Pen & Sword Books

This comprehensive study explores the landscapes and heritage of past conflicts along with defensive and offensive structures.Throughout history, nature — its resources, landscape and terrain — has shaped the tactics of warfare and determined its outcomes. From the medieval English Fens to the 20th century Iraqi Marsh Arabs, landscapes have fostered resistance and dissention. Harnessed by people under threat the landscape has influenced strategies and tactics.Water and wetland halted campaigns in the Florida Everglades and in the Franco-Prussian War of the late 1800s. In the Second World War the Dutch flooded the drained polders to halt the Nazi advance and in 1938 the Chinese nationalist forces breached the flood-dykes of the Yellow River to halt the Japanese advance.Mountain ranges and deserts have long provided landscapes for resistance fighters. From the former Yugoslavia to Afghanistan these gnarly battlescapes traverse time and space. Libyan fighters held off invading Italian forces by operating from the caves and valleys of the Green Mountains and the Welsh defended their mountainous principalities against the Angevin Normans.The landscapes and heritage of past conflicts, defensive and offensive structures, and much more are brough together in this comprehensive study.

Examines Hitler's ambitions, how they were never realistic, and deemed that his failure was inevitable.Hitler’s career remains one of the most extraordinary in world history. No one else has gone from sleeping on park benches to become a world leader. After the First World War he became involved in extremist politics — first on the far left and then the far right.It is often assumed that Hitler’s ambitions were never realistic and his failure was inevitable. This book challenges that view and suggests a number of missed opportunities or misjudgements that might have led to a different result.Michael FitzGerald shows how Hitler’s personal defects contributed considerably to Germany’s defeat. In addition to the military mistakes he made a series of political, economic and foreign policy blunders were major factors in his failure to achieve his goals.

An evolution of snapshot photography from Victorian times to the digital age.The arrival of the first snapshot camera in Victorian times bred a new kind of photographer, one who might never before have thought of owning a camera, but for whom the ability to take pictures without any previous experience offered a new liberation. The way snapshot cameras and the pictures they took evolved through the following years and into today’s digital age is what this book is all about. With more than 200 mono pictures and sixteen pages of color, it examines how different types of snapshot camera opened up opportunities to shoot new kinds of picture; reveals the dubious way in which snapshot photographers were once perceived; shows how to identify where and when certain snapshots were taken; looks at the role of professional snapshot photographers; examines the part snapshots have played in social history; and explains why yesterday’s snapshots are still so important today.

Celebrates a century of sidecar racing at the Isle of Man TT, highlighting technical innovation and the dominance of iconic teams like BMW, BSA, Yamaha, and Honda.The Isle of Man TT is arguably the most historic motorsport event on the planet. Its 37 ¾ mile Mountain Course is the world’s oldest racing circuit that is still in use. Three wheeled machines first appeared in 1923, and were an instant hit with the spectators. Early pioneer Fred Dixon set the standard for technical innovation with his banking sidecar, but lack of manufacturer support meant that the class was soon dropped.When sidecar outfits made a comeback at the TT in the 1950s, it was West German BMW machines which dominated the podium places. The Munich factory supported World Championship contenders such as Max Deubel, Georg Auerbacher and Siegfried Schauzu, and it was not until the late 60s that BSA-mounted British riders began a fight-back.Through the 1970s Yamaha two stoke engines were the weapon of choice at the TT, and powered the likes of World Champions George O’Dell and Jock Taylor; that is until Mick Boddice secured the support of Honda UK. Boddice battled it out with the rising young star Dave Molyneux, who would go on to dominate the sidecar TT over three decades as the most successful driver in the history of the event.In recent years the pace at the TT has been set by the electrifying World Championship duo of Ben and Tom Birchall. Sidecar Century celebrates the technical innovation and sheer determination of all of these competitors, over 100 years of classic racing.

