Military History Books

Book SynopsisPacked with stunning photography, Eyewitness American Civil War explores the war that turned the nation against itself.Become an eyewitness to one of the most important times in US history, in this picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of the American Civil War. Children will be mesmerised by the key events of the conflict, from brutal battles to legendary commanders.This unique, beautifully illustrated guide reveals the conflict between the North and South, of more than 50 battles, and shows both sides of the conflict in equal light. Using striking full-colour photographs of paintings, artefacts and illustrations of battles, discover how tensions about slavery exploded into a war that lasted four years.Throughout the pages of this newly-revised book on the American Civil War, you can expect to find: - A fresh new look, new photographs, updated information, and a new eyewitness feature.- Amazing facts, updated diagrams, statistics, and timelines.- Brand new eyewitness accounts from experts in the field.Eyewitness American Civil War introduces the ultimate guide to the tensions between the North and South, from brutal battles to legendary commanders. Children can learn about famous leaders, like how Abraham Lincoln became president in 1860 and why he was assassinated, discover the horror of slave life, and the Underground Railroad that helped its victims escape. This all-emcompassing guide to the civil war on the United States is a must-have for curious children aged 9+ with a thirst for learning, as well as teachers, parents and librarians.So, what''s new? Part of DK''s best-selling Eyewitness series, this popular title has been reinvigorated for the next generation of information-seekers and stay-at-home explorers, with a fresh new look, up to 20 percent new images, including photography and updated diagrams, updated information, and a new eyewitness feature with fascinating first-hand accounts from experts in the field.Explore the series!Globally, the Eyewitness series has sold more than 50 million copies over 30 years. Travel through the solar system with Eyewitness Space, learn the incredible systems that keep your body functioning with Eyewitness Human Body or take a trip aboard the most famous ship in history with Eyewitness Titanic.

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Book Synopsis''Wonderfully written and characteristically brilliant'' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads''Elegant, readable ... an impressive synthesis ... Not many historians could have done it'' - Jonathan Sumption, Spectator''Tyerman''s book is fascinating not just for what it has to tell us about the Crusades, but for the mirror it holds up to today''s religious extremism'' - Tom Holland, SpectatorThousands left their homelands in the Middle Ages to fight wars abroad. But how did the Crusades actually happen? From recruitment propaganda to raising money, ships to siege engines, medicine to the power of prayer, this vivid, surprising history shows holy war - and medieval society - in a new light.Trade ReviewAn impressive synthesis of a complicated subject, presented in elegant, readable prose. Not many historians could have done it -- Jonathan Sumption * The Spectator *His deeply researched study is dedicated to exploring the relationship between human reason and religious war in all its aspects - justification, propaganda, recruitment, finance, logistics - to show us how 'reason made religious war possible.' -- Diarmaid MacCulloch * London Review of Books *Mining details on victualing and logistics 800 years ago is Tyerman's forte, and he throws them on to the page like chaff from a trebuchet... it is comprehensive, laying down a great skein of fact where there was only supposition (much of it false). And, as the West gears up for the crusade of 2015-16 against Islamic State, it is horribly timely. -- Giles Whittell * The Times *Tyerman's book is fascinating not just for what it has to tell us about the Crusades, but for the mirror it holds up to today's religious extremism -- Tom Holland * Mail on Sunday *How to Plan a Crusade is serious and scholarly, the synthesis of decades of work on difficult, fragmented sources. Administrative records weren't routinely kept until around 1300, which makes Tyerman's task harder and more impressive...this is also a lively book, laced with wry asides and enough surprising details to pique the general reader. -- Jessie Childs * The Guardian *There is a deeper story here about the rise in Britain of both class structure and bureaucracy... -- Sinclair McKay * Telegraph *Wonderfully written and characteristically brilliant account of the logistics (and motivations) that underpinned the Crusades -- Peter Frankopan

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Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER ''Magnificent, vivid, moving, superb'' Max Hastings, Sunday Times______________This is the closest you will ever get to war - the taste, the smell, the noise and the fearThe Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was awesome and what followed was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side.Antony Beevor''s inimitably gripping narrative conveys the true experience of war. He lands the reader on the beach alongside the heroes whose stories he so masterfully renders in their full terrifying glory.______________''A thrilling story, with all Beevor''s narrative mastery'' Chris Patten, Financial Times''Beevor''s D-Day has all the qualities that have made his earlier works so successful: an eye for telling and unusual detail, an ability to make complex events understandable, and a wonderful graphic style'' Ian Kershaw, Guardian, Books of the Year''D-Day''s phenomenal success is both understandable and justified'' James Holland''D-Day is a triumph . . . on almost every page there''s some little detail that sticks in the mind or tweaks the heart. This is a terrific, inspiring, heart-breaking book'' Sam Leith, Daily MailTrade ReviewA knockout reassessment of one of the Second World War's great set-piece battles. Swoops from the vicious close-quarter fighting in the hedgerows to the petrified French onlookers and onwards to the political leaders wrestling with monumental decisions * Sunday Times *Beevor has succeeded brilliantly. D-Day can sit proudly alongside his other masterworks on Stalingrad and the fall of Berlin. Superbly brings the events of that summer to life again -- Patrick Bishop * Daily Telegraph *As near as possible to experiencing what it was like to be there. . . It is almost impossible for a reader not to get caught up in the excitement -- Giles Foden * Guardian *Impeccable, splendid, thoroughly researched and gripping. Beevor is master of narrative, expertly blending the grand sweep with the telling anecdote -- Dominic Sandbrook * Observer *Beevor can be credited with single-handedly transforming the reputation of military history -- David Edgar * Guardian *His singular ability to make huge historical events accessible to a general audience recalls the golden age of British narrative history, whose giants include Gibbon, Macaulay and Carlyle -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *

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Book Synopsis''Majestic. Truly gripping'' Andrew RobertsThe Battle of the Atlantic was the single most important - and longest - campaign of the Second World War. If Britain lost this vital supply route it lost the war. In Jonathan Dimbleby''s brilliant and dramatic new account we see how this epic struggle for maritime mastery played out, from the politicians and admirals to the men on and under the sea and their families waiting at home. Filled with haunting and hair-raising stories of chases, ambushes, sinkings, stalkings, disasters and rescues, The Battle of the Atlantic is a monumental work of history as it was lived and fought.''Recounts the horror and humanity of life on those perilous oceans'' Independent''Dimbleby moves with skill from scene to scene, eavesdropping on the great statesmen like Churchill, the merchant seamen who carried out their orders, the U-boat commanders who tried to sink them and the families of those who lost theTrade ReviewThis is an exceptionally vivid account of one of the critical campaigns of the Second World War by a masterly writer -- Max HastingsWinston Churchill famously described the Battle of the Atlantic as 'a war of groping and drowning, a war of ambuscade and stratagem, a war of science and seamanship' and no book depicts all of those myriad aspects better than Jonathan Dimbleby's majestic overview. His judgments can sometimes be harsh and are bound to be controversial, but they are backed up with wide reading, diligent scholarship and cogent argument. This is a truly gripping account of a campaign that the author rightly puts epicentral to the Allied victory in the Second World War. * Andrew Roberts, author of 'Masters and Commanders' *A fascinating story written with bite and grip of one of the most crucial showdowns of the twentieth century - of a victory wrung out of the unforgiving Atlantic swell by sailors and airmen using the best technology and Intelligence that those on land could provide. How close-run it was and the price of losing would have been catastrophe, defeat and darkness. Compelling -- Lord Peter Hennessy, author of 'The Silent Deep'Jonathan Dimbleby's second volume on the Second World War is even better than its predecessor. The Battle of the Atlantic is a gripping account of the Allies' hard-won victory at sea. Dimbleby has delivered a masterful narrative that challenges many of the received views about this often overlooked conflict that foretold the defeat of Nazism. -- Amanda ForemanExcellent on the characters of individual commanders . . . But perhaps the book's greatest strength is its analysis of the strategic side of the battle. Regularly switching from vivid coverage of individual encounters at sea, the narrative reveals the intense discussions that took place at the highest levels to decide naval policy, especially among Churchill, Roosevelt and their military advisers. It is [the] controversial assertion, backed by solid research and a readable style, that makes this book so compelling. -- Leo McKinstry * Wall Street Journal *Starred review. "A gripping history overflowing with anecdotes and enough calamity, misery, explosions, and individual valor for a Hollywood disaster epic." * Kirkus *A gripping read and a great contribution to the history of the Second World War. The author realizes his immense ambition of bringing out the human aspects of the drama at every level, from the heads of state to the crews in the Atlantic, while also bringing important nuances to received views on the struggle against the U-boats, and, indeed, on Churchill's war leadership. An epic account. * Peter Padfield, author of 'War Beneath the Sea: Submarine Conflict 1939-1945', and biographies of Dönitz, Himmler and Hess *In this refreshing book Jonathan Dimbleby skilfully weaves together front line accounts and high policy discussions to provide a gripping and accessible new account of the most important campaign of the Second World War against Germany. * Professor Eric Grove, author of 'The Royal Navy since 1815' *The epic Battle of the Atlantic can only really be understood when set against the strategic context of the time. This highly engaging history does this by combining gripping accounts of the tactics and operational fortunes of the Germans and the Allies in this bitterest of battles with an authoritative review of the strategic thinking that helps explain their motives and their responses at the highest national level, and that shows why victory was so important for both sides. * Professor Geoff Till, author of 'The Development of British Naval Thinking' *Dimbleby makes a convincing case that of all the campaigns of WWII, the struggle for dominance over the North Atlantic was the most important . . . The history of the battle for the Atlantic is well documented, but Dimbleby's work, with its emphasis on the strategic importance of the battle, is an excellent addition to the story, and expert historians as well as general readers can enjoy this effort * Publishers Weekly *Dimbleby's incisive, gripping narrative uniquely places the campaign in the context of the entire war as it recounts the horror and humanity of life on those perilous oceans. -- Richard Blackmore * The Independent *The strength of the book is its vivid evocation of dramatic events -- Robert Tombs * The Times *The Battle of the Atlantic is a wonderfully readable mix of vivid personal stories and the penetrating questions that you wish someone had put to Churchill -- Bronwen Maddox, Editor-in-Chief of Prospect MagazineDimbleby captures the savagery of the fighting and of the sea itself... he has tackled the complexities in a very accessible way; but more importantly he has woven a compelling narrative of the people who fought, directed and ultimately decided our fate -- Admiral Lord WestI liked Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic and was gobsmacked to learn that the Germans read British radio messages much better than we read theirs. Air Ministry obstinacy (in failing to release aircraft from futile area bombing for anti-submarine patrols) nearly cost Britain the war -- Matt Ridley * Books of the Year 2015 *Fascinating * Richard and Judy *I am chilled to the bone and beyond ... the most extraordinary story ... absolutely fascinating -- Vanessa FeltzAn accessible and anecdotal account of the battle and the men who waged it, full of colour and surprising detail -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Express *Fascinating, thought-provoking and entertaining. Explodes a number of self-serving myths * Andrew Roberts (on 'Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein') *Fresh and provocative * Peter Snow (on 'Destiny in the Desert') *A wonderfully incisive, superbly written history. What Dimbleby has nailed so brilliantly is what so many war historians miss: the big picture * Saul David (on 'Destiny in the Desert') *

