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Described as 'a brilliant book on the first clan' and 'the definitive book' on the first Ku Klux Klan, which has been supplemented by more recent historians but remains the authoritative source.

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Tom mentioned this wonderful biography of Johnson by a great American scholar, describing how Johnson bought fetters and padlocks due to his depression and self-condemnation.

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Tom referenced this wonderful book about how Boswell set about writing his biography of Johnson, noting how Sisman wrote brilliantly on how Boswell framed scenes of Johnson's conversations as scenes in a play.

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Johnson is describing his journey to the Hebrides in this book, which is described as one of the great classics of travel literature.

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Boswell wrote this book based on the journal he kept during the trip with Johnson, providing his own account of their journey to the Hebrides.

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Boswell wrote up his travels in Corsica as a book which was published and became a great success, winning him the nickname 'Corsica Boswell.'

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Described as the definitive biography of Boswell; cited for the claim that Boswell's account of Rousseau's speech is 'accepted as the most vivid known to exist.'

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Described as a novella Johnson hurriedly wrote to pay for his mother's funeral, about a prince searching for the key to happiness. The hosts note 'you can still read it to this day, it's actually great' and 'pleasantly short.'

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Described as the greatest and most influential biography in the English language, and Tom Holland's personal desert island book, calling it 'incredibly entertaining' and like watching a 'fly on the wall documentary.'

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Described as a 'fabulous book' by the great literary biographer Richard Holmes about Johnson's early life stage and his friendship with the man he went roaming around St. James's with.

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Mentioned as a 'brilliant book' by George Owers about the origins of Whigs and Tories, referenced in the context of a bonus episode they did about the topic.

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The hosts quote extensively from this play throughout the episode, using Old Martin's narration as a framing device. Tom Holland mentions he was in a school production of it, playing Vicente de Valverde.

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Described as a 'brilliant, brilliant book on the conquest of the Incas' that the hosts 'can't recommend too highly.' Quoted multiple times, including Hemming calling Manco 'an indomitable patriot' and his comparison of Vilcabamba to Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana.

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Described as a 19th century American historian 'who Americans think is absolutely amazing' who 'wrote the most tremendously florid account of the conquest of the Incas.' His account of the Battle of Las Salinas is read aloud.

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Mentioned as written in 1552, in which 'Peru features very prominently' and Las Casas 'casts it as a kind of genocidal destruction of a paradise' and 'casts the Incas as childlike, as peaceable.'

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Described as 'a brilliant book' about 'the world after the discovery of the Americas,' mentioned in the context of discussing how silver from Potosí destabilized the global economy.

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Dominic repeatedly references this as 'his brilliant book about the conquest of Peru' when discussing how Manco had to restore Inca cult and administration, and later quotes from it about the Incas' organizational abilities and Spanish technological advantages.

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Tom mentions this is a play from 1964, noting that Schaffer loves his research and has gone to primary sources, with the content being very closely based on Spanish chroniclers' accounts written a few years after the fall of the Incas.

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The hosts mention hearing a lot from this play throughout their series, with Christopher Plummer playing Atahualpa, emperor of the Incas.

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Both hosts recall having this book as children, with Tom describing how it featured a memorable scene of Atahualpa with Francisco Pizarro and piles of gold, which sparked his fascination with the story.

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Referenced as a 'brilliant book' that makes excellent points about the conquest of Peru, including how Europeans had usually arrived multiple times before conquest, unlike in Peru where the Spanish did it all in one go.

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This is the first book being covered in their new Book Club podcast series, with the hosts discussing it as one of the absolute canonical classics and a great romantic novel.

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Mentioned as an example of the newer, more contemporary books they'll be covering in The Book Club series, alternating with older classical works.

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Listed as one of the upcoming books they'll be covering in The Book Club series, described as a contemporary work they'll be analyzing.

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Described as Dominic's introduction to the world of 'romantasy' literature, with the hosts joking about whose idea it was to include it.

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Described as 'a brilliant book of historical detective work' where Lockhart dug into where the conquistadors were from and what they all did, written around 1970.

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Referred to as 'his brilliant book' multiple times, cited for details about casualty estimates at Cajamarca and the scene of Pizarro dining with the captured Atahualpa.

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Dominic described it as 'an absolutely wonderful book' about the New World before Columbus, noting that despite having 'a lot of science in it' including content about pollen, plants, and agricultural terracing, it's really interesting. The book's comparison of the Inca Empire's length to a power stretching from St. Petersburg to Cairo was cited.

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The episode opens with a passage from the Aeneid translated by Robert Fagles, describing the fall of Troy as recounted by Aeneas to Dido, and later discusses Dido's curse as the mythological origin of the enmity between Rome and Carthage.

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Tom Holland identifies the passage Laura Cumming read aloud as the opening to her book, 'The Vanishing Man, a study of Velázquez.'

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Described by the hosts as 'a brilliant dual biography of Hannibal and Scipio,' with Hornblower quoted as describing Hannibal as 'an energetic left-wing innovator' in his post-war civilian role in Carthage.

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Tom quotes from this book when describing the famous story of Archimedes in the bathtub discovering the principle of water displacement, noting it has 'just come out.'

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Mentioned as a book published in 2024 that argues there was a secret deal between Reagan's campaign and Iran to delay the hostage release, though Dominic expressed skepticism about the author's tendency to see conspiracies everywhere.

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Dominic recommended this book to listeners, describing it as 'a brilliant book' about the siege and the hostage experience at the US Embassy in Tehran.

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Dominic referenced this as Ambassador Sullivan's memoir, noting 'This is all from Sullivan's memoir Mission to Iran I think it's called,' when discussing how Sullivan handled the February 1979 attack on the embassy.

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Referenced when discussing whether the Shah could have changed the outcome by cracking down, with the host noting Axworthy's point that 'even if the Shah had not been ill, what would he have done? Where is the magic wand that would have sorted things out?'

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Mentioned as the foundational text of post-colonial theory, noting that Khomeini's Quranic phrase 'the disinherited of the earth' echoed Fanon's famous title and resonated with left-wing supporters.

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Mentioned as one of Updike's Rabbit novels set in 1979, where the everyman character Harry Angstrom is always complaining about inflation and puts his money into South African Krugerrands.

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Tom Holland quoted from this book when discussing the Shia belief in the Mahdi and the apocalyptic battle that precedes the end of time, describing it as a 'brilliant book.'

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Described as Khomeini's biographer, with 'really, really good sections' about the importance of local Shia clergy in Iranian society.

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Described as having written 'a brilliant book on the Iranian Revolution,' cited regarding the likely exaggerated death toll reports from the January 1978 Qom protests.

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Mentioned as the great epic of Iran, literally 'the book of kings,' to illustrate how fundamental the concept of monarchy is to Iranian historical identity.

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Tom Holland references Daniel Hobbins' translation of documents relating to Joan's trial, quoting from his introduction about how Cochon believed his role in the trial would bear examination from even hostile observers.

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Tom Holland cites Marina Warner's book multiple times, noting she is 'brilliant on this' regarding Joan's social mobility and self-presentation as a knight, and later quoting her observation that 'the English side believed in Joan the Maid more than the French.'

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Tom Holland quotes Helen Castor's book on Joan regarding the fall of Troyes, noting that 'after four days of fear and deepening uncertainty, the sight of these preparations for an assault led by the miraculous maid finally shattered the town's resistance.'

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Dominic referenced Marina Warner's 'wonderful book on Joan of Arc' when discussing Joan's ability to compel credence, quoting Warner's description of Joan having 'an astonishing ability to compel credence.'

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Dominic quoted Helen Castor, described as 'friend of the show, author of a wonderful book on Joan of Arc,' regarding how Joan differed from other female visionaries who typically appeared under the care of a spiritual advisor.

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Tom Holland mentioned reading this book at a very impressionable age, noting it came out in the early 80s. He quoted Warner's introduction describing Joan as not being a queen, courtesan, beauty, mother, or artist, and also cited Warner's analysis of Joan's attraction to clear-cut situations with identifiable centres of authority.

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Tom Holland discussed how this great Dutch historian, published in 1919, pointedly omitted Joan of Arc from his study of 15th century Burgundy and Northern France, not because she was unimportant but because 'she would have torn the book I visualized in my mind completely out of balance.'

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Discussed extensively in comparison to Wagner's Ring Cycle, noting the parallels of a broken sword being reforged and a magic ring, and debating how much Tolkien was influenced by Wagner despite Tolkien's denials.

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Mentioned as a nature classic by Henry Williamson, the soldier who wrote about the Christmas Truce, published about a decade after the First World War and never out of print since.

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Described as probably the most famous First World War memoir, mentioned when discussing that the famous 3-2 football match story actually comes from a short story by Robert Graves, not a real account.

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A poem published in 2011 that was also released as an illustrated children's book, read aloud in the episode to illustrate the sentimentality surrounding the Christmas Truce story.

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Mentioned as an excellent book on the Christmas Truce, written for the 70th anniversary in 1984 by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton.

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Mentioned as another excellent book on the Christmas Truce by an American historian, published in 2001.

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Referred to throughout the series as 'really the definitive survey of the case,' with multiple direct quotes from Sugden about the quest for the identity of Jack the Ripper and the assumption that the killer was a local man.

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Described as 'perhaps the single most notorious book ever written about Jack the Ripper,' presenting a conspiracy theory involving Prince Albert Victor, Walter Sickert, and the Freemasons. Compared to Graham Hancock or Eric von Daniken in terms of disproportionate impact relative to plausibility.

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Mentioned as the comic book (animated novel) by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell that was adapted into the 2001 Johnny Depp film, and was inspired by Stephen Knight's conspiracy theory about Jack the Ripper.

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Referenced for its detailed, expertly sourced accounts of the lives of the Ripper's victims, with the hosts noting that Rubenhold says of Mary Jane Kelly that 'not a single statement made by her about her life prior to her arrival in London has ever been verified.'

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Tom Holland quotes Walkowitz's observation that Hutchinson's description of the suspect 'carefully replicated the costume and stance of the classic stage villain,' recommending it highly.

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Cited for Rumbelow's theory that George Hutchinson's detailed description of the suspect may have been an act of spiteful resentment or jealousy rather than a genuine sighting.

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Discussed extensively as the great literary sensation of the 1880s that shaped how people understood the Ripper murders, with W.T. Stead directly comparing the Ripper to Mr. Hyde in his editorial.

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Mentioned as a brilliant book in which Sherlock Holmes is more closely associated with the Ripper's crimes, with a massive twist the hosts hint at but don't reveal.

