Dear Village
History's Strangest Deaths
$29.99
History's Strangest DeathsTrue stories of extraordinary deaths throughout history to the modern day from the host of the popular Half-Arsed History podcast.
Dear Village
East Of 121: Five Minute Histories From Esperance
$39.00
East of 121: Five Minute Histories from EsperanceThe history of Esperance is filled with enthralling stories: shipwrecks, murders, feats of endurance and determination, gold and wealth, plagues and droughts, and even a bloodthirsty sealer who might have been a pirate. These stories, and many more, fill the pages of East of 121: Five Minute Histories from Esperance.Before the first Europeans set foot on these shores, the Wudjari Nyungar people named this bay ‘Kepa Kurl’, the place where the waters lie like a boomerang. In 1792, a visiting French admiral named the same bay ‘Esperance’ after one of the two ships in his expedition. In 1863, the Western Australian colonial government began offering land leases in the ‘East District’, east of longitude 121°, drawing the first hopeful pastoralists to the region. This book traces the history of Esperance and the surrounding region from these early days through to today.The stories in this book originally appeared as ‘Five Minute History’ articles in the beloved Esperance Tide magazine. Now revised and expanded, they comprise a wide-ranging history of Esperance, complete with photographs, maps, background information, and more.
Dear Village
Under The Wire
$39.99
Under The Wire The Spitfire pilot, PoW, escape artist and 'Cooler King', William Ash tells his own extraordinary story in this bestselling account of his wartime exploits - also recalled in a new biography - The Cooler King - by Patrick Bishop.Determined to take on the Nazis, Texan Bill Ash joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1939 and in so doing sacrificed his citizenship. Before long, he was sent to England where he flew Spitfires. Shot down over France in March 1942, he survived the crash-landing and, thanks to local civilians, evaded capture for months only to be betrayed to the Gestapo in Paris. Tortured and sentenced to death as a spy, he was saved from the firing squad by the Luftwaffe who sent him to the infamous 'Great Escape' POW camp, Stalag Luft III. It was from there that Bill began his 'tour' of Occupied Europe. Breaking out of a succession of camps, he became one of only a handful of serial escape artists to attempt more than a dozen break-outs - over the wire, under it in tunnels, through it with cutters or simply strolling out of the camp gates in disguise! They were years of extraordinary hardship, frustration and brutality - the penalty for escaping was a long spell in solitary - but throughout it all Bill Ash displayed not just remarkable courage but also an anarchic sense of humour, great humanity and an unstoppable desire for freedom.Honest, funny and exciting, Under the Wire is both a riveting war memoir and a tribute to the bravery and resolve of an entire generation.
Dear Village
The Rise Of The Railway
$65.00
The Rise Of The Railway A first-class journey through the history of railwaysFrom the first steam trains to the high-speed bullet trains of today, Rise of the Railway tells the hidden stories of railway history - the inspired engineering, technical ingenuity, and sheer determination that forged the world's railways.Award-winning writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar reveals how the railways were built not just on bold vision and technical expertise, but also on wild gambles and trial and error - and how the new era of trains brought about sweeping changes in the lives of people around the world.This book details the lives and work of railway pioneers such as George Stephenson and John Stevens, and it explores and maps famous railways such as the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Orient Express. Key technological innovations are explained with in-depth illustrations, while stunning photographs and paintings bring railway history to life on the page. Gripping eyewitness accounts describe the railways of the past through the eyes of people who were there.Packed with colourful stories, technical insights, and beautiful images, Rise of the Railway is the ultimate ride along the rails of history.
Dear Village
Decoding The Hand
$57.95
Decoding the Hand by Alison Bashford is a richly researched work of popular history that traces how palmistry helped shape modern biometrics, medicine and ideas of identity. If you love books where science meets the strange, this one is a delight: curious, thoughtful, and full of surprising connections. Bashford follows the hand through centuries of investigation and belief, from occult physicians influenced by the Kabbalah to Darwin, Newton and early fingerprint pioneers. Along the way, she introduces psychiatrists, primatologists and geneticists who studied palm lines and hand shapes, asking what our surfaces might reveal about character, health and the self. It’s not a defence of fortune-telling, but a clear-eyed look at why hand reading kept returning in serious scientific contexts. Perfect for readers of history of science, medical history, and anyone fascinated by palmistry, forensic science and genetics. Add it to your cart and see what stories our hands have been made to tell.
