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New Releases by Richard Holmes

Richard Holmes is the author of The Boundless Deep (2026), A Treatise On the Law of Mortgage (2022), Falling Upwards (2013), Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front (2011), I am Soldier (2011).

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The Boundless Deep

release date: Feb 10, 2026
The Boundless Deep
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize • In this dazzling new biography, Richard Holmes, critically acclaimed author of The Age of Wonder, discovers in Young Tennyson an astonishingly magnetic and mercurial personality, a secretly expressive and highly emotional man haunted by the great intellectual and scientific issues of his time. Tennyson rose to eminence as rapid and revolutionary discoveries were being made in the fields of biology, astronomy, geology, and marine science. It was a period of immense change akin to our own. For the first time, people were pursuing answers to questions that had felt previously unknowable—about biological evolution, the notion of a godless, unpitying universe, and of planetary extinction. These were as terrifying to Tennyson as climate catastrophe is to us today. It forced many to grapple with their understanding of the known world and their place within it and fostered a growing tension between religion and science. Tennyson’s work during these years is suffused with strangely modern magic, and in Holmes’ extraordinary biography, we witness Tennyson wrestling with mind-altering ideas about geology and deep time, the vastness, beauty, and terror of the new cosmology, and the challenges of social revolution. Tennyson’s wild imagination and deep engagement with these concepts helped him emerge as the poetic voice of his generation—and he remains an inspiration for our own age.

A Treatise On the Law of Mortgage

release date: Oct 27, 2022
A Treatise On the Law of Mortgage
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Falling Upwards

release date: Oct 29, 2013
Falling Upwards
**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front

release date: Dec 21, 2011
Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front
Groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed, Tommy is the first history of World War I to place the British soldier who fought in the trenches centre-stage.

I am Soldier

release date: Dec 20, 2011
I am Soldier
I am Soldier brings together the profiles of sixty soldiers who have fought over the past 2,500 years. These vivid accounts graphically depict the role of the soldier in battle often using the soldiers' own words to reveal what they felt during the chaos of war and its aftermath. From the Spartans at Thermopylae to the war in the Persian Gulf, this book shows the lives of the individual men and woman who made up the great armies that changed the world.

Sahib: The British Soldier in India 1750–1914

release date: Oct 06, 2011
Sahib: The British Soldier in India 1750–1914
Sahib is a magnificent history of the British soldier in India from Clive to the end of Empire, making full use of personal accounts from the soldiers who served in the jewel in Britain’s Imperial Crown.

Coleridge: Early Visions

release date: Apr 28, 2011
Coleridge: Early Visions
Winner of the 1989 Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year, this is the first volume of Holmes’s seminal two-part examination of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of Britain’s greatest poets.

Coleridge: Early Visions, 1772-1804

release date: Jan 26, 2011
Coleridge: Early Visions, 1772-1804
Winner of the 1989 Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year, this is the first volume of Holmes's seminal two-part examination of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of Britain's greatest poets. Coleridge: Early Visions is the first part of Holmes's classic biography of Coleridge that forever transformed our view of the poet of 'Kubla Khan' and his place in the Romantic Movement. Dismissed by much recent scholarship as an opium addict, plagiarist, political apostate and mystic charlatan, Richard Holmes's Coleridge leaps out of the page as a brilliant, animated and endlessly provoking figure who invades the imagination. This is an act of biographical recreation which brings back to life Coleridge's poetry and encyclopaedic thought, his creative energy and physical presence. He is vivid and unexpected. Holmes draws the reader into the labyrinthine complications of his subject's personality and literary power, and faces us with profound questions about the nature of creativity, the relations between sexuality and friendship, the shifting grounds of political and religious belief. BONUS MATERIAL: This ebook edition includes an excerpt from Richard Holmes's Falling Upwards.

