The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes

$35.00 AUD

Category: Military

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War (PB) by Ben Macintyre

$22.99 AUD

Category: Chat10Looks3 Recommendations

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"The best true spy story I have ever read."--JOHN LE CARR   The celebrated author of Double Cross and Rogue Heroes returns with his greatest spy story yet, a thrilling Americans-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the end of the Cold War .   If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6. For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets.   Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, Ben Macintyre's latest may be his best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carr , it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations. ...Show more

Batavia by Peter FitzSimons

$34.99 AUD

Category: Military

Bataviais the greatest story in Australia?s history and history comes to life with Peter Fitzsimons.The Shipwreck of the Batavia combines in just the one tale the birth of the world's first corporation, the brutality of colonisation, the battle of good vs evil, the derring-do of sea-faring adventure, mu tiny, ship-wreck, love, lust, blood-lust, petty fascist dictatorship, criminality, a reign of terror, murders most foul, sexual slavery, natural nobility, survival, retribution, rescue, first contact with native peoples and so much more. Described by author Peter FitzSimons as "a true Adults Only version of Lord of the Flies, meeting Nightmare on Elm Street," the story is set in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert decides to take the long-boat across 2000 miles of open sea for help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over, quickly deciding that 250 people on a small island is unwieldy for the small number of supplies they have. Quietly, he puts forward a plan to 40 odd mutineers how they could save themselves, kill most of the rest and spare only a half-dozen or so women, including his personal fancy, Lucretia Jansz - one of the noted beauties of Holland - to service their sexual needs. A reign of terror begins, countered only by a previously anonymous soldier Wiebbe Hayes, who begins to gather to him those are prepared to do what it takes to survive . . . hoping against hope that the Commandeur will soon be coming back to them with the rescue yacht. It all happened, long ago, and it is for a very good reason that Peter FitzSimons has long maintained that this is "far and away the greatest story in Australia's history, if not the world's." FitzSimons unique writing style has made him the country's best-selling non-fiction writer over the last ten years, and he is perfect man to make this bloody, chilling, stunning tale come alive. ...Show more

Fromelles: The Final Chapter by Tim Lycett

$29.99 AUD

Category: Military

'When we give these soldiers a dignified grave we accomplish here one of the oldest gestures of mankind. It is a gesture of devotion. It is the gesture accomplished by every son for his father and by every nation for their heroes. Let them rest in peace in this land for which they shed their blood and w hich owes them everything, including freedom!' - General Bruno Cuche, 30 January 2010. The Battle of Fromelles is Australia's 'worst 24 hours' according to the Australian War Memorial. As a result of the attack on 19-20 July 1916, the Australian casualties numbered 5533 men, including 1917 killed. For ninety years, the fate of the Diggers who broke through enemy lines was unknown. Then in 2008 the remains of 250 Australian soldiers were discovered in an unmarked mass grave at Pheasant Wood, and one of the great mysteries of World War I was finally solved. This is the story of a mission to identify and reclaim those lost Diggers. Former forensic crime scene investigator Tim Lycett details how determined volunteers worked with bureaucracies across the world to link the dead with their families nearly a century after the event. He brings to light the deeply moving personal stories of Australian soldiers who died on the battlefield of Fromelles, and who might otherwise have remained unknown forever. ...Show more

The Silver Spitfire: The Legendary WWII RAF Fighter Pilot in His Own Words

$22.99 AUD

Category: Military

Following the D-Day landings, Battle of Britain hero Tom Neil was assigned as an RAF liaison to an American fighter squadron. As the Allies pushed east, Neil commandeered an abandoned Spitfire as his own personal aeroplane. Erasing any evidence of its provenance and stripping it down to bare metal, it b ecame the RAF's only silver Spitfire. Alongside his US comrades, he took the silver Spitfire into battle until, with the war's end, he was forced to make a difficult decision. Faced with too many questions about the mysterious rogue fighter, he contemplated increasingly desperate measures to offload it, including bailing out mid-Channel. He eventually left the Spitfire at Worthy Down, never to be seen again. THE SILVER SPITFIRE is the first-hand, gripping story of Neil's heroic experience as an RAF fighter pilot and his reminiscences with his very own personal Spitfire. ...Show more

