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Spy Ships: One Hundred Years of Intelligence Collection by Ships and Submarines
by Norman Polmar Lee J. MathersAlmost from the first days of seafaring, men have used ships for &“spying&” and intelligence collection. Since early in the twentieth century, with the technological advancements of radio and radar, the U.S. Navy and other government agencies and many other navies have used increasingly specialized ships and submarines to ferret out the secrets of other nations. The United States and the Soviet Union/Russia have been the leaders in those efforts, especially during the forty-five years of the Cold War. But, as Norman Polmar and Lee J. Mathers reveal, so has China, which has become a major maritime power in the twenty-first century, with special interests in the South China Sea and with increasing hostility toward the United States. Through extensive, meticulous research and through the lens of such notorious spy ship events as the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, the North Korean capture of the USS Pueblo, and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency&’s success in clandestinely salvaging part of a Soviet submarine with the Hughes Glomar Explorer, Spy Ships is a fascinating and valuable resource for understanding maritime intelligence collection and what we have learned from it.
Spy Sub
by Roger C. DunhamThis is a story about a secret mission to find a lost Soviet submarine in the great depths of the Pacific Ocean, a mission never acknowledged by the U. S. Department of Defense. Deeply beneath the searching navy of the Soviet Union, the nuclear submarine hunt was so secret that even the men on the vessel never knew the object of their search. The brave exploits of these sailors and their remarkable commanding officer, enduring near-tragedies at sea and nearly-impossible challenges deep under the Pacific, are described by the author who also provides his own personal experiences under the tightest secrecy ever required for a submarine mission. The failures, the near catastrophes, and the challenges are described in personal detail, and the final outcome bringing critical Cold War information to the president of the United States is a saga like none in the annals of submarine exploits.
Spy and Counterspy: Secret Agents and Double Agents from the Second World War to the Cold War
by Ian DearThe shadowy world of supposedly legalized spying has an enduring fascination for us all. Spy and Counterspy reveals for the first time the web of spies that spanned the globe during and after the Second World War, working for organisations like MI5 & MI6, the CIA & OSS, Soviet Smersh & NKVD, Japanese Tokko and the German Gestapo. These men and women lived extraordinary lives, always on the edge of exposure and the risk of death. Many of them were so in love with the Great Game of espionage that they betrayed their countries and acted as double and sometimes even triple agents in a complex deception that threatened the very grasp of power in government. Their war in the shadows remained unrecognized until today.
Spy of the Century: Alfred Redl & the Betrayal of Austro-Hungary
by John Sadler Silvie FischThis military biography reveals the secret life of a closeted Austro-Hungarian intelligence officer who became a double agent in pre-WWI Europe. On the night of May 24th, 1913, three high-ranking military officials waited outside a hotel in the center of Vienna. At around two am they heard a gunshot and knew that one of their own had just ended his life. Colonel Alfred Redl, the former deputy head of the Evidenzbüro, the Austro-Hungarian General Staff&’s directorate of military intelligence, and confidant of the heir to the throne. His suicide note read: &‘Levity and passion have destroyed me&’. No one knew that for almost a decade, Redl had been giving military secrets to the Italians, French, and Russians. His motives for betraying the army he revered were a mystery for over a century. But after the discovery of long-lost records, the truth has been revealed.Spy of the Century tells the tragic story of a devoted military man who was forced to hide his homosexuality, and used his wealth to please his young lover. Authors John Sadler and Silvie Fisch vividly reconstruct Redl&’s secret life and dramatic downfall.
