Partly on the strength of their apparent success in insurgencies such as Malaya & Northern Ireland the British armed forces have long been perceived as world class if not world-beating. However their recent performance in Iraq & Afghanistan is widely seen as
- at best
- disappointing; under British control Basra degenerated into a lawless city riven with internecine violence while tactical mistakes & strategic incompetence in Helmand province resulted in heavy civilian & military casualties & a climate of violence & insecurity. In both cases the British were eventually & humiliatingly bailed out by the US army. In this thoughtful & compellingly readable book Frank Ledwidge examines the British involvement in Iraq & Afghanistan asking how & why it went so wrong. With the aid of copious research interviews with senior officers & his own personal experiences he looks in detail at the failures of strategic thinking & culture that led to defeat in Britains latest small wars. This is an eye-opening analysis of the causes of military failure & its enormous costs.

...

Two lives. Two families. One tragedy. Lauren Scott is bright talented & beautiful. At eighteen she is the most precious gift in the world to her mother & has a dazzling career ahead of her. Oliver Lomax is a young man full of promise despite the shadow his own deeply troubled mother casts over him. Then one fateful night Oliver makes a decision that tears their worlds apart. Until then Lauren & Oliver had never met but now they become so closely bound together that their families are forced to confront truths they hoped theyd never have to face secrets theyd never even imagined... ...

Lauren Scott is bright talented & beautiful. At eighteen she is the most precious gift in the world to her mother & has a dazzling career ahead of her. Oliver Lomax is a young man full of promise despite the shadow his own deeply troubled mother casts over him. Then one fateful night Oliver makes a decision that tears their worlds apart. Until then Lauren & Oliver had never met but now they become so closely bound together that their families are forced to confront truths they hoped theyd never have to face secrets theyd never even imagined... ...

Gaunt returns in the latest omnibus edition of the Gaunts Ghosts novels! The Tanith First-&-Only are among the most legendary regiments of Imperial Guard & at their head stands Commissar Ibram Gaunt unflinching in duty & unrelenting in combat. The Lost sees the very future of the regiment in jeopardy as Gaunt battles the forces of Chaos across the Sabbat Worlds from rescue missions to the horrors of the battlefield the Tanith First-&-Only must survive extreme dangers or be forever lost. ...

Roberta Kray's first novel The Debt" was published to universal acclaim: ' You might expect a crime novel written by the widow of Reggie Kray would be tough.. .it is. Recommend this to fans of Ian Rankin & Ken Bruen'
- (" Booklist"). In this third novel there's more from the dangerous & unpredictable underworld she knows so well. Private eye Harry Lind doesn't believe in ghosts. Little Grace Harper went missing over twenty years ago & missing girls can't just reappear
- or can they? It takes a brutal murder to make him think again. Reporter Jess Vaughan is convinced that Grace is still alive but she's going to need some help to prove it. As she & Harry begin to unravel an age-old web of deceit & betrayal their discoveries soon put them on a collision course with one of London's most notorious gangsters. The search for the truth is about to lead them into a world where people will kill to preserve their secrets."

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This book tells the stories behind the disappearances of some of our most famous works of art
- & some that never existed at all.
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The gritty drama from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Nobody's Girl. Bullied by everyone around her for years has Mavis Jackson finally found happiness? Or is it a case of going from the frying pan straight into the fire? BULLIED Taunted by everyone around her including her mother Lily 15-year-old Mavis Jackson is devastated when her only ally her father Ron leaves home to beat his gambling addiction. Forced to walk the streets in search of junk to sell the future seems bleak. BRIBED Until an unexpected fairy godmother arrives in the form of Edith Pugh. Struck down with a debilitating illness she needs help around the home. In Mavis she sees the perfect solution. Especially as she has ulterior motives...BLAMED Meanwhile Ron has fallen off the wagon & disappeared. Best mate Pete doesn't know where he is & has to break the terrible news. But does he have another reason for his sudden interest in the Jackson family? BETRAYED Back at Edith's Mavis revels in her new job. But when Edith reveals her true motives for taking Mavis under her wing she faces a monumental decision one which could change her life for ever... ...

Matthew Bartholomew doesn't want to travel to Peterborough in the summer of 1358 but his friendship with the lovely Julitta Holm has caused a scandal in Cambridge so he has no choice. He is one of a party of Bishop's Commissioners charged to discover what happened to Peterborough's abbot who went for a ride one day & has not been seen since. When the Commissioners arrive they find the town in turmoil. A feisty rabble-rouser is encouraging the poor to rise up against their overlords the abbey is at war with a powerful goldsmith & his army of mercenaries & there are bitter rivalries between competing shrines. One shrine is dedicated to Lawrence de Oxforde a vicious felon who was executed for his crimes but who has been venerated after miracles started occurring at his grave. However it is not long before murder rears its head & its first victim is Joan the woman in charge of Oxforde's tomb... ...

Looking back perhaps the single biggest problem was fear. Fear of failure fear of other people
- but mostly fear of myself. It
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The gritty new drama from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Nobodys Girl. Bullied by everyone around her for years has Mavis Jackson finally found happiness? Or is it a case of going from the frying pan straight into the fire? BULLIED Taunted by everyone around her including her mother Lily 15-year-old Mavis Jackson is devastated when her only ally her father Ron leaves home to beat his gambling addiction. Forced to walk the streets in search of junk to sell the future seems bleak. BRIBED Until an unexpected fairy godmother arrives in the form of Edith Pugh. Struck down with a debilitating illness she needs help around the home. In Mavis she sees the perfect solution. Especially as she has ulterior motives! BLAMED Meanwhile Ron has fallen off the wagon & disappeared. Best mate Pete doesnt know where he is & has to break the terrible news. But does he have another reason for his sudden interest in the Jackson family? BETRAYED Back at Ediths Mavis revels in her new job. But when Edith reveals her true motives for taking Mavis under her wing she faces a monumental decision one which could change her life for ever! ...