Smithsonian Civil War in 3D: The Life and Death of the Soldier by Michael Stephenson

$39.99 AUD

Category: Military

A collection of 35 stereoscopic photographs and sturdy metal viewer provide a remarkable and highly realistic 3D view of the daily life of soldiers during the American Civil War. Images will include building winter quarters, preparing food in the mess hall, bathing in a river in Virginia, waiting at the depot to be transported to the front lines, building roads, following the wagon trains from battle to battle and recuperating from wounds in hospitals. Detailed descriptions of the scenes depicted in the photographs are included on the back of each card. The kit includes an accompanying 176-page paperback book, The Civil War: The Life and Death of the Soldier, by Michael Stephenson that tells of the war from the soldiers' perspectives from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. What they ate, where they slept, how they filled the long hours while waiting for the next battle to start and other aspects of their gritty existence are detailed. Letters and diary entries are included and a timeline of the war puts the experiences described into context. ...Show more

The Raj at War: A People's History of India's Second World War by Yasmin Khan

$85.00 AUD

Category: Military

The Second World War was not fought by Britain alone. India produced the largest volunteer army in world history:over 2 million men. But, until now, there has never been a comprehensive account of India's turbulent home front and the nexus between warfare and India's society. At the heart of The Raj at War are the many lives and voices of ordinary Indian people. From the first Indian to win the Victoria Cross in the war to the three soldiers imprisoned as 'traitors to the Raj' who returned to a hero's welcome, from the nurses in Indian General Hospitals to the labourers, prostitutes and families-their testimonies reveal the great upheaval experienced throughout the land. Yasmin Khan presents the hidden and sometimes overlooked history of India at war, and shows how mobilisation for the war introduced seismic processes of economic, cultural and social change - decisively shaping the international war effort, the unravelling of the empire and India's own political and economic trajectory. ...Show more

Modern Warfare, Intelligence and Deterrence: The Technologies That are Transforming Them by Benjamin Sutherland

$29.99 AUD

Category: Military

The Panzerfaust-3, a German shoulder-fired heat-seeking antitank missile, can punch through a metre of solid steel-far more than any armoured vehicle could carry. The MPR-500, an Israeli precision bomb, can hammer through several storeys of a building and explode on a chosen floor. These and myriad othe r military and intelligences technologies are changing the world. This Economist book describes these emerging technologies and places them in the larger context of today's politics, diplomacy, business and social issues. It shows how efforts to win wars or keep the peace are driving enormous and multifold technological advances. Broadly speaking, defence technologies will continue to provide enormous advantages to advanced, Western armed forces. The book is organised into five parts: land and sea, air and space, the computer factor, intelligence and spycraft, and the road ahead, which examines the coming challenges for western armies, such as new wars against insurgents operating out of civilian areas.Comprising a selection of the best writing on the subject from the Economist, each part has an introduction linking the technological developments to political, diplomatic, business and other civilian matters. For anyone who wants to know just how smart the global war, defence and intelligence machine is, this will be revealing and fascinating reading. ...Show more

Last Stand at Khe Sanh: The U.S. Marines' Finest Hour in Vietnam by Gregg R. Jones

$34.99 AUD

Category: Military

In a remote mountain stronghold in 1968, six thousand US Marines awoke one January morning to find themselves surrounded by 20,000 enemy troops. Their only road to the coast was cut, and bad weather and enemy fire threatened their fragile air lifeline. The siege of Khe Sanh-the Vietnam War's epic confr ontation-was under way. For seventy-seven days, the Marines and a contingent of US Army Special Forces endured artillery barrages, sniper fire, ground assaults, and ambushes. Air Force, Marine, and Navy pilots braved perilous flying conditions to deliver supplies, evacuate casualties, and stem the North Vietnamese Army's onslaught. As President Lyndon B. Johnson weighed the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Americans watched the shocking drama unfold on nightly newscasts. Through it all, the bloodied defenders of Khe Sanh held firm and prepared for an Alamo-like last stand. Now, Gregg Jones takes readers into the trenches and bunkers at Khe Sanh to tell the story of this extraordinary moment in American history. Last Stand at Khe Sanh captures the exceptional courage and brotherhood that sustained the American fighting men throughout the ordeal. It brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters-young high school dropouts and rootless rebels in search of John Wayne glory; grizzled Korean War veterans; daredevil pilots; gritty platoon leaders and company commanders; and courageous Navy surgeons who volunteered to serve in combat with the storied Marines. Drawing on in-depth interviews with siege survivors, thousands of pages of archival documents, and scores of oral history accounts, Gregg Jones delivers a poignant and heart-pounding narrative worthy of the heroic defense of Khe Sanh. ...Show more

