This is the story of a lifetime in aviation, from eager youngster to strike formation leader, with an insider’s view into squadron life, the camaraderie of the mess, the howlers committed during training and the tensions of frontline duty during the Cold War. It reveals the inner workings of the Red Arrows during a year of exceptional pressure when, with new jets and a redesigned display, the nation expected something truly groundbreaking. Through it all, and onwards into an extraordinary career in civil aviation, Ward’s boyish enthusiasm never faded; this book is, above all, a testament to the joys of flying.　

Wyndham Ward joined the RAF as a boy, progressing to fighter pilot flying Hunters and Buccaneers with the RAF and Royal Navy off HMS Ark Royal. In 1979 he was selected to join the Red Arrows, the year of the Gnat’s exit and the introduction of the Hawk. After his RAF career, Ward flew B747s and A340s for Cathay Pacific before being appointed royal flight captain to the Sultan of Oman, with responsibility for transporting heads of state around the globe. In the latter part of his career, following training in Toulouse, he held CAA and US FAA training appointments for Airbus and CAE.

The men and women of the Section, hailing from a variety of trades and professions, turned everyday items into concealment devices to carry weapons, ammunition, film, radios, false documents, microfilm and codes. These vessels ranged from oil cans, firewood and ornamental clocks, to record players, water bottles and tubes of toothpaste. Explosives and incendiary devices for industrial and military sabotage were concealed in dead rats, hollowed-out pieces of coal, books, torches, statues and suitcases. Convincing disguises were created to ensure that field agents would pass as locals in whatever region they were parachuted into. Essentially the Camouflage Section was responsible for keeping SOE agents behind enemy lines safe in the most nerve-wracking of circumstances—when under the suspicious gaze of the Gestapo.

After the war, SOE’s Camouflage Section was dissolved, but not before its work was collated and published in a secret document. That document remained classified for thirty years. This is the first time it has been presented in book form to the general public.　

Craig Moore has had a passion for military history since he was child. He is chiefly interested in the two world wars, in which eight of his close relatives fought and two died. One of his uncles lost a leg in Normandy in 1944 when his Sherman tank was hit by a shell. In 2010 Craig retired from London’s Metropolitan Police after 30 years of service. He lives in south-west London where he makes regular contributions to military history magazines. He also often visits museums and military events around the world. This is his ninth book on topics pertaining to the world wars.

The Italian Way of War synthesizes previous scholarship with original research to provide a balanced narrative and assessment of Italian military history from 1866 to 1943.　

Jeffrey LaMonica is professor of history and coordinator of the Global Studies Program at Delaware County Community College in Media, Pennsylvania. He holds degrees in history and global studies from LaSalle University, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Professor LaMonica’s publication topics include the US Army’s 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico, tactical development in the US Army during World War One, and Cold War diplomacy. He resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The final defeat of the Greek army in Asia Minor came in August 1922 and precipitated the 11 September 1922 Revolution in Athens, which led to Prince Andrew’s lifelong banishment from his homeland. Towards Disaster is Prince Andrew’s own account of the campaign in Asia Minor in which he defends his actions during the Battle of the Sakarya, a hopeless contest in his estimation, during which he was intent on avoiding needless loss of life　

Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark was born in 1882, the fourth son of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece. He served as an officer in the Balkan Wars and the Greco-Turkish War, and in the latter was held partly responsible for his country’s defeat and loss of territory. After being court-martialled for disobeying orders, Prince Andrew and his family, including his son Philip, later Duke of Edinburgh, were banished from Greece. Andrew died in exile 1944. Towards Disaster, an account of the war and a defence of his actions, was published in 1930.

About John Van der Kiste

John Van der Kiste has published over ninety books, including historical and royal biographies covering the Stuart, Georgian and Victorian eras in Britain, and the German, Austrian and Russian dynasties, including Queen Victoria’s Children; The Romanovs: Alexander II and his family; The End of the Habsburgs; biographies of Emperors William II and Francis Joseph, and titles on contemporary rock music, including biographies and studies of the work of The Beatles, ELO, Led Zeppelin, and Steve Winwood; and works on local history and true crime. He has reviewed books and records for national, local and independent publications, and contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He lives in Devon and his recreations include reading, music and painting.

