A ground-breaking approach to history where YOU choose the fate of WWII - perfect for readers of Bletchley Park Brainteasers and The GCHQ Puzzle Book. ''An original and exciting approach . . . Buckley is one of our very finest historians.' JAMES HOLLAND ________________________ TAKE THE HOTSEAT Assume the role of real Generals, Leaders, Soldiers and Intelligence Officers in the Allied Forces during WWII, including Winston Churchill and President Eisenhower. EXAMINE THE INTELLIGENCE Explore eight key moments of the war with real contemporaneous intelligence: Britain's Darkest Hour, 1940; The War in North Africa; Stalin's War on the Eastern Front; The Pacific Battle of Midway; The Dresden Bomber Offensive; Casablanca; Arnhem and Operation Market Garden; The Bomb and Hiroshima. CONSIDER THE SCENARIO & MAKE YOUR DECISION From battlefields to war cabinets, each tactical and strategic decision you make leads to a different outcome. Will you follow the path of the past - or shape a new history? ________________________ 'Wonderfully original . . . putting readers at the heart of the decision-making process and allowing them, literally, to change the course of history. This is counterfactual history at its best.' SAUL DAVID 'A reminder that history is a never ending now, a relentless and endless present that comes without the luxury of hindsight.' AL MURRAY 'An original and exciting approach . . . Buckley is one of our very finest historians. The Armchair General adds enormously to our understanding of the conflicts.' JAMES HOLLAND 'A unique, enjoyable approach to evaluating military decision-making.' HISTORY OF WAR

‘The Armchair General team has done it again. An absorbing read for Christmas.’ Peter Caddick-Adams ‘Brilliant and immersive.’ Harry Sidebottom The second book in the Armchair General series, where YOU choose the fate of the First World War ________________________________ HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. WILL IT BE YOU? TAKE THE HOTSEAT Assume the role of real historic decision-makers: general, leaders, soldiers and intelligence officers of the Allied Forces during World War I. EXAMINE THE INTELLIGENCE Explore eight key moments from the First World War, using real contemporaneous intelligence: including the July Crisis, the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian Revolution. CONSIDER THE SCENARIO & MAKE YOUR DECISION From battlefields to the Royal Courts, each tactical and strategic decision you make leads to a different outcome. Will you follow the path of the past - or shape a new history...? ________________________________ PRAISE FOR THE ARMCHAIR GENERAL SERIES 'An original and exciting approach...The Armchair General adds enormously to our understanding of the conflicts' JAMES HOLLAND 'A reminder that history is a never ending now, a relentless and endless present that comes without the luxury of hindsight' AL MURRAY 'Wonderfully original...putting readers at the heart of the decision-making process and allowing them, literally, to change the course of history. This is counterfactual history at its very best' SAUL DAVID

Don't know D-Day? Don't stress surfing the web. We've got all the data here! The biggest WWII party in five years is about to begin and you don't want to be left out! Which celebs will be in Normandy for THE EVENT. American fliers' England pub crawl. French coffee houses. How to find a D-Day veteran in your family tree. Band of Brothers update.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The intimate true story of three of the greatest American generals of World War II, and how their intense blend of comradery and competition spurred Allied forces to victory. “One of the great stories of the American military.”—Thomas E. Ricks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Omar Bradley shared bonds going back decades. All three were West Pointers who pursued their army careers with a remarkable zeal, even as their paths diverged. Bradley was a standout infantry instructor, while Eisenhower displayed an unusual ability for organization and diplomacy. Patton, who had chased Pancho Villa in Mexico and led troops in the First World War, seemed destined for high command and outranked his two friends for years. But with the arrival of World War II, it was Eisenhower who attained the role of Supreme Commander, with Patton and Bradley as his subordinates. Jonathan W. Jordan’s New York Times bestselling Brothers Rivals Victors explores this friendship that waxed and waned over three decades and two world wars, a union complicated by rank, ambition, jealousy, backbiting and the enormous stresses of command. In a story that unfolds across the deserts of North Africa to the beaches of Sicily, from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge and beyond, readers are offered revealing new portraits of these iconic generals.

In October 1943, all the Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents in Holland are captured by the Germans . . . except one. John Hewson, a.k.a. "Boekman," is the most dangerous agent to the German occupiers, with vital information about the German army, Boekman escapes the clutches of the S.S. and stays hidden until the start of the largest airborne operation in World War II: Operation Market Garden. When the SOE learn that Boekman is still alive, and that his estranged son, Harry, is on the ground fighting in Market Garden, Harry is tasked with organizing a small commando unit to rescue Boekman and try to escape through the German siege. The Battle of Arnhem unfolds day by day as father and son search for each other amidst the chaos of war and the dogged pursuits of a cruel Gestapo agent.

The Armchair Reader series entertains and enlightens with little-known anecdotes, untold stories, and fascinating facts that make even the mundane fun. The Armchair Reader's innovative approach and witty style will capture the interest of all readers. Inside you'll find tantalizing tales of true hauntings, strange stories of otherworldly phenomena, and bizarre bits of human behavior. Learn how the testimony of a ghost got a man convicted of murder. Read about the fire that's been burning under a Pennsylvania town for more than 40 years. Uncover the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. Find out where America's most frightening monsters hang out. And much, much more. Pick up a copy today and start reveling in the lore, legends, and colorful characters that make up this weird and wacky world in which we live.

