The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain
- & they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared & their
...

The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain-and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared & their eagle standard was lost. Its a mystery thats never been solved until now.. . So begins the story of The Eagle of the Ninth set against a backdrop of Roman Britain & featuring a young soldier Marcus Aquila who sets off into the unknown north to find out what happened to the lost legion. Following on from this are The Silver Branch in which two young soldiers uncover a plot to overthrow the Emperor & The Lantern Bearers which is set at a time when the Romans are leaving the shores of Britain & tells of Aquila who having served in the Roman army is now returning home to his farm-but when he gets there everything he knows & loves has been destroyed & so he sets out to seek revenge. To have three such exciting stories in one volume is a treat for fans old & new. ...

The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain...and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared & their eagle standard was lost. It's a mystery that's never been solved until now... So begins the story of The Eagle of the Ninth set against a backdrop of Roman Britain & featuring a young soldier Marcus Aquila who sets off into the unknown north to find out what happened to the lost legion. Following on from this are The Silver Branch in which two young soldiers uncover a plot to overthrow the Emperor & the Carnegie Medal-winning The Lantern Bearers which is set at a time when the Romans are leaving the shores of Britain & tells of Aquila & his quest for revenge. This beautiful boxed set of these three classic stories is the perfect gift for readers young & old. ...

Federico Martin Bahamontes the Eagle of Toledo is rated by many as the greatest climber in cycling history. The first Spaniard to win the Tour de France & a six-time champion of the races gruelling King of the Mountains classification he became a national hero in a Spain struggling to rebuild after the devastation & atrocities of the Civil War. Indeed his success owed much to the conflict. When the Nationalist rebellion of General Franco finally overran the democratically elected Republic in 1939 vast swathes of the country were left impoverished & desperate. On the verge of starvation the young Bahamontes took to cycling as a means of running black market goods before realising that sport offered a more lucrative future. An impressive amateur career followed leading to his Tour debut in 1954 when he won the mountains competition on his first attempt. Success & a charismatic but temperamental racing style brought him fame at home & abroad
- as well as controversy. Today despite his appropriation by the Franco regime he remains the godfather of Spanish cycling & a sporting eccentric of phenomenal will power. He is also one of the few living witnesses to cyclings golden age &
- as Alasdair Fotheringham discovered when interviewing him for this compelling biography
- hes more than ready to tell the tale.


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Reluctant MI6 agent Alex Rider is relaxing in the south of France until a sudden ruthless attack on his hosts plunges him back into a world of violence & mystery
- & this time MI6 don't want to know. Alex is determined to track down his friends' attackers even if he must do it alone. But it's a path that leads to a long-buried secret
- & a discovery more terrible than anything he could have imagined.

...

