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The Bomber Command's Forgotten Summer: 1940
by Paul TweddleWhile the heroic exploits of ‘The Few’ of Fighter Command are rightly lauded, those of ‘The Many’ of Bomber Command often remain overlooked. Night after night, the bomber crews ranged across Europe seeking out and attacking targets in an all-out endeavour to undermine the German war effort against Britain and prevent invasion.Bomber Command’s Forgotten Summer tells the stories of the young men who carried out dangerous missions on a nightly basis, battling against both the enemy and the elements, relying on a mix of nerve, skills and luck to hit their target and make it home. Faced with flak and fighters, exposed to the harsh weather conditions and operating at the edge of their capabilities, for the young men of Bomber Command, this was just as vital as the Battle of Britain.
The Bomber Dog
by Megan RixThe Bomber Dog is a heartwarming story for 9+ readers about a brave puppy who joins the paratroopers during the Second World War and becomes a heroic war dog. Perfect for fans of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse and Lauren St John.GREY is just a puppy when he arrives at the War Dog Training school.NATHAN, his trainer, is a brave young soldier.WOLF is a war dog who's seen it all.Grey and Nathan soon become inseparable. Until the day a parachute jump goes tragically wrong . . .As the Second World War rages, Grey faces his most important mission yet: to find his best friend. With Wolf at his side, he must journey across France and behind enemy lines. His path is fraught with danger. Can he reach Nathan before it's too late?Praise for Megan Rix:'If you love Michael Morpurgo, you will enjoy this' Express 'A moving tale told with warmth, kindliness and lashings of good sense that lovers of Dick King-Smith will especially appreciate' The Times'Every now and then a writer comes along with a unique way of storytelling . . . Meet Megan Rix . . . her novels are deeply moving and will strike a chord with animal lovers.' LoveReadingAbout the author:Megan Rix lives in England with her husband, and their adorable dogs, Traffy and Bella. Also available by Megan Rix:The Great Escape, The Victory Dogs.www.meganrix.com
The Bomber In British Strategy: Doctrine, Strategy, and Britain's World Role, 1945-1960 (Routledge Revivals)
by S. J. BallBetween 1945 and 1960, Great Britain constructed a substantial nuclear-armed bomber force. The creation of this force had ramifications that extended well beyond the confines of military policy. The process played a large part in defining relations with the United States, and the belief that these bombers could replace conventional forces convinced successive British governments that Great Britain could maintain a significant global military role. Originally published in 1995 and drawing on both archives and oral testimony, this book analyses British strategic discourse and its influence on British foreign policy in the early decades of the Cold War.
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War
by Malcolm GladwellAn exploration of how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. <P><P>Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. <P><P>In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?” Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war. <P><P><b>A New York Times Best Seller</b>
The Bomber War: Book 7 of the Ladybird Expert History of the Second World War (The Ladybird Expert Series #13)
by James HollandPart of the new Ladybird Expert series, The Bomber War is an accessible, insightful and authoritative introduction to the airborne Allied fight against Nazi Germany.- How did aeroplane technology change the theatre of war?- How did the Blitz affect Britain's ability to fight?- How did the Allies finally triumph?DISCOVER how the complex impact of bomber technology shaped the outcome of World War II. From the Blitz to the Battle of the Ruhr, the Bomber War transformed the state of warfare in the twentieth century. GERMANY'S DEADLY TACTICS, THE ALLIES' BRUTAL VICTORYWritten by historian, author and broadcaster James Holland and with immersive illustrations by Keith Burns, THE BOMBER WAR is an accessible and enthralling introduction to these critical battles and their impact on the outcome of World War II.
The Bombers and the Bombed
by Richard OveryThe ultimate history of the Allied bombing campaigns in World War II Technology shapes the nature of all wars, and the Second World War hinged on a most unpredictable weapon: the bomb. Day and night, Britain and the United States unleashed massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize occupied Europe, destroying its cities. The grisly consequences call into question how "moral” a war the Allies fought. The Bombers and the Bombed radically overhauls our understanding of World War II. It pairs the story of the civilian front line in the Allied air war alongside the political context that shaped their strategic bombing campaigns, examining the responses to bombing and being bombed with renewed clarity. The first book to examine seriously not only the well-known attacks on Dresden and Hamburg but also the significance of the firebombing on other fronts, including Italy, where the crisis was far more severe than anything experienced in Germany, this is Richard Overy’s finest work yet. It is a rich reminder of the terrible military, technological, and ethical issues that relentlessly drove all the war’s participants into an abyss. .
