From the earliest days of organized warfare, the military establishment have been anxious to find weapons with more firepower than the enemy. Inevitably, this led to the production of repeating weapons which were capable of a degree of sustained fire with out reloading. Based largely upon original research, this book examines the development of these repeating and multi-fire weapons, beginning with the Chinese repeating crossbow in the 4th century BC, and ending with the most common firearm on Planet Earth, the Kalashnikov AK-47, the ultimate example of the ""Woolworth's"" gun. Historical developments involving this type of firearm are also discussed, including: the role of the machine gun in the Great War, the development of the self-loading pistol and the role of the sub-machine gun in improving the firepower of the infantryman in combat.

The fate of Richard III's nephews, Edward V and Richard of York, who disappeared after his coronation in 1483, remains controversial centuries after Thomas More's history and Shakespeare's play laid the blame on their conniving uncle. Later writers, unconvinced of the king's guilt, have tried (with little success) to portray him as an innocent victim of Tudor propaganda, pointing instead to a number of unlikely culprits, including Henry Tudor and the Duke of Buckingham. This book sifts through the available evidence concerning the fate of the two boys. The author examines the facts, discusses who may or may not have known key information and offers a reasoned solution to the question, What really happened to the two princes?

Britain's peacekeeping role in Southeast Asia after World War II was clear enough but the Commonwealth's purpose in the region later became shadowy. British involvement in the wars fought in Vietnam between 1946 and 1975 has been the subject of a number of books-most of which focus on the sometimes clandestine activities of politicians-and unsubstantiated claims about British support for the United States' war effort have gained acceptance. Drawing on previously undiscovered information from Britain's National Archives, this book discusses the conduct of the wars in Vietnam and the political ramifications of UK involvement, and describes Britain's actual role in these conflicts: supplying troops, weapons and intelligence to the French and U.S. governments while they were engaged in combat with Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnamese.