PHILIP ZIEGLER

This book is a photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, from her first official photograph as a baby in 1926 to her greeting President Obama at Buckingham Palace in 2009. Each of the books chapters begins with a text by bestselling historian and biographer Philip Ziegler, covering the key royal and historical events of the period, with some contextual photographs, followed by a sequence of plates in chronological order. With over 200 images of the Queen by internationally distinguished photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Lord Snowdon and Rankin, the Queen is captured in a variety of poses, from formal photographs as a working monarch, to intimate portraits relaxing with her family at Balmoral and Windsor. All the images have been officially approved by the Palace, making this the only illustrated book that anyone will ever need on Queen Elizabeth II.

The authorised life story of the king who gave up his throne for love, by one of our most distinguished biographers. In this masterly authorized biography, Philip Ziegler reveals the complex personality of Edward VIII, the only British monarch to have voluntarily renounced the throne. With unique access to the Royal Archives, Ziegler overturns many myths about Edward and tells his side of the story from his glamorous existence as Prince of Wales to his long decline in semi-exile in France. At the heart of the book is an unflinchingly honest examination of Edwards all-consuming passion for Wallis Simpson, which led to his dramatic abdication. Elegant and devastating, this is the most convincing portrait of Edward ever published.

Written by Philip Ziegler, one of Britains most celebrated biographers, George VI is part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of Englands rulers in a collectible formatIf Ethelred was notoriously Unready and Alfred Great, King George VI should bear the title of George the Dutiful. Throughout his life, George dedicated himself to the pursuit of what he thought he ought to be doing rather than what he wanted to do. Inarticulate and loathing any sort of public appearances, he accepted that it was his destiny to figure conspicuously in the public eye, gritted his teeth, battled his crippling stammer and got on with it. He was not born to be king, but he made an admirable one, and was the figurehead of the nation at the time of its greatest trial, the Second World War. This is a brilliant, touching and sometimes funny book about this reluctant public figure, and the private man.Philip Ziegler is the author of the authorised biographies of Mountbatten, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. His other books include The Duchess of Dino, William IV, The Black Death and most recently Olivier. Initially a diplomat, he worked for many years in book publishing before becoming a full-time writer.

At the end of 1918 one prescient American historian began to write a history of the Great War. "What will you call it?" he was asked. "The First World War," was his bleak response.In Between the Wars Philip Ziegler examines the major international turning points - cultural and social as well as political and military - that led the world from one war to another. His approach is panoramic, touching on all parts of the world where history was being made, examining Gandhis March to the Sea and the Chaco War in South America alongside Hitlers rise to power.It is the tragic story of a world determined that the horrors of the First World War would never be repeated, yet committed to a path which in hindsight was inevitably destined to end in a second, even more devastating conflict.Each chapter bears the unmistakable stamp of Zieglers scholarship: a keen eye for the telling anecdote, elegant and fluid prose, and calm and fair judgments. In a world that grows ever more uncertain, its perspective on how hopes of peace can dissolve into the promise of war becomes more relevant with each passing day.

Hollywood superstar; Oscar-winning director; greatest stage actor of the twentieth century. The era abounded in great actors - Gielgud, Richardson, Guinness, Burton, OToole - but none could challenge Laurence Oliviers range and power. By the 1940s he had achieved international stardom. His affair with Vivien Leigh led to a marriage as glamorous and as tragic as any in Hollywood history. He was as accomplished a director as he was a leading man: his three Shakespearian adaptations are among the most memorable ever filmed. And yet, at the height of his fame, he accepted what was no more than an administrators wage to become the founding Director of the National Theatre. In 2013 the theatre celebrates its fiftieth anniversary; without Oliviers leadership it would never have achieved the status that it enjoys today. Off-stage, Olivier was the most extravagant of characters: generous, yet almost insanely jealous of those few contemporaries whom he deemed to be his rivals; charming but with a ferocious temper. With access to more than fifty hours of candid, unpublished interviews, Philip Ziegler ensures that Oliviers true character - at its most undisguised - shines through as never before.

