Military History Books

Book SynopsisPraise for Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author Damien Lewis' SAS mission series:'One of the great untold stories of WWII' - Bear Grylls on SAS Ghost Patrol'The untold story' - Daily Mail on SAS Nazi Hunters'A tale of bravery against desperate odds' - Sunday Times on Churchill's Secret Warriors'True adventures laced with staggering bravery and sacrifice' - Sun on Hunting the Nazi BombAn impossible mission in wartime Italy: the next explosive bestseller from Damien Lewis.In the hard-fought winter of 1944 the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, but stalled on the fearsome mountainous defences of the Gothic Line. Two men were parachuted in, in an effort to break the deadlock. Their mission: to penetrate deep into enemy territory and lay waste to the Germans' impregnable headquarters.At the eleventh hour mission commanders radioed for David 'The Mad Piper' Kilpatrick to be flown in, resplendent in his tartan kilt. They wanted this fearless war hero to lead the assault, piping Highland Laddie as he went - so leaving an indelible British signature to deter Nazi reprisals.As the column of raiders formed up, there was shocking news. High command radioed through an order to stand down, having assessed the chances of success at little more than zero. But in defiance of orders, and come hell or high-water, they were going in.

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Book SynopsisAs the wars of Napoleon ravage Europe, chaos and fear reign and the darkness that once clung to the shadows has been emboldened. Supernatural creatures vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and worse take advantage of the havoc, striking out at isolated farms, villages, and even military units. Whether they are pursuing some master plan or simply revelling in their newfound freedom is unknown. Most people dismiss reports of these slaughters as the rantings of madmen or the lies of deserters, but a few know better The Silver Bayonet is a skirmish wargame of gothic horror set during the Napoleonic Wars. Each player forms an elite band of monster hunters drawn from the ranks of one of the great powers. Riflemen, swordsmen, and engineers fight side-by-side with mystics, occultists, and even those few supernatural creatures that can be controlled or reasoned with enough to make common cause. The game can be played solo, co-operatively, or competitively, with players progressing tTrade ReviewHorror games set in Napoleonic Europe, I'm pretty pumped for this. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun -- Ash Barker * GMG Reviews *“McCullough has proved his pedigree with his games so far… an interesting option for those of a more historical persuasion and those who like their horror and fantasy.” -- , * OnTabletop *The rules are refined, matches are tense and tight, and the narrative side of the game can be as focused or supplemental as you like. Most importantly, this might be the best jumping-on point for those totally new to small skirmishers. -- , * Wargamer *

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Book SynopsisThe units and formations of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) have privileged access to the finest weaponry in the world's arsenal. Whether Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines, the SOCOM troops select weapons that match their mission requirements, but which also sit at the cutting edge of combat technology. This means that, while SOCOM troops frequently use standard-issue weaponry, they also adopt many specialist pieces of kit that are not so accessible to the broader armed services, including sniper rifles, battle rifles, and machine guns, as well as high-tech tactical accessories used to transform standard weaponry into something exceptional. Assessing the technology and capabilities of these combat weapons, as well as how they have been used in modern combat, this fully illustrated study lifts the veil on some of the most distinctive hand-held weapon systems of US special operations forces since 1987.Table of ContentsIntroduction / Development / Use / Impact / Conclusion / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisWe live in an age of subterfuge. Spy agencies pour vast resources into hacking, leaking, and forging data, often with the goal of weakening the very foundation of liberal democracy: trust in facts. Thomas Rid, a renowned expert on technology and national security, was one of the first to sound the alarm. Even before the 2016 election, he warned that Russian military intelligence was 'carefully planning and timing a high-stakes political campaign' to disrupt the democratic process. But as crafty as such so-called active measures have become, they are not new. In this astonishing journey through a century of secret psychological war, Rid reveals for the first time some of history's most significant operations - many of them nearly beyond belief. A White Russian ploy backfires and brings down a New York police commissioner; a KGB-engineered, anti-Semitic hate campaign creeps back across the Berlin Wall; the CIA backs a fake publishing empire, run by a former Wehrmacht U-boat commander that produces Germany's best jazz magazine.Trade ReviewMindbending... The Kremlin's renewed efforts will ensure that Active Measures appears on the reading list of government officials and security experts. But it would be a disservice to reduce it to such a narrow space. For this is a book about something much bigger: our relationship with truth and our desire for lies -- Peter Pomerantsev * Spectator *In rich detail, Rid walks us through a hundred years of political warfare, recounting the exploits powers both major and minor inflicted on one another via the disinformation units of their intelligence agencies. Some of the stories are hair-raising -- Jonathan Freedland * NYRB *Groundbreaking ... Thomas Rid looks deep into neglected East European State Security archives, tracks down Cold War-era active measures officers, and examines fresh digital forensics in order to tell the true history of what we now know as disinformation. Active Measures is full of great stories that give contemporary events the historical context that has, until now, been missing. -- Anne Applebaum * Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History *Clausewitz for the cyber era -- John S Gardner * Guardian *Thomas Rid's timely Active Measures is an instant classic. He provides a comprehensive look at the political attacks we witnessed in 2016, and reminds us that deception and disinformation have deep historical roots. He also shows that the effects of active measures can be long-lasting, but can also boomerang on those who initiate them. As free societies look to defend against future deception campaigns, they will need to understand both the past and the new technologies that help to weaponize the practice in the present. Thomas Rid's excellent book is the best place to start. -- John Sipher * former member of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service *Thomas Rid, a recognized expert in information security, investigates the history of disinformation, taking us back to its modern origins. He tells a series of thrilling stories of how this subtle game was played by the founder of the Soviet secret police, his successors at the KGB, their Western counterparts, and contemporary Russian intelligence operators. Rid has produced a book that is destined to become a seminal work on the topic. -- Andrei Soldatov * coauthor of The Red Web: The Kremlin's War on the Internet *Active Measures provides a comprehensive look at the disinformation game, from the 1920s through the digital revolution. Thomas Rid gives the reader an insider's view of how high-profile influence campaigns are designed and executed, thus providing historical perspective that can help us blunt the impact of disinformation. For that reason alone, Active Measures is a must-read. -- Nada Bakos * former analyst and targeting officer at the CIA *Skillfully illuminates and demystifies this ballyhooed but much-misunderstood subject * Publishers Weekly starred review *Engrossing ... invaluable -- James Gibney * The American Scholar *

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Book Synopsis'More than 70 years ago I was a "gift" for Adolf Hitler. I was stolen as a baby to be part of one of the most terrible of all Nazi experiments: Lebensborn.'The Lebensborn programme was the brainchild of Himmler: an extraordinary plan to create an Aryan master race, leaving behind thousands of displaced victims in the wake of the Nazi regime.In Hitler's Forgotten Children Ingrid von Oelhafen shares her incredible story as a child of the Lebensborn: a lonely childhood with a distant foster family; her painstaking and difficult search for answers in post-war Germany; and finally being reunited with her biological family - with one last shocking truth to be discovered.Trade Review"An emotional read... engagingly written... by experiencing the distance and loneliness of von Oelhafen's youth with her, it's much easier to empathise with the tragic situation of hundreds of children during Hitler's reign." -- All About History magazine; "Every person I have told about this book has immediately gone to buy it and I encourage everyone else to do so as it is a story that needs to be told, much like the Holocaust needed to be told." -- CountryWives.co.uk; "Eminently readable, a perfect mixture of personal discovery and a historical backdrop that both fascinates and horrifies" - BeingAnne.com; "Heartbreaking ... a compelling and addictive read" -- thequietknitterer.wordpress.com; "Sobering ... I learned much about the history of post-war Germany along with the complicated process of missing identity. The story flows well and Ingrid is a fascinating raconteur; her resolute determination to find out the truth is a credit to both her strength of purpose and utter resilience ... inspirational" -- jaffareadstoo.blogspot.co.uk; "In an age when it takes a lot to shock Western audiences, there is still shock to be found in true stories. And Ingrid's story is a true one. Hitler's Forgotten Children ... will stay in your head for a long time once you close the final pages." -- MadamJMo, blogger; "Shocking... I had to take some quiet time after reading it just to process what I had learned. This is a hugely important book which anyone with an interest in the Third Reich, or who cares about the damaging impact of supremacist politics, must read." --Louise Hector, LouiseReviews; "A really interesting book on a little known subject ... we have to admire Ingrid for telling her story" -- Callmemadam, blogger; "A very readable look at an incredibly personal tale - the openness featured here is remarkable, as is the clarity of the writing, as the narrative goes from official history to personal ... The fact that so many Lebensborn sufferers have gone on to work for the care of others shows the Nazi idea behind it died a death a long time ago, even if the legacy still remains. The fact this book exists is a further success against the Nazi idea too, and as a result is worth the read." -- John Lloyd, The Bookbag; "Every once in a while you think you have heard the most grotesque and bizarre extremes of Hitler's National Socialist madness and then another revelation comes along. Reading Ingrid von Oelhafen's book was just such a moment. ... Two of the most remarkable features of this book are its human warmth and its absence of rancour. The author has every right to bitterness and self-pity after the treatment she received, but she yields to neither. Towards the end of the book she writes 'I knew I had to learn not just to understand but to forgive'. It is my belief that she has done both." --Richard Littledale, blogger; "As someone who reads non-fiction books such as this one quite often, I was pleased overall with the narrative voice of Ingrid, and readers will really feel for her personal struggles to get answers to questions no one wants to answer. Her determination is admirable, and her positivity is outstanding, considering some of the hardships she has faced. ... I feel we owe it to her to at least try and understand what she alone has had to go through over the years, simply to find out what the rest of us take for granted: our true identity." --Jade Cranwell, Reviewing CentralTable of ContentsContents; Preface ix; ONE August 1942 1; TWO Year Zero 7; THREE Escape 23; FOUR Home 31; FIVE Identity 45; SIX Walls 59; SEVEN Source of Life 71; EIGHT Bad Arolsen 83; NINE The Order 99; TEN Hope 109; ELEVEN Traces 115; TWELVE Nuremberg 135; THIRTEEN Rogaska Slatina 151; FOURTEEN Blood 167; FIFTEEN Pure 173; SIXTEEN Taken 193; SEVENTEEN Searching 209; EIGHTEEN Peace 219; Afterword 227; Acknowledgements 229; Index 233; About the authors 241

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Book Synopsis“Fulbright was erudite and eloquent in all the books he wrote, but this one is his masterpiece. Within its pages lie his now historic remonstrations against a great nation’s overreach, his powerful argument for dissent, and his thoughtful propositions for a new way forward . . . lessons and cautions that resonate just as strongly today.” — From the foreword by Bill ClintonJ. William Fulbright (1905–1995), a Rhodes scholar and lawyer, began his long career in public service when he was elected to serve Arkansas's Third District in Congress in 1942. He quickly became a prominent member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he introduced the Fulbright Resolution calling for participation in an organization that became the United Nations. Elected to the Senate in 1944, he promoted the passage of legislation establishing the Fulbright exchange program, and he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1959 to 1974, longer than any senator in American history.Fulbright drew on his extensive experience in international relations to write The Arrogance of Power, a sweeping critique of American foreign policy, in particular the justification for the Vietnam War, Congress's failure to set limits on it, and the impulses that gave rise to it. The book—with its solid underpinning the idea that “the most valuable public servant, like the true patriot, is one who gives a higher loyalty to his country's ideals than to its current policy”—was published in 1966 and sold 400,000 copies. The New York Times called it “an invaluable antidote to the official rhetoric of government.”Enhanced by a new forward by President Bill Clinton, this eloquent treatise will resonate with today's readers pondering, as Francis O. Wilcox wrote in the original preface, the peril of nations whose leaders lack ""the wisdom and the good judgment to use their power wisely and well.

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Book SynopsisAn accompaniment to the best-selling guide to the area, now sold separately. Showing the sea Assault formations for UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO and SWORD Beaches and the air Assault Formations round Ste M Eglise and Pegasus Bridge; the D-Day Objectives and the Ground Gained on D-Day.

