Mc Pherson recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War including the Dred Scott decision the Lincoln-Douglas debates John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. From there it moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself
- the battles the strategic maneuvering by each side the politics & the personalities.
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Third volume in the Starbuck Chronicles. The battle for control of Richmond the Confederate capital continues through the hot summer of 1862. Captain Nate Starbuck yankee fighting for the Southern cause has to survive & win with his ragged Company in the bitter struggle not only against the formidable Northern army but equally in opposition to his own superiors who would like nothing better than to see Nate Starbuck dead & dishonoured. Starbucks courage is tested to the limit in his desperate manoeuvres to retrieve his own & the Legions honour in this the thrid narrative of Bernard Cornwells sweeping epic of the American Civil War. ...

Sam escapes death in Australia when the truth about his false conviction is finally revealed. But on the journey back to England he faces pirates & a terrible storm before making the longed-for trip back up the River Thames. Finally reunited with his family in Norfolk Sam realises how much life at sea has become part of him. So when he hears that Napoleon plans to attack England he is tempted to join the Navy once more & finds himself midshipman on none other than the victory preparing for one of the most epic battles in history: Trafalgar. ...

In 1963 Ian Fleming the creator of the 20th centurys greatest fictional character was in court accused of plagiarism. The screen version of James Bond was not Flemings creation. It was the creation of Jack Whittingham who was employed by maverick producer Kevin Mc Clory to adapt the character to the big screen. Had this screen character never been developed James Bond might have been just another minor fictional spy character. The Battle for Bond" is a tale of bitter recriminations betrayal multi-million dollar lawsuits & even death. It is the fabled story of Kevin Mc Clorys 40 year legal battle over the rights to the screen version of James Bond which he & Whittingham had created. The first edition of this book was banned by the Ian Fleming Will Trust. But the truth never dies! This second edition features a new foreword by Len Deighton." ...

* A look at all the participants in this politically charged battle from the commanders to the brave soldier fighting for their own band of brothers Battle for Cassinga is written as a first-hand account by an ordinary South African paratrooper who was at the 1978 assault on the Angolan headquarters of PLAN the armed wing of SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization). The book relates why the South African government took the political risk in attacking the fortress in an external operation & examines the SWAPO claims that Cassinga was a refugee camp guarded by a few PLAN soldiers. It also explains why Sam Nujoma the SWAPO leader had no option but to perpetuate this falsehood. The battle although a resounding success suffered some setbacks which could have been disastrous to the South African paratroopers had they not maintained the initiative. The improvisations made by the commander Col Jan Breytenbach ensured that a flawed jump & poor intelligence did not adversely affect the outcome. The unforeseen Soviet-made anti-aircraft guns used against both aircraft & ground troops threatened to derail the attack. An appearance of a large column of armour manned by Cubans from the nearby town of Techamutete when half the South African force had already left the battleground placed the remaining lightly armed paratroopers in mortal danger. The landmines laid by the South Africans together with the brave actions of the South African Air Force pilots saved the day allowing the remaining forces to withdraw safely. Battle for Cassinga looks at all the players in a critical light. SWAPO & PLAN the SADF & the commanders from both sides Dimo Amaambo of PLAN & Jan Breytenbach of the SADF as well as the brave soldiers from both sides who fought for their political ideologies but perhaps more importantly for their own band of brothers. ...

This is the inside story into one of sports greatest rivalries...how Manchester City once Manchester Uniteds poor relation in the English Premier League reinvented itself as a football powerhouse & toppled the Manchester United dynasty built by Sir Alex Ferguson. With a rivalry stretching back more than a hundred years The Battle for Manchester" brings the history of the " The Blues" & " The Red Devils" up to the present date. You can learn what divides & unites the City of Manchester... The love of a team the love of a sport & the many clashes that have contributed to this intense inner-city rivalry. With many anecdotes from past champions " The Battle for Manchester" takes the reader through the decades right up to Sergio Agueros Premier League winning goal in the 2011/2012 league season." ...

This is the second book in a series of two covering the events at sea during the German invasion of Norway in 1940 the first modern campaign in which sea air & ground forces interacted decisively. Part one covers the events at sea off southern & western Norway where Norwegian & British forces attempted to halt the German advance out of the invasion ports as well as the stream of supplies & reinforcements across the Skagerrak. The second part focuses on the British landings in Central Norway where the Royal Navy for the first time had its mastery challenged by air superiority from l&-based aircraft. Part three covers the events in & around Narvik where Norwegian British French & Polish naval air & land forces were engaged in the first combined amphibious landings of WW II. Part four sums up the events during the evacuation in June in which the first carrier task force operations of the war including the loss of the carrier Glorious figure prominently. As in the first volume the narration shifts continuously between the strategic & operational issues & the experiences of the officers & ratings living through the events. Extensive research & use of primary sources reveals the many sides of this war some of which remain controversial to this day. ...

The civil war that tore Spain apart between 1936 & 1939 & attracted liberals & socialists from across the world to support the cause against Franco was one of the most hard-fought & bitterest conflicts of the 20th century: a war of atrocities & political genocide & a military testing ground before WWII for the Russians Italians & Germans whose Condor Legion so notoriously destroyed Guernica. Antony Beevor's account narrates the origins of the Civil War & its violent & dramatic course from the coup d'etat in July 1936 through the savage fighting of the next three years which ended in catastrophic defeat for the Republicans in 1939. & he succeeds especially well in unravelling the complex political & regional forces that played such an important part in the origins & history of the war. ...

On December 17 2010 a Tunisian man set himself on fire after the police seized the vegetable cart by which he earned his living. This single act by an unknown figure sent a wave of revolt through the Arab world. It led to the overthrow of governments in Tunisia & Egypt civil war in Libya prolonged unrest in Syria & Bahrain & massive public protests across the region. In this deeply informed & accessible book Lin Noueihed & Alex Warren draw on years of experience in the Middle East & North Africa to explain how the events of the Arab Spring spread so widely & with such staggering speed. What suddenly drove ordinary Arab people to rise up against their long-entrenched rulers? Noueihed & Warren contend that although the exact causes were different in each country an explosive mix was common to all: widening economic inequalities pervasive corruption lack of political freedom & access to independent TV news social media & mobile phones. The authors explore these economic political & media developments consider the impact of Western responses to the uprisings & discuss the possibilities for a free democratic Arab world in the future. ...

The Falklands War was one of the strangest in British history -- 28 000 men sent to fight for a tiny relic of empire 8 000 miles from home. At the time many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity but the British victory confirmed the quality of British arms & boosted the political fortunes of the Conservative government. But it left a chequered aftermath; it was of no wider significance for British interests & taught no lessons. It has since been overshadowed by the two Gulf Wars however its political ramifications cannot be overestimated. Max Hastings & Simon Jenkins account of the conflict is a modern classic of war reportage & the definitive book on the war. Republished as part of the Pan Military Classics series The Battle for the Falklands is a vivid chronicle of a call to arms & a thoughtful & informed analysis of an astonishing chapter in the history of our times. Skilfully woven with Simon Jenkins sharp political passages are Max Hastings wonderful dispatches Sunday Times ...