Head of Zeus snaps up Alex Churchill's and Nicolai Eberholst's 'radical' First World War book

Head of Zeus has snapped up Ring of Fire: A New People’s History of the World at War, 1914 by military historians, broadcasters and battlefield guides Alex Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst.

Iain MacGregor, publishing director for non-fiction, acquired world rights from Donald Winchester of Watson Little. The book will be published in hardback, trade paperback, audiobook and e-book in the summer of 2025.

"Using access to an enormous quantity of primary material largely untouched by general histories, the authors will tell the story of 1914 with verve, empathy, and an eye on presenting a truly comprehensive and inclusive popular history of the war," the synopsis says. "This will be a people’s view of the war, drawing on diaries as much as government documents, and will as a result be significantly more comprehensive than any existing popular history."

Churchill commented: "A radical new version of the story you think you know. The First World War was a global conflict from the very beginning. Using first-hand accounts translated into English from 20 languages, many for the first time, Ring of Fire promises to be unique in scope."

MacGregor added: "As a reader of the Great War, I like to think I am knowledgeable of the major events and characters. Having read Alex and Nicolai’s proposal I was hooked as they bring such a wealth of new material and assessment of this opening year of conflict. It was obvious that here were exciting new voices in this genre and we are so pleased to have them here at Head of Zeus."