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Book Synopsis''The definitive account of the Vulcan raids taught me something new on every page''- Rowland White, author of the bestselling Vulcan 607A newly researched, fully illustrated account of how RAF Vulcan bombers flew a series of the world''s longest air raids in 1982 against Port Stanley airfield, in a daring, hastily improvised strike against the Argentinian invaders. The RAF''s opening shots of the Falklands War were among the most remarkable airstrikes in history. The idea was simple: to destroy the runway at Port Stanley, and prevent Argentinian fast jets using it against the Royal Navy task force. But the nearest British-owned airfield was Ascension Island - 3,900 miles away from the Falklands.Researcher and historian Andrew D. Bird has uncovered new detail of what really made these extraordinary raids possible, including never-before-published information and photos demonstrating the discreet support proviTrade ReviewTaking care to examine events from both the British and Argentinian perspectives, ‘Operation Black Buck 1982’ is the definitive account of the Vulcan raids on the Falklands. Brimming with fascinating detail and fresh insights, Andrew Bird’s brilliant book taught me something new on every page. Lavishly illustrated with incredible new artwork from Adam Tooby and a real treasure trove of rare and unseen photographs, this book will be irresistible to anyone with even the slightest interest in the record-breaking missions that captured the world’s attention in 1982. - Rowland White, author of the bestselling Vulcan 607This is a detailed and compelling account of the remarkable long-distance Vulcan bombing raids on the Falkland Islands during the war of 1982, raids which were on the absolute periphery of what was technically and practically possible at the time. Deploying obsolete 1950s bombers and ‘dumb’ (unguided) bombs only 40 years after their fathers had drooped bombs over the Ruhr (although two attacks did deploy anti-radar missiles), the raids were a testament to the determination and ‘can-do' attitude of the Vulcan and Victor tanker aircrew, technicians and engineers who made the whole extraordinary show possible, as well as the unstinting material, technical and political support provided to the U.K. by the U.S.A. It is an amazing story, brilliantly told. - Dr Robert Lyman FRHistS, author of A War of EmpiresTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION - The airfield at Port Stanley - First conflicts - The road to war - Argentina makes a move CHRONOLOGY ATTACKERS' CAPABILITIES - Ascension - Diplomacy - The Vulcans - Selecting and refitting the aircraft - Aircrews and training - Target - The Victors and Nimrods - Ordnance DEFENDERS' CAPABILITIES - Air defence - The move to the Malvinas CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES - Sea Harriers or Vulcans? - Analysis of the airfield - The beginning of the air war THE CAMPAIGN - Final countdown: Black Buck 1 - Fuel misallocation - Approach to Stanley - At Port Stanley - The Sea Harrier follows up - The Belgrano sinking and its consequences - Black Buck 2 - The first anti-radar attempts - Enter the Shrike - Repairing and relocating the radars - Black Buck 5 - Black Buck 6 - An unscheduled stopover - Black Buck 7 - Planning for Black Bucks beyond the Falklands AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS FURTHER READING

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Book SynopsisThe authors discovered 150,000 pages of transcriptions of secretly recorded conversations among German prisoners of war, of which approximately one third were made in P.O.W. camps in Britain, another cache was made by bugging prisoners in the Mediterranean theatre of the war (North Africa, Malta, Italy) and the remainder comes from the bugging of prisoners of war in the USA. These transcriptions are thus unmediated, uncensored, and unselfconsciously candid and that is what gives this book its historical significance and extraordinary impact. What emerges from these transcriptions and within these pages is a shocking and profoundly illuminating portrait of the typical German soldier of the time: their thoughts, their feelings and their ideologies. SOLDATEN is a book that explodes many of the myths that we hold on to about Germany and its people during the War.

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Book SynopsisOperation Nordwind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 31 December 1944 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine in southwestern Germany and northeastern France, and ended on 25 January 1945. Normally overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge, Nordwind battles were just as intense and the troops involved faced the same bitter weather conditions and battle conditions their fellow units did to the north. The goal of the offensive was to break through the lines of the U.S. Seventh Army and French 1st Army in the Upper Vosges mountains and the Alsatian Plain, and destroy them, as well as the seizure of Strasbourg, which Himmler, who had been placed in charge, had promised would be captured by 30 January. The campaign also showcased the difficulties of inter-Allied cooperation between the Americans and the French. The U.S. VI Corps which bore the brunt of the German attacks was fighting on three sides by 15 January. By 15 January at least 17 German divisions (including units in the Colmar Pocket) from Army Group G and Army Group Oberrhein, including the 6th SS Mountain, 17th SS Panzergrenadier, 21st Panzer, and 25th Panzergrenadier Divisions were engaged in the fighting. Another smaller attack was made against the French positions south of Strasbourg, but it was finally stopped. Vicious battles at Hatten and Rittershoffen, Gambsheim and Herrlisheim took place and while the Germans could not employ near the same amount as armor as they did in the Ardennes, the armor engagements were nonetheless ruthless. The American 12th Armored Division lost almost an entire tank battalion in the battles in and around Herrlisheim. Action would engulf the entire front and areas like Strasbourg, Wingen, the Colmar Pocket and Haguenau would be engrained in the minds of the troops that fought in these battles.

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Book SynopsisThis new book provides a visual guide to every F-15 variant, from the first airframes produced in the early 1970s to the brand new F-15EX Eagle II.

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Book SynopsisAt the turn of the twentieth century, European colonial powers scrambled in Africa for trade, land and political advantage. When the First World War broke out, they were forced to contend with one another not just in trenches on the Western Front, but in East Africa's swamps and savannahs. In that unforgiving landscape, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought as equals with their African troops against the Allies, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern age.​ 'African Kaiser' is the fascinating tale of a forgotten guerrilla campaign: of rhino charges and artillery duels with scavenged naval guns; of hunted German battleships hidden up unmapped river deltas; of a desperate army in the wilderness, cut off from the world, enduring starvation, malaria, and dysentery; and of the remarkable intercontinental voyage of Zeppelin L59, whose improbable 4,000 mile journey to the Equator and back made aviation history. But mostly, it is the incredible true story of General von Lettow-Vorbeck, the only undefeated German commander of the Great War.Trade Review'If all military histories were as thrilling and well written as African Kaiser, I might give up reading fiction and literary bio­graphy. ... Gaudi writes with the flair of a latter-day Macaulay. He sets his scenes carefully and describes naval and military action like a novelist. His sentences are models of clarity and vivacity, sometimes further enlivened with wry authorial comments.' -- Washington Post'African Kaiser is an entertaining and insightful read. Gaudi is superb on what made von Lettow such a formidable exponent of irregular warfare and on the reasons why his African soldiers would have followed him to the ends of the earth.' -- Literary Review'Robert Gaudi combines a researcher's meticulous precision with a novelist's consummate storytelling skill to piece together a thousand shards of forgotten history into this astonishing and irresistible confection.' -- Madison Smartt Bell

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Book SynopsisA global account of military strategy throughout history, from imperial strategies to those of anti-imperial insurgentsTrade Review“This book offers valuable insights into strategy.”—Beatrice Heuser, Financial Times“Black’s greatest strength is his deep knowledge of international history, which is fully on display.”—Lawrence Freedman, History Today“Once again, Jeremy Black has shown that he can meld incisive historical insight with important modern-day lessons. Anyone connected with strategic decision-making, even far beyond the military sphere, will profit from reading this hugely readable and scholarly work, as will anyone interested in seeing how the great decision-makers of the past got things so right occasionally, but so wrong all too often.”—Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny“Jeremy Black is one of Britain’s foremost historians and a world leader in the subject of military strategy. He has expanded his purview to the global story of strategy in a bold and imaginative study.”—John Bew, author of Citizen Clem: A Life of Attlee“This book succeeds in communicating the dynamics of strategy across a huge canvas in an intelligent, engaging but also an extremely erudite fashion. . . . It not only informs the reader of many aspects of the global history of strategy, it encourages readers to think about the subject matter and the historical challenges as they read.”—Alaric Searle, author of Armoured Warfare: A Military, Political and Global History