Dear Village
Miracle
$36.99
**Miracle by Dan Gordon** is a powerful work of Holocaust history that reads with the urgency of a true-life thriller, while staying grounded in the lived experience of those who endured Auschwitz. It tells the little-known story of a group of Hungarian Jewish teenagers who came terrifyingly close to death in a gas chamber—and survived. Set in October 1944, the book follows the boys taken from Block 11 to Crematorium 5 after their papers were stamped with the word for “died”. From that moment, Gordon traces how fifty-one boys were pulled back from the brink, and what it meant to carry on when so many others could not. Drawing on first-hand survivor testimonies shared publicly for the first time, *Miracle* weaves personal voices into a wider historical picture of Nazi persecution, friendship, resilience, and moral courage. Perfect for readers of WWII nonfiction, survivor memoir, and carefully researched Jewish history. Add it to your shelf and discover an astonishing, deeply human story.
Dear Village
The Eagle And The Hart
$32.99
*The Eagle and the Hart* by Helen Castor is gripping narrative history that reads with the drive of a novel, tracing a royal rivalry that helped tip medieval England into crisis. Castor follows Richard of Bordeaux (King Richard II) and his first cousin Henry Bolingbroke from their shared childhood at court to a dangerous adulthood shaped by pride, power and competing ideas of kingship. Born months apart and raised side by side, the two men grow into striking opposites: Richard, brilliant yet brittle, and Henry, a chivalric figure who draws allies with ease. As suspicion hardens into open conflict, Castor shows how personal tensions can fracture a nation—without losing sight of the politics, personalities and pressures of the age. Perfect for readers of British history, medieval history, royal biography and political power struggles, especially fans of character-led nonfiction. Add it to your cart and step into a turning point of England’s past.
Dear Village
The Cultural Tutor
$45.00
In **The Cultural Tutor** by **Sheehan Quirke**, the much-loved voice behind the hit social account turns his sharp eye into a beautifully browsable guide to culture—ideal for readers who want big ideas without the gatekeeping. Across forty-nine short lessons, Quirke moves from ancient Babylon to Brutalism, from mythology and philosophy to modern celebrity and sport, showing how art, architecture, history and poetry shape the way we see the world. Along the way, he poses irresistible questions (who the Mona Lisa really depicts, or why Greece and Rome still haunt our politics) and shares surprising stories that make “high culture” feel lively, human and close to home. Perfect for curious general readers, fans of accessible **non-fiction**, and anyone who enjoys **history**, **art** and **philosophy** in bite-sized chapters. Add it to your shelves and start noticing the everyday wonders you’ve been walking past.
Dear Village
Australian Prime Ministers
$49.99
The first 125 years of Australian nationhood has produced 31 Prime Ministers – a rich cast of characters diverse in personality, background, ability and achievement. From Edmund Barton to Anthony Albanese, they share (even the more unlikely of them) a common drive for power. Intelligence, imagination, nous, stamina, guts – this is what it takes to handle this unique job successfully – and, usually, a dash of luck. In practice, no leader can bring or sustain all those qualities and that gives a ring of sadness to many of the profiles that follow. More positively, each Prime Minister reflects in some significant way the Australia of the times; through their stories we read our history, and it has its share of heroes.
Dear Village
Yet She Lives
$34.99
Yet She Lives by Lisa Hannett draws you into a richly imagined work of speculative fiction from an award-winning Canadian–Australian writer known for her sharp intelligence and lyrical prose. With Hannett’s deep background in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, the stories carry a distinctive sense of myth, history and the uncanny — the kind of collection you’ll want to dip into and then keep thinking about. Across its pages, everyday lives tilt into strange new angles: moments of transformation, quiet hauntings, and fierce resilience. Hannett’s writing pays close attention to place, voice and what people will do to endure, making each piece feel both intimate and unsettling in the best way. Perfect for readers who love short stories, literary speculative fiction, mythology-inspired tales, and character-driven dark fantasy with emotional bite. Add Yet She Lives to your shelves and discover why Lisa Hannett’s work stays with you.
