European history Books

Book SynopsisIn the world of military history there is no brand as potent as that of the SAS. They burst into global prominence in 1980 with their spectacular storming of the Iranian Embassy, and there have been hundreds of books, films, documentaries and even reality TV shows about them. But what there hasn't been is a guide to the scenes of some of their most famous Second World War operations. That is why Gavin Mortimer's vivid two-volume account of their daring missions in German-occupied France in 1944 is such compelling reading. SAS actions in France delayed German reinforcements reaching the battlefront in Normandy, later sewing confusion among the Germans as they withdrew. The SAS trained the French Maquis and helped to turn them from an indisciplined rabble into an effective fighting force. Their exploits inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, and they left a trail of destruction and disorder in their wake. This first volume focuses on 1 SAS and describes in graphic detail operations Titanic, Houndsworth, Bulbasket, Gain, Haggard and Kipling, all of which were carried out in northern and central France. Using previously unpublished interviews with SAS veterans and members of the Maquis as well as rare photographs, Gavin Mortimer blends the past and present, so that readers can walk in the footsteps of SAS heroes and see where they lived, fought and died.

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Book SynopsisGreat Britain's aircraft industry started in 1908, with the first formally registered organisation in the world to offer to design and build an aeroplane for commercial gain'. This was when the Short brothers, Oswald, Eustace and Horace, decided that aeroplanes would overtake balloons as a business opportunity in the aeronautical world and formed the partnership Short Brothers'. From this start, the UK aircraft industry expanded and grew rapidly, going on throughout the rest of the twentieth century to achieve many firsts' in the aeronautical world, with some remarkable technical successes and gaining a reputation to match. There were also setbacks along the way. This book tells the complete story of the 110 years since the start, all the companies formed and the aircraft they produced, highlighting the advances in aeronautical ambition and technology. It is the story of the creation, survival and decline of all one hundred and twenty-three of the aircraft design and construction companies formed between 1908 and 2018. The exhilaration of success and the magic of aviation technology are vividly illustrated by the technical and political birth stories of iconic projects, such as the Cirrus/Gypsy Moths, the Tiger Moth, the flying boats of Imperial Airways, Spitfire, Lancaster, Viscount, Vulcan, Harrier, Buccaneer and many more. The rotary wing industry is not forgotten. The birth of the jet turbine engine and the quest for supersonic speed is included. The stories of the disappointments of failure and disaster, such as the Brabazon, Comet, Princess, Rotodyne and TSR-2, and the growth of international collaboration in Concorde, Tornado, Airbus, Eurofighter Typhoon and other projects are included, in the context of the international scene and domestic politics. The conclusion highlights the prominent reminiscences and speculates on the future of the aircraft industry in Britain.

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Book SynopsisDuring Britain's desperate struggle for survival that in the summer of 1940, the Dornier Do 17 played a prominent part in raids designed at neutralising the RAF's ability to resist and the British people's will to fight back. Having been built to outrun contemporary fighters when introduced into the Luftwaffe in 1937, it had become the Luftwaffe's main light bomber, and for the attack against Britain, three bomber wings, KG 2, KG3 and KG77, were equipped with the Do 17\. But by 1940, the Do 17 was nearing obsolescence and, with its weak defensive armament, it fell prey to Fighter Command's Hurricanes and Spitfires. Its vulnerability was starkly revealed on 18 August 1940, when eight Dorniers were shot down and nine damaged in attacks on RAF Kenley, and on 15 September - Battle of Britain Day - when twenty were shot down and a further thirteen damaged. On that day, Sergeant Ray Holmes rammed his Hurricane into a Do 17 that was reportedly aiming for Buckingham Palace. Part of the bomber's wreckage fell to earth near Victoria Station. In this comprehensive pictorial record of the Do 17, the bomber's role throughout the period of the Battle of Britain is displayed in the author's unique collection of British and German photographs. These photographs, coupled with first-hand stories from those who flew and those who fought against the Do 17, bring those desperate days and dark nights back to life in the manner which only contemporary images and accounts can achieve.

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Book Synopsis'I do not think that Malan could join a squadron without improving it, however good it was. Not by sword-waving, but by a strength of mind and integrity that are at once recognizable and effective...he was the best pilot of the War' - Air Commodore Al Deere, C.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C. Malan was thirty years of age during the Battle of Britain, old for a fighter pilot, but his maturity gave his leadership a firm authority. The Battle of Britain produced many airmen of great skill and accomplishment; high achievers who made their mark in one of history's most memorable and demanding campaigns. But only a few of these men distinguished themselves in such a way as to become legends in their own lifetimes. Among the greatest of these was Sailor Malan. Here is the story of this talented man, eloquently told by Philip Kaplan who manages to strike a balance between objectivity and reverence in order to commit Malan's story to paper. Featured too are a series of evocative black and white illustrations which supplement the descriptive text and work to create a real sense of the character of the man, flourishing as he did in this dramatic wartime context. As Malan continues to inspire young Aviators, this record looks set to preserve his legacy for a new generation of pilots as well as hardy Aviation enthusiasts.

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Book SynopsisAt 12.08pm on Friday 31 January 1919, Margaret Buchanan drives her tram into George Square in Glasgow's city centre. She slows down to avoid the youths and men holding their arms up to stop her; some even jump onto the front of her tram. Swirling around her tram is a sea of heavy-coated men who have been on strike since Monday, demanding a reduction to a forty-hour working week. Crucially, the tram workers have not joined the strike; they are being abused as 'scabs'. Constables and officers of Glasgow's police force use their hands to try to part the crowd to allow the tram to proceed, but their efforts fail and batons are drawn. Within minutes, the violence will have spread across and beyond the Square; men will have been injured; the Sheriff will have read the Riot Act; strike leaders will lie stunned and bleeding inside the City Chambers; policemen and protestors will lie beaten in the streets. The violence and destruction in the Square, the streets to the north and south, in Glasgow Green and even south of the River Clyde, involves thousands of men. The city authorities believe the situation is beyond the control of the outnumbered police; the Sheriff sends a message to the local army commander requesting assistance. For the first time in history, tanks will be despatched as 'military aid to the civil power'. They will be accompanied by 10,000 soldiers. At approximately 12.30pm on Friday 31 January 1919, a century of myth-making commences. Using thousands of pages of court papers, memoirs and news reports, this book is the first attempt to tell the story of what happened in day-by-day detail.

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Book SynopsisA fresh perspective on British history from award-winning broadcaster Fatima ManjiWhy was there a Turkish mosque adorning Britain's most famous botanic garden in the eighteenth century? How did a pair of Persian-inscribed cannon end up in rural Wales? And who is the Moroccan man depicted in a long-forgotten portrait hanging in a west London stately home? Throughout Britain's museums, civic buildings and stately homes, relics can be found that reveal the diversity of pre-twentieth-century Britain and expose the misconceptions around modern immigration narratives. In her journey across Britain exploring cultural landmarks, Fatima Manji searches for a richer and more honest story of a nation struggling with identity and the legacy of empire.'A timely, brilliant and very brave book' Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle

