An international bestseller this is a German soldiers first-hand account of life on Russian front during the second half of the Second World War. When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942 the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger fatigue & constant deprivation. Posted to the crack Grosse Deutchland division with its sadistic instructors who shoot down those who fail to make the grade he enters a violent & remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down & all that matters is the brute will to survive. As the biting cold of the Russian winter sets in & the tide begins to turn against the Germans life becomes an endless round of pounding artillery attacks & vicious combat against a relentless & merciless Red Army. A book of stunning force this is an unforgettable reminder of the horrors of war. ...

Between Friday & Monday we never slept at all. Everyones face was one mass of sand. The guns were so hot all the paint had gone. (Bombardier Ray Ellis). Had the Allies lost in North Africa Rommels Afrika Korps would have swept through the Middle East cutting the vital supply line through the Suez Canal to Australia & India & taking the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Britain would have been isolated without oil & unable to fight. These crucial battles of 1940-1943 were fought over vast distances on rugged terrain with supply lines often stretched to breaking point. It was here that David Stirling formed the SAS to perform audacious sabotage missions & the Long Range Desert Group collected intelligence from behind enemy lines. This is the story of the Allies first victory against Hitlers army told in the voices of the men who were there which proved that the seemingly unstoppable Germans could be beaten. ...

For Britain in the first half of the World War Two the importance of defending the Middle East against the Axis powers was second only to defending the homeland against invasion. Had the Allies lost in North Africa the vital life-line through the Suez Canal to Australia & India would have been cut. More crucial was protecting the route to the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Without oil Britain could not fight. The initial threat came from a large Italian Army who from their bases in Libya were quick to take British-held ground in Egypt. Yet the professional British soldiers along with tough all-volunteer regiments from Australia & New Zealand easily defeated the poorly lead Italians. Churchill confident that this front was secure transferred troops & equipment to Greece little realising what the remaining troops would face when Rommel & his Panzer Division arrived. With their armies fighting over vast distances on rugged terrain & supply lines often stretched to breaking point both Rommel & the then little-known General Montgomery had to take huge tactical risks. Good intelligence was vital so the elite Long Range Desert Group was formed capable of covert operations behind enemy lines. David Stirling famously founded the SAS in the Western Desert trained to perform audacious sabotage missions. Told in the voices of the men who were there this is the story of the Western Desert & how the Allies struck the first successful blow to Axis forces & achieved this remarkable Second World War victory. ...

In 1960 the Imperial War Museum began a momentous & important task. A team of academics archivists & volunteers set about tracing WWI veterans & interviewing them at length in order to record the experiences of ordinary individuals in war. The IWM aural archive has become the most important archive of its kind in the world. Authors have occasionally been granted access to the vaults but digesting the thousands of hours of footage is a monumental task. Now forty years on the Imperial War Museum has at last given author Max Arthur & his team of researchers unlimited access to the complete WWI tapes. These are the forgotten voices of an entire generation of survivors of the Great War. The resulting book is an important unique & compelling history of WWI in the words of those who experienced it. This is a classic for years to come. ...

Following the success of Forgotten Voices of the Great War Lyn Smith visits the oral accounts preserved in the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive to reveal the sheer complexity & horror of one of human history's darkest hours. The great majority of Holocaust survivors suffered considerable physical & psychological wounds yet even in this dark time of human history tales of faith love & courage can be found. As well as revealing the story of the Holocaust as directly experienced by victims these testimonies also illustrate how even enduring the most harsh conditions degrading treatment & suffering massive family losses hope the will to survive & the human spirit still shine through. ...

The Gestapo kept me three days in this interrogation house. They especially wanted to know what I did after my escape & precise things on the organisation of the SOE. & just for fun I suspect because I had really not much to tell them they pulled one of my toenails out...
- Robert Sheppard SOE agent. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British organisation created early in the Second World War to encourage resistance & carry out sabotage behind enemy lines: in Winston Churchills famous phrase to set Europe ablaze. Drawing on the vast resources of the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive & featuring a mass of previously unpublished personal testimonies Forgotten Voices of the Secret War" tells the stories of SOE agents HQ staff diplomats aircrew & naval personnel in their own words. As the war unfolds we learn of parachute drops into enemy territory torture by the Gestapo & nerve-wracking sabotage missions in far-flung climes. " Forgotten Voices of the Secret War" is both an incredible account of a unique clandestine force & a fitting testament to the efforts & sacrifices of a dedicated group of courageous men & women."
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Shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 If it hadnt been for the child then none of this might have happened. She saw me kissing her father. She saw her father kissing me. The fact that a child got mixed up in it all made us feel that it mattered that there was no going back. ...

This extraordinary book is a vivid highly original account of the creation of a new Asia after the Second World War
- an unstoppable
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Presented here for the first time since their publication over a century ago are twelve previously unknown published works of fiction poetry & journalistic writing by Bram Stoker (1847-1912) three works by Stoker never before reprinted twelve obscure period writings about Stoker & the exceptionally rare 1913 estate sale catalogue of Stoker's personal library. Through both the original works & extensive archival research presented this vital collection sheds new light on an enigmatic writer & rejects the view that Dracula is Stoker's only legacy worth consideration. The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker underscores not only the intertexuality between Dracula & the other works but supports the exciting prospect that Stoker's periodical writings account for a much greater force in his literary repertoire than previously accepted. A must-read for Stoker fans & scholars this collection offers an important window into fin-de-siecle Gothic literature. ...

For Monty & his wife Sarah the process of preparing a meal begins with thinking about what seeds to buy. Food is grown & cooked in one continuous process with one common aim
- enjoyment. Now with this journal you can share in this & keep a record of your own experiences. This title contains clear & detailed instructions on how to cultivate & cook a wide range of vegetables herbs & fruits & wonderfully inspiring photographs taken over a year in Monty & Sarahs garden.
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