Spy: A Novel
by Danielle SteelA young woman is caught up in a dangerous double life on behalf of her country during World War II in Danielle Steel&’s thrilling new novel. At eighteen, Alexandra Wickham is presented to King George V and Queen Mary in an exquisite white lace and satin dress her mother has ordered from Paris. With her delicate blond looks, she is a stunning beauty who seems destined for a privileged life. But fate, a world war, and her own quietly rebellious personality lead her down a different path. By 1939, Europe is on fire and England is at war. From her home in idyllic Hampshire, Alex makes her way to London as a volunteer in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. But she has skills that draw the attention of another branch of the service. Fluent in French and German, she would make the perfect secret agent. Within a year, Alex is shocking her family in trousers and bright red lipstick. They must never know about the work she does—no one can know, not even the pilot she falls in love with. While her country and those dearest to her pay the terrible price of war, Alex learns the art of espionage, leading to life-and-death missions behind enemy lines and a long career as a spy in exotic places and historic times. Spy follows Alex&’s extraordinary adventures in World War II and afterward in India, Pakistan, Morocco, Hong Kong, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., when her husband, Richard, enters the foreign service and both become witnesses to a rapidly changing world from post-war to Cold War. She lives life on the edge, with a secret she must always keep hidden.
Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America
by David WiseThe book narrates the full, authoritative story of how FBI agent Robert Hanssen, code name grayday, spied for Russia for twenty-two years in what has been called the "worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history"-and how he was finally caught in an incredible gambit by U.S. intelligence.
Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America (Core Ser.)
by David WiseSpy tells, for the first time, the full, authoritative story of how FBI agent Robert Hanssen, code name grayday, spied for Russia for twenty-two years in what has been called the "worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history"-and how he was finally caught in an incredible gambit by U.S. intelligence.David Wise, the nation's leading espionage writer, has called on his unique knowledge and unrivaled intelligence sources to write the definitive, inside story of how Robert Hanssen betrayed his country, and why.Spy at last reveals the mind and motives of a man who was a walking paradox: FBI counterspy, KGB mole, devout Catholic, obsessed pornographer who secretly televised himself and his wife having sex so that his best friend could watch, defender of family values, fantasy James Bond who took a stripper to Hong Kong and carried a machine gun in his car trunk.Brimming with startling new details sure to make headlines, Spy discloses:-the previously untold story of how the FBI got the actual file on Robert Hanssen out of KGB headquarters in Moscow for $7 million in an unprecedented operation that ended in Hanssen's arrest.-how for three years, the FBI pursued a CIA officer, code name gray deceiver, in the mistaken belief that he was the mole they were seeking inside U.S. intelligence. The innocent officer was accused as a spy and suspended by the CIA for nearly two years. -why Hanssen spied, based on exclusive interviews with Dr. David L. Charney, the psychiatrist who met with Hanssen in his jail cell more than thirty times. Hanssen, in an extraordinary arrangement, authorized Charney to talk to the author.-the full story of Robert Hanssen's bizarre sex life, including the hidden video camera he set up in his bedroom and how he plotted to drug his wife, Bonnie, so that his best friend could father her child.- how Hanssen and the CIA's Aldrich Ames betrayed three Russians secretly spying for the FBI-including tophat, a Soviet general-who were then executed by Moscow. -that after Hanssen was already working for the KGB, he directed a study of moles in the FBI when-as he alone knew-he was the mole.Robert Hanssen betrayed the FBI. He betrayed his country. He betrayed his wife. He betrayed his children. He betrayed his best friend, offering him up to the KGB. He betrayed his God. Most of all, he betrayed himself. Only David Wise could tell the astonishing, full story, and he does so, in masterly style, in Spy.From the Hardcover edition.