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Book Synopsis'Stimulating, erudite and above all entertaining...For any reader tired of the seemlingly endless round of Churchill-worship' Robert HarrisA radical biography for a new generationIn A.J.P. Taylor's words, Churchill was 'the saviour of his country' when he became prime minister in 1940. Yet he was also a deeply flawed character.Giving due credit to Churchill's achievements but making no secret of his failures, Geoffrey Wheatcroft takes a radically different approach to other biographies. Going far beyond a reappraisal of a life and a career, he reveals the complex shadow Churchill has cast over post-war British history and contemporary politics.Telling the story of Churchill's extraordinary life and the equally fascinating one of his legacy, Churchill's Shadow focuses on how we as a nation have been living in the grip of his self-written myth ever since his death.'This is the indispensable biography of Churchill for the post-Brexit 2020s' David Kynaston, author of On the Cusp: Days of '62'Wheatcroft is a skilled prosecutor with a rapier pen...this could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written' New York Times'A clear-eyed, incisive and superbly balanced account of Churchill, the man and the myth' Robert Gildea, author of Empires of the MindTrade ReviewEven readers sick of Churchill will find much to enjoy, partly because Wheatcroft is such a fluent and entertaining writer, but also because he has so many interesting and provocative things to say -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Hagiographers beware; Wheatcroft has skewered the cult of Churchill hero worship. This book reminds us that while Churchill was Britain's saviour in 1940, his views on race and empire, and his military debacles from the Dardanelles to Dieppe, make it unwise to revere him like a saint -- Samir Puri, author of The Great Imperial HangoverA clear-eyed, incisive and superbly balanced account of Churchill, the man and the myth... Much to think about in the twenty-first century -- Robert Gildea, author of Empires of the MindStimulating, erudite and above all entertaining... For any reader tired of the seemingly endless round of Churchill-worship of the last few years, Geoffrey Wheatcroft provides a lively corrective -- Robert HarrisWheatcroft is a skilled prosecutor with a rapier pen ... [Churchill's Shadow] could be the best single-volume indictment of Churchill yet written * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisDiscover Jane Austen's real-life inspiration for Darcy's Pemberley.Follow Alan into Chatsworth's irresistible world of visionaries, pioneers, heroes, villains and English eccentrics, and celebrate the men and women who have shaped the history of the estate over five centuries. With his passionate knowledge of both the house and gardens, as well as his long-established relationship with the Cavendish family, Alan is the perfect guide with whom to explore the Palace of the Peaks.Featuring stunning, specially commissioned photography of the gardens and parkland, alongside long-forgotten images and memorabilia newly unearthed in the estate archives, this vivid companion, crowded with character and colour, is a book to treasure and revisit over and over again.

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Book SynopsisPart of the SECOND WORLD WAR VOICES series, with a new introduction by bestselling historian James Holland, and in partnership with the podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, presented by comedian Al Murray and James HollandMay 1940: In the face of a lightning German advance, the British Army found themselves, stunned, broken, beaten, their backs truly against the wall on the sands of the north French coast.And yet it was on the beaches of Dunkirk that the seeds of a remarkable victory were sown. The evacuation of over three hundred thousand men in ships of all sizes was a logistical feat which has never been seen, before or since.This vivid, visceral story takes you inside the making of a miracle: the story of eight frantic days, as the net tightened around the beleaguered troops, told from all sides, as the enemy draws closer and the bombardment intensifies, in the words of those who were there. It is impossible to get closer to experiencing this legendary action.

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Book SynopsisLondon at the outset of war in 1939 was the greatest city in the world, the heart of the British Empire. The defiant capital had always been Hitler's prime target and 1945, the last year of the war, saw the final phase of the battle of London. The Civil Defence could not have succeeded without the spirit, courage, resilience and co-operation of the people. London 1945 describes how a great city coped in crisis, how morale was sustained, shelter provided, food and clothing rationed, and work and entertainment carried on. Then, as the joy of VE Day and VJ Day passed into memory, Londoners faced severe shortages and all the problems of post-war adjustment. Women lost the independence the war had lent them, husbands and wives had to learn to live together again, and children had a lot of catching up to do.The year of victory, 1945, represents an important chapter in London's - and Britain's - long history.Trade ReviewShe writes with a great affection for London ... a compelling picture of the life of the ordinary Londoner * The Spectator *An ambitious enterprise, and Waller brings it off admirably - a sort of Bayeux Tapestry * The Times *A wonderfully vivid panorama of a thrilling time * Scotsman *An enjoyable read and meticulously researched * Guardian *Meticulously researched account imbues the second-world-war era with a matchless sense of immediacy * Sunday Times *Convincing, humane and highly readable * Telegraph *Magisterial ... a fine account in which sober analysis is combined with a mass of memorable and emotive information * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisA fascinating and hilarious gallop through twentieth-century British history, by comedian Al Murray.An awful lot has happened in the last 100 years or so. In fact, when you look at how much went on in the 20th century, it's amazing it didn't take longer than that.And what have we learnt? A few obvious lessons include: megalomaniac men with moustaches in charge of countries tend to turn out to be BAD; anyone who thinks they can explain let alone sort out the Middle East is WRONG; France simply cannot be relied upon; America may or may not be the cause of everything GOOD and BAD in the world (depending on who you ask).This isn't your bog-standard history book. We all know that history books (Which Shall Not be Questioned because they ARE ALL TRUE according to our History Teachers of Yore) are dry and dull, and they go on as if there's only ONE version of history (spoiler: it's all about perspective). Enter Al Murray, alter-ego of everyone's favourite Pub Landlord.Al knows his way around 20th century Britain, and he's good enough to illuminate it for you. From the Big Bang of the 20th Century, DOUBLEYOUDOUBLEYOU ONE, to the eve of the new Millennium (when all the computers in the World DIDN'T stop working and the Queen had to do the Hokey Cokey with Tony Blair) and all the forgotten tales in between, this is a brilliantly funny, irreverent and eye-opening whistle-stop tour of Britain since 1914.

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Book SynopsisConvention on the definition of aggression signed on 3 July 1933, established the borders of modern Romania.As in the case of its neighbours, Czechoslovakia and Poland, revisionist currents in Europe during the interwar period threatened Romania's newly established frontiers, one of the most serious threats being posed by the Soviet Union which sought to regain possession of Bessarabia, a Romanian territory that had been occupied by Russia from 1812-1918.This is a comprehensive account of the efforts of Romanian diplomacy during the interwar period to protect Bessarabia from the Soviet threat and the diplomatic and military events that led to the forcible occupation of the Romanian territories of Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina by the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940.The author not only provides an important account of Romanian diplomacy during this period, but also sheds light on the foreign policies of the Western powers, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany in this area of Europe. It is a key work on Romanian foreign policy during the interwar period and a necessary addition to any research library.

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Book SynopsisDiane Arnson Svarlien's translation of Euripides' Andromache, Hecuba, and Trojan Women exhibits the same scholarly and poetic standards that have won praise for her Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus. Ruth Scodel's Introduction examines the cultural and political context in which Euripides wrote, and provides analysis of the themes, structure, and characters of the plays included. Her notes offer expert guidance to readers encountering these works for the first time.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Translator's Preface; Map; Andromache; Hecuba; Trojan Women; Endnotes & Comments on the Text; Suggestions for Further Reading.

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Book SynopsisThe Empire Must Die portrays the vivid drama of Russia's brief and exotic experiment with civil society before it was swept away by the despotism of the Communist Revolution. The window between two equally stifling autocracies - the imperial family and the communists - was open only briefly, in the last couple of years of the 19th century until the end of WWI, by which time the revolution was in full fury. From the last years of Tolstoy until the death of the Tsar and his family, however, Russia experimented with liberalism and cultural openness. In Europe, the Ballet Russe was the height of chic. Novelists and playwrights blossomed, political ideas were swapped in coffee houses and St Petersburg felt briefly like Vienna or Paris. The state, however couldn't tolerate such experimentation against the backdrop of a catastrophic war and a failing economy. The autocrats moved in and the liberals were overwhelmed. This story seems to have strangely prescient echoes of the present.

