What is an idiom? It can be an insult — "He has more brawn than brains." — or a compliment — "She's a real trooper." Idioms add life to our language: "I have ants in my pants." Idioms can cast light on a topic, and they have the power to add color to your language and add punch to your vocabulary. Have FUN WITH IDIOMS, and improve your command of English at the same time!

What is an idiom? It can be an insult — "He has more brawn than brains." — or a compliment — "She's a real trooper." Idioms add life to our language: "I have ants in my pants." Idioms can cast light on a topic, and they have the power to add color to your language and add punch to your vocabulary. Have FUN WITH IDIOMS, and improve your command of English at the same time!

What is a proverb? A proverb is a succinct phrase that is used to express a meaning or a shade of meaning. It can be used to convey an idea: "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Or, a proverb might express a caution: "Don't put the cart before the horse." Through the use of lighthearted illustrations and humorous prose, the husband and wife team of John and Ching Yee Smithback demonstrate proverbs that have developed in the English language over hundreds of years. FUN WITH PROVERBS is an...

"Somebody knew. Who knew?" Did Winston Churchill lure Japan into attacking Pearl Harbor as a cynical ruse to pull the United States into the war against the Nazis to save England? Did he deliberately weaken the defenses of Singapore and Hong Kong to convince the Japanese to jump? Did he even run a double spy to feed information to Tokyo? John Bell Smithback examines the evidence in a shocking new assessment of the origins and backstory of one of the turning points of the twentieth century-...

Recommended for viewing on a tablet.From one of our finest historians, a magisterial account of the most terrible event in history – World War II.The horror of World War II touched the lives of millions across the globe. Few could find the words to describe it, only that the carnage they experienced resembled ‘all hell let loose’.The eminent historian Max Hastings here encapsulates life through war for the ordinary people involved –soldiers, sailors and airmen; Brit...

A companion volume to his bestselling ‘Armageddon’, Max Hastings’ account of the battle for Japan is a masterful military history.Featuring the most remarkable cast of commanders the world has ever seen, the dramatic battle for Japan of 1944–45 was acted out across the vast stage of Asia: Imphal and Kohima, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Soviet assault on Manchuria.In this gripping narrative, Max Hastings weaves together the complex strands of an epic war, explori...

From the author of Children of the Camps, a look at the disturbing activities of the Kempeitai, Japan's feared military and secret police.The book opens by explaining the origins, organization, and roles of the Kempeitai apparatus, which exercised virtually unlimited power throughout the Japanese Empire. Author Mark Felton reveals their criminal and collaborationist networks that extorted huge sums of money from hapless citizens and businesses. They ran the...

“[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-TimesThis Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, “a factual saga of people caught up in the ...

The author of Storm Clouds Over the Pacific, 1931–1941 chronicles Japan's dramatic reversal of fortune as Allied forces gained advantage during WWII.In early 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating Allied forces throughout the Pacific. In a matter of months, Japan had conquered an area larger than Hitler's empire at its apex. Hawaiians and Australians feared a future under Hirohito. The fate of half of mankind wa...

"An excellent primer about World War II in Asia prior to the involvement of the United States"—part one of a fascinating history trilogy ( New York Journal of Books).War in the Far East is a trilogy of books offering the most complete narrative yet written about the Pacific Theater of World War II, and the first truly international treatment of the epic conflict. Historian Peter Harmsen weaves together a complex and revealing nar...

When Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, it was a devastating blow to the Allies, the British Empire and signalled a significant turning point in history. James Leasors story begins as far back as the early nineteenth century, with imperialism and the settlement founded by Sir Stamford Raffles. He charts the years leading up to Singapores defeat and the realisation that the West was not invincible. It includes direct, personal input from some of the main players involved inclu...

From Paul Kennedy, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, one of the most acclaimed history books of recent decades, Engineers of Victory is a new account of how the tide was turned against the Nazis by the Allies in the Second World War.In January 1943 Churchill and Roosevelt and the Combined Chiefs of Staff met in Casablanca to review the western Allies' war aims and strategy. They realised that to attain their ultimate aim of 'unconditional surrender'...