Autobiography: historical, political and military Books
Canongate Books Casanova
Book SynopsisBorn in 1725 to Italian and Spanish parentage, Giacomo Casanova lived a long and exciting life. A scholar and an adventurer Casanova travelled widely throughout Europe and Russia associating with rulers and Kings. For a time he was in the service of the army and he became a great political stirrer. But he vacillated between fortune and misfortune and often resorted to gaming and fiddling too. Of course Casanova is most well-known for his womanizing and he reveals time after time how he just couldn't help falling in love! His eloquence and charm will not be lost on the listener either: the writing is remarkably modern, accessible and funny too. It took Casanova eighteen years to write his memoirs and a further one hundred for them to be classified as genuine. Available now for the first time on audio and brilliantly brought to life by the effervescent Benedict Cumberbatch, in this first volume of his memoirs Casanova charts his childhood and life as a young man in Venice and Italy.Benedict Cumberbatch is one of Britain's brightest young actors. He starred as Stephen Hawking in the BBC's celebrated Hawking and plays the lead role in Michael Apted's 2006 film Amazing Grace. As well as his screen credits, Benedict has worked extensively in theatre and radio drama and recently as Sherlock Holmes in the popular TV series.
£22.07
Jeremy Mills Publishing Leeks from the Back Benches
£19.48
Helion & Company Adventures in My Youth: A German Soldier on the
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£16.10
Hansib Publications Limited I Was A Soldier: Survival Against the Odds
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£10.79
Trotamundas Press Ltd Last Flight: Amelia Earhart's Flying Adventures
£15.00
Trotamundas Press Ltd Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Memoirs of a Painter: An Extraordinary Life Before, During and After the French Revolution
£16.15
Quercus Publishing The Journal of Hélène Berr
Book SynopsisFrom April 1942 to March 1944, Hélène Berr, a recent graduate of the Sorbonne, kept a journal that is both an intensely moving, intimate, harrowing, appalling document and a text of astonishing literary maturity. With her colleagues, she plays the violin and she seeks refuge from the everyday in what she calls the "selfish magic" of English literature and poetry. But this is Paris under the occupation and her family is Jewish. Eventually, there comes the time when all Jews are required to wear a yellow star. She tries to remain calm and rational, keeping to what routine she can: studying, reading, enjoying the beauty of Paris. Yet always there is fear for the future, and eventually, in March 1944, Hélène and her family are arrested, taken to Drancy Transit Camp and soon sent to Auschwitz. She went - as is later discovered - on the death march to Bergen-Belsen and there she died in 1945, only five days before the liberation of the camp. The last words in the journal she had left behind in Paris were "Horror! Horror! Horror!", a hideous and poignant echo of her English studies.Hélène Berr's story is almost too painful to read, foreshadowing horror as it does amidst an enviable appetite for life, for beauty, for literature, for all that lasts.Trade ReviewAt once the diary of a young Jewish girl under the German Occupation of Paris, a work of exceptional literary quality, and a powerful historical document -- Simone Weil * L'Express *Searingly beautiful Holocaust diary... with a fluid and compelling combination of raw sensitivity, moral questioning and courageous pragmatism ... a vital, spellbinding read -- Laura Silverman * Daily Mail *There are some books that are great, not because their writers were born for literary success, but because circumstances force upon them the writing of a truly great book. Such a one is Hélène Berr's Journal * Guardian *Table of ContentsIntroduction, by David Bellos. Maps: Helene Berr's Paris; The Latin Quarter in 1942. Journal: 1942; 1943; 1944. A Letter from Helene Berr to her Sister Denise. A Stolen Life, by Mariette Job. France and the Jews, by David Bellos. Glossaries: Acronyms and Special Terms; Books Quoted by Helene Berr; Streets and Places. Index of Personal Names.
