20th C Archives - Page 33 of 91 - Aspects of History

Capital of Spies

After the end of the Second World War, Berlin was a hotbed of espionage.

Bernd von Kostka

Berlin emerged after the end of World War II as a geographically and politically ideal base of operations for secret service activities. As the point of intersection between East and West, Berlin exerted an almost magical attraction on intelligence agencies. The city...

Alex Gerlis

Alex Gerlis was a BBC journalist for nearly thirty years and is the author of nine Second World war espionage thrillers, all published by Canelo. His first four novels are in the acclaimed Spy Masters series, including the best-selling The Best of Our Spies which is currently being developed as a television series. Prince of Spies was published in March 2020 and was followed by three more in the Prince series. His latest series is the Wolf Pack novels, with Agent in Berlin published in November 2021 and the second in the series due to be published in July 2022, Agent in Peril July 2022 and Agent in the Shadows in February 2023. Alex’s books have sold more than 500,000 copies.

Alex Gerlis

Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on AmazonArticles Click on the links below to read the full article[dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" use_taxonomy_terms="on" multiple_taxonomies="name_of_author"...

1953: The Year of Living Dangerously

After World War Two, The Doomsday Clock was established by scientists to mark how close humanity is to nuclear annihilation, with midnight being the end of the world.

Roger Hermiston

In the Cold War’s 44-year history (accepting the general view that it started in 1947 and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1991), certain years have acquired special resonance, appearing to shape the uneasy East/West conflict more distinctly than the...

Checkmate in Berlin, by Giles Milton

The story of Berlin after the war is a remarkable one, so says the last British commandant of the city.

Major General Sir Robert Corbett

I suppose you could say that I was a survivor of the Cold War. All my military service, from a rude awakening as an 18-year-old recruit for the Irish Guards at Caterham, until I finally stepped off in 2004, was spent in its constantly threatening and frequently...

Pen and Sword Books

The origin of Pen & Sword Books is closely linked with its sister company, the Barnsley Chronicle; one of the UK's oldest provincial newspapers – established in 1858 – and one of the few weeklies still in private ownership.The first books published by the company were in response to public demand following of a series of articles published in the newspaper:- Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks told the story of crash sites in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park, and a further weekly feature on the history of two Kitchener battalions, known as the Barnsley Pals, aroused a thirst for more information. Over the years these books have been reprinted a number of times and have collectively sold around 20,000 copies.Following on from the success of Dark Peak Wrecks and Barnsley Pals books, a number of local history paperbacks were produced along with a series of battlefield guide books. Battleground Europe proved immediately successful and as more and more titles were produced the company made the decision to launch a book publishing arm of the group.

Osprey Publishing

Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon From the Publisher Pen and Sword Books Ltd was set up in 1990 to publish non-fiction history books, covering all areas of history from the ancient past to recent history. We...

The Munich Agreement: Why the Struggle, Again?

Why are we arguing again about Neville Chamberlain, appeasement and the Munich crisis?

David Boyle

The immediate hook is the film of the Robert Harris novel, Munich: The Edge of War – and its obvious agenda to rescue Chamberlain for history. You will remember, especially if you have seen the film - which has been available on Netflix from last weekend - that...

Statue Wars: An Interview with Dr Peter Hughes

The historian, philospher and broadcaster talks statues, philosophy and inspiration.

Peter Hughes

Peter Hughes, your specialisation in the madness of crowds seems to be the motivating factor in your writing this book – is that right? While the specific issues that stir the madness of crowds, from statues and gender identity to ‘stolen’ elections, may vary, there...

Berlin: The Story of a City

A new biography of the great city.

Robert Corbett

I must own up to a long preoccupation with Berlin. This began with my first foray to the then beleaguered city. It was in 1961 and I was a young platoon commander in the Rhine Army, given responsibility with my soldiers for the safe passage of a resupply train for the...

The Story of Berlin

Berlin is the most unusual German city says its latest biographer.

Barney White-Spunner

The Story of Berlin One of the great European cities, even before the fall of the wall Berlin has been unique in Germany. The author of a new history of the city describes its exceptional nature within the wider German state. ‘Berlin is home to such an audacious set...

Alex Gerlis

Alex Gerlis discusses espionage, his inspiration, and his writing.

Alex Gerlis

Alex Gerlis, what prompted you to choose the period that you wrote your first book in? The Best of Our Spies was the first of my (nine) novels and I wrote it after I covered the 50th Anniversary of D-Day for the BBC in 1994. I spent some time out in Normandy and...