Spycraft
by Robert Wallace H. Keith Melton George J. Tenet Henry R. SchlesingerWho's spying on you? And how are they doing it? Spycraft offers an unprecedented look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible. Written by the former director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, Robert Wallace (a real-life Q, straight out of the James Bond films), and internationally renowned intelligence historian H. Keith Melton, Spycraft reveals how the CIA carries out its life-and-death missions against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions - including the Cold War, the Cuben Missile Crisis, and the War on Terror. More relevant than ever - given the news about Edward Snowden and the NSA, concerns about privacy rights, organizations like Julian Assange's WikiLeaks, and popular entertainment like The Americans and Homeland - Spycraft is an important and revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda
by Robert Wallace H. Keith Melton George J. Tenet Henry R. SchlesingerAN UNPRECEDENTED HISTORY OF THE CIA'S SECRET AND AMAZING GADGETRY BEHIND THE ART OF ESPIONAGE In this look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible, Spycraft tells gripping life-and-death stories about a group of spytechs--much of it never previously revealed and with images never before seen by the public. The CIA's Office of Technical Service is the ultrasecret department that grappled with challenges such as: What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? How does one embed a listening device in a cat?What is an invisible photo used for? These amazingly inventive devices were created and employed against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions--including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and continuing terrorist threats. Written by Robert Wallace, the former director of the Office of Technical Service, and internationally renowned intelligence historian Keith Melton, Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage. "The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present." --WIRED "Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book." --THE WASHINGTON TIMES "This is a story I thought could never be told." --JAMES M. OLSON, former chief of CIA counterintelligenceFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda
by Robert Wallace H. Keith Melton George J. Tenet Henry R. SchlesingerAn unprecedented history of the CIA's secret and amazing gadgetry behind the art of espionageIn this look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible, Spycraft tells gripping life-and-death stories about a group of spytechs--much of it never previously revealed and with images never before seen by the public. The CIA's Office of Technical Service is the ultrasecret department that grappled with challenges such as: What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? How does one embed a listening device in a cat?What is an invisible photo used for? These amazingly inventive devices were created and employed against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions--including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and continuing terrorist threats. Written by Robert Wallace, the former director of the Office of Technical Service, and internationally renowned intelligence historian Keith Melton, Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage. "The first comprehensive look at the technical achievements of American espionage from the 1940s to the present."--Wired "Reveals more concrete information about CIA tradecraft than any book."--The Washington Times "This is a story I thought could never be told."--JAMES M. OLSON, former chief of CIA counterintelligenceFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Spying from the Sky: At the Controls of US Cold War Aerial Intelligence
by Robert L. RichardsonThe &“must read&” story of America&’s first high-altitude aviation program and one of its pilots (Francis Gary Powers Jr.). William &“Greg&” Gregory was born into a sharecropper&’s life in the hills of North Central Tennessee. From the back of a mule-drawn plow, Greg learned the value of resilience and the importance of determined living. Refusing to accept a life of poverty, he found a way out: a work-study college program that made it possible for him to leave farming behind forever. While at college, Greg completed the Civilian Pilot Training Program and was subsequently accepted into the US Army&’s pilot training program. Earning his wings in 1942, he became a P-38 combat pilot and served in North Africa during the summer of 1943—a critical time when the Luftwaffe was still a potent threat, and America had begun the march northward from the Mediterranean into Europe proper. Following the war, Greg served with a B-29 unit, then transitioned to the new, red-hot B-47 strategic bomber. In his frequent deployments, he was always assigned the same target in the Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin&’s hometown of Tbilisi. While a B-47 pilot, Greg was selected to join America&’s first high-altitude program, the Black Knights. Flying RB-57D aircraft, he and his team flew peripheral &“ferret&” missions around the Soviet Union and its satellites, collecting critical order-of-battle data desperately needed by the US Air Force at that time. When the program neared its design end—and following the Gary Powers shoot-down over the Soviet Union—Greg was assigned to command of the CIA&’s U-2 unit at Edwards AFB. Over this five-year command, he and his team provided critical overflight intelligence during the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam buildup, and more. He also became one of the first pilots to fly U-2s off aircraft carriers in a demonstration project. Spying from the Sky is the in-depth biography of William Gregory, who attended the National War College, was assigned to the reconnaissance office at the Pentagon, and was named vice-commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) before retiring from the force in 1972.
