Modern warfare Books

Book SynopsisIn his most powerful and important book, renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton presents a brilliant analysis of the crucial role that German doctors played in the Nazi genocide. Now updated with a new preface, The Nazi Doctors remains the definitive work on the Nazi medical atrocities, a chilling exposé of the banality of evil at its epitome, and a sobering reminder of the darkest side of human nature.

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Book Synopsis'Agnes Humbert bears devastating witness to her time An insider's account of the germination of the French Resistance' William BoydTrade Review'Sober and testifying, sardonic and humorous A beautiful and powerful work of literature' Michele Roberts, The Times 'Humbert's memoir bears witness to innumerable horrors, presented here with a pugnacious courage What makes this horrific account so affecting is Humbert's sense of humour, her indomitable refusal to submit' Carmen Callil, Guardian 'An astonishing work, almost unbearable to read in places, yet ultimately inspiring A remarkable book by a remarkable and brave woman' Allan Massie, Literary Review 'Her book adds to the small record of how the human mind can preserve the heart and soul intact against all attempts to annihilate it' Linda Grant, Observer

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Book SynopsisA compilation of memorable photographs commemorating D-Day and its aftermath

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Book SynopsisA balanced overview of this ill-fated venture.

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Book SynopsisIn March 1944, Japan launched its audacious overland invasion of India from Burma. Taken by surprise, the British rear areas lay exposed and undefended except for the previously untested 50 Indian Parachute Brigade training in the jungle around Manipur.After a series of brutal encounter battles, the Paratroopers consolidated on the isolated Naga village of Sangshak high in the Manipur hills. Holding out against an aggressive and determined enemy, the Brigade fought off wave after wave of attacks in bloody hand-to hand fighting. With shortages of ammunition and supplies and casualties mounting, the defenders held on for a critical week before fighting their way out through the mountainous terrain, back to British lines.Fight Your Way Out describes this little known but critical first major battle between Indian and Japanese armies on Indian soil. The siege is described in detail using first-hand accounts as is their daring escape through the jungle and the experiences of Indian and Brit

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Book SynopsisTechnical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

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Book SynopsisThe French Indochina War (194654) was the largest of the first generation of post-World War II wars of decolonization as Vietminh insurgents sought to topple their French colonial masters. It was also unique in that the insurgency evolved from low-level guerrilla activity to mobile operations by a large conventional army which finally defeated a large European-led expeditionary force supported by artillery, armor, and air-power. The war''s progress was almost entirely dictated by the extreme terrain, and by the Chinese support enjoyed by the Vietnamese insurgents. The actions explored in this study cover three contrasting phases of the war in Tonkin during 194852, setting both sides on the path that would lead to the conflict''s climactic encounter at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon a range of sources, this meticulously researched study casts new light on the troops who fought on both sides in this evolving and momentous confTable of ContentsIntroduction / The opposing sides / Combat 1 / Combat 2 / Combat 3 / Analysis / Aftermath / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisThe Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939 saw mostly untested German troops face equally inexperienced Polish forces. With the Polish senior leadership endeavouring to hold the country's industrialized east, Hitler's forces unleashed what was essentially a large pincer operation intended to encircle and eliminate much of Poland's military strength. Harnessing this initial operational advantage, the Germans were able to attack Polish logistics, communications and command centres, thereby gaining and maintaining battlefield momentum. With the average infantry soldier on both sides comparatively well-led, equipped and transported, vital differences in battlefield support (especially air power and artillery), tactics, organization and technology would make all the difference in combat.Featuring specially commissioned artwork, archive photography and battle maps, this study focuses upon three actions that reveal the evolving nature of the 1939 campaign. The battle of Tuchola Table of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Cutting the ‘Polish Corridor’ Lomza and Nowogród The Bzura Pocket Analysis Aftermath Unit Organizations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing on extensive primary source documentation, this lively study of US air assault operations and North Vietnamese countermeasures assesses the clash between two highly contrasting approaches to warfare in a particularly challenging landscape.The tactics and technologies of modern air assault--vertical deployment of troops by helicopter or similar means--emerged properly during the 1950s in Korea and Algeria. Yet it was during the Vietnam War that helicopter air assault truly came of age and by 1965 the United States had established fully airmobile battalions, brigades, and divisions, including the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).This division brought to Vietnam a revolutionary new speed and dexterity in battlefield tactics, using massed helicopters to liberate its soldiers from traditional overland methods of combat maneuver. However, the communist troops adjusted their own thinking to handle airmobile assaults. Specializing in ambush, harassment, infiltTable of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Operation Masher Operation Crazy Horse Tam Quan Analysis Aftermath Unit Organizations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe definitive account of the final offensive against Hitler's Third Reich.

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Book SynopsisGraphic account of the most famous episode in the Battle of the Bulge. Tells the story from German and American viewpoints. Full walking and driving tour of the area over which the battle was fought.

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Book SynopsisFirst in-depth study of the Second World War as lived in Brighton and its suburbs.

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Book SynopsisJust as the Anglo-Canadian forces in the east found it difficult to advance beyond Caen after D-Day, so the US First Army laboured to advance through the Norman bocage country in the west. The lethal struggle that developed there was a defining episode in the Normandy campaign, and this photographic history is a vivid introduction to it. Through a selection of over 150 carefully chosen and meticulously captioned�wartime photographs Simon Forty traces the course of the battle and gives the reader a graphic impression of the conditions, the terrain and the experience of the troops. The Germans mounted a tenacious defence. They fought from prepared positions in the high hedgerows. Each cramped field and narrow lane became a killing ground. But the Americans adapted their tactics and brought in special equipment including bulldozers and tanks with hedgerow cutters to force their way through. The losses were appalling as the Germans used snipers, mines, machineguns and artillery to great effect. Inexorably, however, and with enormous bravery, First Army solved their tactical problems, inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders and ground their way to Saint-L�.

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Book SynopsisThe British Eighth Army, which played a decisive role in defeating the Axis in North Africa, was one of the most celebrated Allied armies of the Second World War, and this photographic history is the ideal introduction to it. The carefully chosen photographs show the men, weapons and equipment of the army during campaigns in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The battles the army fought in the Western Desert in 1941 and 1942 are the stuff of legend, as is the second Battle of El Alamein when, under Montgomery, it defeated the German and Italian forces commanded by Rommel. The book gives a vivid insight into the fighting and the desert conditions, and it shows what a varied, multinational force the army was, for it brought together men from Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth as well as Free French, Greeks and Poles.

