“Sunrise on the Reaping is a propulsive, heart-wrenching addition to The Hunger Games, adding welcome texture to the cruel world of Panem ... This is the project of dystopian fiction: to shine a light in tyranny's greasiest corners and show how people — ordinary, determined human beings — might take it apart” - New York Times“Collins is an excellent writer, and there are moments of surprising lyricism ... Sunrise on the Reaping contains enough both to snare new readers and to satisfy the most bloodthirsty fan” - Guardian When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for? As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.Four books, five films and one worldwide phenomenon, The Hunger Games original trilogy changed the face of global YA and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was an instant number one bestseller (Nielsen Bookscan, May 2020).All four of the Hunger Games novels have been made into major feature films, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth and Peter Dinklage.A feature film for Sunrise On the Reaping -  the fifth book in the Hunger Games series  - is slated for November 2026 OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIESThe Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games illustrated edition released in October 2024Catching FireMockingjayThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes  Read more

'The First World War from a refreshingly unfamiliar angle . . . masterly' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'Compelling . . . The Eastern Front is essential reading' Margaret Macmillan, Financial Times‘A masterwork . . . This is the history of the Eastern Front I’ve waited all my life to read’ Simon Sebag MontefioreThe definitive history of the Eastern Front in the First World War, from the acclaimed military historian and author of Passchendaele and The Western FrontTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ***********In the second volume of his landmark First World War trilogy, Professor Nick Lloyd tells the story for the first time of what Winston Churchill once called the 'unknown war': the vast conflict in Eastern Europe and the Balkans that brought about the collapse of three empires.Much has been written about the fighting in France and Belgium, yet the Eastern Front was no less bloody. Between 1914 and 1917, huge numbers of people - perhaps as many as 16 million soldiers and two million civilians - were killed, wounded or maimed in enormous battles that sometimes ranged across a front of 100 km in length.Through intimate eyewitness reports, diary entries and memoirs - many of which have never been translated into English before - Lloyd reconstructs the full story of a war that began in the Balkans as a local struggle between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and which sucked in Russia, Germany and Italy, right through to the final collapse of the Habsburg Empire in 1918.The Eastern Front paints a vivid and authoritative picture of a conflict that shook the world, and that remains central to understanding the tragic, blood-soaked trajectory of the twentieth century, and the current war in Ukraine. Read more

THE SECOND INSTALMENT IN THE BESTSELLING ESCAPES SERIES, FROM MILITARY HISTORIAN DAMIEN LEWISSAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories of six of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed by the world's most famous fighting force during WWII. From the very earliest SAS missions to the push into Nazi-occupied Europe, they cover some of the key figures in the Regiment, including its founder, David Stirling, plus other lesser-known heroes.With each story comes an edge-of-the-seat, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis fashion, as readers are plunged into the escapees' experiences - sharing their most terrifying yet inspiring moments. These stunning accounts of survival beggar belief, revealing nerve-racking bluff and deception, knife-edge encounters with enemy hunter forces hellbent on wreaking vengeance and murder, but also incredible acts of mercy and kindness from those who risk all to help the escapees on their way. Each tale of breath-taking derring-do reveals how necessity really is the mother of all invention, as with every step and at every juncture these fugitives defied fate, snatching survival and freedom from the jaws of the enemy, and all the horrors that would have followed capture.Damien Lewis has worked closely with the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS crossed blazing deserts, evaded enemy hunter forces and escaped through hostile lands, battling against seemingly insurmountable odds. But most of all, these uplifting tales of endurance beyond measure showcase the triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive.'Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller' Lee Child'Damien Lewis paints a uniquely vivid picture of the wartime SAS. Packed with detail, this fresh and dynamic book brings us as close to its remarkable members as we are ever likely to get.' Joshua Levine, author of Dunkirk'In these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure - and a bit of nostalgia!' Frederick Forsyth'The fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today' Mark Urban'An astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture' Alex Gerlis, author of Agent in the Shadows Read more

A magisterial, single-volume history of the greatest conflict the world has ever known by our foremost military historian.*****The Second World War began in August 1939 on the edge of Manchuria and ended there exactly six years later with the Soviet invasion of northern China. The war in Europe appeared completely divorced from the war in the Pacific and China, and yet events on opposite sides of the world had profound effects. Using the most up-to-date scholarship and research, Beevor assembles the whole picture in a gripping narrative that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific and from the snowbound steppe to the North African Desert.Although filling the broadest canvas on a heroic scale, Beevor's The Second World War never loses sight of the fate of the ordinary soldiers and civilians whose lives were crushed by the titanic forces unleashed in the most terrible war in history. Read more