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Book SynopsisOn the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home.This was the greatest amphibious operation since Gallipoli, with the biggest accumulation of fighter power ever assembled. But by the morning of the attack, one of its architects already feared that the operation would go down as one of the great failures in history. Its key players claimed it was essential to D-Day, with the media telling listeners that it was a success -- but the tragedy was all too predictable.Using first-hand testimony from combatants and civilians, and colourful analysis of the roles of Mountbatten and Montgomery, bestselling author Patrick Bishop''s gripping account brings Operation Jubilee powerfully and vividly to life, in an epic demonstration of how ambition, folly and courage came together in one of the most tragic episodes of the war.Trade ReviewAn exemplary account of this wartime fiasco -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *A story of heroism and futility that will live for the reader long afterwards -- Andrew Roberts, author of ‘Churchill: Walking with Destiny’A masterclass of heart-stopping historical narrative -- Saul David * Daily Telegraph *Bishop's account of the operation is the best I've read -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator *A fascinating, shrewd and timely reflection on leadership in a time of crisis -- Henry Hemming, author of 'Our Man in New York'

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Book SynopsisWhy do human beings fight one another?In this exhilarating and bracing book, we learn the common logic driving vainglorious monarchs, dictators, mobs, pilots, football hooligans, ancient peoples and fanatics.Distilling decades of economics, political science, psychology and real-world interventions, and through his time studying Columbia, Chicago, Liberia and Northern Ireland, Christopher Blattman lifts the lid on the underlying forces governing war and peace.Why did Russia attack Ukraine? Will China invade Taiwan and launch WWIII? And what can any of us do about it?''Captivating and intelligent'' Tim Harford''Wise, intriguing, imaginative'' Rory Stewart''Nothing could be more relevant today than war and peace . . . an outstanding and original book on this topic'' Martin Wolf, Financial Times''Important, readable, radical'' David Miliband''A great storyteller with important insights for us all'' Richard Thaler, co-author of Nudge''Essential for understanding the world we live in today'' James A. Robinson, co-author of Why Nations FailTrade ReviewBlattman has produced a valuable guide, supported by engaging anecdotes, to what makes people turn to violence - and why, mercifully, they are usually too sensible to do so * Economist *Wise, intriguing, imaginative -- Rory Stewart, author of The Places In BetweenA great storyteller with important insights for us all -- Richard Thaler, co-author of NudgeCaptivating and intelligent -- Tim Harford, author of The Undercover EconomistAvoiding the useless dichotomies that either claim violence is an inseparable part of human nature or declare that humanity has all but conquered its proclivity to war, Blattman explains how human communities make use of many different strategies to resolve conflicts, and why these efforts sometimes stumble -- Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Why Nations FailIf you've been a foreign correspondent for any length of time you end up wondering what has pushed so many of the societies you cover into conflict and what can be done to prevent a repeat. Why We Fight answers many of those questions . . . Contrary to expectations, it's an optimistic book . . . outbreaks of violence are the aberration, not the norm, and small, incremental measures can have a disproportionate impact when it comes to avoiding strife. Tinkering trumps transformation -- Michela Wrong * Spectator Books of the Year *Important, readable, radical -- David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue CommitteeEssential for understanding the world we live in today -- James A. Robinson, co-author of Why Nations FailBrings together the passion of the activist and the cool head of the economist to offer practical solutions to one of humanity's most intractable problems -- Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules – for NowTimely, powerful, hopeful -- Paul Collier, author of The Bottom BillionBlattman deftly translates knotty ideas from game theory and social choice theory for a lay audience, weaving in colorful anecdotes from his own life and travels * Foreign Affairs *

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Book Synopsis''David Omand is exactly the man you need in a crisis'' RORY STEWART From the former Director of GCHQ comes a guide to surviving crises using the latest intelligence strategiesWar, terrorism, cyberattack, climate change, the threat of AI: it has never been more important to be prepared for the crises that await us.In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his experience in defence, security and intelligence, including as Director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, to show how you can detect a looming crisis and extinguish it (or at least survive it with minimum loss).Using gripping real-world examples from Omand''s storied career, and drawing lessons from historic catastrophes such as Chernobyl, 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, this empowering book is filled with practical advice on how to survive the multiplying crises of the future. Not every c

