To see in the dark and to hit their target was the challenge Bomber Command faced in the Second World War. To see in the dark and stay hidden only complicated matters more. In Will Iredale latest book, The Pathfinders, he paints a vivid of the force set up to guide Bomber Command’s squadrons to their targets in Occupied Europe. The Pathfinders is a superior narrative history that pays the respect that is due and to the price that was paid.
The Strategic Bombing campaign of the Second World War is still one of the most controversial subjects of that conflict 80 years on. The destruction wrought upon hundreds of cities from Coventry to Tokyo brought the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, The Bomber Mafia, looks at the titular group of USAAF thinkers who believed that they had the tools at their disposal to bring high-altitude precision bombing to a realisation.
After 15 years of adventures, Bernard Cornwell finally allows Uhtred of Bebbanburg to hang up Serpent-Breath. Of course, before Uhtred can finally do that, he is dragged into one final confrontation that will see Alfred’s dream realised on the bloody field of Bebbanburg.
In this time of heightened everything, how our disagreements will be viewed those who follow us is the last thing on the mind of those who hate-tweet their every thought. Will those in the future will undoubtedly look at us and wonder “what on earth was going on?” This is the premise of Chris Beckett’s latest work, Two Tribes.
Growing up in Western Canada, Bigfoot stories are always about and as a child, you were happy you had the Rockies between Calgary and ‘them’. And then came Harry and the Hendersons to make everything ok. Max Brooks’ latest journey into the things of our nightmares, Devolution, is not Harry. In any way.
The story of the Falklands War has quickly become a part of the British mythos. A hastily thrown together Task Force, with two small carriers and twenty even smaller fighters taking on the might of the Argentine Air Force and Navy. It was a close-run thing. In Rowland White’s latest book, Harrier 809, he returns to two of his previous subjects, the Falklands and 809 Naval Air Squadron, and shows us that things really were, at times, upon a wing and a prayer.
Between the wars, motor racing came of age. From a pastime of the wealthy, national prestige came to the fore with the arrival of the Nazi backed Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz teams. The two teams would dominate Grand Prix racing before the return of war. For any driver with dreams of winning, these seats were the only ones to aspire too. Richard Williams has turned his gaze upon the mostly forgotten Dick Seaman and his remarkable, fateful, journey to the top step of the podium.
A family’s stories and legends are always a tricky place to visit. What is unsaid often carries more weight than what is. When Hadley Freeman looked into the shoebox of memories left by her Grandmother, Sala, her journey would take her from Miami Beach to Chrzanów, Poland to Paris and to Auschwitz. What she has crafted into the House of Glass can only be described as an enthralling, heartbreaking and haunting book.
At the height of Prohibition, a man walked up to his wife in a Cincinnati park. He pulled a pearl-handled gun and pulled the trigger. She would die soon after. The murder of Imogene Remus by her husband George became a sensation because Geroge Remus was possibly the most successful bootlegger in American history. In Karen Abbott’s fantastic new look at the case, we meet George and Imogene and the betrayal that led to the day shots rang out in Eden Park.
For just about two years, I had the privilege of working with Alex Churchill, Zack White and the History Hack team making podcasts. During that time, I hosted 22 episodes of the Second World War aviation show Hedge Hopping. You can find them all here.
This is the tale of three sisters, Marnie, Betsy and Norma-Jean, my wonderful Mum and Aunts.
we live in a listicle dominated world that becomes more binary by the day. Nuance now feels like a dirty word and when we look at things, we seem to rank them by default. When this comes to the equipment of the Second World War, the fetishisation of the machinery has begun to override the basic truth that these incredible machines were designed to kill and that they were operated by men little more than boys.
After many delays, Rowland White’s Harrier 809 is finally being released into the wild. To celebrate, I am giving away way two copies of this superb book which Rowland will be signing and dedicating to the winners. Full details and T&Cs are in this post.
Author Robert Harris has returned with the tale of the hunting of Colonels Edward Whalley and William Goffe as they flee the retribution of King Charles II.