The famous war correspondent delivers an edge-of-your seat account of the naval chase and battle to take out one of Hitler’s most powerful warships.   The Bismarck wasn’t just any warship. Its guns were much stronger and more accurate than any others in its day—meaning it could easily sink enemy ships without getting in range of their fire. It was one of Hitler’s most powerful weapons, and the Allied forces had to put it out of commission—before they lost the war. With the fate of the world in the balance, Allied forces chased the Bismarck across the stormy North Atlantic—culminating in a thrilling sea battle that changed the course of World War II.   Unfolding with the taut suspense of a blockbuster movie, this book brings the excitement and danger of World War II to younger audiences—and demonstrates William L. Shirer’s mastery as a writer of history and a spinner of tales.   “A book one reads with sustained excitement.” —Kirkus Reviews Read more

'You couldn't make these stories up: yet they're true, and Lewis does the memory of these extraordinary men full justice in a tale that is both heart-stopping and moving' Evening Standard'Suicidal bravery, untold moral courage and awe-inspiring survival. An utterly compelling read' Bear GryllsFrom the bestselling author of true military classics ZERO SIX BRAVO, THE NAZI HUNTERS and CHURCHILL'S SECRET WARRIORSIn the Spring of 1940, as Britain reeled from defeats on all fronts and America seemed frozen in isolation, one fear united the British and American leaders like no other: the Nazis had stolen a march on the Allies towards building the atomic bomb. So began the hunt for Hitler's nuclear weapons - nothing else came close in terms of priorities. It was to be the most secret war of those wars fought amongst the shadows. The highest stakes. The greatest odds.Prior to the outbreak of the war the massive German chemicals conglomerate I.G. Farben - the future manufacturers of Zyklon-B, the gas used in the Nazi concentration camps - had started producing bulk supplies of deuterium oxide - heavy water - at the remote Norwegian plant of Vemork. This was the central target of three separate missions - Operations GROUSE, FRESHMAN and GUNNERSIDE - over the ensuing four years. As Churchill commented: 'The actual facts in many cases were equal to the most fantastic inventions of romance and melodrama. Tangle with tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent, gold and steel, the bomb, the dagger and the firing party were interwoven in a texture so intricate as to be incredible yet true.'Damien Lewis's new bestseller intercuts the hunt for the scientists, the raw materials and the plant, with the cloak and dagger intelligence game being played in the shadows. This relied in part on ENIGMA intercepts to guide the SOE's hand. Lewis delves into some of the most extraordinarily inventive and Machiavellian innovations at the SOE, and their related research and training schools, whereby the enemy were tricked, deceived, framed, blackmailed and double and triple-crossed, all in the name of stopping the Reich from getting the bomb. Read more

When was the last time someone around you brought up World War Two?It’s a pretty popular war. Maybe you heard about it yesterday. Maybe last month. But it was probably recent. And when it came up, did you wish that you could be the one to casually drop a fact that would have everyone in the room going, “Wow, I never knew that!”With this book, you can be that person.You can read it in just a few minutes a day.Chapters are bite-sized and easy to read, meant for normal people instead of war historians!Each chapter ends with a bonus helping of trivia and some quick questions to test your knowledge.You’ll zoom through this book and be hungry for more.Get ready to impress your friends with your knowledge – not just of the main events of World War Two, but of all the gritty details and weird true facts. By the time you finish this book, you’ll have a fact for every occasion, from the first moment someone thought about having a second World War, to the most recent blockbuster movies about it.So get ready to meet characters from Adolf Hitler, rejected art student, to Jack Churchill, the broadsword-swinging male model. Find out why World War Two started in the first place, and why it’s never a good idea to invade Russia in winter. Learn why the United States was going to stay out of the war, how Canadians stole airplanes for the British, and what an orange soft drink has to do with the Nazis.Some of the things you’re going to learn are sad. Some are scary. Some are sexy. And some are downright strange! It’s everything your history teacher never got around to telling you. Read more

