Our authors

A Little History of the World has charmed readers around the world for eighty years. Ernst Gombrich’s light enticing tone introduces an authoritative narrative. The authors of the Little History books that follow in its wake write for a twenty first century generation. They share a passion for their subject, a belief in its relevance and a desire to make it accessible to the broadest possible audience. Renowned international experts, each author brings their own particular tastes and views to bear so that each History is not a mere account but rather a personal and fresh overview, written to engage and surprise.

William Bynum

William Bynum is Emeritus Professor of the History of Medicine, UCL, London. He is author or editor of numerous publications, including most recently Great Discoveries in Medicine.

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David Crystal

David Crystal is one of the world’s preeminent language specialists. Writer, editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor.

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John Carey

John Carey

John Carey is emeritus professor at Oxford. His books include The Essential “Paradise Lost,” What Good Are the Arts?, studies of Donne and Dickens, and a biography of William Golding. The Unexpected Professor, his memoir, was a Sunday Times best-seller …

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Little History

James West Davidson

James West Davidson, a historian of international renown, has written widely on American history and the outdoors. He is coauthor of The American Nation, which was for years the top-selling book on American history in the U.S. He is also coauthor of Gr …

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Brian Fagan

Brian Fagan is emeritus professor of anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara. He is an internationally recognised authority on global prehistory and the author of dozens of books on archaeological topics, including Fishing: How the Sea Fe …

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E. H. Gombrich

E. H. Gombrich, author of the classic The Story of Art, was born in Vienna in 1909. He moved to London in 1936, where he later became Director of the Warburg Institute and Professor of the History of the Classical Tradition at London University.

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Richard Holloway

Richard Holloway

Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, is an internationally popular writer and broadcaster. His more than twenty books include the best-selling Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt. He live …

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Niall Kishtainy

Niall Kishtainy

Niall Kishtainy, former economic policy advisor to the UK government and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, is guest teacher, department of economic history, London School of Economics, and author of The Economics Book and Economics in …

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Charlotte Mullins Headshot

Charlotte Mullins

Charlotte Mullins is an art critic, writer, and broadcaster. A former editor of ArtReview, V&A Magazine, and Art Quarterly, she has published more than a dozen books on visual art.

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Robert Philip

Robert Philip was formerly a senior lecturer in music at the Open University and is a well-known presenter on BBC Radio. He is the author of The Classical Music Lover’s Companion to Orchestral Music and the award-winning Performing Music in the Age of …

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John Sutherland

John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature, University College London. A trenchant critic and columnist, he has taught students at every level.

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Nigel Warburton

Nigel Warburton joined the Open University in 1994. He is best known for his introductory philosophy books.

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