Dear Village
Henry V: The Astonishing Rise Of England's Greatest Warrior King
$24.99
In **Henry V: The Astonishing Rise Of England’s Greatest Warrior King**, **Dan Jones** crafts a vivid, deeply researched biography of the young prince who outlasted rebellion, injury and political peril to become the victor of Agincourt and one of medieval England’s most compelling rulers. Rather than rushing to the famous battles, Jones focuses on the first 26 years that forged Henry’s character: a hard-edged soldier with an unexpected streak of artistry and learning, shaped by court intrigue, fractured loyalties and the constant pressure of proving himself. It’s a rich portrait of power in the late Middle Ages, where personal judgement could change a dynasty’s fate—and where triumph carried consequences that echoed towards the Wars of the Roses. Perfect for readers who love **medieval history**, **royal biography**, the **Hundred Years’ War**, and anyone curious about the real king behind the legend. Add it to your shelf and step into a reign that still casts a long shadow.
Dear Village
Straya Day: From The Bestselling Author Of Rum And Gold, With 45 Trivia Quiz Questions To Test Your History
$36.99
Straya Day: From The Bestselling Author Of Rum And Gold, With 45 Trivia Quiz Questions To Test Your History The unofficial history of Australia's national day since the first contentious one, thereby offering 237 other reasons for a day off.Like it or not, 26 January in Australia has become a significant day of both celebration and mourning.Most countries, if not all, have a national day. Reasons to celebrate a national day include independence from a colonial power, the signing of a treaty, or an act by a monarch, political leader or patron saint. Australia is the only country whose national day celebrates the colonisation of an already occupied territory. Controversially, it continues to do so despite most of its citizens both acknowledging this and the devastating impact upon its original inhabitants.So what other reasons might we find to mark our national holiday? Well, as it happens, some very significant, funny, tragic, curious and plain old ordinary things have also occurred on that date.In the spirit of humour, history and humility, here are 237 other events that 26 January could instead be remembered for besides a British Governor raising a British flag on Australian soil.
Dear Village
The Finest Hotel In Kabul
$36.99
The Finest Hotel In KabulThe story of a hotel. The story of a nation.When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan's first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world.More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. History lives within its scarred windows and walls.Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, has been checking into the Inter-Continental since 1988. And here, she uses its story to craft a richly immersive history of modern Afghanistan.It is the story of Hazrat, the septuagenarian housekeeper who still holds fast to his Inter-Continental training from the hotel's 1970s glory days - an era of haute cuisine and high fashion, when Afghanistan was a kingdom and Kabul was the 'Paris of Asia'. It is the story of Abida, who became the first female chef to cook in the Inter-Con's famous kitchen after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. And it is the lives of Malalai and Sadeq, the twenty-something staff who seized every opportunity offered by two decades of fragile democracy - only to witness the Taliban roaring back in 2021.The result is a remarkably vivid history of how Afghans have survived a half century of destruction and disruption. It is the story of a hotel but also the story of a people.
Dear Village
Hitler's People
$32.99
Hitler's People: A biographical study of Hitler's inner circle offers a new way to understand the horrors of the Nazi regime.Why did so many Germans take part in the crimes of Nazi Germany? How did they come to support Hitler and follow him almost to the very end? For too long, the Nazis have been presented as little more than psychopaths or criminals. In his major new work, renowned historian Richard J. Evans makes use of a mass of recently unearthed new evidence to strip away the veneer of myth and legend from the faces of the Third Reich and present a more realistic view of Nazi perpetrators as human beings who were disturbingly like us.Evans offers rounded, fresh and often startling new portraits of the men and women who created and served Nazi Germany, beginning with Hitler himself and going on to encompass leading figures like G ring, Goebbels, and Himmler, enforcers of Hitler's orders such as Eichmann and Heydrich, propagandists like Leni Riefenstahl, low-level perpetrators such as the notorious Irma Grese, and unknown sympathizers and fellow-travelers who helped the regime in myriad ways.Hitler's People is a chilling, brilliantly written work that allows the reader to understand the texture and values of the Third Reich and just how far individuals will go when so many normal moral constraints have disappeared.
