Go to the Saul David home page | skip to content

History

'Better than Simon Schama, Saul David has recast history as addictive narrative...'

Independent

Fiction

'Saul David has already shown himself to be a first rate historian, now he proves to be a masterly story-teller...'

Bernard Cornwell

About Saul

Saul David is a Sunday Times bestselling military historian, novelist and broadcaster.

Low_Res_18__MG_4630-M

His history books include The Indian Mutiny (shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature), Zulu (a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year), and Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe Airport (an Amazon History Book of the Year). Alan Furst commented in the New York Times Book Review: 'Tense and riveting...This is the achievement of a masterly, first-rate historian.' The film rights for Operation Thunderbolt were bought by Hollywood's Participant Media and used in the making of the motion picture 'Seven Days in Entebbe' which was released worldwide in the spring of 2018. The film is co-produced by Working Title, directed by José Padilha, and stars Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl and Eddie Marsan.

In 2019, he brought out The Force: The legendary Special Ops Unit and WWII's Mission Impossible, which was hailed as a "monumental achievement" (Douglas Brinkley) and "an essential part of anyone's library" (Doug Stanton). Crucible of Hell: Okinawa - The Last Great Battle of the Second World War, was published in the spring of 2020 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the campaign, and was shortlisted for the 2021 British Army's Military Book of the Year. It was described by Antony Beevor as 'Excellent...gripping narrative' and named as an Amazon.com History Book of the Month and Daily Telegraph and Times/Sunday Times History Book of the Year. In a 5-star review in the Daily Telegraph, Simon Heffer described Saul as 'peerless now among our military historians'.

SBS: Silent Warriors – The Authorized Wartime History was published on 2 September 2021 to universal praise. 'A terrific book,' wrote James Holland in the Daily Telegraph, 'written with all the gusto, thrills and head excitement these SBS operations richly deserve. It really is one of the most enjoyable histories I've read in many a year.'  It was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller, entering the list at No. 9 and climbing to No. 4. It was also shortlisted for the Maritime Foundation's Mountbatten Award for Best Book of 2022.

In 2022, Saul published Devil Dogs: First In, Last Out - King Company from Guadalcanal to the Shores of Japan, about a company of marines fighting its way through the Pacific. It was given a 5-star review in the Sunday Telegraph with Simon Heffer writing: 'Superb... David has a claim to be our finest living military historian.' It has been named a Times/Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph History Book of the Year.

Sky Warriors: British Airborne Forces in the Second World War came out in April 2024. The Telegraph wrote: 'Fascinating and absorbing… The Red Devils were mostly young men, as vulnerable as any other soldier. Yet what they achieved, as David makes clear in this hugely entertaining book, was remarkable'. It was a Sunday Times Bestseller, reaching No. 8 in the General hardback chart on 12 May 2024..

His latest book, Tunisgrad: Victory in Africa was published in September 2025. James Holland wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ‘I romped my way through this fascinating book, which fully does justice to a pivotal moment in the Second World War. David writes with verve, pace and drama aplenty; his chapters rattle along breathlessly; there’s plenty of astute judgment to boot. Tunisgrad is terrific stuff.’

Saul has also written three bestselling historical novels, Zulu Hart, Hart of Empire and The Prince and the Whitechapel Murders.

Saul has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV and streaming channels. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Professorial Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham.

In 2021, Saul founded the Military History Club, offering members exclusive digital content (in the form of newsletters, podcasts, videos and magazines), but also the opportunity to engage with top military historians around the dinner table, attend book launches and bespoke history tours, and even try their hand at writing for the club’s annual e-publication Militaria. For more details and an online application form, click on the link to the club website.

In March 2022, Saul began co-hosting the Battleground podcast with fellow military historian Patrick Bishop. The podcast began with a series on the Falklands War, and has now moved on to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the history of conflict. Its many guests include Sir Max Hastings, Sir Antony Beevor, Orlando Figes, Owen Matthews, Antony Loyd, Philipps O'Brien and Generals Lord Dannatt and Sir Mike Jackson. The podcast has grown in popularity and now exceeds 100,000 downloads a week Click here to listen to the podcast

 

News & Events

Latest news and planned events from Saul.

Broadcasting

An experienced TV and radio broadcaster.

Saul has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV channels and is a regular on Radio 4. Visit the Broadcasting page for a full list of credits. In 2019 he presented Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed, and part of a series on great inventions (‘Revolutions’). In 2021 he appears in Netflix’s series Road to Victory in Colour.