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Book SynopsisThe complex and fascinating story of Romania's ''turning of arms'' against Nazi Germany, and the battle for Romania - an important but overlooked and misunderstood episode of World War II. The battle for Romania from March to September 1944 is a multifaceted story involving German, Romanian, Soviet, American, and British forces. Romania's defection from the Axis denied Nazi Germany not just resources (especially oil) but also turned the Romanian Army, formerly its most important support on the Eastern Front, from friend to foe. The fighting witnessed the German Sixth Army being destroyed for a second time (after Stalingrad).This in-depth work explores the strategic struggle within German-Romanian relations and the tactical development of the Battle of Romania. The detailed 2D maps and 3D diagrams guide you step-by-step through the Axis defence of Romania in March-May during the first Iasi-Chisinau offensive, the Allied campaign in April-August to assist the So

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Book SynopsisA fully illustrated account of the large-scale reformation of the Roman Army from the reign of Diocletian to the fall of the Western Empire in AD 476.After the 50-year chaos of the mid-3rd century AD, Emperor Diocletian (r. AD 284305) and his successor, Constantine I (r. AD 30637), the first Christian emperor, undertook major administrative reforms to reflect new realities and improve defensive strategy. These changes saw the Roman Army completely reorganized, with its old structure of legions and auxiliary units giving way to central mobile field armies and various classes of garrison troops. In addition, the Army also began recruiting allied barbarians' in ever-increasing numbers and even promoted some to the level of senior command. Roman military expert Raffaele D'Amato draws on the latest archaeological and written evidence to explore this turbulent final period of the Western Empire. Illustrated with photographs and drawings of surviving artefacts and im

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Book SynopsisNew paperback edition - A complete history of Bomber Command, including its crucial role in WWII and later nuclear role in the Cold War.Trade Review'In this comprehensive and illustrated history, Gordon Wilson, a retired military and commercial pilot, explores the 'human face' of the organisation from its inception just prior to World War II until its final years during the Cold War.' -- Military History Matters, December 21/ January 2022'Overall this book is very well written and the author has the technical detail and knowledge as a former flyer, that has produced a really good read so compliments to the author and a book I would certainly recommend.' -- Ben Davidson Blog'Complemented by a range of images and identifying famous personnel, stations and aircraft, this book will fascinate any enthusiast of 'The Many'.' -- Britain at War Magazine, February 2024

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Book SynopsisThis work provides an authoritative illustrated examination of the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, analyzing both grand strategy, and the tactical decisions of Day Two and the ensuing combat.July 2, 1863 was the bloodiest and most complicated of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg. On this day, the clash involved five divisions of Confederate infantry and their accompanying artillery battalions, as well as a cavalry skirmish at nearby Hunterstown. The bulk of the Union army engaged on the second day of fighting, including men from the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 11th and 12th Corps.Assisted by superb maps and 3D diagrams, this fascinating work describes the tactical play-by-play, the customary who did what of the battle. Among the famous actions covered are Hunterstown and Benner's Hill, Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Rose Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, and Culp's and Cemetery hills. The critical decisions taken on the second day are examined in detail, Table of ContentsTHE END OF DAY ONE ORDERS OF BATTLE OPPOSING PLANS Union plans Confederate plans THE SECOND DAY Hunterstown and Benner’s Hill The Confederate Advance Little Round Top Devil’s Den The Rose Wheat Field The Valley of Death The Peach Orchard Cemetery Ridge Culp’s Hill Cemetery Hill NIGHTFALL BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book Synopsis'I have always been fascinated by that charismatic hero of the Resistance, Josephine Baker, but it turns out I didn't know the half of it. Lewis' story-telling blew my mind. Again.' - Dan Snow'A story of incredible bravery in the face of tyrants who invaded a free and democratic nation, this will have powerful resonance today.' - Tim SpicerDuring WW2, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most glamorous entertainer, was an Allied spy in Occupied France. This is the story of her heroic personal resistance to Nazi Germany.Prior to World War II, Josephine Baker was a music hall diva renowned for her singing and exotic dancing, her beauty and sexuality; she was the most highly-paid female performer in Europe. When the Nazis seized her adopted city, Paris, she was banned from the stage, along with all 'negroes and Jews'. Yet, instead of returning to America, she vowed to stay and to fight the Nazi evil. Overnight she went from performer to Resistance spy.In The Flame of Resistance best-selling author Damien Lewis uncovers this little known history of the famous singer's life. During the years of the war, as a member of the French Nurse paratroopers - a cover for her spying work-- she participated in numerous clandestine activities and emerged as formidable spy. In turn, she was a hero of the three countries in whose name she served: the US, the nation of her birth; France, the land that embraced her during her adult career; and Britain, the country from which she took her orders, as one of London's most closely-guarded special agents. Baker's secret war embodies a tale of unbounded courage, passion, devotion and sacrifice, and of deep and bitter tragedy, fueled by her own desire to combat the rise of Nazism, and to fight for all that is good and right in the world.Drawing on a plethora of new historical material and rigorous research, including previously undisclosed letters and journals, Lewis upends the conventional story of Josephine Baker, revealing that her mark on history went far beyond the confines of the stage.'An eye-opening, pulse-quickening history. Josephine Baker led a wartime double life of extraordinary jeopardy and Damien Lewis's needle-sharp narrative is jagged with suspense. Yet he also writes with great warmth and sensitivity, creating a powerfully moving portrait of a woman who fought prejudice and hate in all its forms.' - Sinclair McKay'A gripping true story of a remarkable heroine. The details of Josephine Baker's espionage for the Deuxieme Bureau, the French military intelligence agency during the war, make for a fascinating read in Damien Lewis's meticulously researched account' - Deborah CadburyTrade ReviewScrupulously detailed and honestly researched ... one can easily imagine this material moulded into a gripping Hollywood yarn starring Halle Berry or Thandiwe Newton ... Le Carre fans will be delighted; the intrigues are Byzantine -- Rupert Christiansen * Telegraph *A heroine, a fighter, an icon: Baker stands for everything we should aspire to - and Lewis shines a spotlight on every aspect of her difficult but glittering life * BBC History Magazine *Revealed: the daring wartime exploits of erotic cabaret star Josephine Baker who smuggled Nazi secret to Winston Churchill . . . * Mail on Sunday *Scrupulously detailed and honestly researched ... one can easily imagine this material moulded into a gripping Hollywood yarn starring Halle Berry or Thandiwe Newton ... Le Carre fans will be delighted; the intrigues are Byzantine * Telegraph *This scintillating biography ... draws on newly discovered letters and diaries to paint a vivid portrait of Baker as "a chameleon, a rebel, a warrior and a rule-breaker at heart . . . The result is a thrilling espionage story perfect for fans of Lynne Olson's Madame Fourcade's Secret War * Publishers Weekly, starred review *Rather than crafting a conventional biography, Lewis concentrates on the wartime years, creating a heroic portrait of the selfless, brave, somewhat reckless, pioneering, unswervingly patriotic spy for the Allies . . . A complex, entertaining story of intrigue and sangfroid involving a beloved, courageous hero * Kirkus Reviews *Reveals how the talented Josephine turned her fragility into a deadly weapon to defeat the greatest evil of her ageA great lady, a spy who suffered ... the French knew Ms Baker as "La femme sans peur et sans reproche". When you read The Flame of Resistance you will understand why.Fascinating and riveting. What a story! It has never been told properly, if ever, before now. I know Josephine would be very proud of how she is portrayed.Absolutely fantastic. You have completely captured the essence and nature of Commander Dunderdale's life and work.In 2021 Josephine Baker was inducted into The Pantheon, France's highest honour. This book tells you why. Damien Lewis has written a tremendous account of her life, not only as the most exotic star of 1920s Paris, but more importantly, her exceptionally brave work as an intelligence officer working for the British Secret Service and then the Free French, for which she was awarded The Resistance Medal, the Croix de Guerre and Légion D'Honneur. This is a story of courage and determination in the face of adversity told with great flair and excitement. A story of incredible bravery in the face of tyrants who invaded a free and democratic nation, this will have powerful resonance today.

