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I Served on Bataan
by Juanita RedmondThe true story of an Army nurse trapped in the Philippines during the beginning of America's entrance in WWII.
I Shall Be Near to You
by Erin Lindsay MccabeAn extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband, inspired by the letters of a remarkable female soldier who fought in the Civil War. Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father's side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier. With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredubous husband. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marraige is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta's powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman's amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life's challenges side by side.From the Hardcover edition.
I Shall Bear Witness: The Diaries Of Victor Klemperer 1933-41
by Victor KlempererA publishing sensation, the publication of Victor Klemperer's diaries brings to light one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period.'A classic ... Klemperer's diary deserves to rank alongside that of Anne Frank's' SUNDAY TIMES'I can't remember when I read a more engrossing book' Antonia Fraser'Not dissimilar in its cumulative power to Primo Levi's, is a devastating account of man's inhumanity to man' LITERARY REVIEWThe son of a rabbi, Klemperer was by 1933 a professor of languages at Dresden. Over the next decade he, like other German Jews, lost his job, his house and many of his friends.Klemperer remained loyal to his country, determined not to emigrate, and convinced that each successive Nazi act against the Jews must be the last. Saved for much of the war from the Holocaust by his marriage to a gentile, he was able to escape in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Dresden and survived the remaining months of the war in hiding. Throughout, Klemperer kept a diary. Shocking and moving by turns, it is a remarkable and important account.
I Shall Bear Witness: The Diaries Of Victor Klemperer 1933-41
by Victor KlempererA publishing sensation, the publication of Victor Klemperer's diaries brings to light one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period.'A classic ... Klemperer's diary deserves to rank alongside that of Anne Frank's' SUNDAY TIMES'I can't remember when I read a more engrossing book' Antonia Fraser'Not dissimilar in its cumulative power to Primo Levi's, is a devastating account of man's inhumanity to man' LITERARY REVIEWThe son of a rabbi, Klemperer was by 1933 a professor of languages at Dresden. Over the next decade he, like other German Jews, lost his job, his house and many of his friends.Klemperer remained loyal to his country, determined not to emigrate, and convinced that each successive Nazi act against the Jews must be the last. Saved for much of the war from the Holocaust by his marriage to a gentile, he was able to escape in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Dresden and survived the remaining months of the war in hiding. Throughout, Klemperer kept a diary. Shocking and moving by turns, it is a remarkable and important account.
I Somehow Survived: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II
by Klaus G. Förg“The selection of remembered events from a cross section of Germans provides a very human account of instances in war.” —FiretrenchThe first in a series of books, I Somehow Survived is an extraordinary collection of true stories giving testimony to those who survived World War II. Based on interviews with numerous veterans from across the spectrum of wartime experience, the book documents and reflects upon one of the most gruesome times in history.From anti-partisan warfare in the French mountains and atrocities in East Prussia to the experience of a Norwegian concentration camp, the accounts include rarely heard stories from a range of people caught up in the war. With the distance of time, these survivors have been able to offer new perspectives on their experiences and expose truths they would not have dared admit several decades ago.German Army officers reveal their role in the Vercors and Kiev massacres. A Luftwaffe officer-applicant who never flew describes service on the ground. And a Norwegian woman writes of marrying a German Kriegsmarine while her mother was in a Norwegian concentration camp for political activity and her father was in hiding from the Gestapo. “I have no objection to your marrying him,” her father told her, “I just want them to give us our country back.”“It is always refreshing to hear the German side of the story. The recollections seem pretty open and candid, and the supporting photos help reassure one . . . fascinating stuff.” —A Question of Scale
