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3 Para
￥68.67
Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. In blazing heat in remote outposts the 3 Para battlegroup is pitted against a stubborn enemy who keep on coming. Until now, the full story of what happened there has not been told. This is it. In April 2006, the elite 3 Para battlegroup was despatched to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. They were tasked with providing security to reconstruction efforts, a deployment it was hoped would pass off without a shot being fired. In fact, over the six months they were there, the 3 Para battle group saw near continuous combat – one gruelling battle after another – in what would become one of the most extraordinary campaigns ever fought by British troops. Around parched, dusty outposts reliant on a limited number of helicopters for food and ammunition resupply, troops were subjected to relentless Taliban attacks, as well as energy-sapping 50 degree heat and spartan conditions. At the end of the tour, the Taliban offensive aimed at driving the British and Afghan Government troops out of Helmand had been tactically defeated. But 3 Para paid a high price: fourteen soldiers and one interpreter were killed, and 46 wounded. ‘3 Para’ will tell the stories of the men and women who took part in this extraordinary and largely unreported saga. Best-selling author Patrick Bishop has been given exclusive access to the soldiers whose tales of courage and endurance provide an unforgettable portrait of one of the world's finest and most fascinating fighting regiments, and a remarkable band of warriors. Their bravery was reflected in the array of gallantry medals that were bestowed on their return, including the Victoria Cross awarded to Corporal Bryan Budd and the George Cross won by Corporal Mark Wright, both of whom were killed winning their awards. 3 Para’s saga of comradeship, courage and fortitude is set to become a classic.
Death or Victory: The Battle for Quebec and the Birth of Empire
￥81.52
An epic history of the battle of Quebec, the death of General James Wolfe and the beginnings of Britain’s empire in North America. Military history at its best. Perched on top of a tall promontory, surrounded on three sides by the treacherous St Lawrence River, Quebec – in 1759 France’s capital city in Canada – forms an almost impregnable natural fortress. That year, with the Seven Years’ War raging around the globe, a force of 49 ships and nearly 9,000 men commanded by the irascible General James Wolfe, navigated the river, scaled the cliffs and laid siege to the town in an audacious attempt to expel the French from North America forever. In this magisterial first solus book, tying into the 250th anniversary of the battle, Dan Snow tells the story of this famous campaign which was to have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s rise to global hegemony, and the world at large. Snow brilliantly sets the battle within its global context and tells a gripping tale of brutal war quite unlike any fought in Europe, where terrain, weather and native Canadian tribes were as fearsome as any enemy. ‘I never served so disagreeable a campaign as this,’ grumbled one British commander, ‘it is war of the worst shape.’ 1759 was, without question, a year in which the decisions of men changed the world forever. Based on original research and told from all perspectives, this is history – military, political, human – on an epic scale.
Dowager Countess of Grantham and Mrs Isidore Levinson
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. When Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson, comes to stay, it’s clear that she is more than a match for Violet. Equally confident in their age, status and belief that their way is the right way, the two could easily quarrel. Intransigent, intractable Violet is the definitive dowager. Largely based on Julian Fellowes’s own great-aunt, Isie Stephenson, ‘in whom there was a mix of severity and a kind heart’, Violet represents the last of an era; one of the few remaining Victorians who believed absolutely in the necessity of moral exactitude, the importance of family and the oblige of the noblesse. Martha may have once been awed by the English upper classes (this, after all, was why she brought her daughter over to be presented at the London Season), but she welcomes the post-war changes that are being brought to England, even if they seem slower in coming to Downton Abbey. Shirley MacLaine, the actress who plays Martha, believes that her character’s attitude comes not so much from her money as her politics: ‘Her confidence comes from being a democratic American – she is so centred in her fairness and considers America to be fair, and tradition is not fair.’ Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Eileen’s story (Individual stories from THE SWEETHEARTS, Book 3)
