This fascinating collection of letters traces the exchanges between a young subaltern on the front, Gerard ‘Ged’ Garvin, and his mother and father at home. Correspondence was eagerly awaited by all. Ged savored letters home like ‘Jim Hawkins trickling the doubloons through his fingers’. Equally, his mother and father at home were always fearful that each letter they received would be the last. In a letter J. L. Garvin sent to his son 21 July 1916 he wrote: ‘Of course there’s no fresh lette...

Von Kluck saw active military service at an early age during the Seven Weeks' War of 1866 and, in 1870-71, the Franco-Prussian War. Rising through the army, he became inspector general of the Seventh Army District in 1913.During the First World War von Kluck commanded the German First Army, notably in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against Paris at the start of the war in August 1914. An aggressive commander, von Kluck's impatience (at the request of Second Army commander von Bulow - who wa...

‘The enemy has got to be fought everywhere and hard...Everything is going very well indeed and no one minds the losses as long as we are moving.’The never-before-published papers of General Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow provide a remarkable insight into the mindset of the Great War commanders. Despite being severely injured during the first Battle of the Marne – when his horse fell and rolled over him, cracking his pelvis – Snow served at some of the most important battles of the Western ...

In the period covered here (1960–75) Isaiah Berlin creates Wolfson College, Oxford; John F. Kennedy becomes US President (and is assassinated); Berlin dines with JFK on the day he is told of the Soviet missile bases in Cuba; the Six-Day Arab–Israeli war of 1967 creates problems that are still with us today; Richard M. Nixon succeeds Johnson as US President and resigns over Watergate; and the long agony of the Vietnam War grinds on in the background.At the same time Berlin publishes...

Between 1933 and 1945, more than 500,000 German citizens resisted the Nazi government. Many were imprisoned for political crimes which included both active attempts to remove Hitler from office and passive attempts to oppose the Nazi regime. Resistance was found among university students, churches and even in the German military.This fascinating and compelling history of the German resistance covers groups and methods from underground newspapers such as "Rote Kapella" and "Internal...

This thrilling account of WWII espionage by the former French secret service chief chronicles an Allied spy's actions in the German Cipher Office.A spy for the French Secret Service during World War II, Hans-Thilo Schmidt was embedded in the nerve center of the Third Reich. From deep within Hitler's most sensitive operations, Schmidt created an intelligence network between France, Poland, and England. In The Spy in Hitler's Inner Circle, France's former se...

The harrowing memories of 358 Holocaust survivors—from the ghettos to the concentration camps. “One of the most important books of our time.” —National ArchivesIn the shouted words of a woman bound for Auschwitz to a man about to escape from a cattle car, “If you get out, maybe you can tell the story! Who else will tell it?”These are the true, insider stories of victims, told in their own words. They include the experiences of teenagers who saw the...

“An entertaining yet highly accurate guide to this larger-than-life royal dynasty” (Claire Ridgway, author of The Fall of Anne Boleyn).From the bloody Wars of the Roses to Queen Elizabeth I’s iconic rule, the Tudor Dynasty was a fascinating period of English history—and monarchs such as Henry VIII have become a part of modern pop culture, appearing in endless TV shows, novels, and movies, as well as parodies and satires. After all these centuries, how do y...

"The story of one of the most heroic fighter aces of the Second World War . . . has been brought to life in this gripping new book." —Lancashire Living MagazineAir Commodore Peter Malam "Pete" Brothers CBE, DSO, DFC, and Bar (1917-2008) was one of the most highly praised pilots of the Second World War. Decorated extensively, he secured a total of 16 "kills" over the course of the conflict, with 10 of these occurring during the Battle of Britain. Pivotal moments in h...

New York Times bestseller: A “detailed and informed” look at the history and tactics of the global terror group—and how to defeat it (Richard Engel, from the foreword).ISIS—the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—has taken on the mantle of being the single most dangerous terrorist threat to global security since al-Qaeda. In Defeating ISIS, internationally renowned intelligence veteran and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance gives an insider’s view ...

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers unveils the history you were never taught at school. With a breath-taking sweep spanning Rome to the modern day, popular historian and author Dominic Selwood challenges the traditional version of some of the best-known events of the past. From ancient Christianity to the voyages of Columbus, and from the medieval Crusades to ISIS and the modern Middle East, this book debunks dozens of historical myths.You will learn that:– Magna Carta was an inf...

Captivity, Slavery and Survival as a Far East POW is the incredibly moving story of Gus Anckorn, a British soldier who was captured by the Japanese and held for over three and a half years. Before the war, Gus was a magician and throughout the war, entertained both fellow soldiers and Japanese guards with his tricks.Gus has a brilliant sense of humor and a 'tell it as it is' attitude which got him into a number of scrapes with both the Japanese and his own side. He has a remarkable humilit...