Get up close to more than 400 of the most important tanks and armoured vehicles ever built.In 1916, the British built a machine that was impervious to enemy fire, and could dominate the battlefield, crushing obstacles and barbed wire in its path. The first tank, or "Mother" as it was known, had arrived. In The Tank Book you can view it in detail, along with other iconic models, including the German Panzer, the legendary Tiger, the Vickers Medium Mark II, the Centurion, and the Hellcat - the fastest armoured fighting vehicle ever.This comprehensive volume takes you through the most exciting story in recent military history with the development of heavy artillery, anti-tank weaponry, and the men - such as Sir William Tritton and Mikail Koshkin - who designed these awe-inspiring beasts. It shows each key model in stunning detail, highlighting elements such as their armour and weaponry, and much more besides.Produced in association with The Tank Museum, The Tank Book traces the tank's development in response to two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and many other conflicts. If you are interested in modern warfare, The Tank Book is truly unmissable reading. Read more

The essential account of geopolitics - including an afterword on President Donald Trump 'For anyone wanting to find out more about the world we live in . . . there is one simple answer: read Noam Chomsky' New StatesmanNoam Chomsky: philosopher, political writer, fearless activist. No one has done more to question the hidden actors who govern our lives, calling the powers that be to account. Here he presents Who Rules the World?, his definitive account of those powers, how they work, and why we should be questioning them.From the dark history of the US and Cuba to China's global rise, from torture memos to sanctions on Iran, this book investigates the defining issues of our times and exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of America's policies and actions. The world's political and financial elite are now operating almost totally unconstrained by the so-called democratic structure. With climate change and nuclear proliferation threatening our very survival, dissenting voices have never been more necessary.Fiercely outspoken and rigorously argued, Who Rules the World? is an indispensable guide to how things really are.'Chomsky is a giant: not just for his intellect, but for his huge influence on millions of people who want an alternative to injustice' Owen Jones Read more

The definitive account of the rise and fall of the iconic Concorde plane from British Airways' former Chief Concorde Pilot'A remarkable story' DAILY EXPRESS'A stonking good read' FLYER_________What's it like to fly faster than a bullet?Could you really glimpse the edge of space?Why will we never see Concorde's like again?Mike Bannister was British Airways' Chief Concorde Pilot. One of the few in that legendary aircraft's quarter-century of flight to fully understand both the plane's intricate engineering and what it took to fly her at supersonic speeds.In this definitive account of the rise and fall of the world's greatest aircraft, Bannister explores its origins, development, service, highs, lows and, finally, the terrible crash which ended its flying life.Part celebration, part history, part detective story and part courtroom drama, it's almost as riveting as flying in Concorde itself - almost . . ._________'Concorde represented the sheer wondrous genius of the human race' JEREMY CLARKSON Read more