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Referenced as the 1887 debut of Sherlock Holmes, with the hosts quoting its famous line about 'a scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life.'

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Mentioned as the source of Holmes's famous maxim about eliminating the impossible, published in 1890, the year after Mary Jane Kelly's murder.

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Discussed as the 1886 compendium of sexual deviancy that introduced terms like sadism and masochism to the English language, and in which Krafft-Ebing eventually included Jack the Ripper as 'case 17' under lust murder.

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Briefly referenced as a comparison for Mary Jane Kelly's stories about her life as a high-class courtesan, noting it was a novel about a Parisian courtesan that people at the time would have been familiar with.

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Referred to as 'The Definitive History' of the Jack the Ripper case, cited multiple times for details about the timeline of the murders and analysis of witness accounts.

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Described as 'brilliant on the lives of the victims,' mentioned in the context of her thesis that the victims were killed as they slept, which the hosts debated.

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Described as a 'mad' book proposing a conspiracy theory involving the royal family and Masons, with the hosts noting they would discuss it further in a later episode.

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Mentioned as an 'enormous graphic novel' inspired by the famous 'From Hell' letter sent to George Lusk, which the hosts noted they might discuss in their final episode.

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Described as the definitive and most scholarly book on the Ripper case. The hosts reference it multiple times, including Sugden's analysis of witnesses, the killer's profile, and the Jack the Ripper letter, noting that Sugden believes the man seen by Elizabeth Long was the murderer.

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Mentioned in relation to her theory that all the Ripper victims were killed as they slept, contrasted with Philip Sugden's view. The hosts note that Rubenhold does not mention Mrs. Long's witness testimony in her book.

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Described as a prize-winning book from 2019 that was a group biography of the five murdered women, which the hosts praised as revelatory for showing the victims as human beings rather than just prostitutes.

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Quoted regarding the Victorian categorization of prostitution: 'any female who was kept by a man for however long or short a period of her life without benefit of a marriage ceremony was categorized as a prostitute.'

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Dominic mentions his brother's book, which he has been quoting a lot in the series, noting it has an account of German girls and their misery at the only clothes available being brown.

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William Shirer is referenced as the American correspondent in Berlin who reported on Hitler's speeches and the reactions of German officers, though the specific book is not named directly, his well-known correspondent work is cited.

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Kershaw's biography of Hitler is cited regarding Hitler's misunderstanding of British public opinion after Munich, and later regarding Hitler's strategic reasoning for attacking the Soviet Union.

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Richard Evans' book on the Third Reich is mentioned in relation to how Nazi propaganda led ordinary Germans and officials to genuinely believe the British were warmongers rejecting generous peace offers.

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Conan O'Brien called it 'the best Beatles book that's been written in quite a while,' highlighting its insight about early Beatles music being influenced by doo-wop groups.

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The episode opens with a reading from Speer's memoir describing Hitler's three-hour sightseeing tour of Paris after the fall of France in June 1940.

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Referenced when discussing the counterfactual of what would have happened if the 230,000 British troops at Dunkirk had been captured rather than evacuated, and how that might have forced Churchill to negotiate with Hitler.

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Mentioned as containing a quote from officer John Horsfall about sensing 'the national mood of defiance which brought down Napoleon and would destroy Hitler too' when troops returned from Dunkirk.

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Described as one of the longest diaries in history and 'quite a big publishing sensation a few years ago,' cited for her moving entry about feeling part of something undying after reading about the Dunkirk rescue.

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Mentioned as capturing the scene of total chaos and terror during the French refugee crisis, with carts in the streets, families rushing to find sanctuary, and being pounded from the air by the Luftwaffe.

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Described as a 'brilliant book on the fall of France' that argues France lost on the battlefield due to bad intelligence and bad tactics rather than a fundamental sickness in French society, and quotes a young sergeant named François Mitterrand.

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Referenced for pointing out that French conservatives had admired Hitler and Mussolini, and for citing the diary of Louisa Solmitz, a schoolteacher with a Jewish husband who felt exhilarated by the German victory in France.

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Briefly referenced when discussing tank commander Heinz Guderian, who was 'speechless' at the halt order and considered it 'the biggest blunder of the war.'

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Dominic cites iron ore statistics from his brother James Holland's book, and later references his brother's observation about the 'Potemkin quality' of Nazi militarism and the simultaneous Allied and German offensives in Norway.

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Described as 'the most German army titled book of all time,' written by panzer commander Heinz Guderian two years before the invasion of France, outlining his ideas about speed and separating panzers from slower infantry divisions.

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Tom Holland quoted from his brother James Holland's book describing how a French advance was held up by a single automatic weapon at the Siegfried Line, illustrating the contrast with French soldiers' bravery in World War I.

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Referenced as the source of Hitler's 1925 statement that 'the life of man is a dreadful struggle for existence,' illustrating his warlike worldview.

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Mentioned as a valuable primary source on the Third Reich in the early war years, noting that Shirer, an American correspondent present in Germany, genuinely thought the Beer Hall bomb was a Nazi false flag operation.

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Referenced multiple times throughout the episode as the source for characterizing Brauchitsch as 'spineless,' for the concept of 'working towards the Führer,' and for analysis of Hitler's popularity and the army's failure to oppose him.

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Tom quotes Helen Castor's 'brilliant short biography of Elizabeth' regarding Elizabeth's speech outside the Tower of London, describing it as 'rhetoric and reality fused into a performance that was at once immediately legible and utterly unreadable.'

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Tom quotes Lucy Wooding's book stating 'it could be argued that Elizabeth wanted stability as much as she wanted Protestantism' when discussing Elizabeth's motivations for her religious settlement.

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Described as 'the definitive biography of Cecil,' Tom quotes Alford saying Cecil 'was everywhere and everything in Elizabethan government' and also references Alford's analysis of Cecil's emergency succession plans as anticipating the Glorious Revolution.

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Described as the Tudor number one bestseller, also known as Fox's Book of Martyrs, and called one of the foundational texts of English national identity. Published in 1563, it shaped the Protestant narrative of Mary Tudor's reign and Elizabeth's survival.

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Tom Holland quotes from Lucy Wooding's 'wonderful introduction to Tudor England,' calling it 'the best single volume on Tudor England that there is,' citing her observation that Mary believed she was ruling an essentially Catholic country.

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Referenced for her observation that the Wyatt conspiracy plotters were all well-connected and had contacts within Elizabeth's household.

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Described as a 'brilliant book' on William Cecil, cited for the account of Cecil's secret meeting with Elizabeth at Somerset House, calling Cecil 'the cleverest young man in Tudor politics.'

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Quoted regarding how the shower of lovely clothes Anne Boleyn had lavished on Elizabeth suddenly dried up after Anne's execution, and also quoted on Mary being 'tenderhearted to excess when issues of principle were not involved.'

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Quoted on Mary's submission to Henry VIII, noting 'she would never forgive herself for what she believed to be the ultimate portrayal of her mother's memory,' and also cited as the source for the fact that Catherine Parr is the only English queen to be buried on a private estate.

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Recommended by the hosts as 'really, really good' for people interested in exploring the nuances of Elizabeth's relationship with the memory of her mother Anne Boleyn.

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Tom Holland references David Starkey's 'great book on the young Elizabeth' when describing the luxuriously appointed birthing chamber at Greenwich Palace as 'a cross between a chapel and a luxuriously padded cell.'

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Described as 'a brilliant book on Anne Boleyn and her relationship to Elizabeth,' cited when discussing Anne's 'irresistible je ne sais quoi' and later when noting that 'enigma' was Tudor slang.

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Referred to as 'another great book' when quoting Tallis's observation that 'little wonder Mary spent much of her time weeping in her chamber' after being stripped of her servants and forced to serve baby Elizabeth.

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Referred to multiple times as 'the great biography by Neil Gabler' and 'Gabler's biography' - cited for insights on Disney losing interest in animated films in the 1940s-50s, his craving for total control, the opening day TV audience estimate of 70 million, and the design symbolism of Main Street USA.

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Mentioned as 'a whole book called Suburban Warriors by a historian called Lisa McGurr, all about Orange County, as the sort of Petri dish in which modern American conservatism was made.'

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Mentioned as a book published in 1990 by Michael Crichton on the theme of what happens when a theme park goes wrong, later made into a film by Steven Spielberg.

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Described as a new book coming out next week that brilliantly explicates the history behind the making of the Mary Poppins film and P.L. Travers' conflicts with Disney over the script.

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Discussed as the novel that Walt Disney's daughters adored and that Disney had been trying to buy the film rights to since 1943. Travers resisted because she feared Disney would replace her dark, fantastical story with saccharine sentimentality.

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Mentioned as the source material for the animated film Disney was immersed in when he died in 1966, described as his most committed animation project since Bambi.

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Referenced in comparison to Walt Disney as a tinkerer figure, noting Smiles was fascinated by people who started tinkering like James Watt and Matthew Boulton.

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Described as the definitive biography of Disney, drawing on previously untapped sources. Quoted multiple times throughout the episode, including his description of 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' as the nation's new anthem and his analysis of Snow White as a fully fabricated world.

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Described as the most venomous attack on Walt Disney as an individual, published in 1968. Schickel accused Disney of shattering childhood's secrets and silences and becoming a rallying point for the sub-literates of society.

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Described as an 'extraordinary biography' that sifts all the evidence regarding Nelson's final hours and the different accounts of what was said.

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Southey is mentioned as the poet laureate who 'wrote the first great biography of Nelson,' and is quoted saying the news of Nelson's death 'was felt in England as something more than a public calamity.'

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Described as a 'brilliant biography of Nelson' and quoted for his lines about Nelson being in the centre of a huge unfolding drama inexorably gathering pace towards some historic climax.

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Described as Adam Nicholson's 'brilliant book on Trafalgar' which characterizes Nelson's battle plan as 'the introduction of chaos as a tool of battle.'

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The hosts quoted John Sugden's assessment of Nelson's defense of the channel: 'despite Boulogne, the end had been creditable. During his watch as the guardian, no hostile foot had stepped on English soil.'

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Roger Knight's biography of Nelson is referenced multiple times, including his observation that Collingwood pointedly didn't visit Nelson at Merton, and his assessment that Nelson felt guilty about his relationship with his father Edmund.

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Andrew Lambert's biography is quoted on Nelson's charisma ('to work with Nelson was to love him') and the remarkable fact that when Nelson returned ashore in October 1801, it was the first time he had ever slept in his own house.

