Barney Fugleman has two major preoccupations in life: sex & literature. He is obsessed by the life & work of a man hailed by many as a genius of the nineteenth century
- & by Barney as a 'prurient little Victorian ratbag'. This curious propulsion drives him out of Finchley, & out of the life he shares with Sharon & her 'rampant marvellings', to Cornwall. There he offends serious ramblers with his slip-on snakeskin shoes, fur coat & antagonism to all things green & growing as he stomps the wild Atlantic cliffs on long, morbid walks, tampering with the truth, tangling with the imperious Camilla
- & telling a riotous tale.

...

Barney Fugleman has two major preoccupations in life: sex & literature. He is obsessed by the life & work of a man hailed by many as a genius of the nineteenth century
- & by Barney as a 'prurient little Victorian ratbag'. This curious propulsion drives him out of Finchley, & out of the life he shares with Sharon & her 'rampant marvellings', to Cornwall. There he offends serious ramblers with his slip-on snakeskin shoes, fur coat & antagonism to all things green & growing as he stomps the wild Atlantic cliffs on long, morbid walks, tampering with the truth, tangling with the imperious Camilla
- & telling a riotous tale.

...

Earth was at bursting point, in spite of the birth restrictions of only one child to each couple. Extra children existed in a sub-cultured world or were rounded up into slavery. The only hope was the space platform -- the jumping-off point for the colonization of other worlds. But more Talents were needed to build & operate those platforms.

Rhyssa Owen was the one responsible, both for finding Talents & training them. & when she felt the first encroachment of a mind reaching out to her, she knew it was exceptional -- a fourteen-year-old boy with incredibly powerful kinetic ability. & in the seamy underworld of near-criminal children was another brilliant mind in danger from a ruthless group of child kidnappers.

Rhyssa knew she had to find the two children & train them for the survival of earth.



...

In late June 1942, the dispirited & defeated British Eighth Army was pouring back towards the tiny railway halt of el Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. Tobruk had fallen & Eighth Army had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous opening bombardment signalled the start of Eighth Army's own offensive which destroyed the Axis threat to Egypt. Explanations for the remarkable change in the fortunes of Britain's desert army have generally been sought in the abrasive personality of the new army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery. But as Niall Barr argues in this fresh account, the long running controversies surrounding the commanders of Eighth Army
- Generals Auchinleck & Montgomery
- & that of their legendary opponent, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, have often been allowed to obscure the true nature of the Alamein campaign. Based on extensive original research, Pendulum of War looks beyond these arguments to provide a vivid picture of the fighting at Alamein from the early desperate days of July to the final costly victory in November. This is also the story of how an army learnt from its mistakes. For too long the change in personalities at the top has blurred the real continuity of experience that saw the Eighth Army transform itself from a tactically inept collection of units into a battle-winning army. Pendulum of War explores the Eighth Army's 'learning curve', & shows how lessons from bitter experience were used to develop enhanced tactical methods that eventually mastered the veterans of Rommel's Afrika Korps.

...

In late June 1942, the dispirited & defeated British Eighth Army was pouring back towards the tiny railway halt of El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. Tobruk had fallen & Eighth Army had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous bombardment opened the Eighth Army's own offensive which destroyed the Axis threat to Egypt. Explanations for the remarkable change of fortune have generally been sought in the abrasive personality of the new army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery. But as Niall Barr shows in this new interpretation, based on extensive original research, the long running controversies surrounding the commanders of Eighth Army
- Generals Auchinleck & Montgomery
- & that of their legendary opponent, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, have often been allowed to obscure the true nature of the Alamein campaign. This book is the story of how an army learnt from its mistakes. The focus on personality has blurred the continuity of experience that saw the Eighth Army transform itself from a tactically inept collection of units into a battle-winning force. Pendulum of War explores how the Eighth Army learnt from bitter experience to develop tactical & operational methods that eventually mastered the veterans of Rommel's Afrika Korps & provides a vivid & fresh perspective on the fighting at El Alamein from the early desperate days of July to the final costly victory in November.

...

In late June 1942, the dispirited & defeated British Eighth Army was pouring back towards the tiny railway halt of El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt. Tobruk had fallen & Eighth Army had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika. Yet just five months later, the famous bombardment opened the Eighth Army's own offensive which destroyed the Axis threat to Egypt. Explanations for the remarkable change of fortune have generally been sought in the abrasive personality of the new army commander Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery. But as Niall Barr shows in this new interpretation, based on extensive original research, the long running controversies surrounding the commanders of Eighth Army
- Generals Auchinleck & Montgomery
- & that of their legendary opponent, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, have often been allowed to obscure the true nature of the Alamein campaign. This book is the story of how an army learnt from its mistakes. The focus on personality has blurred the continuity of experience that saw the Eighth Army transform itself from a tactically inept collection of units into a battle-winning force. Pendulum of War explores how the Eighth Army learnt from bitter experience to develop tactical & operational methods that eventually mastered the veterans of Rommel's Afrika Korps & provides a vivid & fresh perspective on the fighting at El Alamein from the early desperate days of July to the final costly victory in November.

...