Second World War Books

Book SynopsisThis illustrated study explores, in detail, the RAF''s first concentrated air campaign of World War II against one of the hardest and most important targets in Germany the industrial heartland of the Ruhr that kept Hitler''s war machine running.Between March and July 1943, RAF Bomber Command undertook its first concentrated bombing campaign, the Battle of the Ruhr, whose aim was nothing less than the complete destruction of the industry that powered the German war machine. Often overshadowed by the famous ''Dambusters'' single-raid attack on the Ruhr dams, the Battle of the Ruhr proved much larger and much more complex. The mighty, industrial Ruhr region contained not only some of the most famous and important arms makers, such as the gunmakers Krupp of Essen, but also many other industries that the German war economy relied on, from steelmakers to synthetic oil plants. Being such a valuable target, the Ruhr was one of the most heavily defended regions in Europe.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES Preparing for the ‘Main Offensive’ Navigation aids Aircraft Pathfinders (PFF) DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES The rise, fall and rise of Germany’s air defences Night fighters and the Kammhuber Line Flak CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES The Reich’s industrial heartland and its workers The Ruhr cities, towns and industries Industrial workers and morale Dams, waterways and marshalling yards Synthetic oil plants The Rhineland cities THE CAMPAIGN The bomber battle in ‘Happy Valley’ Precursor: the ‘experimental’ Ruhr attacks and ‘diversions’, December 1942–February 1943 The main battle begins: Essen and Duisburg, March–April Supporting the main battle ‘Maximum effort’ at Dortmund and the ‘real catastrophe’ of Wuppertal, May 1943 The bitter battles of June Endgame: the attacks of July AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS FURTHER READING INDEX

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Book SynopsisA genuinely new Second World War story, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram by David M. Guss is a riveting account of the wartime exploits of the Scotsman. It is a tale of courage in the face of extraordinary odds and a testament to one man's dogged determination never to give up.‘The greatest serial escaper of the Second World War’ – The Times'Endlessly fascinating. Cram's story sizzles with adventure' – Giles Milton, Sunday Times In November 1941 Lt Alastair Cram was taken prisoner in North Africa as a devastating tank battle unfolded as Operation Crusader struggled to relieve Tobruk. His capture began a four year-long odyssey as he passed through twelve different POW camps, three Gestapo prisons and one asylum. Determined to regain his freedom, he became a serial escapee fleeing his captors no fewer than twenty-one times.The most dramatic of these attempts was from Gavi, the ‘Italian Colditz’. This maximum-security prison built inside a thousand year old stone fortress was for the pericolosi, those classified as the ‘most dangerous’ prisoners due to their unrelenting desire to escape. It was here that Alastair met David Stirling, the legendary founder of the SAS, and cooked up the plan for the ‘Cistern Tunnel’, one of the most audacious but little-known mass escape attempts of the entire war. ______________'Fascinating' – Daily Express'An enthralling portrait of true courage' Sunday Express S Magazine Trade ReviewEndlessly fascinating. Cram’s story sizzles with adventure and the author plays it for all it is worth. I found myself rooting for his hero at every scrape and turn. * Giles Milton, Sunday Times *The story of Alastair Cram is a remarkable one, perhaps richer for having remained untold for so long . . . a book that ranks among the best escape literature * The Times *Fascinating -- Dominic Midgley * Daily Express *An enthralling portrait of true courage * Sunday Express S Magazine *An extraordinary story, vividly told. * History Revealed *Reads like a John Buchan novel. * History of War *[A] masterful account . . . Harrowing and deeply touching 21 Escapes pays homage to an inspiring figure and the determination of the human spirit. * Scottish Field *

