England Wars

From the comfortable distance of seven decades, it is quite easy to view the victory of the Allies over Hitler's Germany as inevitable. But in 1940 Great Britain's defeat loomed perilously close, and no other nation stepped up to confront the Nazi threat. In this cogently argued book, Robin Prior delves into the documents of the time - war diaries, combat reports, Home Security's daily files, and much more - to uncover how Britain endured a year of menacing crises.

During a critical stage in World War One, the Governor-General of South Africa journeys to London for a meeting of The Imperial War Conference. Days prior to the conference, the Governor-General is scheduled to have an audience at Buckingham Palace at which time a most precious blue diamond will be presented to King Edward as a symbolic gesture of the colonies’ resolute and never-ending allegiance to England. Despite extreme precautions, the famous diamond is stolen from the Governor-General’s suite in the middle of the night, with no clues left behind.

England, 1940. Literature student Ruth Gladstone evacuates Cambridge University for Martynsborough, a tiny English village with a shadowy history. For Ruth, retreating to a forgotten corner of the country is more than a safety maneuver; it’s an opportunity to end an undesirable engagement and begin writing her first novel. But upon her arrival, Ruth learns of a ghostly wraith haunting the villagers after decades of silence. Although Ruth is enthralled by the legend, the locals are less charmed by the wraith’s return.

Europe’s attempts to appease Hitler failed, as Nazi Germany swallowed up Austria and Czechoslovakia by 1939. The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1 of that year. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, and World War II had begun in earnest. Of course, as most people now know, the invasion of Poland was merely the preface to the Nazi blitzkrieg of most of Western Europe.The narrative is that the British stood alone in 1940 against the Nazi onslaught....

Liverpool, 1942. Though they may be posted miles apart, Cadi and Jez's love for one another is stronger than ever—until Cadi receives a heart-breaking call from Jez's base. Cadi races to be with her beau and at his bedside, they make each other a promise before they say their goodbyes. In her darkest hour, Cadi is comforted by her friends and with their support and guidance she begins to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But Cadi will face more than one unexpected turn along the way.

The focus of the opening campaign of the War of 1812 was Detroit, a location the War Department considered one of the significant launching points for the invasion of Canada. Detroit's surrender only two months after the declaration of war shocked the nation and led to the court-martial of Brigadier General William Hull. Hull was sentenced to death and has been vilified by many historians to the present day for his decision to surrender.

The monarchs of the Tudor period are among some of the most well-known figures in British history. John Guy presents a compelling and fascinating exploration of the Tudors in the new edition of this Very Short Introduction audiobook.

In September 1946, the London Gazette published a dispatch from Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C T Dowding that was titled simply: "The Battle of Britain". Written and submitted to the Air Ministry in 1941, this document became the very framework for the accepted Battle of Britain narrative that has been established across the following 80 years. In this work, Andy Saunders takes a critical look at Dowding's dispatch and analyzes the facts and details contained in that important document.

England 1922. It’s been four years since Rudy’s brother Edgar went missing in war-torn France. Still deep in mourning and grappling with unanswered questions, Rudy and his mother struggle to move on. When the enigmatic Mariette arrives unexpectedly at the family’s manor claiming to be Edgar’s widow, and the mother of his child, Rudy urges her to stay, hoping she’ll shed light on the missing pieces.

It’s hard to be an American girl in 1957. Especially when your dad’s job means you have to move four thousand miles from home. Especially if you’d rather play baseball than wear a dress. Especially if you see your mom fraying a little more from anxiety each day. And especially if being five minutes older means you have to protect your fragile twin brother.

When a cryptographer is murdered, Thomas Charles is sent on a secret mission to uncover the killer – and it’s the perfect opportunity to rekindle his romance with Cat Carlisle, the woman who helped uncover a double agent and solve her own husband’s murder. The victim’s niece – and the police’s top suspect – is Cat’s childhood friend and she begs Cat for help.

On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution began at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. The "shot heard round the world" catapulted this sleepy New England town into the midst of revolutionary fervor, and Concord went on to become the intellectual capital of the new republic. In The Minutemen and Their World, Robert Gross has written a remarkably subtle and detailed reconstruction of the lives and community of this special place, and a compelling interpretation of the American Revolution as a social movement.

History celebrates George Washington as the leader of the American Revolution and the father of his country. But what has gone previously unexamined is Washington's life as a 22-year-old lieutenant colonel who led 400 American militiamen against a bigger, more experienced French army and paid a high price. Not only did Washington lose over a third of his men but the Battle of Great Meadows was also the spark that ignited the French and Indian War.

A heartbreaking and deeply compelling debut, Mrs. Sinclair’s Suitcase is a compulsive pause-resister about thwarted love, dashed hopes, and family secrets - book-club fiction at its best. Roberta, a lonely 34-year-old bibliophile, works at The Old and New Bookshop in England. When she finds a letter inside her centenarian grandmother’s battered old suitcase that hints at a dark secret, her understanding of her family’s history is completely upturned.

This book was published in 1891 and is a story of a lonely child, Dick Helder, who grows up to become a war artist. Following the British army into battle, he experiences many difficulties and internal struggles while providing some outstanding descriptions of the desert and desert warfare.

Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body - but her mind is alive with memories. London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice.

An American president who will do anything to win reelection...An Iranian leader who will stop at nothing to bring about apocalypse...An ancient evil, only waiting to be reborn....High in the Alborz Mountains of northwestern Iran, an archaeological team disappears. American citizens are among the missing...With the presidential election only months away, President Roger Hancock authorizes a covert CIA mission into the mountains of Iran. Their objective: rescue the archaeologists and uncover the truth.

In the Middle East, refugees fleeing dictatorship and terrorism pour across the borders into Europe, destabilizing countries already in the throes of economic crisis. But not all who seek refuge share the same reasons for so doing.... In the UK, the nationalist far right gathers strength - fueled by a government unable or unwilling to protect its own. England is on the brink. All it will take to send it tumbling into the abyss...is a single push. And in the midst of it all, two men have arrived in London, dark harbingers of death to come.

Along the border in Texas, a deadly firefight claims the lives of two Border Patrol agents. On a highway in suburban Virginia, a bomb blast targets the director of the CIA. From the halls of power in D.C., secrets reach out, signing the death warrants of those who uncover them. For CIA paramilitary Harry Nichols, deceit has become a way of life. Fifteen years in the Clandestine Service have left him weary, recovering from a devastating betrayal. Little does he know the betrayals have only begun. With CIA Director David Lay missing and presumed dead, Nichols finds himself tasked with protecting Lay's estranged daughter and hunted by an ex-Spetsnaz kill team. His only mission is to keep her safe. Her only desire is to find the man who ordered her father's murder.

Thomas of Hookton is a seasoned veteran of King Edward's army and a natural leader in what will be remembered as the Hundred Years' War. Accompanied by a small but able band of soldiers, Thomas is sent to Gascony to capture the castle of Astarac. But he has ulterior motives for accepting the charge: Gascony is the home of the black knight, Guy de Vexille, who brutally slaughtered his father. It is also reputed to be the place where the Grail was last seen.