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Zeppelin Nights: London in the First World War
by Jerry WhiteA Guardian Best Book of the Year 201411pm, Tuesday 4 August 1914: with the declaration of war London becomes one of the greatest killing machines in human history. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers pass through the capital on their way to the front; wounded men are brought back to be treated in London’s hospitals; and millions of shells are produced in its factories. The war changes London life for ever. Women escape the drudgery of domestic service to work as munitionettes. Full employment puts money into the pockets of the London poor for the first time. Self-appointed moral guardians seize the chance to clamp down on drink, frivolous entertainment and licentious behaviour. As the war drags on, gloom often descends on the capital. And at night London is plunged into darkness for fear of German bombers and Zeppelins that continue to raid the city. Yet despite daily casualty lists, food shortages and enemy bombing, Londoners are determined to get on with their lives and flock to cinemas and theatres, dance halls and shebeens, firmly resolved not to let Germans or puritans spoil their enjoyment. Peopled with patriots and pacifists, clergymen and thieves, bluestockings and prostitutes, Jerry White’s magnificent panorama reveals a struggling yet flourishing city.
Zeppelin vs British Home Defence 1915–18 (Duel)
by Jim Laurier Jon GuttmanWhen Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's rigid airship LZ 1 flew over Lake Constance in 1900, it was the most advanced and impressive flying machine in the world: a colossal, lighter-than-air craft capable of controlled flight. In World War I, Zeppelins were first used in a reconnaissance role, but on 19 January 1915 Kaiser Wilhelm II authorised their use in bombing strategic targets in England. From then on, 'Zeppelin' became synonymous with terror to the British, and indeed the airship's effectiveness was more psychological than material. Still, their raids compelled the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service to embark on a program of modernising their aerial defences, accelerating a process that would ultimately make the aeroplane, rather than the airship, the paramount flying machine of the war. Using specially commissioned artwork, contemporary photographs and first-hand accounts, this book tells the fascinating story of Britain's first Blitz, from the airships who terrorised the public to the men who sought to defend the skies.
Zeppelin vs British Home Defence 1915–18 (Duel #85)
by Jim Laurier Jon GuttmanWhen Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's rigid airship LZ 1 flew over Lake Constance in 1900, it was the most advanced and impressive flying machine in the world: a colossal, lighter-than-air craft capable of controlled flight. In World War I, Zeppelins were first used in a reconnaissance role, but on 19 January 1915 Kaiser Wilhelm II authorised their use in bombing strategic targets in England. From then on, 'Zeppelin' became synonymous with terror to the British, and indeed the airship's effectiveness was more psychological than material. Still, their raids compelled the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service to embark on a program of modernising their aerial defences, accelerating a process that would ultimately make the aeroplane, rather than the airship, the paramount flying machine of the war. Using specially commissioned artwork, contemporary photographs and first-hand accounts, this book tells the fascinating story of Britain's first Blitz, from the airships who terrorised the public to the men who sought to defend the skies.
Zeppelins: German Airships 1900–40 (New Vanguard)
by Ian Palmer Charles StephensonOn 2 July 1900 the people of Friedrichshafen, Germany, witnessed a momentous occasion the first flight of LZ 1, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's first airship. Although deemed a failure, a succession of better craft (LZ2 to 10) enabled the Zeppelin to expand into the consumer market of airship travel, whilst also providing military craft for the German Army and Navy. The years of the Great War saw the Zeppelins undertake strategic bombing missions against Great Britain. This title covers the post-war fate of the Zeppelins, including the crash of the Hindenburg, and their use by the Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II.
Zeppelins: German Airships 1900–40 (New Vanguard #101)
by Charles Stephenson Mr Ian PalmerOn 2 July 1900 the people of Friedrichshafen, Germany, witnessed a momentous occasion the first flight of LZ 1, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's first airship. Although deemed a failure, a succession of better craft (LZ2 to 10) enabled the Zeppelin to expand into the consumer market of airship travel, whilst also providing military craft for the German Army and Navy. The years of the Great War saw the Zeppelins undertake strategic bombing missions against Great Britain. This title covers the post-war fate of the Zeppelins, including the crash of the Hindenburg, and their use by the Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II.
