The casualty numbers are simply staggering
- 55 573 airmen who served with RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War lost
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This massive work provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots & aircrew throughout World War Two. From the early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedevilled by poor navigation & inaccurate bombing to the final winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers. Hundreds of first-hand accounts are punctuated by the authors background information that put each narrative into wartime perspective. Every aspect of Bomber Commands operational duties are covered; day & night bombing precision low-level strikes mass raids & operations throughout all wartime theatres. Contributions are from RAF personnel who flew the commands different aircraft from the early Blenheims & Stirlings to the later Lancasters & Mosquitoes. Each volume is full of accounts that tell of the camaraderie amongst the crews moments of sheer terror & the stoic humour that provided the critical bond. The five volumes of this work provide the most vivid & comprehensive work on the outstanding part played by RAF Bomber Command in their vital role in the destruction of the Third Reich. ...

This is the first volume of a five part work that provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots & aircrew throughout World War Two. From the early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedevilled by poor navigation & inaccurate bombing to the final winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers. Hundreds of first-hand accounts are complemented by the authors background information that put each narrative into wartime perspective. Every aspect of Bomber Commands operational duties are covered;day & night bombing precision low-level strikes mass raids & operations throughout all wartime theatres. This volume is full of accounts that tell of the camaraderie amongst the crews moments of sheer terror & the stoic humour that provided the critical bond. The five volumes of this work provide the most vivid & comprehensive work on the outstanding part played by RAF Bomber Command in their vital role in the destruction of the Third Reich. ...

This the fourth volume of a five part work that provides a comprehensive insight into all aspects of RAF Bomber Command in World War Two begins in the spring of 1944 with a completely new insight on the catastrophic raid on Nuremburg on the night of 30/31 March & follows with the disastrous attack on Mailly-le-Camp in May. Gradually the Allied Bomber Offensive began to bear fruit & in June 1944 the invasion of Normandy took place under an umbrella of almost total Allied air superiority. RAF Bomber Command was to play a huge part in what proved to be the final steps to ultimate victory returning to the mass raids on German cities by night & even mounting raids on the Reich by day. The author's well-tried formula of using background information interspersed with the crews' personal narrative takes you raid by raid through each tour of ops while carrying full bomb loads in sub-zero temperatures blighted by atrocious weather conditions & dogged by fear of fire death or serious injury or having to endure months if not years of miserable existence & near starvation behind the wire in notorious Po W camps. The path to peace was paved with the unmitigated slow ebbing of courage with an ever-present possibility of death unannounced from a prowling night fighter nondescript & unseen as night after incessant night shattered & ailing bombers could run out of luck to crash in some foreign field while other crews almost 'home'
- almost empty
- ran out of fuel & died horrible tortuous deaths in twisted & tangled wreckage. Not for them the glory that was accorded The ' Few' but as Winston Churchill said: ' Fighters are our salvation but the bombers alone provide the means of victory'.

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Women of Britain your country needs you! Bombers & Mash tells the story of the Second World War on the domestic front. It takes us from the kitchen to the nursery showing how women managed without almost everything from potato peelers cosmetics & prams to food fuel transport
- & men. These women coped with rationing evacuation separation from families long hours of work in factories hospitals & on the l&. Through it all they kept the nation fed on ingeniously nutritious & economical meals
- hundreds of the best & some of the worst are included here. In print for over thirty years Bombers & Mash is moving fascinating & full of posters & images from the Second World War. It is both an illustrated social history & a cookery book offering a remarkable picture of the deprivation & drama of the womens war.

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Sami Macbeth is not a master criminal. He's not even a minor one. He's not a jewel thief. He's not a safe-cracker. He's not an expert in explosives. Sami plays guitar & wants to be a rock god but keeps getting side-tracked by unforeseen circumstances. Fifty-four hours ago Sami was released from prison. Thirty-six hours ago he slept with the woman of his dreams at the Savoy. An hour ago his train blew up. Now he's carrying a rucksack through London's West End & has turned himself into the most wanted terrorist in the country. Fast funny hip & violent Bombproof is a non-stop adventure full of unforgettable characters & a heart-warming hero
- Sami Macbeth
- a man with the uncanny ability to turn a desperate situation into a hopeless one.

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Partly autobiographical this is the second title in Judith Kerrs internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany to London during the Blitz & her return to Berlin to discover the past... It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz finding yourself in love & wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna who is still officially classified as an enemy alien". Those bombs are coming from Germany
- the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades can she & her beloved refugee family possibly survive? This was previously published as The Other Way Round."
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World War Two is finally over. Millions all over the country are starting to wonder if peacetime really is much of an improvement on the War. Food shortages endless queues power cuts rationing & freezing winters make it extremely difficult to make ends meet as husbands return from battlefields to families they hardly know. Yet some East Enders are living large...in a bombed out damp & squalid Hackney slum one family are leading a life of luxury a loadsamoney world funded by illegal betting where virtually everything is available thanks to a thriving black market. The Hyams family has a retinue of unofficial servants: a chauffeur a cleaner & an army of delivery men. They take seaside holidays in posh hotels & dine on the finest foods & delicacies money can buy...but at the core of their daily life an ever-growing nightmare lurks threatening to wreck their luxurious existence. In this honest & sincere memoir Jacky Hyams revisits the 'live for today' world of her childhood a world where money was no object growing up in a household underpinned by betting booze & bribes. ...

Gastronomy is a wonderful starting point to study France & the French. As the retired schoolmaster from Provence says The religion of France is food. & wine of course. & they put their money where their mouth is spending a greater proportion of their income on food & drink than any other nation in the world. Literally hundreds of gastronomic fairs & festivals take place throughout the year all over France
- a frog fair an hommage to the sausage to the turnip to the quiche & the noble Camembert. What kind of person is a snail-fancier? Is there a brotherhood of sausage connoisseurs? How can you devote an entire weekend to the French fry? Peter Mayle finds out & brings hilariously & affectionately to life the people who can get passionate about a frogs leg or a well-turned omelette. Over ten years ago he transformed our feelings about Provence now he captures the irresistible essence of France herself
- & her food.

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How much land is there altogether?' I asked. ' About thirteen acres ' said the estate agent. ' Whatever would you do with that much land? It's an awful lot to upkeep.' I grinned. No problem! 'I'd keep llamas & fly balloons!' A dilapidated rat-infested stone barn might not be many people's vision of a potential dream home. But for Richard & Al the cavernous oak-beamed building in a sleepy hamlet in the Limousin region of France is perfect. Tussles with French bureaucracy & fierce storms do little to dampen their resolve as they immerse themselves in this quiet corner of France. Told by a well-intentioned if often hapless do-it-yourselfer Richard's hilarious & heartwarming tale of a new life in France resounds to the Gallic refrain ' Bon courage!' ...