In this second volume detailing the service of the Fw 190, Chris Goss has assembled 190 photographs, many from the archive of the late Dr. Alfred Price, to illustrate the aircraft's use in the final years of the war.As the war began to turn against Germany, the Luftwaffe was forced to defend the Reich against increasingly overwhelming numbers of Allied fighters and bombers. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, together with the Bf 109G, was the mainstay of the Luftwaffe’s Reichsverteidigung (Defence of the Reich) fighter force, both by day and by night.As the war progressed, the US Eighth Air Force, suffering heavy losses over Germany, changed tactics. The escorting US fighters had been expected to fly alongside the bombers to provide close protection. But this meant that they could not chase after the enemy when in combat, having to return to the bombers. So, from early 1944, the decision was made to free the fighters, allowing them to fly ahead of the bomber stream clearing the skies of German fighters.To counter this, the Luftwaffe developed the Gefechtsverband, or battle formation, composed of two units of Bf 109s and one Sturmgruppe of Fw 190s. In Gefechtsverband operations, the Bf 109s would engage the Allied fighters, particularly the long-range P-51 Mustangs, leaving the more heavily-armed Fw 190s to attack the bombers. Though the large Gefechtsverband formations were unweildy and not always effective, when they did work well, the powerful and well-armored Fw 190s wreaked havoc amongst the US bombers.Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front, the Fw 190 was incresaingly relied upon for fighter and Jabo missions against a dogged Soviet Air Force. With the tide well and truly turned against the Luftwaffe, newer versions of the Fw 190, such as the F and G variants, were intruduced as well as the superlative D-9 which was powered by the Jumo 213 A engine, armed with two MG 131s and two MG 151/20 guns and had a new fuselage and wings.In this second volume detailing the service of the Fw 190, Chris Goss has assembled photographs, many of which have come from the archive of the late Dr Alfred Price, to illustrate the final years of the type’s war.

A collection of thrilling excursions from aviation including paragliding, hang-gliding, paramotoring and micro-lighting.Soaring over forest fires, a moonlight New Year’s Eve flight over the Pennines, bungee-jumping from a paraglider as a birthday celebration, jumping off Mount Everest, or numerous several-hundred-mile flights over open country and on different continents. This book covering many exhilarating and enthralling stories from New Aviation — including paragliding, hang-gliding, paramotoring and micro-lighting — has them all. There is even the story of a pilot using flexwings to teach geese how to migrate — and of a marriage proposal at 500 feet.The challenges explored by the renowned New Aviation expert Brian Milton includes Rich Pfieffer’s legal charges of assault with a deadly weapon for flying a hang-glider over California’s Rose Bowl American College Football competition, or Judy Leden’s balloon drop from 40,000 feet over Jordan, with Israel on one side and Saudi on the other, despite her eyes being frozen shut. Along with this latter story, the author also discusses how women overcame prejudice and scorn to take on the men in the deathly arid wastes of Owens Valley, and the ways in which eagles and vultures — and sometimes crows — reacted violently to humans flying in their air and at their speed.The author describes the return to competitions in which the original British innovators lost their dominant status and how new champions emerged. A chapter is also devoted entirely into the tragedies that have befallen some pilots. This includes a chilling account of the Great Italian Killer Storm of 1989 when six top pilots lost their lives in just one day. As well as relating the dramatic stories about those that died, the author explains why, despite the risks, the New Aviators keep flying. The final story is about the Beau Ideal, the great Swiss pilot Didier Favre, ‘Vagabond of the skies’, who traveled 1,111 kilometres from Monaco to Slovenia.Brian Milton also explains how the ultimate ambitions of the best flyers is to learn how to migrate, using only the power of the wind and the sun. The author concludes this book by exploring what the future might hold for the various forms of New Aviation and those who enjoy the thrills that they create.

