Military history: post-WW2 conflicts Books
Helion & Company 1973: the First Nuclear War: Crucial Air Battles
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£16.10
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 Vampire Boys: True Tales from Operators of the
Book SynopsisSliding out of the shadows of World War Two, the de Havilland Vampire – accompanied by the distinctive whine of its Goblin engine – quickly proved itself an effective alternative to piston-powered fighters. After entering operational service with the RAF (as the service’s first single-engined jet) in 1946, the Vampire – sought by air forces the world over – held a number of notable records: the first fighter to exceed 500 mph, the first to set a world altitude record of almost 60,000 ft, the first jet to take off and land from an aircraft carrier, and the first jet to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Not bad for something built partly of wood. Throughout these pages, the “Vampire Boys” bring to life the trials and tribulations of operating a first-generation jet across the globe. Through their insightful anecdotes and exceptional experiences, the reader can follow squadrons across the dusty deserts of Iraq to exercises in West Germany. First-hand tales of training, aerial handling, incidents and accidents (including the much-maligned spin characteristics) and squadron life – accompanied by unique images – bring together a portrait of a pioneering time in aviation advancement, right up to the present day with the T.11 still flying from Coventry Airport.
£21.25
Grub Street Publishing Fleet Air Arm Boys: Volume Four: A Lifetime of
Book SynopsisSteve Bond is back with the final volume in this popular series. Unlike his previous three tomes, with their focus on air/rotorcraft, this book is uniquely dedicated to the personnel of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) themselves. Each chapter will concentrate on the memories of contributors who served in a range of roles, including those below the flight deck. Accounts will focus on the everyday life upon an aircraft carrier as well as the extraordinary challenges faced during operations. There is a fascinating chapter covering exchange services with the RAF and other navies including the French and US; and also insight into the Indian navy’s experience with the Sea Hawk and Sea Harrier. Within the previous volumes, we met some remarkable characters and there is a chapter devoted to people’s memories of them. The closing section entitled ‘Thoughts’ sees contributors reflect on their FAA career with many deeply moving responses and discourses on the future of the service. The book is heavily illustrated throughout in colour and black and white with personal photographs from the contributors, artwork and tongue-in-cheek cartoons for which the FAA is famous. Volume Four is the perfect conclusion to the ongoing post-war story of a truly astounding branch of the armed forces.
£24.00
Helion & Company Hot Skies Over Yemen: Volume 1: Aerial Warfare
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£16.10
Helion & Company Target Saigon: the Fall of South Vietnam: Volume 3 - the Final Collapse (March - April 1975)
£999.99
Colenso Books And my mother's bitter tears
Book SynopsisThere is no doubt that this is, to a considerable extent, an autobiographical novel. It is also clear that parts of it are fictional, but it is not possible to define with any clarity the boundary between autobiography and fiction. The author did serve in the US Army in the Korean War as an underage soldier, though he was probably not quite so young as the narrator claims to have been. The author’s second name “Toteras” is his chosen nom-de-plume, formed from two Greek words “to” and “teras”, meaning “the monster”. The novel begins with the narrator’s return from Korea suffering from what we would now call post-traumatic distress syndrome, and finding himself unable to face his family again. He falls in with a young woman who looks after him. This narrative breaks off to be resumed only in the final chapter of the book, and there follow several chapters in which his early life in San Francisco's Greektown is recounted. Conflicting demands — of their families to be Greek and of their school to become Americans — drive him and his best friend to obtain fake birth certificates, enabling them to enlist, at the age of fourteen, in the US army. Between basic training and embarkation for the Far East they take a bizarre trip to Mexico, where they become involved with a rich American couple who need to involve others in their sex-life. The two teenage soldiers are sent to the Mariana Islands where they are occupied in dismantling a World-War-Two ammunition dump. After an explosion which kills some of their colleagues, they are granted leave, and go to Japan to meet up with a sergeant (also of Greek origin) whom they had made friends with in the training camp. Through a series of mishaps they end up being sent to Korea with the first scratch-force of US troops, following the news that the North Koreans had crossed the 38th Parallel, and they are involved in the first US battles of the Korean War, battles in which the US army was repeatedly defeated with immense loss of life. The battles of Osan, the Pyongtaek Bridge and Taejon are described in graphic and horrific detail, and several subsequent battles are referred to. The novel was completed in the early 1990s, but clearly not to the satisfaction of the author, who died in 2009, leaving it unpublished. The surviving typescripts were problematic, almost unpunctuated and full of errors. They have been painstakingly edited over a number of years and some of the material in the early (Greektown) chapters has had to be rearranged to create a coherent narrative and to remove repetition. The style undoubtedly owes something to Kerouac but the content is far beyond his scope, as it brings us face to face with the insanity and the horror of war and the nature of fear; but it is not without humour, and much of the humour has to do with sex. In this the narrator and his buddy are opposites: the narrator a romantic innocent, his buddy precocious and sex-mad. Although, as