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Book SynopsisThe Red Air Force versus the Luftwaffe in the skies over Eastern Europe. June 1941: Having conquered most of Western Europe, Adolf Hitler turned his attention to the vast Soviet Union. Disregarding his Non-Aggression Pact with Joseph Stalin, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, a full-scale invasion of the Soviet homeland... aimed squarely at Moscow. In the skies over Russia, the battle-hardened airmen of the Luftwaffe made short work of the Red Air Force during opening days of Barbarossa. To make matters worse, Stalin had executed many of his best pilots during the perennial "purges" of the 1930s. Thus, much of the Red Air Force was destroyed on the ground before meeting the Luftwaffe in the skies. By 1944, however, the Soviet airmen had regained the initiative and fervently wrested air superiority from the now-ailing Axis Powers.Trade Review...this slim survey provides a quick, convenient intro to the deadly totalitarian duel. Make it a launchpad to further study of Eastern Front air combat in WWII. * Cybermodeler *Anyone interested in the air campaigns fought between Germany and Soviet Union during World War Two will find this volume ideal, whether their interest is modelling or purely historical. There's even a handy timeline at the beginning. * Airfix Model World *

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Book SynopsisPublished for the first time in English, this is a German account of the German invasionof Norway in the spring of 1940. It focuses on the efforts of Group “1” led by Eduard Dietl. This group of gebirgstruppen was landed at Narvik in early April by tendestroyers. These ships were then all sunk by the Allies. Dietl’s troops wereoutnumbered by Allied troops but his defense utilized ammunition, food and sailorsfrom the sunken ships and his men retook Narvik once the Allies abandoned theirefforts to push the Germans out of Norway.Trade ReviewWhile the essentials of this campaign are well known, this book brings it vividly to life. It contains a wealth of detail of small unit actions which amply illustrate the superior fighting power of the German Armed Forces at the time. * Miniature Wargames - John Drewienkiewicz 24/05/2021 *A most interesting and important book. * Baird Maritime 21/04/2021 *...a fresh new modern perspective with the advantage of 80 years of analysis and study. * Warships International *Table of ContentsForeword 1.The Way to Narvik 2.Consolidation of conditions in the battle group Narvik 3.The fight for the south flank 4.Defensive fight with the Windisch group in the north 5.The sections Narvik and Erzbahn until the end of May 6.The situation in the north worsens 7.Large-scale attack against Narvik section 8.Final battle of the group Narvik Notes Appendices Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWinston Churchill famously instructed the head of the Special Operations Executive to “Set Europe ablaze!” Agents of both the British Special Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services underwent rigorous training before making their way, undetected, into Occupied Europe. Working alone or in small cells, often cooperating with local resistance groups, agents undertook missions behind enemy lines involving sabotage, subversion, organizing resistance groups and intelligence-gathering.The SOE’s notable successes included the destruction of a power station in France, the assassination of Himmler’s deputy Reinhard Heyrich, and ending the Nazi atomic bomb program by destroying the heavy water plant at Vemork, Norway. OSS operatives established anti-Nazi resistance groups across Europe, and managed to smuggle operatives into Nazi Germany, including running one of the war's most important spies, German diplomat Fritz Kolbe.All of their missions were incredibly dangerous and many agents were captured, tortured, and ultimately killed – the life expectancy of an SOE wireless operator in occupied France was just six weeks.In No Moon as Witness, historian James Stejskal examines why these agencies were established, the training regimen and ingenious tools developed to enable agents to undertake their missions, their operational successes, and their legacy.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent, if perhaps somewhat short, history of these two unconventional organisations, helping to see how they differed, how they were similar, and what impact they had on the course of the war. * History of War 13/09/2021 *The book is well written with good details on the agents, their specialized equipment, and a selection of their missions. * WWII History 28/09/2021 *...concise, more easily readable but nevertheless thorough account that benefits from the author’s particular knowledge and background [...] An excellent read. * Love Reading 13/08/2021 *…the book is well organized and also an excellent read. Some books that I read end up going to the ‘annual used book fair’; this one is a keeper and has found a home on my reference bookshelf. * Special Operations News from Around the World 19/07/2021 *...illustrates the challenges of recruiting and training a clandestine force to conduct military operations or intelligence gathering missions in support of operational goals. The examples of daring raids and tragic failures help to immerse the reader in the action and danger that people endured in service to the cause. * Military Review 14/12/2022 *While refreshingly brief, the book has considerable value as a modern overview of activities that took place more than 75 years ago and were then mostly highly secret. * Baird Maritime 19/07/2021 *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Need Arises; Timeline; Glossary; Origins of SOE and OSS; Training; Tools of the Trade; Operations; Legacy; Sources; Index

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Book SynopsisIn December 1774, Benjamin Franklin met Caroline Howe, the sister of British Admiral Richard and General William Howe, in a London drawing room for “half a dozen Games of Chess”. As Julie Flavell reveals, the games concealed a matter of the utmost diplomatic urgency, a last-ditch attempt to forestall the outbreak of war. Aware that the Howes, both the men and the women, have seemed impenetrable to historians, Flavell investigated the letters of Caroline Howe, which have been overlooked for centuries. Using these revelatory documents, Flavell provides a compelling reinterpretation of England’s famous family across four wars, centring on their enigmatic roles in the American Revolution. The Howe Dynasty interweaves action-packed stories of North American military campaigns—including the Battles of Bunker Hill and Long Island—with parlour-room intrigues back in England, creating a riveting narrative that brings alive the influence of these extraordinary women in both peacetime and war.Trade Review"Spanning almost a century of the Georgian era, The Howe Dynasty presents a richly detailed and lively saga of one of its most distinguished families. Challenging and insightful, it reflects impressive scholarship, grounded in exhaustive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic... The Howe Dynasty shows how women whose supreme function in life was to produce male heirs could nonetheless find a voice through informal ‘networking,’ establishing crucial contacts in the drawing room or on the hunting field that could be mobilized to secure favors and control opinion." -- Stephen Brumwell, What to Read this Week - The Wall Street Journal"[A] vibrant biography of the accomplished, beguiling family… Flavell’s scholarship and deft storytelling add nuance, sympathy and granularity to the family portrait." -- Rick Atkinson - The New York Times Book Review"Flavell, an independent scholar, meticulously combs manuscripts held in numerous archives on both sides of the Atlantic… Melding family, political and military history, Flavell’s sympathetic account… shows the historical value of Caroline’s intriguing vantage point on the American Revolution." -- Mark G. Spencer - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisFor three millennia the Mediterranean Sea served as the center of western civilization and the scene of many colossal wars and naval battles. In the early summer of 1940, this ancient body of water again played host to a new and extensive conflict as the Kingdom of Italy challenged Britain for dominance within the region. With France on the verge of collapse and Britain facing the prospect of imminent invasion, the Italians hoped to re-establish control over the Mediterranean. The only thing standing in their way was the heavily outnumbered British Mediterranean Fleet and the equally outnumbered British ground and air forces present in the region. Together, these forces would determine whether the Mediterranean reverted back to Italian control or whether the Allies would prevail and retain supremacy over this great body of water for themselves.This book tells the story of this epic struggle. This was a prolonged and colossal conflict waged at differing times against the combined forces of Italy, Germany and Vichy France over a wide area stretching from the coastal waters of Southern Europe in the north to Madagascar in the south and Africa's Atlantic coast in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east. Utilizing a variety of weapons including surface warships, submarines, and aircraft along with sizable merchant fleets, the British and their subsequent American partners maintained vital seaborne lines of communication, conducted numerous amphibious landings, interdicted Axis supply activities and eventually eliminated all semblances of Axis maritime power within the theatre. In turn, these actions facilitated multiple Allied victories that helped secure the defeat of the European Axis.Trade ReviewWalter highlights the British contribution to the war via its Mediterranean theater, while also placing it in the context of the strategic disagreements over campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and southern France. A strong piece of analysis, this book underscores why the Mediterranean was always more than just an Allied lake or secondary consideration to the war effort. * Naval History Magazine *There is a level of detail in this book which naval warfare buffs will enjoy … I found it very useful and will keep it handy for reference purposes. * Balkan Wargamer 15/11/2022 *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Setting the Stage Chapter 2: The Opening Moves Chapter 3: Germany Enters the Fray Chapter 4: Stabilizing the Middle East Chapter 5: Malta under Siege Chapter 6: Turning Point Chapter 7: Masters of the North African Shores Chapter 8: Italy Subdued Chapter 9: Supporting the Southern Flank Chapter 10: Victory on the Peripheries Chapter 11: Britannia’s Sea, Victory in the Mediterranean Chapter 12: The Triumph of British Maritime Power

