BOOK BRIEFS

A History of Sailing in 100 Objects by Barry Pickthall is a potpourri of all things nautical with informative text supporting each picture and illustration. (Bloomsbury, 224pp, hardback, £20)

ISBN 9780-7611-69086

Was the great bard who we think? Many believe that only a better-educated man could have written his plays and in Sir Henry Neville was Shakespeare, John Casson and William Rubinstein assess the evidence. (Amberley, 320pp, paperback, £14.99)

ISBN 9781-4456-54669

Now in its sixth edition The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing by Bill Mooney and George Senior will please

all equine fans. (Carlton, 256pp, hardback, £14.99) ISBN 9781-7809-77652

The Victoria Letters by Helen Rappaport is the official companion to the television drama (right) and delves into the private writings of the young Queen Victoria who ascended to the throne as a rebellious teenager but grew into a regal icon. Splendidly illustrated there is much here to please everyone. (Harper Collins, 302pp, hardback, £20)

ISBN 9781-7809-77652

Operation Big, The Race to Stop Hitler’s A-bomb by Colin Brown is an unusual story which will appeal to all military historians. (Amberley, 288pp, hardback, £20)

ISBN 9781-4456-51842

In Made on the Isle of Wight, David Williams relates several inventions, including the hovercraft (below), jet-engined cars, rockets, flying boats, satellites, helicopters, etc. Well presented with many fine archive photos. (History Press, 222pp, paperback, £20)

ISBN 9780-7509-67549

In a kaleidoscope of brilliant colours Football Infographics will appeal to all soccer lovers. Described as “The beautiful game in brilliant detail” this is a large-format survey and analysis of trends, statistics and data, the like of which you have never seen before. (Carlton, 174pp, hardback, £25)

ISBN 9781-7809-77720

Anyone alive in 1953 could not possibly avoid knowing the film “Genevieve” in which two veteran car drivers race each other from London to Brighton, and then back again. In Rodney Laredo’s A Darracq Called Genevieve, the Story of Veteran Motoring’s Most Famous Car you can read all about what happened behind the scenes. (Veloce, 160pp, hardback, £30)

ISBN 9781-7871-10076

In Steamship Travel in the Interwar Years, historians Lorraine Coons and Alexander Varias open a window into the bygone age of travel when large liners roamed the seas carrying tourists to all points of the globe. Strict protocol, however, existed between the different classes. (Amberley, 160pp, paperback, £9.99)

ISBN 9781-4456-49863

The VC is the nation’s highest award for gallantry in face of the enemy and in Victoria Cross Heroes, Vol. II, we read about some of the more modern acts of bravery amongst the 200 VCS owned by Lord Ashcroft. It is the largest private collection in the world, and we should be pleased they have been preserved for posterity. (Biteback, 374pp, hardback, £25)

ISBN 9781-7859-00976

The Complete Uxbridge English Dictionary has been “comprehensively reviled”! In other words, this is the latest edition of the outrageous puns featured on the radio programme “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue”. They are extremely witty: for instance “literally” means “to drop rubbish in a narrow passage” while “humanitarian” means someone who only eats people. There are hundreds more! (Penguin, 320pp, hardback, £14.99)

ISBN 9781-7855-10618

The Complete Uxbridge English Dictionary is available by post from This England. For further details see page 85.

From Saxon to the 21st century, by way of Norman, Medieval, Post-reformation, Victorian and 20th century, Janet Gough takes us inside Churches of the Church of England. With the help of stunning photography she covers 42 churches of all styles. (Scala, 96pp, paperback, £12.95)

ISBN 9781-7855-10618

Tony Ward is a raconteur and poet, and in Unravelling Sussex, Around the County in Riddles, he cleverly portrays people, places and things in verse, illustration and prose. (History Press, 192pp, paperback, £12.99)

ISBN 9781-4456-49863

In Maps of War, Mapping Conflict Through the Centuries, Jeremy Black has produced a hugely important historical work which deserves great credit. The maps and illustrations are many and varied and cannot fail to fascinate scholars and laymen alike. (Bloomsbury, 224pp, hardback, £30)

ISBN 9781-8448-63440

Simon Webb’s Commuters traces the history of a very British way of travelling to work each day. Concise and informative, it explains how public transport created new suburbs. (Pen & Sword, 150pp, paperback, £12.99)

ISBN 9781-4738-62906

Many children aspire to become vets and will enjoy reading Horses, Heifers and Hairy Pigs, the Life of a Yorkshire Vet by Julian Norton. (Michael O’mara, 256pp, hardback, £12.99)

ISBN 9781-7824-36836

Major & Mrs Holt’s Definitive Battlefield Guide to the Somme is well illustrated and a must if you are planning to visit this area, criss-crossed by trenches, cemeteries and other items of war. (Pen & Sword, 360pp, paperback, £16.99)

ISBN 9781-4738-66720

The Cutty Sark tea clipper under full sail off China (see A History of Sailing in 100 Objects).

Divided into four, this 1943 map cleverly, clearly and effectively portrayed the Second World War to US Navy service personnel (see Maps of War).

The 1953 hit movie, “Genevieve”, starred Dinah Sheridan (top left), John Gregson (top right), Kenneth More and Kay Kendall (see A Darracq Called Genevieve).

Pozières was one of the villages on the Somme where many Australians died.

Tynwald Day on the Isle of Man is celebrated on 5th July each year at St. John the Baptist Church. Although a parish church it doubles as home to the Manx parliament (see Churches of the Church of England).

Sir Patrick Moore, the country’s favourite astronomer, is one of those featured in Unravelling Sussex.