MHM Editor Neil Faulkner recalls one of the great works of military history.…
The Archaeology of Medieval Towns is an interesting proposition: a book which aims to act as a bridge between the medieval worlds of Europe and Japan, introducing each to the specialists of the other. The editors are careful to make this balancing act productive rather than reductive: this is not…
For many thousands of years, humans have inscribed their presence on the landscape. They drew or pecked images of the fanciful, representational, or sacred on the walls of caves, rock shelters, rock faces, and boulders, as well as on structures, both monumental and quotidian. While the advent of written languages…
Whether you like this book will depend on whether you like archaeology. If you do – as well as liking military history – and you therefore choose to read it, you will discover something quite extraordinary. Let me explain. Generally speaking, archaeology is very bad at providing direct evidence for…
This book convincingly argues that Stalin’s war began long before the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, and can really be said to have begun in the late 1920s. Initially, this was a war of suppression at home, combined with subversion abroad. As early as May 1927, Anglo-Soviet diplomatic…
In the autumn of 1939, after they signed a pact agreeing to carve up Poland, Hitler and Stalin were depicted in a cartoon as a newly wed couple walking down the aisle. Hand in hand, with Stalin the bride and Hitler the groom, the caption underneath read: ‘Wonder how long…
Heinrich Severloh was a good soldier. On 6 June 1944, the 20-year-old Wehrmacht private manned a machine-gun overlooking Omaha Beach. He did his job without complaint: mowing down American soldiers as they disembarked on to the shore more than 500 metres away. Firing almost continuously for nine hours, his gun…
The most highly decorated combat unit in the history of the United States Army is the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, with its distinctive motto ‘Go for Broke’ – a reference to a term in gambling meaning that one stakes all in an effort to win the game. For the men…
World War I Illustrated Atlas In fine and comprehensive detail, this book plots key battles and the exact course of the global land, sea, and air campaigns that made the First World War, enabling the reader to trace the ebb and flow of the fortunes of all sides. With more…
Adam Morgan Ibbotson has successfully brought together around 100 prehistoric sites from across Cumbria into a much-needed single volume. Home to a range of prehistoric monuments, Cumbria has more than just stone circles, with notable examples including the Mayburgh Henge and the Great Urswick burial chamber. The book begins by…