The author of this concise guide to unarmed combat and self-defence is a legend. W. E. Fairbairn (1885-1960) spent over thirty years in the tough environment of the Riot Squads of China’s Shanghai Municipal Police. In order to lower levels of Police mortality at the hands of Chinese Tongs, he studied ancient Chinese and Japanese martial arts, including Ju-jitsu, and was the first foreigner to be awarded a black belt in the discipline. He developed his own system which he called Defendu. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was recruited by Britain’s Special Operations Executive as an Instructor in unarmed combat and expounded the deadly mysteries of attack and defence to scores of trainee agents about to be dropped into occupied Europe. His methods were approved and officially adopted throughout the British army. Fairbairn also developed weapons and defence aids such as bullet proof vests. He is best known as the co-inventor of the famous Sykes-Fairbairn knife. In this book he expounds his distilled experience of unarmed combat. Fully illustrated, it shows how to deliver deadly blows with hand, fist, knee and boot; wrist, bear- and strangle holds (and how to break them); how to throw an enemy, and how to break their backs; how to disarm a pistol-wielding attacker; and securing a prisoner. The book also contains a chapter on the use of the rifle in close combat by Captain P. N. Walbridge. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES NON FICTION BESTSELLER WHSmith NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018'The best book you will ever read about Britain's greatest warplane' Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Fighter Boys‘A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine’ Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607 'As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes' Mail on Sunday magazine  The iconic Spitfire found fame during the darkest early days of World War II. But what happened to the redoubtable fighter and its crews beyond the Battle of Britain, and why is it still so loved today? In late spring 1940, Nazi Germany’s domination of Europe had looked unstoppable. With the British Isles in easy reach since the fall of France, Adolf Hitler was convinced that Great Britain would be defeated in the skies over her southern coast, confident his Messerschmitts and Heinkels would outclass anything the Royal Air Force threw at them. What Hitler hadn’t planned for was the agility and resilience of a marvel of British engineering that would quickly pass into legend – the Spitfire. Bestselling author John Nichol’s passionate portrait of this magnificent fighter aircraft, its many innovations and updates, and the people who flew and loved them, carries the reader beyond the dogfights over Kent and Sussex. Spanning the full global reach of the Spitfire’s deployment during WWII, from Malta to North Africa and the Far East, then over the D-Day beaches, it is always accessible, effortlessly entertaining and full of extraordinary spirit.                                 Here are edge-of-the-seat stories and heart-stopping first-hand accounts of battling pilots forced to bail out over occupied territory; of sacrifice and wartime love; of aristocratic female flyers, and of the mechanics who braved the Nazi onslaught to keep the aircraft in battle-ready condition. Nichol takes the reader on a hair-raising, nail-biting and moving wartime history of the iconic Spitfire populated by a cast of redoubtable, heroic characters that make you want to stand up and cheer. Read more

Richly illustrated, this title describes Anglo-Saxon monarchs, warlords and their warriors and households in Anglo-Saxon Britain, from the first post-Roman mercenaries to the Norman Conquest.In a country fragmented by Roman withdrawal during the 5th century AD, the employment of Germanic mercenaries by local rulers in Anglo-Saxon Britain was commonplace. These mercenaries became settlers, forcing Romano-British communities into Wales and the West Country. Against a background of spreading Christianity, the struggles of rival British and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were exploited by the Vikings, but eventually contained by the Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred of Wessex. His descendants unified the country during the 10th century, however, subsequent weak rule saw its 25-year incorporation into a Danish empire before it finally fell to the Norman invasion of 1066. Scholars of the early Church have long known that the term ‘Dark Ages’ for the 5th to 11th centuries in Britain refers only to a lack of written sources, and gives a false impression of material culture. The Anglo-Saxon warrior elite were equipped with magnificent armour, influenced by the cultures of the late Romans, the Scandinavian Vendel people, the Frankish Merovingians, Carolingians and Ottonians, and also the Vikings. In this volume, co-authors Raffaele D’Amato and Stephen Pollington access their extended knowledge to paint a vivid picture of the kings and warlords of the time with the aid of colour illustrations, rare photos and the latest archaeological research. Read more

***THE INSPIRATION FOR OPPENHEIMER, WINNER OF 7 OSCARS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR AND BEST ACTOR***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR NONFICTION'Reads like a thriller, gripping and terrifying' Sunday TimesPhysicist and polymath, as familiar with Hindu scriptures as he was with quantum mechanics, J. Robert Oppenheimer - director of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb - was the most famous scientist of his generation. In their meticulous and riveting biography, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man, profoundly involved with some of the momentous events of the twentieth century. 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 Times History Book of the Year 2022From the #1 bestselling historian Max Hastings ‘the heart-stopping story of the missile crisis’ Daily TelegraphThe 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was the most perilous event in history, when mankind faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation.Max Hastings’s graphic new history tells the story from the viewpoints of national leaders, Russian officers, Cuban peasants, American pilots and British disarmers. Max Hastings deploys his accustomed blend of eye-witness interviews, archive documents and diaries, White House tape recordings, top-down analysis, first to paint word-portraits of the Cold War experiences of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev’s Russia and Kennedy’s America; then to describe the nail-biting Thirteen Days in which Armageddon beckoned.Hastings began researching this book believing that he was exploring a past event from twentieth century history. He is as shocked as are millions of us around the world, to discover that the rape of Ukraine gives this narrative a hitherto unimaginable twenty-first century immediacy. We may be witnessing the onset of a new Cold War between nuclear-armed superpowers.To contend with today’s threat, which Hastings fears will prove enduring, it is critical to understand how, sixty years ago, the world survived its last glimpse into the abyss. Only by fearing the worst, he argues, can our leaders hope to secure the survival of the planet.Max Hastings's book 'Operation Biting' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-05-27. Read more

