“This English translation of the original Russian work is thought provoking, challenging the ‘official’ version of what happened” during World War II (Firetrench). The memory of the Second World War on the Eastern Front—still referred to in modern Russia as the Great Patriotic War—is an essential element of Russian identity and history, as alive today as it was in Stalin’s time. It is represented as a defining episode, a positive historical myth that sustains the Russian national idea and unites the majority of Russian citizens. As a result, as Boris Sokolov shows in this powerful and thought-provoking study, the heroic and tragic side of the war is highlighted while the dark side—the incompetent, negligent and even criminal way the war was run—is overlooked. Although almost eighty years have passed since the defeat of Nazi Germany, he demonstrates that many of the fabrications put forward during the war and immediately afterwards persist into the present day. In a sequence of incisive chapters he uncovers the truth about famous wartime episodes that have been consistently misrepresented. His bold reinterpretation should go some way towards dispelling the enduring myths about the Great Patriotic War. It is necessary reading for anyone who is keen to understand how it continues to be distorted in Russia today.

Herein you will find 5 books containing 84 old Eastern European folk and fairy tales, plus tales of dragons, both magnanimous and evil, tales of princes on their white chargers dashing in to rescue princesses in distress and tales of the little people - the fairy folk who stitch together each and every fairy tale. These books were bestsellers when they were first published, some over 120 years ago, at a time when people REALLY DID BELIEVE in fairies. These are tales from the forests and lane-side hedgerows as well as tales of fairy dances, which only ever occur at midnight under a full moon. And then there are tales of how lowly laborers applied their brains to a situation to win the hand of princesses and become kings of kingdoms. Plus there are other tales of how kings, forever protective of their precious princesses, set ever more difficult challenges to those wanting to win the hand of their daughters, who, of course, are the fairest and most beautiful in all the land! Ideal for parents, grandparents and lovers of fairy tales and of all things magic! In addition this is a unique collection for primary/elementary school libraries. TEACHERS read a page or two from each story at the end of the school day and have your students queuing up to hear the next part of the story day after day. Bibliographic Data ISBN, TITLE, # stories, #pages 978-1-909302-54-9 - Czechoslovak Fairy Tales 15 Stories, 236pg Illustrated. 978-1-909302-55-6 - Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen 20 Stories, 398pg Illustrated. 978-1-909302-23-5 - The Key of Gold - 23 Czech Folk Tales, 200pg Illustrated. 978-1-909302-44-0 - The Shoemaker's Apron - 20 Czechoslovak fairy tales, 270pg Illustrated. 978-1-909302-67-9 - Polish Fairy Tales 6 Stories, 192pg Illustrated. So, all-in-all, you will receive 84 stories and tales spread across 1,296 sumptuously illustrated pages. The 6th FREE ebook is Folklore, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends from Around the World which contains 15 complimentary folk and fairy tales from the Abela catalogue. Go, find a comfy chair, and sit back with a hot toddy, and enjoy a change of scenery and a change of pace and be whisked away to a land far, far away where only magical things happen.

The Italian Army’s participation in Hitler’s war against the Soviet Union has remained unrecognized and understudied. Bastian Matteo Scianna offers a wide-ranging, in-depth corrective. Mining Italian, German and Russian sources, he examines the history of the Italian campaign in the East between 1941 and 1943, as well as how the campaign was remembered and memorialized in the domestic and international arena during the Cold War. Linking operational military history with memory studies, this book revises our understanding of the Italian Army in the Second World War.

Based largely upon unpublished sources, Omer Bartov's study looks closely at the background of the German army on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. He describes the physical hardship, the discipline and morale at the front, and analyses the social, educational and political background of the junior officers who formed the backbone of the German army. Only with these factors in mind - together with the knowledge of the extent of National Socialist indoctrination - can we begin to explain the criminal activities of the German army in Russia and the extent of involvement of the army in the execution of Hitler's brutal policies.

'Terrific . . . a tour de force' Sir Richard Evans 'Military history at its very best' Keith Lowe A gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis, from the bestselling historian June 1944: In Operation Bagration, more than two million Red Army soldiers, facing 500,000 German soldiers, finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy, but, despite the myths that remain, it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitler's fate and destroyed Nazism. In his new book, bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year, covering the military, political and diplomatic story in his evocative style. Drawing on previously untranslated German, Russian and Polish sources, we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets’ fortunes, how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post-war settlement, laying the foundations for the Cold War . . . 'Visceral and compelling authoritative' Sinclair McKay 'Extraordinarily vivid and absorbing' Brendan Simms

In 'Finding the Lost Battalion' author Robert J. Laplander meticulously chronicles what would become one of the most famous events of American participation in World War One, discovering the truths behind the legend. Drawing on hundreds of sources - many never before seen - and spanning eight years of research, including four trips to the sight of the action in France, Mr. Laplander leads the reader through the events in the Charlevaux Ravine during early October 1918, and the circumstances leading up to it, virtually hour by hour. In this way the book does not merely tell the story itself, but explains why it all came about in the first place. The end result is the single most factual acounting of the Lost Battalion and their leader, Charles W. Whittlesey, to date, told in an entertaining, fast moving style. Never dry or boring, as some military tomes can be, this one is sure to quickly become a favorite on your shelf and the benchmark against which all further work on the Lost Battalion will be measured.