￥11.77
This is Eileen’s story, one of five stories extracted from THE SWEETHEARTS. Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire. “Eileen’s dad worked at the Rowntree’s factory loading cocoa beans into the grinding mills; it was hard physical work, but he was a tall and powerful figure and very fit. Eileen was only five when war broke out and her dad went away, and was just nine years old when he came back from war. ‘He looked simply horrendous. His wounded leg was still in plaster, his hair had grown long, there were scars all over his face and scalp, and to allow his wounds to continue to heal and to keep his eye sockets open until he could be fitted with glass eyes.’ He could have trained to run a corner shop, or done plenty of other things –but all he wanted to do was go back to Rowntree’s…” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
Abraham Lincoln: History in an Hour
￥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, is an American icon. To many, he is a symbol of values, sacrifice and determination. Modern notions of nationalism, liberty, and constitution all owe their debt to Lincoln, as does the unity of the American states. And yet, in his own day, Lincoln was also reviled by many as a traitor, tarnished by his associations with the wrong kind of race and the wrong end of society. Charting his ascent from humble origins to the leader of the United States during its hardest democratic and ethical conflict – the American Civil War – ‘Lincoln: History in an Hour’ is a succinct guide to the life of a great and controversial modernizer. Having educated himself and made good as a lawyer, he embarked on a journey that would see triumph in the abolition of slavery and then tragedy in the final drama of his own assassination. From his struggles as President to his family life and roles as husband, father and friend, this is the story of one of history’s greatest leaders. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
Mrs Reginald Crawley (Downton Abbey Shorts, Book 6)
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Isobel Crawley is a woman with a cause. The cause may change, but she likes to make sure she’s always got one on the go. An educated, forward-thinking woman who lived amongst the professional middle classes of Manchester, she suddenly found herself the mother of an earl-in-waiting. Thrust into this position, she determined that she and Matthew should not be cowed by their new situation. Penelope Wilton, the actress portraying Isobel, explains the subtleties of her character’s motives: ‘She is not the least resentful – or disapproving – of the Downton world. Though she is critical of the wider society and wants to improve it. But she is not a radical socialist. Her desire to help is conceived within the existing structures of her world.’ Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Behind the Scenes (Downton Abbey Shorts, Book 11)
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey peels back the curtain on the making of Series 3. With a foreword from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. You’ll have privileged access to the on-set jokes and camaraderie between the actors – including anecdotes about Jim Carter’s (Carson’s) magic tricks and a revelation that two actors liked to burst into an impromptu duet of the Three Degrees classic “When Will I See You Again” between takes – find out who! See also how the sets at Highclere Castle and Ealing Studios were adapted, and hear from the costume and make up artists about the incredible attention to detail they applied to bring the 1920s so vividly to life. Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Fighting Rommel
￥9.71
This is Mike Sadler’s story, one of five true-life recollections from the Second World War in Tales From The Special Forces Club. The Special Forces Club is a fabled gentlemen’s club, based in the heart of London. It has a closely guarded secret: you have to be a genuine hero to be a member. Mike Sadler was in Rhodesia working on a farm when he decided to join up and fight Hitler. He would become one of the legendary men in the Long Range Desert Group, roaming behind Erwin Rommel’s front line and causing havoc and confusion to the German Africa Korp. He would also go on to serve with distinction in the SAS. This is his story.
