Pen & Sword Books

In February 1917, German U-boats launched a savage unrestricted campaign against both Allied and neutral shipping. At its peak in April, 860,000 tons of Allied merchant shipping was sunk. Britain’s supremacy at sea was being severely challenged and with it the chances of victory in the wider war.Taking up the challenge was Britain’s new First Sea Lord, Sir John Jellicoe, until the previous December C-in-C of the Grand Fleet — famously described by Churchill as the only man who could have lost the war in an afternoon. The battle he now faced was equally critical, although the timeline of defeat was a matter of days rather than hours — Britain’s food stocks were dangerously low with wheat reserves down to six weeks and sugar to only two, while wide-scale shortages were crippling the industrial economy.Jellicoe outlined the gravity of the situation with total candor to Rear Admiral William Sims, USN, sent over before America officially declared war by Franklin Roosevelt, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The two men already knew each other from service together in China during the Boxer Rebellion, so Jellicoe’s plea for urgent American assistance was taken seriously by Sims. After the USA joined the war in April 1917, together they lobbied Washington for aid, addressing their needs directly to two reluctant Anglophobes at the head of the USN, Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels and Chief of Naval Operations, William Benson.Clearly, a radical new approach to anti-submarine warfare was called for, and Convoy was the leading contender. There were many objections to protecting shipping in this way, some ideological but most practical — a workable system, for example, effectively required state control of both shipping and distribution networks, something inconceivable in normal circumstances. However, Convoy had powerful advocates, including the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, who later claimed he had personally forced its adoption on a reluctant Admiralty. This self-serving political myth cast Jellicoe as an opponent of Convoy: nothing could be further from the truth.As both Jellicoe and Sims understood, the key requirement was a rapid increase in the number of destroyers for escort duties. America provided them, the first arriving in Queenstown, Ireland on 4 May and by June 46 were operating in European waters. This was the first step in an Anglo-American campaign that gradually brought the U-boat threat under control and led to its ultimate defeat.This book takes a fresh look at the undersea war as a whole and all the complex factors bearing on the campaign, only one of which was convoy. Its analysis is original, and its conclusions thought-provoking — an important contribution to the naval history of the Great War.

Samuel Herbert Dougal had a successful military career lasting over 20 years in the Royal Engineers, where he rose to the rank of Quartermaster-Sergeant. But he was also a forger, embezzler, thief, arsonist, serial womaniser and murderer. After leaving the army he preyed on well-off older women and one of them — Camille Cecile Holland — would become the central figure and victim of the Moat Farm Murder. In 1899, Dougal persuaded her to purchase Coldhams Farm, an isolated property at Clavering, Essex, which they renamed “The Moat Farm” and which she supposed was to be their love-nest. Instead, she disappeared shortly after they moved in, with Dougal reporting that she had gone travelling on a sudden whim. He also installed his real wife Sarah at the Moat Farm; she was his third wife and it is likely that he poisoned both the others while serving in Canada. He then began to systematically ransack Miss Holland’s bank account using forged cheques, as well as selling off her substantial investments with forged letters to brokers and putting the farm into his own name. The womanising continued unabated and became the stuff of local legend.Four years later, when Miss Holland’s funds were used up, Dougal tried to flee the country but was arrested at the Bank of England trying to change high value banknotes. After an unsuccessful attempt at escape on the way to the police station, he remained in custody for several months while an unsatisfactory trial for fraud dragged on before the Magistrates Bench. At last the police decided to look for a body, spending weeks to no avail dragging the moats which surrounded the farmhouse. At the very moment when the trial for fraud hung on a thread, Miss Holland was discovered in a filled-in drainage ditch with a bullet in her skull. Public hysteria was at fever-pitch and sightseers came in thousands from all over England. An inquest and trial for murder followed swiftly; Dougal was convicted and executed in July 1903. His last word was “Guilty”.

Jane Austen’s novels are read all over the globe, and adaptations of her works have graced both film and TV screens. Although sometimes criticised for being detached from the real world, providing nothing more than light-hearted plot-driven story lines, the reality is very different. Jane was aware of the evils of society, of the problems faced by women whether single or married. Underneath the entertaining story lines are much darker aspects of Regency and Georgian life. Staying single resulted in serious problems for young women; there were very few alternatives open to them, while marriage itself resulted in other risks. The threats of poverty or becoming a victim of crime were also an issue. Indeed, Jane’s aunt spent months in prison and faced the threat of transportation for theft. Other problems society faced included those posed by opium addiction, poor medical standards, and a lack of property leaving young men and women struggling to survive. Many sought solutions in India, leading to the creation of ‘fishing fleets’ with girls sent to marry total unknowns. Meanwhile, the issues of slavery brought more problems, and social disorder was rife. Jane Austen created classic stories that have endured the test of time, reflecting society in all its aspects, faults, values both good and bad. This is Jane Austen as you have never seen her before.

