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Stolen Childhoods : The Untold Story of the Children Interned by the Japanese in the Second World War
Nicola Tyrer

Format: Paperback - Released: 10/05/2012
Lovereading Price: £6.74 - Saving £2.25 (25%)

May 2012 Non-Fiction Book of the Month. With or without their parents, children were interned in great numbers in Japanese camps, some 4,000 UK children alone. This thoroughly researched and rounded account of their story relates their experiences of the camps and through the personal stories – often recounted for the first time - learn what impact these events had on their lives as children and as adults. Their experiences are very mixed, some suffered through terrible deprivations under despotic camp guards others were “luckier” to be interned under less strict rulers, a few luckier still were young enough and resilient enough to see it all as a terrific adventure.  With so many disparate strands, it would be easy to lose focus but Nicola Tyrer has a strong hand on the narrative , honouring the people who told her their stories.Like for Like ReadingHow the Girl Guides Won the War, Janie HamptonEmpire of the Sun, J G Ballard ]]> http://www.lovereading.co.uk//book/7356/Stolen-Childhoods-The-Untold-Story-of-the-Children-Interned-by-the-Japanese-in-the-Second-World-War-by-Nicola-Tyrer.html

A History of England in 100 Places : From Stonehenge to the Gherkin
John Julius Norwich

Format: Paperback - Released: 10/05/2012
Lovereading Price: £9.74 - Saving £3.25 (25%)

Our nation's story told through 100 of its most important sites - from Stonehenge to the Gherkin.  Part narrative history, part exploration of our national heritage, the historian's wide-ranging selection of sites will stimulate, entertain, inform - and certainly provoke - a debate about the most significant moments in English history. ]]> http://www.lovereading.co.uk//book/7414/A-History-of-England-in-100-Places-From-Stonehenge-to-the-Gherkin-by-John-Julius-Norwich.html

Sister Queens : Katherine of Aragon and Juana Queen of Castile
Julia Fox

Format: Paperback - Released: 26/04/2012
Lovereading Price: £7.49 - Saving £2.50 (25%)

Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile were the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, pawns on the European political stage. Approaching their history from this family perspective gives a very different viewpoint on the two women. Juana, wife of Philip of Burgundy and Mother to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V had a life of trial and tribulation, known in history as Juana the Mad, her story is equally compelling and just as tragic as that of Katherine of Aragon, first wife to Henry VIII. With so many histories of the Tudor period rarely venturing off the beaten track, Julia Fox is to be commended for her research into the wider Tudor picture.Like for Like Reading:She-Wolves: The Women who Ruled England before Elizabeth, Helen CastorIsabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England, Alison Weir ]]> http://www.lovereading.co.uk//book/7272/Sister-Queens-Katherine-of-Aragon-and-Juana-Queen-of-Castile-by-Julia-Fox.html

Foundation : The History of England
Peter Ackroyd

Format: Paperback - Released: 06/04/2012
Lovereading Price: £7.49 - Saving £2.50 (25%)

First in a planned series of 6 volumes retelling the drama of English history. This first volume takes us from the time when human activity barely registered on the landscape down to the last days of Henry VII in 1509. On reading I was sad to find I’d already reached the Romans by Chapter Two. As the early history of the English is, for me, the most interesting, this was rather a blow but I recovered – and went on to thoroughly enjoy the engaging narrative. Underneath all the grand sweep of grand politics and royal machinations there is the subjugated English nation – and we get a great feel for these “small people” who see one foreign invader swopped for another, if it’s not the Angles it’s the Romans or the Normans, but they go stolidly on adapting and intermingling, playing their part in our Foundation.   Like for Like Reading The Making of the British Landscape, Francis Pryor A History of Ancient Britain, Neil Oliver ]]> http://www.lovereading.co.uk//book/7173/Foundation-The-History-of-England-by-Peter-Ackroyd.html

Ian Fleming's Commandos The Story of 30 Assault Unit in WWII
Nicholas Rankin

Format: Paperback - Released: 03/05/2012
Lovereading Price: £7.49 - Saving £2.50 (25%)

In 1942, Lieutenant-Commander Ian Fleming was personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence - the dynamic figure behind James Bond's fictional chief, 'M'. Here, Fleming had a brilliant idea: why not set up a unit of authorised looters, men who would go in hard with the front-line troops and steal enemy intelligence? Known as '30 Assault Unit', they took part in the major campaigns of the Second World War, landing on the Normandy beaches and helping to liberate Paris. 30AU's final amazing coup was to seize the entire archives of the German Navy - thirty tons of documents. Ian Fleming flew out in person to get the loot back to Britain, where it was combed for evidence to use in the Nuremburg trials. In this gripping and highly enjoyable book, Nicholas Rankin, author of the best-selling Churchill's Wizards , puts 30 Assault Unit's fascinating story in a strategic and intelligence context. He also argues that Ian Fleming's Second World War service was one of the most significant periods of his life - without this, the most popular spy fiction of the twentieth century would not have been written. ]]> http://www.lovereading.co.uk//book/7442/Ian-Fleming-s-Commandos-The-Story-of-30-Assault-Unit-in-WWII-by-Nicholas-Rankin.html