Martin King

The 106th were fresh, green and right in the pathway of the 5th German Army when the Battle of the Bulge began at 0530 hours on December 16, 1944. This book covers the history along with the individual stories of the incredible heroism, sacrifice and tenacity of these young Americans in the face of overwhelming odds. From this division 6,800 men were taken prisoner but their story didn t end there. For the ones who miraculously escaped, there was a battle to fight, and fight it they would with every ounce of strength and courage they could muster. They would fight debilitating weather conditions more reminiscent of Stalingrad than the Belgian Ardennes. They would fight a determined enemy and superior numbers and despite all adversity they would eventually prevail. One 106th GI waged his own personal war using guerilla tactics that caused serious consternation amongst the German troops. For another GI his main concern was recovering his clean underwear. These stories are heartwarming, heartbreaking, nerve-wracking and compelling. They aim to put the reader right there in the front lines, and in the stalags, during the final months of WWII."

The Last Infantry Division of World War II

Warriors of the 106th

"Martin King tells the human side of the story of the Battle of the Bulge better than anyone." Commander Jeffrey Barta, US Navy (retired) "I have walked the battlefields with Martin King, who has traversed them countless times with veterans of the Bulge. No one knows this story like Martin, and no one can tell it quite the way he does." Rick Beyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost Army of World War II The vortex of a tornado is a vacuum, and that is where we were, in the centre of a storm of armour and artillery pushing forward into the Ardennes. - John Hillard Dunn, 106th Division, US Army The Battle of the Bulge was the largest land engagement of World War II. The German counter-attack, spearheaded by three Panzer armies, found the Allies unprepared and ill-equipped. As the fighting raged across the frosty forests of the Ardennes, it was left to a few untested US Infantry divisions to hold the Allied lines. Written by one of the world's leading experts on the subject, this account provides an essential introduction to the events of winter 1944-5 and to the many soldiers who risked their lives in defence of freedom. Drawing on personal interviews, extensive research, and an unparalleled knowledge of the region, Martin King explores one of the most important battles of World War II.

The Allies' Greatest Conflict on the Western Front

The Battle of the Bulge

Michael Collins

Ken Johnson

This chronicle of the 106th Infantry Division follows the unit into the Battle of the Bulge and recounts the stories of GIs who fought—even after capture. On December 16, 1944, as the European conflict of World War II was reaching its climax at the Battle of the Bulge, the 106th Infantry Division was fresh, green, and right in the pathway of the Fifth German Army. Warriors of the 106th chronicles the movements and combat operations of this significant unit while sharing individual stories of the heroism and sacrifice of these young Americans in the face of overwhelming odds. From this division alone, 6,800 men were taken prisoner. But their stories didn’t end there. For the ones who miraculously escaped, there was a battle to fight. With remarkable courage, they survived debilitating weather conditions and fought a determined enemy with superior numbers. And despite all adversity, they eventually prevailed. One 106th GI waged his own personal war using guerilla tactics that caused serious consternation amongst the German troops. Another GI’s main concern was recovering his clean underwear. These stories are heartwarming, heartbreaking, nerve-wracking, and compelling. Warriors of the 106th puts readers on the front lines and in the stalags during the final months of WWII.

Hailed by the authorites as `the future of housing', The Estate in south London was opened with a flourish by the Lord Mayor of London in the late 1960s. The six 20-storey tower blocks were seen as the new way forward for community life in London. However, within a matter of weeks it had all started to go wrong as racial tensions built up and families of ethnic minorities clashed. Based on true stories, THE ESTATE is a novel based around 11 different families living side by side in The Estate, and their perceptions of it. We find out how the Indion family, the gypsies, the gay couple and the landlord of the local pub all deal with new homes and the dynamics of a multi racial community. Building up to a finale at The Estate's Christmas party, this is a poignant and funny account of how life really treated the occupants of the tower blocks.

