Second World War Books

Book SynopsisHighlights the importance of logistics in determining the outcome of the campaigns of WW2

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Book SynopsisLocated by the Baltic near the town of Barth in Western Pomerania, Germany, Stalag Luft I was one of a number of Stammlager Luftwaffe, these being permanent camps established and administered by the Luftwaffe, which were used to house Allied air force prisoners of war. Originally built for RAF personnel, by the time the camp was liberated by the Russians in May 1945, the camp contained approximately 7,500 American and 1,300 British and Commonwealth prisoners. The camp had expanded from the original single RAF compound, to a total of three. On 30 April 1945, the prisoners were ordered to evacuate the camp in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army but refused. After discussions between the senior American and British officers and the Kommandant, it was agreed that to avoid unnecessary bloodshed the guards would depart, leaving the prisoners behind. The next day, the first Soviet troops arrived. This Official History of Stalag Luft I was prepared for the War Office just after the war, but was never released to the general public. It explores all aspects of the camp, from its administration, to the supply of the food and conditions the prisoners endured. Inevitably the author also investigates the subject of escapes, as well as the reprisals that followed. This account provides the reader with an accurate and unprecedented insight into the story of one of the longest-running German PoW camps of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisPat Evans parachuted into German-occupied Northern Greece in September 1943. His mission as a SOE operative was to support the Greek resistance movement, carry out sabotage and commando operations and gather military intelligence. By this time Greece was not only a country ravaged by a brutal occupation but being torn apart by fending political factions on the edge of civil war. Evans had to walk a tight-rope between the Germans, the Communist -directed ELAS, Macedonia irredentists and his own SOE masters in Cairo and Allied High Command. After the Nazis withdrew in late 1944, he was sent to Northern Greece to try and restore some form of normality amid the chaos of civil war. His success can be measured by the warmth in which the locals still remember him, over 70 years on. This book draws on a wide range of sources, including SOE and War Cabinet papers but it is Pat Evans' unpublished letters and reports that give the reader an insight into the challenge that he faced, both operationally and politically. The result is a thrilling and informative book.

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Book SynopsisArnhem was meant to end the war in Europe. The Germans were in retreat from Normandy and seemed to be beaten. Three airborne divisions were to seize the bridges across the great rivers of Holland and unleash the Allied armies into Germany. The Battle of Arnhem was a turning-point in the war, a gamble by Montgomery, using three airborne divisions to capture a series of bridges across the wide rivers that separated a powerful mobile army from the plains of northern Germany. If the bridges had been captured and held, and the ground forces had been able to relieve the airborne forces, then there would have been a good chance of ending the war before Christmas 1944. It all went wrong. The initial operation was successful, the bridges taken by the Americans were relieved by ground troops, but these troops could not reach Arnhem quickly enough. In the meantime, only a small part of the 1st British Airborne Division had reached the Arnhem Bridge. Most of the remainder of the airborne force was held up on the outskirts of the town by German units that turned out to be far stronger than expected -� a major intelligence failure. After nine days of fighting, the survivors of the division were withdrawn across the Rhine and it was not until many months later that ground forces captured Arnhem. Using the technique he has perfected over twenty-five years of military study, blending meticulous research based on original documents with the personal experiences of more than 500 participants, Martin Middlebrook describes the Battle of Arnhem from start to finish, from one end of that complicated battlefield to the other.� The author offers a masterly summary of what went wrong in the last major defeat in battle suffered by the British Army.

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Book SynopsisOn 16 October 1946 Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's wartime Foreign Minister, was executed at Nuremberg, convicted on four counts including deliberately planning a war of aggression and war crimes. In this first English Language edition of his memoirs, Rudolf von Ribbentrop frankly describes his relationship with his father when he was the german Ambassador in London and during the war years. Von Ribbentrop was an often isolated figure among the Nazi elite. In his final report from London von Ribbentrop informed Hitler that he was convinced that Great Britain would fight for its position in the world. He went on to play a key role forging the short-lived Pact with Stalin's Soviet Union. Far from being uncritical, the Author, now in his 90s, sets out to paint an objective picture of his Father's role. His unique position throws fascinating light on the unfolding dramatic events leading up to, and then the execution of, the Second World war. While the Author briefly describes his personal experiences including his war service with the SS, it is the insight this work provides into top level decision - making at the heart of the Third Reich that will appeal most to both historians and laymen.

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Book SynopsisUnlike the United States, which has preserved a number of battleships as museums or memorials, not a single British dreadnought survives in the country that invented them. This book is an ambitious attempt to achieve the next best thing - a level of documentation in plans, photographs and words that portrays every aspect of the ship, albeit in two dimensions. Although the ship was chosen primarily because of the wealth of source material, _Duke of York_ enjoyed a distinguished wartime career that included sinking the German battleship _Scharnhorst_ in 1943 and serving as the flagship of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945, so is a fitting subject for such in-depth treatment. The core of the book is the reproduction in full colour of a complete set of as-fitted plans of the ship, including many details and close-ups. These are complemented by an unusually thorough set drawn after the ship's major refit in March 1945, showing all the modifications undertaken to prepare the ship for service alongside the US Navy in the Pacific. Photographic coverage begins with the stunning views taken by the builder's professional cameraman during every stage of construction, and concludes with an illustrated chronology of the breaking up. This last is included not just for completeness but because photos of the ship at various stages of demolition demonstrate many aspects of the interior structure, compartments and their fittings that are otherwise invisible. While the emphasis may be primarily visual, the accompanying narrative and captions display the expertise and in-depth knowledge of the authors, making the text as enlightening as the illustration. The result is a uniquely comprehensive portrait of a great ship in all its complexity, and a book that no warship enthusiast will want to miss.

