Simon Jenkins

This beautifully produced book celebrates the work of Robert Adam, the great eighteenth-century architect who influenced generations by stamping his distinctive neoclassical aesthetic vision on the English country house interior. Lavish new photography provides a deeply visual exploration of Adam s most important surviving country houses, to which the author and photographer gained unparalleled access. Included are magnificent country houses such as Syon House and Harewood House styled and inspired by the ideal of the neoclassical as well as Adam s castle-style Mellerstain and town houses such as Home House all captured in splendid detail. Original Adam design drawings, from Sir John Soane s Museum, illustrate the boldness of planning, color, and creative interpretation of Adam s domestic interiors. A biographical and contextual account of Adam s life and work describes his unique design process, his patrons, and the legacy of his design achievement. This richly illustrated volume will appeal to designers and homeowners as well as traditional architecture enthusiasts, promising to become an important addition to any architecture and interior design library.

The history of Britain in the last thirty years, under both Conservative and Labour governments, has been dominated by one figure – Margaret Thatcher. Her election marked a decisive break with the past and her premiership transformed not just her country, but the nature of democratic leadership. Simon Jenkins analyses this revolution from its beginnings in the turmoil of the 1970s through the social and economic changes of the 1980s. Was Thatcherism a mere medicine for an ailing economy or a complete political philosophy? And did it eventually fall victim to the dogmatism and control which made it possible? This is the story of the events, personalities, defeats and victories which will be familiar to all those who lived through them, but seen through a new lens. It is also an argument about how Thatcher’s legacy has continued down to the present. Not just John Major, but Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are her heirs and acolytes. And as the Conservative party reinvents itself as a viable political force once again, is the age of Thatcher finally over?

Baffled by the Babylonians? Dazzled by the visions of Daniel? Wondering about the epistles? For all who find the Bible a bit daunting, The Bible from Scratch could be just what's needed. It offers a lightning sketch of the Bible using easy-to-follow graphics and explains clearly and simply the essential meaning of every Bible book. It provides helpful hints for understanding what each biblical writer was aiming to get across to his readers. And it introduces all the famous people and events in the Bible story. Lively, witty and entertaining, it's the ideal starting point for all who want to get better acquainted with the world's bestselling book, but don't know where to start. This handy guide to the Good Book uses cartoons, maps, speech bubbles and family trees. It gives information about every book in the Bible, and introduces the famous faces - heroes and villains alike - plus the big events, miracles and other compelling stuff. Whether you're new to the Bible, or simply need to understand Philippians in two minutes flat to impress a Bible study, The Bible from Scratch could be just the revelation you've been looking for.

The global powerhouse that is the United States of America is younger even than the British Museum, Guinness and the flushing toilet. In 2026 it will celebrate its 250th birthday. How did this vast land, long inhabited by diverse indigenous cultures, come to be dominated by English speakers? How has it grappled with the stark contradictions between its ideals of liberty and the grim reality of genocide and slavery? This extraordinary collection of fifty distinct states has weathered immense – and recent – challenges, including a Civil War that was still raging as the first London Underground station opened. How did this melting pot of peoples and ideas not only endure but rise to dominate global politics, commerce, culture and warfare? What insights does this rich history offer about an increasingly divided nation – and the world that moves to its rhythm? Is this the twilight of American supremacy, signalling a shift toward a more introspective nation? A Short History of America is rich with vivid characters – from arrogant conquistadors and idealistic revolutionaries to imperial presidents – and presents a narrative so astonishing it often feels like fake news. This is a gripping must-read for anyone seeking to make sense of our world today.

The author of the magisterial England's Thousand Best Churches turns his eye to England's cathedrals, with fascinating, personal - and often funny - insight into their history and their place in English lifeEngland's cathedrals are the nation's glory. They tower over its landscape, outranking palaces, castles and mansions. They attract roughly half the nation's population each year. For a millennium they have been objects of pilgrimage for those seeking faith, consolation and beauty. Still at the start of the twenty-first century, they remain unequalled in their size and splendour. More than any other English institution, cathedrals reflect the vicissitudes of history and should be treasured as such. They are custodians of culture and of the rituals of civic life. They offer welfare and relieve suffering. They uplift spirits with their beauty. In a real sense they are still what they were when first built a millennium ago, a glimpse of the sublime. England's Cathedrals takes us on an enthralling tour of the nation and its history, through some of our most astonishing buildings.'Inspired... encourages us to take a fresh look at the familiar' The Times'An essential supplement to his marvellously illuminating guidebook England's Thousand Best Churches' Evening Standard