Churchill's Bunker

release date: Mar 11, 2010
Churchill's Bunker
"This is the room from which I will direct the war," Churchill declared upon seeing the dank storage basement in an improbably central location near the Houses of Parliament. The chambers would become his base of operations during the heaviest enemy bombardment of London. In Churchill's Bunker, distinguished Churchill biographer Richard Holmes provides the first comprehensive history of the Cabinet War Rooms, from which Churchill managed to turn a seemingly inevitable defeat at the hands of the Nazis into a victory for the free world. Here was the Map Room that charted the advances and retreats of armies, the locations of warships, and the often painful progress of the convoys that kept the nation supplied with munitions. Here the planners worked on future operations and the intelligence staff pondered the enemy's next moves. And remarkably, all of this highly charged work was known only to those who needed to know. Drawing on a wealth of original material, including new firsthand accounts of the people who lived and worked there, Holmes reveals how and why the bunker and its war machine developed, how life was conducted in a realm where "only the clock told whether it was night or day and . . . an electric bell gave warning of an air-raid," and how Churchill interacted with his staff in very close quarters. A unique exploration of the calculus of secrecy during the Second World War, Churchill's Bunker provides an intimate portrait of Churchill and his closest advisors in one of the most fascinating and underexplored venues of twentieth-century history.

The Age of Wonder

release date: Mar 02, 2010
The Age of Wonder
The Age of Wonder is a colorful and utterly absorbing history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science. When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific ferment sweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cook in search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery—astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical—swiftly follow in Richard Holmes's thrilling evocation of the second scientific revolution. Through the lives of William Herschel and his sister Caroline, who forever changed the public conception of the solar system; of Humphry Davy, whose near-suicidal gas experiments revolutionized chemistry; and of the great Romantic writers, from Mary Shelley to Coleridge and Keats, who were inspired by the scientific breakthroughs of their day, Holmes brings to life the era in which we first realized both the awe-inspiring and the frightening possibilities of science—an era whose consequences are with us still.

The Road to Derry: A Brief History

release date: Aug 01, 2009
The Road to Derry: A Brief History
When the Ulster Scots arrived in New Hampshire in 1719, there were no roads in Derry (then called Nutfield). Led bythe Reverend James McGregor, the "Moses of the Scotch-Irish in America," the entire congregation of Aghadowey had trekkedfrom their home county of Londonderry, Ireland, to start their lives anew, undeterred by British prejudice or Anglican intolerance. These hardy men and women were great walkers, and during the eighteenth century a warren of footpaths crisscrossed East Derry Hill. Richard Holmes retraces their footsteps, walking the road of Derry's history from its rough-and-tumble politics and early educational institutions through its dramatic split from Londonderry Parish to the sprawling shoe factories of the Industrial Revolution. In this first history in decades, Holmes demonstrates that the hometown of Robert Frost and astronaut Alan Shepherd is also home to a hardworking, free-thinking, vibrant community.

In The Footsteps of Churchill

release date: Feb 23, 2009
In The Footsteps of Churchill
As one of the most admired political leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill holds iconic status in popular memory. But in this incisive new biography, acclaimed military historian Richard Holmes offers a remarkable reappraisal of Churchill by examining the influences that shaped his character. Drawing upon never-before-seen materials such as letters between the young Churchill and his parents, Holmes paints the most complete portrait to date of the man who stood up to Hitler and led his people to victory against all odds. Detailing the decisive events of Churchill's life -- from his childhood to his experiences in the Boer War through his rapid rise in politics -- Holmes demonstrates the central role Churchill's character played in the key decisions of his public life. With an already inflated sense of self, Churchill had several lucky escapes in combat -- in the Boer War and in the trenches of WWI -- convincing him that he was saved for a reason and was destined for greatness. In the Footsteps of Churchill uncovers a surprisingly different Churchill -- both admirable and difficult -- through the lens of his character.