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Book SynopsisA notable account of an epic human experience'' Max Hastings, Sunday TimesHitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war' Sir Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, 18 June 1940The Nazi Blitzkrieg was unlike any invasion the world had ever seen. It hit Europe with a force and aggression that no-one could counter. Within weeks the German armies were at the French coast and looking across at Britain. It seemed impossible that she would be able to resist invasion.Between the Nazis and glory stood an apparently fragile defence, but the men and women of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and the Royal Navy would not be cowed. Their heroics that summer would go down in history.In The Battle of Britain for the first time, James Holland tells this most epic of stories from a 360 perspective when the fate of the world truly hung by a thread.Trade ReviewHolland is excellent on telling detail... This is a notable account of an epic human experience, told with the informality and enthusiasm that distinguish Holland's work... If the story is familiar, Holland tells it with authority and exuberant panache -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *Holland is one of a new generation of historians who were born long after the war but who bring to the subject a freshness and proper spirit of enquiry. A great achievement -- John Sergeant * Sunday Express *Excellent on all the technicalities of the conflict... full of lively pen portraits and unusual insights * Spectator *Stuffed with personal accounts that drive the narrative along at a cracking pace -- Patrick Bishop * Mail on Sunday *Ambitious and comprehensive... the pace never flags as the narrative ranges effortlessly from the cockpit of the Spitfire to the gallery of the House of Commons -- Saul David * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe night of May 16th, 1943. Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9,000lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich''s war machine.From the outset it was an almost impossible task, a suicide mission: to fly low and at night in formationover many miles of enemy-occupied territory at the very limit of the Lancasters'' capacity, and drop a new weapon that had never been tried operationally before from a precise height of just sixty feet from the water at some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany.More than that, the entire operation had to be put together in less than ten weeks. When visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis''s concept of the bouncing bomb was green lighted, he hadn''t even drawn up his plans for the weapon that was to smash the dams. WTrade ReviewIn his previous books... Holland combined a lively style with fresh insights based on deep historical research. Those qualities shine through this new account * Literary Review *Though it is such a well-known story, it has never been told in such depth before. James Holland has mastered every detail * Daily Mail *Holland tells the story with gusto and pace... he has truly and brilliantly plugged an enormous gap * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisAfter twelve years in Spain, Jason Webster had developed a deep love for his adopted homeland; his life there seemed complete. But when he and his Spanish wife moved into an idyllic old farmhouse in the mountains north of Valencia, by chance he found an unmarked mass grave from the Spanish Civil War on his doorstep.Spurred to investigate the history of the Civil War, a topic many of his Spanish friends still seemed to treat as taboo, he began to uncover a darker side to the country. Witness to a brutal fist-fight sponsored by remnants of Franco''s Falangists, arrested and threatened by the police in the former HQ of the Spanish Foreign Legion, sheltered by a beautiful transvestite, shunned by locals, haunted by ghosts and finally robbed of his identity, Webster encountered a legacy of cruelty and violence that seems to linger on seventy years after the bloody events of that war.As in Webster''s previous books, Duende and Andalus, Guerra! reveals the esseTrade ReviewAn absorbing book that conveys the raw Spanish experience - its heat, dust, light and shade - with rare and startling actuality. Admirers of his first two books will have their high regard confirmed by this one. Newcomers should start here. They will not be disappointed * Literary Review *Written with considerable power and beauty * The Sunday Times *The term "romantic traveller", once used indiscriminately by Spaniards to describe any foreigner with a passionate interest in Spain, seems particularly applicable to Jason Webster... you are likely to be seduced by his powers as a storyteller * Independent *Squarely in the Almodovarian reality of contemporary Spain... goes straight to the heart * Tomas Graves *Webster's surely right to see the legacy of the war in terms of - often turbulent - undercurrents; for him it informs a little-known and largely nasty side of Spain... revelatory and rings true * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisPaul Ham is the author of the critically acclaimed Sandakan, Hiroshima Nagasaki, Vietnam: The Australian War, Kokoda and 1914: The Year the World Ended.A former correspondent for the Sunday Times (between 1998-2012), Paul was born in Sydney and educated in Australia and Britain, where he completed a Masters degree in Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science.He now writes history full-time, and lives in Sydney and Paris.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War holds a unique place in the nation''s history; the poetry it produced, a unique place in the nation''s hearts. To mark the centenary of the First World War in 2014, the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, has engaged the most eminent poets of the present to choose the writing from the Great War that touched them most profoundly: their choices are here in this powerful and moving assembly. But this anthology is more than a record of war writing. Carol Ann Duffy has commissioned these same poets of the present to look back across the past and write a poem of their own in response to the war to end all wars. Whether as a reader your interest is in the Great War or the great war poets, or whether it is in the poetry of today, this anthology will hold a special place in your affections, as it remembers and recalls - a and through its commissioned work, renews and honours - the engagement between poetry and this terrible, unworldly of world conflicts.

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Book SynopsisThe gripping and atmospheric sequel to The Red Knight. Full of breathtaking authentic battle scenes, in a world where anyone might stab you in the backLoyalty costs money.Betrayal, on the other hand, is free.When the Emperor is taken hostage, the Red Knight and his men find their services in high demand - and themselves surrounded by enemies. The country is in revolt, the capital city is besieged and any victory will be hard won. But The Red Knight has a plan.The question is, can he negotiate the political, magical, real and romantic battlefields at the same time - especially when intends to be victorious on them all?Readers can''t put down The Fell Sword:''I loved the setting of The Fell Sword and all of it''s bright, shiny, polished medieval-doings . . . Cameron has a way of writing battles that makes them feel so authentic'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''An amazingly complex story with plots and subplots that pull you right into the world . . . There were also a few unexpected twists and some very interesting revelations'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''This is a fantasy novel, but much more than that. It comes very close to Medieval Historical Fiction with a twist'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Amazing battle scenes yet again, cinematic and exquisite detail. From maneuvers to arms and armour'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''I have heard the Traitor Son Cycle compared to the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and I clearly see that. It''s got the scope, the diverse cast of characters, the many interweaving storylines . . . I can''t wait to see where this goes'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Takes the reader into the depths of the politics of the world, a truly dark murky, back stabbing politics, politics fueled by ambition and magic . . . It''s exactly what a middle book should be, if not more, many middle books are a pause, this is anything but'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Trade ReviewA stirring, gritty and at times quite brutal epic fantasy - Tor.comThis series promises to be a standout epic fantasy for the ages - FANTASY BOOK CRITIC

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Book SynopsisVolume Five of this Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate colour profiles to date of Japanese Navy land based Zero fighters in the South Seas theatre: New Guinea, Rabaul and the Solomons.

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Book SynopsisLt Colonel John Paul Vann went to Vietnam in 1962, but soon became appalled by the slaughter, leaking his pessimistic assessments to the US press corps in Saigon. Neil Sheehan was among them, and became fascinated by the angry Vann, befriended him, and followed his tragic and reckless career.Trade ReviewIf there is one book that captures the Vietnam War in the sheer Homeric scale of its passion and folly, this book is it... A dazzling montage: vividly written and deeply felt... The dramatic scenes of lonely men locked on combat...the clash of wills and egos...all these combine in a work that captures the Vietnam War like no other... An impressive achievement * New York Times Book Review *Superb. If you ever read just one history of the Vietnam war, read and admire and celebrate this one -- John le CarréI have never read such a book and never expected to... It's not just about John Paul Vann. Not just about America and all of us. Not just Vietnam and all the Vietnamese. It is tragedy and comedy and I don't care how many pages it is. I'll never tire of reading it again and again -- Harrison E. SalisburyIt will stand as the definitive account of the passions, loyalties (guided and not), inspirations, follies and tragedies of the Vietnam War * Sunday Times *Probably the book on the Vietnam War...sophisticated, humane. It contains some of the best military reporting ever written -- Francis Fitzgerald

