Second World War Books

Book SynopsisA fascinating account of the last major Allied operation in the South-West Pacific, and the largest Australian military operation of World War II.A week after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese troops landed near Brunei on the South-East Asian island of Borneo. Within eight weeks, the entire island had been overrun, and its Dutch and British Indian defenders had been ejected. By early April 1942, the entire Dutch East Indies were in Japanese hands, and remained under Japanese occupation for a further three years.The late-1944 US landings in the Philippines effectively cut oil- and resource-rich Borneo off from Japan. Now that it was considered a worthy strategic prize for the Allies, General Douglas MacArthur, commanding the South-West Pacific Theater, began planning for the recapture of the key island.This compelling work explores the planning and execution of Operation Oboe, which was spearheaded by Australian troops but involved naval an

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Book SynopsisA gripping tale of three crucial battles fought at the end of 1943 as Allied forces approached the Gustav Line in Italy.After repulsing the German counter-attack at Salerno in September 1943, the US Fifth Army and British Eighth Army advanced up the Italian Peninsula. By October, the Allied armies had reached the Volturno Line, forcing a critical decision in German strategy: a prolonged defence would be conducted in southern Italy, contesting the Allied advance using the complex terrain features. By mid-November, the two Allied armies were approaching the German defensive lines along the Garigliano and the Sangro rivers. Here, US 5th Army would attack through the Mignano gap towards San Pietro Infine, while British Eighth Army would seize Ortona on the Adriatic coast and Orsogna. A brutal struggle ensued, with the German defenders attempting to hold their positions. The fighting at Ortona in particular (labelled a ''mini Stalingrad'') would be particularly grueling for the CanadTable of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS Allied Axis OPPOSING FORCES Allied Axis Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS Allied Axis THE CAMPAIGN Approaching the Winter Line US Fifth Army approaches the Winter Line The first battle of San Pietro The second battle of San Pietro BR Eighth Army’s crossing of the Sangro NZ 2nd Division’s first attempts against Orsona The battle of Orsona: Operation Torso Outflanking Orsona: Operation Florence Stalemate The advance from the Moro River Ortona: the first phase Fighting into Ortona AFTERMATH THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY FURTHER READING INDEX

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Book Synopsis"A riveting tale told through personal accounts and sketches along the way - ultimately, a story of success against great odds. I enjoyed it enormously." - Tom Brokaw The Ghost Army of World War II is the first book to tell the full story of how a traveling road show of artists wielding imagination, paint, and bravado saved thousands of American lives - now updated with new material. In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of young GIs - including such future luminaries such as Bill Blass, Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Singer, Victor Dowd, Art Kane, and Jack Masey - landed in France to conduct a secret mission. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the Ghost Army, conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions, and make-believe headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units. Every move they made was top secret and their story was hushed up for decades after the war's end. Hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs illuminate how their creations supported the war tactics that helped open the way for the final drive to Germany. The stunning art created between missions offers a glimpse of life behind the lines during World War II. Collectors of World War II books will find The Ghost Army of World War II an essential addition to their library.

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Book SynopsisIt can seem as though the Cold War division of Europe was inevitable. But Stalin was more open to a settlement on the continent than is assumed. In this powerful reassessment of the postwar order, Norman Naimark returns to the four years after WWII to illuminate European leaders’ efforts to secure national sovereignty amid dominating powers.Trade ReviewNaimark selects seven case studies to illustrate the complexity of Stalin’s aims in Europe, as he brings his superlative knowledge of the Soviet leader to bear on present-day realities…Naimark has few peers as a scholar of Stalinism, the Soviet Union and 20th-century Europe, and his latest work Stalin and the Fate of Europe is one of his most original and interesting. * Financial Times *Details the negotiations, the intrigues, and the showdowns that dominated the febrile politics of the postwar years…Those endeavoring to defend the independence of their territories and governments today would do well to look to the pragmatism, dexterity and resourcefulness of the politicians of the late 1940s. The book is a timely and instructive account not merely of our own history but also of our fractious, unsettling present. -- Daniel Beer * The Guardian *[Naimark’s] archival research and reading of the scholarly literature here adds shades of nuance and intricacy to ‘the well-honed dark images and paradigms of traditional Cold War history.’ -- Joshua Rubenstein * Wall Street Journal *The narrative of the early years of the Cold War has long since grown stale through repeated retellings of US–Soviet confrontations. Naimark, citing sources in six different languages, Europeanizes the story…Stalin and the Fate of Europe exemplifies the best qualities of Cold War history-writing. It is also, I think, a book for our time. -- Lewis H. Siegelbaum * Times Literary Supplement *Norman Naimark adds an abundance of fresh knowledge to a time and place that we think we know, clarifying the contours of Soviet–American conflict by skillfully enriching the history of postwar Europe. -- Timothy Snyder, author of On TyrannyThrough case studies ranging from Denmark to Italy and Finland to Albania, Naimark shows us just how open and contested European politics was in the immediate postwar years—and how European leaders pushed back for sovereignty even against Stalin. An important contribution to both Cold War and European history. -- Timothy Garton Ash, author of In Europe’s NameThis original, provocative, and revisionist work on the origins of the Cold War demonstrates the dynamic tension between Stalin’s surprisingly flexible view of Soviet aims and the complex internal politics of several European countries striving to maintain their sovereignty in an international context not yet divided into two camps. -- Alfred J. Rieber, author of Stalin and the Struggle for Supremacy in EurasiaAre the United States and China fated to clash? For an answer look to Norman Naimark’s wonderfully surprising Stalin and the Fate of Europe, which reexamines the onset of the original Cold War. Naimark’s splendidly judicious book restores the partial open-endedness of 1945 to 1949, and demonstrates that statesmanship or the lack thereof was decisive in shaping the world that emerged. The achievement of a lifetime. -- Stephen Kotkin, author of StalinExcavates the hidden histories of Stalin’s shifting policies in postwar Europe, undermining conventional understandings of Soviet ambitions and showing Stalin to have been more cautious and pragmatic in his foreign policy than earlier accounts proposed. Naimark is a probing analyst, balanced in his judgments, as well as a masterful storyteller. -- Ronald Grigor Suny, author of The Soviet ExperimentA masterful account of Stalin’s European policies in the first postwar years; by far the best study of this central issue for understanding the Cold War in Europe. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of The Cold WarNorman Naimark is one of the foremost authorities on Soviet history and the reign of Joseph Stalin…The book is the culmination of many years of research and is destined to become a point of reference for many years to come. -- Silvio Pons * Inference *