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Book SynopsisIn December 1944 the German military made its final attempt to end the Second World War by throwing in all its reserves in a desperate attempt to shatter the Allied lines. After breaking through the American-held sector in the Ardennes, two Panzer armies headed for the bridges over the River Meuse. However, a combination of poor planning, bad weather, tortuous terrain and, above all, the determined defence of keys towns and villages delayed the advance. The Allies were able to hold the northern and southern shoulders of the attack, hemming the Germans in. The Bulge had been created, and as the fortunes of battle were reversed, the Allies struck back.In Battle of the Bulge 1944–45, historian Andrew Rawson gives a clear, concise account of those dramatic days at the end of 1944, supported by a timeline of events and orders of battle. If you want to understand what happened and why – read on.

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary account of a little-known aspect of the fighting in Gallipoli the snipers war.

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Book SynopsisFrom classicist James Romm comes a “striking…fascinating” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes—and the saga of the greatest military corps of the time, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world. The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life. After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea—extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880—some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together. From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band recounts “in fluent, accessible prose” (The Wall Street Journal) the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece.Trade Review"Romm, a Bard College professor, has an unusual knack for writing about ancient history for general readers ... I was most stirred by a parallel narrative examining how the story of the Sacred Band both inspired the beginnings of the struggle for gay acceptance in the 19th century and was also long a source of discomfort for many professional classicists." —The New York Times, New & Noteworthy "[Romm] deftly pieces the story together ... Mr. Romm negotiates artfully in fluent, accessible prose. But he really comes into his own when describing the Sacred Band’s dramatic and elegiac end." —Wall Street Journal "An impressive achievement ... Romm illustrates how fantasies about the Sacred Band have captivated different ages ... [Thebes], late to emerge onto the Greek political scene, dreamed big; just not big enough." —Times Literary Supplement "Romm’s book not only details the history of the Sacred Band, but illuminates this murky and murderously internecine period of Greek history ... Romm has an eye for interesting characters—such as the sociopathic tyrant Jason of Pherae, who made his spear into a god." —The American Scholar "The Sacred Band of Thebes was founded to protect the Boeotian League, the federation of cities that Thebes led. The band was the first professional standing army funded by the state in Greek history ... it was founded on the principle that men so intimately devoted to one another would fight as a cohesive unit ... This fascinating period of Greek history is the subject of classicist James Romm’s new book The Sacred Band." —Humanities: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities "A vivid portrait of ancient Thebes ... A spirited, informative classical history from an expert on the subject." —Kirkus "In this excellent work, Romm ... convincingly argues that Thebes was as important as Athens and Sparta during the last century of its history ... Excellent vignettes of contemporary non-Thebans (particularly Xenophon, an Athenian student of Socrates who was an unabashed partisan for Sparta) enhance the narrative ... [The Sacred Band] is highly recommended and will appeal to fans of Thebes, by Paul Cartledge, as well as readers of LGBTQ+ history." —Library Journal "Romm lucidly describes the era’s complex power struggles and explains how the pro-Sparta bias of Xenophon, who wrote the only surviving contemporaneous account of “the era of Theban greatness,” has colored modern perceptions of Thebes. This is an eye-opening and immersive portrait of a little-known aspect of ancient history." —Publishers Weekly "Striking ... [a] fascinating unit." —Booklist"Lively and captivating ... this first full-length popular account dedicated to the “Sacred Band” performs a vital and overdue service: for classical history buffs, for readers interested in gay history and culture, and for anyone who appreciates a fascinating story, grippingly told." —Daniel Mendelsohn, author of An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic "Bound by love, virtue, and valor, the Sacred Band of Thebes fought for Greek freedom and democracy, for more than a generation in a turbulent era ended by Macedonian conquest in 338 BC. James Romm has delved deep into the history and even the archaeology of this famous, little-understood corps of 300 lover-companions. The result is an exhilarating story of eros and power." —Adrienne Mayor, author of Gods and Robots and The Amazons "There are several famous 300s in human history but few deserve to be commemorated as does the Sacred Band of the ancient Greek city of Thebes — as James Romm, already very well known as a reviewer, translator, commentator and Herodotus expert, so amply demonstrates in this splendid, pioneering, indeed loving book." —Paul Cartledge, author of Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece "Using contemporary language and interpreting through an enlightened sensibility, James Romm brings energy and relevance to an epic chapter of ancient history." —Mary Norris, author of Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen "James Romm has written a wonderfully readable book about one of the most fascinating and least known stories from the ancient world. Beginning with the Theban rebellion throwing off Spartan control to the destruction of the city by Alexander the Great, the tale of the rise and fall of Theban freedom resonates even today." —Philip Freeman, author of Alexander the Great "An immersive and deeply atmospheric story of strength and power – a power founded, above anything else, on love and belief. I can think of 300 reasons to recommend this book." —Daisy Dunn, author of The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny

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Book SynopsisThe most comprehensive listing of Soviet warships of this era in English.

