History buffs, especially military, will savor every episode on every page

    Drawing from more than one hundred diaries, memoirs, letters, and interviews, this is, above all, a masterful narrative of the human side of combat at sea-real stories told from the point of view of the sailors who experienced it. Exhaustively researched and fascinating in detail, At War at Sea is a monumental history of the men, the ships, and the battles fought on the high seas. "Superb . . . Spector's account provides evocative and fresh perspectives on cultures, technologies and innovations that influenced sailors' lives and shaped naval warfare." (The San Diego Union-Tribune) "Monumental . . . Many books have recorded the history of the United States Navy, but few have meshed that history with that of all other major navies-an unusual comparative technique that brings into often startling relief the virtues and flaws of our own navy." (The Washington Post)"

    Because of its recent invention, the aeroplane captured the imagination of both soldiers and civilians during World War I, and the psychological effect of the new weapon often outweighed its actual capabilities.

    of this amazing diary of a German U-Boat Commander has fallen into our hands under somewhat unusual and mysterious circumstances, the name of the writer being withheld for reasons which will be readily apparent to all who read his astounding experiences. It is, however, a story so thrilling and sensational that we have no hesitation in offering it as it stands to the public, kept so long in ignorance by the necessary evil of a rigid censorship. A particularly human and intriguing touch is given to the book by the Author's very frank account of his mad infatuation for a beautiful girl of his own country who was inextricably involved in his incredible exploits and adventures on the high seas.

    It was a duty few men could handle—and even fewer would survive.This is the true story of those brave men who served and too often died under the ocean surface, written by a man who was there. Edward L. Beach masterfully weaves his gripping experiences aboard the USS Trigger with those of other boats fighting the war in the Pacific. Part action-packed combat chronicle, part testament to the courageous sacrifices made by those who never came back, this is a compelling eyewitness account of the war as few have seen it.

    It is a study of the contribution made, not only by George VI and his redoubtable Queen, but also by the entire royal family during those turbulent years. And of how that contribution strengthened and popularized the monarchy. This is a family saga; an account of the lives, as much private as public, of all the diverse members of what George VI called 'The Firm'. Together with the tireless efforts of the King and Queen, it deals with such aspects as the Duke of Windsor's flirtation with Fascism, the ground-clearing obsessions of Queen Mary, the mysterious death of the Duke of Kent, the activities of the Athlones in Canada and the Gloucesters in Australia, and the imprisonment of the Princess Royal's eldest son, Viscount Lascelles. Occasionally tragic, often amusing, always interesting, it is a richly detailed panorama of the monarchy in one of its finest hours. Theo Aronson has been granted an unprecedented series of audiences with the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Alice. Duchess of Gloucester, and the late Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, as well as interviews with many other members of the royal family and of the royal households. He has been permitted the use of previously unpublished letters, diaries and papers. The result is a colourful study by an author who has been consistently praised for his insight, scholarship and, above all, readability.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

     From September 1916 until his death in July 1918 he shot down fifty-seven German planes. Flying Fury is his remarkable story, written a few months before his last flight, and records in fascinating detail the life of a World War One fighter pilot ace. McCudden’s account provides fascinating insight into the development of aerial warfare. He began his life with the Royal Flying Corps in 1913 as a engine-fitter and records the early flights that were made by the British military. At the outbreak of the First World War he left England for France and by 1915 he was in the sky as an observer and gunner. It was only in 1916 that he began to train as a pilot before he took to the skies and became an exceptional fighter pilot; on one occasion shooting down three enemies in as many minutes. His work records in brilliant detail the confusion of the dogfights, the camaraderie of the men who knew they were putting their lives on the lines, the boredom of being grounded and the thrill taking to the skies. Tragically McCudden’s life was cut short just four months before the end of the war, not during combat with enemy planes, but instead due to engine failure that caused his plane to plunge into the ground below. Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps is essential reading for anyone interested in finding out more about the development of aerial combat and how one man rose to become one of the most formidable aces of the First World War. With his six British medals and one French, McCudden received more awards for gallantry than any other airman of British nationality serving in the First World War. He was also one of the longest serving. By 1918, in part due to a campaign by the Daily Mail newspaper, McCudden became one of the most famous airmen in the British Isles. He died on 9 July 1918 at the age of twenty-three. His work was posthumously published as Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps in 1919. “His skill and daring speak for themselves. Only the finest courage and an unsurpassed mastery of the art of flying and fighting in the air could account for such a record of unflagging work and incessant victory. His work was as thorough as it was brilliant and his thoroughness was an important cause of his success.” Lord Trenchard, Marshal of the Royal Flying Corps “I am confident that he would agree with me when I say that the secret of his remarkable success lay in the fact that he fought with his head as well as with his great heart.” Sir John Salmond, Chief Air Marshal

    Covering famous battles, the birth of the air force, naval engagements, the War Department, and experiences of the troops, this indispensable volume is again available in paperback for students and general readers.