A jewel of a book, this latest release from one of Pen & Sword’s women historians, contains a treasure trove of medieval dramatis personae, from the more mainstream figures such as Lady Godiva and Joan of Arc to the lesser known Crusader Queens and mystics. For the first time together, we meet two elusive Jewish medieval business women, one of whom was imprisoned in the Tower of London and the other who was likely one of the richest women in the world.Meticulously researched and clearly showing the author’s keen eye for detail, this latest offering from Michelle Rosenberg builds on her reputation for bringing back to life women often forgotten from mainstream history. Relatively new figures include the elusive Virdimura of Sicily, and Julian of Norwich.The medieval period saw life expectancy at around 33 years old, with the vast majority of women unable to read or write.This text weaves together a rich and broad historic tapestry of women’s stories from the fall of the Roman Empire, the invasion of the Vikings, the First Crusade, Hundred Years War and Black Death.It offers an intriguing insight into medieval women whose lives were deemed outstanding enough, (whether through exemplary religious conduct, queenly, consort or intellectual accomplishment or scandal), by their contemporaries, to record.Their ability to endure, thrive and survive during a time when most women were subordinate to the men in their lives, makes them extraordinary; it also makes the loss of so many other missing stories so acute and tantalising for what our collective history has been deprived of.Only imagine what richness of tales we might have had, should more women’s lives have been better recorded for posterity.

Ron Chapman's life changed on 7 September 1940, leading him to join the RAF and serve in various significant squadrons.It was the night of 7 September 1940 which changed Ron Chapman’s life. It was the start of Hitler’s Blitz on London. The death and destruction the German bombers wreaked across Islington and the East End so shocked and appalled Ron, that three days later he presented himself to the RAF recruiting office near Euston station. After basic training, and a few days before his twentieth birthday, he received a posting to 485 (New Zealand) Squadron — Ron was at last with an operational Spitfire squadron.After just three weeks with 485 (NZ) Squadron, he was posted to 341 (Free French) Squadron. Operating as part of the RAF’s 145 Wing in 84 Group, the squadron was led by the renowned Commandant René Mouchotte DFC, while 145 Wing itself was commanded by the Battle of Britain fighter ace Group Captain ‘Sailor’ Malan. There was also 340 Squadron, known as ‘Churchill’s Own’, and Nos. 329 and 345 squadrons.As a member of 341 Squadron’s groundcrew, Ron Chapman’s memoirs provide a unique insight into the functioning of a fighter unit from the perspective of fitters, riggers, and armorers. But, in addition, his service with the Free French fighter squadrons adds greatly to our knowledge of this important part of the RAF’s history.As an element of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, 84 Group was continually moved from airfield to airfield across the South Coast. The idea was to get the squadrons accustomed to nomadic conditions. After the D-Day invasion plans were finally unveiled, the squadron’s groundcrew and support staff were eventually trucked to Gosport where they boarded the landing craft that would transport them across the Channel as part of Operation Overlord. They landed at Arromanches-les-Bains in August.Ron’s story then follows the actions of 145 Wing, as it battled the Luftwaffe across Europe. As the Allied forces moved eastwards, so Ron and the groundcrew moved with them through France, Belgium and finally into Germany. Ron remained with 341 Squadron until the end of the war.This book is far more than a personal memoir, it is the largely neglected story of the French fighter wing throughout the years when the 2nd Tactical Air Force moved on to the offensive against the Luftwaffe. It will undoubtedly become recognized as an important addition to the history of the RAF.

Cavaliers and Roundheads are figures who appear in hundreds of English ghost stories. In this innovative account, Charles Esdaile argues that such tales are in reality folk memories of an episode of English history that was second only to the Black Death in terms of individual and collective suffering alike, and, further, that they reveal important truths about the way in which the conflict was represented: it is no surprise, then, to find that spectral Cavaliers are often romantic figures and revenant Roundheads grim ones full of menace. Yet, the book is no mere catalogue. On the contrary, rather than being discussed in a vacuum, the tales of haunting are rather set within a detailed regional history of the conflicts of 1642–1651 of a sort that has never yet been attempted, but is, for all that, badly needed.

