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Andy Coogan

Andy Coogan was born in Glasgow in 1917, the oldest child of poor Irish immigrants. He was tipped for Olympic glory, but a promising running career was interrupted by war service. His capture during the fall of Singapore marked the beginning of a three-and-a-half-year nightmare of starvation, torture and disease. 
 
Andy was imprisoned in the notorious Changi camp before being transported to Taiwan, where he worked as a slave in a copper mine and was twice ordered to dig his own grave. He was later taken to Japan on a hellship voyage that nearly killed him, but Andy’s athleticism and spirit enable him to survive an ordeal in which many died. 
 
From his poverty-stricken boyhood in the slums of the Gorbals to the atomic wasteland of Nagasaki, Andy’s life story is vividly recounted in Tomorrow You Die, an epic, compassionate tale that will shock, enthral and inspire.

Tomorrow You Die

The Astonishing Survival Story of a Second World War Prisoner of the Japanese

Alexander Shannon

David Leslie

Alexander Shannon escaped a shady past to enjoy a glittering career in the army, only to end up back in the thick of criminal activity. 
 
Shannon's time as a soldier saw him posted to the Falklands, Northern Ireland and war-torn Bosnia. The rigours of army life took their toll and he found himself drawn into a series of ruthless gang wars. He used the skills he'd learned in the forces to hide weapons, work for drugs racketeers and plot a massacre, and he was offered a fortune to work as a Mafia-style contract assassin. 
 
He was questioned over brutal killings and accused of a triple murder attempt, yet his dedication and determination to succeed in the army brought him accolades and a series of promotions. In The Underworld Captain, Shannon explains how he managed to combine a successful army career with dangerous gangland dealings for so long and how he finally broke free for good.

The Underworld Captain

From Gangland Goodfella To Army Officer

Ben Sharratt

Kirk Blows

From the World Cup-winning days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters to highly acclaimed modern-day heroes such as Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, West Ham United supporters have always had the greatest affection for homegrown Hammers. Since the 1960s, talents such as Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Paul Ince and Rio Ferdinand (who has twice hit the headlines as the world's most expensive defender following his move to Leeds and Manchester United) have been nurtured and brought through the club's ranks, ensuring the Hammers can rightly lay claim to having one of the country's most fruitful youth policies. 
 
In this revised and fully updated paperback edition, Claret and Blue Blood brings together all these characters and others for the very first time, including new chapters on Anton Ferdinand, Stephen Bywater and Kevin Horlock. Using exclusive new interviews, the authors present biographical pieces that collectively tell the story of West Ham United's evolution over the last half-century. Focusing on each player's roots, development and personal achievements, Claret and Blue Blood is a unique book that features key characters, candid conversations, successes, failures and controversies as it explores the very essence of West Ham United.

Claret and Blue Blood

Pumping Life into West Ham United

Nicholas Davies

Following the revelations of the secret conspiracy between British Military Intelligence and the gunmen of the Ulster Defence Association in Ten-Thirty-Three, Nicholas Davies now dramatically reveals the evidence and facts that the Sir John Stevens Inquiry is still trying to establish regarding links between the security services and loyalist terrorist groups.In Dead Men Talking, Davies exclusively details the covert killing operations planned, organised and carried through by the RUC Special Branch and MI5, as well as by the British Army's covert intelligence organisation, the Force Research Unit. He provides new evidence on the killings that were authorised at the highest level of MI5 and the British Government, and carried out by loyalist terror groups. Davies also reveals the existence of a hitherto unknown secret intelligence unit operating under MI5 and examines its role in the government's undercover operation. Davies traces the work carried out by the legendary 'Steak Knife', the British super-spy who infiltrated the highest echelons of the Provisional IRA and passed their secrets to MI5 over a 30-year period. For the first time, Davies gives details of Steak Knife's extraordinary life, reveals some of the Provo bombings and shootings which he thwarted, and details vital secrets he passed to British Intelligence. Dead Men Talking uncovers the true story of the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, of UDA gunman William Stobie and the subsequent murders of others allegedly involved. Dead Men Talking uncovers the true story of the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, of UDA gunman William Stobie and the subsequent murders of others allegedly involved.

