An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

By Episodes

641. Rome’s Greatest Enemy: Hannibal’s Nemesis (Part 2)

February 05, 2026

What happened at the Battle of Ibera, a totemic though overlooked battle of the Punic Wars? With the forces of Carthage closing in on a depleted Rome, would a young Roman, Publius Cornelius Scipio...
0 books
The Arnolfini Portrait, with Laura Cumming

February 04, 2026

Why is Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait perceived as one of the greatest mysteries of the arts? What elements and symbolisms provoke debates about its identity and meaning? And, what do we know...
0 books
640. Rome’s Greatest Enemy: Carthage at the Gates (Part 1)

February 02, 2026

Did Hannibal march on Rome after his legendary victory at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC? How could Rome fight on after losing so many men? And, where would their next cataclysmic clash take...
1 book
639. Revolution in Iran: Death in the Desert (Part 4)

January 29, 2026

How did America respond after the American Embassy in Tehran was seized, and American citizens taken hostage? Would the hostages survive? And, what became of the Iranian Revolution, and Ayatollah...
1 book
638. Revolution in Iran: The Hostage Crisis (Part 3)

January 26, 2026

Why and how was the American Embassy stormed in 1979, at the height of the Iranian Revolution? Did America respond when large numbers of American civil servants were taken hostage? And, would a...
2 books
637. Revolution in Iran: Rise of the Ayatollah (Part 2)

January 22, 2026

What set off the final uprisings of the Iranian Revolution, against the last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi? Would President Jimmy Carter and America back the Shah’s forbidding opponent, the...
3 books
636. Revolution in Iran: Fall of the Shah (Part 1)

January 19, 2026

Why did the Iranian Revolution erupt in 1979? What was the nature of the relationship between President Carter and the ostentatious Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi? And, who was the Ayatollah Ruhollah...
2 books
635. Joan of Arc: For Fear of the Flames (Part 4)

January 15, 2026

What were the harsh conditions of Joan of Arc’s imprisonment, at the hands of her English captors? How did Joan’s trial unfold, and with what was she charged? And, would Joan confess at the last...
1 book
634. Joan of Arc: Heroine in Chains (Part 3)

January 12, 2026

How was Charles VII, with the help of Joan of Arc, able to fight his way to Reims to be crowned in the ancient seat of French kings? Why was she able to continually defeat the formidable soldiers...
1 book
633. Joan of Arc: Saviour of France (Part 2)

January 08, 2026

How did a young, uneducated peasant girl dressed in men’s clothing, Joan of Arc, plan to crown the son of the mad and feeble Charles VI, the King of all France, and save them from the English?...
2 books
632. Joan of Arc: Warrior Maid (Part 1)

January 05, 2026

What are the origins of the legendary Joan of Arc, the famous French maid who saved France from the English during the Hundred Years’ War, dressed all the while in men’s clothes? Why is hers one...
2 books
631. Wagner: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

January 01, 2026

Was Richard Wagner a revolutionary artist who reshaped music forever, or an egotists mired in scandal, whose dangerous ideas were inseparable from the operas he created? How did the legendary...
1 book
630. Tchaikovsky: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

December 29, 2025

What are the complex origins of Russia’s most renowned composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? What inner conflicts and private contradictions lay behind his romantic music, and how did these...
0 books
629. WWI: The Christmas Truce

December 25, 2025

Did the Christmas Truce - which saw a number of unofficial ceasefires between the combatants of the First World War, during the Christmas of 1914 - really occur, or was it a myth? What is the real...
2 books
628. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Unmasked (Part 5)

December 22, 2025

Who are the prime suspects for the identity of Jack the Ripper? Why did he suddenly halt his hellish killing spree, and never strike again? And, once and for all, who really was Jack the Ripper…?...
3 books
627. Jack The Ripper: From Hell (Part 4)

December 18, 2025

Why was Jack the Ripper’s final murder the most appalling of all? Who was the mysterious Mary-Jane Kelly, his unfortunate victim? And, what enduring impact would his crimes have upon the cultural...
8 books
626. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Strikes Again (Part 3)

December 15, 2025

How did Jack the Ripper manage to strike twice in the same night without getting caught? Did he have an accomplice? And, what chilling clues did the police discover in the wake of the murder…?...
2 books
625. Jack The Ripper: Horror in Whitechapel (Part 2)

December 11, 2025

Who was Jack the Ripper’s second victim, and why was their murder considered the true starting point of his terrifying killing spree? How did the police investigation unfold? And, when and how did...
2 books
The Beatles: The British Invasion, with Conan O’Brien (Part 2)

December 10, 2025

| This episode is available a week early for members of The Rest Is History Club | What happens when fame, drugs, and genius collide? How did the Beatles survive John Lennon’s “more popular than...
0 books
624. Jack The Ripper: History’s Darkest Mystery (Part 1)

December 08, 2025

Was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer of all time? Who was his first victim, and why was the murder so shocking? And, what did the Ripper phenomenon reveal about the anxieties of Victorian...
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5 books