A thousand shall fall

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Roy MacLaren

"During the Second World War, Canadians found themselves behind enemy lines in Europe and Asia. Not all, were ill-fated airmen shot down in the fury of battle. Some were there by design; as volunteers who risked their lives on extremely hazardous assignments." "Almost one hundred Canadians served the Allied forces by passing as locals in occupied countries. At the behest of two British secret services, these men made language and custom their costumes and wove themselves into the social fabric of France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Burma, Malaya, and Sarawak. They risked their lives assisting resistance groups on sabotage and ambush missions or in smuggling Allied airmen out of occupied territories. Quiet heroes of the war, these Canadians helped to make the brutal and unrelenting warfare of the underground a potent weapon in the Allied arsenal."--Jacket.

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Wesley B. Turner

Wesley Turner answers questions about the quality of the five British generals serving in the British North American colonies during the War of 1812, particularly with respect to Isaac Brock, the best known of the generals. He argues that Brock's charge up Queenston Heights - the basis for his heroic stature - was brave but hardly a demonstration of competent leadership. Turner also shows that while the other four generals displayed courage in combat, they had to face problems raised by American military successes and by the strains of warfare on the civilian population. British Generals in the War of 1812 explores why these commanders succeeded or failed and why, with the exception of Brock, they are all but forgotten.

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Justin Lewis

Great Britain's national treasure, Gary Barlow has achieved unrivalled success with boyband Take That, as a solo artist and songwriter, and as a judge on The X Factor. However, the path to fame is rarely easy and Gary's journey has been full of inspiring highs and distinct lows. From happy beginnings growing up in Frodshaw, Cheshire, as the second son to Marge and Colin Barlow, Gary spent his youth immersing himself in music, writing songs and learning how to play the piano. By the age of 15, Gary was struggling to break into the music industry and doing a string of gigs around the UK, before landing what was to be the job that propelled him into the limelight. After hiring Barry Wooley as his manager, Gary was soon in talks with casting agent Nigel Martin-Smith. Realising Gary's potential, and admiring an early demo of ' A Million Love Songs', Nigel signed him up as the front man for new boy bad Take That, and the rest, as they say, is history. Between 1990 and 1996, Take That sold millions of records, packed out area tours and created an army of fans, who were subsequently devastated when Take That announced their split in 1996. Gary made an attempt at a solo career, but it wasn't to be, and he slipped out of the public consciousness before finding the confidence to begin songwriting and collaborating with other artists to make his records. In 2005, Gary's life was to take another unexpected turn when Take That announced they were getting back together. With a new lease of life, they went onto have continued, record- breaking, success. Gary was soon offered a slot as head judge on ITV's hit TV show The X Factor, and in 2012 he was awarded an OBE - providing that there was more to him than Take That.

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Richard F. Welch

"This is the first full-length account of one of the most aggressive, dynamic, and successful combat leaders produced by either side in the Civil War. Based heavily on primary source material, the work chronicles the transformation of the self-assured son of a broken Bosten Brahmin family from a young, militarily inexperienced lawyer into a formidable warrior.". "Born into the Unitarian-Transcendentalist circle, which dominated New England intellectual and cultural life before the Civil War, Barlow attended the school run by the famous Brook Farm commune. From an early age he was noted for fearlessness in both speech and action - two characteristics that marked his conduct and affected his later careers. Barlow's unquestioning sense of his own intellectual and moral superiority was the source of his success as a combat officer during the war. He trained and drove his men hard, and they became one of the army's elite units in the process. Barlow's steadfast belief in himself led him to command from the front, winning respect of his troops, recognition from his superiors, public acclaim, and, often, success for his cause. Possessing innate self-confidence and almost heedless bravery in equal measure, Barlow rose from private to major general. He was heavily engaged in almost all the major battles of the Army of the Potomac beginning as a regimental colonel on the Peninsula in 1862 and finishing his career as commander of the first division in the vaunted II Corps during Grant's campaigns against Richmond in 1864. Throughout his military career, Barlow carved out a record as a fighting man that few could match and none could excel.". "Twice wounded, first at Antietam and then Gettysburg, Barlow consistently took his men into the hottest spots in most pivotal actions during Grant's bloody campaign against Lee.". "After the war, Barlow alternated a legal career with service in New York State government. As New York's attorney general he initiated suits against the Tweed Ring and other corrupt malefactors. Barlow's unfiltered forthrightness and unyielding ethics placed him at a disadvantage in the rough-and-tumble democratic politics of the late nineteenth century. His candid report exposing corruption involved in the successful Republican campaign to win the White House for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 cost him whatever hopes he had for a further political career. Barlow returned to private life, pursued a successful legal career, and died relatively unknown in 1896."--BOOK JACKET.