A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'The best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date' Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny'A page-turning descent into Hell and back . . . this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021' Dr Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire_______________________________The largest military operation in history. The turning point of the Second World War. The most important year of the twentieth century.Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake -- rather than any action in Western Europe -- that lost Hitler the Second World War.Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated Russian sources, Jonathan Dimbleby puts Barbarossa in its proper place in history for the first time. From its origins in the ashes of the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe, and covering the military, political and diplomatic story from all sides, he paints a full and vivid picture of this monumental campaign whose full nature and impact has remained unexplored.Written with authority and humanity, Barbarossa is a masterwork that transforms our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century._______________________________'Superb. . . stays with you long after you have finished' Henry Hemming, bestselling author of Our Man in New York'A chilling account of war at its worst' Bear Grylls Read more

16 MILLION COPIES SOLD'A book to read, to cherish, to debate, and one that will ultimately keep the memories of the victims alive' John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped PyjamasA prominent Viennese psychiatrist before the war, Viktor Frankl was uniquely able to observe the way that both he and others in Auschwitz coped (or didn't) with the experience. He noticed that it was the men who comforted others and who gave away their last piece of bread who survived the longest - and who offered proof that everything can be taken away from us except the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. The sort of person the concentration camp prisoner became was the result of an inner decision and not of camp influences alone. Frankl came to believe man's deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose. This outstanding work offers us all a way to transcend suffering and find significance in the art of living. Read more

One of the most remarkable stories in the history of Special Forces' operations - Daily Express In the bleak moments after defeat on mainland Europe in winter 1939, Winston Churchill knew that Britain had to strike back hard. So Britain's wartime leader called for the lightning development of a completely new kind of warfare, recruiting a band of eccentric free-thinking warriors to become the first 'deniable' secret operatives to strike behind enemy lines, offering these volunteers nothing but the potential for glory and all-but-certain death. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare tells the story of the daring victories for this small force of 'freelance pirates', undertaking devastatingly effective missions against the Nazis, often dressed in enemy uniforms and with enemy kit, breaking all previously held rules of warfare. Master storyteller Damien Lewis brings the adventures of the secret unit to life, weaving together the stories of the soldiers' brotherhood in this compelling narrative, from the unit's earliest missions to the death of their leader just weeks before the end of the war. Read more

***Winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year award*** ***Selected as one of Barack Obama's Favourite Books of 2023*** 'Pulse quickening. A nonfiction thriller - equal parts The China Syndrome and Mission Impossible' New York Times An epic account of the decades-long battle to control the world's most critical resource—microchip technology Power in the modern world - military, economic, geopolitical - is built on a foundation of computer chips. America has maintained its lead as a superpower because it has dominated advances in computer chips and all the technology that chips have enabled. (Virtually everything runs on chips: cars, phones, the stock market, even the electric grid.) Now that edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by the naïve assumption that globalising the chip industry and letting players in Taiwan, Korea and Europe take over manufacturing serves America's interests. Currently, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building Manhattan Project to catch up to the US.  In Chip War economic historian Chris Miller recounts the fascinating sequence of events that led to the United States perfecting chip design, and how faster chips helped defeat the Soviet Union (by rendering the Russians’ arsenal of precision-guided weapons obsolete). The battle to control this industry will shape our future. China spends more money importing chips than buying oil, and they are China's greatest external vulnerability as they are fundamentally reliant on foreign chips. But with 37 per cent of the global supply of chips being made in Taiwan, within easy range of Chinese missiles, the West's fear is that a solution may be close at hand. 'A riveting history. Features vivid accounts and colourful characters' Financial Times'Fascinating…A historian by training, Miller walks the reader through decades of semiconductor history – a subject that comes to life thanks to [his] use of colorful anecdotes' Forbes 'Indispensable' Niall Ferguson Read more

The classic by Sun Tzu. The definitive guide to strategy, tactics, and success. Read more

