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Leading the Roman Army: Soldiers & Emperors, 31 BC–235 AD
by Jonathan EatonA historian and archeological scholar examines the complex relationship between Roman emperors and their armies.For the emperors of Ancient Rome, effective political management of the army was vital to the overall stability of the empire. In Leading the Roman Army, historian Jonathan Mark Eaton examines how emperors endeavored to control the military from the battle of Actium in 31 BC, to the demise of the Severan dynasty in AD 235.This study draws on the latest evidence from archaeological, epigraphic, literary and numismatic sources on the relationship between the emperor and his soldiers. It demonstrates that the emperor was not only the army’s commander-in-chief, but also their patron and benefactor, even after their discharge from military service.With forces dispersed along the frontiers of the empire, the emperor needed a strong military hierarchy to impose discipline. He also needed to ensure the loyalty of his officers by building mutually beneficial relationships with them. To this end, the imperial army became a complex network of loyalty ties which protected the emperor from military subversion.
Leading the Way: How Vietnam Veterans Rebuilt the U.S. Military: An Oral History
by Al Santoli"Required reading for anyone seeking a valid perspective on America's military over the past three decades." Kirkus ReviewsFifty-six combat veterans, from senior sergeants to generals, reveal in their own words how a small group of courageous, determined men and women brought the U.S. military from the wounds of Vietnam back to high standards of excellence and made possible the victory of Desert Storm . . .From the Paperback edition.
Leading the Way to Victory: A History of the 60th Troop Carrier Group 1940-1945
by Colonel Mark C. VlahosLeading the Way to Victory is the official history of the 60th Troop Carrier Group, featuring unpublished first-person accounts by participating veterans and expertly written by retired USAF Colonel Mark C. Vlahos, combat veteran and former Vice Wing Commander of 314th Airlift Wing at the Little Rock Air Force Base.The December 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World War II. Just six months later in May 1942, flying new C-47 transport aircraft, the 60th Troop Carrier Group led the way as the first U.S. TCG to deploy to England and the European Theater of Operations in World War II. Leading the way to victory, the 60th TCG&’s first mission—dropping U. S. paratroopers outside of Oran, North Africa—was not only the first combat airborne mission in U.S. Army history, but also the longest airborne mission of the entire war. This drop spearheaded Operation TORCH, also known as the Invasion of North Africa, by taking key Axis airfields just inland from the amphibious landing zones. The 60th TCG went on to fly some of the first combat aeromedical evacuation missions and the first combat mission towing CG-4A &“Waco&” gliders during Operation HUSKY—the Invasion of Sicily. As the new airborne, air land, aeromedical evacuation, and glider missions matured in World War II, the 60th TCG continued to play a major role, paying in blood for valuable lessons learned in the school of hard knocks. The group later flew dramatic missions into Yugoslavia, supporting Partisans as part of the secret war in the Balkans, an episode of World War II history still all but unknown today and dropped British paratroops in the airborne invasion of Greece. The Group was inactivated at the end of the war. Drawing on official United States Army Air Forces microfilm records, operational records in the National Archives, photographs from both collections, published historical materials, and many personal accounts, author Mark C. Vlahos&’ expertly written and highly readable volume is certain to become the standard history and go-to reference for the 60th TCG. This work offers scholars and lay readers alike an authoritative, informative, and engaging saga of the Group&’s battles, adversity, hardships, and triumphs from inception through the Allied victory in Europe.
