Women of the American Revolution

Women of the American Revolution written by Samantha Wilcoxson and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 -Hardback - Pages 192

Women of the American Revolution will explore the trials of war and daily life for women in

the United States during the War for Independence. What challenges were caused by the

division within communities as some stayed loyal to the king and others became patriots?

How much choice did women have as their loyalties were assumed to be that of their

husbands or fathers? The lives of women of the American Revolution will be examined

through an intimate look at some significant women of the era. Some names will be familiar,

such as Martha Washington who travelled to winter camps to care for her husband and rally

the troops or Abigail Adams who ran the family’s farms and raised children during John’s

long absences. Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton is popular for her role in Hamilton the musical,

but did you know she was also an early activist working tirelessly for multiple social causes?

Decide for yourself if the espionage of Agent 355 or the ride of Sybil Ludington are history or

myth. Not all American women served the side of the revolutionaries. Peggy Shippen

gambled on the loyalist side and paid severe consequences. From early historian Mercy Otis

Warren to Dolley Madison, who defined what it means to be a US First Lady, women of the

American Revolution strived to do more than they had previously thought possible during a

time of hardship and civil war.

At long last, I get a book to review on one of my favourite subjects, American history. This

book Women of the American Revolution looks at the leaders or those that were particularly

strident in a number of causes around the American Revolution. I liked this book due to the

wide variety of women mentioned as it was a broad spectrum both for and against

independence. We read about Martha Washington and Elizabeth Hamilton and also we

should mention Agent 355. I enjoyed the book and found it well written and balanced but

also it helped me learn more about people I hadn’t known about. A good thought out read.

The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-45 Veteran’s Stories

The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-45 Veteran’s Stories written by Jeremy Archer and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 312

The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-1945 comprises interviews with some of the very few

surviving veterans of this most arduous of campaigns. In their own words, soldiers, sailors

and airmen now aged between 95 and 101 vividly recount the experiences that they

endured more than seventy-five years ago. This is oral history at its best, from officers and

men of 14th Army, which comprised some 100,000 British and other Commonwealth

personnel, 340,000 from the Sub-Continent and 90,000 East and West Africans. The

interviewees include individuals from all these groups. Their accounts cover the retreat

from Burma, the Chindit operations behind Japanese lines, the hard-fought struggle in the

Arakan, the crucial battles at Kohima and Imphal, and the final advance to Rangoon,

culminating in a decisive victory.

The veterans featured in this fascinating collection include a Primus (Archbishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, a former Chairman of Manchester City Football Club, and the Principal of the Accra Polytechnic in Ghana as well as two career Army officers. Regardless of their post-war achievements, all the contributors share the distinction of having served in a hugely demanding and ultimately victorious campaign against a merciless enemy. Their accounts make for inspiring and unforgettable reading.

Burma, one of the hardest types of battlefield to fight in due to the heat, terrain and jungle conditions. This book The Final Curtain: Burma is a fantastic book where the reader hears from a good number of allied servicemen who fought in connection with Burma, these stories come from men who served in all branches of the armed forces. I call this book fantastic because it is a book containing stories from the men involved, their experiences, thoughts and the events that happened to them. This is so important because it is first-hand experiences, such a valuable resource in history. The author Jeremy Archer has done a great job in getting these stories and putting them together in such an easy-to-read manner, the maps in the book are good and there is a good number of photos throughout. I would certainly recommend this book highlighting such an important part of WWII.

The Harwich Striking Force

The Harwich Striking Force written by Steve R Dunn and published by

Seaforth Publishing - £25 - Hardback - Pages 336

The Harwich Force has made its name and will not be forgotten during the future annals of history’; so said Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt on Armistice Day 1918. But that fame has not endured. Yet for the whole duration of the First World War, the Harwich Striking Force was the front line of the Royal Navy, a force of cruisers and destroyers defending the seas for the Allies.

Under a charismatic and aggressive leader, Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, U-boats, German cruisers, destroyers and light craft all met their ends at the hands of the Force, as did enemy seaplanes and Zeppelin airships. The Harwich ships were at sea almost daily throughout the war, haunting the German coast and the Friesian Islands, pioneering aerial attack from the sea, developing naval carrier aviation and combined air/sea operations, and hunting for enemy submarines and minelayers in the North Sea. The Harwich Force also took part in major naval battles alongside the Grand Fleet’s battlecruisers, and protected merchant ships operating in the dangerous waters around Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

The author also assesses the role played by the other Royal Navy formations at Harwich: submarines, auxiliary minesweeping and patrol vessels, the Felixstowe seaplane base and the town itself. And when the war was finally won, the Force gained further fame when the German U-boat fleet was surrendered there.

