For thousands of years humans have built castles to protect themselves. From the great citadel of Troy to Viking ring forts; from the looming menace of the Tower of London to the mazes of Himeji in Japan; from the Gothic spires of Neuschwanstein to the concrete bunkers of the Maginot Line, castles have been the tool of conquest and the last line of defence. They have inspired hope and fear, majesty and terror.

In this gripping history of the world, bestselling author Dan Jones reveals the stories of power, politics and survival that reside in our best-known strongholds. Castles have shaped the outcome of wars, seeded myths and legends, tested the limits of human endurance under siege and been the fertile ground for grand artistic ideas. Sparked by his own childhood fascination with castles, Jones reveals the shifting tides of warfare, the rise and fall of empires and the resilience of people under siege in fortifications across the globe.

Blending rich storytelling, cutting-edge research and beautiful original illustrations, Castles is an epic biography of the greatest buildings in the world - from prehistoric hill fort to Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. With Jones' trademark scholarship and flair, he shows how defiance, endurance and imagination have been carved into the landscapes we've inherited.