United Kingdom Books

I read the first of the few. It was an excellent book and I really enjoyed it. My opinion is that if you wish to learn about the fighter aircraft of wolrd war one, this is the book for you. I learned a lot.

Hello, my name is Zach. I read an extrordanary book. It was about the aircraft and fighter pilots of The Great War, more commonly known as World War One. It was called the first of the few. The book was written by Denis Winter and published in 1982.

These men all very interesting and brave from Great Britan, the United States, France, Italy, and Belguim fought against equally brave pilots from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria in planes above the trenches. Planes such as the Britsh Sopwith Camel and Se5a, the French Nieport 24 and Spadxv, the German Fokker Eindicker and Fokker Dr1 were flow by Allied (Uk, France, USA etc.)and Cental Powers(Germany,Austria-Hungary etc.)pilots. The fighter planes were armed with Vickers, Maxum and Lewis machine guns. The Pilots would aim at the pilot or the flammible petrol tank in the enemey plane.

There were other but less known planes that were bombers suchas the German Gotha Gv and the Britsh Handley Page. Heavey bombers like these were used to attack railroads and railway stations, factories, ship yards and other industrial sites vital to the war effort. Light Infatry attack bombers, unlike large heavey bombers had a small two to three man crew. These planes often had thick steel plates to protect against anti-aircraft machine gun fire. The crew member in the rear seat was a navigator and was equipted with a Lewis or Maxum machine gun. The German Airforce or Luffwafte made their pilots fly in Two seated aircraft before allowing them in one seated planes.

The fighter plane of 1914 to 1918 had a few basic parts. the engine, usally in the front, the cockpit, the fuesulage and the tail. The Britsh had Rolls-Royce engines and the Germans had BMW made engines. Most propellers had two props on them.There were two main types of engines rotary in which the whole engine spins and stationary engines in which only the propeller and drive shaft spun. Most stationary engines were water cooled. The Sopwith Camel had a rotary engine while the SE5a had a water cooled stationary engine.

For shooting down a certain number of planes down, pilots could become aces. Aces were experienced, quick witted, and had exellent reflexes. Many of these men were shorter, shy men who kept to themselves. The Britsh top ace was Edward Mannock with about sevety some kills. Remarkably, he was almost blind in one eye! The German top ace is probably the most famous aircraft pilot of all time after the Wright brothers, Manfred von Ritchtofen, better known as the Red Baron. He shot down 80 allied aircraft before he was killed in a dogfight was a Sopwith Camel in 1918. First on the French ace list, also with about 70 kills was Rene' Fonck. Eddie Rickenbacker the top gun from the USA, started flying at the age most officers looked for a desk job. Before the war, he was a race car driver and later the personal chauffeur to General "Black Jack" Pershing, commander of all american forces in Europe during the war. Willy Coppens was Belguims top ace.

Planes had other roles during the war. Their first job was only to act as reconnaissance posts blimps were used as observation platforms too. Planes were sent to destroy the enemies blimps. These "balloon busting" raids were very dangerous. Anti-aircraft fire and field telephone poles and wires were a hazard to attacking planes. The Germans had parachutes for both plane and blimp pilots. I enjoyed the book.

I have just finished reading this book which was such a pleasure to read as it was so well researched and crafted. The writer is able to get into the spirit of the times and present a very real picture of what it was like to fly machines constructed from wood and canvas and fly without them without the the aid of parachutes. He gives a particularly vivid account of the perils of a dawn patrol, flying at 20,000ft without pressurized cabins, in open air cockpits where temperatures were sometimes -50c. In addition a pilot had to be fit in these conditions, perform complex aerobatics like the immlemen roll and have split second reflexes. It was particularly fascinating to read about the skills required to be an air ace. One had to master the art of deflection shooting that is knowing when to fire to hit a moving target. Few pilots mastered this skill. The greatest of aces such as Guneymer and Richthoven achieved kills with a minimum of ammunition usage. Under these conditions the average survival time for a debutant pilot was 17 hours in the air. However, the longer one flew the greater the survival odds: roghly double that of staying alive. One interesting point was the authors comparison of training between the English RFC and the German Luftwaffe. The German training was far longer and more thorough. The result was that the RFC had about 50% greater caualties than the Germans.One must add that the policy of the RFC was to attack the Germans behind enemy lines , whereas the Luftwaffes main aim was that of defence. One final note was the excellant chapter on flight maintenance. The Sopwith Camel for example required a fleet of skilled craftsmen of almost mediaeval ability to calibrate the wing struts and enable the plane to fly on even keel. The introduction of all metal momonplanes must have
made the job of aircraft fitter a much easier task. In summary a book to be highly recommended. I have only one complaint. Many of the air aces of the RFC described as British were in fact Canadian

