Spies by Calder Walton – The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West – is a timely book, well worth reading. It shows an incredible history of spying, between US, UK, russia, and more recently, China. While the history covers about 100 years, the cold…
No Other Way by Liz Woolley, Christopher Farman, and Valery Rose is a short but interesting book on Oxford’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War. All of Oxford – town and gown – was affected by what was happening in Spain. Because of its focus…
The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell – Socialism and the English Genius – is a long essay on topics such as socialism and patriotism. It is a political and social statement. I am loving Orwell’s style. I enjoy reading his books and essay…
The best way to describe Camouflage by Eric Larson* is to share a funny story. I received the book and showed it to my husband. He was surprised that there is a book about camouflage fabrics, so he opened it and looked at a random…
Fighting for the United States, Executed in Britain by Simon Webb* – US Soldiers Court-Martialled in WWII has, as many of Webb’s books, a very unusual and not exactly well known subject. This makes the book fascinating and surprising, of course. One of the most…
Attlee’s Labour governments by Robert Pearce is a short and concise book on the governments between 1945 and 1951. The post-war period brought some significant changes, which still impact the modern-day lives of Brits. I liked how clear was all presented in the book, but,…
Maiden voyages by Sian Evans sounded like a fascinating book, as the subtitle explains it’s about women and the golden age of Transatlantic travel. Well, the book is such a disappointment. It feels like gossip many times. For example, she talks about Donald Trump’s mother…
The Failure of Political Extremism in Inter-War Britain by Andrew Thorpe (Editor) is a very short book, less than 100 pages, about the extremism in the 1920s and 1930s. I read it for my studies even though I didn’t intend to. I started to read…
The Suffragette Bombers by Simon Webb* – Britain’s Forgotten Terrorists – is a book on a controversial topic. It’s not the first book by Webb in which he tackles the idea of the link between women’s suffrage and the militant actions of the suffragettes, but…
I was intrigued by Black Poppies by Stephen Bourne because it deals, as the subtitle mentions, with Britain’s Black Community and the Great War. It was interesting to see how they were seen by the rest of population. Black soldiers were included in the regular…
Lady Under Fire on the Western Front by Andrew and Nicola Hallam is a collection of letters written by Lady Dorothie Mary Evelyn Feilding, Earl of Denbigh’s daughter. When the First World War broke out she volunteered from 1914 as an ambulance driver for the…
We Also Served by Vivien Newman* – The Forgotten Women of the First World War is the latest book I finished on the war. I’ve been very busy with a home front essay and I’ve been reading lots on the war, this is the 8th…
The book Menus, Munitions and Keeping the Peace by Avalon Weston* – The Home Front Diaries of Gabrielle West 1914 – 1917 – has a fascinating story. Avalon Weston watched a BBC Series on war diaries and her cousin asked if this one was not…
Britain and World War One by Alan Simmonds is a very good book on life on the home front during WWI. The book flows nicely making it a delight to read. I finished it in 2 days because it was so lovely to read and…
I had no idea that there were POW camps in Britain. I knew that there were some POWs here, but not that barracks were built for this purpose. Obviously I was very curious to read German Prisoners of the Great War by Anne Buckley*. It…
I’ve read a few books by this author and I liked them a lot. First World War Trials and Executions by Simon Webb* is a book about Britain’s Traitors, Spies and Killers, 1914-1918, as the subtitle suggests. It is a less known subject and, of…