The Bombers and the Bombed
by Richard OveryThe ultimate history of the Allied bombing campaigns in World War IITechnology shapes the nature of all wars, and the Second World War hinged on a most unpredictable weapon: the bomb. Day and night, Britain and the United States unleashed massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize occupied Europe, destroying its cities. The grisly consequences call into question how "moral" a war the Allies fought.The Bombers and the Bombed radically overhauls our understanding of World War II. It pairs the story of the civilian front line in the Allied air war alongside the political context that shaped their strategic bombing campaigns, examining the responses to bombing and being bombed with renewed clarity.The first book to examine seriously not only the well-known attacks on Dresden and Hamburg but also the significance of the firebombing on other fronts, including Italy, where the crisis was far more severe than anything experienced in Germany, this is Richard Overy's finest work yet. It is a rich reminder of the terrible military, technological, and ethical issues that relentlessly drove all the war's participants into an abyss.
The Bombing Of Brittany: Solving The Wrong Problem
by Major Jeremiah S. HeathmanAs a result of the Allied bombing campaign against Nazi submarine bases during the Second World War, the cities of Brest, Lorient, and Saint Nazaire were nearly completely destroyed. Despite thousands of bombing missions, all three submarine bunkers still stand today. This monograph examines the effectiveness of the Allied bombing campaign against German submarine bases in Brittany by analyzing the campaign through the use of a design methodology. Research is broken down into three frames: the operational approach, the operational environment and the problem frame. The first frame provides an account of the bombing missions and effects. Next, an overview of the operational environment is conducted by exploring the historical context of Brittany, German construction efforts and Allied institutional barriers. The study concludes by examining the problem frame, which entails how the Allies perceived their operational problem and developed an approach based on their understanding. Ultimately, the Allies failed to accurately identify their problem and developed an ineffective approach towards defeating the threat. Had the Allies incorporated design thinking into their planning and execution, they may have developed an effective campaign towards defeating the Nazi U-boat threat rather than solving the wrong problem.
The Bonanza Trail: Ghost Trails and Mining Camps of the West
by Muriel Sibell WolleTHIS is the story of the men who sought for gold, from California to the eastern rim of the Rocky Mountains.Mrs. Wolle writes colorfully of the unbelievable privations the men endured in penetrating the fastnesses of the high Sierra and the Rockies and in crossing the desert wastes of Arizona, Utah and Nevada; of the mines first discovered in New Mexico by Coronado and his men four centuries ago; and the first great rush that hit California in 1849. She follows the miners who poured in successive waves into the golden gulches of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, climbed to the deeper mines high in the mountains of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, and dared at last to penetrate the Indian-infested Black Hills of South Dakota.It is doubtful if the vividness of this phase of history will ever fade for American readers. In personally following the trails of the pioneering prospectors, Mrs. Wolle finds her excitement continually renewed, as she stumbles upon mute evidence of past bloodshed, lust and struggle. It is this excitement which she conveys to her readers both in the text and in the more than one hundred on-the-spot drawings which show the towns and town sites with the eye of the nostalgic lover of this picturesque and courageous part of our national heritage.A guide book for the adventurous, THE BONANZA TRAIL will be attractive alike to travelers, American history enthusiasts and collectors of Americana. Nor will its pages soon be forgotten by the general reader.“THE BONANZA TRAIL is the fascinating and definitive book on the ghost and near-ghost towns of the Old West for which so many students and amateurs of Western Americana have been waiting. Like the once booming camps and diggings which are its subject, it is a repository of the wonderments, glories and pathos of pioneer times and romantic bonanzas....A book that, to the informed intelligence, is almost impossible to put down.”—LUCIUS BEEBE, The Territorial Enterprise
The Bonapartes in America