Dead Men Talking

Collusion, Cover-Up and Murder in Northern Ireland's Dirty War

Theresa Murphy

This is the story of an arena of crime and degradation, of infamy and human suffering. It is the history of the Old Bailey, an institution as flawed as all man-made attempts at justice are doomed to be. 
 
In the beginning there was barbarity and injustice. The court was packed with a restless, muttering mob, eager for the verdicts of 'Guilty' so they could enjoy public executions, hurling abuse and missiles at those with the noose around their neck. Today we fool ourselves that we have evolved beyond barbarism, but are made uneasy by the continuing exposure of miscarriage of justice. If we use the Old Bailey as a yardstick, it is possible to argue that mankind has not made much progress through the centuries. 
 
In these pages, we tour the courts of long ago, meeting the Dracula-garbed court chaplains, drunken, brutal judges and cold-blooded hangmen. With wit and skill, Theresa Murphy brings to life a cast of hundreds, from the well-known to the less imfamous, who together make up the harrowing history of the Old Bailey.

The Old Bailey

Eight Centuries of Crime, Cruelty and Corruption

A remarkable biography of Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth: Behind Palace Doors, contains secrets of the royal family never previously published in this country. The lives of the Queen, Prince Philip and their children are examined and exposed in detail to reveal the Windsor family's disturbing history of adultery, jealousy and mental cruelty. 
 
Award-winning journalist Nicholas Davies examines the mood, the ambitions and the forebodings of the Queen at the start of the new millennium. He gives us, too, an insight into the harsh reality of the relationship between the Queen and her husband. 
 
Elizabeth: Behind Closed Doors also investigates the early years of Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, covering their relationships with their parents and their own various love affairs, marriages, separations and divorces. The marriage of Charles and Diana is scrutinised to reveal the principle reason for their marital breakdown. 
 
For more than a decade the supporting cast of royals stole the limelight as their marriages fell apart in acrimony; but now, with nearly 50 years on the throne and her children more settled, the Queen is returning to centre stage. This compelling book looks at Elizabeth II's plans for her own future as she wrestles with the uncertainty of what lies ahead for the House of Windsor.

Elizabeth II

Behind Palace Doors

James Davidson

With over six thousand miles of rugged coastline, nowhere in Scotland is more than forty-five miles from tidal waters, and seven of the biggest towns and cities are seaports. No wonder then that the sea has shaped Scotland, and in turn the Scots have helped to shape maritime history, trade and communications. 
 
Scots and the Sea is a unique and compelling account of a small, sparsely populated country's relationship with the most powerful force on earth. It is a celebration of the courage and endurance of fishermen and their families, the selfless bravery of lifeboat volunteers and the individual brilliance of leaders like Admiral Cochrane, who helped establish free nations across the globe. The illicit activities of scoundrels like Captain Kidd also provide a taste of the darker side of the story. 
 
Scotland's proud maritime tradition is traced through this volume, which examines the development of trade, the founding of a Scottish merchant navy and the pressures towards Union with England. It explores ports, harbours and shipyards, and outlines the vital role Scotland has played in shipbuilding and marine engineering - from the galleys and longships of early history to clippers, steamships, ocean liners, hovercraft and oil rigs. Also recounted are the exploits and achievements of Scots in all these fields, including those of James Watt, William Symington, Henry Bell and Robert Stevenson. Finally, it takes a look into the future, where Scottish research into wave and tidal power could become vital in providing a source of sustainable energy. 
 
Over the years, many Scots have made their living and their fortune from the sea, others have lost their lives to it – Scots and the Sea is a tribute to all of them.

Scots And The Sea

A Nation's Lifeblood

Trevor Royle

The Gordons recruited from the north-east of Scotland and the regiment's character was moulded by men from the farming counties of Aberdeenshire, Moray and Nairn. It was raised in 1794 by an aristocratic landowner, the Duke of Gordon, whose wife played a major role in attracting recruits by riding through her husband's estates and offering a guinea and a kiss to each man who enlisted. Originally raised as the 100th Highlanders, it was later renumbered the 92nd Highlanders and in 1881 was amalgamated with the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment to form The Gordon Highlanders. 
 
