In Brief

This article is from Military History Matters issue 148

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How to Build a Spitfire

In April 2018, David Price decided to build a replica Spitfire in his back garden. In his new book, he juxtaposes the ups and downs of this personal project with the operational history of the fighter aircraft that won the Battle of Britain, focusing in particular on the construction and production of the aircraft, enhanced by testimonies from those who worked in Spitfire production facilities.

How to Build a Spitfire
David Price
Bloomsbury, hbk, 320pp (£25)
ISBN 978-1800242326

Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic

Few historical events illustrate the fragility of democracies as vividly as the failure of the Weimar Republic, culminating in the rise of the Third Reich. But this tragedy was not inevitable. In Fateful Hours, Volker Ullrich charts the many missed opportunities that contributed to the collapse of Germany’s first democracy.

Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic
Volker Ullrich, translated by Jefferson Chase
Pushkin Press, hbk, 368pp (£25)
ISBN 978-1805332794

Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence

At the time of the American Revolution, the British Empire had colonies around the world. This book looks beyond the 13 rebellious American colonies at those that did not rebel to show that understanding the Revolution’s long-term causes requires a global view.

Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence
Trevor Burnard and Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy
Yale University Press, hbk, 320pp (£25)
ISBN 978-0300280180

V-Force: Britain’s Nuclear Bombers and the Cold War

As WWII came to an end, it became clear that the nascent Cold War would be a very different kind of conflict. Driven by fears of nuclear attack, Britain developed its own nuclear strike force comprising three models of V-class bomber: the Valiant, Victor, and Vulcan. V-Force follows the rise and fall of these aircraft, and Britain’s changing role through the Cold War.

V-Force: Britain’s Nuclear Bombers and the Cold War
Jonathan Glancey
Atlantic Books, hbk, 352pp (£22)
ISBN 978-1838957957

Goebbels and ‘Total War’: The Sports Palace Speech of 1943

On 18 February 1943, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels made a speech in the Berlin Sports Palace that is regarded as one of the most chilling – and most effective – rhetorical performances of the 20th century. Here, Peter Longerich delves into the historical build-up to this speech, the speech itself, and its lasting effect.

Goebbels and ‘Total War’: The Sports Palace Speech of 1943
Peter Longerich
Oxford University Press, hbk, 144pp (£20)
ISBN 978-0198923770

Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood

The Assassins and the Templars are almost legendary. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions, yet they show uncanny parallels. Steve Tibble traces the groups’ histories, from their origins to their ultimate destruction.

Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood
Steve Tibble
Yale University Press, hbk, 352pp (£20)
ISBN 978-0300282122

PODCASTS

1945: The End of WWII

This new six-part podcast series from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans tells the story of one of the most consequential years in modern history. Hosted by Donald Miller and Kirk Saduski, the series explores the end of the war through interviews with leading historians and archival material from the museum’s collection. The story begins in early 1945, a period marked by intense military campaigns, high-stakes diplomatic efforts, and significant questions over how the war would end. As the episodes progress, victory is secured in Europe in early May, and America uses nuclear weapons to bring the war to an end in August; in the aftermath, a shattered world begins to rebuild.

1945: The End of WWII
Donald Miller and Kirk Saduski
www.nationalww2museum.org/war/podcasts/1945

Voices of VJ Day – 80 Years On

Continuing the Second World War theme, this podcast, released to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, explores pivotal moments in the Burma Campaign, which saw around a million men from across the Commonwealth unite to fight against the Japanese. The story of the battle for Burma is told, as far as possible, by those who were there. Three veterans (100-year-old Joseph Hammond, who served in the Gold Coast Regiment, and the only two surviving British Chindits: 101-year-old Sid Machin and 104-year-old Charlie Richards) share their recollections about what it was really like to fight in the heat of the jungle 80 years ago. 

Voices of VJ Day – 80 Years On 
Army Benevolent Fund
www.armybenevolentfund.org/voices-of-vj-day-80-years-on