Modern warfare Books

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Book SynopsisFor Operation Telic, the 2003 campaign in Iraq, the UK was the junior partner alongside their American allies but still contributed a substantial force. This was based around the 1st Armoured Division consisting of 7th Armoured Brigade, 16 Air Assault Brigade and 102 Logistics Brigade, with the Marines of 3 Commando Brigade under command. This photographic diary concentrates on 16 Air Assault Brigade's two parachute battalions, 1 and 3 Para. Beginning with the invasion and operations in the southern oilfields, the story follows 3 Para's successful entry into Basrah, before the action switches to 1 Para and a move to Baghdad to secure the British Embassy. This is followed by a look at life at the Embassy and on patrol in the city before 3 Para's return south. Written by a media escort and photographer with 3 Para, who was himself a Para for 23 years and continued to serve as a reservist, this book shows how paratroopers looked and fought during the campaign. Illustrated with over 200 colour photographs, it shows the reality of British forces in a modern-day war, with insights into the Parachute Regiment's equipment and operations.

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Book SynopsisFilmed as The Sea Wolves, this is the story of the secret exploit in WW2. A group of civilian bankers, merchants and solicitors , the remains of an old territorial unit called The Calcutta Light Horse, were tasked to sink German ships in the neutral harbour of Goa which were guiding U-boats against Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean.

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Book SynopsisA TLS and a Prospect Book of the Year A revelatory, explosive new analysis of the military today. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century the British Army fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. Award-winning journalist Simon Akam questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answers. Composed from assiduous documentary research, field reportage, and hundreds of interviews, this book is a strikingly rich, nuanced portrait of one of our pivotal national institutions in a time of great stress. This is as much a book about Britain, and about the politics of failure, as it is about the military.Trade Review‘The truth about the British Army’ -- Jason Burke * The Guardian *‘A blockbuster critique … with heaps of evidence.’ -- Matthew Paris * The Times *‘Akam’s beautifully written, from the inside out, account of the British Army’s reluctance to engage with the realities of recent small wars, in Afghanistan in particular, is a must-read for every serious student of modern military history. At one level, it explains how and why we managed to turn victory over Al Qaeda in Afghanistan into defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But this book is about much more than the army in Afghanistan — it is a parable about failure, the failure of a revered institution, with a proud history and an uncritical public, to come to terms with a changed and changing world.’ -- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Afghanistan‘Simon Akam has written a perceptive, challenging, and passionate book that looks at modern soldiering. In doing so, Akam provides an invaluable look at how the British Army works — and how the changing world in the 21st century is asking new and complex questions for soldiers and military strategy alike.’ -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads‘This brave, absorbing, and prodigiously well-researched tour de force renders every previous account of the British Army in its disastrous recent campaigns obsolete. Akam makes an unanswerable case that we are no longer very good at fighting wars, building his arguments with panache and good sense. In doing so he has done his country, and the army, a great service — although the Generals may not see it quite that way just yet. Put away the self-serving autobiographies and the obsequious histories of in-house academics; this is the definitive account of the British Army in its 21st Century misadventures.’ -- Frank Ledwidge, author of Losing Small Wars‘Simon Akam delivers a devastating indictment of Britain’s military chiefs for overseeing the shocking decline of the nation’s armed forces. His book is compulsory reading for every patriot.’ -- Tom Bower, biographer‘A powerful, compelling, and fascinating polemic. Essential reading.’ -- William Boyd‘A brilliant book … Gets right to the heart of so many of the British Army’s problems.’ -- Simon Scarrow, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Eagles of the Empire series‘A new book looks at the changes the British Army has undergone and roles it has played as an almost volunteer sidekick to the American military in the war on terror.’ -- CJ Chivers * The New York Times *‘Akam is an angry young man and the book is better for it.’ * The Times *‘A passionate book.’ -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *‘It’s compellingly written — I got through all 500-plus pages in two sittings – and it is certainly worth the effort.’ -- Adrian Weale * Mail on Sunday *‘Detailed and well structured.’ -- Anthony Loyd * New Statesman *‘Impassioned … It is a valuable addition to analysing the past, present, and future of a venerated institution.’ -- Kim Sengupta * The Independent *‘Gripping and thoroughly disheartening.’ -- Al Murray‘Simon Akam … has written a timely, elegant, and important book, The Changing of the Guard, about the British army’s failures in Afghanistan and Iraq.’ -- David Patrikarakos * The Spectator *‘Full of gripping reportage and compelling personal stories … the story he tells is profoundly important.’ -- David French * TLS *‘Akam makes many important points and reports in depth on officers’ recollections of specific episodes.’ -- Helen Parr * Prospect *‘A “state-of-the-nation” book of resounding power, deep conviction, and far-reaching significance.’ -- Richard Davenport-Hines * TLS *‘A blistering account … Akam’s research, including interviews with 260 individuals, is formidable.’ -- Richard Norton-Taylor * Declassified UK *‘Akam contends that there was as little accountability within the military hierarchy as there was outside it … The military would obviously like to avoid a close examination of this unbroken string of catastrophes, but Akam’s book is a gentle account — critical, but not unsympathetic.’ -- Tom Stevenson * London Review of Books *‘The Changing of the Guard is a major book that provides the first serious analysis of the effectiveness of the modern British Army … With a particular focus on the failure of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he gives a brunt assessment of the Army as an institution and its role in society. There is lots of interesting material here and some relevant lessons for Australia.’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘A scathing account of the British army in the years after 9/11 … Akam has not just done his homework, interviewing 260 people, but also shows his working in 89 pages of footnotes, full of forensic detail — and delicious gossip.’ -- Shashank Joshi * Spectator Australia *‘It is a review of the British Army … It does not tell a ‘pretty’ story — rather, it is a ‘warts and all’ tale … Simon Akam has written a fine book on how and why the British Army has changed, between 2001 and 2020. For those who have seen military service, it will provide a broad picture of the conditions some soldiers have faced in the early 21st Century. For those who have not, it shows clearly the true face of war, as it is fought in this day and age, and may, possibly, be fought in the near future and within current social value sets.’ -- Rob Ellis * RUSI VIC Library *‘[In] beautifully written, evocative, and passionate prose, [Akam places] you in the boots of British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan suddenly discovering the mission they’ve volunteered for isn’t the war they’re fighting at all … He begins asking questions at ground level, 260 interviews probing everyone from commanders, medal winners to those convicted of war crimes … This breadth of research gives Akam’s book immense power.’ -- Nicholas Stuart * The Canberra Times *‘[A] valuable and salutary read.’ * Foreign Affairs *‘The Changing of the Guard has contributed to the ongoing debate over how the British Army might change further as it enters a post-pandemic world where security challenges demand considerable flexibility of mind… Anything that provokes such self-awareness is good for institutions.’ * War on the Rocks *‘This is an unofficial oral history, created by hundreds of interviews as well as documents and personal observations by the author … This is a well written, organised and researched book … It reads well and is dynamic keeping the reader engaged … I commend Simon Akam for creating an accurate book that could be used as a Leadership discussion case study for the British Army as well as other militaries … It should become required reading at Sandhurst and the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College as well as the Defence Academy of the UK.’ -- Preston McLaughlin * Small Wars Journal *

