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diaries, letter collections, memoirs, photos and military reports - documenting the personal battles these young men fought, and the sweep of the larger conflict in the pacific. The project coincided with Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman expressing an interest in making a television drama about this region of the Second World War and an HBO mini series was born. When Stephen Ambrose died in 2002, Hugh undertook to finish the project and write this book. It covers nearly four years of combat and offers a unique historical perspective on the war against Japan. Here are men who were dispatched to the other side of the world to fight an enemy who preferred suicide to surrender, men who suffered hardship and humiliation in POW camps and men who witnessed casualties among soldiers and civilians alike and whose medals came at a shocking price. 32 pages of photos, maps and other illus. 508pp in paperback or 489pp in paperback as both editions have identical contents, (no choice available). £12.99 NOW £5


74350 VENLO INCIDENT by Captain S. Payne Best Sigismund Payne Best was a British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, more commonly known as MI6) agent during the First and Second World Wars. One of the strangest and most absorbing stories to come out of the Second World War, the book is both a classic spy thriller and a fascinating historical text. The narrative recalls the drama of the


trap set by the Nazis at Venlo and the cruelty and torture suffered at the hands of the Gestapo. Best records his experiences as a prisoner for more than five years in a concentration camp where he would meet noted figures in the Nazi resistance movement like Georg Esler and suspects linked to the July 20 Plot to kill Hitler. Venlo proved to be a turning point early in the war, a catastrophe for Allied intelligence and for the people of Holland who suffered invasion and occupation as a direct result. Best’s survival is a testament to his incredible character but also proved to be an embarrassing reminder of a British failure, a case that remains classified to this day. 260pp in facsimile reprint of the 1950 original, illus and maps. Paperback. £13.99 NOW £5


74425 WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA


BATTLESHIPS An Illustrated History of Battleships and


Their Evolution by Peter Hore Here is the story of battleships of the world from 1860 to the present day, featuring informative and expert descriptions of over 150 ships


and detailing their construction, function and history. The author examines the evolution of the battleship from the first ironclads and the revolutionary Dreadnoughts to the mighty ships of World War II and their final sorties during the Gulf War. Specification boxes provide at-a- glance info about each ship’s country of origin, launch date, size, weight, armament, power, performance and complement and, as a bonus, the volume includes facts and anecdotes. 256 softback pages, 550 colour and b/w photos.


ONLY £4


OUR GUARANTEE All books supplied on approval (except overseas). We will gladly accept the return, at your expense, within two weeks of receipt of any you do not wish to keep. Should there be anything wrong with your order, please let us know within 7 days and we will rectify this. Please report any mistakes in your order in the same time period, enclosing packing note. You will receive a credit or cash refund as you prefer. Please do not return the books unless we request you to do so. YOUR DELIVERIES


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We endeavour to provide a 5 day turnaround of orders from our small, expert Team. Our picking of multiple titles and careful packaging is a time-consuming and precise business. Please be patient during busy times. Please send orders to Bibliophile Ltd., Unit 5 Datapoint Business Centre, 6 South Crescent, London E16 4TL


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72625 OPERATION HEARTBREAK & THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS


by Duff Cooper and Ewen Montagu One of the most decisive bluffs of all time, the success of “Operation Mincemeat” was decisive in accelerating the Allied advance through Europe. On 30 April 1943 the corpse of a man who had died some six month earlier in London and now dressed as a RM officer was slipped into the sea a mile off the Spanish coast near Huelva by H.M.Submarine Seraph. Chained to his belt was a briefcase containing plans for an imminent Allied invasion of Greece. As hoped, the supposedly neutral government of Fascist Spain swiftly passed the papers to Nazi High Command, who swallowed the story whole, mobilising their forces to Greece while the Allies went ahead with their real plan, the invasion of Sicily. Although officially a secret, the operation soon became legend, mainly because of Churchill’s post-war habit of telling the story at dinner! In 1950 Duff Cooper wrote a romanticised novel of what happened, Operation Heartbreak, which the government tried in vain to suppress. To counter it Ewen Montagu, the plan’s mastermind, wrote a factual account, The Man Who Never Was, in 1953. Both books are reproduced in their entirety here, along with a compelling introduction by John Julius Norwich, son of Duff Cooper. 207pp paperback compendium. Photos. £8.99 NOW £4


73261 BAYONETS FOR HIRE: Mercenaries at


War 1550-1789 by William Urban Urban demonstrates that military professionals have contributed much to European politics, commerce and scientific thought, not just military matters. In the 16th century mercenaries were not just restricted to individual soldiers and officers - entire armies of well-trained and well-equipped men were available at the right price. By the late 17th century the infantry had muskets with bayonets, engineers came up with new ways of building and assaulting fortresses and generals were learning new tactics from successful field marshals, but the man everyone paid attention to was the treasury officer, because with more money it was always possible to improve your chances in war. Handy quick reference timeline from 1500-1795, political and battle maps of Europe (1550-1789) and 16 pages of plates. 304pp. £25 NOW £7


73264 RIGHT OF THE LINE: The Role of the


RAF in World War Two by John Terraine ‘the right of the line’ has come to mean in battle, the place of greatest danger, and in ceremony the place of honour. During World War II the Royal Air Force found itself, without option, shouldering the burden of the war when the Army was in eclipse and the Royal Navy strained to its limits - especially during the crisis of the U- boat war in 1942-43. Bomber Command played a vital role. 1939-45 was the time of the vast air fleets, the big aircraft with large specialized crews and a host of people on the ground required to direct and service them, including members of the Air Council and the Air Staff, Group Commanders, back-room boys, and ground crew. Of these, a vast 70,253 men and women were lost in action. To set the record straight, this huge and detailed book chronicles the glorious history of the RAF from its beginnings, through its sorties over the North Sea and Norway, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, the Strategic Air Offensive, the Mediterranean, Combined Operations, Normandy and the final triumph of air power. 841 paperback pages. Photos with map. £30 NOW £9


73535 THE LIGHT DRAGOONS: A Regimental


History, 1715-2009 by Eric Hunt The Light Dragoons were first raised in 1715 as the 13th, 15th, 17th and 19th regiments of Light Dragoons. Subsequently redesignated as Hussars (and the 19th as Lancers) they fought their way across Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, and during the Crimean War they took part in the infamous Charge at Balaklava alongside the Light Brigade, going on to serve in Afghanistan and South Africa at the end of the 19th century. All four regiments served in the trenches and the Iraqi desert during WWI, then in 1922 they were consolidated into two regiments - the 13th/18th and the 15th/19th. Both regiments were rudimentarily mechanised just before WWII and formed part of the BEF which was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, having lost many men and practically all their vehicles and weapons. In 1992 the two regiments were amalgamated to become what they are today, The Light Dragoons. Copiously illus in colour, 80pp softback. £10.99 NOW £5


74125 ENIGMA: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore


In this revised edition more attention is paid as to why British cryptographers failed to break the Enigma code before July 1939 when the Poles confessed that they had beaten them to it. Now the whole story can at last be told in one volume. One of the most poignant stories contained in the new document concerns the British codebreaker Dily Knox, and how upset he really had been - a quite undignified reaction by this great classical scholar who had already broken the Enigma code used by the Spanish and Italians during the Spanish Civil War and who would go on to break the German Abwehr and Italian naval codes on discovering that he had lost the race against the Poles. We are also given details about the 15 Enigma seizures and further details on the boffins working under Alan Turing in his team of eccentric code breakers at Bletchley Park. Here is the stealing of codebooks from sinking U-boats and the betrayal of his German homeland by an Enigma Spy and the true story behind Ian Fleming’s Operation Ruthless. 546pp, paperback, photos. £9.99 NOW £5


72480 SOVIET GENERAL AND FIELD RANK


OFFICER UNIFORMS: 1955 to 1991 by Adrian Streather


This comprehensive and staggeringly detailed guide covers all uniforms worn by the Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshals, Generals and all field rank officers from 1955 to 1991 on land, sea and air, plus border and intelligence services. With colour (mainly) and b/w photos throughout, it features a well-researched history of each type of uniform, the period it saw service and how it was made, from the boots to the epaulettes. Many anecdotes from purchasing experiences. 128pp softback. £14.99 NOW £3


71251 BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEMORIAL FLIGHT by Richard Winslade


The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, otherwise known as the BBMF or simply ‘The Flight’ is based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Its collection of five Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a Lancaster and a Dakota performs at flying displays the length and breadth of Britain during the summer display season. Here are the aircrew of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota ZA947 and pilots like Flt Lt ‘Merv’ Paine at low level in an AB910 Supermarine Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane and the wide winged and spectacular Avro Lancaster. Colour and monochrome photos. 144pp in large softback. £14.99 NOW £3


73863 THE BLITZ: The British Under Attack by Juliet Gardiner


The Blitzkrieg, ‘lightning war’, started in 7th September 1940 and continued with little relief until 10th May 1941. 436 people were killed and 1,600 seriously injured. The nightmare continued for 57 consecutive nights as death and destruction rained down on Coventry, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol, Southampton, Hull, Belfast and many other cities. Over 40,000 people in all would be killed, while the damage to property and the shattering effects on millions of lives would be incalculable. Here are first-hand accounts from fire- fighters, stretcher-bearers and childhood evacuees, Mass- Observation investigators and secret government documents. 431 pages, archive b/w photos, with notes. £25 NOW £9


73605 BRITISH FIGHTER AIRCRAFT AND AIR BATTLES OF WW2: 6 DVDs by The War File


Disc one covers the story of the Spitfire through the skills of fighter aces like Johnnie Johnson, ‘Sailor’ Malan and Bobby Tuck. The only match for the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Bf109, the Supermarine Spitfire helped change the course of the war in the favour of the Allies. Disc two tells the story of the Hawker Hurricane which swooped to despatch over two thirds of all enemy aircraft destroyed in the Battle of Britain. Features colour footage of the last surviving aircraft alongside original combat film. The de Havilland Mosquito, fighter design, dramatic action of dogfights over Britain between British and German pilots, the Japanese Zeros vs the American Hellcats and Corsairs over the Pacific, bombing raids on the Sorpe and Eder Dams, against the V2 rocket launching site at Peenemünde and the fighter battle for the island of Malta are among the dramatic features on the disc numbered five. The final disc is a unique film depicting the outstanding and legendary aircraft of WWII including the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, Mosquito, Blenheim, Flying Fortress, Liberator, Mitchell, Mustang, Hellcat, Corsair and Avenger. Classic films produced to the highest standards. Six DVDs running time 340 minutes. £34.99 NOW £12.50


73864 HORROR IN THE EAST by Laurence Rees


On the 60th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, this book examines the shocking events of the war in the Pacific, which culminated in the devastation caused by atomic bombs. It probes the Japanese belief in their own racial superiority. Apparently, under the reign of Emperor Hirohito, Japan came to reject Western values and ideas. Japanese psyche reflected selfless devotion to the country and to the emperor. During World War II, Japanese soldiers were to indulge in mass murder, rape, suicide and even cannibalisation of the enemy. This book pulls no punches in examining how this dreadful turnaround came about. From the acclaimed BBC TV series. 160 pages, photos. £16.99 NOW £7


74046 SPITFIRE PILOT: An Extraordinary


True Story of Combat in the Battle of Britain by Roger Hall DFC


Many pilots have written striking accounts of war in the air, but this volume is unique in that the author has never sought to eulogise aerial warfare. Instead, he has had the courage to write the truth about the nagging fears and mental conflict that beset the vast majority of those who were flying then, who lived a life in which there was no tomorrow. Despite that, he was able to see that there was a peculiar beauty about some aspects of flying, and even in the grimness of battle itself. His descriptions of aerial combat are extremely vivid, as he recounts in harrowing detail his own experiences with Messerschmitt 109s and 110s, as well as those of other pilots. 182 pages with b/w archive photos and cartoons, glossary of names, and list of abbreviations. £20 NOW £7


71865 NAPOLEONIC WARGAMING by Neil Thomas


The magnificent uniforms of the Napoleonic period are irresistible to wargamers, and there is also the appeal of pitting highly colourful historical figures against each other. The author gives a detailed historical analysis of the factors leading to the French revolution and the Rise of Napoleon, including ideologies such as the cult of sensibility. Strategies and manoeuvres of the war itself are considered in the second section, including Napoleonic tactics and formations such as the Assault Column, with Marshal Saxe’s classic assaults analysed in diagrammatic form. Units and Formations, Retreats, Small Arms and Artillery fire are among the numerous topics covered. Diagrams, colour photos, 160pp, softback. £16.99 NOW £4


72602 DOGFIGHT: True Stories of Dramatic Air Actions by Alfred Price


From operations over the fields of France during the First World War, through accounts of the indomitable spirit of the RAF during the Battle of Britain, to the horrifying loss of life inflicted by Hitler’s Blitzkrieg offensive over the Soviet Union - when more than 300 aircraft fell in air-to-air combat during one single day - no detail is spared. The jet age is vividly brought to life, together with the air force’s role in the Vietnam War and the Falklands, the part played by reconnaissance aircraft in modern warfare, and the precision of attacking pin- point targets in Iraq. 350 paperback pages with b/w archive photos, diagrams and map. £9.99 NOW £4


