SOLDIER FIVE is an elite soldier's explosive memoir of his time within the Special Air Service (SAS) and, in particular, his experiences during the 1991 Gulf War. As a member of the Special Forces patrol now famously known by its call sign Bravo Two Zero, he and seven others were inserted hundreds of kilometres behind enemy lines. Their mission to reconnoitre targets, undertake surveillance of Scud missil sites and sabotage Iraqi communications links was to end in desperate failure.From the outset, the patrol was dogged by problems that contributed both directly and indirectly to the demise of the mission. The patrol's compromise, and subsequent attempts to evade Iraqi troops, resulted in four members of Bravo Two Zero being captured and a further three killed. One escaped. But the story goes further that the Gulf War itself. Despite numerous books, films and articles on the same subject, the British Government has done its utmost to thwart the release of SOLDIER FIVE, at one stage claiming the book in its entirety was confidential. A campaign of harassment that took some four and a half years of litigation to resolve has now resulted in this controversial publication. SOLDIER FIVE is a gripping and suspenseful account of one man's experiences as a Special Forces soldier. Revealing his conflicts and loyalties, and the relationships he forged both on and off the battlefield, this book is the resolution of a soldier's determined fight to see his story told.

Martha Gellhorn's reporting tracks many of the flashpoints of the 20th century: witnessing the Depression in a state of righteous fury, risking her life in the Spanish Civil War, and in the Second World War covering the fall of Czechoslovakia and the Normandy Landings, the liberation of Dachau and the Nuremberg Trials. She reported from Vietnam and Israel; and at the age of 81, she was covering the US invasion of Panama. All her life, Martha fought against injustice. She was influenced by two older women: her mother, who was a social reformer, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Her books of reporting and travel reflected her personality and courage, her novels her shrewd and ironic eye; both were often very funny. Martha died in 1998; at last the true story can be told. This fascinating book reveals much about her life and loves, and is based on primary source material which no previous biographer has seen.

A chilling tale of psychological suspense Ben Chase is a war hero with bitter memories. Vietnam left him with a hard drinking habit, a mental breakdown -- and massive guilt. So who will believe him when he swears a psychopath is out to get him?

A Septuagenarian Odyssey Simon Gandolfi has never been one to grow old gracefully and following two heart attacks he decides not to rest up, as many might, but to ride the length of Hispanic America on a 125cc motorbike. And why not? His wife may have plenty of reasons why not, but used to the intrepid septuagenarian's determination to complete any plan he comes up with, she shrugs her shoulders and waves him goodbye. At 73 years old, Simon Gandolfi sets off from Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico to embark on a five and a half month journey culminating at 'the end of the world', Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. For Simon this is a journey of discovery. Leaving behind the safety and sanctuary of friends and family, he is truly alone but along the way he meets and talks with rich and poor, old and young, officials and professionals, agricultural and industrial workers. This expertly written travelogue reveals not only the stories of those he meets, and his own, but also that of Latin America, its attitudes to itself, to the USA and the UK in the aftermath of the Iraq war and the realities of the poverty and endemic corruption throughout much of this continent. But whilst guide books often warn of thieves, corrupt police and border officials, Gandolfi writes of the incredible kindness and generosity he encounters, of hope and joy, understanding and new friendships, and ultimately, an old man's refusal to surrender to his years. 'The journey begins tomorrow at 8 a.m with a flight from the UK to Boston. I fly Aer Lingus and have bought and will wear a green shirt and a Clancy Brothers Arran sweater in hope of an upgrade. I will be away from home for many months and I have a long long way to ride. Am I nervous? Yes. Scared? A little.' Simon Gandolfi, 18 April 2006 Outrageously irresponsible and undeniably liberating, Gandolfi's travels will fire the imaginations of every traveller, young or old.