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

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Book SynopsisThe full story of the aerial fighting surrounding the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history.

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Book SynopsisConcentrating upon her family and their life in Holland before the war, this inspiring and revealing book describes in moving detail living above the family watch shop in Harlem and her memories of the family together before their lives changed for ever with the advent of war and persecution.Corrie believed that this life helped prepare them for carrying out God''s work later and gave her the strength to survive the war, brutal hardship and persecution and begin her worldwide ministry.This much loved book is being re-issued in B format with a contemporary cover.

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Book SynopsisSS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time. Hitler''s favorite commando acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison. Skorzeny''s influence on special operations doctrine was far-reaching and long-lasting--in 2011, when US Navy SEALs infiltrated Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, the operational planning was influenced by Skorzeny''s legacy. Yet he was also an egoist who stole other men''s credit (including for the seminal rescue of Mussolini), brave and resourceful but also an unrepentant Nazi, and a self-aggrandizing hogger of the limelight. Stuart Smith draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny''s career and complex personality. From his background as a student radical in Vienna, to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, his surprise rebirth as a commando, and his intriguing post-war career and mysterious Table of ContentsPrologue /Acknowledgements /Maps /1. The Knowledge of Pain /2. Accidental Soldier /3. Thugs in Field Grey /4. The Liberator of Mussolini /5. Special Ops and High-Value Targets /6. Miracle Weapons /7. The Stauffenberg Plot – July 1944 /8. The Scherhorn Affair /9. The SS Changes Tack /10. Operation Panzerfaust /11. Everything on One Card /12. Operation Greif /13. Implosion /14. Skorzeny’s Last Stand /15. Trial and Errors /16. Escape from Darmstadt /17. Apocalypse Soon /18. Neo-Nazis and Colonel Nasser /19. The Years of Plenty /20. Ghosts of the Past /Epilogue /Glossary /Note on the Waffen-SS /Bibliography /Notes /Index

