In the seven decades since the darkest moments of the Second World War it seems every tenebrous corner of the conflict has been laid bare, prodded and examined from every perspective of military and social history. But there is a story that has hitherto been largely overlooked. It is a tale of quiet heroism, a story of ordinary people who fought, with enormous self-sacrifice, not with tanks and guns, but with elbow grease and determination. It is the story of the British railways and, above all, the extraordinary men and women who kept them running from 1939 to 1945. Churchill himself certainly did not underestimate their importance to the wartime story when, in 1943, he praised ‘the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory.’ And what a story it is. The railway system during the Second World War was the lifeline of the nation, replacing vulnerable road transport and merchant shipping. The railways mobilised troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Railwaymen and women performed outstanding acts of heroism. Nearly 400 workers were killed at their posts and another 2,400 injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action. The trains themselves played just as vital a role. The famous Flying Scotsman train delivered its passengers to safety after being pounded by German bombers and strafed with gunfire from the air. There were astonishing feats of engineering restoring tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. Trains transported millions to and from work each day and sheltered them on underground platforms at night, a refuge from the bombs above. Without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day. Michael Williams, author of the celebrated book On the Slow Train, has written an important and timely book using original research and over a hundred new personal interviews. This is their story.

The Columbianna, an ancient tramp steamer with a notably eccentric crew, 200 layers of paint on her decks, a sailing history going back to 1945, and demons in her plumbing, was crossing the Atlantic for the umpteenth time—but on this occasion with a sharp-eyed observer, whose brilliant account brings to life the harshness, humor, and bizarreness of life on board. Steaming to Bamboola is a story of the author's time at sea. He tells first-hand about typhoons, cargoes, smuggling, mid-ocean burials, rescues, stowaways, hard places, hard drinking, and hard romance. It is the tale of a ship and her crew, men fated to wander for a living—always steaming to, but never quite reaching, Bamboola. This was the first book by renowned author and humorist Christopher Buckley, which was originally published in 1982 to glowing reviews. Forty years and over twenty books and hundreds of articles later, Buckley introduces Columbianna and her roguish crew to a new generation of readers.

Colin Ward spent much of the 1970s and 1980s on the terraces of football grounds around the country, and following England across the continent. It was a time when passionate support of your team did not mean wearing the team shirt and subscribing to your club's TV station. Instead, it often meant having to defend your part of the stadium against attacks from opposition fans, confrontations with the police, and some decidedly hair-raising encounters. Although, post-Hillsborough, this seems like a vanished era, the world of the football hooligan still has the power to fascinate. No one has captured the atmosphere with the same authenticity as Ward, who reveals the truth behind the easy headlines: the camaraderie, the unexpected friendships between rival groups, the characters who attained near mythical status. Controversial, provocative and above all brilliantly told, Steaming Intakes the reader right to the heart of the action.

First published in 1938, this classic cookbook has been a staple of American kitchens for generations. With over 4000 recipes and tips on everything from preparing a Thanksgiving turkey to preserving fruits and vegetables, this book is an indispensable resource for home cooks of all levels. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This wide-ranging military history examines the vital yet overlooked role of logistics through the global evolution of warfare. An army cannot operate without supplies, yet military researchers and historians often overlook the essential aspect of logistics. In this comprehensive study, Jeremy Black provides an informative yet concise world history of military logistics through the ages. With special focus on key conflicts, Black examines such factors as climate, geography, food supplies, welfare of troops, payment, transport, communications, terrain, and distance. He also considers related factors including government policy, stability, and financial conditions. He covers the sweep of history, from ancient and medieval times to modern eras of industrial warfare, highlighting technological advances from oil and steam to cyber warfare and smart weapons.

A magazine of tales, travels, essays, and poems.