What Ruling the World Did to the British

Empire

From the bestselling author of The English comes Empire, Jeremy Paxman's history of the British Empire accompanied by a flagship 5-part BBC TV series, for readers of Simon Schama and Andrew Marr. 
 
The influence of the British Empire is everywhere, from the very existence of the United Kingdom to the ethnic composition of our cities. It affects everything, from Prime Ministers' decisions to send troops to war to the adventurers we admire. From the sports we think we're good at to the architecture of our buildings; the way we travel to the way we trade; the hopeless losers we will on, and the food we hunger for, the empire is never very far away. 
 
In this acute and witty analysis, Jeremy Paxman goes to the very heart of empire. As he describes the selection process for colonial officers ('intended to weed out the cad, the feeble and the too clever') the importance of sport, the sweating domestic life of the colonial officer's wife ('the challenge with cooking meat was "to grasp the fleeting moment between toughness and putrefaction when the joint may possibly prove eatable"') and the crazed end for General Gordon of Khartoum, Paxman brings brilliantly to life the tragedy and comedy of Empire and reveals its profound and lasting effect on our nation and ourselves. 
 
'Paxman is witty, incisive, acerbic and opinionated . . . In short, he carries the whole thing off with panache bordering on effrontery' Piers Brendon, Sunday Times 
 
'Paxman is a magnificent historian, and Empire may be remembered as his finest work' Independent on Sunday 
 
Jeremy Paxman was born in Yorkshire and educated at Cambridge. He is an award-winning journalist who spent ten years reporting from overseas, notably for Panorama. He is the author of five books including The English. He is the presenter of Newsnight and University Challenge and has presented BBC documentaries on various subjects including Victorian art and Wilfred Owen.

Jeremy Paxman was born in Yorkshire and educated at Cambridge. He is an award-winning journalist who spent ten years reporting from overseas, notably for Panorama. He is the author of five books including The English. He is the presenter of Newsnight and University Challenge and has presented BBC documentaries on various subjects including Victorian art and Wilfred Owen.

The influence of the British Empire is everywhere, from the very existence of the United Kingdom to the ethnic composition of our cities. It affects everything, from Prime Ministers' decisions to send troops to war to the adventurers we admire. From the sports we think we're good at to the architecture of our buildings; the way we travel to the way we trade; the hopeless losers we will on, and the food we hunger for, the empire is never very far away. 
 
In this acute and witty analysis, Jeremy Paxman goes to the very heart of empire. As he describes the selection process for colonial officers ('intended to weed out the cad, the feeble and the too clever') the importance of sport, the sweating domestic life of the colonial officer's wife ('the challenge with cooking meat was "to grasp the fleeting moment between toughness and putrefaction when the joint may possibly prove eatable"') and the crazed end for General Gordon of Khartoum, Paxman brings brilliantly to life the tragedy and comedy of Empire and reveals its profound and lasting effect on our nation and ourselves.

The Victorians

Jeremy Paxman's bestselling study of the Victorians through their paintings - now in paperback

A real contribution to art history, introducing the reader to a rich mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar... the book certainly taught me things about the Victorians that I either did not know or had not thought about with sufficient imagination

A wonderful introduction to the sheer vibrancy of the Victorian era... genuinely impressive

Jeremy Paxman was born in Yorkshire and educated at Cambridge. He is an award-winning journalist and the author of Friends in High Places: Who Runs Britain?, Fish, Fishing and the Meaning of Life, The English, The Political Animal and On Royalty. He is currently presenter of Newsnight and University Challenge.

Jeremy Paxman's unique portrait of the Victorian age takes readers on an exciting journey through the birth of modern Britain. Using the paintings of the era as a starting point, he tells us stories of urban life, family, faith, industry and empire that helped define the Victorian spirit and imagination. 
 
To Paxman, these paintings were the television of their day, and his exploration of Victorian art and society shows how these artists were chronicling a world changing before their eyes. This enthralling history is Paxman at his best - opinionated, informed, witty, surprising - and a glorious reminder of how the Victorians made us who we are today.

On Royalty

What is the point of Kings and Queens? What do they do all day? And what does it mean to be one of them?

In On Royalty Jeremy Paxman delves deep into Britain's royal past. What is the point of Kings and Queens? What do they do all day? And what does it mean to be one of them? 
 
Jeremy Paxman is used to making politicians explain themselves - but royalty has always been off limits. Until now. He takes a long hard look at our present incumbents to find out just what makes them tick. Along the way he discovers some fascinating and little-known details. Such as: 
 
how Albania came to advertise in England for a king 
 
which English queen gave birth in front of 67 people 
 
how easy it is to beat up future kings of England 
 
and how meeting the Queen is a bit scary - whoever you are ... 
 
