The Counterterrorist Manual: A Practical Guide to Elite International Units, Leroy Thompson

The Counterterrorist Manual: A Practical Guide to Elite International Units, Leroy Thompson. This well illustrated and up to date book covers the world of those who hunt the terrorists when an incident takes place, from Special Forces to special police teams. It covers the background and evolution of counter terrorism using some up to date examples of counterterrorism operations. Chapters also look at unit organization, training, selection and equipment, interspersed with many colour plates and diagrams. Its focus is very clearly on the teams that intervene during hostage or hijacking situations and does not cover the security and intelligence services and their operations against terrorist groups [read full review]

The Mongol Invasion of Japan 1274 and 1281, Stephen Turnbull

The Mongol Invasion of Japan 1274 and 1281, Stephen Turnbull. A high quality and beautifully illustrated account of the two Mongol invasions of Japan, drawing on Japanese, Korean, Mongol and Chinese sources and modern archaeology, to paint a detailed picture of a key moment in Japanese history. [read full review]

Over the Battlefield: Operation Bluecoat - Breakout from Normandy, Ian Daglish

Over the Battlefield: Operation Bluecoat - Breakout from Normandy, Ian Daglish. A very detailed but still readable account of Operation Bluecoat, the British contribution to the final Allied breakout from Normandy, supported by an impressive number of small scale maps and aerial photographs. A very valuable piece of work. [read full review]

Mitsubishi Ki-30 'Ann'

The Mitsubishi Ki-30 'Ann' was produced as part of the Japanese Army's modernization programme of the mid 1930s, but although its design contained a number of technical 'firsts' for Japan it was a mediocre aircraft, and suffered heavy losses when it came up against determined resistance.

Mitsubishi Ki-46 'Dinah'

The Mitsubishi Ki-46 'Dinah' was the Japanese Army's main reconnaissance aircraft of the Second World War, and was one of the most aerodynamically perfect aircraft of its era.

Mitsubishi Ki-51 'Sonia'

The Mitsubishi Ki-51 'Sonia' was a very successful Japanese ground attack aircraft that remained in service throughout the Second World War.

Mitsubishi Ki-71 'Edna'

The Mitsubishi Ki-71 'Edna' was an armed reconnaissance aircraft developed from the successful Ki-51 'Sonia' ground attack aircraft that reached no further than the prototype stage.

The Mauryan Empire

Conquests of the Mauryan Empire, c.324-261 BC: The Mauryan Empire was the first power to unite most of the Indian subcontinent, and at its peak stretched from Afghanistan in the north-west, east almost to the mouth of the Ganges and south as far as modern Mysore
Seleucus I Nicator's invasion of India (c.306-303 BC) was one of a series of obscure campaigns fought by Seleucus in an attempt to gain control of the eastern part of his recently regained kingdom
The conquest of Kalinga of c.271-261 BC was the only aggressive war fought by the third Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, and the suffering he saw during this war helped turn the Emperor away from violence and towards a more peaceful path.

Chandragupta Maurya (fr.c.325-290 BC) was the founder of the Mauryan Empire, the first great power to dominate the Indian sub-continent.
Bindusara (fr.298-273 BC) was the second ruler of the Mauryan Empire, and may have been responsible for extending the empire into southern India.
Ashoka (fl.269-232 BC) was the third and possibly greatest ruler of the Mauryan Empire, best known for renouncing aggressive war and his efforts to spread Buddhism.

Mitsubishi Ki-15 'Babs'

The Mitsubishi Ki-15 'Babs' was the main reconnaissance aircraft in use with the Imperial Japanese Army at the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and was still in front line service during the Japanese conquests at the start of 1942.
The Mitsubishi C5M was a version of the Ki-15 reconnaissance aircraft built for the Japanese Navy after the Ki-15 proved itself over China.

Mitsubishi Ki-21 'Sally'

The Mitsubishi Ki-21 'Sally' was the Japanese Imperial Army's most important heavy bomber during the Sino-Japanese War and for most of the Second World War.
The Mitsubishi MC-21 was a transport aircraft produced by converting surplus Ki-21-Ia bombers that had been withdrawn from front line service

Mitsubishi Ki-57

The Mitsubishi Ki-57 was the main personnel transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War, and was developed from the Ki-21 twin engined heavy bomber.
The Mitsubishi L4M1 was the designation given to a small number of Mitsubishi Ki-57-I transport aircraft that were transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy

Hawker Sea Fury

The Hawker Sea Fury was the most powerful piston engined fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, seeing most service during the Korean War, despite having originally been developed as a light-weight long range fighter intended for RAF service in the war against Japan
The Hawker Sea Fury Mk.X was the first production version of the Sea Fury, and was a short-lived air superiority fighter that was soon replaced by the FB.11 fighter bomber
The Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 was the main production version of the Sea Fury, and was produced after it was decided to use the aircraft as a fighter-bomber rather than as an air superiority fighter
The Hawker Sea Fury T.20 was a two-seat trainer originally developed as a private venture by Hawker, but that was adopted by the Fleet Air Arm
The Hawker Sea Fury TT.20 was a target-tug produced from surplus T.20 trainers for the new Luftwaffe in the late 1950s

General Karl von Bülow (1846-1921)

General Karl von Bülow (1846-1921) was the German general who ordered the first retreat during the First Battle of the Marne, moving his 2nd Army back to the Aisne and ending any chance that the Germans might win the war in the west in 1914

Arctic Convoy PQ8: The Story of Capt Robert Brundle and the SS Harmatris, Michael Wadsworth