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Book SynopsisThe first dedicated examination of Alexander the Great''s final battle and acknowledged tactical masterpiece. In the years that followed Alexander the Great''s victory at Gaugamela on 1 October 331 BC, his Macedonian and Greek army fought a truly ''Herculean'' series of campaigns in what is today Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. But it was in the Indus Valley, on the banks of the Hydaspes River (known today as the Jhelum) in 326 BC that Alexander would fight his last major battle against King Poros. Using detailed maps and 3D diagrams, this beautifully illustrated work shows how Alexander used feints and deception to transport a select force from his army across the swollen River Hydaspes without attracting the enemy''s attention, allowing his troops the crucial element of surprise. Battlescene artworks and photographs reveal the fascinating array of forces that clashed in the battle, including Indian war elephants and chariots, and horse arcTrade ReviewI particularly enjoyed finding out more on the Indian side of the campaign. * Wargames Illustrated *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN Literary sources CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS Alexander Poros OPPOSING FORCES Alexander’s army Poros’ army THE BATTLE OF THE HYDASPES The crossing The battle Analysis AFTERMATH ABBREVIATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisFrom the first shots fired at Fort Sumter in 1861 to the final clashes on the Road to Appomattox in 1864, The Atlas of the Civil War reconstructs the battles of America's bloodiest war with unparalleled clarity and precision. Edited by Pulitzer Prize recipient James M. McPherson and written by America's leading military historians, this peerless reference charts the major campaigns and skirmishes of the Civil War. Each battle is meticulously plotted on one of 200 specially commissioned full-color maps. Timelines provide detailed, play-by-play maneuvers, and the accompanying text highlights the strategic aims and tactical considerations of the men in charge. Each of the battle, communications, and locator maps are cross-referenced to provide a comprehensive overview of the fighting as it swept across the country. With more than two hundred photographs and countless personal accounts that vividly describe the experiences of soldiers in the fields, The Atlas of the Civil War brings to life the human drama that pitted state against state and brother against brother.

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Book SynopsisDocuments the deployment of the US Marine Corps to Vietnam from 1965 to 1975.

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated study of the battle at Dien Bien Phu, the 56-day siege that eventually led to the surrender of the remaining French-led forces, this iconic battle provided the climax of the First Indochina War.In late 1953, the seventh year of France''s war against the Viet Minh insurgency in its colony of Vietnam, the C-in-C, General Navarre, was encouraged to plant an ''air-ground base'' in the Thai Highlands at Dien Bien Phu, to distract General Giap''s Vietnamese People''s Army from both Annam and the French northern heartland in the Red River Delta, and to protect the Laotian border. Elite French paratroopers captured Dien Bien Phu, which was reinforced between December 1953 and February 1954 with infantry and artillery, a squadron of tanks and one of fighter-bombers, to a strength of 10,000 men. Giap and the VPA General Staff accepted the challenge of a major positional battle; through a total mobilization of national resources, and with Chinese logistical Trade ReviewA fine analysis, and a tribute to immense bravery on both sides. -- Chris JarvisTable of ContentsOrigins of the Campaign Chronology Opposing Commanders Opposing Forces and Orders of Battle Opposing Plans The Battle Aftermath The Battlefield Today Further Reading Acronyms and Abbreviations Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of one of the most brilliant, flamboyant and historically important men who ever lived.''A superb achievement'' LITERARY REVIEW''Combines scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover'' Simon Sebag Montefiore''Magnificent'' DAILY TELEGRAPHFrom the very beginning, Caesar''s story makes dazzling reading. In his late teens he narrowly avoided execution for opposing the military dictator Sulla. He was decorated for valour in battle, captured and held to ransom by pirates, and almost bankrupted himself by staging games for the masses. As a politician, he quickly gained a reputation as a dangerously ambitious maverick. By his early 30s he had risen to the position of Consul, and was already beginning to dominate the Senate. His affairs with noblewomen were both frequent and scandalous.His greaTrade ReviewGoldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Goldsworthy is renowned as a military historian, but his coverage here of messy late Republican politics is also authoritative and clear. He gives us a colourful sense of the wider world and Roman society at this time, and above all, the commanding, unmistakeable presence of the timelessly fascinating man himself * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *Adrian Goldsworthy's account of this extraordinary period is a superb achievement. He writes at length and in detail, but with a light touch, never allowing the complexities to obscure the sharpness of the story line...It is a model of the way ancient biographies should be written * LITERARY REVIEW *Goldsworthy is the one of the new generation of young classicists who combine scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover -- Simon Sebag MontefioreThe analysis of Caesar's generalship is predictably excellent, the account of the Gallic wars, in particular, has rarely been bettered * SPECTATOR *This admirable biography... is so lucid, so comprehensive and so balanced -- Allan Massie * DAILY TELEGRAPH *A compelling biography of Julius Caesar, charting his fantastically eventful life * FINANCIAL TIMES *Goldsworthy is a fine military historian and his account of the Gallic Wars is exemplary * INDEPENDENT *[Goldsworthy] is careful and judicious in his analyses, seeking to integrate the man of action, the scholar, the showman, the lover, legal reformer, town planner * THE TABLET *Adrian Goldsworthy's 519-page work certainly does justice to the scale of his subject, and the evidence is masterfully assembled -- Boris Johnson * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Richness of detail illuminates to great effect the risk-taking, self-promotion and sheer force of will that fuelled Caesar's extraordinary career * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *A thorough and wide-ranging biography of a legendary figure * DAILY EXPRESS *Highly enjoyable... [Goldsworthy] writes well, and with real authority -- Simon Heffer * COUNTRY LIFE *Goldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man. -- Toby Clements * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe changing role of women in warfare, a neglected aspect of military history, is the subject of this collection of perceptive, thought-provoking essays. By looking at the wide range of ways in which women have become involved in all the aspects of war, the authors open up this fascinating topic to wider understanding and debate. The discuss how, particularly in the two world wars, women have been increasingly mobilized in all the armed services, originally as support staff, then in defensive combat roles. They also consider the tragic story of women as victims of male violence, and how women have often put up a heroic resistance, and examine how women have been drawn into direct combat roles on an unprecedented level, a trend that is still controversial in the present day. The collection brings together the work of noted academics and historians with the wartime experiences of women who have remarkable personal stories to tell. The book will be a milestone in the study of the recent history of the parts women have played in the history of warfare. Authors Dr Juliette Pattinson, Professor Mark Connelly, Georgina Natzio, Christine Halsall, Jonathan Walker, Major Imogen Corrigan, Dr. Halik Kochanski, Dr T.A. Heathcote, Elspeth Johnstone, Mike Ryan, Grace Filby, Dr George Bailey, Tatiana Roshupkina, Leicester Chilton, Paul Edward Strong, Celia Lee, John Lee

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Book SynopsisNew B-format paperback - âWe werenât afraid of the Allies as soldiers, but we were afraid of their materiel â it was going to be men versus machines.â Written from the âother sideâ and told through the words of the veterans, this book is a revelation.Trade Review‘Fascinating’ -- Daily Mail