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Book SynopsisThe epic and largely unknown story of resistance leader Michel Hollard vividly recounted by his son Florian Hollard. At age 42, Hollard was determined to fight for the freedom of his homeland. In the end, he did much more: he changed the course of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisHitler was not a lonely, aloof dictator. Throughout his rise in the NSDAP, he gathered a loyal circle around him, which later took on the features of a regular court, and was surrounded by people who celebrated, flattered and intrigued him. Who belonged to this inner circle around Hitler? What function did this court fulfill? And how did it influence the perception of history after 1945? Using previously unknown sources, Heike Gortemaker explores Hitler's private environment and shows how this inner circle made him who he was. Biographies of Hitler often concentrate on his obsession with self-image: "If you subtract what politics is about him, little or nothing remains," said Ian Kershaw, and Joachim Fest asserted: "He did not have a private life." For Alan Bullock the "Fuhrer" was an "uprooted man without a home or family". Hitler's inner circle, the Berghof Society, was his private retreat. But the court was more than that. It provided him with the support he needed to be able to take on the role of "Fuhrer" at all, while at the same time allowing him to use its members as political front men. Most of all, it represented a conspiratorial community whose lowest common denominator was anti-Semitism. In this book, Heike Gortemaker asks new questions about the truth behind Hitler's inner circle and, for the first time, also examines the "circle without leaders"; the networking of the inner circle after 1945.

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Book SynopsisThis book relates a chapter of American military history which many people would rather forget. When the United States came to the aid of Britain in 1942, the arrival of American troops was greeted with unreserved enthusiasm, but unfortunately, wartime sometimes brings out the worst, as well as the best, in people. A small number of the soldiers abused the hospitality they received by committing murders and rapes against British civilians. Some of these men were hanged or shot at Shepton Mallet Prison in Somerset, which had been handed over for the use of the American armed forces. Due to a treaty between Britain and America, those accused of such offences faced an American court martial, rather than a British civilian court, which gave rise to some curious anomalies. Although rape had not been a capital crime in Britain for over a century, it still carried the death penalty under American military law and so the last executions for rape in Britain were carried out at this time in Shepton Mallet. _Fighting For America, Executed in Britain_ tells the story of every American soldier executed in Britain during the Second World War. The majority of the executed soldiers were either black or Hispanic, reflecting the situation in the United States itself, where the ethnicity of the accused person often played a key role in both convictions and the chances of subsequently being executed.

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Book SynopsisAir Vice-Marshal James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL was a character literally from the pages of Boys' Own: an individual who became the RAF's top-scoring fighter pilot of the Second World War. A one-time household name synonymous with the superlative Spitfire, Johnnie's aerial combat successes inspired schoolboys for generations. As a 'lowly Pilot Officer', Johnnie Johnson learned his fighter pilot's craft as a protege of the legless Tangmere Wing Leader, Douglas Bader. After Bader was brought down over France and captured on 9 August 1941, Johnnie remained a member of 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, in which he became a flight commander and was awarded the DFC a month after Bader's devastating loss. In time, Johnnie came to command a Canadian wing in 1943, when the Spitfire Mk.IX at last outclassed the Fw 190, and participated in some of the most important battles of the defeat of Nazi Germany, including Operation _Overlord_ and the D-Day landings in 1944, Operation _Market Garden_ and the airborne assault at Arnhem, and the Rhine Crossings, throughout all of which Johnnie also commanded Canadian wings. Johnnie's remarkable career is revealed through this unparalleled collection of archive photographs, the majority of which are drawn from his own personal album or from other members of the Johnson family. Many have not been published before. Between them, they present a fascinating insight into the man himself, the machines he flew, and the men he served alongside.

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of an American C-47 'Dakota' pilot who earned three Air Medals, seven Battle Stars and flew twenty-seven combat missions during the Second World War. As a young U.S. pilot, Harry Watson, arrived in Britain as the Battle of Normandy was reaching its crescendo. Thrown immediately into the fray, Harry, along with more than 200 aircraft, set off to carry supplies to the troops fighting in France. But with visibility reduced to zero, the aircraft were ordered to turn back - all did except Harry, who successfully delivered his life-saving cargo of blood and US Army nurses. Harry continued to take risks, which resulted in many hair-raising episodes. This included almost being caught on the ground, while on an urgent fuel resupply mission for a platoon of General Patton's tanks, by a German Mk.IV panzer and a battalion of supporting infantry. He flew throughout Operation Market Garden, losing a close friend to German anti-aircraft fire while taking some hits to his own plane. Thereafter he led a flight of five transports on a desperate mission to evacuate a mobile field hospital that was about to be over-run by the SS. Only four of the planes made it back as they came under direct fire just before they could take-off with scores of casualties and medical personnel crammed aboard each Dakota. Around midnight, in early April 1945, he was sent on a secret mission to fly to a point near Nuremberg, which was behind enemy lines at the time. It was necessary for him to locate an empty meadow in the dark, land, load a party of US soldiers and their captives, and then take-off again. He pulled it off. Among those prisoners was Franz von Papen, the man who had persuaded President Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Von Papen had been seized at his own home by First Lieutenant Thomas McKinley and his men from the US 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. Based on his own recollections, as told to the author Marcus Nannini, this is Harry Watson's exciting account of the air war told, unusually, through the words of a transport pilot.