noted, the narrative of the weeks after his return alone from Korea is resumed in the concluding chapter, there is no conclusion, for we are left with a final moment of dramatic suspension, not knowing what exactly has just happened and with no clue as to what the narrator’s future will be.Table of ContentsEditorial Note vii Prologue 3 PART I : COMING HOME Epigraph 10 Chapter One The bus station 11 Chapter Two The Sierra Hotel 21 Chapter Three Yet it was only last summer 35 PART II : LEAVING GREEKTOWN Chapter Four The people in Greektown 43 Chapter Five The Greek says No! 55 Chapter Six The Drunken King 65 Chapter Seven Blasphemy 75 Chapter Eight Enlistment 95 PART III : ON THE WAY TO KOREA Chapter Nine Fort Ord 105 Chapter Ten Katherine 123 Chapter Eleven The gambler 143 Chapter Twelve Mr Gregory 157 Chapter Thirteen Camp Stoneman 179 Chapter Fourteen The troopship M.A.T.S. Patrick 197 Chapter Fifteen Saipan and the Philippines 209 Chapter Sixteen The Golden Days of Occupation 221 PART IV : KOREA A note on gaps in the narrative 232 Chapter Seventeen Pusan 233 Chapter Eighteen Taejon and Pyongtaek 243 Chapter Nineteen The hills of Osan 265 Chapter Twenty The Battle of Osan 283 Chapter Twenty-one The Battle of the Pyongtaek Bridge 301 Chapter Twenty-two Retreat 311 Chapter Twenty-three Captured 321 Chapter Twenty-four Friends in a foreign land 337 Chapter Twenty-five The burning of Taejon 347 PART V : NOT HOME YET Chapter Twenty-six Kill 363
£15.91
Helion & Company Portuguese Dragoons, 1966-1974: The Return to
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£16.10
Helion & Company Zambezi Valley Insurgency: Early Rhodesian Bush
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£16.10
Helion & Company The Iran-Iraq War: Volume 2, Iran Strikes Back,
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£16.96
Helion & Company Kargil 1999: South Asia's First Post-Nuclear
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£16.10
Helion & Company Wings Over the Hindu Kush: Air Forces, Aircraft
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Helion & Company Tropic Thunder in Suriname: Revolution, Coups and
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£16.96
Helion & Company Trinidad 1990: The Caribbean’s Islamist
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£999.99
Helion & Company Ripe for Rebellion: Insurgency and Covert War in
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£16.96
Helion & Company For God and the CIA: Cuban Exile Forces in the
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£16.10
Helion & Company Into the Iron Triangle: Operation Attleboro and
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£16.10
Helion & Company Operation Danube: Soviet and Warsaw Pact
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£16.10
Helion & Company Tsar Bomba: Live Testing of Soviet Nuclear Bombs,
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£16.10
Helion & Company Air Power and the Arab World, 1909-1955: Volume
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£16.96
Helion & Company Paulista War Volume 2: The Last Civil War in Brazil, 1932
£16.96
Scribe Publications The Changing of the Guard: the British army since
Book SynopsisA TLS and a Prospect Book of the Year A revelatory, explosive new analysis of the military today. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Britain has changed enormously. During this time, the British Army fought two campaigns, in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. This book questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answers. Composed from assiduous documentary research, field reportage, and hundreds of interviews with many soldiers and officers who served, as well as the politicians who directed them, the allies who accompanied them, and the family members who loved and — on occasion — lost them, it is a strikingly rich, nuanced portrait of one of our pivotal national institutions in a time of great stress. Award-winning journalist Simon Akam, who spent a year in the army when he was 18, returned a decade later to see how the institution had changed. His book examines the relevance of the armed forces today — their social, economic, political, and cultural role. This is as much a book about Britain, and about the politics of failure, as it is about the military.Trade Review‘Akam’s beautifully written, from the inside out, account of the British Army’s reluctance to engage with the realities of recent small wars, in Afghanistan in particular, is a must-read for every serious student of modern military history. At one level, it explains how and why we managed to turn victory over Al Qaeda in Afghanistan into defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But this book is about much more than the army in Afghanistan — it is a parable about failure, the failure of a revered institution, with a proud history and an uncritical public, to come to terms with a changed and changing world.’ -- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Afghanistan‘Simon Akam has written a perceptive, challenging and passionate book that looks at modern soldiering. In doing so, Akam provides an invaluable look at how the British Army works — and how the changing world in the 21st century is asking new and complex questions for soldiers and military strategy alike.’ -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads‘This brave, absorbing and prodigiously well-researched tour de force renders every previous account of the British Army in its disastrous recent campaigns obsolete. Akam makes an unanswerable case that we are no longer very good at fighting wars, building his arguments with panache and good sense. In doing so he has done his country, and the army, a great service — although the Generals may not see it quite that way just yet. Put away the self-serving autobiographies and the obsequious histories of in-house academics; this is the definitive account of the British Army in its 21st Century misadventures.’ -- Frank Ledwidge, author of Losing Small Wars‘Simon Akam delivers a devastating indictment of Britain’s military chiefs for overseeing the shocking decline of the nation’s armed forces. His book is compulsory reading for every patriot.’ -- Tom Bower, biographer‘A brilliant book … Gets right to the heart of so many of the British Army’s problems.’ -- Simon Scarrow, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Eagles of the Empire series‘A new book looks at the changes the British Army has undergone and roles it has played as an almost volunteer sidekick to the American military in the war on terror.’ -- CJ Chivers * The New York Times *‘The truth about the British Army’ -- Jason Burke * The Guardian *‘Akam is an angry young man and the book is better for it.’ * The Times *‘A blockbuster critique … with heaps of evidence.’ -- Matthew Paris * The Times *‘A passionate book.’ -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *‘It’s compellingly written — I got through all 500-plus pages in two sittings — and it is certainly worth the effort.’ -- Adrian Weale * Mail on Sunday *‘Detailed and well structured.’ -- Anthony Loyd * New Statesman *‘Impassioned … It is a valuable addition to analysing the past, present and future of a venerated institution.’ -- Kim Sengupta * The Independent *‘A blistering account … Akam’s research, including interviews with 260 individuals, is formidable.’ -- Richard Norton-Taylor * Declassified UK *‘A scathing account of the British army in the years after 9/11 … Akam has not just done his homework, interviewing 260 people, but also shows his working in 89 pages of footnotes, full of forensic detail — and delicious gossip.’ -- Shashank Joshi * Spectator Australia *‘Akam makes many important points and reports in depth on officers’ recollections of specific episodes.’ -- Helen Parr * Prospect *‘The Changing of the Guard is a major book that provides the first serious analysis of the effectiveness of the modern British Army … With a particular focus on the failure of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he gives a brunt assessment of the Army as an institution and its role in society. There is lots of interesting material here and some relevant lessons for Australia.’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘It is a review of the British Army … It does not tell a ‘pretty’ story — rather, it is a ‘warts and all’ tale … Simon Akam has written a fine book on how and why the British Army has changed, between 2001 and 2020. For those who have seen military service, it will provide a broad picture of the conditions some soldiers have faced in the early 21st Century. For those who have not, it shows clearly the true face of war, as it is fought in this day and age, and may, possibly, be fought in the near future and within current social value sets.’ -- Rob Ellis * RUSI VIC Library *‘[In] beautifully written, evocative and passionate prose, [Akam places] you in the boots of British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan suddenly discovering the mission they’ve volunteered for isn’t the war they’re fighting at all … He begins asking questions at ground level, 260 interviews probing everyone from commanders, medal winners to those convicted of war crimes … This breadth of research gives Akam’s book immense power.’ -- Nicholas Stuart * The Canberra Times *‘Simon Akam … has written a timely, elegant and important book, The Changing of the Guard, about the British army’s failures in Afghanistan and Iraq.’ -- David Patrikarakos * The Spectator *‘Full of gripping reportage and compelling personal stories … the story he tells is profoundly important.’ -- David French * TLS *‘A powerful, compelling, and fascinating polemic. Essential reading.’ -- William Boyd‘A “state-of-the-nation” book of resounding power, deep conviction, and far-reaching significance.’ -- Richard Davenport-Hines * TLS *‘Akam contends that there was as little accountability within the military hierarchy as there was outside it … The military would obviously like to avoid a close examination of this unbroken string of catastrophes, but Akam’s book is a gentle account — critical, but not unsympathetic.’ -- Tom Stevenson * London Review of Books *‘Gripping and thoroughly disheartening.’ -- Al Murray‘[A] valuable and salutary read.’ * Foreign Affairs *‘The Changing of the Guard has contributed to the ongoing debate over how the British Army might change further as it enters a post-pandemic world where security challenges demand considerable flexibility of mind… Anything that provokes such self-awareness is good for institutions.’ * War on the Rocks *‘This is an unofficial oral history, created by hundreds of interviews as well as documents and personal observations by the author … This is a well written, organised and researched book … It reads well and is dynamic keeping the reader engaged … I commend Simon Akam for creating an accurate book that could be used as a Leadership discussion case study for the British Army as well as other militaries … It should become required reading at Sandhurst and the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College as well as the Defence Academy of the UK.’ -- Preston McLaughlin * Small Wars Journal *
£21.25
Helion & Company An Island Too Far: Argentine Navy Operations
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£16.10
Helion & Company Pig, Missiles and the CIA: Volume 1: from Havana
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£16.10
Helion & Company Nine Lives of the Flying Tiger Volume 1:
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£16.96
Helion & Company Hunting the Viet Cong: Volume 1 - The
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£16.96
Helion & Company We Were Never There Volume 2: CIA U-2 Asia and
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£16.10
Helion & Company Urgent Fury: Grenada 1983
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£16.96
Helion & Company Coin Operations in Paraguay: Dirty Little Wars
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£16.96
Helion & Company Iran Iraq Naval War Volume 2
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£16.96
Monsoon Books Operation Blowpipe
Book SynopsisAt the end of the Malayan Emergency Jason Rance visits the orang asli hill tribes in Malaya and only the skill of a Gurkha saves him from being killed by four poisoned blowpipe darts.
