The RAF for 100 years has forged a distinguished military record from the First World War through to recent operations over Iraq and Syria. With facilities to accommodate large audiences, it has produced scintillating flying displays with ever more impressive aircraft. Originally centred on the RAF station at Hendon in North London, its first public Air Pageant in 1920 was the result of Sir Hugh Trenchard trying to fend off disparaging attacks by the other services. A grand affair that showcases numerous military aircraft, it continued as an annual event until 1937 when it was succeeded by the widespread Empire Air Day, held at several RAF stations until war intervened in 1939. The once annual Mildenhall Air Fête was a must for aviation enthusiasts and it ran from 1976 to 2001. Other public air extravaganzas include RIAT (Royal International Air Tattoo) with the opportunity to demonstrate, in sight and sound and at close quarters to everyone from across the social spectrum, the increasing development of aviation. One of the Bibliophile Family (Captain Mark Grigg) organised the Queen's Coronation fly-past over Buckingham Palace including the Red Arrows and Concorde. A proud day. 352 heavyweight pages packed with images.

The development and evolution of fighter tactics with particular concentration on the interwar period. The increase in aircraft engine power led to recognition that ideas emanating from the First World War would have to be either modified or completely replaced. Ultimately this increase in engine thrust resulted in the emergence of all-metal monoplane fighters with enough speed for a single wing to provide life to get both the heavy engine and the rest of the aeroplane into the air and keep it there. There was a debate whether the unbridled manoeuvrability of a biplane was more important. The logic was that any money spent on fighters to defend the home territory was simply wasted and could be better used on the purchase of an even larger fleet of fast self-defending bombers. During these years there were three bitterly contested regional air wars fought over the skies of Spain (1936-39), China (1937-1941), and the Mongolia-Manchuria border (May to September 1939). Finland and France were testing grounds for a new approach to air tactics, with western democracies and totalitarian states taking note of the resulting lessons. Several countries chose to learn from these conflicts, but others to ignore them - the Soviet Union - the Soviet state directly involved in those air wars failed to apply new air tactics during the Winter War, while Finland, a country that had no previous involvement in air wars during this time, successfully implemented new aerial tactics. How was the intelligence collected? Why were the lessons learnt during these conflicts often not applied in future combat? The answers are fully explored alongside 50 high quality images. The book also covers Burma and the Chaco War (1928-1935). 176pp.

The bestselling military historian thrillingly tells the stories of seven dramatic World War Two escapes executed by members of the British Special Air Service (SAS). No food, water and out of ammo. Hunted and on the run with the dreaded certainty of discovery looming between recapture and safe haven. Would you give up? From the earliest years of the War to its explosive closing stages, readers are plunged into the dark heart of Mussolini's Fascist Italy, held captive in a heavily fortified POW camp in Greece, and in the coastal fortress of Tobruk in Occupied Libya. Whether scaling the treacherous war-torn Vosges Mountains in France, or crossing 150 miles of sun-blasted Sahara Desert crawling with General Erwin Rommel's fearsome Afrika Korps, it took cunning, incredible courage and die-hard fearlessness to pull off these exhilarating escapes. 'Those men would go on to form the core of the SAS Nazi-hunting unit that would track down some of the most elusive war criminals.' Based on debriefings on letters, Lewis recounts the most terrifying and adrenalin-fuelled days and nights and the uncommon bravery of these heroes. 332pp, eight pages of photos. Please note contents are the same as SAS Great Escapes.

