Storyteller, historian, bestselling author
Joshua Levine is an author, social historian, and journalist with a passion for bringing the past to life. He’s written multiple bestselling books, and was the historical advisor behind major films like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Steve McQueen’s Blitz. His book Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture hit Number 1 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List. With an unusually varied background, Joshua has also written and presented for radio and TV, earning a glowing reputation as a historical expert and storyteller.
‘Joshua Levine’s background as an actor, barrister and historian makes him the ideal interlocutor. The actor catches his interviewees moods, putting them at their ease and teasing out more than they seemed willing to reveal at the outset. The lawyer draws out the implications of what they are saying, and the historian puts it all into perspective.’ Sunday Times
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With a Foreword by Steve McQueen
The Blitz is one of the most iconic and tumultuous periods in modern British history – and one of the most misunderstood. From the first page, readers will discover a different story to the one they thought they knew – a tale of extreme lifestyles and unlikely friendships, savage horrors …
‘Joshua Levine’s eye-opening history describes a time of looting and loving, heroism and hedonism.’
Evening Standard
An ambitious and powerful account of modern Irish history through the eyes of those who experienced it at first hand. More than half-a-century after the Provisional IRA was formed, Sinn Fein and DUP politicians sit together as leaders of a devolved Northern Irish government. The Troubles are over; the future …
‘Scrupulously researched, Beauty and Atrocity conveys the smell and feel of Northern Ireland’s journey to peace. It is the sort of book that should be thrust into the hands of a minister arriving in Northern Ireland who needs to get a handle on how things have reached that point and where they might be heading next.’
Sunday Times
The Number One Sunday Times Bestseller
“I don’t see it as a war film. I see it as a survival story.” – Christopher Nolan In 1940, at the French port of Dunkirk, more than 300,000 trapped Allied troops were dramatically rescued from the clutches of the enemy. In the years since this remarkable evacuation, the event …
‘Not merely the essential companion to the film but probably the finest work we’ve seen on the evacuation full stop.’
Waterstones Weekly
With never-before-seen photographs and unheard stories
The SAS began as a lie, a story of a British parachute unit in the North African desert, to convince the Axis they were under imminent threat. The lie was so effective that soon a small band of men were brought together to make it real. These recruits were the …
‘Incredible photos from a never-before-seen archive show the SAS in all its remarkable dash and splendour; With incisive commentary, this is a fine wartime history and a must for any special forces library.’
Damien Lewis
The subject of the new major film by Christopher Nolan
What could have been Britain’s greatest military disaster became a story of survival and resolve. In May 1940, as Churchill became Prime Minister, Nazi forces stormed into Holland, Luxembourg, and Belgium, ending the uneasy calm since war was declared. The Allied defences quickly crumbled, and hundreds of thousands of troops …
‘This book, magnificently edited by Joshua Levine, is a great tribute to the extraordinary spirit of an army shattered in battle but determined not to surrender.’
Peter Snow
Joshua has a deep passion for uncovering human stories behind major historical events. He’s written widely for national newspapers, including The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Express, Daily Mail, Independent and The Herald. His articles explore everything from the real experiences of wartime child evacuees and the hidden history of the Blitz, to the early days of aviation and the evolution of Jewish humour.
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Joshua has worked extensively in television and film as a historical consultant, writer, and on-screen expert, helping to bring the past vividly to life for modern audiences.
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Joshua is a familiar voice on the airwaves, writing and presenting a range of acclaimed radio documentaries, whether uncovering forgotten histories or exploring surprising human stories, Joshua brings warmth, wit, and deep research to every broadcast.
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Joshua Levine is an author, social historian, and journalist with a passion for bringing the past to life. Subscribe for weekly history and social pieces, delivered straight to your inbox.
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