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The Wartime Adventures of Harry Harris
The Wartime Adventures of Harry Harris follows a lieutenant in the Bartonshire Light Infantry, from the outbreak of World War II until it ends, and into peacetime.
He has many hair-raising adventures and emerges a hero, much admired by his soldiers and his girlfriend, Mildred.£3.50 -
The Spirit of Badenoch
This book covers the environmental, historical and cultural changes to the land and inhabitants of a little valley in the Highlands of Scotland, Badenoch, stretching from pre-history to the cessation of World War 1. Bounded by the Monadhliath and Grampian ranges, with River Spey flowing through to the sea, the topography, environment and climate dictated the number of people the valley could support. Control over land and resources was fundamental in maintaining social relationships and the folk from Badenoch did it well. Australia and New Zealand provided an opportunity and a lifestyle that they could only dream of in far-off Badenoch. Land was the key. Some returned to Badenoch, having made their fortune, whilst others settled into their new homes; this book tells their stories and the story of the land they left behind.
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Transcendence
Captured at Gallipoli on 25 April, 1915, Sergeant Berenger, an uncompromising professional soldier, escapes Turkish imprisonment. He enlists the assistance of three unlikely co-conspirators: Ali, a simple Arab boy forcibly drafted into the Ottoman army with his brother, Mohammad; and Avraham, a Jewish merchant, who determines his future is no longer with the Ottoman Empire. Pursued by the sadistic Tolga from the Turkish prison at Fort Kilitbahir, Berenger discovers the date of the Turkish counter-attack on ANZAC positions. Berenger must return to the ANZAC lines to deliver the intelligence that a massive Turkish counter-attack will commence on 19 May 1915; and he must slip through Mustafa Kemal's 57th Turkish Regiment in order to do so.
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Treasures of War
Leningrad, 1941.
Germany’s Operation Barbarossa is tightening its noose around the city. The Neva River and Lake Ladoga freeze. Few supplies reach the city. Thousands suffer from cold and starvation.
Katuska and Nina Koslov, young daughters of a dedicated museum employee, shelter in the basement of the great Hermitage Museum—once the palace of Tsars. As insulation to meagre coats, their mother sews ‘found’ canvases into the linings.
Upon the death of their parents, the girls begin a new chapter in their lives with the hidden paintings cherished as mementos of parental love.
We accompany Katuska and Nina on an obstacle-filled journey through war and its challenging aftermath. We accompany the ‘found’ paintings, also known to some as ‘stolen art’, on journeys through Europe, England, the US and the Soviet Union.
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Leaves in a Holocaust Wind
The Holocaust, the final solution for Jews, is infamous in history. Robert Dawson's Leaves in a Holocaust Wind is the story of another community that suffered in the Holocaust: the Gypsies. Told by Demeter Fox and Zuzzi, Leaves in a Holocaust Wind follows their journey to freedom in the German occupied territory of Slovakia. From the horrors of slaughter in the woods, the lies of a safe future, the concentration camp of Majdanek and the hiding away in the countryside, Fox and Zuzzi must come to terms with what they have witnessed and find the courage to survive until freedom comes. It is a novel of the playful mind-set and culture of the Romanies in the face of a most brutal regime, and in which most of the major events are based on real incidents.
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Spitfire Spies
Summer 1940 - Great Britain is in grave peril. With the ‘phoney' war turning into a very real war on the ground and in the air, Hitler's troops storm across an unprepared Europe towards the English Channel. Invasion looms. But the British have a weapon in their arsenal that may be a game changer and bring victory against all odds: the mighty Spitfire.So severe is the threat posed by this remarkable fighter plane that Germany sends two operatives - one a reluctant Englishman, the other a loyal Nazi - on an audacious mission to infiltrate and destroy. Will they achieve their goal or can MI5, with the aid of double agents and a brilliant female pilot, turn the tide of espionage to their advantage? With a literary adroitness reminiscent of an aviator in battle, author John Hughes weaves a tale of intrigue, love and betrayal in a fast-paced thriller of a debut novel which wends its way from the Fatherland via the beaches of Dunkirk to the skies over Southern England.
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The Opportunist
World War I left its impression on many people and many nations. Lives were lost, economies were altered and women's roles were changed as workforces had to adapt. The consequences of international fighting were monumental, but as much as the War set forth great change, it also served as an opening for innovations and new trends. John Carter, unable to physically serve in the war, remains at home in the UK as a temporary head of an industrial company and as the owner of a timber supply business. With men needed at the front, John experiences troubles of a different kind: employing women, searching for qualified help and expanding and converting the industry to suit the demands of war materials. Hunger, illness and heartache strike time and again, but instead of only loss and utmost destruction, The Opportunist shows the tale of one man's success at home in the darkest of times.
