Times Great Lives

As former Prime Minister and our longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon Brown has been a guiding force for Britain and the world over three decades. This is his candid, poignant and deeply relevant story. In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter within days of her birth, he shares the passionately held principles that have shaped and driven him, reminding us that politics can and should be a calling to serve.

The average person spends 26 years of their life sleeping, but most of us are still tired, all the time. The reality is, sleep is not a priority for most of us and even though we’re getting sleep, it might not be the type of sleep you need. Dr Tim Sharp, Dr Happy, introduces you to 10 simple daily habits to get better-quality sleep so you can achieve a happier and healthier life.

Hans Holbein the Younger is chiefly celebrated for his beautiful and precisely realised portraiture, which includes representations of Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour and an array of the Tudor lords and ladies he encountered during the course of two sojourns in England. But beyond these familiar images, which have come to define our perception of the world of the Henrician court, Holbein was a protean and multi-faceted genius.

While it may seem that chaos and confusion reigns today, humans have a long history of wisdom and inspiration. Dr Tim Sharp, aka Dr Happy, highlights practical lessons from some of the great thinkers of all time to show you the path to your best life now. Habits for Greatness teaches you 30 lessons from 30 of the greatest philosophies, religions, psychologists, creators, movements and even fictional characters to allow you to apply these lessons as lifestyle habits, so you can step into your greatness.

We're now entering the winter season of the 80-year four season economic cycle. It's during this season that we'll clear the decks with a devastating crash and debilitating deflation. The economy and markets will shed the excesses created during the preceding fall bubble boom season and prepare the soil for new blossoming in innovation and a spring boom. After the blustering bull market of 2009-2015, we are now preparing for a shakeout more painful than anything we've seen before.

During the upheavals of 2007-9, the chairman of the Federal Reserve had the name of a Victorian icon on the tip of his tongue: Walter Bagehot. Banker, man of letters, inventor of the Treasury bill, and author of Lombard Street, the still-canonical guide to stopping a run on the banks, Bagehot prescribed the doctrines that - decades later - inspired the radical responses to the world's worst financial crises.

Grab your front-row seat in the story of a lifetime. Witness how one family escapes the rat race - the world's economic religion - and how you can too. By all appearances, Jeff and Samantha Trotman are living the American dream. But behind the white picket fence, they endure an American nightmare. With little time for each other, a pile of debt, and Ferrari taste on a Ford budget, the ruse of affluence is killing them.

It is not often that a long-hidden gem of a manuscript is published, bringing a moment in WWII history to vivid life for today’s audiences. Geoffrey Wellum’s First Light was one example. The memoir of Timothy Vigors is another. Born in Hatfield but raised in Ireland and educated at Eton and Cranwell, Vigors found himself in France in 1940 flying Fairey Battle bombers. After the Fall he joined the fighters of 222 Squadron, with whom he saw frantic and distinguished service over Dunkirk and persevered through the dangerous days of the Battle of Britain, when he became an ace.

A charismatic leader, a warrior whose prowess in battle earned him the epithet Whiteblade, an exiled prince who returned to claim his birthright, the inspiration for Tolkein's Aragorn: Oswald of Northumbria was the first great English monarch, yet today this legendary figure is all but forgotten. In this panoramic portrait of Dark Age Britain, archaeologist and biographer Max Adams returns the king in the North to his rightful place in history.

Discover the fascinating lives of the iconic figures that have shaped Scotland from the early 19th century to the present day. Explore the rich history of Scotland's cultural, social and political landscape, with more than 100 obituaries carefully curated from The Times archive.

The creation of the Mac, in 1984, catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.

The year was 1935: the twilight of the English aristocracy. It was a time of wealth and glamour; of lavish balls and evening gowns; of tiaras and a coronation. As personal maid to Lady Coventry, Hilda Newman had a unique insight into the leisured life of one of Britain's most noble families. In her fascinating memoir of life upstairs and down, Hilda takes us back to this period between the wars; a gilded era which would soon be dramatically changed by the Second World War.

Do you want to learn more about the Bronte Sisters, but don’t have time to rlisten to huge, long biographies? Then let The History Journals take you on an hourly history tour of their lives. The Brontes are one of the most famous literary families the world has ever known. Their magnificent novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights continue to be the epitome of English Literature and can still be found in our bookshops and on library shelves, as well as online.

Created and compiled by Charles Krauthammer before his death, The Point of It All is an intimate collection of the influential columnist’s most important works. Spanning the personal, political, and philosophical - including never-before-published speeches and a major new essay about the effect of today’s populist movements on the future of global democracy - this is the most profound work yet by the legendary writer and thinker.

Is everything about Henry Ford good? This is a man who was more than liberally doused in dogma. Ford was a man whose existence changed the way we live. With the Ford Model T, he brought affordable, flexible transport to the masses. Henry Ford opened up the world. Here is the story of a man of contrasts - genius and pendant, pacifist and supporter of thuggery, social liberator and Orwellian Big Brother. Whatever we conclude about Henry Ford, he is undoubtedly a man about whom we should know more.

Do you want to learn more about the great author Catherine Cookson , but don’t have time to read huge, long biographies? Then let The History Journals take you on an hourly history tour of his life. Mention the name of Catherine Cookson and images of a bygone era will immediately spring to mind. This truly remarkable author created a literary landscape based on her childhood experiences in the North East of England.

Christmas Abbott knows the importance of a badass lifestyle - physically, mentally, and spiritually. The key is balance: using essential daily practices for the mind, body, and soul. The Badass Life is her monthlong program based on building positive daily habits, to help you achieve a higher quality of life and a heightened sense of self-worth.

Few women in history have stood the test of time, but the true story surrounding the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots has ensured that her story lives on to intrigue and fascinate. Who was this 16th-century lady and what role did she play in the history of Great Britain? Piece together the Queen of Scots’ turbulent relationship with her cousin Elizabeth I of England, which ultimately proved to be her downfall. When the Queen of England signed Mary’s death warrant, the Queen of Scots, dressed in blood red, played out her final act under the executioner’s axe.

The model for The Great Gatsby's Meyer Wolfsheim and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls, Arnold Rothstein was an underworld genius, racketeer, rumrunner, and mastermind who, as F. Scott Fitzgerald observed, played "with the faith of 15 million people with the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe."

The two reigns - both unusually long - could scarcely have been more different. Queen Elizabeth I brought a much needed (and appreciated) stability to England at a key moment in the history of the nation. Queen Elizabeth II has, by contrast, been the constitutional monarch par excellence.