Most Popular Books by Andrew Roberts

The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the acclaimed author of Churchill and The Last King of America—winner of the LA Times Book prize, finalist for the Plutarch prize, winner of the Fondation Napoleon prize and a New York Times bestseller “A thrilling tale of military and political genius… Roberts is an uncommonly gifted writer.” —The Washington Post Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: his battles are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was far more than a military genius and astute leader of men. Like George Washington and his own hero Julius Caesar, he was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all times. Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon’s thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single bestselling book of the nineteenth century. An award-winning historian, Roberts traveled to fifty-three of Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, discovered crucial new documents in archives, and even made the long trip by boat to St. Helena. He is as acute in his understanding of politics as he is of military history. Here at last is a biography worthy of its subject: magisterial, insightful, beautifully written, by one of our foremost historians.

''His book is timely and a triumph. Roberts manages to convey all the reader needs to know about two men to whom battalions of biographies have been devoted'' EVENING STANDARD Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill were two totally opposite leaders - both in what they stood for and in the way in which they seemed to lead. Award-winning historian Andrew Roberts examines their different styles of leadership and draws parallels with rulers from other eras. He also looks at the way Hitler and Churchill estimated each other as leaders, and how it affected the outcome of the war. In a world that is as dependent on leadership as any earlier age, HITLER AND CHURCHILL asks searching questions about our need to be led. In doing so, Andrew Roberts forces us to re-examine the way that we look at those who take decisions for us.

“Gripping. . . . splendid history. A brilliantly clear and accessible account of the war in all its theaters. Roberts’s prose is unerringly precise and strikingly vivid. It is hard to imagine a better-told military history of World War II.” –New York Times Book Review Andrew Roberts''s acclaimed new history has been hailed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. From the western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he tells the story of the war—the grand strategy and the individual experience, the brutality and the heroism—as never before. Meticulously researched and masterfully written, The Storm of War illuminates the war''s principal actors, revealing how their decisions shaped the course of the conflict. Along the way, Roberts presents tales of the many lesser-known individuals whose experiences form a panoply of the courage and self-sacrifice, as well as the depravity and cruelty, of the Second World War.

''A Napoleonic triumph of a book, irresistibly galloping with the momentum of a cavalry charge'' Simon Sebag Montefiore ''Simply dynamite'' Bernard Cornwell From Andrew Roberts, author of the bestsellers The Storm of War and Churchill: Walking with Destiny, this is the definitive modern biography of Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just twenty years, from October 1795 when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d''état he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the Revolution had descended. In a series of dazzling battles he reinvented the art of warfare; in peace, he completely remade the laws of France, modernised her systems of education and administration, and presided over a flourishing of the beautiful ''Empire style'' in the arts. The impossibility of defeating his most persistent enemy, Great Britain, led him to make draining and ultimately fatal expeditions into Spain and Russia, where half a million Frenchmen died and his Empire began to unravel. More than any other modern biographer, Andrew Roberts conveys Napoleon''s tremendous energy, both physical and intellectual, and the attractiveness of his personality, even to his enemies. He has walked 53 of Napoleon''s 60 battlefields, and has absorbed the gigantic new French edition of Napoleon''s letters, which allows a complete re-evaluation of this exceptional man. He overturns many received opinions, including the myth of a great romance with Josephine: she took a lover immediately after their marriage, and, as Roberts shows, he had three times as many mistresses as he acknowledged. Of the climactic Battle of Leipzig in 1813, as the fighting closed around them, a French sergeant-major wrote, ''No-one who has not experienced it can have any idea of the enthusiasm that burst forth among the half-starved, exhausted soldiers when the Emperor was there in person. If all were demoralised and he appeared, his presence was like an electric shock. All shouted "Vive l''Empereur!" and everyone charged blindly into the fire.'' The reader of this biography will understand why this was so.

Explores the relationship between the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington prior to and in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, the most decisive battle of the nineteenth century.