THE MULTIMILLION COPY BESTSELLERTHE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SURVIVING ANYWHEREThe Collins Gem SAS Survival Guide is the pocket companion for adventurers everywhere. From making camp and finding food in the wild to security and self-defence in the streets, be prepared on land or sea. SAS legend John ‘Lofty’ Wiseman’s unrivalled guide will teach you:Preparation – Understanding and assembling latest, most resilient, kit.Navigation – Skills, technologies and techniques to get you through unfamiliar terrain.Food and Health – Finding resources in your environment, feeding yourself, healing yourself and avoiding disease.Safety and Security – Recognising dangerous situations, defending yourself and saving others.Disaster Survival – Dealing with unstable environmental conditions: what to do in the face of flash flooding or fast-spreading fire. Read more

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY “Full of…lively insights and lucid prose” (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States—from before the arrival of Columbus to the present day—written by one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba.In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington—Barack Obama’s opening to the island, Donald Trump’s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden—have made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more. Now, award-winning historian Ada Ferrer delivers an “important” (The Guardian) and moving chronicle that demands a new reckoning with both the island’s past and its relationship with the United States. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba: An American History provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation, with its dramatic record of conquest and colonization, of slavery and freedom, of independence and revolutions made and unmade. Along the way, Ferrer explores the sometimes surprising, often troubled intimacy between the two countries, documenting not only the influence of the United States on Cuba but also the many ways the island has been a recurring presence in US affairs. This is a story that will give Americans unexpected insights into the history of their own nation and, in so doing, help them imagine a new relationship with Cuba; “readers will close [this] fascinating book with a sense of hope” (The Economist). Filled with rousing stories and characters, and drawing on more than thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States—as well as the author’s own extensive travel to the island over the same period—this is a stunning and monumental account like no other. Read more

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.‘Highly enjoyable’ Simon Heffer‘Brilliant’ Dan Jones‘Fascinating’ Tom BowerThe #2 Sunday Times bestseller on Sunday 18 June 2021Charles Spencer's book 'A Very Private School' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-03-18. Read more

The Sunday Times bestseller‘One of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings’ DAILY MAILIn August 1942, beleaguered Malta was within weeks of surrender to the Axis, because its 300,000 people could no longer be fed. Churchill made a personal decision that at all costs, the ‘island fortress’ must be saved. This was not merely a matter of strategy, but of national prestige, when Britain’s fortunes and morale had fallen to their lowest ebb.The largest fleet the Royal Navy committed to any operation of the western war was assembled to escort fourteen fast merchantmen across a thousand of miles of sea defended by six hundred German and Italian aircraft, together with packs of U-boats and torpedo craft. The Mediterranean battles that ensued between 11 and 15 August were the most brutal of Britain’s war at sea, embracing four aircraft-carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers, scores of destroyers and smaller craft. The losses were appalling: defeat seemed to beckon.This is the saga Max Hastings unfolds in his first full length narrative of the Royal Navy, which he believes was the most successful of Britain’s wartime services. As always, he blends the ‘big picture’ of statesmen and admirals with human stories of German U-boat men, Italian torpedo-plane crews, Hurricane pilots, destroyer and merchant-ship captains, ordinary but extraordinary seamen.Operation Pedestal describes catastrophic ship sinkings, including that of the aircraft-carrier Eagle, together with struggles to rescue survivors and salvage stricken ships. Most moving of all is the story of the tanker Ohio, indispensable to Malta’s survival, victim of countless Axis attacks. In the last days of the battle, the ravaged hulk was kept under way only by two destroyers, lashed to her sides. Max Hastings describes this as one of the most extraordinary tales he has ever recounted. Until the very last hours, no participant on either side could tell what would be the outcome of an epic of wartime suspense and courage.Max Hastings's book 'Operation Biting' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-05-27. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER  *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION* 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I’ve ever read' Guardian ‘The greatest sea story ever told’ Spectator'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book . . . It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully written' Richard Osman‘A cracking yarn… Grann’s taste for desperate predicaments finds its fullest expression here’ ObserverFrom the international bestselling author of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z, a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.   On 28th January 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon, the Wager was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The crew, marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2,500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.   Then, six months later, another, even more decrepit, craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first group responded with counter-charges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. While stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang.   Read more

