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Altered Carbon: Netflix Altered Carbon book 1 (Takeshi Kovacs)
by Richard MorganFour hundred years from now mankind is strung out across a region of interstellar space inherited from an ancient civilization discovered on Mars. The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course.But some things never change. So when ex-envoy, now-convict Takeshi Kovacs has his consciousness and skills downloaded into the body of a nicotine-addicted ex-thug and presented with a catch-22 offer, he really shouldn¿t be surprised. Contracted by a billionaire to discover who murdered his last body, Kovacs is drawn into a terrifying conspiracy that stretches across known space and to the very top of society.For a first-time SF writer to be so surely in command of narrative and technology, so brilliant at world-building, so able to write such readable and enjoyable SF adventure, is simply extraordinary.Read by Todd Mclaren(p) 2005 Tantor, Inc
Altered Starscape: Book One (Andromedan Dark #2)
by Ian DouglasGalaxies collide in a thrilling new series from bestselling author Ian Douglas, as the last humans in the universe face off against a new threat2162. Thirty-eight years after first contact, Lord Commander Grayson St. Clair leads the Tellus Ad Astra on an unprecedented expedition to the Galactic Core, carrying more than a million scientists, diplomats, soldiers, and AIs. Despite his reservations about their alien hosts, St. Clair is deeply committed to his people--especially after they're sucked into a black hole and spat out four billion years in the future.Civilizations have risen and fallen. The Andromeda Galaxy is drifting into the Milky Way. And Earth is most certainly a distant memory. All that matters now is survival. But as the ship's Marines search for allies amid ancient ruins and strange new planetary structures, St. Clair must wrap his mind around an enemy capable of harnessing a weapon of incomprehensible power: space itself.
Altered State
by Don PendletonKabul, Afghanistan, remains a front line within a bureaucratic civil war, where spooks, soldiers, fanatics and narcotics collide in profit and death. Added to the mix are rumors of a heroin operation now run by America's largest and most respected private security firm. With no legal remedy on hand, Mack Bolan is dispatched on a scorched-earth mission that threatens to expose more than just hand-holding deep inside the Beltway. With his identity compromised from the start, the Executioner hooks up with a seasoned DEA agent and local informant, blowing out the infrastructure of a massive narco-traffic operation brick by brick, and exposing the long arm of a traitor.
Alternative Conventional Defense Postures In The European Theater: Military Alternatives for Europe after the Cold War (Alternative Conventional Defense Postures In The European Theater Ser.)
by Hans Günter Brauch Robert KennedyFirst published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Alternative Defence Policy (Routledge Library Editions: International Security Studies #1)
by Gordon BurtThis book, first published in 1988, represents a unique attempt to combine a discussion of an alternative British defence policy in terms of military strategy and new technology, with a consideration of how this policy might be secure in political terms. Written against a background of a possible future Labour government in the late 1980s with a radically different defence policy to the Conservative Government of the day, it considers questions such as: Would conventional deterrence really be effective? Just what is the Labour Party’s defence policy? How precisely might Britain be transformed into a non-aligned, non-militarist state?
The Altman Code (Covert-One #4)
by Robert Ludlum Gayle LyndsIN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, ON THE DARK WATERSIDE DOCKS OF SHANGHAI, a photographer is recording cargo being secretly loaded when he's brutally killed and his camera destroyed. Shortly thereafter Covert-One director Fred Klein brings word to the president that there's a Chinese cargo ship rumored to be carrying tons of chemicals to be used by a rogue nation to create new biological weapons. The president cannot let the ship land and risk the consequences of a new stockpile of deadly chemical weapons. Klein is ordered to get the president solid proof of what the Chinese ship is ferrying. Covert-One agent Jon Smith is sent to rendezvous in Taiwan with another agent, who lias acquired the ship's true manifest. But before Smith can get the document, the two agents are ambushed, the second agent is murdered, the proof is destroyed, and Smith escapes with only his life, scant clues to the mystery behind the cargo ship, and a verbal message - the president's biological father is still alive, held prisoner by the Chinese for fifty years. As the Chinese cargo ship draws ever closer to its end port, Smith must race against the clock to uncover the truth about the ship and its cargo, a truth that probes the deepest secrets of the Chinese ruling party, the faction in Washington working to undermine the elected government, and the international cabal who is thrusting the world to the very brink of war.
