History eBooks

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Not Exactly Eden - Michael Raine When the second World War started the British Government was aware that it would be fought in the air as well as on land and sea. Therefore, plans had been made to evacuate children from vulnerable cities to areas of the country that would be less attractive to enemy bombing raids. Those who were part of that mass evacuation are now in their seventies so memories of children being removed from their parents and billetted in other people's homes are fast disappearing: it is for that reason that we are so pleased to be able to offer Michael Raine's own recollections. Some children were lucky and found themselves welcomed; they discovered a loving second 'family'. Others paid a terrible price in being sent to North America as their ships were torpedoed in the North Atlantic. Yet more, as the author recounts, found themselves in dire straits yet only quite a short distance from home. Here Michael explains how a background of relative wealth was exchanged for privation, bullying, malnutrition and theft. It is one of the lesser-known horrors of war, perhaps not common but certainly not unknown, and it was happening right here in mainland Britain. This is a sobering story of one of the unforeseen consequences of a war that cost so many lives. Michael Raine is, in our opinion, to be congratulated for recording his story. (about 25,000 words) Price: £2.50 Quantity:

This Won't Hurt - Tom Austin Tom Austin's fascinating and informative story tells of his progress from medical school to the field of anaesthesia, 'field' in this instance being wholly apt. In his time as an army officer he served in Germany, Cyprus at a time when bullets flew between Turk and Greek, Moscow at the height of the Cold War and Belfast in the Troubles. His work also took him to North Africa, North America and the Far East, and not least to Cardiff. Why 'not least'? Because he happened to be there at the time of a Papal visit and was part of the medical team assigned to watch over His Holiness! Dr Austin has had that happy knack of being at the centre of many important events, reported candidly in this highly readable book. Indeed, so candid is the reporting that the impression is conveyed that no one is more surprised at him being there than the author himself! As well as being an entertaining book, it is also an important histotical document which gives an insight into many of the pivotal events of the last half of the 20th century from a unique perspective. (about 95,000 words) Price: £5.00 Quantity:

LCF7 - Kenneth White War makes unusual demands on the ingenuity of men. The need to put fighting men ashore from troop ships led to the Landing Craft; these were vulnerable to attack from the air and that threat was countered by the Flak Ships. This is the story of one such ship, LCF7. Although written long after the end of World War II, this book conjures up vivid images of North Africa and the Mediterranean islands, as well as the landings in Italy. Written by someone who served aboard LCF7, it is a valuable record of one of the less well known weapons of war; fascinating to read, it shows that between bouts of intense and deadly activity there were lighter moments. Through these pages we learn that undersea explosions had culinary side-effects, that lassoing Naval officers isn't always a good idea and much more besides, Kenneth White has produced a splendid little book as a tribute to 'his' ship and its crew. (about 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

Down The Gut - Bill Campbell The 'Gut' referred to in the title is in Valleta, the capital of Malta. That island in the central Mediterranean Sea has been a strategic crossroads almost since man first took to the sea in ships and it has a unique history. Bill Campbell has chronicled his experiences as a young sailor, those experiences centring, unsurprisingly, on those things that most fascinate a young man who's footloose and fancy free with his mates in a foreign land. Although much changed now, the Gut is still there and still has a similar atmosphere; in this evocative work that atmosphere has been skilfully captured and that is one reason why we recommend the book so highly. (About 31,000 words) Price: £3.00 Quantity:

Memories - Various Writers As we grow older our store of memories increases. That may be stating the obvious, but memories - everybody's memories - are of times that will not recur. Again, it's an obvious statement. It's just as obvious an observation to say that we all have different roles in life. Some of us may consider ourselves to be humble, not affecting the lives of others in the way that statemen, business leaders or even entertainers may have done. But every person who leads a life leads a unique life. That is what this book is about - the memories of people who might think themselves ordinary but whose memories recorded here are of a past that is very different. There is endless fascination in the way that ordinary lives were conducted, in peacetime as well as war, and in comparing the memories of others with life today. This book is, we hope, destined to become a valuable repository for stories that would otherwise be lost for ever. (about 7,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

The Smell Of Xmas - Margaret Radburn We all have memories of our childhood: for most of us it often seems that the sun always shone and all was right with the world. But growing up while the world was at war meant that things were not always so innocent. In this little book Margaret Radburn has recorded her own experiences of a wartime childhood and of her emergence into adulthood in the postwar years. It is a fascinating and valuable record, contrasting so sharply with the lives of today's children just a few decades later. It is a fascinating work, sometimes funny but always informative, that we recommend strongly. (about 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

The Servant - Merville Edwards Sadly, Mrs Edwards died several years ago, but we are fortunate in that she took the trouble to record details of her years in domestic service in the 1920s. This short but significant work is rooted in the South Wales coal industry and follows the young Miss Merville Price as, at just 14 years of age, she crossed the Bristol Channel to find work. She began by earning the princely sum of £1 a month for a seven day week spent working as a general dogsbody on a Devon farm, then as a maid in a rather grander house. The book tells a story of a way of life that has disappeared: it is a valuable contribution to the social history of the years it covers while being an enjoyable book to read. (about 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

The Life Story Of Lillie Paice - Lillie Evans Lillie Evans was born in 1904 and lived a life that is really quite alien to those of us whose lives have been led wholly in the post World War II period. She was a remarkable lady, surviving the sort of deprivations that nowadays we struggle to understand. She had a sense of humour and a streak of wilful naughtiness, both of which stood her in good stead as her life story explains. It is both a captivating story and, we believe, an important historical document that ought to be required reading for today's schoolchildren. (about 12,000 words) Price: £4.00 Quantity:

Tales Of The Old Waterloo - Allan Barham People from all over Great Britain and beyond know Wales from holidays and day trips, and Tales of the Old Waterloo, by Allan Barham, tells of his family's struggle during the 1960's to re-open a monstrous and derelict hotel in the village of Betws-y-Coed, a beauty spot known by tourists the world over, and the home of some remarkable eccentrics. The marvellous stories the author tells, like 'The night of the hiss and boom' ... 'The dog, the plank, and the cycle race' ... and... 'The amateur dramatics disaster' - are all true. 'Fawlty Towers' has enjoyed deserved accolades as an example of how not to run a hotel, but, as is so goriously recounted in this book, the Waterloo proved that truly awful hotels existed long before Torquay's finest earned its reputation! (about 35,000 words) Price: £3.00 Quantity:

The Mabinogion 'On the bank of the river he saw a tall tree: from roots to crown one half was aflame and the other green with leaves.' Nothing illustrates the strange nature of these Welsh stories better than this vertically halved tree. The combination of fact and fantasy, of myth, history and folklore in The Mabinogion conjures up a magical enchanted world, which is none the less firmly rooted in the forests, hills and valleys of ancient Wales. The eleven stories were composed orally over a span of centuries, before being written down in the thirteenth century. They make up, in their virtuosity and panache, one of the great Welsh epics. (about 83,000 words) Price: £3.00 Quantity:

The Magna Carta As every schoolchild knows - or rather, as every British schoolchild should know - in the year 1215 in a field at Runnymede, just south-west of London, the way Britain was governed changed for ever. By signing the Magna Carta - the Great Charter - King John surrendered some of the absolute power that had hitherto been the right of sovereigns. But how many of us have actually read the document? Here, there are three modern-day translations of a document whose original language would today be incomprehensible to the majority of us. Each varies a little in its form of words, if not in substance, but that is not of great import; what matters is that the King's signature began the process of government of the people by the people, the founding principle of democracy. (about 14,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

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