In the nineteenth century the two regiments were in constant service throughout the empire and in 1879 the 92nd Highlanders were involved in Lord Roberts' historic march from Kabul to Kandahar during the fighting in Afghanistan. One of the first Victoria Crosses was awarded to a Gordon Highlander, Private Beach, who was decorated for his supreme gallantry while serving in the Crimea in 1854. Another Victoria Cross winner was Major George White (Afghanistan, 1879), who went on to become a field marshal. During the fighting on the north-west frontier of India in 1897, Piper George Findlater was awarded the Victoria Cross for continuing to play his pipes despite being wounded and under heavy enemy fire. 
 
In 1994, The Gordon Highlanders amalgamated with Queen's Own Highlanders to form The Highlanders and in 2006 became the 4th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. This is a celebratory account of the regiment's long and distinguished history.

The Gordon Highlanders

A Concise History

Brian Bailey

'My Lord, You are aware that, at this moment, the public feeling is strongly excited against the perpetrators of the late foul and cold blooded murders that have taken place in the very centre of a populous and civilised city . . . Your Lordship is aware, that in all civilized nations, blood calls for blood . . .' 
From ' Letter to the Lord Advocate . . . By The Echo of Surgeons' Square' 
 
Early nineteenth century Edinburgh was gripped by fear of body snatchers. New graves were constantly under threat from unscrupulous ghouls keen to profit from the medical school's voracious appetite for corpses. In 1828, Burke and Hare, a pair of opportunistic low-lives, took the practice to a new extreme. They murdered at least 16 innocent victims, including a 12-year-old boy, in the name of medical science - and the freshness of the corpses they delivered for dissection earned them extra money. 
 
The names of Burke and Hare have become synonymous with body-snatching, but the true details of their crimes have been obscured by mythology and questions still surround the case. In Enlightenment Edinburgh, how were Burke and Hare able to carry on their repulsive and murderous trade undetected for so long? Why was only one of the homicidal due brought to justice? And what were the roles of Burke and Hare's common-law wives, the medical students who took delivery of the corpses and Dr Robert Knox, the distinguished teacher of anatomy whose dissecting table was the final resting place of the unfortunate victims? 
 
Bailey reveals a sordid side to a society which was famed for its intellectual and progressive thinking, yet depended on predatory criminals for the advance of medical knowledge. In this compulsive and absorbing book, the evidence is thoroughly re-examined - and startling conclusions are reached.

Burke and Hare

The Year of the Ghouls

John Burrowes

There are few cities in the world to rival Glasgow and the extraordinary happenings that have occurred there, and in this engrossing sequel to Great Glasgow Stories, more of the finest of these are recounted. 
 
From the story of the biggest youth movement the world has ever known to the life and crimes of Scotland's most colourful criminal, Johnny Ramensky, whom even the police dubbed 'Gentle Johnny', a vivid picture of the city's eventful history emerges. 
 
Elsewhere, the hilarious scenes that greeted the most sensational visitor Glasgow ever had - Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess - are recounted, and the shocking case of one of BBC radio drama's best-known personalities, who was found brutally murdered in his flat in Govan, is explored. 
 
Read, too, about doomed pugilist Jackie Peterson, dubbed 'the second Benny Lynch', and about the accidental death in 1931 of Celtic's 'Prince of Goalkeepers', John Thomson, which shocked the city and remains the saddest event in the club's history. 
 
These are just some of the highlights to be found in this compelling collection of stories about the great city of Glasgow and its myriad entertaining characters.

Great Glasgow Characters

Steven Preece

In Amongst the Marines, Steven Preece vividly depicted his excessive, violent lifestyle as an elite Royal Marine Commando. Now Always a Marine covers the author's struggle to leave that lifestyle behind following his departure from the service. 
 
Back on civvy street for the first time in over seven years, Preece finds it extremely difficult to adapt and struggles to shake off the belligerent mentality he developed while in the Marines. Despite these difficulties, he marries and starts a family, but this positive change is not enough to turn his life around. 
 
Preece soon discovers that his tendency towards violence will not be tolerated in the civilian workplace and, after finding himself blacklisted by many companies in his area, he is forced to look for employment abroad. This quest for work takes Preece to France, where he is caught up in a hotel fire; Germany, where he is double-crossed out of his job and later teams up with an ex-SAS trooper; Morocco, where an incident lands him in jail and he is later shot at by border police; and Thailand, where he fights in a boxing ring with a former French Legionnaire and gets caught up in a business scam. 
 