Lavishly illustrated, this book is an enthralling account of the men of the Harwich Force, of their grit and brave sacrifice and the key part that they played in the final Allied victory against Germany.

I enjoy it when a Steve R Dunn book arrives for review, your guaranteed a very good and comprehensive read. It’s probably reading Dunn's books that have encouraged my reading of everything naval or maritime in recent years. The Harwich Striking Force goes through the highs and lows encountered by the striking force and what a fantastic job they did throughout WWI, facing German U-Boats, cruisers, destroyers and even light aircraft, seaplanes and zeppelins. The Harwich Force was fundamentally holding their own led for the most part by their tenacious leader in Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt. The ability of Tyrwhitt to organise and plan manoeuvres would hold off and help secure the North sea area, providing a vital win for the allied cause. 

The book, in my opinion, is very well written and a lot of research has gone into this book, there are a good number of photographs throughout the book with maps and diagrams too. I always enjoy the notes and tables at the back of a book and this book doesn’t disappoint with excellent appendices, notes and a bibliography. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I guessed I would, it really is a good read and kept me hooked for a good few days. Most definitely recommended.

The World’s First Football Superstar - The Life of Stephen Smith

The World’s First Football Superstar - The Life of Stephen Smith written

by Owen Arthur and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback -

Pages 296

Buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of the small village of Benson in

Oxfordshire lies the body of a footballing world champion from a bygone era

shrouded in the mists of time. His name was Stephen Smith. This footballer of

the Victorian and Edwardian era could claim as many league title winning medals

as John Terry and Wayne Rooney, more league winners medals than Eric Cantona,

Frank Lampard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer.

This book is the never before told story of a footballer born at the end of the Industrial Revolution, son of agricultural labourers who became a miner, working underground combining that job with one as a professional footballer to rise to the top of the footballing world. Smith won trophy after trophy in the best and only professional league anywhere in the world at that time. He also scored the goal that made England World Champions in 1895.

Smith, at the top of his game in a move that mirrored the Premier League breakaway of 1992 and the recent ill-fated European Super League then joined the newly formed Southern League at a time when the Football League started to cap player wages. He did this in order to ensure his family’s future as well as end his reliance on his part-time earnings from mining. Football’s zeitgeist has fundamentally changed very little in the last 130 years for those inside the industry.

This book is the story of Stephen Smith, England’s leading footballer at the turn of the 19th century, this man would have been the equivalent of the likes of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Having the world at his feet, he was playing at a number of clubs and England, winning a plethora of trophies. Pen & Sword Books always exposes my knowledge of sporting history because I think like many, very few will have heard of Stephen Smith. But his story is interesting to learn and if anything makes me wish we could have some more of him present today. A really good book and makes me think about how good football used to be.

Titanic - Day By Day

Titanic - Day by Day written by Simon Medhurst and published by Pen &

Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 400

After the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, the story hit the headlines worldwide.

Details of the tragedy were displayed on the front pages of every newspaper and

magazine, and were talked about in every home.

The events that happened on that fateful night should never be forgotten. In this unique book, each page is filled with information for every Titanic enthusiast, whether seasoned or a beginner. For each day of the year, there are births and deaths of passengers and crew alongside relevant newspaper articles from the time. These are details of true-life events as seen by the eyes of the world in 1912.

Also included are Titanic facts and Titanic survivor quotes. This allows the reader to discover more about the tragedy as it unfolded before the eyes of witnesses, and to delve into the British and American inquiries to see what really happened.

Simon's great-grandfather Robert Hichens, one of the six quartermasters of the Titanic, was at the helm when the ship hit the iceberg. He survived on lifeboat number six. His experience on Titanic is one of hundreds recounted in this book, passengers and crew alike.

Titanic Day by Day has a worldwide appeal to all ages because of the wealth of information and facts within. The book can be picked up both for casual reading or used every day of the week and enjoyed. It is distinctive in the way that it covers facts and information on Titanic’s passengers and crew in a daily format. With the information displayed throughout a full year, this allows for a uniquely straightforward exploration of details about the people who perished in the waters of the Atlantic and those that survived. This will keep their stories alive for generations to come.