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Book Synopsis'Geeks triumph over the forces of darkness: nothing could have given me greater pleasure. Combining an exciting story with scrupulous research, Caroline Shenton has done her unlikely heroes proud' - Lucy WorsleyAs Hitler prepared to invade Poland during the sweltering summer of 1939, men and women from across London's museums, galleries and archives formulated ingenious plans to send the nation's highest prized objects to safety. Using stately homes, tube tunnels, slate mines, castles, prisons, stone quarries and even their own homes, a dedicated bunch of unlikely misfits packed up the nation's greatest treasures and, in a race against time, dispatched them throughout the country on a series of top-secret wartime adventures. National Treasures highlights a moment from our history when an unlikely coalition of mild-mannered civil servants, social oddballs and metropolitan aesthetes became the front line in the heritage war against Hitler. Caroline Shenton shares the interwoven lives of ordinary people who kept calm and carried on in the most extraordinary of circumstances in their efforts to save the Nation's historic identity.Trade ReviewGeeks triumph over the forces of darkness: nothing could have given me greater pleasure. Combining an exciting story with scrupulous research, Caroline Shenton has done her unlikely heroes proud -- Lucy WorsleyAn engrossing and uplifting story of how some of the greatest treasures of Britains museum, gallery and library collections were protected and preserved during the darkest days of WWII -- Richard Ovenden, author of Burning the BooksAn engrossing and uplifting story of how some of the greatest treasures of Britains museum, gallery and library collections were protected and preserved during the darkest days of WWII -- Richard Ovenden, author of Burning the BooksShenton has the archivist's unerring eye for detail and the storyteller's instinct for what will make a compelling tale. It is brought to life with energy and confidence -- Julie Summers, bestselling author of JambustersEntertaining, surprising and full of brilliant vignettes, Shenton does justice to one of the great untold stories of the Second World War -- Josh Ireland, author of Churchill & SonFascinating, engaging and often eye-stretching, Caroline Shenton's account of the battle to save the nation's greatest treasures during wartime features a wonderfully eclectic cast of oddballs, bluestockings and endearingly eccentric aristocrats. A cracking read -- Giles MiltonShenton manages to combine scholarly and diligent research with a powerful narrative drive and a hugely entertaining taste for the anecdotal. Moreover, her cast of characters wouldn't disgrace an Ealing comedy. I haven't enjoyed a book so much in years -- Adrian TinniswoodReveals the wonderfully inventive ways Britain's great museums hid their priceless exhibits from Hitler's bombs -- Daily MailVigorously researched and highly entertaining -- Daily Telegraph

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Book Synopsis'Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller' Lee ChildSAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories of six of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed by the world's most famous fighting force during WWII. From the very earliest SAS missions to the push into Nazi-occupied Europe, they cover some of the key figures in the Regiment, including its founder, David Stirling, plus other lesser-known heroes.With each story comes an edge-of-the-seat, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis fashion, as readers are plunged into the escapees' experiences - sharing their most terrifying yet inspiring moments. These stunning accounts of survival beggar belief, revealing nerve-racking bluff and deception, knife-edge encounters with enemy hunter forces hellbent on wreaking vengeance and murder, but also incredible acts of mercy and kindness from those who risk all to help the escapees on their way. Each tale of breath-taking derring-do reveals how necessity really is the mother of all invention, as with every step and at every juncture these fugitives defied fate, snatching survival and freedom from the jaws of the enemy, and all the horrors that would have followed capture.Damien Lewis has worked closely with the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS crossed blazing deserts, evaded enemy hunter forces and escaped through hostile lands, battling against seemingly insurmountable odds. But most of all, these uplifting tales of endurance beyond measure showcase the triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive.'Damien Lewis paints a uniquely vivid picture of the wartime SAS. Packed with detail, this fresh and dynamic book brings us as close to its remarkable members as we are ever likely to get.' Joshua Levine, author of Dunkirk'In these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure - and a bit of nostalgia!' Frederick Forsyth'The fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today' Mark Urban'An astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture' Alex Gerlis, author of Agent in the ShadowsTrade ReviewDamien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller -- Lee ChildThe fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today -- Mark UrbanIn these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure - and a bit of nostalgia! -- Frederick ForsythAn astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture -- Alex Gerlis, author of 'Agent in the Shadows'

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Book SynopsisThe U.S. Army regards the Hurtgen Forest as one of the most desperate battles it has ever fought. Flanking the key German city of Aachen, the forest was one of the formidable natural barriers interspersed with German fortifications in the West Wall in September 1944.

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Book SynopsisDecember 1942 saw the bloodiest Christmas in the history of mankind. From the islands in the Pacific to the China front, from the trenches in Russia to the battle lines in North Africa, in the skies over Europe and in the depths of the Atlantic, men were killing each other in greater numbers than ever before. The Holocaust continued, and innocent civilians were murdered by the thousands throughout the evil Nazi empire, even as the perpetrators celebrated the birth of Christ.Millions stationed in far-off lands amid the greatest conflict in human history feared this was their last Christmas in freedom, or their last Christmas alive. At the same time as the slaughter continued unabated, throughout the world there were random acts of kindness, born out of an instinctive feeling of the essential brotherhood of man. These gestures also straddled religious barriers and sometimes included those of non-Christian faiths. Even some Japanese, otherwise embarked on a self-declared crusade against the West, relented for a few precious hours in acknowledgment of the holiday.At the same time, Christmas 1942 saw the injunction of ‘good will to man’ distorted in ugly and callous ways. At Auschwitz, SS guards played cruel games with their prisoners. In Berlin, the German heart of darkness, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spent time with his family while still buried in feverish fantasies about the Jewish world conspiracy.Christmas 1942 saw the entire range of man’s conduct towards his fellow man, reflecting the extremes of behaviour, good and bad, that World War II gave rise to. The way the holiday was marked around the world tells a deeper and more universal story of the human condition in extraordinary times.Trade Review[P]rovides an interesting look at one of the war's lesser-known facets. It is well researched and organized, with a good selection of photographs highlighting the author's narrative. * WWII History *This book is of interest to any scholar of World War II, particularly those focused on bridging culture and war. Highly readable, this text is suitable for undergraduate and popular audiences as well. Many should find its analysis to be a refreshing take on the well-trodden field of World War II histories. * The Journal of Military History *This is book which will resonate with every reader. Its ability to capture and articulate the human dimension of war is powerful. Traveling through the numerous World War II offerings is certainly difficult for a potential reader. However, the uniqueness and quality of Darkest Christmas make this one you want to stop for. * Military Review *By the time you end the book, you'll have a greater understanding for the often conflicting emotions that surrounded Christmas Day 1942 and perhaps Christmas Day 2022. It's a great concept book well executed. * The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society *An excellent, often moving read. * The NYMAS Review 04/01/2023 *Featured in * Church Times *One single, crucial 24 hours – Christmas Day 1942. A world hanging in the balance. Peter Harmsen masterfully reveals the raging war across the globe through the hopes and fears of its inhabitants whether soldier, civilian or prisoner. A broad canvas, yet one that repeatedly becomes incredibly personal and often heart-wrenching. Among the vast library of books on World War II Darkest Christmas stands out as uniquely poignant and original. * Paul French, New York Times best-selling author of 'Midnight in Peking' and 'Bloody Saturday: Shanghai's Darkest Day' *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Pacific Ocean Chapter 2: Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Australia Chapter 3: Japan, occupied Asia Chapter 4: India, Siberia and the Middle East Chapter 5: Eastern Front Chapter 6: Germany, Holocaust Chapter 7: Occupied Europe Chapter 8: North Africa, Britain Chapter 9: Atlantic Ocean Chapter 10: Americas