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Book SynopsisThe incredible story of Heinrich Himmler’s physician who saved thousands of lives. With a new introduction by bestselling author Norman Ohler, which addresses Kersten’s flawed legacy. In 1938, before the outbreak of the Second World War, Dr Felix Kersten an avuncular Finnish physician was introduced to Heinrich Himmler, the chief architect of the Holocaust. Seemingly the only person who could cure Himmler of his crippling stomach cramps, Kersten worked on Himmler’s vanity and gratitude Kersten to save the lives of thousands of people, and was celebrated across Europe, culminating in Joseph Kessel’s 1961 bestseller, The Man with Miraculous Hands. And yet, Kersten’s historical legacy is not flawless, and a new introduction by bestselling author Norman Ohler, deals with the historical legacy of Kersten’s more exaggerated claims, and asks directly why a man who had done so much good would risk damaging that reputation. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Woody Harrelson, The Man with Miraculous Hands is an extraordinarily revealing portrayal of the deranged atmosphere in Himmler’s court where paranoia and vicious rivalries reigned. Shedding a new light on the darkest days of the twentieth century, the story of Kersten’s life gives us a new way of viewing the history of the Second World War, one that goes beyond the simple idea of heroes and villains.Trade Review‘For one man to have stemmed that appalling tide to any degree was no mean achievement. His story makes for an engrossing read. And, like all such accounts it forces the reader to ask themselves an uncomfortable question: Perhaps he could have done more – but how much would you have done?’ iNews ‘Jospeh Kessel...published this account of Kersten’s life after he had become Himmler’s medical adviser and confidant. He based it entirely on Kersten’s own account, and the result is as racy as any spy novel. Whatever the historical exactitude of the book, it is a wonderful read, and the portrait of Himmler has the ring of ghastly truth.’ The Oldie ‘At no small risk to his personal safety, Kersten throughout the war years had dominated Himmler to the extent of saving hundreds of thousands of human lives.’ History of War ‘A fantastic book … This edition of the book is a particularly important read, to provide some sense of incredulity to a captivating story.’ Get History

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of the legendary armoured vehicles of the Panzerwaffe, Germany''s most famous fighting force.The first two volumes of the History of the Panzerwaffe have described how the Germans transformed armoured warfare from a lumbering and ponderous experiment in World War I into something that could decide the outcome of conflicts, and how the legendary Panzerwaffe overran Western Europe and reached the gates of Moscow to the east, before taking its place in the forefront of German defence from the D-Day landings to the valiant last stand in Berlin.This third volume focuses on the most important units in the Panzerwaffe, and some of the most famous units in the history of warfare: the Panzer Divisions. It details their pre-war origins and how they developed over the course of the war, covering all the specialized units and how they operated on the battlefield.The title is illustrated throughout with many rare and previously unpublished images and theTable of ContentsIntroduction 1: Origins 2: The Elements of a Panzer Division 3: The Panzer Division 4: Rifle Brigade 5: Combat Elements 6: Ancillary Units Index Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisFrom critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, this is the engrossing story of the German resurgence after the battle of Stalingrad. Containing haunting first-hand accounts of the horrors of life on the front line, this gripping narrative reveals in startling detail the story of a bitter struggle for survival against terrible odds.The battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of World War II. The German capture of the city, their encirclement by Soviet forces shortly afterwards, and the hard-fought but futile attempts to relieve them, saw bitter attritional fighting and extremes of human misery inflicted on both sides. The surrender of General Friedrich von Paulus'' army left Germany''s eastern armies severely weakened, but the Red Army had suffered enormous losses as it overreached itself in trying to exploit its great victory. The war was not over. Germany would continue the fight, and the battles that took place in the winter of 1942/43 would Trade ReviewAlthough it's only part of the story, it's a richly detailed history worth reading for any student of the Eastern Front. * The Armourer, January 2019 *This is another impressive work from Buttar, who is one of my favourite authors currently writing on the Eastern Front of both World Wars. -- Dr John Rickard * historyofwar.org *

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Book SynopsisThe Eastern Front of World War II was a nightmarish episode of human history, on a scale the like of which the world had never seen, and most likely never will see again. This expansive collection of maps offers a visual guide to the theater that decided the fate of the war, spanning the thousands of miles from Berlin to the outskirts of Moscow, Stalingrad, East Prussia and all the way back. The accuracy and detail of the military cartography found in this volume illuminates the enormity of the campaign, revealing the staggering dimensions of distance covered and human losses suffered by both sides.Table of ContentsForeword Introduction 1. Barbarossa 1941 2. Soviet counter-offensive 1941-42 3. Blau-Summer 1942 4. Soviet Stalingrad Offensive '1942-43 5. Summer 1943 6. Soviet offensives 1944 7. Central Europe/Germany 1945 Bibliography Appendices