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The historian Ben Wilson's book is cited for making the point that the Battle of Copenhagen was different from previous Nelson battles because the Danes were defending their own capital city in front of their friends and families.

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John Sugden is referenced as having spent an enormous amount of ink analyzing the famous telescope story at Copenhagen, examining the provenance and different accounts, concluding that the story is entirely in Nelson's character.

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Referenced as having a plot directly inspired by Captain Ryu's real-life adventure of using convicts as crew after his ship was damaged by an iceberg while transporting prisoners to Botany Bay.

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Described by the hosts as 'the great Nelson biographer' whose books are compared to 'War and Peace' as a gigantic epic. Multiple quotes from Sugden's work are used throughout the episode to discuss Nelson's behavior in Palermo and his treatment of Fanny.

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Referenced as part of Sugden's comprehensive biographical work on Nelson, with the hosts describing his two-volume biography as the definitive account.

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Tom Holland draws a parallel between the novel's characters and Nelson's personal life, suggesting Fanny Price may have been inspired by Nelson's wife Fanny, with the quieter woman counterpointed against a more glamorous rival like Mary Crawford.

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Mentioned as a novel about a scholar of Nelson who is driven mad by the possibility that Nelson might have behaved poorly at Naples.

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Referenced as the first celebrated biography of Nelson, written by the poet laureate, which despite being very laudatory says the Naples episode is 'a stain on the memory of Nelson and upon the honour of England.'

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Described as a 'titanic Nelson biography, probably the definitive one,' which argues Nelson was in an impossible situation at Naples given his orders to support the king and queen.

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Cited as offering a critical take on Nelson at Naples, arguing this was the one moment Nelson didn't measure up due to his 'naive attachment to the point of sycophancy to the Hamiltons and to Maria Carolina.'

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Referenced as defending Nelson's actions at Naples, arguing the death toll was 'trifling' and that the penalty for a failed rebellion in wartime was well understood.

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Discussed as a comprehensive analysis of sources regarding Nelson's actions at Naples, with the conclusion that Nelson committed a crime and was guilty of betraying the prisoners. Published around 2018.

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Quoted describing Emma Hamilton's composure during the storm fleeing Naples, noting she 'refused to let the experience of being sick defeat her' and tried to comfort panicking courtiers.

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Cited extensively throughout the episode as a key biographical source on Emma Hamilton, with multiple quotes drawn from the book describing Emma's early life, her childhood in Ness, and various episodes in her career.

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Dominic recommended it as a great book on Enoch Powell, saying Heffer 'really gets under Powell's skin' despite being a man of robust opinions himself.

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Dominic mentioned this book as a brilliant resource for understanding grassroots opinion, noting the author interviewed people in Blackburn's working men's clubs in the late 60s and early 70s where Powell's name came up repeatedly.

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Tom Holland references Peter Green's book on the Hellenistic period, noting that Dominic had previously chosen it as one of his favorite history books. They describe it as brilliantly and entertainingly written, and quote from it regarding the ibis and Callimachus' nickname for Apollonius.

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Described as an absolute bestseller in the Hellenistic period, in which Euhemerus claimed that Zeus and the other Olympians had originally been mortal kings who came to be worshipped as gods after death.

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Tom Holland discusses how Nietzsche published this book at age 28, contrasting Dionysus with Apollo and arguing that Greek civilization cannot be understood by emphasizing only light and beauty without recognizing its Dionysian qualities.

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Described as a seminal study of the Bacchae published in 1947, in which Winnington-Ingram, who had witnessed the Nuremberg rallies, wrote in the introduction: 'We have lived through events which have demonstrated tragically the dangers of group emotion.'

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Tom Holland mentions this as a famous book when discussing how the irrational and the dark, strange, and ecstatic are crucially part of Greek mythology.

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Described as an excellent book on Dionysus, quoted to support the argument that the drama festival was deeply connected to Dionysus: 'the drama festival was performed in a sanctuary of Dionysus along with rituals for Dionysus during a festival of Dionysus.'

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Quoted to illustrate the Athenian view that their gods were not faceless superhuman contractors but 'something closer to benevolent governors or caring parents' who took a personal interest in their chosen people.

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Quoted to emphasize Plato's enormous influence on theology: 'since Plato, there has been no theology which has not stood in his shadow.'

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Discussed as Freud's most groundbreaking book, in which the story of Oedipus featured very prominently as Freud used it to articulate his theories about the subconscious and what became the Oedipus complex.

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Described as 'a wonderful book on Oedipus,' cited for its comparison of Antigone's marginal role in earlier myths to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, before Sophocles made her central to his tragedy.

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Referenced in comparison to how Sophocles elevated Antigone from a peripheral figure to the center of his tragedy, much as Stoppard's play made peripheral Hamlet characters the focus.

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Tom quotes Walter Burkert's book to explain how the poetry of Hesiod and Homer created order among the confused traditions of Greek religion, stating 'only an authority could create order amidst such a confusion of tradition.'

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Dominic reads a passage from Calasso's book about the Twelve Gods of Olympus appearing as entirely human, and Tom describes it as 'a fantastically odd book, brilliant book, brilliantly original' that gives you the Greek myths in a way you've never read them before.

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Referenced multiple times as a comparison to the Maria Halpin scandal, noting parallels with the plot involving a woman locked in a lunatic asylum and a grotesquely fat villain (Count Fosco), similar to the allegations against Cleveland.

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Mentioned alongside The Woman in White as an example of Victorian sensation fiction that the Maria Halpin scandal resembles.

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Dominic recommends this book for listeners who want to check out the details of the Maria Halpin story, noting 'You can tell which side he's on' and that it goes into the scandal in great detail.

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Described as the most recent biography of Cleveland, published in 2022, which argues that Cleveland was framed by partisan Republicans and that the scandal allegations were unreliable. The hosts note Senik is a fan of their podcast.

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Quoted extensively throughout the episode as the hosts read passages from Defoe's descriptions of Rochester and Chatham, noting it was published in 1724 and was his best-selling book after Robinson Crusoe.

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Mentioned briefly as the only Defoe book that outsold his Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain.

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Discussed in connection with Restoration House in Rochester, which Dickens reportedly used as the inspiration for Miss Havisham's Satis House. Dominic also mentioned winning a school reading competition four years in a row with its opening passage.

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Mentioned as Dickens' last novel, which he never completed, noting that Rochester is the setting (called 'Cloisterham' in the book) and that the character John Jasper lived on one of the gates below Rochester Castle.

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Referenced as the book in which Timothy Snyder calls the eastern borderlands of Poland and Ukraine 'Europe's bloodlands in the 20th century,' mentioned in the context of the devastation these regions experienced.

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Described as Nick Lloyd's new book on the Eastern Front, from which the opening passage about the Tyrolean Kaiser Jäger was quoted, and later quoted regarding the horrors of the Carpathian campaign.

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Max Hastings' book is cited for telling the story of a woman who fights her way into a train carriage with her three children during the evacuation of Przemyśl, only to see her youngest child left behind on the platform.

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Dominic gives a massive shout out to this book, saying 'so much of what follows is dependent upon it' when discussing the siege of Przemyśl, calling it a brilliant book that captures the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

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Dominic read an excerpt from this memoir at the opening of the episode, describing it as 'one of the most haunting and lyrical of all memoirs' about the Eastern Front in World War I, published by the New York Review of Books in their classics range.

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Quoted multiple times throughout the episode, including a line about the Austro-Hungarian army's 'principal strength lay in exotic parade uniforms and splendid bands' and descriptions of General Potjorek and the Shuka family's deportation story.

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Described as 'a brilliant book on the Eastern Front,' cited for its descriptions of the Serbian soldier and the battle scenes during the Serbian counterattack in December 1914.

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Referenced when discussing East Prussia and the surrounding region as 'the bloodlands, then, of Timothy Snyder's book' — described as 'probably the worst place to be born in the 20th century.'

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Mentioned as one of the books that will be discussed in the Rest is History Club's new book discussion series.

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Mentioned as an upcoming book to be discussed in the Rest is History Club's new book discussion series.

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Mentioned as the next book to be discussed in the Rest is History Club's new book discussion series, described as a 'dystopian fable.'

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Extensively discussed in a bonus clip at the end of the episode, exploring how the book reflects Tolkien's First World War experiences and the sensibility of the 1920s and 1930s.

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The hosts read a passage from Mein Kampf describing Hitler's first experience of battle in Flanders in 1914, noting that listeners might be surprised to learn the moving passage was written by 'literally the worst man in history.'

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Described as 'a brilliant book about 1914' by an Australian writer, quoted for his description of the Flanders landscape as 'the bleak rain-drenched land of gentle hills and ridges, fields of tobacco and beetroot interspersed with hedgerows and barns.'

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Quoted extensively throughout the episode for details about the Battle of the Marne, including Max Hastings' observation that if Joffre had died on September 1st he would be remembered only as 'a bungler and a butcher,' and his description of Joffre's transformation from 'abattoir superintendent to allied saviour.'

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Mentioned as the book that turbocharged the legend of the taxis of the Marne in the 1950s, in which Dutour claimed the taxi episode was 'the single greatest event of the 20th century.'

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Dominic mentions it was the first book he read about the First World War as a child and still holds a candle for it, though he acknowledges that historians of the First World War despise it and Tom describes it as 'basically a brilliant work of fiction.' Tuchman's pen portraits of figures like Sir John French are quoted.

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Referenced multiple times for accounts of battles and characterizations, including the Battle of the Frontiers at Vieton and descriptions of Asquith's wartime management. Hastings calls Sir John French 'a poltroon' and Joffre 'slovenly.'

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Mentioned in the context of the terrible suffering of horses during the First World War, noting that the book (and its drama adaptation) is based on the horrendous cruelty to horses in the conflict.

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Described as 'a brilliant book on Germany and Austria in the Central Powers in the First War,' cited multiple times for its analysis of German strategic weakness, civilian atrocities, and comparisons to previous European wars.

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Referred to as Max Hastings's 'brilliant book' that describes scenes of German infantry being cut down at Liège and lists numerous examples of German reprisals against Belgian civilians.

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Described as 'a brilliant study' by two Irish historians that emphasizes how the Germans carried institutional memory of franc-tireur attacks from 1870-71 into their invasion of Belgium.

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The guest Professor Robert Colls is the author of this book, which contains a whole chapter on the Sayers-Heenan fight. The hosts recommend it highly as 'a wonderful, wonderful read.'

