This is neither a book nor news, but I happened catch Queen Victoria's Empire on my local PBS station.
Originally produced in 2001, it's a great program and if it happens to air in your area, I recommend it. There's nothing about philately, but it gives a great historical context for our hobby.
There are four one-hour episodes - a synopsis is online at
http://www.pbs.org/empires/victoria.../series.htmlEDIT: Here's a better link with an outline http://www.pbs.org/empires/victoria...r/index.htmlKirkS