A Novel

The Estate

Drawing on methodologies and approaches from media and cultural studies, sociology, social history and the study of popular music, this book outlines the development of the study of men and masculinities, and explores the role of cultural texts in bringing about social change. It is against this backdrop that The Beatles, as a cultural phenomenon, are set, and their four live action films, spanning the years 1964-1970, are examined as texts through which to read changing representations of men and masculinity in 'the Sixties'. Dr Martin King considers ideas about a male revolt predating second-wave feminism, The Beatles as inheritors of the possibilities of the 1950s and The Beatles' emergence as men of ideas: a global cultural phenomenon that transgressed boundaries and changed expectations about the role of popular artists in society. King further explores the chosen Beatle texts to examine discourses of masculinity at work within them. What emerges is the discovery of discourses around resistance, non-conformity, feminized appearance, pre-metrosexuality, the male star as object of desire, and the emergence of The Beatles themselves as a text that reflected the radical diversity of a period of rapid social change. King draws valuable conclusions about the legacy of these discourses and their impact in subsequent decades.

Men, Masculinity and the Beatles

Martin Knight

Phil Sparrowhawk

Grass is the incredible story of Phil Sparrowhawk, a working-class boy with gambling in his blood. Like most punters, he enjoyed an incredible run of luck, but finally rolled the dice once too often. Before he had come of age, Phil had accumulated a small fortune from street trading. He then staked his entire capital on Njinsky in the 1970 Derby - and won. With his now large capital base, he launched a business importing clothes. Enter Howard Marks (aka Mr Nice), who was enthused by Phil's Far East connections and introduced him to the far more lucrative world of the 'movement of beneficial herbs' - or drug smuggling, as it is known to the authorities. Phil struck out on his own and from his new base in Thailand became involved in many large-scale cannabis deals, whilst at the same time developing highly successful legitimate businesses. Read of his encounters with Greenpeace, Mother Teresa, gangsters and leading politicians, Lord Moynihan, religious cults, former pop singers and many other diverse characters as his life became more and more surreal. The winning streak came to an end in 1988 when the US Drug Enforcement Agency closed in. Phil's £30m fortune was promptly confiscated and he spent the next four years in two of Thailand's most notorious jails before being extradited to the US, where he served further time in a series of penitentiaries. Grass details the life of an ordinary young man with a taste for adventure, who ended up on the most extraordinary journey. Sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy.

Grass

2017 is the 100th anniversary of America’s declaration of war against Germany. Many historians take a diminutive stance regarding America’s involvement but it cannot be underestimated by any means. It was the reason that brought Germany to it is knees and forced them to accept an armistice that was a victory of sorts achieved over the German forces and their allies. There is global renewed interest in World War One. All the protagonists are long dead but many of their relatives are still with us. This volume will draw you into the whole experience from the home front to the hell of the trenches. These are the voices of those who were never heard but their suffering and their involvement was total and uncompromising, and now finally they can breathe again. They are not forgotten.

The Untold Stories of America's World War I Veterans and their Families

Lost Voices

An articulate, compelling history of American battlefield medics. “I have walked the battlefields with Martin King, who has traversed them countless times with veterans. No one knows these stories like Martin, and no one can tell them quite the way he does.” —Rick Beyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost Army of World War II “Few things bring history to life like the words of those who lived through it. Martin King offers us a glimpse into those experiences, documenting a young nation in the most formative periods of its history. Insightful, moving, and important, this book is a valuable tool for anyone wanting to better understand America’s role in the most brutal of conflicts.” —Dan Snow, BBC TV Presenter and historian, History Hit TV “I have never known better stories in my life. Thoughtful and touching beyond belief. The context Martin King provides to help tell the story is beyond reproach. This is 11 on a scale of 10.” —Commander Jeffrey Barta, Deputy Museum Systems Operations Office, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, DC “Our soldiers and their missions have greatly benefited from the compassion, commitment, and selfless service of all frontline medics. Thank you for all that you’ve done for our nation, its soldiers, and their families.” —General David H. Petraeus, United States Army (Retired) “Martin King has a keen eye for the human side of conflict. In His attention to the experience of medical personnel and his excellent prose provides interesting additions It’s a wonderfully unique book that offers the reader a great insight into everything about the frontline medics.” —Professor Jerome Sheridan, Author, Military Historian, American University

A History of America's Frontline Medics from Concord to Covid-19

Triage

This is the story of the brave men and women who go to war armed with bandages not bombs, scalpels not swords, and put saving life above taking life. Ranging from the battles of Ancient Rome to the Vietnam War, Emmy-award winning author Martin King takes you on an enthralling journey through the history of medicine as seen through the lens of warfare. Hear about the men and women who risked their lives to save others in the chaos of conflict, including: • Mary Seacole a black nurse who ran her own medical center during the Crimean War • John Bradmore, the man who saved Prince Henry in the War of the Roses, • Tillie Pierce, the 16-year-old girl who tended soldiers from both sides during the Civil War Told with King's usual flair and penchant for engaging narrative, this illustrated account provides a testament to these remarkable medics and the vital part they played in history.

