The Rough Guide to Climate...

The Rough Guide to Climate Change is a complete, unbiased guide to one of the most pressing problems facing humanity. From the current situation and background science to the government sceptics and possible solutions, this book covers the whole subject. The guide looks at — visible symptoms of change from a warming planet, how global warming works, the evolution of our atmosphere over the last 4.5 billion years, what computer simulations of climate reveal about our past, present, and future; the sceptics: Who are they? What are their grounds for disagreeing with the crowd?; Battle of the Titans: the oil industry versus the global commons; global warming in the media: A review of the last few decades; global solutions: What governments and scientists are doing to try and solve the problem, plus much, more.

The Best Intentions

Kofi Annan described 2004 as his annus horribilis. A man who had received the Nobel Peace Prize, who was widely counted one of the greatest UN secretary generals, was nearly hounded from office by scandal. Indeed, both Annan and the institution he incarnates, were so deeply shaken after the invasion of Iraq that critics, and even some friends, began asking whether this 60-year-old experiment in global policing has outlived its usefulness. Do its failures arise from its own structure and culture, or from a clash with an American administration determined to go its own way in defiance of world opinion? In The Best Intentions, Traub recounts the dramatically entwined history of Kofi Annan, the United Nations, and American foreign policy from 1992 to the present.

Dusty Warriors: Modern...

Our foremost military historian offers us a compelling and at times terrifying account of what it means to be a contemporary soldier. Richard Holmes draws on the testimonies of the 700 soldiers of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment to capture in vivid detail the average soldier’s day-to-day experience of war. Embroiled in a conflict often too dangerous for reporters to cover, these soldiers — most of them young, many without any previous experience of warfare — have kept ongoing records of the drudgery, anxiety and horror involved in fighting a violent and increasingly unpopular war against a ruthless and resourceful enemy. All have risked their lives, and many have died. Others have been recognised. Holmes paints a sweeping portrait of a new generation of soldiers — grunts, gallants and heroes — and the sacrifices their decision to fight for their country entails.

Bitter Ocean

David White’s meticulously researched and brilliantly told account of the Battle of the Atlantic is the first to assess this crucial theatre of the Second World War from the viewpoint of all the protagonists — Germany, USSR, USA, Canada and, above all, the UK. Packed with first-hand testimony from seamen and submariners, White shows the real hardships faced. He also shows how the U-boat threat was countered and eventually defeated, ensuring the survival of Great Britain and thus the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Royal Navy’s triumph undoubtedly changed the course of history.