Simon Chase's life is a maze of burner phones, encrypted emails, secret meetings, and weaponry - all devoted to executing missions too sensitive for government acknowledgement. Working for shadowy British and American organisations, Chase has been on the trail of Bin Laden in Afghanistan, protected allied generals in Iraq, and been part of an operation directly related to the attack in 2012 on the US consulate in Benghazi. Zero Footprint takes us to this dangerous and thrilling world, and tells the true story of a private military contractor whose work forms the foundation for western security abroad, especially when the UK and US military, intelligence agencies, and departments of state need something done that they can't - or won't - do themselves.

Graham Allen, a U.S. Army veteran and a rising star in the conservative movement, makes the case that the United States should look to the country as it was on September 12th, 2001 for lessons about our future. On the day after the World Trade Center was attacked, Americans came together regardless of color, religion, or sexual orientation. We were united. On that day, nearly every store in the country sold out of American flags. After the events of the last eighteen months, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the constant attempts to divide us by race, Graham Allen believes that we should all look back on the events of 9/12 and remember what unites us. He believes that we do not all have to be the same, that it's okay not to agree on everything, but that we share a common history and a set of values. Just as the year 1776 serves as a reminder of our beginning, 9/12 will serve as a reminder of our present and future.

The youngest living Medal of Honor recipient delivers an unforgettable memoir that will inspire every reader" (Jim Mattis) NATIONAL BESTSELLER 2020 Marine Commandant's Reading List selection On November 21, 2010, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter was posted atop a building in violent Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when an enemy grenade skittered toward Kyle and fellow Marine Nick Eufrazio. Without hesitation, Kyle chose a path of selfless heroism that few can imagine. He jumped on the grenade, saving Nick but sacrificing himself. One of the year's most anticipated books, Kyle's remarkable memoir reveals a central truth that will inspire every reader: Life is worth everything we've got. It is the story of how one man became a so-called hero who willingly laid down his life for his brother-in-arms--and equally, it is a story of rebirth, of how Kyle battled back from the gravest challenge to forge a life of joyful purpose. Kyle Carpenter's heart flatlined three times while being evacuated off the battlefield in Afghanistan. Yet his spirit was unbroken. Severely wounded from head to toe, Kyle lost his right eye as well as most of his jaw. It would take dozens of surgeries and almost three years in and out of the hospital to reconstruct his body. From there, he began the process of rebuilding his life. What he has accomplished in the last nine years is extraordinary: he's come back a stronger, better, wiser person. In 2014, Kyle was awarded the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his "singular act of courage" on that rooftop in Afghanistan, an action which had been reviewed exhaustively by the military. Kyle became the youngest living recipient of the award-and only the second living Marine so honored since Vietnam. You Are Worth It is a memoir about the war in Afghanistan and Kyle's heroics, and it is also a manual for living. Organized around the credos that have guided Kyle's life (from "Don't Hide Your Scars" to "Call Your Mom"), the book encourages us to become our best selves in the time we've been given on earth. Above all, it's about finding purpose, regardless of the hurdles that may block our way. Moving and unforgettable, You Are Worth It is an astonishing memoir from one of our most extraordinary young leaders.

*** 'If you only read one book about the Falklands make sure it's this one.' - Soldier magazine 'An extraordinarily detailed account of the bloodiest battle of the Falklands war.' - Major General Jonathan Shaw CB CBE When 3 Para began their assault under cover of darkness on Mount Longdon in June 1982, nobody knew what to expect. The three platoons of B Company each approached the mountain silently, treading carefully through a series of defensive minefields. But following an explosion, fighting quickly escalated with shocking speed and severity, resulting in some of the bloodiest close hand fighting, terrible injuries, and shocking loss of life experienced by British troops since the Korean war. Recreating 3 Para's bloody Falklands battle from multiple angles, James O'Connell - who fought there and was seriously injured himself - has written a gut-wrenching 360 degree classic. Frustrated by highly inaccurate books about the battle, O'Connell decided to set the record straight. What he did next was extraordinary - he revisited the Falkland's five times with comrades and Argentine soldiers and literally walked through the battle with them, step-by-step, creating an unprecedented masterpiece of immersive military publishing. Combined with rare access to the Battalion's records and radio logs, the resulting book is the last word on Mount Longdon, and might be the most harrowingly realistic description of modern warfare you will ever read.

After a tragic childhood among the Great War cemeteries of Flanders Fields, a troubled young woman searches for love and meaning in war ravaged Europe. Elaine Madden's quest takes her from occupied Belgium through the chaos of Dunkirk, where she flees, disguised as a British soldier, into the London Blitz, where she finally begins to discover herself. Recruited to T Section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as a 'fast courier', she is parachuted back to the country of her birth to undertake a top secret political mission and help speed its liberation from Nazi oppression. Elaine Madden never claimed to be a heroine, but her story proves otherwise. Its centrepiece - war service as one of only two female SOE agents parachuted into occupied Belgium - is just one episode in an extraordinary real-life drama of highs and lows, love, loss and betrayal. Relayed to the author in the final years of her life, Elaine's true story of courage and humour in testing times is more intriguing and compelling than fiction.

BOOK TWO IN THE SERIES, SURVIVE TO FIGHT, IS AVAILABLE NOW! THE FIRST IN A BRAND NEW SERIES FROM SAS: WHO DARES WINS STAR. A country in turmoil. A rescue mission gone wrong. A hero unlike any other fighting to save a broken world. Matt 'Mace' Mason is deployed on a deniable SAS mission in war-torn Yemen, becoming embroiled in a hostage rescue that goes terribly wrong. Pulling at the strings of the local political scene is not only the local warlord who is destined to become Mace's nemesis, General Ruak Shahlai, but hardbitten American arms dealer Erica Atkins, who controls a whole international network to her advantage. As well as his own team, Mace has to work, initially unwillingly, with female CIA Agent (and Islamic scholar) Redford. Together they will need to prevent an attack that would spark a regional war and create the largest environmental disaster the world has ever seen. DON'T MISS THE FIRST IN THE NEW MATT MASON SERIES FROM AN AUTHOR WHO HAS BEEN THERE AND DONE IT ALL, BILLY BILLINGHAM. About the Author Billy Billingham spent 17 years in the SAS. He was responsible for planning and executing strategic operations and training at the highest level in locations including Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and Africa, and has led countless hostage rescues. He later became a bodyguard to A list celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, and Tom Cruise. Since 2015, Billy has been one of the lead presenters on the popular Channel Four series SAS: Who Dares Wins.

"A gritty, first-person account. ... One can hear Shaw's voice as if he were sitting beside you." -Wall Street Journal An unforgettable soldier's-eye view of the Pacific War's bloodiest battle, by the first American officer ashore Okinawa. On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, 1.5 million men gathered aboard 1,500 Allied ships off the coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa. The men were there to launch the largest amphib ious assault on the Pacific Theater. War planners expected an 80 percent casualty rate. The first American officer ashore was then-Major Art Shaw (1920-2020), a unit commander in the U.S. Army's 361st Field Artillery Battalion of the 96th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Deadeyes. For the next three months, Shaw and his men served near the front lines of the Pacific's costliest battle, their artillery proving decisive against a phantom enemy who had entrenched itself in the rugged, craggy island. Over eighty-two days, the Allies fought the Japanese army in a campaign that would claim more than 150,000 human lives. When the final calculations were made, the Deadeyes were estimated to have killed 37,763 of the enemy. The 361st Field Artillery Battalion had played a crucial role in the victory. The campaign would be the last major battle of World War II and a key pivot point leading to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to the Japanese surrender in August, two months after the siege's end. Filled with extraordinary details, Shaw's gripping account gives lasting testimony to the courage and bravery displayed by so many on the hills of Okinawa.

Discover the brave, shocking and remarkable true story of two RAF lieutenants' capture during the Gulf War 'HEROISM UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY' Independent 'THE MOST COMPELLING STORY OF THE GULF WAR' Daily Mail _________ RAF Flight Lieutenants John Peters and John Nichol were shot down over enemy territory on their first mission of the Gulf War. Their capture in the desert, half a mile from their blazing Tornado bomber, led to seven harrowing weeks of torture, confinement and interrogation. An ordeal which brought both men close to death. In Tornado Down, John Peters and John Nichol tell the incredible story of their part in the war against Saddam Hussein's regime. It is a brave and shocking and totally honest story: a story about war and its effects on the hearts and minds of men.

'Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told, 44 DAYS is more than just a fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. It's also a top read.' DAILY TELEGRAPH The epic World War II story of the heroes of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese. In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold. The recruits had almost nothing going for them against the Japanese war machine, except for one extraordinary leader named John Jackson, a balding, tubby Queenslander - at 35 possibly the oldest fighter pilot in the world - who said little, led from the front, and who had absolutely no sense of physical fear. Time and time again this brave group were hurled into battle, against all odds and logic, and succeeded in mauling a far superior enemy - whilst also fighting against the air force hierarchy. After relentless attack, the squadron was almost wiped out by the time relief came, having succeeded in their mission - but also paying a terrible price. Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of this courageous squadron of Australian heroes.

This is the most comprehensive account of the Air Forces in Malta during Word War II. Malta was a vital base from which Allied aircraft could inflict serious damage on the crucial Axis supply route to Rommel in North Africa. In order to secure that route, the might of the Luftwaffe and Italian Air Forces were thrown together against the tiny island, affecting not just the defending servicemen and women, but the entire population. This book vividly describes how the fighters, bombers, torpedo, and reconnaissance aircraft of the RAF and FAA took the fight to the enemy and triumphantly succeeded with every odd stacked against them.

""My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.
"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?"
"Because there is a war."
"You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"
"Yes, all the time."
"Cool."
I smile a little.
"You should tell us about it sometime."
"Yes, sometime.""
"
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.
In "A Long Way Gone," Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

'A COMPELLING, FAST-PACED NARRATIVE THAT THRUSTS US INTO THE COCKPIT. A MUST-READ!' Dan Hampton April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. In response, Britain dispatches a naval Task Force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just twenty Sea Harrier fighters against the two hundred-strong might of the Argentine Air Force. The odds against them are overwhelming. British Defense Chiefs' own estimates suggest that half the Harriers will be lost within a week. Against this background, 809 Naval Air Squadron is reformed, trained and sent south to fight. Not since WWII had so much been expected of such a small band of pilots... Combining groundbreaking research with the pace of a thriller, Rowland White reveals the full story of the fleet's knife-edge fight for survival for the first time, and shows how the little jump jet went from airshow novelty to writing its name in aviation legend. And of how a small band of heroes won victory against impossible odds. 'A military adventure, written with expertise...a tale of initiative, skill and courage, of pushing beyond the rules.' THE SPECTATOR 'Harrier 809 reads like a fast-paced military adventure novel only better because every word is true. White has brought us an up-close, inside-the-cockpit saga of a band of heroes. Riveting.' ROBERT GANDT, author of Skygods 'Utterly thrilling and totally absorbing. White conveys brilliantly the spirit of a great aircraft - and the men who flew it.' PATRICK BISHOP 'Utterly brilliant. The very best kind of narrative history, Harrier 809 is a fantastically exciting book. It reads like a thriller and has some of the best aerial action sequences I've ever read. A page-turner from start to finish.' JAMES HOLLAND, author of Normandy '44 'Set against the broader context of the Falklands War, Harrier 809 brings the squadron's story to life in fine and highly readable detail.' GARTH ENNIS, author of The Boys, Preacher and Hellblazer

It was early Cold War days when 17-year-old David Eagles applied to the Fleet Air Arm hoping to be a fighter pilot for his national service. He little imagined the career that would follow. After flying training with the US Navy and Australian Fleet Air Arm, he settled into Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot life. He progressed through Naval Test Pilot duties - where he was forced to eject from a Buccaneer during catapult launch trials - before joining British Aerospace and playing a major part in the cockpit design and flight-testing of the RAF's first fly-by-wire and swing-wing aircraft, the Panavia Tornado. His other experiences include ditching a Firefly into the sea and the near loss of the first British Tornado prototype after a bird strike. Finally, after 6,000 flying hours in sixty different types of aircraft, Eagles finished his career by making the first flight of the EAP, the technology demonstrator for the new Eurofighter Typhoon. Vividly illustrated with photographs, documents and plans, this is a fascinating memoir of naval-flying and test-flying some of the world's most iconic fighters.

It was Christmas 1942 when eleven young women boarded the troopship Strathaird and braved the attentions of U-Boats in the deep Atlantic. Borrowing a cricketing phrase, they called themselves the First Eleven. But they were not the first to arrive at the Special Operations Executive's secret North African base near Algiers. Code-named Massingham, it was formed by SOE to spearhead subversion and sabotage in what Winston Churchill called 'the soft underbelly' of Europe. Massingham was hidden away at the Club des Pins, a former luxury resort nestling among pines next to a Mediterranean beach. By the time SOE had got to work, there was little luxury left. Setting the Med Ablaze tells the true stories of the men and women of Churchill's secret base. Its life was short. Less than two years after its formation, its job was done. But Massingham played a key role in the Allied offensive in the Mediterranean islands, Italy and France. If you enjoy historical nonfiction, this book is for you.

'An adrenalin-fuelled, gritty story of heroism on the frontline in Afghanistan' Andy McNab

The rounds were single shot from the same two enemy positions, trying to pick me off. They were kicking up the dirt around me. Then all hell broke loose as the gunship's Gatling vomited ammo right over my head. The sound was deafening. It was now or never. I got up and ran.

