Andrew Roberts Popular Books

Andrew Roberts Biography & Facts

Andrew Roberts, Baron Roberts of Belgravia, (born 13 January 1963), is an English popular historian, journalist and member of the House of Lords. He is the Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a Lehrman Institute Distinguished Lecturer at the New-York Historical Society. He served as a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 2013 to 2021.Roberts' historical research has focused mostly on English-speaking nations, particularly those closely tied socially to the United Kingdom such as the United States. As an author, Roberts is well-known internationally for his 2009 non-fiction work The Storm of War, which covers socio-political factors of the Second World War such as Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the administrative organisation of Nazi Germany. The work received the British Army Military Book of the Year Award for 2010 as well. It achieved commercial success, reaching the No. 2 slot on The Sunday Times best-seller list. Much of Roberts' later work, including his 2014 and 2018 biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte and of Winston Churchill, has been widely praised. Roberts' public commentary has additionally appeared in several UK-based publications such as The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, with his support for Atlanticist views in terms of international relations. Early life and education Roberts was born in Hammersmith, London, the son of Kathleen (née Hillery-Collings) and business executive Simon Roberts. Simon Roberts, from Cobham, Surrey, inherited the Job's Dairy milk business and also owned the United Kingdom franchise of Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. A prolific reader as a child, Andrew Roberts soon gained a passion for history, particularly for dramatic works relating to "battles, wars, assassinations and death".Roberts attended Cranleigh School in Surrey, before going up to read modern history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was elected chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association. He graduated with a first class honours B.A. degree before taking a Ph.D. in modern history. Roberts began his career in corporate finance as an investment banker and private company director with the London merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., where he worked from 1985 to 1988. He published his first historical book in 1991. Historical and socio-political viewpoints Commentary on history In the context of the First World War, Roberts determines that the treaty obligations imposed on the German Empire should have been significantly tougher. He has specifically proclaimed that the victorious powers of the Entente alliance should have broken up Germany into component sub-national territories akin to the disorganised situation prior to the unification of Germany in the mid-1800s. Ultranationalism was eventually "burned out of the German soul", in Roberts' opinion, at a truly devastating cost.Roberts' analysis of the Second World War has convinced him that the Nazi German government had significant advantages in military organisation and economic power early in the war. He has argued that, if someone other than the dictator Adolf Hitler had control of the nation's military strategy, the country would likely have forgone a costly direct invasion of Soviet territory, which occurred through Operation Barbarossa, and instead would have swept through Mediterranean territories before trying to seal off British-controlled Middle East areas. Roberts has concluded that the likely morale-building victories against the comparatively weak forces to the southeast could have allowed Hitler to essentially win the war. According to Roberts, the other key strategic mistake was the German declaration of war against the United States, which was announced only four days after the Pearl Harbor attacks despite the fact that the Nazi regime had no legal obligation to take such an action. Roberts has stated that, after the declaration, Germany could not keep the U.S. war-making economic machine at bay. Thus, in his view, the mistakes, delusions, and exaggerated self-confidence complexes that the fascist government fostered proved its undoing.Roberts has additionally stated that he views Joseph Stalin's control of the Soviet Armed Forces as having been disastrous to the allied efforts against the Axis powers. He has commented that Stalin's obsessive tactics of killing his own men for ideological reasons cost him thousands upon thousands of troops. In the Battle of Stalingrad alone, Soviet forces killed the equivalent of two full divisions of their own personnel.In terms of more recent history, Roberts has whole-heartedly embraced Thatcherism. He has remained a staunch backer of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her socio-political legacy. In Roberts' opinion, Thatcher's insight to push the U.K. into a path in which it kept out of the euro currency concept, while still having strong ties to various European economies and otherwise engaging in international trade, has been validated by the Eurozone crisis in the aftermath of the Great Recession. After the British Prime Minister Tony Blair of the Labour Party resigned, Roberts assessed him as an "exemplary war leader" with his "vigorous prosecution of the War against Terror", which would leave him regarded as a "highly successful prime minister". In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Roberts backed the "Leave" vote. Support for the Iraq War and military intervention Roberts supports a strong American military and has generally argued in favour of close relations between the Anglosphere nations. As an advocate for the general principle of democratic pluralism, he has argued that "[s]neered at for being 'simplistic' in his reaction to 9/11, Bush's visceral responses to the attacks of a fascistic, totalitarian death cult will be seen as having been substantially the right ones" in the long run. In many writings, he has come out in support of neo-conservative influenced socio-political viewpoints.During the buildup to the Iraq War, Roberts supported the proposed invasion, arguing that anything less would be tantamount to appeasement, comparing Tony Blair to Winston Churchill in his "astonishing leadership". He additionally argued that acting against Saddam Hussein was in line with the "Pax Americana realpolitik that has kept the Great Powers at peace since the Second World War, despite the collapse of Communism".In 2003, Roberts wrote: "For Churchill, apotheosis came in 1940; for Tony Blair, it will come when Iraq is successfully invaded and hundreds of weapons of mass destruction are unearthed from where they have been hidden by Saddam's henchmen." When such weapons were not found, Roberts still defended the invasion for larger strategic reasons, while arguing that his past views were based on credible assessments from intelligence services as well as other sources. Authorship and television appearances Earl.... Discover the Andrew Roberts popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Andrew Roberts books.

