Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.497.non-fictionOn a wet afternoon in September 1938, Neville Chamberlain stepped off an aeroplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had averted the greatest crisis in recent memory. It was, he later assured the crowd in Downing Street, 'peace for our time'. Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. This is a vital new history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Nazi domination of Europe. Drawing on previously unseen sources, it sweeps from the advent of Hitler in 1933 to the beaches of Dunkirk, and presents an unforgettable portrait of the ministers, aristocrats and amateur diplomats whose actions and inaction had devastating consequences.great britain - politics and government - 1936-1945, great britain - diplomatic history

Index, notes, references, ill, p.554.A brilliant insight into Britain's atomic scientists during the war from the Costa Award-winning author of The Strangest Man .world war 1939 – 1945 – science – britain, atomic bomb - great britain

Index, notes, bibliography, ill, p.421.non-fictionMarking the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, Boris Johnson explores what makes up the 'Churchill Factor' - the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. Taking on the myths and misconceptions along with the outsized reality, he portrays - with characteristic wit and passion-a man of multiple contradictions, contagious bravery, breath-taking eloquence, matchless strategizing, and deep humanity. Fearless on the battlefield, Churchill had to be ordered by the King to stay out of action on D-Day; he pioneered aerial bombing, yet hated the destruction of war and scorned politicians who had not experienced its horrors. He was a celebrated journalist, a great orator and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was famous for his ability to combine wining and dining with many late nights of crucial wartime decision-making. His open-mindedness made him a pioneer in health care, education, and social welfare, though he remained incorrigibly politically incorrect. Most of all, as Boris Johnson says, 'Churchill is the resounding human rebuttal to all who think history is the story of vast and impersonal economic forces'. THE CHURCHILL FACTOR is a book to be enjoyed not only by anyone interested in history: it is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what makes a great leader.great britain - politics and government - 1936-1945, winston churchill - biography

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.224.non-fictionWas the man in Spandau prison Rudolf Hess? This book unravels the mysteryhess rudolf - 1894-1987, conspiracy theories

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.337.Having already drawn both praise & controversy, this main selection for the Military Book Club continues to generate discussion among scholars & readers. Though histories of World War II are abundant, few of them examine the critical errors in Hitler's approach to the war that finally led to German defeat. Joining the ranks of "counterfactual" histories like the bestseller What If?, How Hitler Could Have Won World War II clearly shows what the consequences would have been for Hiltler, the Axis, & the world if he had chosen differently.world war 1939-1945 - germany - military strategy, adolf hitler - military leadership

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.361.non-fictionAfter 1933, as the brutal terror regime took hold, most of the two-thirds of Germans who had never voted for the Nazis - some 20 million people - tried to keep their heads down and protect their families. They moved to the country, or pretended to support the regime to avoid being denounced by neighbours, and tried to work out what was really happening in the Reich, surrounded as they were by Nazi propaganda and fake news. They lived in fear. Might they lose their jobs? Their homes? Their freedom? What would we have done in their place? Many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist, in the full knowledge that they could be sentenced to indefinite incarceration, torture or outright execution. Catrine Clay argues that it was a much greater number than was ever formally recorded: teachers, lawyers, factory and dock workers, housewives, shopkeepers, church members, trade unionists, army officers, aristocrats, Social Democrats, Socialists and Communists. germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, germany - anti nazi movements

Index, notes, ill, p.699.non-fictionMemoirs of the man who was appointed as the head architect and minister of armaments and war production for the Nazi government.germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, albert speer - autobiography

Index, notes, map, p.267.non-fictionThe classic account of Hitler's fall from power, first pubilshed in 1947, reissued with a striking new cover. In September 1945 the fate of Adolf Hitler was a complete mystery. He had simply disappeared, and had been missing for four months. Hugh Trevor-Roper, an intelligence officer, was given the task of solving the mystery. His brilliant piece of detective work not only proved finally that Hitler had killed himself in Berlin, but also produced one of the most fascinating history books ever written. The Last Days of Hitler tells the extraordinary story of those last days of the Thousand Year Reich in the Berlin Bunker. Besieged in the shattered capital, but still dominating the remains of his court, Hitler reiterated the original alternative of Nazism: either total victory or annihilation. This book is the record of that carefully prepared, ceremonious finale to a terrible chapter of history. World War II. Military History. Nazi Germany. germany - politics and government - 1933-1945, adolf hitler - death and burial

Ill, p.113.non-fictionA French teenagers account of life during the German occupation.france - german occupation - 1940-1945, jewish teenagers - france - 1940-1945

Index, bibliography, illv, map, p.303.non-fictionA history of the participation of the International brigades during the Spanish civil warcivil war - spain - 1936-1939, civil war - spain - foreign participation

Glossary, maps, p.236.non-fictionWinchester travels in a scimitar-shaped journey through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegreo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece to Turkey. He names his route the Fracture Zone, because this locale marks not only the meeting of two vast continental tectonic plates, perpetrators of geological chaos, but also the uneasy boundary between two great historical empires, the Hapsburg and the Ottoman." "The Fracture Zone weaves together history, travel and political perspective with the personal testaments of ordinary and extraordinary people. In this record of history, hatred and ruin, Simon Winchester details the conditions under which the area's refuges now live against a background of ancient political and spiritual strugglebalkan peninsula - history, balkan peninsula - travel

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.164.non-fictionThe colourful story of Australia's first military intervention in Asiaboxer rebellion - china - 1899-1901, royal navy - colonial forces - australia