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Book SynopsisCreative genius, war artist, adventurer, lover. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe Aberdeenshire-born painter and printmaker James McBey (1883-1959). McBey was a Scottish superstar amongst the creative spirits that fuelled the Etching Revival of the late nineteenth century and Etching Boom of the early twentieth century, and in an historical context, was the acknowledged heir to Whistler and Rembrandt. But after his death in Tangier, Morocco, in 1959, his renown as one of Britain’s most accomplished artists – who took the art world by storm – faded from public consciousness. Born illegitimately in the tiny parish of Foveran, Aberdeenshire, in the late Victorian era, he was brought up by his blind mother and elderly grandmother amid the rigid Presbyterian confines of Scotland’s north-east. Tragedy, dreary work as a bank clerk and a craving for success on his own terms all precipitated his leaving Aberdeen to live the life of an artist in London where he quickly became one of the most-talked about creatives of his generation. At the heart of this biography – the first ever to be published on McBey – is his time as a war artist in the Middle East during the Great War – where he would meet and paint T. E. Lawrence – his many love affairs, marriage to the beautiful American, Marguerite Loeb, and his enduring passion for Morocco. Drawing on his many diaries and letters and artistic creations, this is the story of one man who – clever, kind, intrepid, dashing, insecure and flawed – triumphed against the odds. Trade Review'Rather than accepting McBey's diary descriptions of his affairs, Soussi spent a lot of time researching the women behind the names.' -- Nan Spowart * Scottish Sunday National *Author Alasdair Soussi has vividly conveyed the myriad strands in McBey’s life in his new biography Shadows and Light, which invites the reader into a magical and mesmerising critique of the man whose talents were employed during the Great War and thereafter in his beloved Morocco. There’s no dearth of intrigue or romantic interest and Alasdair doesn’t pretend his subject was a saint. -- Neil Drysdale * Press and Journal *

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Book SynopsisIn his bestselling Station X, Michael Smith brought us the astonishing true story of the breaking of the Enigma Code. In The Emperor’s Codes, he continues the tale as he examines how Japan’s codes were broken and explores the consequences for the Second World War. The Emperor’s Codes tells the stories of John Tiltman, the eccentric British soldier turned codebreaker who made many of the early breaks into Japanese diplomatic and military codes; Eric Nave, the Australian sailor recruited to work for the British who pioneered breakthroughs in Japanese naval codes; and Hiroshi Oshima, the hard-drinking Japanese ambassador to Berlin whose candid reports to Tokyo of his conversations with Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis were a major source of intelligence in the war against Germany. Many of these revelations have been made possible only thanks to recently declassified British files, privileged access to Australian secret official histories and interviews with an unprecedented number of British, American and Australian codebreakers.

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Book SynopsisExplains the demise of the Abwehr in the final two years of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisGraphic memoir of a Russian soldier who fought for the tsar, against the Communist revolution in Russia, and enlisted in the Francoist army and Hitler's Blue Division.

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Book SynopsisIn World War II, the U.S. Army not only supplied its soldiers with the most modern equipment and uniforms, suitable for any combat situation, but went as far as providing them with their favourite drinks or candy bars.A comprehensive reference book bringing together all the equipment issued to American soldiers in the European Theater of Operations, 1943–45. Each item is presented with its catalog numbers, described in detail and fully depicted in photographs. Graphics and diagrams offer additional information and context. There are chapters on everything from uniform, insignia, and small arms issued to the individual, through crew-served weapons, rations, tents, to sports and recreation equipment. There is full coverage of the specialist items issued to Airborne, Armored, and Mountain troops, engineers, signallers, Military Police, medics, chaplains and female personnel. From the chewing gum included in K rations through to artillery-laying equipment, mess trays to portable altars and field harmoniums, this photographic reference gives a unique insight into the world of the U.S. Army in World War II.As a complete catalogue with high-quality photographs, this book is invaluable to both family historians researching grandpa's kit found in the attic and to assist collectors in their quest to find authentic items among the reproductions that flood the modern market.Trade ReviewHenri’s incredibly exhaustive research has resulted in definitive illustrated guides to GI gear ‘so that the sacrifice of those who fought for the liberation of Europe is not forgotten.’ Readers will be rewarded with a mother lode of photos and data vital for historians, militaria collectors, model makers, and toy soldier and model figure enthusiasts. * Toy Soldier Collector *These books will appeal to a range of interests in the World War 2 US Army. This spectrum will include museum curators, reenactors, and collectors of various themes such as insignia, uniforms etc. The author has done a great service and he should be highly commended for his efforts. Just saying “well done you have produced two brilliant books” is a massive understatement. * Military Archive Research *An incredible collection of photos… The amount of time it must have taken to assemble and photograph everything is likewise incalculable. * The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society 26/10/2022 *First class reference ...packed with fantastic detail. * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: The United States Army 1. Insignia and Decorations 2. Uniforms 3. Individual Equipment 4. Small Arms and Crew-Served Light Weapons 5. Tentage, Sleeping and Bivouac Equipment 6. Armored Troops 7. Airborne Troops 8. Mountain Troops 9. Female Personnel 10. Military Police 11. Army Rations 12. The Corps of Engineers 13. The Signal Corps 14. Chemical Warfare 15. The Medical Department 16. Army Chaplains 17. Army Publications and Other Printed Material 18. Sports and Recreation 19. Personal Items 20. Trophies and Souvenirs Abbreviations Index Bibliography Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThe Second World War saw the role of espionage, secret agents and spy services increase exponentially as the world was thrown into a conflict unlike any that had gone before it.At this time, no one in government was really aware of what MI5 and its brethren did. But with Churchill at the country’s helm, it was decided to let him in on the secret, providing him with a weekly report of the spy activities. These reports were so classified that he was handed each report personally and copies were never allowed to be made, nor was he allowed to keep hold of them. Even now, the documents only exist as physical copies deep in the archives, many pages annotated by hand by ‘W.S.C.’ himself.In Churchill’s Spy Files intelligence expert Nigel West unravels the tales of hitherto unknown spy missions, using this groundbreaking research to paint a fresh picture of the worldwide intelligence scene of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisThe first detailed explanation of development for this vital night-fighter equipmentThe author has much professional experience in radar developmentNight-fighter squadrons are now valued as an important factor in the Allied defeat of the Luftwaffe in WWIINight-fighters are popular with aviation and WWII enthusiasts/historians

