War in England, 1642-1649

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K.W. Mitchinson

"The fear of a cross-Channel invasion had been a recurrent worry to Britain's naval, military and political leaders for centuries. By 1908 the likely invader had changed but the British public, alarmed by lurid tales of a bestial, rampaging German army protected by the might of the Kaiser's provocative new fleet, demanded greater security. Although the War Office and Government were confident that full-scale invasion was unlikely, they continued to assume that vulnerable and strategically important sites might be raided by up to 150,000 troops. Defending Albion analyses the responses of the British military and civil authorities to the perceived threat. It is the first published work to explore the schemes designed to confront an enemy landing and to examine the difficulties faced by the derided Territorial Force in trying to meet the challenge. It also investigates the long-neglected political and military problems posed by the unwanted spontaneous creation of what is today the largely unknown existence of the 'Dad's Army' of the Great War, the Volunteer Force."--Jacket.

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Derek Robinson

Robinson's thesis is that the RAF didn't save Britain from invasion by defeating the Luftwaffe. The battle was at best a draw, and it was the advancing season and Hitler's eyes turning toward Russia that did the job. Robinson also seriously questions whether the Luftwaffe could ever have suppressed the Royal Navy sufficiently to prevent it from making effective night attacks on any invasion fleet and leaving the Germans to totter ashore in no fit state to deal with even a battered British army. Some may object that he overlooks the effect of German air superiority on the Battle of the Atlantic in British waters, yet he points out that Hitler and Goring were totally blind in the area of naval strategy and might not have been able to do anything with such superiority even had they gained it. A solid, well-informed, gentlemanly piece of myth busting and a useful, provocative addition to Battle of Britain literature by the author of one of the outstanding novels on the subject, Piece of Cake (1984).

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Jeremy Black

"Europe and the World, 1650-1830 is an important study of the first age of globalization. It surveys the interaction of Europe, Europe's growing colonies and other major global powers, such as the Ottoman Empire, China, India and Japan. Focusing on Europe's impact on the world, Jeremy Black analyses European attitudes, exploration, trade and acquisition of knowledge. Stressing imperial defeats as well as victories, this book shows the vitality of non-European powers, and how the struggles during this period frequently involved cooperation between the great powers, as well as war. With an original approach that takes full notice of recent research, this book explores the differences between specific areas of European impact and also includes discussions on the impact of the outer world on the European imagination."--Jacket.

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Michel Rodigneaux

L'activité frénétique des corsaires au large des côtes guadeloupéennes au temps de Victor Hugues a pu évoquer à divers titres celles des terribles pirates barbaresques qui sévissaient en Méditerranée à la même époque. C'est cette aventure méconnue que l'auteur nous fait revivre ici. Il décortique ce qu'il faut bien appeler une "économie corsaire", pendant la Révolution et l'Empire en Guadeloupe. La grande et la petite histoire se rejoignent ainsi en une épopée héroïque.