AND WE SHALL SHOCK THEM

The author brings to life every major campaign fought by the British Army in the Second World War: from the momentous defeats in France, Belgium and the Far East in the early stages of the war, through to the final victories against Germany and Japan in 1945. All aspects of the conflict are described, from grand strategy at the highest levels right down to the experience of infantry, gunners and tankers in the field as the British army battled its way through the war. The book shows how the seeds of World War II were sown at the end of the previous war, twenty-one years earlier, and how successive governments in the twenties and thirties failed to safeguard Britain from the building threat from Germany. It describes how by the beginning of the conflict Hitler's armies were superior in every respect. But as the catalogue of defeats mounted, the British army were learning hard lessons, and painfully acquiring the skills needed to turn the tables. It is therefore a story which moves from triumph to tragedy, and then upward again to triumph at the last.

David W. Fraser is a Research Associate at The Textile Museum in Washington, specializing in textile structure. His studio work has been in weft twining and ply-split braiding. He is a medical epidemiologist and former President of Swarthmore College.

JAMES ADAMS, CEO and founder of BeeAudio, is the narrator of over 100 audiobooks, author of 14 bestselling books on international affairs, and former journalist and managing editor of the London Sunday Times. His distinctive British accent can also be heard on a a morning news show he hosts for public radio.