No other book will tell you quite as much about our kings, queens, princes and princesses: who they are and what they're for. 
 
'Paxman's book is everyhing that royalty is not allowed to be - witty, stylish, intelligent, pugnacious and political. The Times 
 
'On Royalty is an absorbing, well-researched book, part serious enquiry, part rollicking anecdote' Evening Standard 
 
'Action-packed and entertaining' Sunday Telegraph 
 
Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Empire, On Royalty, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire.

Paxman's book is everyhing that royalty is not allowed to be - witty, stylish, intelligent, pugnacious and political.

On Royalty is an absorbing, well-researched book, part serious enquiry, part rollicking anecdote.

What is the point of Kings and Queens? What do they do all day? And what does it mean to be one of them? 
 
Jeremy Paxman is used to making politicians explain themselves &ndash; but royalty has always been off limits. Until now. In On Royalty he delves deep into the past and takes a long hard look at our present incumbents to find out just what makes them tick. Along the way he discovers some fascinating and little-known details. Such as: 
 
 &bull; how Albania came to advertise in England for a king 
 
&bull; which English queen gave birth in front of 67 people 
 
&bull; how easy it is to beat up future kings of England 
 
&bull; and how meeting the Queen is a bit scary &ndash; whoever you are &hellip; 
 
No other book will tell you quite as much about our kings, queens, princes and princesses: who they are and what they&rsquo;re for.

The English

Everyone has a view on what constitutes Englishness - and Paxman's has sold over 560,000 to date

In The English Jeremy Paxman sets out to find about the English. Not the British overall, not the Scots, not the Irish or Welsh, but the English. Why do they seem so unsure of who they are? 
 
Jeremy Paxman is to many the embodiment of Englishness yet even he is sometimes forced to ask: who or what exactly are the English? And in setting about addressing this most vexing of questions, Paxman discovers answers to a few others. Like: 
 
Why do the English actually enjoy feeling persecuted? 
 
What is behind the English obsession with games? 
 
How did they acquire their odd attitudes to sex and to food? 
 
Where did they get their extraordinary capacity for hypocrisy? 
 
Covering history, attitudes to foreigners, sport, stereotypyes, language and much, much more, The English brims over with stories and anecdotes that provide a fascinating portrait of a nation and its people. 
 
'Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny...A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments' Andrew Marr, Observer 
 
'Bursting with good things' Daily Telegraph 
 
Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Empire, On Royalty, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire.

Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny&hellip;A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments

Jeremy Paxman is to many the embodiment of Englishness yet even he is sometimes forced to ask: who or what exactly are the English? And in setting about addressing this most vexing of questions, Paxman discovers answers to a few others. Like: 
 
 &bull; Why do the English actually enjoy feeling persecuted? 
 
&bull; What is behind the English obsession with games? 
 
&bull; How did they acquire their odd attitudes to sex and to food? 
 
&bull; Where did they get their extraordinary capacity for hypocrisy? 
 
Covering history, attitudes to foreigners, sport, stereotypyes, language and much, much more, The English brims over with stories and anecdotes that provide a fascinating portrait of a nation and its people.

The Political Animal

With his trademark incisiveness and bite, Paxman dissects politicians past and present

Jeremy Paxman knows every maneouvre a politician will make to avoid answering a difficult question, but in The Political Animal he seeks an answer to just one: What makes politicians tick? 
 
Embarking on a journey in which he encounters movers and shakers past and present, he discovers: 
 
that Prime Ministers have often lost a parent in childhood 
 
why Trollope is the politician's novelist of choice 
 
that Lloyd George once hunted Jack the Ripper 
 
how an Admiral's speech in parliament helped win WWII 
 
Where do politicians come from? How do they get elected? What do they do all day? And why do they seek power? All these questions and many more are addressed in Paxman's thrilling dissection of that strange and elusive breed - the political animal. 
 
'Lively, persuasive, excellent. Boisterous and funny, provocative and punchily written... an intelligent romp' Matthew Parris, Spectator 
 
'Entertaining, informative, incisive and insightful' Andrew Rawnsley Observer 
 
'One of the best primers on the vicissitudes of political life I have read Christopher Silvester, Sunday Times 
 
 Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Empire, On Royalty, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire.

Lively, persuasive, excellent. Boisterous and funny, provocative and punchily written&hellip; an intelligent romp

Entertaining, informative, incisive and insightful

One of the best primers on the vicissitudes of political life I have read

Jeremy Paxman knows every maneouvre a politician will make to avoid answering a difficult question, but here he seeks an answer to just one: What makes politicians tick? 
 