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Book SynopsisThis illustrated history explores the cruiser forces of the Italian and British Royal navies, the jack-of-all trades warships of the Mediterranean Naval War.In 1940, when Italy entered World War II, the Royal Navy was badly overstretched, and its Mediterranean Fleet had to face both the Italian Navy and the German and Italian Air Forces in a battle for supremacy. Although the British and Italian battle fleets squared off against each other, they were both often held in reserve, in case the enemy fleet put to sea. So, it was left to the cruisers to wage their own naval war in the Mediterranean. This involved a range of missions, from escorting convoys and hunting enemy ones, to fighting for control of the sea around key locations such as the waters off Malta and Crete. This superbly illustrated study, written by renowned naval expert Angus Konstam, compares and contrasts the design, weapon technologies and combat performance of the opposing cruiser forces. It also documents severTable of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Combatants The Strategic Situation Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBetween 1942 and 1944 a very small, very secret, very successful clandestine unit of the Royal Navy, operated between Dartmouth in Devon, and the Brittany Coast in France. It was a crossing of about 100 miles, every yard of it dangerous. The unit was called the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla: crewed by 125 officers and men, it became the most highly decorated Royal Naval unit of the Second World War.The 15th MGBF was an extraordinary group of men thrown together in the most secret of adventures. Very few were regular Royal Naval officers: instead the unit was made up of mostly Royal Naval Volunteer Officers and 'duration only' sailors. Their home was a converted paddle steamer and luxury yacht, but their work could not have been more serious. Their mission was to ferry agents of SIS and SOE to pinpoint landing sites on the Brittany coast in Occupied France. Once they had landed their agents, together with stores for the Resistance, they picked up evaders, escaped POWs who had had the good fortune to be collected by escape lines run by M19, as well as returning SIS and SOE agents.It is a story that is inextricably entwined with that of the many agents they were responsible for - Pierre Hentic, Yves Le Tac, Virginia Hall, Albert Hué, Jeannie Rousseau, Suzanne Warengham, François Mitterrand and Mathilde Carré, as well as many others. Without the Flotilla, such intelligence gathering networks as Jade Fitzroy and Alliance would never have developed, and SOE's VAR Line and MI9's Shelburne Escape Line would never have been realised. Drawing on a huge amount of research on both sides of the Channel, including private archives of many of the families involved, A Dangerous Enterprise brings the story of this most clandestine of operations brilliantly to life.

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Book SynopsisThey are two of twentieth-century history's most significant figures, yet today they are largely forgotten - Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, Germany's First World War leaders. Although defeat in 1918 brought an end to their 'silent dictatorship', both generals played a key role in the turbulent politics of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis. Alexander Clifford, in this perceptive reassessment of their political careers, questions the popular image of these generals in the English-speaking world as honourable 'Good Germans'. For they were intensely political men, whose ideas and actions shaped the new Germany and ultimately led to Hitler's dictatorship. Their poisonous wartime legacy was the infamous stab-in-the-back myth. According to the generals, the true cause of the disastrous defeat in the First World War was the betrayal of the army by politicians, leftists and Jews on the home front. This toxic conspiracy theory polluted Weimar politics and has been labelled the beginning of 'the twisted road to Auschwitz'. Hindenburg and Ludendorff's political fortunes after the war were markedly different. Ludendorff inhabited the far-right fringes and engaged in plots, assassinations and conspiracies, playing a leading role in failed uprisings such as Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Meanwhile Hindenburg was a vastly more successful politician, winning two presidential elections and serving as head of state for nine years. Arguably he bore even more responsibility for the destruction of democracy, for he and the nationalist right he led sought, through Hitler, to remould the Weimar system towards authoritarianism.

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Book SynopsisThe Atlas of World War II traces the course of the conflict chronologically by showing each major campaign as a full-color map, further illustrated by archive action pictures. Skillfully bringing to life the human experience of war with eyewitness accounts of the struggle, this book presents the political and strategic conditions that led to the war, offering a unique insight into military operations and tactics. World War II remains a topic of fascination and study, and this book is an ideal addition to the shelves of all interested readers.

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive look at World War II-era Fubuki class destroyers, giving readers an understanding of why and how the Imperial Japanese Navy took the lead in destroyer design

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Book SynopsisIn the much-anticipated conclusion to his masterful trilogy chronicling the wartime career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, renowned military and political biographer Nigel Hamilton aligns triumph with tragedy to show how FDR was the architect of a victorious peace that he would not live to witness. Providing the definitive account of the events in Normandy on 6 June 1944, Hamilton also reveals the fraught nature of the relationship between the greatest wartime leaders of the Allied forces. Using hitherto unpublished documents and interviews to counter the famous narrative of World War II strategy given by Winston Churchill in his memoirs, Hamilton highlights the true significance of FDR’s leadership. Seventy-five years after the D-Day landings, we finally see, close up and in dramatic detail, who was responsible for rescuing – and insisting upon – the great American-led invasion of France in June 1944, and exactly why that invasion was orchestrated by Eisenhower. War and Peace is the rousing final installment in one of the most important historical biographies of the twenty-first century, which demonstrates how FDR’s failing health only spurred him on in his efforts to build a US-backed post-war world order. In this stirring account of the life of one of the most celebrated political leaders of our time, Hamilton hails the President as the sole person capable of anticipating the requirements of peace in order to bring an end to the war.

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Book SynopsisThis study explores the organization, history and uniforms of the Soviet Red Army during the 20 years between its victory in the Civil War and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in 1941. The two decades following the Bolshevik victory over the ''Whites'' in the Russian Civil War saw widespread and fundamental developments for the Red Army. Nevertheless, these still left it largely unready to face Germany''s Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Having been reduced in size and planning for modernization, the Red Army of the 1920s was employed to ruthlessly crush anti-Bolshevik opposition (real or suspected) in several regions of the USSR, notably Ukraine and Central Asia, and to fight a brief border war against Chinese Manchuria. During the 1930s, Stalin virtually ''beheaded'' the army by a needless series of murderous purges of the officer class; despite this, the Red Army was victorious in clashes against Imperial Japan in the Nomonhan region in 193839, Trade ReviewIt is a very well laid out book in the series, that for a modeller would be a focal point for colour schemes and layout, and also for anybody researching or having an interest in this rather stark period of history. -- Susan Wilson * Army Rumour Service *Ideal for figure modellers and wargamers for painting references * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION THE RED ARMY IN THE 1920s Strength Clandestine contacts with Germany The role of political commissars CAMPAIGNS IN THE 1920s Anti-Basmachi campaigns, 1920s–30s The Sino–Soviet War, 1929 The ‘secret invasion’ of Afghanistan, 1929 THE RED ARMY IN THE 1930s Expansion and re-equipment Cossacks in the Red Army 1936–41 Formation of armoured units, 1922–41 Soviet security forces, 1922–41 Stalin’s purges, 1934–41 CAMPAIGNS IN THE 1930s Far Eastern border clashes: Changkufeng, 1938, and Khalkin Gol, 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, September 1939 The Russo–Finnish ‘Winter War’, 1939–40 The Red Army in 1941 UNIFORMS, 1922–41 Headgear Helmets Field and service uniforms Legwear and footwear Greatcoats and protective clothing Rank and insignia Branch colours Branch insignia SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY PLATE COMMENTARIES INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe most powerful story in stamp history, revealing the little icons at the heart of wartime propaganda

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Book SynopsisHitler was one of the few politicians who understood that persuasion was everything, deployed to anchor an entire regime in the confections of imagery, rhetoric and dramaturgy. The Nazis pursued propaganda not just as a tool, an instrument of government, but also as the totality, the raison d'etre, the medium through which power itself was exercised. Moreover, Nicholas O'Shaughnessy argues, Hitler, not Goebbels, was the prime mover in the propaganda regime of the Third Reich - its editor and first author. Under the Reich everything was a propaganda medium, a building-block of public consciousness, from typography to communiques, to architecture, to weapons design. There were groups to initiate rumours and groups to spread graffiti. Everything could be interrogated for its propaganda potential, every surface inscribed with polemical meaning, whether an enemy city's name, an historical epic or the poster on a neighbourhood wall. But Hitler was in no sense an innovator - his ideas were always second- hand.Rather his expertise was as a packager, fashioning from the accumulated mass of icons and ideas, the historic debris, the labyrinths and byways of the German mind, a modern and brilliant political show articulated through deftly managed symbols and rituals. The Reich would have been unthinkable without propaganda - it would not have been the Reich.Trade Review'A fascinating work on how the Nazis "sold" Hitler to the German people and vice-versa, almost like a modern commercial brand.' * Evening Standard (Best Books of 2016) *'Illuminatingly treats the Third Reich's deployment of myths, symbols, and rhetoric with the eye and ear of a theorist keenly tuned to the subtle plays of power and desire within the manufacture of the "spiritual-religious idea" that is Nazism ... A fresh take on an area of scholarship dominated by historians, Selling Hitler teems with insight.' * Los Angeles Review of Books *'[A] fresh, surprising and important look at a neglected aspect of the history of Nazi Germany. […] O'Shaughnessy boldly deconstructs the Nazi propaganda machine and its vast output.' * Jewish Journal *

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Book SynopsisIncoherent, obsessive and violent, Hitler's ideas nonetheless found an audience of millions and led to one of the most horrific and devastating conflicts of the 20th century. Taking two of Hitler's texts as his starting point, Neil Gregor discusses 'this second-rate mind of great power' and helps the reader to understand the nature and popular reception of Hitler's crude but hugely influential writings.

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Book SynopsisChronicles the design, development, and wartime use of this famous American attack bomber.

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Book SynopsisPacific Profiles Volume 16 presents the most accurate wartime profiles and histories to date of the B-17E and F series Flying Fortress which served in the Australia, New Guinea and South Pacific theatres during 1942-1944..

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Book Synopsis'A useful contribution to an overcrowded field of history by giving deserved attention to the ordinary men and unsung machines that aren't usually included in the dramatic narrative.' - The Times'A great read and a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks the Battle of Britain is only about Brits and Germans and Messerschmitts and Spitfires. The value in this account is also the way the back stories of many previously unheralded pilots come to life.' - General Sir David Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff***In Battle of Britain: The pilots and planes that made history, Ed Gorman and Simon Pearson paint a vivid picture of the men and their machines as the battle for air superiority over Britain is played out across the skies of Europe, from the west of Ireland to the German capital.We experience the battle chronologically through the remarkable stories of eighteen airmen from across the world. Some will be new to many readers: the New Zealander who "borrowed" a seaplane from the Royal Navy to set up a freelance air-sea rescue service that saved the lives of dozens of British and German pilots; the Swiss baron who claimed to have destroyed six British fighters in a day; the vainglorious commander whose RAF squadron was wiped out trying to disrupt Nazi invasion plans; and the German bomber pilot who fought the first battle involving foreign troops on British soil since Culloden - before repairing to a pub for a pint with soldiers who had taken him prisoner.Illustrated with contemporary photographs of the pilots and their aircraft, this is an enthralling and original account from both sides of a conflict that shaped the modern world, full of courage, endeavour and, above all, humanity.Trade ReviewMost of these pilots are refreshingly ordinary, not knights... Pearson and Gorman allow these young men to tell their own stories... there's no need to embroider tales already incredible. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisDuring the Polish campaign, SS combat units were seconded to various formations of the Heer. Still considered more parade troops than frontline soldiers, they did not prove a decisive factor in the fighting, but the campaign was important for their transformation into real fighting units. They were criticized for their losses, and the officers were blamed, being considered poorly and inadequately trained. The SS officers in turn accused Heer commanders for sacrificing SS troops in suicidal missions. Himmler became convinced that if his units were used autonomously they could have better demonstrated their full potential, leading him to push for the SS to be considered a separate fighting force.Fully illustrated, this Casemate Illustrated describes the actions of the SS units that fought on the front line in Poland, primarily the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, the SS-Verfügungstruppen and the SS-Heimwehr-Danzig.

