The New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor"An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage." — Reader's DigestIn this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight.At 8:10 a.m. on Decem...

The New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor**“An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —**Reader’s DigestIn this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight.At 8:06 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Se...

The epic true story of the Battle of Dunkirk—now a major motion picture by Christopher Nolan, starring Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, and Mark Rylance.New York Times Bestseller"This book, magnificently edited by Joshua Levine, is a great tribute to the extraordinary spirit of an army shattered in battle but determined not to surrender." —Peter Snow, author of When Britain Burned the Whit...

Most people go to an optician if their vision is bad. However, when Richard Henry Dana's sight was affected by measles while he was at Harvard College, he decided a sea voyage round Cape Horn was the best solution.He joined the crew of a merchant ship at Boston, kept a daily diary of his adventures, then produced this American classic. 'Two Years Before the Mast' is a vivid account of the true life of a common sailor at sea.Throughout his journey, Dana encounters indigenous...

A British Naval commander's eyewitness account of the 1982 war in the South Atlantic.Since he was in charge of the amphibious operations in the Falklands War, it goes without saying that there is no one better qualified to tell the story of that aspect of the campaign than Commodore Michael Clapp. Here he describes, with considerable candor, some of the problems met in a Navy racing to war and finding it necessary to recreate a largely abandoned operational techniq...

On the night of December 7, 1942, five canoes were launched off the mouth of the Gironde river, each containing a pair of British commandoes tasked with slipping into the port of Bordeaux and destroying as many of the merchant ships as possible.Only two of the canoes made it to the target, but it was enough. Five enemy ships were badly damaged in the attack. It then became a game of cat and mouse for the surviving commandoes in their attempt to get back to Britain....

After the end of World War I, the German Navy came up with the concept of the Panzerschiffe, or Pocket Battleship, to circumvent treaty limitations on the size and types of ship Germany was permitted to build.New, more modern production methods, where welded construction prevailed over the older riveting process, were combined with the development of modern engines capable of fast speeds and a very powerful armament, far superior to that on any enemy Cruisers....

Using official records from the National Archives personal accounts from the Imperial War Museum and other sources, Coastal Convoys 1939 1945: The Indestructible Highway describes Britains dependence on coastal shipping and the introduction of the convoy system in coastal waters at the outset of the war. It beings to life the hazards of the German mining offensive of 1939, the desperate battles fought in coastal waters during 1940 and 1941, and the long struggle against German air and nava...

Too often historical writing on the Russian War of 1854-56 focuses narrowly on the land campaign fought in the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea. The wider war waged at sea by the British and French navies against the Russians is ignored. The allied navies aimed to strike at Russian interests anywhere in the world where naval force could be brought to bear, and as a result campaigns were waged in the Baltic, the Black Sea, the White Sea, on the Russian Pacific coast and in the Sea of Azof...

The five volumes that constitute Arthur Marder's From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow represented arguably the finest contribution to the literature of naval history since Alfred Mahan. A J P Taylor wrote that 'his naval history has a unique fascination. To unrivaled mastery of sources he adds a gift of simple narrative . . . He is beyond praise, as he is beyond cavil.'The five volumes were subtitled The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904–1919 and they are still, despite recent major...

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the events of the Fall of Constantinople in next to no time with this concise guide.50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the Fall of Constantinople. In May 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottomans after a 53-day siege. This conquest marked the end of the mighty Roman Empire and a key point in the Ottoman advance to the West. The collapse of the Byzantine Emp...

Mark Lardas explores the origins of American warships, primarily light and medium frigates, built for the Continental Navy during the years 1776–1783.This was the first navy of the United States and much of the fleet was comprised of ships that had been modified from existing vessels, converted into warships to provide a crucial service during the American Revolutionary War. Despite having no real funding, this unique fleet had a surprising amount of success agains...