100 photographs that shaped the modern world－chosen by Britain’s most celebrated photographer, with essays by a leading historian, revealing why these images mattered

From the world’s most popular history podcast, The Rest is History, historian Dominic Sandbrook and renowned portrait photographer Chris Floyd curate 100 of the most remarkable photographs from modern history. From politics and war to Hollywood and celebrity culture; from extraordinary breakthroughs such as space travel to everyday people at work and play, these images all tell their powerful history. No book has ever been written like this before.

Each photograph is paired with an essay by Dominic. Some essays explain the historical context behind the moment captured; others explore how the meaning of an image has changed over time, or invite readers to question the reliability and truth of the photograph itself.

Modern history is impossible to understand without appreciating the role played by great photographs. When the Titanic sank, when the first human walked on the moon, or when Donald Trump raised his fist after surviving an assassination attempt, it was photographs that shaped how people experienced and understood these moments as they unfolded.

As we enter a new era of artificial intelligence—one in which photo-realistic images can be created in seconds—this book stands as a definitive memorial to a time when the camera was still a reliable, and the authors argue, essential witness to history.

Dominic Sandbrook is one of Britain’s best-known historians. An acclaimed author, he writes a fortnightly column for The Times and is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London. He has made many BBC TV and radio documentaries, and is co-host of The Rest is History, the most popular history podcast in the world with 18 million downloads per month.

Chris Floyd is one of Britain’s leading photographers. His pictures have appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, New York Times and the Sunday Times, as well as countless other publications. He has photographed numerous Prime Ministers as well as Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Gillian Anderson and Steve McQueen, to name but a few.