History Book Club

By Oliver Webb-CarterNews Arts Books Politics History

History Book Club episodes

April 25, 2025 Monuments to War with Tessa Dunlop
On 8 June 1982 the Sir Galahad troop ship was about to offload the Welsh Guards at Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands. As the guardsmen were waiting, an Argentine Skyhawk attacked and the Galahad was hit. 48 men were killed, and 97 wounded, among them Simon Weston. Weston, a proud Welshman, suffered horrific burns and endured 96 operations and surgical procedures. He is one of many interviewees in a new book on monuments in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and of course, Wales, in addition to the one you heard at the top.
Joining today is Tessa Dunlop – author of Lest We Forget, War and Peace in 100 Monuments which is just out. Links are in the show notes as we chat those monuments in each country of the United Kingdom.
Tessa Dunlop Links
Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments
Alfred the Great - The Telegraph (£)
Aspects of History Links
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52 min
April 22, 2025 Film Club: Downfall (2004)
This month’s movie is Downfall, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Bruno Ganz, the depiction of the last days of Adolf Hitler as we reach the 80th anniversary. Roger Moorhouse, historian of Nazi Germany joins, along with Director Tim Hewitt.
Links
Downfall on Wikipedia
Downfall on IMDB
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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1 hr 27 min
April 18, 2025 The Siege of Leningrad with Sinclair McKay
In August 1941 Army Group North of the Wehrmacht approached the suburbs of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called. Within days the city was surrounded, and would remain so for nearly two and a half years. The suffering endured by its residents was horrifying and included widespread cannibalism. But this is a city of art, architecture, literature, music and dance, the home of Alexander Pushkin and a place of revolution.
Joining to discuss St. Petersburg is author Sinclair McKay, author of a new book as we discuss the window to the west through the prism of the siege.
Sinclair McKay Links
Saint Petersburg: Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler
Aspects of History Links
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47 min
April 15, 2025 WW2 Titans: Churchill, Brooke & Ismay, with John Kiszely & Gordon Corrigan
On 25th December 1941, General Alan Brooke (or Alanbrooke) was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the commanding officer of the British Army during the Second World War. His new boss, Winston Spencer Churchill was a hard taskmaster with high standards who had no problem with sacking generals. But, he had a helping hand in the form of General Pug Ismay, soldier, statesman and diplomat.
Joining today are two historians, John Kiszely, the author of a biography of Ismay, and Gordon Corrigan, author of a book on Churchill. Today we discuss the dynamics between the three men and other generals such as Montgomery, Wavell and Auchinleck.
John Kiszely Links
Ismay: Soldier, Statesman, Diplomat, by John Kiszely
Gordon Corrigan Links
Blood, Sweat and Arrogance: The Myths of Churchill's War
Aspects of History Links
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53 min
April 11, 2025 WW2 Family History and the 1980s with Helen Lederer
Today’s guest is Helen Lederer, actress, comedian, writer and the author of Not That I’m Bitter, her life’s memoir which includes the 1980s comedy scene, and her family story during the Second World War which we’re going to talk about today.
Helen Lederer Links
Not That I’m Bitter
My IWM: Helen Lederer - Aspects of History
Aspects of History Links
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44 min
April 04, 2025 The Greek Revolution with Yanni Kotsonis
On 17 March 1821 the Greek Revolution began in the small town of Areopoli, part of the Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese. An uprising against the Ottoman Empire was soon joined by many communities throughout the Peloponnese and Greece. Now, many Greeks that would disagree with where it began, but the more important question is why?
Joining today is historian Yanni Kotsonis, author of The Greek Revolution and the Violent Birth of Nationalism as we discuss the revolution, what it meant for Greeks, for those in wider Europe, what happened during ten years of violence and how the Revolution is viewed in Greece today.
Yanni Kotsonis Links
The Greek Revolution and the Violent Birth of Nationalism
Aspects of History Links
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55 min
April 01, 2025 Film Club: Cross of Iron (1977)
Welcome to Aspects of History’s film club. Every month we pick a historical film and chat about it with myself, filmmaker Tim Hewitt and historian Roger Moorhouse. This month it’s Cross of Iron starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. We chat about the movie then it’s our awards including the much coveted Simon Baker award for best performance.
Links
Cross of Iron on Wikipedia
Cross of Iron on IMDB
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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1 hr 4 min
March 29, 2025 Women's History with Miranda Malins & Sarah Gristwood
During March we’ve had Women’s History Month, and in that vein I invited two Aspects of History authors on to discuss. Sarah Gristwood is a historian and the editor of the recent Secret Voices, and Miranda Malins is a novelist and historian, and is currently writing a non fiction book on the Cromwell dynasty. We discuss whether we need Women’s History months and the challenges facing women in history, and women writing history.
Aspects of History has produced an anthology of female writing, Herstory, which is available in the show notes, and throughout March our Substack has featured many women historians and fiction writers.
Women's History Links
Herstory - Aspects of History Anthology featuring authors including Antonia Fraser and Lucy Worsley
Aspects of History's Substack
Secret Voices, A Year of Women’s Diaries, Edited by Sarah Gristwood
The Puritan Princess & The Rebel Daughter, by Miranda Malins
Aspects of History Links
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39 min
March 26, 2025 Hadrian's Wall with Alistair Tosh
In around 108AD, the Legio IX Hispania, or the Ninth Legion, a unit of just over 5,000 men, was last recorded at York in Britannia, and possibly heading north towards Caledonia, modern day Scotland. What happened next no one knows for sure, and the Ninth disappeared from historical record. The loss would have been a stunning humiliation for the Rome, but what would be the response of Hadrian, the emperor who took power a few years later in 117AD?
Within a few years a new wall dividing Britannia from the wild Novantae and Selgovae tribes would be constructed, a wall that still stands today and is named after the emperor under which it was built. Joining the pod today is writer Alistair Tosh, author of Edge of Empire: Siege, and we chat Hadrian’s Wall in this bonus pod.
Episode Links
Edge of Empire: Siege, by Alistair Tosh
Aspects of History Links
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41 min
March 22, 2025 Operation Varsity with Saul David
On the morning of 24th March 1945 the British and Canadian 6th Airborne Division and the American 17th Airborne Division began parachuting into German held territory on the eastern side of the River Rhine. So began the largest single lift airborne operation of all time as nearly 17,000 men were dropped, using nearly two thousand transport planes and defended by around 3,000 fighters.
Varsity was the last major operation of the war as the allies successfully made it onto German held territory and the route to Berlin was clear, though they were behind the Soviets in that race.
Joining to discuss is Saul David, bestselling military historian and author of Sky Warriors, his account of the British airborne troops during the Second World War.
Saul David Links
Sky Warriors
Saul on X
Aspects of History Links
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43 min

About History Book Club

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to the History Book Club - the club for all lovers of history, presented by writer and historian Oliver Webb-Carter. Oliver interviews authors of the best historical writing, to draw out the stories that you'll be interested in.