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Book SynopsisThe defeat of South Vietnam was arguably America's worst foreign policy disaster of the 20th Century. Yet a complete understanding of the endgame--from the 27 January 1973 signing of the Paris Peace Accords to South Vietnam's surrender on 30 April 1975--has eluded us. Black April addresses that deficit. A culmination of exhaustive research in three distinct areas: primary source documents from American archives, North Vietnamese publications containing primary and secondary source material, and dozens of articles and numerous interviews with key South Vietnamese participants, this book represents one of the largest Vietnamese translation projects ever accomplished, including almost one hundred rarely or never seen before North Vietnamese unit histories, battle studies, and memoirs. Most important, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of South Vietnam's conquest, the leaders in Hanoi released several compendiums of formerly highly classified cables and memorandum between the Politburo and its military commanders in the south. This treasure trove of primary source materials provides the most complete insight into North Vietnamese decision-making ever complied. While South Vietnamese deliberations remain less clear, enough material exists to provide a decent overview. Ultimately, whatever errors occurred on the American and South Vietnamese side, the simple fact remains that the country was conquered by a North Vietnamese military invasion despite written pledges by Hanoi's leadership against such action. Hanoi's momentous choice to destroy the Paris Peace Accords and militarily end the war sent a generation of South Vietnamese into exile, and exacerbated a societal trauma in America over our long Vietnam involvement that reverberates to this day. How that transpired deserves deeper scrutiny.

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated introduction to some of World War II''s most famous and important battles, featuring colourful artwork throughout.World War II was the single greatest conflict the world has ever known, fought in theatres all around the globe, and many of its battles Stalingrad, Monte Cassino, the Battle of Britain are household names. While the Western Front in Europe is often what first comes to mind, bitter and bloody battles were also fought in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, on land, at sea, and in the air, and their many stories help illuminate both the scale and the varying character of the conflict.This compact gift book takes thirty of World War II''s most significant clashes, both the famous and the lesser known, and presents their stories in a concise, easy to digest format, accompanied by beautiful Osprey artwork plates in full colour that illuminate a key moment in each battle.Trade ReviewA concise overview of the major battles of the Second World War * Battlefield Magazine *Table of ContentsChronology /The Invasion of Poland /The Battle of Belgium /The Battle of Britain /The Sinking of the Bismarck /Operation Barbarossa /The Siege of Leningrad /The Battle of Moscow /The Siege of Sevastopol /The Attack on Pearl Harbor /The Malayan Campaign /The Second Battle of Kharkov /The Battle of Gazala /The Battle of Midway /The Battle of Guadalcanal /The Battle of Stalingrad /The El Alamein Battles /The Battle for Tunisia /The Battle of Kursk /The Battle of Monte Cassino /The Battle of Imphal /The Normandy Landings /The Battle of Saipan /The Battle of the Philippine Sea /The Warsaw Uprising /Operation Market-Garden /The Battle of Hürtgen Forest /The Battle of the Bulge /The Battle of Iwo Jima /The Battle of Okinawa /The Battle of Berlin /Index

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Book SynopsisSet deep in the heart of the Masurian woods of northern Poland, in what was formally East Prussia, lies a vast complex of ruined bunkers and shelters that once constituted Hitler's headquarters - the Wolfsschanze or Wolf's Lair - for Germany's attack upon the Soviet Union in 1941. Built in conditions of the utmost secrecy, the Wolfsschanze was surrounded by fences and guard posts, its paths and tracks were hidden, and buildings were camouflaged and concealed with artificial grass and trees planted on their flat roofs. As the war in Eastern Europe continued, so the Wolf's Lair grew in scale and sophistication, until it's 2.5 square miles incorporated more than eighty buildings including massive reinforced bunkers. It was also at the Wolfsschanze that Colonel von Stauffenberg almost killed Hitler in the summer of 1944\. That building is still there, its roof sitting on its collapsed walls. With the aid of a unique collection of colour photographs, the reader is guided around the Wolfsschanze as it appears today, with each building and its purpose identified. Laced with numerous personal accounts of the installation and of Hitler's routines, supplemented with contemporary images, the Wolfsschanze is brought to life once more. The Wolfsschanze, however, was not the only military complex in this small part of the Eastern Front. Once Hitler has established his command centre at the Wolfsschanze, in effect the home of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (or military high command), the other branches of the German armed forces and civil authorities quickly followed suit. Just a few miles away, for example, the German Army built its own operational headquarters at Mauerwald - a complex which amounted to an even greater concentration of buildings, many of which remain intact and open to the public. Goering duly ordered that the Luftwaffe's headquarters, codenamed _Robinson_, be built further out near the current Russian border, whilst Himmler's SS headquarters at Hochwald and that for Hans Lammers' Reich Chancellery were situated back nearer the Wolfsschanze. For the first time, these astonishing sites, five complexes from which the war on the Eastern Front was directed, are shown and described in one book, providing a comprehensive survey of the installations whose gigantic scale still evinces awe and wonder.

