Afghanistan was an unwinnable war. As British and American troops withdraw, discover this definitive account that explains why.

It could have been a very different story. British forces could have successfully withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2002, having done the job they set out to do: to defeat al-Qaeda. Instead, in the years that followed, Britain paid a devastating price for their presence in Helmand province.

So why did Britain enter, and remain, in an ill-fated war? Why did it fail so dramatically, and was this expedition doomed from the beginning? Drawing on unprecedented access to military reports, government documents and senior individuals, Professor Theo Farrell provides an extraordinary work of scholarship. He explains the origins of the war, details the campaigns over the subsequent years, and examines the West’s failure to understand the dynamics of local conflict and learn the lessons of history that ultimately led to devastating costs and repercussions still relevant today.

‘The best book so far on Britain’s…war in Afghanistan’ International Affairs

‘Masterful, irrefutable… Farrell records all these military encounters with the irresistible pace of a novelist’ Sunday Times

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There can be no doubt that military conflict between France and England dominated European history in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Hundred Years War is of considerable interest both because of its duration and the number of theatres in which it was fought.

Drawing on the latest research for this new edition, Hundred Years War expert Professor Anne Curry examines how the war can reveal much about the changing nature of warfare: the rise of infantry and the demise of the knight; the impact of increased use of gunpowder and the effect of the war on generations of people.

Updated and revised for the new edition, with full-colour maps and 50 new images, this illustrated introduction provides an important reference resource for the academic or student reader as well as those with a general interest in late medieval warfare.

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‘[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
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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.
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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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‘No dry history, Mosquito reads like a thriller… this outstanding book is hard to put down… Unreservedly recommended’ Aviation Historian

‘White immerses the reader in the action from the first page. A must read choice for total aviation people everywhere’ Flight International

‘A captivating history… Rowland White uses the history of these operations to weave stories of courage and fortitude into the story of a great machine’ Daily Telegraph
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Built of lightweight wood, powered by two growling Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, impossibly aerodynamic, headspinningly fast and armed to the teeth, the de Havilland Mosquito was the war-winning wonder that should never have existed: the aircraft the RAF didn’t think it wanted then couldn’t do without.

Flying on operations barely eighteen months after a single prototype was ordered off the drawing board, it was the answer to its pilots’ prayers: a stunningly versatile warplane capable of leaving the Luftwaffe in its wake to attack when and where the enemy was least expecting it.

Excelling as a spyplane, night-fighter and pathfinder for Bomber Command’s heavies the Mossie’s reputation was cemented by a series of daredevil bombing raids across occupied Europe, including on Berlin itself, where only surprise, speed and precision could ensure success.

So when Churchill’s top secret Special Operations Executive needed to destroy the Gestapo HQ in the centre of downtown Copenhagen to prevent a devastating Nazi last stand that might prolong the war for many months, there was only one machine for the job – the Mosquito.

This is the story of that legendary aircraft told through that one impossible mission.

Like Rowland White’s previous books, Mosquito is an unputdownable mix of utterly compelling storytelling, incredible human stories and fascinating technological detail, which sheds never-before-told light on a pivotal mission that helped bring the war to its bloody and brutal close.
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Praise for Mosquito

‘Wonderful detail, intricate research and most importantly, powerful & moving human testimony, ensure the reader is gripped from the first page to the last by this incredible story’ John Nichol

‘Stunning… This is history as it should be written: adrenaline-charged, exciting, impeccably and painstakingly researched with a cast of vividly-drawn characters. Riding through it is among the greatest, most extraordinarily brilliant aircraft of them all: the Mosquito. One of the most gripping works of history I’ve ever read’ James Holland

‘Weaving together the story of its evolution with vivid accounts of the crews that flew it and the Special Operations Executive on the ground, Mosquito is both a tribute to the finest aircraft Britain produced during the war and a page-turning thriller about its use as the world’s first precision aerial weapon’ Tom Petch, author of Speed Aggression Surprise: The Secret Origins of the SAS

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