How Warfare Changed the History of Medicine

Battlefield Medics

Mike Collins

Jason Nulton

A century of valor among one of the finest infantry divisions ever to serve, vividly chronicled through extensive research and interviews with veterans. From the Great War to the War on Terror, the US 4th Infantry Division has always been there. To War with the 4th recounts a hundred years of combat, beginning with their first battle on September 14th, 1918. The men of the “Ivy” Division faced German artillery, fell in the hundreds, yet won the day. On D-Day of World War II, the 4th Division landed at Utah Beach and kept fighting across Europe until Germany surrendered. From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge, no other American division suffered more casualties in the European theater, and no other division accomplished as much. In Vietnam, they executed dangerous “search and destroy” missions and fought major engagements, including thirty-three consecutive days of close-quarters combat during the Battle of Dak To. In May 2009, they fought in Iraq at the height of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed to Afghanistan for a year-long combat mission in the birthplace of the Taliban. Through firsthand interviews with veterans across the decades, and the expert analysis of the authors, the role of one of America’s mainstay divisions is illuminated in these pages.

To War with the 4th

This chronicle of an armored division’s bravery during the Battle of the Bulge sheds new light on the legendary Siege of Bastogne in WWII. Before the 101st Airborne Division’s famous Siege of Bastogne, there was already a US unit holding the town when they arrived. This unit—the 10th Armored Division—continued to play a major role in its defense through the German onslaught. The Tigers of Bastogne offers a detailed chronicle of the young armored division that withstood the full brunt of Manteuffel’s Fifth Panzer Army in the Ardennes. The 10th Armored had only arrived in Europe that September as part of Patton’s Third Army. They soon faced the onslaught of Nazi panzers bursting across no-man’s-land on December 16. But they earned their nickname, “The Tiger Division,” as they went on the defensive at Bastogne, surrounded by an entire German army. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne said, “It seems regrettable to me that Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division didn’t get the credit it deserved at the Battle of Bastogne. All the newspaper and radio talk was about the paratroopers. Actually the 10th Armored Division was in there a day before we were and had some very hard fighting before we ever got into it.” Fortunately, in this book, the historical record is finally corrected.

Voices of the 10th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge

The Tigers of Bastogne

David Hilborn

In World War I the 30th Infantry Division earned more Medals of Honor than any other American division. In World War II it spent more consecutive days in combat than almost any other outfit. Recruited mainly from the Carolinas and Georgia and Tennessee, they were one of the hardest-fighting units the U.S. ever fielded in Europe. What was it about these men that made them so indomitable? They were tough and resilient for a start, but this division had something else. They possessed intrinsic zeal to engage the enemy that often left their adversaries in awe. Their U.S. Army nickname was the "Old Hickory" Division. But after encountering them on the battlefield, the Germans themselves came to call them "Roosevelt's SS." This book is a combat chronicle of this illustrious division that takes the reader right to the heart of the fighting through the eyes of those who were actually there. It goes from the hedgerows of Normandy to the 30th's gallant stand against panzers at Mortain, to the brutal slugs around Aachen and the Westwall, and then to the Battle of the Bulge. Each chapter is meticulously researched and assembled with accurate timelines and after-action reports. The last remaining veterans of the 30th Division and attached units who saw the action firsthand relate their remarkable experiences here for the first, and probably the last time. This is precisely what military historians mean when they write about "fighting spirit." There have been only a few books written about the 30th Division and none contained direct interviews with the veterans. This work follows their story from Normandy to the final victory in Germany, packed with previously untold accounts from the survivors. These are the men whose incredible stories epitomize what it was to be a GI in one of the toughest divisions in WWII.

They Called Them Roosevelt's SS

The Fighting 30th

A gripping account of the Allied liberation of Western Europe, masterfully told by Emmy-award winning writer and historian Martin King. Through the autumn of 1944, Allied troops made their way across Nazi-occupied Europe, liberating towns and villages as they went. Driving Back the Nazis explores this process of liberation, from the arrival of Allied forces in Paris through the emancipation of Belgium to the closing down of Nazi prison camps. But there was a darker side to liberation too - collaborators were harshly punished, and in some cases the liberating forces brought their own troubles with them. Martin King tells the story of liberation from all sides - we hear the voices of Allied high command, ordinary American and British soldiers, local civilians, and even the defeated German forces.