A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows: An Outlander Novella (Outlander)
by Diana GabaldonIn this original Outlander novella, Diana Gabaldon reveals what really happened to Roger MacKenzie Wakefield's parents. Orphaned during World War II, Roger believed that his mother died during the London Blitz, and that his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in combat. But in An Echo in the Bone, Roger discovers that this may not be the whole story. Now, in "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows," readers learn the truth. Praise for Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series "All you've come to expect from Gabaldon . . . adventure, history, romance, fantasy."--The Arizona Republic, on An Echo in the Bone "A grand adventure written on a canvas that probes the heart, weighs the soul and measures the human spirit across ten generations."--CNN, on The Fiery Cross "Escapist historical fiction at its best."--San Antonio Express-News, on Drums of Autumn "A feast for ravenous readers of eighteenth-century Scottish history, heroism and romance."--Kirkus Reviews, on Outlander
The League: The True Story of Average Americans on the Hunt for WWI Spies
by Bill MillsTwo weeks before the U.S. entered World War I, a Chicago advertising executive visited the Department of Justice with a proposal - organize the country’s businessmen into a secret force of volunteer agents to ferret out and investigate enemy activities within the United States. The country, overcome by a wave of patriotic fervor, had also become gripped with fear and uncertainty of the influx of immigrants from the very countries with which the country was now at war.The idea received quick approval and caught on like wildfire. Soon thousands of volunteers in every major industry, trade and profession were on the alert nationwide, maintaining surveillance and investigating cases for the Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation. They would grow to become 250,000 strong.Written as a real-life adventure story, The League reveals how the organization began, the manner in which it operated, and the varied missions that it performed on behalf of the U.S. government. It is an extraordinary chapter in American history, when almost any citizen could receive official credentials as a volunteer investigator. From a running gun battle on the streets of Philadelphia, to the seizure of a disguised German commerce raider on the high seas, to the hunt for the radical bomber that attacked the Federal Building in Chicago, The League is a fascinating true story that will not soon be forgotten.
The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the US Government to Bring Their Husbands Home
by Heath Hardage LeeFeatured in Stylist's guide to 2019's best non-fiction booksThe true story of the fierce band of women who battled Washington - and Hanoi - to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam.On 12 February, 1973, one hundred and sixteen men who, just six years earlier, had been high flying Navy and Air Force pilots, shuffled, limped, or were carried off a huge military transport plane at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. These American servicemen had endured years of brutal torture, kept shackled and starving in solitary confinement, in rat-infested, mosquito-laden prisons, the worst of which was The Hanoi Hilton.Months later, the first Vietnam POWs to return home would learn that their rescuers were their wives, a group of women that included Jane Denton, Sybil Stockdale, Louise Mulligan, Andrea Rander, Phyllis Galanti, and Helene Knapp. These women, who formed The National League of Families, would never have called themselves 'feminists', but they had become the POW and MIAs most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands' freedom - and to account for missing military men - by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a savvy media campaign, conducting covert meetings with antiwar activists, and most astonishingly, helping to code secret letters to their imprisoned husbands.In a page-turning work of narrative non-fiction, Heath Hardage Lee tells the story of these remarkable women for the first time. The League of Wives is certain to be on everyone's must-read list.
The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the US Government to Bring Their Husbands Home
by Heath Hardage LeeFeatured in Stylist's guide to 2019's best non-fiction booksThe true story of the fierce band of women who battled Washington - and Hanoi - to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam.On 12 February, 1973, one hundred and sixteen men who, just six years earlier, had been high flying Navy and Air Force pilots, shuffled, limped, or were carried off a huge military transport plane at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. These American servicemen had endured years of brutal torture, kept shackled and starving in solitary confinement, in rat-infested, mosquito-laden prisons, the worst of which was The Hanoi Hilton.Months later, the first Vietnam POWs to return home would learn that their rescuers were their wives, a group of women that included Jane Denton, Sybil Stockdale, Louise Mulligan, Andrea Rander, Phyllis Galanti, and Helene Knapp. These women, who formed The National League of Families, would never have called themselves 'feminists', but they had become the POW and MIAs most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands' freedom - and to account for missing military men - by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a savvy media campaign, conducting covert meetings with antiwar activists, and most astonishingly, helping to code secret letters to their imprisoned husbands.In a page-turning work of narrative non-fiction, Heath Hardage Lee tells the story of these remarkable women for the first time. The League of Wives is certain to be on everyone's must-read list.