The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of nuclear war, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024*'Essential' New York Times'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' GuardianNuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen.This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next.It has to be read to be believed.There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization as we know it.Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist* A New York Times bestseller (March 2024) and a Sunday Times bestseller (April 2024) Read more

This WWII history presents a vivid chronicle of the British Army’s 9th Parachute Battalion and their operations in Normandy based on survivor interviews.   The first hours and days following the Allied invasion of Normandy were perhaps the most crucial moment of the Second World War. The Day The Devils Dropped In examines the pivotal role played by the 9th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in the first week of the landings. These brave British soldiers were tasked with neutralizing the mighty Merville Battery, and capturing Le Plein and the Chateau St. Côme on the Breville Ridge. Failure by to achieve any of these objectives could have meant disaster for Operation Overlord—and catastrophe for the Allied war effort.   In his quest to uncover what transpired in the early days of the landings, historian Neil Barber tracked down and interviewed surviving participants in the operation. In The Day the Devils Dropped In, he presents the full story, largely in the very words of those who lived through the experience. Enhanced by wartime photographs throughout, this revealing chronicle is a fine tribute to those whose contribution must never be forgotten. Read more

The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of nuclear war, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024*'Essential' New York Times'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' GuardianNuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen.This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next.It has to be read to be believed.There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization as we know it.Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist* A New York Times bestseller (March 2024) and a Sunday Times bestseller (April 2024) Read more

‘Seconds after Brady’s plane was hit, the Hundredth’s entire formation was broken up and scattered by swarms of single-engine planes, and by rockets launched by twin-engine planes that flew parallel’Meet the Flying Fortresses of the American Eighth Air Force, Britain’s Lancaster comrades, who helped to bring down the NazisHistorian and World War II expert Donald Miller brings us the story of the bomber boys who brought the war to Hitler's doorstep. Unlike ground soldiers they slept on clean beds, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of the travelling Air Force bands. But they were also an elite group of fighters who put their lives on the line in the most dangerous role of all.Miller takes readers from the adrenaline filled battles in the sky, to the airbases across England, the German prison camps, and onto the ground to understand the devastation faced by civilians.Drawn from interviews, oral histories, and American, British and German archives, Masters of the Air is the authoritative, deeply moving and important account of the world's first and only bomber war. Read more

A world-renowned British historian recounts the actions of one of Hitler’s most elite armor units in one of World War II’s most horrific months.June 1944, the month of the D-Day landings carried out by Allied forces in Normandy, France. Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer Division, one of Adolf Hitler’s most elite armor units, had recently been pulled from the Eastern Front and relocated to France in order to regroup, recruit more troops, and restock equipment. With Allied forces suddenly on European ground, the division—Das Reich—was called up to counter the invasion. Its march northward to the shores of Normandy, 15,000 men strong, would become infamous as a tale of unparalleled brutality in World War II.Das Reich is Sir Max Hastings’s narrative of the atrocities committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division during June of 1944: first, the execution of 99 French civilians in the village of Tulle on June 9; and second, the massacre of 642 more in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10. Throughout the book, Hastings expertly shifts perspective between French resistance fighters, the British Secret Service (who helped coordinate the French resistance from afar and on the ground), and the German soldiers themselves. With its rare, unbiased approach to the ruthlessness of World War II, Das Reich explores the fragile moral fabric of wartime mentality.Praise for Das Reich“A gripping blend of narrative and investigation.” —Evening Standard“This classic account of WWII is a microcosm of the global conflict. Hastings brings to life the horror that the 2nd SS Panzer division, Das Reich, inflicted upon the citizens living in a bucolic corner of France.” —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel and Hitler’s Panzers Read more