£11.69
Stacey International After You, Prime Minister
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£11.21
Open Book Publishers The End and the Beginning: The Book of My Life
£20.85
RMC Media The Milk Lady at New Park Farm: The Wartime Diary
Book SynopsisAnne McEntegart wanted to support the War Effort. Her Royal Air Force officer husband was working abroad and her only child was in Canada, evacuated for safety. Aged thirty-eight, Anne left London, and her life as the wife of an officer, to work on the land and deliver milk for Walter Gossling at New Park Farm, just outside the village of Brockenhurst, in the New Forest. Though not an official member of the Women's Land Army, Anne milked cows and stacked corn alongisde the land girls on the farm. Engagingly detailing the brim-full days of farm life during the build-up to the D-Day and after, this book celebrates the people and places - not to mention a wayward pony - which made up the wartime Brockenhurst community. The Milk Lady at New Park Farm is a World War Two diary of farmwork, friendship and fulfilment among the ponies and corn sheaves of the New Forest.Trade ReviewAnne's diary gives a tantalising sketch of a happy outgoing person who documented her incredibly hard physical work with a saint-like lightness of touch... Her artisitic nature is revealed in her desciptions of nature... What a vanished world to record. Though still recent in historical terms, it represents a bygone age, and Anne's diary is a treasure as it tells it just as it was. The NFU's British Farmer & Grower (South-East) February 2012 Reading the book The Milk Lady at New Park Farm is like discovering some long forgotten memories of life during the Second World War. Even if you are too young to have those memories in the first place, you are vivdly transported, through the reading of this honest account of British rural life against the backdrop of war. The Art Observer, December 2011 It reaches a wider audience: those who are interested in the land girls and in the Second World War; those who are interested in farming; animal lovers; and those who simply enjoy a feel good story. The Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, October 2011
£9.49
Black House Publishing Blackshirts and Roses
£14.77
Coda Books Ltd Mein Kampf: The Official 1939 Edition
£24.31
Coda Books Ltd Mein Kampf: The Official 1939 Edition
£31.82
Elliott & Thompson Limited In the Ring: A Commonwealth Memoir
Book Synopsis'In the Ring' deals with impossibly devious plots and characters - ambitious presidents and prime ministers from all corners of the world, some determined to hold onto power at any cost; a British government often with a misplaced sense of its own role in one of the world's oldest organisations; and an organisation of 300 people, externally working to help the world while inwardly struggling along racial and geo-political lines. You couldn't make it up - and he hasn't. For the first eight years of the 21st century, Don McKinnon was the Secretary General of the Commonwealth and this was the stuff of his day-to-day life, whether facing down armed coup leaders or soothing internal staff factions. Here for the first time he reveals what was going on behind the scenes during such major events as the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth. With fascinating background detail and his predictions for the future of the Commonwealth itself, this is a compelling account of the trials and tribulations of running an international organisation in a complex world.Trade Review"this book is probably the most important book on the modern Commonwealth ever." --LJ Holden, New Zealand Republic; "In the Ring reveals Mr. McKinnon to be a man of considerable charm and a skilled negotiator of the various corridors of power where his career played out.--Martin Rubin, Washington Times; "As a chronicle that is as frank in its content as it is wide in its telling of the inner workings of life in the ring of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon's memoir is compulsory reading." --Sir Ronald Sanders KCMG AM
£18.00
Bennion Kearny North Korea: On the Inside, Looking in
£14.99
Bene Factum Publishing Ltd War Of Shadows
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£9.49
Aziloth Books Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many
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£10.04
Fernhurst Books Limited An Average War: Eighth Army to Red Army
Book SynopsisMike Peyton lied about his age to enlist, worried that the war would be over before he had a chance to join in. After training, he initially fought in the Western Desert, where he was captured and shipped to Italy and then Germany. He escaped in Germany and walked east until he found the Russian Red Army with whom he fought for the rest of the war. With a grave sense of humour, Peyton takes you through the horror and death, alongside the camaraderie and excitement.Trade Review“A brilliant memoir.” (Spectator Magazine) "Casually illuminating ... so full of bizare incident that it is hard to know where to start. Some of it is chillingly, and killingly, funny. Death was an accepted lottery and Peyton shows how cheerfully men despatched the enemy when they got the chance." (Daily Telegraph) "There is nothing average about this fascinating memoir. Although much of the content is necessarily grim, Peyton relates his experiences with a light, often funny, touch. This serves to play down what must have been horrific incidents in many cases." (The Northern Echo) “This book is a memoir of a far from average experience of World War II…. the author writes with an authentic recall of events and of friends lost and made... a worm's eye view of army life in wartime and a very good read.” (Little Ship Club).