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Book SynopsisFully illustrated with stunning full color artwork, this is the fascinating story of arguably the world''s first modern air campaign. Following the failure of Rolling Thunder US aircraft were now armed with new technologies such as new laser-guided bombs and electronic warfare capabilities. The Air Force now had the fearsome AC-130 gunship and a new generation of Wild Weasel anti-radar aircraft, and the US Navy aviators now had much better dogfighting training thanks to the new TOPGUN fighter school. As the Paris peace talks floundered in early 1972 and the US began to disengage from Vietnam, it was clear that the North Vietnamese were conducting a major build up for an attack into South Vietnam. Screened by bad weather and heavy air defenses in the north, the attack advanced quickly but the US quickly pushed back with an air campaign named Operation Linebacker. Their objective: defeat the invasion, preserve the government of South Vietnam, and bring tTrade ReviewA truly excellent title. * Panorama Difesa *Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attackers' Capabilities /Defenders' Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /The Campaign /Analysis and Conclusion /Further Reading /Index

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Book SynopsisThis is a very thorough account of the experience of the Jews of Europe during World War II. It is virtually a day-by-day account, in men and women's own words, of the horrifying events of the Holocaust - the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jewish race.

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Book SynopsisA moving and extraordinary book about courage and survival, friendship and endurance a portrait of ordinary women who faced the horror of the holocaust together.On an icy morning in Paris in January 1943, a group of 230 French women resisters were rounded up from the Gestapo detention camps and sent on a train to Auschwitz the only train, in the four years of German occupation, to take women of the resistance to a death camp. Of the group, only 49 survivors would return to France. Here is the story of these women told for the first time. A Train in Winter is a portrait of ordinary people, of their bravery and endurance, and of the friendships that kept so many of them alive. A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope' Mail on SundaySerious and heartfelt...profound' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewThis serious and heartfelt book does deliver on its promise of a tale of how female friendship "can make the difference between living and dying"... Profound -- Brian Schofield * Sunday Times *A harrowing but also uplifting shared story of friendship, courage and endurance * Independent *A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope. They risked their lives to defeat Fascism, by printing subversive literature, hiding Jewish friends or, in the case of one girl, simply insulting a French youth because he had decided to co-operate with the Nazis. The price they paid for their bravery was terrible. A Train in Winter could have been a sad, almost morbid book. In Moorehead's expert hands it is a triumphant one -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Compassionate, meticulous and compulsively enthralling... This book is essential reading. The litany of names at the end, with their brief biographies (Yolande, Cecile, Poupette, Mitzy, Lucie...) reminds us weeping is not enough. It bears witness - and warns -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *Moorehead tells her appalling story in measured prose that sets off perfectly the reader's growing sense of wonder that such heroism is possible * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAgu is just a boy when war arrives at his village. His mother and sister are rescued by the UN, while he and his father remain to fight the rebels. ''Run!'' shouts his father when the rebels arrive. And Agu does run. Straight into the rebels'' path. In a vivid, sparkling voice, Agu tells the story of what happens to him next. His story is shocking and painful, and completely unforgettable.Beasts of No Nation gives us an extraordinary portrait of the chaos and violence of war. It is a gripping and remarkable debut.Trade ReviewA work of visceral urgency and power: it heralds the arrival of a major talent * Amitav Ghosh *Extraordinary . . . you don't come across writing like this very often * Bookseller *So scorched by loss and anger that it's hard to hold and so gripping in its sheer hopeless lifeforce that it's hard to put down * Guardian *A harrowing and compelling vision . . . the narrator's voice is so authentic you have to check you are still reading fiction . . . This is a novel which leaves an impression like a blood-soaked hand print, disturbing not only for the terror around this cleaving, pulverising slayer, but the terror turning to 'ennui' within him. To call it shocking would be to do it a disservice. To call the writing beautiful would hardly be praise. To call the book staggering would be an understatement * Waterstones Books Quarterly *The power of his material and its hideous relevance rolls all before it . . . This book about children that is in no sense a children's book deserves to be read * Independent *An extraordinary book . . . horrifying expose . . . vivid . . . . It casts a powerful, if gruesome spell * Sunday Telegraph *Iweala makes a compelling story from experience which in its nature defies articulation . . . Uzodinma Iweala's is a confident and promising new voice * Times Literary Supplement *Gives a name, a voice and a heart to one of Africa's innumerable child soldiers . . . This is urgent writing, starkly unsentimental and convincing * Observer *Compelling . . . perturbing, painful and powerful * Irish Independent *Stream-like sentences that convey irrestible, rushing activitiy . . . Iweala's powerful debut recalls Saro-Wiwa's first-person masterpiece of a soldier-boy * The Times *A simple and brutal account of war . . . Beasts of No Nation is a raw, compelling first novel * Literary Review *'Extraordinary ... you don't come across writing like this very often.' * The Bookseller *This is a work of visceral urgency and power: it heralds the arrival of a major talent * Amitav Ghosh *'So scorched by loss and anger that it's hard to hold and so gripping in its sheer hopeless lifeforce that it's hard to put down.' * Ali Smith, Guardian *'A harrowing and compelling vision ... the narrator's voice is so authentic you have to check you are still reading fiction ... This is a novel which leaves an impression like a blood-soaked hand print, disturbing not only for the terror around this cleaving, pulverising slayer, but the terror turning to 'ennui' within him. To call it shocking would be to do it a disservice. To call the writing beautiful would hardly be praise. To call the book staggering would be an understatement' * Waterstones Books Quarterly *'The power of his material and its hideous relevance rolls all before it ... This book about children that is in no sense a children's book deserves to be read' * Independent *'This is an extraordinary book ... horrifying expose ... vivid ... It casts a powerful, if gruesome spell' * Sunday Telegraph *'Iweala makes a compelling story from experience which in its nature defies articulation ... Uzodinma Iweala's is a confident and promising new voice' * Times Literary Supplement *'Gives a name, a voice and a heart to one of Africa's innumerable child soldiers ... This is urgent writing, starkly unsentimental and convincing' * Observer *'His riveting revelations... make this a truly shocking and unforgettable book.' * Waterstone's Books Quarterly *'First-time novelist Uzodinma Iweala has made a virtue of simplicity and, in beautifully unadorned language, has captured the universal tragedy of war and its victims.' * Telegraph/Seven, Sally Cousins *'Linguistically ingenious, Beasts of No Nation is a remarkable debut, a hugely resonant discourse on an uncomfortable subject.' * Observer, Helen Zaltzman *'This sad, unforgettable novel is a fitting testament to the countless Agus who continue to kill and be killed across that most tragic of continents.' * Daily Telegraph, David Isaacson *'A chilling work of fiction that has visceral impact.' * Guardian/The Guide *'Compelling ... perturbing, painful and powerful' * Irish Independent *'A stunningly mature debut' * Big Issue *'Compelling, haunting and refreshing' * The Review *'Stream-like sentences that convey irrestible, rushing activitiy ... Iweala's powerful debut recalls Saro-Wiwa's first-person masterpiece of a soldier-boy' * The Times *'A searing first novel' * Independent *'Beasts of No Nation is written with the authority of someone who knows what they're talking about' * London Review of Books *'A simple and brutal account of war ... Beasts of No Nation is a raw, compelling first novel' * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis"Unflinchingly illustrates the reality of life during this extraordinary moment in American history."—Dinitia Smith, The New York TimesTrade Review"In these days of fear of the terrorist 'other', reading this measured, intelligent introduction to a time that is all-too possible to imagine recurring, and looking at Lange's photos... may be one of the most useful things one can do this Christmas." "[The] images show Americans of Japanese extraction being relocated to 'assembly centers', labeled and processed like cattle and closeted away in dismal shacks for the duration of the war... No wonder her pictures were never used and disappeared for half a century." "Through her discerning and sensitive eye, Lange's observations of the situation were too real and too critical for the government, and were consequently confiscated." "[T]he bulk of the book is given over to Lange's photographs. Several of these are as powerful as her most stirring work, and the final image-of a grandfather in the desolate Manzanar Center looking down in anguish at the grandson between his knees-is worth the price of the book alone."

