American editor Robert Cowley has brought together those whom his meaty book dubs "the world's foremost military historians" to describe details of significant human conflicts and to construct plausible "counterfactual" events. The balance between the actual and the speculative varies between essays but the counterfactual is always used as "a tool to enhance the understanding of history".

Beginning with the siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC and ending with the Cold War, the contributors posit some amazing historical alternatives. Christianity and Islam, for example, may never have existed and Hitler might have been killed in the First World War. Generally taking a "Western" (sometimes specifically American) perspective, the far-reaching repercussions of real and imagined events are shown. Information gems include the fact that Genghis Khan's soldiers wore silk underwear and that the Kaiser almost met his end in a Wild West show stunt in 1889. What If?reveals that the path of history is a mix of action, reaction and chance. As the editor writes, "milliseconds can influence centuries" and "the difference can be as slight as the path of a bullet". A book of both facts and opinions, it can be argued with as well as learnt from. It might provide perfect fodder for an intellectual dinner party—although pondering the frightening unpredictability of past and future could damage your appetite! —Karen Tiley

Charles Darwin's masterpiece, 'On the Origin of Species', shook society to its core on publication in 1859. This title takes on creationists, including followers of 'Intelligent Design' and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection.

Life isn't fair—here's why: Since 1500, Europeans have, for better and worse, called the tune that the world has danced to. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond explains the reasons why things worked out that way. It is an elemental question, and Diamond is certainly not the first to ask it. However, he performs a singular service by relying on scientific fact rather than specious theories of European genetic superiority. Diamond, a professor of physiology at UCLA, suggests that the geography of Eurasia was best suited to farming, the domestication of animals and the free flow of information. The more populous cultures that developed as a result had more complex forms of government and communication—and increased resistance to disease. Finally, fragmented Europe harnessed the power of competitive innovation in ways that China did not. (For example, the Europeans used the Chinese invention of gunpowder to create guns and subjugate the New World.) Diamond's book is complex and a bit overwhelming. But the thesis he methodically puts forth—examining the "positive feedback loop" of farming, then domestication, then population density, then innovation, and on and on—makes sense. Written without bias, Guns, Germs, and Steel is good global history.

From castles, cathedrals, stately homes and natural wonders to power stations, bellfoundries and even a water tower, this book reflects the diversity of places that Britain has to offer. It is arranged by county and region for easy reference and includes a regional map for each section pinpointing the places featured.

Features stories of Sherlock Holmes.