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Book SynopsisBOOK 10 OF THE LADYBIRD EXPERT HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, FROM AWARD-WINNING HISTORIAN JAMES HOLLANDFeaturing stunning illustrations from Keith Burns, bringing the story to life in vivid detailWhy were British troops in Burma?What was The Defence of the Admin Box?How did the British defeat the Japanese troops?THE BURMA CAMPAIGN was one of the most prolonged campaigns in the South-East Asian theatre of war, but it was also one of the most dramatic.Against Japanese troops, and monsoon weather, the Allies finally prevailed, demonstrating to the world that the Axis powers could be defeated in the East.BRITAIN''S TURNING POINT IN THE WAR IN THE EASTWritten by historian, author and broadcaster James Holland, The War in Burma is an essential, accessible introduction to Britain''s triumph in the East.__________Discover the full Ladybird Expert WW2 series:

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Book SynopsisBOOK 11 OF THE LADYBIRD EXPERT HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, FROM AWARD-WINNING HISTORIAN JAMES HOLLANDFeaturing stunning illustrations from Keith Burns, bringing the story to life in vivid detailWhat was Operation Bagration?Why did the Warsaw Uprising fail?How were the Nazis finally crushed?BRITAIN''S VICTORY IN EUROPE was a pivotal moment in the impending end of WW2, but it was no easy feat.With most of Europe under Axis control, the Allies battled through the brutal winter of 1945 to overcome German forces and finally defeat Hitler.THE PINNACLE MOMENT IN BRITAIN''S WW2 SUCCESSWritten by historian, author and broadcaster James Holland, Victory in Europe is an essential, accessible introduction to Britain''s triumph over the Nazis.__________Discover the full Ladybird Expert WW2 series:BlitzkriegThe Battle of BritainBattle of the AtlanticThe Desert WarThe Eastern FrontThe Pacific WarThe Bomber WarThe War in ItalyThe Battle for NormandyThe War in BurmaVictory in EuropeVictory Against Japan

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Book SynopsisOtto Dov Kulka''s memoir of a childhood spent in Auschwitz is a literary feat of astounding emotional power, exploring the permanent and indelible marks left by the HolocaustWinner of the JEWISH QUARTERLY-WINGATE PRIZE 2014As a child, the distinguished historian Otto Dov Kulka was sent first to the ghetto of Theresienstadt and then to Auschwitz. As one of the few survivors he has spent much of his life studying Nazism and the Holocaust, but always as a discipline requiring the greatest coldness and objectivity, with his personal story set to one side. But he has remained haunted by specific memories and images, thoughts he has been unable to shake off.Translated by Ralph Mandel.''The greatest book on Auschwitz since Primo Levi ... Kulka has achieved the impossible'' - the panel of Judges, Jewish Quarterly-Wingate PrizeTrade ReviewThe greatest book on Auschwitz since Primo Levi ... Kulka has achieved the impossible: a mythological and strangely beautiful new language for living with Auschwitz ... a book as mighty as it is modestOf the many accounts of survival in the Nazi concentration camps - Jewish and non-Jewish - few approach Otto Dov Kulka's for the quality of its writing and attempt to understand the nature of contemporary barbarism ... one of the essential books of our age; not since Primo Levi's The Periodic Table has there been such a powerful holocaust memoir ... the writing, at times trance-like, creates an extraordinary sense of communion and intimacy with the reader ... in pained but lucid prose Kulka seeks to understand how his memory processed the trauma of Auschwitz * Telegraph *'A poetic masterpiece unlike anything else written on the subject' * Telegraph BOOKS OF THE YEAR *This is one of the most remarkable testimonies to inhumanity that I know. The deeply moving recollections of Dov Kulka's boyhood years in Auschwitz, interwoven with reflections of elegiac, poetic quality, vividly convey the horror of the death-camp, the trauma of family and friends, and the indelible imprint left on the memory of a young boy who became a distinguished historian of the Holocaust. An extraordinarily important work which needs to be readAstonishing ... [Landscapes] is, quite simply, extraordinary ... a sort of Modernist precipitate of a historical work, something strange and powerful formed from, but separate to, the solution of history ... I can't see how this book could be bettered * Times Higher Education *Almost unclassifiable ... Nothing else I have read comes close to this profound examination of what the Holocaust means ... [Kulka's] journey strikes me as a quest similar to the attempt to describe the face of God or the structure of the universe. They are too vast and too mysterious. Not that this stops us, or this author, from trying * New Statesman *Primo Levi's testimony, it is often said, is that of a chemist: clear, cool, precise, distant. So with Kulka's work: this is the product of a master historian - ironic, probing, present in the past, able to connect the particular with the cosmic. His memory is in the service of deep historical understanding, rendered in evocative prose that is here eloquently translated from Hebrew * Guardian *Beautiful, startling ... This is a great book: read it. And be grateful - its publication is, in every possible sense, a miracle ... It is the strange and shocking paradox, this child's world constructed in such proximity to death, that makes the book so startling and so beautiful. Every incident is, in effect, seen twice: through the eyes of the historian and the eyes of a boy ... This is not history, it is something else... his words enter the wider sphere of literature * Sunday Times *Kulka's reflections have an unsettling rawness ... yet even in Auschwitz, there are moments of protest, black humour and beauty ... This is a grave, poetic and horrifying account of the Holocaust which does not so much revisit the Auschwitz of the past, but the Auschwitz of Kulka's inner world * Independent *This is not so much a book about Auschwitz as one about coming to terms with the shock of survival ... Amid fragmentary, digressive impressions are images of terrible poetic concreteness ... What, ultimately, makes Kulka's book unlike any other first-hand account written about the camps is the authenticity of its vision of an 11-year-old boy... He has done the rest of us - and the world - so great a kindness by writing his book ... offer[ing] the barest glint of sunlight amid a thunderous darkness * Financial Times *A book of moments, hauntings and dreams ... it is unremitting and touches us all [with] a hallucinatory power * The Times *Otto Dov Kulka's brief, beautiful and unsettling Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death brings together childhood memories of Auschwitz with the reflections of a historian who has spent his life working on the Holocaust: a masterly interrogation of memory and the limitations of historical detachment * Times Literary Supplement BOOKS OF THE YEAR *A historian's memoir of Auschwitz, without sentimentality and almost without outrage, since it is an examination of a place where all human reactions are inadequate ... an overwhelming testimony to the human love of truth * Guardian *For the first time, [Kulka] has turned his academic eye inward to explore as unflinchingly as possible the ways in which his childhood encounter with Auschwitz has affected him. Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death makes for deeply disturbing but ultimately very rewarding reading, and is unlike any Holocaust memoir I have ever come across ... The book is not a memoir in the conventional sense, but an extraordinary collection of some of the memories, ideas and dreams that make up Kulka's internal landscape * Telegraph *In this short, powerful memoir, every word tells its story * Daily Mail *The term memoir barely seems adequate to the introspective, often poetic, sometimes hallucinatory moments that [Landscapes] captures ... such an important contribution to the literature on the Holocaust ... [it] unsettles presuppositions about the camp and its lasting psychological effects so thoroughly that even a reader steeped in the Holocaust canon is likely to experience a sense of defamiliarisation * Sydney Review of Books *Otto Dov Kulka's name should be as well known as Primo Levi's as a supreme writer of personal experience of the hell of Auschwitz. But his Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death is unlike any other Holocaust writing because it faithfully reproduces the sensibility of the eleven year old boy that Kulka was at the time. So, unnervingly there are blue skies and daring games and actual school classes along with the smell of the smoke of incinerated bodies. More than other writing except Levi's Kulka's book, excavated with great pain via his attempted therapy of memory, sets you, the reader there. It is an imperishable achievement born of strength of mind and body and a kind of glowing inner vitality that I was lucky enough to encounter when I met him a few years ago. Profound scholar, extraordinary writer some part of him remained miraculously boyish in his warm vitality. -- Simon Schama