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Book SynopsisIt is said that artillery won the Second World War for the Allies - that Soviet guns wore down German forces on the Eastern Front, negating their superior tactics and fighting ability, and that the accuracy and intensity of the British and American artillery was a major reason for the success of Allied forces in North Africa from El Alamein, in Italy and Normandy, and played a vital role in the battles of 1944 and 1945\. Yet the range of weapons used is often overlooked or taken for granted - which is why this highly illustrated history by Simon and Jonathan Forty is of such value. They stress the importance of artillery on every front and analyse how artillery equipment, training and tactical techniques developed during the conflict. The selection of wartime photographs - many from east European sources - and the extensive quotations from contemporary documents give a graphic impression of how the guns were used on all sides. The photographs emphasize the wide range of pieces employed as field, anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery without forgetting self-propelled guns, coastal and other heavyweights and the development of rockets. The authors offer a fascinating insight into the weapons that served in the artillery over seventy years ago.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book to focus on the Fleet Air Arm's contribution to naval operations in the Mediterranean after the Italian declaration of war in June 1940\. The Royal Navy found itself facing a larger and better-equipped Italian surface fleet, large Italian and German air forces equipped with modern aircraft and both Italian and German submarines. Its own aircraft were a critical element of an unprecedented fight on, over and under the sea surface. The best-known action was the crippling of the Italian fleet at Taranto, which demonstrated how aircraft carriers and their aircraft had replaced the dominance of battleships, but every subsequent operation is covered from the perspective of naval aviation. Some of these, like Matapan or the defence of the 'Pedestal' convoy to Malta, are famous but others in support of land campaigns and in the Aegean after the Italian surrender are less well recorded. In all these, the ingenuity and innovation of the Fleet Air Arm shines through - Taranto pointed the way to what the Japanese would achieve at Pearl Harbor, while air cover for the Salerno landings demonstrated the effectiveness of carrier-borne fighters in amphibious operations, a tactic adopted by the US Navy. The author's years of archival research together with his experience as a carrier pilot allow him to describe and analyse the operations of naval aircraft in the Mediterranean with unprecedented authority. This provides the book with novel insights into many familiar facets of the Mediterranean war while for the first time doing full justice to the Fleet Air Arm's lesser known achievements.

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Book SynopsisTwo sisters.One extraordinary true story.Germany, 1945. Trapped between advancing armies, stranded hundreds of miles from their mother, and with their father missing in action, sisters Barbie and Eva were confronted with an impossible choice.Should they stay and face invasion or risk their lives to find their mother?Together, they set out on a perilous three-hundred mile journey on foot across a country ravaged by war. Fuelled by courage and love, Eva and seven-year-old Barbie encounter incredible hardship, extraordinary bravery, and overwhelming generosity.Against all odds, they both survived.But neither sister came out of the journey unscathed . . .This is the powerful true story of their escape.Trade ReviewIncredible * Sunday Express *An amazing story * Daily Mail *Compelling reading * The Good Book Guide *A sensational book that is sure to move you. * Everybody's Reviewing, blog *

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Book Synopsis The early twentieth-century advent of aerial bombing made successful evacuations essential to any war effort, but ordinary people resented them deeply. Based on extensive archival research in Germany and France, this is the first broad, comparative study of civilian evacuations in Germany and France during World War II. The evidence uncovered exposes the complexities of an assumed monolithic and all-powerful Nazi state by showing that citizens' objections to evacuations, which were rooted in family concerns, forced changes in policy. Drawing attention to the interaction between the Germans and French throughout World War II, this book shows how policies in each country were shaped by events in the other. A truly cross-national comparison in a field dominated by accounts of one country or the other, this book provides a unique historical context for addressing current concerns about the impact of air raids and military occupations on civilians.Trade Review “This work adopts an innovative transnational and comparative approach…Because of the richness of the sources it complements very usefully the history of refugees and the exodus in Europe during the Second World War, a history that for several decades has often been forgotten by historians.” · Francia “With [this] publication Julia Torrie has established herself as a significant scholar of the home front during World War II...Dr. Torrie has written a fascinating book based on in-depth research in [more than twenty] French and German archives. She introduces younger and older scholars to aspects of World War II that have received little attention. She has also mastered the skills needed to carry out an excellent comparative study.” · Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d’histoire “Torrie has written an interesting and thoroughly researched book that considerably deepens our knowledge of the relationship of the “Third Reich” to its own population and to that of occupied France. She shows that the evacuations within Germany as well in occupied France were problematic.” · Historische Zeitschrift “The book makes an extensive use of French and German archives and has generally demonstrated a good knowledge of the existing secondary literature…Overall Torrie’s text is a welcome contribution to the literature on World War Two.” · H-France Review “Torrie has accomplished a great deal, a rich analysis of the significance of evacuations to national identity, the relationship between rulers and ruled, as well as the ambiguous mix of competition and sharing among enemies.” · Central European History “Overall, this is an impressively researched study…In revealing the need to examine opposition to evacuation policies, Torrie’s book is an important addition to the literature on wartime civilian evacuation.” · American Historical Review “…a useful, well-crafted book…any bi-national comparison will face difficulties of the incomparable. It is skilful to attempt one, and Torrie’s succeeds. .. we are more enlightened as to the relations between people and state in authoritarian regimes, and have developed ideas of belonging, rights and privileges. The book is a worthy contribution to a growing literature on the civilian experience of air war in Europe.” · Reviews in History “The strength of Torrie’s monograph is certainly its comparative analysis of German and French evacuations and relationship between them…A highly readable and convincing study.” · Choice "[The book] is well written and well constructed...A high quality work." · Robert Gildea, Oxford UniversityTable of Contents List of Illustrations Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Preparing for Air War Chapter 2. Order or Chaos Chapter 3. Organizing Evacuations Chapter 4. Our Stay Gives Us No Pleasure Chapter 5. If Only Family Unity Can Be Maintained Chapter 6. On the Basis of Selection Chapter 7. Responding to Chaos Chapter 8. Evacuation's Aftermath Notes Note on Sources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHailed on publication as a thought-provoking, authoritative analysis of the true beginnings of the Second World War, this revised edition of The Road to War is essential reading for anyone interested in this momentous period of history. Taking each major nation in turn, the book tells the story of their road to war; recapturing the concerns, anxieties and prejudices of the statesmen of the thirties.Trade ReviewThe best short work on the origins of the second world war. It is a masterpiece of compression * Literary Review *Stimulating and enjoyable... essential reading * Guardian *Well-written, authoritative -- Norman Stone * Sunday Times *The authors combine passion with understanding to make sound historical sense * The Economist *It is mesmerising to read about a world careering to hell * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThis book gives complete coverage of all the RAF airfields in World War 2 in Britain, including all the RAF Fighter, Bomber, Coastal, and Transport Command airfields and bases of the period. Each airfield is described with a short history, first-person accounts, and information on airfield buildings, illustrated with photographs and maps, making this book a complete and unique single-volume illustrated reference book covering all of the RAF''s frontline airfields in the UK during World War 2. General chapters also cover airfield construction and organization, orders of battle for each command at notable points of the war, and a significant part of the book is its tabular listings of RAF frontline airfields, including full details of location and user squadrons/units. Present-day usage of the airfields and the buildings is also covered. Firsthand accounts by veterans of the four wartime commands add a layer of compelling personal testimony to the book.