The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home
by Heath Hardage Lee"With astonishing verve, The League of Wives persisted to speak truth to power to bring their POW/MIA husbands home from Vietnam. And with astonishing verve, Heath Hardage Lee has chronicled their little-known story — a profile of courage that spotlights 1960s-era military wives who forge secret codes with bravery, chutzpah and style. Honestly, I couldn’t put it down."— Beth Macy, author of Dopesick and Factory Man"Exhilarating and inspiring."— Elaine Showalter, Washington Post The true story of the fierce band of women who battled Washington—and Hanoi—to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam. On February 12, 1973, one hundred and sixteen men who, just six years earlier, had been high flying Navy and Air Force pilots, shuffled, limped, or were carried off a huge military transport plane at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. These American servicemen had endured years of brutal torture, kept shackled and starving in solitary confinement, in rat-infested, mosquito-laden prisons, the worst of which was The Hanoi Hilton. Months later, the first Vietnam POWs to return home would learn that their rescuers were their wives, a group of women that included Jane Denton, Sybil Stockdale, Louise Mulligan, Andrea Rander, Phyllis Galanti, and Helene Knapp. These women, who formed The National League of Families, would never have called themselves “feminists,” but they had become the POW and MIAs most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands’ freedom—and to account for missing military men—by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a savvy media campaign, conducting covert meetings with antiwar activists, and most astonishingly, helping to code secret letters to their imprisoned husbands. In a page-turning work of narrative non-fiction, Heath Hardage Lee tells the story of these remarkable women for the first time. The League of Wives is certain to be on everyone’s must-read list.
The Lean, Brown Men: with the 25th Royal Fusiliers-The Legion of Frontiersmen
by Angus Buchanan“Lean men, brown men, men from overseas,Men from all the outer world; shy and ill at easeThere were Canadian Mounties, American cowboys, Arctic explorers, adventurers, rogues, big game hunters and sportsmen. There were famous men like Cherry Kearton, the naturalist and explorer and the grand old man of Africa—Frederick Selous himself. All these men had come together under the Union Flag to do battle against colonial Imperial Germany in East Africa. They came under the command of Driscoll of Driscoll's Scouts who performed with renown during the Boer War. These were the men of the 25th Royal Fusiliers—The Legion of Frontiersmen—and their battlegrounds were to be the great plains of Africa rich in wildlife and elemental danger. This is their story through the years of the Great War told by one of their own officers in vivid detail. It is a story of campaigns and hardship which would be equal to the best of them and lay many a 'lean, brown man' in a shallow grave in the red earth before it was concluded.”-Print ed.
Leap of Faith: Hubris, Negligence, and America's Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy
by Michael J. MazarrThe dramatic insider account of why we invaded Iraq, the motivations that drove it, and the frustrations of those who tried and failed to stop it, leading to the most costly misadventure in US history.A single disastrous choice in the wake of 9/11-the decision to use force to remove Saddam Hussein from power-did enormous damage to the wealth, well-being, and reputation of the United States. Few errors in U.S. foreign policy have had longer-lasting or more harmful consequences. Yet how the decision came to be made remains shrouded in mystery and mythology. To this day, even the principal architects of the war cannot agree on it.Michael Mazarr has interviewed dozens of players involved in the deliberations about the invasion of Iraq and has reviewed all the documents so far declassified. He paints a devastating of portrait of an administration fueled by righteous conviction yet undercut by chaotic processes, rivalrous agencies, and competing egos. But more than the product of one bungling administration, the invasion of Iraq emerges here as a tragically typical example of modern U.S. foreign policy fiascos.Leap of Faith asks profound questions about the limits of US power and the accountability for its use. It offers lessons urgently relevant to stave off similar disasters-today and in the future.
Leaping The Atlantic Wall - Army Air Forces Campaigns In Western Europe, 1942-1945 [Illustrated Edition] (The U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II #4)
by Edward T. RussellIncludes 20 illustrationsOn December 7, 1941, the Japanese empire attacked the U.S. military installations in Hawaii. Four days later, Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler, fulfilling a treaty with Japan, declared war on the United States. Having sealed with that act the developing alliance between the United States and Great Britain, Hitler's Third Reich speeded construction of a formidable "Atlantic wall," to protect the exposed beaches of the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France. This rampart was a massive system of fortifications, obstacles, and warning centers intended to thwart an Anglo-American invasion of Nazi-occupied Western Europe. Breaching the Atlantic wall of Hitler's "Fortress Europe" was the major strategic problem confronting British and U.S. military planners in late 1941. The two Allies based their offensive strategy on the belief that Germany was the strongest of the Axis powers and therefore should be defeated first. An air offensive against Germany was an important component of this strategy. Properly conducted, it would enable the Allies to leap the Atlantic wall and damage the industrial foundations of the Third Reich well before Allied ground troops penetrated the coastal barrier. The Allies held the air forces in the Pacific and Far East to a minimum and concentrated on building a formidable force on English soil capable of striking the Nazi heartland and, eventually, of supporting a cross-channel invasion and a victorious Allied advance across Europe.
