Oliver Webb-Carter

Nov 29, 2024 | aspectsofhistory.com | Oliver Webb-Carter

As we reach the end of the year Aspects of History selects the title that stood out above the rest published during 2024. Past books that have won include The World by Simon Sebag-Montefiore, The White Ship by Charles Spencer, and last year’s Conflict, by General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts. I am delighted to announce Ben Macintyre’s The Siege is the Aspects of History Book of the Year 2024.

Nov 20, 2024 | aspectsofhistory.com | Oliver Webb-Carter

Books of 2023 from Aspects of HistoryIt’s been a great year for fiction and non-fiction, but these books are my first amongst equals. Every Spy a Traitor by Alex Gerlis follows Agent Archie, a Russian mole in MI6 across a twenty year period. From his recruitment in the 1930s, through the Second World War and into the Cold War of the 1950s. The style and atmosphere effortlessly convey the period, with the edge of a modern spy thriller. There is also a gin dry humour that underpins the novel.

Nov 3, 2024 | aspectsofhistory.com | Oliver Webb-Carter

Jonestown: Paradise Undone“The first body I saw was off to the side, alone. Five more steps and I saw another and another and another; hundreds of bodies. The Newsweek reporter was walking around saying, “I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it.” Another guy said, “It’s unreal.” Then nobody even attempted to speak anymore. It was overwhelming.

Nov 1, 2024 | aspectsofhistory.com | Oliver Webb-Carter

If only Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner could sing from the same song sheet with such harmony. Long before the Gallaghers, the Everly Brothers knew how to do number one records, drugs, tantrums and comebacks. Phil and Don Everly were one of the first and most successful bridges between country music and rock and roll, working within the traditions and changing them at the same time. During a short space of less than ten years they delivered more hits than Mike Amesbury on a Saturday night out.

Oct 5, 2024 | aspectsofhistory.com | Oliver Webb-Carter

The Fairfax family occupies a unique and largely forgotten place in the story of America, as the only members of the House of Lords – the Peerage – to have been long-time residents of the United States for over 150 years. First as colonialists and then as citizens of the Republic they played an active part in many of the great events that helped make America the country it is today.