The award-winning historian and war reporter tells the story of a fateful night, February 27th 1942, a thrillingly tense account of Churchill's raiders in their finest hour and one of the most daring raids of World War Two, and the top-secret weapon that changed the course of history. It examines the race to develop radar, the invisible secret weapon. In the winter of 1941 as Britain faced defeat on all fronts, an RAF reconnaissance pilot photographed an alien-looking object on the French coast near Le Havre. The mysterious device, a 'Wurzburg Dish' appeared to be a new form of radar technology - ultra-compact, highly precise, and pointed directly across the English Channel. Britain's experts found it hard to believe the Germans had mastered such groundbreaking technology, but one young technician thought it not only possible, but he convinced Winston Churchill that the dish posed a unique and deadly threat to the Allied forces that required desperate measures and drastic action. So was launched Operation Biting, an extraordinary 'snatch-and-grab' raid on Germany's secret radar instillation. It offered Churchill's elite airborne force the Special Air Service a rare opportunity to redeem themselves after a previous failed mission, and to shift the tides of war forever. Led by the legendary Major John Frost, these brave paratroopers would risk all in a daring airborne assault, with only a small stretch of beach menaced by enemy guns as their exit point. With the help of a volunteer radar technician who knew how to dismantle the dish, as well as the courageous men and women of the French Resistance, they succeeded against all odds with their act of brazen robbery. Some would die, others would be captured - all fought with resolute bravery. Three maps, 36 archive photos including cartoons.

RAF Bombers at War 1939-1942. The Royal Air Force of 1939 went to war with five staple models of bomber: the Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, Bristol Blenheim, Handley Page Hampden, and the Fairey Battle. This was against the threat of the Luftwaffe which had proven itself in Spain and had been used as a threat to secure Germany's diplomatic aims and was considered unstoppable. Plans were being laid by the RAF and Government bodies for larger, heavier, four-engined bombers such as the Short Stirling which could deliver heavier bomb loads over a further distance. From the lessons of the First World War, the RAF developed a fleet of modern monoplane aircraft with crews pitted against the German flying machine from day one, flying into storms of flak shells and swarms of Messerschmitt fighters in their flimsy, and often poorly armed, bombers. From countries as far apart as Norway, Burma, Java and France, the crews and their aircraft were at the front of every military operation without adequate fighter escorts and with poor equipment against stiff opposition. The book tells the story of the few who bravely went on 'one-way ticket' missions that saw operational life expectancy as only a matter of hours, doing so without hesitation or complaint. Chapters include Over the North Sea and Norway, France and Oil, Haddocks and Genoa, Desert Offensive, The Fall of Greece, Malaya and Burma. 238pp, 30 quality archive photos.

The aim of the book is to discover what light Hitler's associates were able to shed on the personality and modus operandi of the Führer, and to determine the extent to which they (and indeed Hitler himself) realised that their leader was insane. The aim is also to investigate the cause of his insanity and in this regard the testimony of the leading Nazis who were tried for war crimes at Nuremberg during 1945 and 1946, are of particular relevance. Norman explores what lay behind Hitler's irrational behaviour and decision-making processes and whether he had any insight into his mental disorder. From conversations between himself and his doctor Theodor Morell, the answer would appear to be 'yes'. Drawing on his medical background, Norman explores Hitler's childhood, his experiences of loss, and his meteoric rise to power. He attempts to determine to what extent Hitler's ailments both physical and mental ultimately contributed both to his decline and to his death. He covers such topics as Hitler's Secret Book, Alfred Rosenberg, Göring, Hess, Himmler, Goebbels, von Ribbentrop, Funk, Martin Bormann, Hans Frank and whether Hitler had a possible Jewish ancestor. Plus Albert Speer, Rommel, Hitler and his Voices, Eva Braun and many other players in the story. With a glossary of terms, 272pp, many photos.

How did a former newspaper proprietor who had no medical or psychological knowledge or training manage to successfully establish the charitable foundation now known as Blind Veterans UK, or St Dunstan's? Men from Britain and around the Commonwealth - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Rhodesia and South Africa - had been shelled, bombed, mined, shot at, and gassed on the insatiable killing fields of the Western Front and on other fronts and had emerged bleeding, broken and - all of them - sightless. The book attempts to pay adequate tribute to the St Dunstaners and the myriad of doctors, nurses, VADs, volunteers, family and friends through the soldiers' journey to 'Victory Over Blindness'. Here are true and heartwarming stories of great courage, comradeship and dedication on the part of Sir Arthur Pearson and his staff, and of the astonishing feats achieved by those who prove that to be blind does not necessarily preclude gainful employment, romance, love, marriage and a happy family life. The book recounts Pearson's personal journey from his school years and early adulthood where signs of his charitable nature first started to emerge with social projects such as the Fresh Air Fund and founding publications such as Pearson's Weekly and the Daily Express. 191pp, large well illustrated softback.

