Lazy days, long evenings – what will you read this summer? From fiery political books to compelling biographies, history, sport and pocket-sized paperbacks, this selection of new Biteback books has every genre you’d want for your summer reading list.
Use code SUMMER25 at the checkout for 25% off!
Politics
Eight Words That Changed the World: A Modern History of the Election Slogan by Chris Bruni-Lowe
What do Roosevelt, Mandela and thousands of political campaigns have in common? Just eight powerful words. Eight Words That Changed the World uncovers the political slogans that changed history and reveals how the right words, used at the right time, can win power, spark revolutions and shift global politics.
From Acorns to Oaks: An Urgent Agenda to Rebuild Britain by Michael Heseltine
After leaving politics in 1997, Michael Heseltine returned to his publishing business and pursued his other passions. But gradually, David Cameron began to call him back to the corridors of power. In this engaging memoir, Heseltine shares stories from his youth, reflects on his time in government, updates us on the story since he left government, critiques Brexit and presents the bold policies that are urgently needed to rebuild Britain and drive growth.
Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street by Peter Just
The story of Margaret Thatcher’s life after Downing Street is a tale of high drama and low farce, with, at its heart, one extraordinary woman. No longer in office but never really out of power, Thatcher enjoyed perhaps the most consequential ex-premiership of any Prime Minister in British history. In her centenary year, this book provides a radical reassessment of how Thatcher’s post-prime ministership has been viewed to date.
On His Majesty’s Service: How the King Preserves the British Constitution by Julian Francis Godolphin
The King reigns… but does he rule? On His Majesty’s Service reveals how the King’s unique constitutional powers – exercised through dismissals, dissolutions and quiet vetoes – have shaped nations. A must-read on modern monarchy, two years on from King Charles III’s coronation.
Red Flag: The Uneasy Advance of Sir Keir Starmer by Michael Ashcroft
From his rapid rise to PM to the challenges of his first 100 days in office, Keir Starmer’s judgement has often been questioned. Should we be concerned? Michael Ashcroft’s fully revised edition of Red Flag uncovers the truth.
The Art of Delivery: The Inside Story of How the Blair Government Transformed Britain’s Public Services by Michelle Clement
How did Tony Blair’s Delivery Unit turn political promises into real change? The Art of Delivery takes us inside the UK’s first ever Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, uncovering how it transformed public services against the backdrop of the Blair–Brown rivalry. Drawing on 600,000 words of Sir Michael Barber’s unpublished, handwritten private diaries, as well as exclusive interviews and government papers, Michelle Clement tells a human account of what it takes to effect change from behind that famous black door.
The End of an Era: The Decline and Fall of the Tory Party by Mark Field
From his days at Oxford studying alongside Sir Keir Starmer to ministerial chaos with Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rory Stewart, Mark Field has had a front-row seat to the rise, fall and unravelling of a political generation. Scandals, power struggles and the road to ruin for the Conservatives – all told from an insider’s perspective.
Current Affairs
Blackpilled: Masculinity, Media and Incels by Meadhbh Park
Seen Netflix’s Adolescence and need to know more about incels? Blackpilled is a ‘timely and critically important’ book that shines a light on masculinity, media and the manosphere. ‘Essential reading for anyone wishing to better understand the rise of incel ideology.’
Breaking the Taboo: Why we need to talk about birth trauma by Theo Clarke
Up to 30,000 women a year in the UK suffer bad experiences during birth and yet there is still a taboo around speaking about birth trauma. Former MP Theo Clarke was one of those women. After suffering a traumatic birth and emergency surgery, she broke her silence in Parliament. In Breaking the Taboo, she shares her story and calls for urgent change.
From Hackney, With Love: An Intimate History of Gentrification by Richard Yeboah
For decades, Hackney was a vibrant multicultural hub; today, its soul is under threat. In From Hackney, With Love, lifelong resident Richard Yeboah unpacks the painful impact of gentrification, revealing how the borough’s diverse communities are being displaced.
Return to Growth: How to Fix the Economy – Volume Two by Jon Moynihan
Following the success of the acclaimed first volume of Return to Growth, Jon Moynihan tackles the root causes of the UK’s stagnation in this powerful second volume. He argues that high spending, excessive taxes and bureaucratic waste are holding growth back and that embracing free markets, free trade and sound money is the key to breaking the cycle. Discover practical steps to restructure the economy and spark the growth we’ve been missing for decades.
