“It was a bridge too far, and perhaps the whole plan was doomed to failure from the start, but we had to try, didn’t we?”

September 17, 1944: 30,000 airborne soldiers prepare to drop sixty-four miles behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied Holland; tens of thousands of ground troops race down Hell’s Highway in tanks and armored cars, trucks, and half-tracks to link up with them. The goal: to secure eight bridges across the Rhine and end the war by Christmas. Ten days later, over 15,000 of these soldiers have died, and 6,000 have been taken prisoner.

Operation Market Garden was the daring plan to stage a coup de main in occupied territory, gain control of those bridges, and obtain a direct route into Hitler’s Germany. But the operation failed, and the allied forces suffered a brutal military defeat. In the seventy-five years since, tactics have been analyzed and blame has been placed, but the heart of Arnhem’s story lies in the selflessness and bravery of those troops that fought, the courage and resilience of the civilians caught up in confrontation, and the pure determination to fight for their lives and their freedom. This is the story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.

In Ballantyne’s Arnhem, we go into battle with not only the famous commanders in the thick of the action but also with all those whose fates were determined by their decisions. Based on first-hand interviews, military records, and diaries, we witness the confusion and mayhem of war–from the horrific and devastating to the surreal and mundane. But most of all, we witness the self-sacrifice and valor of the men who gave their lives to liberate strangers in a foreign country.

In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping. The Royal Navy’s pursuit and subsequent destruction of the Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. In this new account of those dramatic events at the height of the Second World War, Iain Ballantyne draws extensively on the graphic eyewitness testimony of veterans to construct a thrilling story, mainly from the point of view of the British battleships, cruisers, and destroyers involved.

He describes the tense atmosphere as cruisers play a lethal cat-and-mouse game as they shadow Bismarck in the icy Denmark Strait. We witness the shocking destruction of the British battle cruiser HMS Hood, in which all but three of her ship’s complement were killed, an event that fueled pursuing Royal Navy warships, including the battered battleship Prince of Wales, with a thirst for revenge. While Swordfish torpedo-bombers try desperately to cripple the Bismarck, we sail in destroyers on their own daring torpedo attacks, battling mountainous seas. Finally, the author takes us into the last showdown, as battleships Rodney and King George V, supported by cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire, destroy the pride of Hitler’s fleet.

This vivid, superbly researched account portrays this epic saga through the eyes of so-called “ordinary sailors” caught up in extraordinary events. Killing the Bismarck is an outstanding book, conveying the horror and majesty of war at sea in all its cold brutality and awesome power.

This fascinating and comprehensive account reveals how an initially ineffectual underwater boat?originally derided and loathed in equal measure?evolved into the most powerful and terrifying vessel ever invented?with enough destructive power to end all life on Earth. Iain Ballantyne considers the key episodes of submarine warfare and vividly describes the stories of brave individuals who have risked their lives under the sea, often with fatal consequences. His analysis of underwater conflict begins with Archimedes discovering the Principle of Buoyancy. This clandestine narrative then moves through the centuries and focuses on prolific characters with deadly motives, including David Bushnell, an American who devised the first combat submarine with the idea of attacking the British in 1775. Today, nuclear-powered submarines are among the most complex, costly ships in existence. Armed with nuclear weapons, they have the ability to destroy millions of lives: they are the most powerful warships ever created. At the heart of this thrilling narrative lurks danger and power as we discover warfare’s murkiest secrets.

The incredible inside story of the Cold War beneath the waves, pitting British and NATO’s attack submarines against the Soviets.

Undersea Warrior: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes.

This will follow the careers of four daring British submarine captains who risked their lives to keep the rest of us safe, their exploits consigned to the shadows until now. Their experiences encompass the span of the Cold War, from voyages in WW2-era submarines under Arctic ice to nuclear-powered espionage missions in Soviet-dominated seas.

There are dangerous encounters with Russian spy ships in British waters and finally, as the communist facade begins to crack, they hold the line against the Kremlin’s oceanic might, playing a leading role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. It is the first time they have spoken out about their covert lives in the submarine service.

This is the dramatic untold story of Britain’s most-secret service.