The History Book Buffs

On 29 October 1929, the world changed forever.
As share prices collapsed, panic ripped through Wall Street, fortunes vanished in hours, and confidence in capitalism itself cracked. What began as a stock market crash in New York spiralled into the Great Depression, reshaped global politics, radicalised Europe – and helped pave the way for Hitler, Stalin, and the extremes of the 1930s.
In this episode of Days That Changed the World, historians Antonia Senior and Roger Moorhouse take you inside the human drama of the Wall Street Crash:
– exhausted traders sleeping on cots
– terrified small investors crowding the streets
– markets collapsing faster than the technology could record prices
– and a world discovering, in real time, that those “in charge” didn’t really know what they were doing
Using Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, we explore not just what happened, but why it mattered — and why its consequences are still with us today.
✔ What caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929
✔ How debt, speculation and mass share ownership fuelled panic
✔ Why technology made the crash worse
✔ The myth — and reality — of suicides on Wall Street
✔ How the crash destabilised Europe and radicalised German politics
✔ Whether Hitler could have risen without 1929
✔ Why capitalism entered an identity crisis — and extremism filled the vacuum
This isn’t just a financial story.
It’s a story about fear, belief, human behaviour, and the fragility of systems we assume are permanent.
1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History – Andrew Ross Sorkin

When Money Dies – Adam Fergusson

The Way We Live Now – Anthony Trollope

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Happy New Year from History Book Buffs! After our 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts, we’re back with a special episode looking ahead to the most exciting history and historical fiction books coming out in 2026.
From Soviet assassins and Baltic crusades to Cromwells, Bolsheviks, Weimar Germany and the Cambridge Five, this episode is packed with bookish fireworks. These are the titles we’re genuinely excited about as historians, writers, reviewers, and unapologetic history obsessives.
📚 Books discussed include:
The Death of Trotsky by Josh Ireland

Rasputin by Antony Beevor

The Black Cross: A History of the Baltic Crusades by Alexander Pluszkowski

The House of Cromwell by Miranda Malins

Red Dawn Over China by Frank Dikötter

White River Crossing by Ian McGuire

Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe by Katja Hoyer

The House of Boleyn by Tracy Borman

Stalin’s Apostles by Antonia Senior (out April 2026)

We talk serious history, brilliant storytelling, fresh angles, and why these books matter now—from espionage and ideology to power, betrayal, and the human cost of history.
If you love:
✔️ narrative history
✔️ Cold War & Soviet history
✔️ Tudor, Civil War & medieval Europe
✔️ historical fiction that actually knows its facts
✔️ smart, opinionated book chat
…this episode is for you.
👉 Subscribe for more history book recommendations, deep dives, and author conversations
👉 Available as a podcast wherever you get your podcasts
👉 Let us know in the comments which 2026 history books you’re most excited about

Welcome back to History Book Buffs for Part 2 of our 21 Days of Christmas Books series — a bumper festive episode packed with brilliant history (and a couple of cracking novels). I’m Antonia Senior — writer and journalist — joined by my fellow book buff Roger Moorhouse, and together we’re sharing some of the very best titles we’ve read this year.
In this episode we range from the Battle of Britain and the Blitz seen through German eyes, to the birth of modern British party politics, to spies getting uncomfortably close to Hitler’s inner circle — plus Baltic geopolitics, terrorism and revolution in the 1970s, and two brilliantly atmospheric works of fiction.
Books featured in this episode:
Eagle Days — Victoria Taylor

The Rage of Party — George Owers

The Spy and the Devil — Tim Willasey-Wilsey

The Artist — Lucy Steeds

Baltic — Oliver Moody

Appointment in Paris — Jane Thynne

The Revolutionists — Jason Burke

Inside the Nazi Mind — Laurence Rees

The Holocaust (The Hitler Years series) — Frank McDonough

The Spy in the Archives — Gordon Corera

1945: The Reckoning — Phil Craig

Thank you for listening (and reading along) with us through 2025 — this is our last episode until January. We’ll be back in 2026 with more history books and more recommendations.

🎄 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts – Round-Up of the First 10 Books 🎄
In this special episode, we run through the first ten titles in our 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts series — a curated collection of the very best in history, espionage, military narrative, and historical fiction. If you’re looking for the perfect present for the history lover in your life, or simply want a fast-paced guide to the standout books of the season, this round-up has you covered.
We revisit each title, why it matters, and who it’s perfect for — from gripping World War II narratives to dazzling Tudor intrigue and brilliantly reimagined classics.
📚 Featured Books
Victory 45 — James Holland & Al Murray’s vivid account of the final months of WWII.

The Boleyn Traitor — Philippa Gregory’s tense Tudor power struggle brought to life.

Tank — Mark Urban’s masterful deep-dive into armoured warfare.

Sharpe’s Storm — Bernard Cornwell’s Napoleonic hero at his very best.

Suetonius (trans. Tom Holland) — A fresh, sharp, and wildly readable take on the Twelve Caesars.

Tunisgrad — Saul David’s gripping portrait of catastrophe and courage in North Africa.

Wolfpack — Roger Moorhouse’s thrilling history of the U-boat hunters who helped win the war.

The Pretender — Jo Harkin’s brilliant, witty, and genre-bending historical novel.

The White Lady — Helen Fry’s powerful account of Belgian resistance and forgotten heroism.

The Mission — Tim Weiner's compelling account of the CIA in the 21st Century.

🎧 In This Episode
Fast, insightful rundowns of each book

Why these titles make exceptional gifts

The wider historical themes tying them together

Recommendations for readers who love: WWII history, Cold War intrigue, Tudor drama, classical biography, Napoleonic campaigns, and literary historical fiction

If you’re following along with the full 21-day series or simply need the ultimate history-lover’s gift guide, this episode is your festive cheat-sheet.

Eighty years ago, the world watched as the Nuremberg Trial opened in a ruined German city — the first time leaders of a defeated regime were prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace.
In this episode of our series Days That Changed the World, we take you inside Courtroom 600 on the historic opening day of the Nuremberg Trials and uncover how this moment reshaped international law, justice after dictatorship, and the way the world confronts atrocity.
We explore the atmosphere in the courtroom, the unprecedented media attention, the indictments against the Nazi leadership, and the reactions of the defendants as the evidence unfolded. From conspiracy charges to the final verdicts — including both acquittals and death sentences — this episode breaks down why Nuremberg remains a defining legal and moral turning point in modern history.
If you’re interested in World War II, international justice, the origins of human rights law, or the drama behind major historical events, this episode is for you.
Why the Nuremberg Trial became a pivotal moment in world history

How it established the foundations of modern international criminal law

What the opening day felt like inside Courtroom 600

Who the defendants were — and what they were charged with

How the world’s media covered the trial

The emotional reactions inside the courtroom

The final verdicts and their long-term consequences

00:00 The Significance of Nuremberg
01:58 The Context of the Trials
04:43 The Opening Day of the Trials
07:16 The Defendants and Their Backgrounds
10:00 The Atmosphere in Nuremberg
13:07 The Proceedings and Indictments
15:36 The Reactions of the Defendants
18:54 The Verdicts and Their Implications
21:45 Reflections on Justice and Accountability