Military forces and sectors Books

To win glory and power, to be renowned throughout posterity-such was the ambition that fueled Dahlgren's controversial rise to eminence during the Civil War era. This rich, balanced portrait examines in detail the admiral's quixotic, frustrating quest.

Every aspect of the common sailor's life in the Union navy--from recruiting, clothing, training, shipboard routine, entertainment, and wages to diet, health, and combat experience--is addressed in this study, the first to examine the subject in rich...

Despite racial discrimination and second-class status within the enlisted corps, the U.S. Navy's mess attendants, officer's cooks, and stewards compiled a proud legacy of combat service in World War II. The heroism of a few like Dorie Miller became well...

With all the immediacy of an eyewitness account, Anthony Pitch tells the dramatic story of the British invasion of Washington in the summer of 1814, an episode many call a defining moment in the coming-of-age of the United States. The British torched the...

Xi Jinping has made his ambitions for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perfectly clear, there is no mystery what he wants, first, that China should become a "great maritime power" and secondly, that the PLA "become a world-class armed force by 2050."...

A British journalist provides a full and intimate picture of naval life in the opening months of World War I.

An engaging memoir of a naval officer who went south to fight for the Confederacy.

"Mightily absorbing . . . There is candor in this book, and humor and an exhilarating sense, once common to us but now strange, that Americans who fought that war could do just about anything, and without getting wordy or pretentious about it or...

The book covers such topics as ship geometry, properties of shipbuilding materials, stability, submarine hydrostatics, propellers and propulsion systems, and maneuverability. Appendices include conversion tables, lists of fresh- and saltwater properties,...

This is a unique study of the officer diplomats of the "Old Navy" that covers 500 cases over an 85-year period, ending with Commodore Robert W. Schufeldt and the negotiation of America's first treaty with Korea.

This collection of 51 essays provides a history of amphibious landings that include European, Asian, and American operations. It describes in detail some of history's most significant amphibious assaults, as well as planned attacks that were never...

Winner of The Navy League's 2024 Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is naval history's most powerful and versatile warship. It is the reason the U.S. Navy is the predominant force at sea today...

Sailing Upwind is more than just another memoir of a distinguished former naval officer's highly diverse career. This book by Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld is also intended to offer useful reflections regarding how he accepted and managed risk along...

Naval warfare was confined for centuries to surface combat, or undersea clashes. In the twentieth century aerial warfare became the third domain and shortly thereafter, the electromagnetic spectrum also appeared. Until now, little has been written about...

On the morning of March 19, 1945, about fifty miles off the coast of Japan, the aircraft carrier USS Franklin was bombed by Japanese aircraft. Two heavy bombs penetrated the hangar deck killing everyone inside. The planes on the flight deck were knocked...

What is it like to live next door to a British Army base? England's military heartland provides an eye-opening account of the sprawling military presence on Salisbury Plain, drawing on a wide range of voices from both sides of the divide...

This book provides a highly detailed account of the history, organisation, uniforms and insignia of South African Special Forces from their origins up to the early 90s Units such as the 44 Parachute Brigade, the Hunter Group and the infamous SWA Police...

The first ever puzzle book from FlightRadar24 At any one time there are nearly 20,000 flights in the sky, and more than 75 million flights a year – and, since 2006, the website Flightradar24 has kept its beady eye on them all. For the first time ever,...

The thrilling life of Bert Hinkler, Bundaberg boy, who grew up to become a pioneer of aviation, Mussolini's favourite pilot, dubbed 'the most daring man in the world' by adoring crowds who turned out to see him fly. Grantlee Kieza tells the thrilling...

(Previously published as ‘After the Flood’)Former RAF Tornado Navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol sets out on a personal journey to discover what happened to 617 Squadron after the flood. RAF 617 Squadron’s destruction of the dams at the heart of...

A gripping memoir by a former NZSAS commander on serving in Afghanistan over four deployments and operating at the edge of his limits 'Frighteningly, devastatingly real.' - The Post In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel,...

‘Excellent’ Antony Beevor‘Saul David is a brilliant historian … In shocking and jaw-dropping detail, he brings a battle that deserves far greater prominence and understanding vividly back to life’ James Holland From award-winning historian Saul David,...

NUMBER 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERNo one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons he’s learned over...

An engrossing and fact-filled collection of the great screwups of the Great WarNever had there been a war on the scale of World War II—a global conflict so widespread and involving so many different military organizations from such a diverse pool of...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The definitive history of combat aviation and fighter aircraft, from World War I to present INCLUDES 32 PAGES OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND 12 MAPSLords of the Sky is the “dramatic, fast-paced, and definitive" (Michael...