Books by Brian Lavery

Following the progress of the Royal Navy from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to the First World War, Brian Lavery reveals how the Royal Navy shaped British industry, innovation and identity, and became the essential creator and guardian of British democracy.

In June 1940, following the BEF's scrambled evacuation from Dunkirk, the Second World War was brought home to Britain. As the Luftwaffe initiated their bombing campaigns and the threat of invasion grew daily, civilians were urged to play their part in the war effort, and take responsibility for their own survival. Many pamphlets and leaflets were issued with information and advice on a diverse range of subjects, from how to put on a gas mask, to how to build a bomb shelter and what to do in the event of an air raid, as Britain braced herself for a protracted conflict, literally on the front line, fighting alone.The literature drawn together for this evocative pocket-book captures the reality of civilian life during the Battle of Britain.

Prequel to the author's 40,000-copy bestseller Nelson's Navy

An essential guide to Nelson's Navy for all those with an interest in the workings of the greatest fleet of the sailing era.

At the height of the Second World War this small pocket-book was issued to all ratings on board ships of the Royal Navy. In straight period prose it outlines all the basic expressions and tasks a seaman needed to know to perform his duties efficiently. Chapters are broken down into: Sea Terms; Navigation; Steering the Ship; Rigging; Anchors and Cables; Boatwork; Miscellaneous (which includes details on uniform and folding a hammock, etc); and Ship Safety. Functional black line illustrations are used throughout, as well as a few pages of colour (used sparingly) for flag recognition. Faithfully reproduced, with a short introduction by Brian Lavery, which explains the importance of a book like this to a navy that had to take on vast numbers of civilians or Hostilities Only men to meet the manning needs of the war, this volume provides a real mixture of wartime nostalgia and historical authenticity. It makes a world now lost to us accessible again, explaining as it does the terms, skills and conventions of ship board life, a life that required a common language, and where failure to respond to orders instantly could mean the difference between life and death. The book is sure to appeal to those who served in the war as well as the current generation who are becoming increasingly interested in the role their grandparents, fathers and uncles played during that time.

'There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.' - Phillip Franklin, White Star Line Vice-PresidentOn April 15th, 1912, Titanic, the world's largest passenger ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg, claiming more than 1,500 lives. Walter Lord's classic bestselling history of the voyage, the wreck and the aftermath is a tour de force of detailed investigation and the upstairs/downstairs divide. A Night to Remember provides a vivid, gripping and deeply personal account of the 'unsinkable' Titanic's descent.WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY JULIAN FELLOWES