Books published by publisher Sutton Publishing Ltd

Life is tough and cheerless for Billy Casper, a troubled teenager growing up in the small Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley. Treated as a failure at school, and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength, and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can, discovering through her the passion missing from his life. Barry Hines' acclaimed novel continues to reach new generations of teenagers and adults with its powerful story of survival in a tough, joyless world.

'A clearly written, remarkably comprehensive guide to the greatest story on Earth - man's journey from the earliest times to the modern day. Highly recommended.'- Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England'Just what we all wanted but were too scared to ask for: everything that ever happened in one digestible, readable book.'- Matt Ridley, author There is an increasing realisation that our knowledge of world history – and how it all fits together – is far from perfect. A Short History of the World aims to fill the big gaps in our historical knowledge with a book that is easy to read and assumes little prior knowledge of past events.The book does not aim to come up with groundbreaking new theories on why things occurred, but rather gives a broad overview of the generally accepted version of events so that non-historians will feel less ignorant when discussing the past.While the book covers world history from the Big Bang to the present day, it principally covers key people, events and empires since the dawn of the first civilisations in around 3500 BC. To help readers put events, places and empires into context, the book includes 36 specially commissioned maps to accompany the text.The result is a book that is reassuringly epic in scope but refreshingly short in length. An excellent place to start to bring your historical knowledge up to scratch!

Robert Miller's father, World War II veteran Herbert Henry Miller, died in 1994. A month later, Robert and his mother discovered the Red Cross diary he had kept while a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. It became the catalyst for Robert's quest to learn more about his father's war. The result of that quest is this remarkable book, a story of terror, horrific despair, and Nazi depravity. But it is also a tale of survival against astonishing odds, of the deep bonds that develop between men at a time of war, and of choosing to leave hate behind. Captured by the Germans at Mortain, France, on August 6, Miller endured a punishing fifty-four-day march to Moosburg, Germany, where he survived for seven months in Stalag VIIA, the largest POW camp in Nazi Germany. During his stay at Stalag VIIA, Miller became good friends with a Nazi guard named Heinz, who eventually disappeared from the camp.

A comic satire upon textbook history squeezing in all the history you can remember from the Olden Days and dashing Queen Woadicea to the reigns of the Eggkings (Eggberd, Eggbreth and Eggforth, and their mysterious Eggdeath), from the dreadful story of Stephen and his aunt Matilda to the Magna Charter, from the six burglars of Calais to the disillusion of the monasteries and the life of Broody Mary, from William and Mary, when England was ruled by an orange, to the Boston Tea-Party and the annoying confusion between Napoleon and Nelson, to the Peace to end all Peace. This light-hearted look at England and history provides a colorful commentary for all those with a curiosity for the past.

Ibn Battuta was no ordinary traveller. Between 1325 CE when he set off and 1354 CE when he finally returned home to stay, he had visited about 40 modern countries and travelled roughly 75,000 miles, going on foot, camel, horse, wagon, boat and even sled.His travels took him to nearly every part of the Muslim world at the time, from Morocco to Mecca, through Persia and Iraq, down the west coast of Africa, into Russia, over to India and even across to China.Ibn Battuta's journey gives us a fascinating window into what the world was like in the fourteenth century. With illustrations, photographs, and maps, the rich and diverse world that produced Ibn Battuta is vividly brought alive.

In 20 meals The Hungry Empire tells the story of how the British created a global network of trade in foodstuffs that moved people and plants from one continent to another, reshaping landscapes and culinary tastes. To be British was to eat the world. The empire allowed Britain to harness the globe's edible resources from salt beef to sugar. By the 20th century the wheat to make the working man's loaf of bread was supplied by Canada, and his Sunday leg of lamb had been fattened on New Zealand's grasslands. Lizzie Collingham takes us on a wide-ranging culinary journey, revealing how virtually every meal we eat still contains a taste of empire.

When Allegra discovers her husband's infidelity after putting her dreams to one side for him, her world crashes down around her. It is the ramblings of her elderly grandfather that awaken her interest in historic interior architecture. On a trip to Florence, she visits her grandfather's birth village in Tuscany. Ready to meet someone new, Allegra is beguiled by a handsome Italian man and becomes involved in a dangerous situation that is the catalyst for an unexpected discovery. Allegra returns to London only to be confronted with bad news. In the wake of her grandfather's demise, she commits to the promise she gave him to solve a family mystery. Sammezzano Castle provides the perfect historic backdrop to stimulate Allegra's love of architecture and allow her to discover her true heritage while indulging in a passionate love affair.

In the late fall of 1095 Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France and set all of Europe into motion. As many as a hundred and fifty thousand people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool’s mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom. Against all odds they succeeded, creating a Christian outpost in the heart of the Islamic world that lasted for the better part of two centuries. Perhaps no other period in history is as misunderstood as the Crusades, and in this fast-paced account, bestselling author Lars Brownworth presents the entire story, from the first clash of Christendom and Islam in the dusty sands of Yarmouk, to the fall of the last crusader state. Along the way he introduces the reader to an exotic world peopled by mighty emperors, doomed Templars, grasping generals, and ambitious peasants. Some of the most famous names of the Middle Ages - Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the legendary Prester John - illuminate this era of splendor, adventure, and faith.