Having settled back in the UK, Preece's behaviour remains excessive. He severely injures his head and suffers minor brain damage after a heavy-drinking session. Upon recovering, he looks for something else to believe in and begins training in ninjutsu, the martial art of the ninjas, who view aggression as a sign of weakness. This, combined with the love of his family, finally enables him to put his past behind him. 
 
Always a Marine is the action-packed, often shocking account of one ex-Marine's 13-year struggle to control the aggression he learnt as a serviceman in order to become a respectable civilian.

Always a Marine

The Return to Civvy Street

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is one of the best-known regiments in the British Army. In a previous incarnation as the 93rd Highlanders, its soldiers were famed for being the 'thin red line' that repulsed the Russian heavy cavalry at the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War. When the regiment was ordered to disband in 1968 as part of wide-ranging defence cuts, a popular 'Save the Argylls' campaign was successful in keeping the regiment in being. In 2006, it became the 5th battalion of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. 
 
Formed by two earlier regiments, The Argylls have a stirring history of service to the British Crown. They served all over the empire, taking part in the Indian Mutiny and the Boer War, and fought in both World Wars. In the post-war period the Argylls captured the public imagination in 1967 when they reoccupied the Crater district of Aden following a period of riots. 
 
Recruiting mainly from the west of Scotland, the regiment has a unique character and throughout its history has retained a fierce regimental pride which is summed up by its motto: 'sans peur', meaning 'without fear'. 
 
 The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders puts its story into the context of British military history and makes use of personal testimony to reveal the life of the regiment.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Hugh G. Allison

Roots of Stone is a passionate tapestry, weaving the story of Scotland with the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people. This fascinating sweep over two thousand years of Scotland's past blends with a true family story stretching back over these same two millennia in a spellbinding fusion of history and memoir. This is an exploration of the Scottish identity through actual tales of the author's forebears - tales drawn from royal bloodline and from crofting hearth, tales of high drama and of quiet everyday satisfactions. Mackays and MacDonalds tread most heavily across these pages, but they are far from alone. Munros, MacDougalls, Murrays and dozens of other clans and families also feature. 
 
Kenneth MacAlpin, Macbeth, Robert the Bruce and Alexander 'Wolf of Badenoch' all have a place in the tapestry. The dreadful deeds of the Wicked Earls of Orkney are laid bare, but counterbalanced by the work of those famous healers, the Beatons. Stepping closer to the present day, the human tragedy of the Clearances becomes all-consuming. 
 
Poets, pipers and poachers play their part, as do dukes and drovers, their tales unfolding within evocatively described landscapes and ancient places of power. The castles and mountains are hauntingly illustrated and the tale is enhanced by the inclusion of two rare piping compositions and some words by the great Gaelic bard Rob Donn. 
 
More than anything else, Roots of Stone is the story of all the ones who came before, those who can still be felt in the blood at times when deep emotion is stirred.

Roots of Stone

The Story of those who Came Before

James Mackay

The most charismatic figure to emerge during the struggles for the independence of Ireland was undoubtedly Michael Collins. This remarkable biography, which draws on much hitherto unpublished material, charts the dramatic rise of the country boy who became head of the Free State and the commander-in-chief of the army.

Michael Collins

A Life

Juliette Lac

Am I unlucky because of the terrible things that happened to me as a child, or am I lucky because of the life I lead now? I hardly know myself. All I can tell you is that no sane person would ever choose war over peace. War is inhuman madness. War is what people do to each other when they have completely forgotten the sacredness of life. 
 
In 1978, Juliet Lac fled war-ravaged Vietnam in a fishing boat, desperately hoping to find freedom in America. Conditions on the small, overcrowded vessel were horrific, and eight days into the journey, disaster struck. As the craft came in sight of shore, it was hit by a ferocious storm. The boat sank with the loss of half of the 350 passengers on board, but miraculously Juliet escaped, eventually making her way to the USA to begin her new life. 
 
Aged only 11, Juliet had witnessed at first hand the barbarity of war, and after the death of her father and her younger sister, she and her mother were left to struggle on in poverty. But their flight to the West did not have a fairy-tale ending, and in the coming years they faced a struggle to integrate into their new society. 
 
This is a remarkable and inspirational story of a war child's fight first for survival in the devastated landscape of Vietnam and then for acceptance in the affluent West.