War and Militaria


35


73865 WORLD AT WAR by Richard Holmes The definitive television work on the Second World War which set out to tell the story through the testimony of key participants. First broadcast in 1973, the programme’s producers committed hundreds of interview-hours to tape. For more than 30 years the interviews have never been allowed to be published - until now. Richard Holmes skilfully weaves the original material into a compelling narrative, first of all listing all interviewees, their dates, ranks and where the interview was conducted and their background; for example, a Scots guard interviewed in a Glasgow pub, to Lord Tom Drilberg, promiscuous homosexual and Soviet spy, enobled 1976. Beginning with Hitler’s Germany, Japan’s militarism, Winston Churchill, Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, Casablanca and Tehran, D-Day in Normandy, Yalta Poland and ending with Reflections among the 35 chapter headings. 662pp, colour photos. £9.99 NOW £5


WAR MEMOIRS


A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.


-Napoleon


74211 STORY OF A SECRET STATE: My Report to the


World by Jan Karski Jan Karski first wrote of his wartime experiences from the safety of New York in 1944, following five years of experiencing the very worst the German military and Gestapo could inflict. In 1939 Karski was a brilliant 25 year old linguist in Warsaw, living a charmed life of study, parties and pleasure. By the beginning of September that


life and his comfortable, familiar world had ceased to exist. Captured by the Red Army and imprisoned in Russia, he escaped and returned to occupied Poland. With his language skills and contacts, he was recruited into the Polish resistance as a secret messenger. He had to forget all about his previous life, and would experience bravery and cruelty at their most extreme. Then, infiltrating the Warsaw Ghetto, he is inspired to an act of heroism that could change the course of the war, letting the world know about the mass extermination of Jews. Eventually and with astounding bravery and good fortune in equal measure, he got to London, was debriefed there, providing invaluable information, then to New York for more of the same. The book became an instant bestseller upon publication. War was still raging in Europe and the Pacific and many Americans were still ignorant of the excesses of Nazi Germany. In it he describes what it is like to have your country defeated by a vastly more powerful enemy, and find yourself entrusted with its survival. It is a raw account of bravery, passion and pride, capture, torture and worse. B/w photos, 454pp. £20 NOW £6


74351 WAR ON OUR DOORSTEP


by Harriet Salisbury


East Enders’ true confessions taking us right back to the grime, labour, docks, dockers and stevedores, Jews, Irish and Catholics, jobs at Tate & Lyle and Burrell’s Paintworks, on Petticoat Lane, nursing, under gas attack, the gun sight at Mudchute, pranks, dances, ignorance about sex, families crowded into single rooms, children


playing on the streets. Here is a place where neighbours’ doors were never locked - in case you needed an escape route from the police! The Second World War changed everything. During the Blitz, men set off for work never to return and rows of houses were reduced to rubble over night. The East Enders’ ability to keep calm and carry on cemented their reputation for cheerful resilience. Hitler killed off the bugs, the slums and destroyed a way of life when many were isolated in high rise blocks. These short reminiscences, often three or four to a page and in the words of the locals themselves (short biographies given) is rich in detail, anecdote, high spirit and social history. 484pp in paperback. £6.99 NOW £3.50


74352 WOMEN IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Collette Drifte


Interviewed by the BBC in the late 1970s, the artist Beryl Cook described how commodities were scarce during the war, so the women supplemented their income by a little impromptu ‘trading’ with the GIs - ‘We all did it.’ Using interviews, anecdotes, memoirs and accounts from the women or their children, the book tells the personal accounts of ordinary British women in their own words of their experiences on active service. Their accounts cover the whole spectrum from famous battles such as Monte Cassino, Dunkirk, D-Day, the Blitz, bombings in Portsmouth, Southampton, Coventry and Liverpool to being shipwrecked by a torpedo and ending up on a lifeboat for 24 hours. Here too are simple acts of kindness which in themselves seem nothing but meant at the time something very special to those young women even 60 years later recounting the experience here. News, gossip, sorrows and joys were shared and we cannot imagine the importance of the black pot-bellied stove! They remember the hot water bottle tucked into a bed when they came in from a freezing nightshift, the unexpected payment of a meal bill by a total stranger or the loan of a locket for a special dinner date because of the need to feel human and pretty again, not just a clockwork soldier. The variety of experiences reflects how widely the women’s contribution to the war effort was from tilling the soil to servicing engines of aircraft and much in between. 222pp with many illus. £19.99 NOW £6.50


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