Maverick One by David Blakeley

$29.99 AUD

Category: Military

The explosive sequel to the bestselling PATHFINDER.For the first time ever an elite British operator tells the gruelling story of his selection into the Pathfinders - Britain's secret soldiers. Pathfinder selection is a brutal physical and psychological trial lasting many weeks. It rivals that of the SA S and takes place over the same spine-crushing terrain, in the rain-and-snow-lashed wastes of the Welsh mountains. For two decades no one has been able to relate the extraordinary trials of British elite forces selection - until now.Captain David Blakeley goes on from completing selection to serve with the Pathfinders in Afghanistan post 9/11, where he had a gun held to his head by Al Qaeda fighters. From there he deploys to Iraq, on a series of dramatic behind-enemy-lines missions - wherein he and his tiny elite patrol are outnumbered, outgunned and trapped. MAVERICK ONE is unique and extraordinary, chronicling the making of a warrior. It culminates in Blakeley fighting back to full recovery from horrific injuries suffered whilst on operations in Iraq, to go on to face SAS selection. ...Show more

Second World War: A Generation of Australian Heroes 1939-1945 by Richard Pelvin

$49.95 AUD

Category: Military

The Second World War was an entirely different proposition for Australia from the First World War. The disastrous toll of the 1914-1918 conflict, the shattering of the idealistic schemes for international order that followed it and the presence of a hostile and feared Asian empire close to the north mea nt that Australians regarded the declaration of war as a grim necessity, not a cause for celebration as in 1914. This beautifully illustrated book is a moving pictorial record of the Second World War as experienced by the Australian men and women who contributed so much. More than 500 rarely seen photographs, historic maps, letters and diaries from the Australian War Memorial archives bring the Second World War to life and create an intimate portrayal of the very human side of battle. Australians fought in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe and across the Pacific. In these theatres of war, despite the hardships, the horrors and the loss of life suffered, the inextinguishable bravery, dignity and spirit shown by the Australians make the Second World War one of their greatest endeavours as a nation. ...Show more

Hell-Bent: Australia's leap into the Great War by Douglas Newton

$32.99 AUD

Category: Military

Most histories of Australia's Great War rush their readers into the trenches. This history is very different. For the first time, it examines events closely, even hour-by-hour, in both Britain and Australia during the last days of peace in July-August 1914. London's choice for war was a very close-run t hing. At the height of the diplomatic crisis leading to war, it looked very much like Britain would choose neutrality. Only very late in the evening of Tuesday, 4 August did a small clique in the British cabinet finally engineer a declaration of war against Germany. Meanwhile, Australia's political leaders, deep in the throes of a federal election campaign, competed with each other in a love-of-empire auction. They leapt ahead of events in London. At the height of the diplomatic crisis, they offered to transfer the brand-new Royal Australian Navy to the British Admiralty. Most importantly, on Monday, 3 August, an inner group of the Australian cabinet, egged on by the governor-general, offered an expeditionary force of 20,000 men, to anywhere, for any objective, under British command, and with the whole cost to be borne by Australia - some forty hours before the British cabinet made up its mind. Australia's leaders thereby lost the chance to set limits, to weigh objectives, or to insist upon consultation. They needlessly exposed Australian soldiers and their families to the full horror of the mechanised slaughter that was to come. They were hell-bent - and they got there. ...Show more