Best Selling Books by Chris McNab

Most people would associate the SS with Heinrich Himmler, but the latter was not the first (or the last) leader of this infamous body. The SS Databook: 1923-1945 examines the history and development of the Schutzstaffel from its origin as Hitler''s personal bodyguard to its growth into a millions-strong organization by the war''s end in 1945. Broken down by the key consitituent parts of the SS such as the police, concentration camps, security services, Waffen-SS, slave labour, Einsatzgruppen and so forth, the book includes exhaustive reference tables, diagrams, maps and charts, presenting all the core subject information in easy-to-follow formats. 170 b/w photographs

Three Soviet submachine guns – the PPD-40, PPSh-41 and PPS – embodied the fighting spirit of the Red Army in World War II, seeing combat from the opening battles of Barbarossa to the final struggle for Berlin. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and vivid first-hand accounts, this is the story of the rugged and lethal close-combat weapons that helped to turn the tide of war in the East.

In 1974, renowned Belgian arms company Fabrique Nationale brought out a ground-breaking new light machine gun, the Minimi. Its success has been meteoric, arming more than 45 countries around the world. The Minimi offers the ultimate in portable firepower. Firing the high-velocity 5.56×45mm round, the Minimi is a gas-operated, lightweight, belt- or magazine-fed weapon, able to burn through cartridges at a cyclical rate of up to 1,150 rounds per minute, making it the weapon of choice for fire support at squad level. This study uses gripping first-hand accounts and striking combat photographs, following the Minimi to war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It tracks its design and development, as well as investigating what has made it so compelling a choice for armed forces around the world for more than 40 years.

What if Nazi Germany had been victorious in World War II? What would the world have looked like? Between 1933 and 1945, Hitler made many plans about transport, architecture, race, forced labor and Lebensraum, among many other topics. Some of these he implemented during his leadership, but what were the unrealized plans for a Europe defeated by The Third Reich? British men would have been exported to the East as forced labor, to join the slavs, while Nordic British women would have been used in Lebensborn stud farms with SS officers to repopulate the East with Aryans. Germany and Japan were to carve up the Soviet Union and Asia between them. Berlin was to be rebuilt as Germania, a world capital city designed on grandiose, neo-classical lines. Hitler''s Masterplan reveals the true scale of Hitler''s vision for a Greater Germany and a world dominated by Nazism. Arranged by topics such as Race, Architecture, Greater Germany, Empire, the book includes exhaustive reference tables, diagrams, colorful maps and charts, presenting all the core data in easy-to-follow formats. Hitler''s Masterplan is an essential reference guide for anyone interested in the history of National Socialism.

The dropping of two atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their shocking aftermath finally ended World War II in the eastern theatre. But they weren''t the only experimental weaponry at the time. In this fascinating account, Chris McNab examines the development of a range of hitherto unknown and at times shockingly effective weapons that were developed and unleashed on an unsuspecting world over the course of the war. They include the bouncing bomb, the V2 rocket that caused terror in London, Antwerp and Liège in the later years of the war, Bat Bombs, the X-class submarine and the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka suicide attack aircraft. Containing black and white images throughout, Secret Weapons of World War II examines the thinking behind these weapons, the research and development that led to their creation, their effectiveness in deployment, and ultimately how these weaponry developments fundamentally changed the balance of the war.

The tools of lethal force have always attracted controversy and fascination. In the modern media age, however, they are also surrounded by confusion and misunderstanding. McNab and Keeter cut through mythology and misinformation and comprehensively lay out the facts, often revealing startling gaps in our everyday knowledge. Tools of Violence unravels the myths of modern weaponry. Not only explaining how a weapon system works, the authors explore how it is applied by soldiers, police or civilians under pressure, what happens when innocents get in the way, its effect on the human body or physical structures, its political controversies, and its place in international law. Judgments are backed up by interviews with those directly engaged with weapons technology, including frontline soldiers, police officers, academics, weapons specialists and defense analysts. Accessible and absorbing, Tools of Violence is essential reading for those wanting to understand the weapons technology of today and how and why it is used. CONTENTS Introduction; Hand-Held War - Small Arms; Perfect Destruction - Explosives; Mechanized Muscle - Battlefield Armor; Death from a Distance - Artillery: Power from Above - Military Aviation; Firepower at Sea - Naval Weapon Systems; Shadow Threat - Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons / WMD

300 uniforms from around the world.

From their promising beginnings at Stanford to their founding of Google and beyond, this fascinating biography charts the extraordinary rise of tech duo Sergey Brin and Larry Page. As PhD students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin devised a powerful search engine. Google, the company they founded in 1998 became a brand, the world''s pre-eminent search engine, a centre of artificial intelligence and a source of data collection. This fascinating biography looks at the background behind the formation of the company, as well as the technology and the business model that led it to become so successful. Featuring photographs which chronicle their rise to success, this book is fascinating read for aspiring entrepreneurs or anyone looking to build a successful business. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Visionaries series brings together entertaining biographies of leading figures within business world and beyond, tracing their lives, ground-breaking ideas and the innovative thinking that made them world-famous.

