The History Book Buffs

The History Book Buffs

Welcome to The History Book Buffs. For reviews and chat about history books, fact and fiction, hosted by award-winning historian Roger Moorhouse, and novelist and critic Antonia Senior.

🔎 Discover new and classic titles, with two history-obsessed writers
💬 Join a community of readers who love history

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Recent Episodes

The Most Dangerous Lying Memoirs in History? Kim Philby, Albert Speer & the Art of the Cover-Up
March 18, 2026

The Most Dangerous Lying Memoirs in History? Kim Philby, Albert Speer & the Art of the Cover-Up

What happens when two of the 20th century’s most notorious men tell their own stories? In this episode of History Book Buffs , Antonia Senior and Roger Moorhouse dive into two of the most seductive, slippery and deeply unreli...
The Death of Trotsky | Stalin, Espionage and Assassination – with Josh Ireland
March 12, 2026

The Death of Trotsky | Stalin, Espionage and Assassination – with Josh Ireland

In this episode of History Book Buffs , Antonia Senior talks to historian Josh Ireland about his gripping book The Death of Trotsky , which tells the extraordinary story of how Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin hunted down his gr...
Murder or Suicide? The Cold War Death of Jan Masaryk. A Buffs in Brief special
March 10, 2026

Murder or Suicide? The Cold War Death of Jan Masaryk. A Buffs in Brief special

In March 1948, Jan Masaryk , the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia and son of the country's founding president, was found dead beneath the window of the Foreign Ministry in Prague. Was it suicide ? Or was it murder ordered b...
Sex, Mysticism and Revolution: Rasputin at the Court of the Tsar
March 4, 2026

Sex, Mysticism and Revolution: Rasputin at the Court of the Tsar

In this episode of History Book Buffs , Antonia Senior and Roger Moorhouse dive into the extraordinary story of Grigori Rasputin —the mystic, healer, and alleged holy man who gained an astonishing hold over Tsar Nicholas II a...
Was This the Worst Peace Treaty Ever? | Brest-Litovsk (1918)
March 2, 2026

Was This the Worst Peace Treaty Ever? | Brest-Litovsk (1918)

108 years ago, Lenin signed one of the most punishing peace treaties in modern history. In this 10-minute Buffs in Brief , Antonia Senior and Roger Moorhouse examine the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk — the deal that took Russia out...
Buffs in Brief #2 — The Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933). Conspiracy or Opportunity?
Feb. 26, 2026

Buffs in Brief #2 — The Reichstag Fire (27 February 1933). Conspiracy or Opportunity?

A burning parliament. A communist caught at the scene. Within weeks, German democracy was effectively dismantled. Was the Reichstag Fire a Nazi conspiracy — or a brilliantly exploited accident? In this ten-minute deep dive, w...

Reviews

Great Poscast

"I was delighted to discover the podcast. Coincidentally, I was busy reading Victory 45 while this wonderful book was reviewed, which enhanced both my reading and listening experiences. As history non…"

Jillifin | May 18, 2025