• The Laws of Alfred: The Domboc and the Making of Anglo-Saxon Law (Studies in Legal History)

    Alfred the Great’s domboc (‘book of laws’) is the longest and most ambitious legal text of the Anglo-Saxon period. Alfred places his own laws, dealing with everything from sanctuary to feuding to the theft of bees, between a lengthy translation of legal passages from the Bible and the legislation of the West-Saxon King Ine (r. 688–726), which rival his own in length and scope. This book is the first critical edition of the domboc published in over a century, as well as a new translation. Five introductory chapters offer fresh insights into the laws of Alfred and Ine, considering their backgrounds, their relationship to early medieval legal culture, their manuscript evidence and their reception in later centuries. Rather than a haphazard accumulation of ordinances, the domboc is shown to issue from deep reflection on the nature of law itself, whose effects would permanently alter the development of early English legislation.

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    £21.80
  • The London DMS

    08
    Vilified as the great failure of all London Transport bus classes, the DMS family of Daimler Fleetline was more like an unlucky victim of straitened times. Desperate to match staff shortages with falling demand for its services during the late 1960s, London Transport was just one organization to see nationwide possibilities and savings in legislation that was about to permit double-deck one-man-operation and partially fund purpose-built vehicles. However, prohibited by circumstances from developing its own rear-engined Routemaster (FRM) concept, LT instituted comparative trials between contemporary Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines.The latter came out on top, and massive orders followed. The first DMSs entering service on 2 January 1971.In service, however, problems quickly manifested. Sophisticated safety features served only to burn out gearboxes and gulp fuel. The passengers, meanwhile, did not appreciate being funnelled through the DMS’s recalcitrant automatic fare-collection machinery only to have to stand for lack of seating. Boarding speeds thus slowed to a crawl, to the extent that the savings made by laying off conductors had to be negated by adding more DMSs to converted routes!Second thoughts caused the ongoing order to be amended to include crew-operated Fleetlines (DMs), noise concerns prompted the development of the B20 quiet bus variety, and brave attempts were made to fit the buses into the time-honored system of overhauling at Aldenham Works, but finally the problems proved too much. After enormous expenditure, the first DMSs began to be withdrawn before the final RTs came out of service, and between 1979 and 1983 all but the B20s were sold as is widely known, the DMSs proved perfectly adequate with provincial operators once their London features had been removed.OPO was to become fashionable again in the 1980s as the politicians turned on London Transport itself, breaking it into pieces in order to sell it off. Not only did the B20 DMSs survive to something approaching a normal lifespan, but the new cheap operators awakening with the onset of tendering made use of the type to undercut LT, and it was not until 1993 that the last DMS operated.

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    £9.50
  • The London Underground, 1968-1985: The Greater London Council Years

    01
    LONDON’S HISTORIC, iconic Underground railway system in the period from 1968 to 1985 was a very different place to what it is in the 2020s. Much of its rolling stock dated from before World War Two, and with the exception of the new Victoria Line and the isolated Woodford to Hainault shuttle, trains were all two-person operated as the 1970s dawned. Transport photographer Jim Blake recorded most of the system on film before it would change forever, concentrating on the older rolling stock as well as other items of interest due for replacement or modernisation, during this period when, regrettably, London Transport was often starved of much-needed funds by central government. The eminently sensible transfer of overall control of London’s buses and Underground system to the city-wide Greater London Council at the beginning of 1970 was snatched away by the Thatcher regime in 1984, after which things rapidly went downhill. This book covers the years of GLC control, including the months prior to their taking charge in order to set the scene. Many rare and unusual scenes are included in this volume, especially of the then still basically intact portion of the uncompleted Northern Line extension between Drayton Park and Highgate, which had been so close to completion when work was halted during the war, but then abandoned in the early 1950s, incurring much wasted work and expenditure. For anyone with a serious interest in London’s Underground, this book is essential reading, including as it does many pervious unpublished photographs.

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    £20.00£23.80
  • The Long War for Britannia 367–664: Arthur and the History of Post-Roman Britain

    03

    This history of early medieval Britain sheds light on the real King Arthur and settles longstanding historical misconceptions about the period.

    The Long War for Britannia examines some two centuries of ‘lost’ British history, while providing decisive proof that the early records of the time are far more reliable than many scholars believe. Historian Edwin Pace also demonstrates that King Arthur and Uther Pendragon are the very opposite of medieval fantasy—even if different British regions had very different memories of these post-Roman British rulers.

    Some remembered Arthur as the ‘Proud Tyrant’, a monarch who plunged the island into civil war. Others recalled him as the British general who saved Britain when all seemed lost. The deeds of Uther Pendragon replicate the victories of the dread Mercian king Penda. Pace demonstrates how these authentic—yet radically different—narratives have distorted the historical record in way that persist today.

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    £2.80
  • The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy: A Story of Resistance, Courage, and Solidarity in a French Village

    04
    The fateful days and weeks surrounding 6 June 1944 have been extensively documented in histories of the Second World War, but less attention has been paid to the tremendous impact of these events on the populations nearby. The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy tells the inspiring yet heartbreaking story of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in defense of liberty and freedom. On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms. These villagers – predominantly women – provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers’ equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers. In this moving book, historian Stephen G. Rabe, son of one of the paratroopers, meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history.

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    £14.30£19.00
  • The Mammoth Book of the Vietnam War (Mammoth Books)

    08

    By 1969, following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, over 500,000 US troops were ‘in country’ in Vietnam. Before America’s longest war had ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, 450,000 Vietnamese had died, along with 36,000 Americans. The Vietnam War was the first rock ‘n’ roll war, the first helicopter war with its doctrine of ‘airmobility’, and the first television war; it made napalm and the defoliant Agent Orange infamous, and gave us the New Journalism of Michael Herr and others. It also saw the establishment of the Navy SEALs and Delta Force. At home, America fractured, with the peace movement protesting against the war; at Kent State University, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students, killing four and injuring nine.