Heavy gun mountings dominated the design of larger warships, on account of their size, weight, protection and cost. In the 1890s, British gun mountings developed rapidly with new gun technologies (wire winding, cordite) and the rise of the two major ordnance companies, Armstrongs and Vickers, producing large numbers of weapons for the Royal Navy and for worldwide export. But by 1960, aircraft and guided missiles had made the big gun redundant, so the period from 1890s to 1950s covering the two world wars is the most historically significant.The focus of this book is on the larger mountings and those fitted in the larger ships — the massively engineered ‘non transferable’ mountings, whose complexities and associated magazines took up a huge volume of the ship, unlike the smaller calibre ‘transferable’ mountings mostly bolted to the deck. Such mountings could weigh over 1000 tons, take two years to build and make up a quarter of the cost of a battleship.Although they existed in many variants, there were only about forty basic mountings from 4.5in to 18in calibre fitted to the majority of the RN’s larger ships so these take up the bulk of the book. For each, well illustrated handbooks with colored plates were produced, but are largely inaccessible to the public, so about 50 of these highly detailed drawings are reproduced at large scale. The smaller mountings and the guns themselves each have a separate chapter.Although the impact of the book is largely visual, there is an expert account of the design, construction and installation of such mountings, and their manufacturers, supported by a range of internal and close-up photographs. The reference value of the work is enhanced by a comprehensive table of mountings and their characteristics, plus a list of all the mountings made by Vickers of Barrow between 1900 and 1950.Providing easy access to so much rarely seen material, this handsome volume will appeal to modelmakers, ship enthusiasts and technical historians.

The Mosquito was the most successful battle-winning multi-role combat aircraft of the Second World War. It was introduced by the de Havilland Aircraft Company as an unarmed, un-interceptable, long range, high speed, high altitude medium bomber. An unarmed bomber without protective armament was a concept that ran directly contrary to the tactical doctrines of both the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Force. Notwithstanding, it was developed to carry out almost unlimited roles including ground-attack dive-bomber, anti-shipping strike aircraft, day, and night fighter, 'Pathfinder’ marking targets for a main heavy bomber force, and long-range reconnaissance aircraft. There seemed to be nothing it could not be adapted to do with unmatched success. Its most important role was as a deadly long-range, low level precision ground attack fighter-bomber, ideal for 'special duties' operations. The book examines the crucial role of designers and engineers from drawing board to production and company support. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines it could carry the same bombload as four-engine heavy bombers but at much greater speeds and at altitudes from low-level to ultra-high. It was the combination of this performance with its prodigious range capability that made it a truly strategic weapon in air warfare, striking precision targets in the heart of Nazi-Germany and sapping morale.The text is of full of detailed and dramatic attacks from the aircrew point of view.“It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I run green and yellow with envy.” — Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.

From the first combat over Poland in 1939, until Bomber Command’s assault on Hitler’s alpine retreat at Berchtesgaden in April 1945, when the red and white marked Mustangs escorted the bombers on their way to the target, there was no major RAF aerial operation undertaken in Europe without the involvement of Polish fighter squadrons and pilots.As well as mounting offensive sorties from the UK, Polish fighter squadrons fought in North Africa in 1943, where they added to their already formidable reputation. Some Polish airmen were even posted to the US Air Force, again proving themselves in battle.Polish fighter pilots operated over the Normandy beaches in support of the D-Day landings in June 1944. Some of the Polish squadrons were then deployed across the Channel to France, from where they undertook dangerous dive-bombing missions, while their colleagues in Britain chased the much-feared V1 flying bombs.The last Polish claims were made in April 1945, when a number of the Luftwaffe’s technically-advanced Messerschmitt Me 262 jets were destroyed in a dog fight by Nos. 306 and 309 Polish squadrons. These victories marked the end of the journey that started almost six years earlier.After claiming a total of 748 enemy aircraft destroyed under British and American command, Polish fighter pilots gained a reputation for being loyal and fearsome warriors, who sacrificed nearly 550 of their own men, killed in action, wounded, missing, or captured, while fighting for the freedom that their countrymen would not enjoy for many decades.Polish fighter pilots fought in the skies from the very first day of the war until its last. As well as seeing action in Western Europe, they fought in Italy, North Africa and in Asia. The last PAF airman was killed in action on 4 May 1945. He was a fighter pilot of No. 317 (City of Wilno) Squadron. While his Spitfire was going down, not only Wilno, but the rest of Poland, was being absorbed into the Soviet Union. He died for a cause that was already lost. Nevertheless, the achievements of the Polish squadrons, man for man, rank amongst the highest of the Allied nations.