In 1939 London was not merely the greatest city in the world, it was the most tempting and vulnerable target for aerial attack. For six years it was the frontline of the free worlds battle against Fascism. It endured the horrors of the Blitz of 1940 and 1941, the V1s, the V2s. Other cities suffered more intensely; no other city was so constantly under attack for so long a time. This is the story of London at war - or, perhaps, of Londoners at war, for Philip Ziegler, known best as a biographer, is above all fascinated by the people who found their lives so suddenly and violently transformed: the querulous, tiresome yet strangely gallant housewife from West Hampstead; the turbulent, left-wing retired schoolmaster from Walthamstow, always having a go at the authorities; the odiously snobbish middleclass lady from Kensington, sneering at the scum who took shelter in the Underground; the typist from Fulham, the plumber from Woolwich. It was their war, quite as much as it was Churchills or the Kings, and this is their history. Through a wealth of interviews and unpublished letters and diaries, as well as innumerable books and newspapers, the author has built up a vivid picture of a population under siege. There were cowards, there were criminals, there were incompetents, but what emerges from these pages is above all a record of astonishing patience, dignity and courage. I hope, Ziegler writes, we will never have to endure again what they went through between 1939 and 1945. I hope, if we did, that we would conduct ourselves as well.

Lady Diana Cooper was in her prime widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in England and the idol of her generation. She was witty, outrageous, generous and loyal. Famous as a member of the aristocratic and intellectual group The Cotorie, she later edited the magazine Femina before starting a career as an actress on the stage and then in films during the 1920s. Her husband, Duff Cooper, was parliament in 1924 and Diana continued as a society hostess until his retirement in 1947. Diana wrote three volumes of memoirs in the 1950s which are also published by Faber Finds, and she died in 1986 aged 93. Philip Zieglers biography is a compulsive read, telling the story of a remarkable woman and her passionate life.For nine decades a symbol of all that is dashing and daring, a synonym for courage and wit and inspired friendship.Sunday TelegraphCombines total honesty with total affection... A portrait which you can laugh over, cry over and think over as well.PunchNo wonder Evelyn Waugh loved her. Scotsman

Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death killed at least one third of Europes population. Philip Zieglers classic account traces the course of the virulent epidemic through Europe and its dramatic effect on the lives of those whom it afflicted. First published nearly forty years ago, it remains definitive.The clarity and restraint on every page produce a most potent cumulative effect. Michael Foot

I agree with Lord David [Cecil] that Melbourne as a friend or relative must have been one of the most delightful, wise and entertaining of men, but in public life I believe him also to have been ambitious, cynical and almost wholly without political principle. He was, in short, much less of a carefree amateur, much more of a politician. Philip Ziegler, from his PrefaceFirst published in 1976, Philip Zieglers Melbourne drew on hitherto unused material and made an unprecedently searching assessment of the eminent Whig statesman of the 1830s/40s. It is extraordinary enough that Queen Victorias first Prime Minister should have been dragged through the courts by an aggrieved husband not once but twice. Yet Melbournes problematic personal life is only one reason why Ziegler, even-handed and scrupulous, was compelled to test the validity of Victorias famous final judgement that Melbourne was not a good or firm minister.

The magisterial official life of Britains complex and misunderstood former prime minister, which offers a fundamental reassessment of his reputation. Edward Heath was at the centre of British political life for much of the second half of the twentieth century. Entering the House of Commons in 1950, he served as a whip and a minister before becoming Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister from 1970 to 1974. But today he is largely a forgotten figure, eclipsed by his more celebrated successor, Margaret Thatcher. In this masterly official biography, distinguished historian Philip Ziegler offers a timely reassessment of Heaths remarkable political career. With exclusive access to personal papers unavailable to previous biographers he presents the first fully rounded portrait of our most enigmatic former prime minister. Beginning with Heaths early years his childhood in Kent, student days in pre-war Oxford, wartime military service and short business career before he immersed himself in politics Ziegler goes on to chart Heaths effortless rise through the ranks of the Conservative Party. He brilliantly captures Heaths rivalry with Harold Wilson and the supreme drama of 1974 the year of two elections and a hung parliament with its uncanny parallels for our own times. Politics consumed Heaths life but he nonetheless found time for other pursuits, becoming an accomplished conductor and an internationally successful yachtsman. The book explores Heaths endlessly fascinating personality and casts fresh light on the financial affairs and private life of this most complex of political leaders. Heaths later years were blighted by the long sulk, as he failed to come to terms with losing the leadership to Margaret Thatcher. But this should not disguise his considerable achievements. He helped to transform the Conservative Party, and by securing Britains historic entry into Europe, the high point of his career, he arguably changed the lives of the British people more fundamentally than any prime minister since Winston Churchill