Books published by publisher Sharpe Books

‘Sheer delight … A story as good as one of Defoe’s own novels, full of immediacy, action and good sense … We can look the great biographers Macaulay and Trevelyan in the face.’ The Daily Telegraph Daniel Defoe bestrode the age like a colossus. He was both an observer and participant in events - informed and insightful. In this acclaimed biography, West offers both a history of Britain in Defoe’s time as well as an in depth exploration of the life and mind of one of England's greatest and most misunderstood authors. Through this excellent and entertaining work we get the chance to glimpse not only the events which inspired Defoe to write his many masterpieces – including the classic Robinson Crusoe – but follow his career trajectory as tradesman, soldier and spy, to journalist, satirist, pamphleteer and novelist, drawing on his writings and letters from the period. Defoe was a man who experienced his fair share of troubles – from marital difficulties, and poor health, to imprisonment and crippling debt. He was to his lasting shame no businessman, and was hounded by his creditors until his untimely death. But West stresses that it was Defoe’s bankruptcy that led him to become the great novelist we know today. Recommend reading for fans of Claire Tomalin and Peter Ackroyd. ‘Superb … There is a strong sense, throughout this minutely researched, hugely entertaining book, of a writer being restored to his rightful place in the literary hierarchy.’ The Observer Richard West was a celebrated journalist and much admired biographer. He is also the author of Chaucer: The Life and Times of the First English Poet.

“War with him is a means — not an end; intense necessity — not a willing sacrifice. He is a successful General, yet he hates the battle-field; he is the very incarnation of the spirit of peace; and there is a moral grandeur in him that commands our unbounded admiration.” - Captain George W. Pepper.Presented as it was originally published in 1866, Pepper’s memoirs are much more than a series of battle descriptions. Starting at Kentucky and marching through the states with Sherman’s troops, Pepper portrays in extensive detail the regions, the buildings, and the people, including anecdotes of Sherman.Locale, military tactics and colourful characterizations give this recounting a fascinating and novel point of view.Pepper details each battle and reveals the aftermath on many levels. A must-read for anyone interested in military history and the American Civil War.Captain George Whitfield Pepper (1833 - 1899) is the author of numerous titles regarded as culturally important by scholars including, ‘Dead on the field of honor’,‘Under three flags; or, The story of my life as a preacher, captain in the Army chaplain, consul, with speeches and interviews.’ and ‘Ireland… Liberty Springs from Her Martyr’s Blood’.

Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American Old West scout, who carried out varied roles as hired gunman, Pinkerton, range detective, cowboy, and soldier. Believed to have committed 17 murders as a hired gunman in the West, in 1902 Horn was convicted of the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell near Iron Mountain, Wyoming. The boy was the son of sheep rancher Kels Nickell, who had been involved in a range feud with neighbor and cattle rancher Jim Miller. On the day before his 43rd birthday, Horn was executed by hanging in Cheyenne, Wyoming.While in jail he wrote his autobiography, Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter (1904), which was published posthumously. Numerous editions have been published of this book since the late 20th century, and debate continues as to whether he was guilty of Nickell's murder.

At a meeting of the Continental Congress in July 1776, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Declaration of Independence was signed.From across the Thirteen Colonies, fifty-six men — including two future presidents — put their names to a document formally explaining why they had voted to declare independence from Great Britain.It was an act that would have an irreversible effect on America, and history.Although this event has given rise to many stories and legends with the passage of time, there is little doubting the reverence with which the signers of the Declaration are held. In his 1848 work, B. J. Lossing presents a collection of brief sketches of “the chief events in the lives of the men who stood sponsors at the baptism in blood of our Infant Republic.”Those men include: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams as well as many more in this fascinating history of The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.Benson John Lossing (1813-1891) was a prolific and popular American historian, authoring more than forty books in his lifetime. He was best known for his works on the American Revolution and American Civil War.

This gripping story about the first woman executed in Texas in over one hundred years draws on accounts from family, prisoners, government officials, and friends to show how God used a remarkable woman to reach countless lives with a message of redemption and joy. Linda Strom, Tucker's spiritual advisor and close friend for eleven years, includes photographs as well as excerpts from Tucker's letters and interviews.

