Tom Holland Popular Books
Tom Holland Biography & Facts
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award and three Saturn Awards. He featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most popular actors of his generation. Holland's career began at age nine when he enrolled in a dancing class, where a choreographer noticed him and arranged for him to audition for a role in Billy Elliot the Musical at London's Victoria Palace Theatre. After two years of training, he secured a supporting part in 2008 and was upgraded to the title role that year, which he played until 2010. Holland made his film debut in the disaster drama The Impossible (2012) as a teenage tourist trapped in a tsunami, for which he received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Goya Award for Best New Actor. After this, Holland decided to pursue acting as a full-time career, appearing in How I Live Now (2013) and playing historical figures in the film In the Heart of the Sea (2015) and the miniseries Wolf Hall (2015). Holland achieved international recognition playing Spider-Man in six Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films, beginning with Captain America: Civil War (2016). The following year, Holland received the BAFTA Rising Star Award and became the youngest actor to play a title role in an MCU film in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The sequels, subtitled Far From Home (2019) and No Way Home (2021), each grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, and the latter became the highest-grossing film of the year. He had another action film role in Uncharted (2022), and also expanded to play against-type roles in the crime dramas The Devil All the Time (2020) and Cherry (2021). Holland has additionally directed the short film Tweet (2015) and voiced roles in computer-animated features, including Spies in Disguise (2019) and Onward (2020). Early life and education Thomas Stanley Holland was born on 1 June 1996 in Kingston upon Thames, in south west London, to photographer Nicola (née Frost) and Dominic Holland, a comedian and author. He has three younger brothers. His paternal grandmother was from Tipperary, Ireland, and his paternal grandfather was from the Isle of Man. He lives in Kingston upon Thames, near the house of his parents and younger brothers. As his parents have creative professions, he is often inspired by them; he considers his father a role model who has unofficially worked as his manager due to his experience in the industry. Holland was educated at Donhead, an all-male Catholic preparatory school in Wimbledon in south west London. When he was seven, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. His parents sent him and his brothers (to avoid making them feel neglected) to a private school so he could get the necessary attention. Although Holland liked the new school, this started to drain his family's finances. Holland attended Wimbledon College, a voluntary aided Jesuit comprehensive school, followed by the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Growing up, Holland considered several career choices. As a child, he was a fan of Janet Jackson's songs, and often danced to them. His mother signed him up for a dancing class advertised in the private school Holland was visiting at the time. In his teens, Holland briefly attended carpentry school in Cardiff, Wales. He also considered becoming a primary school teacher, as he enjoys being around children. Acting career 2006–2014: Early stage work and film debut At age nine, Holland began dancing at a hip hop class at Nifty Feet Dance School in Wimbledon, where he performed with his school group at the 2006 Richmond Dance Festival. There, he was spotted by choreographer Lynne Page, an associate to Peter Darling, choreographer of Billy Elliot the Musical. Page arranged an audition for Holland, where the musical's director Stephen Daldry thought that he "had great potential and was a very natural actor". After two years of training in ballet, tap dancing and acrobatics, Holland won the role of Michael Caffrey, the protagonist's best friend, and made his debut performance at the West End's Victoria Palace Theatre in June 2008. During his time performing in the musical, Holland learned gymnastics. Holland says when his peers at school found out about his dancing activities, they started bullying him. Later in 2008, Holland and co-star Tanner Pflueger were promoted to the lead role in the musical. On his first day playing Elliot, Holland developed tonsillitis but performed on stage anyway to positive reviews; he went to the doctor the next day. Following his stage success, Holland hoped to be popular in school and that his schoolmates would stop bullying him. After being in a professional environment, he matured earlier than his peers and struggled to fit in. As a result, his GCSE grades suffered. After his work on Billy Elliot the Musical finished in 2010, Holland voiced a role in the British dub of the Japanese animated fantasy film Arrietty (2011), and sent an audition tape to Juan Antonio Bayona for a part in The Impossible (2012). Bayona then arranged a meeting, and had Holland write a letter to his mother and recite it as an audition. Impressed with his emotional delivery, Bayona cast Holland in the film. In The Impossible, Holland played a teenager trapped with his family in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Transitioning from stage to screen was initially hard for Holland due to the shift from live audience to camera. He and co-star Naomi Watts filmed scenes in a 35,000-gallon water tank, which were physically and psychologically taxing for them. Working with Watts made Holland realise that he wanted to pursue an acting career permanently. The Impossible premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to critical and commercial success, earning $180.3 million against a budget of $45 million. Holland received critical praise for his performance. A. O. Scott of The New York Times found Holland to be "a terrific young actor", praising his character's transition from a self-involved to a responsible adolescent. He won several awards, including the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance and London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year. Holland featured in the drama film How I Live Now (2013), lent his voice in a supporting role for the drama film Locke (2013), and had a cameo in Billy Elliot the Musical Live (2014). 2015–2017: Breakthrough as Spider-Man Holland appeared in four episodes of BBC Two's historical miniseries Wolf Hall (2015), as Gregory Cromwell, son of the protagonist Thomas Cromwell played by Mark Rylance. He directed Tweet (2015), a 3-minute short film about a young man building a birdhouse with his grandfather; Holland later expressed an interest in directing feature films in his 40s. Also in 2015, Holland co-starred as the teenage sailor Thomas Nickerson in Ron Howard's histo.... Discover the Tom Holland popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tom Holland books.