A dual biography of Napoleon and Wellington, the greatest opposing generals of their age who became fixated with each other and shaped the destinies of their nations. It explores the constantly changing relationship between them, offering a study in pride, rivalry, propaganda and revenge.

Each of these lavishly illustrated books serves up a brief and manageable portion of the Fraser-edited and much-touted Lives of the Kings and Queens of England. A set of six jewels for Fraser''s crown.

A controversial account of the Churchill years by a bestselling historian. ''The best sort of history - revealing, gossipy and acidulous'' OBSERVER This highly praised book by the Wolfson History Prize-winning author of SALISBURY tackles six aspects of Churchilliana and uncovers a plethora of disturbing facts about wartime and post-war Britain. His revelations include: - The case for the impeachment of Lord Mountbatten - The Nazi sympathies of Sir Arthur Bryant, hitherto considered a ''patriotic historian'' - The British establishment''s doubt about Churchill''s role after Dunkirk - The appeasement of the trade unions in Churchill''s Indian summer - The inside story of black immigration in the early 1950s - The anti-Churchill stance adopted by the Royal Family in 1940

New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestseller Aspects of History, The Critic, Octavian, and Modern War Institute Book of the Year. Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world. In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, who commanded the US-led coalitions in both Iraq, during the Surge, and Afghanistan and former CIA director, and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts, explore over 70 years of conflict, drawing significant lessons and insights from their fresh analysis of the past. Drawing on their different perspectives and areas of expertise, Petraeus and Roberts show how often critical mistakes have been repeated time and again, and the challenge, for statesmen and generals alike, of learning to adapt to various new weapon systems, theories and strategies. Among the conflicts examined are the Arab-Israeli wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the two Gulf Wars, the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia, and both the Soviet and Coalition wars in Afghanistan, as well as guerilla conflicts in Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing look at Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine, yet another case study in the tragic results when leaders refuse to learn from history, and an assessment of the nature of future warfare. Filled with sharp insight and the wisdom of experience, Conflict is not only a critical assessment of our recent past, but also an essential primer of modern warfare that provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well as for understanding what the decades ahead will bring.

Prize-winning British historian tells the story of the English-speaking peoples in the 20th century Winston Churchill''s History of the English-Speaking Peoples ended in 1900. Andrew Roberts, Wolfson History prizewinner has been inspired by Churchill''s example to write the story of the 20th century. Churchill wrote: ''Every nation or group of nations has its own tale to tell. Knowledge of the trials and struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, and opportunities which confront us today ''It is in the hope that contemplation of the trials and tribulations of our forefathers may not only fortify the English-speaking peoples of today, but also play some small part in uniting the whole world, that I present this account.'' As the greatest of all the trials and tribulations of the English-speaking peoples took place in the twentieth century, Roberts'' book covers the four world-historical struggles in which the English-speaking peoples have been engaged - the wars against German Nationalism, Axis Fascism, Soviet Communism and now the War against Terror. But just as Churchill did in his four volumes, Roberts also deals with the cultural, social and political history of the English global diaspora.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill and Napoleon The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating--and will completely change the way readers and historians view his reign and legacy. Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon--a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff''s preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda''s Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of eighteenth-century revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, who needed to make the king appear evil in order to achieve their own political aims. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth: George III was in fact a wise, humane, and even enlightened monarch who was beset by talented enemies, debilitating mental illness, incompetent ministers, and disastrous luck. In The Last King of America, Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten. Two hundred and forty-five years after the end of George III''s American rule, it is time for Americans to look back on their last king with greater understanding: to see him as he was and to come to terms with the last time they were ruled by a monarch.