Based largely upon unpublished sources, Omer Bartov's study looks closely at the background of the German army on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. He describes the physical hardship, the discipline and morale at the front, and analyses the social, educational and political background of the junior officers who formed the backbone of the German army. Only with these factors in mind - together with the knowledge of the extent of National Socialist indoctrination - can we begin to explain the criminal activities of the German army in Russia and the extent of involvement of the army in the execution of Hitler's brutal policies.

“Monumental… [A] vast and detailed study that is surely the finest single-volume history of World War II. Richard Overy has given us a powerful reminder of the horror of war and the threat posed by dictators with dreams of empire.” – The Wall Street Journal A thought-provoking and original reassessment of World War II, from Britain’s leading military historian A New York Times bestseller Richard Overy sets out in Blood and Ruins to recast the way in which we view the Second World War and its origins and aftermath. As one of Britain’s most decorated and respected World War II historians, he argues that this was the “last imperial war,” with almost a century-long lead-up of global imperial expansion, which reached its peak in the territorial ambitions of Italy, Germany and Japan in the 1930s and early 1940s, before descending into the largest and costliest war in human history and the end, after 1945, of all territorial empires. Overy also argues for a more global perspective on the war, one that looks broader than the typical focus on military conflict between the Allied and Axis states. Above all, Overy explains the bitter cost for those involved in fighting, and the exceptional level of crime and atrocity that marked the war and its protracted aftermath—which extended far beyond 1945. Blood and Ruins is a masterpiece, a new and definitive look at the ultimate struggle over the future of the global order, which will compel us to view the war in novel and unfamiliar ways. Thought-provoking, original and challenging, Blood and Ruins sets out to understand the war anew.

The Second World War in Eastern Europe is far from a neglected topic, especially since social, cultural, and diplomatic historians have entered a field previously dominated by operational histories, and produced a cornucopia of new scholarship offering a more nuanced picture from both sides of the front. However, until now, the story has still been disjointed and specialized, whereby military, social, economic, and diplomatic histories continue to give their own separate accounts. This collection of essays attempts to bring these themes into a more cohesive whole that tells a complex, multifaceted story of war on the Eastern Front as it truly was. This is one of the few critical examinations that includes both perspectives and looks at the war as a multi‐front effort. It also reveals how myths are created around military conflicts and have direct relevance to current developments in Europe, linking them to a broader discussion of the Second World War, its impact and utility today. It gives a historical dimension to pressing issues and will be of interest and relevance to history students, policymakers, political scientists, diplomats, and foreign policy experts. The Eastern Front will be a useful reference source, since some chapters rely on extensive new archival research and materials, ego sources, as well as extensive findings of non‐Western scholars, thereby bringing their work to the attention of a broader audience.

Drawing on remarkable and never-before-seen material, the extraordinary story of one of the most horrific and devastating encounters of the Second World War. On June 22nd, 1941 the largest military invasion in human history was launched - an attack on the Soviet Union by almost four million men of Nazi Germany's brutal war machine. Operation Barbarossa led to the bloodiest military campaign mankind has ever known. The statistics of death and destruction are almost impossible to believe. The cruelty, suffering and destitution it wrought are unimaginable . . . over forty million people lost their lives. Yet, the real story of the Eastern Front is still not truly understood outside of Germany and Eastern Europe. Little is known of those who suffered in the horror of Hitler's 'War of Annihilation' - the soldiers and civilians of Eastern Europe who fought and died trying to save their homelands and their loved ones. In Barbarossa, Stewart Binns tells the story of how they lived and survived, and how, once the tide had turned, they exacted an appalling revenge on the Nazi aggressors. This is the story of the bloodiest war in history. Stewart Binns draws on Russian archives to paint a uniquely intimate picture of the war from the Soviet side of this terrible conflict - presenting this dark moment in history in panoramic detail, matching sweeping accounts of tactical manoeuvres with harrowing personal stories of civilian hardship and bravery. 'A masterful narrative, deeply enriched by extraordinary research and a profound analysis of the soul of Russia.' - Nick Hewer