Author:Jack Alexander
McCrae's Own was the 'Heart of Midlothian Battalion' mentioned all too briefly in Martin Middlebrook's classic book The First Day on the Somme. Raised in Edinburgh shortly after the start of the Great War, it was perhaps the finest unit in Lord Kitchener's volunteer army - a brotherhood of sportsmen, bound together by their extraordinary colonel and their loyalty to a quaintly named Association Football club, the famous Gorgie 'Hearts'. McCrae's were blooded in the Battle of the Somme, losing three-quarters of their strength on the first day alone. The Colonel himself was invalided home. In time the battalion recovered. It came of age at Arras, endured the muddy horror of Passchendaele, and held the line unbroken in the face of furious German attacks on the Lys in 1918. For almost a century their story remained untold. It was all but lost forever. Now, after 12 years of exacting historical detective work, Jack Alexander has reclaimed the 16th Royal Scots for posterity. In this stirring book he draws upon interviews with veterans and a unique archive of letters, diaries and photographs, assembled from the families of more than 1,000 of Sir George McCrae's men.
Rich in unexpected facts and insights...Keegan's historical command is dazzling
—— Jan Morris , IndependentA masterly study
—— Daily MailAmong Britain's distinguished group of military historians... John Keegan is outstanding
—— Michael Howard , London Review of BooksA gorgeous book
—— Anne DiamondWonderful . . . a tribute to the strength of love
—— Vanessa FeltzA story of true love against the backdrop of war and separation
—— BFBS TVA life-affirming book
—— Peter Hart, Imperial War MuseumIntensely romantic . . . a remarkable courtship by mail which survived the most testing of separations during the most difficult of times
—— Mail on Sunday[Gives] a flavour of a time when danger and separation made romance especially poignant . . . an uplifting and relevant story
—— SagaPersonal and poignant
—— Manchester Evening NewsEdgerton has written what could prove to be one of the most influential books on the history of the Second World War ... majestic ... [he] has successfully shown us that we still have a lot to learn about the conflict ... it will become the required reading for all students wishing to study the Second World War
—— Reviews in HistoryAn astounding work of myth-busting ... Inspiring and unsettling in equal measure
—— Tom Holland , GuardianMajestic ... a wonderful read. It has probably popped more myths than any other book on the war in recent years
—— Taylor Downing , History TodayBrilliant and iconoclastic ... debunks the myth that Britain was militarily and economically weak and intellectually parochial during the 1930s and 1940s
—— David Blackburn , Spectator Book BlogTruly eye-opening ... Edgerton's carefully researched book will fundamentally change the way you think about World War II
—— Daily BeastRiveting ... a wonderfully rich book ... thoroughly stimulating
—— Richard Toye , HistoryA major new assessment of Britain's war effort from 1939 to 1945. Never again will some of the lazy assessments of how Britain performed over these years ... be acceptable. That's why this is such an important book
—— History TodayInnovative and most important
—— Contemporary ReviewCompelling and engaging ... an excellent read
—— SoldierEdgerton's well-researched volume bursts with data that reveal Britain's true strength even when supposed to be in critical condition
—— Peter Moreira , Military HistoryBritain's War Machine offers the boldest revisionist argument that seeks to overturn some of our most treasured assumptions about Britain's role in the war ... Edgerton [is] an economic historian with an army of marshalled facts and figures at his fingertips ... This is truly an eye-opening book that explodes the masochistic myth of poor little Britain, revealing the island as a proud power with the resources needed to fight and win a world war
—— Nigel Jones , SpectatorMasterful Britain's War Machine promotes the notion that the United Kingdom of the Forties was a superpower, with access to millions of men across the globe, and forming the heart of a global production network
—— Mail on Sunday
zpostcode
Recruit
weather
mreligion
Yellowpages
sport
constellation
shopping
name
game
directory
literature
Word
tour
furnish
Lottery
tftnews
lyrics
News
digital
car
dir
Edu
Finance