This book is very much a personal book concentrating on the passengers rather than the disaster itself. The book looks at every day throughout the year and looks at the personal events of the people who were on board on that date. What this allows is the personal stories of the people and how the disaster affected them, and it should be said that the accounts are of those passengers but also the crew members on board. This was a nice easy read, but it should also be said that it was very informative and detailed, there has been a lot of research gone into this book.

A Tailor in Auschwitz

A Tailor in Auschwitz written by David van Turnhout & Dirk Verhofstadt and

published by Pen & Sword - £22 - Hardback - Pages 240

David Van Turnhout and Dirk Verhofstadt traced the story of David's Jewish grandfather,

Ide Leib Kartuz. Fleeing from antisemitism and violence, he came to Antwerp in 1929

and set up business as a tailor. The family he left behind ended up in the ghetto of

Radomsko. Each and every member of the family was gassed at Treblinka. In Belgium,

Kartuz joined the resistance movement, but was arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and

deported to Auschwitz. On arrival there, his wife and two children immediately died a

horrible death.

He survived in a unit of tailors where he repaired camp clothing and SS guards' uniforms, sometimes receiving special orders from SS officers. Kartuz endured an inhuman death march to Mauthausen. After the war, back in Antwerp, he made tailored suits for bankers and other business people. His final battle was against the Belgian state, for recognition as a Belgian citizen, member of the resistance and war victim. Very few people realise how difficult it was for Jewish people to survive after liberation.

The authors dig deep into the core of the Holocaust and investigate every trail from Radomsko to Miami. In the Auschwitz archives, they discover unpublished witness statements by tailors in Block 1. And completely unexpectedly, they also discover a cousin of Ide's, living in Florida. She had survived as a child by hiding in an attic in Brussels and speaks for the first time about those dark days. It took the authors a year to wind their questing way through important discoveries and setbacks but in this tribute, an unknown piece of history has finally been given a face.

This book is the story and struggle of Jewish tailor Ide Leib Kartuz who had been sent along with millions of other Jews to concentration camps in Europe during WW2 at the hands of Hitlers Nazi’s. The one reason that kept Kartuz from being killed in the concentration was his expertise and skills as a tailor, German guards and staff would appreciate the work and skill he could do in making clothing for the guard's wives and families. Kartuz would be picked up pre-war as a successful tailor but would make his way back there after the war to carry on his profession, but we find out about all the suffering and hell that went on. While the book is never going to be an easy read, this book is written well and an emotional story has now been written, sharing the levels of depravity that man can stoop to. Along with many other books like this, this book can tell a story that should never be forgotten. It is though heartwarming to know that Ide Leib Kartuz would go on to live to a good age.

Spies Who Changed History

Spies Who Changed History written by Nigel West and published by Frontline

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

Spies have made an extraordinary impact on the history of the 20th Century, but fourteen

in particular can be said to have been demonstrably important. As one might expect, few

are household names, and it is only with the benefit of recently declassified files that we

can now fully appreciate the nature of their contribution.

The criteria for selection have been the degree to which each can now be seen to have had a very definite influence on a specific course of events, either directly, by passing vital classified material, or indirectly, by organizing or managing a group of spies. Those selected were active in the First World War, the inter-war period, the Second World War, the Cold War and even the post-Cold War era.

These include Walther Dewé who formed a spy ring in German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. This train-watching network, known as ‘White Lady’, reported on German troop deployments and possible weaknesses in the German defences. Extending its operations into northern France, the ring provided 75 per cent of the information received by GHQ, British Expeditionary Force. By the time of the Armistice in 1918, Dewé’s group had a staggering 1,300 members.

Olga Gray, the 27-year-old daughter of a Daily Mail journalist, was employed as a secretary by the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1931 she undertook a mission for MI5 to penetrate the organization and discover its secret channel of communication with Moscow. Gray learned that the Party’s cipher was based on Treasure Island and this breakthrough enabled the Party’s messages to be read by Whitehall cryptographers.

These, and other surprising stories, are revealed in this fascinating insight into a secret world inhabited by mysterious and shadowy characters, all of whom, though larger than life, really did exist.

This book Spies Who Changed History, basically tells the stories of 24 spies from around the world in each chapter, these range from the Great War up to the end of the Cold War. These are all well-written and go into good detail about the spying missions, the cause and the outcome. I quite enjoyed this book as the stories were more factual rather than the added-on fiction or adjectively based. So I think those who want more detail in their reading will enjoy this book. I have also read a couple of Nigel West books previously and his book is always of a detailed kind and are comprehensively informed. A good book for the spy lover.