This is the story of the real bodyguard, Lee Sansum, ex-Royal Military Policeman, martial arts champion, and expert in close protection. Part of Mohamed and Dodi Al-Fayed's protection team, Lee had to guard the most famous woman in the world, Princess Diana. He formed a close bond with Diana and the young princes, particularly Harry, and it was only by a stroke of luck that he was not in the car the night Diana died. That night proved to be the turning point in his own life. Over the course of his career, Lee has worked with the rich and famous, such as Hollywood stars Tom & Nicole, Pele and Sylvester Stallone, and he gives a candid account of what it's like to work in a job where lives are literally at stake. Growing up in a tough part of Greater Manchester, Lee learnt the hard way that to survive you need to stand up to bullies and be harder than your opponent. A career in the Royal Military Police took him to the "Bandit Country" of South Armagh, where he pulled an AWOL squaddie out of a honey trap moments before an IRA active service unit arrived to kill him. He worked undercover in Northern Ireland and joined the SIB, the Army's own internal affairs unit, before entering the world of private security, operating in the world's hotspots, such as Libya and the breakaway state of Somaliland. Lee's story is one of quiet strength, of how reading a situation is invaluable to getting out of trouble. It is one of achieving personal goals and overcoming trauma through the help of his wife, Kate, and through his love of martial arts. It is also a fitting tribute to one of the outstanding figures of our age.

November 1950, the Korean Peninsula: After General MacArthur ignores Mao's warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his ten thousand First Division marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by one hundred thousand Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge in the Nangnim Mountains. This choke point will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 236 men of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the Seventh Marine Regiment. Barber and his men are ordered to climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox's marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like the outfit will be overrun, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless marine officer who is fighting south from the Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox Company. The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of first-hand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of classic accounts of a single battle like Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.

As a twenty-three-year-old veterinarian, William W. Putney joined the Marine Corps at the height of World War II. He commanded the Third Dog Platoon during the battle for Guam and later served as chief veterinarian and commanding officer of the War Dog Training School, where he helped train former pets for war in the Pacific. After the war, he fought successfully to have USMC war dogs returned to their civilian owners.Always Faithful is Putney's celebration of the four-legged soldiers that he both commanded and followed. It is a tale of immense courage as well as of incredible sacrifice. For anyone who has ever read "Old Yeller" or the books of Jack London, here is a real-life story that rivals any fiction. At once a wistful tribute and a stirring adventure, "Always Faithful" will enthrall readers with one of the great animal stories of all time.

Five incredible true stories of canine bravery in wartime. For as long as dogs have lived alongside man, they have saved their lives in wartime with their bravery, loyalty and companionship. From the WWII dog that was adopted by the Royal Navy as a mascot, torpedoed, shot at and registered as a prisoner of war, to the more recent heroics of explosives dog, Bonnie, in Afghanistan and Iraq where she saved hundreds of military and civilian lives, this is a collection of the most incredible and heartwarming accounts from around the world. Capturing the fear, uncertainly, determination and undying devotion of these amazing dogs and the young soldiers, sailors and airmen they befriended, these are truly inspirational tales of loyalty and companionship beyond all boundaries.

This is the unforgettable story of the remarkable medical workers of World War One. A hundred years ago, the Armistice that ended the Great War was signed. The human cost was devastating: over 21 million military wounded, and nearly 10 million killed. The injuries on the battlefield were unlike anything those in the medical field had ever witnessed. Yet, they adapted incredibly fast - saving millions of lives. Drawing on letters and diary entries, we follow the lone stretcher bearer into the trenches only to find that they were all dead, to the dugouts where rescue teams dug frantically to escape the earth-shaking shellfire, and from stretcher to aid station, from jolting ambulance to crowded operating tent, exploring actual cases of casualties who recorded their terrifying and remarkable experiences. A groundbreaking book of the history of the Western Front from a new perspective, this is a tribute to the indispensable medical network that came together and saved our soldiers. 'A highly readable account...this is an engaging book...they are voices that deserve to be heard.' Daily Express

'Fiercely immersive. Truly heroic.' Tom Marcus, bestselling author of Soldier Spy.

'Vivid and brilliantly written: a pulsating account of the battle for Musa Qala, the Rorke's Drift of our times.’ Martin Bell, OBE, war reporter.

