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Neighbouring the world-renowned Pompeii, the town of Herculaneum is the neglected victim of Vesuvius. It was uniquely preserved in the aftermath of the eruption, and in many ways gives us unparalleled windows into the past.

For the first time, this fascinating new history tells the story of Herculaneum and the people who lived there. Through the eyes of the Weaver, the Slave Girl and the Pregnant Lady, the Soldier, the Fisherman and the Boxer, as well as relevant buildings and the archaeological discoveries of the past 20 years it is possible to hear their voices and build a historical picture that is more colourful, complete and alive than has ever been possible before.

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The Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives is a treasure trove of documentation, dating as far back as the twelfth century. Amongst its shelves are the original, handwritten court records from the Aberdeen Witch Trials of 1597 – first-hand accounts of the words spoken on those dreadful days.

Covering a brief history of the Scottish witch trials, the role of an obsessed king, and how it all came to an end, Contagious Enemies: The Aberdeen Witch Trials brings you these court records, transcribed and translated into modern-day English.

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In November 1938 about 30,000 German Jewish men had been taken to concentration camps where they were subject to torture, starvation and arbitrary death. This book tells the remarkable story of how the grandees of Anglo Jewry persuaded the British Government to allow them to establish a transit camp in Sandwich, in East Kent, to which up to 4000 men could be brought while they waited for permanent settlement overseas – known as the Kitchener camp. The whole rescue was funded by the British Jewish community with help from American Jewry. Most of the men left their families behind. Would they get their families out in time? And how would the people of Sandwich – a town the same size as the camp – react to so many German speaking Jewish foreigners in their midst? There a well organized branch of the British Union of Fascists in Sandwich. Captain Robert Gordon Canning, a virulent anti-Semite, lived there. He and his grand friends from London (including the Prince of Wales before the abdication) used to meet there to play golf at Royal St George’s. (After the war, Canning purchased the bust of Hitler sold at the auction of goods from the German embassy and kept it in his house.) This background adds to the drama of the race against time to save lives.

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Norway, 1940: The Monte Rosa is sent to the fjords to assist the dreaded Tirpitz as she bombards British ships.

Auschwitz, 1942: Forty-six Jews wait at the gates, after the Monte Rosa had transported them from Oslo.

Kiel, 1945: The Monte Rosa is captured by the British and given a new name: the Empire Windrush.

London, 1948: The Empire Windrush docks in England, carrying 600 migrants from the Caribbean.

In Windrush: A Ship Through Time Paul Arnott explores the epic story of a vessel that played a part in some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century, and whose fateful 1948 voyage continues to have consequences – both personal and political – today.

Hamburg, 1930. German shipbuilders Blohm & Voss build a transatlantic ocean cruiser and christen her Monte Rosa.

Norway, 1940. The Monte Rosa is sent to assist the dreaded Tirpitz as she bombards British ships.

Auschwitz, 1942. Forty-six Jews wait at the gates, after the Monte Rosa had transported them from Oslo.

Kiel, 1945. The Monte Rosa is captured by the British and given a new name: Empire Windrush.

London, 1948. The Empire Windrush docks in England, carrying 600 migrants from the Caribbean.

In Windrush: A Ship Through Time, Paul Arnott explores the epic story of a vessel that played a part in some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century, and whose fateful 1948 voyage continues to have consequences – both personal and political – today.

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This is not a standard military history; The Airlift uses extensive archives and interviews to interweave everyday characters’ tales into an extraordinary story. They include an American pilot crashing in Soviet territory, a Jewish photographer struggling to reconcile with the Germans, the 17,000 women who built Tegel Airport, Cambridge University actors performing in the ruins for British intelligence, Hollywood star Montgomery Clift filming at Tempelhof airport, and a Berlin girl trying to outrun the boys reaching for chocolate.

By uncovering untapped sources in both German and Anglo-American archives, Dr Pearson gives a unique and textured portrait of a city during the Cold War’s first major conflict through the lives of real individuals.

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How the Beatles were really signed by Capitol Records in late 1963, after 12 months of derision and rejection from the label, has remained the subject of much speculation over the years. Once the band had hit the big time in the US in February 1964, the truth was quickly papered over by their manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol executives.

Now, for the first time, corporate and personal archives reveal the true story, and explain why Capitol believed that the British approach to the record industry was just as antiquated and flawed as its approach to other declining industries in the 1960s. The book explores why, as a consequence, Capitol decided they would need to re-mix many of the UK master tapes, create new US albums that were distinctly different in content, sleeve design and name to the UK versions.

Departmental memos show how Brian Epstein quickly found himself between a rock and a hard place, struggling to keep the peace between Capitol, who he knew were providing the lion’s share of the Beatles’ wealth, and were usually right on commercial and creative decisions, and the Beatles themselves.

This no holds barred account also explores how Capitol’s PR department struggled against the odds to extricate the Beatles from stories that threatened to damage their carefully cultivated image and harm record sales.

It also probes corporate accounts to discover the extent to which Capitol made the Beatles rich, and how a number of decisions made by the band and their manager ultimately drove them to the brink of bankruptcy in 1969.

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INK! shines a light on the pioneers that strove to give their communities a voice. The work of Samuel Jules Celestine Edwards, Dusé Mohammed Ali, Claude McKay, George Padmore, Una Marson, Claudia Jones and Darcus Howe had a formidable role to play in the birthing pains of multicultural Britain. When overt colour bars were operating in much of the western world and the injustices of Empire loomed large, it was the newspapers of these journalists that highlighted these atrocities to a wider audience, fomenting the movement for change.

Their combined story arc covers a transformative period – from when Britain’s Empire spanned nearly a quarter of the globe, to the heady start of the 1980s when the Black British and Asian community were asserting their voice. INK! reveals a fascinating history, a story of how the sacrifices and struggles of the past have shaped Britain’s present and ultimately laid the blueprint for a progressive future.

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