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 'Magnificent, vivid, moving, superb' Max Hastings, Sunday Times______________This is the closest you will ever get to war - the taste, the smell, the noise and the fearThe Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was awesome and what followed was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side.Antony Beevor's inimitably gripping narrative conveys the true experience of war. He lands the reader on the beach alongside the heroes whose stories he so masterfully renders in their full terrifying glory.______________'A thrilling story, with all Beevor's narrative mastery' Chris Patten, Financial Times'Beevor's D-Day has all the qualities that have made his earlier works so successful: an eye for telling and unusual detail, an ability to make complex events understandable, and a wonderful graphic style' Ian Kershaw, Guardian, Books of the Year'D-Day's phenomenal success is both understandable and justified' James Holland'D-Day is a triumph . . . on almost every page there's some little detail that sticks in the mind or tweaks the heart. This is a terrific, inspiring, heart-breaking book' Sam Leith, Daily Mail Read more

THE NEW THRILLER FROM THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER1190 - Humble layman Will Bowman lives in the countryside with his pregnant wife, when soldiers from Richard Lionheart's army tear through his home. Will is beaten unconscious, and awakes to find his wife murdered, his farm burnt down, and his life forever changed. In vengeance, Will infiltrates Richard's army to find the marauding gang, and finds himself swept along in the march of the Crusades. With the help of new allies and fuelled by his loss, Will crosses Europe with the King's army.Can Will avenge his wife? Or will he be swept away by the unstoppable force of Richard's Crusade? Read more

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2024'Gripping history that also informs the present' Sunday Times'Lively and original' The Spectator'A spectacular achievement' Dominic Sandbrook'Fast-paced, absorbing, insightful' Simon Hall'Simply superb' Kathryn Olmsted The definitive history of how the CIA became the foremost defender of America's covert global empire As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyse foreign intelligence. But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters at home. The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation - but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated British intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture: the history of Western empire. While young CIA officers imagined themselves as British imperial agents like T. E. Lawrence, successive US presidents used the covert powers of the Agency to hide overseas interventions from postcolonial foreigners and anti-imperial Americans alike. Even the CIA's post-9/11 global hunt for terrorists was haunted by the ghosts of empires past.Comprehensive, original, and gripping, The CIA is the story of the birth of a new imperial order in the shadows. It offers the most complete account yet of how America adopted unaccountable power and secrecy abroad and at home. Read more

'David Omand is exactly the man you need in a crisis' RORY STEWART From the former Director of GCHQ comes a guide to surviving crises using the latest intelligence strategiesWar, terrorism, cyberattack, climate change, the threat of AI: it has never been more important to be prepared for the crises that await us.In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his experience in defence, security and intelligence, including as Director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, to show how you can detect a looming crisis and extinguish it (or at least survive it with minimum loss).Using gripping real-world examples from Omand's storied career, and drawing lessons from historic catastrophes such as Chernobyl, 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, this empowering book is filled with practical advice on how to survive the multiplying crises of the future. Not every crisis need tip into disaster, if we have invested in we are prepared for it.'This book is the instruction manual we all need' SIR ALEX YOUNGER, CHIEF OF MI6UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD Read more

