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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history
Over 16 million copies sold worldwide 'One of the most remarkable
books I have ever read' Susan Jeffers One of the outstanding
classics to emerge from the Holocaust, Man's Search for Meaning is
Viktor Frankl's story of his struggle for survival in Auschwitz and
other Nazi concentration camps. Today, this remarkable tribute to
hope offers us an avenue to finding greater meaning and purpose in
our own lives.
From the bestselling author of The Templars. 'Voyages, battles,
sieges and slaughter: Dan Jones's tumultuous and thrilling history
of the crusades is one of the best' SUNDAY TIMES. 'A powerful story
brilliantly told. Dan Jones writes with pace, wit and insight'
HELEN CASTOR. 'A fresh and vibrant account of a conflict that raged
across medieval centuries' JONATHAN PHILLIPS. Dan Jones,
best-selling chronicler of the Middle Ages, turns his attention to
the history of the Crusades - the sequence of religious wars fought
between the late eleventh century and late medieval periods, in
which armies from European Christian states attempted to wrest the
Holy Land from Islamic rule, and which have left an enduring
imprint on relations between the Muslim world and the West. From
the preaching of the First Crusade by Pope Urban II in 1095 to the
loss of the last crusader outpost in the Levant in 1302-03, and
from the taking of Jerusalem from the Fatimids in 1099 to the fall
of Acre to the Mamluks in 1291, Crusaders tells a tale soaked in
Islamic, Christian and Jewish blood, peopled by extraordinary
characters, and characterised by both low ambition and high
principle. Dan Jones is a master of popular narrative history, with
the priceless ability to write page-turning narrative history
underpinned by authoritative scholarship. Never before has the era
of the Crusades been depicted in such bright and striking colours,
or their story told with such gusto. PRAISE FOR THE TEMPLARS: 'A
fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate
military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship
with narrative swagger' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE. 'Dan Jones has
created a gripping page-turner out of the dramatic history of the
Templars' PHILIPPA GREGORY. 'The story of the Templars, the
ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of fanaticism,
bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they have a
worthy chronicler. The Templars is a wonderful book!' BERNARD
CORNWELL. 'Told with all Jones's usual verve and panache, this is a
dramatic and gripping tale of courage and stupidity, faith and
betrayal' MAIL ON SUNDAY. 'This is another triumphant tale from a
historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist'
OBSERVER. 'The Templars is exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging
history' TLS. 'Jones carries the Templars through the crusades with
clarity and verve. This is unabashed narrative history, fast-paced
and full of incident ... Jones tells their story extremely well'
SUNDAY TIMES.
This is the third and final 'stand-alone' account of C Squadron
SAS's thrilling operations against the relentless spread of
communist backed terrorism in East Africa. Drawing on first-hand
experiences the author describes operations against
communist-backed terrorists in Angola and Mozambique, aiding the
Portuguese and Renamo against the MPLA and Frelimo respectively.
Back in Southern Rhodesia SAS General Peter Walls, realising the
danger that Mugabe and ZANU represented, appealed directly to
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This correspondence,
published here for the first time, changed nothing and years of
corruption and genocide followed. Although C Squadron was disbanded
in 1980 many members joined the South African special forces.
Operations undertaken included unsuccessful and costly
destabilisation attempts against Mugabe and missions into
Mozambique including the assassination of Samora Machel. By 1986
deteriorating relationships with the South African authorities
resulted in the break-up of the SAS teams who dispersed worldwide.
Had Mike Graham not written his three action-packed books, C
Squadron SAS's superb fighting record might never have been
revealed. For those who are fascinated by special forces soldiering
his accounts are 'must reads'.