An excellent book by the only man who has really seen the series from the very beginning. He is the only actor to have worked with all the actors to have played the Doctor. Thanks to the Big Finish audios he has appeared with the 6th Doctor and will be appearing with the 8th when Paul McGann returns to the roll next year. He rarely does conventions any more and, when he does, refuses to tell some of the stories he's famous for.

This is the sort of autobiography you would expect from The Brigadier. Solid, dependable, traditional...but Nicholas Courtney isn't the Brigadier, and this also tells the story of his off-screen life, and life before Doctor Who stardom.

The first part of the book tells the story of the actor's early life, his parent's separation. Then follows the customary section on National Service, weekly rep, meeting Donald Wolfit and John Geilgud. It's good to hear Nick tell the familiar "actor's autobiography", because his style is friendly, humorous, and honest. This makes the book so enjoyable that the pages zoom by. We learn about the author's successes with the ladies, and, to his credit, his failures, and the breakdown of his marriage is dealt with in what seems to be a very honest manner.

The section on his Doctor Who work is well-written, and leaves out a lot of familiar material. This could be due to the work of Courtney's editor, John Nathan-Turner. For whatever reason, this remains fresh and exciting even thirty years after the fact.

The last part of the book details the post-Doctor Who work, and it is remarkable to see that since Courtney stopped being a Doctor Who regular in 1974 he has played the Brig no fewer than seven times. His work continues of course on the Doctor Who audio adventures, but this book was written before they had been established.

The large format suits his story well, allowing space for many rare and well-researched photographs. There are a few too many blank spaces for my liking, and some unnecessary tributes from those who have worked with him. He could also have cut down the number of references to Equity, the actors' union. Other than that, this is a first class read, and tells a more interesting story than the well-worn convention anecdotes, or sections in general Doctor Who books.

All of my life, I have been a no-nonsense man, who knows nothing but work. In 1986, I began to watch Dr. Who, just as a whim in a miltary barracks, on a TV set in the barrack day room that was chained to the floor so no one would steal it. At first it seemed rather cheesy, but then I found that I could not miss a single episode and if I had to miss it, I would record it. Once, I brought a VHS out to a live fire gunnery tank range, where we were to fire all day and all night for two nights.

In one of the tents where the crews were de-briefed and rested, I set up a small TV and the VHS and powered it up by using a military 15kw gas generator. We and the tank crews of my battalion watched Dr. Who.

My first experience with Dr. Who were the Pertwee years and the Brigadier played a large roll. I enjoyed these immensley and bought each one for my collection...and I am still watching them today..(In fact "Planet of Spiders" parts three and four are on tap this weekend).

In short, buy this book. By any book associated with any character who played in this marvelous series.

Thank you Brigadier for your part in allowing an ordinary man,for a few moments anyway,to escape the inescapable life of medocrity.

Walter Scott's History of Scotland written for his young grandson, with better editing and presentation, should be the perfect companion piece to many of Sir Walter's poems and novels. This Cumberland House 4-volume edition has large enough print and contains a helpful list of the Kings of Scotland and a good index. Lacking are much needed maps. Nonetheless, this is a truly great but simple introduction to the long history of Scotland in the "great man" genre of historical writing.

Fans of Mel Gibson's movie BRAVEHEART will be enchanted by the treatment of England's King Edward I, Longshanks -- corrupter of Robert the Bruce and conqueror in the end of Sir William Wallace. These and other great men and women as well as the Stuart Kings all strut across Walter Scott's well-lighted stage.

This first in a four volume edition covers the years 1033 - 1542. We see Scotland as a nation never conquered by Normans and intent on national independence but increasingly coveted and invaded by the Normanized English. We begin with MacBeth. We conclude with the struggle between England's Henry VIII and Scotland's James V, closing the Roman Catholic centuries of Scotland with the death of James just after the birth of his unhappy daughter Mary, "the Queen of Scots."