I Survived, Didn't I?: The Great War Reminiscences of Private 'Ginger' Byrne
by Joy Cave4124 Private Byrne, C,. 2nd Battalion the Hampshire Regiment, latterly transferred to the Machine Gun Corps; served Egypt, 1915; France and Belgium, 1916–1918; Germany 1918–1919; honourably discharged, 1919. Behind that bold statement lies a remarkable account of en infantrymans service on the Western Front during the Great War. Charlie 'Ginger' Byrne was a typical young volunteer soldier of 1915, a soldier's son seeking a part in what seemed a great adventure. If his experiences may be said to mirror those of thousands of others, his account stands out from so many because it is set down in the authentic voice of the soldier. Unlike hundreds of thousands of his contemporaries, Charlie Byrne survived into old age. Sound in body and mind, and blessed with almost total recall, he was persuaded to tell his tale to an interested, informed, and acute listener. Now Joy Cave has triumphantly made the transition into print of Charlie's war. It is not a tale of strategy, a recital of epic heroism, but a trench's-eye view of the great tragedy. In that, it perhaps conveys a truth that may sometimes elude the literary memoirists, the heroes and commanders, even the ever rising tide of Great War historians. All have had their say, and more; Charlie Byne speaks for the lost thousands who, for whatever reason, never had a voice. In the often searing descriptions of going into the action with the Newfoundland Regiment on the Somme on 1st of July 1916 (and he was one of the very few survivors of that doomed advance near Beaumont-Hamel); of a catastrophic gas attack in the Ypres Salient; of raids, wiring -and ration- parties; of work details and transport duties; of front line and reserve trenches, and life in billets behind the lines; of the endless incomprehensible moves, and the shattered landscapes of France and Flanders; of the ever-present dangers and the ever present evidence of their effects- there shines through the chaos the good humour and forbearance of the soldier who fought and survived. There is much to be learned from Private Bryne about tolerance and the virtue of simple humanity. He adds to the cataract of words about the Great War his own his own drop of impish comprehension; in doing so, his narrative forms an excellent counterpoint to the reminiscence and other writings that that form the litany of the First World War. Gallant, proud humorous, and enduring, Charlie Byrne reminds us that wars are fought by ordinary people, but that in each of them there is always something extraordinary.
I Survived Hell On Earth [Illustrated Edition]
by Leon NiesciorIncludes 204 photos, plans and maps illustrating The HolocaustOn the 8th of May 1940 Leon Niescior was arrested by the Gestapo at his home in occupied Poland. He had been guilty of small-time political agitation as a part of the Polish Underground movement; but the full weight of the Nazi secret police bore down on him for his helping a Jewish girl escape a death sentence. Beaten and tortured at Lublin prison, he was sentenced to serve his time at Auschwitz, a death sentence that somehow he survived. Filled with the details of the horrendous conditions of Auschwitz, the author relates his time spent under the brutal SS regime for political prisoners in this autobiography. Witness to the gas chambers, selections and casual barbarism of Auschwitz-Birkenau close by, that claimed so many lives, Nieiscor endured beatings that knocked out his teeth, starvation that left him a shell of himself, this is not for the faint-hearted.
I Survived Hitler’s Hell
by Prof. A. P. GwiazdowskiVivid and powerful World War II memoirs by Polish-American mechanical engineer Aleksander Gwiadzdowski, who spent several years in German prisons in East Prussia from 1941-1945.
I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 (Sobreviví)
by Lauren Tarshis¡Los momentos más escalofriantes de la historia cobran vida en la serie de ficción Sobreviví! ¿Serás capaz de sobrevivir... al bombardeo de Pearl Harbor?Danny Crane, de once años, está solo en su playa favorita de Hawaii mientras el mundo se derrumba y la Segunda Guerra Mundial alcanza oficialmente a Estados Unidos. ¿Será el niño capaz de encontrar el camino a su casa en medio de las bombas, el humo y la destrucción del día que vivirá en la infamia?History's most terrifying moments are brought vividly to life in the action-packed fictional I SURVIVED series! Do you have what it takes to survive ... the bombing of Pearl Harbor?Eleven-year-old Danny Crane is alone on his favorite beach in Hawaii when the world is torn apart and World War II officially hits the United States. Does he have what it takes to find his way home in the midst of the bombs, the smoke, and the destruction of the day that will live in infamy?