£9.49
Asia Ink On The Ho Chi Minh Trail – The Blood Road, The
Book SynopsisA mix of travelogue, history, and mediation on a journey through the Ho Chi Minh Trail that reveals the critical role women played in defending it. Offering both a personal and historical exploration of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, this book highlights the critical role the Trail and the young women soldiers who helped build and defend it played in the Vietnam War. Accompanied by two traveling companions, Sherry Buchanan winds her way from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in the south. Driving through the spectacular scenery of Vietnam and Laos, she encounters locations from the Truong Son mountains, the Phong Nha Caves, ancient citadels, and Confucian temples to the Khmer Temple of Wat Phu at the western-most point of the Trail in Laos. Buchanan records her interactions—both scheduled and spontaneous—with those who experienced the Vietnam War firsthand. She listens to the women who defended the Trail roads against the greatest bombing campaign in modern times, walks through minefields with the demolition teams hunting for unexploded ordnance, and meets American veterans who have returned to Vietnam with an urge to “do something.” Buchanan weaves informative, and often humorous, tales from her journey with excerpts from the accounts of others, situating the locations she visits in their historical and political context. On the Ho Chi Minh Trail brings together geography, history, and personal accounts to reveal the scale of the tragedy, its harmful legacies, and our memory of it. Buchanan challenges American exceptionalism and calls for redress for those harmed by US military actions during the Vietnam War and America’s subsequent wars.Trade Review"Never in my life have I finished a book in just a few days as I did On the Ho Chi Minh Trail. More than four decades after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, Sherry Buchanan journeyed down the trail to meet actors and participants from all sides of the war, especially the women who built and defended it. By following in the footsteps of these young women, she has given them a voice and a face not too many people know about. She also brings to the fore the strategic role they played in the conflict." -- Le Ly Hayslip * USA Today *"Buchanan’s interview style gives the women space to tell their own stories in their own words, reviving their youthful energy and dedication. . . . Also included are photographs that capture Vietnam’s beauty and contrasts—of mountain ranges swathed in blue mists that hide steep, death-dealing ravines; of a tank abandoned fifty years ago that rusts at the edge of a rice field. On the Ho Chi Minh Trail is a satisfying cultural history with insights into Vietnam and the women who fought for it." * Foreword Reviews *"Intrigued to know more about the War from female perspectives, [Buchanan's] book is guided by interviews with former female soldiers who contributed to the building of the trail or fought in the war against the US Army. . . . The book is conveniently structured in chapters, as each marks a point in her journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. In each city or place, she meets the female soldiers whose contribution to the war still has not been sufficiently appreciated and adequately honored in Vietnam. These are women balancing ammunition boxes on their shoulders, who fought side by side with their male counterparts, and who still remain traumatized by the horrors of the war they experienced first hand." * Asian Review of Books *"The Ho Chi Minh Trail was the quasi-mythical network of roads, paths and tunnels that North Vietnam used, in its war against South Vietnam and the Americans, to transport military supplies to its supporters in the South, the Viet Cong. On the Ho Chi Minh Trail is a travelogue, charting American journalist, author and publisher Sherry Buchanan’s trip down the trail in 2014, collecting the stories of the young women who played a vital role in keeping the trail open despite the constant American bombing. The book includes pictures of Vietnamese war art, maps and an itinerary (in case you want to follow in her footsteps!) and brings all of the author’s knowledge of Vietnam to bear." * Five Books *"Combining travelogue, history, interviews, art, and 'endless empathy', this reveals the hidden history of the women who defended the Ho Chi Minh Trail against the most ferocious bombardment in modern times, during the Vietnam War." * The Bookseller *"Buchanan tells the powerful story of the women who defended the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads and trails used by the North Vietnamese to supply their troops, defeat the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies, and unify the country. A journalist, expert on Vietnamese art and an historian, Buchanan has deep insight and understanding that flows through this historical reminiscence and travelogue. . . . Buchanan’s voice is lyrical. . . . By grounding her modern meditations on the Trail in an historic context, Buchanan has contributed to that process of gradual, person-by-person, healing and reconciliation." -- Ted Osius, former US Ambassador