Let Chapter XVII, "Robert III" (1390 - 1406) serve as one of several examples of how determined readers of Walter Scott can easily and pleasantly flesh out the fiction of "the Wizard of the North." Readers of Scott's novel THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH will find here a brief but memorable description of events behind that bloody novel.

All in all, FROM BANNOCKBURN TO FLODDEN is a book well worth the time of anyone just beginning to read into the history of Scotland

Sir Scott really knew how to bring history back alive!! The writing is very visual and very heartfelt. Thank you Sir Walter Scot !!

Although I am a Spanish speaking reader, I found this book most lovely and interesting from the first page. It is written in a clear style that makes it easy to understand and attractive to read. Writing History is a hard task, not suitable for everybody. Sir Walter Scott is certainly one of the greatest British poets and here he combines all his virtues in this matter with a great skill to narrate past events which almost turns this book into a "Romantic History" . It is wonderfuly adecquate for kids as it was originally intended even to those learning English as a second language.

Five stars plus for this young mans insight, interpretation, and brilliant display of history. I like many other readers were turned off by the boring history books we read in school. Lambers captures the true spirit of history! Because of the excitement this book ignites; this book has the potential to change the course of how history is viewed and studied. This book is a MUST READ for everyone. This book would make a great gift not only for teachers and history buffs, but also the person who hungers for knowledge. (The study guide is an added bonus to treasure) BRAVO!

I read the book first, and it was interesting to realize that the peaceful relations with Britain that we now take for granted were nonexistent and took hard work to accomplish. And the Study Guide is very good, and is surprisingly loaded with historical facts and fun word searches. I wish I had studied with this kind of material instead of boring history books that made me "hate" history for many years. Now I love it!

This book is early American history in a "capsule," full of important events describing the conflicts between America and Britain, yet imagines the ordinary citizen's feelings about the wars in an interesting blend of fiction and history. Young people especially should read it.

I'm not a great reader but this book saved my life. I was in GB with girlfriend and girlfriend dumped me. In London. She left this book behind. I took Kristina Cordero's advice as godspell and traveled alone all over the island. All the places where just as described in the book. When I wanted to be alone, I went where she said so and viceversa. A really great book for anyone who wants to travel. But it's also a great read. I never went to Scotland but I read about it anyway! And laughed! Josh Remsen, San Diego, CA

Cordero's guide provides a to-the-point analysis of the premiere budget retreats of the region, and she does so with wit and spunk. Her guide is noteworthy in that it also guides readers to the major sights of each area, including some more funky, less-touristed ones. Cordero's in-depth hostel reviews do not hesitate to comment on virtually any aspect of the hostel: whether it is a long trek from the train station, whether the roosters awaken guests at the crack of dawn, whether the hostel cooks make a mean breakfast...it is a pleasure to read a guide written by a fellow budget traveler who obviously relished her experiences traversing the British Isles, and who delights in sharing them along with her great money-saving tips. A-one guide

I backpacked the UK in September of 1999 by myself. This book helped make the trip one of the best times I've had in my life. It was frequently the envy of fellow hostel-goers, and was often seen on hand in the hostel libraries. The directions to individual hostels can't be beat and the 'things to do' areas are great as well. I realize that this book is out of print now (why?), but if you plan on backpacking the UK, FIND A COPY! If you absolutely cannot, email me at bryan@n-o-s-p-a-m.dugger.com (remove the n-o-s-p-a-m.)

I have collected many books about Henry Tudor. Although this book reads like a history book, the details behind the reasons for his marrying so many women, the religious upheaval and the political situations of the times makes is a great book.

This is a well-written description of King Henry's life as ruler of England, as well as a study of his more personal dealings with his wives and his court.
The book itself is beautiful. It is filled with glossy, color pictures, facts and details. This is a great reference book for all you history buffs to add to your libraries, but its also great as just entertainment if you have a casual interest in the subject or era.

This is an excellent book for any "Tudorite". It deals thoroughly, yet easily, with Good King Hal and his Katherines, Anne's, and his only beloved Jane. Having read MANY things about King Henry and his love-life, this book was to the point and helped me to appreciate not only Hal's goals, but those of his wives, ministers, and courtiers. What a wonderful addition to any Tudor-fan's bookshelf, not only for useful reference but grand for just regular enjoyable reading and pleasure.