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Book SynopsisCreated in 1943 from members of the Hitler Youth born in 1926, the division was attached to I SS Panzer Corps in March 1944 and transferred to Normandy. Based around Caen, it was intended to repel a possible and expected invasion from the sea. When the invasion came in June, it was one of the two closest panzer divisions to the landing beaches. The defensive battles that took place in Normandy, particularly the four battles around the city of Caen, saw the young soldiers of the Hitlerjugend demonstrate determined resistance, conceding only due to being greatly outnumbered. After the battles fought in Normandy, the division was withdrawn first to the Franco-Belgian border, where it was engaged in hard defensive fighting and then to Germany for reorganisation.Other difficult and demanding battles followed during the offensive in the Ardennes, on the Bastogne front, in Hungary and finally the last battles fought in Austria, on the sacred ground of the Reich, where the soldiers of the Hitlerjugend, despite the desperate situation and the superiority of the enemy, managed to achieve local success and launch desperate counterattacks even into the last weeks of the war, in the name and in defense of their homeland. Packed with photographs, maps and profiles, this Casemate Illustrated follows the actions of the 12th SS Panzer Division throughout its existence.Trade ReviewThe book is superbly illustrated with photos taken during the battle as well as some nicely done maps and charts to help provide a greater understanding of the battles. * Modelling Madness 26/10/2022 *Modelers and historians should be able to glean a great deal of technical and operational information from this book; firsthand accounts are particularly valuable. The wealth of images also provides a treasure trove of source material for research and inspiration for subject matter to model. * Armorama 07/12/2022 *

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Book SynopsisThe Vistula-Oder offensive was a massive Soviet Army operation on the Eastern Front which was launched on 12 January 1945 and paved the way for the Battle of Berlin. Its main objective was a major advance from the River Vistula to the River Oder, bringing Soviet forces within fifty miles of the gates of Berlin. The offensive faced a German defensive line east of Warsaw. These 450,000 German troops were outmatched three to one by the Soviet forces. The Red Army assault began what would be a devastating three weeks for the German forces of Army Group A.German attempts to hold their lines and avoid being sucked into a maelstrom of destruction were unsuccessful. Army Group A would collapse almost all the way back to Berlin, ending the Third Reich’s desperate efforts to cling onto land captured in Poland five years earlier, and stem enemy forces spilling over into Germany and threatening Berlin. The battle saw some 295,000 soldiers killed and 147,000 captured, as well as thousands of tanks, artillery, and machine guns destroyed. Within two months of the offensive the battle of Berlin was launched.This fully illustrated book relates this story of defeat and survival, offering a detailed visual record of Nazi Germany’s demise between two main rivers in Poland and Germany.Table of ContentsIntroduction Forces and commanders involved. Offensive Krakow and Breslau Encirclement of Upper Silesia Advance of 1st Belorussian Front Advance to the Oder Army Group Vistula Aftermath

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Book SynopsisIn this compelling history of the men and ideas that radically changed the course of world history, Lawrence James investigates how, within a hundred years, Europeans persuaded and coerced Africa into becoming a subordinate part of the modern world. The continent was a magnet for the high-minded, the philanthropic, the unscrupulous and the insane. Visionary pro-consuls rub shoulders with missionaries, explorers, soldiers, adventurers, engineers, big-game hunters, entrepreneurs and physicians.Eminent historian Lawrence James narrates how between 1830 and 1945, Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Italy exported their languages, laws, culture, religions, scientific and technical knowledge and economic systems to Africa. The colonial powers imposed administrations designed to bring stability and peace to a continent that seemed to lack both. The justification for emancipation from slavery (and occupation) was the common assumption that the late nineteenth-century Europe was the summit of civilization. This magnificent history also pauses to ask: what did not happen and why?Trade Review'The Second World War points back towards a colonial past in Africa, to bygone scrambles for imperial power. It also glances forward to decolonisation. This global conflict is at the centre of Lawrence James's excellent survey of African history from 1830 to 1990 . . . Empires in the Sun is a brisk, well-written and jaunty account of European empire-building in Africa . . . Intrigue and devious political calculations propel the fast-moving narrative . . . The book is a timely reminder of the complexity of international politics, and the nuanced balance of forces that have shaped our modern world' -- Kwasi Kwarteng * THE TIMES *'A brisk, colourful account of the past 200 years of African history . . . A good informative read' * EVENING STANDARD *He writes as well as ever and is a sure-footed guide. -- Edward Paice * THE SPECTATOR *[A] compelling, even-handed and masterful narrative -- Saul David * LITERARY REVIEW *

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Book Synopsis'A holiday in the complex, joyful, indelicate medieval world'John Higgs, author of Watling StreetChaucer's People is an absorbing and revealing guide to the Middle Ages, populated with Chaucer's pilgrims from The Canterbury Tales. These are lives spent at the pedal of a loom, maintaining the ledgers of an estate or navigating the high seas. Drawing on contemporary experiences of a vast range of subjects including trade, religion, toe-curling remedies and hair-raising recipes, bestselling historian Liza Picard recreates the medieval world in glorious detail.Trade ReviewLiza Picard, a chronicler of London society across the centuries, now weaves an infinity of small details into an arresting tapestry of life in 14th-century England. Her technique - pursued with the verve and spirit for which she is already justly admired - is to celebrate Chaucer's pilgrim portraits by resituating them within an enlarged field of medieval practices and assumptions ... Picard concludes with a speculative Chaucer continuation ... Most notably, she - a woman who has herself lived long and thought much - creates an inner monologue for the Wife of Bath, who, after visiting the shrine, drifts into a Molly Bloomian soliloquy, reflecting on the pros, cons, and possible personal advantages of taking the veil. As in the rest of the book, we here encounter not presumption but homage, an enthusiast enacting her respect for Chaucer's enduring and indelible accomplishment -- Paul Strohm * The Spectator *Chaucer's pilgrims are the first historical characters who feel like real people, and now Liza Picard makes their world as vivid and three-dimensional as the merry band themselves. Chaucer's People is a holiday in the complex, joyful, indelicate medieval world - an approachable, engaging and highly recommended account of an England which is long gone, but whose spirit lingers -- John Higgs, author of Watling StreetAs you read this book, Chaucer's writing gains a depth and pungency it usually lacks ... Sometimes these snippets, in their oddness, distance the toiling pilgrims from us. At others, they bring them much closer ... There is a Chaucerian pleasure in plain sentences, plainly written. This is more almanac than argument, but no less enjoyable for that. If you were to reread The Canterbury Tales, you'd get so much more from it with this at your side ... And there are some excellent titbits -- Catherine Nixey * The Times *An absorbing and revealing companion volume to The Canterbury Tales * The Oldie *Wonderfully readable and full of delights ... It buoyed me up with its brilliant insights, many of them entirely new to me -- John Simpson, BBC World Affairs EditorEngaging and fun ... The premise of this entertaining book is to provide historical context for the multitude of figures in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It is well researched and packed with intriguing nuggets - from the etymology of the word "haberdasher" (from an old Icelandic word meaning a pedlar's sack), to the story of Richard Steris, "one of the cunningest players at the tenys in England", and a wonderful selection of medieval recipes ... Picard provides a wealth of detail both about the occupations of the various characters, and the wider contexts in which they operated. The section on the overwhelmingly complex nature of medieval law is particularly clear and effective -- Hannah Skoda * BBC History Magazine *Chaucer's fourteenth-century story collection The Canterbury Tales is a classic hook on which to hang an exploration of the Middle Ages, and this take pleasingly spirals outwards to cover the characters (the nun, the knight, the miller) and the lives they would have led * History Revealed *Instructive fun ... The writing is always lively, and there are excellent colour illustrations -- Dr G. R. Evans * Church Times *Brings to life the social history of a period we still know little about. A jolly good read for historians * This England *

