Philip Ziegler Books

"Hollywood superstar; Oscar-winning director; greatest stage actor of the twentieth century. The era abounded in great actors - Gielgud, Richardson, Guinness, Burton, O'Toole - but none could challenge Laurence Olivier's range and power. By the 1940s he had achieved international stardom. His affair with Vivien Leigh led to a marriage as glamorous and as tragic as any in Hollywood history. He was as accomplished a director as he was a leading man: his three Shakespearian adaptations are among the most memorable ever filmed. And yet, at the height of his fame, he accepted what was no more than an administrator's wage to become the founding Director of the National Theatre. In 2013 the theatre celebrates its fiftieth anniversary; without Olivier's leadership it would never have achieved the status that it enjoys today. Off-stage, Olivier was the most extravagant of characters: generous, yet almost insanely jealous of those few contemporaries whom he deemed to be his rivals; charming but with a ferocious temper. With access to more than fifty hours of candid, unpublished interviews, Philip Ziegler ensures that Olivier's true character - at its most undisguised - shines through as never before."--Publisher's description

Providing a social history of London's experiences of war from 1939 to 1945, this book describes the Phoney War, the blackouts, the first evacuations and the horrors of the Blitz, followed in the last days of the war by the terror of the doodlebugs. Through it all, a spirit of defiance united all sections of London society, and the book, based on published sources as well as interviews, letters and diaries, presents a record of a population under siege.

Written by Philip Ziegler, one of Britain's most celebrated biographers, George VI is part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format If Ethelred was notoriously 'Unready' and Alfred 'Great', King George VI should bear the title of 'George the Dutiful'. Throughout his life, George dedicated himself to the pursuit of what he thought he ought to be doing rather than what he wanted to do. Inarticulate and loathing any sort of public appearances, he accepted that it was his destiny to figure conspicuously in the public eye, gritted his teeth, battled his crippling stammer and got on with it. He was not born to be king, but he made an admirable one, and was the figurehead of the nation at the time of its greatest trial, the Second World War. This is a brilliant, touching and sometimes funny book about this reluctant public figure, and the private man. Philip Ziegler is the author of the authorised biographies of Mountbatten, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. His other books include The Duchess of Dino, William IV, The Black Death and most recently Olivier. Initially a diplomat, he worked for many years in book publishing before becoming a full-time writer.

From the origins of the Earth to the outcome of the First World War, this work presents an account of the evolution of life and the development of the human race. It considers such subjects as the Neolithic era, the rise of Judaism, the Golden Age of Athens, the life of Christ, the rise of Islam, and the discovery of America.

A series of natural disasters in the Orient during the fourteenth century caused the most devastating period of death and destruction in European history. One third of the people in Europe were killed over a period of just three years, and there was social and economic upheaval on an unparalleled scale. Philip Ziegler's acclaimed overview of this critical event synthesises the records of contemporary chroniclers and the work of later historians in a masterly volume. His accessible and readable style is complemented with contemporary illustrations to present the full horror and destruction wreaked by this disease and its contribution to the disintegration of an age.

The author has had access to all the papers in the Royal archives for this biography. Crucial letters to and from Queen Mary, and Edward's brother, George VI, plus diaries and letters of others in the household are quoted for the first time. Ziegler has also written the biography, "Mountbatten".

A revised edition of a compelling photographic history of Queen Elizabeth II's life and reign This book is a photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, from her first official photograph as a baby in 1926 to her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Each of the book's chapters begins with a text by bestselling historian and biographer Philip Ziegler, covering the key royal and historical events of the period, with some contextual photographs, followed by a sequence of plates in chronological order. With over 200 images of the Queen by internationally distinguished photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Lord Snowdon and Rankin, the Queen is captured in a variety of poses, from formal photographs as a working monarch, to intimate portraits relaxing with her family at Balmoral and Windsor. All the images have been officially approved by the Palace, making this the only illustrated book that anyone will ever need on Queen Elizabeth II.