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Book SynopsisIn the spring of 1941, having abandoned his plans to invade Great Britain, Hitler turned the might of his military forces on to Stalin''s Soviet Russia. The German army quickly advanced far into Russian territory as the Soviet forces suffered defeat after defeat. With brutality and savagery displayed on both sides, the Eastern front was a campaign in which no quarter was given. Although Hitler''s decision to launch ''Barbarossa'' was one of the crucial turning points of the war, at first the early successes of the German army pointed to the continuing triumph of the Nazi state. As time wore on, however, the Eastern front became a byword for death for the Germans.In War without Garlands, Robert Kershaw examines the campaign largely through the eyes of the German forces who were sent to fight and die for Hitler''s grandiose plans. He draws on German war diaries, post-combat reports and secret SS files. This original material, much of which has never before been published in English, sheds new light on operation ''Barbarossa'', including the extent to which the German soldiers were genuinely surprised at the decision to attack Russia, given the well-publicised non-aggression pact. ''Barbarossa'' was a brutal, ideologically driven campaign which decided the outcome of World War II. This seminal account will be required reading for all historians of World War II and all those interested in the course of the war.

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Book SynopsisFor Winston Churchill the men and women at Bletchley Park were ‘ the geese the laid the golden eggs’ , providing important intelligence that led to the Allied victory in the Second World War. At the peak of Bletchley’ s success, a total of twelve thousand people worked there of whom more than eight thousand were women. These included a former ballerina who helped to crack the Enigma Code; a debutante working for the Admiralty with a direct line to Churchill; the convent girl who operated the Bombes, the top secret machines that tested Enigma settings; and the German literature student whose codebreaking saved countless lives at D-Day. All these women were essential cogs in a very large machine, yet their stories have been kept secret. In The Debs of Bletchley Park author Michael Smith, trustee of Bletchley Park and chair of the Trust’ s Historical Advisory Committee, tells their tale. Through interviews with the women themselves and unique access to the Bletchley Park archives, Smith reveals how they came to be there, the lives they gave up to do ‘ their bit’ for the war effort, and the part they played in the vital work of ‘ Station X’ . They are an incredible set of women, and this is their story. Trade Review"A five star comprehensive and emotionally engaging read.""A fascinating account ... long overdue."‘If you are looking for a riveting, un-put-downable read to curl up with on a Siberian January night – look no further than Michael Smith’s marvellous book – The Debs of Bletchley Park’'Comprehensive...movingly portrayed ... Smith provides a useful corrective to the many accounts that see Turing as the lone central figure at Bletchley.’‘If you are looking for a riveting, un-put-downable read to curl up with on a Siberian January night – look no further than Michael Smith’s marvellous book – The Debs of Bletchley Park’'colourful and engaging social history'‘Brisk and readable story of the women of Bletchley ... Smith is good on what the women actually did’'Pacey and easy to read ... a fascinating account of how the war changed life for women in all strata of society’"A five star comprehensive and emotionally engaging read.""A fascinating account ... long overdue."

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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 SynopsisBased on select writings from an exceptional Amsterdam archive containing more than two thousand Dutch diaries from World War II, The Diary Keepers illuminates a part of history we haven't seen in quite this way before. Nina Siegal, an accomplished journalist and novelist, weaves together excerpts from the daily journals of collaborators, resistors, and the persecuteda Dutch Nazi police detective, a Jewish journalist imprisoned at Westerbork transit camp, a grocery store owner who saved dozens of livesinto a braided nonfictional narrative of the Nazi occupation and the Dutch Holocaust, as individuals experienced it day by day.Siegal provides the context, both historical and personal, while she tries to make sense of her own relationship to this past. As a second-generation survivor born and raised in New York, she attempts to understand what it meant for her mother and maternal grandparents to live through the war in Europe in those times. When Siegal moved to Amsterdam, those questionTrade Review Praise for The Diary Keepers ‘A beautiful, poignant book about the darkest period in modern Dutch history…This book gives a powerful voice to forgotten witnesses’ David de Jong, author of Nazi Billionaires ‘Nina Siegal has accomplished a remarkable feat. She has given us a day-by-day narrative of the Holocaust in the Netherlands by splicing together excerpts from a few of the hundreds of diaries stored in an Amsterdam archive…With thoughtful and insightful observations of her own, Siegal helps us understand how 75 percent of the 140,000 Jews of Holland, a prosperous and cultivated Western European country, could have been murdered, posing a warning for our own deeply fractured country’ Joseph Berger, author of Elie Wiesel: Confronting the Silence ‘The Diary Keepers is an astonishing, essential book that asks us to bear witness to an unbearable history, even as it invites us to think hard about what history is—how it gets written, and what stories it tells. This book is powerfully moving and necessarily terrifying. By way of rigorous research and intimate storytelling, Nina Siegal brings us close to her diary keepers—making it impossible to turn away from the difficult, necessary questions their lives raise about survival, suffering, complicity, and memory’ Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams ‘Like an archaeologist excavating an ancient temple, Nina Siegal has dug up hundreds of stories of life under the unprecedented horror of Nazism, revealing the changing thoughts and shifting moods of heroes, villains, and victims. Until now, we only had a black-and-white image of these lives. Now, thanks to Siegal, we see them in living color’ Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Sontag ‘This moving and masterful book tells the history of those fateful war years, and their aftermath, in a wonderfully intimate way’ Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field