I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 (I Survived #4)
by Lauren Tarshis Scott Dawson<p>70 years later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor comes to life for a new generation of readers! <p>History's most terrifying moments are brought vividly to life in the action-packed fictional I SURVIVED series! Do you have what it takes to survive ... the bombing of Pearl Harbor? <p>Eleven-year-old Danny Crane is alone on his favorite beach in Hawaii when the world is torn apart and World War II officially hits the United States. Does he have what it takes to find his way home in the midst of the bombs, the smoke, and the destruction of the day that will live in infamy?</p>
I Walked With Heroes
by Carlos P. RómuloI Walked with Heroes is an autobiographical book written by Carlos P. Romulo, a former Philippine general, journalist, poet, story writer, diplomat, former resident commissioner to Washington, D.C., former Philippine ambassador to the United States, and former President of the United Nations General Assembly.In I Walked with Heroes, Romulo personally reviewed his boyhood, early life, school days, and career in which he presented the facts and events with "frankness, intimacy, sense of person-to-person communication". It included Romulo's memories of his parents and the first time he met the Americans in the person of soldiers stationed in Camiling, his native town in Tarlac. The time was during the Philippine War of Independence. The nameless soldier taught Romulo and other Filipino boys how to read and write in English using Edward Baldwin's Primer. Romulo also narrated his life in Manila when he was both a morning-time student and an evening-time news reporter. A part of the book mentioned how Romulo was praised by then President of the Philippine Senate Manuel L. Quezon after writing a news item against Quezon's political opponents. In the pages of the autobiography, the reader would find that Romulo was comfortable in employing humor such as "telling jokes on himself", particularly in reference to his height to make the reader enjoy his writing. The book revealed Romulo's "unfailing faith in mankind".
I Want You! The Evolution of the All-Volunteer Force
by Bernard D. RostkerShould the U.S. reinstate the draft? With this inside look at the Pentagon and the White House, the author reviews the American military's transformation over the past thirty years into the world's finest fighting force, and describes why the volunteer force is still the best strategy for our national security. A vast archive of government documents on DVD allows readers to view exchanges between government officials at the highest level-including formally classified memorandum between Presidents and Secretaries of Defense-revealing for the first time the inner story of the All-Volunteer Force.
I Want You to Know We're Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir
by Esther Safran Foer&“A beautiful exploration of collective memory and Jewish history.&”—Nathan Englander&“Esther Safran Foer is a force of nature: a leader of the Jewish people, the matriarch of America&’s leading literary family, an eloquent defender of the proposition that memory matters. And now, a riveting memoirist.&”—Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic Esther Safran Foer grew up in a home where the past was too terrible to speak of. The child of parents who were each the sole survivors of their respective families, for Esther the Holocaust loomed in the backdrop of daily life, felt but never discussed. The result was a childhood marked by painful silences and continued tragedy. Even as she built a successful career, married, and raised three children, Esther always felt herself searching. So when Esther&’s mother casually mentions an astonishing revelation—that her father had a previous wife and daughter, both killed in the Holocaust—Esther resolves to find out who they were, and how her father survived. Armed with only a black-and-white photo and a hand-drawn map, she travels to Ukraine, determined to find the shtetl where her father hid during the war. What she finds reshapes her identity and gives her the opportunity to finally mourn. I Want You to Know We&’re Still Here is the poignant and deeply moving story not only of Esther&’s journey but of four generations living in the shadow of the Holocaust. They are four generations of survivors, storytellers, and memory keepers, determined not just to keep the past alive but to imbue the present with life and more life.