‘The Trident of Neptune is the Sceptre of the World.’ Antoine-Marin LemierreBy the 19th century, Great Britain truly ruled the waves.But where did the journey to dominance began?This is the first part of that story.Starting in 1500, the narrative begins with emergence of the Tudor navy during the Elizabethan period when England defied the might of the Spanish Empire on the world stage.It continues through to the Act of Union in 1707 when Great Britain was created and the point when the naval and mercantile sea-services parted company.Providing an overview of the 18th century merchant navy and it analyses the conflicts during the Seven Years War and ends with an account of the slave trade until its abolition in 1807. Prize-winning maritime author Richard Woodman restores Great Britain's mercantile marine to its rightful place in the nation's history - alongside that of the Royal Navy, to whose glories it contributed - but not buried beneath it. Truly this is a surprising history.‘If Neptune s Trident sets the standard for what is to follow - we can at least rest assured that there is a series that truly does justice to our proud merchant maritime past.’ Nautilus UK Telegraph‘Richard Woodman tells many a good tale in this first volume and it is fascinating to read. I highly recommend this first volume in the Neptune s Trident for anyone with an interest in the early modern period. If the rest of the series is as good as this one, they should all be on the bookshelves of those studying the history of Britain, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.’ Open HistoryCaptain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian who retired in 1997 from a 37 year nautical career, mainly working for Trinity House, to write full-time. His main work is 14 volumes about the career of Nathaniel Drinkwater, and shorter series about James Dunbar and William Kite, but he also written a range of factual books about 18th century and WW2 history.

The tides of war are turning. America enters the air and bullets cut living streaks of fire into the enemy.Eddie Rickenbacker's WWI memoirs were first published in 1919 and reveal the bravery of men leaping into dangerous contraptions 15,000 feet above the Earth, fighting for their cause and fighting for life.Over the misty, blood-stained fields of France Eddie Rickenbacker, ‘Rick’, takes us from his tentative, rookie steps aboard his plane during reconnaissance over enemy lines, through to the last victory of the Great War.His initial elation and fear as enemy squadrons hurtle past and artillery guns singe the air are soon tempered with experience and, after the disappearance of Captain Jimmy Hall, Rick must take command of his squadron himself.Rick flies on the new and experimental wings at the cutting edge of the Great War. Lessons are learned through victories and losses and men, comrades and captains, sadly lost.Ultimately, Rick’s 94th regiment ended the war in France with the highest number of air victories of any American squadron, earning him the Medal of Honour.These memoirs tell that tale from the humble beginnings. Men survive on a wing and a prayer, unable to distinguish an enemy’s colours from an ally’s. As death and destruction plough through France’s landscape below and an unforgiving enemy stalks the skies, Rick’s "Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron are pushed to extremes unimagined prior to this conflict.Filled with technical insights and dramatic revelations, this is a tense and exciting account from the eyes of a celebrated and revered WWI American fighter pilot witnessing the trials and triumphs of the blistering skies.Eddie Rickenbacker (1890 - 1973) was one of the world’s top racing car drivers before enlisting with the U.S. Army upon their entrance into the Great War in 1917. By September 1918 he had become America’s most successful fighter ace with 26 aerial victories, receiving the Medal of Honour and the adulation of his countrymen and allies. With the end of the war Rickenbacker elected to leave the air service and established his own automotive company before becoming General Manager of Eastern Airlines.