Alvo de Alto Valor: Sargento Gracie Medicine Crow, Fuzileiros Navais da UF, História Curta
by Jonathan P. Brazee Combo TranslationsO sargento Gracie Medicine Crow, Corpo de Marinha da Federação Unida, está treinando atiradores na milícia de Galeland quando a Intel descobre que um alvo de alto valor está agendado para uma reunião clandestina nas terras do planeta. Tirado do treinamento, Gracie recebe a missão: tirar o HVT - permanentemente. Alvo de alto valor é uma breve história sobre Gracie, o protagonista do Sniper, Volume 2 da Women of the United Federation Marines
Always
by Rebecca RoyceRobbie Owens has fought the dragons for seventeen years, leading his group of secret, elite werewolves. Tatyana Knox is a human in a world where humans are like unicorns—they simply don't exist. But she is real and she is Robbie's mate. If he can trust her, they will turn the tide of the war. But the clock is ticking and Tatyana's time with Robbie is almost up. **Previously published as part of the Romancing The Wolf anthology**
Always a Marine: The Return to Civvy Street
by Steven PreeceIn Amongst the Marines, Steven Preece vividly depicted his excessive, violent lifestyle as an elite Royal Marine Commando. Now Always a Marine covers the author's struggle to leave that lifestyle behind following his departure from the service. Back on civvy street for the first time in over seven years, Preece finds it extremely difficult to adapt and struggles to shake off the belligerent mentality he developed while in the Marines. Despite these difficulties, he marries and starts a family, but this positive change is not enough to turn his life around. Preece soon discovers that his tendency towards violence will not be tolerated in the civilian workplace and, after finding himself blacklisted by many companies in his area, he is forced to look for employment abroad. This quest for work takes Preece to France, where he is caught up in a hotel fire; Germany, where he is double-crossed out of his job and later teams up with an ex-SAS trooper; Morocco, where an incident lands him in jail and he is later shot at by border police; and Thailand, where he fights in a boxing ring with a former French Legionnaire and gets caught up in a business scam.Having settled back in the UK, Preece's behaviour remains excessive. He severely injures his head and suffers minor brain damage after a heavy-drinking session. Upon recovering, he looks for something else to believe in and begins training in ninjutsu, the martial art of the ninjas, who view aggression as a sign of weakness. This, combined with the love of his family, finally enables him to put his past behind him. Always a Marine is the action-packed, often shocking account of one ex-Marine's 13-year struggle to control the aggression he learnt as a serviceman in order to become a respectable civilian.
Always and Forever
by Lindsay MckennaRediscover this moving fan-favorite tale of finding a second chance at happiness from New York Times bestselling author Lindsay McKenna Captain Kyle Anderson can't believe his buddy Mike is tying the knot. And when Mike, a fellow captain in the US Air Force, asks Kyle to be his best man, of course Kyle says yes. When he flies home from Thailand, where his squadron is based, Kyle finally gets to meet the woman his friend has been talking about for a year. But what he never expected is for Gale Remington to be so...alluring. And he certainly isn't prepared for the sparks that fly between them. Gale is beyond happy to be marrying Mike. So why, when she meets his best man, Kyle, does her heart beat a little quicker, her breath come a little faster? He's her fiancé's best friend--nothing can happen between them. But nothing is certain in the theater of war, and fate may have other plans for her and Kyle.
Always By My Side: Losing the love of my life and the fight to honour his memory
by Christina SchmidA LOVE LOST.A LIFE CUT SHORT.'From the moment I set eyes on him I adored him. The connection between us was so strong it went beyond everything else. His job, my job, his lifestyle, my lifestyle. All that fell away.'And then one earth-shattering day Christina's worst nightmare came true when Oz was killed on his final day of duty before flying home to his family.This is Christina and Oz's story: a story about love and loss, hope and despair and of living in constant fear. Christina's extraordinary bravery and composure is an inspiration to anyone who has ever lost someone they love.
Always Coming Back Home: An Emotional Tale of Love, Adventure, Tragedy and Hope
by Ashley BuggeAn emotional memoir about a military family experiencing love, loss, and challenging times.Always Coming Back Home uses heartfelt stories and real-time emails sent from a deployed sailor to his bride and readers quickly become invested in this young family. The couple takes readers on sailing and scuba diving adventures throughout the world. They also keep readers laughing as the couple becomes first time parents, anxious with them during military deployments, upset with them through miscarriages and family loss, and finally, heartbroken as it all comes to an end with a single phone call. Always Coming Back Home is a candid and raw account of two ordinary people coming together to accomplish extraordinary things.Praise for Always Coming Back Home“Such a beautiful and incredible tale of love and family. Ashley and Brian are such an amazing couple . . . . The memories Ashley shares with readers are so personal that you will feel like you are living in the moment with them . . . . I loved reading their story. I laughed with them, I cried with them and lived their life with them!” —Rabia Tanveer, Readers’ Favorite
Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWII
by William W. PutneyTwenty-three-year-old Bill Putney enlisted in the Marines in 1943 in search of military glory. Instead, Putney, a licensed veterinarian, was relegated to the Dog Corps. Putney became the Commanding Officer of the 3rd War Dog Platoon, and later the chief veterinarian and C.O. of the War Dog Training School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. At Lejeune Putney helped train America's dogs for war in the Pacific. He later led them into combat in the invasion of Guam in 1944, the first liberation of American soil in World War II. Always Faithful is the story of the dogs that fought in Guam and across the islands of the Pacific, a celebration of the four-legged soldiers that Putney both commanded and followed. It is a tale of immense courage, but also of incredible sacrifice. On Guam, as on islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Japanese were infamously tenacious, refusing to surrender as long as there was a hole left to crawl into. Rooting out the enemy was an awful, painstaking job. To this task, Putney's dogs were well suited. Used for scouting, attack, carrying messages, detecting mines, and also as guards, the war dogs were so well trained that they could locate nonmetallic mines that had been buried for months deep underground; their hearing was so precise they could detect enemy trip wires by listening to them "sing" in the breeze. Their record in action was perfect. More than 550 patrols on the island of Guam were led by dogs; not one patrol was ambushed. But for this success, the dogs, always out in front, paid a terrible price. Although Putney worked feverishly as veterinarian and C.O. to keep the dogs alive, many were lost. After the war, Putney returned home only to discover that the dogs he had served with were being put to sleep. These dogs were ex-household pets, recruited from civilians with the promise that they would someday be returned. Outraged, Putney fought for the dogs' right to go home. He won, and headed the overwhelmingly successful program to "detrain" the dogs so they could return to their families. Alas, quickly learned, the lesson was quickly forgotten. The dogs of Korea and Vietnam did not come home. Then, in the final days of his administration, President Clinton signed into law a bill that allows military handlers to bring home the dogs with which they work. Once again, Putney was at the front of the charge. For anyone who has ever read Old Yeller, or the books of Jack London, here is a real-life story, never before told, that beats any fiction. At once wistful tribute and stirring adventure, Always Faithful describes what may be the greatest man-dog effort of all time. It will both astound and move you.
Always Faithful: A Story of the War in Afghanistan, the Fall of Kabul, and the Unshakable Bond Between a Marine and an Interpreter
by Thomas Schueman Zainullah ZakiBand of Brothers meets Argo in this dramatic and heartfelt dual memoir of the war in Afghanistan told by two men from opposite worlds. Always Faithful entwines the stories of Marine Major Tom Schueman, and his friend and Afghan interpreter, Zainullah “Zak” Zaki, as they describe their parallel lives, converging paths, and unbreakable bond in the face of overwhelming danger, culminating in Zak and his family’s harrowing escape from Kabul. In August of 2021, just days shy of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, America ended its longest war. The speed of the Afghanistan’s fall was so stunning that thousands of Afghan citizens who had helped American forces over the course of two decades—and had been promised visas in return—were suddenly stranded, in extreme, imminent danger. As the world watched the shocking scenes of desperation at the Kabul airport in the final two weeks of August, Maj. Tom Schueman fought—both behind the scenes and through a social media campaign—to get his friend and former Afghan interpreter, Zak, out of Afghanistan before he and his family were discovered by the Taliban. When Zak and his family finally took off from the airport mere days before the US left the country, the years-long effort to get Zak to America culminated in two simple words on Instagram: “Wheels up.”Now in Always Faithful, Tom and Zak tell the full story of the divergent paths that led them to Afghanistan, the dangerous road they walked together in service to America, and how their commitment to each other ended up saving them both. Brilliantly told in Tom’s and Zak’s alternating first person voices, Always Faithful tracks the parallel lives of these two men who each spent their childhoods in fear, peril, and poverty, and turned to war in attempt to build a meaningful future. On an inevitable course towards each other, their lives dovetail in Afghanistan’s deadly Helmand Valley, where they formed a brotherhood that transcends even the most overwhelming of odds, eventually culminating in Zak’s harrowing, eleventh-hour rescue.The end result is an intensely personal and uniquely ground-level account of Tom and Zak’s experience, Always Faithful gives readers a 360-degree view of the war. At once provocative and heart pounding, their stories together form a microcosm of the complicated and lasting effects of America’s longest war. Through their eyes and their experiences, they challenge readers to explore the legacy of the war for American and Afghan citizens alike, as we all collectively seek to understand whether twenty years of war was worth the price.
Always Faithful, Always Forward
by Dick CouchEstablished in 1986, the U.S. Special Operations Command was set up to bring the special operational disciplines of all branches of the military under a single, unified command to act on missions involving unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, and direct action... The Marine Special Operations Command ("MARSOC") is the newest component of the military's shift toward a fully integrated Special Operations Command structure. At first, the Marines were strongly against any Marines serving under anyone other than another Marine. Then 9/11 happened. In the years following, Marine forces found themselves growing more agreeable to inter-branch operational command, finally forming the Marine Special Operations Command in 2006. Always Faithful, Always Forward follows the journey of a class of Marine candidates from their recruitment, through assessment and selection, to their qualification as Marines Special Operators. The assessment, selection, and training regimes are a combination of psychological testing and intense military training as well as being a physical and professional rite of passage. MARSOC Marines must be efficient, agile, independent, and prepared to live hard in the field. They are warriors trained in the full range of military skills, as well as teachers who can train locals to defend their communities and lead them in battle. But above all, they are Marines. Their ability to leverage their numbers by embedding with the locals and to live in remote locations has, in their short history, made them a valuable force and one with great utility in remote reaches of the world. Retired Navy Captain Dick Couch has been given unprecedented access to this new command and to the individual Marines of this exceptional special-operations unit, allowing him to chronicle the history and development of the Marine Special Operations Command and how they find, recruit, and train their special operators. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
Always Remember Your Name: A True Story of Family and Survival in Auschwitz
by Andra Bucci Tatiana BucciA haunting WWII memoir of two sisters who survived Auschwitz that picks up where Anne Frank's Diary left off and gives voice to the children we lost.On March 28, 1944, six-year-old Tati and her four-year-old sister Andra were roused from their sleep and arrested. Along with their mother, Mira, their aunt, and cousin Sergio, they were deported to Auschwitz. Over 230,000 children were deported to the camp, where Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, performed deadly experiments on them. Only a few dozen children survived, Tati and Andra among them. Tati, Andra, and Sergio were separated from their mothers upon arrival. But Mira was determined to keep track of her girls. After being tattooed with their inmate numbers, she made them memorize her number and told them to &“always remember your name.&” In keeping this promise to their mother, the sisters were able to be reunited with their parents when WWII ended. An unforgettable narrative of the power of sisterhood in the most extreme circumstances, and of how a mother&’s love can overcome the most impossible odds, the Bucci sisters' memoir is a timely reminder that separating families is an inexcusable evil.
Always There: A gripping saga where the past and the present threaten to collide
by Pamela EvansTwo sisters discover that meddling in the past can bring about both happiness and long forgotten, devastating secrets... Pam Evans, much-loved author of In the Dark Streets Shining, brings us another tale of love, family and hope, clouded by two sisters' heart-breaking past. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Lindsey Hutchinson. 'The leading characters are finely drawn... crisp prose... a superb and heartwarming read' - Irish IndependentIn 1930s London, two little girls are lonely and bewildered after the tragic death of their mother. Daisy and June are now destitute and must go to the local orphanage. Once there, they take comfort in each other but they are robbed of even this consolation when they are parted because June is taken away for adoption. Years later, although out of touch and worlds apart, both share a disturbing childhood memory which will connect them forever. A memory that takes on a ghastly significance when June discovers the reason they were abandoned...What readers are saying about Always There: 'Simple read, simple tale, simply engrossed! It is the sort of book that warrants a sequel' 'I thoroughly enjoyed another great story from Mrs E, I couldn't put the kindle down'
Always There: A gripping saga where the past and the present threaten to collide
by Pamela EvansTwo sisters discover that meddling in the past can bring about both happiness and long forgotten, devastating secrets... Pam Evans, much-loved author of In the Dark Streets Shining, brings us another tale of love, family and hope, clouded by two sisters' heart-breaking past. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Lindsey Hutchinson. 'The leading characters are finely drawn... crisp prose... a superb and heartwarming read' - Irish IndependentIn 1930s London, two little girls are lonely and bewildered after the tragic death of their mother. Daisy and June are now destitute and must go to the local orphanage. Once there, they take comfort in each other but they are robbed of even this consolation when they are parted because June is taken away for adoption. Years later, although out of touch and worlds apart, both share a disturbing childhood memory which will connect them forever. A memory that takes on a ghastly significance when June discovers the reason they were abandoned... What readers are saying about Always There: 'Simple read, simple tale, simply engrossed! It is the sort of book that warrants a sequel' 'I thoroughly enjoyed another great story from Mrs E, I couldn't put the kindle down'