    Even Ferdinand’s own uncle, Franz Josef I, was notably ambivalent about the death of the Hapsburg heir, saying simply, "It is God’s will." Certainly, there was nothing to suggest that the episode would lead to conflict—much less a world war of such massive and horrific proportions that it would fundamentally reshape the course of human events.As acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin reveals in July 1914, World War I might have been avoided entirely had it not been for a small group of statesmen who, in the month after the assassination, plotted to use Ferdinand’s murder as the trigger for a long-awaited showdown in Europe. The primary culprits, moreover, have long escaped blame. While most accounts of the war’s outbreak place the bulk of responsibility on German and Austro-Hungarian militarism, McMeekin draws on surprising new evidence from archives across Europe to show that the worst offenders were actually to be found in Russia and France, whose belligerence and duplicity ensured that war was inevitable. Whether they plotted for war or rode the whirlwind nearly blind, each of the men involved—from Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold and German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and French president Raymond Poincaré—sought to capitalize on the fallout from Ferdinand’s murder, unwittingly leading Europe toward the greatest cataclysm it had ever seen.A revolutionary account of the genesis of World War I, July 1914 tells the gripping story of Europe’s countdown to war from the bloody opening act on June 28th to Britain’s final plunge on August 4th, showing how a single month—and a handful of men—changed the course of the twentieth century.

    And it shows that some of the issues raised by the Titanic disaster are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago.John Hooper is the Rome-based correspondent of The Economist and Guardian. He has been reporting from the countries of the Mediterranean for almost 25 years. His book, The Spaniards, won the Allen Lane Award for a best first work of non-fiction. It has since been revised and updated as The New Spaniards.

    The classified Japanese program required developing a squadron of top secret submarines—the Sen-toku or I-400 class—which were the largest and among the most deadly subs of World War II. Incredibly, the subs were designed as underwater aircraft carriers, each equipped with three Aichi M6A1 attack planes painted to look like US aircraft. Called Seiran, the planes were concealed in a huge, watertight deck hangar and meant to appear suddenly over American cities as their Japanese name suggests: like a “storm from a clear sky.”This operation remained unknowns to the Allies despite U.S. intelligence having broken the Japanese naval codes. Even more amazing is how close the Japanese came to pulling off their mission. In spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including Allied air raids, mine-laden waters, fuel shortages, and a catastrophic depth-charge attack, the Sen-toku squadron was determined to complete their mission no matter what. But when the captain of an American combat sub inadvertently crossed paths with the squadron’s flagship, what promised to be a routine sub patrol soon threatened to rekindle World War II with untold consequences for Japan’s surrender ceremony only five days away.

    Submarines are thrilling beasts, and Edward Young tells of four years' adventures in them in a good stout book with excitement on every page. He writes beautifully, economically and with humour, and in the actions he commands he manages to put the reader at the voice-pipe and the periscope so that sometimes the tension is so great that one has to put the book down'. The Sunday Times.

    Filled with harrowing details of sinking Japanese vessels, surviving their assaults and capturing downed pilots. Culminates in Calvert's unauthorized visit, with three other officers, to Tokyo just prior to the official surrender--making them the first Americans to reach Japan's capital.

    'I don't want to appear fussy, but are we going to be greeted by cheers and kisses from Norwegian blondes, or a hail of gunfire from invisible Huns?' he remarked to his officers on approaching the small town of Andalsnes. returncharacterreturncharacterHis next task - in command first of a corvette and then a destroyer - was escorting East Coast convoys, and his experiences reflect the danger of this work against the menaces of E-boats, enemy aircraft and mines. He then took part in the landings at Anzio and the Normandy landings in 1944; finally, he rescued internees from the Japanese prison camp on Stanley, Hong Kong. His career was much helped by his highly developed sixth sense for danger, the deep affection of his crews and his affinity with cats which he believed brought him luck. returncharacterreturncharacterThis record of varied and almost incessant action ranks among the most thrilling personal stories of the war at sea.