I Was Castro's Prisoner: An American Tells his Story
by John Martino Nathaniel Weyl"I Was Castro's Prisoner" is a historically significant book that in 1963 was a media sensation in conservative political circles. Author John Martino presented first-hand personal experience to virtually all the evils that had come with the Castro revolution. He offered descriptions of ongoing, brutal executions held "against the wall" and related stories of full-fledged warfare against both the capitalist and professional classes within Cuba. What Martino witnessed and was openly documenting were the very worst fears of the Cold War: the victory of communism in a capitalist country, and the subsequent destruction of a way of life for its people. Originally published in 1963, republished now to accompany new historical information on the possibility that Martino may have played a role in a conspiracy that resulted in the death of President John Kennedy. In later years, only months before his death, Martino confided that he served as a courier and had certain details regarding a conspiracy to kill JFK in Dallas. Martino was also prominent among those who provided purported evidence to prove Fidel Castro had been the moving force behind the accused assassin Lee Oswald. You will not find the details of what Martino did in 1963 in "I Was Castro's Prisoner"—what you will find is the reason he acted as he did.-Print ed.
I Was A German: An Autobiography of Ernst Toller
by Ernst TollerThis is the fascinating autobiography of Ernst Toller. Ernst Toller (1893 - 1939) was a German left-wing playwright, best known for his expressionist plays. He also famously served for six days in 1919 as the President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, later being imprisoned for his actions. This volume is highly recommended for those with an interest in twentieth-century European history. Contents include: "Childhood", "A Student in France", "War", "At the Front", "An Attempt to Forget Revolt", "Strike", "The Military Prison", "The Lunatic Asylum", "Revolution", "The Bavarian Soviet Republic", etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive.-Print ed.
I Was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoir of Erich Kempka
by Erich Kempka&“An insider view of Hitler&’s closest circles, providing an invaluable account of the final months of the war&” (History of War). Erich Kempka served as Adolf Hitler&’s personal driver from 1934 through to the Führer&’s dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Führer&’s headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin. He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler&’s personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Führer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoir, however, covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Führerbunker. Crucially, Kempka witnessed Hitler&’s marriage to Eva Braun and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler&’s final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet artillery fire, Kempka, Linge, and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them. The account concludes with Kempka&’s hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin more than 800 kilometers through Allied-occupied Germany, his arrest, and interrogation before being sent to serve as a witness at Nuremburg.
I Was Hitler's Pilot: The Memoirs of Hans Baur
by Roger Moorhouse Hans BaurA chilling memoir by the man who flew the Führer. A decorated First World War pilot, Hans Baur was one of the leading commercial aviators of the 1920s before being pitched into the thick of it as personal pilot to a certain “Herr Hitler.” Hitler, who loathed flying, felt safe with Baur and would allow no one else to pilot him. As a result, an intimate relationship developed between the two men and it is this which gives these memoirs special significance. Hitler relaxed in Baur’s company and talked freely of his plans and of his real opinions about his friends and allies. Baur was also present during some of the most salient moments of the Third Reich; the Röhm Putsch, the advent of Eva Braun, Ribbentrop’s journey to Moscow, the Bürgerbräukeller attempt on Hitler’s life; and, when war came, he flew Hitler from front to front. He remained in Hitler’s service right up to the final days in the Führerbunker. In a powerful account of Hitler’s last hours, Baur describes his final discussions with Hitler before his suicide; and his last meeting with Magda Goebbels in the tortuous moments before she killed her children. Remarkably, throughout it all, Baur’s loyalty to the Führer never wavered. His memoirs capture these events in all their fascinating and disturbing detail.
