New Releases by Richard Holmes

Endorsed by the IWM, the book includes rare memorabilia from their archives, as well as painstakingly researched documents from the archives of D-Day museums in Normandy.

Napoleon was the colossus of his age. He rose to become one of Revolutionary France''s most successful generals, before being crowned Emperor in December 1804. Over the next eight years he fought a series of campaigns, defeating all his continental rivals, though his inability to take command of the sea prevented him from beating Britain. This authoritative book tells the story of the Napoleonic Wars, bringing them to life as never before with eight items of rare facsimile memorabilia, which have been specially researched from museum collections around the world.

From the impact of the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, to the problems of military uncertainty and the role of women in combat, this collection of essays explores the changing face of militarism from the perspective of defence management experts.

**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

I am Soldier brings together the profiles of sixty soldiers who have fought over the past 2,500 years. These vivid accounts graphically depict the role of the soldier in battle often using the soldiers'' own words to reveal what they felt during the chaos of war and its aftermath. From the Spartans at Thermopylae to the war in the Persian Gulf, this book shows the lives of the individual men and woman who made up the great armies that changed the world.

A classic reissue of Richard Holmes’s brilliant book on Samuel Johnson’s friendship with the poet Richard Savage, which won the James Tait Black Prize for Biography.

Winner of the 1989 Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year, this is the first volume of Holmes’s seminal two-part examination of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of Britain’s greatest poets.

Timely reissue of the second volume of Holmes’s classic biographies of one of the greatest Romantic poets.

As one of the most admired political leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill holds iconic status in popular memory. But in this incisive new biography, acclaimed military historian Richard Holmes offers a remarkable reappraisal of Churchill by examining the influences that shaped his character. Drawing upon never-before-seen materials such as letters between the young Churchill and his parents, Holmes paints the most complete portrait to date of the man who stood up to Hitler and led his people to victory against all odds. Detailing the decisive events of Churchill''s life -- from his childhood to his experiences in the Boer War through his rapid rise in politics -- Holmes demonstrates the central role Churchill''s character played in the key decisions of his public life. With an already inflated sense of self, Churchill had several lucky escapes in combat -- in the Boer War and in the trenches of WWI -- convincing him that he was saved for a reason and was destined for greatness. In the Footsteps of Churchill uncovers a surprisingly different Churchill -- both admirable and difficult -- through the lens of his character.

This defining period in world history is explored and explained as never before. World War II is captured in hundreds of compelling images, presenting the people, places, and politics involved in the epic conflict. Inside this complete visual guide is chronological coverage of the lead up to war, major military battles around the globe, and the aftermath that still influences and impacts our world today. You''ll meet the key players in thought-provoking profiles and discover their experiences firsthand, from national leaders sounding the orders to combatants on the frontline and civilians left behind. Standout moments, including Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the D-Day landings, are revealed in rarely seen color photographs and unforgettable eyewitness accounts. Explosive photography, international maps, accessible text, and supporting timelines combine to show the most destructive event ever known in unprecedented depth and detail. Although the complexities of World War II can be hard to fathom, this standout reference is organized in a logical order and the supporting captions are concise and clear throughout to aid understanding. World War II provides an unparalleled account of this devastating conflict so we never forget and continue to learn from the past. This title differs from DK''s previous World War II title, in that it is a spread-by-spread account á la History (with "previous" and "following" tabs placing each spread in chronological context) of the war, rather than a narrative that needs to be read from start to finish.

From the hand-to-hand combat of the ancient Assyrians to the fixed artillery battles of World War I, provides a chronicle of the development of warfare, highlighting changes in equipment and weaponry.

The book is a pictorial history of Rhode Island''s thirty-one lighthouses and two lightships stations. There are over 200 photographs in the book, including rare views of Gould Island Lighthouse, Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Point Judith Lighthouse. There are plans for Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Brenton Reef Lightship LV-102/WAL 525.

The World at War is the definitive television work on the Second World War. It set out to tell the story of the war through the testimony of key participants - from civilians to ordinary soldiers, from statesmen to generals. First broadcast in 1973, the result was a unique and irreplaceable record since many of the eyewitnesses captured on film did not have long to live.The programme''s producers committed hundreds of interview-hours to tape in its creation, but only a fraction of that material made it to the final cut. For more than 30 years the interviews have never been allowed to be published - until now.Highly respected historian and bestselling author Richard Holmes has skilfully woven this valuable original material into a compelling narrative, creating a truly phenomenal oral history of the Second World War.