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Book Synopsis‘Urgent, compulsively readable and powerfully resonant’ Sinclair McKay You know Oppenheimer, the man who created the atomic bomb… Now meet the men who detonated it, and the extraordinary weight of their decisions… Road to Surrender by New York Times bestselling author Evan Thomas is a riveting, immersive account of the agonizing decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan – a crucial turning point in World War II and geopolitical history. At 9:20 a.m. on the morning of May 30, General Groves receives a message to report to the office of the secretary of war “at once.” Stimson is waiting for him. He wants to know: has Groves selected the targets yet? So begins this suspenseful, impeccably researched history that draws on new access to diaries to tell the story of three men who were intimately involved with America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb—and Japan’s decision to surrender. They are Henry Stimson, the American Secretary of War, who had overall responsibility for decisions about the atom bomb; Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, head of strategic bombing in the Pacific, who supervised the planes that dropped the bombs; and Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, the only one in Emperor Hirohito’s Supreme War Council who believed even before the bombs were dropped that Japan should surrender. Henry Stimson had served in the administrations of five presidents, but as the U.S. nuclear program progressed, he found himself tasked with the unimaginable decision of determining whether to deploy the bomb. The new president, Harry S. Truman, thus far a peripheral figure in the momentous decision, accepted Stimson’s recommendation to drop the bomb. Army Air Force Commander Gen. Spaatz ordered the planes to take off. Like Stimson, Spaatz agonized over the command even as he recognized it would end the war. After the bombs were dropped, Foreign Minister Togo was finally able to convince the emperor to surrender. To bring these critical events to vivid life, bestselling author Evan Thomas draws on the diaries of Stimson, Togo and Spaatz, contemplating the immense weight of their historic decision. In Road to Surrender, an immersive, surprising, moving account, Thomas lays out the behind-the-scenes thoughts, feelings, motivations, and decision-making of three people who changed history. ‘This dramatic, you-are-there masterpiece provides a convincing explanation of one of the great moral questions of 20th century history: was America right to drop the atom bomb on Japan at the end of World War II? … This is an indispensable book for those who want to understand the moral issues surrounding the use of great power.’ Walter Isaacson ‘In this meticulously crafted and vivid account, Evan Thomas tells the gripping and terrifying story of the last days of the Second World War in the Pacific. Writing with insight and understanding, he recreates for us those critical moments when, for better or worse, the decisions, from the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Japanese surrender, were made.’ Margaret MacMillanTrade Review‘Urgent, compulsively readable and powerfully resonant’ Sinclair McKay ‘This dramatic, you-are-there masterpiece provides a convincing explanation of one of the great moral questions of 20th century history: was America right to drop the atom bomb on Japan at the end of World War II? … This is an indispensable book for those who want to understand the moral issues surrounding the use of great power.’ Walter Isaacson ‘In this meticulously crafted and vivid account, Evan Thomas tells the gripping and terrifying story of the last days of the Second World War in the Pacific. Writing with insight and understanding, he recreates for us those critical moments when, for better or worse, the decisions, from the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the Japanese surrender, were made.’ Margaret MacMillan ‘A terrifying, heart-breaking account of three men under unimaginable pressure’ Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Travels with George ‘An indispensable portrait of power, anxiety, and moral ambiguity’ Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of And There Was Light ‘A taut, thrilling narrative, rich, compassionate, and superbly nuanced.’ Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Revolutionary

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Book SynopsisThe gripping account of one historian's hunt for answers as he delves into the surprising life of an ordinary Nazi officer.'Totally exhilarating' Philippe SandsIt began with an armchair. It began with the surprise discovery of a stash of personal documents covered in swastikas sewn into its cushion. The SS Officer's Armchair is the story of what happened next, as Daniel Lee follows the trail of cold calls, documents, coincidences and family secrets, to uncover the life of one Dr Robert Griesinger from Stuttgart. As Lee delves deeper, Griesinger emerges as at once an ordinary man with a family and ambitions, and an active participant in the Nazi machinery of terror whose choices continue to reverberate today.'Gripping, it unfolds like a detective story as an obscured past emerges into the light' Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass'An absorbing work of historical detection... Riveting' Evening StandardTrade ReviewBeautiful and gripping, it unfolds like a detective story as an obscured past emerges into the light. -- Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish FamilyMemorable and chilling... As well as a brilliant researcher, Lee proves himself to be an insightful narrator - of both the life of a Nazi "desk murderer", and the continuing attempts of Griesinger's family to come to terms with the long shadow his role as an SS officer has cast over their lives. -- PD Smith * Guardian *An intriguing, honest and superbly documented portrait of what could be called an 'unremarkable' SS life... The strength of Lee's book is the way these facts of history are twinned with the perverted domesticity of everyday Nazism... The armchair stuffed with hidden swastikas is an apt symbol for that weird and disturbing double life. -- Bart van Es * Spectator *[An] absorbing work of historical detection... Lee's riveting book opens a window onto the life of an "ordinary" Nazi. -- Ian Thomson * Evening Standard *Understand this mediocre, provincial Nazi and you understand the terrible tragedy of 20th-century Germany... This is an admirable work of historical research, and is carefully and briskly written. Lee has been a pitbull of a researcher. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *

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Book SynopsisPart biography, part forensic jigsaw puzzle, part cold-case detective investigation, The Eagle in the Mirror is the story of Charles Howard 'Dick' Ellis. The longest-serving spy for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Ellis helped set up the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), now known as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). In the 1940s he was considered one of the top three secret agents in MI6 and controlled its activities, as one journalist put it, 'for half the world'.But in the 1980s crusading espionage journalist Chapman Pincher (in the hugely successful books Their Trade is Treachery and Too Secret Too Long) and retired MI5 intelligence officer Peter Wright (in the worldwide bestseller Spycatcher) posthumously accused Ellis of having operated as a 'triple agent' for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1965, while under interrogation in London, Ellis had allegedly made a confession that he had supplied information to the Nazis before World War II. However, Pincher's and Wright's accusations against Ellis have never been comprehensively proven. No confession has materialised.Was Ellis guilty or was an innocent man framed? By confessing did he take the fall for someone else? Or had the intelligence agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia been fatally compromised by a 'super mole'? Internationally bestselling author JESSE FINK (Pure Narco, Bon: The Last Highway, The Youngs) attempts to find out the truth once and for all.The Eagle in the Mirror is not just a long-overdue biography of the unheralded Dick Ellis; it's a gripping real-life international whodunit.Trade ReviewAn important book on a figure who deserves proper historical attention. -- Giles Scott-Smith, dean, Leiden University College, The HagueThis engrossing book makes a powerful case for Ellis to be seen as a hero. -- Simon Caterson, The AustralianForensic and engrossing. The point of Fink's work is to convincingly demolish various attacks on Ellis's reputation, especially the self-serving accusations of treacherous dealings, first with the Nazis and then the Soviet Union, made by a phalanx of bitter, or simply gullible, "insiders"... it was all nonsense, if Fink is to be believed, and I think he can be... Ellis, who died in 1975, was interrogated in 1966. Nothing of any substance was found. But the mere fact that he'd been questioned spawned an orgy of bestselling "exposes", penned for profit by men who had never felt at home with truth or loyalty. Fink's comprehensive exoneration, while as complex as the subject demands, is written by a fellow who clearly values both. -- Pat Sheil, The Sydney Morning HeraldJesse Fink's passion to uncover the true story of Dick Ellis is an engaging journey through espionage in the post-World War I and World War II era. The highlight of the story for me was understanding just how much fear, deceit, and mystery were in the daily lives of British intelligence officers of the day. -- Ronald Drabkin, author of Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent Flying Ace Who Infiltrated Hollywood and Helped Japan Attack Pearl HarborDick Ellis's adventures not only rival those of James Bond; he was James Bond. -- Phillip Knightley, author of The Second Oldest Profession and Philby: KGB MasterspyRemarkable story... if this book tells us anything, it is the difficulty of knowing the truth of anything in the world of the security services. -- Michael Sexton, Australian Book ReviewJesse Fink plays detective and uncovers the fascinating real story about Ellis. Highly readable. -- Jeff Popple, Canberra DailyVery interesting indeed... with some real digging for information, Fink does a very good job of showing the inadequacies of certain writers and that there is little or no real evidence that Ellis was an agent either for the Nazis or the Soviets. -- Stephen Dorril, author of MI6: Fifty Years of Special Operations and MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence ServiceGreat tale of espionage. The Eagle in the Mirror is a successful rehabilitation of a master spy... after a relentless investigation, Jesse Fink's book does justice to Ellis. -- TALINE TER MINASSIAN, author of Most Secret Agent of Empire: Reginald Teague-Jones, Master Spy of the Great Game

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Book SynopsisWhen Otto Frank unwrapped his daughter's diary with trembling hands and began to read the first pages, he discovered a side to Anne that was as much a revelation to him as it would be to the rest of the world. Little did Otto know he was about to create an icon recognised the world over for her bravery, sometimes brutal teenage honesty and determination to see beauty even where its light was most hidden. Nor did he realise that publication would spark a bitter battle that would embroil him in years of legal contest and eventually drive him to a nervous breakdown and a new life in Switzerland. Today, more than seventy-five years after Anne's death, the diary is at the centre of a multi-million-pound industry, with competing foundations, cultural critics and former friends and relatives fighting for the right to control it. In this insightful and wide-ranging account, Karen Bartlett tells the full story of The Diary of Anne Frank, the highly controversial part it played in twentieth-century history, and its fundamental role in shaping our understanding of the Holocaust. At the same time, she sheds new light on the life and character of Otto Frank, the complex, driven and deeply human figure who lived in the shadows of the terrible events that robbed him of his family, while he painstakingly crafted and controlled his daughter's story.

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Book SynopsisIt?s 1944. Twelve-year-old Grace Devine lives at Blacksod Lighthouse and weather station in County Mayo with her parents and little brother. When a German plane crashes nearby, she and her best friend Sibby risk their lives to save the young pilot. Grace?s family take him in, but their neighbours are horrified at having an ?enemy? in their midst.Meanwhile, the Met Office in England suddenly asks Blacksod to send them weather reports every hour. But why? As the wind and rain howl outside, Grace begins to understand that something important is happening, something to do with the war ? and she is right in the eye of the storm.A tale of bravery, adventure and a remarkable friendship, inspired by true events from World War 2.

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Book SynopsisThere is no book in English about the wartime Berlin 'salon' run by Kitty Schmidt under the secret control of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Final SolutionSalon Kitty was the most notorious brothel in the decadent Berlin of the Weimar Republic - the city of Cabaret. But after the Nazis took power, it became something more dangerous: a spying centre with every room wired for sound, staffed by women agents specially selected by the SS to coax secrets from their VIP clients. Masterminded by Reinhard Heydrich, the spymaster whom Hitler himself called 'the man with the iron heart', the exclusive establishment turned listening post was patronised by the Nazi leaders themselves, not knowing that hidden ears were listening.One of the last untold stories of the Second World War, Salon Kitty's sensational true history is now revealed by historians Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner and Dr Julia Schrammel. After years of painstaking research and investigation, the story they tell sheds new light on Nazi methods of control and coercion, and the way that they used and abused sex for their own perverse purposes.

