Book picks similar to
How The Regiments Got Their Nicknames by Tim Carew
non-fiction
regimental-histories
trivia
brit-history
The Unknown Indians: People Who Quietly Changed Our World (Exploring India)
Subhadra Sen Gupta - 2016
It takes the reader on a journey through the lives of minstrels and storytellers; weavers, potters, ironsmiths and carvers; farmers and cooks; and poet rebels.Find out how these men and women shaped Indian civilization and made it richer with their skills and their wondrous innovations. From the first storytellers who wove tales of great imagination and then passed them down generations, to skilled workers who discovered how to weave cotton or created marvelous works of art like the Chola bronzes; from the farmers who fed everyone and even adopted new seeds and crops that have become staples now to poet rebels like Kabir and Guru Nanak who changed society with love and songs.Concise yet filled with relevant details and accompanied by attractive colour illustrations, the Exploring India series will make history fascinating and unforgettable for every reader.
I Felt No Sorrow - This Was War: Burma 1942-45
Gordon Heynes - 2019
He trained as a tank gunner and was drafted overseas to join the Allied campaign in South Asia. After further training in India, his regiment, the 25th Dragoons, was deployed to Burma, taking part in deadly combat as the Allies fought to contain the invading Japanese forces. Gordon was seriously injured, but recovered to be able to re-join his squadron, before eventually returning home after almost four years, when the war ended.Some time after returning to civilian life Gordon Heynes wrote a fascinating account of experiences, and it is that account that is contained in this book, published by his grandsons, Neal and Gary Bircher. Gordon’s story serves as a valuable historical document, but is also much more than that. His captivating matter-of-fact style – for example, infusing depictions of bloody battle scenes with observations of local wildlife – brings his story starkly to life, and it makes for truly compelling reading.
Zelda Fitzgerald: The Biography
University Press Biographies - 2017
The chafing restrictions of a typical upbringing in upper-class, small town Alabama simply did not apply to Zelda, who was described as an unusual child and permitted to roam the streets with little supervision. Zelda refused to blossom into a typical 'Southern belle' on anyone's terms but her own and while still in high school enjoyed the status of a local celebrity for her shocking behavior. Everybody in town knew the name Zelda Sayre. Queen of the Montgomery social scene, Zelda had a different beau ready and willing to show her a good time for every day of the week. Before meeting F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda's life was a constant pursuit of pleasure. With little thought for the future and no responsibilities to speak of, Zelda committed herself fully to the mantra that accompanied her photo in her high school graduation book: "Why should all life be work, when we all can borrow. Let's think only of today, and not worry about tomorrow." But for now Zelda was still in rehearsal for her real life to begin, a life she was sure would be absolutely extraordinary. Zelda Sayre married F. Scott Fitzgerald on the 3rd of April 1920 and left sleepy Montgomery behind in order to dive headfirst into the shimmering, glamourous life of a New York socialite. With the publication of Scott's first novel, This Side of Paradise, Zelda found herself thrust into the limelight as the very epitome of the Flapper lifestyle. Concerned chiefly with fashion, wild parties and flouting social expectations, Zelda and Scott became icons of the Jazz Age, the personification of beauty and success. What Zelda and Scott shared was a romantic sense of self-importance that assured them that their life of carefree leisure and excess was the only life really worth living. Deeply in love, the Fitzgeralds were like to sides of the same coin, each reflecting the very best and worst of each other. While the world fell in love with the image of the Fitzgeralds they saw on the cover of magazines, behind the scenes the Fitzgerald's marriage could not withstand the tension of their creative arrangement. Zelda was Scott's muse and he mercilessly mined the events of their life for material for his books. Scott claimed Zelda's memories, things she said, experiences she had and even passages from her diary as his possessions and used them to form the basis of his fictional works. Zelda had a child but the domestic sphere offered no comfort or purpose for her. The Flapper lifestyle was not simply a phase she lived through, it formed the very basis of her character and once the parties grew dull, the Fitzgeralds' drinking became destructive and Zelda's beauty began to fade, the world held little allure for her. Zelda sought reprieve in work and tried to build a career as a ballet dancer. When that didn't work out she turned to writing but was forbidden by Scott from using her own life as material. Convinced that she would never leave her mark on the world as deeply or expressively as Scott had, Zelda retreated into herself and withdrew from the people she knew in happier times. The later years of Zelda's life were marred by her detachment from reality as, diagnosed with schizophrenia, Zelda spent the last eighteen years of her life living in and out of psychiatric hospitals. As Scott's life unraveled due to alcohol abuse, Zelda looked back on the years they had spent together, young and wild and beautiful, as the best of her life. She may have been right but she was wrong about one thing, Zelda did leave her mark on the world and it was a deep and expressive mark that no one could have left but her. Zelda Fitzgerald: The Biography
Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters: Travels through England’s Football Provinces
Daniel Gray - 2013
Like any sane person, his response is to travel to Crewe, Carlisle and Luton. Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters is an attempt to seek out the England of today through the lens of its football clubs. Small teams and towns, Gray argues, made the country great and matter now more than ever. Taking twelve teams who had notable seasons in 1981, the year of his birth, Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters is part-football book, part-travelogue and part-love letter to the bits of England that often get forgotten.In Middlesbrough, his own childhood team, Gray examines the concept of supporter loyalty and identity. Is football all some of us have left to cling to in a land where the industry that bound the people of towns together has gone? In Watford he muses on the existence of a North-South divide. In Sheffield, a city of bitter derbies, he examines rivalries in football and what they say about our country. In traditionally-wealthy Ipswich he ponders the ownership of football clubs past, present and future. Via such places as Chester, Burnley, Bradford and Carlisle, this is a whistle-stop tour of the outer reaches of the football league that aims to answer big questions about Englishness.For fans of Harry Pearson's The Far Corner or Stuart Maconie's Pies and Prejudice, this is a book that brings the real England vivdly jumping off the page.
