Robert the Bruce had himself crowned King of Scots at Scone on a frozen March morning in 1306. After years of struggle, Scotland had been reduced to a vassal state by Edward I of England and its people lived in poverty. On the day he seized the crown Bruce renewed the fight for Scotland's freedom, and let forth a battle cry that would echo through the centuries. Using contemporary accounts, Ronald McNair Scott tells the story of Scotland's legendary leader, and one of Europe's most remarkable medieval kings. It is a story with episodes as romantic as those of King Arthur, but also one which belongs in the annals of Scottish History, and has shaped a nation.

It's hard to imagine a history of British engineering without Rolls-Royce: there would be no Silver Ghost, no Merlin for the Spitfire, no Alcock and Brown. Rolls-Royce is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. But what of the man who designed them? The youngest of five children, Frederick Henry Royce was born into almost Dickensian circumstances: the family business failed by the time he was 4, his father died in a Greenwich poorhouse when he was 9, and he only managed two fragmented years of formal schooling. But he made all of it count. In Sir Henry Royce: Establishing Rolls-Royce, from Motor Cars to Aero Engines, acclaimed aeronautical historian Peter Reese explores the life of an almost forgotten genius, from his humble beginnings to his greatest achievements. Impeccably researched and featuring almost 100 illustrations, this is the remarkable story of British success on a global stage.

1314. On a marsh-fringed plain south of Stirling Castle, King Robert the Bruce led the Scottish army in a singularly devastating victory over the English. Bannockburn was Scotland's greatest battlefield triumph, achieved against the odds by a combination of brilliant tactical leadership and the fatal overconfidence of the English King, Edward II. On the 700th anniversary of the battle, Peter Reese's definitive history shines a spotlight on this pivotal moment in Scottish History and considers the wider implications of this momentous victory.

Why did the British, then the leading nation in science and technology, fall far behind in the race to develop the aeroplane before the First World War? Despite their initial advantage, they were overtaken by the Wright brothers in America, by the French and the Germans. Peter Reese, in this highly readable and highly illustrated account, delves into the fascinating early history of aviation as he describes what happened and why. He recalls the brilliant theoretical work of Sir George Cayley, the inventions of other pioneers of the nineteenth century and the daring exploits of the next generation of airmen, among them Samuel Cody, A.V. Roe, Bertram Dickson, Charles Rolls and Tommy Sopwith. His narrative is illustrated with a wonderful selection of over 120 archive drawings and photographs which record the men and the primitive flying machines of a century ago.

In 1945 confidence in British aviation was sky-high. Yet decades later, the industry had not lived up to its potential. What happened? The years that followed the war saw the Brabazon Committee issue flawed proposals for civil aviation planning. Enforced cancellations restricted the advancement of military aircraft, compounded later on by Defence Minister Duncan Sandys abandoning aircraft to fixate solely on missiles. Commercially, Britain's small and neglected domestic market hindered the development of civilian airliners. In the production of notorious aircraft, the inauspicious Comet came from de Havilland's attempts to gain an edge over its American competitors. The iconic Harrier jump jet and an indigenous crop of helicopters were squandered, while unrealistic performance requirements brought about the cancellation of TSR2. Peter Reese explores how repeated financial crises, a lack of rigour and fatal self-satisfaction led British aviation to miss vital opportunities across this turbulent period in Britain's skies.