With the security services under resourced for the demands now being placed upon them, the Government have decided, as a temporary measure, to recruit some suitably experienced former Senior NCOa s to fulfil this role. As they are to have a slightly different role from that of MI5 and Special Branch they are to be referred to as the a Praetoriansa which of course was the name given to the elite guard given to those protecting the Roman Generals in ancient times. In the following story we follow the adventures of one of these men as he endeavours to protect his Minister both here in the United Kingdom and on her journeys overseas.

The Darwin Raiders is the story of the surviving members of the Royal Marine detachment from a British Cruiser sunk by a Japanese submarine on its way from Singapore to Australia. When they are rescued and taken to Darwin they fully expect to be eventually returned to England, but they are to be given another role. They are to be used as small landing parties to carry out raids on the Japanese held islands in the Dutch East Indies. To do this they are transported there by submarine and have soon established a reputation for their ability to strike hard and then make a rapid withdraw. Later they are used to supply arms and ammunition to the Anti-Japanese Army landing these vital supplies on the west coast of Malaya. Then they spent time with these men sometimes for a month or so helping to blow up bridges and railway lines and in doing so becoming quite friendly, but as the war reaches its end and once more Malaya is free from its invader a political battle looms on what debt is owed to these jungle fighters with Chin Peng their leader making all sorts of demands.

In Defence of the Realm the matter of returning Jihadist fighters to this country has created a political storm. Despite the majority of these men, and some women, having valid British passports, their return could spell danger. It was in these difficult circumstances that MI5, and 6 worked together to bring these people to court before they could cause damage. In this story we follow the adventures of several of these agents as they carry out their task, frequently travelling abroad in what are still war zones to interview these suspects who are detained there. In wartime, life has little value, and only by bringing peace, and stability to these afflicted countries will it regain its true worth.

In A Conflict of Interest we follow the further adventures of Mark Ordish alias Alpha One Zero. He is still with the Kurdish Peshmerga Brigades, but this time they are working with Iraqi forces in capturing villages still in ISIS hands in their approach to Mosul. In the assult on Mosul the Kurds for political reasons are excluded from the main attack, and are tasked to seal any escape avenue to the north. To Mark, and his American colleague the various interests of the surrounding countries is only delaying the inevitable, but this is the frustration, and dangers that they face along with suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices. This books is dedicated to all Royal Marines - past, present and future.

The ancient city of Petra was devastated by a violent earthquake in 363 AD. It had been built by the Nabataeans some thirteen hundred years before. It had been fashioned from threee red sand stone ridges and some of the temples they constructed still partially survive today. Our story concerns the adventures of four archaeologists, who have been invited by the Jordanian Government to look through the ruins and see what they can uncover. A Jewish theologian is also there but he pursues a life time ambition to find the last resting place of Moses. He believes that with Moses is alos entombed the Ark of the Covenant, which is said to contain the tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Read on and enjoy some of the history of the past that is about to be incovered and some that perhaps is not.

In Alpha One Zero we follow the adventures of an MI6 field agent embedded with the fierce Kurdish fighters at first in northern Iraq and then in Syria. His task is to collect intelligence from all quarters and forward it to London via Baghdad. This often involves searching the bodies of dead Isis fighters whose bodies are wired up to improvised explosive devices. He is partnered in this mission by an agent from American SIS and later with a female agent from the CIA. Each day of this long drawn out mission is filled with danger some of it from unexpected sources. In war there is success and tragedy sadly as almost equal partners, read on.

In the year 2009, the Brazilian Government, responding to criticism over the deforestation of vast areas of the Amazon Rain Forrest, announced a replanting programme. That year aerial photographs were taken to see how this was progressing. Copies of the photographs were sent to different interested countries and one found its way to the British Museum in London. This particular photograph showed the area in the Boco do Acre region of western Brazil near the Peruvian border. Copies of this photograph were given to their group of senior students to study and one very sharp-eyed student spotted something that leads us to this story, read on.

In 'The Guardians' we follow the reactions of the British Government to the attacks in Paris on the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish supermarket. Their concern, of course, is of repeat attacks in Great Britain and, in particular, on the vulnerable junior Government ministers who do not have police protection. With each Government department anxious not to increase its spending, providing extra protection would be costly. It is decided to recruit recently-retired members of the armed forces, mainly with the rank of sergeant and with active front-line experience in Afghanistan. Fifty would be initially required, with a reserve of another fifty, all placed on a twelve-month contract that could be extended.

In 'The Call for Duty' we follow the adventures of an MI6 agent in Afghanistan, the Ukraine and a number of Middle East countries where a life is cheap and often rather short. The agent is Mark Taylor, a former Royal Marine who, for a good deal of the time is tactically embedded with a Universal News team which is partly a front for a CIA operation. Death and destruction are their companions as they follow the instructions of their governments in reporting the result of their policies in these areas of conflict. Despite having a healthy contempt for all politicians, the agents' loyalty to their country is never in question nor is their sense of duty, read on.