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Book SynopsisIn 2012 Jean Paul Pallud wrote the After the Battle account of the Desert War; now he completes the story with detailed coverage of the landings of Operation `Torch’ in North-West Africa in November 1942. When the western Allies decided to launch a second front in North Africa, they carefully considered the anti-British feeling left in France by the ill-advised attack by the Royal Navy on the French Fleet at Mers el Kébir in July 1940. Consequently, the operation was given an American rather than a British complexion, General Eisenhower was chosen to lead a mostly American force into battle and the major Royal Navy contribution was kept as inconspicuous as possible. At this point in the war, the Allies had almost no experience with amphibious operations and it was a risky undertaking to carry out such an immense operation covering multiple landings over 600 miles apart. Even more amazing was the fact that part of the invasion forces was to depart from the United States, 6,000 miles away. As the orders were not confirmed until a month before Operation `Torch’ was launched, there was very little time to organise such a logistically complex operation involving American and British forces, and even less time for the pro-Allied French to organise more than small measures of support. There were two landings in the Mediterranean, at three main points near Algiers and three near Oran, and three landings on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. There, the main landing came ashore at Fédala, 18 miles north-east of Casablanca, and the armour was brought ashore at Safi, 140 miles south-east. In spite of all the difficulties, the landings all went well and the operation quickly achieved all of its initial objectives. However, the Germans reacted swiftly and, with little Allied interference, they rushed in reinforcements to Tunisia by air and sea. The Allies were thus drawn into a six-month campaign in Tunisia, the First Army from Operation `Torch’ soon joining hands with the Eighth Army advancing from Libya to finally clear Axis presence along the southern shore of the Mediterranean. This operation marked the first time that American troops fought against German forces during the Second World War. They had a rough baptism of fire in southern Tunisia in February 1943, training, equipment and leadership failed in many instances to meet the requirements of the battlefield, but the US Army was quick to learn and revise army doctrines, particularly with respect to the use of armour. The successful campaign created thousands of seasoned soldiers of all ranks whose experience would prove decisive in subsequent campaigns. The next test was only two months away — the invasion of Sicily. In addition, Operation `Torch’ brought the French army back into the war. Most important of all, the Allies had seized the initiative in the West.

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Book Synopsis''I would choose this account over and above the rest. It is a fabulous book: full of perceptive insight that conveys all the tragedy, triumph, humour and intense drama of Churchill''s time as wartime leader; and it is incredibly moving as a result'' James Holland, Literary ReviewIn this vivid biography, #1 bestselling historian Max Hastings tells the story of how Churchill led a nation through its darkest hour.A moving, dramatic narrative of crisis and fortitude, Hastings offers one of the finest biographies of one of Britain's finest men.When Churchill took power as Prime Minister in 1940, it was with the unprecedented support of the nation. People rallied behind their new commander in extraordinary fashion, but thereafter, as Hastings argues, there came a deep divide.Churchill was a hero, a dogged worker dedicated to steering the country through the war. He expected more from the British people than they were perhaps able to deliver.Taking us on an intimate, stirring journey throughTrade Review'One of the best books ever written about Churchill … Hastings's efficient, soldierly prose marches along at a brisk pace and carries the reader with it. He has drawn on copious original sources and consulted experts familiar with them, enabling him to cast fresh light on familiar episodes … a magnificent performance.' Sunday Times 'The book's portrait of Churchill is scrupulously fair and often deeply moving … in fact Hastings excels with all his character portraits, especially with Roosevelt and Stalin. Hastings is truly a master of strategy and high command.' Antony Beevor, Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisA gripping memoir written by a 96-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor about his escape from Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1930''s and his adventures with the French Resistance during World War IIIn 1937, as the Nazi Party tightened its grip on the city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), Justus Rosenberg's parents made the wrenching decision to send their son to Paris, where he would have the hope of finishing high school and going on to university in safety. He was sixteen years old, and he would not see his family again for sixteen years more.Even after war broke out in 1939, life in France was peaceful for a timebut when the Nazis pushed toward Paris in the spring of 1940, Justus was forced to flee south to Toulouse. There, a chance meeting put Justus in contact with Varian Fry, the American journalist who ran a refugee network that aided several thousand Jews in escaping Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. With his German background, understanding of French cultural, and fluency in several laTrade Review‘A natural raconteur, with a pleasing conversational style. What shines through this engaging book is his evident desire to be helpful and responsible and his acute consciousness of how extraordinarily lucky he was’ Times ‘Gripping … Fearless … Recalls imprisonments, escapes from confinement, and successful missions against the Nazis … A welcome addition to the World War II memoir shelf.’ Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA stunning book, among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read' At 8:15am on August 6th 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In an instant, the temperature at its core rose to millions of degrees. Sixty-thousand buildings were obliterated. A third of the city's population died, by heat, by the blast, and by a terrible new weapon in the history of warfare: radiation.In this riveting account, Stephen Walker follows the stories of real people in the extraordinary weeks leading up to the explosion and in its aftermath. From the atomic engineer who armed the bomb in mid-air to the Japanese doctors treating thousands of burnt bodies on the ground. From the flight crews and scientists to world leaders and civilian victims. With intimate testimony and remarkable stories, this is the startling narrative behind the dawn of the atomic age.Trade Review‘Shockwave is a stunning book, among the most immediate and thrilling works of history I have ever read.’ Irish Times ‘This is an utterly gripping work of micro-history … [Walker] proves himself a master of dramatic tension.’Sunday Express ‘The excitement of the time is wonderfully captured in Walker’s Shockwave. Brilliant.’Financial Times ‘Devastating.’Daily Mail ‘Timely and harrowing …succeeds in creating a dramatized documentary of the moment that changed history.’Scotland on Sunday ‘A roller-coaster ride through the memories of American servicemen, Japanese soldiers and civilians…invites comparison with John Hersey’s still-classic Hiroshima.’Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) ‘Superb …Walker writes with a sense of urgency and high drama.’Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) ‘Uniquely readable, immediate and human …an exceptionally taut and revealing chronicle.’Booklist (Starred Review) ‘Dramatic …an important page-turner.’Entertainment Weekly ‘Remarkable. I have been waiting for this book for sixty years.’Gitta Sereny, author of Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth ‘Electrifying …The tension and concentration of Walker’s thriller-like prose elicits a visceral response.’ Chicago Tribune

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Book SynopsisHow could Nazi killers shoot Jewish women and children at close range? Why did Japanese soldiers rape and murder on such a horrendous scale? How was it possible to endure the torment of a Nazi death camp?Award-winning documentary maker and historian Laurence Rees has spent decades wrestling with such questions in the course of filming hundreds of interviews with people tested to the extreme during World War II. He has come face-to-face with rapists, mass murderers, even cannibals, but he has also met courageous individuals who are an inspiration to us all.In Their Darkest Hour he presents 35 of his most electrifying encounters.''A remarkably powerful collection'' Antony Beevor, Daily Telegraph''An incredible, well-written, must-read book'' Glasgow Evening Times''A lasting contribution to our understanding of the Second World War and a powerful insight into the behaviour of human beings in crisis''Trade ReviewA remarkably powerful collection * Daily Telegraph *Powerful and unsettling * Sunday Times *A lasting contribution to our understanding of the Second World War and a powerful insight into the behaviour of human beings in crisis * Independent *Fascinating but disturbing * Daily Mail *Chilling collection of eye-witness testimonies ... bringing nuance to our understanding of the horrific experience of war * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisI lay there rather dazed for a while, expecting to be hit again at any moment.' John Hunter, Parachute Regiment, Northants.Seventy years ago, on 6 June 1944, a great Allied Armada landed on the coast of Normandy.

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Book SynopsisMark Mazower''s Hitler''s Empire is a provocative account of the rise and fall of Nazi Europe by one of Britain''s leading historians. Hitler''s empire was the largest, most brutal and most ambitious reshaping of Europe in history. Inspired by the imperial legacy of those such as the British, the Third Reich cast its shadow from the Channel Islands to the Caucasus and ruled hundreds of millions. Yet, as Mark Mazower''s groundbreaking new account shows, it was an empire built on an illusion.From Hitler''s plans for vast motorways crossing an ethnically cleansed Russian steppe, to dreams of a German super-economy rivalling America''s, Mazower reveals the lethal fusion of mass murder, modern managerialism and colossal incompetence that underpinned the Nazi New Order. Ultimately Hitler''s empire ended up consuming its own, leaving destruction in its wake and finishing not just with the downfall of Germany, but an entire continent.''Remarkable ... provoTrade Review'[A] beautifully constructed account of life under the horrifying Nazi empire ! Splendid' - Norman Stone, Guardian 'Remarkable ! provocative ! an important new book' - Adam Tooze, Sunday Telegraph 'A brilliant account' - David Cesarani, Independent 'A first-class account' - Richard Overy, Literary Review 'Brilliant ! a must for anyone who has a serious interest in the dreadful Third Reich' - Justin Cartwright, Spectator 'Exposes the intellectual bankruptcy of the enterprise with forensic skill and wit' - Christopher Silvester, Daily Express

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Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Inspired by the trial of a bureaucrat who helped cause the Holocaust, this radical work on the banality of evil stunned the world with its exploration of a regime''s moral blindness and one man''s insistence that he be absolved all guilt because he was ''only following orders''.