The Secret Battle should be read in each generation, so that men and women may rest under no illusion about what war means, a soldier's tale cut in stone to melt all hearts' - Sir Winston Churchill.AP Herbert's The Secret Battle is one of the classic works of World War One fiction, praised by everyone from Churchill, to Arnold Bennett, to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery.The Secret Battle draws upon A P Herbert's own experiences as a junior infantry officer in the First World War.It tells the tragic tale of an idealistic young officer, Harry Penrose.First in Gallipoli, then in the trenches of France, he is tested and brought to breaking point as he struggles to retain the ideals of military duty and courage amidst the daily miseries of the trenches.This narrative lays bare the real horrors of the First World War without melodrama or sensationalism. The author tells his story not with indignant protest, but with a sad resignation that makes this a haunting and deeply moving book.More than ninety years after its first publication, the work has lost none of its freshness, relevance and poignancy.It remains an incredibly touching story of what might happen to a gallant soldier borne down by the stresses of war. And it raises important questions as to what constitutes courage, and the justice of executions in the First World War, still an open matter of debate and contention in the new century.The Secret Battle includes a foreword by Sir Winston Churchill.Praise for The Secret Battle‘The best story of front-line war I have read' - Field Marshall Montgomery.‘Mr Herbert's story of the brave officer who is shot for cowardice belongs to the highest class of British war fiction. It is a little masterpiece' - Cyril Falls.‘Written with classic restraint and something of classic beauty' - Arnold Bennett.Sir Alan Patrick Herbert was an English humourist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist. He was an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford University for 15 years, five of which he combined with service in the Royal Navy.

‘These short and exciting episodes provide a rich escape into hair-raising events described in the dimly-lit comfort of intelligent companionship. For those readers familiar with Buchan's longer novels, this work provides an extra episode in the lives of the various heroes, which is satisfying to those who have become attached to the likes of Sandy Arbuthnot, Lord Lamancha, and Lord Burminster.’ - The John Buchan Society Richard Hannay, the hero of The 39 Steps, returns as a member of The Runagates Club. The club is a 1930s London dining society for gentlemen and is made up of ex-soldiers who meet once a month to share tales of adventure from their many heroic adventures across the globe. Across a series of classic short stories, Buchan tells the adventures of many of the characters that make up the Richard Hannay series. Richard Hannay tells of a trek in the African bush and of a madness called The Green Wildebeest. Henry Nightingale survives the Wind in the Portico. Oliver Pugh recalls how a German code was finally broken in World War 1 in 'The Loathly Opposite'. John Palliser-Yeates describes an ingenious Secret Service operation during the First World War. Sir Edward Leithen encounters an unusual opponent in a rainy park. And in "Skule Skerry", Anthony Hurrell encounters something dark and massive on a stormy island. From the African bush to covert Secret Service operations during World War One, these stories are sometimes comical, sometimes serious but always entertaining. The Runagates Club is essential reading for fans of Buchan, the original master of British spy fiction. John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who also served as Governor General of Canada. He is most famous for his classic thriller, The 39 Steps.

The battle for the skies of Britain has just begun.At the outbreak of the Second World War D. M. Crook, of No. 609 Squadron AAF, was at Yeadon, still undergoing his training; by the winter of 1939-40, he had his wings.Successfully applying to return to his Squadron, then on defence duties in northern England, Crook began to familiarise himself with their new fighter: the Spitfire.Soon they were posted to RAF Northolt, and it was at this time that Crook, much to his chagrin, was left grounded, undergoing knee surgery as they flew over Dunkirk.Following the Allied evacuation from France, Crook returned to the air and found himself facing the relentless sorties as the skies above Britain transformed into a battlefield.In one particularly frank passage, Crook recounts how he mistakenly shot down a Blenheim, going on to illustrate how easy it was for pilots to misidentify aircraft.‘Spitfire Pilot’ is a remarkable account of one officer’s life in 609 Squadron, the excitement, the anxieties and the camaraderie, during one of the most famous battles of the Second World War.‘Crook and his colleagues committed acts of unimaginable bravery against the German aircraft. Many did not make it and the author describes the ansence they leave in the squadron with great poignancy. His descriptions of aerial conflict will rarely be bettered.’ Magazine'A brilliant first-hand account of the life of a fighter pilot before and during the Battle of Britain.' - Spectator'A unique personal insight into one of the crucial periods of the war ... I cannot recommend this highly enough.' - World War II MagazineFlt. Lt. David Moore Crook, D.F.C. (1914-1944) was commissioned into the Auxiliary Air Force in September 1938, as an Acting Pilot Officer. In May 1940 he was promoted Pilot Officer, in December of the same year Flight Officer, before reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant a year later. One of ‘The Few’ who fought in the Battle of Britain, where he won the D.F.C., in December 1944 he failed to return to base: his Spitfire was reported to have dived into the sea. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial