Castle Builders

Castle Builders written by Malcolm Hislop and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £18.99 - Hardback - Pages 272

In Castle Builders, Malcolm Hislop looks at the hugely popular subject of castles from

the unusual perspective of design and construction. In this general introduction to the

subject, we discover something of the personalities behind their creation - the architects

and craftsmen - and, furthermore, the techniques they employed, and how style and

technology were disseminated. Castle Builders takes both a thematic and a chronological

approach to the design and construction of castles, providing the reader with clear lines

of development. Themes include earth, timber and stone construction techniques, the

evolution of the great tower, the development of military engineering, the progression of

domestic accommodation, and the degree to which aesthetics contributed to castle design.

This book looks at the creation and building of castles and types of castles from all around Europe. This book looks at the design, reasons, materials, fortifications, living conditions, military, aesthetics, and even the personalities of those commissioning the building and how this is impressed upon the building. The book is also full of great diagrams, drawings and photographs which really do complement the text and just help advance the learning from the book. I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and loved all the design, engineering and the process of how castles were built. As a fan of castles full stop, this was like a dream book. All I can say is that if you are a fan of castles, you will love this book.

Captured at Arnhem - Men’s Experiences in their own Words

Captured at Arnhem - Men’s Experiences in their own Words written

by Peter Green and published by Pen & Sword Books - £28 - Hardback - Pages 592

For the British 1st Airborne Division, Operation Market Garden in September 1944

was a disaster. The Division was eliminated as a fighting force with around half of its

men captured.

The Germans were faced with dealing with 6,000 prisoners in a fortnight; many of them seriously wounded. The POWs were processed and despatched to camps around Germany and German-occupied eastern Europe, here the men experienced the reality of the collapsing regime with little food and shrinking frontiers.

Operation Endor was put in place after the liberation in 1945 which required returning POWs to complete liberation questionnaires on their release and repatriation to Britain. Unfortunately, this was put in place after some had already returned however around a third of those captured, some 2,357, did complete the questionnaires giving a picture of everyday life of these elite troops time in captivity from capture to release.

These questionnaires show that men were often treated inhumanely, particularly when moved to camps by closed box cars and when camps were evacuated. Although the German interrogators were predominately interested in Allied aircraft and airfields, they were also concerned with politics and how Germany would be treated after an Allied victory.

Despite the terrible conditions and interrogations, the airborne men’s morale remained high; carrying out sabotage at artificial oil plants, railway repairs, factories and mines. Some overcame their guards when being evacuated at the end of the war, in some cases joining the Resistance and they recorded help received from Dutch, French and German civilians.

Wow, one just has to start this review with that as the work, research, effort and time that has gone into this book by the author Peter Green is immense. This book is a huge collection of information from records, interviews and questionnaires from the men who took part in Operation Market Garden, which attempted to take a number of bridges in Holland in order to forge an advance against Germany. Due to the failure of the operation, the Germans had to handle and deal with around 6,000 prisoners, with varying degrees of help given to the prisoners. As some were well treated and others were treated particularly poorly by their captors. 

There is great information in this book, as many were forced to walk great distances to various types of camps, many were forced to work to support the German machine and some shall we say were made to talk. This has been a fantastic book to read, packed with much valuable information, and I have to heap an awful lot of praise on the author who has done some great work and research. The only downside I could think of was as much of the information is in tables, it was always the easiest book to read practically, but this is such a minor issue. A really good book I would recommend to anyone, if I could put a number of stars at the end of this review, I'd put 5 stars.

The Kennedy Assassinations - JFK & Bobby Kennedy - Debunking the Conspiracy Theories

The Kennedy Assassinations - JFK & Bobby Kennedy - Debunking the

Conspiracy Theories written by Mel Ayton and published by Frontline

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 248

Few events have been the subject of more conspiracy theories than the assassinations

of the two Kennedy brothers. Indeed, a great many people consider that there were other

individuals than Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan Sirhan involved in both murders. Was a

shot fired from Dealey Plaza’s grassy knoll? Why did Jack Ruby shoot Oswald? Was it

the CIA, the Soviets, Cuban nationalists or the Mafia that arranged John Kennedy’s

assassination? Was Robert Kennedy shot from in front and behind, and who had the

most to gain from his death?

These are just a few of the questions that have been put forward by a myriad of conspiracy theorists and it is those people and their ideas that Mel Ayton has tackled head-on. Over many years, Mel Ayton has examined all the more substantial conspiracy theories and, through careful analysis of documents and eyewitness statements, he has demolished each one.

In each case, Mel Ayton presented the results of his detailed investigations in periodicals as he worked through the various theories. These have now been brought together to provide a comprehensive analysis of all the main theories as to who, how and why the two Kennedy brothers met their deaths in such unusual circumstances.