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World War II Rhode Island
(Paperback)
Christian McBurney, Brian L Wallin, Patrick T. Conley, John W. Kennedy, Maureen A. Taylor
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R605
R506
Discovery Miles 5 060
Save R99 (16%)
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At the end of the Spanish Civil War the Nationalist government
instigated mass repression against anyone suspected of loyalty to
the defeated Republican side. Around 200,000 people were imprisoned
for political crimes, including thousands of women who were charged
with offences ranging from directing the home front to supporting
their loved ones engaged in combat. Many women wrote and published
texts about their experiences, seeking to make their voices heard
and to counteract the dehumanising master narrative of the
right-wing victors that had criminalised their existence. The
memoirs of Communist women, such as Tomasa Cuevas and Juana Dona,
have heavily influenced our understanding of life in prison for
women under franquismo, while texts by non-Communist women have
largely been ignored. Narratives of Resistance and Survival offers
a comparative study of the life writing of female political
prisoners in Spain, focusing on six texts in particular: the two
volumes of Carcel de mujeres by Tomasa Cuevas; Desde la noche y la
niebla by Juana Dona; Requiem por la libertad by Angeles Garcia
Madrid; Abajo las dictaduras by Josefa Garcia Segret; and Aquello
sucedio asi by Angeles Malonda. All the texts share common themes,
such as the hunger and repression that political prisoners
suffered. However, the ideologically-driven narratives of Communist
women often foreground representations of resistance at the expense
of exploring the emotional and intellectual struggle for survival
that many women political prisoners faced in the aftermath of the
war. This study nuances our understanding of imprisoned women as
individuals and as a collective, analysing how they sought
recognition and justice in the face of a vindictive dictatorship.
It also explores their response to the spirit of convivencia during
the transition to democracy, which once again threatened to silence
them. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for
Contemporary Spanish Studies
An exciting and thoroughly well-written adventure from Steve
Turley.. When a U-boat is sunk off the coast of Corsica in 1943, it
takes with it a mysterious cargo which was being secretly
transported under SS guard. Mike Summers, a technical diving
expert, has his life thrown into chaos when he accidentally
discovers wreckage from the U-boat and crosses swords with a
notorious Corsican nationalist leader, resulting in the death of
his friend. The race to discover the motive for the killing takes a
deadly turn when Monica, a beautiful Swiss marine archaeologist, is
kidnapped by the gang. Mike knows they are both likely to die
unless he can use his superior knowledge of deep wreck diving to
save them both and bring the perpetrators to justice. Another
quality read from CheckPoint Press..
Between 1962 and 1965 Britain engaged in covert operations in
support of Royalist forces fighting the Egyptian backed Republican
regime that had seized power in the Yemeni capital Sana'a in
September 1962. Covert action was regarded as a legitimate tool of
foreign policy as Britain attempted to secure the future of the
newly formed South Arabian Federation against the animus of Nasser.
The use of covert action, as well as the quasi approval given to
the use of mercenaries to support the Royalist cause, was the
inevitable result of policy differences within Whitehall (most
notably between the 'mandarins' of the Colonial Office and the
Foreign Office) as well as international constraints imposed upon
the UK in the aftermath of the Suez crisis. The book examines the
extent to which British policy, while successful in imposing a war
of attrition upon Nasser in the Yemen, contributed to the political
demise of the very objective covert action was designed to secure:
the future stability of the Federation of South Arabia.
The 9th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby) was part
of Lord Kitchener's "New Army" made up initially of men from the
north midlands This is their story complete with pictures of many
of the men The 9th Battalion was not an elite force, but a group of
ordinary working men who felt compelled to serve their country but
found themselves in the most extra-ordinary military conflagration
**THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER** 25th Anniversary Edition. Foreword
by Tom Hanks. The book that inspired Steven Spielberg's acclaimed
TV series, produced by Tom Hanks and starring Damian Lewis. In Band
of Brothers, Stephen E. Ambrose pays tribute to the men of Easy
Company, a crack rifle company in the US Army. From their rigorous
training in Georgia in 1942 to the dangerous parachute landings on
D-Day and their triumphant capture of Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest' in
Berchtesgaden. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company.
Repeatedly send on the toughest missions, these brave men fought,
went hungry, froze and died in the service of their country.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary since the original publication,
this reissue contains a new foreword from Tom Hanks who was an
executive producer on the award-winning HBO series. A tale of
heroic adventures and soul-shattering confrontations, Band of
Brothers brings back to life, as only Stephen E. Ambrose can, the
profound ties of brotherhood forged in the barracks and on the
battlefields. 'History boldly told and elegantly written . . .
Gripping' Wall Street Journal 'Ambrose proves once again he is a
masterful historian . . . spellbinding' People
The six-month siege of Khe Sanh in 1968 was the largest, most
intense battle of the Vietnam War. For six thousand trapped U.S.
Marines, it was a nightmare; for President Johnson, an obsession.
For General Westmoreland, it was to be the final vindication of
technological weaponry; for General Giap, architect of the French
defeat at Dien Bien Phu, it was a spectacular ruse masking troops
moving south for the Tet offensive. With a new introduction by Mark
Bowden-best-selling author of Hu? 1968-Robert Pisor's immersive
narrative of the action at Khe Sanh is a timely reminder of the
human cost of war, and a visceral portrait of Vietnam's fiercest
and most epic close-quarters battle. Readers may find the politics
and the tactics of the Vietnam War, as they played out at Khe Sahn
fifty years ago, echoed in our nation's global incursions today.
Robert Pisor sets forth the history, the politics, the strategies,
and, above all, the desperate reality of the battle that became the
turning point of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
The Battle of Britain was the decisive air campaign fought over
Southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940. From 10th July
until 31st October 1940 Fighter Command aircrews from over 16
nations fought and died repelling the Luftwaffe. Discover tales of
courage, bravery and a host of fascinating, and little-known facts
about the combatants, leaders and strategies of both sides. Find
out about propaganda employed by both sides to try and influence
the battle, the Dowding system relaying information to the pilots
in their fighter's and the classic 1969 film starring Sir Laurence
Oliver. This absorbing book is published to coincide with the
commemorations surrounding the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of
Britain 2020. "The Amazing and Extraordinary Facts series" presents
interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a
wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and
entertain in equal measure.
Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku made a vow to smile every day and
believed he was the 'happiest man on earth'. In his inspirational
memoir, he paid tribute to those who were lost by telling his story
and sharing his wisdom. 'Eddie looked evil in the eye and met it
with joy and kindness . . . [his] philosophy is life-affirming' -
Daily Express Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is
up to you. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a
Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in
November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a
concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie faced
unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in
Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his
country. The Happiest Man on Earth is a powerful, heartbreaking and
ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the
darkest of times. 'Australia's answer to Captain Tom . . . a memoir
that extols the power of hope, love and mutual support' - The Times
Was the outcome of the First World War on a knife edge? In this
major new account of German wartime politics and strategy Holger
Afflerbach argues that the outcome of the war was actually in the
balance until relatively late in the war. Using new evidence from
diaries, letters and memoirs, he fundamentally revises our
understanding of German strategy from the decision to go to war and
the failure of the western offensive to the radicalisation of
Germany's war effort under Hindenburg and Ludendorff and the
ultimate collapse of the Central Powers. He uncovers the struggles
in wartime Germany between supporters of peace and hardliners who
wanted to fight to the finish. He suggests that Germany was not
nearly as committed to all-out conquest as previous accounts argue.
Numerous German peace advances could have offered the opportunity
to end the war before it dragged Europe into the abyss.