£11.69
Helion & Company Eye of the Firestorm: The Namibian - Angolan -
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£29.75
Helion & Company Four Flags, the Odyssey of a Professional
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£25.17
Luath Press Ltd A Problem Like Maria: A Woman's Eye View of Life
Book SynopsisA Labour Whip once revealed that in their office they sang songs about certain backbenchers. In the case of the Member for Maryhill, their choice was ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’A frank account of fourteen years in Westminister from the rebellious Maria Fyfe – the only female Labour MP in Scotland when she was first elected. Fyfe recounts some of the most significant moments of her political career, from the frustrating and infuriating, to the rewarding and worthwhile.A significant aim of writing this book was to set the record straight on that period in our UK Parliament. Another aim was to encourage interest in a political life when widespread cynicism discourages good people from thinking about it. MARIA FYFECovering some of the most turbulent years of British and Scottish political history, A Problem Like Maria takes the female’s perspective of life as an MP in the male-dominated Westminister. This book reaches the parts of politics some people hope you never reach. The intimidating Maria Fyfe sounds like strong Scottish domestic drama. Edward Pearce, LONDON EVENING STANDARDThe terrifying Maria Fyfe stamped in … her of the sharpened claws. Matthew Parris, THE TIMESAn incorrigible Bevanite. THE OBSERVERTrade ReviewThe intimidating Maria Fyfe sounds like strong Scottish domestic drama. Edward Pearce, LONDON EVENING STANDARDThe terrifying Maria Fyfe stamped in … her of the sharpened claws. Matthew Parris, THE TIMESAn incorrigible Bevanite. THE OBSERVER
£13.49
Tangent Books Memoirs Of A Black Englishman
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£11.40
Five Leaves Publications The Shallow Grave: Memoir of the Spanish Civil
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£9.50
Consilience Media War and Grace
£10.78
Helion & Company Beyond No Mean Soldier: The Explosive
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£19.95
Helion & Company The Studnitz Wars: The Wartime Journals of a
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£15.26
Nine Elms Books Send For Levene
Book SynopsisFrom his early days in establishing United Scientific Holdings PLC as a multi-million pound listed company to his sudden transformation into a senior civil servant as Chief of Defence Procurement at the invitation of Michael Heseltine the then Minister of Defence, followed by a move into investment banking and unexpected appointments to act as Prime Minister John Major’s Efficiency Advisor and then run the Docklands Light Railway before becoming Chairman and Chief Executive of the troubled Canary Wharf development, Peter’s career has uniquely straddled both the public and private sectors at the highest levels, invariably in troubled times. In parallel, he worked his way up the City of London’s civic hierarchy, becoming a Common Councilman, Alderman, Sheriff and finally Lord Mayor of London which gave him the opportunity to promote the image and services of the City across the globe. On return to the commercial world, he resumed his post at Deutsche Bank and subsequently joined the boards of Sainsbury’s, Deutsche Borse, IFSL, Eurotunnel, China Construction Bank and Haymarket Media Group. Breaking with insurance industry tradition, he was appointed as `an outsider’ to the Chairmanship of Lloyd’s of London. Whilst there, he was invited by Liam Fox to chair the newly formed `Defence Reform Group’ which introduced a series of important changes in the structure and workings of the MOD which became known as the `Levene Reforms’. Currently he is Chairman of the Starr Insurance Group in London and continues with a number of other directorships as well as his involvement in several charitable and philanthropic activities.Table of ContentsPreface by Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine ch pc Introduction 1. Family, Childhood and Adolescence 2. United Scientific Holdings 3. Adviser to Michael Heseltine 4. Getting stuck in at the Ministry of Defence 5. Hard Graft at the Ministry of Defence 6. Adviser to the Prime Minister 7. Canary Wharf 8. Alderman and other appointments 9. Lord Mayor of London 10. Chairman of Lloyd’s 11. Director and Chairman 12. Reflections on a Busy Life Acknowledgements Index
£19.00
Nine Elms Books Clashing Agendas: Inside the Welfare Trap