By the time Germany joined the invasion in April 1941, both the RAF and FAA had committed more squadrons and been joined by army units, but they were soon overwhelmed, retreating to Crete, from where they were evicted in May 1941 after a massive German paratroop operation. For the next three years the RAF and FAA attacked Axis forces on Crete, mainland Greece and in the Aegean with mixed success. In addition, Allied air arms, including USAAF units, dropped weapons and supplies to the Greek partisan groups. In late 1944, as the Germans were forced to withdraw from Greece, RAF units once again flew into Greek airfields, yet they were soon drawn into the bitter civil war, fighting alongside Greek government forces against Communist insurgents. After the final withdrawal of operational units in 1946, the RAF retained an air delegation in Athens until 1952, when Greece joined NATO.

Richly illustrated with detailed maps and rare and previously unpublished photographs, Air War Over Greece 1940–1950: British, Dominions and United States Air Arms examines in unique detail a neglected corner of military aviation history.　

The British parliament was at the heart of the process. It sanctioned each railway and was instrumental in imposing regulations and setting new standards for operation. With the success of early schemes came a greater incentive to invest in new proposals, and such was the clamour for new railways that parliament had to select the most promising concepts, thereby laying the foundations for the railway network.

This first volume of The Great Railway Speculations concentrates on the early years of the creation of the Midland Railway Network, between 1825 and 1847, when the risks were high and returns higher, and the government, realising the momentous changes that were afoot, tried to keep pace.　

Ray Shill was educated at Handsworth Grammar School and Liverpool University and spent his working career at British Railways and Central Trains. He started writing books in 1992 and has been published on topics that include canals, railways and industry.

There’s the full gamut of Jowett specials featured here, covering pre-Second World War models through to modified versions of the post-war Bradford van. The Javelin and the Jupiter are also featured. Jowett Specials: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a celebration of them all, and the intrepid, mechanically minded owners who built them.　

Representing both his country and the Royal Air Force, you might think he would have gained enough maturity by now to get through this tour without too much drama… Alas, no. During his three-year fantasy ride, pushing the world’s most intoxicating jet to its red-hot limits and loving every moment, Tug narrowly avoids causing an unholy trinity of diplomatic incidents. Seriously, what did you expect?

So jump into the cockpit with Tug and experience the unrivalled camaraderie of the US Marine Corps, see how wondrous the exalted F-18 Hornet truly is, and find out what happens when a Yorkshire boy accustomed to the glamour of RAF Valley on the Isle of Anglesey is thrown into the California dreamland. This is the Wild West in the wildest of jets, and I can tell you, for a fighter pilot, it doesn’t get better than this.　

Known as Mr Ocean Liner, Bill Miller has written over 100 books on ocean liners – early ships, ships in war, cruise ships and smaller passenger ships. He has also written over 100 articles and is a frequent and popular guest speaker on cruise liners. To date, he has made over 450 voyages. Miller has also appeared in many television shows and documentaries.

From Vulcan to Spitfire and Back: A Life in Aviation is a humorous, unguarded, and often self-deprecating account of what it was like to be part of an RAF squadron during the Cold War—everything from burning pianos to a mid-air collision in a Tornado. It is also about the simple joys of flying, whether in the cockpit of the enormous delta-winged Vulcan or behind the sprightly controls of the inimitable Spitfire, and the camaraderie that comes with it, both in military and civil aviation.　

Bill Perrins was born and brought up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during the height of the Troubles. He joined the Royal Air Force during the mid-1970s and became a pilot on Vulcan bombers, which he flew during the Falklands War of 1982. Subsequently he became a qualified flying instructor prior to moving on to Tornado F3 fighters. After leaving the RAF he flew various commercial aircraft including Boeing 747s and Dreamliners, and several iconic planes at airshows, including Spitfires, the Vulcan, the P51 Mustang, and Soviet-era Yaks.

Using USS Vicksburg as his mobile headquarters, General Jacob Smith directed a scorched-earth campaign, burning villages and executing prisoners. Tuttle, who was serving aboard the Vicksburg, witnessed first-hand the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the insurrection, and the crushing of the rebellion in the southern islands.

Back in the USA, the Philippine Insurrection was at the center of a debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists, with both President William McKinley and Senator Albert Beverage lending their considerable weight to the former group. Beverage believed that the US should annex the Philippines since, in his view, the inhabitants were uneducated and not capable of governing themselves. Conversely, Mark Twain asserted that for the US to govern another nation without consent would constitute a violation of the principles of the Declaration of Independence and lead to the corruption of the US’s democratic institutions. Away from the debating halls and opinion columns, Fred Tuttle’s fascinating eyewitness account reveals, in shocking detail, what an imperialist policy meant on the ground.　

Dale Thomas served for two years in the United States Army. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and education from Kent State University and a master’s in history from Case Western Reserve University. After teaching for thirty-one years, he took up writing and has had six books published on topics ranging from the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln to World War I and the Ohio presidents. Dale has served as a director for the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable and the Olmsted Historical Society, and has judged student projects on History Day at Case Western Reserve University.

Additionally, Hughes’s work as a screenwriter—often completing scripts over a single weekend—contributed vastly to the success of many films, some of which he is not sufficiently credited for. As the 1980s ended, Hughes demonstrated his versatility as a filmmaker by making comedies targeting adult audiences over teens—films that have found their place in the hearts of many. This book celebrates the movies of John Hughes and the good times they have brought us, while examining the man behind the legacy.　

David Juskow is a film professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He has written for Maxim and Men’s Health magazines and the Huffington Post. He has also written for and appeared on SNL’s TV Funhouse and HBO’s Crashing.

本書超越了媒體的報導，深入剖析了《Oops!…I Did It Again》、《I’m A Slave 4 U》、《Gimme More》和《Toxic》等劃時代金曲背後的藝術內涵。本書將她的整個音樂作品匯集於一冊，展現了她對全球音樂界產生的巨大而深遠的影響。所以，讓我們深入了解她的九張錄音室專輯、B面歌曲等等，探索歌曲背後的故事以及它們在塑造一代人以及鞏固小甜甜布蘭妮在流行音樂史上的地位方面的重要意義。(Zoe)

About Steve Bishop Steve Bishop is renowned as the UK’s leading Britney Spears expert. In 1999 he founded ukbritney.tv, one of the internet’s largest and longest-running fan sites, and has dedicated over two and half decades to sharing and celebrating Britney’s work. He has been featured on various UK TV shows, including Channel 4’s The E-Millionaire Show (2000), Channel 5’s Swapheads (2002) and GMTV (2023), commenting on Britney’s music and life. He also acted as a consultant for Britney’s appearance on Channel 4’s V Graham Norton (2003). Steve owns an extensive collection of Britney’s music and merchandise, and having enjoyed multiple personal encounters with the pop icon, he continues to champion her influence on music and culture.

Ever since his silver screen debut back in 1954, Godzilla has maintained a mighty hold on the collective imaginations of cinema lovers around the world. Originally conceived as a powerful metaphor for Japan’s fears of nuclear destruction, the character has undergone a complex metamorphosis over an incredible seven decades and more than three dozen films. From allegory to superhero, from atom-age menace to children’s matinee star, from arthouse to grindhouse and back again, Godzilla has survived by adapting and reacting to the changing cultures and generational expectations of the countries—and the filmmakers—that bring him to life.

In this exploration and celebration of Godzilla’s first 70 years, the full story of Japan’s kaiju icon is revealed through detailed histories, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, cultural connections, and contextualizing thematic analyses. Beginning with his postwar origins and continuing through his many rises, falls, revitalizations, and reinterpretations, this comprehensive companion to the Godzilla franchise seeks to place the character in his proper historical perspective and, by doing so, shed light on the depth, the flexibility, and the fun that’s kept him relevant and beloved for generations.　