With many previously unpublished photos, this is the firsthand account of the man who was tasked to drop a nuclear bomb on Leningrad. Goodall entered the RAF in March 1949 to complete his National Service and was selected to be trained as a pilot at the RAF College and in 1953 started training to fly jet aircraft, the Meteor and Canberra. In 1954 he joined 90 Squadron flying the Canberra at RAF Marham, was trained to fly the Valient and joined the first 'V' Bomber Squadron as a co-pilot. Deployed to Malta, they bombed Egypt in the Suez War, and he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1959. In 1967 he commanded 27 Squadron flying the Vulcan Mk 2 equipped with Blue Steel nuclear missile and kept on alert as part of QRA. In 1972 he was posted to the HQ of Strike Command for responsibility for producing the RAF's nuclear war plans. In August 1945 the world changed forever with the release of two atomic bombs in Japan it was decided that Britain would produce its own bombs, and the result was the development of the 'V' bombers Valliant, Vulcan, and Victor. In reaction to the deteriorating relationship with Russia, the US, as part of NATO, cooperated with the UK in nuclear operational planning with US bomber aircraft being based at several RAF stations. Later as a result of the development of nuclear power, submarines were fitted with nuclear weapons. This book is unique in that it is a human story, not just a list of technical facts and bomber data. 192pp, colour.

Captain Stanley Algar was an oil tanker master of a Shell Oil tanker and he spent four years in a German prison of war camp; captured in the Atlantic, he and his colleagues spent four years behind barbed wire. The book is based partly on his diaries which were hidden from the Germans which tell how the prisoners survived, confronted starvation, and reacted to camp life and German propaganda. A graphic account of their liberation written as it happened is included, and the role of the U-boats and the merchant raider vessels and their commanders is also discussed. Many other aspects of the war including the role of the BBC, the German attempt to persuade some prisoners to change sides and enemy propaganda are considered. 'Their tales remind us of the cruelty meted out to ordinary men, plunged into extraordinary times. Above all, it is hope that this book, dedicated to the Merchant Navy, does something to help an understanding of the mainly anonymous men who ensured an Allied victory.' How did the prisoners know what was going on in the War and why was their information so accurate? What was their relationship with the guards? What correspondence with home was allowed? All of this is investigated plus a discussion of the Nuremberg Trials and the appalling cost of the War. Finally there are many pen portraits of international leaders and 'ordinary' men, and the factors that led to the Second World War starting with the disastrous peace treaty after the 1914-18 conflict, the rise of Hitler and the economic depression. 224 pages, archive photos and drawings of camp activities, the Milag POW camp tower and the MV Kormoran among them. Substantial information has been added to the original diaries some of which first appeared in Goodbye Old Chap.

The award-winning journalist and cricket writer turns his journalism to focus on the most remarkable agent of the Second World War. In February 1941, a young Indian walked into the Italian Embassy in Kabul claiming to be a cook. He emerged as a spy, working for the Italians, Germans, Japanese, Soviets and the British, the only quintuple spy of the war. The Nazis awarded him the Iron Cross, Germany's highest military decoration, and paid him £2.5 million, never suspecting that he was actually working for the British and Russians, and controlled by Peter Fleming. The Englishman gave him the codename Silver, and working from the gardens of the Viceregal Palace in Delhi, the pair used the transmitters the Germans had provided to broadcast misleading military information directly to the Abwehr headquarters in Berlin. Silver made 12 trips from India to Kabul, always on foot over mountain passes and hostile tribal territory. A Hindu, he successfully passed himself off as a Muslim and dealt with Nazi intrigues to enlist Muslim Mullahs to revolt against the British. Mihir Bose, who corresponded with Silver and interviewed his associates, has carried out extensive research into previously secret documents from all countries to tell the story of this prince among spies. 'A document concerning the Punjab Police should not have been in that file. It might have got there by mistake, or maybe, because the events concerned the tribal areas. It was an amazing discovery revealing all the secrets which until then Silver had so successfully concealed.' 350pp, 16 pages of photos.