A court reporter for the Nuremberg war crimes trial of Nazi doctors reveals the shocking truth of their torture and murder in this monumental memoir.Vivien Spitz reported on the Nuremberg trials for the U.S. War Department from 1946 to 1948. In Doctors from Hell, she vividly describes her experiences both in and out of the courtroom. A chilling story of human depravity and ultimate justice, this important memoir includes trial transcripts as well as photographs used as evidence.The author describes the experience of being in bombed-out, dangerous, post-war Nuremberg. She recounts dramatic courtroom testimony and the reactions of the defendants to the proceedings. Witnesses tell of experiments in which they were deprived of oxygen; frozen; injected with malaria, typhus, and jaundice; subjected to the amputation of healthy limbs; forced to drink seawater for weeks at a time; and other horrors.Doctors from Hell is a significant addition to the literature on World War II and the Holocaust, medical ethics, human rights, and the barbaric depths to which human beings can descend.“In this personal account of her service in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, Vivien Spitz continues to contribute to the cause of human rights.” —President James Carter Read more

“A compelling account of the air war against Germany” written by the navigator portrayed by Anthony Boyle in Apple TV’s Masters of the Air (Publishers Weekly). They began operations out of England in the spring of ’43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the “Bloody Hundredth” a legend. Harry H. Crosby—depicted in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last. After dealing with his fear and gaining in skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircraft. Now, in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes us into the hearts and minds of these intrepid airmen to experience both the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies. “Affecting . . . A vivid account . . . Uncommonly thoughtful recollections that address the moral ambiguities of a great cause without in any way denigrating the selfless valor or camaraderie that helped ennoble it.” —Kirkus Reviews “Re-creates for us the sense of how it was when European skies were filled with noise and danger, when the fate of millions hung in the balance. An evocative and excellent memoir.” —Library Journal “The acrid stench of fear and cordite, the coal burning stoves, the heroics, the losses . . . This has to be the best memoir I have read, bar none.” —George Hicks, director of the Airmen Memorial Museum Read more

The groundbreaking expose of an international conspiracy to protect Nazi war criminals—now with new material and an introduction by Phillip Sands.   As Russian forces closed in on Berlin, and Hitler’s premiership drew to a close, many Nazi officials fled Germany. In this startling, meticulously researched account, acclaimed journalist Uki Goni unravels the complex international network that led them to Argentina. Goni demonstrates how numerous war criminals—including Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Mengele, Erich Priebke, and many others—made their escape with the support of the Vatican and President Juan Peron, as well as significant assistance from Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Italy.   Both riveting and rigorous, this remarkable investigation sheds light on both a disquieting episode in Europe's history, and the ties between Argentinian Catholic Nationalism and Fascist movements in Europe. Read more

SAS Great Escapes tells the story of seven of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed during WWII by what is arguably the world's most famous military fighting force - the SAS.With each story comes a nail-biting, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis style - readers join individual escapees and experience events through their own words, taken from contemporaneous diaries, mission reports, debriefings and letters - recapturing the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of their lives.These tales of almost unbelievable derring-do reveal the most desperate of times, when men were cornered by the enemy and were forced to fight their way out of certain death or capture. Around every corner, upon every decision and every movement lurked the possibility of discovery.If you enjoyed this, check out Damien Lewis' SAS: Great Escapes Two and SAS: Great Escapes Three for more gripping true stories. Read more

“It is our immense good fortune that a man who presided over this crisis in history is able to turn the action he lived through into enduring literature.” —The New York Times   This book is the first in Winston Churchill’s monumental six-volume account of the struggle between the Allied Powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis during World War II. Told from the unique viewpoint of a British prime minister, it is also the story of one nation’s heroic role in the fight against tyranny.   Having learned a lesson at Munich they would never forget, the British refused to make peace with Hitler, defying him even after France had fallen and it seemed as though the Nazis were unstoppable. What lends this work its tension and power is Churchill’s inclusion of primary source material. We are presented with not only Churchill’s retrospective analysis of the war, but also memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. We listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia. Together they give a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.  The Gathering Storm covers the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the capitulation of Munich, and the entry of Britain into the war. This book makes clear Churchill’s feeling that the Second World War was a largely senseless but unavoidable conflict—and shows why Churchill earned the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, in part because of this awe-inspiring work. Read more