Best Seller Tom Holland Books of 2024
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The Mad Emperor
Harry SidebottomWhat happens when you put the Roman Empire in the hands of a teenage boy? Discover the scandalous life and times of Rome's worst emperor. 'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' Da...
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Venus and Aphrodite
Bettany Hughes'Lively' THE TIMES'Engrossing' THE SPECTATOR'Stunning' WOMAN & HOME'Marvellous' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINEThrough ancient art, evocative myth, intriguing archaeological discoveries a...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 3
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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The Scramble for China
Robert BickersIn the early nineteenth century China remained almost untouched by British and European powers but as new technology started to change this balance, foreigners gathered like wolve...
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Selected Poems and Letters
Arthur Rimbaud, Jeremy Harding & John SturrockA phenomenonally precicious schoolboy, Rimbaud was still a teenager when he became notorious as Europe's most shocking and exhilarating poet. During his brief 5year reign as the e...
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Sabre Squadron
Cameron SpenceWith the outbreak of Gulf War hostilities a unit from 22 SAS slipped quietly over the border and into the enemy's backyard. It would be six weeks before any of the patrol again rea...
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The Age of Alexander
PlutarchPlutarch's parallel biographies of the great men in Greek and Roman history are cornerstones of European literature, drawn on by writers and statesmen since the Renaissance, most n...
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In the Shadow of the Sword
Tom HollandThe acclaimed author of Rubicon and other superb works of popular history now produces a thrillingly panoramic (and incredibly timely) account of the rise of Islam. No less ...
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The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh & Ronald de LeeuwA new selection of Vincent Van Gough's letters, based on an entirely new translation, revealing his religious struggles, his fascination with the French Revolution, his search for ...
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Alpha Beta
John ManThe idea behind the alphabet that language with all its wealth of meaning can be recorded with a few meaningless signs is an extraordinary one. So extraordinary, in fact, that it...
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Charles I
Mark KishlanskyThe tragedy of Charles I dominates one of the most strange and painful periods in British history as the whole island tore itself apart over a deadly, entangled series of religious...
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History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides & Rex Warner'With icy remorselessness, it puts paid to any notion that the horrors of modern history might be an aberration for it tells of universal war, of terrorism, revolution and genocid...
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The Forge of Christendom
Tom HollandA grand narrative history of the reemergence of Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire. At the approach of the first millennium, the Christians of Europe did not seem li...
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Dynasty
Tom HollandAuthor and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubiconhis masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of th...
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The War of the Three Gods
Peter CrawfordThe War of the Three Gods is a military history of the Near and Middle East in the seventh centurywith its chief focus on the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius (AD 610–6...
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The Campaigns of Alexander
Arrian & Aubrey De SelincourtAlthough written over four hundred years after Alexander's death, Arrian's account of the man and his achievements is the most reliable we have. Arrian's own experience as a milita...
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The Persian Expedition
Xenophon & Rex WarnerIn The Persian Expedition, Xenophon, a young Athenian noble who sought his destiny abroad, provides an enthralling eyewitness account of the attempt by a Greek mercenary army the ...
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The Regiment
Michael AsherFrom the bestselling author of The Real Bravo Two Zero comes the definitive history of the world's most elite fighting force the SAS'Breathtaking bravery, astonishing feats of end...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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Istanbul
John FreelyIstanbul's history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as cour...