    Lewis’s compelling selection of the best writing to come out of a war covered by some truly outstanding writers, both journalists and combatants, includes an eyewitness account of the first major battle between the US Army and the People’s Army of Vietnam at Ia Drang; a selection of letters home; Nicholas Tomalin’s famous ‘The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong’; Robert Mason’s ‘R&R’, Studs Terkel’s account of the police breaking up an anti-war protest; John Kifner on the shootings at Kent State; Ron Kovic’s ‘Born on the Fourth of July’; John T. Wheeler’s ‘Khe Sanh: Live in the V Ring’; Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh on the massacre at My Lai; Michael Herr’s ‘It Made You Feel Omni’; Viet Cong Truong Nhu Tang’s memoir; naval nurse Maureen Walsh’s memoir, ‘Burning Flesh’; John Pilger on the fall of Saigon; and Tim O’Brien’s ‘If I Die in a Combat Zone’.

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    £11.40£12.30
  • The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)

    06
    This vivid facsimile of Blake’s romantic and revolutionary publication offers a concise expression of his essential wisdom and philosophy. His distinctive hand-lettered text is accompanied by 27 color plates of his stirring illustrations.

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    £6.50£7.10
  • The Middle East: A Political History from 395 to the Present

    The Middle East, often referred to as the cradle of the three monotheisms, is saturated with symbolism. Situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it is a land marked by the rich confluence of religions and peoples.  It has also been the focal point of endemic tensions and conflicts, many of which stretch back into the mists of time. 

    In this new history of the Middle East, Jean-Pierre Filiu looks beyond religion and focuses his attention on the processes by which powers and their areas of domination were established over time.  His starting point is 395, the year when the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves: at that point, the Middle East emerged as a specific entity, freed from external domination, and a Christianity of the East asserted itself, turned towards Byzantium rather than towards Rome.  From this point on, Filiu follows a strictly Middle Eastern dynamic, tracing the rise and fall of powers linked to the three principal centres of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq and recounting the procession of empires, invasions, and assertions of imperialist ambition that have characterized the region since then.  The book closes in 2022, when the men and women of the Middle East were still struggling for the right to define their destiny by telling their stories in their own voices.

    This magisterial and up-to-date history of the Middle East will be essential reading for students and scholars and for anyone interested in the history and politics of one of the most important and contested regions of the modern world.

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    £23.70£28.50
  • The Military History of World War II

    Traces the origins and course of World War II across the globe, from the invasion of Poland to the destruction of Hiroshima. The book includes numerous contemporary photographs, as well as features and maps on particular aspects of the conflict and the military hardware used by both sides.

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    £0.40
  • The Mystery of Doggerland: Atlantis in the North Sea

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    A scientific exploration of the advanced ancient civilization known as Doggerland or Fairland that disappeared 5,000 years ago.

    New marine archaeological evidence has revealed the remains of a large land mass to the north of Britain that hosted an advanced civilization 1,000 years before the recognized “first” civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, or India. Remembered in Celtic legends as Tu-lay, and referred to by geologists as Doggerland or Fairland, this civilization began at least as early as 4000 BC but was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels, huge tsunamis, and a terrible viral epidemic released from melting permafrost during a cataclysmic period of global warming.

    Exploring the latest archaeological findings and recent scientific analysis of Doggerland’s underwater remains, Graham Phillips shows that this ancient culture had sophisticated technology and advanced medical knowledge. He looks at evidence detected with remote sensing and seismic profiling of many artificial structures, complex settlements, gigantic earthworks, epic monoliths, and huge stone circles dated to more than 5,500 years ago, preserved beneath the ground and on the ocean floor. He examines evidence of Doggerland’s high-temperature technology, showing how its people were able to melt solid rock to create vitrified structures far stronger than concrete, a technique that modern science cannot replicate. He looks at the small part of the Fairland land mass that still exists: Fair Isle, a tiny island some 45 miles north of the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Phillips shows how, when Fairland sank beneath the waves around 3100 BC, its last survivors traveled by boat to settle in the British Isles, where they established the megalithic culture that built Stonehenge.

    Revealing the vast archaeological evidence in support of the existence of Doggerland, as well as its threads of influence in early cultures around the world, Phillips also shows how the fate of this sophisticated ancient culture is a warning from history: the cataclysmic events that happened to the first civilizations could happen again as the world heats up.

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    £11.40£16.10
  • The Napoleonic Wars (1805 – 1815)

    The Napoleonic Wars (1805 – 1815) were an epoch of unprecedented upheaval and destruction that reshaped the landscape of the history of ancient France and the broader European continent. In this comprehensive book, we embark on a captivating journey through this tumultuous decade, offering a detailed exploration of the triumphs and tragedies that marked Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign as the self-crowned Emperor of the French.

    From the brilliance of Napoleon’s early victories, including his masterpiece at Austerlitz in 1805 and the smashing of Prussia at Jena in 1806, to the catastrophic invasion of Russia in 1812 and the bloodiest day at Borodino, we traverse the peaks and valleys of his fortunes. This narrative takes us through the horrors of the French occupation of Spain and Portugal, the great struggles of 1813, and Napoleon’s doomed defense of Paris in 1814. Along this historical voyage, we encounter moments of military genius and fatal blunders that left an indelible mark on the history of ancient France.

    The climax of this narrative occurs in 1815, where we bear witness to history’s most renowned generals meeting on the battlefield for the first and only time: Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, and the Duke of Wellington. The epic and brutal Battle of Waterloo unfolds, ultimately determining the fate of Europe.

    This book provides a comprehensive chronicle of the entire span of the Napoleonic Wars, from the zenith of Napoleon’s power in 1805 to his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. It is a compelling journey through one of the most captivating and tumultuous periods in history, interwoven with the grand campaigns, dramatic battles, and the rise and fall of an extraordinary leader, all set against the backdrop of the history of ancient France.

    Order your copy now!

