Ian Dear: 5 books

Sabotage and subversion have always been a part of warfare. But the global nature of World War II brought a new group of special operations agents, with their own sophisticated means of causing chaos and slowing down the enemy. From de-railing and even blowing up trains to undermining the German government...

Enduring great danger and often terrible conditions in heavy seas, the Rescue Tug Services worked tirelessly to bring to port damaged vessels and keep up the supply of food and essential items during two world wars.They were first deployed towards the end of the First World War to support and if necessary...

It is indeed remarkable, since the archives of the Second World War must have been pillaged, ransacked, burrowed into, and turned over almost as thoroughly as Monte Cassino itself, that no book has been written about one of the strangest units created during that or any other conflict. The unit was...

The Royal Yacht Squadron is the world's most prestigious yacht club and, like all great British institutions, its members take it very seriously indeed. Joining the club is quite a privilege and is not for the likes of any old yachtsman in his 36ft Beneteau. It's easier to get into Debrett's than...

The true history of the secret world of spooks, the people they spied on, and those they betrayed—includes declassified MI5 info and new evidence from previously unpublished memoirsThe shadowy world of espionage has an enduring fascination for us all. Spy and Counterspy explores the tangled web...