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Book SynopsisOne of the most famous queens in history, Mary Stuart lived in her homeland for just twelve years: as a dauntless child who laughed at her friendsʼ seasickness as they sailed to safety in France and later, on her return as a 18-year-old widow to take control of a nation riven with factions, dissent and religious strife. Brief though her time in Scotland was, her experience profoundly influenced who she was and what happened to her. In this book, Rosemary Goring tells the story of Mary’s Scottish years through the often dramatic and atmospheric locations and settings where the events that shaped her life took place and also examines the part Scotland, and its tumultuous court and culture, played in her downfall. Whether or not Mary Stuart emerges blameless or guilty, in this evocative retelling she can be seen for who she really was. Locations included: Linlithgow Palace * Stirling Castle * Dumbarton Castle * Leith * Holyrood Palace * Crichton Castle * Darnaway Castle * Huntly Castle * Spynie Palace * Falkland Palace * Seton Palace * St Andrews and Fife * Dunbar Castle * Edinburgh Castle * Traquair House * Hermitage Castle * Jedburgh, Mary Queen of Scots House * Craigmillar Castle * Edinburgh and Kirk o’ Field * Borthwick Castle * Carberry Hill * Lochleven Castle * Langside * Dundrennan AbbeyTrade Review'Brings into vibrant focus some lesser-known, intimate details about the young queen that make her wholly relatable today' -- Sally McDonald * Sunday Post *'Like Mary, Homecoming is fresh and flighty, maddening, but irresistibly unbuttoned' -- Jessie Childs * Times *'If anyone was able to add anything fresh to the story of Mary's life...then it would be Rosemary Goring, who has carved out an eminent role for herself as a highly respected author of books about Scottish history' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *'Rosemary's book breathes life into this legendary Queen' * Southern Reporter *'Whether or not Mary Stuart emerges blameless or guilty, she can be seen for who she really was... thanks to Rosemary's painstaking research' -- Julie Currie * East Fife Mail *'a nicely measured book, intelligent, engaging and well-balanced' -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *‘tells the story of Mary's Scottish years through the often dramatic and atmospheric locations and settings where the events that shaped her life took place’ * History Scotland Magazine *'a fresh, richly detailed biography' * Scottish Field *'Do we really need another book on Mary, Queen of Scots? Yes, because this is the most easily understood of the quagmire that Mary found herself in on her return to Scotland as its queen. Wonderfully written and fascinating for its social history of the era. I can't recommend it highly enough' * The Watermill Bookshop, Aberfeldy *'In this beautifully crafted and deeply researched biography, Rosemary Goring delivers a fascinating account of the twelve years Mary Stuart resided in her native Scotland, and the events that shaped her life as well as the Scottish nation' * Waterstones Bookseller *'This is a fascinating account of the Scottish years of a remarkable Queen. Mary’s life is vividly and dramatically portrayed here by Rosemary Goring' -- Alexander McCall Smith * Little Brown Book Group *'Refreshingly, Goring presents a very even-handed view of Mary, as a queen and as a woman, and the book is full of small details that bring her and her world to life' -- Wilson Smith * Book of the Old Edinburgh Club *

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Book SynopsisPlacenames are a constant source of debate. Who was Edwin, whose name is said to live on in that of Scotland's capital city? Are the 'drum' and 'chapel' still to be found in Drumchapel? And which 'king' had a 'seat' in Kingseat in Perthshire? The answers to these and many similar questions are often not what might be expected at first sight and have their origins in many languages – including Gaelic, Pictish, Brythonic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Scots and Modern English – that have been spoken in Scotland. This is the essential companion to the fascinating world of Scottish placenames. It features more than 8,000 placenames, from districts, towns and villages to rivers, lochs and mountains, and also includes a comprehensive introduction and maps.

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Book SynopsisIn 1945, John Randall was the first Allied officer to enter Bergen-Belsen – the concentration camp that would reveal the horrors of the Holocaust to the world. Randall was one of that league of extraordinary gentlemen handpicked for suicidally dangerous missions behind enemy lines in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany throughout the Second World War. He was a man of his class and of his times. He hated the Germans, liked the French and was unimpressed by the Americans and the Arabs. He was an outrageous flirt, as might be expected of a man who served in Phantom alongside film stars David Niven and Hugh Williams. He played rugby with Paddy Mayne, the larger-than-life colonel of the SAS and winner of four DSOs. He pushed Randolph Churchill, son of the Prime Minister, out of an aeroplane. He wined and dined in nightclubs as part of the generation that lived for each day because they might not see another.This extraordinary true story, partly based on previously unpublished diaries, presents a different slant on that mighty war through the eyes of a restless young man eager for action and adventure.Trade Review‘The man who stumbled on HELL: His place in history has never been revealed. His memoir recounts how he uncovered the horrors of Belsen’ * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisRussia and Britain were never natural bedfellows. But the marriage, in 1894, of Queen Victoria's favourite granddaughter, Alicky, to the Tsarevich Nicholas marked the beginning of an uneasy Anglo-Russian entente that would last until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Imperial Tea Party draws back the curtain on the three extraordinary meetings that took place between the British and Russian royal families during those years. These pivotal encounters, although well-intentioned and generally hailed as successes, were beset by misunderstandings and misfortunes. In this wonderfully droll account, Frances Welch presents a vivid snapshot of two dynasties at a time of social unrest. The two families could not know, as they waved each other fond goodbyes from their yachts at Cowes in 1909, that they would never meet again.Trade Review"With her quick wit and light touch, Welch conducts a relentless inquiry into conscience, family loyalty and the nature of the past... an unsettling portrait of moustaches, murder, and lèse-majesté.’ Frances Wilson, The Spectator "In this funny, touching and ultimately tragic book, Welch brilliantly exposes how the British family courted and then abandoned their royal cousins in the run-up to World War I." Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday "A fascinating book... Welch is an excellent writer." The Daily Telegraph "Delightfully witty and entertaining." The Times Literary Supplement "Excellent history... Intrigue aplenty." The Times "Deeply affecting." Daily Mail

