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BBC History Magazine

Nov 01 2022
Magazine

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

Hot fuss about the seventies • As older Britons recalled the heatwaves of the 1970s, many questioned whether that decade was better than the present. ANNA WHITELOCK reviews the diverse perspectives on Twitter

HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THOMAS MANN AND THE THREAT OF UNREASON

ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place in November in history

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI explores lesser-known stories from our past

Cold War hero or failed idealist? • Respected in the west but often condemned in his former homeland, Mikhail Gorbachev is a divisive figure. Following his death in August, we asked three experts to offer their takes on the life and global legacy of the Soviet Union’s final leader

LETTERS

BBC History Magazine

A typical medieval peasant? There’s no such thing • If modern film and TV depictions are anything to go by, ordinary people in the Middle Ages either enjoyed lives of rural bliss or unrelenting drudgery. Yet, writes Duncan Hardy, the truth is far more complex (and fascinating) than that

“The reality of Colditz is much more interesting than the black-and-white moral fable” • For his new book, bestselling author Ben Macintyre has set his sights on the most infamous PoW camp of the Second World War. He reveals how the legendary escape attempts are only part of a complex, darker history

James Arthur Harley A fiery priest and polymath • PAMELA ROBERTS charts the career of a brilliant Antiguan-born scholar who — whether he was blazing a trail at Oxford University, crossing swords with clergymen in Kent, or winning a debating prize at a top American college — rarely failed to ruffle establishment feathers

Why we need to get our facts straight • It’s impossible to attain the full truth of what occurred in the past. But, as history continues to be twisted for political gain, it’s critically important that we try

How Herodotus constructed a lie • Why a fictional account of the building of Egypt’s “Great Pyramid” has thrived for 2,500 years

WHAT DOOMED THE MARY ROSE? • Did French guns, bad weather or human error sink Henry VIII’s favourite warship in 1545? Forty years after the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed, Emily Briffett weighs up the evidence

Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

DID YOU KNOW…?

THE BITTER END • The final months of the Second World War witnessed the slow strangulation of the Third Reich, as Hitler’s increasing detachment from reality condemned millions of his compatriots to death. Richard J Evans charts the bloody collapse of Nazi Germany

In the eye of the storm • The past two decades have seen the BBC rocked by a series of scandals that raised questions about its culture and practices – and tested its relationship with politicians and the public alike. DAVID HENDY charts the revelations and their aftermath

“Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926 was the central injustice of her life” • LUCY WORSLEY speaks to Rhiannon Davies...


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OverDrive Magazine

Languages

English

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

Hot fuss about the seventies • As older Britons recalled the heatwaves of the 1970s, many questioned whether that decade was better than the present. ANNA WHITELOCK reviews the diverse perspectives on Twitter

HISTORY IN THE NEWS • A selection of the stories hitting the history headlines

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • THOMAS MANN AND THE THREAT OF UNREASON

ANNIVERSARIES • HELEN CARR highlights events that took place in November in history

HIDDEN HISTORIES • KAVITA PURI explores lesser-known stories from our past

Cold War hero or failed idealist? • Respected in the west but often condemned in his former homeland, Mikhail Gorbachev is a divisive figure. Following his death in August, we asked three experts to offer their takes on the life and global legacy of the Soviet Union’s final leader

LETTERS

BBC History Magazine

A typical medieval peasant? There’s no such thing • If modern film and TV depictions are anything to go by, ordinary people in the Middle Ages either enjoyed lives of rural bliss or unrelenting drudgery. Yet, writes Duncan Hardy, the truth is far more complex (and fascinating) than that

“The reality of Colditz is much more interesting than the black-and-white moral fable” • For his new book, bestselling author Ben Macintyre has set his sights on the most infamous PoW camp of the Second World War. He reveals how the legendary escape attempts are only part of a complex, darker history

James Arthur Harley A fiery priest and polymath • PAMELA ROBERTS charts the career of a brilliant Antiguan-born scholar who — whether he was blazing a trail at Oxford University, crossing swords with clergymen in Kent, or winning a debating prize at a top American college — rarely failed to ruffle establishment feathers

Why we need to get our facts straight • It’s impossible to attain the full truth of what occurred in the past. But, as history continues to be twisted for political gain, it’s critically important that we try

How Herodotus constructed a lie • Why a fictional account of the building of Egypt’s “Great Pyramid” has thrived for 2,500 years

WHAT DOOMED THE MARY ROSE? • Did French guns, bad weather or human error sink Henry VIII’s favourite warship in 1545? Forty years after the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed, Emily Briffett weighs up the evidence

Q&A • A selection of historical conundrums answered by experts

DID YOU KNOW…?

THE BITTER END • The final months of the Second World War witnessed the slow strangulation of the Third Reich, as Hitler’s increasing detachment from reality condemned millions of his compatriots to death. Richard J Evans charts the bloody collapse of Nazi Germany

In the eye of the storm • The past two decades have seen the BBC rocked by a series of scandals that raised questions about its culture and practices – and tested its relationship with politicians and the public alike. DAVID HENDY charts the revelations and their aftermath

“Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926 was the central injustice of her life” • LUCY WORSLEY speaks to Rhiannon Davies...


Expand title description text