Stunning collections of photographs from the front-lines, beautifully presented in large format paperback

A handsomely illustrated photographic account, by the bestselling author of ''Tommy'' (2003), of the human experience of war as directly witnessed by British soldiers in the First World War.

With this collection of short and fascinating biographical pieces, the award-winning biographer of Coleridge and Shelley offers a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious art of biography. When researching, Richard Holmes has often become captivated by figures peripheral to his main subject, literary forays that he couldn’t resist. These tales–the forbidden love of John Stuart Mill, the bizarre novel of Oscar Wilde’ s tragic grand-uncle, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s nightmarish yet cathartic final trip to Paris–are part of what comprises Sidetracks, a marvelously original that includes letters and travelogues, radio plays, essays, and minature biographies. This book is a rare literary feast and an exploration of the creative processes of one of our most preeminent biographers. BONUS MATERIAL: This ebook edition includes an excerpt from Richard Holmes''s Falling Upwards.

A wide-ranging and powerfully incisive study of the military experience, Firing Line attempts to grasp the very nature of war.It draws on written accounts of war over the past two centuries, and on the spoken recollections of veterans from two World Wars, from Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and the Arab-Israeli conflicts. It builds an astonishing picture of what motivates the soldier and enables him to maintain the struggle in conditions of physical and mental degradation. It reveals the humiliation of basic training, the soldier''s attitude to fear, the compelling effect of personal leadership, the drive for sex and loot, and the elixir of comradeship.Here is a totality of what Richard Holmes describes as the most passionate drama of all.

Our foremost military historian offers us a compelling and at times terrifying account of what it means to be a contemporary soldier, written in the words of the men and women of his regiment who are currently completing a dangerous and bloody six-month tour of duty. In this remarkable book, Richard Holmes draws on the testimonies of the 700 soldiers of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment to capture in vivid detail the average soldier''s day-to-day experience of war. Embroiled in a conflict often too dangerous for reporters to cover, these soldiers - most of them young, many without any previous experience of warfare - have kept ongoing records of the drudgery, anxiety and horror involved in fighting a violent and increasingly unpopular war against a ruthless and resourceful enemy. All have risked their lives, and many have died. Others have been recognised and awarded for their courage, resourcefulness and gallantry - Private Johnson Beharry recently became the first man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in twenty-three years. With these intimate and revealing glimpses of life in the modern army, Richard Holmes paints a sweeping portrait of a new generation of soldiers - grunts, gallants and heroes - and the sacrifices their decision to fight for their country entails.

"[B]egins with India''s rise from commercial enclave to great Empire, from Clive''s victory of Plassey, through the imperial wars of the eighteenth century and the Afghan and Sikh wars of the 1840s, through the bloody turmoil of the Mutiny, and the frontier campaigns at the century''s end. With its focus on the experiences of the ordinary soldiers, Sahib explains why soldiers of the Raj joined the army, how they got to India and what they made of it when they arrived"--Fly leaf.

"Written by one of Britain''s best-known and respected military historians, The D-Day Experience contains over 30 facsimile items of rare D-Day memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive this momentous period of history by holding and examining maps, diaries, letters, secret memos and reports, posters and logbooks, which up until now have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other collections around the world."--Slipcase.

Dramatic, hard hitting, and intensely moving, this book is a unique visula testament to the many millions of men and women who lost their lives in the war, and a reminder to today''s younger generations.

Skillfully clarifies the complexities of four major World War II military campaigns: El Alamein, Italy, Arnhem, and the Battle of Britain. In this study of war Holmes recreates what it was really like to be in the midst of bloody conflict from the eye-witness accounts of servicemen and women.

It was along the Western Front, the trench line stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss border, that most of nine million soldiers from the United Kingdom and British Empire who enlisted during World War I served, and where most of the 947,000 who were killed met their deaths. Linked to a BBC2 television series, this book follows the story of the Western Front in a format which is both chronological and thematic, whilst also focusing on particular episodes to highlight more general topics.

The story of an unusual friendship between Samuel Johnson and the poet, playwright and convicted murderer Richard Savage.

A unique work combining military history and travel, which studies the most fought-over area on earth. De Gaulle called it a "fatal avenue" that broad sweep of low-lying country stretching north east of Paris. Over the centuries, invading armies have swept back and forth over this bloody terrain, and the names of battles fought here read like a dictionary of military history from Agincourt, Calais and Crecy to Verdun, Vimy and Ypres. Fatal Avenue is both a history and a guide a unique study of a region that has witnessed more bitter military conflict than any other area of its size on earth. From the Trade Paperback edition.