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Book SynopsisA ‘sensational affair.. carried out with great audacity’ - New York Times. An astonishing act of piracy, the capture of the British war ship, the Upnor changed the course of Ireland's Civil War. Flawless in its planning and execution, while Winston Churchill remarked on Irish 'genius for conspiracy', a furious Michael Collins accused the British of deliberately arming his enemies. Indeed, it’s highly likely that the bullet that killed him originated in the Upnor. The Ballycotton Job brings this riveting story to life, its cast of disparate characters and strands of adventure beautifully woven together. This book sees events leading up to the capture as well as the consequences of the Upnor seizure discussed in detail. Based on years of archival research, it tells a unique story of both sides, Irish and British. The book's fast-paced narrative is enlivened by dialogue and details obtained from interviews with participants. Ireland teetered on the verge of civil war, the IRA splitting into anti-Treaty and pro-Treaty stance, Michael Collins and the Provisional Government on the pro-Treaty side. Cork's Sean O’Hegarty, the local anti-Treaty IRA leader, prevented Collins’ National Army from entering the city. As the British evacuated soldiers and equipment back to England, O’Hegarty came up with a brilliant plan to capture the munitions en route. Commandeering a tugboat from the Royal Navy base at Queenstown/Cobh, they sped out of the fortified harbour on a mission. Simultaneously, over eighty trucks and lorries were hijacked all across Cork, leaving citizens mystified as to what was going on. In a clever ruse, the IRA squad captured arms ship Upnor, bringing it into the small port of Ballycotton. The village, now under the control of IRA fighters, witnessed the unloading of weaponry onto waiting lorries then driven off to secret arms dumps throughout Cork. O’Hegarty's men seized eighty tons of arms, subsequently distributed to southern IRA divisions during the Civil War. This audacious act of piracy caused a sensation. A field day for the newspapers, The Irish Independent called it ‘an amazing exploit’; The Times ‘a clever and daring coup’.Trade Review‘The pacy narrative…is a great read’ * Irish Times *‘A lively and enjoyable story.’ 'A story that could make a riveting film.’ ‘The capture of the Upnor is told in graphic and exciting detail.’ ‘The writing is lively’. ‘I very much enjoyed reading the book.’ * Books Ireland Magazine *'Superbly researched and written to read like a thriller. Yet contains details that put context into a fascinating period in our history. Highly recommended.' Pat B 'Researched and recorded in detail but written with all the excitement of a great adventure story.''The British warship Upnor was carrying huge quantities of arms and ammunition from Cobh (then Queenstown) to Woolwich in March 1922 and its capture by the anti-Treaty IRA was masterminded by Seán O’Hegarty, commandant Cork No 1 Brigade. His men commandeered a Royal Navy tugboat from Cobh, while simultaneously hijacking more than 80 trucks and lorries all over Cork. The tugboat towed Upnor into Ballycotton, where the munitions were loaded on to the waiting lorries, which distributed them to secret arms dumps. The daring venture supplied much of the weaponry used by the anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War, thus significantly affecting that conflict. The pacy narrative, conveyed mainly from the perspectives of O’Hegarty and Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt (head of the Royal Navy in Ireland), is a great read.' -- Brian Maye * The Irish Times *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Glossary Key Characters Medusa’s Return Tremble and Obey A Ruthless Bastard Bugger All Micky and Dicky The Italian Job Queenstown, 1921 The Cork Republic De Courcy The Ball at their Feet The Warrior A Speedy Departure Message from the Admiralty The Fecking War is Over Hitting the Fan Civil War Conclusion Notes and References Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEdwin Lutyens' Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in Northern France, visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists, is arguably the finest structure erected by any British architect in the twentieth century. It is the principal, tangible expression of the defining event in Britain's experience and memory of the Great War, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and it bears the names of 73,000 soldiers whose bodies were never found at the end of that bloody and futile campaign. This brilliant study by an acclaimed architectural historian tells the origin of the memorial in the context of commemorating the war dead; it considers the giant classical brick arch in architectural terms, and also explores its wider historical significance and its resonances today. So much of the meaning of the twentieth century is concentrated here; the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing casts a shadow into the future, a shadow which extends beyond the dead of the Holocaust, to the Gulag, to the 'disappeared' of South America and of Tianenmen. Reissued in a beautiful and striking new edition for the centenary of the Somme.Trade Review[a] moving and eloquent book * Literary Review *as a piece of architectural analysis it is impressive * The Spectator *Stamp has provided an invaluable, detailed and illuminating study * Guardian *the value of Stamp's book lies in its eloquent account of the genius of the vision of Edward Lutyens ... who created in the Monument to the Missing at Thiepval the central metaphor of a generation's experience of appalling loss. * Observer *This book is a gem...an eloquent, moving lament for the futile waste and industrialised killing of the First World War, and indeed of the 20th Century - an elegy which resonates powerfully today. * Sunday Telegraph *Much, much more than architectural history, for here, encapsulated in marmoreally angry prose, is an account of that collective act of mass murder, without parallel in history, known as the Great War. An unforgettable, passionate book. -- A.N. Wilson * Evening Standard *Perfectly formed and beautifully written, this book is a minor masterpiece, a paragon of its genre. It will move all but the hardest heart to tears at the folly, and the glory, that is man. -- Ross Leckie * The Times *

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Book SynopsisAnnie Harrower-Gray opens up an alternative view of Scotland's turbulent history, revealing three centuries through the eyes of the nation's women. The whole of society appears, from ordinary labourers, prostitutes and factory hands to their more celebrated sisters and even witches, bodysnatchers and female Jacobites. All their tales are freshly researched and told with a sense of humour. Colourful characters abound! Step inside the boudoirs of Edinburgh's ladies of pleasure, whose civilised manners so confused one church minister that he 'accidentally' took tea in a brothel. Creep into the graveyard with Helen Torrance and Jean Lapiq, convicted of bodysnatching half a century before Burke and Hare. Uncover the murky history of Scotland's last witch Helen Duncan, whose eerily accurate wartime predictions led to her imprisonment. This book offers an exciting and erudite voyage through the social history of Scotland. e and few career options. Honour the heroines who helped to shape Scotland, yet rest in unvisited tombs!

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Book SynopsisThe Romans left a long-lasting legacy and their influence can still be seen all around us - from our calendar and coins, to our language and laws - but how much do we really know about them? Help is at hand in the form of Veni, Vidi, Vici, which tells the remarkable, and often surprising, story of the Romans and the most enduring empire in history.Fusing a lively and entertaining narrative with rigorous research, Veni, Vidi, Vici breaks down each major period into a series of concise nuggets that provide a fascinating commentary on every aspect of the Roman world - from plebs to personalities, sauces to sexuality, games to gladiators, poets to punishments, mosaics to medicine and Catullus to Christianity.Through the twists and turns of his 1250-year itinerary, Jones is a friendly and clear-thinking guide. In this book he has produced a beguiling and entertaining introduction to the Romans, one that vividly brings to life the people who helped create the world we live in today.Trade ReviewIt takes a man profoundly soaked in a subject to treat it lightly and still be not only witty but wise. Jones has an eagle's high eye for the history of Rome from Aeneas to Augustine and a pigeon's ground-level eye for the graffiti scratcher of Pompeii. * The Times *A rollicking guide to the Romans and their influence on us * Mail on Sunday *Jones spans all 1,200 years of Roman history with seemingly unstoppable enthusiasm... Informative, casually erudite but engagingly unstuffy, he makes the classical world feel both beguiling and fresh... The book is full of fascination -- Andrew Holgate * Sunday Times *Delightful and instructive... There is something to relish on every page -- Allan Massie * Spectator *Jones's brisk demotic style makes fresh the well-covered run of despots, gladiators, volcanic explosions and filthy satirists. Those who know little about the subject and want a no-frills, entertaining introduction to its rise & fall need look no further. * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisAn engagingly written account of textile engineering in its key northern centres, rich with historical narrative and analysis. The engineers who built the first generations of modern textile machines, between 1770 and 1850, pushed at the boundaries of possibility. This book investigates these pioneering machine-makers, almost all working within textile communities in northern England, and the industry they created. It probes their origins and skills, the sources of their inspiration and impetus, and how it was possible to develop a high-tech, factory-centred, world-leading marketin textile machinery virtually from scratch. The story of textile engineering defies classical assumptions about the driving forces behind the Industrial Revolution. The circumstances of its birth, and the personal affiliationsat work during periods of exceptional creativity, suggest that the potential to accelerate economic growth could be found within social assets and craft skills. Appreciating textile engineering within its own time and context challenges views inherited from Victorian thinkers, who tended to ascribe to it features of the fully fledged industry they saw before them. The Age of Machinery is an engagingly written account of the trade in its key northern centres, devoid of jargon and yet tightly argued, equally rich with historical narrative and analysis. It will be invaluable not only to students and scholars of British economic history and the Industrial Revolution but also tosocial scientists looking at human agency and its contribution to economic growth and innovation. GILLIAN COOKSON holds a DPhil in economic history and has been employed since 1995 in academic research and consultancy,including as county editor, Victoria County History of Durham.Trade ReviewUnbelievably good value. -- LOCAL HISTORIANA masterly account of the early northern textile machine makers, their origins, social networks, skills and the influence they had on the emergent factory movement. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *This engaging, erudite study investigates the firms and people who made the machines of the Industrial Revolution. * TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE *A brilliant account. * ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW *A very important book on the origins of the English Industrial Revolution. ... Rich and insightful. * BUSINESS HISTORY *This is a rich, extremely well-researched and well-argued book that sheds valuable light on the evolution of textile machine technology during the British Industrial Revolution. * JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES *Cookson's account is dense and carefully argued, but it is also rich and engaging, addressing issues of fundamental significance for processes of technological advance and economic growth. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Coming of Machinery The Age of Machinery Shaping an Industry The Machine-makers Ingenious Mechanics The Social Life of the Engineer Innovating Reaching Maturity Appendix 1: Keighley textile engineers Appendix 2: Leeds engineering businesses established before 1830 Appendix 3: Estimates of textile machinery at work in the United Kingdom, 1835-56 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe Isle of Wight went to war in August 1914 along with the rest of Britain. German waiters were arrested. The tourist trade slumped. Foreigners were denounced and lads from all walks of life flocked to the Colours. Then came privations, losses, hospitals full of the sick and crippled. After conscription was brought in tribunals were set up to catch draft-dodgers. Thousands of pounds were raised for the war effort and lectures, rallies and the local press all did their bit to keep morale high. There are no official figures for the Island's war dead, but 300 of the Isle of Wight Rifles fell on one day at Gallipoli in August 1915. The original plan to commemorate the dead was to erect a cross in Winchester but that changed so that every Island parish had a memorial of its own. Ex-Islanders from as far away as Australia and Canada volunteered to fight for king and country in this war to end all wars.