Zerborstene Texte und Wirklichkeiten in der Schwebe: Experimentelles Erzählen über den Nationalsozialismus (1990–2010) (Kontemporär. Schriften zur deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur #13)
by Daniela HenkeExperimentelle Texte über Holocaust und Nationalsozialismus fallen durch ein Forschungsraster. Durch ihre sperrige Form entziehen sie sich den Kategorien der memory studies – wegen ihrer brisanten Thematik sind sie ungeeignet für das rein formale Erkenntnisinteresse der klassischen Narratologie. Getragen von der Idee, dass Erzählformen selbst erzählen, verfolgt diese Untersuchung zwei Ziele. Zunächst wird eine allgemeine Typologie experimentellen Erzählens entworfen. Darauf folgen Analysen von Erzähltexten der Gegenwartsliteratur: Heldenfriedhof von Thomas Harlan, Morbus Kitahara von Christoph Ransmayr, Nahe Jedenew von Kevin Vennemann, Harlem Holocaust von Maxim Biller und Frühling von Thomas Lehr. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die Funktionen experimentellen Erzählens mit Blick auf den ‚Undarstellbarkeitstopos‘ in seinen verschiedenen Variationen.
Zero 22
by Chris RyanAn SAS unit codenamed Zero 22, operating covertly in the war-torn badlands of northern Syria, is ambushed and massacred by a small army of mercenaries dressed like Hell's AngelsDanny Black survives the massacre and back in London learns that his unit was betrayed by a mole feeding high-level military intelligence to the Russians. Like any SAS man worthy of the name, his first thought is to avenge the men who lost their lives on the Zero 22 op.He has no hesitation in accepting the mission to assassinate the man responsible for the death of his mates. Danny finds himself operating with an MI6 officer and together they embark on a high-risk, deniable mission that will require all Danny's Regiment.As the mission unfolds, however, Danny learns that darker forces are at play. He realises that what started out as a simple act of revenge is just single play in a conspiracy that will take him across continents and pit him against the insidious machinations of the most powerful men in the world.
Zero Day (John Puller series #1)
by David BaldacciZero Day is the explosive first instalment in David Baldacci's thrilling John Puller series. Distinguished as a top investigator in the US government, John Puller is called in to conduct an enquiry into the brutal murders of a family in a remote area of West Virginia. It soon becomes clear that the case has wider implications and as the body count rises he teams up with local homicide detective Samantha Cole. As the web of deceit is revealed, it quickly becomes apparent that there's much more to this case than they had first thought. It is an investigation where nothing is as it seems, and nothing can be taken at face value. When Puller and Cole discover a dangerous situation in the making, Puller finds he must turn to the one person who can help avert certain catastrophe. A person he has known all his life. In a breathtaking rollercoaster race against time, Cole fears for the community in which she was raised, and Puller knows he has to overcome the enemies of his country to avoid far reaching disaster. But in the end, you can't kill what you can't see is coming . . .
Zero Footprint: The true story of a private military contractor’s secret wars in the world’s most dangerous places
by Simon ChaseSimon Chase's life is a maze of burner phones, encrypted emails, secret meetings, and weaponry - all devoted to executing missions too sensitive for government acknowledgement. Working for shadowy British and American organisations, Chase has been on the trail of Bin Laden in Afghanistan, protected allied generals in Iraq, and been part of an operation directly related to the attack in 2012 on the US consulate in Benghazi.Zero Footprint takes us to this dangerous and thrilling world, and tells the true story of a private military contractor whose work forms the foundation for western security abroad, especially when the UK and US military, intelligence agencies, and departments of state need something done that they can't - or won't - do themselves.