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Book Synopsis'This is a masterful work. I am so grateful for Howarth's dedication to capturing the experiences of those who were there that fateful, historic, world-changing day.' _Good Reads__That morning, the fleet had sailed. He could not possibly count the ships or even guess the numbersWallace stood on the head of the cliff, entranced and exalted by a pageant of splendour which nobody had ever seen before, and nobody, it is certain, will ever see again_.In _Dawn of D-Day_, David Howarth weaves together the testimony of hundreds of eyewitnesses to produce a breath-taking and atmospheric account of the greatest amphibious landing ever attempted. Based on interviews with survivors and accounts by participants, including American paratroopers, British engineers, French civilians and German soldiers, this enthralling story brings all the drama of 6th June 1944 to life. David Howarth looks not only at the famous incidents but at the full range of D-Day experiences, relating the running battles bet

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Book SynopsisBlood, fire and iron: An unforgettable portrait of the most feared soldiers of World War TwoIn the closing years of the 1930s, German agent-provocateurs worked in secrecy. These crack units of elite soldiers paved the way for the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland, the spark that would ignite a war across Europe. In time, they would go on to shape the conflict with terrifying ferocity and skill.The mysteries of German special forces are revealed here, with incisive analysis of naval, military and aerial operations, and vivid descriptions of suicide pilots, human torpedoes and explosive motor boats.James Lucas delivers one of the fullest and most accessible ever accounts of the elite troops known as Kommandos, across both their achievements and failures to stave off impending military defeat.This is war at its toughest, most harrowing and most extreme.

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Book SynopsisThe story of the greatest Special Forces unit the world has ever seen, told by the men who fought together.In 1941, maverick officer David Stirling adventurer, gambler, rake created the Special Air Service. The soldiers came from all walks of life: miners, desert explorers, Guardsmen, bored clerks in the pay corps. All felt frustrated by the conventional army and were determined to make their mark on the war. Together they created a tradition that would survive the capture of their leader, the death of so many of their comrades and even the disbanding of the SAS after the end of the war.With the co-operation of the regimental association, Gavin Mortimer interviewed nearly sixty veterans, including many of the desert Originals', many of whom had never before revealed their role. They spoke openly, with honesty and humour, about life in the SAS; the gruelling training that broke all but the toughest; the thrill of raiding desert airfields; the danger of parachuting into occupied France; and the fear of being caught by the Germans, knowing that Hitler had ordered the liquidation' of captured SAS soldiers.This is the SAS at war, in their own words.

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Book SynopsisA new revised edition of the story of Operation Jaywick, as told by its last surviving participant and written by his son. The story of one of the most successful raids against the Japanese forces during the Second World War

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Book SynopsisA thought-provoking, engaging guide to the Holocaust informed by Hyman's Wolanski's family's direct experience.

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Book SynopsisThe French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II was a struggle in which ordinary people fought for their liberty, despite terrible odds and horrifying repression. Hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen and women carried out an armed struggle against the Nazis, producing underground anti-fascist publications and supplying the Allies with vital intelligence. The Resistancetouches on some of the strongest themes in life - courage, self-sacrifice, betrayal and struggle. It shatters the illusion of a unified Resistance created by General de Gaulle, and brings to vivid life a true story of heroes and conflicts forgotten over the next half-century as the movement became a myth. Based on hundreds of French eye-witness accounts and including recently-released archival material, The Resistanceuses dramatic personal stories to take the reader on one of the great adventures of the 20thcentury.

