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Welcome
to the Pen and Sword page, on which you'll find a wide array of books
on various social and historical subjects. Pen and Sword are the
world's foremost historical and military publishers, and I hope to
always have a large selection of their latest brilliant titles in
Books Monthly.
Geoffrey Oldfield: Nottingham A to Z of Local History
Published
by Pen and Sword 7th January 2004
Aimed
at visitors and residents alike, this companion to the history of
Nottingham is an indispensable reference guide to the long, varied and
sometimes surprising story of the city. Essential information on the
people, places and events that played key roles in the story is
presented in a convenient A to Z format. Famous and notorious
individuals are portrayed here, dramatic, sometimes tragic events are
remembered, and familiar local myths and legends are explored. The
volume is a source of fascinating insights into Nottingham's past and
should provide answers to frequently asked historical questions - the
whos, wheres and whys that make up the rich history of the city.
Excellent guide to
everything you could possibly want to know about the city of
Nottingham...
Philip
Kaplan: When Zippo Went To War
Published
by Pen and Sword 16th March 2021
Throughout
the 1930s the Zippo Company in Pennsylvania prospered on the growing
success of its stylish, charismatic little cigarette lighter. The
lighter was made mostly of brass, but with the Second World War that
metal was declared a 'strategic material' in the U.S. where huge
amounts of it were needed for shell and cartridge casings. Zippo
replaced the brass with steel, which can corrode, and wartime Zippos
were given a new baked-on black 'crackle' finish to protect them. That
non-reflective characteristic helped save the lives of many American
soldiers in combat zones. The demand of the Armed Forces for the
lighter led to the company to earmark its entire production for
military. The big wartime market for the Zippo resulted in a rise of
imitations.After the war, through subsequent conflicts in Korea,
Vietnam and elsewhere, thousands of such phoneys appeared in boot sales
and swap meets across the world. Movie stars added sophistication and
glamour when someone lit up a cigarette with a Zippo and the
distinctive 'clink-clop' sound the lighter made when opened and closed
was unmatchable. Legend has it that the great star Bette Davis was once
asked by an interviewer if she smoked after sex. Her supposed response:
"To tell you the truth, I've never looked." In later years- and a dark
medical reality- the cigarette began losing its allure, but in wartime
the soldier, sailor, marine and airman was frequently nervous in the
service and found solace and a brief time-out-of-war in the relaxation
of a quick smoke. Zippo was ready in such moments. Today many examples
survive with a special history and cache. WHEN ZIPPO WENT TO WAR is
illustrated with more than 140 unpublished photos those unique little
lighters of old. Like the remarkable Zippo itself, the book works well
and sheds some new light on its subject.
This
is not really of any interest to me, having been a non-smoker forever,
and really, really hating it with a passion, but it's a slice of
nostalgia, so I felt I ought to include it...
Will
Yates: War Trials - Investigation of a soldier and the Trauma of Iraq
Published
by Pen and Sword 12th April 2021
War
Trials tells the gripping and in-depth true story of a British
soldier’s role in the drowning of an Iraqi teenager in May 2003, the
devastating investigation and resulting court martial. This narrative
non-fiction tracks the soldier’s life from tight-knit broken family
home in Merseyside through deadly urban conflict in the Middle East, to
a different battle fought against PTSD while he awaited a military
tribunal back in the UK. The military court case in 2006 marked the
first of its kind relating to the Iraq war and a case that opened the
flood gates of multiple investigations and inquiries into the conduct
of soldiers overseas. Based upon rigorous new research, this book’s
untold personal story explores the horrors of battle and the chaos of a
post-war city and a young soldier’s struggle against depression,
suicide attempts and deep sense of being let down by the army he sought
to serve. This soldier would eventually endure numerous investigations
and face the threat of the International Criminal Court for war crimes
but these are the shocking events that started it all. It is the
compelling story of a contentious military campaign with little
preparation for the disastrous fall out; the soldiers pushed to the
limit who maintained a wall of a silence after doing the unthinkable;
and a floating body of dead child who came to symbolise a generation
lost to war.
A
fascinating account of a very specific case of harassment leading to
the death of an Iraqui teenager. Some harrowing and upsetting details...
Dmitry
Degtev & Dmitry Zubov: Hitler's Strategic Bombing Offensive on the
Eastern Front
Published
by Pen and Sword 23rd July 2021
Germany
was never able to match the power of the Allied air forces with their
great four-engine bombers, the Lancasters, Liberators and Flying
Fortresses. Indeed, many have ascribed the defeat of Germany in the
Second World to its lack of a strategic bombing force. There were,
though, two occasions when the Luftwaffe's twin-engine bombers
undertook strategic objectives on a large scale. The first of these was
the 'Blitz' of 1940-1941, in which the Luftwaffe attempted to wreck
Britain's industrial and military capacity. The second was on the eve
of Operation Zitadelle, a major offensive against Soviet forces in
the Kursk salient Hitler's objective was to replicate the successful
Allied mass-bombing of German cities, the Luftwaffe being tasked with
destroying the main tank and aircraft production facilities and fuel
depots. Hitler saw this as the necessary prelude to weaken the Russians
before the 'decisive' onslaught of Zitadelle. The aerial operation,
Carmen II, lasted for a month and covered a huge target area from the
Rybinsk reservoir to the Caspian Sea. For these complex and risky night
missions, all the Ju-88 and 111 bombers available to Hitler in the
East were employed.. The authors have collected a huge amount of
factual material, reconstructing all the details of this little-known
campaign, which was the largest operation Luftwaffe on the Eastern
front. This book opens a completely new page in the history of the
German air war and provides a comprehensive investigation into the
nature of the targets attacked, the degree of damage suffered by the
Soviet military machine, and how this affected Operation Zitadelle.
