Julian T. Jackson Book order

'A concise and distinguished book' Andrew Roberts.

A life of the greatest French statesman of modern times. In six weeks in the early summer of 1940, France was over-run by German troops and quickly surrendered. The French government of Marshal Pétain sued for peace and signed an armistice. One little-known junior French general, refusing to accept defeat, made his way to England. On 18 June he spoke to his compatriots over the BBC, urging them to rally to him in London. 'Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.' At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered into history. For the rest of the war, de Gaulle frequently bit the hand that fed him. He insisted on being treated as the true embodiment of France, and quarrelled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. He was prickly, stubborn, aloof and self-contained. But through sheer force of personality and bloody-mindedness he managed to have France recognised as one of the victorious Allies, occupying its own zone in defeated Germany. For ten years after 1958 he was President of France's Fifth Republic, which he created and which endures to this day. His pursuit of 'a certain idea of France' challenged American hegemony, took France out of NATO and twice vetoed British entry into the European Community. His controversial decolonization of Algeria brought France to the brink of civil war and provoked several assassination attempts. Julian Jackson's magnificent biography reveals this the life of this titanic figure as never before. It draws on a vast range of published and unpublished memoirs and documents - including the recently opened de Gaulle archives - to show how de Gaulle achieved so much during the War when his resources were so astonishingly few, and how, as President, he put a medium-rank power at the centre of world affairs. No previous biography has depicted his paradoxes so vividly. Much of French politics since his death has been about his legacy, and he remains by far the greatest French leader since Napoleon

Do we need religion to be good people? When Immanuel Kant tackled this question in 1793, he produced a book that remains a key text in the shaping of Western religious thought.

Published in 1776, when America was teetering on the brink of war with Britain, Common Sense galvanized the colonists and George Washington's army, influencing not only the course of the Revolutionary War, but also the resultant government.

Geoffrey Parker spent 15 years writing this ambitious history of the tumultuous 17th century, a period in the grip of what historians term the General Crisis (2013).

Hegel's most influential work introduces the idea that philosophical truths are inseparable from the history of philosophy and the histories and politics of the societies in which they arise.

Published in 1992, The End of History and the Last Man argues that capitalist democracy is the final destination for all societies. Fukuyama believed democracy triumphed during the Cold War because it lacks the fundamental contradictions inherent in communism and satisfies our yearning for freedom and equality.

When experienced DI Karen Bellows accepts a transfer to the Liverpool based Matrix Serious and Organised Crime Team she unwittingly steps into a world where honesty is not necessarily synonymous with the truth.Even before she’s had time to meet her new colleagues, two people are found brutally murdered in the dunes at Southport Beach and she’s catapulted into an investigation hampered by deceit and betrayal.In the face of a violent and ruthless killer Bellows’ frustration boils over into panic as the hunt leads to a series of confusing dead ends.With her career at stake and her own life threatened, is there anyone Karen Bellows can trust?

Charming, handsome and magnetic when he needs to be, Joe Reed is the ultimate predator.Set to help stop him, novice criminal profiler Jenny Foster is plunged out of her depth in a race against time.As the pressure grows, her personal life spirals out of control and she makes catastrophic errors, putting herself and her team in mortal danger.The body count begins to mount in the wake of ruthless evil.Who can stop him?