The Legacy Letters: Messages of Life and Hope from 9/11 Family Members
Tuesday's Children - 2011
They are first- generation Americans, citizens of other nations, and lifelong New Yorkers. But they all share one thing: They honor their loved ones by living their lives with purpose, and a promise to never forget.These courageous family members share their grief and loss-and hope- speaking in their own words, with love, courage, and strength enough to inspire us all.
Dustoff 7-3: Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan
Erik Sabiston - 2015
Complete opposites thrown together, cut off, and outnumbered, Chief Warrant Officer Erik Sabiston and his flight crew answered the call in a race against time, not to take lives—but to save them. The concept of evacuating wounded soldiers by helicopter developed in the Korean War and became a staple during the war in Vietnam where heroic, unarmed chopper crews flew vital missions known to the grateful grunts on the ground as Dustoffs. The crew of Dustoff 7-3 carried on that heroic tradition, flying over a region that had seen scores of American casualties, known among veterans as the Valley of Death. At the end of Operation Hammer Down, they had rescued 14 soldiers, made three critical supply runs, recovered two soldiers killed in action, and nearly died. It took all of three days.
Attack Transport: The Story Of The U.S.S. Doyen
Lawrence A. Marsden - 2018
It was these ships that carried the bulk of the troops and equipment to the bloody assault beaches of the overseas landings. The Japanese military had swept across Pacific Ocean conquering and fortifying hundreds of small islands that the Allied forces would have to conquer one by one in order to defeat their enemy. Despite being unarmored and having little fire power, attack transports continued to make a monumental impact in the fate of the war. Not because they could defeat the Japanese on their own but because they carried in their hulls the war’s one essential combat element: the troops that fought on the ground. U.S.S. Doyen was one such attack transport that served with honor and made its contribution felt through the course of the war. Lawrence Marsden’s fascinating history of this ship uncovers the action of the Doyen from commissioning through to her last operation in World War Two and of course exposes the lives of the men who sailed her through treacherous waters to do their duty. This book provides brilliant insight into the Pacific War as it was seen from one small unit in the fleet as they were involved in some of the most important operations of that front, including the invasions of Kiska, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf and Iwo Jima. “In war, transports seldom rest. Between assaults, on long and dreary voyages they carry out to distant bases replacement and service troops and freight, and carry back to home ports our casualties and essential war materials. They are the unsung, battle-scarred work horses of the Navy.” Richmond K. Turner, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Former Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet. This book is perfect for readers who wish to learn more about these fascinating boats, the men who fought aboard them and the impact that they made throughout the war. Lieutenant Commander Lawrence A. Marsden served on the U.S.S. Doyen from May 1944 through to the end of the war, and was involved in the landings at Saipan, Guam, Leyte Gulf, Luzon and Iwo Jima. After the war he resigned his commission and became a textile company executive. His book Attack Transport: The Story of The USS Doyen was first published in 1946 and he passed away in 2005.
The Crippled Tanker
D.A. Rayner - 1971
But Captain John Murrell’s H.M.S. Hecate was towing a crippled tanker whose cargo was as dangerous as it was precious — four million gallons of high-octane gas!The U-boat commander was desperate: his career depended on sinking the tanker. If he failed, the Luftwaffe would send new long-range Heinkels to destroy the Hecate and her tow.Murrell’s cunning fight against incredible odds soon became a nightmarish eternity of cat-and-mouse moves and countermoves. His agonizing duel to the death makes this one of the most brilliant and memorable sea sagas to come out of World War II.About the author: Denys Arthur Rayner was a Royal Navy officer who fought throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. After intensive war service at sea, Rayner became a writer, a farmer, and a successful designer and builder of small sailing craft.
