News

March 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted everything we know. As a historian I look for precedents; and the Spanish flu outbreak almost exactly a hundred years ago was similarly devastating. History is something we look back on, and yet here we are living through it. I was recently asked to write an article about the history of the first Covid vaccine, for a book which I hope will be out later this year - watch this space.

If like me you've rediscovered the joys of cycling during the last year or so, you'll enjoy Remarkable Bicycle Rides, a round-up of 54 of the world's finest two-wheeled trips - short and long, uphill and down, off-road and on. Whether you're planning a family holiday or simply dreaming of escape from lockdown, it's an inspiring book.

Meanwhile the latest in my series of 100 Things is out now: 100 Posters that Changed the World, a beautifully illustrated collection of images reflecting hundreds of years of social history and design. It joins 100 Books, 100 Speeches, 100 Letters and 100 Children's Books. More to come!