War Child

A Vietnamese Girl's Story of Survival and Hope Across Three Continents

The King's Own Scottish Borderers is one of only two Scottish regiments never to have been amalgamated until it joined forces with The Royal Scots to form the 1st battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006. It is also unusual in that it lost its Scottish status between 1782 and 1887 when it served as the 25th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot. 
 
Formed in Edinburgh in 1689, its first operational role was to defend the city during the period of turmoil following the accession of William and Mary of Orange. That same year the regiment fought at the Battle of Killiecrankie, where they withstood a ferocious charge by the Highlanders supporting James II. Since then, the regiment has fought in most of the major campaigns fought by the British Army. 
 
In 1887, the regiment became The King's Own Scottish Borderers. It served with distinction during the two World Wars and achieved nationwide fame in 1915 when Sergeant Piper Daniel Laidlaw won the Victoria Cross during the Battle of Loos. Despite coming under heavy fire he played his pipes in full view of the enemy, encouraging the Borderers with the sound of 'Blue Bonnets o'er the Border' and 'The Standard on the Braes o' Mar'. 
 
This concise account of the King's Own Scottish Borderers puts its story into the context of British military history and makes use of personal testimony to reveal the life of the regiment.

The King's Own Scottish Borderers

Alan Barker

In the early hours of 30 April 2003, twelve armed and uniformed officers accompanied by four plain-clothes detectives burst into Alan Barker's house. They stayed for hours, turning over rooms, seizing documents, impounding computers, files and anything else that interested them. The family were treated as terrorist suspects, the operation resembling so many others in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. But Alan Barker was and is no terrorist. In fact, he has spent his adult life fighting terrorism on the streets of his native province. 
 
 Barker belonged to the Special Branch, the RUC's elite unit dedicated to fighting the IRA, the INLA and loyalist terrorists. He gives a gripping insider's account of life on the frontline and demonstrates how the RUC used sophisticated listening devices and informants, including the notorious supergrass Raymond Gilmour, in their fight to gain the upper hand. 
 
 After nearly 30 years of loyal service, Barker retired angry and disillusioned about what he views as the government's capitulation to the terrorists. This is the book that Downing Street and the Northern Ireland Office don't want you to read. It is a story of courage under fire, guile, Le Carré-esque plots and treachery.

Shadows

Inside Northern Ireland's Special Branch

In My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542–87), the tragic heroine par excellence. Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it was her misfortune to be a pawn in the game of international politics throughout her life. Even in the brief period from 1561 to 1567 when she was ruler of Scotland in fact as well as in name, she was beset with problems that would have defeated a much stronger, more experienced monarch. A talented poet and a charismatic leader, she contended with a treacherous, self-serving nobility, the religious ferment of the Reformation, and the political ambitions of larger and more powerful neighbours. 
 
With little real authority and few resources, Mary’s reign was successful, until her disastrous marriage to the dissolute Darnley set in motion the events that brought about her downfall. For the last 20 years of her life she was a prisoner in the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, and the subject of treacherous plots and conspiracies. A hostage to fortune, she represented a threat and a rallying-point for English Catholics. Her tragic end was inevitable. Yet her life, with all its adventurous, failures and disasters, produced the son – James – who ultimately brought about the union of Scotland and England. 
 
In the End Is My Beginning uncovers the true facts of Mary’s life in the context of Anglo-Scottish relations and shows why, after more than 400 years, she remains arguably the greatest character in popular Scottish history.

Mary Queen of Scots

In My End is My Beginning

Armin Lehmann

Tim Carroll

During the last months of Hitler's Berlin, an estimated 30,000 German teenagers perished defending their beloved Fhrer in the Russian onslaught. Armin Lehmann was one of the few boy soldiers who escaped the bloodbath. Like every other member of the Hitler Youth, Armin would have given his life gladly for his leader, but he was not to be sacrificed to the enemy at the gate. Instead, he was chosen to serve in the German High Command's bunker complex. It was a stroke of fate that brought him into the company of the most notorious Nazis of Hitler's hated Reich, including Martin Bormann, Goebbels and, of course, the Fhrer himself. When Hitler greeted Armin, the 16-year-old boy knew he had been granted a unique part in history.In Hitler's Bunker is Armin's eyewitness account of the Nazi apocalypse. It is also the story of how his unquestioning fanaticism won him that role in the final act of the Third Reich. It takes us back to his boyhood and the brutal SS father who instilled the Nazi's hateful creed in his son. It follows Armin's odyssey through the ranks of the Hitler Youth and shares his teenage anguish over his doomed love for a beautiful German nurse. It is the story of Armin's gradual realisation of the full horror of what he had been part of, and recounts his quest for the truth, which took him in the footsteps of Mahatma Ghandi and to a meeting with Albert Schweitzer, the missionary and theologian. Above all, In Hitler's Bunker is the story of how one man, instead of running away from his past, confronted it and found peace, at last.