by Clarence Edward Macartney Gordon DorranceAmazing and exciting, as romantic as it is realistic and historically authentic, THE BONAPARTES IN AMERICA was the first published work to contain in one volume all available material, much of it newly discovered by them, on every member of the Bonaparte family that lived in the United States or was connected in any way with the country.Dr. Macartney, distinguished historian, former head of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and Major Dorrance, author and publisher, roamed afar in their quest of new and important material. Research in the British Museum, and special trips through France and to Corsica, to mention but a few, went into their book of old romance, which was first published on the 100th anniversary of the former King Joseph Bonaparte’s final return to Europe from the United States. This one famous and colorful family has placed a great if hitherto little known part in the building of America, our native land.THE BONAPARTES IN AMERICA contains fascinating chapters on Jerome Bonaparte and Elizabeth Patterson; Charles J. Bonaparte of Baltimore; Joseph Bonaparte at Philadelphia, Bordentown, New Jersey, and Lake Bonaparte New York; the Murats of Florida; Napoleon III in New York City; Napoleon III and Mexico; The Napoleonic Exiles in Alabama; Texas and the Champ d’Asile; Marshal Ney and North Carolina; Napoleon and the Louisiana Purchase; Napoleon’s American Son in California; and American Plots to Rescue Napoleon from St. Helena.THE. BONAPARTES IN AMERICA is beautifully illustrated with old portraits and engravings, including pictures of Napoleon, Jerome and Elizabeth. Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. Charles J. Bonaparte, Joseph Bonaparte, Joseph’s I Philadelphia home, “Point Breeze” and Bonaparte I park at Bordentown, Lake Bonaparte, Prince and Princess Achille Murat, Napoleon III, Letizia Bonaparte, mother of Napoleon, John Gordon Bonaparte of San Francisco and the Napoleon House at New Orleans.
The Bone Mother
by David DemchukFinalist for the Shirley Jackson Award: “Beautiful and brutal nightmares . . . made all the more terrifying by the history in which they’re grounded.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review Three neighboring villages on the Ukrainian/Romanian border are the final refuge for the last of the mythical creatures of Eastern Europe. Now, on the eve of the war that may eradicate their kind—and with the ruthless Night Police descending upon their sanctuary—they tell their stories and confront their destinies. The Rusalka, the beautiful, vengeful water spirit who lives in lakes and ponds and lures men and children to their deaths. The Vovkulaka, who changes from her human form into that of a wolf and hides with her kind deep in the densest forests. The Strigoi, a revenant who feasts on blood and twists the minds of those who love, serve, and shelter him. The Drevniye, an apparition that impersonates its victim and draws him into a web of evil in order to free itself. And the Bone Mother, a skeletal crone with iron teeth who lurks in her house in the heart of the woods, and cooks and eats those who fail her vexing challenges. Eerie and unsettling like the best fairy tales, these incisor-sharp portraits of ghosts, witches, sirens, and seers—and the mortals who live at their side and in their thrall—will chill your marrow and tear at your heart. “A fable filled with mythical creatures ranging from werewolves to witches . . . set, in part, among the villages of eastern Europe on the eve of the Second World War.” —The Globe and Mail (Toronto) “Extraordinary . . . A dark and shining mosaic of a story with unforgettable imagery and elegant, evocative prose.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review Longlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller PrizeWinner of the 2018 Sunburst AwardLonglisted for the 2018 Toronto Book Awards
The Bone Sparrow
by Zana FraillonSometimes, at night, the dirt outside turns into a beautiful ocean. As red as the sun and as deep as the sky. I lie in my bed, Queeny's feet pushing up against my cheek, and listen to the waves lapping at the tent. Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. But as he grows, his imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. The Night Sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories. The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl who appears from the other side of the wires, and brings a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it, she relies on Subhi to unravel her own family's love songs and tragedies. Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold. But not until each of them has been braver than ever before.
The Bonemender (Bonemender #1) (Orca Books)
by Holly BennettIn this fantasy, Gabrielle is a bonemender, a healer, who falls in love with a man whom fate seems to have forbidden her, but they must both think about war before they can think about love.
The Bonfire Of Berlin
by Helga SchneiderAbandoned by her mother, who left to pursue a career as a camp guard at Auschwitz-Birkenau, loathed by her step-mother, cooped up in a cellar, starved, parched, lonely amidst the fetid crush of her neighbours, Helga Schneider endured the horrors of wartime Berlin. The Bonfire of Berlin is a searing account of her survival. The grinding misery of hunger, combined with the terror of air-raids, the absence of fresh water and the constant threat of death and disease served not to unite the tenants and neighbours of her apartment block but rather to intensify the minor irritations of communal life into flashpoints of rage and violence. And with Russian victory the survivors could not look forward a return to peacetime but rather to pillage and rape. It was only gradually that Schneider's life returned to some kind of normality, as her beloved father returned from the front, carrying his own scars of the war. This shocking book evokes the reality of life in a wartime city in all its brutality and deprivation, while retaining a kernel of hope that while life remains not all is lost.
The Bonus Army: An American Epic
by Thomas B. Allen Paul Dickson"The account by Dickson and Allen recalls the subliminal force of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men with gaunt stories of character at the limits of dignity." ― Taylor Branch, New York Review of BooksIn the summer of 1932, 15,000 World War I veterans marched on Washington, D.C., demanding payment from the Herbert Hoover administration of the bonus promised to them eight years earlier for their wartime service. With the "bonus bill" defeated in the Senate, the U.S. Army, led by Army Chief of Staff Gen, Douglas MacArthur, deployed tanks in the capital to rout the protestors.This highly praised account of the event is based on extensive research that includes interviews with the last surviving witnesses. Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen recapture the voices of former soldiers who dared to challenge the government and demand what they were denied. The authors trace the Bonus Army's history and discuss its far-reaching effects, including how it paved the way for the 1944 passage of the GI Bill of Rights, which transformed American society by creating the postwar middle class."A revealing and fascinating account. The book's most haunting aspect is its verbal and pictorial record of the marcher's individual experiences." ― Janet Maslin, The New York Times"Exactly the kind of book publishers should be giving us more of ― responsible popular history, researched to the footnoted standards of the academy but written for the pleasure of general readers who are looking for a good story . . . A rewarding book." ― Kevin Coyne, Newsday"A feat of research and analysis ― a thoughtful, strong argument that these marches were among the most important demonstrations of the 20th century." ― Bookmarks Magazine"A lively, engaging work of history.” ― Kirkus Reviews"A fascinating and readable book. Recommended." ― William D. Pederson, Library Journal"As Dickson and Allen show throughout this empathetic and well-researched volume, [the Bonus Expeditionary Force] meant different things to a number of groups vying for power in the tumultuous political climate of the early '30s. Their important and moving work will appeal to both professional historians and casual readers interested in the history of America's changing attitudes toward its soldiers." ― Publishers Weekly
The Book Spy: A WW2 Novel of Librarian Spies
by Alan HladPerfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Marie Benedict, and Pam Jenoff and inspired by true stories of the heroic librarian spies of WWII, the new book from the internationally bestselling author of Churchill&’s Secret Messenger transports readers from the New York Public Library to Portugal&’s city of espionage in a thrilling, riveting tale.An American librarian. A Portuguese bookseller. A mission to change the tide of the war. 1942: With the war&’s outcome hanging in the balance, President Roosevelt sends an unlikely new taskforce on a unique mission. They are librarians and microfilm specialists trained in espionage, working with a special branch of the Office of Strategic Services and deployed to neutral cities throughout Europe. By acquiring and scouring Axis newspapers, books, technical manuals, and periodicals, the librarians can gather information about troop location, weaponry, and military plans. Maria Alves, a microfilm expert working at the New York Public Library, is dispatched to Lisbon, where she meticulously photographs publications and sends the film to London to be analyzed. Working in tandem with Tiago Soares, a Portuguese bookstore owner on a precarious mission of his own—providing Jewish refugees with forged passports and visas—Maria acquires vital information, including a directory of arms factories in Germany. But as she and Tiago grow closer, any future together is jeopardized when Maria&’s superiors ask her to pose as a double agent, feeding misinformation to Lars Steiger, a wealthy Swiss banker and Nazi sympathizer who launders Hitler&’s gold. Gaining Lars&’ trust will bring Maria into the very heart of the Fuhrer&’s inner circle. And it will provide her with a chance to help steer the course of war, if she is willing to take risks as great as the possible rewards . . .&“A must-read, especially for fans of Kate Quinn&’s The Rose Code.&”— firstCLUE, Starred Review
