Five books that uncovered our hidden history

David Olusoga is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and film-maker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester.

At the Guardian, Olusoga tagged five books that uncovered our secret history, including:

The London Hanged by Peter Linebaugh focuses on the two places where the lives of the 18th-century poor were routinely recorded – the courtroom and the gallows. The 17th-century politician George Savile made a famous comment on capital punishment: “Men are not hang’d for stealing Horses, but that Horses may not be stolen.” The notion of the gallows as public spectacle and moral lesson collided in the 18th century with the stark reality that many of the poorest could not make a living. Looking through the records of London’s hanged, Linebaugh details the tragic story of how an austere legal system obsessed with deterrence and making examples was unleashed against desperate, hungry people.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue