In this new series of short books under the "Histories of the Unexpected" brand, Sam Willis and James Daybell take on some of greatest historical subjects but in an entirely unexpected way.

At "Histories of the Unexpected", they believe that everything has a history - even the most unexpected of subjects - and that everything links together in unexpected ways. They believe that the history of the itch, the history of crawling, the history of clouds, or of lightning or of zombies or zebras or holes or perfume or rubbish or mustard - all have fascinating histories of their own.

Traditionally, World War II has been understood in a straightforward way but the period really comes alive if you take an unexpected approach to its history. Yes, battles, bombs and bravery all have a fascinating history... but so too do handkerchiefs, furniture, Mozart, insects, blood, mothers, suicide, darkness, cancer and puppets! 

Each of these subjects is equally fascinating in its own right, and each sheds new light on the traditional subjects and themes that we think we know so well.