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  Raglan - From the Peninsula to...

  John Sweetman

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  All too many historians have dismissed FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, first Baron Raglan, as at best, an indifferent and, at worst, an incompetent on the basis of his association with the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade.Yet as this long overdue biography of a pivotal military figure of the 19th Century reveals Raglans achievements over fifty years should not be judged on so narrow a basis. True, as Commander of the Expeditionary Force to the Crimea, he must take his share of responsibility for the hardship suffered by the men under him particularly during the winter of 1854-55 but the fact remains that Raglan never lost a battle for which he was fully responsible.Commissioned in 1804 he served under Sir Arthur Paget and the Duke of Wellington, throughout the Peninsular War losing an arm at Waterloo. He held key posts, including Military Secretary for an astonishing 25 years and Master General of the Ordnance and his influence was far reaching.Raglan is revealed in this objective study as a brave, thoughtful, caring and capable man, who found himself an easy target for critics of an outdated and inadequate military administrative system. Very personal attacks, some from official quarters, mortally wounded him and he died in June 1855, a mere seven months after being appointed a field marshal amid public acclaim.In this first full biography of Raglan, John Sweetman examines not just the man himself but the workings of an Army that was straggling to keep up with social and technological change. Readers will find this a fine expos of a man who was placed in a no-win situation through little fault of his own.John Sweetman graduated from Brasenose College Oxford (Modern History) before taking a PhD at Kings College, London. He later became Head of Defence and International Affairs at RMA Sandhurst. He is the author of numerous military works. Now retired he lives at Camberley.

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  Englishman in Bohol - A Filipino...

  Peter Anthony

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  Englishman in BoholA Filipino Woman 
  It is about - recounting my on-line search for a mate to carry me through the last few years my life. 
  It is about - the result, delight, excitement and fulfillment of eventually finding My Heart's Desire in the Philippines. 
  It is about - starting a new life in my seventies with a Filipino beauty in her 30's 
  It is about - sex with my Filipino. Having her on her knees. Playing with her in the shower. How she uses her tongue to excite me.  
  It is about - our life together surmounting the hurdles of covid-19, 
  It is about - experiencing one of the worst Typhoons in recent memory. 
  It is about - rebuilding our life after the storm. 
  It is about - a beautiful Filipino Woman who delights me and satisfies my hunger for those things female that I crave for, as do most red blooded men. 
  It is about - my life rejuvenated.

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  A woman in the shadows

  Maria Pia Oelker

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  A historical novel set in Tuscany in the 18th century, during the enlightened government of Pietro Leopoldo of Hapsburg Lorraine. Autobiographical memories of the Grand Duchess Maria Luisa, his wife and confidante. 
  “Vienna 1792. Maria Ludovica of Bourbon, the Spanish Infanta, for many years Grand Duchess of Tuscany and now Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, watches impotently the sudden death of her beloved consort, Pietro Leopoldo of Hapsburg, and from that moment begins almost frenetically to rekindle, one after the other, her innumerable memories of a life, still short, but intensely lived, beside the man who, since their first meeting had fascinated and conquered her, and to whom she had been a discrete and faithful companion. Public facts are weaved together with private feelings, with joys and suffering, in a sequence of urgent events. The Empress unconsciously knows, has always known, that she cannot survive for long (Editor’s note: she will in fact die just two months later) after the death of her husband and therefore must hurry to organise her memories, to finally manage to give an answer to the most important question for her: what did she really mean to him? Only a political and dynastic link, the mother of his children, friend and confidante or the woman he loved notwithstanding everything?”

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  MI5 in the Great War

  Nigel West

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  In 1921, MI5 commissioned a comprehensive, top-secret review of the organisation's operations during the First World War. Never intended for circulation outside of the government, all seven volumes of this fascinating and unique document remained locked away in MI5's registry ... until now. Recently declassified and published here for the first time, MI5 in the Great War is filled with detailed, and previously undisclosed, accounts centring on the Security Service's activities during the conflict. The main narrative examines MI5's various attempts to both manage and detect double agents; the detection and execution of enemy spies; its study of German pre-war espionage; and the Kaiser's personal network of spies seeking to infiltrate British intelligence. Coinciding with the centenary of the start of the Great War, this historically significant document has been edited and brought up to date by bestselling writer and historian Nigel West, providing an extraordinary insight into the early years of MI5 and its first counterintelligence operations.

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  Hillbilly Gothic - A Memoir of...

  Adrienne Martini

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  "My family has a grand tradition. After a woman gives birth, she goes mad. I thought that I would be the one to escape." So begins Adrienne Martini's candid, compelling, and darkly humorous history of her family's and her own experiences with depression and postpartum syndrome.  Illuminating depression from the inside, Martini delves unflinchingly into her own breakdown and institutionalization and traces the multigenerational course of this devastating problem. Moving back and forth between characters and situations, she vividly portrays the isolation -- geographical and metaphorical -- of the Appalachia of her forebears and the Western Pennsylvania region where she grew up. She also weaves in the stories of other women, both contemporary and historic, who have dealt with postpartum depression in all its guises, from fleeting "baby blues" to full-blown psychosis.  Serious as her subject is, Martini's narrative is unfailingly engaging and filled with witty, wry observations on the complications of new motherhood: "It's like getting the best Christmas gift ever, but Santa decided to kick the crap out of you before you unwrapped it." New mothers and those who have struggled with parenthood -- whether or not they dealt with depression -- will find affirmation in this story of triumph, of escape from a difficult legacy, of hope for others, and of the courage to have another baby.

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  War Diaries 1939–1945

  Astrid Lindgren

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  These personal diaries by the author of Pippi Longstocking chronicle her experiences in Europe during WWII and her astute observations of the conflict. 
   
  Before she became internationally known for her Pippi Longstocking books, Astrid Lindgren was an aspiring author living in Stockholm with her family at the outbreak of the Second World War. The diaries she kept throughout the hostilities offer her unique perspective—as a civilian, a mother, and an aspiring writer—on the devastating conflict.  
   
  Lindgren emerges as a morally courageous critic of violence and war, as well as a deeply sensitive and keen observer of world affairs. We hear her thoughts about rationing, blackouts, the Soviet invasion of Finland, and the nature of evil, as well as of her personal heartbreaks, financial struggles, and trials as a mother and writer. 
   
  Posthumously published in Sweden to great international acclaim, these diaries were called in the Swedish press an “unparalleled war narrative,” “unprecedented.” and a “shocking history lesson.” Illustrated with family photographs, newspaper clippings, and facsimile pages, Lindgren’s diaries provide an intensely personal and vivid account of Europe during the war.

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