Sea of Faith Stephen O'Shea (Profile, £20) If you read one book on the history of the Middle East conflict, this should be it. O'Shea carves an illuminating, compassionate path through the clashes of Islam and Christianity that dominated the medieval world in and around the Mediterranean. This book goes further - it looks at the time of tolerance, when cultures could intermingle. O'Shea is a master craftsman in plotting the course of a 1,000-year struggle between two great civilisations. His battle tales unfold with a special momentum - Jerusalem, Constantinople, Malta, Yarmuk, Poitiers - but it is the author's familiarity with ancient places and dynasties that provides the drama for this book.

Spartacus M.J. Trow (Sutton, £20) Even today, the rebel gladiator Spartacus, who raised an army of 70,000 slaves and freemen in a challenge to the might of Rome, refuses to die. He has become a legend for freedom, an inspiration fostered by the Kirk Douglas film. Trow admits that the whole question of Spartacus's origins is shrouded in mystery but there is no doubt that the man from Thrace possessed a great spirit and cultured mind, as Plutarch noted. Even the Russians have adopted him as a Marxist hero, the forerunner of Lenin himself. It appears that Spartacus, first wounded in the thigh, fell with other defenders, unrecognised and undiscovered. Trow follows Spartacus's trail and that of his villainous persecutor Crassus with formidable dedication, offering a tremendous "feel" for one of history's classic revolts.

The British Empire and the Second World War Ashley Jackson (Hambledon, £25) The widely-held belief that Britain stood alone in the dark blitz days of the Second World War is a myth. Jackson proves it with a gigantic spread of detail that shows the nation was defended by its empire from the far corners of the world. It was not only the "white" dominions of Australia, Canada and New Zealand who supported the mother country but India and Africa, with many thousands of troops. Basuto muleteers even served at Monte Cassino. Jackson's magnificent research unveils an extensive involvement of imperial forces wherever a threat existed. Jordan, Aden, Fiji and Ceylon joined in with patriotically named volunteer groups. As Jackson says: "The global war effort of the British Empire presents a stunning historical spectacle."