Spying in World War I: The true story of Margriet Ballegeer
by Janet DeanMargriet Ballegeer, a young Belgian woman, joined the resistance in 1914, playing a key role in sabotaging German occupation of Belgium throughout World War I. At the outbreak of war, Margriet, then 24, joined a local resistance group but later became part of a wider network of spies run by the British Intelligence Service from Rotterdam, but following the Armistice her role was overlooked. As part of her initial activities, she helped Father Felix Moons, a resistance worker, by stealing identity papers and passports from the town hall where her father was Chief of Police. Using these, she and Moons were able to help young men escape Belgium and join the Allies. When Moons became known to German Intelligence, he hid for a year in the Ballegeer household, pretending to be part of the family. While he stayed, Margariet acted as a courier for him, using the cover of her shop to keep resistance activities alive.In September 1915, Margriet was betrayed, arrested, and put on trial along with her father. They admitted to forging papers but denied the charges of spying: she was sentenced to 6 months, her father a year, both to be served in St Gilles prison. Even when released, Margriet remained committed to the cause, again joining a larger resistance group and using her shop as a "letterbox" for couriers, such as those collecting information on troop activities. Margriet was recruited by Henri Van Bergen as his secretary and courier, and between them they relayed vital information to Captain Landau who in turn informed his London HQ, enabling the Allies to prepare and anticipate German attacks.In 1917, Van Bergen, Margriet, and Moons were arrested and interrogated by the Germans after being betrayed by one of their recruits. More than 20 spies, including Margriet, were tried and sentenced to death. Margriet, however, was lucky and was granted a reprieve and remained in prison until the Armistice. Moons and Van Bergen were executed. After the war, Margrit moved to England, married and had two children, settling in Eastborne. This is her story.
Spying on Canadians: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service and the Origins of the Long Cold War
by Gregory S. KealeyAward winning author Gregory S. Kealey’s study of Canada’s security and intelligence community before the end of World War II depicts a nation caught up in the Red Scare in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution and tangled up with the imperial interests of first the United Kingdom and then the United States. Spying on Canadians brings together over twenty five years of research and writing about political policing in Canada. Through itse use of the Dominion Police and later the RCMP, Canada repressed the labour movement and the political left in defense of capital. The collection focuses on three themes; the nineteenth-century roots of political policing in Canada, the development of a national security system in the twentieth-century, and the ongoing challenges associated with research in this area owing to state secrecy and the inadequacies of access to information legislation. This timely collection alerts all Canadians to the need for the vigilant defence of civil liberties and human rights in the face of the ever increasing intrusion of the state into our private lives in the name of countersubversion and counterterrorism.
Spymaster: Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief
by Tennent H. BagleyFrom the dark days of World War II through the Cold War, Sergey A. Kondrashev was a major player in Russia's notorious KGB espionage apparatus. Rising through its ranks through hard work and keen understanding of how the spy and political games are played, he "handled" American and British defectors, recruited Western operatives as double agents, served as a ranking officer at the East Berlin and Vienna KGB bureaus, and tackled special assignments from the Kremlin.During a 1994 television program about former spymasters, Kondrashev met and began a close friendship with a former foe, ex-CIA officer Tennent H. "Pete" Bagley, whom the Russian asked to help write his memoirs.Because Bagley knew so about much of Kondrashev's career (they had been on opposite sides in several operations), his penetrating questions and insights reveal slices of never-revealed espionage history that rival anything found in the pages of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, or John le Carré: chilling tales of surviving Stalin's purges while superiors and colleagues did not, of plotting to reveal the Berlin Tunnel, of quelling the Hungarian Revolution and "Prague Spring" independence movements, and of assisting in arranging the final disposition of the corpses of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. Kondrashev also details equally fascinating KGB propaganda and disinformation efforts that shaped Western attitudes throughout the Cold War.Because publication of these memoirs was banned by Putin's regime, Bagley promised Kondrashev to have them published in the West. They are now available to all who are fascinated by vivid tales of international intrigue.
Spymaster: The Man Who Saved MI6
by Helen FryThe dramatic story of a man who stood at the center of British intelligence operations, the ultimate spymaster of World War Two: Thomas Kendrick Thomas Kendrick (1881–1972) was central to the British Secret Service from its beginnings through to the Second World War. Under the guise of "British Passport Officer," he ran spy networks across Europe, facilitated the escape of Austrian Jews, and later went on to set up the "M Room," a listening operation which elicited information of the same significance and scope as Bletchley Park. Yet the work of Kendrick, and its full significance, remains largely unknown. Helen Fry draws on extensive original research to tell the story of this remarkable British intelligence officer. Kendrick&’s life sheds light on the development of MI6 itself—he was one of the few men to serve Britain across three wars, two of which while working for the British Secret Service. Fry explores the private and public sides of Kendrick, revealing him to be the epitome of the "English gent"—easily able to charm those around him and scrupulously secretive.
Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II
by William StevensonShe was beautiful. She was ruthless. She had a steel trap for a mind and a will of iron. Born Vera Maria Rosenberg in Bucharest, she became Vera Atkins, legendary spy and holder of the Legion of Honor. Recruited by William Stevenson-the spymaster who would later come to be known as "Intrepid"-when she was only twenty-three, Vera spent much of the 1930s running countless perilous espionage missions. When war was declared in 1939, her fierce intelligence, blunt manner, personal courage, and knowledge of several languages quickly propelled her to the leadership echelon of the highly secretive Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert intelligence agency formed by, and reporting to, Winston Churchill. She recruited and trained several hundred agents, including dozens of women, whose objectives were to penetrate deep behind enemy lines.The stirring exploits and the exemplary courage of the SOE agents and the French Resistance fighters-who in the words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower together "shortened the war by many months"-are justly celebrated. But the central role of Vera Atkins has until now been cloaked in silence. William Stevenson was the only person she trusted to record her life; he kept his promise that he would not publish her story until after her death. Here is the extraordinary account of the woman whose intelligence, beauty, and unflagging dedication proved key in turning the tide of World War II.
Spyplanes: The Illustrated Guide to Manned Reconnaissance and Surveillance Aircraft from World War I to Today
by Norman Polmar John F. BessetteA comprehensive history with descriptions of the world's most significant aircraft employed as "eyes in the sky."For as long as there has been sustained heavier-than-air human flight, airplanes have been used to gather information about our adversaries. Less than a decade after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, Italian pilots were keeping tabs on Turkish foes in Libya. Today, aircraft with specialized designs and sensory equipment still cruise the skies, spying out secrets in the never-ending quest for an upper hand.Spyplanes tackles the sprawling legacy of manned aerial reconnaissance, from hot air balloons to cloth-and-wood biplanes puttering over the Western Front, and on through every major world conflict, culminating with spyplanes cruising at supersonic speeds 85,000 feet above the Earth's surface. Authors Norman Polmar and John Bessette offer a concise yet comprehensive overview history of aerial recon, exploring considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's Big Safari program.Polmar and Bessette, along with a roster of respected aviation journalists, also profile 70 renowned fixed-wing spyplanes from World I right up to the still-conceptual hypersonic SR-72. The authors examine the design, development, and service history of each aircraft, and offer images and specification boxes that detail vital stats for each. Included are purpose-built spyplanes, as well as legendary fighters and bombers that have been retrofitted for the purpose. In addition, the authors feature preliminary chapters discussing the history of aerial surveillance and a host of sidebars that explore considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban missile crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's current Big Safari program.From prop-driven to jet-powered aircraft, this is the ultimate history and reference to those "eyes in the skies" that have added mind-bending technologies, not to mention an element of intrigue, to military aviation for more than a century.
Spätverfolgung von NS-Unrecht
by Moritz Vormbaum75 Jahre nach dem Nürnberger Hauptkriegsverbrecherprozess ist die Strafverfolgung der nationalsozialistischen Systemverbrechen faktisch abgeschlossen. Der Band nimmt den letzten Akt der Strafverfolgung von NS-Unrecht in Deutschland in den Blick. Er knüpft an die in Wissenschaft, Praxis und allgemeiner Öffentlichkeit geführten Debatten über die Spätverfolgung an, zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem die Erinnerung an die Verfahren noch frisch ist. Disziplinenübergreifend bietet der Band Analysen verschiedener Aspekte der Spätverfolgung und verknüpft das Thema mit dem internationalen "transitional justice"-Diskurs.Die Kapitel 1 Einführung, 11 Spätverfolgung von NS-Unrecht – Reflexionen der Nebenklagevertretung und 20 Ausgeforscht? Zeitgeschichte und juristische Ahndung von NS-Verbrechen sind unter einer Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License über link.springer.com frei verfügbar (Open Access).
Squaddie: A Soldier's Story
by Steven McLaughlinFrom the harsh realities of basic training to post-war chaos in Iraq and knife-edge tension in Northern Ireland, Squaddie takes us to a place not advertised in army recruitment brochures. It exposes the grim reality of everyday soldiering for the 'grunts on the ground'.After the tragic death of his brother, and in the dark days following 9/11, McLaughlin felt compelled to fulfil his lifelong ambition to serve in the army. He followed his late brother into the elite Royal Green Jackets and passed the arduous Combat Infantryman's Course at the age of 31. Thereafter, McLaughlin found himself submerged in a world of casual violence.Squaddie is a snapshot of infantry soldiering in the twenty-first century. It takes us into the heart of an ancient institution that is struggling to retain its tough traditions in a rapidly changing world. All of the fears and anxieties that the modern soldier carries as his burden are laid bare, as well as the occasional joys and triumphs that can make him feel like he is doing the best job in the world.This is an account of army life by someone who has been there and done it.
Squadron Leader Tommy Broom DFC**: The Legendary Pathfinder Mosquito Navigator
by Tom Parry EvansTommy Broom is one of the RAFs most legendary and popular heroes of World War II. He joined the service at eighteen years of age in 1932 and after service in the Middle East, he first saw action against Germany in a Fairey Battle during 1939 with No 105(B) Squadron. He continued to serve with 105 Squadron until November 1940, a period that included the disastrous Battle of France and the low-level attacks on the Channel ports to destroy the invasion barges, in both of which actions the squadron suffered severe losses.Having completed more than his share of front-line flying he was transferred to 13 Operational Training Unit at Bicester, to teach the influx of newly-trained navigators the additional skills required for combat situations. He returned to 105(B) Squadron in January 1942 to complete a further tour. In August of the same year he was again posted to the educational role. In May 1944. He then returned to front-line flying until the end of the war, belonging to numbers 571(B), 128(B) and 163(B) Mosquito Squadrons.Tommy completed 83 operations during the war and teamed up with a namesake as his pilot, Ivor Broom they became known as the Flying Brooms and completed 57 operations together.
Squadron: Ending the African Slave Trade
by John BroichThis naval history reveals the story of Victorian-era officers and abolitionists who fought the illegal slave trade in the Indian Ocean. Though the British Empire outlawed the slave trade in 1807, many British ships continued the practice for decades along the eastern coast of Africa. The Royal Navy&’s response was to dispatch a squadron charged with patrolling the African coast for rogue slave ships. In Squadron, John Broich tells the story of the four Royal Naval officers who made it their personal mission to end the still-rampant slave trade. The campaign was quickly cancelled when it began to interfere with the interests of the wealthy merchant class. But in time, a coalition of naval officers and abolitionists forced the British government&’s hand into eradicating the slave trade entirely. Drawing on firsthand accounts and archives throughout the U.K., Broich tells a tale of defiance in the face of political corruption, while delivering thrills in the tradition of high seas heroism. If it weren&’t a true story, Squadron would be right at home alongside Patrick O&’Brian&’s Master and Commander series.
Squadrons Up!: A Firsthand Story of the R.A.F.