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Book Synopsis**A Telegraph Best History Book of 2023* 'An astonishing achievement' ANTONY BEEVORAn intimate history of the most important month of the Second World War as experienced by those who lived through it, completely based on their diaries, letters and memoirs.At the beginning of November 1942, it looked as if the Axis powers could win the war; at the end of that month, it was obviously just a matter of time before they would lose.In between came el-Alamein, Guadalcanal, the French North Africa landings, the Japanese retreat in New Guinea, and the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. In this innovatively kaleidoscopic and riveting historical marvel, Peter Englund reduces these epoch-making events to their basic component: the individual experience.In thirty memorable days we meet characters including a Soviet infantryman at Stalingrad; an Italian truck driver in the North African desert; a partisan in the Belarussian forests; a machine gunner in a British bomber; a twelve-year-old girl in Shanghai; a university student in Paris; a housewife on Long Island; a prisoner in Treblinka; Albert Camus, Vasily Grossman, and Vera Brittain. We also witness the launch of SS James Oglethorpe; the fate of U-604, a German submarine; the building of the first nuclear reactor; and the making of Casablanca.Not since Englund's own The Beauty and the Sorrow has a book given us one of the most dramatic periods of human history in all its immensity and emotional range.'Thought-provoking' SUNDAY TIMES'Thoroughly worth reading' TELEGRAPHTrade ReviewAn astonishing achievement * Antony Beevor *By interweaving the detailed experiences of 39 individuals from all parts of the conflict, Englund presents an extraordinary panorama of this pivotal moment. A haunting narrative imaginatively conceived, brilliantly told * Julia Boyd *Absolutely revelatory. A stunning tour de force. So much in here that is truly fresh and new. Englund chronicles the gripping tale of one month that changed everything in WWII, and it is so beautifully written and timeless. Once read, you'll want to return to this again and again * Damien Lewis *Majestic … This is an extraordinary evocation of a pivotal moment in the 20th century. Englund captures not only the gnawing tension, the moments of terror and the flinty endurance but also the fractal complexity of this global conflict. Resonantly written and utterly gripping, this book will stay with you * Sinclair MacKay *Thought-provoking … Englund’s book … deserves an audience, to increase knowledge not only of this particular war, but also of the stupendous sacrifices and tragedies of all human conflicts * Sunday Times *Succeed[s] in giving a very human (and, inevitably sometimes, inhuman) snapshot of events ... Thoroughly worth reading * Telegraph *Superb ... a stimulating read * New Statesman *The stories of the individual people featured make the global personal in an astonishing way * Alan Parks, Daily Express *Books of the 2023* *Extraordinary ... with a scrupulous and skilful hand [Englund] has created an original panorama of humankind's most destructive war * New York Times *What makes Englund's work original and remarkable is his narrative technique, which could be called 'the mosaic method' ... A coherent and moving portrait of a world at war * BBC History Magazine *This gripping and propulsive account, expertly translated by Graves in lyrical prose, recreates the daily uncertainty of war as experienced by regular people ... It's a monumental work of history * Publishers Weekly *Engrossing … Englund’s approach echoes Homer’s Iliad which tries to understand at once the mayhem of war, the forces that drive it and the feelings its violence leaves behind … Englund’s tour de force casts a long shadow into our present – and its raw voices haunt me still * Wall Street Journal ***PRAISE FOR THE BEAUTY AND THE SORROW**In four decades of studying war, I've never read such a remarkable book * Washington Post *A literary as well as a historical achievement * Guardian *Intense and bighearted. ... The accounts of [these] lives can be terrifying or stirring, but are most fully alive in Englund's accumulation of small moments, stray details * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisIt Had to Be Tough tells the fascinating story of the origins of the Commandos (Britain's first Special Service troops and the forerunners of today's Parachute Regiment, the SAS and the SBS). The Commandos were raised on the specific and personal orders of Winston Churchill in the dark days of the summer of 1940 when these islands faced the real threat of a Nazi invasion. It was a bold, but typically Churchillian, decision.This engaging book traces the formation of the Commandos and the extreme and often unorthodox training methods and techniques used to prepare the volunteers from all branches of the British Army for subsequent world-wide operations. These ground-breaking operations included the 'great raids' on Norway and France, and the full scale invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Burma.Arguably the Army Commandos were disbanded too hastily after the War but their legacy, traditions and fighting spirit live on in those artillery, engineer and corps troops who today win their coveted 'Green Berets' and serveTrade ReviewThis book tells the story of the origins of the Commandos, a unit raised on the specific and personal orders of Winston Churchill. The author James Dunning, was himself a member of No 4 Commando during WW2 and took part in a number of it's raids before becoming an instructor. His account concentrates on all aspects of training, and provides a fascinating insight into principles and techniques that still apply today. - Classic Military Vehicle The Commandos developed an approach to warfare which was the complete antithesis to the conventional and defensive mindset of the British infantryman of 1940. Trained to fight in complete isolation and to make rapid and aggressive progress with only their small arms and personal determination and initiative to assist them, they evolved into a truly elite fighting force which was capable of causing mayhem and destruction out of all proportion to their size. James Dunning does not dwell upon the numerous raids which made them famous, instead he explores the unorthodox and notoriously gruelling training regime through which every Commando had to pass; a regime which would tolerate nothing less than the keenest, fittest, most self-disciplined and capable soldiers that Britain could produce. Covering every aspect of this system, from physical training to rehearsals for large-scale amphibious operations, "It Had to be Tough" reveals what it was which shaped each individual Commando and so made possible their legendary achievements. - Pegasus Archive

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Book SynopsisIn May and June 1940 almost four million people fled Paris and its suburbs in anticipation of a German invasion. On June 14, the German Army tentatively entered the silent and eerily empty French capital. Without one shot being fired in its defence, the Occupation of Paris had begun. When Paris Went Dark tells the extraordinary story of Germany's capture and Occupation of Paris, Hitler's relationship with the City of Light, and its citizens' attempts at living in an environment that was almost untouched by war, but which had become uncanny overnight. Beginning with the Phoney War and Hitler's first visit to the city, acclaimed literary historian and critic Ronald Rosbottom takes us through the German Army's almost unopposed seizure of Paris, its bureaucratic re-organization of that city, with the aid of collaborationist Frenchmen, and the daily adjustments Parisians had to make to this new oppressive presence. Using memoirs, interviews and published eye-witness accounts, Rosbottom expertly weaves a narrative of daily life for both the Occupier and the Occupied. He shows its effects on the Parisian celebrity circles of Pablo Picasso, Simone de Beauvoir, Colette, Jean Cocteau, and Jean-Paul Sartre, and on the ordinary citizens of its twenty arrondissements. But Paris is the protagonist of this story, and Rosbottom provides us with a template for seeing the City of Light as more than a place of pleasure and beauty.Trade ReviewA sombre, but riveting read, a stark reminder of the divisive nightmare of occupation * Country Life *Exposes the manifold instances of French cowardice and duplicity while not exaggerating rare moments of heroism * The Times *An admirable background study * Church Times *[Rosbottom's] lively writing, wide research and obvious affection for the city makes for a fascinating read * BBC History Magazine *When Paris Went Dark recounts, through countless compelling stories, how Nazi occupation drained the light from Paris and how many of its residents resisted in ways large and small. This is a rich work of history, a brilliant recounting of how hope can still flourish in the rituals of daily life * Scott Turow *A riveting account of one of the most resonant hostage-takings in history: the 1,500 days when a swastika flew from the Eiffel Tower . . . an intimate, sweeping narrative, astute in its insight and chilling in its rich detail * Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra, A Great Improvisation, and Véra *Ron Rosbottom has recreated the Parisian world during the dark days of the German occupation like no previous writer I know. His secret is two-fold: first, exhaustive research that allows him to recover what we might call the importance of the ordinary; and second, a shrewd grasp of how memory works * Joseph J. Ellis, Ford Foundation Professor Emeritus at Mount Holyoke College, author of Founding Brothers, American Sphinx, and Revolutionary Summer *His book's main strength is the sense it gives of how ordinary Parisians coped, but it is also excellent on youth culture, the divisions that marked the Jewish community's response to persecution, the toxic aftermath of liberation, and the mythologies that quickly arose around the war years * Observer *

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Book SynopsisCarve Her Name With Pride is the inspiring story of the half-French Violette Szabo who was born in Paris Iin 1921 to an English motor-car dealer, and a French Mother. She met and married Etienne Szabo, a Captain in the French Foreign Legion in 1940. Shortly after the birth of her daughter, Tania, her husband died at El Alamein. She became a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) and was recruited into the SOE and underwent secret agent training. Her first trip to France was completed successfully even though she was arrested and then released by the French Police. On June 7th, 1944, Szabo was parachuted into Limoges. Her task was to co-ordinate the work of the French Resistance in the area in the first days after D-Day. She was captured by the SS 'Das Reich' Panzer Division and handed over to the Gestapo in Paris for interrogation. From Paris, Violette Szabo was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp where she was executed in January 1945. She was only 23 and for her courage was posthumously awarded The George Cross and the Croix de Guerre.