Embarking on a journey in which he encounters movers and shakers past and present, he discovers: 
 
&bull; that Prime Ministers have often lost a parent in childhood 
 
&bull; why Trollope is the politician&rsquo;s novelist of choice 
 
&bull; that Lloyd George once hunted Jack the Ripper 
 
&bull; how an Admiral&rsquo;s speech in parliament helped win WWII 
 
Where do politicians come from? How do they get elected? What do they do all day? And why do they seek power? All these questions and many more are addressed in Paxman&rsquo;s thrilling dissection of that strange and elusive breed &ndash; the political animal.

A Higher Form of Killing

The secret story of chemical and biological warfare.

Compelling... the authors make clear why governments have shrouded such weapon programmes in even more secrecy than their nuclear work.

An absorbing and unsettling history, an exhaustive exploration of a little-known but potentially apocalyptic aspect of warfare, the whole thing carrying the punch of Armageddon. It reminds us that the world could end not with a nuclear bang but in whimpers of fevered agony.

The best account of gas and germ warfare available for the lay reader

Robert Harris is the bestselling author of FATHERLAND, ENIGMA and ARCHANGEL. He is also a respected journalist. Jeremy Paxman is the author of the bestselling book THE ENGLISH. He is a regular radio and TV presenter, most notably for Newsnight. Robert Harris and Jeremy Paxman initially worked together on this book when they were both reporters for Panorama

A Higher Form of Killing was first published to great acclaim in 1982. The authors have written a new Introduction and a new Epilogue to take account of the events that have happened since the early 1980s - including the break-up of the former Soviet Union and the  black market that appeared in chemical and biological weapons, the acquisition of these weapons by various Third World states, the attempts of various countries like Iraq to build up arsenals of these weapons and, most recently, the use of these weapons in terrorist attacks. As the authors point out, the two generations since the Second World War lived with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Now a new generation must learn to live with weapons that are more insidious and potentially more devastating.

Jeremy Paxman

He writes so well and sympathetically, and chooses his detail so deftly, that if there is one new history of the war that you might actually enjoy from the very large centennial selection this is very likely it

The writing is lively and the detail often surprising and memorable

Incisive, colourful. Paxman delves into every aspect of British life to capture the mood and morale of the nation

Clever, laconic and racy. A judicious mix between individual stories and the 'bigger picture' . . . engages the mind and emotions

A procession of fascinating details . . . he narrates with brio . . . conveys the texture of the times . . . write[s] with clarity and sympathy

Paxman is particularly good . . . in showing how much a modern perspective distorts our understanding . . . summarises well how class barriers were shattered . . . refreshingly combative in arguing that the war was not futile

Mixing pragmatism with sardonic observation . . . one is left with a better understanding of how the Great Britain that began the war became more like ordinary Britain, shorn of global power and prestige, by its end

Compelling . . . a moving, incisive and wide-ranging study of why a generation felt going to war was not only unavoidable but necessary

Life for the British during the First World War was not at all what you think... 
 
Using a wealth of first-hand source material and his characteristic flair for story-telling, Jeremy Paxman brings to life the day-to-day experience of the British over the entire course of the war, from politicians, newspapermen, campaigners and Generals, to Tommies, factory-workers, nurses, wives and children, explaining why we fought it so enthusiastically, how we endured it so doggedly and how it transformed everything, such as women's suffrage, new surgery techniques, lower-class 'officer gentlemen', a powerful press, sexually transmitted diseases and British Summer Time.

Jeremy Paxman

Praise for Great Britain's Great War

He writes so well and sympathetically, and chooses his detail so deftly, that if there is one new history of the war that you might actually enjoy from the very large centennial selection this is ve ...

The writing is lively and the detail often surprising and memorable

Incisive, colourful. Paxman delves into every aspect of British life to capture the mood and morale of the nation

He writes so well and sympathetically, and chooses his detail so deftly, that if there is one new history of the war that you might actually enjoy from the very large centennial selection this is ve ...

The writing is lively and the detail often surprising and memorable

Incisive, colourful. Paxman delves into every aspect of British life to capture the mood and morale of the nation

He writes so well and sympathetically, and chooses his detail so deftly, that if there is one new history of the war that you might actually enjoy from the very large centennial selection this is ve ...

The writing is lively and the detail often surprising and memorable

Incisive, colourful. Paxman delves into every aspect of British life to capture the mood and morale of the nation

Books by Jeremy Paxman

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