A captain in 29 Commando, Johnny Mercer served in the army for twelve years. On his third tour of Afghanistan he was a Joint Fires Controller, with the pressurized job of bringing down artillery and air strikes in close proximity to his own troops. Based in an area of northern Helmand that was riddled with Taliban leaders, he walked into danger with every patrol, determined to protect them. Then one morning, in brutal close quarter combat, everything changed . . .

In We Were Warriors Johnny takes us from his commando training to the heat, blood and chaos of battle. With brutal honesty, he describes what it is like to risk your life every day, pushing through the fear that follows watching your friends die. He took the fight back to the enemy with a relentless efficiency that came at a high personal cost. Back in the UK, seeing the inadequate care available for veterans and their families, he was inspired to run for Parliament in the hope he could improve their plight. Unflinching, action-packed and laced with wry humour, We Were Warriors is a compelling read.

Major General Rea Leakey was one of the Royal Tank Regiment's greatest heroes of the Second World War. As a young tank commander, he fought Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Western Desert of Egypt, before becoming trapped for six months in the siege of Tobruk and temporarily joining the Australian infantry as an honorary Lance Corporal. He later returned to the European theatre in 1944 and served as a Churchill tank commander in Normandy, the Rhine and Germany. Despite it being strictly forbidden, Leakey kept a diary throughout his soldiering career. Based on this valuable account, Leakey's Luck documents Leakey's wartime service in its entirety, and offers a view of the war through the eyes of a man who was there at the 'sharp end'. Many of his exploits were hair-raising, some even too fantastic to believe. Incredibly, Leakey's luck held out throughout the war, and he remained in the British Army until retirement in 1968.

Sprawling across the Pacific, this untold story follows the crew of the newly-built "vengeance ship" USS Astoria, named for her sunken predecessor lost earlier in the war. At its center lies U.S. Navy Captain George Dyer, who vowed to return to action after suffering a horrific wound. He accepted the ship's command in 1944, knowing it would be his last chance to avenge his injuries and salvage his career. Yet with the nation's resources and personnel stretched thin by the war, he found that just getting the ship into action would prove to be a battle. Tensions among the crew flared from the start. Astoria's sailors and Marines were a collection of replacements, retreads, and older men. Some were broken by previous traumatic combat, most had no desire to be in the war, yet all found themselves fighting an enemy more afraid of surrender than death. The reluctant ship was called to respond to challenges that its men never could have anticipated. From a typhoon where the ocean was enemy to daring rescue missions, a gallant turn at Iwo Jima, and the ultimate crucible against the Kamikaze at Okinawa, they endured the worst of the final year of the war at sea. Days of Steel Rain brings to life more than a decade of research and firsthand interviews, depicting with unprecedented insight the singular drama of a captain grappling with an untested crew and men who had endured enough amidst some of the most brutal fighting of World War II. Throughout, Brent Jones fills the narrative with secret diaries, memoirs, letters, interpersonal conflicts, and the innermost thoughts of the Astoria men-and more than 80 photographs that have never before been published. Days of Steel Rain weaves an intimate, unforgettable portrait of leadership, heroism, endurance, and redemption.

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.

A former senior mujahidin figure and an ex-counter-terrorism analyst cooperating to write a book on the history and legacy of Arab-Afghan fighters in Afghanistan is a remarkable and improbable undertaking. Yet this is what Mustafa Hamid, aka Abu Walid al-Masri, and Leah Farrall have achieved with the publication of their ground-breaking work. The result of thousands of hours of discussions over several years, The Arabs at War in Afghanistan offers significant new insights into the history of many of today's militant Salafi groups and movements. By revealing the real origins of the Taliban and al-Qaeda and the jostling among the various jihadi groups, this account not only challenges conventional wisdom, but also raises uncomfortable questions as to how events from this important period have been so badly misconstrued.

'A reminder that every childhood is different, and some are jaw-droppingly, mind-bendingly, heart-wrenchingly different.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate Deng Adut was six years old when war came to his village in South Sudan. Taken from his mother, he was conscripted into the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. He was taught to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. Shot in the back, plagued by illness and the relentless brutality of war, Deng's future was bleak. A child soldier must kill or be killed. But, after five years, he was rescued by his brother John and, miraculously, they became the third Sudanese family resettled in Australia. Songs of a War Boy is the inspirational memoir of a young man who has overcome unthinkable adversity to become a lawyer, refugee advocate and NSW Australian of the Year. It is also an important reminder of the power of compassion. Content warning: Parts of this book contain confronting material that might cause distress to some readers. For ages 12+