The Fields of Normandy is an accessible, portable, solitaire "hex and counter" style wargame in a book. Instructions and colour game maps are included; you just need to bring a pencil, 2 standard six-sided dice and an eraser. Nothing else is needed to play. Your task is to order your rifle squads, machine gun teams, mortar teams and PIAT teams across the map to achieve your objectives, countering any enemy threat which is found along the way. The game rules reveal, position and attack with enemy units whilst you focus on your objectives. Clear rules, 15 missions across varied maps with varied enemies provides plenty of replayability as you re-create the Allied push into Normandy in World War II. Good luck, your troops await your orders... Complexity: 2/5 Players: 1 Time: 10 to 40 minutes per mission

Author Paul Wright has written an "instant classic" already receiving wide praise from readers and hobby magazine editors. FLW both leads and follows the growing interest in 54mm (1:32) war games and figures. Written in part as a tribute to HG Wells' ground breaking "Little Wars," FLW is a much expanded and broadened modernization. There is a fascinating chapter devoted to Wells the Man and his journey with his "Little Wars" from inception to the day in 1916 when he put the game away for good. For Wells' fans, the author may surprise with information you did not know, or could even guess. Retaining many of Wells' original rules (spring-loaded toy cannon, etc), there are additional rules for Shell Bursts, machine guns, observation balloons and aircraft, field hospitals, supply wagons and dumps, spies, military bands, unit Colors and Standards, Brigade and Division Commands, hidden movement, skirmishers, snipers, signals, morale, variable effects of terrain and more. Infantry units are 20 figures strong, Cavalry 12, and Artillery can appear as single Guns with crews, or as Batteries up to three strong. From 2 to 4 such units typically form a Brigade, the perfect command for each Player. Two or more Brigades form a Division, allowing a Player to act as his side's C-in-C. Brigade and Divisional HQ's are represented by variable numbers of Staff and ADC's, marching on foot, mounted on prancing steeds, or even seated in Rolls Royce, Cadillac, Renault, or other grand Staff Cars from the Golden Age of Motoring. These HQ's send orders to the units on the firing line, and back to the Brigadiers and Generals, come reports from scouts--and desperate messages from the front delivered by Runners-- and even Pigeons! There is far less abstraction in "Funny Little Wars" on your lawn than on the traditional table top, yet games can be played there as well. Toy soldiers can range from antique and modern "Collectibles," to readily available plastics. There are detailed lists for 14 different Armies identified by their "Colors" ("Army Red," "Army Black," "Army Red/Gold," etc) with complete information to build your favorites. Each Army has unique strengths and weaknesses, and a personality suggesting its historical counterpart. FLW represents the years prior WW I, when war was still romantic, the uniforms were dashing, and the Generals still waltzed. The rules reflect the late Victorian/Edwardian spirit in both substance and his delightful writing style. Designed for "The Better Sort of Chap," the book contains suggestions for proper Dress during the game, etiquette on the field, and more. Nor are the Ladies and "Girls of the better sort" forgotten. The authors's Wife, Georgina, provides a charming account of a proper dinner served after an especially Gentlemanly game at Dover Castle during one golden Summer. The Basic Rules actually occupy only 10 pages, but the many Optional Rules allow players to set their own levels of play. There are lists of providers of toy soldiers in every price range, as well as accessories. Sections describe how to set up a yard, park, beach, etc, to be your Battlefield. Rules for basing figures are flexible, there are no complex rules, with only 6 sided dice and measuring tapes required--and a beautiful day under the shade of the trees. Childlike, but never "childish," FLW returns to the Hobby's roots as we play once more with toy soldiers as we did as kids. There are optional record sheets included, many color photos of toy soldiers at play throughout, and the author's wit, charm, unabashed love of toy soldiers. Read "Funny Little Wars" and relive a time when the world was young!

The gripping account of one historian's hunt for answers as he delves into the surprising life of an ordinary Nazi officer. 'Totally exhilarating' Philippe Sands It began with an armchair. It began with the surprise discovery of a stash of personal documents covered in swastikas sewn into its cushion. The SS Officer's Armchair is the story of what happened next, as Daniel Lee follows the trail of cold calls, documents, coincidences and family secrets, to uncover the life of one Dr Robert Griesinger from Stuttgart. As Lee delves deeper, Griesinger emerges as at once an ordinary man with a family and ambitions, and an active participant in the Nazi machinery of terror whose choices continue to reverberate today. 'Gripping, it unfolds like a detective story as an obscured past emerges into the light' Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass 'An absorbing work of historical detection... Riveting' Evening Standard

Here are the great battlefields of the First World War as you have never seen them before, from the first cavalry skirmishes, through the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, to the final weeks of conflict. A revelatory, unique collection of panoramic photographs covering the whole of the British sectors of the Western Front, end to end. No other work shows like this the actual ground on which the battles were fought and about which so many words continue to be written. The vast battlescapes are interspersed with poignant individual photographs and the recollections of the soldiers caught in the action. The last time most of the panoramas were viewed - in the trenches - they were marked TOP-SECRET and destined for the eyes of the commanding officer only. Taken at huge personal risk by specialist photographers during the war, the panoramas reveal what no other photographs can - the view beyond the trench parapet - and a great deal more. Each panorama offers a view of up to 160 degrees, so sharply focused that the individual figures of a waiting sniper or a soldier picking lice from his shirt can be made out. They document a lost world. This slipcased edition features 60 recently discovered German panoramas, plus a DVD containing the full complement of 350 panoramas in interactive, zoomable form; as well as updated mapping throughout.