In Hitler's Bunker

A Boy Soldier's Eyewitness Account of the Führer's Last Days

Christopher Ling

At a time when the influence of Islam and the Arab world dominate newspaper headlines as a result of bloodshed and terrorist threats, it will come as a welcome relief to learn of Sultan Qaboos. The very term 'Sultan' conjures up shades of peacock thrones and riches beyond the dreams of avarice. This incredible scene has almost vanished . . . but not quite.In today's oil-rich Arabia, one Sultan remains. He is one of the world's very last absolute rulers and presides over daily rituals the Ottomans of old Istanbul would recognise immediately. Arabia's sole surviving Sultan is, however, an arch exponent of the very British practice of discretion and reserve, which is far from surprising given that he owes his throne to the machinations of a very British coup. Indeed, so wide ranging is the cloak of Sultan Qaboo's reticence that his country has been described as the world's most secretive state. It would be quite impossible to divorce the man from the land which he has ruled for the past 33 years, so immediate is his authority, so absolute is his exercise of unfettered power. But who exactly is Qaboos bin Said Al Said? What of the journey without maps which led him to be complicit in the betrayal and overthrow of his own father? What role did he personally take in the Dhofar war of the 1970s, when he became the first Arab monarch to defeat the armed exponents of Marx and Lenin? And what of his hitherto secret connections with Margaret Thatcher and the incident that became known as the 'Thatcher necklace affair'?

Sultan In Arabia

A Private Life

Tam Henderson

John Hunt

Warrior is the powerful true story of a British soldier's heroism during the Iraq War that reveals how he was ruthlessly sacrificed by the Establishment. 
 
Captain Tam Henderson was adopted as a baby in Glasgow. His family moved to England and he grew up on a violent council estate in Birmingham. At 16, he chose to join the famous Black Watch regiment. In a career spanning 23 years, he rose through the ranks and was deployed to conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and the Middle East. 
 
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Tam was in the thick of ferocious fighting and, amidst Basra's chaos, he set up camp for the 200 men of Charlie Company, who were put in charge of the city's most volatile districts. Having fought to recover the body of one of his men killed in action, Tam was horrified when the chain gun on his Warrior tank malfunctioned, suddenly firing of its own accord and seriously injuring a comrade. He was told to take the rap but refused, insisting that the dangerous fault on the gun needed fixing. He was convicted by a kangaroo court at Saddam's palace and sent home in disgrace. But Tam fought back and embarked upon the biggest battle of his life - against the Ministry of Defence and international arms companies. 
 
Pacy and starkly authentic, Warrior takes the reader on an exhilarating journey that is by turns horrific, humorous and poignantly reflective.

Warrior

A True Story of Bravery and Betrayal in the Iraq War

Created in 1961 as a result of the amalgamation of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and the Seaforth Highlanders, the Queen's Own Highlanders embody the history and traditions of some of Scotland's oldest Highland regiments. Two great Highland families - Cameron of Lochdarroch and Mackenzie of Seaforth - were involved in the formation of the antecedent regiments and their tartans were incorporated in their successor's uniform. 
 
During its long history, the regiment has served in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny, the Boer War and the two World Wars of the twentieth century. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Duke of Wellington specifically mentioned the Cameron Highlanders in his dispatches as a result of the bravery shown by Piper Kenneth Mackay, who left the safety of the regiment's defensive square to encourage the men by playing the traditional rallying tune 'Cogadh no Sith' (War or Peace - the True Gathering of the Clans). 
 
In 1994, the Queen's Own Highlanders amalgamated with the Gordon Highlanders, and in 2006 they became the 4th Battalion of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. This account of the regiment is therefore a timely memorial to its long and distinguished history.

