Spartacus Review

Volume 54: 27th August, 2011

Second World War

Title: The Spitfire Story

Author: Alfred Price

Editor:

Publisher: Haynes Publishing

Price: £25.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Spitfire

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Written to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the first predominantly anti-capitalist revolution in the world, Mexico’s Revolution Then and Now is the perfect introductory text and one that will also sharpen the understanding of seasoned observers. Cockcroft provides readers with the historical context within which the revolution occurred; explains how the revolutionary process has played out over the past ten decades; tells us how the ideals of the revolution live on in the minds of Mexico’s peasants and workers; and critically examines the contours of modern Mexican society, including its ethnic and gender dimensions. Well-deserved attention is paid to the tensions between the rulers and the ruled inside the country and the connected tensions between the Mexican nation and the neighboring giant to the north.

Title: The Wartime House

Author: Mike Brown & Carol Harris

Editor:

Publisher: History Press

Price: £12.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Home Front

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The demands of a nation at war had many far-reaching effects on the average home. How did women cope with bringing up a family single-handed after their husbands were conscripted for military service? How did they use the rations and keep up their family's spirits? What was it like to 'Make Do and Mend' or 'Dig for Victory', or to sleep in an Anderson shelter? By looking at the lives of ordinary people who inhabited the semi-detatched world of suburbia, Mike and Carol Harris have painted a vivid picture of daily life on the Home Front in wartime Britain. Chapters include: The Suburban Dream, House Beautiful, Furniture and Furnishings, Housework and DIY, Rationing, The Wartime Kitchen, 'If the Invader Comes', Fashion, Entertainment and Reconstruction. With a wealth of illustrations and ephemera, this book brings wartime experience to life.

Title: When Britain went to War

Author: Richard Havers

Editor:

Publisher: Haynes Publishing

Price: £20.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Home Front

Category:

Written to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the first predominantly anti-capitalist revolution in the world, Mexico’s Revolution Then and Now is the perfect introductory text and one that will also sharpen the understanding of seasoned observers. Cockcroft provides readers with the historical context within which the revolution occurred; explains how the revolutionary process has played out over the past ten decades; tells us how the ideals of the revolution live on in the minds of Mexico’s peasants and workers; and critically examines the contours of modern Mexican society, including its ethnic and gender dimensions. Well-deserved attention is paid to the tensions between the rulers and the ruled inside the country and the connected tensions between the Mexican nation and the neighboring giant to the north.

Title: The Battle of North Cape

Author: Angus Konstam

Editor:

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Price: £12.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: The Scharnhorst

Category:

On 25 December 1943 the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst slipped out Altenfjord in Norway to attack Artic convoy JW55B which was carrying vital war supplies to the Soviet Union. But British naval intelligence knew of the Scharnhorst's mission before she sailed and the vulnerable convoy was protected by a large Royal Naval force including the battleship Duke of York. In effect the Scharnhorst was sailing into a trap. One of the most compelling naval dramas of the Second World War had begun. Angus Konstam's gripping account tells the story of this crucial and under-studied naval battle, and explains why the hopes of the German Kriegsmarine went down with their last great ship.