Dan Snow

On which day was history’s shortest war waged and won (in roughly 40 minutes)? How was Napoleon bested by a group of rabbits in 1807? Why did a dispute about beer in an Oxford pub lead to over 100 deaths and 470 years of penance? Why in 1752 did Britain go to bed on 2nd September and wake up on the 14th? How did a women’s march in 1917 set off the Russian Revolution?

On This Day in History brings to life a key event that happened on each day of the year.

From the most important British battle that you’ve never heard of (20 May 685) to the first meeting of Lennon and McCartney (6 July 1957), and from why Julius Caesar should have been wary of the Ides of March (15 March 44BC) to the day Jeanne de Clisson became a pirate and single-handedly declared war on the King of France (2 August 1343), history is full of unlikely heroes and fascinating turning points.

In this book Dan Snow shows us how each day offers a different and unexpected insight into our past. And story by gripping story, this year grows into a vivid, very human history of the world.

Told by two of our most celebrated historians, this is a spirited journey of discovery of our nation’s history seen through the examination of 50 key documents. With a wealth of experience between them on politics, military history and today’s current affairs, Peter and Dan Snow are the perfect guides to appreciating the significance of each document. The documents have been researched from the collections of The National Archives, The British Museum, The British Library and the National Records of Scotland and are set alonside a commentary from the authors explaining their criteria for selection and providing the pertinent details of each document.

From the Magna Carta and Elizabeth’s Tide Letter, in which she begs her sister for her life, to the official design for the FA Cup, Churchill’s Finest Hour speech following the Fall of France, a ticket stub to the Beatles’ first concert, and the signatories of the Good Friday Agreement, this beautifully designed book is a must-have for all history enthusiasts.

In association with the National Army Museum, well known military historians, journalists and broadcasters Peter and Dan Snow tell the story of one of the world’s most famous and important battles. The Battle of Waterloo Experience provides what no other book on the battle contains—removable facsimiles of historic archival documents. Readers can relive this extraordinary moment in history by holding and examining rare or previously unpublished sketch maps, letters, orders, official papers and proclamations held by the National Army Museum and other archives and museums around Europe.

Join TV’s Dan Snow as the fully illustrated ‘Battle Castles’ brings to thrilling life a cavalcade of medieval fortifications and the clashes that turned empires to dust and mortals into legends.

Castles and their ruins still dominate the landscape and are a constant reminder to us of a time when violence, or the threat of it, was the norm.

Dan Snow explores the world’s greatest medieval castles: from Dover Castle to Château Gaillard, Richard I’s fortress in Normandy, and Castillo de Gibalfaro, the last vanguard of Moorish rule in Spain, to Krak des Chevaliers in Syria – an astounding feat of engineering by the Crusaders.

Each castle’s story is dramatically recounted: the building techniques, the weapons used and daily life within the walls.

An epic history of the battle of Quebec, the death of Wolfe and the beginnings of Britain’s empire in North America. Military history at its best.

In this magisterial book which ties in to the 250th anniversary of the battle, Dan Snow tells the story of this famous campaign which was to have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s rise to global hegemony, and the world at large. Snow brilliantly sets the battle within its global context and tells a gripping tale of brutal war quite unlike those fought in Europe, where terrain, weather and native Indian tribes were as fearsome as any enemy. ‘I never served so disagreeable campaign as this,’ grumbled one British commander, ‘it is war of the worst shape.’

1759 was, without question, a year in which the decisions of men changed the world for ever. Based on original research, and told from all perspectives, this is history – military, political, human – on an epic scale.

This is the story of the most intense and bitterly fought battles of the twentieth century, and their lasting impact on the world. From Amiens in the First World War to the First Gulf War in 1990-1, each of the battles featured in this book marked a turning point in military history. Political journalist, Peter Snow and military historian Dan Snow have written a high-octane, gripping narrative, punctuated by powerful eyewitness testimony that brings to life the experience of war. They reveal that these battles were shaped not just by distant military commanders but by men fighting on the frontline, whether the apocalyptic terrain of the Western Front or the hidden guerilla tunnels of Vietnam. What were the key factors that swayed the course of victory? Was it sheer grit and determination, military intelligence or strategic initiative? To answer these questions the authors take us into the heat of the action when the battles were poised on a knife edge and split-second decisions determined their outcome. During the course of the twentieth century, military warfare reached unimaginable levels of intensity, scale and cost. “The World’s Greatest Twentieth Century Battlefields” looks back at the most violent century in history and examines the challenges facing armed forces in the future. Richly illustrated with archive photographs and over 40 detailed maps, this compelling and often shocking account recreates the landscape of warfare.

For much of its long history, Britain has been bloodily ravaged by war and internal strife: foreign invasions have devastated British society, bitter battles have been fought over social and political rights, and brutal warlords have torn the country apart in their struggles for dominance. In Battlefield Britain , father and son team Peter and Dan Snow tell the story of eight decisive battles that have done much to shape the Britain we know today: Boudiccas revolt against Rome (AD 601); the Battle of Hastings (1066); the Battle for Wales (140010); the Spanish Armada (1588); the Battle of Naseby (1645); the Battle of the Boyne (1690); the Battle of Culloden (1746) and the Battle of Britain (1940). For the first time, ground-breaking computer graphics are used to recreate the ebb and flow of these famous battles in dramatic and vivid detail. Peter Snow, as well known for his strategic analysis as his swingometer, and Dan, a young military historian, combine their skills to form a unique writing team. In addition to explaining the battleplans of the great military commanders they also reveal what it was like to be an ordinary soldier on the front line, where the battle was at its fiercest. Spanning nearly two thousand years of British history, Battlefield Britain takes us into the heat of each battle as it unfolds to bring alive Britains turbulent past as never before. Chapter breakdown: Introduction Chapter 1 Boudiccas Revolt – 61AD Chapter 2 Hastings 1066 Chapter 3 Shrewsbury 1403 Chapter 4 Bosworth Field 1485 Chapter 5 Naseby 1645 Chapter 6 The Boyne 1690 Chapter 7 Culloden 1746 Chapter 8 The Battle of Britain Epilogue