The descriptions of the dangerous missions carried out by Luftwaffe as
part of this operation are presented in great detail and all these
exclusive facts are complemented by a large number of unique photos and
documents.
A fascinating account of
Hitler's attempts to bring the Eastern Front to its knees with a
targeted bombing attack...
Chris
Hall: The Nurse Who Became a Spy
Published
by Pen and Sword 30th July 2021
The
life story of Madge Addy, a working-class Manchester woman who
volunteered to fight Fascism and Nazism in two major wars, is a truly
remarkable one. Madge left her job and her husband to serve in the
Spanish Civil War as a nurse with the Republican medical services. In
Spain she was wounded in a bombing raid, fell in love with another
foreign volunteer who became her second husband, was made a Prisoner of
War and was the last British nurse to leave Spain, witnessing the
horrors of Franco's Fascist regime before she left. She was caught
up in the ‘Fall of France' and lived in Marseille with her Norwegian
husband. From 1940 to 1944 Madge was first an amateur resister and
later a full-time secret agent, working with the likes of Ian Garrow,
Pat O'Leary and Guido Zembsch-Schreve. She also acted as a courier,
flying to Lisbon to deliver and receive secret messages from British
intelligence. She also became romantically involved with a Danish
secret agent and married him after the war. Madge's wartime
achievements were recognised by the British with the award of an OBE
and by the French with the award of the Croix de Guerre. Chris Hall
brings Madge's story to life using archive material and photographs
from Britain, France, Spain and Norway. Madge's Spanish Civil War
experiences are vividly described in a mass of letters she wrote
requesting medical aid and describing the harrowing conditions at her
wartime hospital. Her activities in the Second World War show a woman
with ‘nerves of steel' and a bravery at times bordering on
recklessness. As she herself said, ‘I believe in taking the war into
the enemy camp'.
Author Chris Hall brings to
life the remarkable story of a young woman determined to fight against
fascism at any cost, including her own life. Remarkable.
Simon
Elliott: Roman Conquests - Britain
Published
by Pen and Sword 23rd July 2021
The
Roman Conquests series seeks to explain when and how the Romans were
able to conquer a vast empire stretching from the foothills of the
Scottish Highlands to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic to the
Persian Gulf. How did their armies adapt to and overcome the challenges
of widely varied enemies and terrain? In this volume, Dr Simon Elliott
draws on the latest research and archaeological evidence to present a
new narrative of the conquest (never completed) of Britain. From Julius
Caesar's initial incursions in 55 and 54 BC, through the Claudian
invasion of 43 AD and the campaigns of expansion and pacification
thereafter, he analyses the Roman army in action. The weapons,
equipment, organization, leadership, strategy and tactics of the
legions and their British foes are described and analysed. The ferocity
of the resistance was such that the island was never wholly subdued and
required a disproportionate military presence for the duration of its
time as a Roman province.
Essential reading for anyone with even a
minor interest in the Roman invasion of Britain. Superlative history.
Nigel
McCrery: The Undying Flame
Published
by Pen and Sword 23rd July 2021
Over
60,000,000 people died worldwide during the course of the Second World
War and, in contrast to those slaughtered in The Great War, it was
civilian populations that bore the brunt. They perished in the
Holocaust, in internment camps, in bombed towns and cities and as
‘collateral damage’, in war zones, such as the Eastern Front and in
Asia.
Among
this carnage were hundred of individuals of all nations who had
competed in Olympic Games. Imagine the loss of so many of the world’s
greatest sportsmen and women of the present era.
The
author has painstakingly researched the lives, achievements and
circumstances of death of almost five hundred athletes of the period.
While many were household names at the time, this exceptional work
honors these fallen Olympians and reminds us of the futility and
wastefulness of war.
All to easily forgotten - the Olympians
who perished during the second world war at the hands of Hitler and his
barbarians. We should never forget them...
