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The Coming Storm
The outbreak of the Second World War came towards the closing stages of the 1939 cricket season. ‘Hitler permitted us almost to complete an exceptionally interesting season,’ Sir Home Gordon, wrote in the Cricketer magazine, ‘When shall we see the stumps pitched again?’As the West Indies touring team cancelled their last five matches and sailed home before the U-boat threat developed, the treasures at Lord’s, including the Ashes, were sent to a secret location for safe-keeping. The Marylebone Cricket Club cancelled its tour to India - England played under the MCC banner then.During the ensuing conflict twelve test cricketers (five English, two South Africans, one Australian and one New Zealander) perished together with 130 first class players. In this superbly researched sequel to Final Wicket, covering cricketing fatalities during The Great War, this book reveals each man’s career details, including cricketing statistics, and the circumstances of death. There is also a brief history of the game during the War.Arguably the period between the two world wars was the golden age of cricket, and this book honours those who made it so only to die serving their countries in a different way.
For King and Country at Loos
‘Deeply regret to inform you that 2/Lt C F B Hodgins 2/Wiltshire Regt is reported killed Sept 25/26. Lord Kitchener desires to express his sympathy. Secretary War Office.’ – Telegram from the War Office dated 29 September 1915This is the true and previously untold story of one man’s war on the Western Front during the First World War. As a young man, still in his teens, Charles Francis Burgoyne Hodgins, known as Charlie, answered the call to ‘do his bit’ for King and Country. Like so many others, he was never to return. He was killed on 25 September 1915, on the opening day of the Battle of Loos, and is one of many thousands who now lie in cemeteries near the former battlefields of northern France. According to an officer in his battalion, he died ''leading his men with great gallantry, and even when wounded, tried to rise and take them on''.Drawing on the many letters, photographs and telegrams Charlie sent home, along with newspaper articles, war archives and other personal accounts, historian Peter Jacobs has pieced together the final moments of Charlie’s short life. This is a compelling and poignant tale of personal courage and one family’s loss. But it also tells of the tragedy and suffering experienced by a generation of men during the First World War.
The Supersonic BONE
When the B-52 Stratofortress entered operational service with the US Air Force in 1955, work was already underway on de?ning its successor. The B-70 Valkyrie, a Mach 3 jet bomber, was one option. Although two XB-70A prototypes ?ew, the B-70 never went into production. Out of the subsequent Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft program came the B-1A bomber, which ?ew at high speed and low altitude to evade enemy air defenses. The B-1A was cancelled in favour of ?tting the B-52 with cruise missiles. The B-1, known as the BONE, was revived in 1981 as the improved B-1B to boost American military power and be a symbol of American strength at the peak of Cold War tensions. The B-1B entered service in 1986 with several de?ciencies. The resolution of most of these issues coincided with the end of the Cold War.After the Cold War, the B-1B lost its primary nuclear mission but remained relevant by transforming into a high-speed, long-range, high-payload delivery platform for conventional precision-guided munitions. The ?rst combat use of the B-1B was in 1998 in Iraq. The BONE has proved a highly effective combat aircraft in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and the former Yugoslavia.This superbly researched and illustrated book traces the BONE’s long development and operational history in fascinating detail.
The English Bowman in the Hundred Years War
They were often half-starved, marching through an alien land with few signposts and no maps. They were often suffering from dysentery, their legwear rolled down and they sometimes fought naked from the waist down. They were paid 6d a day – the same as a civilian craftsman – and they swore like the troopers they were. That was why the French called them the Goddamns and king and peasant alike were terrified of them. With their yew wood bows and ash arrows a clothyard long, they were the victors in countless clashes during the Hundred Years War and in the three great battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.They robbed, pillaged, raped and murdered, often in their king’s name. Yet they won battles and it is no exaggeration to say that England became a powerful nation state because of them. If they were caught in action by the enemy, they would have their bow fingers cut off and their throats slit. We know the names of very few of them. They were not worthy of ransom, unlike the knights they fought for. Most of them ended up in mass burial pits or some unmarked plot beside a French road. The vast majority was illiterate, so we have no firsthand accounts of their campaigns from the bowmen themselves. For all they won battles and renown, for all they helped indirectly to increase the power of the common man, they are like ghosts drifting over the battlefield.They were the bowmen.