to Vietnam * tedosius.com *“I look forward to giving a copy of On the Ho Chi Minh Trail to my father, who served in the Navy in Da Nang. I have no doubt that it would offer him—and all of the book’s readers—an illuminating, creative, and revelatory view of this conflict that continues to haunt the American psyche.” -- Erin Hogan, author of Spiral Jetta“This is a fascinating account of the largely untold story of the courageous women who played a strategic role for the North by safeguarding the major supply route from North Vietnam to the combatants waging the war in the South. Buchannan provides new insights into the long conflict by illuminating the critical contributions of women who not only undertook a very dangerous mission in an extremely harsh environment, but also became a powerful force for reconciliation at the war’s end. We get to travel the Ho Chi Minh Trail with the author, becoming present-day witnesses to the compelling history of women who defended the Blood Road decades ago.” -- Melanne Verveer, former US Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues"Buchanan takes us to a beautiful and haunted land where hundreds of thousands of young women and men risked their lives in a staggering effort to forge a route to national unification against the greatest military power on earth. Combining travelogue, history, interviews, art, and endless empathy, On The Ho Chi Minh Trail is a compelling meditation on the relationship between past and present, war and peace, memory and reconciliation." -- Christian G. Appy, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity"Buchanan takes us on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in a riveting and as relevant a journey today as it was fifty years ago. She charts new territory—-especially in the vivid, often heartbreaking stories of women who fought in the war as teenagers and the forced roles of housewives who stood on rooftops to shoot down U S planes that bombed their homes. Buchanan details—at times too much to absorb—the countless centuries of Vietnam's perilous path to freedom. But her vibrant writing and crystal clear interviews with women—their youthful dreams and present day realities—shine a powerful light on a war and a previously unexplored dimension that should never be forgotten." -- Myra McPherson, author of Long Time Passing: Vietnam and the Haunted Generation"A riveting read of a hidden history. Buchanan reveals the untold story of the young women in Vietnamese war drawings who patriotically defended the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the American–Vietnam War (1965–1975). This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Asian history from new perspectives." -- Jessica Harrison-Hall, curator, British Museum"I have two vastly different, but enduring memories of the Ho Chi Minh trail. Firstly, as an Air Force fighter pilot bombing the trail, and 31 years later, as the first post-war U.S. ambassador to Vietnam frequently travelling along its length while engaging in bilateral diplomacy. Consequently, in reading Sherry Buchanan’s meticulously researched, stimulating and beautifully written On the Ho Chi Minh Trail, I felt like I was on the journey with her. The book is an exceptional travel log; the reader gets a superb geography lesson; a narrowly focused history of the trail during the war; and an introduction into Vietnam’s unique artistic and cultural identity including a primer on some of its exceptional cuisine. But above all, the author’s trip companion’s commentary and the heart-wrenching stories of the people (especially the women) they met along the way are what makes this book an absolute gem. Their remarkable stories of survival and sacrifice along with their remembrance of the hundreds of thousands who did not survive along the Trail will keep readers spell bound.” -- Pete Peterson, first postwar US ambassador to Vietnam and Vietnam War Veteran"In On the Ho Chi Minh Trail: The Blood Road, the Women Who Defended It, the Legacy, journalist Sherry Buchanan adds another chapter to the conflict’s story by recording the War’s events from the perspective of the women who fought on its frontlines." * Scheer Intelligence Podcast *Table of ContentsPreface Mapping the Trail Chapters and MapsChapters 1 to 6 The Trail through the north of Vietnam Chapters 7 to 9 The Trail through Laos Chapters 10 & 11 The Trail through the south of Vietnam Doing the Trail Notes Readings & References
£15.20
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Afghan Air Wars