Queen's Own Highlanders

In May 1968, as part of cutbacks to the British Army, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was disbanded at a moving ceremony held at the same spot in Douglas in Lanarkshire at which it had been raised in 1689. And yet, although the regiment is no more, its place in history is unassailable. The ceremony embraced the history of one regiment, The Cameronians, which had its origins in the turbulent period that accompanied the rise of the House of Orange at the end of the seventeenth century, while its other component part - the 90th (Perthshire Light Infantry) - was raised as a light infantry regiment during the war against Revolutionary France. 
 
Following amalgamation in 1881, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) quickly built up a solid reputation as a fighting regiment. During the First World War it raised 27 battalions and during the Second World War its battalions served in Europe and Burma. In the course of its long history, the regiment provided the British Army with many distinguished soldiers including three field marshals: Viscounts Hill and Wolseley and Sir Evelyn Wood. 
 
Always tough and enduring in battle, it reflected the character of its main recruitment area - Glasgow and Lanarkshire - and in later years it took self-conscious pride when the Germans nicknamed its soldiers Giftzwerge, or poison dwarfs. 
 
The Cameronians puts its story into the context of British military history and makes use of personal testimony to reveal the life of the regiment.

The Cameronians

Hugh Jordan

Beginning with the death of legendary IRA figure Sean South of Garryowen on New Year's Day 1957, the book describes the background to what we have now come to call 'the troubles' and paints vivid portraits of the major players whose actions sparked the violence that erupted on the streets of Belfast and Derry in the summer of 1969. Throughout the decades of bloodshed, paramilitary leaders on both sides of the political divide continued to search for more so-called legitimate targets. Milestones in Murder charts how more and more innocent people were unwittingly drawn into the conflict against their will. It examines the killings which marked new lows in the republican/loyalist terror war, from the bombing of pubs and clubs to the advent of 'human bomb' couriers. It revisits the horrific murders of the Shankhill Butchers, exclusively revealing exactly who leader Lennie Murphy's accomplices were. This, amongst other revelations, will piece together several parts of the Irish warfare jigsaw for the first time. The book also covers the more recent murder of the author's colleague Martin O'Hagan, an act which sent shock waves through a battle-hardened media in Northern Ireland. O'Hagan was the first journalist in Ireland to lose his life at the hands of the paramilitaries and his death pushed the parameters of slaughter to new limits.

Milestones in Murder

Defining Moments in Ulster's Terror War

The Black Watch was formed at Aberfeldy in Perthshire in the early eighteenth century as an independent security force, or 'watch', to guard the approaches to the lawless areas of the Scottish Highlands. 
 
Instantly recognisable due to the famous red hackle cap badge and the traditional dark blue and green government tartan kilt from which it got its name, The Black Watch was renowned as one of the great fighting regiments of the British Army and served with distinction in all major conflicts from the War of Austrian Succession onwards. In a highly controversial move, the regiment served under the operational control of the US Army during the counter-insurgency war in Iraq in December 2004. 
 
The Black Watch prided itself on being a 'family regiment', with sons following fathers into its ranks, and this new concise history reflects the strong sense of identity which was created over the centuries. In 2006, as part of a radical review of the country's defence policy, The Black Watch was amalgamated into the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. This new account of the famous regiment is therefore a timely memorial to its long and distinguished history.

The Black Watch

Jake Wood

Among You is the gripping real-life story of a soldier serving on the front line in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an unforgettable, unflinching account of the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. 
 
Jake Wood lives parallel lives: encased in the glass tower of an international investment bank by day, he is also a dedicated TA soldier who serves on the front line during the invasion of Iraq, later returning to the war zone to conduct surveillance on insurgents. Disillusioned with the dullness and amorality of the banking world, he escapes back to the army for a third tour of duty. But in Afghanistan he discovers the savage, dehumanising effects that war has on both the body and the mind. Diagnosed with chronic PTSD on his return, he must now fight the last enemy – himself – in order to exorcise the ghosts of his past. 
 
Brutally honest and beautifully written, Among You brings home the harsh reality of front-line combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the courage of the troops who risk their lives for their country, as well as revealing the devastating after-effects of service.