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Book SynopsisOffering a fresh perspective on the American war in Southeast Asia and superpower diplomacy during the Nixon-Kissinger years, this gripping work drawing on thousands of declassified documents and tapes to provide a startling account of the mpact of high-level decisions in Washington on people in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the United States.Trade ReviewWith over 30,000 books published on the Vietnam War, does it make sense to write another book about the conflict waged by the United States in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam between 1957 and 1973? Reading Fire and Rain, the answer is affirmative for several reasons. * Mariano Aguirre , International Affairs *Eisenberg's account reads as easily as a novel....In detailing Nixon and Kissinger's (often secret) overtures to and negotiations with the Communist superpowers of China and the Soviet Union...Eisenberg stresses that the pair often circumvented their own State Department....This is...a recurring theme: the increasing number of concessions made, in secret, to Communist powers while ostensibly fighting Communism in South Vietnam. * Sarah Cords, The Progressive *A gripping narrative of America's war in Vietnam during its fateful, concluding years, replete with intrigue, manipulation, self-deception, and mindless brutality. Fire and Rain is a vividly written, even harrowing book. Carolyn Eisenberg has produced a masterpiece. * Andrew Bacevich, author of On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Bidding Farewell to the American Century *Even experts on Vietnam will be surprised at the revelations in Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain. Deploying a wealth of declassified documents, archival finds, and eyewitness accounts, Fire and Rain paints a sweeping, panoramic, and devastating portrait of the war that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger waged, a fatal fraud on America and Southeast Asia. * Ken Hughes, author of Fatal Politics: The Nixon Tapes, the Vietnam War, and the Casualties of Reelection *An impressive work of diplomatic history, Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain convincingly reveals how Richard Nixon's and Henry Kissinger's catastrophic war in Southeast Asia set the course of subsequent US diplomacy with Russia and China. This book should be widely read. * Greg Grandin, Yale University *A formidable achievement. Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain is a brilliant and deeply shocking biography of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. Relying on Kissinger's own telephone transcripts and newly declassified presidential papers, Eisenberg's measured narrative strips away all the lies and myths to document how these deeply flawed men single-handedly prolonged the Vietnam war. It is an all too human tale of deception and incompetence. Kissinger's vaunted reputation will never recover from a book destined to become a classic history of the Vietnam tragedy. * Kai Bird, Leon Levy Center for Biography *Accessibly written and meticulously researched, Fire and Rain is a thought-provoking and important book on the American war in Vietnam. * Daniel R. Hart, VVA Veteran *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: "This is Not Frivolous, Mr. Chairman!" Part I: The War Chapter 1:"Mired in Stalemate" Chapter 2:"We Will Hit Them without Warning" Chapter 3:"I See Death Coming Up the Hill" Chapter 4:"It Makes Our Position Murder" Chapter 5:"Blow Their Candles Out" Chapter 6:"You Shouldn't Kill That Many" Chapter 7:"The Idealists Are the Builders" Chapter 8:"Hit 'Em in the Gut" Chapter 9:"The Great Mystery of Life" Chapter 10:"The Greatest Success" Chapter 11:"Enjoy the Breeze" Chapter 12:"We Might Have Burned Your House" Chapter 13:"Something Like a Moron" Chapter 14:"Take A Stinking Hill" Chapter 15:"Everyone Was Crying" Chapter 16:"Bring Our Brothers Home" Part II: War and Diplomacy Chapter 17:"You've Only Got One Card" Chapter 18:"Man of Peace" Chapter 19:"Knock the Shit Out of Them" Chapter 20:"Seize the Hour! Seize the Day" Chapter 21:"The Whole Ground Shakes" Chapter 22:"Let Us Think of Tanya" Chapter 23:"Four More Years" Chapter 24:"You're Three for Three, Mr. President" Chapter 25:"Miserable, Filthy People" Chapter 26:"A Terrific Let-down" Chapter 27:"Let the Americans See Me" Epilogue:"We Were Serious People!" Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSince World War II, the American public has become fully aware of the exploits of the 101st Airborne Division, but within the ranks of the 101st there existed a notorious sub-unit whose formidable reputation has persisted among veterans over the decades. Primarily products of the Dustbowl and the Depression, and never ones to salute an officer, or take a bath, the Filthy 13 attained legendary status within the Screaming Eagles for its hard drinking, and savage fighting skill – and that was only in training.Trade ReviewThe true story of the Dirty Dozen is fascinating, funny, thrilling, fantastic, and larger than life. * Books Monthly *

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Book SynopsisSuperb well-captioned images show SS troops and their equipment in action.

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Book SynopsisRising '44 is a brilliant narrative account of one of the most dramatic episodes in 20th century history, drawing on Davies' unique understanding of the issues and characters involved. In August 1944 Warsaw offered the Wehrmacht the last line of defence against the Red Army's march from Moscow to Berlin. When the Red Army reached the river Vistula, the people of Warsaw believed that liberation had come. The Resistance took to the streets in celebration, but the Soviets remained where they were, allowing the Wehrmacht time to regroup and Hitler to order that the city of Warsaw be razed to the ground. For 63 days the Resistance fought on in the cellars and the sewers. Defenceless citizens were slaughtered in their tens of thousands. One by one the City's monuments were reduced to rubble, watched by Soviet troops on the other bank of the river. The Allies expressed regret but decided that there was nothing to be done, Poland would not be allowed to be governed by Poles. The sacrifice was in vain and the Soviet tanks rolled in to the flattened city. It is a hugely dramatic story, vividly and authoritatively told by one of our greatest historians.Trade Review[His] knowledge and his passion are displayed in this notable book. His research among Polish and Soviet sources is exhaustive -- Max Hastings * Sunday Telegraph *Davies reveals a comprehensive design, tremendous narrative power, a remarkable gift for compression, and a shrewd sense of overall balance * The New York Review of Books *Davies has been widely recognised as the historian of that benighted country. Now he has used the forthcoming 60th anniversary of the uprising not only to provide a comprehensive account but to make us rethink the central trauma of the 20th century - the conflict between democracies and the totalitarian fantasies of fascism and communism. * Guardian *Much more than the story of the Warsaw uprising. It is one of the most savage indictments of Allied malfeasance yet leveled by a historian. Unsparing in his depictions of the slaughter of the Polish fighters and the destruction of their capital, Davies challenges the popular assumption that World War II was entirely the triumph of good over evil. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisAn account of wartime Greece, exploring the impact of Nazi Occupation upon the lives and values of ordinary people. It seeks to offer a vividly human picture of resistance fighters and black marketeers, teenage German conscripts and Gestapo officers, Jews and starving villagers.Trade Review"Fascinating. . . . [Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation. . . . [This book] conjures up, in vivid detail, life under an occupation that had shattered old certainties and replaced them with painful choices, cynical compromises and hopes undercut by the daily death toll."—Mark Almond, The Times"[An] important book . . . sharply focused."—C.M. Woodhouse, Times Literary Supplement"Mark Mazower's account of the Italo-German seizure of Greece . . . should make sense to anyone with a feel for truthful documentation. . . . An objective study."—Nigel Spivey, Financial Times"Fascinating. . . . [Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation. . . . [This book] conjures up, in vivid detail, life under an occupation that had shattered old certainties and replaced them with painful choices, cynical compromises and hopes undercut by the daily death toll."—Mark Almond, The Times"This is the first thorough account in English of almost every aspect of life in Axis-occupied Greece. It draws on a mass of material, including Greek wartime newspapers and German military archives. All of this is absorbed into a highly readable narrative and illustrated with sometimes heartbreaking contemporary photographs."—Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph"Scholarly in its use of sources, yet rich in feeling and full of vivid descriptions. The account of tens of thousands of people starving to death is harrowing and appalling; the civil insurrection which followed and the ensuing acts of brutality on both sides are presented with equal pathos."—Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph"[A] notable study . . . the first of its kind in English."—Publishers Weekly"[Mazower's] elegant prose and meticulous eye for detail cut to the heart of the nature and effects of the occupation on Greek society and political life. . . . With its rich historical detail, vivid accounts, its sheer scope and perceptiveness, it is a must for the professional historian, and an eye-opener for the interested general reader."—Spyros Economides, The European"One is glad to have [this book]. Mazower writes without fuss and takes analysis easily in the stride of his narrative."—Colin Richmond, Jane's Intelligence Review"A vivid and penetrating insight into the political and military confusion of the period. . . . [Mazower's] understanding and grasp of this often contentious area of history has been well served by the fluency with which he relates it. It is a very well-written, readable and often moving book."—Imogen Grundon, Literary Review"[A] sensitive, illuminating and richly textured account of painful, complex experience."—Richard Overy, The Observer "A stupendous feat of personal and original research. . . . He has digested this heterogeneous material so thoroughly that his book is eminently readable. . . . A masterpiece of exposition."—N. G. L. Hammond, Anglo-Hellenic Review"Mazower's book is a stupendous achievement and a work of immaculate scholarship."—History Today"The book's focus on the experiences of everyday life in extreme circumstances gives it an immediacy and emotional impact that few readers will be able to ignore to forget. Mazower wears his scholarship lightly and writes without jargon, with detachment and yet with passion; readers will find themselves responding similarly."—Margaret E. Kenna, Ethnic & Racial Studies"Mazower's work is to be highly commended. . . . This is a book which deserves the widest readership possible."—Martyn Housden, British Journal of Holocaust Education"A book of great interest and originality. . . . Altogether this volume provides us with a refreshing exercise in revisionist history."—M.R.D. Foot, Slavonic ReviewJoint Winner of the 1993 Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History "One of the very best books in any language, to have been written on wartime Greece. Indeed . . . one of the most significant books to have been written on modern Greece as a whole."—Richard Clogg"Mark Mazower's compelling and scholarly account of the occupation of Greece by the axis is doubly invaluable . . . Dr. Mazower's study of occupied Greece is based on an impressive range of archival and secondary sources in several languages. It is not only both comprehensive and readable but also topical."—Tim Kirk"Mazower's crisp, dramatic presentation of all aspects of life in occupied Greece is a model of clarity and compactness. The politics of occupation, collaboration, resistance, and plain survival are elaborated in vivid detail. There is a brightness of vision in this work, which is as unyielding and unsentimental as the craggy beauty of Greece."—Ivo Banac