Zero Hour Trilogy: (2) (Zero Hour Trilogy)
by Rob LofthouseDouble Trouble is the sensational, breathless sequel to Deep Trouble and tells the story of one of the most famous operations of the Second World War: 50,000 airborne troops, nine days of fierce fighting, one bridge too far.September, 1944 - Just three months after D-Day and the Allied invasion is getting bogged down in France. The commanders need a change of tactics. Cue Operation Market Garden - the largest and most audacious airborne raid of the war. Fresh from D-Day, Robbie Stokes finds himself drafted into an airborne division and landing in occupied Netherlands. Greeted by a hail of German flak and bullets it quickly becomes clear that the operation is not the surprise it should be. Battle-hardened in Normandy, Robbie finds himself forced to take a leading role as he and his platoon try and break through to Arnhem Bridge.
Zero Hour Trilogy: (1) (Zero Hour Trilogy)
by Rob LofthouseWritten by a retired British soldier, Deep Trouble is the first in a trilogy of novels telling the breathless, vivid story of one young recruit's experience of one of the greatest military invasions ever launched.6 June 1944 - Somewhere over the Normandy coastline, Robbie Stokes sits in a glider, his Bren resting on the floor between his outstretched legs. The nose lowers and the glider descends rapidly: ten minutes of stomach-churning twists and turns until suddenly the call goes up to 'BRACE'. The belly makes contact with the ground and the first Allied troops tumble out into occupied Europe.For Robbie Stokes it is the beginning of 72 hours of brutal and relentless conflict: a test of character, a test of nerve, a test of comradeship, of the band of brothers around him. If they fail, then the Allied invasion fails. They must succeed on their longest day.The operation to Pegasus Bridge is one of the most famous of the Second World War. Taking place six hours before the famous Normandy landings, when six gliders deposited the 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry behind enemy lines with the orders to take and hold the bridges at Bénouville and Ranville.Part of this work has been previously published under the title, Well Past Trouble.
Zero Hour Trilogy: (3) (Zero Hour Trilogy)
by Rob LofthouseWell Past Trouble is the last in the Zero Hour trilogy and sees Robbie and his men's endurance, spirit and bond tested to their limits.March, 1945 - With the Germans in retreat, the Allies begin to look toward the ultimate prize: Berlin. But first they must cross the heavily-defended Rhine into Germany's industrial heartland. In the savage fighting for this crucial gateway, Robbie Stokes and his airborne division must drop into enemy territory and hold off German reinforcements.Exhausted after fighting through France and the Netherlands it falls to Robbie to lift his company for one final operation and the push into Germany. But despite his experience, nothing he's seen yet can prepare him for what they find as the Germans retreat and their cruelty is revealed. The end is insight, but Robbie and his men will have to fight every inch of the way.
Zero Night: World War Ii's Most Daring Great Escape
by Mark FeltonOflag VI-B, Warburg, Germany: On the night of 30 August 1942 – ‘Zero Night’ – 40 officers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa staged the most audacious mass escape of the Second World War. It was the first ‘Great Escape’ – but instead of tunnelling, the escapers boldly went over the huge perimeter fences using wooden scaling contraptions. This was the notorious ‘Warburg Wire Job’, described by fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader as ‘the most brilliant escape conception of this war’. Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as prisoners charged the camp’s double perimeter fences. Telling this remarkable story in full for the first time, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape itself and the adventures of those who eluded the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist’s eye for drama and detail, this is a rip-roaring adventure story, all the more thrilling for being true.
Zero Six Bravo: 60 Special Forces. 100,000 Enemy. The Explosive True Story
by Damien LewisThe Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. They were branded as cowards and accused of being the British Special Forces Squadron that ran away from the Iraqis. But nothing could be further from the truth. Ten years on, the story of these sixty men can finally be told. In March 2003 M Squadron - an SBS unit with SAS embeds - was sent 1,000 kilometres behind enemy lines on a true mission impossible, to take the surrender of the 100,000-strong Iraqi Army 5th Corps. From the very start their tasking earned the nickname 'Operation No Return'. Caught in a ferocious ambush by thousands of die-hard fanatics from Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen, plus the awesome firepower of the 5th Corps' heavy armour, and with eight of their vehicles bogged in Iraqi swamps, M Squadron launched a desperate bid to escape, inflicting massive damage on their enemies. Running low on fuel and ammunition, outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and outgunned, the elite operators destroyed sensitive kit and prepared for death or capture as the Iraqis closed their deadly trap. Zero Six Bravo recounts in vivid and compelling detail the most desperate battle fought by British and allied Special Forces trapped behind enemy lines since World War Two. It is a classic account of elite soldiering that ranks with Bravo Two Zero and the very greatest Special Forces missions of our time.