Book SynopsisMichael Napier details the critical role of air power in the skies over Afghanistan, from the ten-year occupation by the USSR in the 1980s through to the US and NATO campaign from 2001 to 2021.US and British forces, strongly supported by air power, invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 in response to the Al Qaida attacks on 9/11. What began as a small-scale operation of 2,500 troops with the limited objective of destroying Al Qaida became ever larger, growing to over 100,000 troops ten years later. This experience matched that of the Soviets after their invasion in late 1979, when they saw a massive increase in resistance by Mujahidin.Afghan Air Wars details how Soviet aircraft including the MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-17 and Su-25, as well as Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters supported Soviet offensives in the Panjshir Valley and other regions. Despite these high-octane operations and overwhelming air superiority, Soviet forces eventually withdrew.Trade ReviewA must for anyone interested in modern air power. * History of War *Table of ContentsAuthor's note Chapter 1: An Introduction to Afghanistan Chapter 2: The Soviet Experience 1979–1989 Chapter 3: US and NATO intervention 2001–2005 Chapter 4: Taliban Insurgency 2006–2008 Chapter 5: ISAF Takes Back Control 2009–2014 Chapter 6: Endgame 2015–2021 Endnotes Appendices Abbreviations Bibliography Index
£25.50
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC US Marine Corps F-4 Phantom II Units of the
Book SynopsisTwenty-five US Marine Corps squadrons flew versions of the Phantom II and 11 of them used the aircraft in South-East Asia from May 1965 through to early 1973. Rather than the air-to-air missiles that were the main component in the original F-4 armament, these aircraft carried an ever-expanding range of weaponry. Some toted 24,500-lb bombs and others strafed with up to three 20 mm gun pods, while most flew daily sorties delivering napalm, Snakeye bombs and big Zuni rockets. Many US Marines holding small outpost positions in Laos and South Vietnam against heavy Viet Cong attack owed their lives to the Phantom II pilots who repeatedly drove off the enemy. The book will examine these missions in the context of US Marine Corps close-support doctrine, using the direct experience of a selection of the aircrew who flew and organised those missions.Trade ReviewHighly recommended. - IPMS/USATable of ContentsIn the beginning /To battle /CAS, McCutcheon and Control, The toughest years /Golden hawk eyes /Appendices
£14.24
The University of North Carolina Press Twice Forgotten
Book SynopsisDraws on oral histories of Black Korean War veterans to recover the story of their contributions to the fight, the reality that the military desegregated in fits and starts, and how veterans' service fits into the long history of the Black freedom struggle.
£27.96
University of Massachusetts Press Prisoners after War: Veterans in the Age of Mass
Book SynopsisThe United States has both the largest, most expensive, and most powerful military and the largest, most expensive, and most punitive carceral system in the history of the world. Since the American War in Vietnam, the number of veterans who have been incarcerated after their military service has steadily increased, with over 100,000 veterans in prison today. Identifying the previously unrecognized connections between American wars and mass incarceration, Prisoners after War reaches across lines of race, class, and gender to record the untold history of incarcerated veterans over the past six decades. Having conducted dozens of oral history interviews, Jason A. Higgins traces the lifelong effects of war, inequality, disability, and mental illness, and explores why hundreds of thousands of veterans, from Vietnam to Afghanistan, were caught up in the carceral system. This original study tells an intergenerational history of state-sanctioned violence, punishment, and inequality, but its pages also resonate with stories of survival and redemption, revealing future possibilities for reform and reparative justice.Trade ReviewPrisoners after War is on the cutting edge. It will appeal to a wide array of readers, including scholars of carceral and military history, social scientists interested in the intersections of veterans’ service and reentry, and crucially, general audiences curious about the lived experiences of criminalization and incarceration." - Melanie D. Newport, author of This is My Jail: Local Politics and the Rise and Mass Incarceration
£22.46
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: Shadow of Terror
Book SynopsisInsurgencies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere-the majority linked to al Qaeda-are in the news on an almost daily basis. But very little surfaces about a festering insurgency that has been on the go for six years in West Africa under the acronym of AQIM, or al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. This low-level series of guerrilla conflicts is widespread and sporadic, covering an area as vast as Europe. Nigeria has been drawn into the equation because its Boko Haram insurgent faction maintains close ties with AQIM and Islamic State. For now though, the focus is on Mali where several jihadist groups-despite formal peace agreements-remain active. Involved is the French army and air force as well as the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) as well as the European Union Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP). The insurrection that fostered all this broke out early 2012 when President Fran�ois Hollande announced the beginning of Operation Serval. Five hours later the first squadrons of French Gazelle helicopter gunships began attacking Islamist columns. A day later French fighter jets based in Chad, almost 2,000 kilometres away, were making sorties against rebel ground targets in northern Mali.
