Nick has reached a point where life is leaving him behind: the fight and passion has left him, and so he ambles along until the day he is scalded in an accident at work. From that moment on he learns how corrupt and incestious relationships are between management and union officials. He also discovers in his 'battle' that doors sometimes open, leading to the most unexpected surprises, which begin to restore his lost faith in people.Jenny is a woman whom life has blessed with many g...

Men left to their own devices, tied to a natural desire to philosophise about any subject especially when they have idle time on the hands, tend to end up in the strangest of situations, particularly if they start wondering if they've ever been in love!Thus Danny, in an idle moment staring down at the hairs on his belly button, ponders in a moment of complete absurdity whether if he has ever been in love, or was it lust. Rising out of his beloved battered armchair he embarks on a q...

Many Black, Latinx, multiracial and ethnically diverse, first-generation college students turned PhDs—tie their academic success, achievements, and ability to navigate the difficult terrain of higher education back to the critical experiences and lessons learned in their home lives and through their cultural backgrounds. For them, culture matters. This book offers an opportunity for an anti-deficit and positive examination of (Black, Latinx, and multiracial) culture and its role in creatin...

The Confederate states adopted radical solutions to counter the naval superiority of their opponents. One of the more successful solutions they adopted was the use of commerce raiders. This book describes the reasons which forced the Confederates to resort to commerce raiding, and outlines the way in which these craft were converted or specially built to perform their role. It details not only the way these craft were operated and manned, but also their brutal attacks, daring escapes and c...

Featuring specially-commissioned artwork, a compact guide to this fast, lightly armed vehicle, developed by the British Army to carry infantry across ground defended by small-arms fire, specifically the Bren light machine gun.This name, 'Bren Gun Carrier' would stick with the Universal Carrier and all of its future variants. This book examines the Carrier, which was employed in a number of roles including carrying ammunition and towing anti-aircraft guns and traile...

The history of the little-known yet controversial T-80 and its subsequent variants.The Soviet T-80 Standard Tank was the last tank fielded before the Soviet collapse, and the most controversial. Despite having the most sophisticated fire controls and multi-layer armor ever fielded on a Soviet tank, its turbine power plant (rather than a conventional diesel) remained a source of considerable trouble throughout its career.Steven J Zaloga charts the little-kno...

A compact, detailed account of the most powerfully gunned tank fielded by the Allies during World War II.An ordinary American-built Sherman modified by the British, the Firefly had the firepower that could finally match the awesome German tanks that had dominated Europe. David Fletcher examines the controversy that dogged the Firefly and the psychological boost the tank provided to Allied forces.Exploring its successes and failures on the battlefield and pr...

Fully illustrated throughout, this engaging study of the first major naval action of World War II appeals to both military and naval historians alike.Days before the outbreak of World War II a handful of German commerce raiders put out to sea to prey on Allied merchantmen. Amongst them was the Panzerschiff ('armoured ship') Graf Spee, a formidable warship that boasted the firepower of a battleship but the size, speed and range of a cruiser.

In 1915 a machine christened "Little Willie" changed the way that wars were fought.Little Willie was a fully tracked armoured vehicle that could break a trench system. Its development was completed in December 1915, but by then it had already been superseded by an improved design, Mother. This was the first rhomboid tank, and the prototype for the Mark 1 which would influence a whole generation of tank building.This book details the development of the Mark ...

The adoption of nuclear power revolutionized submarine design. Vessels can stay underwater for months, trailing the enemy or training weapons on land targets from secret positions - “always there, never seen.”Jim Christley, a former submariner, explores here the influence of Admiral Hyman Rickover in cautiously introducing these stealthy machines of war, and frankly discusses the power and perils of using nuclear reactors at sea.Using unique and detailed ar...

At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River, which was a vital strategic artery.In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads. First commissioned in January 1862, these ironclads spent the next two years battling for control of the Mis...

The Sherman Crab Flail tank was the powerful culmination of a series of mine-clearing flail tanks developed during World War II.Here, David Fletcher recounts how the Sherman Crabs were among the first tanks ashore on D-Day and as the war progressed they were in constant demand both for formal attacks and more incidental operations. Following the development of the tank and its use in the war, he details the US Army's initial lack of interest in the flail, but how a...