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating study tracing the evolution of drone technology and counterterrorism policy from the Reagan to the Obama administrationsTrade Review“An insightful history of the development of America’s counterterrorism strategy, technology and organization from Reagan to Obama. This book offers well-researched and balanced judgments which underscore the crucial need for robust and clear oversight of covert operations.”—Bruce Riedel, Director of the Intelligence Project, Brookings Institution -- Bruce Riedel“In Christopher J. Fuller’s brilliantly written book, the origins of America’s controversial policy of using drones to fight terrorism emerge clearly for the first time.”—Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, author of We Know All About You: The Story of Surveillance in Britain and America -- Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones“Scholars, practitioners, and citizens alike will learn more here than anywhere else about the rise of drones and, especially, the largely unheralded role the CIA played in this development."—Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia -- Loch K. Johnson“A deeply researched, provocative, and important analysis of the origins of the CIA’s drone program.”—Kathryn Olmsted, Professor of History, University of California, Davis -- Kathryn Olmsted“Fuller carefully structures a historical analysis of American counterterrorism policy and the subsequent evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from the Reagan administration through today.”—Choice * Choice *

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Book SynopsisErnst Jünger, one of twentieth-century Germany’s most important and controversial writers, faithfully kept a journal during the Second World War in occupied Paris, on the eastern front, and in Germany until its defeat—writings that are of major historical and literary significance. These wartime journals appear here in English for the first time.Trade ReviewErnst Jünger’s record of German-occupied Paris and the battlefields of the Caucasus is a treasure trove for readers interested in the history of the Second World War. Even more, though, it is a literary accomplishment of the first order, a document of European modernism, in which this master stylist leaves traces of the violence of the age between the lines of his crystalline prose. -- Russell A. Berman, Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University, and senior fellow, Hoover InstitutionThese diaries are not only a remarkable document of the time, but bring us close to a strange but highly original person, always capable of a fresh response to the natural world, the atmosphere of Paris, and the hideous events that force themselves on his knowledge. Many of Jünger’s texts have an inhuman chill; these diaries reveal his humanity. -- Ritchie Robertson * Times Literary Supplement *For English-speaking readers who do not know his work, A German Officer in Occupied Paris shows the many sides of this complex, elusive writer. -- Edmund Fawcett * Financial Times *Through these journals, we see Jünger consorting with resistors and collaborators, intellectuals and artists, drinking champagne, dining in sumptuous restaurants, and accompanying other officers to nightclubs, where naked women perform. Wandering around the city, he combs through antiquarian bookshops, stops in at galleries, discusses literature with friends, and acutely observes plants and flowers change with the seasons. He recounts in detail his dreams, nightmares, and musings on war. . . . A unique historical testimony. * Kirkus Reviews *Once read, these [journals] are never forgotten. They are surely the strangest literary production to come out of the Second World War, stranger by far than anything by Céline or Malaparte. Jünger reduces his war to a sequence of hallucinatory prose poems in which things appear to breathe and people perform like automata or, at best, like insects. -- Bruce Chatwin, New York Review of Books (review of French edition)Politically ambiguous and polymathic, Jünger led a remarkable and long life (he died at the age of 102 in 1998) as a soldier, writer and philosopher. "I suffer from a hyperacute sense of observation," he said, not as a boast, but by way of admitting to a weakness. The foibles of the Nazis, the deathwatch beetles he collected, the facial tics of liars, the flick of a Parisian woman's hair as she bought a hat, the physical contortions of an executed deserter: all these came under the magnifying glass in his war journals, kept from 1941-45. Their publication in English, fluently translated, is a remarkable moment, presenting a model of how to navigate an age of extremism. -- Roger Boyes * The Times of London *Expertly translated into English by Thomas and Abby Hansen . . . with an excellent biographical-critical foreword by Elliot Y. Neaman. -- Michael Dirda * The Washington Post *[Jünger's] writings and insights have long earned him sage status in Germany. This, the first publication in English of his diaries from 1941–45, heightens his complexity but also makes him a more rounded figure. -- Alex Colville * The Spectator *A German Officer in Occupied Paris is a remarkable slice of World War II, and makes for fascinating reading. -- M.A. Orthofer * The Complete Review *Jünger is an eloquent and informative witness to artistic life in occupied France, deportations, the burgeoning French Resistance and the conspirators against Hitler as well as the utter chaos after Stalingrad. This edition also includes extensive notes and a full glossary of all the people mentioned in the text. * Times Higher Education *Jünger’s war diaries, translated here with damning clarity by Thomas and Abby Hansen, are a fascinating, refined and disturbing record of the moral disasters of Nazism and collaboration. -- Dominic Green * Wall Street Journal *With the publication of these extraordinary, sometimes hallucinatory diaries. English speakers have the chance to read one of the great witnesses to 20th-century Europe’s catastrophe. -- Paul Lay * New Statesman *A highly decorated German veteran of the First World War, Jünger (1895-1998) spent much of the Second as an officer stationed in Paris, where his journal is an almost daily record of the views and impressions of a well-read literary figure, entomologist, and cultural critic, now available for the first time in English. . . . Elliot Neaman is to be thanked for a comprehensive Foreword, as are Thomas Hansen and Abby Hansen for their translation of a most enigmatic set of Journals, and Columbia University Press for publishing them. They have made accessible the work of a cultured and literary person in service to a brutal regime. -- Bertram M. Gordon * H-Diplo *In Paris, Jünger tried to confront absolute horror with his chevalieresque idea of style, and the experiment is absorbing to observe, in its short-circuits and moments of illumination and ultimate burnout. -- Adam Thirlwell * New York Review of Books *Named a 2019 book of the year. -- Lucy Beckett * Times Literary Supplement *However uneven or bizarre some of the entries, the overall structure of the journals — free-flowing, chaotic, and kaleidoscopic — works. Together they act as a mirror reflecting a world where the center had not held. * The New Criterion *Table of ContentsForeword, by Eliot NeamanTranslator’s Preface1. First Paris Journal2. Notes from the Caucasus3. Second Paris Journal4. Kirchhorst DiariesNotesGlossary of Personal NamesIndex

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Book SynopsisDuring World War Two the Special Operation Executive''s French Section sent more than 400 agents into Occupied France -- at least 100 never returned and were reported ''Missing Believed Dead'' after the war. Twelve of these were women who died in German concentration camps -- some were tortured, some were shot, and some died in the gas chambers. Vera Atkins had helped prepare these women for their missions, and when the war was over she went out to Germany to find out what happened to them and the other agents lost behind enemy lines. But while the woman who carried out this extraordinary mission appeared quintessentially English, she was nothing of the sort. Vera Atkins, who never married, covered her life in mystery so that even her closest family knew almost nothing of her past. In A LIFE IN SECRETS Sarah Helm has stripped away Vera''s many veils and -- with unprecedented access to official and private papers, and the cooperation of Vera''s relatives -- vividly reconstructed an extraordinary life.Trade ReviewIt is a testament to Helm's detective skills that she has marshalled evidence to refute the various suppositions about Atkins, presenting a truth more surprising and more compelling than the numerous fictions constructed about this dedicated, if flawed, intelligence officer WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY What makes the book as fascinating as the best of thrillers is that at every stage we know as much as she does, tracking Vera down clue by clue, contact by contact ... It makes compulsive reading Peter Lewis, DAILY MAIL She has now written a truly stunning book - quite the best by a non-veteran of secret warfare ... If any young reader wonders 'why the bunting and the occasional tear this VE Day, I recommend this book' John Crossland, SUNDAY TIMES 'Carefully researched and engaging biography'