'Five stars. One of the best books I've read in a very, very long time' James O'Brien, LBC'This is first class' The Times | 'Excellent' Spectator'Exceptional' David McCloskey, author of The Seventh Floor'A highly accomplished novel from a new writer of great promise' Financial Times'Everything a John le Carré fan could ever wish for' Private Eye #1615'A cracker of a debut novel which really does make clear what's been going on' Bill Nighy via The Rake'Wonderful' Rory Stewart, co-host of The Rest is Politics podcast‘A marvellously confident debut, sharply observed and exceptionally well written’ Charles Cumming, author of Box 88Everyone knows about the Cambridge Spies from the Fifties, identified and broken up after passing national secrets to the Soviets for years. But no spy ring was ever unearthed at Oxford. Because one never existed? Or because it was never found…?2022: Former spy Simon Sharman is eking out a living in the private sector. When a commission to delve into the financial dealings of a mysterious Russian oligarch comes across his desk, he jumps at the chance.But as Simon investigates, worrying patterns begin to emerge. His subject made regular trips to Oxford, but for no apparent reason. There are payments from offshore accounts that suddenly just… stop.Has he found what none of his former colleagues believed possible, a Russian spy ring now nestled at the heart of the British Establishment? Or is he just another paranoid ex-spook left out in the cold, obsessed with redemption?From Oxford’s hallowed quadrangles to brush contacts on Hampstead Heath, agent-running in Vienna and mysterious meetings in Prague, A Spy Alone is a gripping international thriller and a searing portrait of modern Britain in the age of cynical populism. Perfect for readers of Charles Cumming, Mick Herron and John le Carré.Praise for A Spy Alone'Beaumont is at the forefront of the espionage genre, capturing the changing nature of intelligence: soft influence and business deals are overtaking stolen secrets; long-term insinuation is replacing Cold-War tradecraft. Brilliant' I. S. Berry, author of The Peacock and the Sparrow'The best spy novel I’ve read for years... An astonishing debut... and a brilliant portrait of how Britain allowed Russia to game our recent politics, including with Brexit' Luke Harding, author of Invasion: Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival'Wonderful. Beaumont finds a very moving place in the meditation between older ideas of patriotism and the new world. There are also eerie echoes of the Musk and Vance worldview in the villains, which give it a power and prescience' Rory Stewart, co-host of The Rest is Politics podcast'Beaumont ... catches the zeitgeist of (le Carré) .... He conveys all the world of espionage with relish, in its murky motives and surveillance techniques and the book races along and makes for a stunning debut' Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time'A clever, thrilling spy story that brings the feel of Eric Ambler's shadowy political intrigues right into today's world' Jeremy Duns, author of Free Agent‘Tense, compelling and remarkably timely... Shades of some of the greats of spy fiction – it might even be better than Charles Cumming’ Dominick Donald, author of Breathe Read more

The thrilling retelling of a real-life hostage rescue mission, by SAS hero and million-selling author, Andy McNab.It is 2012 and in Northern Afghanistan, an international crisis has erupted.A group of aid workers have been kidnapped by local insurgents and are now hidden in a winding mountain region. After attempts to negotiate a deal with the bandits fail, and with the lives of the hostages hanging in the balance, there is only option...SAS and Navy SEALs are sent in to find and free them.The Rescue is the action-packed story of the special forces' attempts to save the hostages from almost certain death. Drawing on classified sources and using his own personal insight into the inner-workings of these units, Andy McNab gives a page-turning account of this incredible mission.A heart-pounding true story of covert scouting missions, dangerous parachute jumps and fighting to survive in the face of impossible odds, this is the SAS like you've never read before. Read more

NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTERHOW THE DEATH OF A SPY IN THE IRA LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MURDER INVESTIGATIONS IN BRITISH HISTORYLonglisted for the CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-FictionHistorical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown Winner 2024Top 10 Irish Non-Fiction bestseller, April 2024 'A truly page-turning, compulsive and also profoundly moving narrative.' - JAMES HOLLAND 'Gripping, urgent, superbly reported and brilliantly written' - DAN JONES On 26th May 1986, the body of an undercover British agent was found by the side of a muddy lane, with a rope tied around its wrists and tape over each eye. Years later, it was reported that this murder might have been carried out by another undercover British agent, known as 'Stakeknife'. In 2016, a detective began to investigate this case, and would soon find himself running the largest murder investigation in British history. In a compulsive blend of investigative journalism and true crime thriller, Henry Hemming exposes the parallel worlds of the IRA and British intelligence through the lives of those inextricably bound up in both. He reveals the bravery of those who were crucial in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloodiest and longest-running conflict in recent British history, and the determination of one detective in his dogged search for justice and the truth. 'Superb' - Irish Times 'Compelling' - The Times 'Gripping' - Observer 'Exciting, at times astonishing' - New York Times'A gripping and pacey book that reads like a thriller. I found it shocking in a world where I didn't think I could be shocked any more. Henry Hemming wears his extensive research very lightly and manages to shape a great narrative from a complex and dark episode from our recent history. An important and skilfully crafted book.' - JOHN O'FARRELL'The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing . . . outstanding reporting and an unflinching focus on the facts at hand' - Wall Street Journal Read more