"The Napoleonic Wars saw almost two decades of brutal fighting, from the frozen wastelands of Russia to the wilderness of the Peninsula, and from Egypt to the bloody battlefield of Waterloo. In the almost two decades of battle, Napoleon led his Grande Armee and his allies against a varying coalition of nations. This book provides a comprehensive guide to all the major armies of the Napoleonic Wars - France, Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Portugal - as well as many of the minor powers. The changes in the armies over the period, the organization, the infantry, cavalry, and artillery are all covered, along with illustrations of the often glorious uniforms worn into battle." --Book Jacket.

A detailed, authoritative guide to the landmark airborne attack on Eben Emael.

A History of War explains the dark but compelling story of warfare, from its emergence in prehistoric tribal disputes, through great imperial and global wars, to present-day counterinsurgency and ''hybrid'' conflicts. Two factors sit at the heart of this story: technology - including weapons, vehicle systems, vehicles and tactics. A History of War charts the rise of the army, explaining how primitive tribal war parties evolved through seasonal levies and feudal armies to professional standing armies and mass conscription forces, with formal organisational structures. The narrative of A History of War is sewn together by the conflicts that have periodically reshaped history and created the roots of current conflict, from the crusades and two world wars to Cold War and the conflicts in the Middle East. The book provides summaries and insights into these disputes while recognising the human drama of conflict, with first-hand insight into the experience of combat.

The Vietnam War chronicles the first war to be televised. The comprehensive description of battles, social and political issues, and revelations are all the more powerful because of first-hand accounts, telling photographs, and other primary sources. Students will learn the causes, outcomes, and repercussions of this polemic conflict through a historical lens and from the perspectives of soldiers, civilians, and others caught up in the Vietnam War.

A fully illustrated and expertly researched guide to the tanks of Hitler''s formidable war machine. The Panzers that rolled over Europe were Germany''s most famous fighting force, and are some of the most enduring symbols of World War II. However, at the start of the war, Germany''s tanks were nothing extraordinary and it was operational encounters such as facing the Soviet T-34 during Operation Barbarossa which prompted their intensive development. Tactical innovation gave them an edge where technological development had not, making Hitler''s tanks a formidable enemy. Hitler''s Tanks details the development and operational history of the light Panzer I and II, developed in the 1930s, the medium tanks that were the backbone of the Panzer Divisions, the Tiger, and the formidable King Tiger, the heaviest tank to see combat in World War II. Drawing on Osprey''s unique and extensive armour archive, Chris McNab skilfully weaves together the story of the fearsome tanks that transformed armoured warfare and revolutionised land warfare forever.

A heavily illustrated account of the evolution, design and deployment of dreadnought battleships. When HMS Dreadnought was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1906 this revolutionary new class of big-gun iron-clad warship immediately changed the face of naval warfare, rendering all other battleships worldwide obsolete. The Admiralty realised that as soon as the ship was revealed to the global naval community Britain would be a in race to stay ahead, and so the first dreadnoughts were built in record time. While there were those who regarded the vessel as a triumphant revolution in naval design, the dreadnought initially had its critics, including those who thought its slower, heavier guns left it vulnerable to the secondary armament of other warships. Nevertheless, other countries, notably Germany, and the United States soon began to lay down dreadnoughts. The culmination of this arms race would be the confrontation of the British and German fleets at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 – the greatest clash of naval firepower in history. This book gives detailed insights into the design, operation and combat history of these incredible vessels.

During a time of war, pilots face the risk of being shot down behind enemy lines and captured. For this reason, each pilot receives training to help him endure the stresses of captivity. During an interrogation, this training and the pilot''s own strength and willpower are invaluable. This book discusses many of the techniques used to survive the experience of being in captivity. A captive pilot must be prepared to cope with boredom, resist interrogation, and work as a team with other prisoners. In addition, he must know how to go about escaping if he has the opportunity. Discover: • how some U.S. pilots in Vietnam coped with seven years of imprisonment. • how interrogators try to trick people into talking. • how interrogators are trained to detect lies. • survival techniques during escape. • tracking skills used by escaping pilots and the pursuing enemy.

This captivating biography delves into J. Robert Oppenheimer''s groundbreaking work, from his early scientific achievements to leading the Manhattan Project and his complex legacy as the mind behind the atom bomb. The brilliant theoretical physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer is now known primarily for his work on the development of the atomic bomb from 1942-45 at Los Alamos in New Mexico. Though fascinated by the processes that created the bomb, he was horrified by its impact and the devastation wrought on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chris McNab looks at the body of prior work that led to Oppenheimer''s recruitment to the Manhattan Project as well as the development of the bomb itself. It also reflects on how his political views subsequently put him in opposition to the US government and military factions and ultimately ended his career as a nuclear physicist, despite his talents. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Pioneers series brings together entertaining biographies of leading figures within scientific world and beyond, tracing their lives, legacy and the pioneering ideas that made them world-famous.

This absorbing study investigates the doctrine, training, equipment, and combat record of the US specialist beach-landing troops and their German opponents who fought over three bitterly contested amphibious beachheads in Europe at the height of World War II.

In the absence of high-tech weapons, warfare in the ancient world was dominated by military commanders with innovative strategies. The strategic thinking of leaders led to some of the most stunning upsets the world has ever seen. Today, the Battle of Marathon or the conquests of Alexander still hold their rightful place among the most daring victories. This book describes the battles, leaders, and technology that cinched success, or ensured defeat.

Almost 300 small arms featured from the twentieth century, each one illustrated by a full-color artwork ...