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Book SynopsisMany stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF's young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe, and of the dogged courage of the men of Bomber Command flying night after night over Germany in the face of flak and Focke-Wulfs, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners - the aerial photographers.Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old and soon found himself at the controls of a Spitfire high above enemy territory. The PRU aircraft were stripped of all non-essential equipment to increase their performance, because speed and height was their only protection as the aircraft's guns were among those items that were removed.In this light-hearted reminiscence, Ken Johnson relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavoured to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective.As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy."The Spy in the Sky" fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War. AUTHOR: Kenneth Johnson was born in Leicester on 5 December 1922. He led an unremarkable childhood, except that he had a penchant for building and repairing bicycles and motorcycles, and learning how to operate them. By the age of 17 he had saved enough money to buy a second-hand car and went to work in a furniture store in Coventry. The Second World War then intervened in his future! 16 b/w illustrations

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Book SynopsisToday, Alan Turing is a well-recognised name, but it was not always so. Until the last few years of the 20th century hardly anyone had heard of him or his achievements. All that changed when the British government permitted the story of Bletchley Park during the Second World War to emerge.We learnt that Alan Turing had had a pivotal role in breaking the Enigma cipher, used by German forces.This was so significant that it helped to shorten the length of the war. Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years other careers besides secret codebreaker: he was also a mathematician, computer scientist and biologist. For example, with Tommy Flowers he built the first computer. A man ahead of his time, many of his theories and calculations are still relevant today. In this guide to a truly remarkable life, recent research by Alan Turing's nephew, Dermot, has unearthed a fresh perspective and made entirely accessible this story to the modern reader.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Masters and Commanders, Andrew Roberts'' The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War has been hailed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. The Second World War lasted for 2,174 days and claimed the lives of over 50 million people. Why did it take the course that it did? Why did the Axis lose? And could they, with a different strategy, have won? Ranging from the Western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he brings the story of the war - and those who fought it - into focus as never before. ''One of the greatest historians of our time ... His masterpiece''   Oliver Marre, Observer ''An undoubted triumph. This, simply, is the best one-volume history of the Second World War currently available''  Laurence Rees ''Magnificent ... Stylish penmanship, gritty research and lucid reasoning, coupled with poignant and hTrade ReviewRoberts's populist approach makes for a rollicking good read and never comes at the expense of accuracy. His mastery of the huge variety of subjects is truly impressive and his ability to marshal these subjects into a single compelling narrative stunning -- Keith Lowe * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisBrought to you by Penguin.A TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER''His best book yet'' The Times''Macintyre''s page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause'' Sunday TimesDISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE SPY WHO ALMOST KILLED HITLER - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SPY AND THE TRAITORUrsula Kuczynski Burton was a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent. Codenamed ''Agent Sonya'', her story has never been told - until now.Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis'' power. As a fanatical opponent of the fascism that ravaged her homeland, Ursula was drawn to communism as a young woman, motivated by the promise of a fair and peaceful society. From planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland, to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria, to preveTrade ReviewMacintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else -- John Preston * Evening Standard *Think John le Carré at his early best - but fact not fiction * Daily Express *This impeccably researched account of her double life spans continents and is brilliantly compelling * Sunday Mirror *Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause * Sunday Times *The best true spy story I have ever read -- John le Carré on 'The Spy and the Traitor'Thrilling...Macintyre will have you hooked to her life's every twist and turn -- Lucy Knight * Times/Sunday Times Books of the Year *Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carré's nonfiction counterpart * New York Times *This book is classic Ben Macintyre...quirky human details enliven every page... it is Macintyre's own vivid retelling of her perilous professional, personal and political life that make Agent Sonya such an accessible spy story. * Spectator *He has the unerring gift of uncovering those astonishing truths that make even the best novelists of espionage seem both earthbound and artificial in comparison * Daily Telegraph *His best book yet -- The TimesHe...spins gloriously through one of the most extraordinary private lives of the 20th century * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *In Agent Sonya, Macintyre has pulled off his most remarkable trick: he leaves us admiring, and even cheering for, the woman at the heart of his story, someone who not only wanted to destroy our democracy but helped Russia get a nuclear bomb. She is the strongest character of all in Macintyre's bestselling series of wartime tales... I raced through the pages to keep up with the plot * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisBuild your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right levelIn 1940, the skies over Britain were the scene of furious fighting between the aeroplanes of the RAF and the German Luftwaffe. Technology played a role in every aspect of the battle: from code-breaking computers and radar to faster, more agile fighter planes. Find out how technology helped to turn the tide of the battle.Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view.Text type: information textCurriculum links: history, science, geography

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Book SynopsisThe last great, untold story of WWII highly compelling' Daily MailFleeing Nazi persecution for America in the 1930s, the young German-born Jews who would come to be known as The Ritchie Boys were labelled enemy aliens' when war broke out. Although of the age to be inducted into the U.S. military, their German accents made them distrusted. Until one day in 1942, when the Pentagon woke up to the incredible asset they had in their ranks, and sent these young recruits to a secret military intelligence training centre at Camp Ritchie, Maryland.These men knew the language, culture and psychology of the enemy better than anyone, and had the greatest motivation to fight Hitler's anti-Semitic regime. And so they were trained and sent back into the belly of the beast, Jews returning to the frontlines of battlefields across Nazi-occupied Europe to defeat the enemy that persecuted them and their families. In an epic story of heroism, courage, and patriotism, bestselling author Bruce Henderson drawTrade Review‘The last great, untold story of WWII… highly compelling’ Daily Mail ‘Gripping. … A story of courage and determination, revenge and redemption. … Opens a window into a much-ignored aspect of the war. … A magnificent story, one crying out to be told, and one that is told very well’ Boston Globe ‘[A] highly readable, often thrilling narrative… A gripping addition to the literature of the period and an overdue tribute to these unique Americans’ Kirkus (Starred Review) ‘An inspiring story’ Library Journal ‘Henderson is a wonderful storyteller who has written a never-before-told chapter of the Second World War. The Ritchie Boys is a must-read’ Jewish Book Council ‘The Ritchie Boys tells the remarkable story of how 2,000 German-born Jews were able to get the crucial intelligence that saved American lives and helped win World War II. … The message of their courage and patriotism should not be lost in today’s war on terrorism’ Leon Panetta, Former Director of the CIA and Former Secretary of Defense

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings.Operation Chastise, the overnight destruction of the Möhne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend.Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who won the VC leading the raid. In the 21st Century, however, Hastings urges that we should review the Dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was wholly authentic, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, who invented the bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised wildly. What Germans call the Möhnekatastrophe imposed on the Nazi war machine temporary disruption, rather than a crippling blow.Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which Trade Review Praise for Chastise ‘A virtuoso performance from a veteran military historian. It is a white-knuckle narrative that brings clarity and insight to a much-loved tale, as well as offering a vital corrective to the drum-thumping conclusions of earlier books.’ Sunday Times ‘Hastings recounts the actual raids with dramatic intensity … He brings us into those Lancasters, flying perilously low, straight into flak … Superb.’ Times ‘Thoughtful and gripping … This is a fine book combining great storytelling with a deep appreciation of the melancholy and waste that march in step with glory.’ Patrick Bishop, Telegraph ‘What is at stake in this revision of the old glorious narrative is something important. The debate over whether this particular raid mattered is, in miniature, the wider historiographical debate over the morals and efficacy of the whole bombing war … A powerful parable which might instruct us in our own confused times.’ Spectator ‘Hastings, who is a master of his craft, unfolds the story skilfully … It doesn’t matter how many times you have seen the film, or heard the story, this book is gripping from start to finish’ Keith Lowe, Literary Review ‘A riveting account that also shines a light on the fact that more than 1,400 civilians died in the floods that followed … It’s a monumental read’ Sun ‘A fine book about that moonlit Dambusters’ raid of 76 years ago, a worthy tribute to the men of 617 Squadron – and their hapless victims’ Sunday Express ‘A remarkable book … Combining formidable narrative power with equally potent explanatory insight, it situates the Dambusters Raid in the broader strategic context of World War II’ Washington Post

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Book SynopsisA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKEsther Safran Foer has written of her family in a way that is both uniquely and heartbreakingly her story and a deeply important testament for Ashkenazi Jews. Her memories are our important history.' Robert Peston, ITV Political EditorA moving and powerful inter-generational memoir about story and memory.Mine is a family of readers and writers. Our house is filled with books. There are contemporary design books on the coffee table in the living room, legal books in my husband's home office, and piles of children's books for when my grandchildren visit. However, the side table next to my bed is piled with books about the Holocaust. Framed maps of shtetls line my office walls and pictures of relatives killed in the Holocaust are displayed on our family gallery walls.Sometimes I feel like I exist across two polarized realities, experiencing great fulfillment from family, friends, and a meaningful career, and, at the same time, finding the joy of my life tempeTrade Review‘[In this book] Esther Safran Foer has written of her family in a way that is both uniquely and heartbreakingly her story and a deeply important testament for Ashkenazi Jews. Her memories are our important history.’ Robert Peston ‘A vivid testimony to the power of memory.’ Kirkus ‘A powerful memoir about the Holocaust’ Radio Times ‘a moving and well researched memoir’ The Observer ‘superb memoir … a hymn to life’. TELEGRAPH ‘you will applaud the defiance of the title as her story makes you weep’. SAGA ‘This moving memoir documents Esther Safran Foer’s tireless search for traces of her murdered family. Her success is a testament to the power of memory to rescue the dead from oblivion.’ Diane Armstrong, author of THE COLLABORATOR ‘Stirring and inspiring, this remarkable book is a labour of love and hope. Esther Foer goes on a brave journey abroad in search of unsettling family secrets buried in the darkness created by Nazism. Her odyssey is harrowing and heroic. When she returns, she can never see things in the same way, and neither can we. This book is a little triumph over fascism.’ Congressman Jamie Raskin ‘Foer documents her quest to gather information about her family’s life during the Holocaust in this skilfully written debut. Foer’s engrossing, well-researched family history will resonate with those curious about their own roots. Publisher’s Weekly ‘In effect this book is a search for the tiniest of things among the large mess of history: a name. It’s a noble search, and makes for a moving book. Much of the narrative is sad. Death, silence, emptiness haunt the work. There are things that may never be known. But the telling is unique and interesting. The book succeeds in putting names (or more precisely, stories) to things that exist only as artefacts, and inversely putting physicality to things that exist only as story.’ Irish Times

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Book SynopsisThe authorised illustrated history of the SAS by the number one bestselling author of Dunkirk, Joshua Levine. With never-before-seen photographs and unheard stories, this is the SAS's wartime history in vivid and astonishing detail.The SAS began as a lie, a story of a British parachute unit in the North African desert, to convince the Axis they were under imminent threat. The lie was so effective that soon a small band of men were brought together to make it real. These recruits were the toughest and brightest of their cohort, the most resilient, most dynamic and most self-sufficient. Their first commanders, David Stirling and Paddy Mayne, would go down in history as unorthodox visionaries. Yet this book tells much more than the usual origin story of the unit and seeks out less well-known leaders like Bill Fraser, who was essential in helping the SAS achieve fame for their devastating raids. By looking beyond the myth, this book brings back to life a group of men who showed immense braTrade Review PRAISE FOR SAS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 'Incredible photos from a never-before-seen archive show the SAS in all its remarkable dash and splendour; With incisive commentary, this is a fine wartime history and a must for any special forces library’ Damien Lewis PRAISE FOR JOSHUA LEVINE’S PREVIOUS BOOKS “A first-class portrait of that traumatic and tragic time, conveyed largely through the worlds of those who experienced it. Spiced with sexual and criminal statistics, Levine reveals a Britain of loose morals, opportunistic pilfering and cheating, and hedonistic pleasure, alongside the more familiar virtues of courage and community.”Sunday Telegraph ‘Interviews with soldiers and civilians, including a German pilot, reflect a world previously masked and glorified by official propaganda’Observer ‘Anyone who wants to learn about human courage and human endurance should read this account. It is more powerful than any drama, more convincing than any fiction’Peter Ackroyd ‘A vivid, moving story of the men who fought the Great War in the Air. Quite superb.’Max Arthur ‘Those magnificent men in their flying machines recount in their own words just how mad and magnificent it was to be an air-ace in World War One. Joshua Levine's compilation is enthralling and breathtaking’.Chris Powling, Classic FM Guestlist ‘This is a superior example of the genre from a writer at the top of his game.’Air Marshal Stuart Peach

