The 1939-45 conflict was, for Britain, a 'total war'; no section of society remained untouched by military conscription, air raids, the shipping crisis and the war economy. In this comprehensive and engrossing narrative Angus Calder presents not only the great events and leading figures but also the oddities and banalities of daily life, and in particular the parts played by ordinary people: air raid wardens and Home Guards, factory workers and farmers, housewives and pacifists. Above all,...

Evelyn Waugh's masterful depiction of World War II, with an introduction by Martin StannardWaugh's own unhappy experience of being a soldier is superbly re-enacted in this story of Guy Crouchback, a Catholic and a gentleman, commissioned into the Royal Corps of Halberdiers during the war years 1939-45. High comedy - in the company of Brigadier Ritchie-Hook or the denizens of Bellamy's Club - is only part of the shambles of Crouchback's war. When action comes in Cre...

Distributed free in Edinburgh's bars and bookshops the One O'Clock Gun began in 2004 as a thought provoking, ballsy and often irreverent paper that initially appeared with a humble few followers.Today, over fifteen years later, The Gun is an Edinburgh institutution.Distributed from handmade wooden boxes, the One O'Clock Gun appears to be an A4 sheet but in fact folds out to a double-sided A2 broadsheet, both sides crammed with stories poems and illustrations.Although the Gun began with a h...

As Angus Calder states in his introduction to this edition, 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the major statements about the fighting experience of the First World War'. Lawrence's younger brothers, Frank and Will, had been killed on the Western Front in 1915. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, written between 1919 and 1926, tells of the vastly different campaign against the Turks in the Middle East - one which encompasses gross acts of cruelty and revenge and ends in a welter of stink and corpses ...

Part of BBC Radio 3's 'The Essay' strand, The Book That Changed Me features writers, academics and other eminent professionals discussing the literary works that have had the greatest impact on their lives.This fascinating selection contains some of the best episodes from the series, including legendary songwriter Steve Earle on Truman Capote's masterpiece In Cold Blood; academic Monica Siddiqui on Austen's Pride and Prejudice; and Tony Blair's onetime st...

Hours of great reading await, with tales of war and military adventure by some of the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Ranging from classics of the Civil War to the World Wars to the future of war -- and many other battlefields -- here more than 640 pages of military fiction! Included are the complete novel "The Red Badge of Courage," pulp stories by Arthur J. Burks, Johnston McCulley, Norman A. Daniels; science fiction by randall Garrett, Harry Harrison, Lester Del Rey; cl...

Evelyn Waugh's "Put Out More Flags" is a satirical exploration of the British upper class during the tumultuous period leading up to World War II. Written in Waugh's signature prose, the novel employs sharp wit and dark humor to examine the superficial lives of its characters, juxtaposing their trivial pursuits with the looming threat of global conflict. The narrative oscillates between farce and poignant realism, vividly capturing the disintegration of societal norms and expectations in a...

'We are Progress and the New Age. Nothing can stand in our way.' When Oxford-educated Emperor Seth succeeds to the throne of the African state of Azania, he has a tough job on his hands. His subjects are ill-informed and unruly, and corruption, double-dealing and bloodshed are rife. However, with the aid if Minister of Modernization Basil Seal, Seth plans to introduce his people to the civilized ways of the west - but will it be as simple as that?

Evelyn Waugh's celebrated tale of decadence and social disintegration, with an introduction by Philip EadeAfter seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last is bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. Brilliantly combining tragedy, comedy and savage irony, A Handful of Dust captures ...

Volume 2 contains novels four, five and six of the Dance To The Music Of Time sequence.Anthony Powell's brilliant twelve-novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations.This volume contains novels four, five and six of the sequence,

Evelyn Waugh's hilarious debut novel, with an introduction by Barbara CookeSent down from Oxford in outrageous circumstances, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, rascals and fools, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with it the delectable Ma...

Volume 4 contains novels ten to twelve of the Dance To The Music Of Time sequence.Anthony Powell's brilliant twelve novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations.Volume 4 contains the last three novels in the sequence: Books do Furnish a Room; Temporary Kings; Hearing Secret Harmonie...