Always To-morrow
by John F. LeemingIn November 1940, an R.A.F. aeroplane crashed near Catania, Sicily. On board were Air Marshal O. T. Boyd on his way to Cairo as Air Officer Commanding Middle East, and John Leeming, a member of his staff, who before the war was a well-known private pilot and the author of several amusing books. Air Marshal Boyd and Mr. Leeming were taken prisoner by the Italians and, six months later, they were joined by a bevy of generals and other senior British officers, including Major-General Neame, V.C., Lieutenant-General O’Connor, Major-General Carton de Wiart, V.C., and Major-General Gambier-Perry.Always To-morrow, which was first published in 1951, is an account of the life as prisoners of war in Italy of this group of high ranking officers, beginning with the aircraft crash in Sicily which wrecked the career of Air Marshal Boyd.Widely regarded as one of the most amusing books written about World War II, the hopes and disappointments of the several attempts at escape are told in a most entertaining way, and the lack of emphasis on the less amusing aspects of life as a prisoner of war only serves to underline the unfailing courage, enterprise and patience of these senior officers.“The funniest war story of all, Leeming’s adventures as a prisoner of the Italians are told with a rare humour and a keen eye for the absurd. There is drama, too, in his story, but Mr. Leeming is irrepressible.”—Sunday Graphic
La amante del Tercer Reich
by Jennifer Cody EpsteinEl retrato íntimo de una amistad que el nazismo rompió para siempre. Berlín, año 1933. Renate e Ilse se conocen en la escuela y se hacen amigas inseparables, unidas por su pasión por el conocimiento. Pero a medida que el partido nazi gana posiciones en la ciudad, las leyes de Nuremberg pondrán en peligro una amistad que parecía destinada a durar eternamente. Ilse se siente cada vez más atraída por las Juventudes Hitlerianas, mientras que Renate se ve forzada a confrontar un secreto familiar que su familia ha ocultado durante décadas. Una historia de traición y remordimientos que no tendrá su cierre hasta el año 1989, cuando, en Nueva York, Ava Fischer recibe las cenizas de su madre, a la que nunca acabó de conocer bien, junto con un paquete de cartas que no llegaron a enviarse, dirigidas a la mejor amiga de infancia de Ilse, Renate. La crítica ha dicho:«Una absorbente exploración de la amistad, la traición yla posibilidad de cerrar las heridas del pasado.»Booklist
El amante japonés
by Rani ManickaCon la exuberante Malasia invadida por el ejército nipón como telón de fondo, la sensualidad de una mujer convertida en geisha en manos de un oficial japonés se transforma en una apasionante historia de amor prohibido en tiempos de guerra. Una mujer, un oficial enemigo y un amor que nadie podría sospechar. En Malasia, en los albores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, tras un matrimonio concertado, Parvathi vive sin grandes alicientes en la opulenta mansión de su marido, un hombre mucho mayor que ella que prácticamente la desprecia. Solo gracias a la ayuda de una cocinera llena de sabiduría y a un criado que la ama en secreto, Parvathi logra seguir adelante. Pero la invasión japonesa del país cambia su vida ya que, tras el saqueo y la ocupación de su propio hogar, Parvathi se ve obligada a convertirse en la geisha y amante del oficial japonés al mando. Sin embargo, lo que empieza como el mayor de los sacrificios pronto se transforma en un amor prohibido que hará surgir en ella sensaciones que jamás había experimentado. Tal vez un amor que puede ir más allá de las fronteras de la guerra. La historia de amor prohibido entre una mujer convertida en geisha y un oficial japonés es el hilo argumental de la conmovedora novela con la que Rani Manicka confirma el merecidísimo éxito de su novela anterior, Madre del arroz. Reseñas:«Una novela fascinante y conmovedora en la que Rani Manicka, la autora del gran éxito Madre del arroz, recrea una épica historia de amor, pérdida y destinos universales.»Publishers Weekly «Una lectura maravillosa, realista y llena de color.»Choice «Una historia de amor alejada de cualquier convencionalismo y narrada con gran imaginación que nos traslada a un pasado exótico habitado por personajes asombrosos.»She
Amaryllis
by Craig Crist-Evans"This is a powerful tale of family, forgiveness, and acceptance of what life throws in our paths- but ultimately, with its almost painful realism, this is the finest depiction of war we've yet seen for young readers." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review) AMARYLLIS. It was the name of the ship that ran aground on Singer Island, Florida, during a hurricane in 1965. It became a battle cry for Jimmy Staples and his older brother, Frank, and a code word for going surfing together. But now that eighteen-year-old Frank is off battling the enemy (and his own addictive demons) in Vietnam and fifteen-year-old Jimmy is left to deal with the repercussions at home, "Amaryllis" takes on an ominous new meaning - a symbol of what happens when life places the unexpected in our paths. Craig Crist-Evans has written a wrenching novel of a family whose internal battles chase one son away - into the clutches of a war and an enemy he could never have imagined. Told both from a soldier's view and by the brother he leaves behind, Amaryllis is an ideal choice for students learning about the Vietnam era, or for any reader curious about the reality of war.
