Non Fiction - Military

Anzacs on the Western Front: The Australian War Memorial Battlefield Guide is the definitive guide to the Western Front battlefields. Meticulously researched and written by the Head of Research at the Australian War Memorial, Dr. Peter Pedersen, this landmark publication guides readers chronologically through the battles in which Australians and new Zealanders fought on the Western Front from 1916-1918. Lavishly illustrated in vibrant colour, with fascinating images from the Australian War Memorial archive as well as new panoramic... read more

The Great War: four devastating years told by twenty eyewitnesses. There are many books on the First World War, but award-winning and bestselling historian Peter Englund takes a daring and stunning new approach. Describing the experiences of twenty ordinary people from around the world, all now unknown, he explores the everyday aspects of war: not only the tragedy and horror, but also the absurdity, monotony and even beauty. Two of these twenty will perish, two will become prisoners of war, two will become celebrated heroes and two... read more

In 1968, at the age of 22 Karl Marlantes abandoned his Oxford University scholarship to sign up for active service with the US Marine Corps in Vietnam. Pitched into a war that had no defined military objective other than kill ratios and body counts, what he experienced over the next thirteen months in the jungles of South East Asia shook him to the core. But what happened when he came home covered with medals was almost worse. It took Karl four decades to come to terms with what had really happened, during the course of which he pa... read more

The superb novelist of men at war moves into the twentieth century and World War Two, telling the story of the eleven days in the sands of North Africa that would change history forever There are some battles that, had the other side won, would have totally altered the course of history. This is one of those battles...October 1942, and Britain and its allies were in trouble. Germany and its Axis partners seemed to be triumphant everywhere, and were already almost within reach of the Suez Canal. America had not yet decided to join... read more

This fascinating book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history, from Agincourt, Lepanto, and Trafalgar, to Gettysburg, Stalingrad, and the Somme. It begins with the battle of Megiddo fought by the ancient Egyptians and takes the reader through to the Second Gulf War of 2003. On the way it encompasses almost 300 battles from around the world - from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, to Europe and the Americas. All the battles are grouped within chapters which tell the wider story of... read more

Return To Flight is a Spitfire enthusiasts dream. It covers the people associated with the Spitfire; the history of Spitfire PV270; the career of New Zealand Spitfire Ace, Al Deere; and the experiences of the pilots who flew these fighter planes. It also includes a detailed look at the first restoration of a Spitfire PV270 in New Zealand and photographs of it in action. 304 pages 372 colour & 121 b/w illustrations

Compiled from Doug Brown’s letters and reminiscences during his time during World War 2. From the outbreak of war when having a weekend away at Chateau Tongariro with his mates when they all decide to sign up, the book traces training at Levin and Whenuapai, transit to Canada on the Awatea for further training on Harvards. Combat action included 2 years with 485 Squadron based in England, a period in Fighter Leader School and Pre-Invasion School training other pilots, and a second tour of duty in 130 Squadron based in Holland... read more

Sent by Germany on a suicide mission to the far side of the world, the warship Wolf was a formidable and ingenious commerce-raider. Her task was to inflict maximum destruction on Allied shipping using all the latest technology of warfare - torpedoes, mines, cannons, smokescreens, wireless receivers, even a seaplane. It was an assignment so secret that she could never pull in to port or transmit any radio signal. In one continual 64,000-mile voyage, the ship caused havoc across three oceans, launched Germany's first direct attacks o... read more

"Nothing can alter what happened now: Anzac stood and still stands for reckless valour in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship and endurance that will never admit defeat." - World War I correspondent Charles Bean. The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 was a series of deadly battles followed by a brilliantly executed retreat. In just eight months, more than 11,000 Australians and New Zealanders died 'for the glory of Empire'. GALLIPOLI: UNTOLD STORIES provides a day-by-day review of these defining ... read more

234x156mm / 320pp "If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don't believe it is realized how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world". So wrote Marshal of the RAF Lord Tedder in 1947. As commander of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command and responsible for the air defence of London and South-East England, Keith Park took charge of the day-to-day direction of the battle. In spotlighting his thoughts and actions during the crisis, the author ... read more

DoP - September 2008, United Kingdom Making full use of archival sources, studies by other scholars, and information provided by family members, Vincent Orange has completed the first biography of Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding to cover his entire life. Soldier, pilot, wireless pioneer, squadron commander, spiritualist, champion skier, 'Stuffy' Dowding is perhaps best known as the creator of the first radar-based air defence system and his no less remarkable management of such throughout the Battle of Britain. Dowding served in 'de... read more

The First World War was only meant to last six months.
When the Australians and New Zealanders arrived at the Western Front in 1916, the fighting had been going for a year and a half and there was no end in sight.
The men took their places in a line of trenches dug throughout Belgium and France from the North Sea to the Swiss Alps.
Beyond the trenches was no-man's-land, and beyond that was the German Army.
The Anzacs had sailed for France to fight a war the whole world was talking about. Few who came home e... read more

Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. In blazing heat in remote outposts the 3 Para battlegroup is pitted against a stubborn enemy who keep on coming. Until now, the full story of what happened there has not been told. This is it.In April 2006, the elite 3 Para battlegroup was despatched to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. They were tasked with providing security to reconstruction efforts, a deployment it was hoped would pass off without a shot being fired. In fact, over the six months they were there, the 3 Para battle group... read more

In May 1940, the small British Expeditionary Force was sent to help the Belgians and French hold back the German army. Ill-equipped and under-trained, they fought hard for three weeks, from the German invasion of France to the rescue of the last British troops from the beaches at Dunkirk. Remarkably, they conducted a successful fighting withdrawal in the face of a formidable foe. Drawing on previously unpublished and rare material, Major-General Julian Thompson recreates the action from the misunderstandings between the British and... read more

Spoken from the Front will tell the stories of what Andy McNab describes as modern-day heroes fighting modern-day wars'. It will recount the courage and hardship of British servicemen and support staff as they have faced the unique difficulties posed by the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Andy will introduce and edit the book, but the interwoven stories will be told by those serving on the front line, in their own words. Their action-packed, dramatic, moving and often humorous testimonies will be told through interviews and dia... read more

'In 1894 a French Foreign Legion General said, Legionnaires, vous etes faits pour mourir, je vous envoie la ou on meurt. Legionnaires, you are made for dying, I will send you where you can die. When I was in my mid-teens and first read those words they were powerful and confronting. I read them as a challenge and an invitation. The words, and the feelings they evoked, remained with me until I was ready. On 20 May 1988, I enlisted in the French Foreign Legion.'Based on his diaries, this is a frank account of how Mason came first in ... read more

Few books have ever been produced under such harsh conditions as The Anzac Book. Created by soldiers under enemy fire and in extreme hardship, the illustrations, stories, cartoons and poems were intended as a Christmas and New Year diversion for soldiers facing a harsh winter in the trenches. The Anzac Book became the finest 'trench publication' produced by soldiers during the Great War and was an instant bestseller when first released in 1916. This new edition includes a reproduction of the original book, a foreword by acclaimed a... read more

This massive work provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots and aircrew throughout WWII. From the early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedeviled by poor navigation and inaccurate bombing, to the last winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair, these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers.