SAILOR IN THE DESERT – The Adventures of Phillip Gunn, DSM, RN in the Mesopotamia Campaign 1915 – Review by Mark Barnes
Phil Gunn followed his father into the Royal Navy in 1911 as a boy seaman and retired holding the rank of captain at the end…
WORLD WAR I – The Definitive Visual Guide from Sarajevo to Versailles – Review by Mark Barnes
The Great War coffee table book contest takes another turn with this whopper from Dorling Kindersley. When my son was a youngster he had a huge…
HIGH FLIGHT – The Life and Poetry of Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee – Review by Mark Barnes
My interest in all things military began with aviation. I loved aeroplanes when I was a lad. I progressed to building model kits – the…
FOKKER FODDER – The Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c – Review by Mark Barnes
Last week it was Spitfires and this time out we have the humble BE2c. You couldn’t get two more different aeroplanes if you tried and…
THREE SIPS OF GIN – Dominating the Battlespace With Rhodesia’s Elite Selous Scouts – Review by Mark Barnes
The Selous Scouts were a special forces unit from Rhodesia fighting against the insurgency which led ultimately to the creation of the state of Zimbabwe…
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE RESTORATION MANUAL – Review by Mark Barnes
Trying to write any general piece about the Spitfire without using terms like “iconic” is not easy. So there, I’ve done it and now we…
M4 SHERMAN – Images of War SPECIAL. Review by Mark Barnes
Pat Ware gave me a start in this business and it does seem a trifle odd reviewing his books. The sleeve notes don’t admit to…
ON ASSIGNMENT: THE GREAT WAR – Review by Mark Barnes
I have worked in photo archives for donkey’s years, a genuine labour of love. I had to do research on Edward N Jackson because his…
BEYOND THE REACH OF EMPIRE – Wolseley’s Failed Campaign to Save Gordon and Khartoum. Review by Mark Barnes
When his comrades were, at last, able to recover his body; they found him with a smile on his face. Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby was…
FRANCO’S CRYPT, Spanish Culture and Memory Since 1936 – Review by Chris Ball
There is a belief that after the Nationalist’s victory in the Spanish Civil War that Spain suffered a deliberate, collective amnesia, the Spanish for which…
RAF FIGHTER PILOTS OVER BURMA – Review by Mark Barnes
We are back, after a brief intermission, with a book from the Images of War series. This one comes courtesy of the highly respected Norman…
THE MONUMENTS MEN – Film Review by Mark Barnes
Billed as an action comedy, this film has been fairly mullered by film reviewers for having not a lot of either going on in close…