Best Seller Andrew Roberts Books of 2024

  • The Last King of America synopsis, comments

    The Last King of America

    Andrew Roberts

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Churchill and NapoleonThe last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies ...

  • Don Revie synopsis, comments

    Don Revie

    Andrew Mourant

    Don Revie was the football man about whom few were neutral. The Leeds United team he created was possibly the finest in the history of English league football, one of legendary end...

  • A Brief History of London synopsis, comments

    A Brief History of London

    Jeremy Black

    As the United Kingdom left the European Union, during a period of international and domestic turmoil, London found itself at a turning point. This critical moment presents an oppor...

  • The Storm of War synopsis, comments

    The Storm of War

    Andrew Roberts

    “Gripping. . . . splendid history. A brilliantly clear and accessible account of the war in all its theaters. Roberts’s prose is unerringly precise and striking...

  • The Penguin Book of Victorian Verse synopsis, comments

    The Penguin Book of Victorian Verse

    Daniel Karlin

    Daniel Karlin has selected poetry written and published during the reign of Queen Victoria, (18371901). Giving pride of place to Tennyson, Robert Browning, and Christina Rossetti, ...

  • The Recollections of Rifleman Harris synopsis, comments

    The Recollections of Rifleman Harris

    Benjamin Randell Harris

    'Describing narrow squeaks and terrible deprivations, Harris's unflowery account of fortitude and resilience in Spain still bristles with a freshness and an invigorating spikiness'...

  • Churchill and Empire synopsis, comments

    Churchill and Empire

    Lawrence James

    A genuinely original biography of Churchill, focusing on his contradictory and lifelong relationship with the British Empire.'A superb history of a memorable subject' Andrew Robert...

  • A Brief History of the Caribbean synopsis, comments

    A Brief History of the Caribbean

    Jeremy Black

    A concise history of the Caribbean's long and fascinating history, from precontact civilisations to the present day This is a concise history, intended for travellers, but of inest...

  • COVID Curveball synopsis, comments

    COVID Curveball

    Tim Neverett & Orel Hershiser

    A riveting inside account of the most unforgettable season in Los Angeles Dodgers history, from the COVIDdelayed start through the incredible playoff run, by the broadcaster who sa...

  • Conflict synopsis, comments

    Conflict

    David Petraeus & Andrew Roberts

    New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestsellerAspects of History, The Critic, Octavian, and Modern War Institute Book of the Year.  Two leading ...

  • Military Dispatches synopsis, comments

    Military Dispatches

    The Duke of Wellington

    The vivid and exciting accounts written from the front line, taking the story of the British war with Napoleon from its desperate beginnings in Portugal to the final triumph at Wat...

  • Hoover synopsis, comments

    Hoover

    Kenneth Whyte

    "An exemplary biographyexhaustively researched, fairminded and easy to read. It can nestle on the same shelf as David McCullough’s Truman, a high compliment indeed." The ...

  • Lunch with the FT synopsis, comments

    Lunch with the FT

    Lionel Barber

    Lunch with the FT has been a permanent fixture in the Financial Times for almost 30 years, featuring presidents, film stars, musical icons and business leaders from around the worl...