World War II

release date: Jan 30, 2009
World War II
This defining period in world history is explored and explained as never before. World War II is captured in hundreds of compelling images, presenting the people, places, and politics involved in the epic conflict. Inside this complete visual guide is chronological coverage of the lead up to war, major military battles around the globe, and the aftermath that still influences and impacts our world today. You'll meet the key players in thought-provoking profiles and discover their experiences firsthand, from national leaders sounding the orders to combatants on the frontline and civilians left behind. Standout moments, including Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the D-Day landings, are revealed in rarely seen color photographs and unforgettable eyewitness accounts. Explosive photography, international maps, accessible text, and supporting timelines combine to show the most destructive event ever known in unprecedented depth and detail. Although the complexities of World War II can be hard to fathom, this standout reference is organized in a logical order and the supporting captions are concise and clear throughout to aid understanding. World War II provides an unparalleled account of this devastating conflict so we never forget and continue to learn from the past. This title differs from DK's previous World War II title, in that it is a spread-by-spread account á la History (with "previous" and "following" tabs placing each spread in chronological context) of the war, rather than a narrative that needs to be read from start to finish.

Battle

release date: Jan 01, 2009
Battle
From the hand-to-hand combat of the ancient Assyrians to the fixed artillery battles of World War I, provides a chronicle of the development of warfare, highlighting changes in equipment and weaponry.

Rhode Island Lighthouses

release date: Jan 01, 2008
Rhode Island Lighthouses
The book is a pictorial history of Rhode Island's thirty-one lighthouses and two lightships stations. There are over 200 photographs in the book, including rare views of Gould Island Lighthouse, Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Point Judith Lighthouse. There are plans for Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Brenton Reef Lightship LV-102/WAL 525.

Weapon

release date: Jan 01, 2008
Weapon
The ultimate record of arms and armour through the ages – in a new compact edition An epic 4,000-year illustrated story of weaponry. From stone axes to heavy machine-guns, swords to sniper rifles, discover the innovative design, range, lethal function and brutal history of arms and armour, and meet the warriors who wielded them.Includes all the important arms through the ages, covering edged weapons, clubs, projectiles and firearms. From ancient Egyptian axes, through traditional bows and spears of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, to the machine-guns and missiles of modern infantry. Key weapons from every era are presented in sharp detail and the mechanisms that operate them are displayed and explained.Top fighting forces, from the Greek hoplite to the Navy Seal are profiled, revealing the weapons they have wielded and the tactics and fighting methods they’ve used.

World War II in Photographs

release date: Jan 01, 2008
World War II in Photographs
Stunning collections of photographs from the front-lines, beautifully presented in large format paperback

Marlborough

release date: Jan 01, 2008
Marlborough
SCOTT (copy 1): Missing title page.

Shots from the Front

release date: Jan 01, 2008
Shots from the Front
A handsomely illustrated photographic account, by the bestselling author of 'Tommy' (2003), of the human experience of war as directly witnessed by British soldiers in the First World War.

Sidetracks

release date: Dec 18, 2007
Sidetracks
With this collection of short and fascinating biographical pieces, the award-winning biographer of Coleridge and Shelley offers a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious art of biography. When researching, Richard Holmes has often become captivated by figures peripheral to his main subject, literary forays that he couldn’t resist. These tales–the forbidden love of John Stuart Mill, the bizarre novel of Oscar Wilde’ s tragic grand-uncle, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s nightmarish yet cathartic final trip to Paris–are part of what comprises Sidetracks, a marvelously original that includes letters and travelogues, radio plays, essays, and minature biographies. This book is a rare literary feast and an exploration of the creative processes of one of our most preeminent biographers. BONUS MATERIAL: This ebook edition includes an excerpt from Richard Holmes's Falling Upwards.

A Guide to Battles

release date: Sep 14, 2006
A Guide to Battles
This fascinating book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history, from Agincourt, Lepanto, and Trafalgar, to Gettysburg, Stalingrad, and the Somme. It begins with the battle of Megiddo fought by the ancient Egyptians and takes the reader through to the Second Gulf War of 2003. On the way it encompasses almost 300 battles from around the world - from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, to Europe and the Americas.