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Book SynopsisIt is 1915 and the Great War has been raging for a year when Edward Rowbotham, a coal miner from the Midlands, volunteers for Kitchener’s Army. He is one of the `lucky’ ones, winning the Military Medal for bravery and surviving more than two-and-a-half years of the terrible slaughter, which wiped out all but six of his original company.

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Book SynopsisThis is the untold story of Liverpool''s children in the Second World War. Whilst everyone is familiar with the tales of evacuees who were rushed out of the cities once the bombs started falling, many of us are unaware that many stayed behind, either by choice or necessity, as the city of their childhood disintegrated and burned around them. In the words of those who experienced the Liverpool Blitz first-hand, we hear of their adventures and misadventures, the fun and games and ever-present danger, and the humor and sorrow of those wartime years. This is an important and revealing look at the war as seen through the eyes of these children. This book not only explores the memories of a childhood ravaged by war, but also the formative effect this had on individuals'' lives. It reflects the collective spirit of a city that refused to be crushed, even at the darkest hours of the Luftwaffe''s bombing campaign. Ideal for anyone who lived through those times, or who is fascinated by experiences and the legacy of the wartime generation, this new title pays tribute to the war''s forgotten children.

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Book SynopsisOne of the lancers rode by, and stabbed me in the back with his lance. I then turned, and lay with my face upward, and a foot soldier stabbed me with his sword as he walked by. Immediately after, another, with his firelock and bayonet, gave me a terrible plunge, and while doing it with all his might, exclaimed, Sacré nom de Dieu! 'The truly epic and brutal battle of Waterloo was a pivotal moment in history a single day, one 24-hour period, defined the course of Europe's future.In March 1815, the Allies declared war on Napoleon in response to his escape from exile and the renewed threat to imperial European rule. Three months later, on 18 June 1815, having suffered considerable losses at Quatre-Bras, Wellington's army fell back on Waterloo, some ten miles south of Brussels. Halting on the ridge, they awaited Napoleon's army, blocking their entry to the capital. This would become the Allies' final stand, the infamous battle of Waterloo.In this intimate,Trade ReviewA blow-by-blow account of the fateful day. I couldn't put it down. * Independent *‘Gripping … The hour-by-hour account is packed with fascinating and often poignant vignettes' * Daily Express, 5 stars *Kershaw writes well and makes sense of the battle ... a clear and straightforward military view. * Literary Review *Shows us the battle at its grittiest and bloodiest, but through it all manages to maintain a grip on the bigger picture. * Scotsman *So where does this leave Robert Kershaw’s 24 Hours at Waterloo? Very simply, in a class of its own ... brings the events to life with judiciously chosen first-hand accounts ... there could be no better companion to the battlefield than Kershaw’s. * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisWill Iredale is a bestselling author, journalist and media consultant. After a decade working at the Sunday Times, first on the foreign news desk and subsequently the home news desk specialising in domestic news and investigations, he wrote the bestselling book The Kamikaze Hunters. He is currently a media consultant and lives in Kent with his family.Trade ReviewBook of the Year Bronze Award Winner * Military History Matters *They were the bravest of the brave... [an] absorbing history * Daily Mail (Book of the Week) *A sensitive, colourful and moving account... Compelling -- Saul David * Telegraph ***** *Another excellent book by Will Iredale, delving into the story of Bomber Command's Pathfinder Squadrons with drama and pace. The human stories, and the incredible advancements in aerial warfare, leap from the page from start to finish * John Nichol, author of TORNADO - In the Eye of the Storm *Fascinating and utterly gripping ... Will Iredale's painstaking research is impeccable, as is his storytelling. This stunning book is scored with unforgettable characters, reminding us this is a human story of resourcefulness, ingenuity, and above all, extraordinary courage -- James Holland

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Book SynopsisNaval aircraft have played an ever-increasing role in wartime conflicts, and this illustrated directory includes key information, specifications and background history.