Daniel DiManna is a film historian, author, artist, voice actor, and lifelong student of Kaijulosophy (a thing he totally made up but thinks sounds kinda cool). An award-winning marketing writer by day and an unapologetic monster-nerd by night, Daniel is the author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project, a fan-driven endeavor to write novel adaptations of every Japanese G-flick. His writing has been published in G-Fan, Prehistoric Magazine, Kaiju Ramen Magazine, and on various websites. He can also be heard guesting on multiple kaiju-related podcasts. Daniel lives in Sylvania, Ohio, surrounded by DVDs, books, and an unhealthy number of monster toys.

Alice’s letters to her mother were originally published in 1884. This edition includes various appendices and commentaries published shortly after her death, and an afterword on the subsequent tragedies suffered by several members of her family.　

John Van der Kiste has published over ninety books, including historical and royal biographies covering the Stuart, Georgian and Victorian eras in Britain, and the German, Austrian and Russian dynasties, including Queen Victoria’s Children; The Romanovs: Alexander II and his family; The End of the Habsburgs; biographies of Emperors William II and Francis Joseph, and titles on contemporary rock music, including biographies and studies of the work of The Beatles, ELO, Led Zeppelin, and Steve Winwood; and works on local history and true crime. He has reviewed books and records for national, local and independent publications, and contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He lives in Devon and his recreations include reading, music and painting.

Born in the west of Ireland, Aubrey Malone was educated at University College, Dublin, graduating with a BA in English and philosophy. He followed this with an MA in English, in which he majored in the literary style of Ernest Hemingway. Malone was a teacher for ten years, before becoming a freelance journalist with various newspapers and magazines. He has written over fifty books, including the best-selling The Cynic’s Dictionary (Prion). He works predominantly in non-fiction, though he has published two novels and a few collections of poetry and short stories. This is his second biography of Hemingway, his first having been published by Robson Books in 1999.

Though considered in her lifetime one of the foremost female novelists of her generation, Bury gained notoriety as the suspected author of the scandalous Diary Illustrative of the Times of George IV, published anonymously in 1838; it overshadowed her legacy and by the turn of the century her work had been largely forgotten. This biography addresses this loss, rediscovering Bury’s remarkable life of privilege and struggle, success and shame, and of literature, love and high society.　

Margaret Storrie’s lifelong interest in the Scottish Highlands and islands started when undertaking fieldwork and postgraduate research on historic landscapes in the Ardnamurchan peninsula, Isle of Islay and Outer Hebrides. Having started her academic career at Glasgow University, she then moved to Bedford College in Regent’s Park and thereafter to Queen Mary University of London. Margaret is the founding editor of two academic journals, including Scottish Archives, and author of Islay: Biography of an Island (3rd edition, 1997).

During a career spanning sixty years, The Who have released nearly 300 tracks, most during the period of their classic lineup (1964–1978) with lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townsend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. On the one hand their songs are about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, while on the other they reach much deeper, holding society to account on contemporary subjects, and in one example, the 1972 song ‘Relay’, imagining a futuristic network that has been credited as a prophesy of the internet.

The Who: Song By Song is a forensic examination of every song in the band’s totemic discography, including different versions and background facts. Find out what inspired the songs, how they developed, and what happened during the recording sessions of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.　

Christian Suchatzki became a Who fan in 1969 after he heard ‘I’m Free’ on one of his father’s records. Since then he has followed and chronicled the band’s activities in minute detail. He was the editor of the Who fanzine Long Live Rock and wrote a Who biography for Germany’s leading record collector magazine Oldie-Markt. In 1997 he published The Who Complete Discography, with an updated edition released in 2008. Occasionally Christian has contributed to other Who projects such as Christoph Geisselhart’s Who biography Maximum R&B and Mat Snow’s book 50 Years of My Generation. He runs the fan website The Who Fan & Information Center (www.the-who.net).