Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: The British at War

by Jonathan Bastable

This is a fascinating collection of stories exploring the less well-trodden byways of Britain's long history of conflicts. From the Romans vs Britons to the war on terror, "Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: the British at War" uncovers the heroic, tragic and often peculiar facts behind some of the best-known battles in British history. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it is the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

In 1982, just after I turned 20, I went to live in Leningrad for a year. I was cold and hungry most of the time, and most of my Russian friends were miserable or scared or both. The winter was dark and long, and the regime was oppressive. It was by far the happiest year of my life.

That year, and subsequent years spent at Moscow University as a postgrad, provided much of the core material for Devil's Acre. But I wasn' t then a writer, not yet. After returning to Britain I got a job as a feature writer on The Sunday Times Magazine, and in 1991 I was sent back to Moscow as the newspaper's Russian Affairs correspondent. I covered the slapstick Yeltsin years, and was present at the shelling of the Russian parliament building in 1993 – the moment when Russia's last best hope of a democratic future went up in smoke.

I have written many works of non-fiction, including a history of the Battle of Stalingrad based on eyewitness accounts. I am now, among other things, a travel writer, and I often go back to Russia on assignment for Conde Nast Traveller and other magazines. Devil's Acre is my first novel, and my proudest achievement.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-stars are for readers who haven't really don't much reading into military history, 2-stars are for those who have. The amazing and extraordinary facts are there, just that you have to be patient..... Otherwise, the facts are just facts, that you have read elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, the book was an entertaining read, and it didn't take long.
One of the passages that really stand out are the women that served in the army/navy. One of them joined up to find her husband who'd been press-ganged, served for 10 years, without anyone realising! I won't spoil it for you, but it could be a subject of a novel.....!

Another section that I really enjoyed was one that dealt with the British penchant for the bayonet charge, the most recent example of this is Lt. James Adamson in 2008, this made me do more research about the incident. This book is full of teasers, not really enough to get a full appreciation, but enough to get you started.