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Book SynopsisA remarkable and eccentric insight into the south east of England in the pre-war period. Richard Wyndham's 'last look round' was a tour taken immediately before the Second World War in 1939 and was originally published in the following year as South-Eastern Survey. Wyndham is a very agreeable companion as he travels in his self-confessed 'haphazard' way around the counties of Sussex, Kent and Surrey. Often eccentric but always good fun, he drives 'for the most part on side roads only, and through villages and lesser towns.' A selection of Wyndham's own black and white photographs taken on his expedition are included. Sussex, Kent and Surrey 1939 is a wonderful insight into south east of England before the outbreak of the Second World War, which brought so much change to the country. Wyndham is a superb travel companion who completed the writing as he was called up for active service.Trade Review‘Wyndham’s tone is that of a warm, eccentric uncle.' * Discover Britain *

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Book Synopsis"Music transcends war trauma in this extraordinary novel that opens in 1938 Vienna when 19-year-old Jewish cellist Otto Shalmik is arrested with his father and interred at Dachau concentration camp. To remain sane, Otto approaches every task — from shoveling sand to cleaning the latrine — as rhythmic in his imagination. One day the Nazi Adjutant, Dieter Birchendorf, takes Otto to his home where he instructs him to play a coveted Stradivarius cello stolen from a Jewish family. Birchendorf’s pregnant wife Katja is a musician who is suffering idiopathic deafness, but he believes she will feel the vibrations as Otto plays. By 1943, Otto learns that his mother, sister and five-year-old niece have been imprisoned at Terezín and later transferred to Auschwitz. Post-war, Otto travels to Toronto where he studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music and builds a career as a composer. In the 1994 present, he embraces a reclusive life in Big Sur, California where he agrees to be interviewed by Australian musicologist Rosa Little, who is hoping to secure his permission to become his biographer. Secrets connect the two strangers, ones that will change their lives. An important, aching, artful Holocaust novel." - The Toronto StarTrade Review"An important, aching, artful Holocaust novel." - The Toronto Star"Most moving and impressive. Martin Goodman manages an original stance on what has become all too familiar – the ‘Holocaust’ novel – and has created something really worthwhile as a result. It is beautifully structured and has a distinctive and haunting tone. Altogether a very clever and memorable piece of work."– Simon Mawer, author of The Glass Room"There is much to explore, from the orchestras established in the camps to the special treatment sometimes accorded to to talented musicians and the impact the Nazis had on Europe’s rich musical culture. The parts of the novel set in Dachau, Buchenwald, Terezín and Auschwitz ring with a visceral truth, and real figures such as Herbert Zimmer, who established a secret orchestra at Dachau, and Hans Krása – composer of the children’s opera Brundibár get respectful supporting roles." - The Financial Times "Looks squarely at the horrors of the 20th century, and old divisions that still fester…This is one powerful story that dares to hope, and shows the way to love."– Bonnie Greer "A subtle novel that treads delicately around identity, values and life purpose."– The Hackney Citizen "A Masterful novel." - Morning Star, UK"A wonderful story. A beautiful book about the unimaginable and what can grow from it." - Marina Mahler, granddaughter of the composer and founder and president of the Mahler Foundation.

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Book SynopsisA prisoner of war''s daring escape from a speeding train . . . a Greek resistance heroine''s fateful decision to harbour the fugitive . . . and a young dressmaker''s curiosity spark a chain of events that has consequences none of them could ever have imagined.The Dressmaker & the Hidden Soldier is based on the extraordinary true story of Peter Blunden, the New Zealand soldier, and Thalia Christidou, the young Greek dressmaker, and Tasoula Paschilidou, the resistance heroine.What follows is an epic love story set in a country under Hitler''s oppressive regime.With the Nazis closing in, Peter makes another courageous escape, Thalia is threatened by betrayal, and Tasoula is sent to a concentration camp.Will Tasoula survive? What will become of Peter and Thalia''s undeclared love?

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Book SynopsisThis new photo album is number 32 in the MMPBooks/Stratus "Camera On" series and is the second volume to cover such equipment as Luftwaffe search lights and range finding equipment, of which the book contains 140+ photographs. The majority of the photos are from private collections taken by ordinary German soldiers, not professional propagandists. In this volume, we endeavour to show this rarely illustrated equipment in some detail but still show it as the soldiers viewed it as both their work place and also their home, not the highly posed and polished views of the official photographers.This book is an invaluable reference for military historians and modelers alike.

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Book Synopsis(This book is a parody and is not authorised by the Estate of Winston S. Churchill) THE PERFECT GIFT FOR DADS THIS FATHER''S DAY Dear Winston,We''ve just started our baby on solids and I''m about to change his first nappy since then. What pep talk can I give myself?Reyansh, Chatham, 26WC: Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ''This was their finest hour''.---Winston Churchill, oft-named greatest Briton of all time, had wisdom in abundance. Now, for the first time, that wisdom is being applied to the people most in need: FATHERS. Whether you''re a 28-year-old newbie after advice on how to remove your toddler''s dummy, a 40-year-old long-timer wishing your teenager would try harder at their GCSEs, or a 63-year-old veteran wanting to know how best to

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