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Book Synopsis''Escape... escape... escape... by God!'' was his constant exhortation. Never mind hunger pains, discomfort, or any other agony. Let escape become your passion, your one and only obsession until you finally reach home.''Shot down over Berlin in 1941, Richard Pape''s saga of captivity is a story of courage unmatched in the annals of escape. Four escapes took him across the breadth of German-occupied Europe; to Poland and Czechoslovakia; to Austria and Hungary. Aggressive and impetuous, his adventures sweep the reader along on a torrent of excitement.Trade Review'It's an extraordinary story of British pluck but also very moving. Pape survived torture by the Gestapo but many of those who helped him weren't so lucky' * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis5th July 1943: the greatest land battle of all time began around the town of Kursk in Russia. This epic confrontation between German and Soviet forces was one of the most important military engagements in history and epitomised ''total war''.It was also one of the most bloody, characterised by hideous excess and outrageous atrocities. The battle concluded with Germany having incurred nearly three million dead and the Soviet Union a staggering ten million. It was a monumental and decisive encounter of breathtaking intensity which became a turning point, not only on the Eastern Front, but in the Second World War as a whole. Using the very latest available archival material including the testimonies of veterans and providing strategic perspective alongside personal stories of front line fighting, Lloyd Clark has written a lucid, enthralling and heart-stopping account of this incredible battle.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a concise, visual history of this iconic RAF WWII bomber by noted aviation historian Ron Mackay.

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “ambitious and challenging” (The New York Review of Books) work, the bestselling author of Monsoon and Balkan Ghosts offers a revelatory prism through which to view global upheavals and to understand what lies ahead for continents and countries around the world.In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world’s hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands. The Russian steppe’s pitiless climate and limited vegetation bred hard and cruel men bent on destruction, for example, while Nazi geopoliticians distorted geopolitics entirely, calculating that space on the globe used by the British Empire and the Soviet Union could be swallowed by a greater German homeland.Kaplan then applies the lessons learned to the present crises in Europe, Russia, China, the Indian subcontinent, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Middle East. The result is a holistic interpretation of the next cycle of conflict throughout Eurasia. Remarkably, the future can be understood in the context of temperature, land allotment, and other physical certainties: China, able to feed only 23 percent of its people from land that is only 7 percent arable, has sought energy, minerals, and metals from such brutal regimes as Burma, Iran, and Zimbabwe, putting it in moral conflict with the United States. Afghanistan’s porous borders will keep it the principal invasion route into India, and a vital rear base for Pakistan, India’s main enemy. Iran will exploit the advantage of being the only country that straddles both energy-producing areas of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Finally, Kaplan posits that the United States might rue engaging in far-flung conflicts with Iraq and Afghanistan rather than tending to its direct neighbor Mexico, which is on the verge of becoming a semifailed state due to drug cartel carnage.A brilliant rebuttal to thinkers who suggest that globalism will trump geography, this indispensable work shows how timeless truths and natural facts can help prevent this century’s looming cataclysms.

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Book SynopsisTells of the disastrous campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 when the allies failed to knock Turkey out of the war. Featuring photographs, this book provides detailed historical descriptions of the area and the events. It is of interest to the armchair historian and the intrepid visitor to the sites.

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Book SynopsisThe fascinating story of the young women who served as Soviet snipers during the Second World WarTrade ReviewWell written, engaging and enlightening. -- Roger Moorhouse * The Times. *Revelatory and gripping. Deftly weaving together the personal - untold - stories of those Russian women who fought as frontline snipers, the author provides a chilling but moving insight into the realities of a brutal struggle. -- Jonathan DimblebyA riveting study of individuals who saw and did things no woman or man should ever have to . . . Vinogradova is clearly enthralled, if not enraptured, by her subjects. -- Jonathan O'Brien * Sunday Business Post. *Lyuba Vinogradova has written an impressive book, and drawing on letters, diaries and interviews with doughty survivors, she has woven a powerful and moving account of a people at war and of women rising up to take arms, free their country - and, paradoxically, assert their common humanity -- Eamon Delaney * Irish Independent *A detailed and vividly immediate account. -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *Describes in detail how hardened Soviet female soldiers became ruthless crack shots behind enemy lines on the bitter Eastern Front. * Irish Independent Books of the Year *Lyuba Vinogradova is a historian with a writer's dramatic eye. By personally interviewing many of the Russian women who as teenagers during WW2 took up arms to defend the motherland, her story becomes undeniably poignant and powerful -- Martin Cruz Smith

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Book SynopsisHuntly Strathearn Gordon was born in Perthshire in 1898. Educated at Clifton College, he joined the army in 1916. After the war he studied medicine before going to China with Shell Oil. Returning in 1926, he joined London Transport, spending much of his spare time surveying archaeological sites with Sir Mortimer Wheeler. During the Blitz, he initiated food trains for the thousands sheltering in the Underground, and was awarded an MBE. Huntly Gordon died in 1982. Born in 1956, David Gordon is Huntly Gordon's youngest son. Educated at Sherborne and Sandhurst, he has been a soldier, parliamentary researcher and county councillor. A lifelong campaigner on environmental issues, his passions also include vintage vehicles and old houses. He lives in Somerset.Trade ReviewOne of the best First World War memoirs I've read - honest, intelligent and vivid, as fresh as if written yesterday. -- ALLAN MALLINSON * The Times *One of the best half-dozen memoirs . . . Your father writes beautfiully, had an interesting war and emerges as a man who did his bit without being overwhelmed by the horror or elated by the dark beauty of violence -- RICHARD HOLMES, author of Redcoat, Tommy etc.I have never read anything that gives such a vivid description of the hell of Passchendaele - nor of the spirit that enabled our troops to survive it. -- PROFESSOR SIR MICHAEL HOWARDA haunting account of the loss of a generation * Good Book Guide, Jan 2014 *

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Book SynopsisIn India, relations are strained between the presidency of Madras and some of the neighbouring princely states.Having taken command of the action in Bristol to restore order after one of the bloodiest and most destructive riots in the nation's history, Lieutenant-Colonel Matthew Hervey is out of favour with the new government.Trade ReviewMallinson's series of early 19th-century military adventures are even better than Patrick O'Brian's naval equivalent. In the latest, The Passage to India we find our hero...called back to India. Faithful period detail. Rattling pace. Loveable characters. -- A. N. WILSON * The Tablet 'Summer Reading' *