Operation Telic and the Liberation of Iraq Operation Telic and the Liberation of Iraq is an anecdote-packed daily diary recounting the author’s experiences as a reserve officer and media handler with 7 armored (the Desert Rats) and 19 Mechanized Brigade in 2003.A journalist in uniform, Abbott provides an insider-outsider account of British Army media ops in southern Iraq during the immediate post-conflict phase. With a sharp eye for detail, Abbott provides a behind-the-scenes account of the highs and lows of serving two ‘masters’ — his demanding military commanders on one hand and a voracious press on the other. One of his first missions is dealing with a barrage of media questions following the brutal murder of six Royal Military Police by a crazed mob in Majar al-Kabir.Abbott recalls the adrenalin-filled atmosphere when the British garrison at Basra Palace is surrounded by a crowd unleashing hundreds of rounds from their AK-47s. It’s only after a tense stand-to that the nervous troops discover that they are not under attack: the crowd is celebrating the demise of Saddam Hussein’s sons. There are plenty of lighter moments, too, as Abbott tells stories that fortunately didn’t make the news at the time. The author admits how criminal thoughts might just have briefly crossed his mind over the tens of millions of dollars flown in by the US government each week and stored feet from his camp-bed.Above all this is a vivid account of a controversial operation that cost many lives and severely tarnished the reputation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US leadership. Unconvinced of the merits of military action before arriving in theater, Abbott ends his tour in a positive mindset despite the failure to locate WMD. His diary is more SOS than SAS, with little of the derring-do of an Andy McNab adventure. Yet it’s just as un-put- downable. More in the tradition of Leslie Thomas’ Virgin Soldiers, it’s an honest, authentic and often funny read which has the potential to appeal beyond a niche audience. There has been no account of the British in Iraq quite like this.

PHILIP SNOWDEN was a proud Yorkshireman, a founding father of the Labour Party, its first Chancellor of the Exchequer and eventually was seen as a traitor by the movement he did so much to build. Growing up in the poverty of a weaving village in the Pennines, Snowden was paralysed in his twenties but overcame his disability by teaching himself to walk again with the aid of two sticks. He came to socialism in the 1890s and helped build Labour from a fringe sect into a governing party. Snowden was Labour’s undisputed economic expert for decades and served as chancellor three times in the 1920s and 30s. He would be expelled from the party for joining Ramsay MacDonald’s controversial National Government in 1931 and has been condemned as a turncoat ever since. A gifted orator, Snowden was regarded as the archetypal Yorkshireman; strong-willed and straight-talking, caustic and biting in his criticism but warm in friendship. He earned the moniker ‘Iron Chancellor’ after doggedly standing up to the French during tense negotiations, with one Paris journal bawling, “There is only one thing left — we must occupy Yorkshire!” Snowden’s infamous 1931 election broadcast, in which he condemned Labour’s program as “Bolshevism run mad”, played a major role in the National Government winning the biggest landslide in British electoral history. In 1934, Snowden wrote his autobiography. It is one of the most readable memoirs of the period, packed with Snowden’s characteristic wit and sarcasm. Snowden’s portrait of his youth in the rural Yorkshire of the 1870s is a unique window into a lost world, while his narrative of the pioneering days of the Labour movement is passionate and vivid. In describing his long career in parliament and government from 1906–1932, the great men of the age jump off the page as we encounter Asquith, Lloyd George, Churchill, Baldwin and MacDonald among others in this tumultuous period of British history. Snowden’s story is both an absorbing account of a fascinating time and an invaluable source for students and scholars.