Mussolini: History in an Hour
￥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. ‘Il Duce’, Benito Mussolini, was one of the key figures in the creation of fascism. Famed for his dictatorial style, his political cunning and admired – initially – by Hitler, Mussolini led the National Fascist Party and ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 until his ousting in 1943. In so doing, he paved the way towards Italy’s defeat in World War Two, and some of the 20th century’s most destructive ideologies and practices. Following expulsion from Italian Socialist Party, Mussolini denounced all efforts of class conflict, and instead later commanded a Fascist March on Rome to become the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history. Thereafter he set about dismantling the apparatus of democracy and initiated what would become known as the one-party totalitarian state. With World War II came defeat, humiliation and his bloody deposing. Explaining his ideologies, policies, actions and flaws, ‘Mussolini: History in an Hour’ is the concise life of the man whose ideas helped create some of the worst horrors of the modern history. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
Leviathan：The Rise of Britain as a World Power
￥95.75
For viewers of BBC One’s ‘Britain and the Sea’, ‘Leviathan’ is a must-read; overturning long-held beliefs about our ancestry and weaving together the disparate strands that made the fabric of the Empire. The 350 years between the accession of the Tudors and the beginning of the Victorian era saw one of the great transformations of any nation in history：Britain emerged from its lowly position as European underdog to become the world's only maritime superpower. It was a period that saw the creation of Protestant kingdoms in England and Scotland, the gain and loss of American colonies and the beginnings of a new empire in Africa, India and Australasia. It is a slice of our past represented by some of the most compelling personalities to have graced the historical stage – Elizabeth I, Nelson, Cromwell and Byron amongst them. In this wide-ranging yet succinct history, David Scott challenges some of our longest held beliefs in how Britain achieved its constitutional might. Where other histories have concentrated on a narrow chronology, 'Leviathan：A World of Ships and Men' encompasses a broad spectrum, tracing the connections made across time as never before.
Nature Near London (Collins Nature Library)
￥147.35
The Collins Nature Library is a new series of classic British nature writing – reissues of long-lost seminal works. The titles have been chosen by one of Britain’s best known and highly acclaimed nature writers, Robert Macfarlane, who has also written new introductions that put these classics into a modern context. Nature Near London is a collection of observational pieces from locations near London at the end of the 19th Century. The depth of knowledge and of familiarity with particular places and particular species gives the impression that each small piece is the product of many years of observation. His style of observation is a work in miniature – cataloguing the most minute details; the dancing of a flower in the wind or the darting of a cautious trout. The chapters centre on a special place, a certain species, geographical feature or habitat – everything from orchards and copses to rivers and streams. Jefferies always explains the typical behaviour of whatever he is describing, and often contrasts what he sees with what one would expect to see in another part of the country, or in a different season. His knowledge of flowers is wide-ranging, and his ability to describe one particular patch of a field in such a specific way brings tremendous variety to the chapters that make up the book. The final chapters are a departure – both from the character of the rest of the book, and from London itself, as Jefferies boards the train to Brighton. Suddenly he is describing people and their relationship to nature, as much as nature itself. The scope widens, less a work in miniature, more surging towards a triumphant end as Jefferies becomes ever more philosophical. 100 years on, the book becomes even more relevant than when it was published – as a reminder of the dangers of unrelenting urbanisation, but also the context of the trend that aims to recreate nature where we need it most – around our cities. Nature near London is a portrait of what we’ve lost, and a reminder of nature’s positive and calming influence. Going along with Jefferies is like taking an afternoon stroll out of the city, without having to leave your armchair.
Battle for the Falklands：The Winter War
￥54.65
‘Boldly planned, bravely executed and brilliantly accomplished’ was Margaret Thatcher’s assessment of the Falklands campaign. But what did the war mean to the men in the trenches and below decks? This gripping first-hand account of the Falklands War, written by bestselling military historian Patrick Bishop and Sunday Times Editor John Witherow, reveals the true experiences of the British soldiers and seamen on the front line. The authors, then rookie reporters, lived alongside the fighting men, experiencing the daily realities of a British task force that was hugely outnumbered on a barren island 8,000 miles from home. The Falklands: The Winter War looks at the covert role of the SAS and the heroic death of Colonel ‘H’ Jones at Goose Green, and considers just how close Britain came to defeat. This is an extraordinarily frank and unsparing account of a military campaign that has held a defining place within the British national conscience since victory in 1982.
The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World
￥68.67
What do we do when things go wrong in a fast world? Many of us go for the quick fix that delays the problem rather than solving it. To make real progress we need real solutions – we need to take time for THE SLOW FIX. People have long been in search of a quick fix. Truth is, it doesn’t work. The problems facing us today are bigger and more urgent than ever before and we need to learn to start fixing things properly, rather than settling for short-term solutions. The Slow Fix offers real, life-changing solutions to tackling these problems and extends the movement defined by Carl Honore in his global bestseller, In Praise of Slow, to offer a recipe for problem-solving that can be applied to every walk of life, from business and politics to relationships, education and health reform.