In Halik Kochanskis extraordinary book the untold story of Poland & the Poles in the Second World War is finally heard. By almost every measure the fate of the inhabitants of Poland was the most terrible of any group in the Second World War. Following the destruction of its armed forces in the autumn of 1939 the Republic of Poland was partitioned between Nazi & Soviet forces & officially ceased to exist. Racial violence & ideological conformity were at the very heart of the new regimes. As the war progressed millions of Poles were killed with each phase unleashing a further round from the industrialised genocide of Treblinka to the crushing of the Warsaw Rising. Polish Jews were all to be murdered Christians reduced to a semi-literate slave class. In this powerful & original new book Halik Kochanski has written perhaps the most important missing work on the whole conflict: an attempt in a single volume to describe both the fate of those trapped within occupied Poland & of those millions of Poles who were able to escape. Reviews: A superb account of Poland during the second world war... The pain & loss.. .is poignantly evoked by Kochanski..." The Eagle Unbowed" a model history conveys with harrowing immediacy the plight of the Polish people in the conflict". (Ian Thomson " Spectator"). "A remarkable book...[ Kochanski] brings to the subject not only an impressive grasp of the military & political context but also a balance neutrality & honesty few could manage combined with the intelligence imagination & empathy necessary to grasp the true depth of the experience she recounts... This book is history at its best. It tells the whole story & tells it well with just the right mixture of detachment & empathy in crisp readable prose. But it also speaks to the imagination & makes the reader think
- & not just about the subject in hand". (" Standpoint"). " Until Halik Kochanskis " The Eagle Unbowed" nobody had written a comprehensive English-language history of Poland at war... She uncovers details that will surprise even history geeks... Ms Kochanski marshals an impressive & comprehensive array of English & Polish material". (" Economist"). " Polands war was so terrible as to almost defy summary.. .this book is opinionated fluid & forceful". (Oliver Bullough " New Statesman"). " An informative authoritative & wide-ranging account of the tragedy that befell Poland & its inhabitants Gentiles & Jews during the war & its aftermath... An engaging & important book". (Hubert Zawadzki (author of "A Concise History of Poland")). About the author: Halik Kochanski read Modern History at Balliol College Oxford & then completed a Ph D at Kings College London. She has taught at both Kings College London & University College London & presented papers to a number of military history conferences. She has written a number of articles & is the author of " Sir Garnet Wolseley: Victorian Hero" (1999). She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has been a member of the councils of the Army Records Society & Society for Army Historical Research & remains a member of both societies. She is also a member of the British Commission for Military History & the Institute for Historical Research. She is currently a judge for the Templer Medal book prize."
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In Halik Kochanski's extraordinary book the untold story of Poland & the Poles in the Second World War is finally heard. By almost every measure the fate of the inhabitants of Poland was the most terrible of any group in the Second World War. Following the destruction of its armed forces in the autumn of 1939 the Republic of Poland was partitioned between Nazi & Soviet forces & officially ceased to exist. As the war progressed millions of Poles were killed with each phase unleashing a further round from the industrialised genocide of Treblinka to the crushing of the Warsaw Rising. Polish Jews were all to be murdered Christians reduced to a semi-literate slave class. This powerful & original new book is perhaps the most important 'missing' work on the whole conflict describing both the fate of those trapped within occupied Poland & of the millions of Poles who were able to escape. Reviews: A remarkable book... Kochanski brings to the subject not only an impressive grasp of the military & political context but also a balance neutrality & honesty few could manage combined with the intelligence imagination & empathy necessary to grasp the true depth of the experience she recounts... This book is history at its best. It tells the whole story & tells it well with just the right mixture of detachment & empathy in crisp readable prose. But it also speaks to the imagination & makes the reader think
- & not just about the subject in hand". (" Standpoint"). " Until Halik Kochanski's " The Eagle Unbowed" nobody had written a comprehensive English-language history of Poland at war... She uncovers details that will surprise even history geeks... Ms Kochanski marshals an impressive & comprehensive array of English & Polish material". (" Economist"). " Poland's war was so terrible as to almost defy summary.. .this book is opinionated fluid & forceful". (Oliver Bullough " New Statesman"). " An informative authoritative & wide-ranging account of the tragedy that befell Poland & its inhabitants Gentiles & Jews during the war & its aftermath... An engaging & important book". (Hubert Zawadzki (author of "A Concise History of Poland")). About the author: Halik Kochanski read Modern History at Balliol College Oxford & then completed a Ph D at King's College London. She has taught at both King's College London & University College London & presented papers to a number of military history conferences. She has written a number of articles & is the author of " Sir Garnet Wolseley: Victorian Hero" (1999). She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has been a member of the councils of the Army Records Society & Society for Army Historical Research & remains a member of both societies. She is also a member of the British Commission for Military History & the Institute for Historical Research. She is currently a judge for the Templer Medal book prize."
...

The second novel in Simon Scarrows bestselling Roman series. When Centurion Macro arrives on British soil as one of Emperor Claudiuss invasion force in 43 AD he is facing one of the toughest campaigns of his battle-scarred career. In a series of bloody skirmishes Macro & his young subordinate Optio Cato & the desperately outnumbered Roman army must find & defeat the enemy before he grows strong enough to overwhelm the legions. But the Britons are not the only foe facing Macro & Cato. A sinister organisation opposed to the Emperor is secretly betraying the invaders. & when rumours of an assassination attempt coincide with the Emperors arrival on British soil the soldiers realise they are up against a force more ruthless than their acknowledged enemy... ...

The fifth novel in Simon Scarrows bestselling Roman series. It is late summer 44 AD & the battle-weary Roman legions are in their second year of campaigning against the British tribes. The troops commander General Plautius is under considerable pressure from the emperor to crush the natives once & for all. Centurions Macro & Cato are with the crack Second Legion under the precarious leadership of Centurion Maximus & its their task to hold a ford across the river Tamesis when the natives are forced into a trap. But Maximuss nerve breaks at the critical point allowing the enemy leader Caratacus & his men to escape. Outraged by this failure General Plautius orders the decimation of the unit. Their choice: die or escape to become a fugitive pursued by soldiers of their own ruthless army. Hiding from their former comrades as well as the Britons Catos small band of fugitives have only one chance to redeem themselves before they are hunted down like animals... ...

The second novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Roman series. When Centurion Macro arrives on British soil as one of Emperor Claudius's invasion force in 43 AD he is facing one of the toughest campaigns of his battle-scarred career. In a series of bloody skirmishes Macro & his young subordinate Optio Cato & the desperately outnumbered Roman army must find & defeat the enemy before he grows strong enough to overwhelm the legions. But the Britons are not the only foe facing Macro & Cato. A sinister organisation opposed to the Emperor is secretly betraying the invaders. & when rumours of an assassination attempt coincide with the Emperor's arrival on British soil the soldiers realise they are up against a force more ruthless than their acknowledged enemy... ...