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    £4.70
  • The Northern Rugby Football Union. The Birth of Rugby League. 1895 to 1922: The Birth of Rugby League 1895-1922

    05
    On Thursday 29th August 1895, 21 of the leading rugby union clubs of Lancashire and Yorkshire met at the George Hotel in Huddersfield to discuss their long running disagreement with the rugby football union. Little did they know what was to follow. The clubs decided that they had suffered enough of the control of the southern gentry and formed their own northern rugby football union and split from the rugby football union. It was the beginning of a dispute that would continue for almost a hundred years. The new northern union thrived, and many clubs soon joined, however, with little coherent strategy or assistance from the union, many folded within a few years. The stronger clubs and the union itself survived those initial chaotic times and continued to create the structure and competitions that have evolved to create the game of rugby league football we know today. This new book illustrates the birth of the northern union in 1895 to the 1922 name change to the rugby league with hundreds of rare images of the early teams and individuals who had the courage to take that enormous leap in the dark.

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    £12.20£14.20
  • The Opium Wars: A History From Beginning to End (History of China)

    08

    Discover the remarkable history of the Opium Wars…

    Free BONUS Inside!

    Violent confrontation between armed groups over the supply of illegal narcotics is something we commonly associate with criminal gangs in modern cities, but in the mid-nineteenth century Great Britain went to war with Imperial China in order to continue to supply Chinese addicts with opium. The two wars which followed have become known as the Opium Wars, and they led to the utter defeat of China, the establishment of a British colony in Hong Kong, and the continuation of a narcotics trade that was worth millions of pounds each year to the British.

    The Opium Wars exposed the weaknesses of the Chinese Qing dynasty in terms of its military abilities and internal corruption. They also exposed divisions in Victorian Britain where people were beginning to question the morality of going to war to support an illegal narcotics trade which caused misery and death for millions of Chinese. In the end, the British were able to overcome their reservations and prosecuted these two wars with great success. British casualties were small and the gains enormous—the British opium trade to China would continue for more than fifty years after the end of the Second Opium War.

    For the Chinese Qing dynasty, the Opium Wars marked the beginning of the end. Imperial China had endured for two thousand years, but within fifty years of the humiliations of the Opium Wars, a revolution overthrew the imperial court and turned China into a republic. Although they are little remembered today, the Opium Wars changed the face not just of China but also of the whole of Asia. This is the story of those wars.

    Discover a plethora of topics such as

    • The Joy Plant
    • Outbreak of the First Opium War
    • British Superiority and the Devil Ship
    • The Treaty of Nanking: First of the Unequal Treaties
    • The Inevitable Second Opium War
    • The Fall of Beijing
    • And much more!

    So if you want a concise and informative book on the Opium Wars, simply scroll up and click the “Buy now” button for instant access!

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    £1.90
  • The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (Oxford Handbooks)

    This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. It not only presents key information, but also explores the ways in which such information is gathered and the different approaches that have shaped the area. In doing so, the volume provides a crucial research and orientation tool for students of the ancient world, and also makes a vital contribution to the key debates surrounding the conceptualization of ancient Greek religion.

    The handbook’s initial chapters lay out the key dimensions of ancient Greek religion, approaches to evidence, and the representations of myths. The following chapters discuss the continuities and differences between religious practices in different cultures, including Egypt, the Near East, the Black Sea, and Bactria and India. The range of contributions emphasizes the diversity of relationships between mortals and the supernatural – in all their manifestations, across, between, and beyond ancient Greek cultures – and draws attention to religious activities as dynamic, highlighting how they changed over time, place, and context.

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    £28.50
  • The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (Oxford Illustrated History)

    08
    The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt is the only book available providing detailed historical coverage of Egypt from the early Stone Age to its incorporation into the Roman Empire. The lively essays and beautiful illustrations portray the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians covering the period from 700,000 BC to ad 311. The authors – each working at the cutting edge of their particular fields – outline the principal
    sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three so-called Intermediate Periods previously regarded as ‘dark ages’.

    Against the backdrop of the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, this Oxford History also examines cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature. The pace of change in such aspects of Egyptian culture as monumental architecture, funerary beliefs, and ethnicity was not necessarily tied to the rate of political change. Each of the authors has therefore set out to elucidate, in both words and pictures, the underlying patterns of social and political change, and
    to describe the changing face of ancient Egypt, from the biographical details of individuals to the social and economic factors that shaped the lives of the population as a whole.

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    £3.20
  • The Oxford History of the First World War

    bHistories you can trust./b

    The First World War, now a century ago, still shapes the world in which we live, and its legacy lives on, in poetry, in prose, in collective memory and political culture. By the time the war ended in 1918, millions lay dead. Three major empires lay shattered by defeat, those of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans. A fourth, Russia, was in the throes of a revolution that helped define the rest of the twentieth century.

    The Oxford History of the First World War brings together in one volume many of the most distinguished historians of the conflict, in an account that matches the scale of the events. From its causes to its consequences, from the Western Front to the Eastern, from the strategy of the politicians to the tactics of the generals, they chart the course of the war and assess its profound political and human consequences. Chapters on economic mobilization, the impact on women, the role of propaganda, and the rise of socialism establish the wider context of the fighting at sea and in the air, and which ranged on land from the trenches of Flanders to the mountains of the Balkans and the deserts of the Middle East.

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    £11.20£12.30
  • The Palace Papers: The Sunday Times bestseller

    08

    WITH AN EXCLUSIVE NEW CHAPTER FOR THE PAPERBACK EDITION

    The Amazon No.1 Bestseller
    The Sunday Times Bestseller

    THE ROYAL BOOK OF THE YEAR
    _________________________________

    ‘Eye-poppingly revealing. . . impeccable sources, historical heft and canny insights served up with a zingy wit. There are many royal biographers, but few as good as this. She turns gossip into the first draft of history.’ TELEGRAPH

    From the Queen’s stoic resolve to the crisis of Meghan and Harry. From the ascendance of Camilla and Kate to the downfall of Andrew. Full of remarkable inside access, The Palace Papers by Sunday Times bestselling author Tina Brown will change how you understand the Royal Family.