In Helmand province in July 2006, Major Adam Jowett was given command of Easy Company, a hastily assembled and under-strength unit of Paras and Royal Irish rangers. Their mission was to hold the District Centre of Musa Qala at any cost. Easy Company found themselves in a ramshackle compound, cut off and heavily outnumbered by the Taliban in the town.

In No Way Out, Adam evokes the heat and chaos of battle as the Taliban hit Easy Company with wave after wave of brutal attack. He describes what it was like to have responsibility for the lives of his men as they fought back heroically over twenty-one days and nights of relentless, nerve-shredding combat. Finally, as they came down to their last rounds and death stared Easy Company in the face, the siege took an extraordinary turn . . .

Powerful, highly-charged and moving, No Way Out is Adam’s tribute to the men of Easy Company who paid a heavy price for serving their country.

The best-selling classic of the power of love and forgiveness in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

In one of the world's most intractable and under-reported rebellions, the Naxalites have been engaged in a decades-long battle with the Indian state. Presented in the media as a deadly terrorist group, the movement is made up of Marxist ideologues and lower-caste and tribal combatants who seek to overthrow a system that has abused them. In 2010, anthropologist Alpa Shah embarked on a seven-night trek with some of these communist guerrillas, walking 250 kilometres through the dense, hilly forests of eastern India. Speaking to leaders and living for years with villagers in guerrilla strongholds, Shah seeks to understand how and why some of India's poor have shunned the world's largest democracy and taken up arms to fight for a fairer society--and asks whether they might be undermining their own aims. Nightmarch is a compelling reflection on dispossession and conflict at the heart of contemporary India. SHORT-LISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING, 2019 SHORT-LISTED FOR THE NEW INDIA FOUNDATION BOOK PRIZE, 2019 WINNER OF THE 2020 ASSOCIATION FOR POLITICAL AND LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY BOOK PRIZE A 2018 New Statesman Book of the Year

Winner of the Booker Prize and international bestseller, made into the award-winning film Schindler's List. In the shadow of Auschwitz, a flamboyant German industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a womaniser, a heavy drinker and a bon viveur, but to them he became a saviour. This is the extraordinary story of Oskar Schindler, who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland and who was transformed by the war into a man with a mission, a compassionate angel of mercy.

A Daily Telegraph History Book of the Year 'An astonishing story... brilliantly told' Antony Beevor 'Gripping... Will appeal to anyone who relishes Ben Macintyre's tales of wartime espionage and cryptic codes.' Sunday Telegraph Summertime, 1935. On a lake near Berlin, a young man is out sailing when he glimpses a woman reclining in the prow of a passing boat. Their eyes meet - and one of history's greatest conspiracies is born. Harro Schulze-Boysen had already shed blood in the fight against Nazism by the time he and Libertas Haas-Heye began their whirlwind romance. She joined the cause, and soon the two lovers were leading a network of antifascists that stretched across Berlin's bohemian underworld. Harro himself infiltrated German intelligence and began funnelling Nazi battle plans to the Allies, including the details of Hitler's surprise attack on the Soviet Union. But nothing could prepare Harro and Libertas for the betrayals they would suffer in this war of secrets - a struggle in which friend could be indistinguishable from foe. Drawing on unpublished diaries, letters and Gestapo files, Norman Ohler spins an unforgettable tale of love, heroism and sacrifice.

"Du solst starben zwischem goyem!" A fellow Jew within the Warsaw Ghetto, offended by Zosia Goldberg's Polish of no Yiddish accent, spat at her in Yiddish: "May you die amongst the goyem!" Zosia took this 'curse' instead as a message from God. Her dramatic tale begins with her escaping the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewer, whereafter she survived the Holocaust posing as a Gentile. Zosia did not die amongst the goyem, and yet along her dangerous journey she should have died on numerous occasions. She was a 'debrouillarde', someone who could run through fire without getting burned. Hers is a story of resistance at every turn, of continual attempts at sabotage, of perpetually escaping and defeating the enemy. Her account is filled with unique energy and a wonder at the strangeness of human behaviour. For not only did she suffer bitter betrayals by fellow Jews, she also encountered the unexpected sympathies of Nazis, and was at many times aided by her very tormentors. This is not just a story of the Holocaust, but of a woman struggling to make sense of human folly and depravity.

'A thrilling account' Daily Mail 'Thrilling and inspiring' Daily Mirror 'Extraordinary bravery... made this woman one of WWII's most remarkable spies. That she survived the war was almost miraculous' Time The year is 1942, and World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father's footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer Captain Peter Churchill. As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them. They are sent to Paris's Fresnes prison, and on to concentration camps in Germany, where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. But in the face of despair, they never give up hope, their love for each other, or the whereabouts of their colleagues. This is a portrait of true courage, patriotism and love amidst unimaginable horrors and degradation.

25 medal winners - the bravest of the brave - from the Army, the Royal Marine Commandos and the RAF describe, in their own words, the astonishing actions which led to their awards.

During the late stages in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, U.S. Navy Captain George Dyer was wounded in action, but vowed to return. In 1944 he accepted an assignment on the heavy cruiser the USS Astoria. This was a "vengeance ship" whose mission was to avenge a sunken warship lost during the worst sea defeat in American naval history. Just getting into action would prove to be a battle. Dyer's crew was comprised of late-war draftees, disciplinary castoffs, and broken veterans of previous traumatic combat. The new ship herself proved a further liability--the product of a failing shipyard torn by labor strife, shoddy craftsmanship, and materiel shortages. From a typhoon where the ocean was enemy to daring rescue missions in the Philippines to a gallant turn at Iwo Jima to the ultimate crucible against the Kamikaze, the men of Astoria endured the worst of the final year of the war at sea. The reluctant "vengeance ship" was called to respond in a manner that could never have been anticipated. Throughout, the men slept at their stations, fought crippling fatigue, and tested the limits of human endurance. Days of Steel Rain brings to life more than a decade of research and firsthand interviews, depicting with unprecedented insight a group of American men fighting at sea. Throughout, author Brent Jones fills the narrative with secret diaries, memoirs, letters, interpersonal conflicts, and the innermost thoughts of the Astoria men. Blended with official records, Days of Steel Rain weaves an intimate, unforgettable portrait of heroism, endurance, and redemption.

'Heroes' is the story of an extraordinary generation of young men, mostly British, who came of age in the Second World War. These young men - and women - found themselves facing life-threatening danger and the kind of responsibility few would be prepared to shoulder today. Whether fighting in the jungles of Burma or on the D-Day beaches, as submariners, pilots, spies or prisoners of war, young soldiers in WWII displayed astonishing courage and resilience, united by honour and bound by the fellowship of their comrades. Those who made it home are now a passing generation, and for many this is the last chance for them to tell their stories - men like football legend Tom Finney, who saw action in southern Italy; or James Bond set-designer Ken Adam, a German Jew who flew as a fighter pilot for the RAF; or identical twins Tom and Dee Bowles, who landed together on Easy Red beach on D-Day. Many of these young men never returned home and those who did faced insurmountable challenges assimiliating back into civilian life. 'Heroes' is a moving and uplifting tribute to an remarkable generation.

The author of this memoir of escape from Nazi occupied Europe was Carina Birman (1895-1996), the Conseil Juridique at the Austrian Embassy in Paris between 1926 and 1938. It tells of her escape with her friend Sophie Lippmann (1885-1975) over the Pyrenees through Spain and Portugal and eventually to New York.

A brilliantly original history of the First World War, re-tracing the footsteps of the Indian Army's 1.5 million men who in 1914-18 served about the globe from Europe to Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean. After years of neglect, The Indian Empire at War raises the curtain on the Indian soldiers' personal experiences fighting for the Allies against the Central Powers, and returning home to play their part in the Indian Independence movement.

Sergeant Andy McNab recounts the story of the top secret mission that would reveal the secrets of the SAS to the world for the first time. Their location: Iraq Their mission: to sever a vital enemy underground communication link, to find and destroy mobile Scud launchers Their call sign: Bravo Two Zero When eight members of the elite SAS regiment embark on a highly covert operation, they are each laden with 15 stones of equipment, needing to tab 20km across the desert to reach their objective. But within days, their location is compromised. They engage in a fierce battle. They escape on foot to the Syrian border. Three men die. One escapes. But four men are captured. For them, the worst is yet to come. Delivered to Baghdad, they are tortured with a savagery for which not even their intensive SAS training has prepared them... This is a story of superhuman courage, strength, endurance and dark humour in the face of overwhelming odds. It shows just how much it takes to be a member of the SAS. _____________________________________________ 'The best account yet of the SAS in action' Sunday Times 'One of the best books to emerge from the first Gulf War ... Magnificent' Independent on Sunday

Moscow in the late 1970s: one by one, CIA assets are disappearing. The perils of American arrogance, mixed with bureaucratic infighting, had left the country unspeakably vulnerable to ultra-sophisticated Russian electronic surveillance.. The Spy in Moscow Station tells of a time when―much like today―Russian spycraft was proving itself far ahead of the best technology the U.S. had to offer.

This is the true story of unorthodox, underdog intelligence officers who fought an uphill battle against their government to prove that the KGB had pulled off the most devastating and breathtakingly thorough penetration of U.S. national security in history.

Incorporating declassified internal CIA memos and diplomatic cables, this suspenseful narrative reads like a thriller―but real lives were at stake, and every twist is true as the US and USSR attempt to wrongfoot each other in eavesdropping technology and tradecraft. The book also carries a chilling warning for the present: like the State and CIA officers who were certain their "sweeps" could detect any threat in Moscow, we don't know what we don't know.

This text presents the secrets of how British intelligence officers working undercover as liaison officers in East Germany stole advanced Soviet equipment and penetrated top-secret training areas. For 40 years the men from all three armed services, the SAS and the Foreign Office conducted an intelligence war against the massive Soviet military strength.

An inspiring and heart-warming short story of devotion and bravery. A thoroughbred horse, Warrior, is passed through various owners before he is shipped to the thick of the action on the Western Front to serve as his current master's mount for all four years of the First World War. Warrior and General 'Galloping Jack Seeley' were involved from the first engagements through to one of the last, the Battle of Moreuil Wood. Together they fought in terrifying battles and witnessed the death of many horses and masters who served alongside them, terrible deaths, but through it all Warrior seemed to pass like a spirit. This is the tale of his heroic wartime exploits and eventual return to the green fields of England. An evocative and powerful story of a real and great war horse. Warrior's story was the basis for the fictional Joey in Michael Morpurgo's War Horse.

September 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories. But production didn't stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed. This is their story.

During the intense, sprawling conflict that was the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of cavalry, which carried out the crucial tasks of reconnaissance, raiding, and conveying messages. The perception was that cavalry's effectiveness on the battlefield would be drastically reduced in this age of improved infantry firearms. This title, however, demonstrates how cavalry's lethal combination of mobility and dismounted firepower meant it was still very much a force to be reckoned with in battle, and charts the swing in the qualitative difference of the cavalry forces fielded by the two sides as the war progressed. In this book, three fierce cavalry actions of the American Civil War are assessed, including the battles of Second Bull Run/Manassas (1862), Buckland Mills (1863) and Tom's Brook (1864).

"There wasn't a meeting when someone didn't mention Black Hawk Down ." - A senior Obama administration official, as quoted in The New York Times, 02/05/2011 From Mark Bowden, internationally bestselling and acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and the preeminent chronicler of the actions of the US military and special forces writing today, comes an intensely gripping account of the hunt for and elimination of Osama bin Laden. With unprecedented access to key sources and his great gift for storytelling, Bowden takes us inside the rooms where decisions were made and where the action unfolded. The story focuses on bin Laden, who maintained a steady stream of despairing correspondence in hiding in the year before his death, and on President Obama, perceived by many as an anti-war candidate because of his opposition to the Iraq War, whose evolving views and enormous responsibilities have turned him into one of the most determined warriors to ever inhabit the White House. It details the rapid evolution of war-fighting methods over the last decade, as American special forces and intelligence agencies have adapted to fight non-state enemies like Al-Qaeda, and how they came together seamlessly in May 2011 to kill the world's most notorious terrorist. Tracing the operation in blow-by-blow detail, Bowden's book is an unrivaled account of the most high-profile special forces operation ever to have been undertaken, and a page-turning narrative of how the man behind 9/11 was finally brought to justice.