In 1532 Francisco Pizarro, the leader of the Spanish Conquistadors, arrived by sea in the land of the Incas with a small army to subjugate the region and send what riches he found there back to Spain. Pizarro and his two brothers were fearsome warriors, and his first act was to capture the Inca Emperor Atahuallpa and demand a ransom of twenty-four tons of gold. The ransom was paid, but Pizarro strangled the Emperor anyway. The most prized and revered object the Incas had was a solid-gold statue of Inti the Sun god, seen by the Inca people as the giver and supporter of all life. It had to be protected from the Spanish looters and so twenty young men and two high priests from the temple in Cuzco spirited away the one-ton solid-gold statue to a place of safety. Later, one of the surviving high priests left a series of clues and it is here, almost five hundred years later that our story begins."

In The Years to Remember we follow the fortunes of one British family struggling to survive in the early years of the last war. In spite of the bombing and the threat of invasion Jack and Dolly Foster took great care of their two children throughout these dreadful times. We witness the children's early school days and their formative years until the war ends. The focus then switches mainly to their son Mike as he leaves school and takes up his first employment, he then becomes eligible for National Service and another adventure really begins.

The pyramids and the magnificent Sphinx built over two thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ have fascinated people for years. And when information is uncovered suggesting a queen's pyramid deliberately constructed at her wish in a place where the sands of the desert would hide it forever, the search is on. And later the intrepid searchers would turn their attention to the mysterious Sphinx and what could really lay beneath those giant paws.

In August 1945 the Japanese in Malaya finally surrendered. The Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army, who were largely Communist, emerged from the jungle to make claim on the promises given them by the British and Malayan authorities.They were to be disappointed. The pre-war ban on the Communist Party in Malaya continued and the promise of land and money in recognition of their brave service failed to be honoured.After three years of frustration they returned to the jungle now calling themselves the Malayan Races Liberation Army. They started to blow up bridges, ambush roads and abduct local businessmen, many of whom were murdered.In 1948, a state of emergency was declared and British and Commonwealth Troops entered the jungle to kill or capture their former allies. This proved no easy task, for their enemy had been well trained during the war by British instructors.The emergency or 'The Undeclared War' lasted until 1960, when the remnants of the terrorists finally accepted an amnesty.The novel 'Jungle Haven' is the sequel to that of 'Strange Alliance'. The story restarts in July 1952 as the book's two main characters, Royal Marines Sgt Major Jim Muir and Sgt Peter Blake, are coming to the end of their unit's two-year stint fighting the terrorists. They have just completed their last patrol and are about to prepare for the move to Singapore then onward to Malta in the troopship Dilwara.

Tall, handsome, fit, muscular and tanned, Peter Rhodes is the epitome of what every marine should be. His dedication to the Royal Marine Corps and the protection of Crown and Country is second to none, and the solemn Oath of Allegiance he undertook upon joining the corps is kept permanently close to his heart. In this gripping tale of adventure, conflict and engagements (both military and personal) we follow Rhodes as he moves up the ranks and learns new skills, earning many medals along the way. Posted to Malaysia and the Mediterranean, our hero sees plenty of action and comes up against hostile enemies of all kinds. His success on the battlefield is matched only by his prowess in the bedroom and his many steamy encounters make for stimulating reading. The most beautiful of the women he meets, Julie, is destined to become his wife and the mother of his two children, with his son fated to follow in his father's esteemed footsteps, joining the hallowed ranks of the Royal Marines as Peter Rhodes looks back over a distinguished career and an eventful life.

This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.

There is no European society whose modern history has been more deeply marked by disasters, both natural and social, than has Italy’s. Disasters whether epidemics, earthquakes, floods, war, or terrorism—test the social fabric and the political system to their limits, as survival and rebuilding draw on the deepest cultural reserves. This book brings together new research on all aspects of the Italian experience of disaster from unification to the present day. It book is a significant contribution both to the understanding of Italian history, and to the study of the impact of disasters on society.

This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.

This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.

Inorganic and organometallic polymers feature many attractive properties that are useful for the design of diverse functional materials. Emphasising concepts that inform polymer design, synthesis and applications, readers of this book will gain a complete understanding of the introduction to inorganic and organometallic polymer science that will further their studies in materials science, chemistry and engineering. The first chapter lays down the core concepts that the book builds from, including polymerisation and naming conventions. It also reveals why some organometallic polymers are better suited than organic polymers in certain applications. Subsequent chapters discuss the chemistry of metals in particular the transition metals as they relate to polymer properties, before walking the reader through in-depth chapters on synthesis, structure, properties, characterization, and examples of inorganic and organometallic polymers. The final chapter presents applications of these polymers in diverse fields ranging from biomedicine, energy to catalysis. Worked examples and exercises are provided at the end of each chapter to assist students in assessing their understanding of these concepts, and journal references are included to direct students to published literature related to inorganic and organometallic polymers. Ideal for lecturers teaching a one semester advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in polymer science, as well as for self-study researchers and industrial chemists that are working with polymers, this book provides the user with a complete and expert grounding to the field.