'Provocative, elegant, intriguing - Jenkins is a bold, imaginative writer, brilliant at challenging old assumptions and encouraging you to look at British architecture in a new light' Rory StewartThe story of Britain is revealed through its buildings, and yet the language of architecture is a mystery to all but a few. In this enlightening history, spanning castles and cathedrals to factories and railway stations, Jenkins translates the hidden narratives infused in the facades we walk past every day. Britain’s history has been formed by its politics, religion and society and these influences can be seen in the architectural styles that have shaped its landscape. From pre-Roman and the Middle Ages, to the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, Classical and Gothic styles surged and retreated from favour only to then be challenged by a new player: Modernism, a style that reflected the stunning technological advances of the second half of the twentieth century. In this narrative history, Simon Jenkins – the bestselling champion of our national heritage – introduces us to the singular, eccentric and sometimes rather ordinary characters who shaped Britain. Jenkins teaches readers to see the world anew, demystifying the elitist language of architecture so that we can all appreciate the buildings around us.

'Provocative, elegant, intriguing - Jenkins is a bold, imaginative writer, brilliant at challenging old assumptions and encouraging you to look at British architecture in a new light' Rory Stewart'Clear and admirably concise...a brilliant, blistering polemic against the architectural depredations of the past century' The Times The architecture of Britain is an art gallery all around us. From our streets to squares, through our cities, suburbs and villages, we are surrounded by magnificent buildings of eclectic styles. A Short History of British Architecture is the gripping and untold story of why Britain looks the way it does, from prehistoric Stonehenge to the lofty towers of today. Bestselling historian Simon Jenkins traces the relentless battles over the European traditions of classicism and gothic. He guides us from the gothic cathedrals of Lincoln, Ely and Wells to the ‘prodigy’ houses of the Tudor renaissance, and visits the great estates of Georgian London, the docks of Liverpool, the mills of Yorkshire and the chapels of south Wales. The arrival of modernism in the twentieth century politicised public taste, upheaved communities and sought to reconstruct entire cities. It produced Coventry Cathedral and Lloyd’s of London, but also the brutalist monoliths of Sheffield’s Park Hill, Glasgow’s Cumbernauld and London’s South Bank. Only in the 1970s did the public at last give voice to what became the conservation revolution – a movement in which Jenkins played a leading role, both as deputy chairman of English Heritage and chairman of the National Trust, and in the saving of iconic buildings such as St Pancras International and Covent Garden. Jenkins shows that everyone is a consumer of architecture and makes the case for the importance of everyone learning to speak its language. A Short History of British Architecture is a celebration of our national treasures, a lament of our failures – and a call to arms.

Kratkaja, no polnaja istorija Evropy. Istorija Evropy ot Perikla do Angely Merkel. Sajmon Dzhenkins sozdaet jarkij portret kontinenta s ego imperskimi ambitsijami, jarostnymi bitvami i ekzistentsialnymi strakhami, kotorye, kak schitaet avtor, prisuschi segodnjashnej Evrope tak zhe, kak vo vremena Julija Tsezarja i Karla Velikogo, Zhanny d'Ark i Bonaparta, Lenina i Cherchillja. V pervuju ochered avtor tsenit politicheskuju istoriju i nakhodjaschujusja v tsentre ee vnimanija neskonchaemuju borbu za vlast. Ne izmenjaja khronologicheskomu podkhodu i perekhodja ot strany k strane, ot odnogo istoricheskogo sobytija ili personazha k drugomu, Dzhenkins izlagaet istoriju kontinenta, kotoryj vnes, verojatno, samyj znachitelnyj vklad v formirovanie sovremennoj tsivilizatsii. I eto ne prosto konstatatsija sovershivshegosja fakta: k poslednim stranitsam chitatel "Kratkoj istorii Evropy" ponimaet, naskolko nastojaschee chelovechestva ukoreneno v ego proshlom.

In this comprehensive and newly-updated guide to Yorkshire brewing, renowned beer writer Simon Jenkins trawls the length and breadth of Britain’s biggest (and best) county seeking out the brewers old and new, large and small, which between them have created an astonishing beer scene. From fiercely traditional brewers producing time-honoured beers in slate Yorkshire squares, to the new-wave craft brewers embracing a dizzying variety of imported hops; from the ancient brewer hemmed in by a tight knot of cobbled streets to the brewery founded in a garden shed as a lockdown project – Simon found them all. This entertaining journey around the county lists every brewery Simon could find – more than 180 – and chronicles the resilience which these businesses showed when faced with the pandemic and the closure of the hospitality industry. We learn about some of the very best beers the county has to offer, meet lots of the brewers, and discover the extraordinary measures which many took to survive the challenges of Covid-19 and some of the best places to drink them.

A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK 'Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight' Times 'One of the liveliest commentators in Britain, always worth reading and pleasingly contrarian' Jeremy Paxman, Guardian Who were the Celts? Were they a people, a civilisation, an empire, or a fiction of historical imagination? They flit as ghosts through Europe's ancient past, purported ancestors of the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Cornish and Bretons. Yet they have never been identified with any one land, or with any one history or language. Simon Jenkins argues compellingly that the 'Celts' is a misleading concept, bundling together quite distinct peoples. The word keltoi first appears in Greek, applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the British Isles to this day. Fascinating and increasingly relevant, who the Celts were - or weren't - goes to the heart of the ongoing argument over the future of a dis-United Kingdom.

The Battle for the Falklands is a vivid chronicle of the political decision-making and military strategy during the Falklands conflict.

London: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes, and ruled by the Normans. This transformative place became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be checkered with grand estates of Georgian splendor. It swelled with industry and became the center of the largest empire in history. And having risen from the rubble of the Blitz, it is now one of the greatest cities in the world. From the prehistoric occupants of the Thames Valley to the preoccupied commuters of today, Simon Jenkins brings together the key events, individuals and trends in London's history to create a matchless portrait of the capital. He masterfully explains the battles that determined how London was conceived and built-and especially the perennial conflict between money and power. Based in part on his experiences of and involvement in the events that shaped the post-war city, and with his trademark color and authority, Simon Jenkins shows above all how London has taken shape over more than two thousand years. Fascinating for locals and visitors alike, this is narrative history at its finest, from the most ardent protector of British heritage.

Sir John Betjeman was born at the start of the twentieth century, and lived to become Poet Laureate, an accomplished writer and campaigner, and something of a national treasure. All his life he loved churches, which are woven into his poetic output. He wrote extensively about churches and architecture, telling a journalist in 1955 ‘If I have a mission, it is to show people things which are beautiful so that they will very soon realise what is ugly. When you look at things, instead of just looking through them, life starts absolutely crackling with interest and excitement.’ Now, Betjeman’s particular way of looking at churches is in danger of being lost in the face of a more academically driven and forensic art-historical approach. This book picks out some of the buildings, especially churches, which Betjeman was particularly fond of. It highlights and celebrates Betjeman’s more poetic, parochial and personal response to the built environment, and his evocation of the English parish church through the ordinary and the charm of hassocks, old incense and oil lamps. Highlighting his religious, aesthetic and social pre-occupations, this book is both gazetteer and commentary on his own particular vision of England and architecture, which deserves to be celebrated afresh.

READERS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY WILL LOVE THIS BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED BOOK!" Simon Jenkins has provided a feast for both eyes and mind in this sumptuously illustrated guide to Europe's greatest cathedrals" John Barton, author of A History of the Bible"As ever, Simon Jenkins is here the best sort of guide to some of Europe's greatest buildings and their settings: well-informed, elegantly opinionated and passionate" Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years__________________________Europe's cathedrals are magnificent. They outstrip palaces and castles. They are the most sensational group of structures anywhere in the world - which everyone should 'see before they die'. They are also hugely popular, most of them absolutely packed. They are humankind's greatest creations. In Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals, Simon Jenkins has travelled the continent - from Chartres to York, Cologne to Florence, Toledo to Moscow and Stockholm to Seville - to illuminate old favourites and highlight new discoveries. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of Europe's history tells the stories behind these wonders, showing the cathedral's central role in the European imagination. Readers will be inspired to make their own pilgrimage to all one hundred of them.

A new edition of a classic Batsford title from the 1930s. London is brought to life through its people, buildings and history in this classic book, first published in 1935. The Spirit of London presents a wonderful snapshot of our capital before World War II and a charming insight into urban life in the 1930s. Paul Cohen-Portheim was an Austrian traveller and writer who was interned in the UK during World War I. His enforced stay made him fall in love with England and in particular, London. This is his take on the irrepressible city. Chapters include: Towns Within, Town Streets and their Life, Green London, London Amusements and Night Life, Traditional London, London and the British and London and the Foreigner. The book features Brian Cook’s iconic illustration of Ludgate Circus and St Paul’s on the cover. Add in the charm of the authentic voice of a 1930s Londoner, this book should be enjoyed by all Londoners and London enthusiasts.