iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Murray Pittock : @murrayp.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It will be a splendid occasion @oldstpublishing.bsky.social

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

'If invention was all about the inventor rather than the setting, simultaneous invention would be rare. In fact, simultaneous invention is surprisingly common.' ANDREW LEIGH on THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF INNOVATION in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social www.thenewworld.co.uk/andrew-leigh...

thenewworld.co.uk

Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are just myths – we’ve been telling the story of invention all wrong

Forget the idea of major breakthroughs by a lone genius – the truth is always much messier

010

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

'As a refresher course in historical reality, I recommend Ian Goldin’s Shortest History of Migration... Goldin’s whirlwind chronicle of migration through the ages is not, however, simply a chronicle of disasters avoided but of opportunities embraced' FERDINAND MOUNT in @lrb.co.uk

lrb.co.uk

Ferdinand Mount · Modest and Misunderstood: Wretched Strangers

In the great immigration panics of today, sympathy is focused on the home team. We are the ones who are being hurt. It...

032

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

History Today @historytoday.com · 16/09/2026

The historical partnership between #Germany and #Turkey is arguably the most paradoxical, if unavoidable, in modern Europe. ⌛️ Last chance to read this article for free buff.ly/qgU4FOn

buff.ly

Europe’s Strangest Special Relationship

The historical partnership between Germany and Turkey is arguably the most paradoxical, if unavoidable, in modern Europe.

142

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

‘A compact yet richly informative account of a nation straddling East and West, tradition and modernity. This book achieves an impressive feat: distilling over two millennia of Turkish history into a narrative that is accessible, nuanced and deeply engaging’ —Good Reading Magazine

000

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

'An insightful new synthesis of Turkish history… Fortna’s book is as informative as it is pleasant to read, and will be a help to students new to Turkey as well as veterans who have been charting the country’s history for years' —Professor Christine Philliou, University of California, Berkeley

100

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

'A marvellous book, fast-moving and thought-provoking... captures essential qualities of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic often overlooked in other, lengthier accounts. A remarkable achievement.' —Dr Fred Anscombe, Birkbeck, University of London

100

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

‘An astute combination of the entertaining and informed’ —Steven Carroll, The Age

100

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Happy publication day to Benjamin C. Fortna's THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF TURKEY. ‘Nuanced, coherent and richly detailed… both illuminating for the lay reader and indispensable for specialists’ M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, Princeton University

100

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

‘Walsh is a guide you can trust … with a warmth and humour to his tone that makes reading his words comforting’ AOIFE BARRY, IRISH INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, on Toby Walsh's GOD AI: What to Expect When Machines Outsmart Us. @sweetoblivion.bsky.social

000

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

'A big story... Along with innovations such as the wheel, microscopes, vaccinations and aeroplanes, Leigh highlights the easily overlooked things that make a difference to our lives SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

001

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

'Sweeps across millennia, from the wheel to artificial intelligence' THE CONVERSATION @theconversation.com

101

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

‘Innovation has gifted humans with extraordinary power… [This] neatly summarises the restless, occasionally terrifying, history of this uniquely human faculty’ MARTIN WOLF, FINANCIAL TIMES @financialtimes.com

101

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Happy hardback publication day to Andrew Leigh's fascinating THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF INNOVATION. If you thought innovation was all about lone geniuses, you can throw 'Eureka!' out with the bathwater.

200

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

nfariousactivities.bsky.social @nfariousactivities.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

“In May 1937, a 20-year-old extra & dancer named Patricia Douglas was invited to appear in an MGM movie. When she showed up on location…she discovered there was no film shoot. Instead…she and more than 100 other young women had been summoned to entertain men attending MGM’s annual sales convention.”

nytimes.com

Overlooked No More: Patricia Douglas, Who Challenged Hollywood’s Culture of Abuse (Gift Article)

Eight decades before the #MeToo groundswell, she took MGM to court after alleging she was attacked at a studio party in 1937.

3171100

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

James Hawes @jameshawes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Meanwhile, according to this legendary place…

021

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Lone geniuses or teamwork efforts? Andrew Leigh will be talking about The Shortest History of Innovation this afternoon with Marianna Spring on @bbc5live.bsky.social 2p-4pm. @aleighmp.bsky.social

002

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Lone geniuses or teamwork efforts? Andrew Leigh will be talking about The Shortest History of Innovation this afternoon with Marianna Spring on @bbc5live.bsky.social 2p-4pm. @aleighmp.bsky.social

002

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Murray Pittock : @murrayp.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Signing @edbookfest.bsky.social yesterday & at Blackwell's Edinburgh & @edinburghbookshop.bsky.social . Thanks to everyone who has kept @oldstpublishing.bsky.social Shortest History of Scotland in bestseller charts for 4 months running.

0103

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

From fission power to fake meat, from the deep seas to the jet stream, in Intervention Earth, Gwynne Dyer speaks to leading climate scientists on how we might still solve the most frightening problem of our age.

000

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

If we can't bring down our carbon emissions quickly enough, what else can we do? INTERVENTION EARTH explores these ideas. Should we squirt sulphates into the stratosphere to reflect the sun’s rays? Can we suck CO2 out of the air and bury it?