The Sweethearts：Tales of love, laughter and hardship from the Yorkshire Rowntree
￥54.84
Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire “On a warm Monday morning in 1932, just two days after leaving school, fourteen-year-old Madge was about to join her nine brothers and sisters at Rowntree’s. The smell of chocolate was in the air but as she walked up the road, her footsteps slowed at the daunting thought of what lay ahead…” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
Gwendolyn’s Story (GI Brides Shorts, Book 1)
￥9.71
This is Gwendolyn’s story, one of four true stories from the book GI Brides. They sat down together and Ben pulled her close. ‘Lyn,’ he whispered. ‘You know I’m head over heels in love with you. I’ll never love anyone else as long as I live.’ It was the most romantic thing Lyn had ever heard – and coming from Ben she knew that it was true. Gwendolyn’s hometown of Southampton is taken over by the Americans of the ‘friendly invasion’ as they prepare for D-Day. She falls in love with a romantic Italian-American officer, and excitedly travels to California to be with him. But once there, Gwendolyn clashes with a formidable mother-in-law, who tells her husband: ‘It’s her or me!’ Gwendolyn’s story is extracted from GI Brides, written by the bestselling authors of The Sugar Girls. It captures the memories of the thousands of women who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War.
GI BRIDES – June’s Story：Exclusive Bonus Ebook
￥9.71
This short bonus ebook tells June’s story, a true account of a woman who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War. June noticed an American soldier walking towards her … In the drab setting of the churchyard he looked utterly out of place, as if a movie star had just dropped out of the sky. Raised in Birmingham, June marries a handsome GI called Borgy and looks forward to a new life in America. But when war ends, June is horrified to receive a letter from her husband telling her they are moving to Germany instead. June’s life soon takes a shocking turn. June’s story is an additional extra to the four tales in GI Brides, written by the bestselling authors of The Sugar Girls. It tells the true story of one of the 70,000 British women who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War.
The Birth of Modern Britain: A Journey into Britain’s Archaeological Past
￥76.91
From the author of ‘Britain BC’, ‘Britain AD’ and ‘Britain in the Middle Ages’ comes the fourth and final part in a critically acclaimed series on Britain's hidden past. The relevance of archaeology to the study of the ancient world is indisputable. But, when exploring our recent past, does it have any role to play? In ‘The Birth of Modern Britain’ Francis Pryor highlights archaeology’s continued importance to the world around us. The pioneers of the Industrial Revolution were too busy innovating to record what was happening around them but fortunately the buildings and machines they left behind bring the period to life. During the Second World War, the imminent threat of invasion meant that constructing strong defences was much more important than keeping precise records. As a result, when towns were flattened, archaeology provided the only real means of discovering what had been destroyed. Surveying the whole post-medieval period, from 1550 until the present day, Francis Pryor takes us on an exhilarating journey, bringing to a gripping conclusion his illuminating study of Britain’s hidden past.
The Last Veteran: Harry Patch and the Legacy of War
￥73.58
This moving and timely book explores the way the First World War has been thought about and commemorated, and how it has affected its own, and later, generations. On 11 November 1920, huge crowds lined the streets of London for the funeral of the Unknown Warrior. As the coffin was drawn on a gun carriage from the Cenotaph to Westminster Abbey, the King and Ministers of State followed silently behind. The modern world had tilted on its axis, but it had been saved. Armistice Day was born, the acknowledgement of the great sacrifice made by a whole generation of British men and women. Now, almost a century later, Harry Patch, the last British veteran who saw active service, has died. Our final link with the First World War is broken. Harry Patch was born in 1898 and was con*ed in 1916. He served with a Lewis gun team at the Battle of Passchendaele and in September 1917 was wounded by a shell that killed three of his comrades. After the war, Patch returned to Somerset to work as a plumber, a job he continued to do until his retirement. The First World War was fought not by a professional army but by ordinary civilians like Patch, who epitomised Edwardian Britain and the sense, now lost, of what Britain stood for and why it was worth fighting for. The Last Veteran tells Patch's story, and explores the meaning of the war to those who fought in it and the generations that have followed. Peter Parker's illuminating and timely book is a moving tribute to a remarkable generation.