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.329.non-fictionAn account of United States involvement in China from 1784-1942united states navy - china yangtze patrol., united states - diplomatic history

Index, bibliography, ill, p.286non-fictionA history of the involvement of Commonwealth forces in the Korean war.korean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - commonwealth forces

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.301.non-fictionJust as the Battle of Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Confederacy's bid for secession, the Chinese offensive launched at Wonju was the high point from which China's hopes for victory soon faded. This is the first book to show that after fifteen days of combat at Wonju, Chinese leaders realized that they could not win the war and could possibly lose it. On this not particularly well-known battlefield, UN forces led by brave U.S. and South Korean fighting men ensured South Korean independence. These battles reinvigorated the UN war effort, thanks in no small part to the leadership of the U.S. Eighth Army's new commander, Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway. J. D. Coleman's comparison between the pivotal battles of Wonju and Gettysburg is original and thought provoking.korean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - battle of wonju

Ill, p.64.non-fictionThe first virtually all-jet war, the conflict in Korea saw F-86 Sabres of the USAF take on MiG-15s of the North Korean and Chinese air forces. Although the Allied pilots were initially taken aback by the ability of the communist fighter in combat, sound training and skilful leadership soon enabled Sabre pilots to dominate the dogfights over the Yalu River. In all 39 F-86 pilots achieved ace status, and a number of these are profiled in this volume, as are notable pilots from the US Navy, Marine Corps and Royal Navy and, for the first time, the handful of MiG-15 aces.korean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - aerial combat

Ill, p.286non-fictionIn April 1951, at the height of the Korean War, Chinese troops advanced south of the 38th parallel towards a strategic crossing-point of the Imjin River on the invasion route to the South Korean capital of Seoul. The stand of the 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, against the overwhelming numbers of invading troops has since passed into British military history. In The Edge of the Sword General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, then Adjutant of the Glosters, has painted a vivid and accurate picture of the battle as seen by the officers and soldiers caught up in the middle of it. The book does not, however, end there. Like the majority of those who survived, the author became a prisoner-of-war, and the book continues with a remarkable account of his experiences in and out of Chinese prison camps. This book is not an attempt at a personal hero-story, and it is certainly not a piece of political propaganda. It is, above all, an amazing story of human fortitude and high adventure. korean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - campaigns - gloucestershire regiment

Index, ill, maps, p.680.non-fictionUsing oral testimony, the author constructs an account of the first seven months of the warkorean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - personal recollections

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.1107.non-fictionReaching back into the long history of invasion, occupation and colonization in the region, Robert Fisk sets forth information in a way that makes clear how a history of injustice "has condemned the Middle East to war." He lays open the role of the West in the seemingly endless strife and warfare in the region, traces the growth of the West's involvement and influence there over the past one hundred years, and outlines the West's record of support for some of the most ruthless leaders in the Middle East. He chronicles the ever-more-powerful military presence of the United States and tracks the consequent, increasingly virulent anti-Western - and particularly anti-American - sentiment among the region's Muslim populationsmiddle east - history - 20th century, middle east - international involvement - 20th century

p.160.non-fictionA critical account of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982israel - politics and government, israel - invasion of lebanon

Bibliography, ill, maps, p.47.non-fictionA brief review of the background to the invasion of Iraq by the USA in 1991middle east - politics and government, operation desert shield

Ill, p.320.non-fictioniraq war - personal narratives, iraq war - battle of fallujah

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.309.non-fictionA history of the conflict between Iraq and Iran know as the first gulf wariran iraq war - 1980-1988, persion gulf - strategic aspects

Ill, p.128.non-fictionA history of operation desert shield in 1991operation desert shield 1991, iraq - kuwait conflict

Index, bibliography, notes, p.304.non-fictionThis book looks at what the Gulf war tells us about Australia - its society, its politics and its policies abroad.australia - foreign relations, gulf war - australian involvement

Ill, p.548.non-fictionThe exploits of private Johnson Beharry during the invasion of Iraq in 2003iraq war 2003 - personal narratives, johnson beharry

Ill, map, p.352.non-fictionJim Molan is the Australian General who served in Iraq with the Coalition during 2004-05. Initially, under General Ricardo Sanchez, he worked on infrastructure: trying to restore/maintain the provision of water, power and rail services. Under General George W. Casey, he became Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Operations with the Multi National Forces Iraq and ran the operations for all the US and Coalition forces assigned to the Iraqi area of operations. He had to interact with the new interim Iraqi government, bringing the political, diplomatic, information, economic and reconstruction sectors into line with the military side. In this book he describes his background and military career, but focuses on describing key aspects of his time in Iraq.australian army - iraq war - 2003, iraq war - personal narratives

Index, ill, maps, p.256.This book presents an international perspective on the military, operational and technological aspects of the gulf war together with political, foreign policy and strategic considerationsgulf war 1991, middle east - political considerations

Notes, maps, p.325.non-fictionIn one of the boldest gambles in modern military history, just three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of 5 million people and, in three bloody days of combat, ended the Iraqi war. Thunder Run is the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad - one of the most decisive battles in American combat history - by the Spartan Brigade, the Second Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanizediraq war 2003, iraq war - us involvement

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.249.non-fictionAn illustrated account of the Gulf War written by two Australian Middle East specialists with contributions from experienced journalists who covered the war. Includes extracts from reports filed by ABC correspondents in Washington, Moscow, London and the Middle East, and an appendix of key documents.iraq kuwait crisis 1990-1991, operation desert shield