Among You

The Extraordinary True Story of a Soldier Broken by War

The Great Escape was one of the most remarkable episodes of the Second World War. After the attempt to break 200 men out of Hermann Gring's 'escape-proof' prisoner-of-war camp, 76 Allied officers managed to create havoc behind enemy lines before most were eventually recaptured. Now, over 60 years after the event, the ingenuity of the masterminds behind this audacious break-out is celebrated.The Great Escapers tells the story of these men who managed to break free from the supposedly impenetrable barbed wire and watchtowers of Stalag Luft III, Gring's showcase prison camp near Sagan. Some of them were also involved in other daring escape attempts, including the famous Wooden Horse episode, also turned into a classic film, and the little-known Sachsenhausen break-out, engineered by five Great Escape survivors sent to die in the notorious concentration camp on Hitler's personal orders. Also revealed is the important role Stalag Luft III played in Allied intelligence operations within occupied Europe: the prisoners developed an intricate espionage network, feeding details of military deployments and strength levels back home and relaying details about the accuracy of bombing raids. Tragically, 50 of those involved in the Great Escape were murdered by the Gestapo. The author examines their deaths and the post-war investigation to bring their killers to justice. The Great Escapers is an extraordinary story, charted through the experiences of those who lived under the sweeping searchlights of the ominous watchtowers and ending with accounts from the seven remaining men who broke out that March night over 60 years ago - the last of the Great Escapers.

The Great Escapers

The Full Story of the Second World War's Most Remarkable Mass Escape

Tommy Cairns Livingstone

Thomas Cairns Livingstone began to note his day-to-day experiences in 1913 and continued faithfully for the next 20 years. With each witty and well-observed entry, he recorded events at home and abroad through times of war and peace, joy and sadness. 
 
In this follow-up to the acclaimed Tommy's War, the focus is on the post-war years. Alongside engaging, warm-hearted recollections of everyday life with his wide circle of family, neighbours and friends, Thomas documents everything from the lingering effects of the war and post-war politics to cultural and social aspects of the era, including the rise of cinema and radio, the standard of dentists and opticians before the NHS, the partition of Ireland, the General Strike, the division of domestic labour, Clyde coastal holidays and the expansion of Glasgow. Yet, above all, Thomas affectionately chronicles family life with his hard-working wife, Agnes, and writes with pride of his clever young son, Tommy. 
 
Illustrated throughout with black-and-white sketches from Thomas' original diaries and various other artefacts from the period, Tommy's Peace is a tremendous document of a bygone era that vividly evokes family life in Glasgow between the wars.

Tommy's Peace

A Family Diary 1919-33

Jack Alexander

McCrae's Own was the 'Heart of Midlothian Battalion' mentioned all too briefly in Martin Middlebrook's classic book The First Day on the Somme. Raised in Edinburgh shortly after the start of the Great War, it was perhaps the finest unit in Lord Kitchener's volunteer army - a brotherhood of sportsmen, bound together by their extraordinary colonel and their loyalty to a quaintly named Association Football club, the famous Gorgie 'Hearts'. McCrae's were blooded in the Battle of the Somme, losing three-quarters of their strength on the first day alone. The Colonel himself was invalided home. In time the battalion recovered. It came of age at Arras, endured the muddy horror of Passchendaele, and held the line unbroken in the face of furious German attacks on the Lys in 1918. For almost a century their story remained untold. It was all but lost forever. Now, after 12 years of exacting historical detective work, Jack Alexander has reclaimed the 16th Royal Scots for posterity. In this stirring book he draws upon interviews with veterans and a unique archive of letters, diaries and photographs, assembled from the families of more than 1,000 of Sir George McCrae's men.

McCrae's Battalion

The Story of the 16th Royal Scots

Calum Maclean

In a new edition of this classic book, introduced by the world-renowned Gaelic poet Sorley Maclean, the late Calum I. Maclean, a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, interprets the traditional background, culture and ways of life of his native country. Calum's formal training in folk culture and the depth of his local knowledge make this book truly outstanding - it is written by a Highlander from the inside. 
 
 Many books on the Highlands have been penned by outsiders with an uncritical appreciation of the scenery and only the most superficial knowledge of the Gaelic language and culture. By contrast, Maclean brought informed attitudes and sympathetic opinions. He was concerned not so much with places, beauty spots and scenery as with the Highlanders in their own self-created environment. He writes in terms of individuals and suggests reasons why Highland culture is unique in the world - it is something that, if lost, can never be recovered or recreated.

The Highlands

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