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Book SynopsisNow a major motion picture, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, based on a remarkable true story of bravery and sanctuary during World War II - out in Spring 2017.When Germany invades Poland, Luftwaffe bombers devastate Warsaw and the city''s zoo along with it. With most of their animals killed, or stolen away to Berlin, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski begin smuggling Jews into the empty cages.As the war escalates Jan becomes increasingly involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Ammunition is buried in the elephant enclosure and explosives stored in the animal hospital. Plans are prepared for what will become the Warsaw uprising. Through the ever-present fear of discovery, Antonina must keep her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and animal inhabitants - otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes - as Europe crumbles around them.Written with the narrative drive and emotional punch of a novel, The Zookeeper''s Wife is a remarkable tTrade ReviewI can't imagine a better story or storyteller. The Zookeeper's Wife will touch every nerve you have * Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated *Alternatingly funny, moving and terrifying. This powerful thriller would be a great novel - except that it happens to be true. * Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel *

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Book SynopsisEdward Stourton is the author of six books. He is writer and presenter of several high-profile current-affairs programmes and documentaries for radio and television, and regularly presents BBC Radio Four programmes such as The World at One, The World This Weekend, Sunday and Analysis. He is a frequent contributor to the Today programme, where for ten years he was one of the main presenters.Trade ReviewThis is a very shocking book. It recaptures the adventure and the horror as it brilliantly conjures up the voices of the past. -- Jason Goodwin * Country Life *Charming but astute, Stourton captures not only the extraordinary courage of the escapers and the passeurs, or guides, who helped them, but the sense of danger and excitement as they evaded their pursuers. -- Adrian Brewer * The Tablet *A moving retelling of some of the war's most heroic episodes -- Nigel Jones * Sunday Telegraph *Stourton's richly rewarding research into the wartime journeys across the Pyrenees reminds us of so many dramatic stories of courage, tragedy, endurance and survival. -- Iain Finlayson * Saga Magazine *Stourton writes evocatively and with sensitivity... an engaging collection of tales. -- Viv Watts * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisThe year is 1940, and the German invasion of Britain has begun. With this new campaign book for Bolt Action, players can fight the battles of World War II''s greatest ''what if'' scenario. Defend the cliffs of Dover and the beaches of Kent from wave after wave of German landing craft. Parachute into the Home Counties in a surgical strike to capture Winston Churchill. Rally the Home Guard in a last, desperate attempt to keep England free of the Nazi invaders! Containing new rules, scenarios, and unit types covering all of the unique features of this alternate history campaign, it offers a chance for all Bolt Action players to truly rewrite the history of World War II.