The greatest danger to Roman emperors was the threat of deadly conspiracies arising among the Senate, the imperial court or even their own families All the emperors that reigned from Augustus to the end of the first century AD faced such efforts to overthrow or assassinate them. John McHugh uncovers these conspiracies, narrating them and seeking to explain them. The underlying cause in many cases was the decline in influence, patronage and status granted by emperors to the Senatorial class, leading some to seek power for themselves or a more generous candidate. Attempted assassinations or coups led the emperors to mistrust the Senate and rely more on freedmen, causing more resentment. Paranoid emperors often reacted to the merest hint of treason, real or imagined, with punishments and executions, leading more of those around them to consider desperate measures out of self-preservation. And of course, amid this vicious circle of poisonous mistrust, there were ambitious family members promoting their own (or their offspring’s) claims to the purple, and the duplicitous Praetorian Guard. John McHugh brings to light a century of assassination, conspiracy and betrayal, exploring the motives and aims of the plotters and the bloody cost of success or failure.

Until 1943 there was little effective resistance to the German occupation of The Netherlands. Though numerous small opposition groups had formed immediately after the German invasion in 1940, there was no concerted movement or over-arching organization.Gradually, though, as the Germans introduced harsher measures against certain groups, opposition grew, particularly in the urban areas. These met with very limited success due to poor security which was to plague the Dutch resistance movement in general. As is made clear in this official account, individuals were often members of more than one resistance group at the same time. This inevitably meant that when one cell was compromised others quickly met the same fate.Nevertheless, in 1941 the Netherlands, or N, Section of the Special Operations Executive under Major Seymour Bingham started sending trained agents to The Netherlands. These operatives were dropped by parachute or infiltrated into the country from France or Belgium. Unfortunately, poor discipline continued to hamper the resistance movement. Preparation was poor, security was lax, and codewords were forgotten or ignored. As a result, fifty-four of N Section’s agents were captured by the Germans; fifty of these were subsequently executed.Despite its egregious failings, SOE’s N Section, could count on some successes. Its agents were able to coordinate the various groups and help maintain communications with the UK. They also undertook valuable weapons training and gave instruction on demolition techniques.The people the agents assisted in active resistance were usually ordinary Dutch citizens, often working in respectable jobs under the very noses of the Germans, their only precaution being the adoption of a false name while operating undercover. The SOE agents themselves had to adopt the cover occupations of those professions which would not be subjected to conscription, such as teachers, medical personnel, or police. Usually, they would take the identity of brave individuals who had volunteered to have their information duplicated. In addition, the agents would be thoroughly briefed on their adopted personas so that they could provide convincing accounts of their movements if stopped and interrogated.This official account of the development and activities of SOE’s Dutch Section was written by a Staff Officer prior to SOE being disbanded in 1946. It was based on information, reports and documents provided by those involved in the campaign.It details how SOE agents were recruited and trained in the UK and gives information on safe houses, contact addresses, secret telephone exchanges, training premises and methods of communications in The Netherlands and externally to London. In essence, it provides all the apparatus and procedures used in the establishment of the underground movement which sought to obstruct and oppose the Germans at every turn.

How did ordinary citizens become soldiers during the First World War, and how did they cope with the extraordinary challenges they confronted on the Western Front? These are questions Ian Isherwood seeks to answer in this absorbing and deeply researched study of the actions and experiences of an infantry battalion throughout the conflict. His work gives us a vivid impression of the reality of war for these volunteers and an insight into the motivation that kept them fighting.The narrative traces the history of the 8th Battalion The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), a Kitchener battalion raised in 1914. The letters, memoirs and diaries of the men of the battalion, in particular the correspondence of their commanding officer, reveal in fascinating detail what wartime life was like for this group of men. It includes vivid accounts of the major battles in which they were involved — Loos, the Somme, Passchendaele, the German Spring Offensive, and the final 100 Days campaign.The battalion took heavy losses, yet those who survived continued to fight and took great pride in their service, an attitude that is at odds with much of the popular perception of the Great War. Ian Isherwood brings in the latest research on military thinking and learning, on emotional resilience, and cultural history to tell their story.