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Referenced in discussion of schoolboy fighting, with Tom Holland mentioning the fight scene with 'Slugger Williams.' Rob Colls notes that Thomas Hughes 'knew exactly what he was writing about when he did that.'

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Mentioned in an ad spot as Stephen King's very first book, written in 1967 during the Vietnam War and published in 1979, now adapted into a film.

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Described as a brilliant book by an upcoming guest, Robert Coles, who makes the point that historians tend to neglect sport or condescend to it when they write about it.

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Tom quotes from Derek Martin's book when describing Richard Manx's pedestrianism feats in Sheffield, calling it 'a great book on this.'

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Described as 'an actually brilliant book on John Wilkes Booth' that provides detailed accounts of the assassination, including evidence about the peephole in the presidential box and Booth's final moments. Kaufman's thesis is that Booth was fundamentally an actor who lived in make-believe and constructed a dramatic persona for himself.

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Tom Holland mentions knowing about Mary Todd Lincoln from reading George Saunders's novel, saying it made him more sympathetic toward her.

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Described as Lincoln's biographer who wrote a genuinely 10,000-page biography, so long that much of it was cut and put online. Referenced multiple times for details about Lincoln's life, Mary Todd Lincoln, and the Caesar assassination analogy popular at the time.

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Quoted at the opening of the episode regarding Mary's prospects after Darnley's murder; described as a biography that 'hates Mary, Queen of Scots' and is referenced throughout the episode for its critical assessment of Mary's reign.

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Quoted extensively throughout the episode as a key source on Mary's life, including his analysis of Bothwell's ambitions, the abduction and possible rape at Dunbar, and his 'comprehensive takedown' of the casket letters as likely faked.

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Described as a 'wonderful book' about Mary, Queen of Scots, in which Fraser describes the murder of Lord Darnley as 'the most debatable, as well as surely the most worked over murder in history.' Fraser's view is that Mary was a tender-hearted person who would never have been involved in the murder.

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Discussed as presenting the opposite view to Antonia Fraser's book, with Wormald despising Mary Queen of Scots and arguing that if Mary didn't murder Darnley, she was 'almost the only member of Edinburgh's political society who knew nothing about it.'

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Described as providing what the hosts consider the most definitive solution to Darnley's murder. Published in 2004, Guy went back to original documents that had been miscatalogued by Victorian archivists, and his work was the inspiration for the Saoirse Ronan film. The hosts draw heavily on Guy's work for their account of the murder.

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John Guy is quoted describing the aftermath of Rizzio's murder and Morton as 'the most villainous of the Scottish lords.'

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Alec Ryrie is quoted describing Darnley as having 'proved to be more arrogant, inconstant, short-sighted, petulant, and incompetent than any other British politician of the 16th century, excepting only those who were actually insane.'

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Tom Holland read a passage from Knox's account of his first meeting with Mary Queen of Scots. Dominic noted that historian Alec Ryrie describes this book as 'gossipy, cantankerous, and enthralling.'

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Described as a 'very negative book about Mary Queen of Scots,' Wormald argues Mary was 'a ruler whose life was marked by irresponsibility and failure on a scale unparalleled in her own day.' Referenced extensively throughout the episode for her critical interpretation of Mary's political choices.

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John Guy's biography is quoted as saying 'not everybody wanted joyosity' regarding reactions to Mary's court, and later that Darnley's 'character was tainted by recklessness, sexual excess, pride and stupidity.'

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Antonia Fraser's 'very famous biography' is cited for character sketches of figures like the Earl of Morton and for describing how Mary 'fell violently, recklessly, and totally in love' with Darnley.

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Lady Antonia Fraser's celebrated biography of Mary, Queen of Scots was quoted at the opening describing Mary's arrival in France, and praised throughout for brilliantly evoking 'the dreamlike quality of Mary's upbringing in France.'

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Described by Tom Holland as 'brilliant' and 'definitive,' John Guy's biography was cited for its account of Mary's education being 'the equivalent for a prospective ruler of a degree in business administration' and for details about Mary making marmalade.

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Alec Ryrie's book was cited for describing the two years of Scottish transformation as 'not just one of the most extraordinary national transformations in European history' but 'arguably the first modern revolution.'

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Described as 'probably the most famous' pamphlet ever written by a Scot, Knox's work was discussed as targeting Mary Tudor and Mary of Guise's Catholic rule, though it backfired when Protestant Elizabeth succeeded to the English throne.

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The opening passage about Mary Queen of Scots' execution was read from this book, which frames her execution as the first chapter leading to Philip II's launch of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

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Described as a 'brilliant, groundbreaking book' by the historian who condemned Mary as 'a monarch of little wit and no judgment, a woman who absolutely brought about her own downfall.'

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Tom Holland held up this 'titanic definitive biography of Mary' which came out about 20 years ago, noting it had been retitled for the 2018 film with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie on the cover.

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The hosts read from and extensively discuss Ronald Blythe's book, which covers Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly praising the chapter on Harold Davidson as brilliantly funny and witty. Dominic mentions he wrote an introduction for the Folio Society edition about 10 years ago.

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Described as one of several excellent biographies of Harold Davidson, written by an author from Norfolk who argues that Davidson has been much maligned.

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Mentioned in passing that Freud loved Blackpool so much that memories of paddling in its waters were included in his book on the interpretation of dreams.

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This medieval manuscript is the central text discussed in the episode, edited and published by M.R. James in 1896. Tom Holland describes it as 'one of the most sinister, poisonous, and influential texts ever published in England' for its role in originating the blood libel against Jews.

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Described by Tom Holland as 'a brilliant study of this case,' E.M. Rose's book is cited multiple times for its research into William's background and the historical context, including the observation that 'the hard-headed Norwich merchants, artisans, and aristocracy were not persuaded of William's sanctity.'

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Ronan McGreevy is introduced as the author of this book on the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson.

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Erskine Childers is described as 'a very famous author, the author of The Riddle of the Sands' in the context of his execution by the provisional government during the Civil War.

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Tom Holland reads a passage from the end of this book about the emergent Irish state becoming a remarkably stable democracy despite its tyrannical appearance to Republican victims.

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The book is the central focus of the episode, with the author Ronan McGreevy appearing as a guest. Tom Holland describes the assassination as being called 'Ireland's Sarajevo' in the book, and Dominic Sandbrook calls it a 'wonderfully gripping book' that is 'brilliantly handled.'

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Described as a brilliant book on the treaty negotiations by Ronan Fanning, professor of history at University College Dublin. The hosts quote his scathing assessment of the Irish negotiating team and their 'primitive and one-dimensional politics.'

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Mentioned as the spy novel written by Erskine Childers, who served as secretary of the Irish delegation, described as predicting the kind of First World War.

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Paul Rouse references Anne Dolan's article/work on the impact on the killers and their victims, noting her line that 'killing a spy may have been an order or a duty, but there was much to reconcile when all you saw was a man in his pajamas clinging to his wife.'

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Paul Rouse describes it as 'a brilliantly told story' about what happened within British politics regarding how the truce and then the treaty were constructed, extending back to 1910.

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Paul Rouse cited a brilliant description from this book about Michael Collins being 'a finance minister with the unusual advantage of running a death squad.'

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Described as 'probably the most contentious book ever written about Irish history,' it was discussed extensively regarding its controversial claims about sectarian violence in Cork during the War of Independence, including criticisms of Hart's footnoting and use of language around ethnic cleansing.

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Paul Rouse mentioned that Dan Breen's violent actions were glorified in his book, noting that Breen was 'a hard, violent man who was utterly unrepentant about killing people.'

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Paul Rouse recommended the most recent biography of Mary MacSwiney written by Leanne Lane, saying it 'does this brilliantly' in covering her fundraising campaign across 300 meetings in 58 American cities.

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Paul Roush mentioned Dan Jackson's previous appearance on the podcast and praised his book as 'wonderful on the nature of those divides' between Irish communities in places like Liverpool and London.

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Paul Roush recommended David McCullough's biography of Eamon de Valera as 'really good,' noting it throws question marks over exactly what de Valera's parentage was.

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Weinstein's biography of Savonarola is cited multiple times throughout the episode, including his analysis that it was clear from about 1490 onwards that the French were coming, and his interpretation that Savonarola genuinely believed he was guilty during his confessions under torture.

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Dominic cites Mary Hollingsworth's 'very caustic take on the Medici' in which she argues Lorenzo probably embezzled hundreds of thousands of florins in public money, calling it 'a sorry tale of greed.'

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Dominic describes this as 'an absolutely brilliant book by an American scholar, the late Donald Weinstein' that 'digs behind all the myths that you see in the popular histories' and says he depended very much on it, recommending it to listeners.

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Dominic mentions that Lorenzo's close friend Pico della Mirandola wrote this book, which is 'often described as the kind of great Renaissance manifesto.'

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Dominic mentions that Simon Sebag Montefiore wrote this book and quotes his strong opinion that Savonarola was 'one of the most evil men who ever lived' who 'presided over an intolerant, sanctimonious, and murderous reign of terror.'

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Dominic references Christopher Hibbert's popular history of this period multiple times, citing his pen portraits including descriptions of Maddalena and Franceschetto, and quoting him on how most Florentines had 'food, exciting public holidays and justice.'

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Dominic references Mary Hollingsworth's book about the Medici, noting that she paints Lorenzo as an arrogant, spoiled rich kid who blew his inheritance, calling it 'a depressing tale of greed and inexperience from which the Medici brand never really recovered.'

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Described as a 'brilliant book on the Medici' by a 'great popular historian of the 60s and 70s,' quoted for his description of Medici Florence's government being 'carried on mainly by the rich and almost exclusively in their own interests.'

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Described as 'a great book and actually quite a caustic book about the Medici,' cited for pointing out the inventory of Cosimo's library in his late 20s and for her observations about the Medici's network of newcomer families.

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Referenced for Vasari's account of how Cosimo had to lock the painter Filippo Lippi in his room to get him to finish his paintings, as Lippi was constantly overcome by lust.

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Tom Holland cited this as one of two excellent studies of the battle, quoting Daly's striking comparison that more Romans and Italians were killed in one day at Cannae than Americans killed in combat during the whole Vietnam War.

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Described by Tom Holland as an excellent book on Cannae, noting Goldsworthy is 'the goat' on the Roman army. The book includes an introduction by Richard Holmes comparing Roman losses to British casualties on the first day of the Somme.

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Mentioned as a posthumous collection of essays by the German chief of general staff, published after World War I, reflecting his obsession with replicating Hannibal's battle of annihilation.