Book SynopsisThe introduction of Universal Credit arguably stands as the most far-reaching reform so far this century. Clashing Agendas is the traumatic inside story of how this simple concept became unimaginably complicated in execution, and then nearly self-destructed, told by David Freud, who was the Minister for Welfare Reform responsible for the transformation. David's initial welfare proposals in 2007, commissioned by the Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in one of his last political initiatives, proved popular across all political parties. When the Conservatives came calling, David Freud accepted the job of reforming the system, initially in the shadow ministerial team and then in Government. His core motivation was to end the welfare trap, by which the legacy systems made it difficult for many people to free themselves from dependency on the state. This personal account reveals the complex interplay between politicians and civil servants - the true determinant of how Government really works. It concludes with his views both on future development of the welfare system and on how the UK Government might organise itself to introduce major system reforms more successfully in future.Trade Review"The big political beasts of the period stalk the pages - from Blair and Cameron to May and Johnson. Clashing Agendas illustrates the extraordinary difficulty of achieving worthwhile change in this country. It reads like a political thriller." MICHAEL DOBBS Conservative politician and creator of global best-selling novel and TV series House of Cards.; "A detailed account of one of the most important policy changes of modern times. David Freud was passionate about delivering a properly incentivised route out of poverty - and this book describes in riveting detail the challenges he had to overcome to deliver his vision of Universal Credit." PHILIP HAMMOND Chancellor of the Exchequer 2016 to 2019.; "A gripping tale of the life of a minister who, unusually, wanted to be a reformer in an area where casualties far outnumber survivors. Whether you like it or not, Universal Credit is one of the big reforms of the last decade and David Freud had his hand on the tiller throughout. If you want to be a reformer, Tory or Labour, read this book." ANDREW ADONIS Labour politician Secretary of State for Transport 2009-2010.; "The absolute insider's account of Universal Credit - conception to disaster to recovery. A story told with pace and pizzazz." NICHOLAS TIMMINS Journalist and author of The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State.; "David Freud spent more time than any other minister at the centre of the biggest programme of welfare reform for half a century. In this fascinating account he takes us through the politics, the complexities, and the frustrations of delivering such a huge programme. Brimming with passion for improving our broken welfare system this is a classic insider's account, essential reading for anyone seeking an understanding not just of how welfare reform works, but how politics works." PAUL JOHNSON Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.Table of ContentsPROLOGUE. REFORM. An unplanned journey. AMBUSH. 1. The Welfare Trap. 2. Blunting the Salami-slicer. MANOEUVRES. 3. Change of Regime. 4. Inside the Department. 5. The Conservatives Pounce. OPPOSITION. 6. Get Britain Working. 7. Lords and Legislation. 8. Enter Iain Duncan Smith. 9. Moment of Serendipity. PERSUASION. 10. Minister for Welfare Reform. 11. What's the Catch? 12. Reform for Cuts. PRIVILEGE. 13. Holding the Line. 14. The Lords' Den. AGILE. 15. Digital by Default. 16. Timetable under Pressure. WRITE-OFF. 17. Poacher turns Gamekeeper. 18. The Twin Track. WORTH. 19. Yet another Vacuum. 20. Problems to Solve. 21. UC at Work. 22. Ed Miliband strikes. CUTS. 23. The Pressure Mounts. 24. Tax Credit Volte-face. 25. An Explosive Resignation. VISION. 26. Exit and Future. ADDENDUM: REFORM. Lessons for Government Projects. Acknowledgements. Dramatis Personae. Glossary of terms. Notes. Index.
£18.00
Nine Elms Books My Sea Lady: An Epic Memoir of the Arctic Convoys
Book SynopsisDuring WWII sea convoys were the lifeblood of the Allied war effort. They were integral to the ultimate defeat of Germany on both fronts. My Sea Lady stands out as one of the most remarkable testaments of those dark days of the war at sea and the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys. HMS Lady Madeleine found herself part of both battles, under the command of 38-year-old Lieutenant Graeme Ogden. His diaries, rediscovered decades later, describe the harrowing experiences of those years, spent on ocean voyages fraught with storms, ice bergs and sub-zero temperatures, let alone the constant threat of a determined and elusive enemy. This evocatively illustrated edition of My Sea Lady confronts the horrors of war as seen through Ogden’s keen eye and is full of bittersweet humour and charming anecdotes. It wasn’t until 2012 that those who served so courageously aboard the forgotten convoys in the far North during WWII were recognised with the belated, though welcome, introduction of the Arctic Star campaign medal.Table of ContentsIntroduction vii; Foreword ix; Preface xi; Book one; The Narrative 1; Book two; Danger in the Sun 91; Book three; Clouds and Darkness 143; Epilogue 185; Appendix 186;
£10.44
Hansib Publications Limited Recycling A Son Of The British Raj
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£12.59
Hansib Publications Limited Walk With Me: An Autobiography
Book SynopsisAn engaging and insightful look at growing up in Barbados in the 1940s and 1950s through the keyhole of one man's experiences.
£17.00
Helion & Company A Stretcher Bearer from El Alamein to Greece: The
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£15.26
Helion & Company An Accrington PAL: The Diaries of Private Jack
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£16.10
University College Dublin Press Douglas Hyde: My American Journey
Book SynopsisFirst published in Irish in 1937, this collection of journal and diary entries is a compelling first-hand account of Douglas Hyde's eight-month fundraising odyssey through the United States from 1905 to 1906. Published for the first time in a bilingual edition, complete with newly discovered archival material and extensive illustrations, this book navigates Hyde's thoughts on his journey in their original Irish, accompanied by a faithful English translation Hyde's work on this tour, undertaken on behalf of the Gaelic League, was both culturally and politically vital. The finance he raised contributed to the hiring and training of Irish-language teachers and organisers who travelled across Ireland spreading the Gaelic League message. These funds sustained the cultural revolution, which, in turn, gave rise to the political uprising from which Irish sovereignty would ultimately flow. This collection is beautifully designed and colour illustrated with a wide selection of original images and hand-written postcards. With an introduction by President Michael D. Higgins, and punctuated with entertaining pen pictures of prominent figures in US history (including President Theodore Roosevelt), this study recounts an important part in the life of one of Ireland's most under-appreciated leaders and captures an Ireland on the very brink of seismic change.Trade Review'This book seeks to address this paucity, and does so in an outstanding fashion. It recounts an important period in Douglas Hyde's life when he was at the pinnacle of his powers and captures an Ireland on the cusp of change, while bring Hyde's contributions to the revival and to the making of modern Ireland to a new audience.' Review by Bobbie Nolan, Studia Hibernica No. 48, 2022; 'Douglas Hyde's My American Journey is both a beautiful book and a profoundly important one ... My American Journey should take an honored place on the shelves of those interested in the connections between Ireland and Irish-America, and especially those with an interest in the Gaelic Revival and its distinct manifestation in the US as contrasted with (and in relationship to) its home base in Ireland. Most important, it will become a landmark in the burgeoning research lifting Douglas Hyde to the place he deserves in the historical consciousness'. Irish Literary Supplement, Spring 2021 ||| 'By the turn of the century, there were some 600 Gaelic League branches all over Ireland and up to 250,000 people taking language lessons. Hyde's league was reviving not just their heritage but their self-determination. This invaluable book gives you an insight into what drove him and how his efforts resonated across continents.' Cahir O'Doherty, Irish Central, December 2019. ||| 'Now UCD Press has produced this sumptuous edition of Hyde's My American Journey ... The present volume comprises the full Irish text and an English translation of it, and there is a fine introduction by Liam Mac Mathuna, professor emeritus of Irish at UCD.' Felix Larkin, Irish Catholic, January 2020Table of ContentsAcknowledgements IX List of Illustrations XI Maps XVI Foreword XXI Introduction XXIII MY AMERICAN JOURNEY 3 MO THURAS GO MEIRICEA 163 Notes 317 Index 346 Inneacs 354
£40.50
Fircone Books Ltd Matilda - Lady of Hay: The Life and Legends of
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£8.99
Transworld Publishers Ltd First They Killed My Father: Film tie-in
Book SynopsisA major film, co-written and directed by Angelina Jolie Until the age of five, Loung Ung lived in Phnom Penh, one of seven children of a high-ranking government official. She was a precocious child who loved the open city markets, fried crickets, chicken fights and being cheeky to her parents.When Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into Phnom Penh in April 1975, Loung's family fled their home and were eventually forced to disperse to survive. Loung was trained as a child soldier while her brothers and sisters were sent to labour camps. The surviving siblings were only finally reunited after the Vietnamese penetrated Cambodia and started to destroy the Khmer Rouge.Bolstered by the bravery of one brother, the vision of the others and the gentle kindness of her sister, Loung forged on to create for herself a courageous new life.First They Killed My Father is an unforgettable book told through the voice of the young and fearless Loung. It is a shocking and tragic tale of a girl who was determined to survive despite the odds.Trade ReviewSo sharp with pain that when I read it, the words plunged into me like a knife -- Jon Swain * Sunday Times *There can be absolutely no doubt about the innate power of [Ung's] story, the passion with which she tells it or its enduring importance * Washington Post Book World *Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians but to those left behind when the terror ends * Booklist *I was deeply affected by Loung’s book. It deepened my understanding of how children experience war and are affected by the emotional memory of it * Angelina Jolie Pitt *
£10.44
Unicorn Publishing Group An Irishman Abroad: Growing up with Unity and
Book SynopsisIn An Irishman Abroad, Tarka King recalls his feral youth on the periphery of the Anglo-Irish world, his brief UK public school education and a period of extensive travel, followed by a period of soldiering in the Middle East at the height of the Cold War before returning to Ireland. The book identifies the pre-Belfast Good Friday Agreement Ulster Canal project as a way of tackling historic regional socio-economic ills, with supporting opinions from wide range of contacts stretching from senior IRA hunger strikers through to dedicated hardline Unionists. King reflects on how he felt compelled to move to England due to the unrest in the early 1980s and how management of his farm and forests in 'no-man's-land' was not surrendered and his interest in pursuing the Ulster Canal restoration continues.Trade Review"[The book] like hurleys and horses in different settings, might rejuvenate a corner of Ireland so well and lovingly described in this very engaging memoir." Irish Examiner
£30.00
Helion & Company Four Flags, the Odyssey of a Professional Soldier
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£25.17
Pushkin Press This is Your Time
Book SynopsisOn November 14, 1960, at the age of six, Ruby Bridges became the first black child to integrate an all-white school in New Orleans. Escorted by federal marshals past angry segregationist protesters, young Ruby attended William Frantz Elementary and earned a place in civil rights history. Sixty years later, Ruby has written an impassioned letter to young people engaging in the fight for racial equality. Her words, a call to action imbued with love and grace, are paired with black-and-white photographs from then-and now. This Is Your Time will inspire readers as the struggle for liberty and justice for all continues, and the powerful legacy of Ruby Bridges endures.