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"From the strategic opening move of The Last Checkmate, I was in the grip of an unforgettable story. Vivid prose and heart-stopping scenes, Saab unfolds the story like her protagonist plays chess, with cunning wit and brilliant strategy. Gabriella Saab’s debut is immersive, smart, and haunting—a do-not-miss WWII historical novel.” — Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah "What's the best strategy to survive in a place as evil as Auschwitz? For Maria, a young member of the Polish resistance in Gabriella Saab's debut The Last Checkmate, chess is a lifeline... The Last Checkmate kept me turning pages long into the night. A fantastic debut!" — Anika Scott, international bestselling author of The German Heiress “Just wow! I was speechless when I finished reading this book. Raw and powerful in its humanity, The Last Checkmate will break your heart and stitch it back together again. Gabriella Saab has given us a rare and wondrous gift. A must-read for all historical fiction lovers.” — Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of The Radar Girls "The Last Checkmate is a winner. Gabriella Saab’s debut kept me turning the pages and I was rooting for our young, brave, and resourceful chess prodigy every step of the way." — Elise Hooper, acclaimed author of Sisters of the Pacific “A compelling and raw journey through the mind of a young Polish woman who comes of age in Auschwitz and lives only for revenge against her family’s killer.” — Sara Dahmen, author of Tinsmith 1865 "Still thinking about The Queen's Gambit? Then The Last Checkmate by Gabrielle Saab is the book for you." — Popsugar "Saab’s capable debut features a revenge plot set amidst the horrors of the Holocaust... Readers who love WWII fiction with strong female leads should check this out." — Publishers Weekly “Fans of World War II fiction with strong female leads, such as Sarah McCoy’s The Baker’s Daughter and Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz, will enjoy this story. The recurring theme of chess is also reminiscent of Walter Tevis’s The Queen’s Gambit.” — Library Journal “The dramatic tale of valiant teen chess player Maria offer YAs a portal into the WWII Polish Resistance movement” — Booklist

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Book SynopsisThe Imperial War Museum holds a vast archive of interviews with soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians of most nationalities who saw action during WW2.Trade ReviewThese stories are so harrowing, their witness so precise and devastating * The Times *With the rawness and immediacy that only this kind of oral history can provide * Sunday Times *An extraordinary and immensely moving book -- Stephen FryA unique collection of personal testimonies ... a timely reminder of the sacrifices and horrors of war * Sunday Express *The sound of real human voices: bewildered, sad, often angry, sometimes bitter, but for the most part remarkable ... a shattered relay-race of narrative gives the book a ghostly, choric poetry * Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis6 June 1944: the day Allied forces crossed the Channel and began fighting their way into Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. Initiated by airborne units and covered by air and naval bombardment, the Normandy landings were the most ambitious combined airborne and amphibious assault ever attempted. Their success marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.Drawing on thousands of hours of eyewitness testimony recorded by the Imperial War Museum, Forgotten Voices of D-Day tells the compelling story of this turning point in World War 2. Hearing from paratroopers and commandos, glider pilots and landing craft crewmen, airmen and naval personnel, we learn first-hand what it was like as men waited to go in, as they neared the beaches and drop zones, and as they landed and met the enemy. Accounts range from memories of the daring capture of ''Pegasus'' bridge by British glider-bourn troops to recollections of brutal fighting as the assault forces stormed the beaches. <Trade ReviewThe most recent of Ebury's admirable series ... a wonderful selection of first-hand accounts of D-Day by British servicemen -- Richard Holmes * Evening Standard *Incomparable. The voices speak with utter immediacy of fear, determination, bewilderment, indifference, and unmistakable courage * Spectator *Excellent ... An exciting read * Family History Monthly *

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Book SynopsisHarriet Salisbury has been a writer and editor for twenty years and has a special interest in the history of East London. She lives in Hackney. The War on Our Doorstep is her first book.The Museum of London oral history collection contains more than 5,000 hours of recorded life story interviews with a wide variety of people who have lived and worked in London and who talk about their lives and everyday experiences.Trade ReviewReveals in heart-rending detail what it truly means to be an East Ender * Daily Express *An excellent collection of recollections of Eastenders. ... What a place, what indomitable pride. Read all about it * Country Life *

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Book SynopsisSergeant George Leonard Johnson was born in Lincolnshire in 1921, the sixth child of a farm foreman. On the outbreak of the Second World War he volunteered for the RAF. After completing initial training, Johnny was sent to the USA for pilot training. Failing this course, he returned to England and became an air gunner. In July 1942, he was posted to 97 Squadron, where he became a bomb-aimer. A chance meeting introduced him to Flight Lieutenant Joe McCarthy, and they were soon flying together on a number of major raids before joining 617 Squadron.Johnny went on to complete a further 19 operations with 617 Squadron before he was posted elsewhere. He remained an instructor until the end of hostilities. Post-war he served with 100 Squadron and 120 Squadron Coastal Command. After a period in the Far East and a final tour in the UK, Johnny retired as Squadron Leader in 1962.Following the death of his wife, whom he adored for over 60 years, Johnny moved to Bristol where he

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Book SynopsisBad Faith tells the story of one of history''s most despicable villains and conmen - Louis Darquier, Nazi collaborator and ''Commissioner for Jewish Affairs'', who dissembled his way to power in the Vichy government and was responsible for sending thousands of children to the gas chambers. After the war he left France, never to be brought to justice. Early on in his career Louis married the alcoholic Myrtle Jones from Tasmania, equally practised in the arts of fantasy and deception, and together they had a child, Anne whom they abandoned in England. Her tragic story is woven through the narrative. In Carmen Callil''s masterful, elegiac and sometimes darkly comic account, Darquier''s rise during the years leading up to the Second World War mirrors the rise of French anti-Semitism. Epic, haunting, the product of extraordinary research, this is a study in powerlessness, hatred and the role of remembrance.Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.Trade ReviewA superb exploration of the fractured mind of French anti-Semitism -- Simon Heffer * Literary Review *The story she has uncovered is so strange and powerful that it would be an unusual reader who was not profoundly moved -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *A work of phenomenally thorough, generous and humane scholarship....Callil understands anguish, and lays bare its causes with clarity and precision. Bad Faith exemplifies what Primo Levi called the 'continuous intellectual and moral effort' that is the only adequate response to the events described here -- Hilary Spurling * Daily Telegraph *Bad Faith is a book of passion and anger which, nonetheless, manages to keep its head as a significant work of history -- Mark Bostridge * Independent on Sunday *We cannot know what Anne Darquier would have thought of Callil's book, but my guess is that she would have been as moved, astonished and impressed as any other reader -- Ruth Scurr * The Times *

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Book SynopsisYasmin Khan presents the overlooked history of India at war, and shows how mobilisation for the war unleashed seismic processes of economic, cultural and social change – decisively shaping the international war effort, the unravelling of the empire and India’s own political trajectory.Trade ReviewExceptional...balances analysis, history and human compassion in a narrative that leaves one shaken -- Juliet Nicolson, 5 stars * Daily Telegraph *Almost impossible to put down * New Statesman *The Second World War is one of the most written-about episodes in all world history: every month sees a dozen new titles published. Yet, astonishingly, The Raj at War breaks new ground on almost every page -- William Dalrymple * Spectator *A striking example of people’s history, packed with anecdotes, memories and information about a shared but largely unwritten global past * Guardian *Unprecedented in scope...rich both in detail and in its unique insights... Khan's history has paved the way for a more complex understanding of the Second World War as India's War -- Vinay Lal * Indian Express *A fascinating, vividly written history full of surprises, some of them shocking * The Times *Yasmin Khan...offers a richly researched social history of wartime India that is peppered with fascinating detail * The Economist *Remarkable Account… Compassionate, judicious and brilliantly readable, this is a compelling account of a dramatic, but little examined, aspect of history * Daily Mail *This fascinating book tells the story of World War Two's impact on India: the shattering of the ordered relations which underpinned the Raj making its end inevitable. It's also a much needed reminder of India's contribution to that war -- Mark TullyThis fascinating book tells the story of World War Two's impact on India: the shattering of the ordered relations which underpinned the Raj making its end inevitable. It's also a much needed reminder of India's contribution to that war -- Mark Tully

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Book SynopsisLondon during the Blitz was a time of hardship, heroism and hope.For Gillian Lynne a budding ballerina it was also a time of great change as she was evacuated from war-torn London to a crumbling mansion, where dance classes took place in the faded ballroom.Life was hard, but her talent and dedication shone through and an astonishing journey ensued, which saw Gillian dancing a triumphant debut in Swan Lake, performing in the West End with doodlebugs falling and touring a devastated Europe entertaining the troops.A Dancer in Wartime paints a vivid and moving picture of what life was really like during the hard years of the Blitz and brings to life a lost world.Trade ReviewGillian's journey through dance is a story of passion and devotion that should be read by everyone, not just dance lovers -- Arlene PhillipsA beautiful tale of heartbreak, talent, determination and star quality * Daily Mail *Wonderfully nostalgic and magical * Easy Living *A charming and affecting memoir * Sunday Express, Books of the Year *An extraordinary tale -- Sarah Crompton * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA shocking and timely reminder of the role Nazi women played in the Holocaust, not only as plunderers and direct witnesses, but on the Eastern Front. History has it that the role of women in Nazi Germany was to be the perfect Hausfrau and a loyal cheerleader for the Führer. However, Lower's research reveals an altogether more sinister truth. Lower shows us the ordinary women who became perpetrators of genocide. Drawing on decades of research, she uncovers a truth that has been in the shadows that women too were brutal killers and that, in ignoring women's culpability, we have ignored the reality of the Holocaust. Shocking' Sunday TimesCompelling' Washington PostPioneering' Literary ReviewTrade ReviewHitler’s Furies will be experienced and remembered as a turning point in both women’s studies and Holocaust studies * Timothy Snyder, author of Bloodlands *As pioneering as it is readable * Literary Review *She writes engagingly, wears her considerable erudition lightly…never allowing her analysis to outweigh the fundamental humanity of the stories * New Statesman *As gripping and eye-opening as it is chilling -- Andrea Walker * People *Hitler's Furies turns on its head the idea that women are innately more nurturing, kind and moral than men... While the accepted wisdom on female participation in the Holocaust singles out the sadistic behaviour of a few women guards in the concentration camps, such behaviour is usually contrasted with the myth of German female ignorance of the horrors. A veil has largely been drawn over the actions of the rest. Not any more -- Eleanor Mills * Sunday Times (News Review) *

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Book SynopsisAt a villa on the shore of the Wannsee, a lake in suburban Berlin, on 20th January 1942 one of the most terrible meetings in human history convened. Chaired by Reinhard Heydrich and organised and minuted by Adolf Eichmann, it brought together representatives of all the principal Nazi agencies in eastern Europe. Pooling the expertise of those present, Heydrich created the plan that would let Europe ''be combed through from west to east'' for Jews and which would put the Final Solution on a rational and industrial footing.Table of Contents"Perhaps the most shameful document"; "Mein Kampf" to mass murder, 1919-41; mass murder to genocide; the villa, the lake, the meeting; a largely successful day. Appendix: the protocol.

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Book SynopsisChurchill''s description of the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, after Lt-Gen Percival''s surrender led to over 100,000 British, Australian and Indian troops falling into the hands of the Japanese, was no wartime exaggeration. The Japanese had promised that there would be no Dunkirk in Singapore, and its fall led to imprisonment, torture and death for thousands of allied men and women. With much new material from British, Australian, Indian and Japanese sources, Colin Smith has woven together the full and terrifying story of the fall of Singapore and its aftermath. Here, alongside cowardice and incompetence, are forgotten acts of enormous heroism; treachery yet heart-rending loyalty; Japanese compassion as well as brutality from the bravest and most capricious enemy the British ever had to face.

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Book SynopsisMartin Davidson, who has two degrees from Oxford University, is an award-winning filmmaker and author specializing in historical and cultural subjects. His many director credits include: Simon Schama's A History of Britain, Albert Speer: The Nazi Who Said Sorry (A&E); Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Lie (BBC); and The Nazis and 'Degenerate Art' (BBC). He is the author of five previous non-fiction books. At present he is the commissioning editor for history and business at the BBC.

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