The British governments policy of non-intervention in response to
the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War sought primarily to prevent
the conflict escalating into a wider European war but also to
ensure that it could maintain or establish cordial relations with
whichever side emerged victorious. Due to General Francos military
successes, the support he received from Fascist Italy and Nazi
Germany, and the geostrategic importance of the Iberian Peninsula
in Britains Mediterranean strategy, non-intervention evolved into a
policy of appeasing Franco. This sustained strategic programme
remained in place beyond the Civil War and throughout the Second
World War. It aimed to drive a wedge between Franco and the Axis
Powers to prevent Spains incorporation into the Rome-Berlin Axis
and thereby ensure the neutrality of the Iberian Peninsula. The
British governments diplomatic recognition of Franco and
simultaneous abandonment of the Spanish Republic in February 1939
formed a concession comparable to British policy towards Abyssinia
and Czechoslovakia. Negotiating Neutrality uses appeasement as an
analytical framework to show how appeasement policies alter power
dynamics in diplomatic relationships. As a beneficiary of
appeasement, Franco, like Hitler and Mussolini, intuitively
understood how to use this policy to his regimes advantage and it
formed an important part of his development as a statesman
alongside his German and Italian counterparts. For its part, the
British government increasingly encountered difficulties when
trying to re-assert itself as the dominant power in Anglo-Spanish
relations. In this sense, the author challenges the dominant view
within the existing historiography that British policy makers
harboured ideological prejudices towards the Spanish Republic, or
sympathy for the military rebels, and allowed these to cloud their
judgement when formulating a policy towards the Civil War to show
that Francos victory was far from the preferred outcome for the
British government. Published in association with the Canada Blanch
Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE
'Invasion Rabaul' is a gut-wrenching account of courage and
sacrifice, folly and disaster, as seen through the eyes of the
Allied defenders who survived the Japanese assault on Britain
during the opening days of World War II.
Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew
the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who
received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military
campaign in aviation history. There's no higher accolade in the
U.S. military than the Medal of Honor, and 472 people received it
for their action during World War II. But only one was demoted
right after: Maynard Harrison Smith. Smith is one of the most
unlikely heroes of the war, where he served in B-17s during the
early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England. From
his juvenile delinquent past in Michigan, through the war and
during the decades after, Smith's life seemed to be a series of
very public missteps. The other airmen took to calling the 5-foot,
5-inch airman "Snuffy" after an unappealing movie character. This
is also the man who, on a tragically mishandled mission over France
on May 1, 1943, single-handedly saved the crewmen in his stricken
B-17. With every other gunner injured or bailed out, Smith stood
alone in the fuselage of a shattered, nameless bomber and fought
fires, treated wounded crew and fought off fighters. His ordeal is
part of a forgotten mission that aircrews came to call the May Day
Massacre. The skies over Europe in 1943 were a charnel house for
U.S. pilots, who were being led by tacticians surprised by the
brutal effectiveness of German defenses. By May 1943 the combat
losses among bomb crews were a staggering 40 to 50 percent. The
backdrop of Smith's story intersects with some of the luminaries of
aviation history, including Curtis Lemay, Ira Eaker and "Hap"
Arnold, during critical times of their storied careers. Inferno
also examines Smith's life in a new, comprehensive light, through
the use of exclusive interviews of those who knew him (including
fellow MOH recipients and family) as well as public and archival
records. This is both a thrilling and horrifying story of the air
war over Europe during WWII and a fascinating look at one of
America's forgotten heroes.
On September 10, 1813, the hot, still air that hung over Lake Erie
was broken by the sounds of sharp conflict. Led by Oliver Hazard
Perry, the American fleet met the British, and though they
sustained heavy losses, Perry and his men achieved one of the most
stunning victories in the War of 1812. Author Walter Rybka traces
the Lake Erie Campaign from the struggle to build the fleet in
Erie, Pennsylvania, during the dead of winter and the conflict
between rival egos of Perry and his second in command, Jesse Duncan
Elliott, through the exceptionally bloody battle that was the first
U.S. victory in a fleet action. With the singular perspective of
having sailed the reconstructed U.S. brig Niagara for over twenty
years, Rybka brings the knowledge of a shipmaster to the story of
the Lake Erie Campaign and the culminating Battle of Lake Erie.
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