This book offers the reader thrilling, action-packed snapshots of life as a Luftwaffe nightfighter. 'Suddenly, flash bombs to my right, I instantly dive low to avoid being a direct target. We stay down, close above ground … before too long life returns in the area and we spot men milling around; Richard and Pitt let them have it, but good. We're down to our last bit of ammunition. Some Russians have frozen in fear, others lift their arm, others still lie flat on the ground. Not a single on...

In A History of Spanish Institutions the evolution of Spanish institutions from the first human settlements on the Peninsula to the present day is offered in a succinct and appropriately contextualised manner. To this end, each chapter combines a description of the historical context of a period with the description of its most characteristic institutions. These are complemented by an explanation of the main “symbols” of Spain and their history.The importance of institutions and their hist...

Did you know that Bach invested in mines? That Rossini improved his income by running casinos in the opera houses which on weekends performed his operas? Or that Puccini composed shorter arias to make them fit the length of gramophone disks as they reported him huge revenues? Or who was, in financial terms, the most successful classical composer in history? This book —the first of its kind— studies and compares the finances of twenty classical composers in their historical and economical c...

Arnold Döring was just twenty-three years old when he flew his first mission against the Soviet Union on June 21, 1941. On that day he started writing his diary. His account not only describe the technical aspects and the difficulties posed by weather and terrain, but are also filled with suspense, with detailed descriptions of bombing raids and narrow escapes from enemy fighter planes. With detached professionalism, Döring offers us thrilling, action-packed snapshots of life as a Luftwaff...

This book offers the listener thrilling, action-packed snapshots of life as a Luftwaffe nightfighter.On 21 June 1941, assigned to Luftwaffe bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 53, the twenty-three-year-old Arnold Döring took off to fly his first mission against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. From that day, he kept a diary describing his operations in vivid detail.These diaries, here translated into English for the first time, give a unique perspective on th...