Learn to Lead Volume Three Indirect Leadership ( Civil Air Patrol Cadet Programs )
by Civil Air PatrolThis third volume contains three chapters: The Cadet Officer, The Staff Officer, and The Leader as Commander.
Learning from the Wounded
by Shauna DevineNearly two-thirds of the Civil War's approximately 750,000 fatalities were caused by disease--a staggering fact for which the American medical profession was profoundly unprepared. In the years before the war, training for physicians in the United States was mostly unregulated, and medical schools' access to cadavers for teaching purposes was highly restricted. Shauna Devine argues that in spite of these limitations, Union army physicians rose to the challenges of the war, undertaking methods of study and experimentation that would have a lasting influence on the scientific practice of medicine. Though the war's human toll was tragic, conducting postmortems on the dead and caring for the wounded gave physicians ample opportunity to study and develop new methods of treatment and analysis, from dissection and microscopy to new research into infectious disease processes. Examining the work of doctors who served in the Union Medical Department, Devine sheds new light on how their innovations in the midst of crisis transformed northern medical education and gave rise to the healing power of modern health science.
Learning The Hard Way, Or Not At All: The British Strategic And Tactical Adaptation During The Boer War Of 1899-1902
by Major Rob B. McClaryThe United States' current strategic environment is increasingly complex, with security, economic, and humanitarian interests around the world. Consequently, the United States' military may be called upon at any time to perform missions ranging from peacekeeping to total war, in environments ranging from the desserts of South West Asia to the jungles of Central America, against enemies ranging from Somali warlords to Chinese divisions. This uncertainty prevents the United States' military from organizing, equipping, and training for any specific situation. Therefore, to be successful the United States military must be capable of quickly adapting to the particulars of its mission when called.In the late 1800's England found itself in much the same position, with its military engaged around the world protecting its diverse and widely-dispersed interests. In 1899 when it went to war against the Boers it found its military unsuited for the South African terrain, the effects of modern weaponry, and the unconventional Boer tactics. This paper examines the British military's strategy and tactics, and how they changed throughout the war. Ultimately it determines that the British failed to adapt their strategy and tactics effectively throughout the war. Although their performance varied from commander to commander, and from unit to unit, the British typically resisted change, for various reasons, even when the need for change was pressing.
Learning Large Lessons
by David E. JohnsonThe relative roles of U.S. ground and air power have shifted since the end of the Cold War. At the level of major operations and campaigns, the Air Force has proved capable of and committed to performing deep strike operations, which the Army long had believed the Air Force could not reliably accomplish. If air power can largely supplant Army systems in deep operations, the implications for both joint doctrine and service capabilities would be significant. To assess the shift of these roles, the author of this report analyzed post?-Cold War conflicts in Iraq (1991), Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001), and Iraq (2003). Because joint doctrine frequently reflects a consensus view rather than a truly integrated joint perspective, the author recommends that joint doctrine-and the processes by which it is derived and promulgated-be overhauled. The author also recommends reform for the services beyond major operations and campaigns to ensure that the United States attains its strategic objectives. This revised edition includes updates and an index.
Learning Mental Endurance for Survival
by Chris McnabElite Special Forces units are often assigned to the most difficult missions. They must be prepared for the challenges they will face. This means being skilled and physically fit, but it also means being mentally tough. During most basic-training programs, recruits will be yelled at by instructors, deprived of sleep, and forced to run for miles. Under these difficult conditions, they will be required to make constant decisions. Only the toughest recruits will graduate, and they need certain traits to make it through: * intelligence * self-control * courage * knowledge * resistance to pain and discomfort * team spirit
Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army, 1914–1918 (Cambridge Military Histories)
by Aimée FoxLearning, innovation and adaptation are not concepts that we necessarily associate with the British army of the First World War. Yet the need to learn from mistakes, to exploit new opportunities and to adapt to complex situations are enduring and timeless. This revealing work is the first institutional examination of the army's process for learning during the First World War. Drawing on organisational learning and management theories, Aimée Fox critiques existing approaches to military learning in wartime. Focused around a series of case studies, the book ranges across multiple operational theatres and positions the army within a broader context in terms of its relationships with allies and civilians to reveal that learning was more complex and thoroughgoing than initially thought. It grapples with the army's failings and shortcomings, explores its successes and acknowledges the inherent difficulties of learning in a desperate and lethally competitive environment. Analyses multiple operational theatres, allowing readers to better understand the challenges facing the British army during the war. Proposes a new model for learning in military organisations which will appeal to anyone interested in the challenges of learning in complex organisations. Provides a new and illuminating case study on organisational learning and innovation that demonstrates how innovation is not the preserve of modern military forces.