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Book SynopsisVolume Six of this series chronicles aerial warfare in the New Guinea theatre in the critical period of January to March 1943. It can be read alone or as a continuation of the previous five volumes which span the first thirteen months of the Pacific War.January 1943 saw a successful Japanese supply and reinforcement convoy arrive at Lae from Rabaul, in the face of fierce opposition from Allied air power. The fresh troops soon threatened to overrun the Australian mountain stronghold of Wau, before a massive airlift by Fifth Air Force C47s delivered reinforcements just in time.Meanwhile the air war over New Guinea was increasingly fought by newly arrived JAAF units who shared the air war burden alongside their veteran IJN counterparts. Against this background many of the Fifth Air Force bomber squadrons moved up from Australia to Port Moresby. This greatly increased the combat efficiency of these units, enabling, among other things, sustained daily pressure on the Japanese bastion of Rabaul.Then in March 1943 the Japanese sent a second convoy from Rabaul to Lae which resulted in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, one of the landmark combats of the entire Pacific War. Using refined attack and bombing tactics, Fifth Air Force and RAAF squadrons conducted an allout shipdestroying effort which made world headlines.Never before has this campaign been chronicled in such detail, with Allied and Japanese accounts matched for a factual and thoroughly detailed account of the conflict.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisShortly after their rise to power, the Nazis established specific Arbeitslager (labour camps) which housed Ostarbeiter (eastern workers), Fremdarbeiter (foreign workers) and other forced labourers who were rounded up and brought in from the east. These were distinct from the SS-run concentration camps. The use of forced labour grew significantly in 1937 due to rearmament requirements and again after the outbreak of warThe invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 further heightened demands for labour and the availability of new workers in areas under Nazi occupation. Vast numbers were deported to forced labour camps, where they worked either producing war materials or on construction projects. As in the Nazis' view, inmates were slaves pure and simple and replaceable with others, there was a complete disregard for the health of prisoners. Required to work long hours with little or no time for rest or breaks they were subject to insufficiencies of food, equipment, medicine and clothing. As a result of these conditions and brutal treatment, death rates were shockingly high. By 1945, more than fourteen million people had been exploited in the network of hundreds of forced labour camps that stretched across Nazi-occupied Europe. In true Images of War series style, this superbly illustrated book graphically describes the growth of the slave camp system and the conditions inflicted on the luckless labour force.

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Book SynopsisThe Falklands War of 1982 was a brief 74 days of intense warfare resulting in the losses of 255 British Service personnel and just three civilians. Many books have been written with varying accounts about the military action, this book is the personal stories of the men behind the uniforms, the untold details of the three civilians who died towards the end of the war. Whilst researching the backgrounds of the fallen links to other military campaigns come to life through the personal stories of these brave men and their forebears. These stories are often unknown even to family members but ensure their immortality. We say Lest We Forget' this book is a stark reminder of how easy it is to lose history should we not document it.

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Book SynopsisAnyone familiar with WWII studies in the Pacific will recognize the name Eugene B. Sledge. The author, who corresponded with Sledge 30 years ago, shared the experience of serving on Peleliu in the Palau Islands. Sledge was part of the 1st Marine Division, which led the assault. Within six weeks, the division was decimated, suffering 60% casualties. The 81st Infantry Division was then deployed to secure the island, followed by the 111st Infantry for cleanup operations. This memoir comes from a 111st Infantry member, drawing from the author's diary and letters home. Thobaben's narrative starts on November 8, 1943, as he embarked on a troop ship to Hawaii, joining the Central Pacific Campaigns in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands as part of the 3rd Battalion's medical headquarters team. In addition to recounting his own experiences, Thobaben has conducted interviews with servicemen and women from the Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Corps over the years. His work encompasses a diverse range

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Book SynopsisMore than a Viking call to arms, An O.S.S. Secret Agent Behind Enemy Lines chronicles the incredible life of Leif Bangsboll up to and including the Second World War. Compiled by Bangsboll's son, this book explores the life of, variously, a Danish sailor, Norwegian aviator, American airborne serviceman, Green Beret soldier, and secret agent with the Office of Strategic Services. Brook G. Bangsboll heard his father's stories told and retold around the dinner table as far back as he could remember. He recalled his father talking of his christening at five weeks old aboard His Danish Majesty's Ship Grønsund in the middle of the North Sea during the First World War; about his attendance as a young man at German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday celebration in Berlin; and about his unplanned role in a rescue mission off the embattled shores of Dunkirk. Invigorated by the heroic efforts of the Allies at Dunkirk, Leif then joined the Norwegian Air Force and was trained as a pilot in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Prior to being assigned to an operational squadron, Flight Sergeant Bangsboll was recruited into the United States Army by Colonel William Wild Bill' Donovan to become a field agent for the Office of Strategic Services, or O.S.S.. After completing his O.S.S. training at the top-secret facility known as Camp X, located on the shores of Lake Ontario, Second Lieutenant Bangsboll was sent to the United Kingdom to work with the O.S.S.' counterparts at Special Operations Executive. In October 1944 Lieutenant Bangsboll was parachuted into in the dark skies over occupied Denmark to lead the Danish Resistance forces in the central region of Jutland, operating out of the city of Aarhus. Operating under the field name of Mr. Jorgen Bech, ostensibly a Danish Maritime Engineer and businessman, Bangsboll trained Danish resistance fighters, planned and led sabotage missions against the German occupation forces and hunted down and eliminated known collaborators. For ten months he played a dangerous and daring game of cat and mouse with the Gestapo. In the spring of 1945, Lieutenant Bangsboll was reassigned by the O.S.S. to Copenhagen where during the final days of the war, he led an assault to capture the fortified German garrison at Ryvangen. His efforts in this assault would earn him the United States Distinguished Service Cross as well as the Danish Royal Knights Order of King Christian X sighted for courage and selfless bravery in the face of the enemy'.

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