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At the outbreak of war in 1939, ordinary people were quickly forced to adapt to the realities of a nation under dire threat. But it soon became known as the Phoney War, a time when official incompetence reigned supreme. Theatres and cinemas were closed and football matches cancelled, only for the government to realise belatedly that morale was plunging as a result. Thousands of women and children were evacuated to the countryside, only for many to flood back to the cities, preferring the dangers to separation from their families. Censorship of news was heavy-handed and bred widespread resentment. In fact, the period from September 1939 to May 1940 was a time of intense political and military activity - the blitzkrieg on Poland, the start of the U-boat menace, the disastrous Norwegian campaign, the political manoeuvrings that brought Churchill to power. Barry Turner skilfully weaves these events into a compelling home front narrative which evokes the fears and dangers but also the humour and the absurdities of everyday life in the dark days of 1939-1940.
In October 1956, Britain, France and Israel launched an attack on Egypt. For each of the contenders there was much more at stake than the future of the Canal. None of the combatants in the Suez campaign emerged in glory which may be why, in recent years, it has been largely relegated to academic studies. But the events surrounding the invasion, while combining the high drama with elements of political farce that make for a compelling story, had a greater impact on world affairs than many more famous conflicts.
In standard histories of the Second World War, the last six months in the western European arena invariably make a short epilogue. After the German failure in the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's bold counter attack across the Ardennes, the war is often assumed to have been all over bar sporadic shooting. This was far from the truth; it was certainly not how those soldiers and civilians at the front saw it. Drawing on American, British, Canadian, German, Dutch and Scandinavian sources, most of them previously unpublished, and starting with the Battle of the Bulge, COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY tells the little known story of those final months through the eyes of ordinary people who had to live the trauma.
Combining practical 'how to' skills with reflection on the place of each specialism in the industry, this guide features the skills needed to cover specialist areas, including writing match reports for sport, reviewing the arts, and dealing with complex information for science. The book will also discuss how specialist journalists have contributed to the mainstream news agenda, as well as analysing how different issues have been covered in each specialism, such as the credit crunch, global warming, national crime statistics and the celebrity culture in sport. Areas covered include: Sport Business Politics Crime Environment Fashion Food Music Media Science Health Law Travel War Wine
Acclaimed historian Barry Turner presents a new history of the Cold War's defining episode. Berlin, 1948 – a divided city in a divided country in a divided Europe. The ruined German capital lay 120 miles inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany. Stalin wanted the Allies out; the Allies were determined to stay, but had only three narrow air corridors linking the city to the West. Stalin was confident he could crush Berlin's resolve by cutting off food and fuel. In the USA, despite some voices still urging 'America first', it was believed that a rebuilt Germany was the best insurance against the spread of communism across Europe. And so over eleven months from June 1948 to May 1949, British and American aircraft carried out the most ambitious airborne relief operation ever mounted, flying over 2 million tons of supplies on almost 300,000 flights to save a beleaguered Berlin. With new material from American, British and German archives and original interviews with veterans, Turner paints a fresh, vivid picture the airlift, whose repercussions – the role of the USA as global leader, German ascendancy, Russian threat – we are still living with today.
For ten months before the Second World War, thousands of children were bundled on to trains and waved goodbye to their parents as they set off across Germany and Holland to the ferries that would take them to England. The book is based on extensive interviews with those who helped to organise the transports, the families who took the children in and above all the young refugees as they began new lives in a strange country. Many were faced with a continuous stream of foster parents and children's homes; many were evacuated and even deported - and almost all never saw their parents again.
Compelling and moving real-life accounts of the impact on family life of the return of the troops at the end of the Second World War. Summer 1945. Britain was in jubilant mood. At last, the war was over. Soon the men would be coming home. Then everything would be fine: life would get back to normal. Or would it? Six long years of war had profoundly changed family life. For years, Dad had been a khaki figure in a photograph on the wall, a crumpled letter from overseas, an occasional visitor on weekend leave. Now he was here to stay, a stranger in a group that had learned to live without him - and was not always prepared to have him back. Most homecomings were joyful, never-to-be-forgotten moments of humour and hope. Others were hard. And there was no one to deal with the tears and the trauma. It would take hope and courage for families to live and love together again.
A mile long thoroughfare from the Circus to Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly is a microcosm of 400 years of British history. With an incredible roster of past residents, ranging from bizarre aristocrats and larger than life politicians to celebrated writers and artists, Piccadilly is rich in tales of the weird and wonderful. The backdrop is an ever-evolving street life centred on iconic shops and galleries, hotels and restaurants, a pageant of London and Londoners through the ages. Piccadilly teems with famous names: the Ritz, Fortnum & Mason, Hatchards, the Wolseley, the Royal Academy and Cordings. You can have your shoes shined, buy the most luxurious cashmeres and expensive jewellery or indulge in macaroons all undercover in the elegant arcades running off the thoroughfare. Deemed "the magic mile", it takes a gentle half-hour stroll, up one side and back the other, to revel in a most fascinating story. Whether you love history or are just curious to know more about this famous thoroughfare, join Barry Turner as he brings alive the people and places that make Piccadilly so special.
Among the military leaders of the Second World War, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz remains a deeply enigmatic figure. As chief of the German submarine fleet he earned Allied respect as a formidable enemy. But after he succeeded Hitler – to whom he was unquestioningly loyal – as head of the Third Reich, his name became associated with all that was most hated in the Nazi regime. Yet Doenitz deserves credit for ending the war quickly while trying to save his compatriots in the East – his Dunkirk-style operation across the Baltic rescued up to 2 million troops and civilian refugees. Historian Barry Turner argues that while Doenitz can never be dissociated from the evil done under the Third Reich, his contribution to the war must be acknowledged in its entirety in order to properly understand the conflict. An even-handed portrait of Nazi Germany's last leader and a compellingly readable account of the culmination of the war in Europe, Karl Doenitz and the Last Days of the Third Reich gives a fascinating new perspective on a complex man at the heart of this crucial period in history.
Series header: THE SYB FACTBOOK SERIES This is an exciting new series of books for the general reader from the editor and publishers of one of the world's most respected reference books--The Statesman's Yearbook (SYB). Each FactBook provides essential information for each region and presents it in an easy-to-browse format. Each title features everything you need to know about the places, people, and practices of each region. Complete with key city maps, useful addresses, and web sites, these regional profiles are ideal for the traveler, business person, student, and anyone with an interest in learning about a given area of the world.Central Europe Profiled offers detailed coverage of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Ukraine, and Yugoslavia. Central Europe Profiled helps make sense of the ever-changing landscape of this region. Readers will also learn that the name Poland literally means "The Plain Dwellers," and that there are 1,053 separate newspapers circulating in Bulgaria.