James Holland writes history with an interest in people, resources and the decisions behind war. Readers and podcast listeners come to his talks from many directions, including military history and the politics of what followed it. His festival year followed a book about the making of the post-war West.
Quick facts
Best known for
Histories of the Second World War and We Have Ways of Making You Talk
Genre or subject
Second World War history and narrative non-fiction
Latest book
The Visionaries: The Making of the Post World War II Order in the West (2026), Bantam
Holland is a historian, writer and broadcaster whose work includes Second World War histories, historical fiction, articles, reviews and television programmes. His accounts look beyond the sequence of battles to the people and resources involved. That breadth gives readers room to follow a soldier, a campaign or a larger historical question.
He co-hosts We Have Ways of Making You Talk with Al Murray. Podcast listeners can continue an interest in the books, while readers can follow a question into conversation. He is also associated with the founding of Chalke Valley History Festival, part of a professional life spent bringing history to public audiences.
Bantam published his latest book in May 2026. It considers the planning, political decisions and economic ideas behind the order that followed the Second World War. The subject opens a route from the military histories into what people hoped to build afterwards, making the post-war settlement the thread through his spring and autumn book events.
Where to start with their books
Brothers in Arms
This follows the Sherwood Rangers tank regiment from D-Day towards the end of the war in Europe. Choose it for a close view of a group of men fighting through the campaign, with the tanks and the people inside them at the centre of the account.
Normandy ’44
The Normandy campaign is considered at several levels, from its military machinery to eyewitness accounts. Begin here if you want to place individual experiences within the scale of the invasion and the fighting that followed; it offers a campaign-sized view alongside the regiment-sized account above.
The Visionaries: The Making of the Post World War II Order in the West
The focus turns from fighting to the ideas, plans and political choices behind the post-war order. It is the starting point for a reader drawn to what followed the conflict: how people thought about rebuilding, and how the military history connects with a later political world.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
All three stops centred on the making of the post-war order in the West. For readers used to following his accounts of wartime campaigns, the festival subject moved towards the planning and political ideas that shaped the world after the fighting. Each event offered time with that book within a different festival day.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
Choose one scale of history to think about before the talk: an individual’s experience, the resources needed to fight, or the political choices made afterwards. A question you genuinely want answered is a better travelling companion than a notebook full of dates.
If you are going with another history reader, leave room afterwards to compare the accounts you each know. One person might approach through a campaign and another through the podcast. Use the town guides to plan an unhurried meal and a realistic homeward journey, especially if you hope to stay for a signing.
The 2026 programmes featured James Holland at Hay Festival, Stratford Literary Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Can I come to his talk as a podcast listener?
Use the festival links on James Holland’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
Does he only write military non-fiction?
His writing also includes historical fiction, journalism and reviews, alongside broadcasting. The reading choices below start with his non-fiction, moving from the experience of a tank regiment towards a campaign and then the post-war settlement.
Where can I find tickets for Holland’s next festival?
Use the festival links on James Holland’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