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Book SynopsisThe turbulent Tudor age never fails to capture the imagination. But what was it actually like to be a woman during this period? This was a time when death in infancy or during childbirth was rife; when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education of women was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and characterful women in a way that no era had been before. Elizabeth Norton explores the seven ages of the Tudor woman, from childhood to old age, through the diverging examples of women such as Elizabeth Tudor, Henry VIII's sister who died in infancy; Cecily Burbage, Elizabeth's wet nurse; Mary Howard, widowed but influential at court; Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of a controversial queen; and Elizabeth Barton, a peasant girl who would be lauded as a prophetess. Their stories are interwoven with studies of topics ranging from Tudor toys to contraception to witchcraft, painting a portrait of the lives of queens and serving maids, nuns and harlots, widows and chaperones.Trade ReviewEssential reading for Tudor fans and scholars alike! I could not put it down -- Alison WeirGroundbreaking... Widely researched and beautifully written, this is vivid and compelling history' -- Sarah GristwoodNorton has already published books on five of the Tudor Queens and is well-placed to write this book... Ideal for scholars (the bibliography covers almost twenty pages) while still remaining thoroughly accessible to the general reader' * The Bookbag *An impressive sweep through the Tudor period... A splendid book – highly readable, informative and impressively researched... Highly recommended for anyone interested in women's lives and/or in this fascinating period of English history' * Shiny New Books *A fascinating glimpse of Tudor life is presented... this is a potentially difficult brief handled with great success and can be warmly recommended' * History of Royals *Cleverly structured * Choice magazine *Thanks to this incredibly well written and fascinating book, the women who lined the routes of Coronation processions and royal progresses throughout the Tudor age will no longer be anonymous faces in the crowd -- Lady Jane GreyA brilliant idea for a book, and Norton executes it beautifully * BBC History magazine *Fascinating... Rises above the level of gallimaufry and, as so often, it's the little details about everyday life that will stay with you' * Catholic Herald. *The Seymour scandal [...] would lead to the creation of the Virgin Queen, a process chronicled in great depth in this extraordinary account of the early Elizabethan years * Historical Trips UK. *A highly illuminating and delightful read, and can be highly recommended -- Isabel Busch, Haus der FrauenGeschichte

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Book Synopsis'Another dark parable of society's vilification of women. Intelligent... A tantalizing investigation' Kate Colquhoun. On the night of 3 October 1922, in the quiet suburb of Ilford, Edith Thompson and her husband Percy were walking home after an evening spent at a London theatre, when a man sprang out of the darkness and stabbed Percy to death. The assailant was Frederick Bywaters, a twenty-year-old merchant seaman who had been Edith's lover. When the police learned of his relationship with Edith, she was arrested as his accomplice, despite protesting her innocence. The remarkably intense love letters Edith wrote to Freddy – some of them couched in ambiguous language – were read out at their trial for murder at the Old Bailey. They would seal her fate: Edith and Freddy were hanged for the murder of Percy Thompson in January 1923. Freddy was demonstrably guilty; but was Edith truly so? In shattering detail and with masterful emotional insight, Laura Thompson charts the course of a liaison with thrice-fatal consequences, and investigates what the trial and execution of Edith Thompson tell us about perceptions of women in early twentieth-century Britain.Trade ReviewIn this compelling book you enter [Edith's] world, root for her, and come out filled with rage and dismay at a society that showed her no mercy * Evening Standard *Laura Thompson has written a stunning, passionate and unforgettable book which will hopefully bring some balance to the story of Edith Thompson and Freddy Bywaters * Shiny New Books *Extraordinarily gripping: by turns titillating, moving, shocking, and in its final pages, producing feelings of sickened revulsion in this reader * TLS *The Thompson-Bywaters case was one of the most lurid murder trials of the Twenties. Edith Thompson and her young love Freddy Bywaters were hanged for the murder of Edith's husband, but Laura Thompson argues passionately that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice * Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year *The author brilliantly evokes a world significantly different from our own in many ways – while remaining very much the same in others – and the organisation of her material is really impressive * Crime Review *The precursor to the Villa Madeira murder. The prewar justice system exacts terrible retribution on a woman who had the temerity to take a young lover * The Times *

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Book Synopsis'Excellent . . . Fresh, learned, readable and full of life' Dan Jones, Mail on Sunday Houses of Power is the result of Simon Thurley's thirty years of research, picking through architectural digs, and examining financial accounts, original plans and drawings to reconstruct the great Tudor houses and understand how these monarchs shaped their lives.________What was it like to live as a royal Tudor? Why were their residences built as they were and what went on inside their walls? Who slept where and with who? Who chose the furnishings? And what were their passions?________The Tudors ruled through the day, throughout the night, in the bath, in bed and in the saddle. Their palaces were genuine power houses - the nerve-centre of military operations, the boardroom for all executive decisions and the core of international politics. Far more than simply an architectural history - a study of private life as well as politics, diplomacy and court - it gives an entirely new and remarkable insight into the Tudor world.Trade ReviewAn absorbing account of the lives of these royal houses. It is a journey not just from palace to hunting lodge to castle, but into the small and poignant details of domestic existence. * Times Literary Supplement *This is a landmark book. Nobody interested in Tudor England can afford not to own a copy of this gateway into a lost world … compulsively readable. -- Sir Roy Strong * Country Life *Unrivalled architectural expertise... Superb writing...A triumph: a masterly collective biography of [Tudor Royal] buildings, replete with insights into their owners’ private lives and into politics, diplomacy and court etiquette. * Literary Review *[Simon Thurley] certainly loves his subject. An enthusiasm that steadily bubbles forth from Houses of Power....Thurley’s reconstruction of these rooms is fascinating, but even more so is his description of what went on in them ... A suitably opulent book -- Gerard DeGrout * The Times *Excellent... Fresh, learned, readable and full of life, [Houses of Power] is the Tudors At Home, as you've never seen them before. -- Dan Jones * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn early 1942 the Third Reich opened a maximum security Prisoner Of War camp in Lower Silesia for captured Allied airmen. Called Stalag Luft III, the camp soon came to contain some of the most inventive escapers ever known. The escapers were led by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, code-named 'Big X'. In March 1944, Bushell masterminded an attempt to smuggle hundreds of POWs down a tunnel build right under the notes of their guards. In fact, only 79 Allied airmen clambered into the tunnel and only three made successful escapes. This remarkable escape would be immortalised in the famous Hollywood film THE GREAT ESCAPE, in which the bravery of the men was rightly celebrated. Behind the scenes photographs from the film are included in this definitive pictorial work on the most famous POW camp of World War II.