£8.54
Unicorn Publishing Group A Bradford Pal: ‘It was Simply Heart Breaking’ –
Book SynopsisIn 1914 the City of Bradford was the world’s leading manufacturer of fine woollen goods. On the outbreak of war, at the urging of the city’s wealthy industrialists, thousands of young men rushed to join the colours and within a matter of months two volunteer Pals Battalions were formed. Author John Broadhead, the son of a Bradford Pal, tells the story of the battalions and the part played by his father, George William Broadhead, a Town Hall clerk from Batley. The author’s research was inspired by his father’s diary of 1916 which he handed to the author shortly before his death in 1980 saying, ‘Here lad you might be interested in this’. Like many old soldiers he rarely spoke about the war but the diary and the author’s use of official records, newspaper reports and memoirs reveal the stark horror of what faced the nation’s youth. Few of the original Pals survived the war but George Broadhead’s luck held. In 1918 he married a French girl, then worked for eighteen years with the Imperial War Graves Commission in France before returning to his home town to resume his earlier career. This is a story of an ordinary soldier but a quite remarkable person.
£18.00
Grub Street Publishing Bolts from the Blue: From Cold War Warrior to
Book SynopsisAir Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns was commissioned at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1959 after completing flying training on Piston Provost and Meteor aircraft. For the next nine years, apart from a short intermission as an ADC, he served as an operational fast-jet pilot which included tours on Javelin night fighters and then fighter recce Hunters operating from Aden and Oman. Thereafter he qualified as a flying instructor, initially on the Gnat, and then the Jet Provost as a squadron commander at Cranwell. In his last year as a flying instructor he taught The Prince of Wales to wings standard. During the 1990s, Sir Richard held a succession of senior national and NATO appointments. During the first Gulf War, he was the Director of Operations in the National Joint Headquarters for all British Forces deployed to the Middle East. At the end of the conflict he led the British Recce Team to Turkey and north Iraq which resulted in the deployment of British land and air forces to the coalition that guaranteed the security of the Kurdish population in Iraq. Later, as a NATO C-in-C he was responsible for training and bringing to full operational capability the new Regional Command of Allied Forces, North West Europe. During this three-year tour, he acted as a supporting commander for joint operations in the Balkans while developing partnership for peace exercises with former Warsaw Pact countries. He returned to national duty in 1997 on his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff, responsible for the operational efficiency and morale of the Royal Air Force. During his last three years of service, the Air Chief Marshal was fully involved in the decision-making process of the Strategic Defence Review, the commitment of RAF aircraft to operations over and within Kosovo and continuing air operations over north and south Iraq. His illustrious career gave him the privilege of a rare, if not singular, perspective of the RAF, our sister services and national defence matters, witnessing a steady decline in the combat power of the UK’s armed forces as financial management took precedence over identifying strategic priorities and maintaining the vital skill-set of service personnel. His views are forensic and forthright, balanced and thought-provoking and this autobiography should be essential reading for anyone interested in the development of Allied air power over the last fifty years.
£21.25
Grub Street Publishing Rate of Climb: Thrilling Personal Reminiscences
Book SynopsisRick Peacock-Edwards has led different lives at different times, but through it all has used a bonus in life nowadays often overlooked: he has consistently enjoyed himself. One of three brothers of outstanding South African Battle of Britain pilot F/O S R 'Teddy' Peacock-Edwards, his subtle and compassionate regard for a generation of wartime aircrew is clear: "As the proud son of one of the 'Few', their selfless daring has inspired me throughout my life. Importantly, they influenced my decision to become an airman in the Royal Air Force, to become a fighter pilot like my father, and to live life with spirit as they had lived their lives. It is essential that their experiences live on." Rate of Climb, his original and continually entertaining biography, drawing on previously unpublished family and archival material, shows Rick in complete command of his primary subject: flying. A leading ex-RAF fighter pilot to his fingertips, he flew the Lightning, Phantom, Tornado F2/3 and other high-performance aircraft, and served in senior-ranking positions in the UK, Germany and the US. During a varied and distinguished career he was closely associated with the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and was appointed as the Royal Air Force Inspector of Flight Safety. He ably demonstrated his uncommon skill and determined leadership during the Cold War era, first Gulf War and elsewhere. A past master of The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, he is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the immediate past vice chairman of the Royal Air Force Club in London. He is equally as engaged in his post-RAF career as he was when a serving officer. This is an action-packed account of a foremost flyer's life with endless good stories, and a colourful cast of characters to match. Rick's compelling recollections in Rate of Climb reveal a life of considerable achievement, in a very personal book capturing the ties of airmanship that the author has been privileged to share. A must for all lovers of derring-do in the air.
£17.00
Grub Street Publishing Hawkeye: The Enthralling Autobiography of the
Book SynopsisFor more than thirty years, Giora Even-Epstein flew fighters for the Israel Air Force, achieving recognition as a highly skilled military aviator and the highest-scoring jet-mounted ace with the most number of confirmed victories in the French Mirage. Having overcome numerous hurdles just to learn how to fly, he went on to compile a record of Arab MiGs and Sukhoi kills that bettered any other combat aviators’ tally in the entire world. This fast-moving autobiography details his experiences particularly in the intense conflicts of 1967, the Six Day War, and 1973, the Yom Kippur War. The reader shares the cockpit with him as he describes every action he undertook with 101 and 105 Squadron, including the greatest jet-versus-jet air battle in history with four MiG-21 kills in one engagement. His final score was seventeen aerial victories. After his last battle he became commander of the First Jet Squadron, 117, began civilian flying, retrained to command 254 MMR Squadron in the 1982 Lebanon War, and flew the F-16 at the age of fifty before retirement. Along the way he met numerous fighter pilot legends such as Douglas Bader, Al Deere, Pierre Clostermann and Randy Cunningham. Affable and enthusiastic, Giora gained the nickname ‘Hawkeye’ because of his amazing vision of more than 20/15, enabling him to pick out enemy aircraft long before his squadron mates. His story is of one man’s unfaltering dedication to his dreams and his country. As the leading jet ace it is one well worth telling and, critically, it can be told in his own words.
£18.00
Grub Street Publishing Bolts from the Blue: From Cold War Warrior to
Book SynopsisAir Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns was commissioned at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 1959 after completing flying training on Piston Provost and Meteor aircraft. For the next nine years, apart from a short intermission as an ADC, he served as an operational fast-jet pilot which included tours on Javelin night fighters and then fighter recce Hunters operating from Aden and Oman. Thereafter he qualified as a flying instructor, initially on the Gnat, and then the Jet Provost as a squadron commander at Cranwell. In his last year as a flying instructor he taught The Prince of Wales to wings standard. During the 1990s, Sir Richard held a succession of senior national and NATO appointments. During the first Gulf War, he was the Director of Operations in the National Joint Headquarters for all British Forces deployed to the Middle East. At the end of the conflict he led the British Recce Team to Turkey and north Iraq which resulted in the deployment of British land and air forces to the coalition that guaranteed the security of the Kurdish population in Iraq. Later, as a NATO C-in-C he was responsible for training and bringing to full operational capability the new Regional Command of Allied Forces, North West Europe. During this three-year tour, he acted as a supporting commander for joint operations in the Balkans while developing partnership for peace exercises with former Warsaw Pact countries. He returned to national duty in 1997 on his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff, responsible for the operational efficiency and morale of the Royal Air Force. During his last three years of service, the Air Chief Marshal was fully involved in the decision-making process of the Strategic Defence Review, the commitment of RAF aircraft to operations over and within Kosovo and continuing air operations over north and south Iraq. His illustrious career gave him the privilege of a rare, if not singular, perspective of the RAF, our sister services and national defence matters, witnessing a steady decline in the combat power of the UK's armed forces as financial management took precedence over identifying strategic priorities and maintaining the vital skill-set of service personnel. His views are forensic and forthright, balanced and thought-provoking and this autobiography should be essential reading for anyone interested in the development of Allied air power over the last fifty years.Trade Review'An outstanding story of a distinguished airman's career ... well-illustrated ... written clearly, precisely with humour and a fantastic recall. I cannot recommend it highly enough.' The Honourable Company of Air Pilots; 'Pulls few punches... such a good read and a valuable contribution to the literature on the post-war RAF.' Aeroplane's Book of the Month (December 2018); 'A masterly autobiography, the most significant contribution to the RAF's historiography ... for many years. Entertaining and persuasive.' Air Power Review; 'Quite the best autobiography I have read on military matters for years. Should become compulsory reading for young officers.' ACM Sir Michael Graydon (CAS 1992-1997); 'A masterpiece contribution to RAF contemporary history.' ACM Sir Patrick Hine (AOC-in-C Strike Command 1988-91); 'A nicely balanced combination of history, personal reflection, honesty and insight.' ACM Sir Stephen Hillier (CAS 2016-19)
£13.49
Grub Street Publishing Nine Lives: The Compelling Memoir of a Cold War
Book SynopsisChris Burwell charts one man’s career in aviation from joining the RAF in 1969 aged 18, to having responsibility for training pilots for the world’s major airlines nearly 50 years later. After training at RAF Cranwell and RAF Valley and a tour as a flying instructor on Jet Provosts, he joined the Harrier Force, flying on front-line squadrons in the UK and Germany during the Cold War and as an instructor on the Harrier Conversion Unit. Detachments to Belize in 1977, the Falklands (twice), ejection from a Harrier GR3, introducing FLIR and NVG to the Harrier front line and operational missions in Northern Iraq are all covered in entertaining detail. After 30 years of service, the author spent 12 years with Cobham, managing their Teesside base and flying the Falcon 20 on operational training for the military and the King Air 200 on international flight calibration tasks. Finally, he spent four years in Spain with Flight Training Europe (FTE) Jerez with responsibility for the flying training of a new generation of pilots. Through his experience as a pilot, leader and manager gained over many years, his valuable insights into military and civilian flying operations are both engrossing and noteworthy. Highly recommended to readers of both disciplines.