£11.69
Casemate Publishers We Few: U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam
Book SynopsisOn his second tour to Vietnam, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN. This unit was part of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group), or Studies and Observations Group as it was innocuously called. The small recon companies that were the center of its activities conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The companies never exceeded more than 30 Americans, yet they were the best source for the enemy's disposition and were key to the US military being able to take the war to the enemy. This was accomplished by utilizing both new and innovative technology, and tactics dating back to the French and Indian Wars.This small unit racked up one of the most impressive records of awards for valor of any unit in the history of the United States Army. It came at a terrible price, however; the number of wounded and killed in action was incredibly high. Those missions today seem suicidal. In 1970 they seemed equally so, yet these men went out day after day with their indigenous allies - Montagnard tribesmen, Vietnamese, and Chinese Nungs - and faced the challenges with courage and resolve.This riveting memoir details the actions and experiences of a small group of Americans and their allies who were the backbone of ground reconnaissance in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It became a cult classic among the Special Forces community when first published over a decade ago.
£16.19
Helion & Company Bombers at Suez: The RAF Bombing Campaign During
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£16.10
Helion & Company Operativo Independencia Volume 2
Book SynopsisOperativo Independencia (The Independence Operation) offers a detailed military history of the massive and effective military response ordered by the constitutional government of President María Estela Martínez de Perón of Argentina. Decree No. 261/75 of 5 February 1975 had the objective of annihilating guerrilla terrorism of Argentina?s Marxist-Leninist so-called People''s Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo/ERP) and the left-wing Peronist group called Montoneros.Volume 2 of Operativo Independencia examines the operation between 1975 and 1976, including all the military and police operations in the Province of Tucumán and throughout the entire country, and details all the military and police units and aircraft deployed. In addition, the 1976 coup through which a Military Junta was established to rule the country and the beginning of the Dirty War against the subversive organizations, both in the countryside and the main cities are examined, along with the defeat of the subversive groups, and a final balance of the casualties and ?disappeared? of this conflict, along with the eventual fates of the military juntas once they left power.Operativo Independencia offers a unique military history of a very dark episode in the history of Argentina and avoiding the conventional narrative of depicting the participants solely as victims and perpetrators. This volume is richly illustrated with original photographs and specially commissioned color artworks.
£16.96
Grub Street Publishing Hunter Boys: True Tales from Pilots of the Hawker
Book SynopsisFrom Richard Pike, author of Grub Street's bestselling Lightning Boys series, comes Hunter Boys, a fascinating insight into the experiences of those who flew the iconic Hawker Hunter - an aircraft known affectionately to many as `Queen of the Skies'. In fifteen separate chapters, pilots' stories of the dramas and demands of this incredible aircraft, which changed the future of fighter development, are related in distinctive style, including experiences of the legendary test pilot Neville Duke. One chapter details the remarkable tale of a pilot who flew an unauthorised sortie under London's Tower Bridge at the time of the 50th anniversary of the Royal Air Force. In another, the realities of war are recounted in a poignant personal account taken from diaries penned at the time of the 1971 Indo/Pakistan conflict. Further chapters describe individual experiences of flying in places as diverse as Aden, Gibraltar, Jordan and Kenya. The exceptional performance of this aircraft is evident throughout as is its well-renowned lengthy service life with the RAF and internationally. The scope, flair and pace of the writing in this book will appeal to the general reader as well as to the enthusiast.Trade Review`The contributors have written entertaining and informative tales of success, heroics, fear, relief and exhilaration in and around the Hunter cockpit.' Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal; `An intriguing insight into the experiences of the Hawker Hunter pilots.' Military History Monthly; `The book is an entertaining window into what must have been one of the most glorious periods to be in Fighter Command.' The Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators
£12.34
Helion & Company 75 Years of the Israeli Air Force Volume 1: The
Book Synopsis
£16.96
HarperCollins Publishers Ground Truth
Book SynopsisAfghanistan, 2008. After their eighteen-month epic tour of Helmand Province, the troops of 3 Para are back. This time, the weight of experience weighs heavily on their shoulders.Trade Review‘Are we winning or losing the war in Afghanistan? …Bishop offers no easy answers. The portrait he paints is one of selfless young men and women performing magnificently under near-intolerable conditions … “Ground Truth” is one of the best accounts you will ever read about contemporary warfare: shrewdly observed, action-packed and written with great sensitivity.’ James Delingpole, Mail on Sunday ‘A beguiling and often bewildering account of how this strange war seems to the fighting man and woman…Bishop gets to the core of their thoughts and fears. As a view from the ground, often with the author present at key points, Bishop’s books are invaluable’ Evening Standard ‘Well paced and well told. It is also very well informed…It is his sense of personal involvement in the testing physical and moral hardships of contemporary soldiering that gives the narrative such a sharp and poignant edge…inspiring’ Country Life