    ‘Clever, well-informed and disgustingly entertaining’ THE TIMES

    ‘There are royal books, and there are royal books. But The Palace Papers is in a genre of its own’ RADIO TIMES

    ‘Jaw dropping! What a book . . . if you ever want to feel like a fly on the wall of any of the palaces, this is it.’
    LORRAINE KELLY

    ‘Brown’s prose has the swoosh of an enjoyably OTT ballgown’ FINANCIAL TIMES

    ‘The world’s sharpish and best-informed royal expert’ PIERS MORGAN

    ‘Riveting and rigorous’ PANDORA SYKES

    ‘A witty, rip-roaring read . . . full off perceptive and witty observations’ i Newspaper

    ‘A rollicking ride through recent royal family history . . . Tina Brown’s sparkling prose and eye for detail enliven an entertaining exposé’ OBSERVER

    ‘The most explosive royal book of the year’ THE SUN

    ‘Gloriously irreverent, racily written and often very funny. The early chapters on the long affair between Prince Charles and Camilla read like a non-fiction version of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles’ NEW STATESMAN

    ‘A motherlode of delectable gossip . . . Brown has produced a work both scholarly and scandalous that makes us think about what the post-Elizabethan world may bring, alternately amusing and horrifying us along the way . . . vivid and richly-embroidered’ INDEPENDENT

    ‘The devil is in the delicious detail . . . Brown tackles her subjects with the same brio she brought to her years as a highly regarded magazine editor . . . Her access to those who flit around the royals gives her writing an edgy authenticity’ DAILY MAIL

    ‘Brown thrashes her way through absolutely everything that has happened to the family since the end of the last book in 1997 . . . Charles and Camilla are vividly brought to life in a series of well-researched stories and anecdotes’ SUNDAY TIMES

    ‘The Palace Papers is a sharp-nibbed observation of a generation of tumult for the House of Windsor, bookended by the deaths of Princess Diana and Prince Philip. It’s a story about media as much as monarchy, and it draws from almost every chapter in Brown’s career in journalism’ FINANCIAL TIMES

    ‘It’s hard to look away as Tina Brown delves into decades’ worth of royal scandals’ GUARDIAN

    ‘Utter brilliance . . . a rip-roaring read’ SCOTSMAN

    ‘A brilliant book. Tina Brown has inside knowledge and writes so well’ LADY ANNE GLENCONNER (author of Lady in Waiting)

    _________________________________

    ‘Never again’, became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Diana’s death. More specifically, there could never be ‘another Diana’ – a member of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone, and posed an existential threat to the British monarchy. Picking up where The Diana Chronicles left off, The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet.

    Tina Brown takes readers on a tour de force journey that shows the Queen’s stoic resolve as she coped with the passing of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother and her partner for seven decades, Prince Philip, and triumphed in her Jubilee years even as the family dramas raged around her. She explores Prince Charles’s determination to make Camilla his queen, the tension between William and Harry who are on ‘different paths’, the ascendance Kate Middleton, the disturbing allegations surrounding Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, and Harry and Meghan’s stunning decision to ‘step back’ as senior royals. Despite the fragile monarchy’s best efforts, ‘never again’ seems fast approaching.

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    £5.70£10.40
  • The Pathfinders: The Elite RAF Force that Turned the Tide of WWII

    04

    THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!

    Military History Matters Book of the Year Bronze Award Winner
    ‘Compelling… sensitive, colourful and moving’ — Saul David, Telegraph
    ‘Fascinating and utterly gripping’ — James Holland
    ‘Absorbing’ — Daily Mail Book of the Week

    The incredible story of the crack team of men and women who transformed RAF Bomber Command and helped the Allies deliver decisive victory over Nazi Germany.

    The Pathfinders were ordinary men and women from a range of nations who revolutionised the efficiency of the Allies’ air campaign over mainland Europe. They elevated Bomber Command – initially the only part of the Allied war effort capable of attacking the heart of Nazi Germany – from an impotent force on the cusp of disintegration in 1942 to one capable of razing whole German cities to the ground in a single night, striking with devastating accuracy, inspiring fear and loathing in Hitler’s senior command.

    With exclusive interviews with remaining survivors, personal diaries, previously classified records and never-before seen photographs, The Pathfinders brings to life the characters of the airmen and women – many barely out of their teens – who took to the skies in legendary British aircraft such as the Lancaster and the Mosquito, facing almost unimaginable levels of violence from enemy fighter planes to strike at the heart of the Nazi war machine.

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    £11.10£12.30
  • The Peloponnesian War

    The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is a timeless classic that has shaped the way we understand the past and the present. It is one of the earliest surviving works of history and a key source of information about the Peloponnesian War, which lasted from 431 to 404 BC. Thucydides was an Athenian general who witnessed the war firsthand and meticulously documented the events as they unfolded. In his work, he offers a fascinating account of the war from both sides, including detailed descriptions of battles, speeches and strategy. He even goes beyond the war’s military aspects, examining its social, economic and political ramifications. Ultimately, The Peloponnesian War serves as an invaluable record of a pivotal event in ancient Greek history and a timeless lesson on the power of human ambition. It has been studied and admired by scholars and students of history for centuries, and its insights remain relevant to this day. This edition utilizes the 1874 translation by Welsh academic Richard Crawley (1840-1893).

    Thucydides (c. 460 BC–c. 395 BC) was an Athenian historian and general whose work, History of the Peloponnesian War, is widely considered one of the most influential works of history in the Western tradition. Thucydides recounts the conflict between Sparta and Athens in the 5th century BC, and his account is noted for its level of detail and unbiased depiction of the events. His writing style is characterized by a combination of narrative and analysis, which has made his work the subject of much scholarly debate. As a historian, Thucydides was the first to document the causes and effects of the Peloponnesian War. He was also the first to use speeches and documents to explain events in a narrative form. His work provides insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece, as well as the origins of democracy and war. Thucydides also wrote a brief autobiography, which offers insight into his life and his motivations for writing the History of the Peloponnesian War. In addition to his writing, Thucydides was an active participant in the Peloponnesian War itself. He served as an Athenian general and was involved in the siege of Amphipolis. He was subsequently exiled from Athens for his role in the failed expedition. Thucydides also had a long and distinguished military career, serving in several campaigns and as an advisor to the Athenian government. The legacy of Thucydides has endured for centuries. His work is still widely read and studied, and his analysis of the Peloponnesian War is the basis of much of our understanding of the period. Thucydides is considered one of the most influential historians of all time, and his work is essential reading for those interested in the history of Greece and the ancient world.