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Book SynopsisA Moment of War is the powerful and harrowing final book in Laurie Lee''s acclaimed trilogy that began with Cider with RosieLaurie Lee was still a young man when he decided to fight for the Republican cause in Spain''s civil war. But though he braved icy, storm-swept mountains alone to contact Republican sympathisers, he was immediately suspected of being a Nationalist spy. Imprisoned and almost executed by his own side, he eventually joined the International Brigade. This is the story of his experiences as a Republican soldier, fighting for the losing side in a doomed war.''A great, heart-stopping narrative of one young Englishman''s part in the war in Spain . . . crafted by a poet, stamping an indelible image of the boredom, random cruelty and stupidity of war'' - Literary Review ''This story aches with unforgotten cold and trembles with unforgotten terror'' -Guardian Trade ReviewA work of lyrical intensity. Read it and salute one of Britain's finest writers * Daily Mail *A great, heart-stopping narrative of one young Englishman's part in the war in Spain . . . crafted by a poet, stamping an indelible image of the boredom, random cruelty and stupidity of war * Literary Review *This story aches with unforgotten cold and trembles with unforgotten terror * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisJapan 1945. In one of the defining moments of the twentieth century, more than 100,000 people were killed instantly by two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by US Air Force B29s. Hundreds of thousands more succumbed to their horrific injuries, or slowly perished of radiation-related sickness. Hiroshima Nagasaki tells the story of the tragedy through the eyes of the survivors, from the twelve-year-olds forced to work in war factories to the wives and children who faced it alone. Through their harrowing personal testimonies, we are reminded that these were ordinary people, given no warning and no chance to escape the horror.American leaders claimed that the bombings were ''our least abhorrent choice'' and fell strictly on ''military targets''. Even today, most people believe they ended the Pacific War and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. Hiroshima Nagasaki challenges this deep-set perception, revealing that the atomic bombings were the final crippling blow to the Japanese in a stratgic air war waged primarily against civilians.Trade Review[A] vivid, comprehensive and quietly furious account...Paul Ham brings new tools to the job, unearthing fresh evidence of a deeply disturbing sort. He has a magpie eye for the telling detail -- Ben Macintyre * The Times *We are in Paul Ham's debt for showing that it is unjustifiable to consider ever again dropping an atomic bomb...Comprehensive and horrifying -- Jonathan Mirsky * Literary Review *Provocative and challenging, Paul Ham's book strips away the cosy myth that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the Second World War...A voice that is both vigorous and passionate -- Christopher Sylvester * Daily Express *Controversial...Gives an eye-witness picture that leaves Dante's Inferno looking pale...Well documented and stringently argued -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail *With more detail than the average text book yet written in a way that pulls you in ... this is essential for anyone remotely interested in our history * Sydney Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisEggs or Anarchy is one of the great, British stories of the Second World War yet to be told in full. It reveals the heroic tale of how Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, really fed Britain. As a nation at war, with supply routes under attack from the Axis powers and resources scarce, it was Woolton's job to fulfil his promise to the British people, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in particular, that there would be food on the shelves each week. Persuading the public to not resort to the black market and to manage on the very limited ration was one thing, but Woolton had to fulfil his side of the bargain and maintain supplies in time of crisis. A grammar school-educated genius, he was a fish out of water in Churchill's cabinet and the PM himself doubted Woolton would survive due to the unstinting criticism he faced from colleagues, the press and public.   This is the story of how he battled to save his own career while using every trick in his entrepreneuriaTrade Review‘William writes with irresistible wit and energy . . . A compelling portrait of one of the unsung, enigmatic heroes of the Second World War’ -- Michel Roux OBE‘The battles of the Second World War have been pored over in minute detail; not so the battles waged on the Kitchen Front. The food writer William Sitwell’s account of Lord Woolton, the man in charge of the Ministry of Food during the war, is an entertaining corrective to this.’ * The Times *‘Eggs or Anarchy is as much a beguiling study of social mobility as it is a hard war memoir … there is much to enjoy – with barely a powdered egg in sight – in this biography of the man who was responsible for arguably the healthiest national diet of all time’ -- Sinclair McKay * Sunday Telegraph *‘Eggs or Anarchy meticulously completes the backstory of the war. In this absorbing book Sitwell proves Woolton’s genuine intentions, absolves him for his tough line and also presents a portrait of a man whose style and approach to problems is still highly instructive. It is often said that generally the British were never healthier than in the war years. How we need a Woolton now’ -- Rose Prince * The Spectator *‘Fascinating biography’ -- Andrew Marr * Radio 4 Start the Week *‘A wonderful account of how Lord Woolton, Minster for Food, managed to keep Britain fed during World War Two… a riveting read full of delicious historical details about how one unassuming man battled against all odds to keep bellies full and morale high despite the dreaded food rationing. Excuse the pun, but I could have eaten this book up with a spoon’ * Red Magazine *

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The battles fought between the Allied armies and the German Wehrmacht at Monte Cassino in 1944 were key episodes in the protracted Italian campaign, and the eventual Allied victory was a decisive step in the wider war to liberate Europe from German occupation. Much has been written about Cassino, but few books have chosen to tell the story through photographs - to give a visual insight into the fighting and the forces involved, the conditions in which they fought, and the landscape around the Monte Cassino abbey which became a battlefield. That is why Jeffrey Plowman's photographic history is of such value. Using almost 200 wartime images, many of which have not been published before, he gives a graphic impression of the realities of the fighting as it was experienced by the troops on the ground. He focuses on the tanks - the array of armoured vehicles deployed by both sides which played a critical role. This aspect of Cassino has rarely been covered in such detail and in such a vivid way. The book will be of special interest to modellers and historians of armoured warfare, but it will also appeal to readers who have a more general interest in the Italian campaign.