I Was in Hell with Niemoeller
by Leo SteinFound guilty of treason in 1937, Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984), a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor, spent the rest of World War II in Sachsenhausen, Moabit, and Dachau concentration camps.In I Was in Hell with Niemoeller, which was first published in 1942, Niemoeller’s former cell-mate, Leo Stein, supplements his story of his vain effort to dissuade Hitler from his course, and of the circumstances leading up to and following his arrest on Hitler's order.“It is a strong book, both appalling and fascinating and of great value. Everybody who reads it—and I hope many thousands will do so—must be filled with admiration for a true hero of faith and with abhorrence against his torturer who, in fact, is the torturer of all mankind.”—Thomas Mann“Pastor Niemoeller carries on in the great tradition…and the modern world is indebted to Leo Stein who shared imprisonment with him for remembering so much…To all who think that decent people can go their way in peace if Hitler runs the world I say read ‘I Was in Hell with Niemoeller’.”—Fulton Oursler, Editor, Author, Lecturer“An unfolding story of tragedy, and an incredible story of physical, moral and spiritual intolerance and degradation under the Third Reich…Every page is convincing. A MUST book for YOU.”—Daniel A. Poling, Editor of Christian Herald
I Was There: Based on His Notes and Diaries Made at the Time
by Fleet Adm. William D. LeahyAdmiral Leahy, as Chief of Staff to both wartime presidents, was the senior-ranking military man in the United States. He is, therefore, the only living American who could have written this highly comprehensive and significant book. I WAS THERE is one of the most important chronicles of our time. A frank appraisal of great men and stirring events, it is a forthright and intensely interesting narration of the curial war years. “I was there. Throughout almost five years from November, 1940, to the end of World War II in September, 1945, my duties placed me at pivotal points in the high command that accomplished the defeat of our enemies against what at times seemed heavy odds. These observations are based on participation in many historic discussions at which the course of the war was charted and at which attempts were made to map the road to peace.”—Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, Chapter I
I, Who Did Not Die
by Meredith May Najah Aboud Zahed HaftlangKhorramshahr, Iran, May 1982—It was the bloodiest battle of one of the most brutal wars of the twentieth century, and Najah, a twenty-nine-year-old wounded Iraqi conscript, was face to face with a thirteen-year-old Iranian child soldier who was ordered to kill him. Instead, the boy committed an astonishing act of mercy. It was an act that decades later would save his own life.This is a remarkable story. It is gut-wrenching, essential, and astonishing. It’s a war story. A love story. A page-turner of vast moral dimensions. An eloquent and haunting act of witness to horrors beyond grimmest fiction, and a thing of towering beauty. More importantly, it is a story that must be told, and a richly textured view into an overlooked conflict and misunderstood region. This is the great untold story of the children and young men whose lives were sacrificed at the whim of vicious dictators and pointless, barbaric wars. Little has been written of the Iran-Iraq war, which was among the most brutal conflicts of the twentieth century, one fought with chemical weapons, ballistic missiles, and cadres of child soldiers. The numbers involved are staggering: —All told, it claimed 700,000 lives—200,000 Iraqis, and 500,000 Iranians. —Young men of military service age—eighteen and above in Iraq, fifteen and above in Iran—died in the greatest numbers. —80,000 Iranian child soldiers were killed, mostly between the ages of sixteen and seventeen. —The two countries spent a combined 1.1 trillion dollars fighting the war. Rarely does this kind of reportage succeed so power- fully as literature. More rarely still does such searingly brilliant literature—fit to stand beside Remarque, Hemingway, and O’Brien—emerge from behind “enemy” lines. But Zahed, a child, and Najah, a young restaurateur, are rare men—not just survivors, but masterful, wondrously gifted storytellers. Written with award-winning journalist Meredith May, this is literature of a very high order, set down with passion, urgency, and consummate skill. This story is an affirmation that, in the end, it is our humanity that transcends politics and borders and saves us all.
I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941
by Victor Klemperer Martin ChalmersI Will Bear Witness is a work of literature as well as a revelation of the day-by-day horror of the Nazi years. Victor Klemperer's secret diaries brings to light one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period.