“As dangerous as if she stood on the corner of the street exploding gunpowder.”This was the view of ‘Miles’, a correspondent in the Bedfordshire Mercury, writing about the dangerousness of prostitutes in 1874. They were considered a scourge by the Victorians; a menace to society and a threat to the moral and physical wellbeing of a nation. Carrying disease, committing crime, corrupting others; prostitutes were the most feared ‘social evil’. These women were the focus of controlling and invasive legislation, designed to clear the streets. They were imprisoned and removed from their friends and family. They were scorned and shamed and deemed worthless by much of society.The contemporary view of prostitution in the nineteenth century is colored by years of Ripperology, a grim fascination with the lives of a few mutilated women living in London. However, prostitutes were far more than caricatures of sinners or inevitable victims and lived in every other part of England too. Searching through the plethora of newspaper, census, police, and local history records it is now possible to uncover the lives of prostitutes in greater detail than ever before and discover the real women behind the stereotypes. Piecing together these women’s movements from cradle to grave and from one side of the country to another builds a rich picture of what it meant to be a prostitute, including the lives of prostitutes living in small towns, villages, and islands that have all been previously over-looked.This book explores the lives of the women who were omitted from the genteel history books of the past, aiming to identify what they looked like, what life was like for them, and who the important people in their lives were. It also looks in depth at the lives of a select few prostitutes, examining what drew them into prostitution and what happened to them afterwards. From Whitehaven to North Shields, from Peterborough to Bloomsbury (via Paris), these women led extraordinary, richly textured lives that are still relevant today, and that we can continue to learn so much from.The perfect introduction to Victorian prostitutes for family and local historians, genealogists, and students of the Victorian era.

To the early railway traveller, the prospect of travelling to places in hours rather than days hitherto was an inviting prospect, however a journey was not without its fears as well as excitement. To some, the prospect of travelling through a tunnel without carriage lighting, with smoke permeating the compartment and the confined noise was a horror of the new age. What might happen if we broke down or crashed into another train in the darkness? To others it was exciting, with the light from the footplate flickering against the tunnel walls or spotting the occasional glimpses of light from a ventilation shaft.To the directors of early railway companies, planning a route was governed by expense and the most direct way. Avoiding hills could add miles but tunnelling through them could involve vast expense as the Great Western Railway found at Box and the London and Birmingham at Kilsby. Creating a cutting as an alternative was also costly not only in labour and time, but also in compensation for landowners, who opposed railways on visual and social grounds having seen their land divided by canals.Construction involved millions of bricks or blocks of stone for sufficiently thick walls to withstand collapse. However, the entrance barely seen from the carriage window might be an impressive Italianate arch as at Primrose Hill, or a castellated portal worthy of the Middle Ages as at Bramhope.This book sets out to tell the story of tunnelling in Britain up to about 1870, when it was a question of burrowing through earth and rock with spade and explosive powder, with the constant danger of collapse or flooding leading to injury and death. It uses contemporary accounts, from the dangers of railway travel by Dickens to the excitement of being drawn through the Liverpool Wapping Tunnel by the young composer Mendelssoln. It includes descriptions from early railway company guide books, newspapers and diaries. It also includes numerous photographs and colored architectural elevations from railway archives.