The Napier family are famous for their military exploits in the Peninsular War. Charles served in the 50th and 102nd Foot, George in the 52nd and 71st Foot and William (the famous historian of the Peninsular War) who served with the 43rd Foot. Two or three of them were always serving in the Peninsula at any given time and all suffered a number of severe wounds.William has a basic biography written of him and his famous History of the Peninsular War is littered with his personal and professional prejudices; Charles wrote a form of autobiography, mostly dealing with his later India campaigns; and virtually nothing has been written on poor George, despite the fact that he commanded the storming party at Ciudad Rodrigo, where he was severely wounded. However, much of this writing emanates from decades after they fought, when memories and changing political attitudes had clearly affected their writing.At War With Wellington focuses on their private letters penned immediately from the front, without that dreaded hindsight. They are packed with detail of the horrors of battle and siege warfare, but also show life in the Army, the close bond between the three brothers while serving close to each other in action and also with their mother at home, who clearly had constant fears that her three boys would never come home again. All three did survive but were all badly maimed during this war.Their individual exploits are legion, but no one has ever brought all of this material together in one book, until now. Between them, they participated in almost every action in the six-year war and two of them participated in the Army of Occupation in France from 1815–18, although none were at the Battle of Waterloo.Their close relationships with many senior officers of the period, gives a rare glimpse into the thinking of the generals and helps us understand how the decisions were made and with what information they were formed. Being also politically active, it is fascinating to hear their views on both political matters at home and the Allied cause against France.This material is both absorbing and revealing. It adds much to our understanding, primarily of the Napier’s themselves, but also the effects of a world war on the family dynamics, the political upheavals surrounding it, the failures of the Allied campaigns and even the perceived failings of the senior officers in their promotion of the war effort, which are expressed vehemently.At War With Wellington opens a window onto a different view of the war, from very experienced soldiers, but with very different political leanings, and will cause readers to question some of their long-held views.

The bitter fighting in the so-called Falaise-Argentan Pocket in August 1944, during which the Allies encircled and destroyed a substantial part of Hitler’s forces in northern France following the D-Day landings, marked the last major battle of the Normandy campaign. Despite this, tens of thousands of German soldiers managed to escape through the infamous Falaise Gap.It was as the Allies continued to pursue the retreating enemy forces that the planners considered or drew-up a number of further airborne operations. As James Daly reveals, three operations, namely Lucky Strike, Transfigure and Axehead, might well have been part of the last of the fighting in the breakout from, Normandy itself. The first of these, Lucky Strike, was intended to see General Montgomery’s 21st Army Group strike to the north-east in the direction of the River Seine, where bridges near Rouen were to be taken by the British 1st Airborne Division.Transfigure was to be a major operation with the aim of using the First Allied Airborne Army against the French road network with the object of cutting the German lines of retreat across the Seine. Axehead, meanwhile, was a plan to establish an air-head on the eastern bank of the Seine. In this assault the British 1st Airborne Division, along with infantry, Sherman DD amphibious tanks, and specialised engineers, would establish crossings of the Dives, Touques, Risle and Seine rivers.As the Allies advanced further east into the Low Countries, further Allied airborne assaults were suggested. In Operation Linnet, for example, airborne forces were to capture and hold Tournai on the Escaut river in the western part of German-occupied Belgium. In the event, they were all cancelled, usually as the Allied forces reached the intended dropping zones before the airborne forces could take off. In particular, several of these operations bear very strong resemblance to elements of the Market Garden plan and show early signs of the mistakes. Operation Comet, for example, included a glider coup-de-main for the bridges at Arnhem, Nijmegen and Grave — why did this disappear for Market Garden?These operations and their planning show that far from being an operation that went wrong in September 1944, the flaws in the Arnhem plan were evident much earlier. They also show that divisions between the Allies emerged much earlier and ran much deeper than originally thought.

Innocent, guilty, coerced, framed.These are the stories of dozens of women who found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Whether innocent or not, these women were all indicted for murder of some sort; most of them ended up facing execution. From Britain’s late medieval period through the following 600 years, this book explores the world of murderous female crime and pulls you in to the lives of these women. It situates their stories on the timeline of British crime and relates their terrible deeds to the criminal world and proceedings of the times they lived in. Enjoy this glimpse into the history of Britain’s criminal underbelly and the women within it, who showed what desperation, lack of mental health support, and cruelty, could lead to.

Ancient accounts of battle often neglected the role of lightly-armed infantry, presenting the deeds of the heavy infantry, such as Greek hoplites or Roman legionaries, or dashing cavalry charges as the decisive battle winners. This bias was partly due to the light infantry typically being drawn from the poorer sections of society, who could not afford to equip themselves with armor and because they generally fought from a distance, killing from afar with missile weapons, not bravely face-to-face like heroes worthy of recording. Modern research has generally followed this bias.Dr Jean Charl Du Plessis argues that while light infantry might have had a subordinate role in pitched battles, such clashes were relatively rare occurrences. Most ancient campaigns consisted mostly of foraging, raiding and pillaging of enemy territory, minor skirmishes and ambushes, all roles in which light infantry excelled. In particular they were indispensable for an army traversing mountainous or forested terrain. Moreover, he shows that even in pitched battles they were far from useless and made a valuable contribution, typically harassing the enemy as they deployed and screening friendly battle lines from similar treatment. Some, such as Cretan archers or Balearic slingers were highly sought-after specialists.Uniquely, the author draws on years of practical experimentation to demonstrate and test the various weapons used: slings, bows and javelins, including the use of the amentum throwing strap. This yields fresh evidence and insights into matters such as range, penetrative power and the level of skill and practice required. Overall, this is a valuable study of these forgotten heroes of ancient warfare.