How far did personality affect the grand strategy of the Second World War? Award-winning historian Andrew Roberts lays bare the four political masters and military commanders of the Western Allies - Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, General George C. Marshall and Lord Alanbrooke - between Pearl Harbour and VE-Day, coming to a number of startling conclusions. Employing verbatim accounts of Churchill''s War Cabinet meetings never before reporduced in book form, as well as using the private papers of sixty-seven contemporaries of the four men, the inside story is told of the great war wartime conferences, explaining why and how the Allies attacked when and where they did. The two masters (Churchill and Roosevelt) and two commanders (Marshall and Alanbrooke) were strong-willed and tough-minded and each was certain that he knew best how to win the war. Yet in order to get their strategies adopted, each needed to persuade at least two of the other three, and certainly not be so outmanouvered that he ever found himself in a minority of one. Roberts reveals the dynamic behind the collective decisions upon which the lives of millions ultimately depended.

The Times Book of the Year *Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, 2022* *Winner of the General Society of Colonial Wars'' Distinguished Book Award, 2021* *Winner of the History Reclaimed Book of the Year, 2022* *Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize, 2021* Andrew Roberts, one of Britain''s premier historians, overturns the received wisdom on George III George III, Britain''s longest-reigning king, has gone down in history as ''the cruellest tyrant of this age'' (Thomas Paine, eighteenth century), ''a sovereign who inflicted more profound and enduring injuries upon this country than any other modern English king'' (W.E.H. Lecky, nineteenth century), ''one of England''s most disastrous kings'' (J.H. Plumb, twentieth century) and as the pompous monarch of the musical Hamilton (twenty-first century). Andrew Roberts''s magnificent new biography takes entirely the opposite view. It portrays George as intelligent, benevolent, scrupulously devoted to the constitution of his country and (as head of government as well as head of state) navigating the turbulence of eighteenth-century politics with a strong sense of honour and duty. He was a devoted husband and family man, a great patron of the arts and sciences, keen to advance Britain''s agricultural capacity (''Farmer George'') and determined that her horizons should be global. He could be stubborn and self-righteous, but he was also brave, brushing aside numerous assassination attempts, galvanising his ministers and generals at moments of crisis and stoical in the face of his descent - five times during his life - into a horrifying loss of mind. The book gives a detailed, revisionist account of the American Revolutionary War, persuasively taking apart a significant proportion of the Declaration of Independence, which Roberts shows to be largely Jeffersonian propaganda. In a later war, he describes how George''s support for William Pitt was crucial in the battle against Napoleon. And he makes a convincing, modern diagnosis of George''s terrible malady, very different to the widely accepted medical view and to popular portrayals. Roberts writes, ''the people who knew George III best loved him the most'', and that far from being a tyrant or incompetent, George III was one of our most admirable monarchs. The diarist Fanny Burney, who spent four years at his court and saw him often, wrote ''A noble sovereign this is, and when justice is done to him, he will be as such acknowledged''. In presenting this fresh view of Britain''s most misunderstood monarch, George III shows one of Britain''s premier historians at his sparkling best.

A comparison of nine leaders who led their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and whose unique strengths—and weaknesses—shaped the course of human history, from the bestselling, award-winning author of Churchill, Napoleon, and The Last King of America “Has the enjoyable feel of a lively dinner table conversation with an opinionated guest.” —The New York Times Book Review Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War, Andrew Roberts presents a bracingly honest and deeply insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Margaret Thatcher. Each of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war in which their nation was embroiled. Is war leadership unique, or did these leaders have something in common, traits and techniques that transcend time and place and can be applied to the essential nature of conflict? Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Leadership in War presents readers with fresh, complex portraits of leaders who approached war with different tactics and weapons, but with the common goal of success in the face of battle. Both inspiring and cautionary, these portraits offer important lessons on leadership in times of struggle, unease, and discord. With his trademark verve and incisive observation, Roberts reveals the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, as well as the traits that lead to victory.

Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax, was a church-going, fox-hunting aristocrat, but it was his political guile that earned him Churchill''s nickname ''The Holy Fox''. As Viceroy of India, his deal with Gandhi ended the Civil Disobedience campaign before it could force the British to quit. His meeting with Hitler in 1937 was a milestone in appeasement, yet just days before Munich, Halifax repudiated the policy and demanded ''the destruction of Nazism''. By May 1940, it was he, not Winston Churchill, who was the choice for Britain''s war leader. Andrew Roberts has drawn on remarkable private documents to present Lord Halifax as an enigmatic, influential and much-maligned politician.

Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, masterminded the campaigns, alliances, treaties and pageantries which brought the British Empire to its zenith in terms of power and prestige. Prime Minister for all but four years between 1885 and 1902, it was he who, from his Jacobean palace at Hatfield, co-ordinated the subtly interlocking policies over five continents and a quarter of the globe. A profoundly unconventional aristocrat, Lord Salisbury was witty, ironic and intellectually brilliant, but there was also a ruthless, acerbic and depressive side to his nature. In the course of a turbulent fifty-year career he won over opponents such as Disraeli and Queen Victoria, destroyed others such as Lord Randolph Churchill and Paul Kruger, brought Joseph Chamberlain and King Edward VII to heel, wrecked Gladstone''s hopes for Irish Home Rule, offered secret deals to Charles Stewart Parnell and Tsar Nicholas II, saw off Otto von Bismarck and saw through Kaiser Wilhelm II. In this comprehensive new biography, written with complete access to Salisbury''s papers at Hatfield House, Andrew Roberts explores every aspect of Lord Salisbury''s phenomenal statesmanship, but also his eccentric family, his journalism, his distinctive philosophy of Toryism, his passion for scientific experiments and above all, his extraordinary, complex, but ultimately hugely attractive character.

This book rethinks the idea of privacy. It argues that a satisfactory account of privacy should not limit itself to identifying why privacy might be valuable. It also needs to attend to the further question of how it can be secured in those circumstances in which it proves to be valuable. Drawing on republican ideas about the relationship between freedom and self-government, the book asserts that privacy is valuable, because it enables us to lead non-dominated lives. It prevents others from acquiring power to interfere in our choices – to remove options that would otherwise be available to us, and to manipulate our decision-making. It further examines the means through which citizens might exercise effective control over decisions and actions that affect their privacy and proposes a democratic theory of privacy. With the emergence of the ‘surveillance state,’ this volume will be indispensable for scholars, students, and researchers in political theory, political philosophy, law, and human and civil rights. It will be of particular interest to policymakers, lawyers, and human rights activists.

Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax, was a church-going, fox-hunting aristocrat, but it was his political guile that earned him Churchill''s nickname ''The Holy Fox''.As Viceroy of India, his deal with Gandhi ended the Civil Disobedience campaign before it could force the British to quit. His meeting with Hitler in 1937 was a milestone in appeasement, yet just days before Munich, Halifax repudiated the policy and demanded ''the destruction of Nazism''. By May 1940, it was he, not Winston Churchill, who was the choice for Britain''s war leader. Andrew Roberts has drawn on remarkable private documents to present Lord Halifax as an enigmatic, influential and much-maligned politician.

Helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals, whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges.

June 18, 1815, was one of the most momentous days in world history, marking the end of twenty-two years of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. On the bloody battlefield of Waterloo, the Emperor Napoleon and his hastily formed legions clashed with the Anglo-Allied armies led by the Duke of Wellington -- the only time the two greatest military strategists of their age faced each other in combat. With precision and elegance, Andrew Roberts sets the political, strategic, and historical scene, providing a breathtaking account of each successive stage of the battle while also examining new evidence that reveals exactly how Napoleon was defeated. Illuminating, authoritative, and engrossing, Waterloo is a masterful work of history.

This book presents a positive assessment of democratic quality as it has developed in ten postcommunist countries.