Zhang Xueliang: The General Who Never Fought
by A. ShaiThe first book to tell the strange and fascinating story of General Zhang Xue-liang, the Chinese-Manchurian 'Young Marshall' - a man who left an indelible mark on the history of modern China, but few know his story. Unlocking the mystery of this man's life, Aron Shai helps to shed light on 20th-century China.
Zigzag: The incredible wartime exploits of double agent Eddie Chapman
by Nicholas BoothEddie Chapman was a womaniser, blackmailer and safecracker. He was also a great hero - the most remarkable double agent of the Second World War. Chapman became the only British national ever to be awarded an Iron Cross for his work for the Reich. He was also the only German spy ever to be parachuted into Britain twice. But it was all an illusion: Eddie fooled the Germans in the same way he conned his victims in civilian life. He was working for the British all along. Until now, the full story of Eddie Chapman's extraordinary exploits has never been told, thwarted by the Official Secrets Act. Now at last all the evidence has been released, including Eddie's M15 files, and a complete account of what he achieved is told in this enthralling book.
The Zimmermann Telegram: America Enters The War, 1917-1918
by Barbara TuchmanBarbara Tuchman's The Zimmerman Telegram is one of the greatest spy stories of all time.Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did. In England, Room 40 was born . . .In January 1917, with the First World War locked in terrible stalemate and America still neutral, German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman gambled the future of the conflict on a single telegram. But this message was intercepted and decoded in Whitehall's legendary Room 40 - and Zimmerman's audacious scheme for world domination was exposed, bringing America into the war and changing the course of history. The story of how this happened and the incalculable consequences are thrillingly told in Barbara Tuchman's brilliant exploration.'A most exciting book, full of vivid pen portraits and curious episodes' Sunday Times'As thrilling as a John Buchan novel' The Times Literary Supplement'Its 200 pages are worth more than all the thrillers and whodunits of the fiction writers put together'Herald'A fine exciting book told with intense drama. A thriller of real life' Observer'Brilliant. Told with great literary and dramatic talent' New York Times Book ReviewBarbara Tuchman achieved prominence as a historian with The Zimmerman Telegram and international fame with the Pulitzer-Prize winning The Guns of August. She is also the author of The Proud Tower, Stilwell and the American Experience in China (also awarded the Pulitzer Prize), A Distant Mirror and The March of Folly. She died in 1989. The Guns of August and The Proud Tower are published by Penguin.
Zitadelle: The German Offensive Against the Kursk Salient 4-17 July 1943
by Mark HealyFew battles attract interest so much as the Battle of Kursk. Operation Zitadelle, the code name given by Hitler to the Wehrmacht's last offensive on the Eastern Front in July 1943, has acquired an almost mythic status as one of the greatest clashes of armour in the history of warfare. Long been depicted as the ‘the swan song of the German tank arm’ by virtue of the huge tank losses experienced by the Germans; the reality, in light of the emergence of new information proved it to be anything but, with historians previously accepting without question exaggerated Soviet accounts of the battle. For all the resources devoted to this operation by the Germans, Zitadelle was an abysmal failure; and whilst they were not outfought by the Red Army at Kursk, they were out-thought by commanders of outstanding quality. Zitadelle describes the German and Soviet tactics and explores the realities of the battles on sodden ground that culminated in the defeat of the panzers and the Soviet advance on the Reich.
