The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
Five Questions on War: 1. Does our biology explain why we have war? I say No: war is not engrained in us (but feel free to disagree with me and lots will). Biology might explain why we sometimes lash out violently when we are angry or afraid, but not why we have...
Glimpses of Britain in the summer '62. The actor Kenneth Williams “disgusted” in Hyde Park by the sight of men receiving “kissings & caressings” from their female companions; a sharp polio outbreak in Dundee; health minister Enoch Powell wanting hospitals to allow...
This book is the latest in a line of books published this year by SAS personnel as part of the fortieth anniversary of the Falklands Conflict, recounting their experiences down south it covers his early years as a difficult childhood with no money, growing up in post...
When they think of the Household Cavalry most envisage men wearing the uniform of the 1850s riding 17 hand black Irish draft horses along the Mall, but as no unit of the British Army is exclusively devoted to ceremonial duties, the Household Cavalry of two regiments,...
On the 18th of November 1978, the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project – better known as Jonestown – made headline news around the world through the mass murder-suicide of over 900 of its inhabitants, orchestrated by cult leader Jim Jones. In her latest novel, The Girl...
Sharon Maas, congratulations on the new novel, which deals with an incredibly tragic event, that is the Jonestown mass-suicide. What impact did it have on you? I was living in France at the time, so the initial reports trickled through only slowly – this was before...
Richard Foreman presents five short stories in a collection entitled The Die Is Cast - a reference to his lengthiest tale of the five. Sword of Rome: Rubicon is set in Ancient Rome and, already by the title, fans of Roman history will, perhaps, appropriately guess...
Summer Reads from Aspects of HistoryTimothy Ashby Author of Elizabethan Secret Agent: The Untold Story of William Ashby (1536-1593)At the top of my favourites list of recent historical books is Leanda de Lisle´s The White King. Although non-fiction, the book reads...
Roger Field, many congratulations on the new title, Scimitar into Stanley. You’ve mentioned that as a member of HQ 5 Brigade on the journey down to the Falklands, you soon realised you needed to keep a diary. What was it about the Brigade Staff and leadership that...
By the close of 1943, the tides of the global war at sea had turned significantly in favour of the Allies. In the North Atlantic Doenitz’s wolf-packs were increasingly pulling back, relieving the pressure on Allied convoy lines. In the Mediterranean most of the inland...