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Book SynopsisCutting through the headlines and spin, this is the first book to give us a true picture of the reality on the ground, through the words of the people there - from commanders to intelligence officers, army doctors to ordinary soldiers. Providing eye-witness accounts that contradict the official stories and figures, they give a chilling picture of the deceit, stupidity, wishful thinking, lack of forward planning and total intellectual failure of those behind the invasion. The result is an extraordinary new insight into the plight of ordinary soldiers doing nightmarish jobs, and the real nature of the fighting in Iraq.

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Book SynopsisComplete history of the patrols of a key U-boat and its notorious commander.

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Book SynopsisBy 1942 the Nazi leadership had decided that the Jewish ghettos across occupied Poland should be liquidated, with Warsaw's being the largest , processed in phases. In response the left-wing Jewish Combat Organisation (ZOB) and right-wing Jewish Military Union (ZZW) formed and began training, preparing defences and smuggling in arms and explosives. The first Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began in April 1943\. Although this was quelled at devastating cost to the Jewish community, resistance continued until the summer of 1944\. By this time the Red Army was closing on the city and with liberation apparently imminent the 40,000 resistance fighters of the Polish Home Army launched a second uprising. For sixty-three days the insurgents battled their oppressors on the streets, in ruined buildings and cellars. Rather than come to their aid the Russians waited and watched the inevitable slaughter. This gallant but tragic struggle is brought to life in this book by the superb collection of photographs drawn from the album compiled for none other than Heinrich Himmler entitled Warschauer Aufstand 1944.

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Book SynopsisWithin Western culture, World War Two continues to exercise an extraordinary fascination for generations unborn when it took place. The obvious explanation is that it was the greatest and most terrible event in human history. Within the vast compass of the struggle, some individuals scaled summits of courage and nobility, while others plumbed depths of evil, in a fashion that compels the awe of posterity. Among citizens of modern democracies to whom serious hardship and collective peril are unknown, the tribulations which hundreds of millions endured between 1939 and 1945 are almost beyond comprehension. Hastings tells the story of the war in a clear and compelling narrative, ranging across a vast canvas from the agony of Poland in 1939 and the horrors of the Soviet front to the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan in August 1945. This is a book which shows vividly what war meant for individuals from allied soldiers, sailors and airmen, to SS killers, to civilians caught up in the war like British housewives who endured the Blitz and the citizens of Leningrad who suffered through a siege of almost unimaginable horror.

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Book SynopsisThe powerful, poignant true story of a group of child survivors of concentration camps, by the author of the bestselling THE HOLOCAUST. 'A masterpiece of decency, courage and joy ... superb' DAILY TELEGRAPHTrade ReviewImpossible to put down ... This is a book about coming out of hell, about great evil, about the triumph of the human spirit, and about the great goodness on the part of those who helped. One is left with hope, and admiration * THE TIMES *A masterpiece of decency, courage and joy ... superb * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Martin Gilbert is to be congratulated on producing a masterly and deeply moving tribute to those who had the courage and luck to survive * LITERARY REVIEW *A story of human resilience, fortitude and victory that restores the readers' hope for mankind * SUNDAY TIMES *This is the story of human beings sucked into a vortex of destruction in which family, identity, religion and culture were all ripped away. A sense of near-miraculous calm descends when the Boys finally arrive in Britain, when human fortitude finally prevails over absolute evil -- David Cesarani * TLS *He doesn't hide the dark side of the stories: he does stress the resilience of their humanity. It's amazing and true * NEW STATESMAN *A series of testimonials to endurance and resourcefulness * DAILY TELEGRAPH *This is an important book ... [an] appalling and wonderful account of efficiently administered savagery, and how a few of its victims with extraordinary courage, resilience and luck, managed to salvage their humanity * SPECTATOR *Assembled by one of the period's premier historians ... A uniquely effective addition to Holocaust literature * KIRKUS *Martin Gilbert has given us yet another indispensable work * TLS *A moving mosaic comprising the voices of the young refugees, setting this against eye-witness accounts of the European experience ... The scope is vast. Research at its best * TIME OUT *It is only when you read individual stories like these that you can come anywhere near grasping the full enormity of the events * FINANCIAL TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Russia is a dramatic David versus Goliath encounter. When close to half a million Soviet troops poured into Finland in 1939 it was expected that Finnish defenses would collapse in a matter of weeks. But they held firm. The Finns not only survived the initial attacks but succeeded in inflicting devastating casualties before superior Russian numbers eventually forced a peace settlement. This is a rigorously detailed and utterly compelling guide to Finland''s vital, but almost forgotten role in the cataclysmic World War II. It reveals the untold story of iron determination, unparalleled skill and utter mastery of winter warfare that characterized Finland''s fight for survival on the hellish Eastern Front. Now publishing in paperback, Finland at War: the Winter War 193940 is the premiere English-language history of the fighting performance of the Finns, drawing on first-hand accounts and rare photographs to explain juTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements /Chronology /1. The Rise of Finland /2. The Road to War /3. The Karelian Isthmus, December 1939 /4. Ladoga Karelia, December 1939 /5. Group Tavela /6. North Finland Group /7. Lapland Group, 1939–40 /8. A Watching World /9. The Battle for Ladoga Karelia, 1940 /10. The Karelian Isthmus, 1940 /11. An Interim Peace /Bibliography /Appendix /Index