Medjugorje: The Last Apparition
Wayne Weible - 2013
It is packed with vital new information in addition to the basic story of its beginnings and where it is today. Included is startling commentary on the alleged secrets and how they will change the world forever. Underlying the story is the disclosure by the Mother of Jesus that she will never come to earth again in apparition. THE LAST APPARITION is a must read!
Stella's Secret: A True Story of Holocaust Survival
Jerry L. Jennings - 2005
But it is Stella’s voice, the amazing way that she tells her story, that makes this Holocaust story so unique, powerful and endearing. The reader listens to Stella’s stunning simplicity of expression, her use of Polish and Yiddish phrases, her humor, her all-so-frequent grammatical errors – and is charmed. It is a story that only Stella Yollin can tell, and it can only be told in Stella’s sweet and incomparable way.
Holocaust: A Jewish Survivor Testimony: The Truth of What Happened in Germany of World War 2
Dan Myers - 2015
She was only a young girl of 22 at the time that she was captured by German soldiers, and the events of her life since then, provide a picture of what it was like to experience the horror of the Holocaust first hand. You will find out about: - • What is was like to Run for your Life • Living in the Ghetto in Poland • Experiencing a Concentration Camp • Being an unwilling subject for Medical Experiments • How she Survived in the Death Camp • The Chance of Life after the Holocaust The Holocaust forever affected the Jewish community. It tore apart families and caused immense suffering and pain. In this book, you will find out about what it was like to experience torture every day, being part of a death march, living in a concentration camp and being captured. Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Download NOW This book celebrates the memories of Regina, bringing to life the horrors of the holocaust. This is so that there can be remembrance, and for the voices of the Jewish to be heard. It is also an account celebrating hope, and how this can change life. Just scroll to the top of the page and select the Buy Button. Download Your Copy TODAY
The Lincoln Story Book A Judicious Collection of the Best Stories and Anecdotes of the Great President, Many Appearing Here for the First Time in Book Form
Henry Llewellyn Williams - 2005
You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
Convoy Escort Commander: A Memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic (Submarine Warfare in World War Two)
Peter Gretton - 1971
The Assassination of JFK - Who Really Did It And Why
Craig Newman - 2013
So what's different about this book, "The Assassination of JFK - Who Really Did It And Why"? Written by a lawyer, it cuts through all the misinformation surrounding the Kennedy assassination and focuses only on the evidence available. Something the Warren Commission strangely failed to do. It also reveals how the assassination went wrong and why the subsequent cover-up was so important for the perpetrators. This is something that almost all other studies into the John F Kennedy assassination overlook. And it takes us back to the early days of the Kennedy family business empire, in the 1920s, and throws light on aspects ignored by other Kennedy assassination investigators. Such as the activities and boundless ambition of Joe Kennedy, the family patriarch and father of the president. Talking of boundless ambition, how did Johnson, JFK's Vice-President, feel at the 1960 Democratic Party Convention, when JFK won the nomination in the first round? Why did he accept the comparatively menial post of Vice-President under Kennedy? Especially when throughout much of the preceding Eisenhower administration he had been more senior in rank to JFK as Senate Majority Leader? And at 52 years of age he wasn't getting any younger. Did he know something even then? Since 1978 the official version of the Kennedy assassination acknowledges that it took place "probably as the result of a conspiracy". So there WAS a Kennedy conspiracy! Who, then, were the conspirators and why did they plan and carry out this murder? Who benefited? How did US policy towards certain foreign countries change after November 1963? What happened with domestic and financial policy? The clues are there. Craig Newman takes us behind the scenes for a glimpse of who really makes the decisions, and who has the power to murder the President of the United States and then order an "investigation" that covers up their crimes? This is one book that no-one remotely interested in the JFK Assassination Conspiracy should be without. This Second Edition contains some new material, including an additional Appendix on the Warren Whitewash/Report.
Charlie Rangers
Don Ericson - 1988
For eighteen months, John L. Rotundo and Don Ericson braved the test of war at its most bloody and most raw, specializing in ambushing the enemy and fighting jungle guerillas using their own tactics. From the undiluted high of a "contact" with the enemy to the anguished mourning of a fallen comrade, they experienced nearly every emotion known to man--most of all, the power and the pride of being the finest on America's front lines.From the Paperback edition.