The true story of George Scovell follows the engraver's apprentice who possessed extraordinary linguisitic genius as he is assigned to Wellington's headquarters where he easily cracked codes used in French dispatches, but when the enemy changed their tactics from simple ciphers to almost unbreakable encoded messages, he was forced to race against time to save the British army from Napeoleon's deadly machinations.

The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes

History

URBAN, Mark

Europe

Harpercollins

Spanning the battle of Corunna in 1809 to the 1815 victory at Waterloo, this is the dramatic true-life tale of an unsung hero in Wellington's army.
Common-born George Scovell -- an engraver's apprentice -- joins the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and becomes a commissioned officer. As Bonaparte's juggernaut marches across Europe, Scovell soon proves himself a linguistic genius and begins to crack the basic codes used in French dispatches, giving General Wellington advance knowledge of French plans. But as the enemy changes from simple ciphers to baffling "next to impossible" encoded messages, Scovell finds himself racing against time to break the legendary "Great Paris Cipher" and save the British Army.
The thrill of clashing armies, challenging puzzles, and the personal struggle of a long-forgotten hero make The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes a gripping -- and brain-teasing -- adventure.

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Harper-perennial

Red Devils: The Trailblazers of the Parachute Regiment in WW2: An Authorized History

Review\nGripping and authoritative. Family men, circus performers, solicitors, communists, and reactionaries all fought together and shed blood for their country-a true and moving story of war--Andy McNab 
Riveting. Impeccably researched. Authoritative. Urban reveals the Red Devils in all their glory, as they forged the path for airborne forces to follow in WWII. Full of daring action, standout characters and cutting edge operations, this is unputdownable--Damien Lewis 
A detailed, fast-paced history of these remarkable men that reads like a thriller. Brilliantly researched and brilliantly told--Julia Boyd 
I couldn't put Red Devils down--Amanda Foreman 
Excellent . . . Mark Urban has brought an old soldier's insights and a fine journalist's clarity to tell this story resoundingly well, mixing superb accounts of the battles with a deep understanding of personalities, service politics and the paratrooper ethos--Patrick Bishop, Telegraph 
If you want to get under the skin of the pioneers of airborne soldiering, this is it . . . fast paced, well written and attention-grabbing from start to finish--Adrian Weale, Daily Mail Plus 
Masterful . . . Mark Urban paints a colourful picture of the officers and men who volunteered for what in 1940 was a leap into the unknown--Paul de Zulueta, Spectator 
Does not disappoint . . . A story of courage and adversity, Red Devils is a must-read--Who Do You Think You Are Magazine\nOn the 80th anniversary of their first crucial campaign, in Operation Torch in North Africa, Mark Urban tells the gripping story of the creation and development of the "Red Devils" - the name given to them by their German enemies - who ranged from circus performers to solicitors, policemen to gravediggers, Christians and Jews to communists. Through the fates of six heroes, from recently-widowed Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his little boy to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war, Urban vividly brings to life these men and their experiences, showing what drove them and covering their daring actions at D-Day, Arnhem and across the Second World War. All six characters would shed blood for their country, two would not survive and one would face disgrace in the regiment. Based on deep archival research, British and German sources, and new material from the men's families, and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign, this compelling account paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war.

Leaders & Notable People

VIKING

'Gripping and authoritative' Andy McNab 'Superb accounts of the battles and a deep understanding of personalities' Patrick Bishop, The Telegraph A GRIPPING, AUTHORISED HISTORY OF THE DARING 'RED DEVILS' TOLD THROUGH THE FATES OF SIX HEROES . . . In Britain they were known as The Parachute Regiment, but their German enemies christened them The Red Devils. Circus performers, solicitors, gravediggers, family men. . . they were ordinary people who became wartime heroes. Showing what it took to succeed in this new regiment, Urban vividly brings to life six men and their experiences across D-Day, Arnhem and WW2 - from the recently-widowed Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his young son to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war. Using deep archival research, British and German sources, and new material from the men's families, Red Devils paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war. PUBLISHED ON THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR FIRST CAMPAIGN: OPERATION TORCH IN NORTH AFRICA

Penguin

This description of the military struggle for Afghanistan concerns the objectives, operations, tactics and effectiveness of the forces involved in that struggle. The aim is to describe the war as objectively and in as much detail as possible.

War in Afghanistan

Asia

St.Martin's Press

Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the Secret Special Forces War in Iraq

When American and British forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, select teams of special forces and intelligence operatives got to work looking for the WMD their governments had promised were there. They quickly realized no such weapons existed. Instead they faced an insurgency€”a soaring spiral of extremism and violence that was almost impossible to understand, let alone reverse. Facing defeat, the Coalition waged a hidden war within a war. Major-General Stan McChrystal devised a campaign fusing special forces, aircraft, and the latest surveillance technology with the aim of taking down the enemy faster than it could regenerate. Guided by intelligence, British and American special forces conducted a relentless onslaught, night after night targeting al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups. Task Force Black reveals not only the intensity of the secret fight that turned the tide in Baghdad but the rivalries and personal battles that had to be overcome along the

Military

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Tank War

ABACUS +

The Edge: Is the Military Dominance of the West Coming to an End?

The size of western armed forces, their stocks of weaponry and their readiness for combat are declining. Meanwhile, growing nationalism is hampering international cooperation and fuelling conflict everywhere. The west's will - as well as its capability - to shape the world is ebbing away.Beset by economic woes, western countries are continuing the post-Cold War process of disarmament at the very moment that many believe a new Cold War is starting. NATO members have compared Vladimir Putin's foreign policy to that of Adolf Hitler, newly empowered groups such as ISIS, not to mention some governments, are tearing up the rulebook of acceptable international behaviour, and the military prowess that the western world once regarded as its prerogative is being dwarfed by countries like India and China.Tightly argued by Newsnight's diplomatic and defence editor Mark Urban, THE EDGE is a sharp polemic that breaks new ground in examining the workings and consequences of these geo-political tectonics, and shows just how rapidly the balance of power has been upended.

Based upon interviews with key members of British Intelligence, this book reveals battles over whether Gorbachev could be trusted and mistaken estimates of Russian military strength. Also covered is the story of the operations against the IRA, and the relationship with America.

UK Eyes Alpha: Inside British Intelligence

Faber and Faber

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by URBAN, Mark. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by URBAN, Mark

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by URBAN, Mark. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes

The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes

Red Devils: The Trailblazers of the Parachute Regiment in WW2: An Authorized History

Red Devils: The Trailblazers of the Parachute Regiment in WW2: An Authorized History

War in Afghanistan

Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the Secret Special Forces War in Iraq

War in Afghanistan

Tank War

The Edge: Is the Military Dominance of the West Coming to an End?

UK Eyes Alpha: Inside British Intelligence