Haunted by the horrific events he witnessed during the Vietnam War, Napoleon Haskell is exhausted from years spent battling his memories. As his health ultimately declines, his two daughters move him from his trailer in "North Dakota to Casablanca", Ontario, to live with the father of Napoleon's friend who was killed in action. It is to Casablanca, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town, that Napoleon's youngest daughter also retreats when her own life comes unhinged. Living with the two old men, she finds her father in the twilight of his life and rapidly slipping into senility. With love and insatiable curiosity, she devotes herself to learning the truth about him; and through the fog, Napoleon's past begins to emerge.

In 1971, on a routine outing through the Cambodian countryside, the young French ethnologist François Bizot is captured by the murderous Khmer Rough. Accused of being a CIA agent he is imprisoned. His captor, Douch, later responsible for tens of thousands of deaths interrogates him at length. The invisible high command tortuously ponders his fate, exploring his every utterance for counter-revolutionary nuance. After three months in chains he is freed. Four years later, after a long and fratricidal conflict, the Khmer Rouge enter Phnom Penh. With Southeast Asia torn apart by the Vietnam War and the Communist guerillas consumed by hatred of all things Western, Bizot stumbles into the unenviable position of official intermediary between the ruthless conqueror and the terrified refugees huddled behind the gate of the French embassy. Forced to turn away asylum seekers, search for provisions and organise a convoy through hundreds of kilometres of scorched countryside, Bizot is the only barrier between a genocidal army and thousands of desperate people.

This has happened before. The current financial crisis has only one parallel: the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s, which crippled the future of an entire generation and set the stage for the horrors of the Second World War. Yet the economic meltdown could have been avoided, had it not been for the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers. In "Lords of Finance", we meet these men, the four bankers who truly broke the world: the enigmatic Norman Montagu of the bank of England, Benjamin Strong of the NY Federal Reserve, the arrogant yet brilliant Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbanlk and the xenophobic Emile Moreau of the Banque de France. Their names were lost to history, their lives and actions forgotten, until now. Liaquat Ahamed tells their story in vivid and gripping detail, in a timely and arresting reminder that individuals - their ambitions, limitations and human nature - lie at the very heart of global catastrophe.

Target Tirpitz is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best and a return to the RAF territory of Patrick Bishop's bestselling Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys. The Tirpitz, Hitler's greatest weapon, was reputed to be unsinkable and the battleship inflamed an Allied obsession: to destroy her at any cost. More than thirty daring operations were launched against the 52,000 ton monster. Royal Navy midget submarines carried out an attack of extraordinary skill and courage against her when she lay deep in a Norwegian fjord in an operation that won VCs for two participants. No permanent damage was done and the Fleet Air Arm was forced to launch full scale attacks through the summer of 1944 to try and finish her off. But still the Tirpitz remained a significant threat to Allied operations. It was not until November 1944 that a brilliant operation by RAF Lancaster Bombers, under the command of one of Britain's greatest but least-known war heroes finally killed off Hitler's last battleship. Full of colour, insight and drama, Target Tirpitz is an unputdownable account of one of the great epics of the Second World War.

Bullet Tillerman is a loner, with little interest in anything except running. But this is the 1960s, and with racial war at home and the Vietman War abroad, Bullet's beliefs have to change. This is a story about war, racism and tragedy. The fourth book in Cynthia Voigt's acclaimed Tillerman Series, where 1960s Vietnam beckons Bullet Tillerman. Bullet Tillerman is a loner, with little interest in anyone or anything except running. But this is the 1960s, and with racial war at home and the Vietman War abroad, Bullet's beliefs have to change. A sad, beautiful story about war, racism and tragedy, building on characters already loved and admired from the first book in the Tillerman series, Homecoming.

The Valentine was unusual, as unlike most British tanks to see service during World War Two it began life as a private venture - that is, it was not designed to War Office specification. Yet, the Valentine had the highest production numbers of any wartime British tank, and arguably the most variations. A total of over 8000 Valentines was produced in no fewer than 11 variants. The Valentine tank received its baptism of fire with the British 8th Army in Operation Crusader in North Africa during July 1941, just the beginning of a long career, as they would eventually take part in combat in both the European and Pacific Theatres. After the war, Valentines served as late as 1960 and saw action with the armed forces of Canada, the Soviet Union, Poland, Australia and New Zealand.