Jackie
Sutherland: Doctor Behind The Wire
Published
by Pen and Sword 27th July 2021
Although
other books have featured Jack and Elizabeth Ennis, this is the first
complete account of their story - from meeting in up-country Malaya
(the rain forest, the orchids) - to their marriage in Singapore just
days before it fell to the Japanese, and then through the long
separation of internment. Published here for the first time, Jack's
diaries record the daily struggles against disease, injuries and
malnutrition and also the support and camaraderie of friends. enjoyment
of concerts, lectures, and sports, Ever observant, he records details
of wildlife. The inspiration for the 'Changi Quilts', the story of the
Girl Guide quilt (now in the Imperial War Museum) is told in words by
Elizabeth, written after the war. Elizabeth's former employer, Robert
Heatlie Scott, distinguished Far East diplomat, was also POW in Changi,
much of the time in solitary confinement or under interrogation by the
Japanese. The individual experiences of these three persons are
dramatic enough - together they combine in an amazing story of courage,
love and life-long friendship
One can only imagine the horrors endured
by Prisoners of War in Singapore during WWII - Jackie Sutherland
doesn't hold back in this truly remarkable and powerful tale of Jack
and Elizabeth Ennis...
Dilip
Sarkar: Spitfire Ace of Aces
Published
by Pen and Sword 2nd July 2021
Air
Vice-Marshal James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars,
DFC & Bar, DL was a character literally from the pages of Boys'
Own: an individual who became the RAF's top-scoring fighter pilot of
the Second World War. A one-time household name synonymous with the
superlative Spitfire, Johnnie's aerial combat successes inspired
schoolboys for generations. As a 'lowly Pilot Officer', Johnnie Johnson
learned his fighter pilot's craft as a protégé of the legless Tangmere
Wing Leader, Douglas Bader. After Bader was brought down over France
and captured on 9 August 1941, Johnnie remained a member of 616 (South
Yorkshire) Squadron, in which he became a flight commander and was
awarded the DFC a month after Bader's devastating loss. In time,
Johnnie came to command a Canadian wing in 1943, when the Spitfire
Mk.IX at last outclassed the Fw 190, and participated in some of the
most important battles of the defeat of Nazi Germany, including
Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings in 1944, Operation Market
Garden and the airborne assault at Arnhem, and the Rhine Crossings,
throughout all of which Johnnie also commanded Canadian wings.
Johnnie's remarkable career is revealed through this unparalleled
collection of archive photographs, the majority of which are drawn from
his own personal album or from other members of the Johnson family.
Many have not been published before. Between them, they present a
fascinating insight into the man himself, the machines he flew, and the
men he served alongside.
Superb Stories like this were regularly
featured in the stunning picture story strips in the comics I read as a
young boy - legendary heroes of WWII brought to life by the incredible
artistic talents of the men who drew their stories in my Lion, Tiger,
Wizard and Hotspur comics. An incredible story of Johnnie Johnson - one
of the truly great air aces of WWII.
Kathryn
Warner: Daughters of Edward I
Published
by Pen and Sword 15th July 2021
In
1254 the teenage heir to the English throne married a Spanish bride,
the sister of the king of Castile, in Burgos, and their marriage of
thirty-six years proved to be one of the great royal romances of the
Middle Ages. Edward I of England and Leonor of Castile had at least
fourteen children together, though only six survived into adulthood,
five of them daughters. Daughters of Edward I traces the lives of
these five capable, independent women, including Joan of Acre, born in
the Holy Land, who defied her father by marrying a second husband of
her own choice, and Mary, who did not let her forced veiling as a nun
stand in the way of the life she really wanted to live. The women's
stories span the decades from the 1260s to the 1330s, through the long
reign of their father, the turbulent reign of their brother Edward II,
and into the reign of their nephew, the child-king Edward III.
Kathryn's account of the daughters of
Edward I is nothing short of fascinating, a true love story from the
early middle ages...
Ian
Baxter: The Warsaw Uprisings 1943-1944
Published
by Pen and Sword 2nd July 2021
By
1942 the Nazi leadership had decided that the Jewish ghettos across
occupied Poland should be liquidated, with Warsaw’s being the largest,
processed in phases.
In
response the left-wing Jewish Combat Organisation (ZOB) and right-wing
Jewish Military Union (ZZW) formed and began training, preparing
defences and smuggling in arms and explosives.
The
first Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began in April 1943. Although this was
quelled at devastating cost to the Jewish community, resistance
continued until the summer of 1944. By this time the Red Army was
closing on the city and with liberation apparently imminent the 40,000
resistance fighters of the Polish Home Army launched a second uprising.
For
sixty-three days the insurgents battled their oppressors on the
streets, in ruined buildings and cellars. Rather than come to their aid
the Russians waited and watched the inevitable slaughter.
This
gallant but tragic struggle is brought to life in this book by the
superb collection of photographs drawn from the album compiled for none
other than Heinrich Himmler entitled Warschauer Aufstand 1944.
Ian Baxter's chilling account of Himmler's
"final solution" intended for the Jews of Poland.
The
small print: Books
Monthly, now well into its 24th
year on the web,
is published on or slightly before the first day of each month by Paul
Norman. You can contact me here.
If you wish to submit something for publication in the magazine, let me
remind you there is no payment as I don't make any money from this
publication. If you want to send me something to review, contact me via
email at paulenorman1@gmail.com and I'll let you know where to send it.
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