The Nineties: When Surface was Depth
￥72.99
the first clear anatomy of a confused decade, the 1990s – ‘Bracewell, with great verve and style, animates the cultural conversation’, Greil Marcus 'Michael Bracewell is the most adroitly gifted writer of his generation.' Morrissey Michael Bracewell is now clearly established as one of the most subtle, penetrating, amusing and far-sighted of all observers of the contemporary scene in Britain. His writing on culture high and low is coveted by every broadsheet, every stylish glossy monthly magazine and on radio and TV punditry platforms. His book, England Is Mine, about the distinctive Englishness of these islands’ twentieth-century popular culture, earned him incredible reviews and an unchallenged position as the first person any right-minded arts producer/editor turns to when they need a definitive opinion about how English or otherwise some new-fangled cultural phenomenon is. With this book Bracewell gives us the first consideration of that still-warm, still-bizarre, still-confused and confusing decade. He talks to and talks about a host of representative Nineties figures, some already forgotten, some absolutely emblematic of their times – from Hanson to Alexander McQueen, from Tracey Emin to Ulrika Jonsson, from the Spice Girls to Duran Duran (yes, Duran Duran). Painstakingly, sometimes painfully, he puts all the pieces together and starts to make sense of it all…
Woodsman
￥66.22
Ben Law’s incredible sense of the land and his respect for age old traditions offers a wonderful insight into the life of Prickly Nut Wood. Having travelled to Papua New Guinea and the Amazon, observing age-old techniques for living in, working in and preserving forests and woodland, Ben Law felt compelled to return home and apply his learnings to a 400 year old plot of woodland near where he grew up – Prickly Nut Wood. This is the story of how he came live off the land, how he coppiced and hedged and created charcoal, how he puddled and built shelter and finally how he carved out his famous woodland home that Kevin McCloud has cited as his favourite ever Grand Design. And it’s the story of the wood itself – how it lives and breathes and affects all those who encounter it, and how it’s developed over the twenty years Ben has shared in its lifespan. This transporting tale that will make you long to hear the dawn chorus and wake up every day to the serene beauty of Britain’s woodland.
Twenty-One: Coming of Age in World War II
￥72.99
World War II affected the lives of ordinary men and women more directly than any other conflict before or since. This is an unprecedented look at the lives of twenty-one young men who answered their country’s call to arms and left their homes to fight in unfamiliar and far-reaching corners of the globe. Many never returned, and those who did found their homes and countries much changed by long years of war. Most discovered they had become different people: having seen death and destruction on a scale they had never imagined they would witness, the return to civilian life was often far from easy. Now, more than sixty years on, this remarkable generation is fading. Most are now over eighty and around the world more than two thousand veterans of the war are passing away every day. In this new book ‘Sunday Times’ bestselling author James Holland recounts the real-life stories of twenty-one young men from around the world who served in different services and theatres of the war. Whether it be the Byers brothers from Canada or Bill Laity from Cornwall, Wlad Rubnikowicz from Poland or Tom Finney from Preston, each began the war with little idea of what lay in store; and yet, each displayed astonishing courage, fortitude and resilience, united by a sense of honour and duty, and bound by the fellowship of their comrades. Often reacting in very different ways to the strange and frequently terrifying situations in which they found themselves, they each suffered hardships and loss, making sacrifices that have ensured a lasting peace amongst the warring nations; and if some of these survivors are perplexed by how the world has developed, none doubts the value of what they did all those years ago. Moving, poignant, and conveying all the drama, tension and fear experienced in war, ‘Twenty-One’ is an uplifting tribute to a passing generation, describing the wide range of experiences and extremes these remarkable men and women witnessed during World War II. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