The Allied Liberation of Western Europe, Autumn 1944

Driving Back the Nazis

The powerful German counteroffensive operation code-named “Wacht am Rhein” (Watch on the Rhine) launched in the early morning hours of December 16, 1944, would result in the greatest single extended land battle of World War II. To most Americans, the fierce series of battles fought from December 1944 through January 1945 is better known as the “Battle of the Bulge.” Almost one million soldiers would eventually take part in the fighting. Different from other histories of the Bulge, this book tells the story of this crucial campaign with first-person stories taken from the authors’ interviews of the American soldiers, both officers and enlisted personnel, who faced the massive German onslaught that threatened to turn the tide of battle in Western Europe and successfully repelled the attack with their courage and blood. Also included are stories from German veterans of the battles, including SS soldiers, who were interviewed by the authors.

Untold Stories from Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge

Voices of the Bulge

A brutal siege. A forgotten heroine. A war-torn romance. And a historian determined to uncover the truth. Untold millions who saw and read Band of Brothers can finally know the whole story of what happened to American soldiers and civilians in Bastogne during that arduous Winter of 1944/45. In the television version of Band of Brothers, a passing reference is made to an African nurse assisting in an aid station in Bastogne. When military historian Martin King watched the episode, he had to know who that woman was; thus began a multi-year odyssey that revealed the horror of a town under siege as well as an improbable love story between a white Army medic, Jack Prior, and his black nurse, Augusta Chiwy, as they saved countless lives while under constant bombardment. Based on the recent discovery of Prior's diary as well as an exhaustive and occasionally futile search for Augusta herself, King was at last able to bring belated recognition of Augusta's incredible story by both the U.S. Army and Belgian government shortly before she died. This is not only a little-known story of the Battle of the Bulge, but also the author's own relentless mission to locate Augusta and bestow upon her the honors she so richly deserved.

The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne

Searching for Augusta

Roberto Russo

Italian football, we are led to believe, is in crisis with 'The Ultras', Italian hooligans, being held responsible for the death of a policeman after a recent match in Sicily. Questions are now being asked in their parliament and solutions hurriedly put in place after some of the worst scenes of violence ever witnessed at a football game. In addition, matchi-fixing and racism add to the problems facing the Italian authorities. Russo - a Torino 'Ultra' - writes in depth about how the Italian hooligan scene works, about the clashes and the politics playing out behind the scenes.

Ultras

Football has reinvented itself. As television money has poured into the game, the traditional working-class fans have poured out - not by choice, but by economic necessity. According to those in charge of the game the football hooligan has at last been eliminated from the landscape. But how true is this much-vaunted claim? Martin King, author of Hoolifan, brings his story up to date in The Naughty Nineties. Ironically, he finds that football hooligans now really are in the minority but they are far more dangerous and committed than ever before.

Football's Coming Home

The Naughty Nineties

Gaetano Buglioni

Gaetano Buglioni writes openly and with great humour about his life with the Chelsea Head-Hunters. He writes about the arrests, the court appearances and his tumultuous relationship with the police. He also charts his near fatal stabbing in a Paris backstreet, his cocaine addiction and his fight for life after a massive heart attack. Buglioni hung out with Johnny Rotten and is a long-time friend of Ray Winstone's. Features a foreword by John King, the bestselling author of The Football Factory.

Bully C F C

The full story of the legendary US infantry division and their remarkable service in WWII, told through interviews with surviving servicemen. The 30th Infantry Division earned more Medals of Honor than any other American division in World War I. In World War II, it spent more consecutive days in combat than almost any other outfit. Recruited mainly from the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, they were some of the hardest-fighting soldiers in Europe. They possessed an intrinsic zeal to engage the enemy that often left their adversaries in awe. Their US Army nickname was the “Old Hickory” Division. But after encountering them on the battlefield, the Germans called them “Roosevelt’s SS.” The Fighting 30th Division chronicles the exploits of this illustrious unit through the eyes of those who were actually there. From Normandy to the Westwall and the Battle of the Bulge, each chapter is meticulously researched with accurate timelines and after-action reports. The last remaining veterans of the 30th to see action firsthand relate their experiences here for the first time, including previously untold accounts from survivors.

Martin King

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