Dusty Warriors

release date: Jan 01, 2006
Dusty Warriors
Our foremost military historian offers us a compelling and at times terrifying account of what it means to be a contemporary soldier, written in the words of the men and women of his regiment who are currently completing a dangerous and bloody six-month tour of duty. In this remarkable book, Richard Holmes draws on the testimonies of the 700 soldiers of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment to capture in vivid detail the average soldier's day-to-day experience of war. Embroiled in a conflict often too dangerous for reporters to cover, these soldiers - most of them young, many without any previous experience of warfare - have kept ongoing records of the drudgery, anxiety and horror involved in fighting a violent and increasingly unpopular war against a ruthless and resourceful enemy. All have risked their lives, and many have died. Others have been recognised and awarded for their courage, resourcefulness and gallantry - Private Johnson Beharry recently became the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in twenty-three years. With these intimate and revealing glimpses of life in the modern army, Richard Holmes paints a sweeping portrait of a new generation of soldiers - grunts, gallants and heroes - and the sacrifices their decision to fight for their country entails.

Derry Revisited

release date: Apr 20, 2005
Derry Revisited
In 1719, sixteen families left Ireland for America and founded a community called Nutfield, which evolved into modern Derry. For centuries, Derry retained its small-town character, but the 1963 opening of Interstate 93 changed the town forever. Within a decade, its population doubled. Derry is now the states most populous town. This charming collection of over two hundred photographs presents Derry in its quieter years, when trolleys crisscrossed the town, most of the men worked in shoe factories, and traffic on Broadway stopped each morning as the Hood cows crossed to their pasture. For many older residents, these images will bring back a flood of memories. Newcomers will better understand the traditions that helped shape the town. Derry Revisited evokes a sense of expanded pride in the heritage of Derry.

D-day Version Anglaise

release date: Jan 01, 2004
D-day Version Anglaise
"Written by one of Britain's best-known and respected military historians, The D-Day Experience contains over 30 facsimile items of rare D-Day memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive this momentous period of history by holding and examining maps, diaries, letters, secret memos and reports, posters and logbooks, which up until now have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other collections around the world."--Slipcase.

Tommy

release date: Jan 01, 2004
Tommy
The British Army that fought in the Great War was the first largely literate and articulate army, producing not just the celebrated war poets but also the powerful writing of the ordinary soldier. Through these unique first-hand accounts - letters, diaries and memoirs - Holmes lets the soldiers speak for themselves, brilliantly interpreting their testimony to glimpse the truth of their lives. Charting the disintegration of the Western Front, from tidy hamlets and verdant forests to a landscape as 'bare as a man's hand', Tommy also looks at the development of the war, examining how advances in weaponry changed the role of the soldier on the ground, how trench warfare actually worked, and the evolving chain of command.

Redcoat

release date: Jan 01, 2002
Redcoat
Based on the letters and diaries of the British soldiers who served as the backbone of the army from 1760 to 1860, this illuminating book is rich in the history of a fascinating era. of illustrations.

Gilchrist on Blake

release date: Jan 01, 2002

Psychological perspective on Camille Saint-Saëns

release date: Jan 01, 2002

The First World War in Photographs

release date: Jan 01, 2001
The First World War in Photographs
Dramatic, hard hitting, and intensely moving, this book is a unique visula testament to the many millions of men and women who lost their lives in the war, and a reminder to today's younger generations.

Battlefields of the Second World War

release date: Jan 01, 2001
Battlefields of the Second World War
Skillfully clarifies the complexities of four major World War II military campaigns: El Alamein, Italy, Arnhem, and the Battle of Britain. In this study of war Holmes recreates what it was really like to be in the midst of bloody conflict from the eye-witness accounts of servicemen and women.
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