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Book SynopsisCaen, a D-Day objective on 6 June 1944, did not fall to the British and Canadian troops of Second Army until 6 August, by which time much of the city had been reduced to rubble. The two-month struggle was a crucial stage in the Normandy campaign and, as Simon Forty demonstrates in this photographic history, one of the most controversial. His detailed, graphic account gives the reader a fascinating insight into the opposing forces, the conditions, the terrain, the equipment and weaponry deployed-and it illustrates just how intense and protracted the fighting was on the ground. The reasons for the slow Allied advance have been hotly disputed. Deficiencies in British and Canadian equipment and tactics have been blamed, as has the tenacity of the German resistance. Ultimately a sequence of Allied operations sapped the defenders' strength, and it is these operations-Perch, Martlet, Epsom, Windsor, Charnwood, Jupiter, Atlantic, Goodwood-that feature strongly in the striking photographs that have been selected for this book. They record in the most dramatic fashion the character of the fighting and show how even the SS divisions and heavy tank battalions were eventually defeated.

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Book SynopsisCovering the development of the atomic bomb during the Second World War, the origins and early course of the Cold War, and the advent of the hydrogen bomb in the early 1950s, Churchill and the Bomb explores a still neglected aspect of Winston Churchill''s career his relationship with and thinking on nuclear weapons. Kevin Ruane shows how Churchill went from regarding the bomb as a weapon of war in the struggle with Nazi Germany to viewing it as a weapon of communist containment (and even punishment) in the early Cold War before, in the 1950s, advocating and arguably pioneering what would become known as mutually assured destruction as the key to preventing the Cold War flaring into a calamitous nuclear war. While other studies of Churchill have touched on his evolving views on nuclear weapons, few historians have given this hugely important issue the kind of dedicated and sustained treatment it deserves. In Churchill and the Bomb, however, Kevin Ruane has undertaken eTrade Review[An] astute chronicle of a long overlooked aspect of Churchill's service to Great Britain … Ruane makes a compelling case for the atomic bomb as both a military and a diplomatic instrument, as seen from the perspective of a power vulnerable to Soviet devastation a decade earlier than the United States … Kevin Ruane has refined our understanding of a towering figure of the twentieth century. * Michigan War Studies Review *[Ruane] has identified a lacuna in the vast literature about a very great (if flawed), much-studied man, and he has filled it admirably, producing a thoroughly researched and carefully constructed historical monograph. * Journal of Modern History *If you thought there was nothing fresh to say about Winston Churchill, the look at Kevin Ruane’s tremendously assured Churchill and the Bomb which has new things to say both about the great man himself and the diplomatic climate of the 1940s and 1950s. * A Book of the Year, BBC History *Excellent … Thorough in its analysis and scrupulously fair in its judgments. * A Book of the Year, Times Higher Education *A hugely impressive analysis of Churchill's relationship with peaceful and military nuclear fission ... There have been books on this subject before, but Kevin Ruane's is the best of them and has the huge advantage of making complicated scientific theories easily explicable to the layman ... [The subject] makes for gripping reading in Ruane's capable hands. * Literary Review *There are times when books appear whose insights have specific resonance, helping to create a greater understanding of world events than before. Kevin Ruane's profound analysis of the changing nature of the relationship between Winston Churchill and the development of the atomic bomb provides an example. * Military History Monthly *Kevin Ruane’s Churchill and the Bomb is a work of impeccable scholarship, based on a profound study of many primary sources. It cannot be recommended too highly. * Twentieth-Century British History *This is an important addition to the Churchill literature, filling a gap…in what we can now know—thanks to declassification of documents on both sides of the Atlantic—about a crucial period, especially the postwar jockeying for national position in the growing Cold War. * Finest Hour: Journal of the International Churchill Society *Big man. Big weapon. Big theme. Kevin Ruane blends all three in a fascinating and fluent fusion! * Peter Hennessy, Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History, Queen Mary, University of London, UK, author of Cabinets and the Bomb *Kevin Ruane has taken as his subject Winston Churchill, a well-worn protagonist, dealing with a lesser-known subject, nuclear weapons, and produced an original, compelling study which hands the reader a real page-turner. * Kathleen Burk, University College London, UK, author of Old World, New World: the Story of Britain and America *This masterly account is a very important addition to the Churchill literature … By putting Churchill's atomic diplomacy into its wider context, Kevin Ruane illuminates one of the most vital issues of our times: the origins of the first weapons of Mass Destruction and the dilemmas that they pose for humanity. This book is scholarly yet easy to read and will appeal to all those interested in the period. * Richard Toye, University of Exeter, UK, author of Churchill’s Empire: the World that Made him and the World He Made *Kevin Ruane's study of Churchill's engagement with nuclear issues combines the in-depth knowledge of the Historian with a lucid writing style that readers will find highly informative and engaging. He has accessed a wide range of archives to tell a fascinating story that delves into nuclear science, great power diplomacy, British political history and the towering figure of Churchill himself. * John Young, Nottingham University, UK, author of Winston Churchill’s Last Campaign: Britain and the Cold War 1951-1955 *Carefully researched and marvellously detailed, Kevin’s Ruane’s Churchill and the Bomb is a major historical contribution that reveals new insights about the role of nuclear weapons during the early Cold War, as well as a deeper understanding of Britain’s most important 20th century statesman. * Martin J. Sherwin, author (with Kai Bird) of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer *With the aid of fresh insights and first-class scholarship, Kevin Ruane has written a lively reappraisal of Churchill’s ever-changing nuclear policies, and the enduring puzzle of his transition from warmonger to prophet of détente. Churchill and the Bomb is important both as a critical portrait of Churchill in old age, and as a contribution to the history of international relations. * Paul Addison, University of Edinburgh, author of Churchill: The Unexpected Hero *In his excellent study Ruane describes three “incarnations” of Churchill and nuclear weapons during the period 1941 to 1955: the atomic bomb-maker, the atomic diplomatist, and the nuclear peace-maker … Churchill and the Bomb in War and Cold War is a well-researched, detailed, and comprehensive study of Churchill and nuclear weapons. * A Blog on Winston Churchill *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations used in text Introduction: So Many Winston Churchills Part I: War 1. Only Connect 2. Tube Alloys 3. Allies at War 4. The Quebec Agreement 5. Mortal Crimes 6. Bolsheviks, Bombs and Bad Omens 7. Trinity and Potsdam Part II: Cold War 8. Heavy Metal, Iron Curtain 9. Warmonger/Peacemonger 10. To the Summit 11. Atomic Angles 12. Hurricane Warning 13. A Pill to End it All 14. H-bomb Fever 15. The July Days 16. Sturdy Child of Terror Conclusion: '… if God wearied of mankind' Abbreviations used in notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Battle of Stalingrad with wartime pictures and modern day comparisons to present this title in our 'then and now' theme.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating portrait of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the darkest figures of Hitler's elite, featuring words with those who knew him best, including in-depth and rare interviews with his wife, Lina. He was called the 'Hangman of the Gestapo' and the 'Butcher of Prague'. He had a reputation as a ruthlessly efficient killer and was known as an exemplar of Nazi ideals. He was the head of the SS and the Gestapo, second in command to Heinrich Himmler and supposedly in line to succeed the Fuhrer.His orders set in motion the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938 and he was the lead planner of the Final Solution, which led to the murder of millions of Jews across Nazi-occupied Europe.Hitler called him 'the man with the iron heart'.This incredible biography explores who Reinhard Heydrich was, how he came to be and what led him to do what he did.Using in-depth research, Nancy Dougherty (and, following her death, Christopher Lehman-Haupt), paint a detailed picture of Heydrich as never seen before. Through extensive interviews with those who knew him best, including his wife Lina von Osten Heinrich, we hear about his rarefied musical family origins and ugly-duckling childhood, his failed Naval career and struggles to find employment, and finally his meteoric rise through the Nazi high command and his time within the Third Reich.The Man With the Iron Heart is an astonishing journey into the depths of Nazi evil and a powerful insight into one of humanity's darkest figures.

