Castles: A Fortified History of the World

Dan Jones presents a history of the world told through over a dozen iconic strongholds. Castles have been built to defend humanity for millennia – from the walls of Troy over three thousand years ago and the desert bastion of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria; to Windsor Castle and the Tower of London; to Himeji in Japan and the Maginot Line in the Second World War. They have inspired terror and ambition, foiled conquering forces, and been deployed as the ultimate expression of wealth, status and supremacy.

Jones leads readers on a journey through centuries and across continents as each castle tells a unique story of power, politics and survival, revealing the shifting tides of warfare, the rise and fall of empires, the resilience of people under siege and the flourishing of new ideas. Blending storytelling, research and original illustrations, Castles is an epic story of how humans first came to build fortifications and how they expanded into capturing our imagination. Jones shows how defiance, endurance and imagination have been carved into the landscapes we’ve inherited.