The Book Spy: Sneak Peek
by Alan HladBe one of the first to read this sneak preview sample edition!In this engaging, dramatic historical novel that illuminates a little-known facet of World War II, USA Today bestselling author Alan Hlad explores the real-life librarian spies who hunted down crucial intelligence throughout Europe. 1942: With the war&’s outcome hanging in the balance, every sliver of intelligence can be critical. Though far from the battlefields, cities like Lisbon, Portugal&’s neutral capital, become lynchpins in a different kind of warfare, as President Roosevelt sends an unlikely new taskforce on a unique mission. They are librarians and microfilm specialists trained in espionage, working with a special branch of the Office of Strategic Services. By acquiring and scouring Axis newspapers, books, technical manuals, and periodicals, the librarians can gather information about troop location, weaponry, and military plans. Maria Alves, a microfilm expert working at the New York Public Library, is dispatched to Lisbon, where she meticulously photographs publications and sends the film to London to be analyzed. Working in tandem with Tiago Soares, a brave and honorable bookstore owner on a precarious mission of his own—providing Jewish refugees with forged passports and visas—Maria acquires vital information, including a directory of arms factories in Germany. But as she and Tiago grow closer, any future together is jeopardized when Maria&’s superiors ask her to pose as a double agent, feeding misinformation to Lars Steiger, a wealthy Swiss banker and Nazi sympathizer who launders Hitler&’s gold. Gaining Lars&’ trust will bring Maria into the very heart of the Fuhrer&’s inner circle. And it will provide her with a chance to help steer the course of war, if she is willing to take risks as great as the possible rewards . . .
The Book Thief (anniversary Edition)
by Markus ZusakLiesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance
by Henning Koch Anders RydellFor readers of The Monuments Men and The Hare with Amber Eyes, the story of the Nazis' systematic pillaging of Europe's libraries, and the small team of heroic librarians now working to return the stolen books to their rightful owners. While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves—Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe’s libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. In this secret war, the libraries of Jews, Communists, Liberal politicians, LGBT activists, Catholics, Freemasons, and many other opposition groups were appropriated for Nazi research, and used as an intellectual weapon against their owners. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day. Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner. It was passed to him by the small team of heroic librarians who have begun the monumental task of combing through Berlin’s public libraries to identify the looted books and reunite them with the families of their original owners. For those who lost relatives in the Holocaust, these books are often the only remaining possession of their relatives they have ever held. And as Rydell travels to return the volume he was given, he shows just how much a single book can mean to those who own it.From the Hardcover edition.
The Book at War: How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading
by Andrew PettegreeA "magisterial" (Sunday Times) illumination of how books were used in war across the twentieth century—both as weapons and as agents for peace We tend not to talk about books and war in the same breath—one ranks among humanity&’s greatest inventions, the other among its most terrible. But as esteemed literary historian Andrew Pettegree demonstrates, the two are deeply intertwined. The Book at War explores the various roles that books have played in conflicts throughout the globe. Winston Churchill used a travel guide to plan the invasion of Norway, lonely families turned to libraries while their loved ones were fighting in the trenches, and during the Cold War both sides used books to spread their visions of how the world should be run. As solace or instruction manual, as critique or propaganda, books have shaped modern military history—for both good and ill. With precise historical analysis and sparkling prose, The Book at War accounts for the power—and the ambivalence—of words at war.