42 Commando Royal Marines in The Falklands War
The British Military of the Cold war era trained to counteract the real threat of Russian invasion into any vulnerable Country of NATO. The Royal Marines enthusiastically took on the role of Arctic Warfare troops in the Northern Flank of Norway becoming experts in this field. The idea was to deny the Russia submarine fleet the Norwegian fjords which would have prevented USA reinforcement of Northern Europe.How did NATO and the British Military implement this? Well they sent The Royal Marines downhill skiing in Norway for three months each year, military skills were further enhanced with sailing all over the world and any sporting activity encouraged. Occasional bouts of slightly active service in Northern Ireland kept internal security skills alive but the big one was the Falklands Islands invasion by Argentine forces in April 1982.Royal Marines easily adapted Commando and Arctic warfare skills to not only survive the elements of a harsh South Atlantic winter but to excel and overcome a vastly numerically superior army 8000 miles from the UK. 42 Commando Royal Marines played a significant part in the conflict and perhaps pulled off one of the most successful Battalion sized attacks since World War two on Mount Harriet.
A History of Women in Piracy
The word ''pirate'' conjures up images of the swashbuckling men featured in the likes of Black Sails and Pirates of the Caribbean, but the world of piracy has a centuries-long history that is filled with little-known women who wielded real power in a man''s world long before they were able to even vote in democratic elections.Their stories are compelling and encompass women of all ethnicities and cultures. From Sayyida al Hurra, Queen of the Barbary Pirates, a muslim woman who successfully preyed on the shipping of her enemies and became governor of Tétouan, to Zheng Shi, an outlawed Tanka woman born in a brothel who rose to successfully command seventeen thousand men in the Red Flag fleet, which at the time outrivaled the Imperial Chinese Navy.During the Golden Age of Caribbean Piracy, many transgendered women joined pirate crews even though the presence of a woman aboard ship meant death. Their stories have largely been ignored by history but A History of Women in Piracy uncovers the lives and loves of these daring women who flaunted convention and proved themselves to be every bit as capable (or more so) as their male brethren.
The Chinese in Maritime Southeast Asia
An in-depth exploration of the Dutch East-India Company and what its history reveals about the Chinese community in the Dutch East Indies. Connections between Asian and European markets increased dramatically in the seventeenth century, indicating a turning point in the global history of trade. The Dutch East-India Company (or VOC) was central to this process, however, counter to the VOC’s aims, the winners of the game in maritime Southeast Asia were often Chinese merchants. As this book shows, at the time, these merchants were the only economic agents capable of trading both in major Southeast Asian commercial hubs and developing exchanges with China and Japan. The Chinese operated with a flexibility of means and a fluidity of management that allowed them to react rapidly and quickly gain returns on investment. In Batavia, as in other Southeast Asian emporiums, the increasingly numerous and diverse Chinese elites assumed direct responsibility for the management of their community; this made them the most important non-European free community in the city during the second half of the seventeenth century.The Chinese in Maritime Southeast Asia tells this remarkable story through an examination of the VOC’s abundant sources, which record relations between the Chinese minority and the Dutch rulers who relied upon them.
The Last Titans: Churchill and de Gaulle
''Deeply researched yet highly readable, with fresh and often provocative insights'' DAVID REYNOLDS''A vivid and shrewd reckoning ... setting its assessment in the perspective of today''s troubled world'' PETER CLARKEA compelling dual biography of Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle that shines new light on two of the greatest figures of the twentieth century.Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were thrown together by war. They incarnated the resistance of Britain and France to the existential threat from Nazi Germany, and their ultimate victory over Hitler has ensured their achievements will never be forgotten. But, as The Last Titans: Churchill and de Gaulle shows, that is only a part of a complex story. Both men influenced their countries, and the world around them, long after the war was won.There was a paradox in the parallel and intertwined lives of these extraordinary men. De Gaulle – tall, gauche and incorruptible – exhibited qualities often associated with the English. Churchill – short, charming, witty and a bon vivant – resembled the quintessential politician of the French Third Republic. Their working relationship was rarely smooth, but they appreciated each other’s stature: de Gaulle said Churchill was ‘the great artist of a great history’, while Churchill recognised de Gaulle as ‘l’homme du destin’.Wolfson Prize-winning historian Richard Vinen explores what made these men exceptional and how profoundly they were influenced by their national cultures. Beyond personal intrigue, the book makes a wider point that Britain and France are both haunted by perceptions of past greatness. Vinen retraces the paths of two leaders who once helmed superpowers but lived to see their nations weakened by two world wars and the loss of empires.Written with extraordinary narrative verve, The Last Titans: Churchill and de Gaulle offers a fresh exploration into the lives of de Gaulle and Churchill. By bringing their two stories into one, each man is seen afresh and we gain new insights into their achievements and their legacy today.
