This fascinating collection of letters traces the exchanges between a young subaltern on the front, Gerard ‘Ged’ Garvin, and his mother and father at home. Correspondence was eagerly awaited by all. Ged savored letters home like ‘Jim Hawkins trickling the doubloons through his fingers’. Equally, his mother and father at home were always fearful that each letter they received would be the last. In a letter J. L. Garvin sent to his son 21 July 1916 he wrote: ‘Of course there’s no fresh lette...

Von Kluck saw active military service at an early age during the Seven Weeks' War of 1866 and, in 1870-71, the Franco-Prussian War. Rising through the army, he became inspector general of the Seventh Army District in 1913.During the First World War von Kluck commanded the German First Army, notably in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against Paris at the start of the war in August 1914. An aggressive commander, von Kluck's impatience (at the request of Second Army commander von Bulow - who wa...

‘The enemy has got to be fought everywhere and hard...Everything is going very well indeed and no one minds the losses as long as we are moving.’The never-before-published papers of General Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow provide a remarkable insight into the mindset of the Great War commanders. Despite being severely injured during the first Battle of the Marne – when his horse fell and rolled over him, cracking his pelvis – Snow served at some of the most important battles of the Western ...

In the period covered here (1960–75) Isaiah Berlin creates Wolfson College, Oxford; John F. Kennedy becomes US President (and is assassinated); Berlin dines with JFK on the day he is told of the Soviet missile bases in Cuba; the Six-Day Arab–Israeli war of 1967 creates problems that are still with us today; Richard M. Nixon succeeds Johnson as US President and resigns over Watergate; and the long agony of the Vietnam War grinds on in the background.At the same time Berlin publishes...

“A courageous and finely crafted portrait of a young woman struggling with her family, her faith, and that awkward space between being a child and growing into adulthood.”—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)“Unimaginable . . . As much an indictment of Christian Science as it is a memoir of her family’s experience of loss.”—O: the Oprah MagazineLucia Ewing had what looked like an all-American childhood, but when it came to accidents...

A history of World War I—told through the letters exchanged by ordinary soldiers and their families.Letters from the Trenches reveals how people really thought and felt during the Great War, and covers all social classes and groups from officers to conscripts to women at home to conscientious objectors. Voices within the book include Sgt. John Adams, 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who wrote in May 1917: "For the day we get our letter from home is a red letter ...

This thrilling account of WWII espionage by the former French secret service chief chronicles an Allied spy's actions in the German Cipher Office.A spy for the French Secret Service during World War II, Hans-Thilo Schmidt was embedded in the nerve center of the Third Reich. From deep within Hitler's most sensitive operations, Schmidt created an intelligence network between France, Poland, and England. In The Spy in Hitler's Inner Circle, France's former se...

This New York Times' bestseller features the West’s most prominent lawmen and criminals, who tell their stories of fight, death, and survival.In the romantic narrative of the Old West, two larger-than-life characters emerged as the perfect foils for each other-the rampant outlaw and the heroic peace officer. Without the villain, sheriffs would not have needed to uphold the law; and without the sheriff, villains would have had no law to break. Together, bot...

Misused WordsHave you ever said something and no sooner than it escapes your lips, you wonder—did I say that right? Did I use the right word?Chances are it was one of the 200 words covered in this book. I'm not saying it covers all the words, but it touches base with most of the more common culprits.Ever wonder if you should use 'good' or 'well'? How about 'lie' or 'lay'–that's one that almost no one gets right.How about then and than, try to and try and, whi...

Can an epic adventure succeed without a hero? Andra Watkins needs a wingman to help her become the first living person to walk the historic 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. Fifteen miles of rugged highway each day for thirty-four days.After striking-out with everyone in her life, she settles upon her disinterested eighty-year-old father. And his gas. The sleep apnea machine and self-scratching. Sharing a bathroom with a man whose gut obliterates his aim. Her father is ev...

Special Agent James Hosty began investigating Lee Harvey Oswald in October 1963, a full month before the JFK assassination. From November 22 on, Hosty watched as everyone from the Dallas Police, the FBI, the CIA, Naval Intelligence, and the State Department up through the Warren Commission to J. Edgar Hoover, Robert Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson reacted to and manipulated the facts of the president’s assassination—until Hosty himself became their scapegoat. After seeing his name appear in th...

Carrying baggage you don't need?When I was in college, I figured my life would come together around graduation. I’d meet a guy, have a beautiful wedding, and we'd buy a nice little house—not necessarily with a picket fence, but with whatever kind of fence we wanted. Whatever we decided, I would be happy.When I got out of college and my life didn’t look like that, I floundered, trying to get the life I had always dreamed of through career, travel, and relati...