Arctic Convoy PQ8: The Story of Capt Robert Brundle and the SS Harmatris, Michael Wadsworth. Combines an autobiography of the author's grandfather with the story of Arctic Convoys PQ8 and QP14 to produce a very human view of the arctic convoys and the struggles and suffering of the crews that helped get essential supplies to the Soviet Union. [read full review]

In All Things First - No.1 Squadron at War 1939-1945, Peter Caygill

In All Things First - No.1 Squadron at War 1939-1945, Peter Caygill. A very details day-by-day history of the RAF's premier single engined fighter squadron during the Second World War, a period that saw them take part in just about every aspect of the air war, from the Battle of Britain to providing daylight bomber escorts over Germany. [read full review]

Gunther Plüschow: Airman, Escaper, Explorer, Anton Rippon

Gunther Plüschow: Airman, Escaper, Explorer, Anton Rippon. The biography of a remarkable figure - a German airman who fought at Tsingtao in China, before become the only German POW to escape from Britain during either World War and returning to a hero's welcome in Germany. [read full review]

Tudor Sea Power - The Foundation of Greatness, David Childs

Tudor Sea Power - The Foundation of Greatness, David Childs. A wide ranging study of the Tudor navy from its rise under Henry VIII to the more famous clash with Spain under Elizabeth I, looking at every aspect of the fleet from the smallest details of equipment up to the great clashes with the French and Spanish. [read full review]

The Battle for Burma, Roy Conyers Nesbit

The Battle for Burma, Roy Conyers Nesbit. A well paced account of the series of campaigns fought in Burma between the Japanese invasion of 1942 and the Allied re-conquest of the country in 1945, covering the Japanese conquest of Burma, the campaigns on the Indian border, and the contribution made by India, American and Chinese troops to the eventual victory. [read full review]

Searching for the Queen's Cowboys, Tony Maxwell

Searching for the Queen's Cowboys, Tony Maxwell. A book with three main strands: a travelogue that follows the author around South Africa as he filmed a documentary about the Strathcona Horse; reflections on his childhood in apartheid South Africa and on the history of the country; and an account of the role of the Strathcona Horse, a Canadian cavalry unit, in the fighting during the Boer War [read full review]

Alone I Fly - A Wellington Pilot's Desert War, Bill Bailey

Alone I Fly - A Wellington Pilot's Desert War, Bill Bailey. Wider ranging than the title would suggest, Bailey served as a Wellington pilot in North Africa and from Malta, an airfield controller on Malta and as an instructor in the UK, all after surviving a fairly disastrous first mission in the desert. An engaging and wide ranging autobiography that gives an unusual view of the RAF at war. [read full review]

Mons, Anzac and Kut, by an MP, Lieutenant Colonel the Hon. Aubrey Herbert MP, ed. Edward Melotte

Mons, Anzac and Kut, by an MP, Lieutenant Colonel the Hon. Aubrey Herbert MP, ed. Edward Melotte. Three very different diaries from the same author that show how attitudes to the war changed in the first two years of the First World War as the promise of a short exciting war faded away. They also provide some valuable insights into the events they portray, illuminating the chaos of the early fighting in France and the hopelessness of the Allied position at Gallipoli. [read full review]

The Real Tenko, Mark Felton

The Real Tenko, Mark Felton. A grim account of the ordeals suffered by female prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War, starting with a series of atrocities that took place during the initial conquests, and continuing throughout the war in the huge network on internment camps established across the new Japanese empire. [read full review]

Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 6 . Carnyz, cornu and signa: Battlefield communications

Ancient Warfare Volume III Issue 6 . Carnyz, cornu and signa: Battlefield communications. With its main focus on military signals and standards this issue of Ancient Warfare magazine looks at the evolution of the battle standard from Persian to Roman times, and the various methods used to issue commands across the ancient battlefield, including musical instruments. Also includes a look at late Roman battle tactics, and the battle of Cunaxa. [see more]

Fleet Air Arm Carrier Warfare, Kev Darling

Fleet Air Arm Carrier Warfare, Kev Darling. A complete history of the Fleet Air Arm's use of aircraft carriers, from the earliest experiments during the First World War, through the Second World War, where the carriers became the most important capital ships in the navy, the Korean War, which saw the Fleet Air Arm involved from the beginning to the end, the Falklands War, which re-emphasised the important of the carrier and right up to the current 'super-carriers'. [read full review]

Roman Conquests: Macedonia and Greece, Philip Matyszak

Roman Conquests: Macedonia and Greece, Philip Matyszak. A lucid account of the eighty years that saw the Romans go from virtually unknown outsiders in Greece to become the dominate power in the peninsula having beaten the Macedonians in a series of devastating victories that helped established the superiority of the Legions over the Phalanx [read full review]

Yamato Class Battleships, Steve Wiper

Yamato Class Battleships, Steve Wiper. Aimed at the modeller, this volume contains reviews of the best kits of the massive Yamato class of battleships and book reviews written from the point of view of their usefulness for the modeller. Also contains a good section on the design, construction, service record and eventual fate of the two battleships and one aircraft carrier in the class. [read full review]

US Destroyers 1934-45 Pre-war classes, Dave McComb

US Destroyers 1934-45 Pre-war classes, Dave McComb. A look at the design, construction and service record of the ten classes of destroyers built for the US Navy between the resumption of destroyer construction in the early 1930s and the American entry into the Second World War, from the Farragut class of 1934 to the massive Gleaves class, of which sixty-six were funded between 1938 and 1942. [read full review]