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Tom Holland described this as a book he has been obsessed with since he was very young, written and illustrated by Connolly, which shaped his understanding of the battlefield layout at Cannae.

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The episode opens with a reading from this epic poem, described as the longest surviving Roman poem, written almost 300 years after Hannibal's invasion of Italy during the reign of Emperor Domitian.

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Tom quotes Eve MacDonald, saying she 'wrote a wonderful book about Hellenistic life,' citing her observation that Hannibal's approach must have seemed like the coming of a supernatural force to the Roman population.

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Tom Holland quotes from this book: 'modern analysis suggests that the cause of the changed attitude towards Carthage was that the Roman officer class needed fresh outlets and theatres for aggression.'

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Tom Holland references Dexter Hoyos's estimation in this book that Hamilcar sailed to Spain with about 20,000 men, calling it 'his very good book on this.'

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Described as 'a brilliant book' about Peter the Great and his times, where she discusses Peter's reforms and his collection of curiosities including deformed specimens. The host also quotes her citing a 19th-century historian's assessment of Peter's enduring legacy.

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Massie's biography of Peter the Great was heavily relied upon throughout the series. The host describes it as 'one of the most capacious and incredibly readable, swashbuckling story' and quotes its final lines about Peter being 'a force of nature.'

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Dominic references 'a lovely description of this in Robert K. Mass's book on Peter the Great' when describing Charles XII's appearance after the battle at Bender against the Turks.

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Tom Holland opens the episode by reading a passage from this poem, published in 1749, which describes Swedish Charles XII as a classical hero figure.

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Referred to as Peter's great biographer, Massie is quoted as saying that while Narva was Charles's first great victory, it was also the first step towards his doom.

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Referred to multiple times as a key biography of Peter the Great, including a quote about Peter's companions at Lefort's house and discussion of Massie's view on Peter's elimination of the Streltsy.

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Dominic describes it as 'a wonderful book about Peter the Great' and quotes from it multiple times, including vivid passages about the Streltsy massacre on the red staircase.

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The hosts discuss this extensively as one of the most remarkable and original masterpieces of Japanese literature, written in the early 11th century. They read passages from it and describe it as a compilation of diary entries, lists, anecdotes, and observations about court life, translated by Meredith McKinney in the Penguin Classics edition.

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Discussed as the great Japanese classic written around the same time as The Pillow Book, with extensive passages read aloud including the famous episode of the Hitachi Princess's nose and Genji's poems. The hosts note its author knew and disliked Sei Shōnagon.

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Referenced for the point that the Western concept of fashion does not map onto Japan in the Heian period, as clothing choices were central to personality and perception rather than an optional hobby.

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Quoted for his description of the emperor's role: 'the pole star does not do anything. It simply sits. And by virtue of what it is, everything else rotates around it.'

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The hosts discuss this as the supreme canonical classic of Japanese literature, with Tom describing reading it while in Japan as 'one of the great reading experiences of my life.' They use the Royal Tyler translation extensively throughout the episode.

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Tom quotes Ivan Morris's book, noting his observation that 'rarely in the history of the world has a country entirely free from external pressure as Japan was during this time so avidly acquired the fruits of an alien culture.'

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Tom mentions receiving a preview of this upcoming book by 'friend of the show' Chris Harding, and Dominic says he was reading it the previous night, calling it 'a very good book.' They quote Harding's description of Genji as 'irrepressibly amorous.'

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Dominic mentions that if you read Harriet Vyner's biography of Robert Fraser, there are lovely letters from Jagger and Richards to Fraser while he was in prison.

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Dominic references Anna Wohlin's book as containing allegations that builder Frank Thorogood killed Brian Jones, noting the murder conspiracy theories surrounding Jones's death.

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Dominic recommends this book for its brilliant discussion of how the cleavage between pop and rock music was contrived and artificial, essentially a marketing strategy to sell more records to older listeners.

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Referred to as 'a brilliant book about the Beatles' that discusses how pop music appeal was about attitude and atmosphere rather than just the music itself.

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Tom Holland mentions turning to this book, described as 'the kind of Plutarch's lives of popular music' with 'brilliant pen portraits of all the acts,' and reads a passage about the Stones' control of their image.

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Quoted from this 1965 book describing how journalists found Mick Jagger 'unusually friendly and intelligent' offstage, contrasting with the Stones' rebellious public image.

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Described as 'well worth reading, actually. It's really, really interesting book' when quoting Wyman's description of Brian Jones as 'a preening peacock, gregarious, artistic, desperately seeking assurance from his peers.'

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Described as 'not just the best, but more importantly, the longest history of the Norman Conquest at six volumes,' published to mark the 800th anniversary. The hosts opened with a lengthy quote from Freeman mourning the fall of Harold and Anglo-Saxon England.

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Described as 'the brilliant novel about this' which covers English Varangians in Constantinople. Tom noted it is 'full of anachronisms and stuff, but is absolutely brilliant on the sense of this is a seismic shock,' and that Rathbone cast the Normans as equivalent to the Nazi occupation of Poland.

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Described as 'probably the best' book on the Battle of Hastings, published in 2002. Quoted multiple times regarding the English battle positions, the role of cavalry, and the nature of infantry combat during the battle.

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Mentioned as a book whose author believes the Carmen's account of Harold's death and provides further reasons why William would not have wanted his role in the butchery proclaimed abroad.

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Tom Shippey argues in his book that it's not plausible Harold Hardrada would have left his armor behind, suggesting this detail was invented by saga writers to excuse his defeat.

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Don Hollway's book about Harold Hardrada is cited for his estimate that the march to Stamford Bridge would have taken about five hours.

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Described by Tom Holland as 'the definitive book on the Battle of Hastings itself' with 'amazingly detailed, subtle treatment of all the sources and the evidence.' A passage is quoted about England's military mobilization being unmatched until the total wars of the 20th century.

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Tom quotes from this book about the Anglo-Saxons not fighting in sophisticated cavalry units and England lying open without the new technology of warfare, contrasting English and Norman military organization.

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The episode opens with an excerpt from the audiobook read by Churchill, describing the death of Edward the Confessor. Dominic notes it was published in 1956 but the relevant section was reportedly written in April 1940.

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Repeatedly referenced as a primary source for Harold Hardrada's life, part of the Heimskringla saga cycle, providing accounts of his time in Constantinople, the eye-gouging of Michael V, and his reign in Norway.

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Described as the most recent biography of Harold Hardrada, mentioned for its fun narrative of Harold's time in Constantinople including the prison escape and snake encounter.

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Referenced multiple times as a primary source biography of Edward the Confessor, written in the immediate aftermath of his death in early 1066, commissioned by Queen Edith. Used to quote descriptions of Harold, Tostig, and other figures.

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Referenced when discussing Seward, Earl of Northumbria, noting that 'people who've read or watched Macbeth may remember that he features in that.'

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Described as 'an English historian writing at Malmesbury' and 'the Dominic Sandbrook of the 12th century.' His historical chronicles are referenced for his theory about Edward's marriage and for suggesting Harold was blown off course on a fishing trip.

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Described as 'the great expert on 11th century English Queens' - her scholarly opinion is quoted about the futility of speculating on sex lives of 11th century kings from sparse evidence.

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Described as 'the author of the definitive recent biography of William' - quoted saying 'there can be no reasonable doubt that before the end of 1051, he had nominated William of Normandy as his heir.'

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Described as 'the Regist Professor of Oxford in the 19th century, who wrote a six volume history of the Norman conquest.' Quoted as saying Harold's trip to Normandy is 'one of the most perplexing questions in all history.'

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Referenced as someone 'who's written about the Norman conquest and the end of Anglo-Saxon England' when discussing historians' views on Harold's trip to Normandy.

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The hosts quote from this mid-11th century chronicle written by a monk at Monte Cassino, which describes the Normans' characteristics and their expansion. The opening passage about Normans being 'tough, strong people' is directly quoted from this work.

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Referenced multiple times as a historical source. The hosts quote from it regarding Harold Harefoot seizing 'all King Canute's best valuables' and Harthacnut's death where 'he fell to the earth with an awful convulsion.'

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Explicitly recommended as 'an absolutely brilliant book' by a Norwegian historian about the Danish invasions of England, described as providing a week-by-week narrative of the conquests

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Referenced as a comparison when describing the Danish royal seat at Yelling, with its ancient graves, gold-ringed warriors, and great halls being described as 'like something out of Lord of the Rings'

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Described as a 'gargantuan six-volume history of the Norman Conquest' commissioned to mark the 800th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, published between 1867 and 1879. The opening passage is quoted at the beginning of the episode.

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Described as 'probably the most famous comic version of English history ever written' and noted as being written in 1930. The hosts quote from it regarding the Norman Conquest being 'a good thing.'

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Referenced as 'the historian of this process, who is best associated with the idea that this United Kingdom of England is a nation state.' His quote about the creation of the English state being 'the most remarkable and certainly the most lasting feat of statecraft in 10th century Europe' is cited.

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Referenced as a historical source when discussing the 'bloody cloud' portent during Æthelred's consecration, with the comment 'this is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, so it must be true.'

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Described as 'one of the most famous old English poems' about the Battle of Maldon in 991, and noted as an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's scene of Gandalf's stand at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

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Mentioned in the context that Tolkien wanted to write Lord of the Rings 'to give the English back the mythology that he thought they had lost as a result of the conquest.'

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Referenced as a comparison when describing Richard the Fearless's tomb, which was 'not in a church, but a great earthen mound looking out to sea. So like something out of Beowulf.'

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Explicitly described as 'this great book' when discussing the deaths of notable figures during the French Revolution, including Princess de Lamballe and Louis XVI. The hosts quote from the book regarding the lack of formal proclamation of the French Republic.

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Referenced when discussing the suggestion that Louis XVI should be sent to the galleys as punishment, with the comparison 'Like Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.'

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Mentioned in the context of discussing Malzherbe, who as national censor 'allowed Diderot to publish the encyclopedia, which was kind of very radical, very atheist-tinged.'

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The hosts quote from Wordsworth's poem describing the scene where Louvet accused Robespierre in the National Convention. They note that Wordsworth was present during this period of the French Revolution and wrote about it later in The Prelude, after he had 'become a counter-revolutionary and a massive reactionary.'

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Published on September 15, 1791 as a response to the constitution. Described as 'an obvious parody of the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen' and dedicated to Marie Antoinette. This was a published political pamphlet/treatise.