A Times History Book of the Year 2022From the #1 bestselling historian Max Hastings ‘the heart-stopping story of the missile crisis’ Daily TelegraphThe 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was the most perilous event in history, when mankind faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation.Max Hastings’s graphic new history tells the story from the viewpoints of national leaders, Russian officers, Cuban peasants, American pilots and British disarmers. Max Hastings deploys his accustomed blend of eye-witness interviews, archive documents and diaries, White House tape recordings, top-down analysis, first to paint word-portraits of the Cold War experiences of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev’s Russia and Kennedy’s America; then to describe the nail-biting Thirteen Days in which Armageddon beckoned.Hastings began researching this book believing that he was exploring a past event from twentieth century history. He is as shocked as are millions of us around the world, to discover that the rape of Ukraine gives this narrative a hitherto unimaginable twenty-first century immediacy. We may be witnessing the onset of a new Cold War between nuclear-armed superpowers.To contend with today’s threat, which Hastings fears will prove enduring, it is critical to understand how, sixty years ago, the world survived its last glimpse into the abyss. Only by fearing the worst, he argues, can our leaders hope to secure the survival of the planet.Max Hastings's book 'Operation Biting' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-05-27. Read more

**NOW AN AMAZON PRIME TV SERIES STARRING CHRIS PRATT**'Take my word for it, James Reece is one rowdy motherf***er. Get ready!' CHRIS PRATT A woman boards a plan in Burkina Faso having just completed a targeted assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes after takeoff her plane is blown out of the sky. 6000 miles to the east, James Reece watches the names and pictures of the victims cross cable news. One face triggers a distant memory of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq, a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations, a woman Reece thought he would never see again… In a global pursuit spanning four continents, James Reece will enlist the help of friends new and old to track down her killer and walk right into a trap set by a master sniper, a sniper who has enlisted help of his own…The 5th in the bestselling James Reece series, from former Navy SEAL Jack Carr. If you loved Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Peter James's Roy Grace or Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller, you will love James Reece! Praise for Jack Carr: ‘A propulsive and compulsive series. Jack Carr’s James Reece is the kind of guy you’d want to have in your corner. A suspenseful and exhilarating thrill-ride. Jack Carr is the real deal’ Andy McNab 'This is seriously good . . . the suspense is unrelenting, and the tradecraft is so authentic the government will probably ban it – so read it while you can!' Lee Child 'With a particular line in authentic tradecraft, this fabulously unrelenting thrill-ride was a struggle to put down' Mark Dawson 'Gritty, raw and brilliant!' Tom Marcus ‘So powerful, so pulse-pounding, so well-written – rarely do you read a debut novel this damn good’ Brad Thor 'Carr writes both from the gut and a seemingly infinite reservoir of knowledge in the methods of human combat. Loved it!' Chris Hauty 'A powerful, thoughtful, realistic, at times terrifying thriller that I could not put down. A terrific addition to the genre, Jack Carr and his alter-ego protagonist, James Reece, continue to blow me away' Mark Greaney 'Thrilling' Publishers Weekly Read more

This WWII history chronicles the legendary British Armored Division in combat across northern Europe with veterans’ personal recollections. The British Army’s 11th Armored Division, famous for its Black Bull insignia, was famous for its courageous fighting during the Second World War. In this volume, Black Bull veterans tell the story of their Division in their own words. Beginning with the Normandy invasions, they vividly describe the role they played in Operations Epsom, Goodwood and Bluecoat. They bring readers with them on the “Great Swan' through France and Belgium; the taking of Antwerp; Operation Market Garden; and the final slog into Germany across well-defended river barriers. They also recount stories of casualties and losses, the hardships of a winter campaign, and the comradeship and bravery it takes to persevere. Historian Patrick Delaforce provides a historical narrative that gives context to the personal accounts. Twelve Black Bull regiments are represented, with memories from troop commanders and riflemen, bombardiers and signalmen, tank crews, troop leaders, as well as the Division’s GOC, Major-General G.P.B. Roberts. The text is supplemented throughout with wartime photographs showing the Division in action. Read more

A Times History Book of the Year 2022From the #1 bestselling historian Max Hastings ‘the heart-stopping story of the missile crisis’ Daily TelegraphThe 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was the most perilous event in history, when mankind faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation.Max Hastings’s graphic new history tells the story from the viewpoints of national leaders, Russian officers, Cuban peasants, American pilots and British disarmers. Max Hastings deploys his accustomed blend of eye-witness interviews, archive documents and diaries, White House tape recordings, top-down analysis, first to paint word-portraits of the Cold War experiences of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev’s Russia and Kennedy’s America; then to describe the nail-biting Thirteen Days in which Armageddon beckoned.Hastings began researching this book believing that he was exploring a past event from twentieth century history. He is as shocked as are millions of us around the world, to discover that the rape of Ukraine gives this narrative a hitherto unimaginable twenty-first century immediacy. We may be witnessing the onset of a new Cold War between nuclear-armed superpowers.To contend with today’s threat, which Hastings fears will prove enduring, it is critical to understand how, sixty years ago, the world survived its last glimpse into the abyss. Only by fearing the worst, he argues, can our leaders hope to secure the survival of the planet.Max Hastings's book 'Operation Biting' was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-05-27. Read more

Modern Small Arms looks in detail at 300 of the most widely used pistols, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and other small arms of the last 100 years. It includes famous small arms such as the AK-47, the M16, the SA80, the Lee Enfield, the MP40, the MG42, the Browning Hi Power, the M60, the Thompson sub-machine gun, the Colt .45, the Sten and the L115A3 sniper rifle. Arranged by type, each small arm is illustrated by a full colour artwork and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving the country of origin and the technical details of the weapon, including calibre, length, weight, barrel length, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, operation and, where appropriate, magazine capacity. Each entry also contains text summarising the weapon’s development and service history. Presented in a handy, pocket-book format, Modern Small Arms is colourful, packed with information and offers a great insight into the development of weaponry over the past century. Read more

Fully illustrated, this absorbing study explores the evolving sniping technology and tactics employed by both sides in Asia and the Pacific during 1941–45. During World War II, both the Japanese and their Allied opponents made widespread use of snipers armed with a variety of rifles, scopes and accessories and prepared by widely differing levels of training and tactical doctrine. The challenges of fighting in a variety of harsh environments, from the Pacific islands to the vast expanses of China, prompted improvisation and innovation on both sides in the ongoing war between snipers and their adversaries. Often operating at relatively close ranges in restrictive terrain, snipers made particularly ingenious use of camouflage and deception as the fighting spread across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, while troops tasked with countering enemy marksmen had to learn the hard way how best to defeat a seemingly invisible enemy. Small arms expert John Walter considers the strengths and limitations of the rifles, scopes and accessories deployed by Japanese snipers and their Allied counterparts, as well as their different approaches to sniping tactics and training. Specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen photographs illustrate this enthralling study of the sniping war in Asia and the Pacific during World War II. Read more