£10.44
McGill-Queen's University Press The Russian Military Intervention in Syria
Book SynopsisThe Russian Military Intervention in Syria examines Russia’s foreign policy and attempts to protect its interests in the Middle East and former Soviet territory. Providing historical context and revealing the causes of Russia’s use of military power, this book is an authoritative overview of Russia’s policy goals and diplomatic handling of the Syrian conflict.Trade Review"Geukjian’s work will find its well-deserved place in courses on Russia’s foreign affairs and its engagement with regional players. The book is a worthy read for anyone interested in political psychology, Russia and its foreign policies, including towards the Middle East.” International Affairs
£27.90
St Martin's Press An Enormous Crime
Book Synopsis
£17.24
Hachette Australia Crossing the Line
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WALKLEY BOOK AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR''There is no doubt the truth would have been concealed and our concerns buried without Nick McKenzie''srelentless pursuit of justice.'' SAS Afghanistan veteranWar is brutal. But there are lines that should never be crossed. In mid-2017, whispers of executions, and cover-ups within Australia''s most secretive and elite military unit, the SAS, reached Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. He and Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking truths about Ben Roberts-Smith VC but plunge the reporters into the defamation trial of the century.For five years, McKenzie led the investigation, waging an epic battle for the truth to be acknowledged. His fight to reveal the real face of Australia''s most famous and
£17.09
Ebury Publishing Double Crossed
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Bestseller that inspired BBC drama Danny BoyAt the age of 23, Brian Wood was thrust into the front line in Iraq, in the infamous Battle of Danny Boy. Ambushed, he led a charge across open ground with insurgents firing at just five soldiers. On his return, he was awarded the Military Cross.But Brian''s story had only just begun. Struggling to re-integrate into family life, he suffered from PTSD. Then, five years later, a letter arrived: it summoned him to give evidence at the Al-Sweady Inquiry into allegations of war crimes by British soldiers during the Iraq invasion of 2003.After years of public shame, Brian took the stand and delivered a powerful testimony, and following the tense inquiry room scenes, justice was finally served. Phil Shiner, the lawyer who made the false accusations, was struck off and stripped of an honorary doctorate.In this compelling memoir, Brian speaks powerfully and movingly about the three b
£10.99
University of Pennsylvania Press For the Love of Humanity
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] remarkable account of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) . . . For the Love of Humanity, conveys the complexity of both the WTI's endeavor and the universalist ideals that continue to engender humanitarian, cosmopolitan, rights-based, and imperialist moral-political projects around the world." * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *"Part of what makes this book so impressive is that its radical vision is sustained and deepened by sophisticated reference to the ideas of many of the leading European political philosophers of the last 100 years and by a social science methodology that relies on an ethnographic record compiled by a participant observer who doubles as author. This fine, memorable book possesses a theoretical and practical significance that extends well beyond the confines of the World Tribunal on Iraq experience." * London Review of International Law *"What is the legacy of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI)? How can "for the love of humanity" be understood when it is used for both imperialist and anti-war arguments? These issues are elegantly interrogated by Ayca Cubukcu," * Middle East Journal *"This remarkable book about the World Tribunal on Iraq (set up shortly after the U.S. invasion by a multinational network of activists and scholars) is at once a valuable ethnography and a timely history of the present. It forces the reader to confront the conflicts between the legal and political perspectives that dominate our understanding of international affairs. For anyone concerned with global justice, For the Love of Humanity is essential-because thought-provoking-reading." * Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, City University of New York *"In this breakthrough ethnography of the World Tribunal on Iraq, Ayça Çubukçu raises new questions about the contemporary politics of human rights. She challenges the ease with which many hew to noble aspirations, as if crimes and mistakes in name of human rights were merely incidental perversions. Anyone concerned with the fate of cosmopolitanism in our era of the love of humanity and perpetual war must read this book." * Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World *"Mixing ethnographic material on the conduct of the World Tribunal on Iraq with analysis grounded in political theory and international law, Ayça Çubukçu's outstanding book offers thought-provoking arguments alongside first-hand reflections on the WTI's deliberations." * Stephen Hopgood, University of London *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Constituting Multitude: Founding a World Tribunal Chapter 2. Whose Tribunal? Chapter 3. Constituting Constitutions: The Fact of Iraqi Constitution, the Fatalism of Human Rights Intermezzo. Can the Network Speak? Chapter 4. "Humanity Must Be Defended" Afterword Appendices Notes Index Acknowledgments
£21.59