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How Tom Holland Eclipsed his Dad
Dominic HollandStory of how a kid dances his way from London's West End all the way to Hollywood and eclipses his 'celebrity' dad along the way. Written with great affection by a dad as proud as ...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 4
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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Magisteria
Nicholas SpencerMost things you ‘know’ about science and religion are myths or halftruths that grew up in the last years of the nineteenth century and remain widespread today.‘A deeply researched ...
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Persian Fire
Tom HollandA "fresh...thrilling" (The Guardian) account of the GraecoPersian Wars. In the fifth century B.C., a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded ...
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Cherry
Nico WalkerNational BestsellerNow a major motion picture starring Tom Holland and directed by the Russo Brothers. A young medic returns from deployment in Iraq to two things: the woman h...
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The Civil War
Julius CaesarA military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a great writer, recording the events of his life with incomparable immediacy and power. The Civil War is a tense and gripping...
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The Celts
Alice Roberts'Informed, impeccably researched and written' Neil OliverThe Celts are one of the world's most mysterious ancient people. In this compelling account, Alice Roberts takes us on a jo...
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In Search Of The First Civilizations
Michael WoodFive thousand years ago there began the most momentous revolution in human history. Starting in Mesopotamia, city civilization emerged for the first time on earth, to be followed i...
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Rubicon
Tom HollandA vivid historical account of the social world of Rome as it moved from republic to empire. In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar cr...
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The Hitopadesa
M NarayanaComposed between 800 and 950 AD, Narayana's Hitopadesa is one of the bestknown of all works in Sanskrit literature. A fascinating collection of fables, maxims and sayings in verse,...
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Alexander the Great
Robin Lane FoxTough, resolute, fearless, Alexander was a born warrior and ruler of passionate ambition who understood the intense adventure of conquest and of the unknown. When he died in 323 BC...
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The Complete Poems
William Blake & Alicia OstrikerOne of the great English Romantic poets, William Blake (17571827) was an artist, poet, mystic and visionary. His work ranges from the deceptively simple and lyrical Songs of Innoce...
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Doctor Dolittle The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
Hugh LoftingJust in time for the major motion picture Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr.soaring into theaters on January 17, 2020!Journey into the world of Doctor Dolittle, the kind and eccen...
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The First Bohemians
Vic GatrellThe colourful, salacious and sumptuously illustrated story of Covent Garden the creative heart of Georgian London from Wolfson Prizewinning author Vic GatrellSHORTLISTED FOR THE ...
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Rome in Crisis
Plutarch & Christopher PellingBringing together nine biographies from Plutarch's Parallel Lives series, this edition examines the lives of major figures in Roman history, from Lucullus (11857 BC), an aristocrat...
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Ramesses
Joyce TyldesleyEveryone has heard of Ramesses the Great but what is the truth behind the legend? Joyce Tyldesley's lively book explores the life and times of Egypt's greatest king. Ramesses II w...
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A History of My Times
Xenophon & Rex WarnerXenophon's History recounts nearly fifty turbulent years of warfare in Greece between 411 and 362 BC. Continuing the story of the Peloponnesian War at the point where Thucydides fi...
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The Frontiers of Knowledge
A. C. Grayling'Grayling brings satisfying order to daunting subjects' Steven PinkerIn very recent times humanity has learnt a vast amount about the universe, the past, and itself. But through ou...
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The Jewish War
Josephus & G. WilliamsonJosephus’ account of a war marked by treachery and atrocity is a superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70. Originally a rebe...
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Alfred the Great
Asser, Simon Keynes & Michael LapidgeAsser's Life of King Alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Composed by a monk of St David's in Wales who became Bishop of Sherbor...
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The Histories
Herodotus & Aubrey De Selincourt'The first example of nonfiction, the text that underlies the entire discipline of history ... it is above all a treasure trove' Tom HollandOne of the masterpieces of classical lit...
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Guide to Greece
Pausanias & Peter LeviWritten by a Greek traveller in the second century ad for a principally Roman audience, Pausanias' Guide to Greece is a comprehensive, extraordinarily literate and wellinformed gui...
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Early Christian Writings
Maxwell StaniforthThe writings in this volume cast a glimmer of light upon the emerging traditions and organization of the infant church, during an otherwise littleknown period of its developmen...
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Tom Holland
Martha LondonTom Holland captivated audiences as Marvel’s SpiderMan. With compelling images, fun facts, and an Inside Hollywood special feature, this book provides an engaging overview of Holla...