The Dogs of Mariupol: Russia’s Invasion and the Forging of Ukraine’s Iron Generation by Tom Mutch
When Russia invaded, Kateryna hung up her dresses, Oksana and Stanislav put down their lawyers’ briefs and Oksen slammed shut his philosophy textbooks. Alongside thousands of their fellow citizens, they strapped on armour, picked up weapons and chose to risk their lives for the freedom and independence of their homeland. Many would never return. Journalist Tom Mutch tells their stories, from the shattered streets of Mariupol to the trenches of Bakhmut.
The End of America? A Guide to the New World Disorder by Alan Friedman
America, once the shining city on a hill and the world’s policeman, now faces a rapid decline in authority following the rise of powers like China and Russia. In this gripping account, Alan Friedman outlines America’s missteps, from Vietnam to Donald Trump, and explores its role in the emerging New World Disorder and what this means for the future of Western values. As global power dynamics shift, he paints a stark picture of how the world may look without America’s dominance at its core.
The New Total War: From Child Abduction to Cyber Attacks and Drones to Disinformation – Russia’s Conflict with Ukraine and the WestRussian warfare has become the global discussion point in recent years, sparked by the devastating scale of the fighting in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s threats of conflict, including nuclear conflict, with the West. The New Total War is the essential guide to how Russia fights against not only Ukraine but also the West. It is for anyone who wants to understand how conflict in our world is evolving.
Biography and History
A Duel of Bulls: Hemingway and Welles in Love and War by Pete Carvill
The first meeting between Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles ended in thrown punches and exchanged insults. This most unlikely of pairings would go on to have a tumultuous friendship that would last for the next twenty-five years. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, A Duel of Bulls brings the tale of these two formidable figures to life.
Jane Austen and George Eliot: The Lady and the Radical by Edward Whitley
Edward Whitley explores the surprising literary connection between Jane Austen and George Eliot, revealing how Austen’s work influenced Eliot’s groundbreaking writing, despite their vastly different lives. As we mark the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth in 2025, this study sheds new light on how both authors challenged the literary world and proved the power of a woman’s eye in a man’s world.
Murder in Cairo: Solving a Cold War Spy Mystery by Peter Gillman and Emanuele Midolo
In 1977, David Holden, chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, was found murdered in Cairo under mysterious circumstances. His death still haunts the journalists who investigated the case but never found answers. Nearly five decades later, a member of the original investigating team and a journalist from today’s Sunday Times have joined forces to solve this chilling cold case. This riveting investigation into Holden’s killing exposes the dangerous intersection of espionage and journalism.
NHOJ: A Memoir That Started Backwards by John Lazenby
Journalist John Lazenby grew up with severe dyslexia in an era unforgiving to neurodiversity. Sent to boarding school at seven, his life changed when one teacher finally understood the boy no one else could teach. In NHOJ, Lazenby recounts his journey from only being able to write one word at the age of seven – his name, spelled backwards – to finding his true calling, celebrating resilience, hope and triumph against the odds.
Swoon: Fangirls, Their Idols and the Counterculture of Female Lust – From Byron to the Beatles by Bea Martinez-Gatell
Fangirls don’t just scream – they shape culture. Swoon uncovers how generations of young women have turned poets into legends, actors into icons and musicians into messiahs – rewriting history in the process. Revisit six defining moments in book, film and music history through the eyes of the girls and women who gave birth to pop culture as we know it today.
The Madness of Courage: The Exceptional Achievements of Gilbert Insall by Tony Insall
Group Captain Gilbert Insall is the only person to have both won a Victoria Cross and escaped successfully from a German PoW camp during the First World War. His great-nephew Tony Insall tells the thrilling story of Gilbert’s daring escapes from various PoW camps, from tunnelling out of Heidelberg to hiding under a bathhouse floor in Ströhen before escaping and reaching Holland. This gripping account showcases remarkable bravery and resilience in the face of dire conditions.
Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine by Martyn Whittock
We think of Vikings as a Western phenomenon, but their influence shaped the East just as much as the West. In Vikings in the East, historian Martyn Whittock explores the important but often misunderstood and manipulated role played by the Vikings in the origins of Russian power, the deadly consequences of which we are still living with today.