100

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Who better to talk about the North-South divide than James Hawes, author of THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF ENGLAND? Hear him on Antisocial on Radio4 @jameshawes.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 - AntiSocial, The north-south divide

Andy Burnham re-ignites a debate about England's cultural stereotypes and prejudices.

000

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Helen Barrett @helenbarrett.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The Union Chapel is advertising for a part-time archivist - it's a great job for someone. I've spent a lot of time there and the staff are great. The archive starts c.1820 and the postwar sections esp. are crammed with ephemera on all kinds of music and performance.

UNION CHAPEL
UNION CHAPEL ARE HIRING
ARCHIVIST (part time)
New haven for neo-hippies
Lead the next chapter of our remarkable 200+ year archive of architecture, music, faith and social justice. Care for and develop the archive supporting volunteers, researchers and visitors whilst building engaging exhibitions and partnerships that ensure the collection continues to thrive and inspire
Apply by 10 August 10am at unionchapel.org.uk/work-at-union-chapel
19b Compton Terrace, N1 2UN | ~200m from Highbury & Islington station

21414

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Andrew Leigh's fascinating THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF INNOVATION is published next month in the UK. You can get a taste of it here in this podcast Andrew has done with ABC Australia. podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/a...

120

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

TripFiction @tripfiction.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Exploring LANCASHIRE with author Chris Moss www.tripfiction.com/exploring-la... "..an in-depth look at the county and would be a wonderful gift for anyone who has associations with this part of England.." @oldstpublishing.bsky.social #blueskybooks #booksky

tripfiction.com

Exploring LANCASHIRE with author Chris Moss - TripFiction

Lancashire: Exploring the historic county that made the modern world by Chris Moss. Lancashire came into being during the reign of the Plantagenets and

182

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

'...it really beggars belief that it has held together for as long as it has. It’s held together by a rousing, ecstatic anthem, a flag and some very fine words' DON WATSON, author of THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF THE USA, interviewed by @fivebooks.com fivebooks.com/best-books/u...

fivebooks.com

The United States

For all its rugged individualism, frontier violence, and capitalist churn, there’s always a search for grace in America, argues Don Watson, author of the excellent The Shortest History of the United S...

000

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

“You can’t deny that the real miracle is that out of these 13 fractious colonies they created a republic and it survived for 250 years. These men, for all their hypocrisy, were bloody geniuses – and how they did it really puts to shame a hell of a lot of democratic efforts since.” DON WATSON

000

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

David Boyd Haycock's excellent ART-QUAKE, 1910: The Manet and the Post-Impressionists Exhibition has been picked as one of The Times's recommended summer reads. 'A short, ever so readable dive into a fascinating moment in British cultural history' www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

thetimes.com

The 90 best books to read this summer

Novels, memoirs and history, paperbacks and hardbacks — plus something for the children. Here’s our 2026 guide to this summer’s finest reads

010

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Ross King's excellent THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME is out now in paperback. 'Expertly blending instruction with amusement, King presents serious lessons for our times and reminds us why the past should not be forgotten if a better future is what we desire' @insidestory.bsky.social

120

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Murray Pittock : @murrayp.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Signing again in Toppings today, second big order @oldstpublishing.bsky.social

061

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

"Very readable... For teachers of computing, it's a valuable guide to how Al-derived approaches to problem solving have evolved over time" Terry Freedman's review in TEACH SECONDARY MAGAZINE of Toby Walsh's THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF AI. Out now in paperback @tobywalsh.bsky.social

011

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

A Complete History of Medieval Scotland - in 51 minutes - from The Shortest History of Scotland author Murray Pittock on the Gone Medieval podcast from HistoryHit. @murrayp.bsky.social shows.acast.com/gone-medieva...

shows.acast.com

A Complete History of Medieval Scotland | Gone Medieval

076

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Murray Pittock : @murrayp.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Just in print-available in the shops soon for £14.99, launch events in Edinburgh and Glasgow to come, first podcast recording with Jackie Bird for National Trust for Scotland @empirepoduk.bsky.social @historia-hwa.bsky.social @uguelphscottish.bsky.social @iassl.bsky.social @glasgowburns.bsky.social

1168

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

From cotton to coal and canals, from Pendle witches to Peterloo, from Tony Wilson to Andy Burnham's jacket, Chris Moss's LANCASHIRE explores the historic county that made the modern world. Out now in hardback.

010

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

'For many of us, Scottish history is an area of knowledge where we’re sadly lacking. Murray Pittock’s THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF SCOTLAND is the perfect book to help fill those gaps... This may be The Shortest History of Scotland, but it’s one of the best.' @snackmag.bsky.social @murrayp.bsky.social

0108

Old Street Publishing @oldstpublishing.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

A superb gallop through 10,000 years of Scottish history ... spritely but serious ... an impressive feat of distillation and analysis. It’s timely too' @heraldscotland.bsky.social on Murray Pittock's THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.

000

Reposted by Old Street Publishing

Murray Pittock : @murrayp.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Signing at the Watermill Bookshop, Aberfeldy today- what a great place & the Shortest History going very fast @oldstpublishing.bsky.social

172