“Reporting the Nuremburg Trials is steeped in reverence for an era in journalism faintly lit by modern history despite its many parallels to today. Fletcher again and again reveals lessons for today's real-time news cycles, including the perils of misinformation, professional subterfuge and abbreviated ethics.” — Jesse Garnier, Journalism Chair and Associate Professor, San Francisco State UniversityFor the first time, journalists who shared details about Nazi crimes from the International Military Tribunal, better known as the Nuremberg Trial, have their own story told.As World War II in Europe drew to a close in 1945, the Allies prepared to hold Nazi leaders accountable for crimes against humanity and selected Nuremberg as the site for the trial. The U.S. military took the lead in refurbishing a courtroom and making accommodations for 325 journalists and 23 defendants plus Allied judges, prosecutors, translators and administrative staff. Because publicity was a main consideration, the latest innovations and technology were incorporated into the courtroom to enhance news coverage of the trial. Press passes were in demand worldwide for courtroom seats. A press pool was selected to witness the executions in which 10 criminals were hung on Oct. 16, 1946.Famous war correspondents and young journalists who later became household names were headquartered in a castle, explored bombed ruins and faced dangers as a lingering spirit of Nazism seethed within the city. The lengthy trial became an excruciating endurance test for journalists by the time it ended (far longer than expected) on Oct. 1, 1946, setting a precedent for coverage of subsequent justice at Nuremberg.The author, a long-time journalist and former foreign correspondent, provides an insider’s look at how the news was gathered and conveyed. The book is based on extensive research and insights gathered from Nuremberg, including at the location where the journalists were housed and at the courtroom itself.

The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is one of the milestones of history. Everyone, it is said, remembers where they were when they heard the news. Because the official investigation, the Warren Commission, set up by Kennedy’s successor in the White House, Lyndon Johnson, was such a whitewashing travesty of justice, the world has felt itself free to speculate ever more wildly about what really happened in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, in November 1963.The killer, said the Warren Commission, was the peculiar loner, Lee Harvey Oswald, and he acted alone. Evidence, science and common sense have long ago proved that this was not possible. So it was the Russians. It was the Cubans. It was the Mafia. It was Lyndon Johnson. It was the Secret Service. It was the FBI. It was the CIA. It was that murky conspiratorial bunch, the Military-Industrial Complex.This book evaluates all the above and comes to another conclusion entirely. The reason that we are still arguing about who was responsible for a murder committed in front of a large crowd in broad daylight is that no one was prepared to put up their hands and admit their responsibility for not doing their jobs properly. Yes, there was a conspiracy, but the ‘cock-up’ element was even greater. Why was there inadequate Secret Service protection for the president in Dallas? Why was the motorcade route made public well in advance? Why was Lee Oswald identified on the word of a single witness? Why was Jack Ruby allowed to slip past dozens of policemen to kill Oswald? Why were the lawyers of the Warren Commission allowed to select witnesses and bully them into saying what they had not seen? Why did subsequent governmental inquiries fudge the physics of a headshot and a bungled autopsy? Why does the American mainstream media still cling to the lone gunman, single bullet theory?The answer is simple. Everybody in 1963 and for many years afterwards were far too concerned about covering their own backs. Truth and justice got lost somewhere in all of that.

Does the idea of creative writing excite you, but you've no idea how to begin?Do you want to write a story, a local interest book, or even complete a book of poetry? Maybe you would love to create a legacy piece to hand down to future generations, or capture the essence of your relative’s lives but don't know where to start or what to include?Between suggestions, tips, anecdotes, and exercises, you will glean a mountain of information that will set you on your way no matter if you are new to creative writing or have a book or three under your belt.With a friendly, accessible tone, A Guide to Creative Writing gives you the tools you need to write for the love of it or to take it further.