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Mentioned as Rousseau's novel and 'a massive bestseller' when discussing his influence on revolutionary attitudes toward women. A quote from the book is provided: 'a brilliant wife is a plague to her husband, her children, her friends, her valet, everyone.'

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Described as 'the great scholar of the kind of the culture of the French revolution' with 'particular interest in the role of women in the revolution.' Her scholarly work is quoted regarding the figure of Liberty representing virtue and transcendence of localism. No specific book title is given but her academic work on the French Revolution is clearly referenced.

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Described as 'the definitive French historian' of the September massacres who 'was writing in the 1930s' and 'was the head of the National Archives in France.' His work on the massacres was considered authoritative for years before being critiqued by Simon Schama.

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Explicitly mentioned as 'our old friend Simon Sharma wrote his book, Citizens.' The book is discussed extensively in relation to its treatment of the September massacres and its critique of Pierre Caron's work. Schama's book is described as taking a much more critical view of the massacres.

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Described as a first-hand account written by an army officer and royalist journalist who survived the September massacres. The book is noted for having 'a brilliant title' and provides insider testimony about the events at the Abbey of Saint-Germain prison.

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Referenced as 'Peter McPhee's book on the French Revolution' when discussing an example of an 18-year-old merchant's son who wrote home about the massacres. The book is used as a source for primary historical accounts.

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Referenced as having 'written a wonderful book on the terror' and later as 'his book on the terror.' The book is discussed in the context of its historiographical approach to the September massacres and is described as being written by 'a man of the left.'

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Described as having written 'the most recent English language survey' of the French Revolution. Popkin is identified as 'an American historian, professor at the University of Kentucky' and his book is discussed in relation to its treatment of the September massacres and comparison to 20th-century political experiments.

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Described as 'a history of quests for El Dorado' - noted as being written by a science fiction writer but 'very scrupulously researched, very serious book' that describes Aguirre as 'the single most villainous figure in the annals of the Spanish conquest'

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Referenced as 'a brilliant book about the fall of the Incas' written by 'the great historian of the Amazon' - Hemming is quoted describing Aguirre as 'simply cruel, psychopathic, a man of unmitigated evil'

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Referenced as a thematic comparison to the Aguirre story, discussing how Europeans venture into remote areas and encounter darkness - the hosts note they 'did a podcast on a few weeks ago' about this book

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Brief reference comparing Aguirre's nihilistic philosophy ('the earth was for the strongest') to 'the judge in Blood Meridian'

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Described as 'a very recent book' that was the author's PhD thesis, arguing that Aguirre was 'the first revolutionary' and that the accounts of his madness were exaggerated by complicit parties trying to avoid blame

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Referenced as the historical accounts that 'inspire so many of Shakespeare's plays' when describing Count Lasky's famous beard

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Referenced as the book series that the TV drama 'A Discovery of Witches' is based on, which features Dr. John Dee as a character

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Described as 'probably the definitive biography of Dee' and quoted regarding Elizabeth's acceptance of Dee's suggestions about her cosmic destiny

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Described as 'a great allegorical portrait of the Elizabethan period' containing what is 'almost certainly a portrait of Dr. Dee' as a wise wizard figure

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Referenced as 'the great volume recounting the Marian persecution of Protestants' in which Dee appears and is referred to as 'the great conjurer'

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Referenced when discussing the Protestant accusation that Catholic priests were conjurers, with Francis Young noted as a 'friend of the show' who appeared on the podcast

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Described as a biography of Dee, quoted regarding how new cartography of the world would have been as startling to 16th century eyes as photographs of Earth from space

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The central subject of the entire episode. Discussed extensively as a novella first published in Blackwood's magazine in 1899, one of the most celebrated works in English literature. The hosts analyze its plot, autobiographical origins from Conrad's Congo journey, its literary modernism, its themes of imperialism and human darkness, its cultural footprint (including Apocalypse Now), and the intense debates about whether it is a racist or anti-imperialist work. Multiple passages are read aloud throughout the episode.

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Described as a 'brilliantly influential book' by the Palestinian American critic. Discussed in the context of Said's broader critique of Heart of Darkness, where Said argued Conrad fails to reject imperialism and doesn't give Africans a chance of redemption. The hosts note some scholars think it's a terrible book while others (including one of the hosts) think it's brilliant.

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Mentioned as a book by a writer the hosts describe as Norwegian (actually Swedish), who was excoriating about European imperialism, particularly British imperialism. The title comes from Kurtz's phrase in Heart of Darkness, and the book was the basis for a documentary series. Discussed as an example of how Heart of Darkness has given anti-imperialists some of its language.

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Mentioned as published in 1897, referenced alongside other late Victorian works exploring the theme of darkness coming to England — paralleling Heart of Darkness's opening meditation on London as 'one of the dark places of the earth.'

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Referenced multiple times as Conrad's 'great biographer.' Cited for details about Conrad's childhood dream of visiting Africa, his traumatic Congo journey, the oppressive atmosphere that inspired Heart of Darkness, and the analysis that Kurtz's model comes from literary and philosophical tradition as much as real-life figures. Described as 'quite hard to get hold of.'

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Mentioned as Conrad's first novel, which he began writing in 1889 after returning to London from the South Seas, before his fateful journey to the Congo.

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Referenced as a source that identifies Leon Romm, a Belgian Force Publique captain who kept a flower bed ringed with human heads, as a possible model for the character of Kurtz.

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Described by one host as 'one of my favourite books,' published in 1890, the same year Conrad went to the Congo. About a Parisian train driver who is a sex-crazed homicidal maniac, it illustrates the late Victorian cultural theme that evil lurks within even the most banal person — a theme central to Heart of Darkness.

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Mentioned as published in 1899, the same year as Heart of Darkness. Cited to illustrate how the idea of repressed anxieties, primal urges, and terrible ghosts buried deep within the civilized self was simmering in the European imagination at the time Conrad was writing.

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Mentioned in a podcast advertisement for the Legacy podcast, described as a bestseller by Peter Frankopan that covers Genghis Khan's part of the world, establishing Frankopan's expertise on the Mongol empire.

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Referenced as a comparison to Heart of Darkness — both transpose the horrors of European colonialism to Britain. Just as Wells imagines an invasion of England, Conrad imagines armed Africans appearing on the road between Deal and Gravesend, catching yokels to carry heavy loads, to illustrate the reality of colonial violence.

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Mentioned as a poem by T.S. Eliot that begins with a quotation from Heart of Darkness: 'Mistah Kurtz—he dead.' Cited as evidence of Conrad's enormous literary influence and the quotability of Heart of Darkness.

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Discussed as Eliot's great poem, for which he originally wanted the 'the horror, the horror' passage from Heart of Darkness as its epigraph. The hosts note The Waste Land is a poem about the First World War and the darkness revealed within European civilisation, connecting it thematically to Conrad's prophetic vision.

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Referenced through the story of Faustus who sold his soul for earthly riches and is plunged into hell. The hosts note the parallel between the character Marlowe in Heart of Darkness and the playwright Christopher Marlowe who wrote this drama, suggesting the shared name cannot be coincidental given the Faustian themes of Kurtz's story.

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Referenced alongside Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus as part of the Faustian literary tradition that informs Kurtz's character — the idea of selling one's soul to the devil. The hosts note that Goethe wrote about Faust, and Thomas Mann would later write about Faust as well, placing Conrad in a long literary lineage.

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Briefly mentioned as a later work in the Faustian literary tradition — 'Thomas Mann will write about Faust a few decades after Conrad' — placing Heart of Darkness within a continuum of works exploring the theme of selling one's soul.

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Discussed at length as one of the most influential lectures/essays ever given about literary culture, delivered at the University of Massachusetts in 1975. Achebe declared Conrad 'a thoroughgoing racist' and argued Heart of Darkness cannot be called a great work of art because it dehumanizes Africans and treats Africa merely as a backdrop for European self-discovery. Described as a foundational moment for post-colonial literary studies. The hosts engage seriously with some of Achebe's criticisms while ultimately disagreeing with his conclusion.

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Discussed as the polar opposite of Heart of Darkness — a swashbuckling, optimistic journey into Africa that never questions the right of adventurers to be there. The hosts suggest reading both books as a pairing would be fascinating, as they represent two contrasting literary approaches to European engagement with Africa.

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Mentioned by the assistant producer Tabby as a comparison to Morel's whistleblower story - described as 'the Robert Harris novel about the Dreyfus case' with its similar quality of uncovering hidden wrongdoing.

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Explicitly mentioned as a book that Morel recruited Conan Doyle to write as part of the Congo Reform campaign - 'He gets him to write his own book on the Congo, The Crime of the Congo.'

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Referenced as the book the podcast series began with and will return to discuss in a future episode, described as 'one of the most influential works of fiction ever written.'

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Mentioned as Hergé's second Tintin book, noted as having been withdrawn from general sale in children's bookshops due to its inappropriate portrayal of Belgian colonialism and Congolese people.

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Referenced multiple times as the primary source for the podcast series about the Congo Free State. Mentioned when discussing Hochschild's descriptions of Casement's report style and noted that certain aspects weren't fully captured in the book.

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Described as 'his satirical monologue' published in 1905, quoted extensively in the podcast to ventriloquize King Leopold's perspective on the Congo criticism.

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The novella is quoted extensively at the beginning and throughout the episode. It's described as being written in 1899, nine years after Conrad visited the Congo Free State as a merchant seaman. The hosts use passages from the book to illustrate the horrors of Leopold's Congo.

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Explicitly referenced as 'his brilliant book' that the hosts have 'mentioned quite a lot.' They quote from it describing the appeal of the Congo to adventurers, and later mention it contains 'long narratives of kind of these hideous, bloody mutinaries.' The hosts note they will discuss critics of this book in a future bonus episode.

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Referenced as 'another great book on the Congo by David van Raybroek, a lot of it based on oral history.' The book is cited regarding the practice of cutting off hands, noting that 'most of the people who had their hands cut off, I mean, they're already dead.'

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The episode opens with a reading from this novella and discusses it as the inspiration for Apocalypse Now, describing it as 'probably the greatest, the most influential, possibly the most controversial book' about European colonialism in Africa.

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Referenced when discussing Conrad's Heart of Darkness passage about traveling up the Congo River, noting it has 'echoes of Conan Doyle's book, The Lost World' with its sense of going into the jungle being like traveling back to prehistoric times.

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Mentioned as a book that Leopold II read about the Dutch in the East Indies, which influenced his ideas about how to profit from colonies using forced labor on plantations.

