The Real Robinson Crusoe

The American singer-songwriter and musician Bob Dylan is one of the most important recording artists on the planet. A cultural icon, his work has had a profound influence on popular music since the 1960s. First gaining fame as a folk singer with songs that addressed the subjects ...  Show more

In the decades since the United States declared their independence from Britain, the question of slavery had become increasingly divisive. As the nation expanded, fragile political agreements over the issue failed, and the frontier became a battleground. When Abraham Lincoln was ...  Show more

Was Robinson Crusoe real? According to the book it was 'written by himself'.

To establish the facts, Matthew Parris is joined by two notable desert island survivors to discuss Crusoe’s life and strange adventures, during 28 years on an uninhabited island near the mouth o ...

Shakespeare helped to make the Fool a common literary character. But what about the real-life fools who served in actual courts? Who were they and what kind of lives did they lead? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Peter K. Andersson about his book Fool: In Search of Henry V ...  Show more

Every historian I know has a secret dream of writing historical fiction, but few ever do it. Dan Jones, a longtime friend of Tides of History and an outstanding historian, has actually done it: Essex Dogs, his fantastic debut novel about a group of soldiers during the ...

Politician, writer, warrior, lover... Julius Caesar was the dictator-for-life who became the absolute ruler of Rome and its domains. His life was a series of extraordinary and gruesome adventures. The young student kidnapped by pirates. The general who butchered the people of Gau ...  Show more