Though wild ideas will continue to be proposed and efforts will still be made to demonstrate that Oswald could not have fired off three shots with great accuracy in the few seconds available to him as the presidential cavalcade passed beneath the window where he crouched, or that there were sinister reasons why three CIA men were allegedly present on the night of Robert Kennedy’s assassination, the harsh reality is that the Kennedy brothers were each killed by lone gunmen.

This is an absorbing read, brought up to date with the addition of new material as it has been uncovered. Maybe, just maybe, this book will persuade people that the official accounts of both murders, although flawed, are not cover-ups but simply statements of fact.

Whenever you talk about the Kennedy Brothers now, you’re rarely going to talk about

their presidency or political life. Your sadly and usually going to be talking about their

assassinations. Both of these took place at a time of social and political turmoil in America,

there is a lot of conspiracy debate, conflict and myth-making. This is a really good book

as the author Mel Ayton takes the two presidents separately and goes through the differing

conspiracy theories one by one, ranging from the CIA, to a lone gunman, the Mafia and so

on and so on. Having read a good number of books on this subject previously I would
say that it is a well set out book and Mel Ayton argues each point very well. Certainly, an

excellent book if you are new to the subject and even if you’ve had a passing interest

previously. A book even I enjoyed and I quite like the author and his writing style having

read his previous book Protecting the Presidential Candidates.

The History of the London Underground Map

The History of the London Underground Map written by Caroline Roope

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 216

Few transportation maps can boast the pedigree that London’s iconic ‘Tube’ map

can. Sported on t-shirts, keyrings, duvet covers, and most recently, downloaded

an astonishing twenty million times in app form, the map remains a long-standing

icon of British design and ingenuity. Hailed by the art and design community as a

cultural artefact, it has also inspired other culturally important pieces of artwork,

and in 2006 was voted second in BBC 2’s Great British Design Test.

But it almost didn’t make it out of the notepad it was designed in.

The story of how the Underground map evolved is almost as troubled and fraught with complexities as the transport network it represents. Mapping the Underground was not for the faint-hearted – it rapidly became a source of frustration, and in some cases obsession – often driving its custodians to the point of distraction. The solution, when eventually found, would not only revolutionise the movement of people around the city but change the way we visualise London forever.

Caroline Roope’s wonderfully researched book casts the Underground in a new light, placing the world’s most famous transit network and its even more famous map in its wider historical and cultural context, revealing the people not just behind the iconic map, but behind the Underground’s artistic and architectural heritage. From pioneers to visionaries, disruptors to dissenters – the Underground has had them all – as well as a constant stream of (often disgruntled) passengers. It is thanks to the legacy of a host of reformers that the Tube and the diagram that finally provided the key to understanding it, have endured as masterpieces of both engineering and design.

I write this review having only ever been on the London Underground once in my life, and yet I have always found it to be fascinating if not mesmerising transport system. When you don’t come from an underground transport system area, it always staggering the layout and construction of something so huge, yet you can’t really see most of it. This is a really well laid out and researched book by the author Caroline Roops who has combined history and detail with modern-day details that will engage the reader. The book even explains a number of disputes amongst officials of the underground system, who wanted things their way against other people's opinions. I loved all the different little stories throughout the book which helped give a story and character to the various parts of the underground. This is a fascinating book and very well worth the read by an author who has done a great job in writing it.

Hitler’s Armed SS - The Waffen SS at War 1939-1945

Hitler’s Armed SS - The Waffen SS at War 1939-1945 written by

Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 -

Hardback - Pages 240

The Waffen-SS was one of the most formidable German military formations of the

Second World War – feared for its tenacity and ruthlessness in battle, notorious for

the atrocities it committed. As a distinct fighting force derived from the Nazi Party’s

SS organization, it stood apart from the other units of the German army. Its origins,

structure and operational role during the war are often misunderstood and the

controversy still surrounding its conduct makes it difficult today to get an accurate

picture of its actions and its impact on the fighting. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this

concise and fluently written account, provides an absorbing and clear-sighted

introduction to it.

He traces its development under Himmler from modest beginnings in the early 1930s as Hitler’s personal protection squad of elite soldiers to a force which eventually amounted to thirty-eight divisions. Towards the end of the war, many Waffen-SS units were formed from foreign volunteers and proved to be of poor quality, but its premier panzer divisions thoroughly deserved their reputation as tough fighters.

Through accounts of the Waffen-SS’s major battles on the Eastern Front, in Normandy and finally in defence of Germany, a detailed picture emerges of the contribution it made to the German war effort, especially when Hitler’s armies were in retreat. The parts played by the most famous Waffen-SS formations – Das Reich, Totenkopf, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler among them – and their commanders – men like Dietrich and Hausser – can be seen in the wider context of the war and Germany’s defeat. 

This book is most definitely a fascinating and informative one, written by a renown historian and one of my favourite writers Anthony Tucker-Jones. This book looks at one of Germany’s most accomplished and fearsome fighting forces, although some might say they were often notorious in some of their exploits. The book takes the reader right from its origins when it was seen as Hitler’s Bodyguard unit to what it would become, divisions of elite fighters serving as Germany’s elite soldiers by the end of the war. The Waffen SS would go from being notorious evil in the flattening of the Warsaw Ghettos to being seen as elite standard competent soldiers. Towards the end of the war, due to Germany losing many soldiers the standard of soldiers became less and more of a poorer standard than would be hoped for on Germany’s part. 

This book has a good number of first-hand accounts from the soldiers at points and operations throughout the war such as the Eastern Front and Normandy which give an excellent insight and wider knowledge. There are a good number of SS-specific photographs throughout, which really do add weight to the quality of the book. A really good book especially if you are interested in reading about how the German army was run and operated.

Heydrich Butcher of Prague

Heydrich Butcher of Prague written by Ian Baxter and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 144

Reinhard Heydrich along with Heinrich Himmler, whose deputy he was, will always

be regarded as one of the most ruthless of the Nazi elite. Even Hitler described him

as ‘a man with an iron heart’.

He established his fearsome reputation in the 1930s, as head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the intelligence organisation which neutralised opposition to the Nazi Party by murder and deportation. He organised Kristalnacht and played a leading role in the Holocaust, chairing the 1942 Wannsee Conference which formalised plans for the ‘Final Solution’. In addition, as head of the Einsatzgruppen murder squads in Eastern Europe he was responsible for countless murders.

Appointed Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, he died of wounds inflicted by British-trained SOE operatives in Prague in May 1942. The reprisals that followed his assassination were extreme by even the terrible standards of Nazi ruthlessness.

Heydrich’s shocking and leading role in the Nazi regime is graphically portrayed in this Images of War book.

For some reason, I have a little fascination in Reinhard Heydrich, not in a fanboy way but because he looks and acted like an arrogant and pompous oaf. I learnt about him in university before I saw him, so having heard what a cruel man he was, eventually finding out what he looked like just confirmed what I had been told. What this man carried out in Czechoslovakia was sick and cruel and this is explained in this great little book which explains his rise to his position, and what he did to endear himself to Hitler and Himmler. But finally, the book talks about his death at the hands of SOE operatives, and I suppose this adds to the story in that there was such drama around his death and how it happened or very nearly didn’t. This book is an Images of War book and although the pictures are limited, this is down to the fact that there are little ‘action’ type photos but the ones there are, are good but a bit formal in nature. But I would still say this is an excellent read and a good addition to the Images of War series.

Hill 112 The Key to Defeating Hitler in Normandy

Hill 112 The Key to Defeating Hitler in Normandy written by Tim Saunders

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 328

‘He who holds Hill 112 holds Normandy’ seemed an unlikely maxim when the hill

is viewed from a distance, but on reaching its plateau, the vistas unfold in every

direction across a huge swath of Normandy. For the Germans, it was their vital

defensive ground, but for the British, it was an essential stepping stone en route

to the River Orne and access to the open country south to Falaise.

The Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division lost Hill 112 to 4th Armoured Brigade when the Scots captured the Tourmauville Bridge intact, but the essence of Hill 112’s tactical problem soon became clear. It was impossible for armour to survive on its broad plateau, while the infantry could only hold the skeletal orchards and woods at the cost of crushing casualties. With II SS Panzer Corps preparing to attack the British, the toe hold was given up and 11th Armoured Division was left holding a bridgehead across the River Odon.

Ten days later, 43rd Wessex Division was ordered to resume the advance to the Orne with Hill 112 its first objective. As the west countrymen and tanks rose to advance, they met withering fire from the stronghold that Hill 112 had become. The scene was set for one of the grimmest battles of the campaign.

For six weeks from the end of June into August, when the Allied advances finally gained momentum, Hill 112 was far too important to let the opposition hold and exploit it. Consequently, it was regularly shelled and mortared, and shrouded with smoke and dust, while soldiers of both sides clung to their respective rims of the plateau.

By the end, Hill 112 had developed a reputation as evil as that of any spot on the First World War’s Western Front.

The battle for Hill 112 is an important one as it was of strategic advantage to both sides. What we have in this book is an excellent story of a battle, on a few important levels such as the everyday man on the frontline to the tactical planning level of the higher ranking officers. In some parts of the story, the fighting and combat does get a bit grim or harsh, but this is why Hill 112 was so important in that it took people to commit the ultimate sacrifice for the cause. I must admit that this book did have me hooked throughout and had me reading it in just a couple of sittings. This is down to a gripping story, but also a well-written book by an author/historian who clearly has some experience in these circumstances. The book is supported by some great historical sources, photographs, maps, tactics and charts. This was a really good read and one I would certainly recommend to others.