In 1945 confidence in British aviation was sky-high. Yet decades later, the industry had not lived up to its potential. What happened? The years that followed the war saw the Brabazon Committee issue flawed proposals for civil aviation planning. Enforced cancellations restricted the advancement of military aircraft, compounded later on by Defence Minister Duncan Sandys abandoning aircraft to fixate solely on missiles. Commercially, Britain's small and neglected domestic ma...

Following the Armistice of 1918, the British Air Industry and the newly founded RAF held a low place in national priorities. The RAF was rapidly run down, with the infant airlines being given the least possible help, and this neglect continued during the 1920s. The RAF's role was questioned and civilian air travel remained a dream for most and the province of the well-heeled few. But the breakdown of the Geneva Disarmament Talks led to renewed interest in the National Air ...

"An admirably vivid account of the Scots' greatest victory over the English": the 14th century Battle of Bannockburn ( The Scotsman, UK).Scotland, 1314. On a marsh-fringed plain south of Stirling Castle, King Robert the Bruce led the Scottish army in a singularly devastating victory over the English. Bannockburn was Scotland's greatest battlefield triumph in the First War of Scottish Independence, achieved against great odds by a...

It's hard to imagine a history of British engineering without Rolls-Royce: there would be no Silver Ghost, no Merlin for the Spitfire, no Alcock and Brown. Rolls-Royce is one of the most recognisable brands in the world.But what of the man who designed them?The youngest of five children, Frederick Henry Royce was born into almost Dickensian circumstances: the family business failed by the time he was 4, his father died in a Greenwich poorhouse when he was 9...

General George Monck is famous for the key role he played in the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. His actions changed the course of British history, but his statesmanship in the dangerous time between the death of Cromwell and the bloodless return of Charles II distracts attention from his extraordinary career as a soldier and general, admiral, governor and administrator. During the confused, often bloody era of the English Civil Wars and the Protectorate he was one of the great surviv...

The author of Bannockburn recounts the New Model Army's upset victory in 17th-century Scotland that cemented Oliver Cromwell's military reputation.The victory at Dunbar of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army over the Scots under David Leslie in 1650 merits a major place in the long succession of Anglo-Scottish battles. The Scots had brought Cromwell's invading army to its knees, but Cromwell took the offensive and, in one of the great upsets of military histo...

Why did the British, then the leading nation in science and technology, fall far behind in the race to develop the aeroplane before the First World War? Despite their initial advantage, they were overtaken by the Wright brothers in America, by the French and the Germans. Peter Reese, in this highly readable and highly illustrated account, delves into the fascinating early history of aviation as he describes what happened and why. He recalls the brilliant theoretical work of Sir George Cayl...

London was a target for Zeppelins and bombers during the First World War, for bombers, V1s and rockets in the Second, and for Cold War missiles and for terrorists in more recent times, yet rarely has the history of twentieth-century attacks on the capital been studied as a whole. Peter Reese, in this thought-provoking account, vividly describes how the destructive potential of aerial bombing and terrorist actions has increased and how Londoners have struggled to protect themselves and thei...

It is a sad and shaming but indisputable fact that the reception according to British soldiers on returning to civilian life has for centuries been little short of disgraceful, and even in this more enlightened age compares unfavourably with that of many other countries. In Homecoming Heroes Peter Reese ex-amines the lot of British veteran (often still quite a young man) on leaving the Armed Forces and assesses the chances of finding suitable employment after his discharge. His survey cove...

'I have brought you to the ring, now hop if you can.'Wallace's famous injunction before the battle of Falkirk is still remembered today. The first section of this major new biography deals with the history of Wallace and his time. According to legend, born and brought up in Elderslie, Wallace's courage and heroism during Scotland's darkest days were instrumental in creating a sense of national identity. From the early killing of the Sheriff of Lanark, Sir William Haslerigg, through...

A Stranger to Myself: The Inhumanity of War, Russia 1941-44 is the haunting memoir of a young German soldier on the Russian front during World War II.Willy Peter Reese was only twenty years old when he found himself marching through Russia with orders to take no prisoners. Three years later he was dead.Bearing witness to--and participating in--the atrocities of war, Reese recorded his reflections in his diary, leaving behind an intelligent, touching,...

Biblical truth in the hands of Edwards lives mightily. Edwards in the hand of Peter Doyle comes alive. As we see an anemic Christendom today in its witness, ethics, and influence, we find the correctives and the guidance we need in the works of Jonathan Edwards––revivalist preacher, philosopher, and theologian. In this insightful book, former pastor and missionary Peter Doyle presents Edwards' theology in a comprehensive scope: in its cultural context, against its adversaries, and with all...