The divisions of the Waffen-SS were among the elite of Hitler's armies in the Second World War. But alongside the Germans in the Waffen-SS fought an astonishingly high number of volunteers from other countries. By the end of the Second World War these foreign volunteers comprised half of all Hitler's Waffen-SS & filled the ranks of over twenty-four of the nominal thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions. So during the most brutal war that mankind has ever known hundreds of thousands of men flocked to fight for a country that was not theirs & for a cause that was one of the most monstrous & barbaric in history. Who were these men & why did they fight? Hitler's Gauls" is an in-depth examination of one of these legions of foreign volunteers the Charlemagne division who were recruited entirely from conquered France. The men in Charlemagne often motivated by an extreme anti-communist zeal fought hard on the Eastern Front including battles of near annihilation in the snows of Pomerania & the final stand in the ruins of Berlin. This definitive history illustrated with rare photographs explores the background training key figures & full combat record of one of Hitler's lesser known foreign units of the Second World War." ...

Reinhard Heydrich is widely recognized as one of the great iconic villains of the twentieth century an appalling figure even within the context of the Nazi leadership. Chief of the Nazi Criminal Police the SS Security Service & the Gestapo ruthless overlord of Nazi-occupied Bohemia & Moravia & leading planner of the ' Final Solution' Heydrich played a central role in Hitler's Germany. He shouldered a major share of responsibility for some of the worst Nazi atrocities & up to his assassination in Prague in 1942 he was widely seen as one of the most dangerous men in Nazi Germany. Yet Heydrich has received remarkably modest attention in the extensive literature of the Third Reich. Robert Gerwarth weaves together little-known stories of Heydrich's private life with his deeds as head of the Nazi Reich Security Main Office. Fully exploring Heydrich's progression from a privileged middle-class youth to a rapacious mass murderer Gerwarth sheds new light on the complexity of Heydrich's adult character his motivations the incremental steps that led to unimaginable atrocities & the consequences of his murderous efforts toward recreating the entire ethnic makeup of Europe. ...

Hitler's mountain troops or Gebirgsjager were a group of elite soldiers ready for battle whatever the conditions. These mountain men were trained to ski climb & endure long marches survive appalling conditions & were given a role as crack shock troops. Yet many of the campaigns in which the Gebirgsjager fought were on level ground where they had little opportunity to demonstrate their unique skills. Instead they were invariably employed as assault infantry in conventional battle a role in which every individual trooper excelled but not one for which they had been trained. They fought in virtually all theatres of World War notably on the Eastern Front where operations took them into the Caucasus. The Gebirgsjager were proud to wear the Edelweiss the famous badge that set them apart & distinguished them as Hitler's mountain men. This superb book shows the Gebirgsjager in training & action from Poland Norway & France through Yugoslavia the Eastern Front & in the closing stages of the War. ...

What if the Second World War had started in 1938? The two sides of the Spanish civil war are still locked in a blood-soaked stalemate. Stalin's purge of the Red Army is barely underway. & Neville Chamberlain
- sickened by the arrogance & duplicity of the Germans- does not return from Munich waving the piece of paper that would give the Czech arms factories to Hitler & postpone the war until 1939. On October 1 German tanks cross the Czech frontier touching off declarations of war from France from England from the USSR. Poland fearing the Russians more than Hitler declares war on the German side. Soon Fascist Spain attacks Gibraltar the Japanese army crosses the Manchurian frontier into Siberia.. .and the British Army sets off for France which has launched a pre-emptive attack on the Rhinel&. The war we know as World War II has begun
- a year early in an entirely different way.

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Amazingly detailed & meticulously crafted.. . Hitman will stand the test of time as one of the definitive wrestling biographies
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Agent 47 might be the best assassin the Agency has ever had but hell need all of his skill cunning & ruthlessness if he is to survive his toughest assignment yet. Since the devastating conclusion of Hitman: Blood Money Agent 47 has been MIA. Now fans awaiting the return of the blockbuster video-game & film phenomenon can pinpoint the location of the worlds most brutal & effective killer-for-hire before he re-emerges in Hitman: Absolution. When the Agency lures him back with a mission that will require every last ounce of his stealth strength & undercover tactics they grossly underestimate the silent assassins own agenda. Because this time Agent 47 isnt just going to bite the hand that feeds him.. .hes going to tear it off & annihilate anyone who stands in his way. ...

Doug is still in the netherworld. Hes working a cleaning job in the Hives stinking hallways trying to ignore the screams & reading romance comics to the breeders. But as the stories unravel on the page frame by frame mirrored memories plunge him back into his waking life. & thats where the real nightmare is. In Burns trademark hard-edged style The Hive" is horrifying & completely absorbing: an incredible new installment from one of the most exciting artists in the comics world." ...

Welcome to St Ambrose Primary School. A world of friendships fights & feuding. & that's just the mothers. It's the start of another school year at St Ambrose. But while the children are in the classroom colouring in their mothers are learning sharper lessons on the other side of the school gates. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community the transience of power...and how to get invited to lunch. Beatrice
- undisputed queen bee. Ruler by Divine Right of all school fund-raising this year last year & surely for many years to come. Heather
- desperate to volunteer desperate to be noticed desperate just to belong. Georgie
- desperate for a fag. & Rachel
- watching them all keeping her distance. But soon to discover that the line between amused observer & miserable outcast is a thin one. The Hive is an irresistible brilliantly observed novel
- warm witty & true. Wickedly funny it is also a fascinating & subtle story about group politics & female friendship. From the joys & perils (well mainly perils) of the Lunch Ladder to the military operation that is the Car Boot Sale via the dos & don'ts of dressing your child as a dalek all human life is here.




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Welcome to St Ambrose Primary School. A world of friendships fights & feuding. & that's just the mothers. It's the start of another school year at St Ambrose. But while the children are in the classroom colouring in their mothers are learning sharper lessons on the other side of the school gates. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community the transience of power...and how to get invited to lunch. Beatrice
- undisputed queen bee. Ruler by Divine Right of all school fund-raising this year last year & surely for many years to come. Heather
- desperate to volunteer desperate to be noticed desperate just to belong. Georgie
- desperate for a fag. & Rachel
- watching them all keeping her distance. But soon to discover that the line between amused observer & miserable outcast is a thin one. The Hive is an irresistible brilliantly observed novel
- warm witty & true. Wickedly funny it is also a fascinating & subtle story about group politics & female friendship. From the joys & perils (well mainly perils) of the Lunch Ladder to the military operation that is the Car Boot Sale via the dos & don'ts of dressing your child as a dalek all human life is here.




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This is a very special Ladybird" souvenir edition to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's 60-year reign has seen many changes but her reputation as the world's most famous & beloved monarch continues to this day. Read about her early childhood coronation family life & the way she has shaped the modern monarchy over the last sixty years. There are also fascinating facts about the number of Prime Ministers & leaders she's known all the countries visited her official portraits & more." ...