This compact little book is an excellent primer to the history of the small kingdom which would over the course of 200 years (from the crowning of Frederick William, the Great Elector,in 1640 until the crowning of William I as Emperor of all Germany in 1871) would rise to the position of dominate power in Central Europe and a world power with aspirations toward a foreign empire on the order of the British Empire.

Dense with information, the book serves as a reference book rather than a book which is merely read once and place on the shelf. It provides an excellent companion book to have on hand while reading any other book on German/Prussian History. The very denseness ot the factual material may make reading the book for the first time somewhat difficult. Yet the book does have a good index by which information can be retrieved at a later point in time.

All in all it is a necessary addition to the German History section of any private library.

Although the book is clearly written from a (very) German and very Protestant perspective, and the author never lets the reader forget where his, the author's, sympathies and loyalties lie, K.W. Koch's A History of Prussia is a small masterpiece. From the origins of the Teutonic Knights through the medieval Order's politics, and then forward on to the Thirty Years War, unstoppable advancement of Sweden, the Great Elector Frederick William's statesmanship and his coronation as the king of Prussia, Prussia's own 18 century expansion, liquidation of Poland, trauma of Napoleonic experience, bitter Austro-Prussian rivalry, wars against the Danes, the Austrians and the French and finally on to creation of the unified German State, the modestly named A History of Prussia (that is one of many possible histories) - is an absolutely breathtaking journey documenting the meteoric rise of Prussia and, indirectly, the emergence of modern Germany. For a casual reader who is interested in German and in European history, K.W. Koch's work is an invaluable resource.

This book written by H.W Kock, I would say and I don't know if anyone can argue with this statement; that it is the definitive or top three books on Prussia. What is Prussia? What did it stand for? Why is it so important that because of Prussia, there is now a Germany? Read this book and you will surely find the answers to these questions and know a lot more about the History of Europe which was dominated by this small country in the 18th century. Is that too much to say? Read and see yourself.

Mr. Kock takes us back to the very begining, to the Teutonic Knights and ends it with the Unification of what is now Germany. In between he finds topics to fill this very luminous book from Frederick the Great, the Napoleonic Wars, the Enlightement and finally to the end of the French Second Republic and the begining of Germany. You will find that Prussia was involved in every facet of History in Europe since The wars of Revolution, not just France and Britain as it is believed today. The only part of this book that could add a little more would be more involment with the Bismark but I believe the author had a dislike of him so he is not touched very much. But let's not forget that the Iron chancelor was Prussian and worked hard to make his country the best it could be and succeded in doing so.

A very long read but very worth it. After you are done you will want to learn more of the facts that led to the Great War. Why was Prussia so aggresive? Simple, if you feel you are always surrounded and have no choice but to push back, at times, you push too hard and believe that you will always be victorious. In the end, that feeling of claustrophobia that Prussia had, led to it's demise by a king that "Was more German than Prussian and half English". That was the very sad truth about Prussia, a country whose name no one evokes and when one does many different feelings come to ones mind. Let's not remember the goose stepping but what it gave to Germany. It's greatest gift, it's unity.

I wanted a book with a easily understood story of the history of Roman Britain for my own personal knowledge. I found it in this book. Highly recommend.

I should preface this by saying that I am not a person who usually reads histories for fun, but this book is quite impressive. Salway manages to present a massive amount of detail without overwhelming the reader. At no point is the narrative stuffy or dull, and it is frequently amusing and very interesting. I would have prefered at least some photos or drawings (there are none), but the facts and commentary are colorful enough to keep you interested. Based on other books I've read on this period, and a course on the topic, Salway's information seems quite accurate. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Roman history and culture, Celtic history (what there is of it), and the relationships between Britain and the rest of the ancient world. Most historians seem wed to the dry listing of dates and battles, but Salway presents enough cultural information to keep things interesting enough for laymen (or even anthropologists...). Its a bit long - several hundred pages, but I highly recommend this book.

Peter Salway's book offers a good insight into the evolution of Roman Britain from Julius Caesar's first expeditions in 55 and 54 BC to the fall of the Roman Empire c. 475 A.D. Rather easy to read, its a book that can be enjoyed by historians and casual readers.

Peter Salway begins his book with background information on pre-Celtic England and the Celtic culture and then proceeds to discuss Romes first contacts with the Island under Julius Caesar. As the book notes, Julius Caesar's British expeditions were failures in terms of conquests but successful as exploratory ones. The book then glosses over the period between Caesar and Claudius to discuss Britain's full invasion under Claudius. The book discusses the effects of the invasion on the Celtic cultures and how they eventually incorporated many Roman customs into their own lives. The book also covers trade and economics in the region.

