biography

Napoleon is one of the military leaders who attracts authors; I assume that – rather like Churchill – any biography or analysis including his name will sell. Similarly, he also possesses an ability to beguile and fascinate military historians of all types and capabilities – some become...

REVIEW by Metellus Cimber II I enjoyed this book. It is a series of readable potted biographies of nine medieval monarchs who were key figures of their age: the Emperor Charlemagne; King Alfred of Wessex; King Cnut (aka Canute or Knut); William I, the Conqueror; the Emperor Frederick I...

Review by Metellus Cimber II I have never read or reviewed a book quite like this one. Readable, enjoyable in a scary, crazy way, it combines grief memoir, autobiography, biography, ghostly folklore, literary and film criticism with travel around the UK. Edward Parnell is an ornithologist as...

Review by metellus cimber II. At 349 pages, this is a good, long book with which to while away a Covid-19 furlough. As exciting as a George MacDonald Fraser novel, it offers elopement, murder, kidnapping, adultery, coercion, naval and military adventure against a background of London...

This is a most interesting read. The biography of Frank Brock, who was by all accounts a very talented individual who like so may others met his end during the First World War. However in his relatively short life he achieved much and contributed greatly towards the war effort finally paying...

Publishers are bringing out a lot of books about ancient Rome at present, so the appearance of this new military and political biography of Julius Caesar does not come as a surprise. It is one of Casemate Publishers' Short History Series, reasonably priced at 9.99 Pounds (RRP). At only 153...

Bomber Pilot, Leonard Cheshire VC, OM, DSO & two bars, DFC, with additional commentary by Dr Robert Owen Official Historian 617 Squadron Association This small volume reproduces Leonard Cheshire’s book, Bomber Pilot, published in 1943, and is accompanied by Dr Robert Owen’s analysis of the book...

Letters from serving Light Division members in the Napoleonic wars turn one’s thoughts to Rifleman Harris and Private Wheeler, two well known books. Gareth Clover has edited the letters of Captain George Barlow to produce a fine addition to this period of history. George Barlow saw service...

As autobiographies go, this one is pretty good, probably because of the author's outright love of adventure, his entrepreneurial spirit and his novel, but often risky, ideas. Finding my Virginity is a 500 page update of Branson's earlier work and starts at Christmas 1999 on his private island...

Originally published in 2016 and now available as a Vintage Paperback, The Marches is a curious book: partly Rory Stewart's autobiography; partly the biography of his remarkable father, Brian; partly general history; partly military history; partly travel writing. If you enjoyed Bruce Chatwin's...

Like its companion-volume, Gimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives from Walpole to May, reviewed for ARRSE in April 2018, this is a handsome hardback volume in a handy size (A5). If you are looking for a birthday present for an intelligent and historically-aware person, this book should definitely...

George Butterworth had already established a reputation as one of the young English composers of the Edwardian age. He was educated at Eton and Trinity. Much of the 19th Century had been dominated by European composers but Butterworth was composing English orchestral and choral work. His...

Gimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives from Walpole to May is a handsome volume in a handy size (A5). It fits easily into a briefcase or even a large overcoat pocket. If you are looking for a birthday present for an intelligent and politically-aware person, this book might be the answer. At...

Written by Philip Warner, this is possibly the most engaging biography I’ve ever read - something I don’t say lightly. This excellent book charts the careers of Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks, from Subaltern in the Great War, through various inter war “interesting” posts (including...

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, But he'll remember with advantages What feats he did that day: Shakespeare might have been writing of R.V. Jones’s wartime memoirs. “Most Secret War”, published in 1978 when Jones was sixty-seven, made an instant celebrity of its author; hitherto largely...

Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” has developed a romantic allure as a gentlemanly general – spared being tarnished with the brutalities of Nazi Germany in spite of being a creation of that state’s propaganda machine and for several years the favourite of Hitler. That contradiction, combined with his...

Available to pre-order now at > Home < The biography of Sir Frank Nelson KCMG, the first Chief of the Special Operations Executive. Mike Palmer's book is the foundation of a British Heritage 'Blue Plaque' submission to acknowledge the work of Sir Frank Nelson, a name forgotten in history.

Hello, Has anyone read this book or come across the author? I've got an opportunity to go to a book signing this weekend, and wondered if its worth getting. There's a couple of reviews on amazon, some good, but 3 seem to slate it. Worth getting a signed one, or steer clear? Just want to know...