The story of Allied merchant ships and crews who braved the frigid far north to extend a lifeline to Russia, filled with “sheer heroism and brazen drama” (Literary Review).   During the last four years of the Second World War, the Western Allies secured Russian defenses against Germany by supplying vital food and arms. The plight of those in Murmansk and Archangel who benefited is now well known, but few are aware of the courage, determination, and sacrifice of Allied merchant ships, which withstood unremitting U-boat attacks and aerial bombardment to maintain the lifeline to Russia.   In the storms, fog, and numbing cold of the Arctic, where the sinking of a ten thousand–ton freighter was equal to a land battle in terms of destruction, the losses sustained were huge. Told from the perspective of their crews, this is the inspiring story of the long-suffering merchant ships without which Russia would almost certainly have fallen to Nazi Germany. 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

‘Unforgettable’ Independent‘Fresh and gripping’ TelegraphTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLEROn April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park in London. There they took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors, and three British citizens.A tense six-day siege ensued as millions gathered around screens across the country to witness the longest news flash in British television history, in which police negotiators and psychiatrists sought a bloodless end to the standoff, while the SAS – hitherto an organisation shrouded in secrecy – laid plans for a daring rescue mission: Operation Nimrod.Drawing on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS, and testimony from witnesses including hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site psychiatrist, bestselling historian Ben Macintyre takes readers on a gripping journey from the years and weeks of build-up on both sides, to the minute-by-minute account of the siege and rescue.Recreating the dramatic conversations between negotiators and hostages, the cutting-edge intelligence work happening behind-the-scenes, and the media frenzy around this moment of international significance, The Siege is the remarkable story of what really happened on those fateful six days, and the first full account of a moment that forever changed the way the nation thought about the SAS – and itself.'The pre-eminent historian of the secret world . . . His books have set the gold standard for accurate historical reporting, but read like heart-pounding thrillers' Mick Herron‘Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else’ John Preston Read more

There have been many books on Britain's Roman roads, but none have considered in any depth their long-term strategic impact. Mike Bishop shows how the road network was vital not only in the Roman strategy of conquest and occupation, but influenced the course of British military history during subsequent ages. The author starts with the pre-Roman origins of the network (many Roman roads being built over prehistoric routes) before describing how the Roman army built, developed, maintained and used it. Then, uniquely, he moves on to the post-Roman history of the roads. He shows how they were crucial to medieval military history (try to find a medieval battle that is not near one) and the governance of the realm, fixing the itinerary of the royal progresses. Their legacy is still clear in the building of 18th century military roads and even in the development of the modern road network. Why have some parts of the network remained in use throughout?The text is supported with clear maps and photographs. Most books on Roman roads are concerned with cataloguing or tracing them, or just dealing with aspects like surveying. This one makes them part of military landscape archaeology. Read more

On the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Peter Taylor tells for the first time the gripping story of Operation Chiffon, the top-secret intelligence operation that helped bring peace to Ireland.'A gripping exploration of how MI5 and MI6 worked for a ceasefire with the IRA – and how one meeting changed everything' Telegraph'An extraordinary story . . . A true tale of espionage' The TimesApril 1998: the Good Friday Agreement is signed, ending decades of violence and bloodshed in Northern Ireland. The process of getting the IRA to end its so-called 'armed struggle' was always the prerequisiteof the search for peace. It was Operation Chiffon that finally helped make it possible.Operation Chiffon takes us inside the top-secret intelligence operation whose roots go back to the bloodiest years of the conflict in the early 1970s, involving officers from MI6 and, later in the 1990s, MI5. The remarkable story, which has remained hidden for forty years, is now revealed by legendary BBC journalist Peter Taylor with unique access to the officers involved. Drawing on exclusive interviews and Taylor's fifty years of covering the conflict, the book narrates in first-hand detail how those involved risked their careers – and their lives – to help secure the fragile peace that exists today.Taylorvividly brings this covert operation to life and in the process chronicles the history of Sinn Féin, rising from obscurity in the early days of the Troubles to becoming the largest political party in Ireland today. It is a story fraught with uncertainty and danger that, as Brexit risks destabilising what was achieved in the Good Friday Agreement twenty-five years ago, is more important than ever to remember. Read more

'Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller' Lee Child'Now that's a Great Escape! How 34 members of the SAS evaded 5,000 Nazi troops in blizzard conditions, after wreaking havoc in Italian mountain ambush ... The full gripping story of Operation Galia and the incredible escape that followed.' Mail Online'It's an incredible secret that has lain hidden behind the heroics of Normandy, but Allied forces had planned to invade the beaches of Brittany if the D-Day landings had failed ... Author and historian Damien Lewis uncovered the details, while researching the story of a remarkable SAS hero for his new book, SAS Great Escapes Three.' Sunday ExpressFIVE OF THE MOST DARING ESCAPES CARRIED OUT BY THE SAS DURING WORLD WAR TWOSAS Great Escapes Three recounts how warriors of the world's most famous fighting force, the SAS, carried out five of the most daring escapes of World War Two. Ranging from the very birth of the SAS, to the post D-Day battles for Nazi-occupied Europe, these gripping true stories cover some of the most iconic operations of the regiment, and its key characters, while also including untold tales of courage and endurance beyond compare.Told in classic Damien Lewis style, each account plunges the reader into the escapees' experiences - sharing the most terrifying yet astounding moments of their lives. They include unimaginable accounts of survival in the face of staggering odds, episodes of nerve-wracking bluff and deception, plus knife-edge ambushes withenemy forces hell-bent on wreaking vengeance.In this new volume of incredible special forces feats, bestselling author Damien Lewis has worked closely with World War Two veterans and the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS were hunted by the enemy and 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. Yet with every step, breath and turn taken, these fugitives epitomized the do-or-die spirit of the SAS to overcome. Read more

A fascinating and detailed history of one of the great aircraft of World War II: the Beaufighter.Ideal for fans of Alexander McKee, John Nichol, and Martin W. Bowman.Developed to meet the RAF’s urgent need for a long-range fighter just before World War II, the Beaufighter was the most heavily armed aircraft of any type used in active service from 1940 until the late 1950s.Drawing on numerous original sources and meticulous research, Chaz Bowyer traces the Beau’s origins from planning, design, and factory floor through test flights, adaptations to meet service needs, and its remarkable and widespread use throughout the war. Bowyer includes many first-hand accounts from those who flew the plane in action and from ground crew who maintained it, giving readers a sense of the genuine affection felt for this formidable fighting machine.Ultimately, around 6,000 Beaufighters rolled off the production line, from where they were sent across the globe to serve in at least 77 squadrons of the RAF and Commonwealth air forces until they were finally retired from service in the 1960s. Bowyer recounts the aircraft’s many roles during the war—as a night and day fighter, reconnaissance vehicle, anti-shipping strike and torpedo bomber, ground strafer, and air-jungle rescue searcher, among many other uses. Through personal accounts and reminiscences, readers are brought vividly into the experience of piloting and supporting the Beau’s operations across vastly different theatres of war and environments, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Burma, the Mediterranean, UK coastal waters, North Africa, and the Middle East.Though merely a machine, there are many who owed their lives to the strength and capability of the ‘Mighty Beau.’ Their stories serve as a reminder of the incredible sacrifice, bravery, heroism, and devotion to duty of those service men and women, and why this plane should be proudly remembered as one of the all-time classic British fighters. Read more

'The best biography I've read recently' – Colin Bateman, Sunday Independent'An excellent examination of Mayne… Ross corrects many of the myths about him that have flourished over the years' - History of War magazine'This welcome reassessment, officially backed and well-researched, sets the record straight' – Soldier Magazine'Paddy' Mayne was one of the most outstanding special forces leaders of the Second World War. Hamish Ross's authoritative study follows Mayne from solicitor and rugby international to troop commander in the Commandos and then the SAS, whose leader he later became and whose annals he graced, winning the DSO and three bars, the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur.Mayne's achievements attracted attention, and after his early death legends emerged, based largely on anecdote and assertion. Hamish Ross's closely researched biography challenges much of the received version, using contemporary sources, the official war diaries, the chronicle of 1 SAS, Mayne's papers and diaries, and a number of extended interviews with key contemporaries.Ross's analysis shows Mayne to be a dynamic, yet principled and thoughtful man, committed to the unit's original concepts. He was far from flawless, but his leadership and tactical brilliance in the field secured the reputation of the SAS, proving he was every bit a rogue hero. Read more

'Utterly brilliant: a fantastically exciting book... This really does read like the best kind of thriller. His best book yet' James Holland, author of Normandy '44April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.In response, Britain despatches a naval task force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just twenty Sea Harriers against the two hundred-strong might of the Argentine Air Force.The odds against them are overwhelming.The MoD's own estimates suggest that half the Harriers will be lost in the opening days of the conflict. They need backup. Within three weeks 809 Naval Air Squadron is reformed, trained and heading south, ready for war.Not since World War Two had so much been expected of such a small band of pilots. Read more