Amateur Armies: Militias and Volunteers in War and Peace, 1797–1961
by Stephen M. CullenA history of volunteer armies spanning from the French Revolutionary Wars and the War of 1812 to pre-1914 Ireland and the Bay of Pigs.Amateur Armies examines the military and social history of volunteer armies around the western world from the failed French invasion of South Wales in 1797 to the disastrous anti-Communist invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in 1961.It brings together some fascinating military actions across more than a century and a half of history and explores the social and political context in the countries involved. Stephen Cullen’s absorbing and original book is the first general survey of the role of amateur armies during the period.Included are chapters on a series of wars in which militias played critical parts. In each case, their actions and effectiveness are described as is the background from which they came, and the social and political circumstances in which they operated. This pioneering study offers a valuable insight into each of the amateur armies covered and opens up an important and hitherto neglected aspect of military history.
Amateur Gunners: The Great War Adventures, Letters and Observations of Alexander Douglas Thorburn
by Ian RonayneAfter training at St John's Wood in London and in Exeter, Alexander Douglas Thorburn was posted to the BEF in France, joining the 2/22nd London (Howitzer) Battery, Royal Field Artillery as a subaltern officer. After service in the Vimy Ridge sector, with his division, the 60th (2/2nd London) Division, he crossed the Mediterranean to join the British Army in Salonika. Following a further move in mid-1917, Thorburn arrived in Palestine where he saw service with the 74th (Yeomanry) Division during the advance on Jerusalem. A final move in 1918 took the now Captain Thorburn back to the Western Front to take part in the Advance to Victory during the closing months of the war. After the war, Thorburn wrote an account of his military service between 1916 and 1918, recording his experiences in France, Greece and Palestine as well as his initial training in England. He also wrote a series of observations on life as a gunner during the First World War. Both the account and observations were published as a book, Amateur Gunners, in 1933 by William Potter of Liverpool. Today, the book is out of print. In addition to the book, of which a small number of copies still exist of course, there are an extensive series of private letters written by Thorburn while on active service to his mother, father and other relatives. The letters are in the possession of Thorburn's only grandson. Together, the book and letters offer a fascinating insight into the life of a First World War artillery officer. Lucidly written in a candid style, Thorburn shows excellent observation, description and narration skills. While Amateur Gunners itself is worthy of reprint, when combined with Thorburn's private letters and historical context from author Ian Ronayne, this book offers a unique look at a gunner's experience during the Great War.
Amateurs, to Arms!: A Military History of the War of 1812 (Major Battles and Campaigns)
by John R. EltingBegun in ignorance of the military reality, the War of 1812 was our "most unmilitary war," fought catch-as-catch-can with raw troops, incompetent officers, and appallingly inadequate logistics. American soil was invaded along three frontiers, thte nation's capital was occupied and burned, and the secession of the New England states loomed as a possibility. In Amateurs, to Arms! distinguished military historian Colonel John R. Elting shows how the young republic fought and almost lost its "Second War for Independence," and how it was saved by the handful of amateur soldiers and sailors who survived, masters their deadly new professions, and somehow battled Great Britain to a standstill along our wilderness borders and on the high seas.