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Book Synopsis"This book is a masterpiece. It captures the essence of the Tuskegee Airmen's experience from the perspective of one who lived it. The action sequences make me feel I'm back in the cockpit of my P-51C 'Kitten'! If you want to know what it was like fighting German interceptors in European skies while winning equal opportunity at home, be sure to read this book!" —Colonel Charles E. McGee, USAF (ret.) former president, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. “All Americans owe Harry Stewart Jr. and his fellow airmen a huge debt for defending our country during World War II. In addition, they have inspired generations of African American youth to follow their dreams.” —Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University He had to sit in a segregated rail car on the journey to Army basic training in Mississippi in 1943. But two years later, the twenty-year-old African American from New York was at the controls of a P-51, prowling for Luftwaffe aircraft at five thousand feet over the Austrian countryside. By the end of World War II, he had done something that nobody could take away from him: He had become an American hero. This is the remarkable true story of Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr., one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen pilots who experienced air combat during World War II. Award-winning aviation writer Philip Handleman recreates the harrowing action and heart-pounding drama of Stewart’s combat missions, including the legendary mission in which Stewart downed three enemy fighters. Soaring to Glory also reveals the cruel injustices Stewart and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen faced during their wartime service and upon return home after the war. Stewart’s heroism was not celebrated as it should have been in postwar America—but now, his boundless courage and determination will never be forgotten.

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Book SynopsisThe events of 1942 marked a pivotal year in the history of British air power. For more than two decades the theory that long-range bombing could win wars had dominated British defence policy. The vast majority of warplanes ordered for the RAF were designed either to bomb enemy cities or stop the enemy from bombing British cites. Conventional armies and the air forces that supported them were seen as an outmoded way of waging war. During 1941 evidence began to mount that British policy was wrong. It had become clear the RAF's bomber offensive against Germany had, until that point, achieved very little. Meanwhile, the wars raging in Europe, Africa and Asia were being decided not by heavy bombers, but by armies and their supporting tactical air forces. Britain had never had the resources to build a large army as well as a strategic bomber fleet; it had always had to make a choice. Now it seemed the country might have made the wrong choice. For the first time since 1918 Britain began thinking seriously about a different way of fighting wars. Was it too late to change? Was a strategic bombing campaign the only option open to Britain? Could the United Kingdom help its Soviet ally more by invading France as Stalin so vehemently demanded? Could this be done in 1942? Looking further ahead, was it time to begin the development of an entirely new generation of warplanes to support the Army? Should the RAF have specialist ground attack aircraft and air superiority fighters? The answers to these questions, which are all explored here by aviation historian Greg Baughen, would help shape the development of British air power for decades to come.Trade Review'An excellently researched and written volume. Baughen covers in great detail the political, industrial and technological aspects of the bomber campaign and its impact in terms of resources and outcomes for land operations, the Atlantic Battle and Coastal Command operations and the Air Defence of Great Britain. There are insights into the minds of key players including Portal, Tedder, Harris, Douglas, Conningham, Leigh-Mallory, Brooke, Eisenhower and Churchill to name just a few. The book stimulates thought on questions such as When does doctrine become dogma? I thoroughly recommend this book to those with an interest not only in the Bomber Offensive but also in the more diverse aspects of war strategy and its conduct' - *Martin Willoughby, Chairman of the Wessex Branch of the Western Front Association* 'This new study (2021) provides a fresh perspective on how a series of crucial decisions were made in the middle of the war. A deeply researched and highly readable study, RAF at the Crossroads is a must read for anyone interested in this central plank of British - and later American - strategy for the war in Europe. Books like this should not be taken in any way as diminishing the bravery of bomber air crew - all too many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless it is right to ask sceptical questions and consider the many factors in play when these decisions were made.' - *WW2Today, April 2022* 'This is an excellent little book… [It] is going to appeal to all but especially those interested in aviation and the RAF… Certainly a good book for students that want to look at other ways the war could have been won... I really enjoyed the debate and discussion.' - *The History Fella April 2022*

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Book SynopsisExcellent' Antony BeevorSaul David is a brilliant historian In shocking and jaw-dropping detail, he brings a battle that deserves far greater prominence and understanding vividly back to life' James HollandFrom award-winning historian Saul David, an action-packed and powerful new narrative of the Battle of Okinawa the last great clash of the Second World War, and one that had profound consequences for the modern world. For eighty-three blood-soaked days, the fighting on the island of Okinawa plumbed depths of savagery as bad as anything seen on the Eastern Front. When it was over, almost a quarter of a million people had lost their lives, making it by far the bloodiest US battle of the Pacific. In Okinawa, the death toll included thousands of civilians lost to mass suicide, convinced by Japanese propaganda that they would otherwise be raped and murdered by the enemy. On the US side, David argues that the horror of the battle ultimately determined President Truman's choice to use atomTrade Review Shortlisted for the 2021 British Army Military Book of the Year Longlisted for the 2021 HWA Non-fiction Crown Awards A BBC History Magazine Best Book of the Year 2020 An Amazon.com History Book of the Month A The Times Best Book of 2020 A Telegraph Best Book of 2020 ‘Gripping, even gruesome, yet deeply moving … Sweeps us masterfully from a coral charnel house in the Pacific to the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima’ David Reynolds ‘The best book I’ve read on the Battle of Okinawa. Finally a military historian has written a book which gives humanity to the Japanese, without taking anything away from what the Americans endured and achieved on that island … David fits perfectly into the fine tradition of war books by Max Hastings and Antony Beevor. It’s war at its most beautiful and most horrible’ Gerard deGroot ‘A superb soldier’s-eye history of Okinawa, the Second World War’s ghastliest battle … The meticulousness of his research really starts to display itself … A highly readable and informative book that often reads like a screenplay, but depicts suffering that was all too real … [David] is peerless now among our military historians’Daily Telegraph ‘David restores a human dimension to this battle – both sides are brave, stoic, frightened, barbaric and occasionally cowardly. This is narrative history at its most visceral as battles unfold almost in real time … A gripping reconstruction of the action’ Times 'Graphic and compelling … Written with style and verve … David brings the ghastly mayhem of war to life in a vivid way’ Literary Review 'Superbly researched, well-written … Reminds us that the defining characteristic of war is the mass destruction of individuals, both physically and psychologically’Spectator ‘Brilliant … harrowing. The attention to detail is exemplary: we see the conflict from just about every angle’Keith Lowe, BBC History Magazine

