people reading at the moment?
What history or politics books could they recommend?

Please add comments!! Anonymous answers will be accepted!