In 2019 it was announced that the Isle of Wight’s iconic 1938 Stock tube trains were to be withdrawn and replaced with a ‘new’ fleet of refurbished ex-London Underground trains, as part of a wider project to upgrade the Island’s ageing railway infrastructure. This book examines in detail the events that followed: the infrastructure works, the withdrawal and disposal of the old trains, and the development and introduction of their replacements — all of it carried out in the midst of a global pandemic. What went wrong, and what went right? What would happen to the 1938 Stock? And would the new trains even fit through Ryde Tunnel…?In writing this book the author has been able to draw upon unique insights provided by some of the key figures involved in the Island Line upgrade, as well as by the current owners of many of the withdrawn 1938 Stock units.

This book is about how the dreams of exploring other worlds became a reality with the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. The problems encountered in the development of the spacecraft, including the disastrous fire aboard Apollo 1 which resulted in the deaths of the three American astronauts, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chafee are covered. When Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the Moon on 20 July 1969, many people thought that this was the first time man had visited its nearest neighbor. Although this was the first manned landing, there had been forty-one missions prior to this by both the Americans and the Russians. This book is about all those missions and the sixty-five missions that followed.Also included, although in much lesser detail, is the part the Russians played in the formative years of the ‘space race’ and the problems they encountered, culminating in the successful Apollo/Soyuz program which proved that the two super-powers could work together. The laboratory in the sky, Skylab, the forerunner of the ISS station is also covered.The book contains over 200 photographs, all of which are either credited to NASA or from the author's own collection. The sources include correspondence and the author's personal conversations with some of the astronauts involved in the early part of the space program.

This richly illustrated volume tells the story of the seven regiments of the Household Division, along with the supporting personalities and units of London District. A subject as fascinating as it is multifarious. From the key personalities responsible for the razor-sharp execution of state ceremonial and public duties, to the historical figures who helped establish and shape a military dynasty.Travel through the history of the Household Division from its birth in 1660, with the restoration of Charles II, to its role in establishing Britain's Special Forces. It is a journey of political intrigue, cementing empire, and fighting terrorism. From the founding fathers such as George Monck, who laid the foundations for a professional British Army, to adventurers like David Stirling and Sir Frederick 'Boy' Browning, the history of the Household Division is one of almost continuous action and innovation.Supported by the honorable Artillery Company and the King's Troop, The Royal Horse Artillery, London’s Ceremonial Regiments put the pomp in circumstance, the distinction in battle, and the sobriety in the sombre notes of The Last Post.

«Via philosophy, technique and knowledge, Giles encourages the reader to question and ponder, sharing expert insight.” — The Field (Alexandra Henton, editor).«Via philosophy, technique and knowledge, Giles encourages the reader to question and ponder, sharing expert insight.” — The Field (Alexandra Henton, editor).The Secret Life of Salmon is something both personal and intimate, and macro and global. The life story of Atlantic, Chum, Sockeye, King, Silver and Pink salmon, has gripped the human consciousness since the dawn of time. Now we have a new interactive angle on the existential eco status of the king of fish. A mirror held up to our warming world — via science, sporting and aquacultural viewpoints.This book takes in the start of a salmon’s life cycle with gravel covered eggs hatching in a specific river pool, we hear fascinating secrets with a backdrop of the time-lapsed seasons changing overhead and specified times of year. We follow the salmon's epic journey of quest through icy and wild northern waters to its conclusion in an upland stream.Read about the great success stories of conservation — the 21st-century buy-out of drift-nets in British and Irish waters; the application of ranching in the vast waters of the Alaskan-Pacific. The groundbreaking smolt tracking methods using cutting edge science applied on famous but threatened salmon populations from New Brunswick streams to Moray Firth rivers and out to sea.A sustainable future for these iconic fish? The answer is here including the latest on new technology and significance and legacy of COP26 in Glasgow, taking in the road to COP 27 and beyond.Predators. Size of river. Numbers. Withering in-river predation from mergansers, goosanders and mink, then grey seals, dolphins and orcas in salmons' marine iteration. How do fish in your chosen location fare compared to salmon elsewhere? The answer is here.Bringing it back home: the pods of muscled chrome-silver salmon nosing back into tidal reaches of their home river to spawn. A map in its head, a smell of the water. Nature's wisdom staggering runs of fish back on an imperative they can’t ignore?This book, with its unique pictures is a visual, technical, philosophical and emotional feast and a serious call to arms. New light is shed on new events, new scientific and environmental projects, and the foreword by Dr Paul Rouse FRSA, who worked with the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative as its science adviser, sets an epoch defining moment for the salmon and its secrets.Praise for How To Catch More Salmon (White Owl Books, 2019):«Devoted salmon fisher Henry Giles has written a book to help others catch the elusive kings of the river. Try it… you might just get hooked.” - The Scotsman