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The Reluctant Hero
Chris just wanted to be an aeronautical engineer, but events and WWll changed it all.Christopher Darby's father wants him to follow a medical career and become a doctor like himself. But Chris knows his real love is engineering, especially aeroplanes, and he wants it to be his career. A chance encounter, the summer after leaving school in 1935, lands him a job working with planes. Chris is given the opportunity to learn to fly a plane and a long, exciting aeronautical career is sparked. Although Chris initially begins work in the Rolls Royce car factory upon completing his engineering studies, the outbreak of war changes everything. Drawn to do his bit for the country, Chris joins the Royal Air Force and is back working with planes once again. What follows is an exciting, varied and dangerous career serving his country. Never far from action and danger, Chris must rely on his expert knowledge and the trusted colleagues he meets along the way to survive.
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Treachery at Bosworth Field 1485
Richard III by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland.England has gone through years of civil wars, strife and unrest during the period of the so-called 'Wars of the Roses'. House against house, family against family, cousin against cousin. The wheel of fortune turning this way and that.On the death of Richard's dear brother Edward IV, Richard becomes Lord Protector of England as Duke of Gloucester, but events overtake him. On finding that both Edward V and Richard of York are declared illegitimate, he has no option but to take the throne of England.Richard III proves to be a good and fair king and is much loved by any that come into contact with him. However, old wounds run deep and very soon, stories are put about attempting to discredit him. Rebellions happen and all the treachery takes place once more, culminating in the invasion of Henry Tudor and the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.Treachery at Bosworth Field 1485 belies a wealth of historical knowledge and enthusiasm for this turbulent period and frequently misunderstood king.
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Those Trees Outlive Them
Spanning five generations from 1870 to 2013, this fascinating saga begins in a small village in colonial India and ends in modern-day New York City. Each chapter unfurls both an individual story and part of an epic family history.
Jani’s prose is visually rich and poetically weaves characters’ tales with intense, lyrical details. From British colonial rule in India, to Pakistan’s chaotic democracy, to 21st century America, inquisitive readers will adore this multi-dimensional cultural journey.
We first meet Fakir, a fatherless child who becomes a mystical storyteller, then an unlikely entrepreneur. Runaway teen Alam reinvents himself as an art teacher and womanizer over his adventures. Ambitious Ali Gohar journeys from Pakistan to attend NYU, while Jani grows up enduring racial tensions in 1980s Sindh before pursuing the “American Dream.” Finally, young physician Kabeer gives up a lucrative U.S. career to volunteer overseas, only to get swept back to his homeland by devastating floods.
Spanning continents and colourful personalities, Those Trees Outlived Them is an intimate look at one family’s roots across borders and generations.
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The Lost Keys
On the island of Singapore, Zacharia Pattara shares his lavish home in the suburbs with his five lively daughters and his beloved wife Anthoula. One fateful night in 1942 whilst they slept, the bombs of an invading Japanese Army signal the beginning of an uncertain future. With the clock ticking and the threat of advancing soldiers he does all he can to keep his family safe.
Forced to separate, Anthoula and three girls evacuate the crumbling city whilst his youngest daughters take refuge in the convent. Soon Singapore falls under ruthless Japanese rule and along with thousands of citizens, Zacharia is taken as a Prisoner of War and held in appalling conditions.
Haunted by regret and with limited food rations he gradually starves, awaiting news of his loved ones. With no end to the war in sight and with nothing but time, he has many questions. Did his wife escape unharmed from the island? Are his daughters safe in the convent? Will they ever be reunited, and can he survive the cruelty of his captors to see that day?
This heartfelt family saga full of twists and turns shows that during the darkest of times, the strength of the human spirit can overcome the worst hardships. The Pattara family were among thousands who lost so much to the Japanese occupation during World War II. Based on real events, this is a story of survival and bravery when all hope seems impossible.
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Luthuli Detachment – The Hwange Thunderbolt
After intense military training abroad, Umkhonto we Sizwe freedom fighters are determined to return home to South Africa as armed combatants alongside the masses struggling for liberation. Their planned route back necessitates crossing through Rhodesia. So they share their intentions with fellow comrades from the ZPRA forces also battling Rhodesia’s regime.
This dialogue gives rise to a joint military alliance when ZAPU and ANC leadership approve the strategy. Thus, the Luthuli Detachment is born – a combined battalion from ZPRA and Umkhonto we Sizwe named in honour of the late ANC President General Albert Luthuli. On the eve of departing to reach South Africa, these joint forces cross into Rhodesia, though not without casualties.
After successfully navigating the treacherous Zambezi river into Rhodesian land, an explosive encounter in Hwange Game Reserve turns it into the chilling rendezvous point where the Luthuli Detachment’s destiny collides with history’s call to duty. Will they accomplish their mission of participating alongside South African masses hungering for emancipation?
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