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    £11.60
  • The Peloponnesian War (Oxford World’s Classics)

    08
    ‘The greatest historian that ever lived’

    Such was Macaulay’s verdict on Thucydides (c.460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War, the momentous struggle between Athens and Sparta as rival powers and political systems that lasted for twenty-seven years from 431 to 404 BC, involved virtually the whole of the Greek world, and ended in the fall of Athens. Thucydides himself was a participant in the war; to his history he brings an awesome intellect, brilliant narrative, and penetrating analysis of the nature of power, as it affects both states and individuals.

    Of his own work Thucydides wrote: ‘I shall be content if [my history] is judged useful by those who will want to have a clear understanding of what happened – and, such is the human condition, will happen again … It was composed as a permanent legacy, not a showpiece for a single hearing.’ So it has proved. Of the prose writers of Greece and Rome Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. This new edition combines a masterly translation with comprehensive supporting material.
    ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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    £10.40
  • The Price of Politics

    02
    A Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist and author of All the President’s Men traces the behind-the-scenes battle between President Barack Obama and Congress over the nation’s economics. (This book was previously listed in Forecast.)

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    £15.70£22.70

    The Price of Politics

    £15.70£22.70
  • The Pussers Cook Book: Traditional Royal Navy recipes

    08
    This is the revised and updated edition of The Pussers Cook Book

    • recipes
    • Dits
    • tidbits
    • facts
    • memoriesThe Pussers Cook Book contains many of the most popular and loved traditional dishes served in the Royal Navy’s Galleys from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s.
      Some of these dishes are being served on the ships and shore bases of today’s modern navy, although some have been slightly altered and others given, let’s say, more politically correct names.
      Woven between the recipes in this book are true facts and tidbits about the food, the cooks and general life aboard ship.
      Along with the recipes, this book aims to preserve a segment of British history, Royal Navy social history, which is fading all too quickly and would otherwise be lost in the grey sea-mists of oblivion.

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    £14.00
  • The Queen’s Diamonds

    08
    This book is the first authorised account of the history of the finest diamond jewellery in the world. It tells the story of the magnificent royal inheritance of diamonds from the time of Queen Adelaide in the 1830s to the present day. Illustrated with a wide range of archive material as well as extensive new photography of the jewels, this fully researched publication includes stones of international importance as well as pieces of great historic significance, and will be a standard work of reference on diamond jewellery for many years to come.

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    £83.80£118.80

    The Queen’s Diamonds

    £83.80£118.80
  • The RAF’s Armourers: Safely Making Aircraft Dangerous Since the First World War

    01
    It is said that one of the earliest trades in the world is that of the Armourer. Historically, it is a profession dated slightly after prostitution, but well before banking! Since the birth of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 through to the modern Royal Air Force, the role of the Armourer has been pivotal. Not for nothing did the founder of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, once declare: The Armourer – without him there is no need for an air force.’ In the years since the need for RAF Armourers was first recognised, it has been a role that has evolved with the times. What has remained constant, however, is the fact that it is still a fascinating and potentially dangerous trade with many different branches and specialisms. In this book the authors, one of whom, Tony Lamsdale, is himself a former RAF Armourer, reveal the previously untold story of how the trade has adapted to the most modern of military machines, the aircraft. The authors look at the shared history of the Armourer and the RAF through the eyes of those who served. These veterans’ stories span decades, and their first-hand accounts and insights into conflict and peace-time operations demonstrate the qualities and characteristics that make Armourers unique. The book starts with a brief history of the Armourer, then before capturing the adventures and exploits of RAF Armourers from the Second World War and on into the Cold War. The dangerous duties of the Armourers on deployment in such places as the Falklands, Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan are all explored. There is also the question of having to learn of bomb dumps, the use of small arms and the unique world of the Armourer with its own peculiar language and the camaraderie of the crew room. With each chapter brought to life through personal anecdotes and shared experiences, this book provides an insight into an utterly essential role which has remained largely hidden – until now.

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    £20.30£26.60
  • The Real Odessa: How Nazi War Criminals Escaped Europe

    08

    ‘Powerful and gripping… Goñi [is] impressively relentless: leaving no discoverable stone unturned’ Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline

    As Russian forces closed in on Berlin, and Hitler’s regime drew to a close, many Nazi officials began to organize their escape from Germany. Thanks to an international effort – which included the enthusiastic support of the Vatican and President Juan Perón – they were able to evade justice, and found refuge in Argentina.

    In this startling, meticulously researched account, acclaimed author Uki Goñi unravels the complex network that protected these fugitives, revealing the ‘ratline’ that allowed Adolf Eichmann – the architect of the ‘Final Solution’ – Josef Mengele, Erich Priebke, and many more to escape Europe. Both compelling and revelatory, this remarkable investigation sheds vital light on a disquieting period in Europe’s history.

    This revised edition includes a new foreword by the author, new interviews, and a comprehensive list of the Nazi and European World War Two criminals who fled to Argentina.

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    £11.30£14.20
  • The Red Roses: Behind the Scenes with the England Women’s Rugby Team

    In January 2019, England’s Red Roses became the first fully-professional women’s rugby team in the world with one mission: win back the Rugby World Cup. In 2017, they lost the final 41-32 against New Zealand. With the 2021 tournament delayed by one year due to Covid, the team had five years to complete their mission and over three years as a fully professional side. As a professional unit, the Red Roses developed a game plan so forensic and impenetrable, they secured the longest winning streak in rugby union history.

    The Red Roses headed into the 2021 Rugby World Cup as clear favourites. After a clean sweep in the pool stages, and big wins in the knock-out games, England faced New Zealand, the hosts, in the final. One year before, England had defeated them with record-breaking score lines on consecutive weekends and all eyes were on Sarah Hunter, England captain, with the expectation she would lift the trophy.