I Will Hold: The Story of USMC Legend Clifton B. Cates, from Belleau Wood to Victory in the Great War
by James Carl NelsonThe incredible true story of Clifton B. "Lucky" Cates, whose service in World War I and beyond made him a legend in the annals of the Marine Corps.Cates knew that he and his small band of marines were in a desperate spot. Before handing the note over to a runner, he added three words that would resound through Marine Corps history:I WILL HOLDFrom the moment he first joined the Marine Reserves of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, Clifton B. Cates was determined to make his mark as a leader. Little did he know what he would truly accomplish in his legendary career.Not as well-known as his contemporaries such as Alvin C. York, his fame would not come from a single act of heroism but from his consistent and courageous demeanor throughout the war and beyond.In the bloody second half of 1918 with the 6th Marine Regiment, he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, was recognized by the French government with the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre, and earned the nickname "Lucky."I Will Hold is the inspiring, brutally vivid, and incredible true life story of a Marine Corps legend whose grit and unstoppable spirit on the battlefield matched his personal drive and sage wisdom off of it.INCLUDES PHOTOS
The Ia Drang Campaign 1965: A Successful Operational Campaign Or Mere Tactical Failure?
by Lt.-Col. Peter J. SchifferleThis monograph analyzes the effectiveness of operational campaign design during the initial US ground combat in the Vietnam War. The focus is on the linkage of national strategic ends with military means and ways from the Spring of 1965 through the results of the la Drang battles of November 1965. The monograph identifies lessons from this period that are applicable to current US Joint and Army doctrine as well as lessons for planners and executors of US military action under the American system of civilian control of the military.First, the monograph evaluates current US doctrine for campaigns and identifies the concept of linkage of national strategic ends with military ways and means as critical to successful campaign design. Then the monograph assesses US military doctrine in 1965, identifying the weakness of unconventional warfare capabilities. A detailed discussion of the concept of both limited war and gradualism as national strategies, includes the limits on military action imposed by these strategies. Section III identifies specific military objectives identified by the National Command Authority, including preventing the war in Vietnam from escalating to a general war. The primacy of President Johnson's domestic concerns is also identified.The monograph then assesses the effectiveness of US military campaign planning and execution in 1965. The conclusion is that the operational ways and means used by General Westmoreland in the conduct of his chosen strategy of attrition were not linked in any way with the national strategic aim of limited warfare. The monograph also identifies a failure in supervision by civilian leaders, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of the military planning and conduct of the air and ground campaign in South Vietnam. Too little supervision was the cause of failure, not over supervision by the civilian and military leadership.
Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation POSTMASTER: The Untold Top Secret Story
by Brian LettThe true story of the force of “licensed to kill” secret agents who became the basis for the James Bond spy series. Brigadier Colin Gubbins was M. The Special Operations Executive was his Secret Service. Professor Dudley Newitt was Q. Capt. Gus March-Phillips commanded “Maid of Honor Force,” the team of “James Bonds” who, in a daring operation, sailed a ship to West Africa and stole three enemy ships from a neutral Spanish port on the volcanic island of Fernando Po. Ian Fleming worked closely with M to oil the wheels that made the operation possible, and prepared the cover story, in which the British government lied in order to conceal British responsibility for the raid. M’s agents prepared the ground on Fernando Po, even enmeshing the governor in a honey trap. March-Phillips and his team carried out the raid successfully in January 1942, despite much opposition from the local regular Army and Navy commanders, and in the face of overwhelming odds. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told Fleming’s lies on the international stage, denying any British complicity in the operation. As a result, a secrecy embargo enveloped Operation POSTMASTER until recently. This gripping book proves beyond doubt that this thrilling operation, and the men who carried it out, were the inspiration for Fleming’s fictional 007.
Ian Fleming's Secret War
by Craig CabellWhile his extravagant and glamorous lifestyle is well known, little has been published concerning Ian Fleming's contribution during the Second World War. In the very early days of the War, Fleming was earmarked by the Director of Naval Intelligence as his 'right hand man'. From the outset he was in the center of events, meeting with key political and military figures as well as those of exceptional intelligence, experience and courage. All this was to give him invaluable background when he came to write the Bond novels. The author has uncovered through official documentation, private papers and contacts the depth of Fleming's work in Naval Intelligence. Fascinating insights of those he worked with and details of covert trips to Europe and North Africa emerge. Fleming was closely associated with 30 Assault Unit, a crack team of Commandos who took the fight to the enemy. The book reveals both the history of 30 AU and Fleming's role.