White Shark: A Biography of the Fish That Scared the World by Michael Bright
Fifty years after Jaws sank its teeth into the public imagination, this gripping account dives into the real story of the great white shark. From ancient reports of shark attacks to the cutting-edge science being used to study this extraordinary animal today, White Shark unpacks our enduring fear of and fascination with the ocean’s most misunderstood predator.
Yes, Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants by Tom Quinn
What really makes the British royal family tick? It’s not their duty, wealth or popularity but the dedicated servants and staff who cater to their every need, from organising their days to putting toothpaste on their toothbrushes. Royal expert Tom Quinn’s latest book is a lively and colourful history of these indispensable servants, revealing their unique insight into the lives of their royal masters and the contrasting personalities of those they serve.
Sport
Glory Days for the Waifs and Strays: Identity and Meaning in the Rise of the Modern Manchester City by Dom Farrell
On 12 May 2019, Manchester City became the first team to retain the Premier League title for a decade. Twenty years earlier, the same club was slogging its way fortuitously out of Division Two, having sunk ignominiously to the third tier, its glory days well behind it. Glory Days for the Waifs and Strays charts this route from noble rags to uncomfortable riches and unpacks what it means when a team’s lowest lows and highest highs improbably occur within a generation.
Go To War: Football on the Brink in the ’80s by Jon Spurling
Set against a backdrop of economic recession, rampant hooliganism and suspect fashion, Go To War tells the story of how triumph and tragedy shaped English football during the 1980s. It was a decade in which some fans died watching the game they loved and at times, the ‘slum sport’ seemed set to implode. Yet, remarkably, the game was on the cusp of morphing into the behemoth it has become today.
Just One More Goal: The autobiography of David Pleat by David Pleat
The greatly anticipated autobiography from former Spurs and Luton manager David Pleat. Just One More Goal is the acutely observed story of the development of modern football over the past sixty years, as seen through the eyes of a man who has lived a life at the heart of football.
Postcards from Santiago: The George Robledo Story – The First Overseas Star of English Football by Spencer Vignes
Long before Erling Haaland and Eric Cantona, there was George Robledo – the first overseas star of English football. Abandoned by his father as a child in Chile, Robledo came to the UK, where he was raised in a Yorkshire mining village. During the 1951–52 season, his thirty-three goals for Newcastle United in what is now the Premier League were the most goals scored in a single season by an overseas registered, foreign-born player, a record that has stood unbroken for over seventy years. From Chile to Wembley, from coal mines to glory, Robledo’s story is part of football’s great history.
Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC by Nick Purewal
Amid government pressure, dramatic peace talks and even a suspected poisoning, the 2022 sale of Chelsea FC became one of sport’s most controversial moments. Sanctioned tells the inside story, featuring Roman Abramovich’s first ever interview about the deal.
Paperbacks
Buying Silence: How oligarchs, corporations and plutocrats use the law to gag their critics by David Hooper
Fully updated with a new chapter on how Mohamed Al Fayed and his enablers used the law to cover up his horrific campaign of abuse, Buying Silence explains how those with something to hide try to stop you knowing about it, how their lawyers help them do it and – most importantly – what the government urgently needs to do to stop them.
Finding Margaret: Solving the mystery of my birth mother by Andrew Pierce
At the age of fifty, journalist and broadcaster Andrew Pierce began to tentatively search for his birth mother – only to discover that she had done everything she could to ensure he would never find her. This candid story is a heartwarming page-turner that takes the reader on an extraordinary journey. Full of amusing and arresting anecdotes, at its heart lies the inspirational story of one man’s search for his birth mother and what happened when he finally found her.
Memories of Margaret Thatcher: A portrait, by those who knew her best edited by Iain Dale
Published to mark the twelfth anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s death and the 100th anniversary of her birth, this new, updated edition of Memories of Margaret Thatcher is a fitting tribute to a global political legend, bringing together 250 personal reminiscences and anecdotes from those who experienced close encounters with the Iron Lady.
No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter by Martin Brunt
Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt draws on thirty years of frontline reporting to reveal untold case details, the press’s complex ties with the police and why some crimes grip the nation while others fade from memory.
Tony Benn: A Biography by Jad Adams
For half a century, Tony Benn was Britain’s leading radical, defying the leadership of the Labour Party and staking out the moral high ground. Updated with a new introduction to mark the centenary of Benn’s birth, Jad Adams explores his continuing legacy in 21st-century Britain.
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