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Book SynopsisFeaturing specially commissioned artwork, archive photography, and full-color maps, this engrossing study investigates the doctrine, training, equipment, and combat record of the French and German troops who clashed in three key battles during the epic struggle for the Verdun sector at the height of World War I. On February 21, 1916, the German Army launched a major attack on the French fortress of Verdun. The Germans were confident that the ensuing battle would compel France to expend its strategic reserves in a savage attritional battle, thereby wearing down Allied fighting power on the Western Front. However, initial German success in capturing a key early objective, Fort Douaumont, was swiftly stemmed by the French defenses, despite heavy French casualties. The Germans then switched objectives, but made slow progress towards their goals; by July, the battle had become a stalemate. During the protracted struggle for Verdun, the two sides'' infantrymen faceTable of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Bois des Caures Mort-homme Fort Vaux Analysis Aftermath Unit Organizations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe weeks of bloody maneuvering and fighting along the Delaware River at Fort Mercer, Fort Mifflin, and Gloucester receive but scant attention in the literature of the American Revolution. The same is true for the five-day Whitemarsh operation and other important events in December 1777. Award-winning author Michael C. Harris's impressive Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777 rescues these important actions from obscurity, puts them in context with the Saratoga Campaign, and closes his magnificent trilogy that began with Brandywine and left off with Germantown.This period of the war began when General Sir William Howe's army of 16,500 British and Hessian soldiers set out aboard a 265-ship armada from New York to capture Philadelphia in late July 1777. Six difficult weeks later, Howe landed near Elkton, Maryland, moved north into Pennsylvania, and defeated Washington's army in the large battle at Brandywine on September 11. Philadelphia fell to the British.On October 4, Washington launched a successful surprise attack obscured by darkness and a heavy morning fog against the British garrison at Germantown. The recapture of the colonial capital seemed within Washington's grasp until poor battlefield decisions brought about a reversal of fortune and a clear British victory. Like Brandywine, however, the bloody Germantown scrap proved Continental soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with British Regulars. What followed was a protected quasi-siege of the British garrison in Germantown prior to the travails soon to come that winter at Valley Forge.Harris's Fighting for Philadelphia is the first complete study to merge the strategic, political, and tactical history of the complex operations sandwiched between Germantown and the arrival of the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Harris's sweeping prose relies almost exclusively on original archival research and a deep personal knowledge of the terrain, highlighted by eighteen original maps, illustrations, and modern photos. Told largely through the words of those who fought there, Fighting for Philadelphia is sure to please the most discriminating reader and assume its place as one of the finest military studies of its kind.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the classic The Wizards of Armageddon and Pulitzer Prize finalist comes the definitive history of American policy on nuclear war—and Presidents’ actions in nuclear crises—from Truman to Trump.Fred Kaplan, hailed by The New York Times as “a rare combination of defense intellectual and pugnacious reporter,” takes us into the White House Situation Room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “Tank” in the Pentagon, and the vast chambers of Strategic Command to bring us the untold stories—based on exclusive interviews and previously classified documents—of how America’s presidents and generals have thought about, threatened, broached, and just barely avoided nuclear war from the dawn of the atomic age until today. Kaplan’s historical research and deep reporting will stand as the permanent record of politics. Discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kaplan presents the unthinkable in terms of mass destruction and demonstrates how the nuclear war reality will not go away, regardless of the dire consequences.

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Book SynopsisPompey, hailed as ''Roman Alexander,'' rose from a young commander to lead Rome in wars against pirates, Mithridates, and Caesar.Pompey?s career in command began at a young age, taking control of his deceased father?s legions in support of Sulla during the civil war with Marius. A precocious and ambitious talent, he held repeated commands before he was the legal age. Sulla called him ?the teenage butcher?. He served in the Sertorian War in Spain (recovering from an early defeat), helped crush Spartacus? revolt then freed the Eastern Mediterranean from the depradations of Cilician pirates in a matter of weeks. He brought a victorious end to the long-running Third Mithridatic War and brought the whole of Asia Minor, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Judea under Roman influence by a mix of force and diplomacy. For good reason he was hailed even in his own lifetime as the ?Roman Alexander? and Lee Fratantuono gives these events the detailed coverage they deserve.All this came before the events for which he is usually remembered: his great civil war against Julius Caesar. There is detailed analysis of the opening moves in Italy, Pompey?s victory over Caesar at Dyrrhachium and the climactic battle at Pharsalus in September 48 BC. Pompey was defeated, fled ignominiously and was assassinated, leaving his two sons to carry on the war.

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Book SynopsisOperation ''Berlin'', the Soviet offensive launched on 16 April, 1945, by Marshals Zhukov and Koniev, isolated the German Ninth Army and tens of thousands of refugees in the Spreewald ''pocket'', south-east of Berlin. Stalin ordered its encirclement and destruction and his subordinates, eager to win the race to the Reichstag, pushed General Busse''s 9th Army into a tiny area east of the village of Halbe. To escape the Spreewald pocket, the remnants of 9th Army had to pass through Halbe, where barricades constructed by both sides formed formidable obstacles and the converging Soviet forces subjected the area to heavy artillery fire. By the time 9th Army eventually escaped the Soviet pincers, it had suffered 40,000 killed and 60,000 taken prisoner. Teenaged refugees recount their experiences alongside Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS veterans attempting to maintain military discipline amid the chaos and carnage of headlong retreat. While army commanders strive to extricate their decimat

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Book SynopsisChurchill's War in Words transports the reader back to the storm-struck days of the Second World War. Focussing only on words used at the time, it reveals the way that Winston Churchill talked about the conflict in public and in private - and the way that he himself was viewed at the time by family, friends, politicians, military leaders, staff , voters, allies and enemies.Presented in chronological order and accompanied by short year-by-year introductions, the quotations convey afresh the full force of Churchill's oratory, the wit he displayed in the face of often appalling odds, and the hopes and fears that he inspired in those around him. Together they reveal to the modern reader what it was truly like to be locked in a struggle in which victory - or total defeat - was yet to be decided. Together they tell the extraordinary story of Churchill's War in Words.Trade Review"[A] pleasantly prepared small-sized coffee table book. Heavily illustrated with photographs, the volume provides quotes by Winston Churchill drawn mostly from his speeches as well as observations and comments about him by friends (Violet Bonham Carter), members of parliament (Henry Channon, Harold Nicholson), cabinet ministers (Anthony Eden), members of his private staff (John Colville), and enemies (Josef Goebbels)."--Winston Churchill Blog

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