Books

On the night of 1-2 April 1982, the Argentinian Junta led by Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri made its move against the Falkland Islands. On 3 April British Prime Minister Mrs. Margaret Thatcher faced an appalled and furious House of Commons to announce that...

In April 1756 the Horse Guards agreed, with some reluctance, to the addition of a single 'light troop' to most cavalry regiments. From their formation these troops were fashionable and treated as having a special character, and they became so useful that...

The epic conflict between Rome and Carthage remains one of the most compelling stories of military history. The wars included such legendary events as the crossing of the Alps by Hannibal, and the Battle of Cannae. Terence Wise's fine text details the...

The Byzantines had a remarkably sophisticated approach to politics and military strategy. Unlike most of their contemporaries, they learnt very early in their history that winning a battle did not necessarily win a war, and they frequently bought off...

Between 1869 and 1874, Edward Cardwell, Gladstone's Secretary for War, undertook major reforms to modernise the British Army. The Crimean War, and campaigns in India, had revealed serious administrative and command shortcomings. Cardwell's legislation...

By the end of the nineteenth century the fame of the Zulu was world-wide, and their army was one of the few non-European military organisations to have become the subject of serious historical study. Their very name is still synonymous with bravery,...

'There never was so fine an American army,' wrote second-lieutenant, John Sedgwick, in describing the troops under Major-General Zachary Taylor in 1846. Another then second-lieutenant, destined to see many more armies; U.S. Grant, also thought highly of...

Of all the world's seaborne military organizations, the British Royal Navy is perhaps the most prestigious. Protector of the British Empire and defender of British freedom, it has provided the template on which nearly all other national navies have...

In the wake of the Jacobite rebellions, companies of trustworthy Highlanders were raised from royal clans to protect the populace, deter cattle stealing and guard against any possible Jacobite incursion. Soon after its formation, the companies organized...

This new Shire Album is primarily an introduction to narrowboats. It is illustrated by modern colour photographs of boats on the inland waterways today and will act as a guide to those who want to search out the heritage of the working canals.

This book seeks to preserve the memory of the coopers skills, tracing the history of the craft and describing and illustrating how a barrel was made.

It is often forgotten that in the early nineteenth century, before the arrival of the railways, Britain had the fastest and most efficient form of public overland transport the world had ever seen. By the 1820s, what had once been a hideous chore became...

Of the millions of enamel advertising signs produced between 1850 and 1950, only a few thousand survived and the authors describe and illustrate over 100 samples from their own collection.

This book examines the rise and fall of the picture house in Britain before the advent of the dreary and unadventurous multiplex.

For such a familiar part of the British scene, the telephone box is something of an unknown quantity. What is its story? Why is it the way it is? Who designed it? What came before it? This generously illustrated book answers these questions and more,...

The steam shovel was the forerunner of all powered, single-bucket, 'dry land' excavators and was the first machine successfully to replace the hand shoveller in loading wagons on construction sites. This book explains the workings of the machine and its...

The oldest keys known to exist date from around 4,000 BC in Ancient Egypt. These were simple wooden cylinders that were part of a mechanism to secure doors. By the time of the Roman Empire, metal keys were in common usage and had begun to adopt the...

Iron has been used for about 4000 years; it was essential to the industrial revolution and is still the principal metal of commerce. This book describes how iron and steel have been made from earliest times to the 20th century.

William Richard Morris, later Lord Nuffield, rose from humble beginnings to become one of Britain's leading industrialists and philanthropists, and it is to his career that Oxford's industrial standing can largely be attributed. Having established his...

Are you feeling happy, sad, excited, worried, shy, scared, or grumpy? Do you know why? This book will introduce emotions and show you how to talk about, share, or enjoy what you feel. There are lovely illustrations that will make you smile, frown, or...

Providing a unique glimpse into the experiences of regular British and French infantry during the French and Indian War, Stuart Reid reveals what it was like to fight in three battles at the height of the struggle for Canada- La Belle-Famille, the Plains...

When the Red Army needed to mechanize its cavalry branch in the 1930s, the BT fast tank was its solution. Based on the American Christie high-speed tank, the Red Army began a program to adapt the design to its own needs. Early versions were mechanically...

Whether you're a nameless Dark Lord looking to conquer the known world, a Champion of Light holding out against the forces of evil or a Northern barbarian facing claimants to a stolen throne, Dragon Rampant allows you to bring those battles to the...