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Book SynopsisFrom America''s preeminent naval historian, the first full-length portrait in over fifty years of the man who won the war in the Pacific in World War Twodestined, says Andrew Roberts, to be the defining life of Chester Nimitz for a long time to come. Only days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped Chester W. Nimitz to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. Nimitz was not the most senior candidate available, and some, including his new boss, U.S. Navy Admiral Ernest J. King, considered him a desk admiral, more suited to running a bureaucracy than a theater of war. Yet FDR''s selection proved nothing less than inspired. From the precarious early months of the war after December 7th 1941 to the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay nearly four years later, Nimitz transformed the devastated and dispirited Pacific fleet into the most powerful and commanding naval force in history. From the start, the pressures on Nimitz were crushing. Facing demands from Washington to mount an early offensive, he had first to revive the depressed morale of the thousands of sailors, soldiers, and Marines who served under him. He had to corral independent-minded subordinatesincluding Admiral Bill Bull Halsey and General Holland Howlin'' Mad Smithand keep them focused on shared objectives. He had to maintain a sometimes-fraught relationship with his Army counterpart Douglas MacArthur, and cope with his superiors, including the formidably prickly King and the inscrutable FDR. He had to navigate the expectations of a nation impatient for revenge and eventual victory. And of course, he also confronted a formidable and implacable enemy in the Imperial Japanese Navy, which, until the Battle of Midway, had the run of the Pacific. Craig Symonds'' Nimitz at War reveals how the quiet man from the Hill Country of Texas eventually surmounted all of these challenges. Using Nimitz''s headquartersthe eye of the hurricaneas his vantage point, Symonds covers all the major campaigns in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. He captures Nimitz''s composure, discipline, homespun wisdom, and most of all his uncanny sense of when to assert authority and when to pull back. In retrospect it is difficult to imagine anyone else accomplishing what Nimitz did. As Symonds'' absorbing, dynamic, and authoritative portrait reveals, it required qualities of leadership exhibited by few other commanders in history, qualities that are enduringly and even poignantly relevant to our own moment.Trade ReviewIn December 1941, FDR's choice to take over the shattered US Pacific Fleet was an obscure desk admiral. His selection proved inspired beyond all expectation. Within six months, Nimitz helped set the stage for the ultimate defeat of Japan, holding his own with his superiors while quietly fashioning an outstanding set of subordinate commanders. Symonds has given us a Nimitz for the 21st Century. * John B. Lundstrom, Author of lack Shoe Carrier Admiral *Nimitz's genius lay in his ability to convince others that they could do great things. In that respect he was 'a force multiplier in the Pacific War,' one whose legacy was the Allied victory itself. Immersive, deeply researched, and superbly written, imitz at War will become the standard. * General Mike Hagee, USMC(Ret) 33rd Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, CEO Admiral Nimitz Foundation *Nimitz at War is the greatest biography yet written about the greatest admiral in American history. * Ian W. Toll *Craig Symonds' ability to put the reader in the shoes of the admiral who masterminded the US Pacific Fleet's response to Pearl Harbor is truly remarkable. In his brilliant pen portraits of Nimitz's comrades (and occasional rivals), Symonds delivers a masterclass in the influence of character on decision-making. Deeply researched, extremely well-written, and often genuinely exciting, this is destined to be the defining life of Chester Nimitz for a long time to come. * Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny *This excellent book is the inspiring story of a great American leader, who rebuilt a broken fleet and led it to victory against a formidable foe, through four years of war without a major defeat Craig Symonds has done it with grace and a large spirit. In World War II, the United States Navy had a typically understated flag hoist for such an achievement: Baker Zebra (now Bravo Zulu): Well Done. * David Hackett Fischer, author of Albion's Seed and Washington's Crossing, winner of the Pulitzer Prize *A brilliant and balanced account of how Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz led the greatest naval campaign in history. Now often overlooked, Nimitz was the only American World War II theater commander—even compared to Eisenhower and MacArthur—who won great victories when fighting outnumbered or merely at parity. This deeply researched and highly readable book offers a timeless textbook on high command excellence. * Richard B. Frank, author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937-May 1942 *Table of ContentsPrologue I. Taking Command II. The South Pacific III. The Central Pacific Drive IV. Victory Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOffers the full story of a fateful alliance between past and future mortal enemies--long preceding the well-known Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact--whose dimensions were kept secret from the outside world and yet which set the stage for World War Two and its outcome.Trade ReviewReaders interested in the technical aspects of experiments and in the development of prototypes will benefit from this book. Regarding the political aspects of the cooperation, Johnson confirms the assumptions of the authoritative literature. * Dietrich Beyrau, H/Soz/Kult *The strength of Johnson's work is that he clearly illustrates that most of the Reichswehr's top leadership had been on board for a war of revenge to assert Germany's primacy on the continent well before Hitler and the Nazis came to power. * Roger R. Reese, Texas A&M University, The Russian Review *Johnson's book is a revelation and a triumph. It lays bare one of the least-known and least-understood of inter-war relationships – the odious pariahs' dance between Germany and the Soviet Union. Well-written and academically impeccable, it is an essential read for everyone interested in the period. * Roger Moorhouse, author of Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II and The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941 *Ian Johnson has done extraordinary research, drawing on twenty-three archives in five countries and three languages, which allows him to tell a highly original story: How the German-Soviet partnership of the early 1920s lay at the foundation of European politics in the two decades that followed, helping to determine Stalin's Terror, the German army's virulent contempt for Bolshevism, and ultimately the outbreak and conduct of the Second World War and the Holocaust. This is one of the most important and readable books in years on this critical period. * Benjamin Hett, author of The Nazi Menace: Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Road to War *Ian Johnson's compelling study is a major contribution to twentieth century history.Based on significant research, this study takes forward our knowledge of an important aspect of the background to World War Two. * Jeremy Black, author of Rethinking Military History *Compelling, elegantly written, and based on meticulous excavation of the archives, Ian Ona Johnson's book forces a reckoning with the interwar continuity of relations between the Soviet Union and their German partners—Weimar and Nazi alike. It reveals in captivating detail how Germany's clandestine rearmament shaped the Nazi German Wehrmacht, the Soviet Red Army, and the ultimate destabilization of Europe. * Jennifer Siegel, The Ohio State University *This is an important book nonetheless for revealing the full nature of the Soviet-German relationship in the 1920s and early 1930s,...The writing is clear and there is an image section that is as original as the main subject area of the book. * Richard Overy, University of Exeter *This is a well-written and extremely well-documented treatment of the subject. * Evan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow, Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsPART I: Sowing the Wind Chapter One: The Bolshevik's Army Chapter Two: Revolution and Reaction Chapter Three: The Treaty of Versailles Chapter Four: The Polish-Bolshevik War Chapter Five: The Corporate Program Chapter Six: The Road to Rapallo Chapter Seven: Poison Gas Chapter Eight: Coups and Countermeasures Chapter Nine: Partners in Mass Destruction Chapter Ten: From Fili to Lipetsk Chapter Eleven: The Military Futurists Chapter Twelve: The Junkers Scandal Chapter Thirteen: Resetting Relations Chapter Fourteen: Fires and Scandals Chapter Fifteen: Chemical Weapons and Fighter Pilots Chapter Sixteen: The Tanks ARrive Chapter Seventeen: Winter of Crisis Chapter Eighteen: Machines of the Future Chapter Nineteen: Yellow Cross Chapter Twenty: Hunger PART II: Reaping the Whirlwind Chapter Twenty-One: Schliecher Chapter Twenty-Two: Rearmament Begins Chapter Twenty-Three: The End of the Republic Chapter Twenty-Four: Enemies Again Chapter Twenty-Five: Long Knives Chapter Twenty-Six: The End of Versailles Chapter Twenty-Seven: War Returns to Europe Chapter Twenty-Eight: Purges and Panic Chapter Twenty-Nine: Storm Clouds Chapter Thirty: Fulfillment Chapter Thirty-One: From Winter to Phony War Chapter Thirty-Two: Whirlwind Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisOf one-and-a-half million photographs related to Nazi concentration camps, only four depict the actual process of mass killing perpetrated at the gas chambers. This book reveals that these photos of Auschwitz, taken clandestinely by one of the Jewish prisoners forced to help carry out the atrocities there, were made as a potent act of resistance.Trade Review"Images in Spite of All provides the carefully extended anguished engagement, both epitaph and caption, that the subject demands." (William T. Vollman, Bookforum)"