A Short History of the Gaza Strip
The world’s eyes are on the Gaza Strip. After more than a year of Israeli military bombardment, it is the scene of unimaginable destruction. It is also one of the most politically significant territories on the planet. Yet how many of us know anything of its history?In this vital book, Anne Irfan, a leading historian of Palestine-Israel, examines six key moments that bring us to the present day. She begins with Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinian people in 1948, when Israel was established and the Gaza region was truncated to a tiny territory of just 141 square miles. Going on to detail Israel’s occupations of Gaza, the Palestinian national struggle and formation of the PLO, the first intifada, the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the rise of Hamas, Irfan argues that, collectively, these events help explain how we have arrived at the catastrophe of the 2020s and the genocidal violence unleashed by Israel in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7.Written with remarkable clarity, A Short History of the Gaza Strip draws on a decade of meticulous research, weaving in the voices and stories of Palestinians from farmers and teachers to poets and activists. It is an indispensable read for anyone seeking to deepen their knowledge of Palestine and the wider region. In Irfan’s words, ‘History matters, especially in Palestine’ – and never more so than today.
Charles III
The instant No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, updated with exclusive new material on the tests and triumphs of 2025'Scoops aplenty are here . . . An irresistible insider account of momentous royal events' – Melanie Reid, The Times'Fascinating . . . the book everyone is talking about' – Daily MailBy the acclaimed royal biographer and commentator Robert Hardman, Charles III is an intimate portrait of the monarch that draws on unrivalled access to the Royal Family, their close friends and staff, plus previously unseen papers from the Royal Archives. With damaging headlines unleashed by the Sussexes, political crises and questions about the future of the monarchy, Charles III had no shortage of challenges when he came to the throne. The Royal Family then faced a double blow in early 2024 when the King and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with cancer. By the end of the year, the King had returned to regular duties, dealing with a new government at home and diplomatic turmoil abroad. As head of state of fifteen nations, he would soon find himself caught up in the new and uncertain world order taking shape following the election of President Trump. The dramatic story is uncovered here, along with the vital role played by Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and others. From the emotional days following the death of Elizabeth II and the truth about the King’s relationship with Prince William and Prince Harry to his handling of Prince Andrew, Hardman takes us behind the pomp and ceremony to reveal Charles the man as well as the monarch. Authoritative and richly insightful, Charles III is the definitive account of a king determined to maximize ‘the time God grants me’ – and enjoy it. 'This glorious book reveals the real Charles III. Hardman’s magisterial biography, full of detail about the King, the Queen and the Sussexes alike, will become a historical document' – Simon Heffer, The Telegraph
The Battle of Loos 1915
Through the first year of the First World War, Allied strategy had relied upon a series of small-scale assaults, which in reality achieved little or no ground gained. The Battle of Loos was to be different. Kitchener’s Army was deployed in strength for the first time and an ambitious plan aimed to take ground over a 20-mile front.However, the battlefield was not the Allies’ ideal site and the battle plans did not account for the lack of ammunition and artillery. It was the attempt to overcome some of these shortcomings that would put this battle firmly in the history books, as the British deployed poison gas for the first time, hoping to confuse and overwhelm the German positions.With facts and stats that explore both sides of the conflict, as well as the innovations brought to this battle, The Battle of Loos, 1915 analyses the key strategies at play, studies the lasting legacy of this battle on the rest of the war and explores the myth of the Footballer of Loos – an iconic image of the First World War to this day.
Roman Cavalry Tactics
A fully illustrated study of the Roman cavalry''s evolution, this fascinating book chronicles tactics and composition from the time of the Republic to the fall of the Dominate.The cavalry ‘wings’ that probed ahead of the Roman Army played a key role in its campaigns of conquest, masking its marching flanks and seeking to encircle enemies in battle. However, the original small cavalry arm provided by the citizen nobility had proved inadequate before the end of the Republic, and Julius Caesar’s cavalry was largely made up of hired allies. During the Early Principate, the armies under Augustus continued in this vein, incorporating large numbers of non-citizen auxiliary cavalry units. The provinces came under increasing attack throughout and following the chaotic mid-3rd century, and Rome took lessons from its ‘barbarian’ enemies in how to improve its military mobility, adopting both new, heavily armoured shock cavalry and horse-archers, and vitally shaping the tactics employed during the Dominate.In this engaging study, Roman Army expert M.C. Bishop charts how the cavalry grew to become the dominant force in Roman field armies by the twilight of the Western Empire. Eight newly commissioned artwork plates and a rich selection of artefact photographs and archaeological sources provide vivid detail and insight, helping to bring to the life the evolving tactics, clothing and weaponry of Rome’s cavalry from the 2nd century BC through to the 5th century AD.
