Invasion. Defending Britain From Attack

For hundreds of years Britain has been portrayed as an island fortress, impregnable since 1066, a self-sufficient nation protected by the sea around it. By exploring the fortresses and defensive structures of coastal Britain, Dan Cruickshank in the BBC series "Invasion" seeks to dispel this popular myth and provide an argument that Britain is a nation whose history is instead defined by the fear of invasion. This book analyzes the science of warfare and the military heritage of the country in its medieval castles, coastal tunnels, gun emplacements, World War II deep bomb shelters and more. It reveals fortresses both brilliant and hopeless.

Dan Cruickshank is one of the country's leading architectural and historical building experts. He has been a regular presenter and consultant on the BBC's One Foot In The Past and House Detectives, has contributed to Home Front and has written a number of BBC programmes including The Victorian Way of Death, The Baedeker Blitz, Public Shelter and Sex In The Eighteenth Century.