    Yet in the final play of the game, New Zealand stole the victory so many saw as promised to England. The Red Roses will host the Rugby World Cup in 2025, and the stakes have never been higher. Can they finally win back the trophy?

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    £16.10
  • The Religion of the Apostles: Orthodox Christianity in the First Century

    01

    Father Stephen De Young, creator of the popular The Whole Counsel of God podcast and blog, traces the lineage of Orthodox Christianity back to the faith and witness of the apostles, which was rooted in a first-century Jewish worldview. The Religion of the Apostles presents the Orthodox Christian Church of today as a continuation of the religious life of the apostles, which in turn was a continuation of the life of the people of God since the beginning of creation.

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    £16.10£18.00
  • The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last WWII Veterans, Told Through an M1 Garand

    04
    It all started because of a rifle.

    The Rifle is an inspirational story and hero’s journey of a 28-year-old U.S. Marine, Andrew Biggio, who returned home from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, full of questions about the price of war. He found answers from those who survived the costliest war of all — WWII veterans.

    It began when Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, to honor his great uncle, a U.S. Army soldier who died on the hills of the Italian countryside. When Biggio showed the gun to his neighbor, WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Drago, it unlocked memories Drago had kept unspoken for 50 years. On the spur of the moment, Biggio asked Drago to sign the rifle. Thus began this Marine’s mission to find as many WWII veterans as he could, get their signatures on the rifle, and document their stories.

    For two years, Biggio traveled across the country to interview America’s last-living WWII veterans. Each time he put the M1 Garand Rifle in their hands, their eyes lit up with memories triggered by holding the weapon that had been with them every step of the war. With each visit and every story told to Biggio, the veterans signed their names to the rifle. 96 signatures now cover that rifle, each a reminder of the price of war and the courage of our soldiers.

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    £12.20£14.20
  • The Ritz London: The Cookbook

    08

    AS SEEN ON TV

    As featured on ITV’s ‘Inside the Ritz’ series

    ‘When you look at the dishes in this book, the photographs – it’s beyond beautiful. You wouldn’t need to cook a thing. You could just flick through these pages – it is a proper feast for the eyes.’ ­- Graham Norton

    ‘As sumptuous as Williams’s exquisite cooking, this is a magnificent volume. And a fitting tribute to one of the world’s great restaurants. The recipes aren’t simple but this is one of those books to immerse yourself in. Five-star brilliance.’ – Tom Parker Bowles, Mail on Sunday

    ‘Less a classic cookbook than a contemporary guide to gracious living… Subdividing its contents into four seasons, each is introed with a classic cocktail, and there are contributions from The Ritz’s stellar staff. But really this is Williams’s show, a masterclass in munificence…’ – British GQ

    ‘A real tour de force … Definitely the stand-out recipe book of the year for me.’ – The Caterer

    ‘John Williams’s food at the Piccadilly institution is revered. Now it has brought out the cookbook so you can recreate the magic at home.’ – ES Magazine

    ‘Part technical recipe book, part memoir. There are Williams’s memories of growing up in South Shields, the son of a trawlerman, who accompanied his mother on shopping trips to the butcher and developed a precocious taste for tripe and Jersey Royals. As for the recipes, certain classics are within the range of the dinner-party cook (salt-baked celeriac, for instance, or venison Wellington).’ – Telegraph

    ‘A work of art, full of recipes exactly as they are made in the Ritz kitchen, beautifully photographed by John Carey. Marvel at the sheer amount of work and skill that goes into each dish, the processes and the perfectionism – and maybe start with the recipe for scones on page 112.’ – hot-dinners.com

    ‘… As an exemplar of classic and timeless dishes, it is an invaluable book that lets the reader peer behind the screen of one of the capital’s most enduring institutions. For Williams’ anecdote on the eating habits of the late Margaret Thatcher, it is worth the cover price alone.’ – Big Hospitality

    ‘Distinctive cookbook… This upscale offering is wholly in keeping with its subject: elegant, carefully studied, and more aspirational than practical.’ – Publishers Weekly

    The Ritz: The Quintessential Cookbook is the first book to celebrate recipes of the dishes served today, at lunch and at dinner. The book features 100 delicious recipes, such as Roast scallops bergamot & avocado, Saddle of lamb belle époque and Grand Marnier Soufflé, and is divided into the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

    The recipes reflect the glorious opulence and celebratory ambience of The Ritz; seasonal dishes of fish, shellfish, meat, poultry and game. Desserts include pastries, mousses, ice creams and spectacular, perfectly-risen soufflés. There are recipes that are simple and others for the more ambitious cook, plus helpful tips to guide you at home.

    Along the way, John Williams shares his culinary philosophy and expertise. For any cook who has wondered how they do it at The Ritz, this book will provide the answers. There will be plenty of entertaining tales about the hotel and unique glimpses of London’s finest kitchen beneath ground.

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    £28.50£38.00
  • The Royal Marines: 1664 to the present: History of the Royal Marines 1664-2000

    03

    A unique Corps, recruited as soldiers but trained to serve at sea, the Royal Marines are the recognized experts in amphibious warfare, possessors of an invaluable combination of military and naval skills. Despite their ability to survive the most hostile environments, however, the institutional survival of the Royal Marines has often been in doubt. Their curious existence, between land and sea services, has placed them in danger of disbandment by those anxious to cut defence costs. They have survived by their willingness to undertake almost any job – as the first garrison of Australia, ship’s butchers, immaculate naval bandsmen – and do it better than anyone else. Always at the forefront, they trained as fusiliers, with flintlock muskets when other infantry still carried matchlocks. Marines made the first heli-borne assault at Suez in 1956 and in the 1960s switched overnight from jungle warfare to duty in Arctic waters.

    This absorbing book, revealing the story behind the Marines’ historical fortitude and gallantry, is published to tie in with the bi-centenary of the service receiving the distinction ‘Royal’, and with the twentieth anniversary of the Falklands War.