Something Wicked
<p>The autumn must read: <i>Something Wicked </i>this way comes...<br><b><br>Accused. Condemned. Redefined.</b><br><br>On 20 August 1612, ten people from Pendle were executed before a vast crowd at Lancaster's Gallows Hill. The condemned and their associates had endured six months of accusations, imprisonment and torture; their treatment was such that one of the group died in Lancaster Castle's dungeons, while awaiting trial.<br><br> Today, a thriving tourism industry exists in and around Pendle, the former home of the so-called witches, yet virtually everything we know about the case originates from a single source: Thomas Potts' <i>Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches</i>, hurriedly published in 1613 and distinctly skewed in favour of the prosecution. Until now...<br><br><i>Sunday Times </i>bestselling author Carol Ann Lee brings an entirely fresh perspective to the story by approaching it as true crime. Having worked in the genre for more than a decade, her research leads to revelatory discoveries, transforming our knowledge of those shadowy figures behind ill-famed names, and the terrible events that befell them.<br><br> After four centuries of superstition and surmise, the two central, warring families - each headed by a fiercely independent widow working as 'cunning women' - emerge fully formed, as the book uncovers the reality of their lives and their alleged crimes before exploring the trial and executions.<br><br> Along the way, we uncover the truth behind some of the story's most enduring mysteries: the legend of Malkin Tower and the final resting place of the Pendle witches. <br><br>This is a ground-breaking book that will take the reader on a spellbinding journey into the dark heart of England's largest and most notorious witch trial.</p>
M18 Hellcat vs Panther
This fully illustrated study examines the bloody battle between the US Army''s M18 tank destroyer and Germany''s formidable Panther tank at Arracourt in September 1944.In response to Germany’s Blitzkrieg victories of 1939–41, the US Army created a dedicated tank-destroyer force intended to encircle and destroy the massed attacking armored divisions. Fast, relatively well-armed, but weakly armored, the M18 was designed from the start as a tank destroyer, unlike the M10 and M36. By September 1944, the German Army’s armored divisions fielded the Panther tank alongside the PzKpfw IV. In this book, William Hiestand notes that the Panther’s combination of long-range firepower, impressive armour, and good mobility won it a fearsome reputation, but shows how the M18 proved to be a very able opponent when the two types clashed on a foggy September morning during the battle of Arracourt. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this lively study examines the origins, development, strengths, and limitations of the two AFVs as well as their crews’ training, doctrine, and combat effectiveness. It also provides a detailed account of the momentous battle between the US 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion and the German Panzer-Brigade 113 at Arracourt, where the two types clashed in a surprising encounter that challenges our preconceptions about armored warfare in World War II.
Driven by the Monsoons
The Silk Road may be one origin of globalization, but the Indian Ocean is another. Barry Cunliffe examines the beginning of maritime trade using the evidence of archaeology and the tales of great travellers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and the Chinese Admiral, Zheng He. This story complements that of the land routes, showing how humans have been driven across thousands of years to create and maintain networks whatever the difficulties.Driven by the Monsoons illuminates maritime connections between the Indian Ocean and its surrounding water routes: the Arabian Gulf and the Red and China Seas. It begins with the movement of humans into South-East Asia and ends about 1600 CE when European companies emerge to takeover. It is tale of exotic goods, material needs, adventure, and desire.While conditions at sea and the abilities of the maritime communities provided a degree of stability, the direction and intensity of trade and the types of commodities on the move was determined by the fortunes and aspirations of distant empires, those of China in the east and South-West Asia and the Mediterranean in the west. This ever-changing pressure provided the dynamic situation in which society and economies in East Africa, India and South-East Asia flourished. Driven by the Monsoons explores the birth of the modern, connected, world.