Roberts'' book follows in the tradition of recent scholarship that seeks to emphasize the importance of popular culture and the wealth of knowledge that can be gained through an analysis of the daily lives and practices of individuals. Focusing on popular songs, movie stars, famous athletes, traditional dishes, and children''s games that are second nature to every Czech, Roberts'' work serves as an introduction to Czech popular culture. This dictionary is a sizeable achievement as it offers an English readership an invaluable source of information to a rich body of material that has thus far remained ephemeral. The six hundred entries are cross-referenced and allow readers to pursue particular topics in greater depth. Written in a readable style this work is easily accessible to a wide readership.

Dr. Max puts an ad out for a secretary and has his prayers answered almost immediately. Gigolo Gizmo, Xedo, and Socko play dice in an alley. Gizmo meets up with Brandi Capri, and Mandi Starr. Rob catches up with, and confronts Jerome Adonis

Part of the ‘Making History Series’ – ‘Waterloo’ is an exciting retelling of one of the moments that shook the world – Waterloo, one of the truly decisive battles of history.

On 1 July 1916, after a five-day bombardment, 11 British and 5 French divisions launched their long-awaited ''Big Push'' on German positions on high ground above the Rivers Ancre and Somme on the Western Front. Some ground was gained, but at a terrible cost. In killing-grounds whose names are indelibly imprinted on 20th-century memory, German machine-guns – manned by troops who had sat out the storm of shellfire in deep dugouts – inflicted terrible losses on the British infantry. The British Fourth Army lost 57,470 casualties, the French Sixth Army suffered 1,590 casualties and the German 2nd Army 10,000. And this was but the prelude to 141 days of slaughter that would witness the deaths of between 750,000 and 1 million troops. Andrew Roberts evokes the pity and the horror of the blackest day in the history of the British army – a summer''s day-turned-hell-on-earth by modern military technology – in the words of casualties, survivors, and the bereaved.

4 gang of teens spread throughout the State, not known to each other, consist of a Drug Dealing Gang, A CarJacking Gang, a Partying Gang of teens, and a Gang of Caucasian teens that smoke angel dust, drink beer and tear up Cemetaries. 85% of each of these gangs get caught at committing crimes they commit, including the leaders of each of these gangs. They all find themselves in Court facing justified or unwarranted sentences. But instead of sentencing them to jail, their lawyers, the prosecutors and the Judges agree to an alternative sentence and stipulates them to participate in a 18 month program called "The Road Back". They all have to follow strict rules and regulations. They all have to maintain, schooling, employment and submit to random drug testing. But through it all, they maintain their agreement and continue on struggling to succeed in a world designed against them.

An Islamo-facist terrorist with shifty eyes who ends up being nothing more than a red herring. A CNN anchorwoman who is too attractive to have gotten her job based solely on her questionable credentials. A wizened and respected CNN anchorman whose famous beard could be its own situation room topic. A nuclear physicist with precognitive abilities and fondness for being killed by buses in the first act. A black man/rap mogul who goes against type and actually lives to the end of the movie. A flatfooted rookie cop who kills a lot of people before all is said and done. A liberal congressman who never met a regulation he didn''t like. An aging movie star desperate for attention. Two British Lords ripped from their own time and get a lesson in modern racial etiquette and fighting techniques. A teenage girl on a journey of self-discovery and other-discovery. Two sarcastic Gen Xers who die and nobody cares that they die. A spaced-out feminist folk singer with hairy armpits and terribly broad definitions of rape. A nameless couple who fights all the time and use their kids as emotional weapons against each other. Two Mafia musclemen who try their hardest to not bolster stereotypes about their culture. What do these people have in common? In the real world; absolutely nothing. In my fantasy world I''ve thought up so I can escape the harsh and overbearing realities of life? Everything. They come together (except for the fighting couple; they''re just filler material and give me some space to backhandedly complain about the bad parents of the world I see) and stop a diabolical villain from blowing up New York City.

Gigolo Gizmo and Dr. max, along with Xedo and Socko go to visit the memorial for Mama and Daddio. Gizmo wanders, reflects, and comes to terms with the way things are. Max tries to go to the office. Chocolate Drop shuts down the club. Rob goes A.W.O.L. trying to impress Sebastian.