The Book at War: Libraries and Readers in an Age of Conflict
by Andrew PettegreeChairman Mao was a librarian. Stalin was a published poet. Evelyn Waugh served as a commando - before leaving to write Brideshead Revisited. Since the advent of modern warfare, books have all too often found themselves on the frontline.In The Book at War, acclaimed historian Andrew Pettegree traces the surprising ways in which written culture - from travel guides and scientific papers to Biggles and Anne Frank - has shaped, and been shaped, by the conflicts of the modern age. From the American Civil War to the invasion of Ukraine, books, authors and readershave gone to war - and in the process become both deadly weapons and our most persuasive arguments for peace
The Book of Basic Machines: The U.S. Navy Training Manual
by U. S. NavyHave you ever wondered why levers and pulleys make it easy to lift heavy objects? Or thought about what it is that makes a combustion engine work?The Book of Basic Machines will give you the information you need to understand key concepts, techniques, components, and much more. Designed and prepared by the Naval Education and Training Program Development Center for naval training, and taught widely in technical school across the country, the manual covers the theory and application of many of the most important mechanical ideas. Concepts build effortlessly from one chapter to the next. Clear explanations, illuminating examples, and over 200 skillfully rendered diagrams, cross-sections, and illustrations make it remarkably easy for readers of any level to understand the fascinating inner-workings of basic machines. The Book of Basic Machines is an invaluable resource for mechanical engineering students looking to learn the basics, working engineers wanting to brush up on some theory, or hobbyists who simply want to know how things work. Simply put, this book is required reading for anyone interested in machines. From the basics of simple levers to the principles of the internal combustion engine, The Book of Basic Machines covers every aspect of basic machinery.
The Book of Bushido: The Complete Guide to Real Samurai Chivalry
by Antony CumminsThis is the book on bushido, the much-cited but widely misrepresented samurai code of honour. Drawing on authentic historical texts, it is a detailed and accurate exploration of medieval life in Japan and the samurai, a must-have for anyone with a love of martial arts or Japanese history.This is the go-to volume on bushido ("the way of the warrior"), drawing on a wide range of historical sources to paint a vivid picture of the samurai in action and separating the truth from the myth of samurai chivalry. It offers a long-overdue update to the attractive but inaccurate portrait of the samurai painted in Bushido: The Soul of Japan, which has been a bestseller ever since its publication in 1905, and the equally idealistic Hagakure (c.1716). In The Book of Bushido, Antony explores the reality of warrior behaviour versus the idealistic depiction created for an Edwardian audience by the author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan. He reveals the truth of how the samurai really behaved and of what they considered to be a warrior ethos. He replaces the image of the perfect eastern warrior with the much more interesting reality of hardened, bloodstained military leaders with human failings and a complex set of ideas about the world, who engage in ritual, magic and ceremony, who lead their followers in war and peace and who, above all, are fighting a battle between addiction to power and morality. This is the story of bushido – the way of the samurai.
The Book of Camouflage
by Tim NewarkCovering the origins of camo patterning, from Wehrmacht field gray, to US Army green, and Commonwealth khaki, to its use in combat today, The Little Book of Camouflage tells the history of camouflage patterning in conflict. The collection of images for the The Book of Camouflage was put together by the author and his father, Peter Newark, whose personal library dates back to the late 1960s when he started collecting historic images from antique books, magazines, newspapers and photographic collections. Notable artists include George Caitlin, Charles Hamilton Smith, Richard Simkin, Ernest Shepherd and Edward Wadsworth. Some of the most striking series of images in the book are the unique camouflage paintings from a French publication dating back to 1920 which the Imperial War Museum reproduced for their Camouflage exhibition.Author Tim Newark provides a field guide to camouflage from conception to uses, colors to key patterns including the German uniforms of World War II, the iconic American uniforms worn during Vietnam, the British DPM, and all the way up to the varied patterns in use in the armies of present day. Illustrated throughout with the patterns themselves and images of camouflage in use, Tim Newark presents a quick and detailed look at the most prolific camouflage patterns.
The Book of Collateral Damage (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)
by Sinan AntoonSinan Antoon returns to the Iraq war in a poetic and provocative tribute to reclaiming memory Widely-celebrated author Sinan Antoon’s fourth and most sophisticated novel follows Nameer, a young Iraqi scholar earning his doctorate at Harvard, who is hired by filmmakers to help document the devastation of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the excursion, Nameer ventures to al-Mutanabbi street in Baghdad, famed for its bookshops, and encounters Wadood, an eccentric bookseller who is trying to catalogue everything destroyed by war, from objects, buildings, books and manuscripts, flora and fauna, to humans. Entrusted with the catalogue and obsessed with Wadood’s project, Nameer finds life in New York movingly intertwined with fragments from his homeland’s past and its present—destroyed letters, verses, epigraphs, and anecdotes—in this stylistically ambitious panorama of the wreckage of war and the power of memory.