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Book SynopsisA disturbing account of the Vichy period, demonstrating how in the interests of stability, French national feeling favored collboration with the German-controlled regime.Trade ReviewTells us as much of the truth about Vichy as we are likely to have for a long time... Paxton answers all the basic questions... in an even tone, with a vigorous style, allowing the devastating documents... to speak for themselves. New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary history of French lives under occupation in the First and Second World Wars, this is an intimate, unforgettable meditation on the strange mixture of compromise and betrayal, collaboration and resistance that marks defeat, written by one of the greatest historians of France.''A splendid book for comprehending human kind ... Cobb has a strong sense of how ordinary life has to go on, even through disasters, and a sensitivity for what it was like at the time, matched by a gift for the telling phrase'' Economist ''Prophet of the past, Richard Cobb is a visionary'' New York Review of Books''His France - urban, northern, provincial, pedestrian, noisy, unpuritanical, festive - was in contrast to, and predicated upon, another France: bureaucratic, official, suburban, safe'' Julian BarnesTrade ReviewRichard Cobb is a visionary. His books will take you on an extraordinary intellectual and emotional journey. * The New York Review of Books *His France - urban, northern, provincial, pedestrian, noisy, unpuritanical, festive - was in contrast to, and predicated upon, another France: bureaucratic, official, suburban, safe, rule - crazy, scared. -- Julian BarnesCobb was a true historian of life 'from below', using archival evidence to bring alive the reality - and the suffering - of ordinary people's existence. -- Geoffrey Wheatcroft * New Statesman *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisThe true story of the Englishman allegedly freed from a French prison after meeting John Amery, the treacherous son of a Cabinet minister, and sent back to Britain to spy - only to be caught, prosecuted and hanged for being a traitor to his country. But this 'spy' always claimed to have simply lied in order to come home. Was he telling the truth?Trade Review'A model of assiduous research. No stone left unturned to reach the truth about a squalid, but not unimportant, case of wartime treachery and disloyalty, mixed in with very human frailty and tragic misjudgement.' -- Nigel West