Take a journey through London, discovering the unique places and people associated with all things scientific, from museums to bars, statues to plaques, each landmark has a story behind it just waiting to be discovered.London has seen many scientific discoveries and engineering feats in its history. Scientists have made their home and studied in the metropolis, while the city is a hub for medical and scientific collections displayed in quirky and engaging museums. From Michael Faraday to Rosalind Franklin and William Harvey, London’s scientists have inspired people to find out more, study, and innovate.This book takes you on an area by area journey through London to discover places and people associated with science, and even see and experience scientific phenomena. From museums and bars associated with science, and behind the scenes engineering tours, scientific genius is all over the city. Each statue and plaque has a story behind it, waiting to be discovered.This unique book can be used as a guidebook on a physical journey through London, or as a collection of intriguing and often obscure stories and information for science lovers to enjoy wherever they are. Whether you are an aspiring scientist, are home schooling, attending a conference in London, or simply love science, this book has ideas to inspire you.

The book looks at rail travel from the passenger’s point of view, beginning when a coach drawn by horses, rumbled down the newly laid tracks linking Swansea to Mumbles in 1807 and takes the reader right up to the present day. It was not long after that first service opened in Wales that the first steam passenger trains began to operate. The story broadens out from the first inter-city line connecting Liverpool to Manchester to spread first around Britain and eventually spread across the world. The book paints vivid pictures of how travel seemed to passengers in different countries, drawing on many first-hand accounts. The early days offered little in comfort — third class passengers had to make do with carriages that were simply open trucks. Gradually conditions improved and eventually there was an age of luxury travel epitomised by the famous Orient Express. Every aspect of rail travel is looked at, from tragic tales of fatal accidents to the role of railway travel in films and books. This lively account of the pioneering days and what many regard as the golden age of rail travel will be welcomed by anyone who enjoys taking the train.

There are plenty of ways to delve into the history of a city like London, but it’s not often done through the world of the motor car. But that’s exactly what Chris Randall has done, exploring the links between the capital and its automotive past.That makes this book a somewhat unique approach to the subject, and readers will discover a fascinating history that involves some of the most famous names in motoring. Enthusiasts will certainly recognise the likes of Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls-Royce but amongst those are names that might be less familiar today.The buildings that you’ll find within this book all exist today, which means you can see the motoring history for yourself. Some are now famous restaurants, others are offices and a few are private homes, but what they all have in common is the automobile and for those that love all things four-wheeled there are some real treasures to be found.Illustrated with photographs that show you what those places look like today, along with how some of them appeared in their motoring heyday, this is a very different look at the history of the famous city. It’s played a part in the very earliest days of the automobile’s story, and that’s something this books sets out to celebrate.

John Lambshead’s highly popular One-hour Skirmish Wargames was designed for fights in the gunpowder era but now he is transporting the action back to the age of swords and sandals, of legionaries, hoplites and war elephants. These stand-alone rules (you don’t need the first book) follow the same principles that made the original popular: streamlined game mechanics that are quick to learn and fast to play, allowing the players to concentrate on making tactical decisions and having fun rather than constantly having to look up and decipher over-complicated rules. Card-driven like the original, no dice are required. Although deceptively simple, the rules capture plenty of period flavour and allow for everything from slingers to chariots and stampeding elephants. There are sample force lists, a points system for building any force across this whole period and a couple of sample scenarios. The author explains his design choices and the logic behind the rules to make it easier for players to tweak them to suit their tastes and their specific armies or sub-period. He describes them as a toolkit, not a set of hard-and-fast tournament rules, and adaptation and customization of the rules is encouraged. Fast and furious fun is the order of the day.