This is altogether a great book that covers the subject quite well. It's easy to read by anyone whether they have an advanced understanding of the subject or not.

This book is an absolute classic, and this edition is superbly presented. Roskill was writing this history of the Warspite's in the 1950 and as such some views on the histories have changed (Hindsight is a wonderfull thing), and the new introduction to this edition gives a very fair and even analysis of the strength and waeknesses of Roskill work. With all that said few books on naval history are as evokative as this. Histories tend to be dry and devoide of emotion. With the benifit of over 50 years we can look back at incidents such as the loss of the Hood Or Repulse and POW, and dismiss them as interesting but inevitable events, and in the detailed anayalsis lose the larger human picture. Roskill is superb at describing the meaning and emotion of the events to the participants. Warspite was without doubt the most sucessful Battleship of the most successfull Class in History. Her story spans the History of the Royal Navy (and Great Britain) from its zenith to it's twilight, and her story reflects greatly on the elan and skill of the senior service, who with limit resource, fought and won the the last of the big gun naval conflicts and closed this chapter to History.

This book is an absolute classic, and this edition is superbly presented. Roskill was writing this history of the Warspite's in the 1950 and as such some views on the histories have changed (Hindsight is a wonderfull thing), and the new introduction to this edition gives a very fair and even analysis of the strength and waeknesses of Roskill work. With all that said few books on naval history are as evokative as this. Histories tend to be dry and devoide of emotion. With the benifit of over 50 years we can look back at incidents such as the loss of the Hood Or Repulse and POW, and dismiss them as interesting but inevitable events, and in the detailed analysis lose the larger human picture. Roskill is superb at describing the meaning and emotion of the events to the participants. Warspite was without doubt the most sucessful Battleship of the most successfull Class in History. Her story spans the History of the Royal Navy (and Great Britain) from its zenith to it's twilight, and her story reflects greatly on the elan and skill of the senior service, who with limit resource, fought and won the the last of the big gun naval conflicts and closed this chapter to History

HMS Warspite was the most successful British capital ship of the 20th century - you have to go back to Nelson's Victory to find comparable distinction. One of a class of five (her sister ships were Queen Elizabeth, Barham, Malaya and Valiant), she fought at Jutland in 1916, then at Narvik, off Calabria, Matapan, Crete and the Normandy invasion of 1944. Her shooting was generally agreed to be the best in the Fleet - as witness her single-handed ending of the battle off Calabria by hitting the Italian flagship Giulio Cesare amidships at the record range of 26,000 nautical yards (13 miles). And at the second battle of Narvik, she performed a unique feat by accompanying destroyers up the narrow Ofotfjord to sink eight German destroyers and a U-boat.

Although the book focuses on the Royal Navy's seventh Warspite, 60 pages are devoted to the first six. There is also plenty of interesting material about life on board, the personalities of officers and men, and a wide cross-section of events in both world wars. After being severely damaged in the evacuation of Crete, Warspite was repaired in Seattle and returned home across the Pacific - just after the beginning of the Pacific War, while the Imperial Japanese Navy was running riot. Characteristically, she crossed the International Date Line at exactly the right time to miss Friday 13th February altogether!

Old, tired and battered, Warspite was sent for scrapping in 1946 - a decision which many have condemned as disgracefully insensitive. How much better to have kept her as a museum ship, like HMS Belfast! As it happened, she never reached the breaker's yard, due to events eloquently described in the first of two poems included in the book. (How many battleships have had poems written about them?)

The book was written quite soon after these events, and first published in 1957 - allowing the Foreword to be contributed by Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope, the victor of Taranto and Matapan, who flew his flag in Warspite through the thick of the Mediterranean war.

An exceptionally well written account of the building, builders, and custodians of a magnificent piece of history. Would that this sense of stewardship were more widespread.

Enjoy.

I never received the book! How can I review it?
Kindest regards
Edoardo Greppi

This is a very good book on a fascinating family and a grand estate. Holkham is without doubt one of the grandest of the non royal estates, it really is quite a stack of stones. The history makes the house all the more interesting. The images in this book are very good and the text is very well researched. A must have!