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    £5.30
  • The Royal Navy and Fishery Protection: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present

    From the first recorded mention of British ships protecting of fishing vessels in the late fourteenth century through to recent controversies over the change in emphasis to border patrols and overseas deployments, the story of the Royal Navy’s ‘Cinderella Fleet’ involves many dramatic incidents; until now, however, there has never been a book dedicated to the subject. Naval historian Jon Wise’s new work will rectify this omission. Historically there have been two main reasons why protecting fishing vessels was so important: first, fish have always constituted an essential part of the nation’s diet while, secondly, fishermen have been an important source of skilled personnel for the Royal Navy itself. It is claimed that the Fishery Protection Squadron (FPS) is the oldest in the fleet, pre-dating the formal creation of the Navy itself in the early part of the sixteenth century, yet it still remains comparatively little-known. The Squadron’s most famous operations were the ‘Cod Wars’ of 1958–76, but for six centuries it has been engaged in the many important tasks of protection and policing of fishing fleets, though more recently it has turned its attention to patrolling oil and gas fields, overseeing quotas and sustainability, and policing the ongoing disagreements over who can fish where and when. The author covers subjects as diverse as the battles with the Dutch for dominance in the North Sea, the protection of fishing on the eastern seaboard of America, and the role of the Squadron in the two World Wars. Containing many first-hand accounts, this thought-provoking narrative will be of particular interest to all those RN personnel who have served in the Squadron, and is set to become the definitive account of this vital but often unsung component of Britain’s naval forces, and its impact on national life.

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    £20.00£23.80
  • The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966-1990: Retreat and Revival

    The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966-1990: Retreat and Revival is the first book to cover this subject in depth for more than thirty years. With unique access to primary, archival sources, Edward Hampshire offers important and fascinating insights into the naval dimension of the Cold War.

    During the period covered by this new book the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this remarkable period, the Navy had rarely been so focused on a single theater of war-the Eastern Atlantic-but also rarely so politically vulnerable.

    The author sets out to analyze shadowing operations and confrontations at sea with Soviet ships and submarines; the Navy’s role in the enormous NATO and Warsaw Pact naval exercises that acted out potential war scenarios; individual operations from the Falklands and the 1990-91 Gulf War to the Beira and Armilla patrols; the development of advanced naval technologies to counter Soviet capabilities; policy-making controversies as the three services fought for resources-including the controversial 1981 Nott defense review; and what life was like in the Cold War navy for ratings and officers. The book, the first to cover this subject in depth for more than thirty years, will make use of the full range of archival sources that have been publicly available over the last two decades, but of which little use has been made by historians.

    This work is destined to become a definitive naval history of the period. It also provides a fascinating and gripping narrative of a navy under threat from many directions but which survived and eventually prospered, winning a remarkable victory in the far South Atlantic more than seven thousand from its expected battleground in the North Atlantic. Written for a wide audience, this book will appeal to professional and enthusiast alike.

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    £53.00
  • The Royal Navy Officer’s Pocket-Book

    08

    “”The art of command is.to be the complete master, and yet the complete friend of every man on board; the temporal lord and yet the spiritual brother of every rating; to be detached and yet not dissociated.’
    A Seaman’s Pocket-Book, 1943′, has found huge appeal with the British public. Presented in the same format, the Officer’s Handbook gathers together useful advice and instruction for those naval officers fighting the Second World War on all aspects of their job, expressed in the benevolent language of the day, when authority was respected.
    The Handbook has been compiled and edited by Brian Lavery, who provides commentary and an introduction. Sections include: the Officer’s Aid Memoire containing notes of the training course at one of the officer training schools; Notes for medical officers and treatment of battle casualties afloat; Notes for captains on taking command of their first ship; Notes for commanding officers; Notes on the handling and safety of ships and notes on dealing with disobedience and mutiny.
    While suffused with nostalgia and charm, the various contents of this book are an authentic presentation of matters of training, authority and deportment in the wartime navy. The book is sure to appeal not only to those who served in the war or had a relative who was in the officer class, but also to anyone who wants to gain a greater understanding of the day-to-day administration of the wartime navy.

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    £7.60£9.50
  • The Russian Conquest of Central Asia: A Study in Imperial Expansion, 1814–1914

    01
    The Russian conquest of Central Asia was perhaps the nineteenth century’s most dramatic and successful example of European imperial expansion, adding 1.5 million square miles and at least 6 million people – most of them Muslims – to the Tsar’s domains. Alexander Morrison provides the first comprehensive military and diplomatic history of the conquest to be published for over a hundred years. From the earliest conflicts on the steppe frontier in the 1830s to the annexation of the Pamirs in the early 1900s, he gives a detailed account of the logistics and operational history of Russian wars against Khoqand, Bukhara and Khiva, the capture of Tashkent and Samarkand, and the bloody subjection of the Turkmen, as well as Russian diplomatic relations with China, Persia and the British Empire. Based on archival research in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and India, memoirs and Islamic chronicles, this book explains how Russia conquered a colonial empire in Central Asia, with consequences that still resonate today.

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    £34.20
  • The Sale of the Late King’s Goods: Charles I and his Art Collection

    08

    `So wonderful and glorious a collection, that the like will never again be met with.’ This is how one awed and wistful observer described King Charles’ artworks. As an acquirer of paintings by Europe’s great masters and patron of Rubens and Van Dyck, Charles’s extravagance in amassing his collection only exacerbated the parliamentary disapproval that led to civil war and the King’s own execution. After his death, one of the Commonwealth’s first decrees was to sell off his treasures to raise money for the new regime. After the Restoration, one of Charles II’s first resolutions was to get the collection back.

    Jerry Brotton tells the remarkable story of the king and his pictures: their acquisition, dispersal and eventual recovery. He reveals a world in which diplomats doubled as art dealers, and in which the king’s plumber could be temporary owner of Bassano’s The Flood. This is a vivid portrait of a tragic king and his decadent court, set against the backdrop of political conflict and civil war, which also offers a new and compelling perspective on art and the evolution of collecting in England.