Zlata's Diary
by Zlata FilipovicZlata Filipovic was given a diary shortly before her tenth birthday and began to write in it regularly. She was an ordinary, if unusuallyintelligent and articulate little girl, and her preoccupations include whether or not to join the Madonna fan club, her piano lessons, her friends andher new skis. But the distant murmur of war draws closer to her Sarajevo home. Her father starts to wear military uniform and herfriends begin to leave the city. One day, school is closed and the next day bombardments begin. The pathos and power of Zlata's diary comes from watching the destruction of a childhood. Her circle of friends isincreasingly replaced by international journalists who come to hear of this little girl's courage and resilience. But the reality is that, as they flyoff with the latest story of Zlata, she remains behind, writing her deepest feelings to 'Mimmy', her diary, and her last remaining friend.
Zoe's Tale (The Old Man’s War series #4)
by John Scalzi'John Scalzi is the most entertaining, accessible writer working in SF today' – Joe Hill, author of The FiremanJohn Scalzi's Zoe's Tale is the fourth in The Old Man's War series. She won't go down without a fight.It's not every day you up sticks and move to another world. But then, Zoë Boutin-Perry's life has never been ordinary. She's the adopted teenage daughter of two former super-soldiers. She's also a holy icon to a race of alien warriors who track her every move. So she's used to the quirks of being a human in space.However, this time something's different. Betrayed by the authorities, Zoë - along with her parents and fellow colonists - finds herself stranded on a deadly pioneer planet. The Colonial Union has also set them up as a target for hostile alien action. Zoë must become a player (and a pawn) in an interstellar battle, which will determine the fate of humanity. Her father's side of this story was told in The Last Colony, but Zoe's Tale reveals a whole new dimension. It's a story you may think you know, but you don't really know it at all.
Zoli: A Novel (Thorndike Reviewers' Choice Ser.)
by Colum McCannThe life of Zoli Novotna begins on the leafy backroads of Slovakia, when she and her grandfather come upon a quiet lake where their family has been drowned by Fascist guards. Zoli and her grandfather flee to join up with another clan of travelling harpists. So begins an epic tale of song, intimacy and betrayal. Based loosely on the true story of the Gypsy poet Papusza, and set against the backdrop of the Second World War, Zoli is a love story, a tale of loss, and a parable of modern-day Europe.
Zona Alfa: Salvage and Survival in the Exclusion Zone (Osprey Wargames)
by Patrick TodoroffZona Alfa is a set of simple, fast-play skirmish rules for scavenging, exploring, and surviving in a near-future, post-apocalyptic Eastern European setting. Players take on the role of bandits, mercenaries, and military units fighting over the blasted Exclusion Zone and its abandoned artefacts. Customise your fighters with a variety of weapons and specialisms to create your ideal warband. With extended rules for campaigns, character progression, terrain, and environmental hazards, Zona Alfa contains all the tools required to engage in blistering firefights within the Exclusion Zone.
Zona Alfa: Salvage and Survival in the Exclusion Zone (Osprey Wargames #25)
by Patrick TodoroffZona Alfa is a set of simple, fast-play skirmish rules for scavenging, exploring, and surviving in a near-future, post-apocalyptic Eastern European setting. Players take on the role of bandits, mercenaries, and military units fighting over the blasted Exclusion Zone and its abandoned artefacts. Customise your fighters with a variety of weapons and specialisms to create your ideal warband. With extended rules for campaigns, character progression, terrain, and environmental hazards, Zona Alfa contains all the tools required to engage in blistering firefights within the Exclusion Zone.
The Zone of Interest: The novel that inspired the Oscar-nominated film (Vintage International Series)
by Martin AmisNOW AN AWARD-WINNING FILMAmidst the horrors of Auschwitz, German officer, Angelus Thomsen, has found love. But unfortunately for Thomsen, the object of his affection is already married to his camp commandant, Paul Doll.As Thomsen and Doll’s wife pursue their passion – the gears of Nazi Germany’s Final Solution grinding around them – Doll is riven by suspicion. With his dignity in disrepute and his reputation on the line, Doll must take matters into his own hands and bring order back to the chaos that reigns around him.‘It is exceptionally brave…. Shakespearean…. It’s exciting; it’s alive; it’s more than slightly mad. As the title suggests, it is dreadfully interesting.’ Sunday Times