David Wragg: 27 books
The Race to the North
Rivalry and Record-Breaking in the Golden Age of Stream
Language: English
Release Date: January 21, 2013
In the late nineteenth century, some of Britain’s leading main-line railway companies threw caution to the winds in an attempt to provide the fastest passenger express services between London and Scotland. These became known as the ‘races to the north’. There were two phases, in 1888 and 1895,...
Bombers
From the First World War to Kosovo
Language: English
Release Date: September 23, 2016
The story of the bomber is told with a blend of narrative and personal accounts, recording the history of the principle bombing raids and the skill and courage of those who flew them. David Wragg begins with a brief overview of the origins of the concept of aerial bombardment, which astonishingly...
by David Wragg
Language: English
Release Date: April 21, 2009
Language: English
Release Date: April 21, 2009
Railways played a key role in Britain's social, economic and industrial history. These companies have long since gone, but all over the country relics remain to remind us of that pioneering age. David Wragg's Historical Dictionary of Railways in the British Isles is a comprehensive, single-volume...
Malta
The Last Great Siege 1940 - 1943
Language: English
Release Date: December 19, 2003
The strategic importance of Malta sitting astride both the Axis and Allied supply routes in the Mediterranean was obvious to both sides during WW2. As a result the Island became the focal point in a prolonged and dreadful struggle that cost the lives of thousands of servicemen and civilians. After...
Commuter City
How the Railways Shaped London
Language: English
Release Date: September 19, 2010
On the eve of the railway age, London was the world’s largest and most populous city – and one of the most congested. Traffic-clogged roads and tightly packed buildings meant that travel across the city was tortuous, time-consuming and unpleasant. Then came the railways. They transformed the city...
The Second World War's Military Legacy
The Atomic Bomb and Much More
Language: English
Release Date: August 6, 2014
'Necessity is the mother of invention' and nothing is more necessary than victory in war. Driven by the need to defeat Hitler's Nazis and Japanese Imperial ambitions, the period 1939 – 1945 saw huge and unprecedented leaps in the invention and development of war winning weapons and technology.
Well=known...
Operation Neptune
The Prelude to D-Day
Language: English
Release Date: February 1, 2014
One of the most ambitious amphibious operations to ever take place, the story of Operation Neptune is the story of D-Day at seaLong-awaited, the Normandy landings were the largest amphibious operation in history. Success was achieved by the advent of specialized landing craft, first seen in the landings...
Men of Steam
Railwaymen in Their Own Words
Language: English
Release Date: December 13, 2011
Few modes of travel have the enduring appeal of steam railways. Today preserved lines, locomotives and rolling stock attract not just expert enthusiasts but more casual visitors who are keen to savor the distinctive atmosphere of a lost era in transport history. Yet these relics are but one aspect...
by David Wragg
Language: English
Release Date: February 19, 2009
Language: English
Release Date: February 19, 2009
Seapower was a crucial element in the outcome of the Second World War. The U-Boat campaign almost brought Britain to her knees; the Arctic convoys were crucial to keeping Russia in the War; Pearl Harbor brought America into the conflict with massive repercussions; allied naval supremacy made the D-Day...
'Sink the French!'
At War with Our Ally—1940
Language: English
Release Date: July 1, 2007
A history-defining moment in World War II, when the allied nations of England and France stood on the precipice of betrayal—and war with each other.
After the forces of Nazi Germany launched their Blitzkrieg assault on Holland, Belgium, and Northern France, the tentative relationship between...
Plan Z
The Nazi Bid for Naval Dominance
Language: English
Release Date: September 22, 2008
Except for the strength of the U-boat fleet at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Navy, or Kriegsmarine, was never a match for the Royal Navy, even though the latter was overstretched and fighting in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Mediterranean and the Arctic. It was not meant to be...
'Total Germany'
The Royal Navy' War Against the Axis Powers 1939-1945
Language: English
Release Date: October 30, 2015
On the declaration of war in 1939 the British Admiralty signalled all warships and naval bases 'Total Germany, Total Germany'.
It was fortunate that of Germany's three armed services, the Kriegsmarine under
Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder was the least well prepared. True, Admiral Karl Donitz's...
Southern Handbook
The Southern Railway 1923-1947
Language: English
Release Date: August 1, 2017
The Southern Railway may not have been the most glamorous of the ‘Big Four' companies that emerged from the grouping of 1923, but it was the great innovator. In the 1930s the Southern pioneered the first main-line electrification and created the largest electrified suburban railway network in the...
LNER Handbook
The London and North Eastern Railway 1923-47
Language: English
Release Date: July 1, 2017
Renowned for its express Mallard setting a world speed record (126mph) for steam locomotives that endures to this day, the LNER was the second largest of the 'Big Four' companies to emerge from the 1923 grouping and also the most diverse, with the express trains from King's Cross balanced by an intensive...
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