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.
Publisher: Penguin Books LtdISBN: 9780241995228Number of pages: 384Weight: 300 gDimensions: 196 x 128 x 26 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Gripping 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
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