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{{newreview
|author=Jonathan Dimbleby
|title=Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein - the Battle that Turned the Tide
|rating=4.5
|genre=History
|summary=El Alamein is a totemic British battle, standing as it does with others which turned the tide of our fortunes. The Allies were still smarting from the effects of Dunkirk and harbouring the knowledge that had Hitler elected to press his advantage then the situation could have been very different. Churchill is often quoted as saying that there were no victories before El Alamein and no defeats afterwards. This isn't true - 'it seemed that' is generally omitted from the beginning of the quote - but it does sum up the fact that the battle turned the tide of ''perception'' as well as the fortunes of war, which was quite an achievement for fighting which took place on land to which none of the major participants had any legitimate claim.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846684455</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|title=Ruta's Closet
|summary=Henry VIII’s protracted divorce from Catherine of Aragon, often referred to as ‘The King’s Great Matter’, has been described in detail many times before. In this book on the subject, the focus is on the role of Italian diplomat, Gregorio Casali, ‘our man in Rome’, as the hardback edition was titled. In the preface, Ms Fletcher explains that the average reader may be conversant with the basic facts of Henry and his six wives, but has probably never heard of Casali, who played a lengthy role in the proceedings.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099554895</amazonuk>
}}