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Book SynopsisDavid Kenyon Webster left Harvard to join the paratroopers, training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. He could have used the influence of his wealthy family to land a comfortable desk job, but he was determined to do his duty and to see the war from the point of view of an ordinary soldier. He parachuted into Normandy the night before the D-Day landings and later into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden, going on to participate in the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at the end of the war. After the war Webster worked as a journalist. On 9 September 1961, he went missing while shark fishing off the coast of California. His body was not found. His memoir remained unpublished until Stephen Ambrose discovered it, using it as a key source for his book Band of Brothers and later the series. It was Ambrose's championing of the work that led to its eventual publication.Trade ReviewGutsy, sometimes bemused and sometimes angry … it bites and hangs on * New York Times *[A] first-rate, skillfully written soldier's story * Booklist *Beautifully written and perfectly evokes life and battle in a parachute infantry company * Washinton Post *He understood the ties that bind men in battle have more to do with brotherhood and its obligations than ties to God or country * Kirkus Review *Perfectly pitched ... an authentic witness to the combat experience * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisA vivid, brutal and enthralling account of the Burma Campaign – one of the most punishing and hard-fought military adventures of World War Two.The Burma Campaign was one of the most punishing and protracted military adventures of World War Two.Trade ReviewEpic...a comprehensive and engrossing account -- Brian MacArthur * Literary Review *McLynn gives an honest, gruelling account of the longest most punishing campaign fought by the British during the Second World War -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *Easily one of the best books he has written in a long and distinguished career... A marvellous subject, too -- Trevor Royle * Sunday Herald *Magnificent...a closely woven, tightly argued and beautifully written account of the extraordinary men and women who were responsible for the higher direction of the war... This book delights, page after page. McLynn held me spellbound -- Robert Lyman * BBC History Magazine *A riveting read -- Christopher Sylvester * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisBerlin was the nerve-centre of Hitler's Germany - the backdrop for the most lavish ceremonies, it was also the venue for Albert Speer's plans to forge a new 'world metropolis' and the scene of the final climactic bid to defeat Nazism.Trade ReviewRoger Moorhouse has a deep knowledge of Wartime Germany... Moorhouse has a nice eye for social detail -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *As a leading historian of modern Germany, Moorhouse has chronicled a largely unknown story with scholarship, narrative verve and, at times, an awful, harrowing immediacy -- Ian Thompson * Sunday Telegraph *Moorhouse's evocative social history of Hitler's capital brings all these aromas together, along with the sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings of the ordinary Germans who lived here -- Keith Lowe * Daily Telegraph *Few books on the war genuinely increase the sum of our collective knowledge of this exhaustively covered period, but this one does... By trawling through the complex, often deeply morally compromised personal stories of many survivors, Moorhouse has produced new insights into the way ordinary Berliners tried to escape the disastrous ill-fortune of living in the belly of the beast -- Andrew Roberts * Financial Times *Roger Moorhouse's measured, sympathetic book offers a fascinating corrective to that Anglocentric perspective... After reading this thorough and engaging book you'll never be able to watch a war film or even a World Cup football match in quite the same way -- James Delingpole * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisThe ultimate history of the Blitz and bombing in the Second World War, from Wolfson Prize-winning historian and author Richard OveryThe use of massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize civilians was an aspect of the Second World War which continues to challenge the idea that Allies specifically fought a ''moral'' war. For Britain, bombing became perhaps its principal contribution to the fighting as, night after night, exceptionally brave men flew over occupied Europe destroying its cities. The Bombing War radically overhauls our understanding of the War. It is the first book to examine seriously not just the most well-known parts of the campaign, but the significance of bombing on many other fronts - the German use of bombers on the Eastern Front for example (as well as much newly discovered material on the more familiar ''Blitz'' on Britain), or the Allied campaigns against Italian cities. The result is the author''s masterpiece - a ricTrade ReviewMagnificent ... must now be regarded as the standard work on the bombing war ... It is probably the most important book published on the history of he second world war this century -- Richard J Evans * Guardian *Monumental ... this is a major contribution to one of the most controversial aspects of the Second World War ... full of new detail and perspectives ... hugely impressive -- James Holland * Literary Review *This tremendous book does what the war it describes signally failed to do. With a well-thought-out strategy and precision, it delivers maximum force on its objectives ... The result is a masterpiece of the historian's art * The Times *What distinguishes Mr Overy's account of the bombing war from lesser efforts is the wealth of narrative detail and analytical rigour that he brings to bear * Economist *Excellent ... Overy is never less than an erudite and clear-eyed guide whose research is impeccable and whose conclusions appear sensible and convincing even when they run against the established trends * Financial Times *It is unlikely that a work of this scale, scope and merit will be surpassed * Times Higher Education *Hard to surpass. If you want to know how bombing worked, what it did and what it meant, this is the book to read * Times Literary Supplement *My book of the year ... A staggering amount of research ... provides a sober and realistic assessment of [the bombings'] impact on the warring nations and on the civilians who bore the brunt of its impact ... It's hard to imagine a more thorough account: a masterpiece -- Richard J Evans * New Statesman BOOKS OF THE YEAR *A much needed breath of fresh air ... Overy argues his point with the confidence of someone who knows he is master of his subject: his rich and varied approach, coupled with exhaustive research, makes this probably the best history of bombing of the past 20 years -- Keith Lowe * Telegraph *A superbly detailed account of a terrifying aspect of the Second World War -- Simon Heffer * New Statesman BOOKS OF THE YEAR *An extraordinary and far-reaching history ... the first full narrative of the bombing war in Europe ... Overy's scope is incredibly broad and well-researched, also highly readable * Spectator *This is a tough, hardheaded and meticulous work of military history ... It is worth reading -- Dan Jones * Telegraph BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Overy's history explains and explores strategy, tactics, technology and results in one seamless story that shatters myths and establishes truths -- Nigel Jones * Sunday Telegraph *Utterly fascinating ... What is most surprising in Overy's book is its remarkable contemporary relevance -- Edward Luttwak * London Review of Books *The first full narrative of the bombing war in Europe -- Commander Barney White-Spunner * Country Life *

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