by Noel MonksThis book is the story of the two R.A.F. fighter squadrons [1st and 73rd] attached to the Advanced Air Striking Force in France from September, 1939, until the eve of France’s capitulation in June, 1940. Written by the leading war correspondent of the Daily Mail, Noel Monks, “It is above all a study of the personality of air fighters, no two of whom, according to the author, were alike.”—NY Times
Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq
by Larry DiamondIn late 2003, Stanford University professor and democracy expert Larry Diamond was personally asked by his former colleague Condoleezza Rice to serve as an advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, a position he accepted with equal parts "hesitation and conviction." He opposed the initial invasion of Iraq, but "supported building the peace," and felt the U.S. had a moral imperative to reconstruct Iraq as a democratic and prosperous nation. Before going to Iraq he had serious doubts about whether the U.S. could actually do this--an opinion that was solidified after spending three months working with the CPA. Squandered Victory is his insider's examination of what went wrong in Iraq after the initial invasion. Diamond details a long list of preventable blunders and missed opportunities, from President Bush's decision to give the Pentagon the lead responsibility for the management of postwar Iraq to the CPA's inability to work with Iraqi leaders such as Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Diamond expresses admiration for CPA Administrator L. Paul Bremer, whom he believes was sincere about wanting to bring democracy to Iraq, yet points out that he was wholly unprepared and unrealistic about the task, resulting in "one of the major overseas blunders in U.S. history." In his descriptions of confrontations with Bremer, Diamond shows him as unwilling to diverge from paths that were obviously failing. As an academic with an expertise in democracy building, Diamond sometimes seems more comfortable with theories than practical solutions, but he did experience the process in Iraq from the inside and provides a useful background on the various ethnic and religious groups vying for power there. He claims that he remains hopeful, but his optimism lies more with the abilities of the Iraqi people than with the U.S. government, since the difficult process of democratization will likely take much more time and effort than the U.S. can afford to spend.
Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars
by Francesca WadeA NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS&’ CHOICE • LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE • &“A beautiful and deeply moving book.&”—Sally Rooney, author of Normal PeopleAn engrossing group portrait of five women writers, including Virginia Woolf, who moved to London&’s Mecklenburgh Square in search of new freedom in their lives and work.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY POPMATTERS &“I like this London life . . . the street-sauntering and square-haunting.&”—Virginia Woolf, diary, 1925 In the early twentieth century, Mecklenburgh Square—a hidden architectural gem in the heart of London—was a radical address. On the outskirts of Bloomsbury known for the eponymous group who &“lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles,&” the square was home to students, struggling artists, and revolutionaries. In the pivotal era between the two world wars, the lives of five remarkable women intertwined at this one address: modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf. In an era when women&’s freedoms were fast expanding, they each sought a space where they could live, love, and—above all—work independently. With sparkling insight and a novelistic style, Francesca Wade sheds new light on a group of artists and thinkers whose pioneering work would enrich the possibilities of women&’s lives for generations to come.Praise for Square Haunting&“A fascinating voyage through the lives of five remarkable women . . . moving and immersive.&”—Edmund Gordon, author of The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography&“Elegant, erudite, and absorbing, Square Haunting is a startlingly original debut, and Francesca Wade is an author to watch.&”—Frances Wilson, author of Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey&“Outstanding . . . I&’ll be recommending this all year.&”—Sarah Bakewell, author of At the Existentialist Café&“I much enjoyed Francesca Wade's book. It almost made me wish I belonged to the pioneering generation of women spoiling eggs on the gas ring and breaking taboos.&”—Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche
Square Rigger Days: Autobiographies of Sail
by Charles W. DomvillefifeThere are few books that describe accurately life on board sailing ships in the last days of sail, from the 1860s to the First World War; the romantic image conjured up by many who wrote from a safe distance belies the harsh realities which were a sailorman's lot. Domville-Fife, in collecting together the personal stories of seamen while they were still alive, was able to present a truer picture of the tough last days of sail. Long voyages on board nineteenth-century sailing ships were marked by isolation, boredom, and miserable living conditions that taxed the endurance of men already hard pressed by the gruelling and dangerous nature of shipboard work. While some were attracted to a life of adventure most simply went to sea for a living, and a meagre one at that. They experienced neither the excitement of life on the crack clippers of the earlier decades nor the safety of the steamships; they were caught in the limbo of a dying profession where poor pay, discontinuous employment, prolonged isolation from family and physical hardship were the norm. No wonder that murder, mutiny, starvation and shipwreck appear in the memoirs gathered here. Domville-Fife surely did future generations a great service by piecing together this reality. First published in 1938, these memoirs are now available again in this superbly presented new edition with a new selection of stunning photographs and a fascinating introduction on life at sea in the dying world of sail. A wonderful read for all enthusiasts and historians of the merchant service in the days of sail.