Learning to Forget: US Army Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Practice from Vietnam to Iraq
by David FitzgeraldLearning to Forgetanalyzes the evolution of US counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine over the last five decades. Beginning with an extensive section on the lessons of Vietnam, it traces the decline of COIN in the 1970s, then the rebirth of low intensity conflict through the Reagan years and the conflict in Bosnia, culminating in the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. It explains how the lessons of Vietnam led the Army to Iraq and the way in which their confronting and reimagining of these lessons offered them a way out of that war. In the process it provides an illustration of how military leaders make use of history and demonstrates the difficulties of drawing lessons from the past that can usefully be applied to contemporary circumstances. The book outlines how the construction of lessons is tied to the construction of historical memory and describes the interplay between the two processes—demonstrating how histories are constructed to serve the needs of the present. In so doing, it creates a new theory of doctrinal development.
Learning to See: A Novel of Dorothea Lange, the Woman Who Revealed the Real America
by Elise HooperIf you liked Sold on a Monday and Beautiful Exiles, you'll love this novel about strong-willed trailblazing photographer, Dorothea Lange, whose fame grew during World War II and the Great Depression. “Hooper excels at humanizing giants....seamlessly weaving together the time, places and people in Lange’s life...For photo buffs and others familiar with her vast body of work, reading the book will be like discovering the secret backstory of someone they thought they knew.” —The Washington PostIn 1918, a fearless twenty-two-year old arrives in bohemian San Francisco from the Northeast, determined to make her own way as an independent woman. Renaming herself Dorothea Lange she is soon the celebrated owner of the city’s most prestigious and stylish portrait studio and wife of the talented but volatile painter, Maynard Dixon.By the early 1930s, as America’s economy collapses, her marriage founders and Dorothea must find ways to support her two young sons single-handedly. Determined to expose the horrific conditions of the nation’s poor, she takes to the road with her camera, creating images that inspire, reform, and define the era. And when the United States enters World War II, Dorothea chooses to confront another injustice—the incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans.At a time when women were supposed to keep the home fires burning, Dorothea Lange, creator of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, dares to be different. But her choices came at a steep price…
Leatherhead in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
by Lorraine SpindlerAt the beginning of the twentieth century, Leatherhead was alive with celebration. The Boer War had ended in May 1902, King Edward VIIs Coronation followed in August and the had town blossomed into one of prosperous development.Things quickly changed when the war broke out in 1914, leaving the town papered with recruiting posters and swarming with soldiers. The upheaval was especially felt by the local families as they initially waved off over 400 Leatherhead men into the forces. Those left behind attempted to live a normal life in extraordinary circumstances, with Zeppelin raids in nearby Guildford and Croydon, which encouraged Leatherheads newspapers to offer insurance against the destruction of homes, the banning of lights after dark and fines for those who ignored the dictates. Added to the locals distress was the news of the high casualty rate of local soldiers and those previously billeted in the town, wiped out at the Battle of Delville Wood.The spring of 1918 felt especially bleak with shortages of food, labour, fuel and little prospect of an end to the conflict. However, later that year the end of war was finally declared. Of the 983 Leatherhead men who served, 163 were dead.On 19 July 1919, Leatherhead joined with the nation to celebrate peace. A lunch for returning servicemen was laid out and a procession of over 2,000 Leatherhead residents proceeded to Randalls Park. As the Silver Band played the town rejoiced with fireworks, dancing and the customary bonfire. Though warmed by the flames of celebration, Leatherhead was irrevocably altered.
Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers' Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan
by Bob Welch Tony BrooksA story of courage, perseverance, and patriotism behind the 75th Ranger Regiment's rescue mission following one of the deadliest Special Ops incidents in Afghanistan—a grueling search for twelve Navy SEAL casualties and eight downed Night Stalkers . . . but just one lone survivor On June 28th, 2005, a four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance team under Operation Red Wings was ambushed in northeastern Afghanistan—as depicted in the book and film Lone Survivor. A quick reaction force was dispatched. Turbine 33, carrying eight Navy SEALs and eight members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, was struck by a rocket propelled grenade—careening the dual rotor Chinook toward the rugged peak of Sawtalo Sar. The result was the single deadliest incident in Special Operations history at the time. Commanders called on the largest element of US Special Forces, the 75th Ranger Regiment. The rescue mission: Operation Red Wings II. Author Tony Brooks gives a first-hand account of the daring recovery of Turbine 33 and the subsequent search for the remaining compromised Navy SEAL recon team—one of whom was Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor. The Rangers were up against lack of intel, treacherous terrain, violent weather, and an enemy that was raised to fight. Tony Brooks lived—and many of his fellow Rangers died—by the axiom, “Leave No Man Behind.” He is the first to tell the story other books and films have omitted, one of overcoming overwhelming odds to accomplish a mission: to bring every American soldier home.
Leaves From a War Diary
by James G. HarbordGeneral Harbord brought to his service in France a long and honorable record as fighting man. Nor did he depart from this tradition as his brilliant and all-too-brief command of the famous Second Division attests. Here he differed from his colleagues in the other armies notably the late General Sir John S. Cowans, who was Quartermaster General of the British forces. Most of these men had been trained and operated solely in supply. General Harbord, on the other hand, is the line officer who proved his mettle as administrator as well.This book was originally written in the form of a diary not intended for outside eyes. It therefore embodies a wealth of intimate and naïve comment. Combined with this is a deep insight into the men and conditions that marked an epoch. The revelations are rich and not without permanent significance. Best of all they disclose the vision and character of a soldier as modest as he is capable. What follows is a genuine contribution to the history of the world war.—Isaac F. Marcosson
Leaves from an Autumn of Emergencies: Selections from the Wartime Diaries of Ordinary Japanese
by Samuel YamashitaThis collection of diaries gives readers a powerful, firsthand look at the effects of the Pacific War on eight ordinary Japanese. Immediate, vivid, and at times surprisingly frank, the diaries chronicle the last years of the war and its aftermath as experienced by a navy kamikaze pilot.
Leaves From The Diary Of An Officer Of The Guards
by Pickle Partners Publishing Sir John Cowell-StepneyThis ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. Originally written under the nom de plume of "A Veteran Comrade", the leaves of Sir John Cowell-Stepney's diary make for a fascinating read as he recounts his experiences during the Peninsular Campaign and his other anecdotes of his military career. Commissioned in the Grenadier Guards in May 1809 as an Ensign, and rose to the rank of Lt-Colonel in 1830. In his later life he was active in politics as a Liberal Member of parliament and the High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire. Focusing on the campaigns of 1810 and 1811 in particular, the author describes his experiences vividly from his initial landing in Portugal, throughout his varied trials of the British army officer in the Peninsular. Major battles that his was involved in such as Fuentes D'Oñoro, Albuera and perhaps the best account of the siege and assault of Cuidad Rodrigo, are covered in his inimitable style. Reminiscent in tone to Kincaid's "Adventures in the Rifle Brigade", with a jaunty self-deprecating humour, and eye for detail. A classic of the Genre. Text taken, whole and complete, from the 1854 edition, published in London by Chapman. Original - 312 pages. Author- Sir John Cowell-Stepney (1791-1877) Linked TOC.
Leaving Lucy Pear
by Anna Solomon'Stunning language, raw emotion and profound wisdom' Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You'Solomon's strong prose and fleet pacing consistently provide the essential pleasures of a good story well told' Maggie Shipstead, The New York Times Book ReviewOne night in 1917 Beatrice Haven creeps out of her uncle's house on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, leaves her newborn baby at the foot of a pear tree, and watches as another woman claims the child as her own. A gifted pianist bound for Radcliffe, Bea plans to leave her shameful secret behind and make a fresh start. Ten years later, Prohibition is in full swing, post-WWI America is in the grips of rampant xenophobia, and Bea has returned to her uncle's house, seeking a refuge from her unhappiness. But the rum-running manager of the local quarry inadvertently reunites her with Emma Murphy, the headstrong Irish Catholic woman who has been raising her abandoned child - now a bright, bold, cross-dressing girl named Lucy Pear, with secrets of her own...