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    £3.20
  • The Savage Storm: The Heroic True Story of One of the Least told Campaigns of WW2

    08

    ‘[A] captivating and dramatic account. . . Drawn from letters and diaries, Holland’s immersive narrative is told through the eye-level perspectives of dozens of subjects. Readers will be enthralled’ Publishers Weekly

    ‘Tells the story of the hard, bloody, muddy fighting that filled the rest of 1943… this excellent book reinforces Holland’s reputation as the busiest and most popular military historian of the second world war working today’ Spectator

    ‘A remarkable achievement by a historian at the height of his powers. Holland has successfully illustrated both the signi­ficance and the savagery of the Italian campaign… through a powerful and compelling narrative’ Military History Matters
    _____________________

    From the bestselling author of Brothers in Arms comes the story of the most pivotal Allies campaign of World War II.

    With the invasion of France the following year taking shape, and hot on the heels of victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed into Southern Italy in September 1943. They expected to drive the Axis forces north and be in Rome by Christmas. And although Italy surrendered, the German forces resisted fiercely and the swift hoped-for victory descended into one of the most brutal battles of the war.

    Even though shipping and materiel were already being safeguarded for the D-Day landings, there were still huge expectations on the progress of the invading armies, but those shortages were to slow the advance with tragic consequences. As the weather closed in, the critical weeks leading up to Monte Cassino would inflict a heavy price for every bloody, hard fought mile the Allied troops covered.

    Chronicling those dark, dramatic months in unflinching and insightful detail, The Savage Storm is unlike any campaign history yet written. James Holland has always recounted the Second World War at ground level, but this version telling brings the story vividly to life like never before. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other incredible documents, Holland traces the battles as they were fought – across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end, frigid cold and relentless rain – putting readers at the heart of the action to create an entirely fresh and revealing telling of this most pivotal phase of the war.
    _____________________

    Praise for James Holland

    ‘Impeccably researched and superbly written’ Observer
    ‘Holland has something new to say…. Filled with insight and detail’ Neil Oliver
    ‘James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians’ Sebastian Faulks

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    £9.50£23.80
  • The Sea Kingdoms: The History of Celtic Britain and Ireland

    08

    A journey from Shetland to Cornwall reveals – gloriously – the nature and history of the Celts.

    ‘I have travelled south from Stornoway through all the Hebrides to Ulster, to Galloway, to the Isle of Man, southern and western Ireland. I can report that there is such a place as Celtic Britain, that it shares a common culture, an intimately related history and strikingly similar geography. The story of Celtic Britain can be found in these places.’

    The Sea Kingdoms is a narrative history based on a journey from Shetland, down the west coast of Scotland taking in the Isle of Man and the Outer Hebrides, across to Ireland, back to Anglesey and the west Welsh coast, back to Ireland again and finally Cornwall. The heart of the book is the journey from which Moffat strays into the oral histories, legends and known events of the Celts and their past. Its narrative soaked in legend and myth and sensuality, tragedy and gore. In Moffat’s masterful hands,all these apparently disparate stories, fragments of history and myth come together to give the most powerful representation yet of the race who have repeatedly changed history as we know it.

    Ranging between pre-history and the present, with much inbetween – The Sea Kingdoms tells the story of a people, stretched down 1,000 miles of coastline that has to be Britain’s richest and most ancient. It also tells the story of the sea itself, which has more than anything shaped the Celtic character.

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    £28.50
  • The Seaside: England’s Love Affair

    08

    “…a fascinating barometer of the state of the nation right now, in the wake of austerity, Brexit and Covid.” – Travis Elborough

    England’s seaside is made up of a striking variety of coastlines including cliffs, coves, pebbled shore, wide sandy beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries cutting deep inland. On these coastal edges England’s great holiday resorts grew up, developed in the early eighteenth century originally as spas for medicinal bathing but soon morphing into places of pleasure, entertainment, fantasy and adventure.

    Acclaimed writer Madeleine Bunting journeyed clockwise around England from Scarborough to Blackpool to understand the enduring appeal of seaside towns, and what has happened to the golden sands, cold seas and donkey rides of childhood memory. Taking in some forty resorts, staying in hotels, caravans and holiday camps, she swims from their beaches and talks to their residents to delve into their landscapes, histories and contemporary plight.

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    £11.90£19.00
  • The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm

    03
    Winston Churchill’s six-volume history of the Second World War.

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    £16.60£18.00
  • The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945

    04

    ‘The Ministry of Defence does not comment upon submarine operations’ is the standard response of officialdom to enquiries about the most secretive and mysterious of Britain’s armed forces, the Royal Navy Submarine Service. Written with unprecedented co-operation from the Service itself and privileged access to documents and personnel, The Silent Deep is the first authoritative history of the Submarine Service from the end of the Second World War to the present. It gives the most complete account yet published of the development of Britain’s submarine fleet, its capabilities, its weapons, its infrastructure, its operations and above all – from the testimony of many submariners and the first-hand witness of the authors – what life is like on board for the denizens of the silent deep.

    Dramatic episodes are revealed for the first time: how HMS Warspite gathered intelligence against the Soviet Navy’s latest ballistic-missile-carrying submarine in the late 1960s; how HMS Sovereign made what is probably the longest-ever trail of a Soviet (or Russian) submarine in 1978; how HMS Trafalgar followed an exceptionally quiet Soviet ‘Victor III’, probably commanded by a Captain known as ‘the Prince of Darkness’, in 1986. It also includes the first full account of submarine activities during the Falklands War. But it was not all victories: confrontations with Soviet submarines led to collisions, and the extent of losses to UK and NATO submarine technology from Cold War spy scandals are also made more plain here than ever before.

    In 1990 the Cold War ended – but not for the Submarine Service. Since June 1969, it has been the last line of national defence, with the awesome responsibility of carrying Britain’s nuclear deterrent. The story from Polaris to Trident – and now ‘Successor’ – is a central theme of the book. In the year that it is published, Russian submarines have once again been detected off the UK’s shores. As Britain comes to decide whether to renew its submarine-carried nuclear deterrent, The Silent Deep provides an essential historical perspective.

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    £17.10£19.00

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