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Explicitly described as 'a brilliant book on this' about the Congo Free State. The hosts mention they will be 'borrowing from that book very liberally' and give it a 'big shout out' as a primary source for their discussion.

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Described as 'a brilliant book on Claudius' when discussing whether Claudius was actually poisoned or died of natural causes. Osgood apparently points out evidence of plague in Rome at the time and notes that many high-ranking people died around that period.

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Referenced multiple times as both a novel and TV drama that depicts the story of Claudius, Messalina, and the Roman imperial family. The hosts mention it when discussing Messalina's scandals ('if you've seen or indeed read I, Claudius') and note it 'lies at the head of all these great dynastic epics' on television.

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Extensively quoted and discussed throughout the episode as the primary source for information about Caligula. The hosts read passages from it and analyze Suetonius's account of Caligula's life and reign.

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Referenced when Tom compares Caligula's behavior of contorting his face in the mirror to make it more fearsome to 'the malevolent dwarf Quilp in Charles Dickens' old curiosity shop.'

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Mentioned as a historical source that covers Tiberius but not Caligula: 'we have Tacitus for Tiberius, but we don't have Tacitus for Caligula.' His historical works are referenced as containing fuller accounts of events.

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Mentioned as a fragmentary source for Caligula and later described as 'the great Judean historian' who 'has quite a detailed account that seems to draw on quite authoritative sources' regarding Caligula's death.

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Mentioned as a play written about Caligula: 'Albert Camus wrote a play about him' in the context of discussing how Caligula has become 'almost a kind of existential hero' in recent times.

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Described as 'a German scholar... who's written brilliantly about Caligula' and quoted regarding the incest accusations against Caligula being later fabrications.

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Referenced multiple times throughout the episode as the primary source for information about Emperor Tiberius. Described as 'Suetonius' great biography of the Caesars' and discussed extensively for its accounts of Tiberius's reign, character, and alleged depravities.

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Described as 'a brilliant new book' that has just come out. The hosts discuss Champlin's analysis of folkloric stories about Tiberius and how the emperor appears in various mythological contexts.

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Mentioned as 'a wonderful book about Nero that I've often praised' when introducing Champlin's new book about Tiberius.

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Referenced when discussing the deaths of Augustus's grandsons Lucius and Gaius, with the host noting 'this is basically the kind of the plot twist in I, Claudius' regarding the theory that Livia poisoned them.

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The main subject of the episode - described as 'his great collection of biographies' covering twelve Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian. The hosts discuss this ancient work extensively as one of the most celebrated biographies from the ancient world.

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Mentioned alongside Suetonius's work as 'the biographies written by Plutarch' - described as among 'the most celebrated of all the biographies that we've received from the ancient world.'

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Referenced when discussing Suetonius's influence: 'Einhard, the great biographer of Charlemagne, is very influenced by Suetonius and models his biography of Charlemagne on that of Augustus.'

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Mentioned alongside I, Claudius as the companion novel: 'Robert Graves obviously turned the raw material from the Twelve Caesars into his novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God.'

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Referenced as a historical source about Suetonius's life: 'we also know from the letters of Pliny the Younger... that Suetonius is part of Pliny the Younger's set' - described as providing accounts of the eruption of Vesuvius.

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Discussed as a novel that Robert Graves created using 'the raw material from the Twelve Caesars' - noted that Graves also translated the previous Penguin edition of Suetonius's Lives.

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Mentioned at the end of the episode as 'the most amazing book on Poland's experience in the Second World War' that they had discussed extensively (note: the transcript renders the author name as 'Halleck Hans' but this appears to be a transcription error)

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Explicitly mentioned as the source for the John Clarke quote about seeing Wojtek at Monte Cassino, and later referenced again for details about the battle and Wojtek's story

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Explicitly cited as the source for the passage about General Oliver Lees and the Polish role at Monte Cassino, described as 'the immortal prose of James Holland'

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Referenced when discussing the attack on the Polish post office in Danzig. The hosts mention that this historical event is featured as a chapter in Gunter Grass's novel The Tin Drum, which is set in Danzig-Gdansk.

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Described as 'a brilliant book' on Poland in the Second World War. The author is identified as an Anglo-Polish historian. The book is cited multiple times for statistics about Poland's defense budget and military capabilities, as well as justifications used by various parties during the invasion.

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Referenced as 'a brilliant book on Poland in the Second World War by a guy called Jan Karski.' Cited for a quote from Karski, who was a cavalry lieutenant, describing the chaos of the German invasion.

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Cited when discussing German atrocities during the invasion of Poland. The book provides an example of a German stormtrooper named Gerhard M. who participated in burning Polish villages.

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Referenced as a biography of Hitler. Cited for identifying September 1939 as the 'Nazi Rubicon' - the moral turning point - and for describing Hitler's enjoyment of watching the bombing of Warsaw.

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Explicitly referenced as 'Richard Evans says in his book on the Third Reich' when discussing the propaganda stories about ethnic Germans in Poland being exaggerations and inventions.

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Referenced multiple times as 'Hitler's great biographer' and cited for describing Hitler's 50th birthday extravaganza and Hitler's mindset. Later explicitly mentioned as 'in Kershaw, describes the scene in his biography' when discussing Hitler's meeting with the Swedish intermediary Dalaris.

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Referenced when discussing Taylor's controversial argument that Hitler was just a conventional German nationalist, which the hosts disagree with. Published in the 1960s.

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Referenced as 'his book on the Third Reich' when quoting a worker who expressed foreboding about Germany's victories, comparing them to previous wins that 'came to a bad end.'

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Mentioned as a book that Czech President Emil Hager translated into Czech, noted as an amusing contrast to the serious situation of confronting the Third Reich.

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Referenced as 'his biography of Hitler' when quoting a teenage girl from Paderborn whose mother questioned whether Hitler would ever be satisfied after the annexation of Czechoslovakia.

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Referenced as 'his book about the Nazis in power' when discussing how everything Hitler did was designed to make Germany racially fit for conflict. The specific title is not mentioned but it's clearly identified as a book about the Nazis in power.

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Referenced as 'Robert Harris's book on Munich, Robert Harris's novel' when discussing Chamberlain's character. Dominic says 'There's a brilliant portrait of him, actually, in Robert Harris's book on Munich, Robert Harris's novel, where he really captures that sort of sense of Chamberlain's, his pride, his vanity.'

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Referenced as 'his book on the Nazis at war' when discussing British public opinion and their attitudes toward empire and Czechoslovakia. The context suggests this is a different book from the earlier 'Nazis in power' reference.

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Referenced multiple times as 'his brilliant biography' of Hitler. Kershaw is quoted extensively throughout discussing Hitler's foreign policy achievements and his belief in providence. The biography is clearly about Hitler but the specific title is not mentioned.

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Referenced multiple times as a primary source for Charlemagne's biography. Einhard is described as 'the biographer of Charlemagne' and his account of the coronation and physical description of Charlemagne are quoted and discussed.

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Referenced as 'the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes' when describing the blinding of Emperor Constantine VI by his mother Irene in 797.

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Explicitly mentioned as 'a brilliant book on her by Judith Heron, Women in Purple' when discussing Empress Irene of Constantinople.

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Referenced as 'Suetonius, the biography of the Caesars' when discussing how Einhard may have drawn physical descriptions of Charlemagne from Suetonius's descriptions of Roman emperors.

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Explicitly quoted - 'Peter Brown in his book, The Rise of Western Christendom' - when discussing the Carolingian scholar-administrators as 'the first technocrats of Europe.'

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Referenced multiple times as the source for descriptions of Charlemagne's character traits, physical descriptions, and accounts of events like the Avar treasure. Einhard is described as 'this very short scholar who wrote a biography of Charlemagne.'

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Mentioned as the model that Einhard used for his biography of Charlemagne: 'Einhard models his biography on Suetonius' biography of Augustus.'

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A medieval papal biography cited multiple times for accounts of the Lombard war, including descriptions of Charlemagne's campaigns against Desiderius and the capture of Pavia. Referred to as 'a life of Hadrian I' and 'the life of Hadrian, the Pope.'

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Described as 'her brilliant biography of Charlemagne' when discussing why Desiderius refused Charlemagne's offer, quoting her explanation about the Lombard king's honor.

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The episode opens with a reading from this primary source biography written by the Frankish scholar and courtier shortly after Charlemagne's death, describing the Merovingian kings

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Mentioned as the classical work that Einhard modeled his biography of Charlemagne on; specifically noted that the monastery at Fulda had a complete collection which Einhard read as a young boy

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Described as 'one of the great historians of this process' regarding the transformation of Gaul under Charles Martel; a lengthy quote is read about Charles Martel's destruction of the independent power of Frankish bishops

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Described as 'the great historian of late antiquity' and quoted for his memorable phrase about the Pope hearing 'the crash of falling masonry' as ancient Rome crumbled around him

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Referenced when discussing the 717 siege of Constantinople by Umayyad forces, noting this siege was 'one of the models for Tolkien's portrayal of the siege of Minas Tirith'

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Described as 'the great historian of Frankish Germany' who wrote about the massacre at Canstadt, comparing its effect on the Alemanni landholding class to what Hastings did to the Anglo-Saxons

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Brief dismissive reference to Dan Brown's theory that the Merovingian bloodline continued to the present day, alluding to his conspiracy thriller works

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Explicitly quoted at the beginning of the episode, described as 'one of the most famous passages of historical prose ever written,' discussing Gibbon's view on the Battle of Tours and Charles Martel

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Explicitly named as the source for Bede's account of comets and the Saracen invasion of Gaul

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Described as 'whose book on early Carolingian warfare is brilliant on this whole campaign' - quoted regarding Arab military technology and composite recurve bows

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Described as 'a chronicle that was written by an anonymous Christian priest back in Spain' and identified as 'essentially our main source, our most contemporary source for what's going on' regarding the Battle of Tours

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Referenced for his depictions of early medieval combat - 'it's a bit like the images of fighting that you get in Bernard Cornwell's books' - describing shield wall fighting

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Referenced as 'the great historian of this period' whose work Tom read regarding the division of Frankish kingdoms, arguing it was a Roman rather than barbarian practice. No specific book title mentioned.

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Referenced as Gregory of Tours' great chronicle about Merovingian Gaul in the late 6th century. The hosts discuss its famous first line: 'A great many things keep happening, some of them good, some of them bad.' Used as a primary source throughout the episode.