  • Humanism synopsis, comments

    Humanism

    Peter Cave

    Life does not become empty and meaningless in a godless universe.This is the contention at the heart of humanism, the philosophy concerned with making sense of the world through re...

  • Last Flight of the Luftwaffe synopsis, comments

    Last Flight of the Luftwaffe

    Adrian Weir

    The account of one of the most extraordinary stories to come from the closing days of the Second World War.Desperate times drive determined men to desperate measures. In April 1945...

  • Postcards to Europe synopsis, comments

    Postcards to Europe

    Various Authors

    This is not a book about politics. It is a book about what makes us British, and what makes us European.Spend time with some of your favourite writers and artists in this truly uni...

  • A Brief History of Britain 1851-2021 synopsis, comments

    A Brief History of Britain 1851-2021

    Jeremy Black

    From the Great Exhibition's showcasing of British national achievement in 1851 to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Stratford in 2012 and on to Brexit, an insightful explor...

  • Why Britain is at War synopsis, comments

    Why Britain is at War

    Harold Nicolson

    "If we in Great Britain are resolute and wise there will emerge from this catastrophe something which may well give hope to the world" First published in 1939 as a Penguin Special,...

  • Edward VI synopsis, comments

    Edward VI

    Stephen Alford

    Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII, became king at the age of nine and died wholly unexpectedly at the age of fifteen. All around him loomed powerful men who hoped to use the c...

  • The Air Ministry Survival Guide synopsis, comments

    The Air Ministry Survival Guide

    Penguin Books Ltd

    THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE for anyone who thinks they'd survive the world's most hostile environments or at least imagine they could do.First issued to British airmen in the 1950...

  • The Second World Wars synopsis, comments

    The Second World Wars

    Victor Davis Hanson

    A "breathtakingly magisterial" account of World War II by America's preeminent military historian (Wall Street Journal)World War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. N...

  • Scoops synopsis, comments

    Scoops

    Sam McAlister

    The secrets of a former Newsnight producer who found her way to Buckingham Palace'A cracking read' Lorraine Kelly‘Riveting’ Sunday Telegraph‘Behind every great interview is a great...

  • A Duty of Care synopsis, comments

    A Duty of Care

    Peter Hennessy

    One of our most celebrated historians shows how we can use the lessons of the past to build a new postcovid society in BritainThe 'duty of care' which the state owes to its citizen...

  • Serviceman J synopsis, comments

    Serviceman J

    Jamie Pennell

    A gripping memoir by a former NZSAS commander on serving in Afghanistan over five deployments and operating at the edge of his limitsIn 2011, following the Taliban seige on Kabul's...

  • Duramen Rose synopsis, comments

    Duramen Rose

    Andrew L. Roberts

    WWIthe Spanish Flua boy who runs away to warand struggles to find his way homeagain thereaftersoldiers, hobos, dead men, and his Valkyriea modern American epic of war and innocence...

  • Humanism synopsis, comments

    Humanism

    Peter Cave

    The quintessential guide to living a meaningful life without God.Why should we believe in God without any evidence? How can there be meaning in life when death is final? With histo...

  • Leadership in War synopsis, comments

    Leadership in War

    Andrew Roberts

    A comparison of nine leaders who led their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and whose unique strengthsand weaknessesshaped the course of human history, fro...

  • The Battle of The Nile synopsis, comments

    The Battle of The Nile

    Sam Willis

    Part of the ALLNEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES Why was the Battle of the Nile so decisive in the French Revolutionary Wars? Why did the French believe they were unassailable? And why di...

  • Making History synopsis, comments

    Making History

    Richard Cohen

    A “supremely entertaining” (The New Yorker) exploration of who gets to record the world’s historyfrom Julius Caesar to William Shakespeare to Ken Burnsand how their biases influenc...

  • Waterloo synopsis, comments

    Waterloo

    Andrew Roberts

    June 18, 1815, was one of the most momentous days in world history, marking the end of twentytwo years of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. On the bloody battlefield of Wat...

  • Rogue Warrior of the SAS synopsis, comments

    Rogue Warrior of the SAS

    Martin Dillon & Roy Bradford

    More than half a century after his death, Lt Col. Robert Blair Mayne is still regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in the history of military special operations. He was the mos...