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Book SynopsisRevealing the bizarre truth behind the myth of a Nazi space fleet. If only the war had lasted another six months, then Hitler would have won â because his scientists stood upon the very brink of inventing flying saucers.

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Book SynopsisFlight Lieutenant David Crook was a Spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain who became a decorated ace.

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Book SynopsisPrecise, factual appraisals of each stage of the battles, all of which are placed within its strategic context.

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Book SynopsisThe author reveals how the cases surrounding those buried in Plot E are violent, disturbing and often brutal in their content. They are not war crimes, but crimes committed in a time of war.

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Book SynopsisThe most effective German division fighting in the WestDescribes how the division continually battled the Allied offensivesUses new materials from archives in the former Eastern BlocRefuses to shy away from unpalatable facts or controversies

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Book Synopsis10 pages of full colour illustrations depicting 20 different vehicles and their markings.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, John Grehan has examined the known planned or proposed assassination attempts on Hitler, from Chicago to London and from Sweden to the Ukraine -some of which have not previously been presented to the general public by historians.

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Book SynopsisCommemorates the role of service and serving women in the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisWritten at the end of the Second World War by those involved in the planning and operation of the Royal Observer.

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Book SynopsisThis biography reveals Von Schirach's aristocratic family background; three of his four grandparents were from America.

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Book SynopsisOf all the appalling acts of Nazi Germany, Nordhausen represents the pinnacle of warped depravity. Forced labour on an industrial scale and a litany of the most barbaric war crimes make for harrowing yet compelling reading.

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Book SynopsisWith iconic images depicting it in the skies over Occupied Europe or the Far East, the B-24 Liberator is remembered for its part in the Allies' bombing campaigns during the Second World War. But there was another part to this famous four-engine aircraft one that is less well known. While the Douglas C-47 Dakota is deservedly celebrated as the most important twin-engine transport aircraft of the war, the early use of the four-engine Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber as a passenger carrier is virtually unknown but was as important. Since the B-24 had more interior room than the B-17, it could be more easily be converted into a personnel carrier. These early Liberators operated America's and Britain's early diplomatic missions and then were to be extensively flown by the Atlantic Ferry Organization and the Transport Commands on missions that opened the world to air transport as never before. Several B-24s were converted for VIP personal and diplomatic use, which included Harriman's

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Book SynopsisThis superbly researched book tells the story of one of the most significant maritime operations of the Second World War. The importance of the Arctic convoys providing the Soviets with the necessary equipment needed to win the war on the Eastern Front has too often been underestimated. This book puts that right.Following PQ17, the worst Allied maritime disaster of the Second World War, it was imperative that PQ18 got through. So when the convoy left Loch Ewe on 2 September 1942 the stakes could not have been higher. The Battle of Stalingrad was hanging in the balance. Had the convoy suffered unacceptable shipping and war supply losses, the Arctic route would have had to be suspended with potentially war-changing consequences not just for the Soviets but the whole Allied war effort. Consequently, as this work vividly describes, it was both the most heavily defended and the most heavily attacked convoy of the whole war.The Author draws on contemporaneous accounts of the combatants from

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