History of specific lands

Prisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated – and timely – history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist.

One small East African country embodies the battered history of the continent: patronised by colonialists, riven by civil war, confused by Cold War manoeuvring, proud, colorful, with Africa's best espresso and worst rail service. Michela Wrong brilliantly reveals the contradictions and comedy, past and present, of Eritrea.

In 1930 a sixteen-year-old boy left England to become one of the last of the ‘gentlemen adventurers’ – the fur traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In the Arctic he found adventure, love and loss as he came to grips with Eskimo life. Beautifully written, inspiring and funny, this is a boy’s own story that captures a world that is lost forever.

A portrait of Nepal’s doom-laden royal dynasty from its staggering expansion in the 18th century to the massacre in June 2001, a sequence of events worthy of a Greek tragedy.

A portrait of Nepal’s doom-laden royal dynasty from its staggering expansion in the 18th century to the massacre in June 2001, a sequence of events worthy of a Greek tragedy.