£21.25
Grub Street Publishing Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot: Defending The Reich
Book SynopsisWithin weeks of war being declared, Wolfgang Fischer had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe and spent nearly five of the succeeding six years of hostilities in uniform. During this time, he was given a succession of postings varying from a long-range recce unit; as a decoder in a met office in occupied France; to a bomber squadron; and as a flying instructor, before joining a squadron of the famous Richthofen Geschwader in Italy, from where he was shot down in his FW 190 by Mustangs en route to Normandy. By now a Leutnant, he survived to fly offensive rocket attacks over Gold Beach on D-Day, only to be shot down again on D + 1, and captured and sent first to a hospital in the UK, then into captivity in the USA. He was finally repatriated in April 1946. Expertly translated and edited by John Weal, this is a worthy accompaniment to Norbert Hannig's Luftwaffe Fighter Ace (9781911667223) also available in paperback.
£11.69
Grub Street Publishing Luftwaffe Eagle: A WW2 German Airman's story
Book SynopsisIn this compelling memoir, Erich Sommer recalls his life in pre-war Germany and the adventures he had flying for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Born in 1912, the third son of a district court judge, Erich grew up in an atmosphere of uncertainty following the First World War. In 1932 he started training as a brewery engineer, shortly before the Nazis came to power. The implications this had on the lives of average Germans are described in great detail. When war came in 1939, he became a navigator, successfully serving with the Luftwaffe's first pathfinding unit, then a special and little-known control commission in Morocco to monitor the disarmament of Vichy French forces. He then served as a navigator with a high-altitude squadron flying the relatively rare Ju 86 bomber fitted with a pressurised cabin in missions during the Battle of Britain. He then went to the Russian Front flying radar-equipped Ju 88s tracking Soviet fleet movements. This led to training as a pilot, following which Erich joined a special commando equipped with the revolutionary Arado Ar 234 jet. Shortly afterwards Erich flew the world's first jet-reconnaissance sortie over the invasion front. He ended his war in Italy. After the war, Erich moved with his wife to Australia where he lived peacefully until his death in 2005. With a detailed introduction from acclaimed Luftwaffe historian J. Richard Smith and illustrated throughout with photographs from private family albums, Luftwaffe Eagle is a fascinating insight into the life of an exceptional Luftwaffe pilot and navigator.Trade ReviewIt is one of the best personal accounts to have appeared in many years and should not be missed. -- Flypast * Flypast *Grub Street are to be highly commended for bringing us this readable and gripping account. -- Britain at War
£11.69
Grub Street Publishing Flying Forwards Facing Backwards: Captivating
Book SynopsisSince he was a child in the 1950s watching Vampires and Meteors operating from RAF Turnhouse, Jim Walls wanted to fly aircraft, he just never envisaged that his flying career would be spent in the back seat as opposed to the front. Jim guides readers through his 40-year RAF career that started as a Boy Entrant at RAF Cosford, then as an air radar tradesman, before specialising as an air electronics operator (AEOp) in the Nimrod MR1, and later as an air electronics officer (AEO) who flew in Nimrod R1s and Vulcan B2s. With detailed insight into the world of radar, electronic countermeasures and signals intelligence, Jim highlights the role they played in warfare for numerous operations during the Cold War as well as the Falklands campaign, First Gulf War and Bosnian War. He also recalls the peacetime role of the Nimrod and Vulcan with stories from his time on 51, 120 and 617 Squadrons. As well as focusing on his career, Jim gives his viewpoint on matters such as Operation Black Buck and the reduced war-fighting capability of the Vulcan as it neared retirement. This fascinating book showcases the vital role that AEOs held and the importance of radar and electronic warfare in the fight against enemy forces. It is also a tribute to the much-loved Cold War icons, the Nimrod and the Vulcan. With photography throughout, mainly from the author’s personal collection, this book will appeal to Cold War enthusiasts and fans of the iconic jets of that era.
£21.25
