Richards, Anthony – The Bell Bookshop

1945

Emma — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

1945 – one of the most important years in modern history. Encompassing not only the celebration of peace and an end to the Second World War, but also the devastating fi rst use of nuclear weapons and the long shadow cast by both this and the legacy of the worldwide confl agration. In this landmark publication, Anthony Richards tells the story of this momentous year through the unique collections of the Imperial War Museum, using personal testimony and rarely seen imagery to consider the wide-ranging experiences of that twelvemonth period. From continued fi ghting through north-west Europe, South East Asia and the Pacifi c to the liberation of the concentration camps, while encompassing the post-war desire for reconstruction, repatriation and justice, 1945: A Visual History guides readers through this year of unprecedented change, which laid the foundations for the modern world.

Words of War

Emma — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

During the Second World War, across the frontline as well as on the Home Front, millions of people recorded their thoughts of their experiences – whether in letters, their personal diaries or those prosecuting the war giving speeches. Much as Letters of Note celebrated the great letters written through history, so Words of War allows the Imperial War Museum to showcase its incredible array of first-hand material to shine a light on how people journeyed through the 1939-45 conflict.

Ten chapters take the reader chronologically through the key moments of the war: from the retreat to Dunkirk to the battle of the Atlantic; the savage fighting in the jungles of the far East to the RAF Bomber Command’s campaign in Europe; the discovery of the Nazi’s concentration camp system to the war’s ultimate conclusion at the Nuremburg trials. One hundred documents are researched and selected by the Imperial War Museum’s expert archivists, with commentary from their head Antony Richards explaining the significance of each and placing it in context to the war’s progression. Readers will be able to engage and empathise with the writers in a thought-provoking and immediate way.

War On Paper

Emma — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Wars are fought by armies. But they are supported by documents-countless documents-from the first declaration to the final truce. The War on Paper shows just how revealing that rarely considered aspect of warfare can be, telling the story of World War II through close looks at twenty key documents from the IWM archives.

The documents addressed-all of which are presented in photographs-range chronologically through the course of the war. We see Hitler’s signed order to invade Poland from August 1939-and his last will and testament. Kindertransport identity papers help tell the story of the concerted efforts to keep children out of harm’s way, while Queen Mary’s ration book reminds us that sacrifice was broadly shared. A sketch showing the evacuation plan for units of the British Expeditionary Force to escape from the beaches at Dunkirk and General Bernard Montgomery’s handwritten plans for Operation Overlord, which was launched in June 1944 with Normandy landings-more commonly known as D-Day-show how some of the greatest feats in World War II were planned and accomplished.

Together, these documents bring World War II to life, matching the grand scale of invasions and battles with the human scale of home front needs and individual actions. A powerful reminder of the scale of the largest conflict the world has ever seen, The War on Paper is a stunning, accessible work of history.