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Explicitly described as 'a wonderful account of the rivalry between these two queens' and 'the great narrative account in English.' Quoted multiple times throughout the episode for details about Fredegund and Brunhild's lives and rivalry.

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Referenced as 'the great historian of the economy of late antiquity and early medieval Europe' who described the mid-6th century as 'one of the worst periods to be alive.' No specific book title mentioned.

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Tom reads a passage from this romance novel at the start of the episode to introduce the concept of the word 'farang' (Frank) being used in Thai language. He explicitly identifies it as 'Guilty Pleasures by Deborah Mello' and describes it as 'a romance novel describing the rivalry between two American brothers.'

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A passage is read (from the audiobook narrated by Ian McKellen) discussing the Merovingian bloodline and its supposed connection to Christ's lineage. The hosts explicitly identify this as 'The Da Vinci Code' by 'the acclaimed novelist, renowned novelist, Dan Brown.'

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Mentioned as 'the book purporting to be history on which The Da Vinci Code was based.' The hosts reference it when explaining the theory about Jesus and Mary Magdalene's descendants intermarrying with Frankish royalty.

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The hosts quote from this 1857 book at the opening, describing Loftus's first European visit to the ruins of Warka/Uruk in Mesopotamia

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Quoted when discussing the early settlement at Jericho around 9,000 BC, describing the reliable winter rains, productive harvests, and abundant wild game

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Described as a 'brilliant book' about cities, quoted extensively when discussing the sacred shrine at Eridu around 5,400 BC and later regarding the first named person in history (Cushim the accountant)

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Referenced multiple times discussing the decisive shift in urbanization toward southern Mesopotamia, comparisons to Chicago's development, and the domestication of humans by urban institutions

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Referenced as a book about the invention of the city, with the host quoting Lyke describing Uruk as 'the only really large urban center in the fourth millennium' and later about how temples were built and rebuilt

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Referenced when discussing how many sailors could not swim, noting 'this is a theme of the Master and Commander series, isn't it? The Patrick O'Brien books.'

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A poem published in 1826, quoted at length and described as 'one of the kind of classic Victorian poetic illustrations of pluck and heroism.'

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Referenced as a source on Nelson, quoted as saying 'it was not in the Admiral's nature to dither with an enemy in sight.' John Sugden is a Nelson biographer whose work is being cited.

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Referenced as author of a history of the Royal Navy, quoted as saying the Battle of the Nile 'was undoubtedly the greatest victory in British naval history.'

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Mentioned as the book that inspired Captain Alexander Ball to go to sea. The hosts discuss its historical significance in inspiring naval careers.

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Referenced (as 'Green Mantle' by 'John Buckingham') when discussing rumors of French agents in the East during the hunt for Napoleon's fleet, comparing the scenario to Buchan's adventure novel.

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Quoted regarding the Battle of Camperdown, stating it 'bestowed for the first time on the Royal Navy something of the aura of invincibility.' Rodger is a prominent naval historian.

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Mentioned as a 'brilliant book about Britain and the Napoleonic Wars' that contains letters from country parsons about the period. The hosts mention they will be doing a bonus episode with her about this book.

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Referenced multiple times as Sugden's biography of Nelson, described as 'incomparable.' Used as a source for details about Nelson's arrival in Bath, his coat of arms, and the hunt for the French fleet.

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Referenced when discussing how Royal Navy captains sought prize money by capturing enemy ships. The hosts mention that 'Anyone who's read Patrick O'Brien's novels will be familiar with' this practice, referring to O'Brian's famous Aubrey-Maturin naval series.

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Referenced as 'a great historian of the Navy' when discussing the health of Royal Navy sailors. The hosts quote his assessment that 'sailors in the Royal Navy must have been the healthiest body of British subjects in the world,' likely from one of his naval history works.

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Referenced multiple times as 'great biographer of Nelson.' His biography is quoted describing both Jervis's physical appearance ('toad-like figure') and Nelson's naval performance at battle ('no amateur broadside, but a performance no other ship in the Mediterranean could have surpassed').

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Explicitly mentioned as a book published in 1735, from which Uncle Morris reads Nelson a passage about trade and the fleet being the 'wealth, strength and glory of Great Britain.'

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Referred to as 'the great historian of the Royal Navy' - quoted regarding naval establishments representing 'islands of the 19th century in the 18th century countryside.'

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The Patrick O'Brian books are discussed, particularly 'the first one, master and commander' as being 'brilliant on this sort of sense of gnawing anxiety' about getting on the captain's list.

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Referred to as 'the great biographer of Nelson' with his biographies described as 'the world's longest ever books published' - mentioned in context of detailed information about Nelson's life including 'enormous quantitative stuff' about ordering supplies.

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Referenced as having written 'a brilliant book on Trafalgar' - discussed in the context of describing the Royal Navy under Nelson as 'the most effective maritime killing machine in the world.'

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Referenced as an example of classic children's literature when comparing Nelson's story trajectory to 'so many great children's stories' about a young boy learning the ropes.

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Mentioned as someone 'who's written brilliantly on abolitionism' in the context of discussing the authenticity of a controversial Nelson letter about slavery.

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Referenced as 'the great book on presidential campaigns' from 1960, discussing how White had previously been hard on Nixon but later changed his view of him

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Mentioned to identify who Hunter S. Thompson is ('he's the fear and loathing in Las Vegas, man') before discussing his quotes about Nixon

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A book written by a young writer who got complete access to the Nixon campaign, described as 'a wonderful book to read if you're interested in this campaign or campaigning generally' that lifted the lid on the cynicism of presidential campaigns

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Referenced as 'the Nicta book' which discusses LBJ's relationship with Nixon and the conspiracy theory about Nixon sabotaging Vietnam peace talks

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Referenced as Nixon's 'most recent biographer' when describing Nixon's target demographic of middle Americans who watch NASCAR, go to church, and volunteer for Boy Scouts

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Referenced as a source for a quote describing McCarthy's campaign as having 'degenerated into a cross between a girl's boarding school in an Oriental court.' Described as a British account of the events.

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Explicitly mentioned as 'his book' and described as 'a brilliant book about the conventions of that year.' Quoted for Mailer's description of Mayor Daley and later for his description of the police violence.

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Referenced as 'a really good book on this' about the Chicago convention, published in the late 80s or early 90s. The host notes he had never read an account that gave the story from the point of view of the Chicago police until reading this book.

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Tom mentions he read this single book about 1968 American politics, quoting from it that Wallace is 'one of the most misunderstood politicians in American history.' The book is referenced multiple times throughout the episode as offering a different interpretation of Wallace.

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Described as a 'brilliant biography' of George Wallace. Dominic quotes from it about Wallace's classmates laughing at his appearance, and references it again later for its description of Wallace's speeches as 'stunningly disconnected, at times incoherent, and always repetitious.'

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Referred to as 'this brilliant book' written by 'the Sunday Times team' - Wallace is quoted as speaking to the authors about not talking about race or segregation anymore.

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Dominic explains that Kevin Phillips, a Nixon campaign staffer, published this book in 1969 arguing that white working class voters would leave the Democratic Party and that the political center of gravity was moving to the Sun Belt. Nixon read it and implemented its strategies.

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Referenced multiple times as a book about 1968 America that the hosts began the series with. They quote from it describing Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel and later reference 'the Sunday Times guys' who wrote it.

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Explicitly mentioned as a book that Jackie Kennedy gave to Robert Kennedy, which helped him discover Greek tragedy and influenced his famous speeches quoting Aeschylus.

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Referenced as 'Kennedy's own biographer' and 'his biographer, Larry Tye' when discussing details about Kennedy's campaign and security arrangements. This refers to Tye's biographical work on Robert Kennedy.

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Referenced as 'a brilliant book on the whole story about King's killer and the manhunt for him.' The book describes the boarding house where the assassin stayed as 'a haven for invalids, derelicts, transients, riverboat workers, and small-time crooks.' Later referenced again when discussing the FBI manhunt being the biggest in FBI history. This is likely referring to 'Hellhound on His Trail' though the title is not explicitly stated.

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Referred to as 'Robert Caro's enormous, enormous cycle of Johnson biographies' which Dominic says he has read. Described as 'the greatest modern political biography' that is 'about 4,000 pages long.'

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Tom compares LBJ to 'a character from Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars' when describing Johnson's personality and behavior.

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Tom explicitly states he read this book in preparation for the episode, describing it as 'all about 1968.' He quotes from it regarding Billy Graham's comments about LBJ and Lady Bird.

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Referenced as 'an intern of his called doris kearns who later wrote a book about this and became a very well-known biographer.' The book is about LBJ but the title is not mentioned in the transcript.

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Explicitly described as 'a book about the presidential election of 1968 by three journalists working for the Sunday Times.' Tom reads the opening lines from it, and Dominic calls it 'a brilliant book, actually. One of the best books ever written, I think, about American politics.'

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Tom quotes from this book to describe the Marseillaise as having 'an almost millennial sense of drama' when discussing the impact of the song.

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Referenced as an example of Enlightenment culture's fascination with Rome, noting that Gibbon cast the Christian period as a dark age.

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Described as 'his great book on the coming of the terror' - cited for the statistic that Cicero was quoted 10 times more frequently than Rousseau in revolutionary speeches and newspapers.

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Described as 'her book on fashion in the French Revolution' - referenced when discussing the bonnet rouge and quoting a contemporary observer about sans-culottes fashion.

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Described as 'Peter McPhee's Great History of the French Revolution' - referenced when discussing how the Girondins had a parody of the Marseillaise that they used against the Jacobins.

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Referenced as 'Simon Sharma describes it very pithily in his book' when discussing the killing of General Dion and the mutilation of his body. This is likely referring to Schama's 'Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution'.

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Explicitly mentioned by title and author ('you read that Timothy Tackett book... The Coming of the Terror. Brilliant book') when discussing the move towards a police state after the August 10th insurrection.

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Referenced as 'Hedery Mantell's case write about it' when discussing Danton's character and why he has been endearing to people who read or write about the Revolution, implying her novel about the French Revolution.

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Referenced as 'David Andrus, in his fantastic book on the terror' when discussing whether the August 10th insurrection was a bottom-up movement and noting that Robespierre was not directly involved in insurrection preparations.

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The episode opens with a quotation from this novel describing the guillotine. The hosts use it to introduce the topic of the guillotine as a symbol of the French Revolution in the English-speaking world.

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Explicitly recommended as a 'brilliant book' that the host found at the London Library while researching this episode. Described as providing deep history of executions and the guillotine in France. The host notes that much of the episode's content comes from Friedland's book.