This gripping memoir chronicles a female security operative's courageous journey in the male-dominated security industry, detailing her experiences in war-torn Iraq, the toll of her work, and the inspiration from her brother's tragic death.In the gripping memoir Female Security Operative, the author takes the reader on a trailblazing journey of chaos through her life in the world of security. Breaking barriers and heroic beliefs, she reveals her remarkable journey as she navigates a male dominated industry with unwavering determination and courage.From her early days as an unassuming woman from England to her transformation into a formidable security operative, the author shares the pivotal moments that shaped her character and propelled her into the realm where resilience and vigilance are paramount.With no-nonsense storytelling and raw honesty, she invites readers on a heart pounding adventure through the treacherous landscapes of war-torn IraqWith Saddam Hussein captured, she’s assigned to ensure the safety of civilian flights at Baghdad’s International Airport, the author witnesses the harsh realities of a nation torn apart by conflict. With vivid descriptions and a remarkable attention to detail, the author describes the daily struggles, triumphs, and tragedies that she and her fellow operatives face. From heart stopping moments of imminent danger to small acts of kindness and camaraderie every page brims with authenticity and a genuine love for humanity.Working side by side with ordinary Iraqis, she witnesses the strains and the profound impact of a shattered infrastructure and the devastating consequences of a failed invasion. In the backdrop of mortar rounds, car bombs, and the constant threat of danger, she confronts her mission head on, driven by a deep sense of purpose and a desire to make a difference.The author's motivation for embarking on this perilous journey is deeply rooted in her relationship with her brothers tragic death, a source of inspiration and guidance throughout her life. The opportunity to work in Iraq becomes her chance to honor his memory and embody the principles he taught, -strength, independence, and a resilient sense of humour, even in the darkest of times.Female Security Operative offers an unfiltered narrative that delves into the emotional and physical toll of life on the front lines. It explores the toll her work takes on personal relationships, the inner conflict she wrestles with and the sacrifices she makes in the name of duty. This is an honest portrayal of the authors eight-year journey through the Middle East. It highlights the contradictions of war, and the consequences of political decision.With integrity, flair, and a touch of humour, prepared to be moved, inspired, and forever changed by a female security operatives journey. It's a story that will linger in your thoughts, reminding you of the untold stories of unsung heroes, shedding light on those who strive to bring stability in a world plagued by chaos.

Explore the vibrant tapestry of the Middle Ages through the lives of medieval saints, revealing intimate perspectives on faith, fear, and societal change, while delving into topics resonant with today's world.Step into the captivating world of the Middle Ages with Saints and Sinners, a groundbreaking exploration of history like no other. In this remarkable narrative, each chapter takes you on an immersive journey through time, unveiling the vibrant tapestry of events that shaped the medieval era told through the stories of Medieval Saints who experienced them.Gone are the distant voices of emperors and kings; instead, we hear from ordinary people who witnessed the world around them, sharing their intimate thoughts, fears, and attitudes towards world-changing events. Experience the gripping anxiety, fear, and paranoia that accompanied threats to the kingdom of heaven, as these saints fought to defend and restore their faith. But, as the Church solidifies its position, discover how saints were then utilised as instruments of control to shape public order.Saints and Sinners goes beyond a mere historical account, delving into topics that resonate with today's world. Uncover the incredible history of Ethiopia, once a magnificent empire that fell into despair at the hands of Christianity, shedding light on Black History; delve into the history of gender and sexuality through the misogynistic St Cuthbert and worship of ‘trans-saint’ Wilgefortis; and witness the fight for equality in indigenous populations in the Americas through St Louis Bertrand. Through these stories, saints become a lens to examine the attitudes and complexities of their time.Prepare to be enthralled as Saints and Sinners weaves together engaging narratives, captivating miracles, and enthralling stories of saints to produce a masterful retelling of the Middle Ages which not only satisfies the curiosity of general readers but also offers a deep understanding of the Middle Ages and Christianity's evolution.

Written by two leading experts on the Crusades in an enjoyable and compelling style, this is an accessible narrative of a complex political and military history.The history of the Teutonic Knights is one of crusading in an era of wars, intrigues, assassinations and betrayals. Originally established as a hospital order during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land in the late 12th century, the order evolved into a formidable military force dedicated to defending and expanding Christianity in the Baltic region.This book explores the crusade aimed at Lithuanian pagans in the Middle Ages, when crusaders from the Holy Roman Empire, France, England and Scotland came to Prussia to fight alongside the Teutonic Knights. What ensued was a long-drawn out, many-sided struggle, with Lithuania and Poland first becoming powerful states, then expanding into Belarus and Ukraine, where the Mongols and Tatars had long held sway. The book culminates with Lithuania converting to the Roman Catholic Church and the dramatic sieges of Vilnius.Written by two leading experts on the Crusades in an enjoyable and compelling style, this is an accessible narrative of a complex political and military history.