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  Double Agent Balloon - Dickie...

  David Tremain

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  Dickie Metcalfe was not your typical secret agent, but he was larger than life in more ways than one. Unlike many other agents who were part of the Double Cross System during the Second World War, he did not defect; nor was he blackmailed into becoming a spy. Instead, using his father's connection with Sir Vernon Kell, the first director of MI5, Metcalfe volunteered his services. 
   
   
   
  Recently cashiered from his infantry regiment, he had an ulterior motive—by supplying MI5 with tidbits of information about weapons and arms deals in his newfound profession as an arms dealer, he hoped they would be able to help him get his commission reinstated. Metcalfe became BALLOON, a sub-agent of double agent TRICYCLE's Yugoslav spy ring. 
   
   
   
  Concurrent with his spying activities, he collaborated with the coinventor of the Bren gun to develop a new submachine gun for British forces. After the war, he was also a celebrated motor racing driver and continued to compete until shortly before his death. His success as a double-cross agent in the eyes of both his masters—British and German—is examined in this book, using official documents as a primary source.

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  Erich Maria Remarque: A short...

  5 Minutes, 5 Minute Biographies,...

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  Erich Maria Remarque, world star of literature and sales giant: Life and work in a short biography! Everything you need to know, brief and concise. Infotainment, education and entertainment at its best!

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  The Death of Stalin

  Sheila Fitzpatrick

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  When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, he had been the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union for over twenty years, having presided over the ruthless modernisation of the early 1930s, the Great Purges later in the decade, the near-catastrophe and ultimate victory of World War II, and the country's postwar emergence as a superpower. He was surrounded by a cult that made him seem godlike; no successors were in sight. His death was bound to be a deeply unsettling event, both in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.In The Death of Stalin, Sheila Fitzpatrick draws on her unparalleled knowledge of Stalin's circle and Soviet society to tell a tale that blends black comedy with forensic analysis of the problems and opportunities – often missed – created by the death of the dictator. The final chapter deals with Stalin's eventful afterlife, including his recent resurrection in Putin's Russia. This is both a riveting read and a salutary one.---Great Events is a new series of short, scholarly and accessible books on major moments in modern history.

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  Enrico Fermi: A short biography...

  5 Minutes, 5 Minute Biographies,...

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  Enrico Fermi, Italian atomic physicist and one of the fathers of the atomic bomb: Life and work in a short biography! Everything you need to know, brief and concise. Infotainment, education and entertainment at its best!

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  The Unstoppable Shero - A...

  Barbara Walker-Green

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  In a world that too often seeks to limit women's potential, it's time to shatter the expectations that confine you. You’ve felt the subtle barriers, the persistent doubts, the pressure to conform in spaces not designed for your success. But there’s a fire within you waiting to break free. Now is the time to embrace that power and rise above every challenge.

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  Longbow The: The History of the...

  Editors Charles River

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  While the bow was used throughout ancient times and the Middle Ages, on mainland Europe it was mostly replaced by the crossbow in the early 13th century, but that would change with the introduction of the longbow, a more powerful weapon than the traditional hunting bows. The original longbowmen were Welshmen recruited by King Edward I of England after he conquered Wales, and the weapon got its name from the fact that it was almost as tall as the man using it. This gave it a longer draw and therefore more force, as longbows were generally made of yew, a strong and pliable wood. The longbow was cheap and easy to make, but they required extensive training to be used well, so in England, commoners were encouraged and at times required to practice archery. A statute of Richard II dating from 1388 reads, “Servants and Laborers shall have Bows and Arrows, and use the same the Sundays and Holydays, and leave all playing at tennis or foot-ball, and other games called coits, dice, casting of the stone, kaikles [skittles], and other such importune games.” 
  	The longbow’s greatest day was at Agincourt in 1415, but the fact that this did not end the age of heavy plate cavalry indicated the longbow did have some limitations. For example, modern tests show that longbow arrows had trouble piercing plate armor, likely the main reason they were used as a massed weapon. With arrows raining down, it increased the chances of hitting a joint in the armor or an imperfection. Also, horse armor couldn’t protect the entire animal and the knights would soon find themselves dismounted. At some battles like Agincourt, the knights foundered in soft earth, and as their horses fell and the men became confused and hampered by the arrows clanking off their armor, they got mired in the mud and the English infantry could move in and finish them off. 

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