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Book SynopsisHe masterminded the most devastating surprise attack against the United States in its history. He was a marked man in the war that followed. A key intelligence breakthrough enabled the military to pinpoint his location. An elite team was assembled and charged not with his capture and subsequent trial but with his execution. Osama bin Laden? No this was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II. This new title analyses the origins, implementation, and outcomes of Operation Vengeance, the long-range fighter interception of Admiral Yamamoto's transport aircraft that sent him to his death on 18th April, 1943. Author Si Sheppard examines every angle of the operation in detail, including the role of intelligence work in pinpointing the time and location of Yamamoto's flight, the chain of command at the highest level of the US political and military establishment who ordered the attack, and the technical limitations that had Table of ContentsIntroduction Origins The Plan The Mission Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis graphic first-hand account of one pilot's part in the Battle of Britain was written in 1941.

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Book SynopsisIncludes thrilling first-hand accounts of operations undertaken.

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Book SynopsisGraphic first-hand account of tank warfare on the Eastern Front.

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Book SynopsisPacific Profiles Volume 12 covers the P-51 and F-6 Mustang series which served in New Guinea, the Philippines and then the Japanese islands, serving with a total of ten USAAF Fifth Air Force fighter and reconnaissance squadrons, and also with New Guinea’s Combat Replacement Training Centre.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Markings and Technical Notes Chapter 2 The First Mustangs Chapter 3 3rd Air Commando Group Chapter 4 39th Fighter Squadron Chapter 5 40th Fighter Squadron Chapter 6 41st Fighter Squadron Chapter 7 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron Chapter 8 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron Chapter 9 340th Fighter Squadron Chapter 10 341st Fighter Squadron Chapter 11 342nd Fighter Squadron Chapter 12 460th Fighter Squadron Chapter 13 Commander Mustangs Chapter 14 Postwar Markings

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Book SynopsisSimon Bolivar Buckner Jr. was a major figure of the Pacific War, both for his command in Alaska and in his key role heading Tenth Army during the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. Buckner was the senior U.S. officer killed by enemy fire in World War II when Japanese artillery cut him down on June 18, 1945, one month shy of his 59th birthday. The shelling ended a remarkable life – son of a Confederate Lieutenant General and governor of Kentucky, the "Child of the Democracy" in the 1896 Presidential election campaign, educated at West Point, myriad service as a student and instructor at various Army posts and schools from 1917 to 1936, command in Alaska from 1940 to 1944, and ultimately of Tenth Army from 1944 to his death.General Buckner kept a diary covering the period from January 1, 1944 to June 17, 1945, which has never been fully published until now. Buckner made notes every day, often in great detail; his chief of staff thought Buckner wanted to write a memoir after the war, but the papers were scattered after his death. In addition to the Okinawa material, Buckner's diaries discuss his departure from Alaska and service in Hawaii as Tenth Army commander. Topics include his daily life in wartime Hawaii, troop training, comments on war events, gossip, notes on his travels to Guam and the Philippines, and his role in the Smith vs Smith controversy after the Battle of Saipan. The diary text is augmented by letters from General Buckner to his wife Adele during March to June 1945, and a letter from the Tenth Army Chief of Staff to Adele detailing Buckner's death. Tenth Army Commander is an important account from a too-long-silent voice among Pacific War leaders. Table of ContentsI. Editor’s Introduction II. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr’s Life to 1944 III. Alaska: January-May 1944 IV. New Appointments and Assignments: June-December 1944 V. Preparing Tenth Army: January-March 1945 VI. The Battle of Okinawa: April 1 to June 17, 1945 VII. “You’re Going Home” VIII. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr: Assessment of an Army Commander Bibliography Index

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