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Book SynopsisIn this rare World War II memoir, Lothar Herrmann, a soldier from the Wehrmacht, details his unimaginable experience as a German Prisoner-of-War in the Soviet Union. Hermann grew up in Bavaria, going through the RAD (Nazi Labour Service) before being conscripted into a Wehrmacht Mountain Division (the Gebirgsdivision) in 1940. He participated in Germany's advance through southern Ukraine in 1941 and, in 1944, was arrested in Romania while retreating to Germany. The Romanians passed him onto the Soviets, who placed him in a forced labour camp, where he watched two-thirds of prisoners around him die. In 1949, Herrmann was finally released to Germany and returned to Bavaria. Three million German troops were taken prisoner by the Red Army and around two-thirds of them survived to return to Germany in 1949, but their stories are little known. Klaus Willmann draws on interviews he conducted with Herrmann, to recount these astonishing recollections in the first-person. Depicting the challenges of growing up in Nazi Bavaria to becoming a Soviet prisoner-of-war, this is a gripping and enlightening account from a necessary but rarely explored perspective.

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Book SynopsisA 1970s childhood was, for many, a life of happy-go-lucky freedom set against a soundtrack of pop music played on a transistor radio dangling from the handlebars of a Raleigh Chopper. It was a playground battlefield of Sindy versus Action Man or a dexterous display of how to handle Clackers without painfully rapping them across the knuckles. After-school television meant a choice of ‘Blue Peter’ or ‘Magpie’, while chewing on an Aztec chocolate bar and flicking through Shoot or Jackie magazine. Yet it was also a decade of strikes, the three-day week and the Winter of Discontent which passed most children by unless a power cut meant no television. This fully illustrated book is a celebration of that childhood, its highs, lows and scraped knees, that will readily bring back the forgotten memories of a generation that grew up without mobile phones, the internet and 24-hour shopping.Table of ContentsIntroduction Welcome Home: Family Life The Best Days of Your Life: School Extra Helpings: Food and Drink Running Free: Recreation Page-Turners: Books and Magazines Switched on: Television The Beat Goes On: Popular Music You Wear it Well: Fashion Epilogue Further Reading Image Acknowledgements Places to Visit Index

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Book Synopsis‘A masterly work of profound research and reflection, objective and humane’ Hugh Trevor-Roper, Sunday TelegraphWhat would have happened if the Nazis had invaded Britain? How would the British people have responded – with resistance or collaboration? In Madeleine Bunting’s pioneering study, we begin to find the answers to this age-old question.Though rarely remembered today, the Nazis occupied the British Channel Islands for much of the Second World War. In piecing together the fragments left behind – from the love affairs between island women and German soldiers, the betrayals and black marketeering, to the individual acts of resistance – Madeleine Bunting has brought this uncomfortable episode of British history into full view with spellbinding clarity.Trade ReviewMadeleine Bunting is a superb chronicler of what happened - if you want a classic example of the dilemmas of Resistance, here it is. -- Professor Norman Stone * The Times *A masterly work of profound research and reflection, objective and humane -- Hugh Trevor-Roper * Sunday Telegraph *I am full of admiration for this book. By careful research and sensitive use of light and shade, Ms Bunting holds the reader's attention through an uncomfortable passage in our history - and one which we have been most reluctant to inform ourselves -- Alan Clark * Guardian *Excellently researched... This book...is an important historical document, if an uncomfortable one, in the understanding of our national character -- John Mortimer * Sunday Times *[An] excellent book...thoroughly unflinching, fair-minded, humane and sensitive -- Jonathan Keates * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA brilliant portrait of the most famous woman in the world and her place in it, written by the renowned royal biographer and author of Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman._____________________________'Dazzling, poignant and full of delicious surprises; the true story of how Elizabeth II took on the world - and won. The Crown is fictional. Here is the real thing.' - Andrew Roberts'In Queen of the World Robert Hardman anatomizes from almost every conceivable angle the workings of soft power in creating the present Queen's global role ... His book is a veritable reference work and cornucopia, overflowing with significant anecdotes, people, traditions and incidents.' - Times Literary Supplement_____________________________On recent world history, one leader stands apart. Queen Elizabeth II saw more of the planet and its people than any other head of state, and engaged with them like no other monarch in British history. After her coronation, she visited over 130 countries across the ever-changing globe, acting as diplomat, stateswoman, pioneer and peace-broker, while also managing the responsibilities of a mother and grandmother, and her sixty-four-year marriage to the late Prince Philip.She transformed her father's old empire into the Commonwealth, her 'family of nations', and came to know its leaders better than anyone. In 2018, they would gather in her own home to endorse her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, as her successor.With extensive access to the Queen's family and staff, Hardman tells a true story full of drama, intrigue, exotic and even dangerous situations, heroes, rogues, pomp and glamour - and, at the centre of it all, the woman who genuinely won the hearts of the world for seventy glorious years._____________________________'Superb' - Peter Hennessy'Hardman's book, filled with new details, will be an essential source for any historian of modern Britain. It's also a glorious read' - William Shawcross, SpectatorTrade ReviewHardman’s book, filled with new details, will be an essential source for any historian of modern Britain. It’s also a glorious read * William Shawcross, The Spectator *A magisterial book… Robert Hardman brings together every intriguing detail he’s gleaned about how the Queen reigns. * Daily Mail *This is not only the best biography of the Queen in years, it is also laugh-out-loud entertainment * Daily Express *Dazzling, poignant and full of delicious surprises; the true story of how Elizabeth II took on the world – and won. The Crown is fictional. This is the real thing. -- Andrew RobertsBy far our most authoritative royal specialist, Hardman is a supremely entertaining storyteller and guide as well outstanding political analyst of the Queen's career as international titan of power and tact. Often hilarious, sometimes moving, always as acute as he is fascinating, there's never a dull moment in the untold diplomatic career of the most famous woman in the world, who has known everybody from monsters like Ceaucescu and Amin to heroes like Mandela and JFK. -- Simon Sebag MontefioreWatching The Crown was entertaining but reading Robert Hardman’s Queen of the World was riveting — and true. -- Alice ThomsonSuperb * Peter Hennessy *Rich in anecdotes and insights * Sunday Times *Dazzling, poignant and full of delicious surprises; the true story of how Elizabeth II took on the world – and won. The Crown is fictional. Here is the real thing. -- Andrew RobertsVivid and superlatively well-informed, this is a compelling account of a monarch in perpetual motion * The Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisTopf and Sons designed and built the crematoria at the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, Belzec, Dachau, Mauthausen and Gusen. At its height sixty-six Topf triple muffle ovens were in operation - forty-six of which were at Auschwitz. In five years the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz had been the engine of the holocaust, facilitating the murder and incineration of more than one million people, most of them Jews. Yet such a spectacularly evil feat of engineering was designed not by the Nazi SS, but by a small respectable firm of German engineers: the owners and engineers of J. A. Topf and Sons. These were not Nazi sadists, but men who were playboys and the sons of train drivers. They were driven not by ideology, but by love affairs, personal ambition and bitter personal rivalries to create the ultimate human killing and disposal machines - even at the same time as their company sheltered Nazi enemies from the death camps. The intense conflagration of their very ordinary motives created work that surpassed in its inhumanity even the demands of the SS. In order to fulfil their own `dreams' they created the ultimate human nightmare.

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