The number of wounded in the First World War was unprecedented, and inadequate military planning presented the medical and voluntary community with huge and daunting challenges. Yet in the face of tremendous adversity both tackled their work with...

Britain is a treasure trove of medieval architecture. Almost every village and town in the land has a church that was built during the period, whose history is legible - to those who know how to look - in every arch, capital, roof vault, and detail of...

This book surveys the variety of types of motor vehicle mascots and badges, introduces the designers, outlines the manufacturers and discusses forgeries and reproductions.

It is generally accepted that Karl Benz was the inventor of the motor-car in 1885 - what is less well known is that his car was a three-wheeler. In the motor-industry's early years, the threeand four-wheeled types were developed side by side, but the...

After the close of the First World War, the British motorcycle industry rose to prominence as British motorcycles became almost unbeatable in competitions. However, a shortage of these new model bikes pushed prices to a premium and most people were...

As a journalist for the Independent, Emma Bamford is swept along with the London rat race, lost amongst the egos of Fleet Street. Surrounded by budget cuts and bullies, the thrill of a breaking news story is no longer enough. And at 31, still struggling...

Am I of the growing world, bound to the everlasting root, or am I simply a red-blooded man, destined to die? -Weed The seductive central character from the internationally acclaimed Poison Diaries, Weed, re-awakens in this book to a world where he must...

Katie Hickman went to Mexico looking for magic. She found it in the circus -- Big Top, clowns, elephants, and all -- where cheap, torn materials and tarnished sequins are transformed into nights of glittering illusion. Gradually adjusting to the harsh...

'She's experienced wealth, cultural alienation, homelessness, brushes with fame, prison, rehab, record deals, a million blown second chances, a dozen broken hearts and one bloody-knuckled ultimate spiritual redemption. She even died once in the process,...

Bletchley Park, known to those who worked there as Station X, was the scene of one of the greatest Allied triumphs of the Second World War. The breaking of the Nazi Enigma cyphers by Britain's wartime code-breakers continues to fascinate, with well over...

Developments in microelectronics in the early 1970s meant that computers at home seemed about to become commonplace- the kitchen computer would hold all of the family's recipes and keep a record of food in the larder; the study computer would manage the...

This is a book about a little known element in the history of motive power, the animal powered machine. Windmills and watermills survive in most parts of Britain, but animal-powered machines, whether vertical treadwheels or horizontal horse engines, are...

The railway was one of the main modes of long distance travel for Victorian Britons, and its processes - checking the timetable, buying a ticket, taking a seat - were central to both the industry and leisure of the period. David Turner here tells the...

The central importance of Marx's concept of nature in the formulation of historical materialism has been largely neglected in the extensive literature on Marx. Alfred Schmidt, philosophical successor to Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno in Frankfurt,...

Narrow gauge railways, so well suited to difficult, mountainous terrain, were built in many of the UK's most scenic locations. Their genesis was in mines and quarries where they replaced man- or horse-pulled wagons, but their adaptability meant that by...

Executions have played a crucial - if grisly and controversial - part in British history and provided the bloody climax to many a life, from Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles I and Dick Turpin to untold thousands of anonymous wretches whose names are now...

The blacksmith was once crucial to village life, whether commissioned for the humblest repair, the most luxurious ironwork or even the odd anvil marriage. Occupying prime position in the village, the forge attracted custom from miles around and was a...

The monarchy has made many concessions to the modern age, but the affirming rituals of the coronation - the pageantry, the theatre and the symbolism - are centuries old. Looking at the British coronation from its beginnings, Lucinda Gosling takes the...

This book outlines the development and important events in the history of 500cc motor racing, and it is hoped that it will stimulate or revive interest in an important era in motor-racing evolution.

Eighteenth-century Emma Hamilton was a woman ahead of her time. Her rise to fame and fortune seemed unstoppable - until she began her famous, doomed love affair with Admiral Lord Nelson. Beloved Emma traces Emma Hamilton's journey from Liverpool to...

The aristocratic Duc de Richleau faces new, sinister challenges in this macabre tale of the dark arts. When his good friend Simon Aron s na?ve curiosity is tested, the Duc, along with his ever-patient friends Rex Van Ryn, and Richard Eaton, must...

Model engineering was popularised by pioneering steam enthusiasts, and rapidly grew into an exciting world-wide hobby for amateur engineers. This book describes how model steam engines work, outlines the development of the machine tools used to build the...

Growing up as a child during the Second World War could be a frightening, strange or even an exciting experience. For many city children the war brought evacuation to the countryside and a way of life very different from the one they were used to. For...