A Short History of Ulster
A shortened version of Jonathan Bardon’s definitive tome, A History of Ulster, this book provides a comprehensive account of the province from the earliest settlements nine thousand years ago to the turmoil of the Troubles, and the fragile peace period that followed. A preface from the author includes the peace process that saw the region emerge from thirty years of brutal conflict. Covering social, political and economic life in the province, the book explores the Viking and Norman invasions, the plantations and the Penal Laws, the rise of the United Irishmen and Orangeism, the Act of Union, emigration and the Great Famine, the linen industry and shipbuilding, and the Home Rule Crisis and partition, right through to civil rights, the turmoil of the Troubles and the period of peace that has followed. Lavishly illustrated throughout, this accessible edition takes its place alongside Jonathan Bardon’s hugely popular A History of Ireland in 100 Episodes.
These Divided Isles
A vital history from the award-winning Financial Times journalist Philip Stephens on the dramatic century since the Anglo-Irish Treaty and partition.These Divided Isles tells the story from both sides of the Irish Sea. Cutting through the layers of grievance and prejudice it explores the emotional intimacy and enmity of a relationship shaped by close familial ties and clashing national identities. It’s a story written by big political leaders – David Lloyd George, Michael Collins, Winston Churchill and Eamon de Valera – and the millions of Irish emigrants who crossed from Ireland to Britain to begin new lives.Today demography, Brexit and political logic have brought the possibility of Irish unity into view. Grounded in decades of personal contact and interviews with key policymakers across Britain and Europe, Stephens maps this complex relationship and asks how Ireland might deploy its history to inform its future rather than hold it in place.
US Seventh Fleet, Korea 1950–53
Naval dominance was crucial to the defence of South Korea, and this illustrated study explains how the US Navy brought its war-winning fleet to bear in a complex campaign. Fought just five years after the US Navy’s carrier-led forces swept into Tokyo Bay, the naval campaign in Korea was a very different war, and one that set the trend for naval warfare for the rest of the century. In this book, Dr Corbin Williamson, a specialist on the US Navy of the period, explains how a fleet built to fight an uncompromising total war rapidly adapted to a successful Cold War multinational intervention. Seventh Fleet’s role included blockading enemy ports, escorting convoys, close air support, interdiction, naval gunfire support, and amphibious invasions and evacuations. With few exceptions, Seventh Fleet’s command of the sea around Korea was unchallenged, allowing the fleet to focus its efforts on supporting the ground war. The Korean War was also part of a period of intense technological change, and it saw the combat debut of naval jet aircraft and helicopters. Packed with battle diagrams, photographs and meticulously researched battlescenes, this book examines the ships and technology, command and organization, logistics, intelligence, and combat performance of the fleet. It is a rounded portrait of how Seventh Fleet proved the flexibility and importance of sea power in an unexpected theater.
Economica
''Erudite, ambitious and richly global in scope'' - PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads''This book sets a new standard in economic history'' - TIM HARFORD, author of How To Make the World Add UpTHE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW WOMEN MADE THE WORLD WEALTHYHumanity''s journey from poverty to prosperity is filled with men who have become household names. But how many female entrepreneurs, merchants and industrialists can you name?Economica places women at the centre of the story of economic growth. Starting in the Stone Age and continuing to the present day, it takes the reader through the key economic milestones of the past twelve millennia - from the birth of farming to the advent of computing - all told through the experiences of women as well as men.Historian Victoria Bateman weaves a thrilling, globe-spanning narrative that proves women weren''t ''missing'' from economic life, they were merely hidden from view. We discover the female workers who helped to build the Great Pyramid of Giza, and to plumb the city of ancient Rome; the silk weavers who made a vital contribution to the development of the Silk Road and global trade; the women who dominated London''s brewing trade during medieval times; and the brave twentieth-century pioneers who fought to make our economies not just richer but fairer.Economica rewrites our understanding of women''s role in the economy, and tells a more accurate economic history of us all.''Victoria Bateman''s revelatory and compelling new book puts women at the very heart of mankind''s economic history. Economica should help ensure that''s where they will remain'' - BEN CHU, BBC''A must-read for anyone interested in women''s history and economic justice'' - AMANDA FOREMAN, author of Georgiana and A World on Fire
V kategórii populárno - náučné encyklopédie nájdete široký výber kníh, ktoré vám poskytnú poznatky z rôznych oblastí zaujímavým a zrozumiteľným spôsobom. Encyklopédie vám pomôžu získať komplexný prehľad o rôznych témach, ako ľudské telo a človek, príroda, vesmír, veda a technika a história.
Naša ponuka encyklopédií populárno-náučného charakteru vám umožní objaviť fascinujúci svet poznania a rozšíriť svoje vedomosti o rôznych témach.



























